No. 639

11 January 2025

Jan 10, 2025

Editorial

by Miles Patterson

Happy New Year to you all! Welcome to the January 2025 ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue.

Please note: The ACF Newsletter is a long post. If you are reading this in email, please scroll down to the end and open the entire message, so you can enjoy the full content.

ACF Notices

FIDE RATING SUBMISSIONS

Note that events for FIDE ratings that are completed in the last seven days of the month need to be submitted to ACF FIDE Ratings Officer Bill Gletsos for ratings immediately so that any issues with them can be resolved in time for events to be rated in that month. Also note that intended changes of names or dates of FIDE-rated events need to be notified immediately as they may affect the event's rating status. Note also that all FIDE rated events must be submitted for ACF ratings – no exceptions.

FIDE RATED EVENT REGISTRATION

Australian tournaments to be FIDE rated must be advised to the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer at least 40 days prior to the start of the tournament for tournaments where norms are available and at least 7 days prior to the start of the tournament for all other tournaments. Where these conditions are not met, the decision whether to register it or not is solely at the discretion of the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer.

FIDE ID NUMBER REGISTRATION

FIDE has issued a warning that they will not accept tournaments for FIDE rating where those tournaments contain players who do not have FIDE ID numbers. Although new Australian players can be registered by the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer, this does not apply to new players from overseas. Therefore, organisers should not immediately accept the entries of overseas players who lack FIDE ID numbers to FIDE rated tournaments; instead, those players should be required to first obtain a FIDE ID from their own national federation.

Tournaments submitted that include foreign players who do not have ID numbers end up not being FIDE rated. Organisers need to confirm prior to the start of the tournament that all players without a FIDE ID number are either Australian citizens or have a permanent residency visa.

Players without ID numbers should only be submitted as Australian if they are citizens or are a permanent residency visa holder; if a player is registered under the wrong country, they may incur transfer costs later. For further information/clarification contact the ACF FIDE Ratings Officer Bill Gletsos via fide_ratings@auschess.org.au.

AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVE INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR CHESS TOURNAMENTS

Any inquiries can be sent to Selections Director Tom Saltmarsh, at selections_director@auschess.org.au.

ACF POSITIONS

The following ACF Council-appointed positions are vacant. Councillors and others wishing to inquire or register interest in appointment to one or more of these positions are welcome to email executive@auschess.org.au or phone 0409 525 963 at any time.

Advertising Manager. It has been suggested that, ideally, the appointee would be a person with an interest in coordinating advertising in both the ACF newsletter and website, and at or in connection with ACF championships, the Grand Prix and other major ACF events.

Assistant Secretary. This position and the currently filled position of Assistant Treasurer were created to provide opportunities for younger administrators to experience the joys of chess administration at national level.

Archives Director. Generally, the Archives Director would be expected to gather, maintain and build a repository of records and documents that might be of historical interest or value, or which might help in confirming the organisation’s status or credibility for a variety of purposes.

Trophies Officer. Responsibilities relating to trophies and other mementos to be presented in connection with ACF Championships and other events.

ACF FUNDING SUPPORT PROGRAM

The application deadline for activities commencing between 1 September 2025 and 28 February 2026 is 30 June 2025. Application forms and related information are available on request to executive@auschess.org.au.

News from the States / Territories

Australian Capital Territory

Australian Capital Territory Chess Association (ACTCA)

Recent Events

2024 ACT Rapid Championship

By Shaun Press (chessexpress)

The 2024 ACT Rapidplay Championship ended in a tie for 1st between Harry Press and FM Michael Kethro. The 7-round event attracted a big field of 58 players, with the Big three of Street Chess (Press, Kethro and FM Fred Litchfield) all taking part. Press started with 4/4 before drawing with Kethro (on 3.5) in round 5. Round 7 saw Press draw with the always solid CM Hui Li, while Kethro won against Willis Lo, leaving Press and Kethro tied on 6/7. Tied for third on 5.5 were Malik Amer and Thomas Gatzen-O'Keefe. Gatzen-O'Keefe played an extreme form of the swiss gambit, going LDWWWWW in the event. Olamide Fasakin picked up the Under 1800 prize, while newcomer Ajo Varghese won the Under 1300. Masaki Horikawa won the best junior prize.

