No. 652
14 February 2026
Editorial
by Miles Patterson
Welcome to the February ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue. Congratulations to the 2025 ACF Medal and Award winners, details below.
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
Australian Players of the Year 2025 Medals & Awards
Steiner Medal & Steiner-Holt Award – Player of the Year 2025
Awarded to: GM Temur Kuybokarov (WA) for “performances throughout the year, highlight his 2025 FIDE World Cup campaign”.
Viner Medal & Award – Senior Player of the Year 2025
Awarded to: IM Igor Goldenberg (Vic) for “excellent year...fifth Victorian Championship...first was 30 years ago in 1995”.
Arlauskas Medal & Award – Under-16 Player of the Year 2025
Awarded to: CM Tedric Li (Vic) for “outstanding...jumping from Candidate Master to International Master (elect)”.
Service & Achievement Medal
Koshnitsky Medal – Chess Administration
Awarded to: Casey Goh (Vic) for “recognition of profound and lasting impact on advancement of chess in Victoria.”
Selection Opportunities
Applications are invited from players wishing to represent Australia in the following events.
Please address registrations of interest and other inquiries concerning forthcoming events to selections_director@auschess.org.au and phone 0499 996 559 or 0409 525 963 if not acknowledged within 48 hours. Copies of inquiries relating to events limited to Junior, Youth, Cadet or other under-age categories must also be sent to juniors_coordinator@auschess.org.au
To enable time for local selection procedures and related purposes, ACF application deadlines can be significantly earlier than deadlines indicated in organisers’ published regulations.
Oceania Youth Chess Championships
venue Christchurch, New Zealand, dates April 9 to 13, time control Standard
links Event information Express Interest ACF deadline 15 February (accommodation deadline 28 February)
Commonwealth Chess Championships
venue Kaluthara, Sri Langka, dates May 16 to 26, time control Standard, Rapid & Blitz
links Regulations Express Interest Express Interest ACF deadline 6 March
FIDE World Youth u14, u16, & u18
venue Montesilvano, Italy, dates June 14 to 27, time control Standard
links Event Information Express Interest ACF deadline 24 March 2026
FIDE World Cup u8-u12
venue Batumi, Georgia, dates June 15 to 28, time control Standard
links Event Information Express Interest ACF deadline 31 March
AUSTRALIAN REPRESENTATIVE INTERNATIONAL JUNIORS CHESS TOURNAMENTS
Any inquiries can be sent to ACF Juniors Coordinator, Mr Hui Lam Teh tehhuilam@gmail.com, with cc to ACF Selections Director Tom Saltmarsh selections_director@auschess.org.au.
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.
ACF FUNDING SUPPORT PROGRAM
The application deadline for activities commencing between 1 September 2026 and 28 February 2027 is 30 June 2026. 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
2026 Australian Junior Chess Championships
FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty is the new (U18) Australian Junior Champion, winning with a score of 8/9. 2nd was CM Joel Leong and 3rd FM Yifei Hu.
U16: 1st Micah Young, 2nd Ted Power, 3rd= Ryan Chengji Liu, Nivin Vinothkumar. U14: 1st Joshua Haojia Liu, 2nd= Ian Li, Anand Munkhbat. U12: 1st Lucas Zhao, 2nd Khushal Lingineni, 3rd= Sanat Hegde, Sahar Shirawala. U10: 1st= Quang Minh Le, Sanat Hegde, 3rd= Leo Kuncoro, Azaan Bansal. U8: 1st Cheng Xi, 2nd Brendan Yip, 3rd Sebastian Williams.
