Tie-breaks. But which one?

By all reports the 2017 Australian Open was an excellently organised event, which was enjoyed by all who played. However it appears there was an issue at the end of the event that seems to have left a sour taste in the mouths of the organiser.
Although there are no playoffs for the Australian Open (often due to the quick departure of overseas players), and all players who finish first are considered joint winners, there is still a trophy that is awarded to the winner on tie-break. When publicising the tournament the organisers specified a tie-break and this was used to determine the winner of the trophy. Having then announced the winner and awarded the trophy the organisers were then told by the Australian Chess Federation that they used the wrong tie-break and the wrong player was given the trophy.
The organisers defended themselves that they had attempted to find the correct regulations (that had disappeared from the ACF website) but were unsuccessful in doing so. They also pointed out that there was an official ACF representative whose job was to check the tournament regulations, and he raised no objection to the proposed method.
Now while it may just seem to be an unfortunate breakdown in communication, this type of situation has occurred in events I have organised on behalf of the ACF at least twice before. An almost identical situation occurred in the 1995 Australian Juniors where attempts to get any information from the ACF about tie-break and playoff procedures were met with absolute silence. Consequently we did the same as the 2017 Aus Open organisers and used what we thought were valid and sensible tie-breaks, only to be told almost instantly the event finished that we had got it wrong.
Then in the 2007 Australian Open attempts to get information on how to implement regulations on player approvals were met with a confused response, although myself and Stephen Mugford were still subsequently sanctioned for not implementing these regulations correctly. (NB This is not just an ACF problem. FIDE are very good at insisting you follow every regulation they specify, while simply picking, choosing or even ignoring regulations they need to follow).
Unfortunately  what happened this year is the rule rather than the exception, and it does have further consequences. The ACT Chess Association has been asked by the ACF in recent years to organise national events on their behalf. And while we have a good track record of running good events in Canberra (O2C Doeberl Cup, the very successful 2015 Australian Junior etc) I (as ACTCA Vice-President) always strongly recommend against anything to do with the ACF, because of their record of failure in this area. So while good organisers are hard to find, the ACF really need to improve their own procedures, otherwise they will have no one left willing to organise anything in the future.

Street Chess in Yorkshire?

Given the weather in Leeds at the moment (snow is forecast), holding Street Chess in Yorkshire may see a few chess players coming down with exposure. But that is not to say that something similar isn't worth trying. The Wakentake Cafe in Leeds hosted a semi-casual Rapidplay this evening, which had a number of similarities to the Canberra version.
The event was a 14 player tournament with 5 rounds of G/10m. The top seed was probably around 2300 but otherwise it was a group of players who would have been similar in strength to the Street Chess regulars. Between rounds we had enough time to grab drinks (beer or soft drink were both popular), and the tournament host, Peter Mason, arranged for food to be laid on before we started.
The tournament it self was smoothly run by IM Richard Palliser. Although there were prizes, it was more about having fun than the final scores. But the players gave it a big thumbs up, so much so that they are now looking at holding more events at the venue.
As it was a rapid, I did get to wheel out some of my more dodgy openings. Probably my best win was in the following game where I got to play the Traxler. My opponent captured on f7 with the bishop but I was able to use the open f file to my advantage. A coupe of pieces had to be sacrificed along the way, but this led to the mate I was looking for.


Other,An - Press,Shaun [C57]
Wakentake Blitz, 12.01.2017

Australian Open ends in 4 way tie

Australian FM Yi Liu finished of an excellent 2017 Australian Open by defeating Round 10 leader IM Temur Kuybokarov (UZE) to join him in first place. This result also allowed IM Kanan Izzat (AZE) and GM Max Illingworth to also finish in equal first on 8.5/11. For Liu, a former Australian Junior Champion, this was not only his best career result so far, but also earned him an IM norm.
Kuybokarov had lead for most of the event after starting with 5 wins, but was unable to defend a rook and pawn ending a pawn down against Liu.
Max Illingworth had a welcome return to form, beating fellow GM Moulthun Ly in the final game. Both players showed signs of nerves towards the end, but one final mistake by Ly allowed Illingworth's attack to break through.
Of the players from the nations capital, IM Andrew Brown finished on 8/11 (beating IM Stephen Solomon in the final round), IM Junta Ikeda on 7.5, Michael Kethro 6.5, Dillon Hathiramani 6 and Albert Winkelman 6.
The Minor (Under 1600) event was won by Oliver McCarthy with a very impressive 10.5/11.


