It looks like I have been remiss in not reporting on the ACT U12 Junior Championship which took place over the weekend as well. The results are here. And ChessExpress has a short story on it here.
It is interesting to note that top seed, Ethan Derwent, lost to both the eventual winner, Zhang YiJun as well as Michael Kethro. YiJun posted a picket-fence result, 9/9. Amazing! A few years back, on ChessChat, YiJun has been mentioned as a potential strong player. It looks like that prediction is coming true. {The rest of the thread on ChessChat is interesting as well, sort of, at least the first two pages ...]
Congrats to all.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Country Chess Style (?) and the Italian U16 Chess Championship
We have heard of an individual chess player's playing style, eg, Mikhail Tal's attacking style of play, Petrosian's boa constrictor style, Karpov's slow manoeuvring style, Leko's drawish style. At the recent Zonal, we read of comments by GM Ian Rogers of GM Zhao ZongYuan's positional play, GM David Smerdon's "couldn't care less about pawn structure" style. It seems style can be quite useful especially if one is looking for a chess hero/idol to pattern one's play after.
One of my favourite is Alexy Shirov with his attacking style but I am not sure whether I play like that (or am capable of playing like that is more to the point!!!). We also know that attacking styles like this is fun to watch but has its considerable downside — the likelihood of losing is increased dramatically. I am also fascinated by the Modern/Robatsch/The Rat Defence and of course the games of GM Duncan Suttles are exemplary. But I have read elsewhere that he relied on his extraordinary talent to survive the middlegame. Again I am very sure I cannot play like that.
Them, in junior context, we also have the oft-repeated advice that juniors do not and should not have a playing style until much older/stronger.
But what about a country/national style of play? Is there one? One parent remarked to me recently that one benefit of juniors participating in overseas events is the opportunity to observe the variety of styles of play and approaches to chess among all the different countries and nationalities.
Historically, there are books and articles written about the Soviet School of Chess and in the not distant past, there was a book written about the Chinese School of Chess (if anyone has a copy of this book, I would like to borrow it......).
I don't know the answer but to further our research, here is a story about the Italian U16 Championship happening right now half-way around the world (benefit of the internet revolution!). The story is found on Chessdom. The results are here. The live games are here.
[note that the link given on Chessdom is wrong because it has one "c" toomany.]
Play through the games and let me know whether they do play differently, will ya?
One of my favourite is Alexy Shirov with his attacking style but I am not sure whether I play like that (or am capable of playing like that is more to the point!!!). We also know that attacking styles like this is fun to watch but has its considerable downside — the likelihood of losing is increased dramatically. I am also fascinated by the Modern/Robatsch/The Rat Defence and of course the games of GM Duncan Suttles are exemplary. But I have read elsewhere that he relied on his extraordinary talent to survive the middlegame. Again I am very sure I cannot play like that.
Them, in junior context, we also have the oft-repeated advice that juniors do not and should not have a playing style until much older/stronger.
But what about a country/national style of play? Is there one? One parent remarked to me recently that one benefit of juniors participating in overseas events is the opportunity to observe the variety of styles of play and approaches to chess among all the different countries and nationalities.
Historically, there are books and articles written about the Soviet School of Chess and in the not distant past, there was a book written about the Chinese School of Chess (if anyone has a copy of this book, I would like to borrow it......).
I don't know the answer but to further our research, here is a story about the Italian U16 Championship happening right now half-way around the world (benefit of the internet revolution!). The story is found on Chessdom. The results are here. The live games are here.
[note that the link given on Chessdom is wrong because it has one "c" toomany.]
Play through the games and let me know whether they do play differently, will ya?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Late developers in Chess?
With the 2009 Oceania Zonal and the success of juniors James Morris and Bobby Cheng, it seems the "chess prodigy" "greatest talents" hype machine has started cranking again. I am reminded of Dominic Lawson's introductory words in his book, The Inner Game, (on the Kasparov-Short World Championship match) where he likens Nigel Short to another Nigel, Nigel Mansell from F1 racing, and calling them both, geniuses.
What about the rest? This post is written to encourage the rest of the juniors that success is also within reach and there are those who are "late developers". Someone on ChessChat has started a thread on this.
However, of more relevance is this interview with Victorian IM Guy West on ChessChat:
[Extract}
I consider this the best advice ever given by a strong player to juniors.
More ......
For the rest, see the link to ChessChat.
What about the rest? This post is written to encourage the rest of the juniors that success is also within reach and there are those who are "late developers". Someone on ChessChat has started a thread on this.
However, of more relevance is this interview with Victorian IM Guy West on ChessChat:
[Extract}
Who, according to your opinion is Australia's most promising young player?
I would not presume to make such a pronouncement. Have you noticed my
nickname Gattaca on Chesschat? That is a reference to the film Gattaca,
which explores the idea that it's not the person with the best pedigree or
all the natural advantages that necessarily succeeds, but the one with the
fire in their belly and the never say die determination. People jump on the
bandwagon of certain young players, whilst others are unfashionable at any
given time. I watch with some bemusement the excessive promotion (no fault
of their own) of particular juniors at any given time, knowing that in many
cases it will ultimately backfire. I could name 20 hugely hyped Australian
juniors from the past who were supposed to be the next big thing and a
certainty to be Grandmasters by now, none of whom achieved such status.
Of course it seems inevitable that very talented young players like Anton
Smirnov, Bobby Cheng, James Morris, and others will make a big impact in
Australian chess in years to come. But you can never tell. Reaching the top
of your environment in chess requires more than just talent and a coterie of
vocal supporters. A lot of the personality requirements to excel only become
evident over time and people forget that dealing with the distractions of
the teen years and the disappointments, frustrations and pressures of high
level competition and the expectations of others is part of the deal. People
talented at chess are often talented in other areas too, so a deep love of
the game can be as important as talent.
Whilst players like Rogers, Hjorth and Smerdon learned chess young and made every
post a winner, other players like Johansen, Wohl and myself came late to the game
and for a long time played second fiddle to other more
'credentialled' juniors being pushed at the time. This probably didn't hurt
us though, as we had to be self motivators and create our own self belief.
Players like Andrew Brown who fly under the radar can turn out to be just as
formidable as the more fashionable juniors who get most of the limelight.
Having said that, the quality of play of some of the micro juniors like
Anton Smirnov, Sean Gu, Bobby Cheng and Justin Tan is amazing compared to back in my day.
Tan's rate of improvement has been meteoric and all these
kids have extraordinary levels of concentration and gravitas for their age.
But always remember the quote from the leader of the street gang "The
Wongs", from the B grade movie "The Warriors". It used to be my favourite!
"The Wongs ... wait and see."
And let's finish with an advice that you would give to the junior players
who admire your style and try to play like you!
I doubt there are any! But if there are, stick at it. Always search for
truth and precision. Love the game. Chess is worth the effort you put in. It
helps you in other areas of life and exposes you to beauty that most will
never get to appreciate. For inspiration I'd recommend all the old footage
of Bobby Fischer's 1972 match (on You Tube) and also the film Gattaca, just
to remind yourself to chase your dream and not let anyone put limitations on
you. I especially speak to juniors who are unheralded and not widely
regarded yet as future champions. Prove them wrong! Self belief is a
powerful asset.
I consider this the best advice ever given by a strong player to juniors.
More ......
When did you first realise that Chess was going to play a major part in your life?
That question reminds me of a wonderful chess quote (of which I have quite a
few!)
"To some of us it comes as a blinding flash, to others it comes as a
creeping doubt that changes slowly to certainty, but to most of us at some
time or another comes the revelation that we will never be World Champion
at chess!"
To answer your question, probably when I got selected for the World Student
Olympiad in Mexico and the World Junior in Austria at age 18, my first
overseas trip purely to play chess. I was a shocking patzer then, but very
keen. After being destroyed in the World Junior, which featured Seirawan,
Jusupov and the winner Dolmatov amongst others, I stayed on in Europe for a
couple of months, playing chess until my meagre financial resources ran out
and I had to start living exclusively on bags of roast chestnuts at a cost
equal to 3 Australian cents per bag. (Luckily the Australian embassy in
Belgrade lent me $50 to survive the last few days to my flight.)
But you don't couch it in those terms at that age. you have no real
conception of 'the rest of your life', or even the next 10 years. (Why else
would kids take up smoking?) I just knew I loved playing chess and wanted
to do it as much as possible, I never really thought about its place in
the context of my ongoing life.
For the rest, see the link to ChessChat.
Victorian Junior U12 Championship
The Victorian Junior U12 Championship was held over the weekend and Ari Dale is the Vic U12 champion with Joshua Devarajh the U10 champion. Ari and Joshua were tied first with Kyle Gibson and Anurag Sannidhanam on 6/7 but Ari won on tiebreaks. The results are here.
This is what Grant Szuveges, Melbourne Chess Club President, posted on ChessChat about Ari:
The U14, U16 and U18 begin today at 1 pm and continue until Thurs 2nd July.
This is what Grant Szuveges, Melbourne Chess Club President, posted on ChessChat about Ari:
I got a phone call this evening with some great news - Melbourne Chess Club junior Ari Dale is now the Victorian Under 12 Chess Champion!
I first met Ari and his family approximately 6 months ago and was impressed with Ari's approach to his chess. Like new IM James Morris, Ari does not tolerate mediocraty [sic] and displays great passion and a fierce will to win.
Ari is coached by Nick Speck on Saturday mornings at the Melbourne Chess Club and he plays in the MCC Saturday afternoon allegro most weeks, where he consistantly [sic] scores 50% (often more) against fields containing strong adults. (See MCC Allegro thread for details). Ari has taken points off seriously strong adults and is seen as a dangerous threat by the players who tend to win these tournaments. I enjoy watching Ari's games as he plays solidly yet aggressively and has a balanced, mature approach to his chess. He has already reached a level which many players have not reached despite playing the game for 30 years.
As well as being a good chess player, Ari displays general leadership, and helps the younger MCC kids with their chess between rounds. He also takes an interest in the running of the tournament (Swiss pairings, rating prizes etc).
Many MCC players have mentioned to me that they are impressed with Ari's chess, but just as many have also told me that they are equally impressed with his manners, attitude and sportsmanship.
Congratulations Ari. You have made your family and your chess club extremely proud, and we (the Melbourne Chess Club) are confident that your improvement will continue, and that this first success will be one of many throughout your chess career. We wish you the absolute best for your chess career and are confident that you will get the absolute most out of yourself in both your chess and life in general.
The U14, U16 and U18 begin today at 1 pm and continue until Thurs 2nd July.
2009 Gold Coast Open_Final results
The results of the 2009 Gold Coast Open has now been posted on ChessChat. There is a report by chief arbiter, IA Dr Charles Zworestine here.
It looks like Max Illingworth (leading in the penultimate round) missed out as he lost to GM Gawain Jones in the last round. He is joint 2nd with IM Wang PuChen (NZ), GM David Smerdon, IM Stephen Solomon (all on 5.5/7), not bad company for a 16 year old.
Eugene Schon and newly-minted IM-elect James Morris are the next best juniors with 5/7 (joint 6th-10th). Moulthun Ly (showing signs of chess-rustiness??), Andrew Brown, Kevin Tan and Yuan Yi all ended the tournament with 4/7. Others who ended their campaign with 50% are Alex Stahnke, Ben Encel, and Jonas Muller. There are still many other juniors who competed in the Open, too many to mention.
Note that there was a U1600 as well as a U1000 tournament with lots of juniors participating, too numerous for me to mention.
It looks like Max Illingworth (leading in the penultimate round) missed out as he lost to GM Gawain Jones in the last round. He is joint 2nd with IM Wang PuChen (NZ), GM David Smerdon, IM Stephen Solomon (all on 5.5/7), not bad company for a 16 year old.
Eugene Schon and newly-minted IM-elect James Morris are the next best juniors with 5/7 (joint 6th-10th). Moulthun Ly (showing signs of chess-rustiness??), Andrew Brown, Kevin Tan and Yuan Yi all ended the tournament with 4/7. Others who ended their campaign with 50% are Alex Stahnke, Ben Encel, and Jonas Muller. There are still many other juniors who competed in the Open, too many to mention.
Note that there was a U1600 as well as a U1000 tournament with lots of juniors participating, too numerous for me to mention.
2009 Ocenia Zonal_(FM) Bobby Cheng's Games
Here are young (Victorian? or Kiwi?) Bobby Cheng's games from the second half of the 2009 Zonal. As has been commented elsewhere, Bobby had a better second half where he had the chance to play higher rated players. Two wins bookended with two draw for a 3/4. Amazing! (Bobby would be a serious candidate in our Search for the next Australian GM (that is if he has now changed federation ...(???))
Rd 6
Rd 7
Rd 8
Rd 9
Rd 6
Rd 7
Rd 8
Rd 9
2009 Ocenia Zonal_(IM) James Morris' Games
As promised, here are IM-elect James Morris' two outstanding games form the recent 2009 Oceania Zonal:
Rd 4
Rd 5
And here are other games which he won:
Rd 3
Rd 8
Here is James' response to messages of different kinds on ChessChat and a very measured matured magnanimous response, I may add:
Rd 4
Rd 5
And here are other games which he won:
Rd 3
Rd 8
Here is James' response to messages of different kinds on ChessChat and a very measured matured magnanimous response, I may add:
True, true...one result does not make a career. But it bloody well makes you feel good!
