No. 657
11 July 2026
Editorial
by Miles Patterson
Welcome to the July ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue. Please have a look at the notice about the ACF Olympiad Appeal 2026. If you would like to make sure your tournament is announced or the results reported, please just send us the details.
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 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 March 2027 and 31 August 2027 is 31 December 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
Street Chess Canberra goes to the World Team Championships
By Miles Patterson
After enjoying the 2024 World Rapid and Blitz Team Championships in Astana as an arbiter, Shaun Press had the idea of sponsoring a team from Canberra to play in the 2026 event in Hong Kong. The team was based on organisers and players from Canberra’s popular Saturday Street Chess, although we co-opted some ‘honorary members’ to get the team composition right.
Teams of between six and nine (six played in each match) had to include at least one female; Xin Cheng and Australian Champion Heather Richards met the requirement admirably. There had to be at least one ‘recreational player’ (never rated above 2000); Miles Patterson, Matt Radisich and Lee Forace all qualified. To boost the team’s top end, in addition to Heather, we had Harry Press, Fred Litchfield and Ryan Lane. Curiously, our team comprised at least one player from every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s. Unfortunately, Shaun couldn’t attend, being called up as an arbiter for the World Youth Championships in Italy.
Lee, Matt, Heather, Harry, Miles, Xin, Fred, Ryan
Held in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth stadium, the two tournaments, Rapid and Blitz, featured 48 teams from all over the world, including the defending champions WR Chess, led by Magnus Carlsen, and other heavyweight teams led by Alireza, Mamedyarov, Hans Niemann, Ding Liren and so on. Star spotting was a feature throughout the event, as we (sometimes literally) rubbed shoulders with dozens of the great names in chess.
Half the playing area at the impressive venue
Day One. Ranked 45th out of 48 teams in the Rapid, we were always going find it hard going, with the top boards in particular usually facing some impressive titles/ratings – Harry ended up playing three GMs and eight IMs on top board. Even so, Day One saw two of the four losses only by the smallest margin. Heather pulled off a nice win over 2247-rated Victor Kurochkin. Ryan was our top scorer with 2.5/4. Individuals had some successes and some near misses, but winning matches would need most of the team to succeed (by design or luck) at the same time.
Day Two was looking like more of the same, as we started with a loss, again by the minimum, but it ended with a heroic effort as Matt (with a Rousseau Gambit) and Xin cleaned up, Ryan drew, and in the last game to finish on top board, Harry made a nail-biting draw against an IM to tie the match and get us on the board.
Maybe Heather could persuade Nigel to sub for us on Board 2
Day Three saw even tougher opposition, but also a dramatic Round 10 match against a much higher-rated Spanish team, which included two grandmasters. After Ryan and Xin kept the bottom four boards level at 2-2, Harry tied down GM Ibarra Jerez (2535) for a well-earned draw, then a crowd gathered to watch Fred outplay the well-known GM, ‘Pepe’ Cuenca (2485), to reach a Q v B+N ending. After lengthy attempts to prove there was no fortress, Fred forced a winning position but was immediately met with a successful 50-move claim, giving us another tied result overall. Video of the end here: When the opponent thinks you are about to resign but you have 1 last trick left!
The Rapid ended with a somewhat disappointing final ranking, but the missed opportunities were balanced by individual successes against significantly higher rated opponents. We were looking forward to the blitz. One of the younger members of the team pointed out that we would do better as older players can’t play blitz! I took the hint and, as Captain, dropped myself for Day Four.
If the Rapid had been hard going, the Blitz tournament looked to be brutal. The lowest-rated of the 48 teams, we were in a round-robin pool of 12, facing teams led by Ding Liren, Hans Niemann, Shirov and Praggnanandhaa, all of whom Heather had the privilege of playing, and she fought well: 2142 Elo vs R. Praggnanandhaa.
Initially, the results were bleak, as Xin’s draw in the first round, and Lee’s win and draw in the next two rounds were our only points. But in round 4, the team clicked and scored our first match win, with wins by Heather (over a 2421 IM) Fred and Ryan, and a draw by Harry.
