Stranger Chess - Street Chess Berlin Style

 My journey through Europe continues, and having passed through Vienna and Prague, I've now reached Berlin. Continuing my attempts to find small chess events along the way, I came across Stranger Chess, which is a social chess meetup in Berlin. Located here , it meets every evening from 7pm , with an emphasis on non competition chess. This is a deliberate strategy, as the goal is to get as many people playing chess, not just competition chess.

I had a couple of enjoyable and challenging games. Like Street Chess, rapid chess is the go, with the time limit of 10m+5s being standard. Also like Street Chess, it is played outdoors (along the footpath), but I wonder how they go during winter. 

After I finished I manage to explore more of Berlin than I planned to. I jumped the wrong tram and began to head in a direction I did not plan to go. Fortunately Berlin has a spoke and ring style public transport layout, so I was able to reach the next ring and take the train to where I am currently staying. I doubt I would have been so lucky if I was in Canberra.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Games of Interest

 One of the tasks I did not manage to complete at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, was the compilation of 'interesting' games. Of course what makes a game 'interesting' is quite subjective, so instead I was planning to look at statistically interesting games. These were things like the shortest played game, longest win, longest draw, longest match (in terms of moves etc). Unfortunately other duties got in my way, so while I made a start on generating a list (by processing the pgn files), it was by no means complete.

So instead I'll show you a game from round 9 played by Fiji Bd 1, Manoj Kumar. It was played in the same match where his team mate Yash Maharaj won in 9 moves, but that game saw a piece blunder and a quick resignation. This game a little more meat to it.

CM Manoj Kumar vs Joshua Solomon
2024 Chess Olympiad, Round 9, 2024

2024 Chess Olympiad - Womens event

 Unlike the Open Olympiad, the Women's event was a lot closer. India did win to make it double gold, but they had to beat Azerbaijan in the final round to make sure. They did so 3.5-0.5, making the result from the USA - Kazakhstan match academic, although the 2-2 draw allowed Kazakhstan to take silver, and the USA 3rd.

The Australian Women's team had a fantastic Olympiad, finishing tied for 22nd, with 6 match wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses. Along the way they beat both Israel and Cuba, and had the experience of playing China. Zhiyuan Shen scored 7/10 to earn a WFM title, while WGM Jilin Zhang scored an impressive 6.5/9 on board 2. The New Zealand team also had a great tournament, finishing well ahead of their seeding on 13 points, with every member of their team gaining rating points, and Yolanda Chang qualifying for the WFM title. 

Guam finished on 9 points, with Carmina Ramas and Ruth Nacarion earning WCM titles. Fiji finished on 8 points (a WCM for Makayla Sukhu), Guam on 7 (WCM for Angelil Sisior) and Vanuatu (in their first Olympiad) on 6 pointds (2 wins and 2 draws). Ela Milfirer earned their 1st female title with a WCM title.

2024 Olympiad Day 12.0

 Having accidentally put the wrong day on yesterdays post, I've labeled this one to reflect the correct day (but differently).

As expected, India wrapped up the 1st place, but they did it style, with a 3.5-0.5 demolition of Slovenia. They finished on 21 match points (out of a possible 22) a full 4 points ahead of USA (2nd on tie-break) and Uzbekistan (3rd on tie break). They also scored 35/44 in game points, losing only 1 game, and a full 4.5 game points ahead of the next team. In my time attending Olympiads, this is probably tho most dominant performance of any team I have seen.

Australia won their last match against Kosovo 3.5-0.5, to tie for 41st (45th on tie-break). I guess they would be disappointed with their performance this time round, as they were seeded a bit higher than that. The inability to score points against a couple of lower rated but quite solid teams (Ireland, Andorra, Faeroe Islands ) cost them when winning a single game could have turned a loss/draw into a win.

On the other hand New Zealand was probably pleased with how their tournament went. The beat Guatemala in the last round 3-1 to finish on 12 points (1 behind Australia) and tied for 57th (but 70th on tie break). This was ahead of their seeding, with IM Sravan Renjith having the best performance on the team.

PNG had a chance for a category medal if the could beat the Isle of Man, but starting the match one player down did not help. This did affect the mood/performance of the other players, and they went down 0.5-3.5. Still 4 match wins was a good performance for a team that had to draft 3 last minute replacements after the Hungarian organisers completely failed in the fundamental task of providing the correct information on visa applications.