And Tomek Rej and Igor Bjelobrk, at the moment, would probably deserve the title more than I do in the long run, I admit. Even Bobby Cheng got over a horrible start to play very well at the end (I particularly liked his win over Garbett).
But I think I have found the key to myself and my chess! Of course, there are more things to work on before I become IM strength, but this is a major confidence booster, and I feel I have the ability to take on the coming challenges as they come.
To be honest, I'm not sure about the greatest talent part, but thanks for the support JAK! At least I know I have a fan
Your points are taken, Michael, and I do realise that this is only 1 tourney, but it was a pretty big one for me and my chess.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A new junior IM (15 years old) and he is James Morris ......
By this time, everyone should have heard the news (unless you have been living at the back of the beyond for the last week or so) that Australia has a new International Master in chess aged 15 years old. He is Victorian James Morris. Now we have a serious contender for the search for Australia's next GM.
Without putting a jinx on him, James is definitely following in the tracks of history. Our two latest GMs, David Smerdon and Zhao ZongYuan became IMs at the age of 14 at the Zonals as well. So the question is whether James can persevere over the next 5-6 years and get the GM title.
Another junior who has done very well at the Zonal is Bobby Cheng (12 years old). Bobby ended up with a FM title. At the moment there is some uncertainty whether he is still affiliated with New Zealand or has he switched federation to Australia.
I will put up James' and Bobby's games when I get the time. It seems that James' games against IM Gary Lane and Moulthun Ly were especially good.
Without putting a jinx on him, James is definitely following in the tracks of history. Our two latest GMs, David Smerdon and Zhao ZongYuan became IMs at the age of 14 at the Zonals as well. So the question is whether James can persevere over the next 5-6 years and get the GM title.
Another junior who has done very well at the Zonal is Bobby Cheng (12 years old). Bobby ended up with a FM title. At the moment there is some uncertainty whether he is still affiliated with New Zealand or has he switched federation to Australia.
I will put up James' and Bobby's games when I get the time. It seems that James' games against IM Gary Lane and Moulthun Ly were especially good.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
How to become a stronger player......
Women's International Master Carolina Blanco (from Venezuela) discusses what it takes to become a stronger player (2006 video) (note: this was posted on Chesscafe).
Her talent was spotted at the age of 7 and went into chess camp training for 6 months. She started competing international tournaments at 8 years of age.
She says "Discipline is the best!" A chess player must learn to study by herself/himself in order to improve.
She also mentions 1) Study first followed by 2) practice; later, a combination of study and practice is crucial.
3) Prepare one month before an important tournament but rest 4 days before the tournament start.
4) During the tournament, must be able to set aside losses.
5) Favourite book: Kotov, Play Like A Grandmaster and Think Like A Grandmaster.
On the topic of Chess and girls, she says organise more girls only chess tournaments and publicise them.
Watch the video and be inspired:
Her talent was spotted at the age of 7 and went into chess camp training for 6 months. She started competing international tournaments at 8 years of age.
She says "Discipline is the best!" A chess player must learn to study by herself/himself in order to improve.
She also mentions 1) Study first followed by 2) practice; later, a combination of study and practice is crucial.
3) Prepare one month before an important tournament but rest 4 days before the tournament start.
4) During the tournament, must be able to set aside losses.
5) Favourite book: Kotov, Play Like A Grandmaster and Think Like A Grandmaster.
On the topic of Chess and girls, she says organise more girls only chess tournaments and publicise them.
Watch the video and be inspired:
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The Chess Club II ......
Not too sure about this one ...... There is a mistake right at the
beginning ......
Spot it? Black moved first???
beginning ......
Spot it? Black moved first???
The Chess Club ......
Thanks to GM Simon Williams, found this on his website. The Chess Club as you never imagine it before (or perhaps you have ......)
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Past Polish visitor now GM
A past Polish visitor to these distant shores, (then IM) Dariusz SWIERCZ, is now an International Grandmaster. Congrats!
Dariusz participated in the 2008 SIO as well as the City of Sydney Rapid. Perhaps we may see him back on these shores again in the near future since I understand his sister lives here.
Dariusz participated in the 2008 SIO as well as the City of Sydney Rapid. Perhaps we may see him back on these shores again in the near future since I understand his sister lives here.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Recent Post Deleted
Some eagle-eyed readers may have noticed a blog posted a few days ago which has now disappeared. I have decided to take it down, reluctantly, I hasten to add. Let me explain.
The post was about how higher-rated adult players when faced with playing a certain junior (who shall now remain nameless!) frequently play below par. I cited a friend of mine as observing this phenomenon as well. I call this the "Cute-Factor". I then provided a game from the recent SIO to illustrate this.
After posting this seemingly innocuous blog, the father posted a comment in the comment box requesting I stop writing about his child. He then commented why I do not write about my own son. (I actually do but I honestly do not think my son's current achievements warrant much comment as yet. Just wait a few more years and when he becomes an IM, I will certainly write about him. :) :) :) Then you cannot stop me, no sirreee!) I was totally gobsmacked and after a bit of a think replied in the comment box. I refer the parent to my early blogs stating the objectives of the blog as exemplified in the title: Searching for Magnus Carlsen/Hou YiFan. It is not a blog about a chess parent and a junior chess player and their experience in the chess world. It is meant to stir up some discussion about junior chess in Australia. It is about giving junior chess a higher profile. It is about bringing out into the open some of the common problems and difficulties affecting juniors and chess parents. It is also, hopefully, to provide a site for resources and information on junior chess in Australia.
Now, it may be that (on reflection) I may have been a bit too enthusiastic in my reporting of junior results. It may be that some juniors and chess parents are uncomfortable with my "highlighting" the achievements of their child. If so, please send me a personal email (wengnian.siow8@gmail.com). My aim to is promote some healthy competition amongst juniors right across Australia. Some competition here and now will certainly do no harm to future endeavours overseas, right? It will only serve to toughen up the kids against the absolutely horrendous overseas competition. The blog also aim to promote the achievements of the really good juniors. After all, this blog is all about searching for the next Australian GM, is it not?
Feedback and comments from regular (anonymous!) readers welcome.
The post was about how higher-rated adult players when faced with playing a certain junior (who shall now remain nameless!) frequently play below par. I cited a friend of mine as observing this phenomenon as well. I call this the "Cute-Factor". I then provided a game from the recent SIO to illustrate this.
After posting this seemingly innocuous blog, the father posted a comment in the comment box requesting I stop writing about his child. He then commented why I do not write about my own son. (I actually do but I honestly do not think my son's current achievements warrant much comment as yet. Just wait a few more years and when he becomes an IM, I will certainly write about him. :) :) :) Then you cannot stop me, no sirreee!) I was totally gobsmacked and after a bit of a think replied in the comment box. I refer the parent to my early blogs stating the objectives of the blog as exemplified in the title: Searching for Magnus Carlsen/Hou YiFan. It is not a blog about a chess parent and a junior chess player and their experience in the chess world. It is meant to stir up some discussion about junior chess in Australia. It is about giving junior chess a higher profile. It is about bringing out into the open some of the common problems and difficulties affecting juniors and chess parents. It is also, hopefully, to provide a site for resources and information on junior chess in Australia.
Now, it may be that (on reflection) I may have been a bit too enthusiastic in my reporting of junior results. It may be that some juniors and chess parents are uncomfortable with my "highlighting" the achievements of their child. If so, please send me a personal email (wengnian.siow8@gmail.com). My aim to is promote some healthy competition amongst juniors right across Australia. Some competition here and now will certainly do no harm to future endeavours overseas, right? It will only serve to toughen up the kids against the absolutely horrendous overseas competition. The blog also aim to promote the achievements of the really good juniors. After all, this blog is all about searching for the next Australian GM, is it not?
Feedback and comments from regular (anonymous!) readers welcome.
Oceania Zonal 2009
The latest breaking news is FM James Morris defeating IM Gary Lane in Rd 5. GM Ian Rogers has commentary on the game (be quick before it disappears) and GM Rogers commented that James' PR is 2600!!!
I haven't blog with updates because the website and resources are pretty good.
I haven't blog with updates because the website and resources are pretty good.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Oceania Zonal 2009_Rd 1_Results
Results for Open can be found here.
[Note that the draw I previous posted has been changed.]
Live games/replay can be found here at Monroi.
GM Ian Rogers commentary on some games can be found here.
Some outstanding results:
Bd 24 Stahnke, Alexander QLD 1795 vs Norris, Damian QLD 2142 1-0
Bd 26 Ford, Daniel QLD 1792 vs Cheng, Bobby VIC 2103 0.5-0.5 (this game require some analysis to see if Daniel actually missed a win)
Round 2 at AEST 6 pm.
Live blogging at The ClosetGM.
[Note that the draw I previous posted has been changed.]
Live games/replay can be found here at Monroi.
GM Ian Rogers commentary on some games can be found here.
Some outstanding results:
Bd 24 Stahnke, Alexander QLD 1795 vs Norris, Damian QLD 2142 1-0
Bd 26 Ford, Daniel QLD 1792 vs Cheng, Bobby VIC 2103 0.5-0.5 (this game require some analysis to see if Daniel actually missed a win)
Round 2 at AEST 6 pm.
Live blogging at The ClosetGM.
U10 Juniors_Watch out for these two US boys!!
Reading the USCF Chess Life Online, I came across this story about two 10 year olds, Luke Harmon-Vellotti (USCF rating 2008) and Kayden Troff (USCF rating 2013).
Luke's story can be read here and his games with annotations by adult opponent (USCF rated 2200) here. What is really interesting is a brief description of Luke's daily routine. He is homeschooled and therefore am able to devote up to 6 hours a day to chess.
Kayden's story can be read here and here. He also has his own website, here. Again, he is homeschooled and the training regime is eerily very similar.
So, Aussie juniors, watch out for these two at the World Youth!
Additionally check out this list of the top 100 10 year olds in the US here. Frightening!!!
Luke's story can be read here and his games with annotations by adult opponent (USCF rated 2200) here. What is really interesting is a brief description of Luke's daily routine. He is homeschooled and therefore am able to devote up to 6 hours a day to chess.
Kayden's story can be read here and here. He also has his own website, here. Again, he is homeschooled and the training regime is eerily very similar.
So, Aussie juniors, watch out for these two at the World Youth!
Additionally check out this list of the top 100 10 year olds in the US here. Frightening!!!
Friday, June 19, 2009
2009 Sydney International Open_Games
Here is the giant-killing feat #1:
Here is the giant-killing feat #2:
Here is where experienced FM miscalculated badly (look at the position after 26...Qxf3):
Here is the KID Bayonet Attack thriller:
Here is the stranger than fiction game #1 where White played 54 Nd7+ and Black resigned thinking Black's Q + K are forked but ...ILLEGAL MOVE!!!:
Here is where young Smirnov lost in the Doeberl to Richard Voon in an apparently drawn position:
And here is where young Anton exacted revenge:
Here is the giant-killing feat #2:
Here is where experienced FM miscalculated badly (look at the position after 26...Qxf3):
Here is the KID Bayonet Attack thriller:
Here is the stranger than fiction game #1 where White played 54 Nd7+ and Black resigned thinking Black's Q + K are forked but ...ILLEGAL MOVE!!!:
Here is where young Smirnov lost in the Doeberl to Richard Voon in an apparently drawn position:
And here is where young Anton exacted revenge:
2009 Sydney International Open
The 3rd SIO started one day after the Doeberl giving players a very brief breather. On the non-junior side of things, the question was whether IM George Xie will be able to achieve a GM norm after missing narrowly in the Doeberl (by half a-point). Similarly, FM Tomek Rej missed out on an IM norm by the same margin. Plenty of junior participated and plenty of GMs and IMs for the giant-killing feats.
And Rd 1 did not disappoint with a big upset: ACT junior Yuan Yi (Fide Rating 2010)(with black pieces) surprised IM Stephen Solomon (2455), surely a giant-killing feat of epic proportions. Yuan Yi ended the tournament with 5.5/9 together with FM James Morris and Eugene Schon, the best placed juniors in the 2009 SIO. Yuan Yi also matched his wits with WGM Ghate Swathi (2330) and FM Vladimir Smirnov (2365) but lost both encounters.
It was certainly not IM Solomon's tournament as he proceeded to lose to another junior, FM James Morris (who had White pieces) in Rd 4. James (with White) also managed a draw against Indian WGM Eesha Karavade (2359) in Rd 6. He also played against IM Gary Lane (2371) and IM K Rathnakaran (2427) but lost both games.
Eugene Schon did not achieve any giant-killing feat but he did have the opportunity to pit himself against IM Deep Sengupta (2466) (the winner of 2009 Doeberl Premier) and IM Kore Akshayraj (2404) and FM Igor Bjelobrk (2332). He lost the first two but drew the third.
Bobby Cheng (2103) and Andrew Brown (2085) both finished with 5/9. Bobby drew with two IMs in Rds 2 and 3, Gary Lane and Stephen Solomon (!) respectively but lost to GM Shojaat Ghane (2415) in Rd 4. However, I think Bobby's highlight must be defeating FM Smirnov in Rd 6. This is what The ClosetGM blogged:
You can see The ClosetGM's analysis here.