The highlight of the day, maybe the tournament, was a match on the top board in front of the cameras, against Ding Liren’s Dragon Chilling, winners of the Rapid and fielding five GMs. In the pre-match chat, Ding was asked if he remembered playing Shaun Press in the World Cup. He did and was told Harry was his son. Ding’s response: “He doesn’t look like him.” Most of the games were going as expected but, then Matt won on board 6 and we all watched as the Women’s World Champion, Ju Wenjun, unable to get an advantage against Ryan, slipped up and lost her queen to three swift checks. This was revenge for the Lane family as Ryan’s mother Nancy lost to Ju Wenjun in round 1 of the Women’s World Championship in 2017 in Tehran.
The Street Chess team’s 15 minutes of fame
The 2-4 loss was a better score than Niemann’s Endgame AI could manage against Dragon Chilling in the Final. After the players had left the boards, Magnus walked by and did a classic double-take and jaw drop on seeing the score, before pointing it out to the rest of his team, to general amusement.
On a high, the team drew in round seven and won again in round eight. The last three rounds saw much higher-rated opposition and predictable outcomes, although Fred took down a GM in the last round. We finished ninth in the pool of 12, which was an excellent result for the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
The whole event was well organised (inevitable minor hitches were resolved), the local organisers were great hosts, the whole atmosphere was relaxed and everyone – players, match arbiters, volunteers – were friendly and helpful. Even the top GMs were happy to chat at the start of games. Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to play in such a prestigious tournament and see a little of Hong Kong, and the team was unanimous in declaring the trip very worthwhile and great fun. Very many thanks to Shaun Press for making it all happen and sponsoring the players.
Postscript: Matt and Miles waiting to cross the road (we were not wearing our team shirts, although Matt was carrying a chess clock). Little local lad in a chess shirt pipes up: “Are you Street Chess Canberra?” “Yes, we are – how did you know?” “You’re old!” Young lad’s horrified mother starts scolding him. Matt and Miles laugh all the way back to the hotel.
Upcoming Events
ANU Open/Minor
31 July (evening) to 2 August, Floor 4, Marie Reay Teaching Centre, ANU. $4000 prize pool ($1200 1st prize Open, $600 1st Minor
ANU staff and students are eligible for free entry. Other ACT players must be members of either the ACTCA or ACTJCL to enter this event (interstate players welcome but must be members of their ACF-affiliated state association). Non-ACTCA junior members who are members of the ACTJCL but have already played in two 2026 ACTCA events will also need to join the ACTCA for this tournament.
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 Gosford Winter Rapid Open
1st Place: FM Tri Kien Le, 2nd Place: Jonluke Corona, 60 players
Upcoming Events
2026 NSW Rapid
19 July, Sydney Academy of Chess, Burwood. More details here
Apex Chess Open
19 July, Bonnyrigg Sports Club, 610-618 Elizabeth Dr, Bonnyrigg Hts NSW
2026 NSWCA August Weekender
15-16 August, Norths Leagues Club,12 Abbott Street Cammeray, NSW
2026 NSW Seniors Championship
20 September, Details TBN
Northern Territory
Northern Territory Chess Association
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland
Recent Events
61st Peninsula Open
=1st 5/6: Jayden Ooi, Lachlan Wang, Sravan Renjith, Kiamehr Baneshi
Rating Group A: =1st 5/6: Lachlan Wang and Kiamehr Baneshi
Rating Group B: =1st 4/6: Timothy Lee, Alex Field, Ethan Joseph, Brett Oakley
Rating Group C: =1st 4/6: Noah Zi, Vilem Fichna
Rating Group D: Outright 1st 3.5/6: Joshua Wan
Rating Group E: Outright 1st 3/6: Ameya Sathe
Best Senior 65 years of age or older: 4.5/6: Bruce Holliday
Best Regular Wednesday night Redcliffe Chess Club Players: Jai Turner, David Beaumont and Brett Oakley all on 4/6:
Best ACF Unrated: Fel Masana Sepulveda with 3.5 points
Best Adult Female: 3/6: Susan Li.
