Editorial
by Miles Patterson
Welcome to the August ACF Newsletter. Thanks for all the contributions for this issue. Please note the advance information about the Australian Championship, under the Northern Territory Chess Association section.
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
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
ANU Open and Minor
By Shaun Press
Now well into its fourth decade, the ANU Open continues as a popular winter weekend event in Canberra. The field of 90 players (36 Open, 54 Minor) saw a mixture of strength in the top section, and enthusiasm in the minor. Top seeds for the open were IM Junta Ikeda, FMs Michael Kethro and Fred Litchfield, along with Harry Press, CM Lalit Prasad and CM Hui Li.
Although the prevailing expectation is that events like this are won by talented junior players, the 2026 edition saw experience and wisdom come out on top. Although the top seeds (all in their 20s and 30s) were challenged by their younger opponents, the older players’ ability to find resources under pressure proved to be the difference.
A couple of early examples involved top seeds Ikeda and Press. In round one Press played a Ruy Lopez in the Karpov/Keres style, building pressure until his opponent buckled under the pressure.
Press, Harry - Yang, Teng 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.0-0 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.Re1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nbd2 Re8 12.Nf1 Bf8 13.Ng3 g6 14.h3 Bg7 15.Bg5 Qc7 16.Qd2 Nc6 17.Rac1 Nd8 18.d4 Ne6 19.Be3 Bb7 20.d5 Nf8 21.Nh4 N6d7 22.Rf1 Nb6 23.b3 Nbd7 24.Bh6 Qd8 25.Bxg7 Qxh4 26.Bh6 Qe7 27.Rce1 Bc8 28.Bd1 f6 29.h4 c4 30.bxc4 bxc4 31.Ba4 Rd8 32.Be3 a5 33.Bc6 Rb8 34.Ba7 Ba6 35.Bxb8 Rxb8 36.Rb1 Rd8 37.Bb7 Nc5 38.Bxa6 Nxa6 39.Qe2 Rc8 40.Rb6 Nb8 41.Rfb1 Nfd7 42.Rb7 Qd8 43.Qg4 Nc5 44.Qxc8 1-0
In round two, Ikeda faced promising Canberran nine-year-old Sanat Hegde on the top board. Keeping his composure against his higher rated opponent, Hegde built up an advantage, and after an exchange of blunders, reached a winning ending. However, Ikeda refused to give in and found enough tricks to eventually turn the result on its head. A good win for Ikeda, and a valuable lesson for Hegde.
Ikeda, Junta - Hegde, Sanat 1.e4 c6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 dxe4 4.dxe4 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Bg4 6.Be3 Nd7 7.c3 e5 8.Nbd2 Bc5 9.Bxc5 Nxc5 10.Kc2 f6 11.b4 Nd7 12.Nc4 Ke7 13.Na5 Rb8 14.Nd2 Nh6 15.Ndc4 Nf7 16.Ne3 Be6 17.Bc4 g6 18.Rhd1 Rhd8 19.Bxe6 Kxe6 20.a4 Nf8 21.Rxd8 Nxd8 22.Nb3 Ke7 23.c4 Nfe6 24.Kc3 Nc7 25.c5 Nde6 26.Nc4 b6 27.Rd1 bxc5 28.bxc5 Nd4 29.Nxd4 exd4+ 30.Rxd4 Ne6 31.Rd6 Rc8 32.f3 Nxc5 33.a5 Nb7 34.Rd1 Nc5 35.Rb1 Rd8 36.e5 Rd3+ 37.Kc2 Rd4 38.Kc3 Rd3+ 39.Kc2 Rd4 40.Nd6 Rd3 41.Nc4 Rd4 42.Nd6 Ra4 43.Nb7 Na6 44.exf6+ Kxf6 45.Rd1 Ke7 46.Kc3 Ra2 47.Nd6 Rxa5 48.Nc8+ Ke8 49.Nxa7 Nc7 50.Re1+ Kf8 51.Nc8 Ra2 52.Rg1 Nd5+ 53.Kd4 Nf4 54.Ke5 Nd3+ 55.Kf6 c5 56.Rb1 Ke8 57.Nd6+ Kd7 58.Nc4 Kc6 59.Rd1 Nb4 60.Rg1 Kd5 61.Ne3+ Kd4 62.Ng4 c4 63.Kg7 Ra7+ 64.Kh6 Rf7 65.Rb1 Nd3 66.Rb8 c3 67.Rd8+ Kc4 68.Ne3+ 1-0
Day two of the event consisted of three rounds. While the 60m+30s time control is ideal for this format, a full day of chess does take some management. For a few players a draw wasn’t a bad result, but for those vying for 1st place, every game was important.
