Out and Proud

The 2011 British Championship ended in a blaze of publicity, with the issue of the ECF Presidents T-Shirt being te main topic of discussion. ECF President CJ de Mooi was planning to present the tournament prizes in a shirt that read "Some people are gay. Get over it!". The tournament arbiter, Lara Barnes, queried the appropriateness of the shirt and the fun started from there.
I've shared a few beers with de Mooi (at the 2010 Olympiad) and he was a nice, and passionate guy. Both about chess, and about gay rights. The debate about this issue seems to be either (a) he shouldn't be promoting another agenda at an ECF event or (b) he should have worn a suit and tie to present the prizes (and of course the position he should be allowed to wear what he likes)
As it is a developing story, I'll give you two links. The first is to the proper news story (in The Observer) while the second is to the debate about the issue (at the ECF forum)

Pawns, who needs pawns

I'm currently in Melbourne, helping present a FIDE Arbiters Seminar at the Box Hill Chess Club. Alongside the seminar is the Oceania Seniors Championship (as reported yesterday). I've been able to watch a bit of the action, although not much, as the seminar is pretty full on from 9:30 am to 6pm each day.
However I did catch the final stages of the game between Bruce Gloistein and Paul Dunn. I'd previously played Bruce in the 2011 Oceania Zonal, and found him quite a tough opponent. In the game below, Dunn seemed to have a complete disdain for his queen side pawns, and indeed gifted 2 of them to his opponent. But to prove that the kingside is still where it is at, a capture on h2 to open the  h file, and a bishop sitting on g3, signalled trouble for Gloistein. Possibly not understanding the idea behind Rf6, Gloistein retreated his bishop to c1, but once the Black queen moved to f7 it was pretty much all over.

Gloistein,Bruce - Dunn,Paul [D04]
Oceania Seniors Sydney, 06.08.2011

2011 Oceania Seniors

A good field of 30 players has fronted up for the 2011 Oceania Seniors Championship. The tournament favourites are IM Mirko Rujevic, former Australian Champion Doug Hamilton, and current Oceania Chess Confederation President FM Brian Jones.All three players managed to win their first round, although Phil Viner was upset by Nigel Cooper, and Frank Hutchings was beaten by Celestino Fulgenzi.
The event, held for the first time in Australia is being supported by a grant from the Asian Chess Confederation, and is being hosted by the Canterbury-Box Hill Chess Club. A link to the tournament website is here, while live games from the top boards can be found here. (although not right now!)

Diving Chess?

Apparently the 19th Mind Sports Olympiad sees the addition of a new chess variant, Diving Chess. It is played in a pool, with a floating board, and you are required to stay under water for the duration of your move (by which I assume you think while under water, and surface to play your move). Much like Chess Boxing, it combines both mental and physical aspects, and like Chess Boxing, may result in brain damage.
The press release covering both Diving Chess and the rest of the Mind Sports Olympiad can be found at this link.

Help yourself to this novelty

I recently completed the following CC game, in which my opponent hit me with quite a strong novelty. Up until move 10 we had been following some previous games (not that many actually), an I assumed that after 10 ... Nb4 he would have to deal with threat of Nc2+, when I would recapture in d5. Instead he calmly played 11.dxc6 and after 11. ... Nc2+ 12.Kf1 Nxa1 13.Nd4! revealed the point behind the sacrifice. I decided to castle, but White has an advantage no matter what Black does. Unfortunately for my opponent he overstepped the time limit (7 days per move) soon after, and I flagged him. But if you play the English Opening, feel free to use this novelty if the opportunity arises (not that it is mine to give away).

1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 e5 3.Nc3 c6 4.d4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Na6 6.Bg2 Bc5 7.Qe5+ Qe7 8.Qxe7+ Bxe7 9.Nf3 d5 10.cxd5 Nb4 (D) 
11.dxc6 Nc2+ 12.Kf1 Nxa1 13.Nd4 0-0 14.cxb7 Bxb7 15.Bxb7 Rab8 0-1(T)

2011 World Junior Championships

The 2011 World Junior Championships have started today in Chennai, India. Representing Australia are FM Moulthun Ly, FM Junta Ikeda, Fedja Zulfic, WIM Emma Guo and Savithri Narenthren. The website is http://www.wjcc2011.org/ although I'm having difficulty seeing the list of participants, while the live game coverage is showing the usual first round problems. Hopefully these problems will be fixed shortly and I can bring some up to date results.

2011 British Championship - replacement late night TV

The 2011 British Championship has been running for the last week, but I haven't been paying much attention until now. This year the organisers managed to attract both Michael Adams and Nigel Short, adding an extra level of strength above the usual top band of GM's.
At the first break in the tournament, Adams, Short and Jones share the lead with 5/6. In tonight's round Short plays Jones, while Adams plays Simon Williams. The top games are all being broadcast live at http://britishchess2011.com/live_games.htm, and will prove a sufficient replacement for Tour de France coverage!
Alongside the Championship are a number of other events, including the Seniors. Playing in this event are well known arbiter Stewart Reuban, as well as former ANU Chess Club member Pete Morriss.
The tournament home page is http://britishchess2011.com/ and it contains a huge amount of information.