Day 6 of the 2018 Australian Championship was a rest day for the main events, which might have been a good thing given the extremely high temperatures in Sydney (over 40 Celsius for most of the day). Instead of slow chess, 102 players turned up to play the 2018 Australian Blitz Championship instead.
The tournament was an 11 round swiss, played with a 3m+2s time control. For the first time, the new FIDE Blitz rules were in effect, with the most significant change being that the first illegal move no longer loses the game (an additional minute being given to the opponent instead).
English FM Brandon Clarke was almost unstoppable in winning the event, scoring 10.5/11, dropping only half a point to IM James Morris. He played 1 GM and 5 IM's and had a performance rating over 2700. GM Moulthun Ly finished 2nd on 9.5/11, with IM Kanan Izzat third on 9/11. Ly's second place was enough to earn the title of Australian Blitz Champion though, as Clarke was ineligible for the title.
Despite the new rule changes, the tournament ran very smoothly. The two 'floor' arbiters (myself and Nick Cooper) were able to handle the various illegal move claims quite quickly (usually 2 or 3 a round), while Bob Keast did a great job of collecting results. A lot of the credit for the smooth running of the tournament should go to the players themselves, as there no disputes, and no reasons to trouble the appeals committee.
Monday, 8 January 2018
Sunday, 7 January 2018
2018 Australian Championship - Day 5
The final round before the rest day saw players on the top 2 boards taking a pre-rest rest. Both games were drawn pretty quickly leaving GM Max Illingworth (5.5) in the lead over GM Anton Smirnov (5.0) by half a point. GM Moulthun Ly and IM Bobby Cheng (both 4.5) were joined in third place by IM Ari Dale, who beat Bahman Kargosha on board 3.
With 5 rounds the play the eventual winner will almost certainly come from this group of 5 players. Illingworth has a slight edge over Smirnov at this stage, both by virtue of his half point lead, and the energy required to win his games. On the other hand Illingworth has yet to play Cheng and Ly, while Smirnov only has Cheng to face in the leading group.
In the Reseves, Pieter Bierkens and George Lester share the lead with 5.5/6. There Round 7 clash will be keenly watched by the large chasing group, with 12 players within a point of the lead.
David Lovejoy finished outright first in the 7 round Classic, after beating John Redgrave in the final round. However most interest was in the board 2 game between Daniel Melamed and Peter Wilson, where Wilson (as Black) marched his king to a5 just out of the opening, leaving the rest of his army behind. A very tough game ensued, with Melamed eventually winning a tricky RNvQ ending to secure second place.
Today (7th January) is a rest day for the Championships and Reserves. The Australian Chess Federation is holding their national conference, with the Australian Blitz Championship starting at 2 pm.
With 5 rounds the play the eventual winner will almost certainly come from this group of 5 players. Illingworth has a slight edge over Smirnov at this stage, both by virtue of his half point lead, and the energy required to win his games. On the other hand Illingworth has yet to play Cheng and Ly, while Smirnov only has Cheng to face in the leading group.
In the Reseves, Pieter Bierkens and George Lester share the lead with 5.5/6. There Round 7 clash will be keenly watched by the large chasing group, with 12 players within a point of the lead.
David Lovejoy finished outright first in the 7 round Classic, after beating John Redgrave in the final round. However most interest was in the board 2 game between Daniel Melamed and Peter Wilson, where Wilson (as Black) marched his king to a5 just out of the opening, leaving the rest of his army behind. A very tough game ensued, with Melamed eventually winning a tricky RNvQ ending to secure second place.
Today (7th January) is a rest day for the Championships and Reserves. The Australian Chess Federation is holding their national conference, with the Australian Blitz Championship starting at 2 pm.
Friday, 5 January 2018
2018 Australian Championship - Day 4
GM Max Illingworth continues to lead the 2018 Australian Championship after beating IM Ari Dale, scoring his 5th consecutive win. Under pressure from Illingworth, Dale risked everything with a speculative rook sacrifice which was ultimately unsuccessful. Close behind Illingworth is GM Anton Smirov who found IM James Morris' king a juicy target. Tomorrow the two leaders face off in a game that will have a significant say in the final outcome of the tournament.
Further down there were a few tragedies, with FM Tim Reilly unable to avoid a stalemate trick from Sam Asaka, despite being a piece up in the ending, while IM Gary Lane found almost the only move that gave GM Moulthun Ly a forced mate in an otherwise drawn ending.