Best Junior Female: 3/6: Iris Wang
Best Junior Male: 5/6: Jayden Ooi, Lachlan Wang, Sravan Renjith
Upcoming Events
2026 UQ FIDE Winter Weekender
20-21 June, The University of Queensland St. Lucia More information here
Queensland Junior Championships
30 June - 3 July, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie). More information 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
Kings Birthday Weekender
1st Place: Weng Yang Joel Su, 2nd Place: CM Tarush Jindal,
Equal 3rd Place: Edgar Mdinaradze, Jamie Charters, FM Bill Jordan & Jack Willoughby
Best U1650 (ACF): Hariharan Ayyar, Equal 2nd Best U1650: Bhanav Shyam Sunitha, Chris Benham, Emmanuel Schiavone, James Bayliss, Charlotte Chen & Mathew Drogemuller
Best U1400 (ACF): Ashmit Dileesh, Equal 2nd Best U1400: Mark Lian, Cindy Chen & Brian Vogt
Equal Best U1100 (ACF): Vittal Balasubramani & Xuan Phuc Lam Nguyen
Best Unrated (ACF): Devensh Dikshit
Equal Best Unrated: Milad Dakka, Carlo Malagar & Devant Dikshit
Upcoming Events
15-17 July State Junior Championships
16 July July Allegro 1
23 July July Blitz
30 July July Allegro #2
6 August August Rapid
13 August August Allegro
20 August August Blitz
23 August SA Rapid Championship
27 August August Chess 960
Tasmania
Tasmanian Chess Association Inc (TCA)
Upcoming Events
2026 Huon Valley Chess Festival
5-8 November Details TBN
2027 Australian Junior Chess Championships
12-20 January 2027. Host: The Hutchins School, Sandy Bay, Hobart, Tasmania
Venue: The N J Edwards Hub, Nelson Road. Details here
Victoria
Upcoming Events
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)
Upcoming Events
2026 South West Chess Open and Allegro
25-26 July, Margaret River Community Centre. Details here
National Arbiters' Seminar
Sunday 16th and 23rd August, at Palms Community Centre in Subiaco. Details here
Perth International Open
25-28 September, Manning Hall Community Center Details here
New Zealand
New Zealand Chess News (newzealandchess.nz)
Recent Events
14 June Auckland Rapid 14 June 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
28 June Auckland Rapid 28 June 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
4 July North Island Rapid 2026
1st: FM Kendrick Botong Zhang (North Island Rapid Champion)
5 - 8 July North Island Championships 2026
1st equal: FM Alphaeus Ang (Joint North Island Champion) 1st equal: FM Daqi Mao (Joint North Island Champion) 1st equal: WFM Nadia Braganza (Joint North Island Champion)
Upcoming Events
10 - 12 July Peter Stuart Memorial 2026
17 - 19 July NZ Senior Championship 2026
18 July Upper Hutt Rapid 2026
19 July Auckland Rapid 19 July 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
Asian Individual Championships
By Albert Winkleman
The Asian Individual Championships is one of the most prestigious open events in the world. The total prize fund is $100,000, and placing within top five will get you a ticket to the FIDE World Cup. So of course, you can imagine many elite, ambitious players gather to fight tooth and nail. I had participated in a few before as a wee lad, seeded at the very bottom and ending similarly, but with more experience I now had some hopes (or maybe delusions) about how things could go this time.
Just before the tournament my mother and I stopped in China to briefly visit family. When it was finally time to leave, we actually saw many other players sharing the same flight to Ulaanbaatar (including Yu Yangyi)! It did not take long to arrive at a relatively small airport and enter the arranged transportation to the venue. We saw many of Mongolia’s barren but beautiful hills, until eventually approaching a standout city, where the impressive traffic made for a very cramped position. It took hours to traverse a very moderate number of kilometres, only to arrive at a hotel much different to the one listed in the tournament regulations! Apparently, the venue had changed from the 5-star Ulaanbaatar Hotel to the 3-star Bayangol Hotel without notice. We were guided to the reception desk, where we were casually given the room card as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Not even any mention of some compensation for the hefty $2000 USD we paid the organisers, for what was supposed to be ten nights in a twin room at a more costly accommodation, but we begrudgingly accepted this new development like docile cattle as we already had some issues with organisers during registration and did not believe protesting would get us anywhere.
The Bayangol Hotel was made up of two different towers. We noticed there weren’t any Indians in the one we were positioned in; the only reason that makes sense to me is to serve different food at each tower to better suit different cultures. In the long passageway connecting them are two restaurants associated with the hotel, one of which was repurposed to become the playing hall. We were within walking distance of several nice landmarks, plus the food and rooms were passable, so my initial Paris Syndrome caused by the change was fairly short lived.