U18 Girls: 1st Isabella Guan, 2nd Elaina Qiang, 3rd Chanya Rupasinghe. U16 Girls: 1st Fanen Su, 2nd= Renee Yang Pan, Linda (Zhiling) Qian. U14 Girls: 1st Ella Woon, 2nd Sarah Toose, 3rd Mary Khodjaeva. U12 Girls: 1st Suria Daniel, 2nd= Sahasra Selva Muthukumar, Emma Zhou. U10 Girls: 1st Clarissa Liu, 2nd Kaylin Zhang, 3rd Mia Tan. U8 Girls: 1st Maria Bhatt, 2nd Nyra Venkat, 3rd= Elena Chen, Nishitha Gajula, Kalista Liu.
Problem Solving Competition
U18: 1st Atash Eric Iddon, 2nd Daniel Wang, 3rd Joel Leong. U16: 1st Masaki Horikawa, 2nd Alvis Gan, 3rd Savin Peramunetilleke. U14: 1st Anand Munkhbat, 2nd Yifei Hu, 3rd Mason Tay. U12: 1st Quang Minh Le, 2nd Winson Yuan, 3rd Lucas Zhao. U10: 1st Leo Kuncoro, 2nd Nicholas Yuileng Chen, 3rd Yusuf Khodjaev. U8: 1st Brendan Yip, 2nd Sebastian Williams, 3rd Leonard Smerdon.
U18 Girls: 1st Isabella Guan, 2nd Elaina Qiang, 3rd Chanya Rupasinghe. U16 Girls: 1st Fanen Su, 2nd Renee Yang Pan, 3rd Linda (Zhiling) Qian. U14 Girls: 1st Ella Woon, 2nd Sarah Toose, 3rd Mary Khodjaeva. U12 Girls: Suria Daniel, 2nd= Sahasra Selva Muthukumar, Emma Zhou. U10 Girls: 1st Clarissa Liu, 2nd Kaylin Zhang, 3rd Mia Tan. U8 Girls: 1st Maria Bhatt, 2nd Nyra Venkat, 3rd= Elena Chen, Nishitha Gajula, Kalista Liu.
Simuls
By Jake MacMullin
On Saturday the 17th of January, GM Anton Smirnov played a Simultaneous Exhibition against 22 players at the National Portrait Gallery. The event was held alongside the 2026 Australian Junior Chess Championship so most of his 22 opponents were Australian juniors from many different parts of Australia (as well as a couple of adults). The young chess players were excited for the opportunity to play against a Grandmaster, with the family of one keen chess player (who wasn’t participating in the Junior Championship) driving 6 hours from Shepparton for the simul.
Proceedings got underway at 3:30 pm and Anton had them all wrapped up by 6:30 pm with 21 wins and a single draw with 14-year-old Leo Gong (pictured) from NSW.
The following day, IM Junta Ikeda played a Simultaneous Exhibition against 15 players at East Hotel. Junta faced a smaller group of mostly younger opponents (as the earlier simul occurred at the same time as a round of the U8/U10 championship). Nonetheless, the chess was impressive with many games going to end games. Shortly after two hours of play, Junta won the final game to record 15 wins.
Junta wrote about the experience on his substack column and reflected on some signals he observed that might indicate future strength in chess.
ACT Lightning Championships
1st: Michael Kethro 8.5/9, 2nd: Hui Li 7, =3rd: Olaoluwa Fasakin, Lachlan Ho, Wenlin Yin 6.5. =U1700: Milan Grcic, Brian Butler, Jack Rojahn 5.5, U1200: Alejandro Liporada 4.5. 44 players.
Upcoming Events
2026 Doeberl Cup
2-6 April 2026, Canberra Southern Cross Club, 92-96 Corinna Street, Woden ACT
Street Chess
Every Saturday. From 10.45 to 2.30. King O’Malley’s in Civic. More information here and results/photos here
New South Wales
New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)
Recent Events
2026 Australian Championships
Championship: 1st FM Yi Liu, 9/11, 2nd CM Terdric Li, 8.5, 3rd FM Kai Jie Soo, 7.5.
Reserves: 1st= CM Ryan Lane, CM Joel Leong, 8.5/11.
USYD Major: 1st CM Austen Chen, 6.5/7, 2nd Abigail Rowe, 6.
