No. 656
13 June 2026
Editorial
by Miles Patterson
Welcome to the June ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue. Please have a look at the notice about the ACF Olympiad Appeal 2026. The ACF Newsletter has just clocked up 2000 subscribers, a steady but substantial increase over the past couple of years. Please encourage the chess players you know to subscribe if they have not already.
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 - 2026 Olympiad Team
The Australian 2026 FIDE Olympiad Teams have been announced:
Open Team
1. GM Bobby Cheng, 2. GM Temur Kuybokarov, 3. IM Rishi Sardana, 4. GM David Smerdon, 5. IM James Morris, Captain: IM Mihajlo Radovanovic
Women’s Team
1. WGM Jilin Zhang, 2. WGM Julia Ryjanova, 3. WFM Zhiyuan Shen, 4. WIM Heather Richards, 5. WFM Nguyen Mai Chi Phan (no photo), Captain: FM Jack Rodgers
ACF Olympiad Appeal 2026 - 46th Olympiad, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
The ACF appeal for support to send the Australian teams to the Olympiad in Uzbekistan in September is well underway. Please visit the Olympiad Appeal site and consider giving what you can.
ACF Notices
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 ACT Chess Championship
By Shaun Press
The 2026 ACT Chess Championship attracted a strong field of 63 players. It was held across the Reconciliation Day long weekend in Canberra and was hosted by the Eastlakes Club in Griffith. Top seed was Harry Press, with FM Fred Litchfield, FM Michael Kethro, CM Hui Li, and CM Lalit Prassad as the main challengers. With a number of up-and-coming ACT juniors in the field, the tournament was one of the more competitive editions in recent years.
After a somewhat predictable first round, the first real upsets started in round two. CM Prasad lost to Matt Radisich, while FM Kethro was held to a draw by 9-year-old Sanat Hegde. Hegde, who had already proved his strength at Rapid chess, was now starting to look dangerous at longer time controls as well. In Round three another of the top seeds fell to a lower rated opponent, when FM Litchfield, pushed too hard for a win against Harry Johnson, turning a drawn position into a loss.
Litchfield,Frederick (2145) - Johnson,Harry (1854) [D31]
2026 ACT Chess Championship Canberra, Australia (3.2), 30.05.2026
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.e3 Bd6 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.Bd3 0-0 9.h3 Nc6 10.Nf3 Ne7 11.Qc2 Re8 12.g4 Nc6 13.a3 g6 14.Rc1 Bd7 15.g5 Nh5 16.Ne2 Rac8 17.Qc5 Qxc5 18.Rxc5 Ne7 19.Ne5 Be6 20.Kd2 c6 21.a4 f6 22.gxf6 Nxf6 23.Nf4 Bf5 24.f3 Bxd3 25.Kxd3 Nf5 26.Rg1 Rxe5! An excellent way to unbalance the position 27.dxe5 Nd7 28.Rc3 Nxe5+ 29.Ke2 Re8 30.Kf2 Nh4 31.Rg3 Nf5 32.Rg5 Nh4 33.e4 Nhxf3 34.Rxf3 Nxf3 35.Kxf3 Rxe4 Although 3 pawns is enough for the piece, the quality of the pawn structure is what is more important 36.a5 Ra4 37.Re5 Kf7 38.Nd3 Rxa5 39.Re2 Rb5 40.Kg4 a5 41.Ne5+ Kf6 42.Nd7+ Kf7 43.Rf2+ Kg7 44.Kf4 Rb3 45.Nc5 Rb5 46.Ne6+ Kf6 47.Nf8 Kg7 48.Ke5 Rb3 49.Ne6+ Kh6 50.Nc5 Rxh3 51.Nxb7 a4 52.Na5 a3 53.b4 Rc3 54.Ra2 Kg5 55.Kd4 Rc1 56.Rxa3 h5 57.Rg3+ Kf5 58.Rf3+ Kg5 59.Ke3 Around here it wasn’t obvious which side was playing for the win! 59...h4 60.Kd2 Rg1 61.Nxc6 Kh5 62.b5 g5 63.Rb3 [63.Kc2 turned out to be a better way of covering the b file] 63...Rg2+ 64.Ke1 g4 65.Nd4 h3 66.Kf1 g3 67.Nf3 Rf2+ [67...Ra2 was decisive for Black] 68.Kg1 Rc2 69.Rb1 Kg4 70.Ne5+ Kf4 71.b6 Rg2+ 72.Kh1 Rh2+ 73.Kg1 Rg2+ 74.Kf1 Rf2+ 75.Ke1?? In avoiding the draw, White gifts the game to Black 75...h2 76.Nd3+ Ke3 0-1
After the halfway point of the seven-round event, Harry Press and Hui Li shared the lead on 4/4. A draw between these two players left them on 4.5/5 pursued by a group of six players on 4/5. Harry Press defeated Wenlin Yin in round six, in a game where both players traded mistakes until one last blunder determined the result. Hui Li and Masaki Horikawa played a similar game on board two, when Li went from winning to drawing to losing, before recovering to draw the ending. Sanat Hegde also continued his good run, beating fellow junior Owen MacMullin, having drawn with FM Fred Litchfield in Round four.