Upcoming Events

2025 ACT Lightning Championship

21 January. Gungahlin Chess Club. Eastlakes, Gungahlin.

2025 ACTJCL Summer Bootcamp

The ACT Junior Chess League is running the 2025 Summer Bootcamp from the 21st to the 24th of January. The venue is Campbell High School, Trealor Crescent, Campbell. At the Summer Boot Camp – Chess Coaching and Lightning day, (Tuesday 21st) players will have a morning of top-quality coaching from some of Canberra’s best coaches. The afternoon is taken up by a fun event called “Lightning”. Please note we also have the Boot Camp Rapid on Wed 22nd January and the Boot Camp Long Time Tournament on Thu 23rd and Fri 24th January. Each day’s activities run from 9am to 5pm. You can sign up for 1, 2 or all 4 days. Registration is at https://www.trybooking.com/CXZUH

2025 Doeberl Cup

17-21 April, Canberra Southern Cross Club,
92-96 Corinna Street, Woden ACT 2606 Registrations here

Street Chess

Every Saturday. From 10.45 to 2.30. King O’Malley’s in Civic.

New South Wales

New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)

Upcoming Events

Riverina School Holiday Chess Clinic and Junior Tournament

Tumut Chess Club is hosting a School Holiday Clinic on 23-24 January for primary and secondary school aged students, followed by a NSWJCL rated tournament on Saturday 25 January. Both events will take place at Franklin Public School Hall, Forest Street, Tumut.
The clinic will be run by International Master Igor Bjelobrk and former Olympiad player Ingela Bjelobrk, and will help students develop their chess skills, use the clock effectively in tournament play, develop their ability to record their games, and play in mini chess and puzzle tournaments. For more information, email tumutchessclub@outlook.com or visit https://www.trybooking.com/CVXHL
There will be two divisions of the NSWJCL tournament, rapid (15 minutes per player per game) and classical (45 minutes per player per game). For further information about the tournament, please visit https://www.trybooking.com/CWSPZ

2025 Australia Day Weekender

Saturday 25 January and Sunday 26 January.
Venue: Sydney Academy of Chess, Level 2, Suite 2, 1-17 Elsie St., Burwood

Details here

2025 PIRTEK Newcastle Open

8-9 February 2025, Wests City Club - NEX, Corner King and Union Streets, Newcastle

Registration: Saturday, 8th February from 9.30am - (early entry to venue is possible prior to Club opening time at 10.00am). Pre-registration is appreciated and for further information contact Ron on 0414 57 1111 or 02 4954 9272 or email to rongroenhout@syneca.com.au.

2025 Summer Gosford Blitz Open Tournament

Saturday 22nd of February 2025. Registration Opens - 9:30 am. Central Coast Leagues Club, Dane Drive Gosford. Parkview Room.

Enquiries: secretary.gosfordchess@gmail.com Payment: https://www.trybooking.com/CYAZE

2025 Sydney International Open

23-27 April, Novotel West HQ, Conference Rooms 5 & 6, see NSWCA site

Northern Territory

Northern Territory Chess Association

Queensland

South Australia

South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)

Recent Events

Lidums Australian Allegro Championship 2024

1st Place: Kyle Leaver, 2nd Place: Jamie Charters
=3rd Place: CM Li Hui, IM Mark Chapman, Song Yang & George Bartley
=Best U1800: Xavier Georgitsis & Elizabeth Ports
Best U1500: Shourya Dash, Best U1000: Oliver Cirami & Anesh Saravanan
Best Unrated: Varun Purushotham, =2nd Best Unrated: Hariharan Ayyar, Haasith Gummalla, Isaac Truong, Robert Donnelly & Anton Andreacchio
=Best Veteran: FM Bill Jordan & FM Manny Rayner
Best Woman: WFM Chi Phan, Best U18 Junior: Ethan Retnaraja
Best U15 Junior: Heath Medlock, Best U12 Junior: Tarush Jindal
Best U10 Junior: Chen Bi Zang (100 entries)

Upcoming Events

Australia Day Weekend Blitz 2025

7.00pm, Friday the 24th of January 2025, at the Chess Centre of South Australia,
10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide. Details here