Bobby was very close to an IM norm and if he had been successful would have to be one of the youngest in Australia to do so (but as I understand, he is still representing NZ and not Australia).
Andrew Brown continued his giant-killing ways by downing FM Igor Bjelobrk in Rd 3 and drawing with FM Syarif Mahmud in Rd 2. But he lost to IM Deep Sengupta in Rd 4 and to IM Hafizulhelmi Mas in Rd 7. By all acoounts, his game with Gareth Oliver (former giant-killer himself having achieved an IM norm in the 1st SIO in 2007) was a roller-coaster of a game. I will post the game especially since it is a KID Bayonet Attack. See here for The ClosetGM's blog on this.
Juniors who achieved at least 50% (4.5/9) were CM Max Illingworth, FM Gene Nakauchi, Sam Grigg and Anton Smirnov. Surely this was not one of Max's better tournaments in accordance with his usual high standards but he did avenge his defeat at the hands of Andrew Brown at the Queenstown Classic. Max had the opportunity to play GM Neelotpal Das (2514) and IM Chowdhury Saptarshi Roy (2469) but he lost both games.
FM Gene Nakauchi had an opportunity to do some giant-killing in RD 1 against Reinderman Dimitri (2560) but not quite as yet ready for it as he lost. Gene also lost to both FM Tomek Rej and FM Syarif Mahmud.
Sam Grigg began well by drawing with FM Igor Igor Bjelobrk and had a chance to continue the trend by defeating IM Solomon in Rd 5 but it was not to be.
Anton Smirnov performed better here with 50% (including a one-point bye in Rd 4) than at the Doeberl Major. The 4.5/9 included a last round win over Victorian Richard Voon. There is a nice story told on The ClosetGM blog about this. It seems that Anton lost to Richard at the Doeberl from a drawn position. Then Vladimir Smirnov helped to analyse Richard's 1st round loss at the SIO to IM Jha Sriram and concluded that Richard resigned in a drawn possibly winning position. In the last round Anton exacted revenge in beating Richard.
Mention must be made also of Queensland junior, Jonas Muller's 1st round draw with GM Shojaat Ghane.
Lastly there is the strange story of an experienced chess player and former NSW junior champion who resigned when his King and Queen were forked by opponent (a junior)'s knight. All happening in Round 1. However, it was not that simple because the knight move was actually illegal. See The ClosetGM's scoop here.
Some Head-to-Head Junior Contests
Round 2
FM James Morris (2114) vs Sebastian Jule (1847) 1-0
Oscar Wang vs FM Gene Nakauchi 0-1
Anton Smirnov vs Kevin Tan 0-1
Round 3
Eugene Schon (2186) vs Jonas Muller (1981) 1-0
FM Gene Nakauchi vs Sally Yu 1-0
Sam Grigg vs Emma Guo 0-1
Jack Ruan vs Kinto Wan 1-0
Round 4
Kinto Wan vs Sam Grigg 0-1
Jonas Muller vs Sarah Anton 0-1
Round 5
Yuan Yi (2010) vs Sebastian Jule (1847) 1-0
Andrew Brown vs Max Illingworth 0-1
Allen Setiabudi vs Jonas Muller 0-1
Round 6
Emma Guo vs Kevin Tan 1-0
Oscar Wang vs Ben Encel 0.5-0.5
Kinto Wan vs Joshua Lau 0.5-0.5
Round 7
FM Gene Nakauchi vs Jonas Muller 1-0
Sarah Anton vs Oscar Wang 0.5-0.5
Kevin Tan vs Kinto Wan 1-0
Round 8
Sam Grigg vs Sarah Anton 1-0
Oscar Wang vs Kevin Tan 0-1
Sebastian Jule vs Joshua Lau 1-0
Round 9
FM James Morris (2114) vs CM Max Illingworth (2243) 1-0
Allen Setiabudi vs Bobby Cheng 0-1
Jonas Muller vs Jack Ruan 0.5-0.5
Fedja Zulfic vs Ben Encel 0.5-0.5
Emma Guo vs Sally Yu 1-0
Harry Ruan vs Oscar Wang 1-0
See here for results/cross-table and here for games download.
And Rd 1 did not disappoint with a big upset: ACT junior Yuan Yi (Fide Rating 2010)(with black pieces) surprised IM Stephen Solomon (2455), surely a giant-killing feat of epic proportions. Yuan Yi ended the tournament with 5.5/9 together with FM James Morris and Eugene Schon, the best placed juniors in the 2009 SIO. Yuan Yi also matched his wits with WGM Ghate Swathi (2330) and FM Vladimir Smirnov (2365) but lost both encounters.
It was certainly not IM Solomon's tournament as he proceeded to lose to another junior, FM James Morris (who had White pieces) in Rd 4. James (with White) also managed a draw against Indian WGM Eesha Karavade (2359) in Rd 6. He also played against IM Gary Lane (2371) and IM K Rathnakaran (2427) but lost both games.
Eugene Schon did not achieve any giant-killing feat but he did have the opportunity to pit himself against IM Deep Sengupta (2466) (the winner of 2009 Doeberl Premier) and IM Kore Akshayraj (2404) and FM Igor Bjelobrk (2332). He lost the first two but drew the third.
Bobby Cheng (2103) and Andrew Brown (2085) both finished with 5/9. Bobby drew with two IMs in Rds 2 and 3, Gary Lane and Stephen Solomon (!) respectively but lost to GM Shojaat Ghane (2415) in Rd 4. However, I think Bobby's highlight must be defeating FM Smirnov in Rd 6. This is what The ClosetGM blogged:
[at 5:27 pm] Meanwhile, [...] FM Vlad Smirnov looks to have now just blundered the exchange! He whispered into my ear, "look at my position" (which did look menacing), before nonchalantly capturing a piece (a bishop) only to see a stunning riposte - Qxg5 (bagging a rook) by Bobby Cheng!
[and later at 6:23 pm] FM Vladimir Smirnov in massive trouble here. He has only Q + N versus Q and 2R!!! Smirnov has a look of despair...I think he might have just underestimated the kid or perhaps overestimated his position earlier. He can resign here.
[at 6:24 pm] IT'S OVER! IT IS OVER!! FM Vlad Smirnov has resigned....
You can see The ClosetGM's analysis here.
Bobby was very close to an IM norm and if he had been successful would have to be one of the youngest in Australia to do so (but as I understand, he is still representing NZ and not Australia).
Andrew Brown continued his giant-killing ways by downing FM Igor Bjelobrk in Rd 3 and drawing with FM Syarif Mahmud in Rd 2. But he lost to IM Deep Sengupta in Rd 4 and to IM Hafizulhelmi Mas in Rd 7. By all acoounts, his game with Gareth Oliver (former giant-killer himself having achieved an IM norm in the 1st SIO in 2007) was a roller-coaster of a game. I will post the game especially since it is a KID Bayonet Attack. See here for The ClosetGM's blog on this.
Juniors who achieved at least 50% (4.5/9) were CM Max Illingworth, FM Gene Nakauchi, Sam Grigg and Anton Smirnov. Surely this was not one of Max's better tournaments in accordance with his usual high standards but he did avenge his defeat at the hands of Andrew Brown at the Queenstown Classic. Max had the opportunity to play GM Neelotpal Das (2514) and IM Chowdhury Saptarshi Roy (2469) but he lost both games.
FM Gene Nakauchi had an opportunity to do some giant-killing in RD 1 against Reinderman Dimitri (2560) but not quite as yet ready for it as he lost. Gene also lost to both FM Tomek Rej and FM Syarif Mahmud.
Sam Grigg began well by drawing with FM Igor Igor Bjelobrk and had a chance to continue the trend by defeating IM Solomon in Rd 5 but it was not to be.
Anton Smirnov performed better here with 50% (including a one-point bye in Rd 4) than at the Doeberl Major. The 4.5/9 included a last round win over Victorian Richard Voon. There is a nice story told on The ClosetGM blog about this. It seems that Anton lost to Richard at the Doeberl from a drawn position. Then Vladimir Smirnov helped to analyse Richard's 1st round loss at the SIO to IM Jha Sriram and concluded that Richard resigned in a drawn possibly winning position. In the last round Anton exacted revenge in beating Richard.
Mention must be made also of Queensland junior, Jonas Muller's 1st round draw with GM Shojaat Ghane.
Lastly there is the strange story of an experienced chess player and former NSW junior champion who resigned when his King and Queen were forked by opponent (a junior)'s knight. All happening in Round 1. However, it was not that simple because the knight move was actually illegal. See The ClosetGM's scoop here.
Some Head-to-Head Junior Contests
Round 2
FM James Morris (2114) vs Sebastian Jule (1847) 1-0
Oscar Wang vs FM Gene Nakauchi 0-1
Anton Smirnov vs Kevin Tan 0-1
Round 3
Eugene Schon (2186) vs Jonas Muller (1981) 1-0
FM Gene Nakauchi vs Sally Yu 1-0
Sam Grigg vs Emma Guo 0-1
Jack Ruan vs Kinto Wan 1-0
Round 4
Kinto Wan vs Sam Grigg 0-1
Jonas Muller vs Sarah Anton 0-1
Round 5
Yuan Yi (2010) vs Sebastian Jule (1847) 1-0
Andrew Brown vs Max Illingworth 0-1
Allen Setiabudi vs Jonas Muller 0-1
Round 6
Emma Guo vs Kevin Tan 1-0
Oscar Wang vs Ben Encel 0.5-0.5
Kinto Wan vs Joshua Lau 0.5-0.5
Round 7
FM Gene Nakauchi vs Jonas Muller 1-0
Sarah Anton vs Oscar Wang 0.5-0.5
Kevin Tan vs Kinto Wan 1-0
Round 8
Sam Grigg vs Sarah Anton 1-0
Oscar Wang vs Kevin Tan 0-1
Sebastian Jule vs Joshua Lau 1-0
Round 9
FM James Morris (2114) vs CM Max Illingworth (2243) 1-0
Allen Setiabudi vs Bobby Cheng 0-1
Jonas Muller vs Jack Ruan 0.5-0.5
Fedja Zulfic vs Ben Encel 0.5-0.5
Emma Guo vs Sally Yu 1-0
Harry Ruan vs Oscar Wang 1-0
See here for results/cross-table and here for games download.
2009 Ocenia Zonal_Rd 1
The draw for Rd 1 is available here and here. We can look forward to some serious slugfests and already there are some interesting junior vs higher-rated contests and some head-to-head junior contests. I may continue with my theme of David Giant-Killing feats and will keep readers updated.
Open
Bd 3 Solomon, Stephen J QLD 2455 vs Yuan, Yi ACT 2010
Bd 8 Muller, Jonas QLD 1981 vs Ly, Moulthun QLD 2340
Bd 10 Tan, Kevin NSW 1956 vs Canfell, Gregory J NSW 2327
Bd 11 Garbett, Paul NZL 2319 vs Liu, Yi (1997) QLD 1938
Bd 14 Grigg, Sam QLD 1927 vs Rujevic, Mirko VIC 2282
Bd 18 Goundar, Sanmogam FIJ 1903 vs Illingworth, Max NSW 2243
Bd 19 Levi, Eddy L VIC 2216 vs Jule, Sebastian QLD 1847
Bd 21 Oliver, Gareth ACT 2187 vs Encel, Benjamin NSW 1838
Bd 22 Hernandez, Roberto PLW 1830 vs Schon, Eugene VIC 2186
Bd 24 Stahnke, Alexander QLD 1795 vs Norris, Damian QLD 2142
Bd 25 Morris, James VIC 2114 vs Egan, Bill ACT 1795
Bd 26 Ford, Daniel QLD 1792 vs Cheng, Bobby VIC 2103
Bd 27 Stead, Kerry VIC 2087 vs Searle, Zachary SA 1791
Bd 29 Brown, Andrew ACT 2085 vs Sannidhanam, Anurag VIC 1705
Bd 30 Karibasic, Amir QLD 1573 vs Nakauchi, Gene QLD 2076
Bd 34 Lapitan, Daniel QLD 1287 vs Chan, Jason NSW 2056
(I may have missed one or two juniors. Readers who know, please write in.)
Women
Bd 2 Russell, Luthien VIC 1769 vs Caoili, Arianne B QLD 2172
Bd 3 Gao, Judy NZL 1907 vs Anton, Sarah VIC 1718
Bd 5 Guo, Emma ACT 1845 vs Sukhu, Gloria FIJ 1550
Bd 6 Oliver, Tamzin L ACT vs Reid, Vaness NSW 1837
Bd 7 Yu, Sally VIC 1819 vs Simmonds, Leteisha QLD
Bd 9 Byrne, Alannah QLD 1:0 BYE
It all begins on Sat 20 June:
Round 1 12 noon
Round 2 6:00pm
The website says: For access to live chess via DGT boards from Round 1 (starting at 12 noon on 20 June), click on http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/toma/. There will also be live commentary by GM Ian Rogers and live blogging by The ClosetGM.
As the Romans were wont to shout, "Let the Games begin!" and a more contemporary may say,"Yay! Bring it on!" or an even more contemporary, "Let's kick some ass!"