The final round saw FM Michael Kethro (5) v Harry Press (5.5) on Board one, and CM Hui Li (5) v Sanat Hegde (5) on board two. An unfortunate opening blunder by Hegde saw Hui Li move to 6/7 after around 30 minutes of play.
Li,Hui - Hegde,Sanat (1758) [C67]
2026 ACT Chess Championship Canberra, Australia (7.2), 01.06.2026
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.d4 Be7 6.Qe2 Ng5?? [6...Nd6 is fine] 7.Bxg5 Bxg5 8.d5 Black is either surrendering the knight on c6, or losing as in the game. 8...Nb8 9.Qxe5+ Be7 10.Qxg7 Rf8 11.Re1 with the idea of Ng5-h7-f6 11...c6 12.d6 cxb5 13.dxe7 Qxe7 14.Rxe7+ Kxe7 15.Nc3 1-0
This left all eyes on Board one, where the game was still in the opening stages. In an attempt to avoid the space advantage White gained from the opening, Black played an ill-judged pawn thrust and lost a pawn, and then the game.
Kethro,Michael (2081) - Press,Harry (2173) [E04]
2026 ACT Chess Championship Canberra, Australia (7.1), 28.05.2026
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Nf3 dxc4 5.Bg2 c5 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Na3 cxd4 8.Nxc4 Be7 9.b3 0-0 10.Bb2 Nd5 11.Nxd4 Nxd4 12.Qxd4 Bf6 13.Qd2 Bxb2 14.Nxb2 b6 15.Rfd1 Bb7 16.Nc4 f5? Black was worried about e4-e5 and Nd6, but the position was already in White’s favour 17.Ne3 winning a safe pawn 17...Qe7 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxd5 exd5 20.Qxd5+ Kh8 21.e3 h6 22.Rac1 White’s advantage was both material and positional. A pawn down Black could not rely on exchanging pieces to counter White’s control of the open files, without getting closer to a lost ending. 22...Qa3 23.Rc7 Rac8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Qxf5 Rc1 26.Rxc1 Qxc1+ 27.Kg2 Black has no tricks in this position, and played a few more moves before resigning. 27...Qb2 28.Qf8+ Kh7 29.Qf5+ Kh8 30.Qc8+ Kh7 31.Qa6 Qc2 32.Qa4 a5 33.h4 Kh8 34.Qd4 1-0
This result left FM Michael Kethro and CM Hui Li as joint ACT Champions. A second win for Kethro, and a first for Li. Press tied for third with FM Fred Litchfield and CM Lalit Prasad. Of the junior players, Sanat Hegde and Own MacMullin both performed well above their seeding, finishing on 5/7. Matt Radisich, Tim Pearce and Nick Beare shared the Under 1750 prize on 4.5/7, a result which was well received by the more senior players in the tournament.
With a large field and the participation of most of the strong ACT players, the ACT Championship once again proved to be a successful tournament for the ACT Chess Association. There were no disputes during the event, and the feedback from players was very positive.
Upcoming Events
ANU Open/Minor
24-26 July, Details TBA
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
Goulburn Autumn One Day Rapid Tournament (U18) and Open Blitz Tournament
Report by Arvend & Devi, Infinity Group Academy
Congratulations to all of the Chess Players who took part in the Goulburn Autumn One Day Chess Tournament on Sunday, 17 May 2026.
Without the players from Sydney and Canberra, we would not be able to run the tournament, so thank you to all of them. Special appreciation to six-year old Joshua Sherin, who travelled with his dad from Griffith (more than 4 hours’ drive) and stayed overnight in Goulburn, just to participate in our tournament. This encourages to continue organise chess tournament in Goulburn. All of the players showed great sportsmanship throughout the tournament.
