2009 Queenstown Chess Classic

The 2009 Queenstown Chess Classic was held in Queenstown, New Zealand from the 15th-24th of January. It was a 10-round FIDE-rated event. The venue was the Millennium Hotel. Top seed in the event was Israeli GM Victor Mikhalevski (2608).

Here are the final results
1st IM David Smerdon (2463) 8/10
2nd-7th GMs Eduardas Rozentalis (2590), Victor Mikhalevski, Klaus Bischoff (2545), Gawain Jones (2540), Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (2580), Leif Erlend Johannessen (2539) all on 7.5/10

Igor Goldenberg (2398, 6.5/10) secured his final norm and raised his rating above 2400 which makes him an IM. In addition, IM norms were scored by Sam Chow (2267, 7/10), Domagoj Dragicevic (2205, 7/10) and Andrew Brown (1987, 6.5/10).

Click here to view the final standings of the Queenstown Chess Classic 2009.

2009 Queenstown Chess Classic Midway Report

The 2009 Queenstown Chess Classic, held in New Zealand from the 15th-24th of January, is currently under way. After 6 rounds, Lithuanian GM Eduardas Rozentalis (2590) is leading with 5.5/6. Closely following are German GM Klaus Bischoff (2545), Aussie IM David Smerdon (2463), and local Victorian player Domagoj Dragicevic (2205), all on 5/6.

2008 Australian Masters

This event has somehow slipped my mind, but as an old saying says, "better late than sorry". Please don't quote me on that because I may not always abide by the saying. This was a 9-round FIDE- and ACF-rated round robin event. The top seed was Stephen Solomon (2470).

Here are the final results
1st FM Vladimir Smirnov (2338) 7/9
2nd IM Guy West (2342) 6.5/9
3rd IM Stephen Solomon 6/9

2009 Australian Open Chess Championships

The 2009 Australian Open Chess Championships will be held at the Manly-Warringah Rugby Leagues Club in Sydney. It will be played from the 2nd-11th of January (shorter than the Juniors! Although one could argue that adults are 'busier'). This tournament is a an 11-Round FIDE-rated event. According to the website, the top seed was Mark Chapman (2402).

This tournament also encompasses an Under 1600 Tournament and the Australian Open Lightning Championship.

Here are the final results of Australian Open:
1st-2nd IM Aleksandar Wohl (2342), IM George Xie (2397) on 9/11
3rd-5th IM Mark Chapman (2402), Eugene Schön (2115), Jason Hu (2182) on 8/11

The Under 1600 Tournament was won by Calvin Bennet (1567) and Anton Smirnov (1440).

The Australian Open Lightning Championship was shared by CM Max Illingworth and FM Jesse Sales.

The results of the Australian Open and its sister events can be found at the official 2009 Australian Open Chess Championships website.

For information on the Australian Junior Chess Championships, see below.

2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships

The 2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships will be held at Saint Ignatius' College in Athelstone, Adelaide. The competition goes from the 2nd-13th of January and the Under 18 Open Division will be FIDE rated (for some reason). The top seeds were Yi Yuan and Yita Choong, both rated 2058.

This tournament also encompasses the Australian Junior Rapid tournament, the Australian Juniors Lightning Championship (which I won U16 last year!) and a Problem Solving competition.

Here are the final results:
1st-2nd Cedric Antolis (1889) and Yi Yuan on 10/11; Cedric won the U18 title by winning the play-off 1.5-0.5
3rd Andrew Brown (2017) on 8.5/11

The 2009 Australian Juniors Rapidplay was won by Gene Nakauchi, on 6/6.

The 2009 Australian Juniors Lightning Championship was shared by Cedric Antolis and Andrew Brown, both on 9/11.

The Problem Solving competition was won by Yita Choong with a full score.

2009 Australian Open Chess Championships Midway Report

After 7 rounds in the 2009 Australian Open Chess Championships, Aleksander Wohl (2342) is leading the tournament with 6.5/7. He is a full point ahead of the closest competitors, who consist of Mark Chapman (2402), Vladimir Smirnov (2372), Jesse Sales (2340), Eugene Schön (2115) and Tony Davis (1967) on 5.5/7. Wohl is in a comfortable position, however a loss (but not a draw) would allow many players to catch up to him. There are 4 rounds to go.

(Continuation of report, after round 8) I must also mention the performance of Eugene Schön. In Round 6 Eugene defeated IM George Xie (2397) and today he defeated Vladimir Smirnov (2372) to move to 6.5/8, equal with Jesse Noel Sales and behind only IM Aleksander Wohl who sits on 7/8.

In the next round Eugene is paired against Jesse Noel Sales [ACF Rating: 2304, FIDE Rating: 2304]. Jesse is from the Philippines and the chess-mad Filipino press has been making regular reports on his progress: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sports/01/06/09/sales-tries-rebound-aussie-chess-tourney. I'm sure that tomorrow they will be reporting on how he goes against Eugene!

Eugene has so far achieved a FIDE performance rating of 2487, and a true ACF performance rating of 2485!

See below for information on the 2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships.

2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships Midway Report

After 6 rounds in the 2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships, Cedric Antolis (1889) from Victoria is leading the tournament outright with 5.5/6. He is trailed by the 1st and 3rd seeds (whom he both beat), Yi Yuan (2058) and Gene Nakauchi (2039), both on 5/6. There are 5 rounds to go and since Cedric has played most of the top seeds, he is in a good position to take the tournament. However, this is very difficult to say as any draw or loss would allow other players to catch up.

In the Australian Juniors Under 18 Girls, Sally Yu (1645) is leading outright with 4/4, a full point ahead of the closest players. Again, a loss (but not a draw) would allow other players to catch up.

2009 Australian Open Chess Championships Begin

The 2009 Australian Open Chess Championships will be held at the Manly-Warringah Rugby Leagues Club in Sydney. It will be played from the 2nd-11th of January (shorter than the Juniors! Although one could argue that adults are 'busier'). This tournament is a an 11-Round FIDE-rated event. According to the website, the top seed is Mark Chapman (2402).

This tournament also encompasses an Under 1600 Tournament and the Australian Open Lightning Championship.

I may report halfway through this tournament and will have a full report at the end of the tournament.

For information on the Australian Junior Chess Championships, see below.

2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships Begin

The 2009 Lidums Australian Junior Chess Championships will be held at Saint Ignatius' College in Athelstone, Adelaide. The competition goes from the 2nd-13th of January and the Under 18 Open Division will be FIDE rated (for some reason). According to the list of entries, the top seeds are Yi Yuan and Yita Choong, both rated 2058, although it will be clearer when the 1st round is completed (if a higher-rated player turns up at the last moment).

This tournament also encompasses the Australian Juniors Rapid tournament, the Australian Juniors Lightning Championship (which I won U16 last year!) and a Problem Solving competition.

I may report halfway through this tournament and will have a full report at the end of the tournament.