Australia Day Weekender 2025

Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of January 2025, at the Chess Centre of South Australia, 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide. Details here

Tasmania

Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)

Upcoming Events

2025 Australia Day Weekender

Hobart, 24-27 January 2025 Details here

Victoria

Chess Victoria Inc (CV)

Recent Events

The 2024 Australasian Masters IM Norm Event

By IM Leonid Sandler

Once again, our traditional Masters event took place in Melbourne at the end of last year. The tournament was dominated by in-form International Master from Melbourne James Morris who scored 8 points from 9 games. Second place and an International Norm result was secured by our New Zealand guest FM Alphaeus Ang. He scored 7 points from 9 games. Full results and all games can be seen on the official tournament website here.

Alphaeus has played in the Australasian Masters events for quite a few years and becomes the first New Zealander to achieve IM Norm! Thanks to his result Ang is currently the number one player in New Zealand.

The Australasian Masters events (formerly known as Australian Masters) started in 1987 thanks to the vision of Melbourne chess personality FIDE Master Eddy Levi who also sponsored all editions of the events. Of course, many other sponsors help to make these tournaments an important part of Australian Chess Calendar allowing our budding players to achieve IM and GM Norms (our first GM Norm Australasian Masters event took place in 2013). Many players have achieved GM and IM Norms including Australian current number one player GM Bobby Chang. And of course, these tournaments helped to achieve many International and FIDE Arbiter Norms for Australian arbiters all over our country. Some information about the Australasian Masters event can be seen here.

Australian Masters Game

From reports by Paul Power

James Morris, 30-year-old Victorian International Master, emerged as winner of the Australasian Masters Chess Tournament, an invitational 9-round round robin tournament run from 14-22 December at the Melbourne Chess Club.

In Round 5 Morris, started slowly but eventually overcame Alexej Khamatgaleev.

Khamatgaleev (White) played a Rossolimo variant to Morris's Sicilian, arriving at the same position as Saric-Giri, SuperUnited Rapid Zagreb, 2024, after 9. Qe2

where Giri continued 9... b5; Morris 9... Rb8

Morris ventured 14... b5

There followed 15. axb5 axb5 16. cxb5 Qb6 17. Nc2 and White is better.

Then 17... Rd8 18. Kh1 d5 19. exd5 Nxd5 20. Nxd5 Rxd5 21. Ne3

with initiative. There followed 21... Rd7. White has the more aggressively placed pieces and has the advantage and so must attack. However, Khamatgaleev played 22. Ra5 (Better was 22. f5 exf5 23. Nxf5 Bf8 24. Bf4 Rbb7 25. Ra8) Then 22... Qd6 23. Rfa1 Bb7 24. Ra7 Qxd3

and White's advantage has dissipated.

There followed a series of exchanges; Black captured 30... R8xb5

entering a double Rook and minor piece ending after 31. Nxf8.

Black traded the Exchange 36... Rxb2+

and with two pawns for the Exchange, Black's King asserted its presence, 39... Kh7

Threatening ... Kg6 and wholesale advance. White is challenged to find the correct balance of defence and attack.

With both players down to less than 5 minutes plus 30 second increment, Black had thrown out the challenge White failed to meet. On 42... g6

White's situation was desperate and played 43. Rxc4. Then 43... Bxc4+ 44. Rxc4 Rb2+ 45. Kf3 Rxh2

with a lost Rook and pawn ending.

Final Standings

James Morris (left) prepares to face Alphaeus Ang in the final round - Photo: Leonid Sandler

2025 Australian Blitz Championship

By Shaun Press (chessexpress)

IM James Morris has once again collected the title of Australian Blitz Champion, winning the 2025 edition with 9.5/11. He finished half a point ahead of IM David Cannon, with a group of players tied for third on 8.5. The top two players did not actually meet in the event, due to a surprisingly early loss for Morris (round 3) and a similar loss for Cannon (in round 4)

The event attracted 136 players and was run on the rest day for the 2025 Australian Open. The win for Morris qualifies him for the 2025 World Blitz Championship (as national champion), although where the 2025 edition will be is as yet to be determined.