When it was finally time for the tournament to begin, I was pleased to see very thorough security; however, perhaps a bit too strict as they did not even allow me to don my magnificent trench coat! It’s not like it could hide any dirty secrets from the metal detectors. The opening ceremony had performances of unique song and dance, but was not scheduled particularly well; the intended starting time for Round 1 was 3:00 PM, but ended up being something more like 3:55.
I was playing against Aditya Mittal, a powerful Grandmaster rated above 2600. After some sore misjudgements in the opening, I soon believed my best option was one that left my king in an extremely unpleasant predicament!
My opponent continued to capitalise on his advantage but gave me a small unintuitive opportunity which allowed the king to escape into a fairly balanced endgame (Kc7!)
However, he outplayed me bit by bit in said endgame and eventually won. In truth every loss wounds me badly, but I didn’t mind so much as my opponent is quite strong and it was a fun game overall. In rounds 2, 3, 4 and 5, I also made some really poor decisions (round 3 in particular), leading to unpromising or rather miserable positions:
But somehow, from these four diagrams, I scored 3.5 points! To be frank, my opponents played quite horribly in the resulting endgames and I didn’t particularly feel I deserved any of these results. So, despite the score I understood pretty well that I was in somewhat bad form, and sure enough after a poorly judged draw and two idiot blunders, I went from 3.5/5 to 4/8. I was pretty upset with how things were going overall, so that combined with certain anxieties gave me some sort of insomnia, leaving me with only around 90 minutes of sleep for the final round. My grandmaster opponent wasn’t having a great tournament either having just lost to my compatriot Liu Yi, but I was still only expecting a draw at best. However, he entered perhaps the only opening I specialise in, so I had to immediately reconsider my expectations!
Dai Changren — Albert Winkelman
1. c4 e5, 2. Nc3 I studied the Four Knights/Rossolimo English in great detail ever since Ding Liren’s iconic victory against Nepomniachtchi in Rd4 of 2023’s Championship Match, and it has generally given me great success with the white pieces. Of course, it also means I know how to play against it! 2. … Bb4 3. Qb3 a5 4. Nd5?! Nf6 The only thing currently justifying Qb3 is the threat of Qg3, so I felt 4. Nf6 allowing Nxd5 and 0-0 would be the cleanest way to discourage it. 4. Nxb4, axb4, Qxb4 is not worrisome because of the queen’s vulnerability, black’s massive lead in development and the free a-file. 5. Nxb4?! axb4 6. d3 Nc6 7. Nf3 d5 8. cxd5 Nxd5
9 e3? It’s ugly, but 9. e4 would have been better to push the knight to a humble square and develop faster. It’s not super difficult to see how devastating the position gets after 9. e3 with how much of black’s army is directly pointed at the queenside. 9. … Be6 10. Qd1 b3 11. Qxb3 Nxe3 12. Qc3 Nxf1 13. Rxf1 0-0 Black is very much winning already; White does not have promising plans to hide his king nor liberate the rook on f1. There’s also a very stark different in immediate piece activity. 14. Be3 Qd5 15. a3 Rfd8 16. Rd1 Bg4?
Much better would be to make a quiet move like 16. …h6 to prevent Ng5 and drive home the point that there isn’t much at all for my opponent to do. Even the simple 16. ..,.,Bf5 looks hopeless for white. …Bg4 loosens the noose very unnecessarily. 17. Qc4 Bxf3 18. gxf3 Qxf3 19. Qe4 Qh5 20. Kd2 f5 21. Qc4+ Kh8?! 21…Qf7 is perfectly fine, and perfectly safe. The endgame is quite good for Black obviously. …Kh8 attempts to capitalise on the unsightly king in the center, but it keeps White’s hopes just barely alive. 22. f4 exf4?! 23 Qxf4
exf4 was played almost instantly, as I saw Rxf4 and Bxf4 were losing. But I managed to somehow miss that Qxf4 was even possible! With weak pawns on f5 and c7 White is creeping back into the game, even if the position is still horrid. 23. … Rd5 24. Qxc7 Ne5 25. Qxb7 Rad8 26. Kc1 Nxd3+ 26. …Qe2 is notably tempting here, but Rfe1 cleanly refutes it. 27. Kb1 f4
28. …Rb5 is winning here, but under time pressure and mental fatigue I did not see how to follow up after Qc7 (Rxb2+, Ka1, Ra8, Rxd3, Ra2+!, Kb1, Qb5+, Kxa1, Qxd3). 28. …Qg6 had multiple qualities; it protected d3 which would enable R5d7, it attacked the bishop on b6, it threatened Nc5. So, I gave it a shot. 28. … Qg6, 29. Ka1 R5d7 30. Bc7 h6?? A truly cowardly move that finally squanders black’s advantage completely. Qb6 now forces a decent endgame immediately. 31. Rxf4??
