Going on Hiatus

The Australian Chess News blog will be going on hiatus for at least the next few months so that I can focus on other endeavours. In the meantime, take a look at the following websites.

Chess club/coaching service run by my long-time chess coach FM Geoff Saw:
Dark Horse Chess Club

Australian blogs:
Checkmate Ends The Game
Chessexpress
David Cordover's Blog
Dozy's Inferno
GM Smerdon's Blog
Gorka's Coffee House
Lousy At Chess
The Closet Grandmaster (possibly the most renowned)

Australian forums:
Chess Chat
OzChess

Other websites by me:
GeniusProphecy Chess - My instructional chess website

GeniusProphecy Chess Blog - The blog that gives updates on GeniusProphecy Chess

2010 CV Interschool Championships

The 2010 Chess Victoria Interschool Championships was a 7-round tournament held at Balwyn High School on Monday the 11th of October. The tournament was organised by IM Leonid Sandler and the winner would be recognised as the Victorian State Champions. At the top, it was a close battle between Scotch College and Balwyn High School, arguably the two strongest secondary schools in Australia (both of which are incidentally in Victoria). Before the penultimate round, Balwyn was leading by 2 points. Going into the last round, Scotch had overtaken Balwyn and was half a point ahead. Ironically, the tournament concluded with both schools on an equal amount of points. Due to disputes over tie-break rules, a decision was made to ask the junior federation whether both schools could attend the national championships.

Here are the final results
1st/2nd Balwyn High School {FM Bobby Cheng (2227), Samuel Dalton (1996), Jonathan Tang (1645) and Zhong Hao Gan (1483)}, Scotch College {Eugene Schön (2160), Zhigen Lin (2200), Nicholas Liu (1643) and Richard Owen}
3rd Glen Waverley Secondary College

Here are the individual results
1st/2nd Samuel Dalton, Zhigen Lin with 6.5/7
3rd Allen Yu (1631), Eugene Schön, Jonathan Tang (1645), Yilun Ding (1941), Deniz Tuncer (1487) with 6/7

ACF Ratings

2010 ANU Open

...late by a few months but better late than never. The ANU Chess Open was played from the 24th-25th of July at the Canberra School of Art. The top seed was GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2585).

Here are the final results

1st IM Andras Toth (2332) with 6/7
2nd-3rd GM Zong-Yuan Zhao, FM Junta Ikeda with 5.5/7

Click here to see the final standings for the 2010 ANU Open.

2010 Victorian Championship

The 2010 Victorian Championship was a tournament running from the 15th of July to the 28th of August. It was an 11 round robin with top seed being IM Igor Goldenberg (2386). Ratings are using the FIDE system.

1st-2nd Christopher Wallis (2237), Dusan Stojic (2238) with 8.5/9
3rd-4th IM Mirko Rujevic (2259), IM Igor Goldenberg with 8/9

Click here for the final standings for the 2010 Victorian Championship.

Coming Australian Grand Prix Events

The following events are coming soon. These events are part of the 2010 Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix, a large chess competition with prizes. All strong events are normally part of the grand prix. The column on the far right denotes what grand prix class the tournament is.

		ANU Open	ACT	Canberra	24/07/10	25/07/10	4
		ANU U1600	ACT	Canberra	24/07/10	25/07/10	4
		Hobart Weekender	TAS	Hobart	14/08/10	15/08/10	1
		Bundaberg Weekender	QLD	Bundaberg	21/08/10	22/08/10	2
		The Best in the West	VIC	Melbourne	21/08/10	22/08/10	1
		Blayney Open	NSW	Blayney	11/09/10	12/09/10	2
		Nell Van De Graaff Classic	QLD	Gold Coast	18/09/10	19/09/10	3
		Ranges Spring Break	VIC	Upwey	18/09/10	19/09/10	1
		Ryde-Eastwood Open	NSW	Sydney	02/10/10	04/10/10	4
		Labour Day Weekend	SA	Adelaide	02/10/10	03/10/10	1
		Guy West Classic	VIC	Melbourne	02/10/10	03/10/10	1
		Wlletton Open	WA	Perth	02/10/10	03/10/10	1
		Wendy Terry Memorial	QLD	Brisbane	09/10/10	10/10/10	1
		Gosford Open	NSW	Gosford	16/10/10	17/10/10	1
		Burnie Shines	TAS	Burnie	23/10/10	24/10/10	1
		Melbourne Cup Weekender	VIC	Melbourne	29/10/10	02/11/10	1
		Fisher's Ghost Open	NSW	Sydney	06/11/10	07/11/10	3
		Vikings Weekender	ACT	Canberra	20/11/10	21/11/10	1
		Christmas Open	WA	Perth	27/11/10	28/11/10	1
		Gold Coast International	QLD	Surfers Paradise	26/12/10	30/01/10	3
		Canterbury Summer Swiss	VIC	Melbourne	27/12/10	29/12/10	2