After round three, there were only three players left on 3/3. IM Junta Ikeda, Harry Press, and FM Fred Litchfield. The last round of the day saw Ikeda and Press meet in a game that essentially decided the tournament. Press built up a strong attack against Ikeda’s king, but in a familiar case of “the wrong rook”, over committed in the position and lost after a speculative, but unsound sacrifice.
Ikeda, Junta - Press, Harry 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.d3 g6 6.h3 Bg7 7.Nc3 0-0 8.Be3 b6 9.Qd2 e5 10.Bh6 Qd6 11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.0-0-0 a5 13.Ne2 Ne8 14.Nh2 Nc7 15.Ng4 f6 16.Qh6+ Kg8 17.Ne3 Ne6 18.c3 b5 19.g3 a4 20.f4 Ng7 21.Kb1 Be6 22.Qh4 a3 23.b3 c4 24.dxc4 Qc5 25.Nc2 bxc4 26.b4 Qf2 27.Rde1 Qf3 28.Rhf1 Qxe4 29.Ned4 Qd3 30.Rf3 Qd2 31.Nxe6 Nxe6 32.fxe5 Rfd8 33.Rc1 Nd4 34.cxd4 Rab8 35.Qf4 Qg2 36.exf6 1-0
Round four saw not one but two father-son pairings. In both cases it was a win for the younger player, with the following game being a drastic example.
Fasakin, Olamide - Fasakin, Oladoyin 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Nf6 5.e5 d5 6.Bb5 Nd7 7.0-0 Be7 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxd4 Nb8 10.c4 dxc4 11.Nc3 0-0 12.Be3 c5 13.Ndb5 Nc6 14.Qf3 Bb7 15.Rad1 Qb8 16.Nd5 Bd8 17.Qg3 Nxe5 18.Qxe5 c6 19.Qxb8 Rxb8 20.Bf4 Bh4 21.g3 Rbd8 22.Nd6 1-0
Ikeda continued his winning run in round five (beating FM Litchfield) while the other leading contenders remained at least a point behind. The final round pairings saw Ikeda play CM Lalit Prasad on the top board, while FM Michael Kethro faced Harry Press on the 2nd board. While the challengers had hopes of reaching a tie for 1st place, Ikeda dashed their hopes with a win over Prasad.
Ikeda, Junta - Prasad, Lalit 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 Nf6 5.Qe2 e5 6.0-0 Be7 7.c3 0-0 8.Na3 Re8 9.d3 Bf8 10.Nc4 g6 11.a3 d6 12.Ne3 Bg7 13.b4 a6 14.Bb2 h6 15.Nd2 b6 16.f4 exf4 17.gxf4 Bb7 18.Rad1 Nh5 19.Nb3 Qh4 20.Qf3 f5 21.Nd5 fxe4 22.dxe4 Rf8 23.Qh3 Qxh3 24.Bxh3 Rae8 25.Nd2 g5 26.Bd7 Nxf4 27.Nxf4 gxf4 28.Bxe8 Rxe8 29.Nc4 Rxe4 30.Nxd6 Re7 31.Nxb7 Rxb7 32.Rxf4 cxb4 33.axb4 a5 34.Rd2 Re7 35.b5 Ne5 36.Ba3 Rc7 37.Rd8+ Kh7 38.Bb2 Rc5 39.Kg2 Rxb5 40.Bc1 Rb3 41.Be3 b5 42.Bd4 Nc6 43.Rd7 Nxd4 44.cxd4 Kg6 45.Rg4+ Kf5 46.Rgxg7 a4 47.Rge7 a3 48.Rd6 a2 49.Re5+ Kg4 50.Rg6+ Kh4 51.Rxh6+ Kg4 52.Rg6+ Kf4 53.Ra6 Rb2+ 54.Kh3 Rb3+ 55.Kh4 Kf3 56.Rf6+ Kg2 57.Re2+ Kg1 58.Rxa2 Rd3 59.Rb2 Rxd4+ 60.Kg3 Rd3+ 61.Rf3 1-0
With first place decided, all eyes turned to board 2. This was the last game to end and could be described as “wild” from start to finish. A bizarre variation of the Benko Gambit led to a middlegame where both players seemed to be on the verge of both winning and losing. Eventually a knight ending was reached where most spectators thought it was drawn, until one last trick decided the game in Press’s favour.
