No. 654
11 April 2026
Editorial
by Miles Patterson
Welcome to the April ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue.
IMPORTANT: Please see the notice regarding Olympiad selections and note that it may require an urgent response.
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
2026 Olympiad Selections - 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, Samarkand, Izbekistan
Applications are invited for the Australian Open and Women’s Olympiad Teams for the 46th Chess Olympiad to be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from 15 to 28 September 2026.
An Open team and a Women’s team, each consisting of five players and a non-playing captain, will be selected to represent Australia at this event. Exact details of player entitlements are not yet known but players and captains normally are entitled to full board from the host organisation and travel subsidies from the ACF’s Olympiad Appeal fundraising efforts.
Applying for Selection
Those wishing to be considered for selection as players must apply on or before the day after publication of the April 2026 edition of the ACF Newsletter.
At a minimum, applications must contain the information specified in item 5.4 of the ACF’s Selection Procedures By-Law. In addition, applicants may provide:
• a list or summary of their game or tournament results over the previous two years (as per item 5.6); and/or
• up to 400 words of comments in support of their application (as per item 5.7).
A text copy of the By-Law can be found at
https://auschess.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ACF-Selection-Procedures-By-Law.pdf
Separate copies of each application are to be sent by email to each of the following addresses:
• catowi@internode.on.net and
If an application has not been acknowledged as received within two days, please phone 0499 996 559. Applicants’ names, as well as all material provided to selectors – e.g. ratings file; applicant lists or summary of game or tournament results; and applicant comments - will all be published online at an address to be announced, and available for public scrutiny after applications close. Any corrections or additions to this material must be submitted on or before 14 April 2026.
Applicants will be advised of provisional selection results on or about 3 May 2026. The results will be finalised and made public on or about 31 May 2026 following the determination of any appeals.
Important Notes for Applicants
1 Please send all documents relating to your application from an email address that you will check regularly.
2 All applicants should keep a copy of their application. Any claims for late application on the grounds of email transmission problems will not be considered unless accompanied by a copy of the original application showing the date on which it was sent. Evidence may be required for other claims for late applications.
3 Activity Rule: An applicant shall not be eligible for selection unless the applicant has played at least 30 games in the year to 6 April 2026 and at a normal (non-rapid) time limit. The games must be rated by the ACF, FIDE or a national organisation for which rating formula conversion details are known and the playing of the games can be verified. Although the ACF Council may waive the above requirement in exceptional circumstances, it is not intended that this discretion be used to permit applications from players who have not met the 30-game requirement.
4. I understand that recent events in the Middle East may influence your decision about whether to apply for selection. If you are in doubt, I would advise to apply for selection as it is easier for you to subsequently withdraw in the event you are selected and no longer wish to participate.
Captaincies
Expressions of interest are also now open for the following positions:
• Non-playing Captain, Australian Open Team
• Non-playing Captain, Australian Women’s Team
Applicants should apply immediately as the ACF reserves the right under Selection By-Law 13.5 to make a captaincy appointment at any time. However, unless the ACF decides to make an earlier appointment, applications will close on 14 April 2026, with results to be announced on 31 May 2026.
Applicants for playing positions may also apply for captaincies on the understanding that they will be ineligible for a captaincy if they accept selection to a playing position, and vice versa.
Applicants for more than one role are advised to provide an order of preference.
Applicants for captaincies may be requested to assist the ACF with team registration matters. The ACF may require assistance in this area when the organisers advise deadlines for registration and booking.
Applicants may submit any supporting comments they wish to be passed on to either the selected players or the members of ACF Council, explaining why they think they should be selected as captains. The positions are filled by Council typically after taking into account the players’ stated preferences (if any). Council has recently tended to follow the players’ preferences in most cases, but is not obliged to do so. Applicants are also free to contact the applicants for playing positions and/or the Council regarding their applications as and whenever they wish. For more detail see item 13 of the ACF’s Selection Procedures By-Law.
Expressions of interest should be sent to Tom Saltmarsh at catowi@internode.on.net and copied to ACF President Gary Wastell at executive@auschess.org.au. Please call 0499 996 559 if it is necessary to arrange another method, or if an email application has not been acknowledged within two days.
Selection Opportunities
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.
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 Doeberl Cup
By Shaun Press
The 2026 O2C Doeberl Cup once again attracted a strong international and local field, with 350 players making their annual pilgrimage to Canberra for five days of hard-fought chess. With the Premier now being restricted to players rated over 2000, the competition for the $5000 first prize was particularly intense.