The Resrves sees 4 players now sharing the lead, with Vishal Baht, Tom Slater Jones, George Lester and Pieter Berkins all on 4.5/5. Bhat and Berkins meet on the top board, with Lester and Slater-Jones playing on board 2.
The final round of the Classic is being played tomorrow, with David Lovejoy leading on 5.5/6. He plays John Redgrave who is 5 points, while Daniel Malamed and Peter Wilson (also on 5) play on the second board. Obviously a win for Lovejoy makes him outright first, while any other result could lead to a tie at the top.
Russell,Paul - Shi,Eric [B01]
2018 Australian reserves (5), 05.01.2018
Further down there were a few tragedies, with FM Tim Reilly unable to avoid a stalemate trick from Sam Asaka, despite being a piece up in the ending, while IM Gary Lane found almost the only move that gave GM Moulthun Ly a forced mate in an otherwise drawn ending.
The Resrves sees 4 players now sharing the lead, with Vishal Baht, Tom Slater Jones, George Lester and Pieter Berkins all on 4.5/5. Bhat and Berkins meet on the top board, with Lester and Slater-Jones playing on board 2.
The final round of the Classic is being played tomorrow, with David Lovejoy leading on 5.5/6. He plays John Redgrave who is 5 points, while Daniel Malamed and Peter Wilson (also on 5) play on the second board. Obviously a win for Lovejoy makes him outright first, while any other result could lead to a tie at the top.
Russell,Paul - Shi,Eric [B01]
2018 Australian reserves (5), 05.01.2018
Thursday, 4 January 2018
2018 Australian Championship - Day 3
GM Max Illingworth is the outright leader in the 2018 Australian Championship, after 4 rounds of play. Today he beat IM George Xie in a tactical game to move half a point of closest rivals, GM Anton Smirnov and IM Ari Dale, who drew their top board clash.
There were a number of tough games further down, with wins to GM Moulthun Ly, IM James Morris, IM Bobby Cheng and GM Gene Nakauchi moving them to a share of 4th place with 3/4. Round 5 will see Dale play Illingworth on board 1, with Morris against Smirnov on board 2.
CM Tom Slater-Jones and CM Vishal Baht share the lead in the Reserves tournament with 4/4. They play on the top board in round 5. Just behind on 3.5 is a group of 4 players, including Tom's brother Henry.
With 2 rounds to play in the Classic, David Lovejoy and Kevin Shen share the lead with 4.5/5. They play in tomorrows 6th round, with the winner looking good to take out first place. A draw would even throw the event wide open, as there are a further 6 players tied for third on 4/5.
The start time for all events tomorrow is 1pm. The top 8 boards of the championship are being broadcast via Chess24, while the top 2 boards of the Reserves can be seen at http://auschess.org.au/acf/live-games/online-dgt-room-e/
Illingworth,Max (2494) - Xie,George Wendi (2369) [A45]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (4.2), 04.01.2018
There were a number of tough games further down, with wins to GM Moulthun Ly, IM James Morris, IM Bobby Cheng and GM Gene Nakauchi moving them to a share of 4th place with 3/4. Round 5 will see Dale play Illingworth on board 1, with Morris against Smirnov on board 2.
CM Tom Slater-Jones and CM Vishal Baht share the lead in the Reserves tournament with 4/4. They play on the top board in round 5. Just behind on 3.5 is a group of 4 players, including Tom's brother Henry.
With 2 rounds to play in the Classic, David Lovejoy and Kevin Shen share the lead with 4.5/5. They play in tomorrows 6th round, with the winner looking good to take out first place. A draw would even throw the event wide open, as there are a further 6 players tied for third on 4/5.
The start time for all events tomorrow is 1pm. The top 8 boards of the championship are being broadcast via Chess24, while the top 2 boards of the Reserves can be seen at http://auschess.org.au/acf/live-games/online-dgt-room-e/
Illingworth,Max (2494) - Xie,George Wendi (2369) [A45]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney (4.2), 04.01.2018
Wednesday, 3 January 2018
2018 Australian Chess Championship - Day 2
Today saw the first, and only double round day of the 2018 Australian Chess Championship. Double round days can be quite difficult to manage for players, as the temptation to 'conserve' energy can lead to some missed opportunities. It turned out not to be the case in most games however, as both the morning and afternoon rounds saw tough battles across all the boards.