Kethro, Michael - Press, Harry 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 e6 6.Nc3 exd5 7.Nxd5 Nxa6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Nxe7 Qxe7 10.Nf3 h6 11.Bh4 Rb8 12.b3 Rb6 13.e3 Bb7 14.Be2 g5 15.Bg3 h5 16.h3 Ne4 17.Be5 Rg8 18.Bb2 g4 19.hxg4 hxg4 20.Ne5 g3 21.f3 Nf2 22.Qc2 Nxh1 23.Qh7 Rf8 24.0-0-0 Rd6 25.Rxd6 Qxd6 26.Qxh1 Nb4 27.a3 Ba6 28.Bxa6 Nxa6 29.Qh4 Nc7 30.Nc4 Qd3 31.Qxg3 Ne6 32.Nd6+ Ke7 33.e4 Qxb3 34.Nf5+ Kd8 35.Qd6 f6 36.Qe7+ Kc7 37.Qd6+ Kd8 38.Bxf6+ Rxf6 39.Qe7+ Kc7 40.Qxf6 Qxa3+ 41.Qb2 Qd3 42.Qe5+ Kc8 43.Qh8+ Kc7 44.Qe5+ Kc8 45.Qh8+ Kc7 46.Qh2+ Kc6 47.Ne7+ Kb5 48.Qb8+ Kc4 49.Nf5 Qf1+ 50.Kb2 Qxg2+ 51.Ka3 Qxf3+ 52.Kb2 Qc3+ 53.Ka2 Qa5+ 54.Kb2 Qb4+ 55.Qxb4+ Kxb4 56.Ne3 Ng5 57.Nd5+ Kb5 58.Nf6 d6 59.Kc3 Kc6 60.Kd3 Nf7 61.Kc3 Ne5 62.Kb3 Kc7 63.Kc3 Kd8 64.Nd5 Kd7 65.Kd2 Ke6 66.Nb6 Nc6 67.Nc4 Ne5 68.Nb6 Nf7 69.Nc4 Kf6 70.Ke3 Kg5 71.Nb6 Ne5 72.Nc8 Nf7 73.Kd3 Kf4 74.Kc4 Ke5 75.Kb5 Ng5 76.Kc6 c4 77.Nxd6 c3 78.Nc4+ Kd4 79.Na3 Kxe4 80.Nc2 Nf3 81.Kc5 Kd3 82.Na3 Nd4 83.Kb6 Nb3 84.Kb5 Nd2 85.Kb4 Nb1 86.Nc4 c2 0-1
Ikeda finished on 6/6, winning the $1200 first prize. Although he was worse in at least three games, he showed the tenacity and resourcefulness required to win events like this. Press finished 2nd on 5/6 while Litchfield was 3rd on 4.5.
The 54-player Minor (ACF Under 1600) ended in a three-way tie between Felix Tan, Rithvik Yendluri and Charles Huang. Tan and Yendluri we both undefeated (drawing in the final round) while Huang recovered from a Round two loss to win his final four games. One other notable performance was Eric Tian who won the Under 800 prize, scoring 4.5/6. After losing his round one game he scored 4.5/5 to finish a full point clear of the players in the next higher rating group.
The 90-player field was a good turnout for this event and allowed the organisers to increase the advertised prize pool. Once again, the ANU proved to be a great venue, with the players enjoying the break between rounds, using the time to visit the coffee shops and take-aways in the precinct. The event ran smoothly with no disputes of note. Feedback from the players was positive and many are already looking for next year’s event.
Open: 1st IM Junta Ikeda 6/6, 2nd Harry Press 5/6, 3rd Fred Litchfield 4.5/6, 1800-1999 (FIDE) Olamide Fasakin (+ Best Junior), Oladoyin Fasakin 4/6,
Under 1800 (FIDE) Yueyue Rui 4/6
Minor: =1st Felix Tan, Rithvik Yendluri, Charles Huang 5/6,
800-1199 (ACF) Noah Jones, Prakarsha Paudel, Dhyan Nair, Rithvik Arvind Sai, Shrihari Prabhu, James Madoc 3.5/6,
Under 800 (ACF) Eric Tian 4.5/6, Unrated Jianwei Huang 4/6
Upcoming Events
ACT Junior Rapid Championship
Sunday 9 August, Corroboree Park Hall, 47 Paterson St, Ainslie.