1st: Taran Nisha Raj 6.5/7, 2nd: Sreyaa Karunagaran 6/7, 3rd: Aaron Jain 5/9
Under 18 Top Scorer: Christian Cady 4.5/8, 15 & Under Top Scorer: Cameron Te Whare 4/8, 12 & Under Top Scorer: Heathcliff McInnes 3/8
10 & Under Top Scorer: Yazan Elberway 4/8, 8 & Under Top Scorer: Joshua Sherin 3/8
2026 Goulburn Open Blitz Tournament
Our first FIDE rated “Goulburn Open Blitz Chess Tournament” was a successful event as it attracts 19 players from all ages and skills level. A great thank you and appreciation for players who travelled from Sydney, Canberra, Picton & Wilton and some of them used train and buses to participate in our FIDE rated tournament.
Heads down for the blitz
First Place: CM Hui Li 7.5/9, Equal Second Place: Avinav Sivaraj & Taran Nisha Raj 6.5/9, Best Under 1700: Mark Guieb 6/7, Best Under 1500: Christian Cady 4.5/7, Best Under 1000: Henry Neville 5/7, Best Female: Sreyaa Karunagaran 4.5/7, Best Unrated: Kevin McCauley
Upcoming Events
2026 Gosford Winter Rapid Open
27 June, Central Coast Leagues Club, Dane Drive Gosford. Details here
2026 NSW Rapid
19 July, Sydney Academy of Chess, Burwood Details TBN
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Chess Association
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland
Recent Events
2026 Wendy Terry Memorial
1st: Grandmaster David Smerdon. =2nd: 5-way tie between CM Joel Leong, FM Jayden Ooi, Kiamehr Baneshi, Jai Turner and Haoqian (William) Liu.
Upcoming Events
2026 UQ FIDE Winter Weekender
20-21 June, The University of Queensland St. Lucia More information here
61st Peninsula Open
27-28 June, F Block and J Block, Grace Lutheran College, Buchanen St, Rothwell.
Queensland Junior Championships
30 June - 3 July, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie). More information here
2026 Gold Coast Open
8-12 July. Broadbeach Cultural Centre. More details here
2025 UQ July Classic
19-20 July, 01-W431 & 01-W458, Forgan Smith Building (West Wing), UQ
2026 Gold Cup FIDE Open
1-2 August, F and J Blocks Grace Lutheran College, Buchanan St, Rothwell.
2026 Great Barrier Reef Open
5-6 September, 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
2026 Queensland Seniors Championship
14-15 November, F and J Blocks Grace Lutheran College, Buchanan St, Rothwell.
2026 Christmas Special
12-13 December, F and J Blocks Grace Lutheran College, Buchanan St, Rothwell.
South Australia
South Australian Chess Association Inc (SACA)
Recent Events
May Allegro
=1st: David Chesney, Aaron Perkins, 4/5. 12 players
May Rapid
=1st: James Bayliss, Edgar Mdinaradze, 3.5/4. 10 players
May Blitz
=1st: Ayman Almutawa, Thomas Cruse, 9.5/11. 12 players
Upcoming Events
June 18 June Rapid
June 25 June Allegro
Zina Koodrin Memorial Checkmate Open 2026
10-12 July. The Chess Centre of South Australia, 10 Ranelagh Street, Adelaide.