Illingworth,Max - Ly,Moulthun [A92]
2017 Australian Open, 12.01.2017

Visiting the local

Another significant between UK chess and Australian chess is at the club level. League chess is still a big thing here, and in Yorkshire, some clubs exist only to play league chess. In Australia inter-club (as it is called) is much rarer, and only happens in the very big cities (and does not happen in Canberra at all).
It was at one of these clubs, Ilkely, that I visited tonight. The 1st team was playing a league match, while the seconds were playing away at Bradford. Fortunately there were a few other member sin attendance, so I had the pleasure of playing some friendly rapid (3 wins and a loss if you must know). In the meantime the home team was trying to save the match as they were 1 down with 1 to play.
But I didn't see the end of the match, because I partook in another English chess tradition. I headed of to the pub for a pint or two, only catching up with various results as other players wandered in. A perfect civilised way to spend the evening.

News from down under

Being away from Australia at this time means I am only catching the chess news from that part of the world in bits and pieces. There are a couple of significant events running at the moment, in Australia and New Zealand.
FM Scott Wastney is the new New Zealand champion, winning his last round game against Bill Forster. Wastney actually lost is first round game before 'submarining' through the field, surfacing when it counted. As it was an Open event, the overall tournament was won by IM Ari Dale, with 7.5/9.
The Australian Open is also running in Brisbane at the moment, and IM Temur Kuybokarov and GM Ahmed Adly lead the 11 round event with 7.5/9. GM Max Illingworth is the best placed Australian, showing a welcome return to form with 7/9.

4NCL Harrogate Congress

The 4NCL Harrogate Congress saw mixed results from the team of Press & Jones. The members of the PNG Olympiad Team (FM's Press and Jones) could not crack it for a win in their respective events, and both finished on 2/5, with 3 draws, 1 loss and a half point bye.
On the other hand Harry Press (playing under the Australian flag) finished on 4/5 (3 wins, 1 draw and a half point bye), to feature in a five way tie for first in the Under 2000 event. At one stage a win would have been enough for outright first, but it was not to be, as he opponent found the right defences to various threats.
Given the small number of rounds it was hardly surprising that the Open also finished in a 4 way tie for first. FM Tim Wall and Stephen Prior won their final round games, while John Jarmony and Stephen Jones agreed to a very short final round draw. The Minor had a single winner with Patrick Sartain winning his final game, while his closest rivals drew.
Full results (plus an increasing number of games) can be found at chess-results.com


David,Ivan - Press,Harry [A47]
4NCL Harrogate Major (5), 08.01.2017

Things are fine up north

To most Australians, England is quite small. Having finished up at Hastings' Harry and I have now travelled up to Yorkshire and are playing in the 4NCL Congress in Harrogate. It took us around 4 and a half hours by train, was a pleasant journey, and we hardly noticed the travel. Based on conversations with locals however, this seems to be a significant journey, even if the distance is probably the equivalent of Canberra to Dubbo.
The Congress is a 5 round FIDE rated swiss divided into 3 sections. It seems to be a small-ish congress (typical of tournament you can find in the UK on most weekends) but still has attracted 133 players. The equivalent kind of event in Australia might have a field of between 40 and 60 players for comparison. The schedule is 1-2-2, starting on Friday night, although a significant number of half point byes were taken for that round. The only odd thing about the tournament is that each tournament has the same value of prizes, so winning the Minor will earn you as much as winning the Open (which happens a lot in the UK I am told).
Finally, the venue is fantastic. It is being held in the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, which for fans of detective fiction is notable as the hotel where Agatha Christie was found after going missing in 1926. Comfortable playing rooms, good lighting, and very posh amenities.