Top seed was Australia’s No. 1 player GM Temur Kuybokarov, but he was joined by defending champion GM Mitrabha Guha (IND), GM Azer Mirzoev (AZE), GM Christhian Rios (COL), GM Rogelio Antonio (PHI) and GM Jacek Stopa (POL) for one of the strongest fields in years. The field also contained six IMs, with 53 players (out of a total of 60 players) holding a title.
Play under way in the main hall of the Doeberl Cup (Photo: Max Albert)
The early stages of the tournament saw a number of top seeds being challenged by lower ranked players, although Kuybokarov and Mitrabha managed to finish the first three rounds with three wins under their belts.
One of the first real upsets was the fourth-round win by IM David Cannon over GM Mirzoev. This was a sign of things to come in this event as a number of young IM’s, FM’s and CMs began to make life difficult for the international visitors. CM Ryan Lane also began to put together a good run of results, which left him on four points after five rounds and a permanent spot on the top boards for the rest of the event.
A draw between the top two seeds in round 4, followed by a win for both players in the fifth round left them in the lead, but at this point the tournament went in different directions for both of them. Canberra FM Albert Winkelman threw the tournament wide open, beating Kuybokarov after the GM blundered in a better/winning position.
Winkelman,Albert (2372) - Kuybokarov,Temur (2548) [E61]
2026 O2C Doeberl Cup Premier Canberra, Australia (6.1), 04.04.2026
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.e3 0–0 5.Be2 d6 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.0–0 Re8 8.Ne1 a5 9.a3 e6 10.b3 b6 11.Bb2 Bb7 12.Rc1 Ne7 13.Bf3 d5 14.Qc2 Nf5 15.g3 h5 16.h4 Rc8 17.Ng2 Nd6 18.cxd5 exd5 19.Rfd1 Nde4 20.b4 axb4 21.axb4 Ba6 22.Be2 Bxe2 23.Qxe2 Qd7 24.Ra1 Nxc3 25.Bxc3 Ne4 26.Be1 c5 27.bxc5 bxc5 28.Qd3 cxd4 29.exd4 Rc4 30.Nf4 Rxd4 31.Qb3 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 d4 33.f3 Nc5 34.Qc4 Qc6 35.Rc1 Bf8 36.Bf2 Qxf3 37.Qd5 Ne4 38.Rf1 Qg4 39.Re1 Qf3 40.Rf1 Bd6 41.Ng2 Re5 42.Qa8+ Kg7 43.Bxd4 Qd3 44.Qa7 Nf6 45.Qb6 Nd7 46.Qxd6
1–0
With Mitrabha drawing with GM Antonio in the same round, the lead was now shared between Mitrabha, Winkleman and tournament dark horse FM Alexis Vargas Arteaga. Arteaga, who had moved to Sydney as a chess coach, had quietly moved into a share of the lead, losing to Mitrabha in round 2 but winning the rest of his games.
Kuybokarov bounced back with a win in round 7, but Mitrabha maintained a half point lead after a win over Winkelman. Arteaga drew with fellow countryman GM Rios, while another Canberra player, IM Junta Ikeda, also moved to 5.5/7 with a win over IM Mihajlo Radovanovic. Alas this was the last game in the event for Radovanovic who dropped out after this round.
In what was fitting for such a hotly contested event, round 8 saw a number of upset results, setting up an exciting finish. Kuybokarov lost to FM Arteaga, who not only took a share of the lead going into the final round, but also secured an IM norm with a round to spare. Mitrabha could not put away a determined Ikeda, while Winkelman beat FM Kai Jie Soo to keep touch with the leaders.