Open
Bd 3 Solomon, Stephen J QLD 2455 vs Yuan, Yi ACT 2010
Bd 8 Muller, Jonas QLD 1981 vs Ly, Moulthun QLD 2340
Bd 10 Tan, Kevin NSW 1956 vs Canfell, Gregory J NSW 2327
Bd 11 Garbett, Paul NZL 2319 vs Liu, Yi (1997) QLD 1938
Bd 14 Grigg, Sam QLD 1927 vs Rujevic, Mirko VIC 2282
Bd 18 Goundar, Sanmogam FIJ 1903 vs Illingworth, Max NSW 2243
Bd 19 Levi, Eddy L VIC 2216 vs Jule, Sebastian QLD 1847
Bd 21 Oliver, Gareth ACT 2187 vs Encel, Benjamin NSW 1838
Bd 22 Hernandez, Roberto PLW 1830 vs Schon, Eugene VIC 2186
Bd 24 Stahnke, Alexander QLD 1795 vs Norris, Damian QLD 2142
Bd 25 Morris, James VIC 2114 vs Egan, Bill ACT 1795
Bd 26 Ford, Daniel QLD 1792 vs Cheng, Bobby VIC 2103
Bd 27 Stead, Kerry VIC 2087 vs Searle, Zachary SA 1791
Bd 29 Brown, Andrew ACT 2085 vs Sannidhanam, Anurag VIC 1705
Bd 30 Karibasic, Amir QLD 1573 vs Nakauchi, Gene QLD 2076
Bd 34 Lapitan, Daniel QLD 1287 vs Chan, Jason NSW 2056
(I may have missed one or two juniors. Readers who know, please write in.)
Women
Bd 2 Russell, Luthien VIC 1769 vs Caoili, Arianne B QLD 2172
Bd 3 Gao, Judy NZL 1907 vs Anton, Sarah VIC 1718
Bd 5 Guo, Emma ACT 1845 vs Sukhu, Gloria FIJ 1550
Bd 6 Oliver, Tamzin L ACT vs Reid, Vaness NSW 1837
Bd 7 Yu, Sally VIC 1819 vs Simmonds, Leteisha QLD
Bd 9 Byrne, Alannah QLD 1:0 BYE
It all begins on Sat 20 June:
Round 1 12 noon
Round 2 6:00pm
The website says: For access to live chess via DGT boards from Round 1 (starting at 12 noon on 20 June), click on http://www.auschess.org.au/oceania/toma/. There will also be live commentary by GM Ian Rogers and live blogging by The ClosetGM.
As the Romans were wont to shout, "Let the Games begin!" and a more contemporary may say,"Yay! Bring it on!" or an even more contemporary, "Let's kick some ass!"
10th ASEAN+ AGE-GROUP CHESS CHAMPIONSHIPS
I belatedly remember this tournament having read it first at ChessChat (here). We have two Australian junior representatives, Ethan and Denise Lim (siblings). The tournament was held in Thua Thien - Hue, Vietnam from 6th to 15th June 2009.
As reported in ChessChat the final result:
Congrats!
Being the hosts, Vietnam emerged with the most medals, 80 Gold 30 Silver 38 Bronze, followed by the Philippines with 4 G 28 S 16 B. Surprisingly, Malaysia came next in terms of gold medals with 3 G 1 S 3 B (Girls U10 and U12). But third in terms of most medals (but no golds) was Singapore with 18 S 14 B. I wonder if their junior programme is paying off. The results may confirm what has been the noticeable trend in the last decade, namely the decline of Philippines as a dominant chess playing nation, eclipsed by China, India and now possibly, Vietnam.
Tournament results can be found here.
Tournament website is here (with games download).
As reported in ChessChat the final result:
After the final 9th round of the ASEAN All-Age Tournament
in Hue,Vietnam, Ethan came 15th out of 28 with a score of
4.5 out of 9 and Denise came 26th out of 29 with a score of
3 out of 9. This is an great performance against the best in
their age groups among South East Asian nations!
Congrats!
Being the hosts, Vietnam emerged with the most medals, 80 Gold 30 Silver 38 Bronze, followed by the Philippines with 4 G 28 S 16 B. Surprisingly, Malaysia came next in terms of gold medals with 3 G 1 S 3 B (Girls U10 and U12). But third in terms of most medals (but no golds) was Singapore with 18 S 14 B. I wonder if their junior programme is paying off. The results may confirm what has been the noticeable trend in the last decade, namely the decline of Philippines as a dominant chess playing nation, eclipsed by China, India and now possibly, Vietnam.
Tournament results can be found here.
Tournament website is here (with games download).
2009 Doeberl Cup Minor and U1200
Minor
I was going to post my review of the Minor but after having had a look at the cross tables, I am not sure. There are just too many juniors and there are quite a few names that I am not familiar with. I do not wish to give any false impression. So I think it best if I do not do my usual review. I will just post some observations.
By now, the reader should know that ACT junior Alana Chibnall won the event outright with a score of 6/7 (+5 =2 -0). Very impressive considering she was seeded 20th going into the tournament. On the way, she defeated fellow girl juniors Miranda Webb-Little (Vic) and Megan Setiabudi (ACT). This result, together with her performance in the recent NSW Open, prompted my speculative (and admitted very masculine!) mind to begin thinking about the ranking order of girl juniors in the U1600 bracket. (I know, it doesn't make sense to think about the matter this way, but it does make an interesting blog, no?) ACF keeps a Top U20 Girls list here but ratings are only ever relative. It will be interesting to see actual head-to-head matches. Of course there was the Australian Juniors at the beginning of the year. But it is mid-year now and we all know that 6 months is a long time in the land of junior ratings and improvement. At the 2009 Australian Juniors in Adelaide, Alana defeated Leteisha Simmonds and Abbie Kanagarajah (both from Queensland), lost to Sophie Eustace (SA) (who played in the Major), and drew with Natasha Bortsova (SA) (who also played in the Minor) and Tamzin Oliver (ACT) (who played in the Major). I don't know of her record against Vanja Rosenblat (Vic) (who played in the Major), and Sydney juniors Mirakla Mithran and Caroline Shan.
Sydney junior Andrew Pan came joint 2nd and was also undefeated over 7 rounds. However, he conceded draws against 2 juniors and an adult which from a ratings point of view was certainly winnable. A missed opportunity! Perhaps I should have a look at the games.
U1200
Queensland junior, Kenji Nakauchi (Gene Nakauchi's younger brother) won this event with a picket-fence (in the Australian vernacular) score of 6/6. Congrats! Results and crosstables here. Again the event was mainly juniors but I am not sure of a few names.
I was going to post my review of the Minor but after having had a look at the cross tables, I am not sure. There are just too many juniors and there are quite a few names that I am not familiar with. I do not wish to give any false impression. So I think it best if I do not do my usual review. I will just post some observations.
By now, the reader should know that ACT junior Alana Chibnall won the event outright with a score of 6/7 (+5 =2 -0). Very impressive considering she was seeded 20th going into the tournament. On the way, she defeated fellow girl juniors Miranda Webb-Little (Vic) and Megan Setiabudi (ACT). This result, together with her performance in the recent NSW Open, prompted my speculative (and admitted very masculine!) mind to begin thinking about the ranking order of girl juniors in the U1600 bracket. (I know, it doesn't make sense to think about the matter this way, but it does make an interesting blog, no?) ACF keeps a Top U20 Girls list here but ratings are only ever relative. It will be interesting to see actual head-to-head matches. Of course there was the Australian Juniors at the beginning of the year. But it is mid-year now and we all know that 6 months is a long time in the land of junior ratings and improvement. At the 2009 Australian Juniors in Adelaide, Alana defeated Leteisha Simmonds and Abbie Kanagarajah (both from Queensland), lost to Sophie Eustace (SA) (who played in the Major), and drew with Natasha Bortsova (SA) (who also played in the Minor) and Tamzin Oliver (ACT) (who played in the Major). I don't know of her record against Vanja Rosenblat (Vic) (who played in the Major), and Sydney juniors Mirakla Mithran and Caroline Shan.
Sydney junior Andrew Pan came joint 2nd and was also undefeated over 7 rounds. However, he conceded draws against 2 juniors and an adult which from a ratings point of view was certainly winnable. A missed opportunity! Perhaps I should have a look at the games.
U1200
Queensland junior, Kenji Nakauchi (Gene Nakauchi's younger brother) won this event with a picket-fence (in the Australian vernacular) score of 6/6. Congrats! Results and crosstables here. Again the event was mainly juniors but I am not sure of a few names.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Oceania Zonal 2009 and a few tidbits to chew over ......
Yes, it is happening, the biggest chess tournament every two years in the Oceania Region is happening again from this Saturday, 20th June. See here for schedule. The number of entrants have dramatically increase over the 2007 Zonal in Fiji, where 30 contested in the Open and 14 contested in the women's section. In this year's Zonal, there are 70 in the Open and 17 in the Women.
The juniors in the Open are (ones that I can identify): Moulthun Ly AUS 2340 (??), CM Max Illingworth AUS 2243, Eugene Schon AUS 2186, FM James Morris AUS 2114, Bobby Cheng AUS 2103, Andrew Brown AUS 2085, FM Gene Nakauchi AUS 2076, Yi Yuan AUS 2010, Jonas Muller AUS 1981, Kevin Tan AUS 1956, Yi Liu AUS 1938, Sam Grigg AUS 1927, Sebastian Jule AUS 1847, Benjamin Encel AUS 1838, Alexander Stahnke AUS 1795, Daniel Ford AUS 1792, Zachary Searle AUS 1791, Anurag Sannidhanam AUS 1705, Daniel Lapitan AUS U/R.
Juniors in Women: Emma Guo AUS 1845, Sally Yu AUS 1819, Luthien Russell AUS 1769,
Sarah Anton AUS 1718, Tamzin Oliver AUS U/R, Leteisha Simmonds AUS U/R, Alannah Byrne U/R.
The winners of the Zonal (Open and Women) get to play in the FIDE World Cup at freezing Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from 19th Nov - 15 Dec 2009 and the Women World Championship/Cup (tba). The last Zonal winner (2007), GM Zhao Zong-Yuan, played World's Best junior, World No 3 (FIDE April list) and future World Champion (my prediction), Magnus Carlsen, in Round 1. Unfortunately, the World Cup is a knock out competition and Zong-Yuan lost to Magnus. But Magnus's father had some nice things to say about Zong-Yuan (at the time, Zong-Yuan was not as yet a grandmaster, only an IM) here (scroll right to the end).
The Zonal also has a chequered history in terms of the automatic titles on offer. I quote from the entry brochure:
Note: Automatic titles are not new. For example, the winner of the FIDE World Junior Championship (U20) is automatically conferred a GM title without the necessity of reaching an Elo of 2500 or achieving the required 3 GM norm results. Similarly, the winner of the FIDE World Senior Championship is also conferred the title of GM.
There are two controversies which have erupted in the past, one which has been resolved to some extent but the other is still ongoing.
A) In the past, before the rules were changed to what is applicable at present, any player reaching the minimum result would achieve the title. The zonal standing out on this issue is the 1999 Zonal in Queensland.
(see http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=3707)
B) Some chess players have been forthcoming with the opinion that these titles are "soft" in the sense that the player who achieves the title may not have completed the required norms (in the case of IM title) or achieved the requisite minimum Elo ratings (for FM (2300) and IM (2400); see here).
Disclaimer: The following is not written with any intention of disrespect to the players named but these are "factual" information in public domain nor is the writing here intended to denigrate or downplay in any way the fine and excellent achievements of the individuals concerned.
For example, at the 2007 Zonal (see here), Kiwi FM Wang Puchen topped the title aspirants field and won the coveted IM title. Puchen entered the tournament with an Elo of 2322. Two Australian juniors won the FM titles, Gene Nakauchi (Qld) and James Morris (Vic), the latter with Elo of 1948. Gene did not even have a FIDE rating, only an ACF rating of 1703. (Max Illingworth was unlucky to miss out on tiebreak. Similarly FM Igor Goldenberg (Vic) and Kiwi FM Robert Smith missed out on tiebreak on the IM title but they scored IM norms.) Two years later, Gene is rated at 2076 and James at 2114 going into the 2009 Zonal (and Max is rated at 2243). (see http://chessexpress.blogspot.com/2007/05/zonal-titles.html)
On AusChessChat, the debate rages and I predict the Zonal will bring it all up again. Check these out (Warning: They may contain abusive and offensive language):
http://www.chesschat.org/showthread.php?t=5079
http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=3707
http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=6422
So, what do you think? Do you think these are good rules?
Note: I am not saying that the individuals do not deserve the titles since there is the argument that say: them are rules! let's abide by them. Let's be honest: if it was me, I would jump at the chance to get the title, no worries, mate!!!
The juniors in the Open are (ones that I can identify): Moulthun Ly AUS 2340 (??), CM Max Illingworth AUS 2243, Eugene Schon AUS 2186, FM James Morris AUS 2114, Bobby Cheng AUS 2103, Andrew Brown AUS 2085, FM Gene Nakauchi AUS 2076, Yi Yuan AUS 2010, Jonas Muller AUS 1981, Kevin Tan AUS 1956, Yi Liu AUS 1938, Sam Grigg AUS 1927, Sebastian Jule AUS 1847, Benjamin Encel AUS 1838, Alexander Stahnke AUS 1795, Daniel Ford AUS 1792, Zachary Searle AUS 1791, Anurag Sannidhanam AUS 1705, Daniel Lapitan AUS U/R.