https://sachess.org.au/event/zina-koodrin-memorial-checkmate-open-2026/
July 16 July Allegro 1
23 July July Blitz
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Recent Events
2026 Tasmanian Open
1st - Carl Gorka, 2nd - Kevin Bonham, 3rd - Will Rumley
Best Junior - Vivaan Gupta-Devdia, Best Senior - Adrian Flitney
U1500 - Cayden Walker, Nachiket Ramprasad, 21 players
Upcoming Events
2026 Huon Valley Chess Festival
5-8 November Details TBN
Victoria
Recent Events
2026 Darebin Winter Tournament
Open: 1st - Domenic Attard (7/7), 2nd - Subin Kurian Thomas (6/7), 3rd - Deethya Sai Katakam (6/7)
U18: 1st - Kaisar Batyrbekov (5/7), 2nd - Vivaan Rawat (5/7), 3rd - Aadhya Sai Katakam (4.5/7) U16: 1st Aidan Batyrbekov (4.5/7), U15: 1st - Marwan Diab (4/7)
U12: 1st - Charlene Ding (4/7) 2nd - Jinay Patel (3.5/7) 3rd - An Nguyen (3.5/7)
U9: 1st - Nyra Venkat (3/7)
Victorian Open
1st - Tedric Li (6.5/7), 2nd - Rheyansh Annapureddy (6/7), =3rd - Kai Jie Soo, Christopher Wallis, Lukasz Szczepaniak, Domagoj Dragicevic, Arthur Gao, Declan Smith (5.5/7)
Rating Group 1: 1st - Samuel Shepherd (5.5/7) =2nd - Pardeep Bahra, Daniel Poberezovsky, Michael Stolyarov, Ashwin Ramanathan, Jennifer Morrison, Cunmeng Wang, En Jie Jonathan Koh (5/7)
Rating Group 2: =1st - Harrison Trewin, Si En Faith Yeo, Aiden Fan, Paul Rehill (4.5/7)
Rating Group 3: =1st - Mrinalini Siva, Adelyn Wang, Oscar Wan, Roland Brockman, Chi Long Zhang, Aidan Batyrbekov, Si Xu Shane Yeo (4/7)
Rating Group 4: 1st - Flin Nguyen (4.5/7) 2nd - Neev Jyothi Nikhil (4/7)
Unrated: 1st - Elyano Polus (5/7) 2nd - Manas Alwani (4/7)
Best Female Player: 1st - Alana Chibnall (5.5/7)
Best Senior Player 1st - Gary Bekker (5.5/7)
Upcoming Events
2026 Victorian Junior Chess Championship 27-28 June, Glen Waverley Secondary College School. O'sullivan Rd, Glen Waverley. Details and entry here 2026 Box Hill Junior Rapid Championship Sunday 5th July, 11am registration for 12:00pm start. Glen Waverley Secondary College School. O'Sullivan Road, Glen Waverley. More information here Hobsons Bay Juniors Rapid Championship 2026 18 July, Hobsons Bay Chess Club, 108 Queen Street, Altona. More details here 2026 Best in the West 29-30 August, Finnish Hall, 119 Pier St, Altona. More details here Victorian Women's Championship 2026 12 and 19 September, Hobsons Bay Chess Club, 108 Queen St, Altona VIC. More details here 2026 Victorian Junior Rapid and Blitz Championships 3-4 October, Bacchus Marsh Grammar – Maddingley Campus 37 South Maddingley Rd, Maddingley. More information here
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Recent Events
Bunbury Open
Open Category: 1st: Bradley Lucas (6.0/6), 2nd: Josh Davoll (5.0/6), 3rd & Winner Under 1800 Category: Clint Stewart & Simon Voggenreiter (4.5/6)
Under 1800 - Runner Up: Stephen Mazza (4.0/6)
Under 1500 - Winner & Runner Up: Uudamkhishig Togtmol & Gavin Mercer (4.0/6)
Under 1200 - Winner: Christian Newbold (3.0/6), Under 1200 - Runner up: Charlie Williams, Allan Miller & Ashton Hurst (2.0/6)
Best Junior: Florentina Rithauddin (3.0/6)
Bonus prize - Best Win: Uudamkhishig Togtmol (719 rating difference win)
Upcoming Events
WA Junior Championships
6-9 July. Details TBD
2026 South West Chess Open and Allegro
25-26 July, Margaret River Community Centre. Details here
New Zealand
New Zealand Chess News (newzealandchess.nz)
Recent Events
9 - 17 May Auckland Double Weekends May 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
15 - 17 May Arie Nijman Memorial 2026
1st: CM Edward Rains
23 May Kapiti Rapid Tournament 2026
1st: Xxavier Willoughby-Ansell
30 May - 1 June Auckland King’s Birthday Weekender 2026
1st: Matheson McEwen
30 May - 1 June 48th Trusts Open 2026
A-grade 1st: FM Daqi Mao B-grade 1st equal: Henry Vital B-grade 1st equal: Nick Cummings C-grade 1st: Tamoghna Reddy Degapudi Junior-grade 1st: Ethan Stephen
7 June Hobby Chess Rapid June 2026
1st Group A: FM Alphaeus Ang 1st Group B: Thenuk Wijayasinghe 1st Group C: Krithin Shetty
Upcoming Events
14 June Auckland Rapid 14 June 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
26 July Hobby Chess Rapid July 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
28 November NZ Fischer-Random Championship 2026
International News
Aussies Overseas #8
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, eight Australians participated in overseas events in this month’s report which covers tournaments mostly completed in May.