Click here to see the full list of this year's Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix events.

2010 Lidums Checkmate Open

The 2010 Lidums Checkmate Open was played from the 3rd-4th of July at 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide, SA 5000. The top seed was GM David Smerdon (2511).

Here are the final results:

1st-2nd GM David Smerdon, GM Darryl Johansen (2360) with 5.5/7
3rd-4th FM Erik Teichmann (2321), IM James Morris (2213) with 5/7

Click here for the final crosstable to the 2010 Lidums Checkmate Open.

2010 Gold Coast Open

The 2010 Gold Coast Open was played from the 26th-27th of June at the Gardiner Chess Centre. The top seed was GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2585).

Here are the final results:
1st GM Zong-Yuan Zhao on 6.5/7
2nd-5th GM-elect George Xie (2475), Moulthun Ly (2283), FM Gene Nakauchi (2009), IM James Morris (2213) with 5/7

The U1600 was won by Mark Stokes (1550) with 6/7.

The U1000 was won by Travis Baker (901) with 7/7.

Click here for the final crosstables to the 2010 Gold Coast Open.

2010 NSW Open

I apologise for forgetting about this tournament, along with the Gold Coast Open.

The 2010 NSW Open was played from 12th-14th of June in Parramatta NSW. The top seed was GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2583).

Here are the final results:
1st GM Zong-Yuan Zhao with 6/7
2nd-3rd IM Gary Lane (2367), GM-elect George Xie (2482) with 5.5/7

There was a four-way tie in the U1600 between Willis Lo, Alana Chibnall, Mark Stokes and Matthew Bennett, all with 6/7.

Click here for the final crosstable to the 2010 NSW Open.

2010 Victorian Junior Chess Championship

The 2010 Victorian Junior Chess Championship was held at Box Hill Chess Club (Melbourne) from the 26th of June to the 1st of July. There were two sections, the under 12 and the under 18. The top seed was Laurence Matheson (2009).

Here are the final results to the under 18:
1st Laurence Matheson (2009) with 7.5/9, and winning the title of Victorian Junior Champion
2nd Jason Tang (1992) with 6.5/9
3rd-8th Jonathan Tang (1456), Thomas Feng (1711), Kyle Gibson (1285), Michael Addamo (1589), Karl Zelesco (1604), Nicholas Liu (1612) with 6/9

The under 12 was won by Joshua Devarajh (1280) and Karl Zelesco with 6/7. Joshua Devarajh won the under 12 title on countback.

Click here to see the final crosstable for the 2010 Victorian Junior Chess Championship.

Click here to see the final crosstable for the 2010 Under 12 Victorian Junior Chess Championship.

Click here to see the 2010 Victorian Junior title winners.

2010 Box Hill Chess Club Championship

The 2010 Box Hill Chess Club Championship was played from the 23rd of April to the 25th of June. The top seed was rising junior FM Bobby Cheng (2239).

Here are the final results:

1st Christopher Wallis (2113) with 8.5/9
2nd Eugene Schön (2059) with 8/9
3rd David Hacche (2041) with 6.5/9 (Incomplete, there are likely to be other players who are =3rd, but the results have not been published yet.)

Click here to see the final crosstable for the 2010 Box Hill Chess Club Championship. (Results will soon be uploaded.)