And, just when a draw is in reach, White flies too close to the sun. Regardless of concrete calculations, such a brazen move in such a risky position should be distrusted like an email from Microsoft in your spam folder! Black now quickly reveals White’s back rank struggles. 31. … Nb4 32. Rc1 Qc2 33. Rff1 R7d1 34. Bf4 Rxf1 0-1
And so, the tournament was finally over. I was incredibly surprised when I heard my performance was sufficient for an IM norm (my third)! After FIDE approves everything, I’ll be able to save a fortune on entry fees. The closing ceremony was actually quite fantastic, with good food and lively performances. The solo singers tried to encourage the crowd to clap or dance, but the chess players expressed themselves more mundanely than a cow would. Was also a bit disappointed not to see some friends/acquaintances I was expecting but left the tournament on a pretty good note.
Aside from some struggles in the tournament, I enjoyed Ulaanbaatar. The parks, statues and Buddhist temples were quite nice, and the general populace are fairly good looking. I like that the culture seems to value festivities; saw more going on in those ten days than a whole year in Canberra. However, the immense traffic implies overpopulation and air pollution issues. We were also lucky to visit during a time when temperatures weren’t dropping to -30C. I’m sure there are other issues a mere tourist like me isn’t wise to. Overall, I would recommend visiting, but not if you must book anything via organisers.
Upcoming Events
Asian Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships 2026 27-31 July, Hong Kong 24th ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships 2026 7-17 August, Singapore Japan Chess Classic 9-12 August, Osaka 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
Unlock Your Chess Creativity by Richard Palliser published by Popular Chess, 304 pages.
A games collection of top English players designed to educate and delight.
All the players are honoured by heavily annotated games where the author explains the motives and planning required to steer the position into a favourable encounter.
It is worth listing the players: Miles, Nunn, Speelman, Short, Adams and Sadler. The latter provides an interesting foreword discussing the pros and cons of his world elite rivals.
Actually, thinking about that, I have played them all at tournament level but the only person I did not beat was Speelman because he had a certain presence at the board and was exceptionally good.
I do believe that the instructive openings examined at length by Palliser can still be useful in this era, as for example a positional Ruy Lopez is timeless. If you know your chess history then the fantastic King’s Indian game Beliavsky-Nunn will be a welcome addition. Indeed, I have seen the whole line repeated at an Australian weekender where the young player was bewildered by the key move 11…Rxf5 and complained he had not seen it on chess.com.
The Nigel Short games are a masterclass in attacking and anyone taking on the Open Sicilian will reap dividends by the lessons provided in each game.
The contrast in style is more evident by Michael Adams who has a positional outlook and is renowned as having the ability to constantly play top class moves to grind the opponent into making a mistake or to get short of time. Interestingly, he visited Queensland this year as a tourist so maybe one day he will be back as a player. After all he did compete at the World Junior in Adelaide during 1988 and a local weekender in Sydney which was won by a young Boris Gelfand!
I think the thoughtful selection of games will give any keen player a boost in their rating if studied diligently.
A rare insight into how top players reach favourable middlegames by planning and executing their creative ambitions.
Looking Back
2017 Women’s World Championship
Ryan Lane’s clash with Ju Wenjun in Hong Kong (see the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship report above) prompted Gary Lane to send a picture of Nancy Lane’s meeting with the same player in 2017:
The staging of the knock-out Women’s World Championship in Tehran was probably not much less controversial than it would be now. The requirement for all players to wear a hijab was a reason for several players to not participate. Nancy, qualifying as the representative from Oceania Zone 3.6, was rated 64th out of the 64 players, which earned her a tough Round One match against the number one seed Ju Wenjun. The event was won by China’s Tan Zhongyi.
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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
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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/
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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): 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:
Rb1 Qxa7 2 Re1+ Kd7 3 Re7+
(Alexey Troitzky, 1925)
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.