Juniors in Women: Emma Guo AUS 1845, Sally Yu AUS 1819, Luthien Russell AUS 1769,
Sarah Anton AUS 1718, Tamzin Oliver AUS U/R, Leteisha Simmonds AUS U/R, Alannah Byrne U/R.
The winners of the Zonal (Open and Women) get to play in the FIDE World Cup at freezing Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from 19th Nov - 15 Dec 2009 and the Women World Championship/Cup (tba). The last Zonal winner (2007), GM Zhao Zong-Yuan, played World's Best junior, World No 3 (FIDE April list) and future World Champion (my prediction), Magnus Carlsen, in Round 1. Unfortunately, the World Cup is a knock out competition and Zong-Yuan lost to Magnus. But Magnus's father had some nice things to say about Zong-Yuan (at the time, Zong-Yuan was not as yet a grandmaster, only an IM) here (scroll right to the end).
The Zonal also has a chequered history in terms of the automatic titles on offer. I quote from the entry brochure:
4.5 points = FM or WFM titles; 6.0 points = IM or WIM titles
Under FIDE regulations for zonals which are run as Swiss events,
the maximum number of titles which can be awarded, without the
prior approval of the Joint Chairman of the Titles Commission, is 1
x IM, 2 x FM, 1 x WIM, 1 x WFM. Candidate Master (CM) titles may
also be awarded.
Note: Automatic titles are not new. For example, the winner of the FIDE World Junior Championship (U20) is automatically conferred a GM title without the necessity of reaching an Elo of 2500 or achieving the required 3 GM norm results. Similarly, the winner of the FIDE World Senior Championship is also conferred the title of GM.
There are two controversies which have erupted in the past, one which has been resolved to some extent but the other is still ongoing.
A) In the past, before the rules were changed to what is applicable at present, any player reaching the minimum result would achieve the title. The zonal standing out on this issue is the 1999 Zonal in Queensland.
(see http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=3707)
B) Some chess players have been forthcoming with the opinion that these titles are "soft" in the sense that the player who achieves the title may not have completed the required norms (in the case of IM title) or achieved the requisite minimum Elo ratings (for FM (2300) and IM (2400); see here).
Disclaimer: The following is not written with any intention of disrespect to the players named but these are "factual" information in public domain nor is the writing here intended to denigrate or downplay in any way the fine and excellent achievements of the individuals concerned.
For example, at the 2007 Zonal (see here), Kiwi FM Wang Puchen topped the title aspirants field and won the coveted IM title. Puchen entered the tournament with an Elo of 2322. Two Australian juniors won the FM titles, Gene Nakauchi (Qld) and James Morris (Vic), the latter with Elo of 1948. Gene did not even have a FIDE rating, only an ACF rating of 1703. (Max Illingworth was unlucky to miss out on tiebreak. Similarly FM Igor Goldenberg (Vic) and Kiwi FM Robert Smith missed out on tiebreak on the IM title but they scored IM norms.) Two years later, Gene is rated at 2076 and James at 2114 going into the 2009 Zonal (and Max is rated at 2243). (see http://chessexpress.blogspot.com/2007/05/zonal-titles.html)
On AusChessChat, the debate rages and I predict the Zonal will bring it all up again. Check these out (Warning: They may contain abusive and offensive language):
http://www.chesschat.org/showthread.php?t=5079
http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=3707
http://chesschat.com.au/showthread.php?t=6422
So, what do you think? Do you think these are good rules?
Note: I am not saying that the individuals do not deserve the titles since there is the argument that say: them are rules! let's abide by them. Let's be honest: if it was me, I would jump at the chance to get the title, no worries, mate!!!
International Tournament
Monday, June 15, 2009
Games from 2009 NSW Open and U1600
Things have gotten a bit too hectic the last week (solo-parenting for the week and throughout the Open itself and consequently too tired to analyse any games during the Open itself) and therefore there hasn't been any new games for the reader's pleasure. A large measure (and motivation!) for the inactivity was also due to the number of juniors in the Open and U1600 and the good results they achieved. (Read the reports posted earlier especially Rd 5 in both the Open and U1600. Just too many games.) In addition, we have this fantastic offer by NSW player, Trent Parker, to enter all the games from the Open and U1600 for which score sheets were kept. (See here.) Note that it was the policy of the DOP to only required players to record moves on carbon copy scoresheets for the first 20 boards in the Open and the first 15 boards in the U1600. In the later rounds, this policy was modified. So, the upshot is that we do not have scoresheets for all the games. Perhaps juniors who have enter their games at home for analysis may wish to email them to me. Trent Parker has promised 20th June as the date he will finish the job and have the games for download.
I am thinking that there should a depository for all juniors games played in NSW and wider Australia. Yes, there is the official ACF sanctioned Ozbase, a depository for all chess games played in Australia. I am suggesting perhaps, a separate database within the bigger database where juniors games are easily accessible.
Before I get flamed, yes, I recognise that some juniors do not wish their opening repertoire and style of play to be widely disseminated (and available for analysis and preparation by future opponents). However, I am arguing for accessibility in the interest of the higher good, to inspire other juniors in thinking that defeating a higher rated player is achievable. I still think that juniors should study well-annotated (note the emphasis) GM games to improve. But nonetheless, playing through other junior games can also be inspiring.
Juniors, I would also welcome any annotated games from the Open and/or the U1600 you may wish to share along the lines of examples in the US and elsewhere. See here.
I am thinking that there should a depository for all juniors games played in NSW and wider Australia. Yes, there is the official ACF sanctioned Ozbase, a depository for all chess games played in Australia. I am suggesting perhaps, a separate database within the bigger database where juniors games are easily accessible.
Before I get flamed, yes, I recognise that some juniors do not wish their opening repertoire and style of play to be widely disseminated (and available for analysis and preparation by future opponents). However, I am arguing for accessibility in the interest of the higher good, to inspire other juniors in thinking that defeating a higher rated player is achievable. I still think that juniors should study well-annotated (note the emphasis) GM games to improve. But nonetheless, playing through other junior games can also be inspiring.
Juniors, I would also welcome any annotated games from the Open and/or the U1600 you may wish to share along the lines of examples in the US and elsewhere. See here.
NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600_Rds 6 and 7
The 3rd Day and only 2 rounds ......
Open Rd 6
Bd 9 Sean Gu (1603) vs Gary McNamara (2114) 0-1
Bd 10 Jason Chan (2056) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Ian Rout (1992) 0-1
Bd 12 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Emma Guo (1845) 0.5-0.5
Bd 14 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Alek Safarian (2061) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs John Alkin (1921) 1-0
Bd 16 Ng Kiang Fei vs Jack Ruan (1886) 0-1
Bd 19 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs Arthur Huynh (1978) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Mosaddeque Ali (1962) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 21 Mike Canfell (1932) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0-1
Bd 24 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 1-0
Bd 25 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Mark Lin (891) vs Jonathan Adams (1593) 0-1
The best result in this round has to be fast-improving junior, Chen Peng-Yu, who has demonstrated initiative and industry since graduating to high school (he was reading a chess book and playing through games/analysis while waiting for his opponent who did not turn up in a previous round). Sean Gu's run came to an end but at least he was playing in one of the top ten boards.
U1600 Rd 6
Bd 1 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Herman Rachmadi (1569) 0-1
Bd 2 Marc Datuin (1591) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 3 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 1-0
Bd 4 Peter Yang (1440) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 1-0
Bd 5 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Vaness Reid (1573) 0-1
Bd 6 Anthony Villanueva (1573) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0-1
Bd 7 David Adler (1412) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 0-1
Bd 8 Michael Tracy (1397) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0-1
Bd 9 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Trent Parker (1529) 0-1
Bd 12 Jake McCook (1479) vs Norm Greenwood (1443) 1-0
Bd 22 Joshua Bishop (1274) vs Michael Kethro (958) 1-0
Bd 23 Vincent Chen (938) vs Bob Sewell (1245) 1-0
Bd 24 Stephen Childs (1236) vs William Gong (651) 0-1
Bd 25 Mary Wilkie (1153) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 26 Soliman Soliman vs Clarise Koh (1142) 0-1
Bd 27 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Jasper Hong (797) 0-1
Bd 28 Noah Gong (617) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 0.5-0.5
Bd 29 Helen Aylwin (939) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 0-1
Bd 30 Alex Momot (878) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 0-1
Bd 33 Mark Aspin (1237) Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
In this penultimate round we see the juniors challenging for the lead on Bds 1 and 2. There were all juniors battles on Bds 3 and 4. But the fields split into two, with juniors represented on Bds 1-9 and 12, and a second group of juniors on Bds 22 onwards. Best result: William Gong. Lucky junior: Jasper Hong when his opponent's mobile went off, it seems, to inform the owner that it has received a message. Moral: mobile phones must be switched off completely or even better, left at home.
Open Rd 7
Bd 9 Raul Samar (2249) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 1-0
Bd 10 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Jason Chan (2056) 0-1
Bd 11 Ben Encel (1838) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0-1
Bd 12 Emma Guo (1845) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 15 Kevin Tan (1956) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-05
Bd 17 Hamish Selnes (1921) vs Sean Gu (1603) 1-0
Bd 18 John Alkin (1921) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell 1-0
Bd 19 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Romeo Capilitan (2087) 0.5-0.5
Bd 23 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 0-1
Bd 24 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Mike Canfell (1932) 0.5-0.5
Bd 25 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Warren McElroy (1689) 1-0
Bd 26 Jonathan Adams (1593) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Jake Kostrzewa (1457) vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
In the last round, the adults re-asserted their prowess and many juniors could not win against the grain. Best results would be Kinto Wan's win and draws by Jerry Xu and Adrian Miranda.
The best junior result was Max Illingworth with 5/7 and joint 5th-10th placing followed by Emma Guo with 4.5/7. Jack Ruan, Ben Encel, Allen Setiabudi, Chen Peng-Yu, John papantoniou, and Kevin Tan finished with 50% at 3.5/7.
Pluckiest junior award: Mark Lin for registering for the Open (it seems in accordance with parental wishes), and persisting with the decision despite given the option of switching to the U1600 and soldiering on with no wins or draws (sole point from a bye).
U1600 Rd 7
Bd 1 Herman Rachmadi (1569) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0.5-0.5
Bd 2 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0.5-0.5
Bd 3 Vaness Reid (1573) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 1-0
Bd 4 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Joshua Behar (1175) vs Marc Datuin (1591) 0-1
Bd 6 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Mario Palma (1416) 0-1
Bd 8 Matthew Bennett (1173) vs Jake McCook (1479) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Peter Hannagan (1483) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 13 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 1F-0F
Bd 15 William Gong (651) vs Douglas Adams (1452) 0-1
Bd 18 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 19 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 1-0
Bd 21 Roger Jeffreys (1422) vs Vincent Chen (938) 1-0
Bd 22 Jasper Hong (797) vs Michael Weltner (1445) 1-0
Bd 25 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Stephen Roche (1030) 0-1
Bd 26 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Hugh Winsor (966) 0-1
Bd 27 Michael Kethro (958) vs Soliman Soliman 1-0
Bd 28 Calvin Wang (542) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 0-1
Bd 29 Noah Gong (617) vs Mark Aspin (1237) 0-1
Bd 31 Joseph Damaschino (unr) bye
The struggle for placing and prize money continued right to the end. Andrew Pan needed to win to tie first with Herman Rachmadi but the experienced Herman, who led from the start, put disappointing past results behind him, and easily held Andrew Pan to a draw to secure sole first. There was then a struggle to see whether it will be a 5-way tie for 2nd or 3-way tie. One of these, the Chibnall-Reid game, was one of the last to finish resulting in a 4-way tie.
The best results were achieved by Peter Yang, Ethan Derwent and Andrew Pan, all joint 2nd with 5.5/7. Dawen Shi shared in the joint 6th prize with 4 others with 5/7. Megan Setiabudi won the rating prize in 1300-1450 with 5/7 while Matthew Bennett and Caroline Shan shared the U1300 rating prize with 4.5/7.
Near misses: Joshua Behar could have shared in joint 6th or U1300 rating prize if he had stayed at his board and concentrate on his game instead of making repeated trips to the arbiter's table to check on results. Either Dawen Shi or Megan Setiabudi (playing each other) could have shared in tie for 2nd if they have won but they drew. Jake McCook ended up with 4.5/7 as well.
The next best juniors with 4/7 were Dylan Siow-Lee, Cedric Koh, and Clarise Koh. Jasper Hong was the only other junior to finish with a 50% or better score with 3.5/7.
PS: Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that I did not mentioned Max Illingworth at all until the very end. This is partly due to me falling for a Max's joke when he announced at the arbiter's table that he was no longer a junior and silly me, I believed him.
Open Rd 6
Bd 9 Sean Gu (1603) vs Gary McNamara (2114) 0-1
Bd 10 Jason Chan (2056) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Ian Rout (1992) 0-1
Bd 12 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Emma Guo (1845) 0.5-0.5
Bd 14 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Alek Safarian (2061) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs John Alkin (1921) 1-0
Bd 16 Ng Kiang Fei vs Jack Ruan (1886) 0-1
Bd 19 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs Arthur Huynh (1978) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Mosaddeque Ali (1962) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 21 Mike Canfell (1932) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0-1
Bd 24 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 1-0
Bd 25 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Mark Lin (891) vs Jonathan Adams (1593) 0-1
The best result in this round has to be fast-improving junior, Chen Peng-Yu, who has demonstrated initiative and industry since graduating to high school (he was reading a chess book and playing through games/analysis while waiting for his opponent who did not turn up in a previous round). Sean Gu's run came to an end but at least he was playing in one of the top ten boards.