USYD Minor: 1st= Tiva Dezh, Enock He, Marcus Bolton, 6/7.
USYD Rapid: 1st CM Tri Kien le, 6.5/7
2026 Australian Blitz: 1st= FM Ryder Testolin, IM Mihajlo Radovanovic, GM Anton Smirnov, FM Yi Liu, 7.5/9.
Yi Liu’s strong win over Vietnam's Le Tri Kien (from reporting by Paul Power):
Yi Liu (Black) played a Queen's Gambit Declined, arriving at the same position, after 11. hxg3
as Fabiano Caruana vs Ian Nepomniachtchi, World Championship Candidates, Toronto, 2024, where Nepomniachtchi continued 11... Be6; Liu 11... Qe7 inducing 12. Kf2. A playable alternative is 12. e4 Nd7 13. e5 c5 14. O-O-O, although White’s King position on f2 is compromised more by White’s 13. g4 than 12. Kf2.
There followed 13. g4 h4 and White’s King’s position and King side pieces remained awkward for the rest of the game. Better was simply 13. a3 Bd6 14. Nb5 c6 15. Nxd6+ Qxd6 16. Bd3. After 18. e4 dxe4
19. fxe4. White’s King is more exposed (19. Nxe4 was better) and White’s g-pawn is weak. On 22... Bb6
White’s d-pawn is under threat so there followed 23. Nf3 Nxg4+ White’s g-pawn falls. 24. Kg1 Bxf5 25. exf5 Qxe2 26. Nxe2
and White’s position is in tatters. White’s d-pawn fell and Black had pawn majorities on both wings. 43... c4
White resigned at 50... Ba3
2026 NSWCA Australia Day Weekender
=1st Sterling Bayaca, Tri Kein Le and George Xie, =4th Hui Li, David Smerdon and Trevor Tao
Under 2000 – 1800: =1st Eric Liu, Taifeng Lyu and Verma Rudra
Under 1800 – 1600: =1st Heath Brown, Jongmin Lim, Aidan Malcolm and Tyler Milson
Under 1600- 1400: 1st Jonathon Harding, 2nd Avinav Sivaraj
Under 1400: =1st Steven Hemsley, Jason Pan, Alexi Pavilidis, John Shu, Issac Wang and ChengYi Xia
Upcoming Events
2026 City of Sydney Rapid
Sunday 15 February, Venue: Sydney Academy of Chess
Level 2 Suite 2, 1-17 Elsie Street, Burwood, NSW
Details here
Goulburn Summer One Chess Tournament for U18
Sunday, 15 February 2026 from 10.30 - 3.30pm at Goulburn Soldiers Club.
Goulburn Open Blitz Tournament
Sunday, 15 February 2026 from 3.30 - 5.30pm at Goulburn Soldiers Club.
Pirtek Newcastle Open
21-22 February. Includes the 2026 NSW Country Championship. Pirtek Newcastle Open Registration
2026 Gosford Summer Blitz Open
28 February, Central Coast Leagues Club, Dane Drive Gosford. Parkview Room.
Dubbo Open
14-15 March, Dubbo RSL. Details here
2026 Sydney International Open
Dates: Wednesday 8th April to Sunday 12th April 2026
Venue: Conference Rooms 5 & 6 at Novotel West HQ. More details here
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Chess Association
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland
Upcoming Events
Strategic Minds Chess Club FIDE Rapid
Saturday 21st February, 10am to approximately 5:30pm
Viking building, Anglican Church Grammar School, Churchie.