Guam won their final match against Djibouti 3.5-0.5 to finish on 9 points, and once again finish at the top of the Pacific Island countries. Fiji went down to San Marino 0.5-3.5 to finish on 6 points, Palau narrowly lost to Cambodia 1.5-2.5, Vanuatu went down to Antigua 1-3, with both Palau and Vanuatu finishing on 4.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 12

 India defeated the USA 2.5-1.5 to *almost* secure 1st place in the 2024 Chess Olympiad. The result caused a degree of premature celebration from Indian fans online, as there is a possibility that a freak set of results (incredibly unlikely though they are) could result in a change at the top. The only team that can now catch them is China, who beat Uzbekistan 2.5-1.5 in Round 10. In third place is the real surprise of the tournament, Slovenia, who are on 16 match points after a win over The Netherlands. They do play India today, but if the games are all drawn after 30 moves (which secures a guaranteed 1st place for India) then they may hang on for a bronze.

Australia had another poor result, losing to the Faeroe Islands 1.5-2.5. After a good start to the tournament (8 points after 6 rounds), they have struggled in the 2nd half, only scoring 3/8, against much lower seeded teams. They do however remain a point ahead of New Zealand, who lost 0.5-3.5 to Hungary C (their Under 25 development team). However the last round pairing is a little kinder to NZ than to Australia, so the destination of the imaginary Oceania Cup is still to be determined.

PNG scored their 4th win of the tournament, beating Eritrea 2.5-1.5. There were wins on the top 2 boards, but in the ultimate safety play, Rupert Jones took a draw on board 3, despite having a forced mate in the final position. Guam lost to Barbados 1-3, to remain on 7 points, Fiji stay on 6 after losing to Mauritania 1-3, Palau lost to the Cayman Islands 1-3, and are on 4 points, where they have been joined by Vanuatu who drew 2-2 with Comoros Islands.

The final round is underway as I type this, although PNG is already 1 game down due to the PNG board 4 being 'unwell'. The closing ceremony is quite late this evening (Hungary time), although early risers in Australia may be able to catch the end of it on the Internet.

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 10

 India has kept the lead in the 2024 Olympiad, after a 2-2 draw with defending champions Uzbekistan. All 4 games were drawn, although at least a couple of them had plenty of fight in them. They still hold a 2 point lead over 2nd place, but with 2 rounds to play, they still need to be careful.

The chasing pack on 15 points has now grown to 3 teams. USA beat Hungary 2.5-1.5 and now play India in Round 10 (Seeds 1 & 2 finally meet). Uzbekistan gained a point from the draw, while a 2.5 - 1.5 win by China over Iran also saw them join the group. A win for India pretty much secures them overall victory, as their tie-break is well ahead of everyone else's. 

Australia bounced back from some poor results with a win over Angola. However this wasn't without drama, as they were only ahead 2-1, with one game in progress. Zong Yuan Zhao was pushing for a win in a R+2p v R+p ending, with his opponent trying to claim a draw by repetition not once but twice. Although both claims were incorrect, the absence of the players from the board while checking the 2nd claim, convinced the venue that the game was finished. As a result the main lights in the venue were turned off, plunging the game into semi-darkness. The game had to then be moved to a location with better lighting, and another 30 moves were played until the draw was achieved.

New Zealand beat Nicaragua 3.5-0.5, and now play Hungary C. This has some importance as IM Sravan Renjith has slim chances of a GM norm, but needs to finish with 2 IM/GM opponents. Papua New Guinea must have used up all their luck in the previous round, going down 0-4 to Bahrain. As a result Guam has moved ahead in the unofficial Pacific Islands league, after they beat Granada 2.5-1.5. Fiji had a 4-0 win of Antigua, Palau lost to Bahamas 1.5-2.5, while Vanuatu lost by the same score to Niger.  

2024 Chess Olympiad - Day 9

 Round 8 of the 2024 Chess Olympiad saw India extend their lead with a crushing 3.5-0.5 over Iran. They are now 2 points ahead of host Hungary, and defending champions Uzbekistan. A round 9 win over Uzbekistan is probably enough to secure 1st place (even with 2 rounds to go), but a loss would throw the event wide open.

The Australian team had another tough day at the office, drawing 2-2 with Ireland. All 4 games were drawn, with the Irish team defending a couple of difficult endings. New Zealand lost to Canada 1-3, but would be pleased with draws on the bottom 2 boards. 

Having thrown away a couple of good positions the round before, the PNG benefited from their opponents doing the same in Round 8. Having started with a forfeit loss on Board 4 to Mauritania (due to illness), Stuart Fancy won on the top board, but board 2 looked drawn, and board 3 looked losing. But both opponents over-pressed, and suddenly it was 1.5/2 and a 2.5/1.5 win for PNG. 

Vanuatu drew 2-2 against St Vincents to pick up another match point. Guam lost 0.5 - 3.5 to Saudi Arabia, Fiji lost 1-3 to Jersey and Palau narrowly went down to Lesotho 1.5-2.5