Upcoming Events

2025 MCC Australia Day Weekender

Friday 24 January – Monday 27 January 2025, Melbourne Chess Club, 66 Leicester St, Fitzroy. Details here

Begonia Open Chess Tournament

In Ballarat over the Victorian Labour Day long weekend from 8^th to 10^th March 2025.

Details at the tournament website

Western Australia

Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)

Recent Events

Australian Schools Team Championship - Correction

The Secondary Girls was won by Brisbane State High School (QLD), not Anglican Church Grammar School (QLD). Apologies for the error.

2024 Christmas Blitz

1st: Ashvin Balavignan (10.5/11)
2nd: FM Rui Gen Teh (10.0/11)
=3rd: Hui Lam Teh & Yonal De Vas (6.5/11)

=1st U1800: Abhinav Verma (7.5/11)
1st U1550 & =1st U1800: Aaron Wong (7.5/11)
2nd U1800: Barath Harirajesh (7.0/11)
1st U1200 & =2nd U1550: Shawn Boby (6.0/11)
=2nd U1550: Lyndon While (6.0/11)

Upcoming Events

2025 Australian Junior Chess Championships

13 - 21 January 2025, Manning Community Hall in Manning, WA Details here

Finesse Chess Blitz Tournament

25th January at John McGrath Hall - 97 Hensman St, South Perth 6151. Details here

New Zealand

New Zealand Chess News (newzealandchess.nz)

Upcoming Events

13-19 January Bob Wade Masters 2025
6, 8-9 February Auckland Waitangi Weekender 2025
8 February Hawkes Bay Rapid 2025
22 February 19th Bay of Plenty Rapid 2025
8-9, 22-23 March Auckland Double Weekends March 2025
15 March Latvian Rapid 2025
25-27 April Auckland Anzac Weekender 2025

International News

Recent Events

2024 Singapore Open

By Shaun Press

The 2024 Singapore Open was one of the many events held alongside the 2024 World Chess Championship Match. Chief organiser of the World Championship, GM Kevin Go Wei Ming, saw an opportunity for holding a strong open event during the World Championship match, and the 2024 Singapore Open was born.

The Open was split into two sections, with Group A restricted to players rated above 1800. To improve chances of a title norm, the pairings were accelerated in the early rounds, which resulted in some surprisingly tough matches early on. There were 29 Australian players in the top section, which was the 4^th largest contingent out of the 289-player field. Not surprisingly India had the largest entry with 55, followed by Singapore and the Philippines.

Top seeds for the event were GM Pavel Eljanov (UKR), GM Volodar Murzin (FID), GM Alan Pichot (ESP) and GM Aleksandr Indjic (SRB). Top seeded Australian was GM Zong Yuan Zhao (39^th!) with IM James Morris, FM Albert Winkelman, IM Gary Lane, and IM David Cannon starting in the top 100.

In such a tough field, with strong GMs at the top, and a horde of underrated juniors at the bottom, it was going to be a difficult assignment for the Australian players. Nonetheless both GM Zhao and IM Morris managed to stay in touch with the leaders going into the tail end of the event. Zhao started with 5/6, including an important round 6 win over 14^th seed GM Rinat Jumbayev (KAZ). Along the way he beat Indian GM S.P. Sethuraman, after his opponent blundered on move 37.

Zhao, Zong Yuan GM – Sethuraman, S.P GM 2024 Singapore Open, Round 4

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 d6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 Bh5 7. Re1 b5 8. Bb3 Na5 9. d4 Nxb3 10. axb3 f6 11. Be3 Ne7 12. Nbd2 exd4 13. Bxd4 c5 14. Be3 Nc6 15. Nf1 Ne5 16. Ng3 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 Bf7 18. f4 Be7 19. Nf5 O-O 20. Qg4 g6 21. Nh6+ Kg7 22. Nxf7 Kxf7 23. Red1 Qc8 24. Rd5 Qxg4+ 25. hxg4 a5 26. Kf1 Rfc8 27. Ke2 a4 28. bxa4 Rxa4 29. Rxa4 bxa4 30. Bc1 Rh8 31. f5 g5 32. Rd3 h5 33. gxh5 Rxh5 34. Ra3 Rh4 35. Rxa4 d5 36. b3 dxe4 37. Be3