Ikeda,Junta (2356) - Mitrabha,Guha (2505) [B01]
2026 O2C Doeberl Cup Premier Canberra, Australia (8.1), 05.04.2026
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 Bg4 6.f3 Bf5 7.g4 Bg6 8.h4 h6 9.Bc4 c6 10.Nd5 Qd8 11.Nf4 Bh7 12.c3 e6 13.Ngh3 Nd5 14.h5 Bd6 15.Qe2 Qe7 16.0–0–0 Nd7 17.Rhe1 N7b6 18.Bd3 Bxd3 19.Qxd3 0–0–0 20.Kb1 Nxf4 21.Nxf4 Bc7 22.Qe4 Qf6 23.Nd3 Nc4 24.Bc1 Nb6 25.b3 Nd5 26.Bb2 Nf4 27.Ne5 g6 28.hxg6 Bxe5 29.Qxe5 Qxg6+ 30.Re4 Nh3 31.Bc1 h5 32.Rf1 Rh7 33.Kb2 hxg4 34.Rxg4 Qd3 35.Rh1 Qb5 36.Qxb5 cxb5 37.Be3 Rd5 38.c4 bxc4 39.bxc4 Rdh5 40.Kc2 b6 41.Bd2 Kb7 42.a4 Rf5 43.Rg3 Ng5 44.Rxh7 Nxh7 45.Kd3 Nf8 46.Ke4 Nd7 47.Bc3 a6 48.Rg7 b5 49.axb5 axb5 50.cxb5 Nf6+ 51.Kd3 Nd5 52.Rg3 Kb6 53.Kc4 Nc7 54.Bb4 Nxb5 55.Bc5+ Kc6 56.Bf8 Rf4 57.Bg7 Nd6+ 58.Kd3 Nc8 59.Bh6 Rf5 60.Be3 Ne7 61.Ke2 Ra5 62.Bd2 Ra7 63.Rg1 Nf5 64.Rc1+ Kd6 65.Kd3 Ne7 66.Bb4+
½–½
The final round saw the surprise pairing of FM Winkelman v FM Arteaga on Board 1, with GM Mitrabha v GM Stopa on Board 2, and GM Rios v IM Ikeda on Board 3. With the added bonus of the Fighting Fund (an extra $1000) on offer across the top four boards, the final round was hard fought. After 4+ hours of play, Winkelman and Arteaga drew, while Mitrabha defeated Stopa to claim outright first (7.5/9). Rios defeated Ikeda, while on Board 4 IM David Cannon beat GM Kuybokarov to take a share of fourth place.
Mitrabha,Guha (2505) - Stopa,Jacek (2342) [A21]
2026 O2C Doeberl Cup Premier Canberra, Australia (9.2), 06.04.2026
1.Nf3 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0–0 6.0–0 d6 7.d3 e5 8.Rb1 a5 9.a3 h6 10.b4 axb4 11.axb4 g5 12.Bb2 Kh8 13.Ra1 Rxa1 14.Qxa1 Na6 15.Qa3 Qe8 16.e3 f4 17.exf4 gxf4 18.Nh4 Rg8 19.c5 Qh5 20.cxd6 cxd6 21.Qb3 Nc7 22.Qc4 Ne6 23.Nd5 Ng5 24.Nxf4 exf4 25.Qxf4 Qf7 26.Qxd6 Re8 27.Bd4 Qd7 28.Qxd7 Nxd7 29.Bxg7+ Kxg7 30.Nf5+ Kf6 31.Nxh6 Nb6 32.h4 Nh7 33.g4 Kg6 34.g5 Kh5 35.f4 Bg4 36.Bxb7 Kxh4 37.Be4 Bh3 38.Rc1 Nf8 39.Rc6 Re6 40.Rc7 Kg3 41.f5 Nd5 42.Rc1 Re5 43.Kh1 Nf4 44.Rg1+ Kf2 45.Kh2 Ne2 46.Ra1 Nh7 47.Kxh3 Nxg5+ 48.Kh4 Nf3+ 49.Bxf3 Kxf3 50.Ng4 Re8 51.Rf1+ Kg2 52.Rf2+ Kg1 53.Rxe2 Rxe2 54.f6
1–0
GM Guha Mitrabha finished the tournament undefeated to win his second successive Doeberl Cup. FM Alexis Arteaga finished on 7/9 to take outright 2nd ($3000) and score an IM norm. GM Cristhian Rios (+4=5), IM David Cannon (+5=3-1) and FM Albert Winkelman (+5=3-1) all shared 3rd place.
Doeberl Cup winner GM Guha Mitrabha receives his trophy from Rosemarie Doeberl (Photo: Max Albert)
The supporting events, Major (Under 2100), Minor (Under 1800) and Mini (Under 1500) were all seven round events, played over four days.
The 78 player Major event saw a three-way tie between Oladoyin Fasakin, Vihaan Anup Kumar and Nathan Arav on 6/7. Fasakin had defeated Anup Kumar earlier in the event, but a round 6 loss to Alex Devin left Fasakin requiring a final round win for a chance at 1st (which he achieved). Anup Kumar defeated Devin in the final round, while Arav played the Semi-Swis Gambit, drawing in round 1 but finishing with four straight wins.