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 NSW Rapid
1st Aleksandr Domalchuk-Jonasson, =2nd Yifei Hu, Taifeng (Matt) Lyu
Under 2000 – 1800 =1st Marcus (Shing Hei) Li, Lucas Ni, Jonathan Si Seng Ong, Ashley Rambukwella, Nikolaus Van and Alaina Vincent
Under 1800 – 1600 1st Kamal Jain, Under 1600- 1400 1st Aarav Shahriar
Under 1400 =1st Hosea Jiang, Nicolas Philbert, Walton Tran and Quy Ung
Upcoming Events
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
Upcoming Events
2027 AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Dates: 2-11 January 2027
Supported by: NT Government Business Events Support Fund
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Doubletree by Hilton, 116 Esplanade, Darwin. Accommodation at the venue: $150/night per room (King bed or two singles), so just $75/night per person on a twin share basis. Other recommended accommodation options: $140/night at Rydges Darwin Central Hotel
ACF National Conference Thursday 7 January 2027 at the venue. 9:00 am to 11:30 am. This will be followed by morning tea. Those attending in person are requested to stay for a meeting immediately afterwards on the development of chess in the NT which will be attended by members of NT parliament and bureaucrats from 12 noon to 1 pm.
The Blitz tournament will take place on the afternoon of 7 January 2027.
Venue capacity: 200 players. Proposed entry fee AUD $200/$120. We are live on TryBooking.com
Chief Arbiters: Anastasia Sorokina, Peter Tsai.
Prizemoney: AUD $15,000 minimum guaranteed; First $5,000 minimum guaranteed.
Sponsors: North West Constructions Pty Ltd, Inpex, Santos, Rotary, NT Government Depart of Business Events, Doubletree by Hilton, Rydges Darwin Central, Ray White Real Estate, others pending.
https://ntchess.org.au/event/australian-open-chess-championships/
Queensland
Chess Association of Queensland
Recent Events
2025 UQ July Classic
= 1st, 2nd, & 3rd: Ryan Liaw, Isaac Liu, Oscar Kirby
Rating Group: Chee Seng Lue
2026 Gold Cup FIDE Open
1st Jayden Ooi 5.5/6, =2nd Neil fu, Je Praveen 5,
Upcoming Events
Mackay Open
15-16 August, CQ University, 90/92 Sydney St, Mackay
2026 Great Barrier Reef Open
5-6 September, Newman Catholic College, Smithfield, James Cook University Campus (JCU) Cairns. 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. More details here
2026 Queensland Seniors Championship
14-15 November, F and J Blocks Grace Lutheran College, Buchanan St, Rothwell.
The Bundaberg Classic
21-22 November, Middle School, St Luke’s School Mezger Street, Kalkie, Bundaberg.
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
July Allegro #1 1st Edgar Mdinaradze
Winter Rapid 1st Tarush Jindal
Upcoming Events
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
Tasmanian Rapid
22nd-23rd of August at Guilford Young College in Hobart Details here
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
Recent Events
2026 Hobsons Bay Juniors Rapid Championship
1st: FM Rheyansh Reddy Annapureddy 8/9, =2nd CM Khushal Lingineni, Krishna Manthan Bodke 7.5. 101 players!