37…g4 38. Rxe4 Rh5 39. Rxg4 Rxf5 40. Kd3 Ke6 41. Re4+ Kd7 42. Kc4 Bd6 43. Kb5 Rf3 44. Bxc5 Bxc5 45. Kxc5 Rxf2 46. c4 f5 47. Rd4+ Kc8 48. b4 f4 49. b5 f3 50. Rf4 Kd7 51. b6 Rf1 52. Rf7+ Ke6 53. b7 Rb1 54. Rxf3 Rxb7 55. Kc6 Rb1 56. Re3+ Kf6 57. c5 Kf7 58. Kc7 Rc1 59. c6 Rc2 60. Kd7 Rd2+ 61. Kc8 Rc2 62. c7 Rc1 63. Re4 Rc2 64. Kd7 Rd2+ 65. Kc6 Rc2+ 66. Kd6 Rc1 67. Re7+ Kf6 68. Re8 Rd1+ 69. Kc6 Rc1+ 70. Kb6 Rb1+ 71. Ka5 Ra1+ 72. Kb4 Rb1+ 73. Ka3 1-0

Unfortunately, Round 7 saw Zhao’s good run halted, with a loss to Polish IM Jan Klimkowski. But Round 7 also saw FM Albert Winkelman step up, beating FM Sumiya Chinguun (MGL), to reach 5/7. This also pushed his performance rating above the 2450 level required for an IM norm. Also on 5/7 was IM James Morris, who had an undefeated +3=4 result (including draws with 2 GMs), but hadn’t played enough high rated players for a chance at a GM norm.

Round 8 saw GM Zhao on the show boards again, but he lost a wild game against GM Volodar Murzin, with both players having chances during the time scramble at the end of the game. FM Albert Winkleman won his 3^rd game in a row, a result that secured his IM norm with 1 round to spare. IM James Morris lost his first game of the event, against eventual 3^rd place finisher GM Jagadeesh Siddarth (SGP).

Having met the requirements for an IM norm, FM Albert Winkelman received a bonus, being paired against GM Vahap Sanal (TUR). Scoring his 4^th win in a row, Winkleman pushed his performance rating over 2600 to record his 1^st GM norm, and a tie for 2^nd place (6^th on tie break).

Sanal, Vahap GM – Winkelman, Albert FM 2024 Singapore Open, Round 9.

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c3 e6 4. Bf4 c5 5. e3 Nc6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. Ne5 Nd7 8. Nd3 Ndxe5 9. dxe5 g5 10. Bg3 h5 11. h4 g4 12. Nd2 Qc7 13. e4 Nxe5 14. exd5 exd5 15. Bb5+ Kf8 16. O-O Bd6 17. Re1 Be6 18. Nf1 Ng6 19. Bd3 Nf4 20. Bc2 Rd8 21. Qd2 Rh6 22. Rad1 Rf6 23. Ne3 Kg7 24. Bxf4 Bxf4 25. g3 d4

26. gxf4 dxe3 27. Qxe3 Rxd1 28. Rxd1 Qxf4 29. Qxf4 Rxf4 30. Rd8 Bxa2 31. Rd7 b6 32. Rxa7 Bd5 33. Re7 Kf6 34. Rd7 Ke6 35. Rd8 Rf3 36. Re8+ Kd6 37. Rd8+ Ke6 38. Re8+ Kd7 39. Re5 Bc6 40. Rxh5 Rh3 41. Bf5+ Kc7 42. f3 Bxf3 43. Kf2 Kd6 44. Bc8 f6 45. c4 Rh2+ 46. Kg3 Rxb2 47. Rh8 Ke5 48. Re8+ Kd4 49. h5 Rg2+ 50. Kf4 Rh2 51. Rh8 Be2 52. h6 Bd3 53. Kg3 Rh1 54. Bxg4 Kxc4 55. Bf3 Re1 56. Rb8 b5 57. Bc6 b4 58. Rb7 Rg1+ 59. Kh4 Rg8 60. Rd7 Rh8 61. Kh5 Kc3 62. Bd5 c4 0-1

GM Zhao drew his lost round game to finish tied for 42^nd, but did pick up a few rating points. On the same score were a number of young Australian players, including CM Ryan Lane, who had a performance rating of 2200, beating IMs in rounds 7 and 8.