David Milne (NSW 1678) competed with 43 others in the 2026 KwaZulu Natal Open A in Durban. David performed at 100 points above his rating, with 3.5/7 finishing 19=.
FM Sam Chow (VIC 2351) played in Rounds 9-11 of the 2025-26 4NCL Division 1, completing all eleven rounds of the now largely English event. He drew his three games including against IM Vladyslav Larkin (UKR 2474) and IM Marcus Harvey (ENG 2445). Sam’s team, White Rose 1, finished in seventh place in the 12-team top level event.
Meanwhile back in February, results from the Division 2 event in Coventry have been released where WFM Thu Giang Nguyen (VIC 2086) played two rounds scoring 0.5/2.
In Bangkok Thailand, Queenslanders Tom Maguire (2153) and Joshua Steinke (1643) competed in the May Rooky Monthly. Tom was top seed and placed 1= with 4.5/5 and Joshua 14th seed on 3 placed 9=.
Glick Emil (WA 1693) and Indis Danaswara (1598) played in the 2026 Japfa Challenger in Jakarta, scoring 5.5/9 and 5.0 and placing 53= and 77= respectively in this 288-player event.
Competing in the Commonwealth Youth Championship in Kalutara in Sri Lanka in the U14 Open, Mason Tay (NSW 1797) scored 4.5/9 placing 18= in this 39-player event.
Upcoming Events
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 Tonga National Chess Championship 23-25 June 2026 at Tonga High School in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. The Tonga Chess Federation would be very pleased to welcome additional visiting players from around the Oceania region. For further details or to register interest, please contact: Bill Sanft, Secretary, Tonga Chess Federation, Phone: +676 7705 127 Asian Youth Chess Championships 2026 15-25 July, Shenzhen, China Asian Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026 27-31 July, Hong Kong 24th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2026 7-17 August, Singapore Asian Juniors & Girls Chess Championship 2026 16-25 August, Mumbai, India 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.
Book Review
By IM Gary Lane
Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan
Published by Chess Elevation, 224 pages.
A chess classic that is now back in print with fully revised and updated content.
The popular American grandmaster aims to show players relatively new to the game how to improve and win.
If people have old copies published by Microsoft or Everyman then you can see the differences everywhere as in the ‘Glossary’ where ‘Mouse Slip’ is given prominence with a nod to a new generation who have largely played online.
I always like plenty of photos so we can put a face to such famous names such as Janowski, Keres and Petrosian.
The content remains basically the same which makes sense as it has proved to be such a success over the years. Even so, a more recent game or example by Carlsen or Nakamura would make it more contemporary. At the end of the book there are a series of colour photos by David Llada but the casual reader won’t know one of them is a game between Carlsen and Caruana because they are not name checked. Still, a minor gripe as the examples, games and instruction are the real stars.
Seirawan has a knack of explaining things to his core audience of improving players how to be better and translate that into success at the board.
The author tries to simplify matters by introducing four core principles which are explored in separate chapters. I think this style works well by introducing insights but not overwhelming a keen player.
This is everybody’s second chess book bridging the gap from being a beginner to become a winner.
The updated version will wow another generation of players.
Looking Back
100 Years Ago
A wonderful book of 32 pages appeared in Melbourne in 1926 called “Seventy Years of Victorian Chess” by the Hon. Secretary of the Melbourne Chess Club, Edward Ivan Rosenblum. He dedicated the book to his wife, whose patience as a “chess widow” he very much admired. This was the Club’s Diamond Jubilee Year, and the Introduction was by Mr. J. E. Pietzcker, the Club President. There is a good history of Victorian Chess, the Office Bearers’ names from 1866, the Handicap Tournament winners from 1866. the Victorian Championships from 1891, The Interstate Telegraphic Matches from 1868, and finally Country Chess in Victoria and four games. Rosenblum acknowledged help from Spielvogel, Fallaw, Grant & Gundersen in its compilation. A lovely little book for 2/- (14cm x 22cm).
From Bob Meadley’s compilation A History of Australian Chess
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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)
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Bundaberg https://bundabergchessclub-com.webs.com/
Cairns Facebook
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Logan City Rochedale
Magnetic Island magneticislandchessclub@gmail.com
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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): Miles Patterson mp19370@gmail.com
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:
Qb2+ Qg7 2 Rh2+ Kg8 3 Qa2+ Qf7 4 Qg2+ Qg7 5 Qd5+ Qf7 6 Rg2+ Kh7 7 Qe4+
(Ghenrikh Kasparyan, 1968)
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.