The Minor was a triumph for local Canberra Junior Nicholas Lee, who achieved the only perfect score of the long events, with 7/7. In 2nd place were Louis Serfontein and Yu Pu, who finished on six points. 98 players took part in this section, which was the largest (non-blitz) event over the weekend.
The 70-player Mini was particularly strong this year, with a number of people comparing the strength of the field to the higher category Minor. John Shu and Zheng Guan tied for first on 6/7, but unlike other events did not meet during the tournament.
The two-day Under 1200 tournament saw Daniel Spencer defeat Ben Hoyland in a winner take all final round game, to score 5.5/6. Hoyland finished in 2nd place along with Alessandro Martinese, Tristan Brown and Ethan Yang.
Apart from the cash prizes for the players, this year saw each tournament winner (on tie-break) go home with a Chessnut chess computer supplied by tournament sponsors Chessnut.
Saturday evening saw the ever-popular Doeberl Cup Blitz events, sponsored for the first time by Street Chess Canberra. The Under 1600 blitz (74 players) was won by Ernest Basharov on 7/7. The Open Blitz (111 players) proved to be another payday for GM Guha Mitrabha, winning $500 for his 8/9 score.
With 536 players across all events, the 2026 O2C Doeberl Cup once again proved itself as Australia’s Premier tournament. The event came about due to the efforts of a large team of people, including volunteers from the ACT Chess Association, ACT Junior Chess League and the local Canberra chess clubs. Once again, the arbiting team was led by IA Alana Chibnall, and ran the tournament with their usual efficiency and fairness. The results desk was managed by Shun Ikeda and provided an important resource for the players in both collecting results and storing electronic devices.
And finally, the event would not happen with the support of tournament sponsors – The Doeberl Family, O2C, Looking for Gamers, Mr Baldev Bedi, Street Chess Canberra, Mr Paul Dunn, Mr Jim Flood, Mr Matthew Radisich, Mr Glenn Ingham, John and Carol Press, Australian Chess Enterprises, and Chessnut.
Premier 1st: GM Mitrabha Guha 7.5/9, 2nd: FM Alexis Vargas Arteaga 7, 3rd GM Christhian Camilo Rios Gomez 6.5. Bedi Cup (Best Australian Junior): Harvey (Hanchen) Zhu 6. Best Female: WGM Thi Mai Hung Nguyen 6. Under 2300: IM David Cannon 6.5. Under 2100: CM Yuan Huang 5.5. 60 players
Major 1st: Oladoyin Fasakin 6/7, 2nd: Vihaan Anup Kumar 6, 3rd: Nathan Arav 6. Best Female: WCM Om O’Carroll 3.5. U1950: Alex Devin 5.5. U1800: Ernest Bashirov 4. 78 players
Minor 1st: Nicholas Lee 7/7, 2nd Louis Serfontein 6, 3rd: Yu Pu 6. Pooja Cup (Best Australian Junior Female) Bella Xia 4.5. U1650: Cheng Xi 5.5. U1500: Abir Vidhur Singh 4. 98 players
Mini 1st: John Shu 6/7, 2nd: Zheng Guan 6, 3rd Chris Belton 5.5. U1350: Isaac (Yijun) Wang 5.5. U1200: Manish Thulasidas 5. Unrated: Ryan Raappana-Ezzy 4.5. Best Femail: Nancy Liang 4. 70 players
U1200 1st: Daniel Spencer 5.5/6, 2nd: Ben Hoyland 5, 3rd: Alessandro Martinese 5, 4th: Tristan Brown 5. Best Female: Elaina Chen 3.5. Biggest Upset: Vihaan Vaghela. Unrated: Charles Shailer 3.5. 45 players
Open Blitz 1st GM Mitrabha Guha 8/9, =2nd FM Kai Jie Soo, IM David Cannon 7.5/9, =4th + U2000 IM Ryder Testolin, Shaurya Jain 7/9, U1600 Rohan Majety 6.5/9, U1300 Aiden Fan 5/9, =U1000 Abhiq Ansary, Ethan Yang 4/9, Unrated: Kieran Lander 4/9. 111 players
U1600 Blitz 1st Ernest Bashirov 7/7, 2nd Brett Oakley 6, =3rd and rating groups: Chi Ngo Chan, Dhyan Nair Abhilash, Tianyu Zhang, Manish Thulasidas 5.5. Unrated: Samanth Hegde 3. 74 players.