2026 Churchie International
30 April - 4 May. More information here
2026 Byron Capital Darling Downs Open incorporating the QLD Champs
Thursday 1 October to Monday 5 October 2026, Toowoomba Grammar School, Toowoomba QLD 4350
Registration Opens 1 April 2026. More details here
South Australia
South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)
Recent Events
Australia Day Weekender
=1st Place: Jamie Charters & Joel Su, =3rd Place: Edgar Mdinaradze & Preshaan Thavarajah, =3rd Place & Best U1500: Luthira Wijerathne
=2nd Best U1500: Chen Bi Zang & Hariharan Ayyar & Manav Karthikeyan & Finn Reiner, =Best U1100: Wayne Guiney & Ella Zuo & Ansh Moramganti
Best Unrated: Jeremy BannisterUpcoming Events
19 February February Blitz
26 February February Chess960
5 March March Rapid
12 March March Allegro 1
19 March March Blitz
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Recent Events
Hobart Australia Day Weekender
1st Carl Gorka, 2nd Zacharias Lim, 3rd Sarah Anton.
U1500 Division: 1st David J Rolph, 2nd Aidan Cottuli, 3rd David Escobar
Best Junior Prize: =1st Yien Zheng, Emmanuel Lakshman
Best Woman Prize: 1st Sarah Anton
Upcoming Events
Tasmanian Championships and Challenger
7-9 March 2026, Punchbowl Primary School, Launceston.
Victoria
Recent Events
Felix Wyss Memorial Weekender
1st - Tejas Datar (6.5 pt, 2nd - Rishi Sardana (6.0 pts), =3rd - Kai Jie Soo, Ray Yang (5.5 pts)
Rating Group 1: =1st - Tass Coracas, Rey Ding, James Arthur, Abraham Pitono (5.0 pts)
Rating Group 2: 1st - Ricky Gao (5.0 pts), =2nd - Colin Savige (4.5 pts), James Hill (4.5 pts)
Rating Group 3: 1st - Jim Papadinis (4.0 pts), =2nd - Martin Sun, Aadyah Gupta, Luna Scenna (3.5 pts)
Rating Group 4: 1st - George Scenna (4.0 pts), =2nd - Bella Xia, Adelyn Wang, Harry Nguyen (3.5 pts)
Unrated Group: 1st - Art Bonifacio (4.0 pts)
Best Senior: =1st - Julia Ryjanova
Best Junior
=1st - Rheyansh Annapureddy (5.0 pts), Justin Xia, Leo Kalina (5.0 pts)
Upcoming Events
Swinburne Open March Blitz 4 March. Hawthorn Hotel, 481 Burwood Road, Hawthorn. More details here 60th Begonia Open 7-9 March. The Ballarat Tech School, which is part of Federation University, will again be the venue. It is a modern facility located at 136 Albert Street, Ballarat Central. Details here Entry here 2026 Melbourne International Open April 14 to 19, 2026 at Melbourne Chess Club. The 2026 MIO consists of a 9-round classic, a 9 round rapid, and a 9-round blitz tournament. The classic is broken into two divisions with the Masters division being a norm event. More details here