U1600 Rd 6
Bd 1 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Herman Rachmadi (1569) 0-1
Bd 2 Marc Datuin (1591) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 3 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 1-0
Bd 4 Peter Yang (1440) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 1-0
Bd 5 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Vaness Reid (1573) 0-1
Bd 6 Anthony Villanueva (1573) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0-1
Bd 7 David Adler (1412) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 0-1
Bd 8 Michael Tracy (1397) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0-1
Bd 9 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Trent Parker (1529) 0-1
Bd 12 Jake McCook (1479) vs Norm Greenwood (1443) 1-0
Bd 22 Joshua Bishop (1274) vs Michael Kethro (958) 1-0
Bd 23 Vincent Chen (938) vs Bob Sewell (1245) 1-0
Bd 24 Stephen Childs (1236) vs William Gong (651) 0-1
Bd 25 Mary Wilkie (1153) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 26 Soliman Soliman vs Clarise Koh (1142) 0-1
Bd 27 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Jasper Hong (797) 0-1
Bd 28 Noah Gong (617) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 0.5-0.5
Bd 29 Helen Aylwin (939) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 0-1
Bd 30 Alex Momot (878) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 0-1
Bd 33 Mark Aspin (1237) Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
In this penultimate round we see the juniors challenging for the lead on Bds 1 and 2. There were all juniors battles on Bds 3 and 4. But the fields split into two, with juniors represented on Bds 1-9 and 12, and a second group of juniors on Bds 22 onwards. Best result: William Gong. Lucky junior: Jasper Hong when his opponent's mobile went off, it seems, to inform the owner that it has received a message. Moral: mobile phones must be switched off completely or even better, left at home.
Open Rd 7
Bd 9 Raul Samar (2249) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 1-0
Bd 10 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Jason Chan (2056) 0-1
Bd 11 Ben Encel (1838) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0-1
Bd 12 Emma Guo (1845) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 15 Kevin Tan (1956) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-05
Bd 17 Hamish Selnes (1921) vs Sean Gu (1603) 1-0
Bd 18 John Alkin (1921) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell 1-0
Bd 19 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Romeo Capilitan (2087) 0.5-0.5
Bd 23 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 0-1
Bd 24 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Mike Canfell (1932) 0.5-0.5
Bd 25 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Warren McElroy (1689) 1-0
Bd 26 Jonathan Adams (1593) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Jake Kostrzewa (1457) vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
In the last round, the adults re-asserted their prowess and many juniors could not win against the grain. Best results would be Kinto Wan's win and draws by Jerry Xu and Adrian Miranda.
The best junior result was Max Illingworth with 5/7 and joint 5th-10th placing followed by Emma Guo with 4.5/7. Jack Ruan, Ben Encel, Allen Setiabudi, Chen Peng-Yu, John papantoniou, and Kevin Tan finished with 50% at 3.5/7.
Pluckiest junior award: Mark Lin for registering for the Open (it seems in accordance with parental wishes), and persisting with the decision despite given the option of switching to the U1600 and soldiering on with no wins or draws (sole point from a bye).
U1600 Rd 7
Bd 1 Herman Rachmadi (1569) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0.5-0.5
Bd 2 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0.5-0.5
Bd 3 Vaness Reid (1573) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 1-0
Bd 4 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Joshua Behar (1175) vs Marc Datuin (1591) 0-1
Bd 6 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Mario Palma (1416) 0-1
Bd 8 Matthew Bennett (1173) vs Jake McCook (1479) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Peter Hannagan (1483) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 13 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 1F-0F
Bd 15 William Gong (651) vs Douglas Adams (1452) 0-1
Bd 18 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 19 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 1-0
Bd 21 Roger Jeffreys (1422) vs Vincent Chen (938) 1-0
Bd 22 Jasper Hong (797) vs Michael Weltner (1445) 1-0
Bd 25 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Stephen Roche (1030) 0-1
Bd 26 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Hugh Winsor (966) 0-1
Bd 27 Michael Kethro (958) vs Soliman Soliman 1-0
Bd 28 Calvin Wang (542) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 0-1
Bd 29 Noah Gong (617) vs Mark Aspin (1237) 0-1
Bd 31 Joseph Damaschino (unr) bye
The struggle for placing and prize money continued right to the end. Andrew Pan needed to win to tie first with Herman Rachmadi but the experienced Herman, who led from the start, put disappointing past results behind him, and easily held Andrew Pan to a draw to secure sole first. There was then a struggle to see whether it will be a 5-way tie for 2nd or 3-way tie. One of these, the Chibnall-Reid game, was one of the last to finish resulting in a 4-way tie.
The best results were achieved by Peter Yang, Ethan Derwent and Andrew Pan, all joint 2nd with 5.5/7. Dawen Shi shared in the joint 6th prize with 4 others with 5/7. Megan Setiabudi won the rating prize in 1300-1450 with 5/7 while Matthew Bennett and Caroline Shan shared the U1300 rating prize with 4.5/7.
Near misses: Joshua Behar could have shared in joint 6th or U1300 rating prize if he had stayed at his board and concentrate on his game instead of making repeated trips to the arbiter's table to check on results. Either Dawen Shi or Megan Setiabudi (playing each other) could have shared in tie for 2nd if they have won but they drew. Jake McCook ended up with 4.5/7 as well.
The next best juniors with 4/7 were Dylan Siow-Lee, Cedric Koh, and Clarise Koh. Jasper Hong was the only other junior to finish with a 50% or better score with 3.5/7.
PS: Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that I did not mentioned Max Illingworth at all until the very end. This is partly due to me falling for a Max's joke when he announced at the arbiter's table that he was no longer a junior and silly me, I believed him.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600_Rds 3, 4 and 5
And we come to the 2nd Day ...... Let there be upsets!
Open Rd 3
Bd 8 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Raul Samar (2249) 0-1
Bd 13 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Emma Guo (1845) vs Mosaddeque Ali (1962) 1-0
Bd 16 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 0-1
Bd 17 Ben Encel (1838) vs Michael Dunn (1947) 0.5-05
Bd 18 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 21 John Alkin (1921) vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
Bd 22 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Mark Baterowicz (1732) 1-0
Bd 32 Dennis Wan (1896) vs Sean Gu (1603) 0-1
Bd 27 Jonathan Montances (1664) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 0-1
Bd 28 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Jake Kostrzewa (1457) 1-0
Bd 29 Vimalraj Arumugam (unr) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 0F-1F
And the best result must be Kinto Wan defeating Mark Baterowicz. Without taking anything away from Sean Gu's victory (he is only 10 years old), Dennis Wan's listed rating is his Fide rating and his ACF rating is 1524.
Goss: Retired GM visits Open and begins analysing a 10 year old's games with him. Hmmmm, I wonder whether this had anything to do with the 10 y o old's games in Rds 4 and 5.
U1600 Rd 3
Bd 2 Peter Yang (1440) vs Anthony Villanueva (1573) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Horst Bleicher (1475) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 1-0
Bd 6 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Mario Palma (1461) 0.5-0.5
Bd 7 Vincent Chen (938) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 8 Dawen Shi (1529) vs Kweimeen Chai (1172) 1-0
Bd 9 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Michael Weltner (1445) 1-0
Bd 11 Vaness Reid (1573) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 1-0
Bd 14 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Jake McCook (1479) 1-0
Bd 17 Roger Jeffreys (1422) vs William Gong (651) 0-1
Bd 19 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 1-0
Bd 21 Joshua Behar (1195) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 1-0
Bd 22 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 0-1
Bd 23 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Mark Aspin (1237) 1-0
Bd 25 Michael Kethro (958) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 Jasper Hong (797) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 0-1
Bd 27 Greig Edwards (1223) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 0-1
Bd 30 Leslie Duffy (1083) vs Noah Gong (617) 0-1
Bd 31 Hugh Winsor (966) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 32 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Helen Aylwin 0-1
Bd 33 Nikhil Kalele (473) bye
Best result to William Gong, and (with a bit of hindsight bias), Ethan Derwent and Joshua Behar continue their impressive performance.
Open Rd 4
Bd 6 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs George Xie (2402) 0-1
Bd 11 Jason Chan (2056) vs Emma Guo (1845) 1-0
Bd 13 Paul Broekhuyse (2118) vs Jack Ruan (1886) 1-0
Bd 14 Romeo Capilitan (2087) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Angelito Camer (2013) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0.5-0.5
Bd 16 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 18 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Ian Dickson (1910) 0.5-0.5
Bd 19 Mosaddeque Ali (1962) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 Sean Gu (1603) vs Mike Canfell (1932) 1-0
Bd 22 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Hamish Selnes (1921) 1-0
Bd 23 Mark Lin (891) vs Joseph Nguyen (1901) 0-1
Bd 24 Peter Abbott (1893) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 0.5-0.5
Bd 25 Joshua Christensen (1882) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 0.5-0.5
Best Results: Sean Gu (with GM's post-game analysis?), Nicholas Deen-Cowell, and lots of draws against higher rated opponents. The field has begun to separate with juniors clumping in the middle to end of the pairings.
U1600 Rd 4
Bd 4 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0.5-0.5
Bd 6 Mario Palma (1416) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 0-1
Bd 7 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Vaness Reid (1573) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Matthew Bennett (1173) vs Eliel Barcelona (1458) 1-0
Bd 10 William Gong (651) vs Norm Greenwood (1443) 0-1
Bd 13 Valsalan Karayi (1332) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 14 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 0-1
Bd 15 Samuel Talisayan (1109) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 18 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Vincent Chen (938) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Jake McCook (1479) vs Stepehn Roche (1030) 1-0
Bd 23 Douglas Adams (1452) vs Clarise Koh (1142) 1-0
Bd 24 Michael Tracy (1397) vs Michael Kethro (958) 1-0
Bd 26 Rolando Gonzales (1365) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 1-0
Bd 27 Noah Gong (617) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 28 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Patrick Beahan (1210) 0-1
Bd 29 Stephen Childs (1236) vs Jasper Hong (797) 1-0
Bd 32 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Leslie Duffy (1083) 0-1
Bd 33 Calvin Wang (542) bye
Best result goes to Joshua Behar and Matthew Bennett (who is back to his winning upsetting ways), and Caroline Shan begins to show her form.
Open Rd 5
Bd 10 Gary McNamara (2114) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Krishna Thapa (2143) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 1-0
Bd 12 Emma Guo (1845) vs Romeo Capilitan (2087) 1-0
Bd 13 Ben Encel (1838) vs Angelito Camer (2013) 1-0
Bd 15 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Michael Dunn (1947) 0-1
Bd 16 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Sean Gu (1603) 0-1
Bd 17 Ian Dickson (1910) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 0-1
Bd 18 Joseph Nguyen (1901) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 1-0
Bd 20 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Mark Baterowicz (1732) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Peter Abbott (1893) 1-0
Bd 22 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 1-0
Bd 23 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs Joshua Christensen (1882) 1-0
Bd 24 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 Hamish Selnes (1921 vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
Best Results: This must be one of the best rounds for juniors with no less than 6 wins against higher rated opponents. On the downside: no junior playing above Bd 10.
U1600 Rd 5
Bd 2 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Anthony Villanueva (1573) 1-0
Bd 3 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 4 Trent Parker (1529) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0-1
Bd 5 Dawen Shi (1529) vs David Adler (1412) 0.5-0.5
Bd 7 Joshua Behar (1175) vs Horst Bleicher (1475) 1-0
Bd 6 Danny Wayne Bisson (1479) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 8 Norm Greenwood (1443) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 0-1
Bd 11 Lou Damaschino (1417) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 0-1
Bd 12 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 1-0
Bd 13 Joshua Bishop (1274) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 0-1
Bd 14 Bob Sewell (1245) vs Jake McCook (1479) 0-1
Bd 20 William Gong (651) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 0-1
Bd 21 Vincent Chen (938) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 0-1
Bd 25 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0-1
Bd 26 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Helen Aylwin (939) 1-0
Bd 28 Stephen Roche (1030) vs Noah Gong (617) 1-0
Bd 29 Calvin Wang (542) vs Matthew Radisich (960) 1-0
Bd 30 Michael Kethro (958) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 1-0
Bd 32 Jasper Hong (797) vs Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
Bd 33 Caroline Shan (1220) bye
Best Results: Mimicking the Open, this must be one of the best rounds for juniors with no less than 7 wins against higher rated opponents, with Joshua Behar and Ethan Derwent continuing their form and Matthew Bennett notching another win. Upside: Juniors showing a good spread, from top boards to bottom boards.
It was a looooooong day! My son played against three fellow juniors consecutively and in the last round, his opponent refused to resign when down a rook and a pawn. He decided to have some "fun" and promoted knights and bishops and checkmated his opponent. But it meant a longer game than usual and we got home later (10 pm-ish)than it could have been. Sigh!