Upcoming Events
2026 ACT Teams Rapidplay Championship
3rd May 2026 - Sunday, Eastlakes Gungahlin Club from 10am
Teams of 4/5 G15m 7 round swiss
2026 ACT Chess Championship
29th May - 1st June (Friday - Monday), 7 rounds, 90m+30s, Eastlakes Griffith Club
ACF and FIDE Rated
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
Anand in Sydney
Steve Garner, President of Norths Chess Club writes:
Five times World Champion, GM Vishy Anand, made a 4-day visit to Sydney in February. During that time he gave a lecture at the Norths Chess Club and signed some autographs. 100 to 150 people were expected to attend, 450 came.
The packed crowd for Vishy’s visit
Tech Mahindra are worldwide sponsors of Vishy Anand. They brought him to Australia to promote themselves, the Global Chess League (which they own), and chess in general.
From left to right, Stephen Garner, President of the Norths Chess Club, GM Vishy Anand, GM Ian Rogers, Harsh Soin, President – Asia Pacific and Japan Business, Tech Mahindra.
City of Sydney Blitz
1st George Xie, 2nd Juan Tirado, 3rd Reyaansh Chakrabarty.
Under 2000 – 1800: =1st Shaheel Faizal, Avinav Sivaraj and Leyao Zha.
Under 1800 – 1600: 1st Mason Tay. Under 1600 - 1400: =1st Natarajan Alagusamy, Jayden Gregory, Steven Hemsley, Bradley Kwok, Daniel Lowe.
Under 1400: =1st Shayan Eftekhar and Leo Kevork. 43 players.
UNSW Open Weekender
1st-2nd place: Yifei Hu, Dean Chen, 3rd-4th place: Dominic Ou, Hui Li
U1800 ACF: Leyao Zha, U1600 ACF: Bibek Gurung, Arvend Karunagaran
Unrated ACF/FIDE: Eric Hong
Best female: Manognya Param Koolath, Claudia Talty Bormans
Best UNSW student: Ian Stalker, Brendan Anderson
Best junior: Ted Power
Upcoming Events
2026 NSW Open 5-8 June Details TBN
2026 NSW Rapid 19 July Details TBN
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Chess Association
Upcoming Events
NTCA at the Festival of Women Event
2 May, Darwin Showgrounds. More details here
Arbiter Training Course
23-24 May. More details here
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland
Upcoming Events
2026 Brisbane City FIDE Junior Rapid Chess Championship
17 April, Brisbane Boys College Senior School, Kensington Terrace, Toowong.
2026 Churchie International
30 April - 4 May. More information here
Bundaberg Open
6-7 June. Middle School, St Luke’s School 4 Mezger Street, Kalkie, Bundaberg.
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
March Allegro
1st: Weng Yang Joel Su 5/5, =2nd: Thomas Cruse, Carlo Malagar, 4. 19 players.
March Blitz
1st: Samuel Hansen 12/13, 2nd: Weng Yang Joel Su 11.5. 14 players.
Upcoming Events
14 April SA Blitz Chess Championship 2026
15-17 April City of Adelaide Junior Championships
16 April April Allegro #2
23 and 30 April Autumn Rapid
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Upcoming Events
ANZAC Day Weekender
24-26 April. Guilford Young College, West Hobart. Open and Challengers.
FREE ACCOMMODATION:
Free accommodation/airport pickup and drop off to first 4 players from interstate (3 nights Friday 24 April 2026 to Monday 27 April 2026) with a rating at time of registration of 1850 to 2399 FIDE. First come first served.
Accommodation will be on a one occupant per room basis in a shared house. No smoking. No pets. No guests. Code of Conduct applicable to players during tournament play will also apply as reasonable to use of and behaviour at the accommodation. The organisers reserve the right to impose conduct rules as necessary to ensure safe and comfortable residence for each guest.