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Upcoming Events
22 February. WA Allegro Championship. Details TBA.
New Zealand
New Zealand Chess News (newzealandchess.nz)
Recent Events
2-11 January ACC Chess Festival 2026
ACC Closed Blitz 1st: FM Alphaeus Ang ACC Closed Rapid 1st: FM Alphaeus Ang ACC Closed Classic 1st equal: FM Alphaeus Ang ACC Closed Classic 1st equal: CM Leo Baker
2-12 January NZ Chess Congress 2026
NZ Junior Championship 1st: Richard Jingjie Liu (NZ Junior Champion) Invercargill Open 1st: Quentin J F Johnson NZ Championship 1st equal: GM Daniel Howard Fernandez NZ Championship 1st equal: FM Felix Xie (NZ Champion) NZ Championship 1st equal: GM Jacek Stopa. NZ Major Open 1st: Elena Moshakova (NZ Major Open Champion) NZ Blitz Championship 1st equal: FM Felix Xie (NZ Blitz Champion) NZ Blitz Championship 1st equal: GM Daniel Howard Fernandez NZ Rapid Championship 1st equal: FM Felix Xie (NZ Rapid Champion) NZ Rapid Championship 1st equal: GM Daniel Howard Fernandez
15-21 January Bob Wade Masters 2026
Bob Wade Memorial Masters 1st: GM Adams, Michael Hilton Bennett Memorial Masters 1st: FM Smith, Robert W Peter Weir Memorial Masters 1st: CM Leo Baker Arthur Pomeroy Memorial Masters 1st: Nimmakayala, Srirama Vikhyath Middle Game Chess Foundation Challengers 1st: IM Domalchuk-Jonasson, Aleksandr
24-26 January Auckland Anniversary Weekender 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
6-8 February Auckland Waitangi Weekender 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
Upcoming Events
15 February Hawkes Bay Rapid 2026
28 February 20th Bay of Plenty Rapid 2026
7-22 March Auckland Double Weekends March 2026
21 March Latvian Rapid 2026
9-13 April Oceania Age Groups 2026
25 - 27 April Auckland Anzac Weekender 2026
9 - 17 May Auckland Double Weekends May 2026
15 - 17 May Arie Nijman Memorial 2026
30 May - 1 June Auckland King’s Birthday Weekender 2026
30 May - 1 June 48th Trusts Open 2026
10 - 12 July Peter Stuart Memorial 2026
8 - 23 August Auckland Double Weekends August 2026
International News
Aussies Overseas #4
Paul Summers reports on the activities of Australians overseas in classical games (i.e. generally excluding rapid and blitz events). All ratings are FIDE. Except where otherwise noted, Australian games from these events, usually with crosstables, can be found on the Australian Chess web page.
Eleven Australian players participated in overseas events in this month’s report which covers additional tournaments that completed in December, plus those completed in January.
IM Rishi Sardana (ACT 2459) played in the 168-player Rilton Cup Open, the 53rd time this Swedish event has been held. Rishi last played in the event in 2022-23, scoring 5.5/9. This time the field included 22 GMs and 36 IMs. Rishi had a great tournament, finishing on 6.5/9 and 5= with nine other players. Performing at 2509, along the way Rishi secured his place in the last round by defeating GM Dominik Horvath (AUT 2557). WFM Thu Giang Nguyen (VIC 2108) also competed scoring 3.5 and finishing 119=. An U1800 event was also held and Hayden Shaw (TAS 1641) was seeded and placed 35th on 4/7.
Backing up immediately after the Rilton Cup, IM Rishi Sardana (ACT 2470) gained his second GM norm playing in the 2026 Young Talents GM #7 in Upplands Vasby Sweden. Rishi came outright first in the double round robin event on 7/10 with a performance rating of 2629 and scoring 4/6 against the GMs in the tournament.
Lachlan Wang (QLD 1915), who had just played in Spain, was joined by another Queenslander, Micah Young (2019) for the 41st Boeblinger Open in Germany. Competing against 95 players, 19 of which had titles:
· Micah scored 6/9 finishing 9=. He suffered only one loss and performed at 2111.
· Lachlan scored 5 and 26= performing at 2040.
Unfortunately, there are no games available from this event so far.
The 133rd New Zealand Championship held in Invercargill saw an Australian and an Australian resident playing. CM Haran Salasan (VIC 1989) finished on 5.5/9, bringing home prizemoney for his 5= placing. Along the way Haran defeated IM Anthony Ker, an opponent from whom it is difficult to take points. CM Tony Dowden (QLD 2030) did not fare so well with 3.5 (1.5 of which were byes) and 23=.
Ralph Arago (QLD 1459) played in the Noypi Robinsons Magnolia U1950 in Quezon City in the Philippines. He scored 2/7 finishing in 47= place. No games available.
CM Aurel-John Buciu (QLD 1839) was one of 91 players in the Marienbad Open #24 D-Seniors in the Czech Republic, scoring 3.5/9 in 63= place. No games available.