Highlight of the day: (GM-elect) David Smerdon defeating IM Gary Lane in the last round of the day thus passing that magical mark of 2500 rating points and being "mobbed" (in the quietest manner possible) by well-wishers including GM Ian Rogers and FM/IA Cathy Rogers (who planted a congratulatory kiss). The wait began when GM Rogers came by the arbiter table and inform Cathy Rogers that Gary lane has missed a tactic and that David Smerdon was better. Cathy then planted herself at Board 1 and waited until finally Gary resigned. Earlier in the afternoon, IA Charles Zworestine and FM Vladimir Smirnov was busy calculating and recalculating whether David's Rd 4 opponent, if defeated, was sufficient to giev him the points. Alas no, but in Rd 6, David Smerdon drew IM Gary Lane as opponent and the watch was on.
Open Rd 3
Bd 8 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Raul Samar (2249) 0-1
Bd 13 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Emma Guo (1845) vs Mosaddeque Ali (1962) 1-0
Bd 16 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 0-1
Bd 17 Ben Encel (1838) vs Michael Dunn (1947) 0.5-05
Bd 18 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 21 John Alkin (1921) vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
Bd 22 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Mark Baterowicz (1732) 1-0
Bd 32 Dennis Wan (1896) vs Sean Gu (1603) 0-1
Bd 27 Jonathan Montances (1664) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 0-1
Bd 28 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Jake Kostrzewa (1457) 1-0
Bd 29 Vimalraj Arumugam (unr) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 0F-1F
And the best result must be Kinto Wan defeating Mark Baterowicz. Without taking anything away from Sean Gu's victory (he is only 10 years old), Dennis Wan's listed rating is his Fide rating and his ACF rating is 1524.
Goss: Retired GM visits Open and begins analysing a 10 year old's games with him. Hmmmm, I wonder whether this had anything to do with the 10 y o old's games in Rds 4 and 5.
U1600 Rd 3
Bd 2 Peter Yang (1440) vs Anthony Villanueva (1573) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Horst Bleicher (1475) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 1-0
Bd 6 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Mario Palma (1461) 0.5-0.5
Bd 7 Vincent Chen (938) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 8 Dawen Shi (1529) vs Kweimeen Chai (1172) 1-0
Bd 9 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Michael Weltner (1445) 1-0
Bd 11 Vaness Reid (1573) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 1-0
Bd 14 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Jake McCook (1479) 1-0
Bd 17 Roger Jeffreys (1422) vs William Gong (651) 0-1
Bd 19 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 1-0
Bd 21 Joshua Behar (1195) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 1-0
Bd 22 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 0-1
Bd 23 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Mark Aspin (1237) 1-0
Bd 25 Michael Kethro (958) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 Jasper Hong (797) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 0-1
Bd 27 Greig Edwards (1223) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 0-1
Bd 30 Leslie Duffy (1083) vs Noah Gong (617) 0-1
Bd 31 Hugh Winsor (966) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 32 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Helen Aylwin 0-1
Bd 33 Nikhil Kalele (473) bye
Best result to William Gong, and (with a bit of hindsight bias), Ethan Derwent and Joshua Behar continue their impressive performance.
Open Rd 4
Bd 6 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs George Xie (2402) 0-1
Bd 11 Jason Chan (2056) vs Emma Guo (1845) 1-0
Bd 13 Paul Broekhuyse (2118) vs Jack Ruan (1886) 1-0
Bd 14 Romeo Capilitan (2087) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0.5-0.5
Bd 15 Angelito Camer (2013) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0.5-0.5
Bd 16 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 18 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Ian Dickson (1910) 0.5-0.5
Bd 19 Mosaddeque Ali (1962) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 Sean Gu (1603) vs Mike Canfell (1932) 1-0
Bd 22 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Hamish Selnes (1921) 1-0
Bd 23 Mark Lin (891) vs Joseph Nguyen (1901) 0-1
Bd 24 Peter Abbott (1893) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 0.5-0.5
Bd 25 Joshua Christensen (1882) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 0.5-0.5
Best Results: Sean Gu (with GM's post-game analysis?), Nicholas Deen-Cowell, and lots of draws against higher rated opponents. The field has begun to separate with juniors clumping in the middle to end of the pairings.
U1600 Rd 4
Bd 4 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0.5-0.5
Bd 5 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0.5-0.5
Bd 6 Mario Palma (1416) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 0-1
Bd 7 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Vaness Reid (1573) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Matthew Bennett (1173) vs Eliel Barcelona (1458) 1-0
Bd 10 William Gong (651) vs Norm Greenwood (1443) 0-1
Bd 13 Valsalan Karayi (1332) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 14 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 0-1
Bd 15 Samuel Talisayan (1109) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 18 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Vincent Chen (938) 0.5-0.5
Bd 20 Jake McCook (1479) vs Stepehn Roche (1030) 1-0
Bd 23 Douglas Adams (1452) vs Clarise Koh (1142) 1-0
Bd 24 Michael Tracy (1397) vs Michael Kethro (958) 1-0
Bd 26 Rolando Gonzales (1365) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 1-0
Bd 27 Noah Gong (617) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 28 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Patrick Beahan (1210) 0-1
Bd 29 Stephen Childs (1236) vs Jasper Hong (797) 1-0
Bd 32 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Leslie Duffy (1083) 0-1
Bd 33 Calvin Wang (542) bye
Best result goes to Joshua Behar and Matthew Bennett (who is back to his winning upsetting ways), and Caroline Shan begins to show her form.
Open Rd 5
Bd 10 Gary McNamara (2114) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0.5-0.5
Bd 11 Krishna Thapa (2143) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 1-0
Bd 12 Emma Guo (1845) vs Romeo Capilitan (2087) 1-0
Bd 13 Ben Encel (1838) vs Angelito Camer (2013) 1-0
Bd 15 Adrian Miranda (1645) vs Michael Dunn (1947) 0-1
Bd 16 Shan Siddiqi (1943) vs Sean Gu (1603) 0-1
Bd 17 Ian Dickson (1910) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 0-1
Bd 18 Joseph Nguyen (1901) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 1-0
Bd 20 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Mark Baterowicz (1732) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Peter Abbott (1893) 1-0
Bd 22 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 1-0
Bd 23 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs Joshua Christensen (1882) 1-0
Bd 24 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 Hamish Selnes (1921 vs Mark Lin (891) 1-0
Best Results: This must be one of the best rounds for juniors with no less than 6 wins against higher rated opponents. On the downside: no junior playing above Bd 10.
U1600 Rd 5
Bd 2 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Anthony Villanueva (1573) 1-0
Bd 3 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 4 Trent Parker (1529) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0-1
Bd 5 Dawen Shi (1529) vs David Adler (1412) 0.5-0.5
Bd 7 Joshua Behar (1175) vs Horst Bleicher (1475) 1-0
Bd 6 Danny Wayne Bisson (1479) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 8 Norm Greenwood (1443) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 0-1
Bd 11 Lou Damaschino (1417) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 0-1
Bd 12 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 1-0
Bd 13 Joshua Bishop (1274) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 0-1
Bd 14 Bob Sewell (1245) vs Jake McCook (1479) 0-1
Bd 20 William Gong (651) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 0-1
Bd 21 Vincent Chen (938) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 0-1
Bd 25 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0-1
Bd 26 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Helen Aylwin (939) 1-0
Bd 28 Stephen Roche (1030) vs Noah Gong (617) 1-0
Bd 29 Calvin Wang (542) vs Matthew Radisich (960) 1-0
Bd 30 Michael Kethro (958) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 1-0
Bd 32 Jasper Hong (797) vs Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
Bd 33 Caroline Shan (1220) bye
Best Results: Mimicking the Open, this must be one of the best rounds for juniors with no less than 7 wins against higher rated opponents, with Joshua Behar and Ethan Derwent continuing their form and Matthew Bennett notching another win. Upside: Juniors showing a good spread, from top boards to bottom boards.
It was a looooooong day! My son played against three fellow juniors consecutively and in the last round, his opponent refused to resign when down a rook and a pawn. He decided to have some "fun" and promoted knights and bishops and checkmated his opponent. But it meant a longer game than usual and we got home later (10 pm-ish)than it could have been. Sigh!
Highlight of the day: (GM-elect) David Smerdon defeating IM Gary Lane in the last round of the day thus passing that magical mark of 2500 rating points and being "mobbed" (in the quietest manner possible) by well-wishers including GM Ian Rogers and FM/IA Cathy Rogers (who planted a congratulatory kiss). The wait began when GM Rogers came by the arbiter table and inform Cathy Rogers that Gary lane has missed a tactic and that David Smerdon was better. Cathy then planted herself at Board 1 and waited until finally Gary resigned. Earlier in the afternoon, IA Charles Zworestine and FM Vladimir Smirnov was busy calculating and recalculating whether David's Rd 4 opponent, if defeated, was sufficient to giev him the points. Alas no, but in Rd 6, David Smerdon drew IM Gary Lane as opponent and the watch was on.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600_Rds 1 and 2_Games
In the Open Round 1, the best result belonged to Emma Guo, who managed to equalise at move 71 (and also the last game to finish at 6 pm, half an hour past the scheduled start for Rd2):
Jerry Xu might proved to be fellow Sydney junior Kevin Tan's bete noir (no, just kidding as they seem to be good friends) since this is the second straight loss between the two in serious tournaments (the first was in Australia Day Weekender). Harry Ruan made Jason Hu work hard for his win, defending well with a R+Kn+passed b-pawn vs Q+B. The game is also instructive in the use of the Q by Jason especially along the diagonals. For those interested in symmetry, check out White's central pawn structure after move 29.
Again in Rd 2, Emma Guo drew with slightly higher rated Michael Dunn. John Papantoniou did well to draw with Nicholas Kordahi. Adrian Miranda managed to show some focus (after waiting 5 hours for a game because his Rd 1 game was a forfeit due to non-appearance of his scheduled opponent) to draw in 15 moves with Paul Broekhuyse. Here is how to do it:
In the U1600 Round 1, Matthew Bennett showed good technique to bring home the point in an ending where he had R+2P vs R:
And Clarise Koh showed some nice tactics to win against fellow junior,Jake McCook:
Joshua Behar began his tournament well by beating Peter Zekic. So did Vincent Chen who drew with Eddie Quesada.
In the U1600 Round 2, again Matthew Bennett showed the way by defeating Roger Jeffreys:
Peter Zekic suffered his second consecutive loss to a junior in Round 2 (losing to Vincent Chen) but considering his age (70s!) he is doing fine. William Gong surprised Greig Edwards with a win. They are clubmates at Ryde Eastwood and sonner or later a win has to come. ACT's Alana Chibnall (and winner of the Doeberl Minor) did well to draw with higher rated fellow junior Andrew Pan.
Another ACT junior, Ethan Derwent defeated Douglas Adams. I wonder did he get an autographed copy of THHGTTG? Or the answer to the meaning of life? Ina any event, here is the game:
More games to follow.
Jerry Xu might proved to be fellow Sydney junior Kevin Tan's bete noir (no, just kidding as they seem to be good friends) since this is the second straight loss between the two in serious tournaments (the first was in Australia Day Weekender). Harry Ruan made Jason Hu work hard for his win, defending well with a R+Kn+passed b-pawn vs Q+B. The game is also instructive in the use of the Q by Jason especially along the diagonals. For those interested in symmetry, check out White's central pawn structure after move 29.
Again in Rd 2, Emma Guo drew with slightly higher rated Michael Dunn. John Papantoniou did well to draw with Nicholas Kordahi. Adrian Miranda managed to show some focus (after waiting 5 hours for a game because his Rd 1 game was a forfeit due to non-appearance of his scheduled opponent) to draw in 15 moves with Paul Broekhuyse. Here is how to do it:
In the U1600 Round 1, Matthew Bennett showed good technique to bring home the point in an ending where he had R+2P vs R:
And Clarise Koh showed some nice tactics to win against fellow junior,Jake McCook:
Joshua Behar began his tournament well by beating Peter Zekic. So did Vincent Chen who drew with Eddie Quesada.
In the U1600 Round 2, again Matthew Bennett showed the way by defeating Roger Jeffreys:
Peter Zekic suffered his second consecutive loss to a junior in Round 2 (losing to Vincent Chen) but considering his age (70s!) he is doing fine. William Gong surprised Greig Edwards with a win. They are clubmates at Ryde Eastwood and sonner or later a win has to come. ACT's Alana Chibnall (and winner of the Doeberl Minor) did well to draw with higher rated fellow junior Andrew Pan.
Another ACT junior, Ethan Derwent defeated Douglas Adams. I wonder did he get an autographed copy of THHGTTG? Or the answer to the meaning of life? Ina any event, here is the game:
More games to follow.
NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600_Rd 3 Draw
The full results for Rounds 1 and 2 and the draw for Round 3 of the 2009 NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600 can be found here.
Round 3 starts at 10:30 am.
BTW, a story to chill the heart about starting times and being late for your game. Dennis Monokroussos over at his blog reported a few days ago:
TWIC has the same news: "Note that in round 8 Hou Yifan was defaulted against Liang Chong for arriving at the board 5 seconds late and was thus defaulted. I can't begin to say how idiotic these new FIDE regulations are."