Snacks and tea will be provided during play. FIDE and ACF rated. More details here
2026 Tasmanian Open
6-8 June Details TBN
2026 Huon Valley Chess Festival
5-8 November Details TBN
Victoria
Recent Events
Darebin March Allegro
Open Prizewinners: 1st - Subin Kurian Thomas (6/7), 2nd - Deethya Sai Katakam (6/7),
3rd - Damian Trajkovski (5/7)
U18 Prizewinners: 1st - Kaisar Batyrbekov (5.5/7), 2nd - Aidan Batyrbekov (4.5/7),
3rd - Vivaan Rawat (4/7)
U12 Prizewinners: 1st - Aadhya Sai Katakam (3.5/7), 2nd - Nyra Venkat (3.5/7),
3rd - Devarsh Shah (3.5/7)
Upcoming Events
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 MCC ANZAC Day Weekender 24-26 April Details and entry here Western Juniors Rapid Championship 2026 2nd May, Hobsons Bay Chess Club, 108 Queen Street, Altona More details here MindMetta × Bingo Youth Chess Open 2026 (Children’s Day Special) 31st May, Hexa Space (Level 4/830 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill VIC 3128) More details here Victorian Women's Championship 2026 12 and 19 September, Hobsons Bay Chess Club, 108 Queen St, Altona VIC. More details here
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
RecentEvents
2026 WA Rapid Championship
CM Ashvin Balavignan - 2026 State Rapid Champion. Ashvin Balavignan & Victor Spirin both tied on 5/6 points for the Rapid Title. A playoff was held between them, and Ashvin won 2-0.
Nithuli Liyanage - 2026 State Women’s Rapid Champion. Guy Booth - 2026 State Seniors’ Rapid Champion, after playoff. 40 players
2026 WA Junior Rapid Chess Championships
Under 18 Champion and 2026 WA State Junior Rapid Champion: Issa Majidi (6.0/7) [won playoff against Quang Minh Le]
Under 18 Best Girl and 2026 WA State Junior Rapid Girls Champion: Nithuli Liyanage (4.5/7)
Under 18: 2nd: Yonal De Vas (4.5/7), 3rd: Lucien Lim (4.0/7)
Under 16: 1st: Quang Minh Le (6.0/7) [Quang Minh, still of U10 age, chose to compete in the U18 section and delivered a strong performance], 2nd: Nithuli Liyanage (4.5/7), 3rd: Uudamkhishig Togtmol (4.0/7), Merit Medal: Micah Seow (4.0/7)
Under 14: 1st: Aidan Malik (5.5/7), 2nd: Yuqi (Ricky) Huang (4.5/7), 3rd: Florentyna Rithauddin (3.5/7)
Under 12: 1st: Daniel Luong (6.5/7), 2nd: Kaviru Perera (6.0/7), 3rd: Jet Mahanidis (5.5/7)
Merit Medals: Gia Bao Ho (5.0/7) & Jayan Gopalakrishnan (5.0/7)
Under 12 Girls: Best Girl: Senudi De Vas (5.5/7), Merit Medals: Jo Gao (4.5/7), Uranbaigali Uuganbaatar (4.5/7), Khatangua Nyamdari (4.0/7) & Lily Lin (4.0/7)
Under 10: 1st: Riyaan Jeyaseelan (5.0/7) [won playoff against Aarav Mishra]
2nd: Aarav Mishra (5.0/7), 3rd: Uranbaigali Uuganbaatar (4.5/7), Merit Medal: Zeno Brackenridge (4.5/7)
Under 8: 1st: Ved Khant (4.5/7) Merit Medals: Aakash Jagadish (3.0/7), Andy Hoang (3.0/7) & Tristan Sun (3.0/7)
76 players
Upcoming Events
2026 Southern Suburbs Rapid
14 to 28 April at the Bull Creek Community Centre, room 2. The Rapid is an eight-round tournament - there will be three rounds on the 14th and 21st, and two on the 28th. More information here
New Zealand
New Zealand Chess News (newzealandchess.nz)
Recent Events
7-22 March Auckland Double Weekends March 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
21 March Latvian Rapid 2026
A Grade 1st equal: Yanbo Jin A Grade 1st equal: FM Daqi Mao A Grade 1st equal: Ralph Hart A Grade 1st equal: FM Alphaeus Ang A Grade 1st equal: IM Felix Xie A Grade 1st equal: CM Markis Tew B Grade 1st: Aidan Prince C Grade 1st: Lohitashva Rajkumar D Grade 1st: Qingli Zhang
3 - 6 April Wellington Open 2026
Open: 1st: CM William Rui Liu Under 1850 1st equal: Karthik Sethuramalingam, Daniel Winsley Under 1650 1st: Hugo Lawrence Under 1450 1st equal: Zachary He, Muhammad Mangera Veteran 1st: Patrick Cordue Senior 1st: IM Anthony F Ker Junior 1st equal: CM Justin Zhide Wang, Matthew Keith Woman 1st: WCM Luna Yuexiu Xu
Upcoming Events
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
23 May Kapiti Rapid Tournament 2026
30 May - 1 June Auckland King’s Birthday Weekender 2026
30 May - 1 June 48th Trusts Open 2026
4 July North Island Rapid 2026
5 - 8 July North Island Championships 2026
10 - 12 July Peter Stuart Memorial 2026
17 - 19 July NZ Senior Championship 2026
18 July Upper Hutt Rapid 2026
8 - 23 August Auckland Double Weekends August 2026
5 - 13 September Auckland Double Weekends September 2026
30 September - 3 October South Island Championships 2026
4 October South Island Rapid 2026
24 - 26 October Merv Morrison Memorial 2026
7 - 15 November Auckland Double Weekends November 2026
International News
Aussies Overseas #6
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 cross tables, can be found on the Australian Chess web page.