The Bob Wade Masters in Mt Wellington Auckland in New Zealand again saw an Australian and an Australian resident playing. IM James Morris (VIC 2422) and IM Sravan Renjith each scored 4/9 finishing 7=. Neither achieving the 7 required for a GM norm.
Upcoming Events
Oceania Youth Chess Championships 2026, 9-13 April, Christchurch, New Zealand https://sites.google.com/view/oceaniayouth2026 Asian Individual and Women's Individual Chess Championships 2026, 20-30 May, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Check details via the FIDE Chess Calendar
Study of the Month
White to play and win
Solution at the end of the newsletter.
Book Review
By IM Gary Lane
The World’s Most Boring Chess Book by Ian Rogers & Laslo Hazai published by Russell Enterprises. 272 pages.
A provocative title and a niche topic are surprisingly inspiring.
Boris Gelfand in the foreword reveals that eighty games or fragments are examined to reveal the secrets of an isolated d-pawn positions. It is typical that few people understand how to defend or create active play in such positions. This intriguing book shines a light on revealing typical patterns in the ending and that includes positions where the queen and rooks are still on the board.
Australia’s grandmaster Ian Rogers needs no introduction but Hazai is a renowned chess coach and analyst who famously helped the Polgar sisters to stellar success. The two of them have successfully selected examples that illustrate a positional or tactical point.
I know that Rogers himself has warned people off buying the book unless they are of a certain standard but we all aspire to be good, so share the joy.
Now the studious competitor might learn a lot from close examination of a chapter or two but I think most club players will dip in and out to find a few golden insights. It is very helpful that the games are entertaining, so even if you no longer care about isolated d-pawns the twists and turns of a master game are also a pleasure to read.
A high-level book that can be enjoyed by all keen players.
The book retails for $45 and signed copies can be bought direct from the author, just contact Ian Rogers at gmianrogers@gmail.com
Looking Back
SOME OLD CHESS ITEMS FROM YESTERYEAR
By Bob Meadley
The first is a very battered chessboard (12”x12”) with a decorative edge and a 9 Men’s Morris board on the reverse. The decoration on this side is of a windmill of possible Dutch origin. I played this ancient game as a teenager for some time enjoying it. Each player has 9 men which are placed on the 24 square board one at a time with the object of forming a 3-piece row also called a mill. Once that happens, an opponent’s piece is taken off. Once the opponent is reduced to 2 men the game is lost. An ancient game very popular in the 14th century and much older than chess. Our son found this item with six sets in the back shed.
The first set is quite old and given to me by Frank Ravenscroft in 1965 when I met him for the first time. He had started his chess career in the 1890s and this set with an old patina box and sliding lid is a peg-in set with ½” steel pegs. The men are shaped as of French design and p.772 of Murray shows a similar set. It would be late 19th century and has 2.5” Kings.
Two other sets (2.25” Kings) are from Frank and one was a prize No.164 in John Kellner’s Sunday Mirror solving quiz. (ca mid 1960s). The other is unsigned (typical small French sets sold by Cecil Purdy from the '50s onwards. Another was a pocket Hong Kong plastic chess set (6”x4”) Another set is unsigned with no cover. The signed set was a Sun-Herald solving quiz No.670 (late '60s).
The final set shown is a French “Phidias” (Marque Deposee) double side plastic set with draughts on the reverse (5”x6.5”). All the pieces are there. This was bought by me in Cecil Purdy’s shop in the 60s.
A useful “clean-up” as some had not been seen for decades.