2010 Victorian Open

The 2010 Victorian Open Chess Championships was held at Box Hill Chess Club (Melbourne) over the Queen's Birthday long weekend June 12th-14th. There was a strong turnout of 89 players. That top seed was Grandmaster David Smerdon (2511).

Here are the final results:
1st-2nd FM Bobby Cheng (2280), FM Erik Teichmann (2321)
3rd-4th GM David Smerdon, Christopher Wallis (2130)

Full standings for the 2010 Victorian Open Chess Championships will soon be uploaded.

Anand Retains World Championship

Vishy Anand retained his World Championship title by defeating challenger Veselin Topalov 6.5-5.5.

See links below for details:

Anand Wins World Championship
2010 World Chess Championship (Introduction)

2010 MCC ANZAC Day Weekender

The 2010 Melbourne Chess Club ANZAC Day Weekender was played from the 24th-26th of April. There was a strong turnout of 45 players, with top seed being GM David Smerdon (2530).

Here are the final results:
1st-2nd GM David Smerdon, FM Bobby Cheng (2239) with 6/7
3rd-4th IM James Morris (2236), FM Erik Teichmann (2325) with 5.5/7

Click here to see the final standings to the 2010 Melbourne Chess Club ANZAC Day Weekender.

Coming Australian Grand Prix Events

The following events are coming soon. These events are part of the 2010 Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix, a large chess competition with prizes. All strong events are normally part of the grand prix. The column on the far right denotes what grand prix class the tournament is.

		ANZAC Day Weekender	VIC	Melbourne	24/04/10	26/04/10	2
		45th Peninsula Open	QLD	Brisbane	01/05/10	03/05/10	1
		Suncoast Open	QLD	Coolum	22/05/10	23/05/10	1
		Foundation Day Open	WA	Perth	06/06/10	07/06/10	4
		NSW Open	NSW	Sydney	12/06/10	14/06/10	5
		NSW U1600	NSW	Sydney	12/06/10	14/06/10	5
		Vic Open	VIC	Melbourne	12/06/10	14/06/10	4
		Queen's Birthday Weekened	SA	Adelaide	12/06/10	13/06/10	1
		Tasmanian Open	TAS	Burnie	12/06/10	14/06/10	1
		Gold Coast Open	QLD	Gold Coast	26/06/10	27/06/10	5
		Gold Coast U1600	QLD	Gold Coast	26/06/10	27/06/10	5
		Fretag Checkmate	SA	Adelaide	03/07/10	04/07/10	5
		Fretag U1600 Challenge	SA	Adelaide	03/07/10	04/07/10	5
		ANU Open	ACT	Canberra	24/07/10	25/07/10	4
		ANU U1600	ACT	Canberra	24/07/10	25/07/10	4

Click here to see the full list of this year's Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix events.

2010 Sydney International Open

Leading on from the Doeberl Cup, the 2010 Sydney International Open attracted a strong field of 78 players (in the main event). It was held from the 6th-11th of April. The top seed was Chinese Grandmaster Li Chao (2613).

Here are the final results:

1st-3rd GMs Dejan Bojkov (2505), Gawain Jones (2556) and Zong-Yuan Zhao (2592) with 7/9

The Sydney International Challengers was won by Alexander Stahnke (1918) with 8/9.

Click here to see the final crosstable for the 2010 Sydney International Open and the Sydney International Challengers.

2010 Doeberl Cup

The O2C 48th Doeberl Cup (2010) was a very prestigious tournament, attracting strong players (including many grandmasters) from all around the world. It was played from the 1st-4th of April in the Hellenic Club in Australia's Capital Canberra.This year, the top seed was Chinese Grandmaster Li Chao (2613).

Here are the final results

1st GM Li Chao with 7.5/9
2nd IM George Xie (2470) with 7/9 (and a GM norm)
3rd-6th GM Vladimir Malaniuk (2582), GM Magesh Chandran Panchanathan (2543), GM David Smerdon (2530) and IM Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury (2429, who will be a GM next rating period) with 6.5/7

Samuel Dalton (1925) won the U2000 Major Section with a whirlwind performance and 6.5/7.