In a relatively quiet month, just six Australian players participated in overseas events in this month’s report, which covers tournaments that completed in late February and March.
Pitted against 566 players, GM Bobby Cheng (VIC 2566) competed in the 42nd Cappelle La Grande Open in France. Undefeated in the nine-round event, Bobby scored 6.5/9 with four wins and five draws finishing 16=.
The huge Prague International Festival attracted four Australian players in the 357-player D Open. FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty (NSW 2272) finished with 6/9 and 35=, drawing with GM Simen Agdestein (NOR 2562) along the way. On 5.5 and 60= was FM Christopher Wallis (VIC 2277). Further down the list, Kelvin Finke (QLD 1963) and CM Anthony Fikh (NSW 2014) scored 5.0 and 3.5 in 101st and 237th places respectively.
Slovenia also ran a Chess Festival in Bled, with Kelvin Finke (now 1986) competing for Australia. Kelvin finished 10= in the 78-player event, drawing with FM Miha Furlan (SLO 2239) along the way.
Playing for SV Werder Bremen in the 2025-26 German Team Championship [Bundesliga] GM Bobby Cheng (VIC 2596) scored 1.5/2 in Rounds 9 and 10, defeating Mads Andersen (DEN 2564) and drawing with Luis Engel (GER 2560).
FM Sam Chow playing for White Rose 1 in the 4NCL in England scored 1/2 in Rounds 7and 8, defeating GM Bogdan Lalic (CRO 2303) and losing to IM Svyatoslav Bazakutsa (UKR 2475).
Upcoming Events
Asian Individual and Women's Individual Chess Championships 2026, 20-30 May, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. FIDE World Rapid Team Championships 2026, FIDE World Blitz Team Championships 2026 and FIDE World Team Amateur Rapid Chess Cup 2026 16-22 June, Hong Kong Blue Chevaliers International Open 2026 7-13 September 2026, at the Novotel Phuket Resort in Thailand. Enquiries to peter.frost3@yahoo.com.au
Check details via the FIDE Chess Calendar
Study of the Month
White to play and win
Solution at the end of the newsletter.
RIP Veniamin Sandler
By IM Leonid Sandler
Rest in peace, Dad. Thanks for everything.
It is with great sadness that I inform the chess community that my father Veniamin Sandler passed away on March 18th. He was 89 years old.
Born in the Soviet Union on December 13, 1936, he played a huge role in my chess and non-chess education. He introduced me to chess when I was 8 years old, took me to the Pioneer Palace chess section, and has been my best mentor, fan, and educator ever since.
While in the same social circles in Riga, the Latvian capital, Dad asked the legendary ex-World Champion Mikhail Tal what to do with a little kid.
Of course, Tal suggested sending me to the chess section!
Dad followed the legendary player’s advice, and the rest is history.
A little bit of family history. Dad graduated from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, where he met his future wife (my mother). I was born in Leningrad, and after his studies my father returned to Riga with his young family. This was in 1965.
After arriving in Australia in May 1990, my father played in quite a few tournaments and was a committee member of the Elwood Chess Club. According to information kindly provided by Bill Gletsos, his last ACF-rated game was in 2009 at the Elwood Chess Club Championship, where he scored 5.5 points from 7 games. His final rating was 1699.