Links
Laws of Chess
FIDE Laws of Chess with effect 1 January 2023
Ratings
Pairing Programs
Vega or Orion only accepted for FIDE and ACF rating with effect 1 June 2021
Other FIDE endorsed pairing programs:
Calculators
ACF Rating Calculator with Barry Cox
ACF Rating Lookup Dave Thomas
Federations
Commonwealth Chess Association
State & Territory Associations
Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory Chess Association Inc (ACTCA)
New South Wales New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)
Queensland Chess Association of Queensland Inc (CAQ)
South Australia South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)
Tasmania Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Victoria Chess Victoria Inc (CV)
Western Australia Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Junior Chess
West Australia See "Juniors" tab
Correspondence chess
Correspondence Chess League of Australia
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Variants
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Internet Forums
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Newspaper columns archived
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Blogs
chessexpress FM Shaun Press
chess.business/blog Gary Lane's Book Reviews
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Disability
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Suppliers
Australian Chess Enterprises Richmond NSW
Australian Chess Supplies Online Chess Shop
Canberra Academy of Chess Phillip ACT
Chess Australia South Yarra Vic
Chess School SA Salisbury SA
Chess World Ormond Vic
Gambit Chess Supplies Harrington Park NSW
Gardiner Chess Mudgeeraba Qld
Lakner Chess Perth SA
Northern Star Chess Balwyn North Vic
Sydney Academy of Chess Burwood NSW
Topchess Qld
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Chess Clubs
Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory Chess Association Inc (ACTCA)
Gungahlin (Belconnen) Gungahlin
Canberra Woden
Tuggeranong Wanniassa
Street Chess Canberra Home Page Street Chess
New South Wales
New South Wales Chess Association Inc (NSWCA)
For more details and links of NSW chess clubs, see: NSW Chess Association (nswca.org.au) chess clubs
Armidale
Cabra-Vale Diggers Chess Club – Canley Vale
Central Coast Leagues (aka Gosford)
Harbord Diggers - Freshwater
Knightclub – Marrickville
Moree Chess Club
Newcastle District Chess Association
NSW Junior Chess League (for players Under 18)
Penrith RSL Chess Club
Richmond Club Chess Club
Sydney Academy of Chess and Sydney Chess Club – Burwood
Tamworth Chess Club
University of NSW – Kensington
New Zealand
New Zealand Chess Federation Inc (NZCF)
Mount Maunganui RSA Chess Club
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Chess Association
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland Inc (CAQ)
Brisbane Woolloongabba
Bundaberg https://bundabergchessclub-com.webs.com/
Cairns Facebook
Gold Coast Coomera/Burleigh Heads
Logan City Rochedale
Magnetic Island magneticislandchessclub@gmail.com
Mackay Mackay Chess Club
Noosa Shire Tewantin Contact Peter Cam: noosachess@gmail.com
City of Redcliffe Rothwell
Suncoast Buderim Suncoast Chess Club https://suncoastchess.com.au/
Springfield Ipswich Chess Club Springfield Lakes. Contact Tyson Walker, president@springfieldchessclub.com.au
Toowoomba Contact: Sam Buckley sam@toowoombachessclub.com.au
Townsville Pimlico
South Australia
South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)
Adelaide University North Terrace
LeFevre Queenstown
Marion Cultural Oaklands Park
Modbury Modbury North
West Torrens North Plympton
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Burnie Havenview
Devonport East Devonport
Hobart Sandy Bay
Launceston Kings Meadow
Victoria
Chess Victoria Inc (CV)
Bandicoot Craigieburn
Box Hill Ashwood
Canterbury Junior Ashwood
Chess Artists Caulfield
Hobsons Bay Altona
Melbourne Fitzroy
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Albany Chess Club e-mail: akritaspearce556@gmail.com
Rockingham City Chess Connection e-mail: gregburgess1949@yahoo.com.au
South Perth Senior Citizens Social Chess Club Tel: 9367 9880
Southern Suburbs Chess Club (Facebook page)
UWA Chess Association (Facebook page)
Crobs Coffee and Chess (Facebook page)
ACF Personnel
The Australian Chess Federation Inc is incorporated under the ACT Associations Incorporation Act 1991 and is recognised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs as the governing chess organisation in Australia.