The U1600 Minor Section was taken by Michael Addamo (1378) with a perfect 7/7.

Click here for the results to all sections of the 2010 Doeberl Cup.

Next tournament to be reported on: 2010 Sydney International Open

44th Ballarat Begonia Open

The 2010 44th Ballarat Begonia Open was held over March 6th-8th. It was a FIDE-rated Category 3 Grand Prix Event. It was a record turnout of 123 players.

Here are the final results (with ACF ratings):

1st FM Erik Teichmann (2283) on 6.5/7
2nd-4th IM Stephen Solomon (2371), IM Leonid Sandler (2219), FM Bobby Cheng (2239) on 6/7

Click here to see the final standings to the 44th Ballarat Begonia Open.

ACF March 2010 Ratings

The new Australian Chess Federation ratings for March 2010 have been released!

My own rating increased about 50 points to 2250.

Click here to see the ACF March 2010 ratings.

Top players:

2606!! 11 NSW Zhao, Zong-Yuan [GM]
2510!! 0 ACT Smerdon, David C [GM]
2463!! 18 NSW Xie, George [IM]
2415! 11 NSW Wohl, Aleksander H [IM]
2412!! 19 VIC Johansen, Darryl K [GM]

Coming Australian Grand Prix Events

The following events are coming soon. These events are part of the 2010 Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix, a large chess competition with prizes. All strong events are normally part of the grand prix. The column on the far right denotes what grand prix class the tournament is.

		Begonia Open	VIC	Ballarat	06/03/10	08/03/10	3
		Tasmanian Championships	TAS	Hobart	06/03/10	08/03/10	1
		10th Anniversary Dubbo RSL Open	NSW	Dubbo	20/03/10	21/03/10	3
		Doeberl Cup Premier	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Doeberl Cup Major	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Doeberl Cup Minor	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Queensland Open	QLD	Toowoomba	02/04/10	05/04/10	4
		Gufeld Cup	WA	Perth	04/04/10	05/04/10	1
		Sydney International Open	NSW	Parramatta	07/04/10	11/04/10	5
		Sydney International Challengers	NSW	Parramatta	07/04/10	11/04/10	5
		ANZAC Day Weekender	VIC	Melbourne	24/04/10	26/04/10	1
		45th Peninsula Open	QLD	Brisbane	01/05/10	03/05/10	1
		Suncoast Open	QLD	Bokarina	22/05/10	23/05/10	1
		Foundation Day Open	WA	Perth	06/06/10	07/06/10	4
		NSW Open	NSW	Sydney	12/06/10	14/06/10	5
		NSW U1600	NSW	Sydney	12/06/10	14/06/10	5
		Vic Open	VIC	Melbourne	12/06/10	14/06/10	4

Click here to see the full list of this year's Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix events.

Next tournament to be reported on: 44th 2010 Ballarat Begonia Open

Coming Australian Grand Prix Events

The following are events that are coming soon. These events are part of the 2010 Yulgilbar-Think Big Grand Prix, a large chess competition with prizes (all strong events are normally part of the grand prix). The column on the far right denotes what Grand Prix class the tournament is.

		Ranges Summer Sizzler	VIC	Upwey	06/02/10	07/02/10	1
		Newcastle Open	NSW	Newcastle	13/02/10	14/02/10	1
		Launceston Cup	TAS	Launceston	13/02/10	14/02/10	1
		Kingsley Open	WA	Perth	20/02/10	21/02/10	1
		Begonia Open	VIC	Ballarat	06/03/10	08/03/10	3
		Tasmanian Championships	TAS	Hobart	06/03/10	08/03/10	1
		10th Anniversary Dubbo RSL Open	NSW	Dubbo	20/03/10	21/03/10	3
		Doeberl Cup Premier	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Doeberl Cup Major	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Doeberl Cup Minor	ACT	Canberra	01/04/10	05/04/10	5
		Queensland Open	QLD	Toowoomba	02/04/10	05/04/10	3
		Gufeld Cup	WA	Perth	04/04/10	05/04/10	1
		Sydney International Open	NSW	Parramatta	07/04/10	11/04/10	5
		Sydney International Challengers	NSW	Parramatta	07/04/10	11/04/10	5

2009/2010 Australian Junior Chess Championships

The 2009/2010 Australian Junior Chess Championships was played from January 14th-25th, 2010 at The Hutchins School, Sandy Bay, Hobart. The turnout was reasonably strong, with 47 players playing in the U14-U18 tournament. The top seed was IM-elect James Morris (2196).