Thanks to his excellent organisational skills and generous sponsorship from the legendary Latvian chess family the Lidums, I visited Australia and played in the Australian Open Championship in 1990/91 and a few other events in Sydney, Melbourne, and Ballarat.
This memorable event featured many Latvian players, and Edvins Kengis achieved two GM norms on Australian soil.
Since I was a kid, Dad built our chess library, buying any chess-related book he could get his hands on (and it was not easy in a land of scarcity).
Thanks to his efforts I became who I am today and participated in 10 World Chess Olympiads in different capacities (player, journalist, captain of three national teams, election campaign helper, etc.)
Until his last days, Dad keenly followed my games and general chess news.
Here are a few photos.
RIP, Dear Papa! Your always loving son.
Book Review
By IM Gary Lane
Practical Chess Beauty by Yochanan Afek, published by Quality Chess, 512 pages.
Everything you wanted to know about chess studies is presented in an entertaining manner.
Afek is an International Master with some serious tournament victories but he is a Grandmaster of Chess Composition and his chess studies in the form of puzzles are the central theme.
If it all still sounds mysterious, then the numerous problems are positions that could arise out of normal games but the solution is ingenious.
There are 18 chapters with headings such as ‘The Ultimate Sacrifice’, ‘Mate’, ‘Domination’, ‘Perpetual Checks’ and ‘Underpromotions’. I like the fact there is a usually an introduction to explain the theme usually accompanied by Afek’s games from tournaments or carefully selected illustrative examples. Once, the idea has been reinforced, the very clever studies are given and their thought-provoking answers are carefully revealed with plenty of prose to explain what is going on.
I really think that the studious student will learn a lot while the casual reader will be thoroughly entertained with the magic moves.
There are a sprinkling of photos which feature the author which I always think is a good idea to give a glimpse of the author and his training sessions.
A wonderful way to take your chess to the next level or simply be entertained by the glorious studies.
Looking Back
THE LOVERS CHESS SET
By Bob Meadley
It is not often we see a chess rivalry like that between soon to be married Max Ernst & Dorothea Tanning of the USA. They met during the war and were soon playing chess together in New York. Max designed the chess set seen below which has a 5.2” Queen – taller than the King beside her.
Max Ernst and His Chess Set at the Chess Exhibition, “The Imagery of Chess”, a 1944 exhibition conceived by chess enthusiasts Ernst, Julian Levy and Marcel Duchamp - press photograph
They had a wonderful life and spent many years in Sedona, Arizona where they built a home in the late 40s. There are many chess photos of them at battle on the web. Of course, their painting took priority, and they were both surrealist artists with much public recognition of their skills. Their paintings sell for many thousands today.
I liked them so much I decided to make a set in their honour and found an ancient roller blind wood axle, which all the pieces were made from, and with a good vice, files, knife, saw and sandpaper, knocked up the below in a few weeks. I changed the design where a piece was difficult but kept the replica pieces like the originals which are very expensive today. They are much smaller and the King is 4”. The hardest piece to make was the Bishop. The pieces are spraypainted red and blue because of wood stains on the axle. The originals are beautifully made and finished in polished wood and way better than mine, but I am happy.
My 32 pieces are shown on a 2” squares board. The blue pieces at the rear from the left are P, R, N, B, K & Q. The Q is taller than the K as per the originals and the letters “ME & DT” are stamped on the K&Q (Max Ernst & Dorothea Tanning).
The originals were only made in 12 sets with maple & walnut the main woods with some also in boxwood. A local NY carpenter made these sets and the master design by Ernst was made in plaster but then discarded. My set is simpler in shape for ease of carving. Larry List has a lot more in his fine book “The Imagery of Chess” 2006.
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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
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SACA Delegate: Misheck Muza sacouncillor@auschess.org.au
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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
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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
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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
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Newsletter Editor: Keong Ang auschessnews@chessnews.asia
Newsletter Editor: Miles Patterson mp19370@gmail.com
Publicity Director: Paul Power publicity@auschess.org.au
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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 g4+ Ke5 (1…Kxg4 2 Kg6) 2 Bb2+ Qxb2 3 Nf6 d5 4 c5 bxc5 (4…d4 5 Nd7+ Kd5 6 Nb6+ Kxc5 7 Na4+) 5 Ke7 d4 6 Nd7+ Kd5 7 Nb6+ Ke5 8 Nc4+
(Isaac Boleslavsky, 1946)
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.