ACF COUNCIL
State Association Delegates
NSWCA Delegate: Richard Gastineau-Hills nswcouncillor@auschess.org.au
CV Delegate: Walter Wolffs walterwolffs.ca@gmail.com
CAQ Delegate: Dr Tony Dowden r.tony.dowden@gmail.com.au
SACA Delegate: Misheck Muza sacouncillor@auschess.org.au
TCA Delegate: Jonty Oud jontyoud1@gmail.com
ACTCA Delegate: Cam Cunningham actcouncillor@auschess.org.au
CAWA Delegate: Tim Hare wacounsellor@auschess.org.au
NTCA Delegate: Chris Depasquale agechess@ozemail.com.au
Executive Committee
President: Gary Wastell president@auschess.org.au
Deputy President: Bill Gletsos deputy president@auschess.org.au
Vice-President: Dr Kevin Bonham vice president1@auschess.org.au
Vice-President: Dr Andrew Hardegen vice president2@auschess.org.au
Secretary: Rob Watson secretary@auschess.org.au
Treasurer: Bob Keast treasurer@auschess.org.au
COUNCIL-APPOINTED PERSONNEL
Arbiter Training Director: Peter Tsai chess@t-s-a-i.com
Archives Director: Mahesh Kulkarni sellaus14@gmail.com
Assistant Secretary: Mahesh Kulkarni sellaus14@gmail.com
Assistant Treasurer: Bill Gletsos asst treasurer@auschess.org.au
Auditor: Ross Hamilton auditor@auschess.org.au
Equipment Coordinator: Bob Keast equipment officer@auschess.org.au
FIDE Delegate & Admin Officer: Dr. Kevin Bonham fide delegate@auschess.org.au
FIDE Ratings Officer: Bill Gletsos fide ratings@auschess.org.au
Government Relations Director: Kuanysh Batyrbekov Kuanysh.Batyrbekov@anz.com
International Ambassador: Anastasia Sorokina sorokinachess@gmail.com
Juniors Coordinator: Hui Lam Teh tehhuilam@gmail.com
Medals & Awards Convenor: Gary Wastell awards@auschess.org.au
National Ratings Officer: Bill Gletsos acfratings@auschess.org.au
National Ratings Officer: Graham Saint g_saint@tpg.com.au
Newsletter Editor: Keong Ang auschessnews@chessnews.asia
Newsletter Editor: Miles Patterson mp19370@gmail.com
Publicity Director: Paul Power publicity@auschess.org.au
Public Officer (incorporation): Cam Cunningham public_officer@auschess.org.au
Selections Director: Tom Saltmarsh selections director@auschess.org.au
Trophies Officer: Terrence Tang terencetjc@gmail.com
Webmaster: David Esmonde webmaster@auschess.org.au
Annual Appointments
All Council appointments terminate each year at the first Council meeting after 30 June, when incumbents and new applicants are eligible for reappointment. Offers to serve in any of the above positions need to be written (email acceptable) and emailed to executive@auschess.org.au.
Applicants should phone 0409 525 963 or (03) 9787 7974 if an application has not been acknowledged within 48 hours of transmission.
Solution to Study of the Month
White to play and win
Solution:
1 Ra3+ Kb4 2 Rab3+ Kc4 (2…Ka4 3 Rbg3 d1Q (3…b1Q 4 Rh4+ Kb5 5 Rg5+ etc) 4 Rh4+ Kb5 5 Rg5+ etc) 3 Rhc3+ Kd4 4 Rd3+ Kc4 5 Rbc3+ Kb4 6 Rc7 b1Q 7 Rd8 d1Q (7…Qe4 8 Rb8+) 8 Rb8+ Ka3 9 Ra7 Qa4 10 Rxa4+ and 11 Rxb1.
(Lev Olmutsky, 1964)
Newsletter Article Contributions
Please email the editor if there is something you would like published in the next edition of this newsletter.
Examples of articles:
Upcoming chess event.
Results of a chess event that was completed since the last newsletter was published.
Any information that is chess related, especially Australian chess, that could be interesting.