Here are the final results:

1st FM-elect Bobby Cheng (2193) with 10/11
2nd Andrew Brown (1991) with 9/11
3rd-5th Yi Yuan (2128), IM-elect James Morris and Yilun Ding (1934) with 7.5/11

Click here for the final standings and crosstable to the 2009/2010 Australian Junior Chess Championships.

The Australian Junior Girls Chess Championships was won by Abbie Kanagarajah (1221, higher countback) and Leteisha Simmonds (1323) with 8/11.

Tournament results can be found at the 2009/2010 Australian Junior Chess Championships website.

The champions list after playoffs:

U18 FM-elect Bobby Cheng
U16 IM-elect James Morris
U14 Alex Stahnke
U12 Andrew Pan
U10 Peter Wallmueller
U8 Ethan Lim
GU18 Leteisha Simmonds
GU16 Abbie Kanagarajah
GU14 Megan Setiabudi
GU12 Savithri Narenthran
GU10 Kashish Christian
GU8 Yuvini Perera

2009/2010 Australian Junior Lightining Chess Championships

The 2009/2010 Australian Junior Lightning Chess Championships was played on the 22nd of January, 2010. This was quite a strong tournament with top seed being IM-elect James Morris (2196).

Here are the final results:
1st-3rd FM-elect Bobby Cheng (2193), Eugene Schön (2107), Yi Yuan (2128) on 8/11

In a play-off for the title, Eugene Schön beat FM-elect Bobby Cheng 1.5-0.5, making him the new Australian Junior Lightning Chess Champion.

The U12 division was won by Anton Smirnov (1713).

The adult division was won by GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2568).

Click here for the final standings to the 2009/2010 Australian Junior Lightining Chess Championships.

2009/2010 Australian Chess Championships

The 2009/2010 Australian Chess Championships was held at "norths" (North Sydney Leagues Club) in Cammeray NSW from the 2nd-13th of January. The top seed was GM Zong-Yuan Zhao (2572).

Here are the final results:
1st GM Zong-Yuan Zhao on 10/11, becomes Australian Chess Champion
2nd IM George Xie (2448) on 9/11 (I expect this performance was good enough for a GM norm)
3rd GM Gawain Jones (2561) on 7.5/11

Click here for the final crosstable to the 2009/2010 Australian Chess Championships.

The Major was won by David Garner (higher countback, 2178) and Jason Hu (2113) with 9/11.

The Minor was won by Mark Stokes (1845) with 9/11.

The Lightning was won by GM Gawain Jones (2537) with 9.5/11.

Click here for the results to all the sections of the 2009/2010 Australian Chess Championships.

2009/2010 Australian Lightning Chess Championship

The 2009/2010 Australian Lightning Chess Championship was played on the 5th of January, 2010 at "norths" (North Sydney Leagues Club) in Cammeray NSW as part of the Australian Championship. The 88-player turnout was a surprisingly strong field and the top seed was GM Gawain Jones (2537).

Here are the final results:

1st GM Gawain Jones with 9.5/11
2nd-3rd Moulthun Ly (2338), Junta Ikeda (2336) with 9/11

As GM Jones is still associated with England according to the ACF, there was a playoff between Moulthun Ly and Junta Ikeda. Junta defeated Moulthun 2-0 and became the new Australian Lightning Champion.

Click here to see the crosstable to the 2009/2010 Australian Lightning Chess Championship.

Happy New Year! (and other chess information)

Click here for a new chess calendar for the 2010 Yulgilbar-Think Big Australian Chess Grand Prix.

The Austalian Chess Championships will begin on Saturday, 2nd of January. Click here for the official website to the 2010 Australian Chess Championships.