Group B also attracted a large field of 294 players, with 10 Australians taking part. Picking a likely winner in an event such as this was of course impossible, and for most players it was gaining (or at least not losing) rating points was the real goal. Unlike the A section, the Australian players had a much tougher time. WCM Om O’Carroll was the best scorer with 5/9, with Tim Pearce, Nikolai Vujasin and Jaswanth Sethuraman on 4.5

After the prize giving, the tournament organisers put on a 9-round blitz, with 230 players taking part. IM Gary Lane was the best placed Australian, with 5.5/9. The top 8 players qualified for a KO final, with GM Volodar Murzin winning the final.

The Singapore Open was a popular addition to the World Championship Festival. Indeed the event first reached capacity 2 months before it was due to start, and even with additional space, it was sold out 1 month early. Like modern events, the tournament was popular with growing online streaming community. A number of streamers were involved in the event, and the organisers made it easier for them to do their work. The organisers also welcomed a number of disabled players, including a team of disabled players from the Philippines. For Australian players it provided a great opportunity to combine a chance to see the World Chess Championship with playing in a well organised international event. The shorter travel distance clearly encouraged the big turnout, and with Singapore such an attractive tourist destination, it was no wonder the event was so popular with players from down under.

Australian Arbiter Adventures in Singapore

By IM Leonid Sandler

Within the myriad chess tournaments and millions of games played all over the world via different avenues (live, online etc) one of the highlights of last year was the World Chess Championship match being held in Singapore.

For the first time in Australian Chess history, International Arbiter Anastasia Sorokina was a Deputy Chief Arbiter. As we all know, among the roles of a good arbiter is to be invisible and uphold the rules. Anastasia did just that quietly and confidently doing her job. The World Chess Championship match was incident free, thanks to the arbiters’ team which includes our Anastasia Sorokina.

Anastasia with 18th World Champion Gukesh D

Upcoming International Events

Zone 3.6 Men's and Women's Zonals, 24-29 Jan 25 Melbourne Details here

Study of the Month

White to play and win

Solution at the end of the newsletter.

Book Review

By IM Gary Lane

King's Anti-Sicilians for Black by Daniel King, published by Chessable, hardback 280 pages.

An opening repertoire for Black to take on the Anti-Sicilians.

Basically, King has already championed the Kalashnikov in another book so, taking that lead, every defence after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 starts with 2…Nc6. For instance, against the Rossolimo he suggests meeting 3 Bb5 with the intriguing 3…Nf6 which has three chapters devoted to White replies.

It is worth noting that the English author takes a novel approach by starting the first 65 pages with model games before going into detail on how to cope with the various alternatives. This is certainly inspiring stuff and often it looks like Black to play and win. I was surprised to see him recommending taking on the c3 Sicilian/Alapin with a French Defence set-up but after seeing a few model games it comes across as a solid but tricky line with opportunities to press for the advantage. He advises to take the free pawn offered by the Morra Gambit; the Grand Prix Attack is contained, while the Closed Sicilian leads to counterattacks to try and take advantage of White’s aggressive intentions.

It is worth remembering that all the material was the basis for an online Chessable video course so over time he has tweaked some lines and added new games for the book version.

The explanations are clear and concise, which any club player would appreciate and applaud. A practical opening repertoire that makes defending the Sicilian suddenly a lot easier.

Looking Back

India’s First IM

Considering where Indian chess is now, it is interesting to look back at one of the forerunners of modern Indian chess development.

Manual Aaron was India’s first FIDE IM, gaining the title in 1961 after winning the West Asian Zonal. He then defeated Cecil Purdy in a match to qualify for the Interzonal. Nine times Indian champion, Aaron helped popularize the international form of chess in India. Playing from the 1960s to the 1980s in Olympiads, Asian Team Championships and Commonwealth Championships, he was also a chess administrator and a chairman of the All India Chess Federation. India’s second IM did not arrive until 1978 (Ravikumar) and ten years later saw its first GM (Anand).