To compound the farce, in the last round of the Chinese Championships, GM Wang Hao was leading by half-a-point ahead of 16 year old, Ding LiRen. Ding's opponent did not turn up and Ding got the point by forfeit. GM Wang Hao had to win at all costs because the tiebreaks favoured Ding (earlier, Wang Hao lost to Ding). Unfortunately, he could not win and actually lost his last round game to Liang Chong. [Story from Dennis Monokroussos.]
But rest assured, the folks at the NSW Open are more reasonable and the time for forfeiture of your game if late is an hour.
Round 3 starts at 10:30 am.
BTW, a story to chill the heart about starting times and being late for your game. Dennis Monokroussos over at his blog reported a few days ago:
Women at the Chinese Championship: A Story and a Game
First the story from the Chinese Championship, which is appropriately brief. The female prodigy Hou Yifan, who is playing in the "men's" event, lost her round 8 game because...she was five seconds late. Idiotic? You bet, but that's FIDE for you. Hopefully chess will survive Iljumzhinov's tenure.
TWIC has the same news: "Note that in round 8 Hou Yifan was defaulted against Liang Chong for arriving at the board 5 seconds late and was thus defaulted. I can't begin to say how idiotic these new FIDE regulations are."
To compound the farce, in the last round of the Chinese Championships, GM Wang Hao was leading by half-a-point ahead of 16 year old, Ding LiRen. Ding's opponent did not turn up and Ding got the point by forfeit. GM Wang Hao had to win at all costs because the tiebreaks favoured Ding (earlier, Wang Hao lost to Ding). Unfortunately, he could not win and actually lost his last round game to Liang Chong. [Story from Dennis Monokroussos.]
But rest assured, the folks at the NSW Open are more reasonable and the time for forfeiture of your game if late is an hour.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
NSW Open and NSW Open_U1600_Rds 1 and 2
Today is the start of the Queen's Birthday weekend but no more long weekend spent on holidays or lazing on the beach. No, it is all about chess tournaments now. And this time it is the NSW Open. My son decided only a few weeks ago that he will play (after hearing that a certain player will play). The NSW Open is at the NSW RSL Club in Parramatta, only about a 20 mins drive for us. Got there about 12:35 pm (registration from 12-12:30 pm) and the playing hall was already full of people. I thought I was a bit late for registration and just in time for the start at 1 pm but no, the start was delayed for an hour. I wonder whether there is any chess tournament which starts at the advertised time? It was a record turnout though, beating last year's turnout of 118 by 6. And lots of juniors including a huge contingent from the ACT.
The most surprised person must have been second seed, IM George Xie, who was gifted with a piece and opponent resigned at move 9! Hmmmmmmm! plenty of time to prepare for the next round (or talking with prospective students (juniors) parents since he is a very popular coach for juniors).
The goss: An adult player complained to the arbiter that his opponent was discussing the game outside the playing hall at the analysis tables.
Here are the first round draw and results involving juniors for the Open and U1600:
Open Rd 1
Bd 6 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Greg Canfell (2327) 0-1
Bd 8 Emma Guo (1845) vs Raul Samar (2249) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Max Illingworth (2243) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 1-0
Bd 10 Ben Encel (1838) vs Armen Ayvazyan (2210) 0-1
Bd 11 Jason Hu (2196) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 14 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Paul Broekhuyse (2118) 0-1
Bd 17 Brendan Norman (2078) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0F-1F
Bd 18 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Alek Safarian (2061) 0-1
Bd 19 Jason Chan (2056) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 1-0
Bd 22 Sean Gu (1603) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0-1
Bd 23 Arthur Huynh (1978) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 1-0
Bd 25 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0-1
Bd 26 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Michael Dunn 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Mark Lin (891) vs Mike Canfell (1932)0-1
U1600 Rd 1
Bd 4 Herman Rachmadi (1569) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 1-0
Bd 5 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 6 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Glenn Ingham (1219) 0-1
Bd 8 Dawen Shi (1529) vs Erik McPherson (1185) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Joshua Behar (1195) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 1-0
Bd 10 Peter Hannagan (1483) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 0-1
Bd 13 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Jake McCook (1479) 1-0
Bd 19 Michael Kethro (958) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0-1
Bd 21 Vincent Chen (938) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 1-0
Bd 25 Jasper Hong (797) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 0-1
Bd 26 Vince Chiara (1387) vs William Gong (651) 1-0
Bd 27 Noah Gong (617) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 0-1
Bd 28 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 29 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 0-1
Bd 30 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Stephen Childs (unr) 1-0
Bd 31 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 32 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Soliman Soliman (unr) 1-0
Open Rd 2
Bd 7 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Tomek Rej (2308) 0-1
Bd 13 Paul Broekhuyse (2118) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0.5-0.5
Bd 14 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Gary McNamara (2114)0-1
Bd 15 Raul Samar (2249) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 16 Michael Dunn (1947) vs Emma Guo (1845) 0.5-0.5
Bd 17 Warren McElroy (1698) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0-1
Bd 18Nicholas Kordahi (1913) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-0.5
Bd 19 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs Ian Dickson (1910) 0-1
Bd 22 Peter Abbott (1893) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 1-0
Bd 23 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Jack Ruan (1886) 0-1
Bd 25 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs Sean Gu (1603) 1-0
Bd 26 Jake Kostrzewa (1457) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0-1
Bd 27 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Jonathan Adams (1593) 1-0
U1600 Rd 2
Bd 5 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 0.5-0.5
Bd 8 Mario Palma (1416) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 1-0
Bd 10 Douglas Adams (1452) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 12 Peter Yang (1440) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 1-0
Bd 13 Matthew Bennett (1117) vs Roger Jeffreys (1422) 1-0
Bd 15 Michael Wettner (1445) vs Clarise Koh (1142) 1-0
Bd 16 Eddie Quesada (1419) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0-1
Bd 18 Peter Zekic (1484) vs Vincent Chen (938) 0-1
Bd 19 Matt Radisich (960) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Michael Kethro (958)0.5-0.5
Bd 22 Jake McCook (1479) vs Alex Momot (878) 1-0
Bd 23 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Charles Bishop (842) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Bob Sewell (1245) 0-1
Bd 25 Mark Aspin (1237) vs Jasper Hong (797) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 William Gong (651) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 1-0
Bd 27 Calvin Wang (542) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 28 Mary Wilkie (1153) vs Noah Gong (617) 1-0
Bd 29 Samuel Talisayan (1109) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 1-0
Bd 31 Stehen Roache vs Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
I left before the rest of the games finished. [Results are now updated.]
The most surprised person must have been second seed, IM George Xie, who was gifted with a piece and opponent resigned at move 9! Hmmmmmmm! plenty of time to prepare for the next round (or talking with prospective students (juniors) parents since he is a very popular coach for juniors).
The goss: An adult player complained to the arbiter that his opponent was discussing the game outside the playing hall at the analysis tables.
Here are the first round draw and results involving juniors for the Open and U1600:
Open Rd 1
Bd 6 Jack Ruan (1886) vs Greg Canfell (2327) 0-1
Bd 8 Emma Guo (1845) vs Raul Samar (2249) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Max Illingworth (2243) vs Allen Setiabudi (1843) 1-0
Bd 10 Ben Encel (1838) vs Armen Ayvazyan (2210) 0-1
Bd 11 Jason Hu (2196) vs Harry Ruan (1815) 1-0
Bd 14 John Papantoniou (1712) vs Paul Broekhuyse (2118) 0-1
Bd 17 Brendan Norman (2078) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0F-1F
Bd 18 Anton Smirnov (1627) vs Alek Safarian (2061) 0-1
Bd 19 Jason Chan (2056) vs Chen, Peng Yu (1624) 1-0
Bd 22 Sean Gu (1603) vs Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) 0-1
Bd 23 Arthur Huynh (1978) vs Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) 1-0
Bd 25 Kevin Tan (1956) vs Jerry Xu (1530) 0-1
Bd 26 Kinto Wan (1498) vs Michael Dunn 0.5-0.5
Bd 28 Mark Lin (891) vs Mike Canfell (1932)0-1
U1600 Rd 1
Bd 4 Herman Rachmadi (1569) vs Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) 1-0
Bd 5 Caroline Shan (1220) vs Andrew Pan (1544) 0-1
Bd 6 Cedric Koh (1530) vs Glenn Ingham (1219) 0-1
Bd 8 Dawen Shi (1529) vs Erik McPherson (1185) 0.5-0.5
Bd 9 Joshua Behar (1195) vs Peter Zekic (1484) 1-0
Bd 10 Peter Hannagan (1483) vs Matthew Bennett (1173) 0-1
Bd 13 Clarise Koh (1142) vs Jake McCook (1479) 1-0
Bd 19 Michael Kethro (958) vs Peter Yang (1440) 0-1
Bd 21 Vincent Chen (938) vs Eddie Quesada (1419) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Glynn Curran (1410) vs Jamie-Lee Guo (842) 1-0
Bd 25 Jasper Hong (797) vs Michael Tracy (1397) 0-1
Bd 26 Vince Chiara (1387) vs William Gong (651) 1-0
Bd 27 Noah Gong (617) vs Rolando Gonzales (1365) 0-1
Bd 28 Alana Chibnall (1337) vs Calvin Wang (542) 1-0
Bd 29 Nikhil Kalele (473) vs Valsalan Karayi (1332) 0-1
Bd 30 Megan Setiabudi (1321) vs Stephen Childs (unr) 1-0
Bd 31 Joseph Damaschino (unr) vs Joshua Bishop (1274) 0-1
Bd 32 Ethan Derwent (1271) vs Soliman Soliman (unr) 1-0
Open Rd 2
Bd 7 Kimberly Jane Cunanan (1991) vs Tomek Rej (2308) 0-1
Bd 13 Paul Broekhuyse (2118) vs Adrian Miranda (1645) 0.5-0.5
Bd 14 Jerry Xu (1530) vs Gary McNamara (2114)0-1
Bd 15 Raul Samar (2249) vs Kinto Wan (1498) 1-0
Bd 16 Michael Dunn (1947) vs Emma Guo (1845) 0.5-0.5
Bd 17 Warren McElroy (1698) vs Kevin Tan (1956) 0-1
Bd 18Nicholas Kordahi (1913) vs John Papantoniou (1712) 0.5-0.5
Bd 19 Chen, Peng Yu (1624) vs Ian Dickson (1910) 0-1
Bd 22 Peter Abbott (1893) vs Anton Smirnov (1627) 1-0
Bd 23 Nicholas Deen-Cowell (1594) vs Jack Ruan (1886) 0-1
Bd 25 Allen Setiabudi (1843) vs Sean Gu (1603) 1-0
Bd 26 Jake Kostrzewa (1457) vs Ben Encel (1838) 0-1
Bd 27 Harry Ruan (1815) vs Jonathan Adams (1593) 1-0
U1600 Rd 2
Bd 5 Andrew Pan (1544) vs Alana Chibnall (1337) 0.5-0.5
Bd 8 Mario Palma (1416) vs Megan Setiabudi (1321) 1-0
Bd 10 Douglas Adams (1452) vs Ethan Derwent (1271) 0-1
Bd 12 Peter Yang (1440) vs Joshua Behar (1175) 1-0
Bd 13 Matthew Bennett (1117) vs Roger Jeffreys (1422) 1-0
Bd 15 Michael Wettner (1445) vs Clarise Koh (1142) 1-0
Bd 16 Eddie Quesada (1419) vs Dawen Shi (1529) 0-1
Bd 18 Peter Zekic (1484) vs Vincent Chen (938) 0-1
Bd 19 Matt Radisich (960) vs Cedric Koh (1530) 0.5-0.5
Bd 21 Stephen Stipic (1480) vs Michael Kethro (958)0.5-0.5
Bd 22 Jake McCook (1479) vs Alex Momot (878) 1-0
Bd 23 Dylan Siow-Lee (1368) vs Charles Bishop (842) 0.5-0.5
Bd 24 Jamie-Lee Guo (842) vs Bob Sewell (1245) 0-1
Bd 25 Mark Aspin (1237) vs Jasper Hong (797) 0.5-0.5
Bd 26 William Gong (651) vs Greig Edwards (1223) 1-0
Bd 27 Calvin Wang (542) vs Caroline Shan (1220) 0-1
Bd 28 Mary Wilkie (1153) vs Noah Gong (617) 1-0
Bd 29 Samuel Talisayan (1109) vs Nikhil Kalele (473) 1-0
Bd 31 Stehen Roache vs Joseph Damaschino (unr) 1-0
I left before the rest of the games finished. [Results are now updated.]
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
U8–U12 Australian Juniors —Watch out for this girl!
I read this at Chessdom. Any Australian Junior chessplayers intending to play in the U8–U12 section at the 2009 World Youth Championships 2009 in Antalya, Turkey, should watch out for Russian Alexandra Obolentseva, winner of the just completed Russian U8 championship ahead of 142 other young players. Alexandra was undefeated with seven victories and two draws. Earlier this year, she was 5th in the girls U9 section in the World School Chess Championship and was the highest placed U8 girl (I think this is the correct interpretation to be placed on Chessdom's article but it is a bit unclear. Chessdom's article is a bit ambiguous in this respect. Perhaps a reader who knows russian can check it out form the links given in Chessdom's article (see below).)
Chessdom article and further links here.
Chessdom article and further links here.
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