At the end of three round three players share the lead on 3/3. GM Anton Smirnov beat IM Andrew Brown in the morning round, and followed it up by beating GM Moulthun Ly in a hard fought game in round 3. GM Max Illingworth had a good win over IM James Morris to also reach 3, while IM Ari Dale bounced back to form with wins over IM Bobby Cheng and IM Kanan Izzat.
Tomorrows round sees Smirnov play Dale on board 1, while Illingworth is up against the returning IM George Xie.
The Reserves event is still proving to be a very tough event, with the top 9 seeds all dropping at least half a point over their first 3 games. Tom Slater-Jones is the highest seeded player on 3, joined by another 5 players on the same score.
The 7 round Classic tournament also has a multiple tie for first, with 5 players on 3/3. Tomorrow is another double round day for this tournament, so the potential winners of this tournament should be a little more apparent after another 2 games. Unlike the Reserves, the top seeds are doing a lot better, although I would not rule out a surprise winner.
At the end of three round three players share the lead on 3/3. GM Anton Smirnov beat IM Andrew Brown in the morning round, and followed it up by beating GM Moulthun Ly in a hard fought game in round 3. GM Max Illingworth had a good win over IM James Morris to also reach 3, while IM Ari Dale bounced back to form with wins over IM Bobby Cheng and IM Kanan Izzat.
Tomorrows round sees Smirnov play Dale on board 1, while Illingworth is up against the returning IM George Xie.
The Reserves event is still proving to be a very tough event, with the top 9 seeds all dropping at least half a point over their first 3 games. Tom Slater-Jones is the highest seeded player on 3, joined by another 5 players on the same score.
The 7 round Classic tournament also has a multiple tie for first, with 5 players on 3/3. Tomorrow is another double round day for this tournament, so the potential winners of this tournament should be a little more apparent after another 2 games. Unlike the Reserves, the top seeds are doing a lot better, although I would not rule out a surprise winner.
Tuesday, 2 January 2018
2018 Australian Championships - Day 1
The 2018 Australian Championship began today, with most of the top seeds surviving a testing first round. The 34 player event saw a couple of upsets, with Arthur Huyhn beating IM Stephen Solomon, and FM Kevin O'Chee scoring a nice win over IM Gary Lane. On the other hand top seed GM Anton Smirnov had a fairly straight forward win over FM Michael Kethro, and IM Bobby Cheng rebuffed an ambitious attack by FM Zachary Loh.
The Reserves tournament attracted a field of 98 players, and the top seeds found it especially tough. Kevin Sheldrick drew on board 1 to Nicholas Johnson, while seeds 3 (WCM Phan Nguyen) and 4 (Nathan Hibberd) both went down.
The Classic saw a field of 65 players, with the top half scoring heavily. One exception was Sophie Davis defeating Patrick Beahan, a rating difference of 848 points.
Tomorrow is a double round day for all 3 events. Round two starts at 10:15am, with round 3 at 3:30 pm. The top 8 boards are being broadcast at Chess24, with the non broadcast games being available after the round is finished.
Huynh,Arthur (2042) - Solomon,Stephen J (2365) [D67]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney AUS (1.9), 02.01.2018
The Reserves tournament attracted a field of 98 players, and the top seeds found it especially tough. Kevin Sheldrick drew on board 1 to Nicholas Johnson, while seeds 3 (WCM Phan Nguyen) and 4 (Nathan Hibberd) both went down.
The Classic saw a field of 65 players, with the top half scoring heavily. One exception was Sophie Davis defeating Patrick Beahan, a rating difference of 848 points.
Tomorrow is a double round day for all 3 events. Round two starts at 10:15am, with round 3 at 3:30 pm. The top 8 boards are being broadcast at Chess24, with the non broadcast games being available after the round is finished.
Huynh,Arthur (2042) - Solomon,Stephen J (2365) [D67]
2018 Australian Championship Sydney AUS (1.9), 02.01.2018
A quick update from Sydney
The start of the 2018 Australian Chess Championships is only a few hours away. The tournament set up is complete, and all that is needed is for the players to turn up!
The top 8 boards of the Championship are being broadcast on Chess24. The direct link is https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/australian-championship-2018#live
There will also be embedded pages from the tournament website, although this will be set up later.
The top 8 boards of the Championship are being broadcast on Chess24. The direct link is https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/australian-championship-2018#live
There will also be embedded pages from the tournament website, although this will be set up later.
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