Upcoming Events
2026 Victorian Championship Saturday Evenings 7.15pm August 22 - 24 October (29 August skipped due to Best in the West) Melbourne Chess Club, 66 Leicester St, Fitzroy, VIC 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 2026 MCC Greg Hjorth Open Weekender Friday 30 October – Tuesday 3 November, Melbourne Chess Club. 66 Leicester St. Fitzroy, 3065. More information here 2026 Australasian Masters Saturday 12th - Sunday 20th December, Melbourne Chess Club. 66 Leicester St. Fitzroy, 3065. More information here 2026 Australasian Masters is a round robin system chess tournament of 9 rounds with 10 players. Chess players for the event are selected and chosen to make International Master norms possible. To be one of the 10 players, contact the organiser, Leonid Sandler on email: leonidsandlerchess@gmail.com or mobile phone: +61 412201891
Western Australia
Chess Association of Western Australia Inc (CAWA)
Recent Events
2026 WA Blitz Championship
IM Patrick Gong - 2026 WA Blitz Champion
WFM Kathryn Hardegen - 2026 WA Women’s Blitz Champion
Tim Hare - 2026 WA Seniors’ Blitz Champion
2026 South West Chess Open and Allegro
GM Temur Kuybokarov (6.0/6) - 2026 South West Open Champion
Dylan Gough (8.0/9) - 2026 South West Allegro Champion
Upcoming Events
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
10 - 12 July Peter Stuart Memorial 2026
1st Open: FM Alphaeus Ang 1st Reserve: Felix Mountfort
17 - 19 July NZ Senior Championship 2026
1st equal: Ralph Hart (Joint NZ Seniors Champion) 1st equal: FM Stephen G Lukey (Joint NZ Seniors Champion)
19 July Auckland Rapid 19 July 2026
1st: FM Alphaeus Ang
26 July Hobby Chess Rapid July 2026
1st Group A: FM Alphaeus Ang 1st Group B: Krithin Shetty 1st Group C: Nguyan Tuan Minh
Upcoming Events
8 - 23 August Auckland Double Weekends August 2026
23 August Hobby Chess Rapid August 2026
28 - 30 August NZ Women’s Championship 2026
30 August Auckland Rapid 30th 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
5-6 December Papatoetoe Rapid 2026
International News
Paul Summers reports on the activities of Australians overseas in classical games (i.e. generally excluding rapid and blitz events). All ratings are FIDE. Except where otherwise noted, Australian games from these events, usually with crosstables, can be found on the Australian Chess web page.
Aussies Overseas #9 and #10
(Editor’s note: Unfortunately, #9 was accidentally omitted from the July issue, so a double issue this time.)
June
FM Albert Winkelman (ACT 2366) & IM-elect Yi Liu (QLD 2401) competed in the strong (34 GMs) Asia Championships #21 in Ulan Bator in Mongolia. Both scored 5/9 placing 39=, with Winkelman a nudge ahead on tiebreak. Winkelman defeated IM Amilal Munkhdalai (IND 2463) and GM Dai Changren (CHN 2552) lost to both Australians.
GM Bobby Cheng (VIC 2571) took part in the French Top 16 Team Championship in Chartres. Playing on top board in the A group for Les Tours des Hauts de France, Bobby faced tough opposition scoring 3.5/7 with his team placing third of the eight teams in his group. In what was assumed to be the final, Bobby then scored 1/4.
Playing in the 12-round Swiss for the World Rapid Team Championships in Hong Kong were nine Australian players across two teams:
1) Street Chess Canberra was represented by: Harry Press (ACT 2173) scoring 3/11, FM Frederick Litchfield (ACT 2145) 3.5/10, CM Ryan Lane (NSW 2143) 4/11, WIM Heather Richards (QLD 2097) 3.5/10, WFM Chao Xin Cheng (VIC 1993) 4.5/11, Miles Patterson (ACT 1800) 1.5/5, Matt Radisich (ACT 1758) 2.5/9, Lee Forace (ACT 1683) 0/1
2) Playing for Beijing Yijia Chess Club was WCM Linda (Zhiling) Qian (NSW 1678) 2/8.
From the 48 teams which entered, Linda’s team was seeded 47th and finished 42nd , while Street Chess Canberra was seeded 45th but finished in last place.
Then in the round robin for the World Blitz Team Championships again in Hong Kong, a similar team (less Miles Patterson and Linda Qian) competed against 11 other teams. This time Street Chess Canberra managed a little better against the tough opposition finishing 9th.
July
In Lithuania, unrated Oscar England played in the 78-player Vilnius Open finishing with a creditable 3/8 in 54= place. No games available.
Shaurya Jain (QLD 1865) was seeded 63rd in the 65-player Llinars International Open #6-A in Llinars del Vallès in Spain. Shaurya scored 4.5/9 finishing well above his seeding in 29= place.
Still in Spain, Shaurya then played in the 2026 Torredembarra International Open. Competing with 141 other players, Shaurya scored 5/9 finishing 31=. No games available.
Clearly enjoying the chess as well as the warmth of the Spanish summer, Shaurya then participated in the 2026 Sant Marti Open #26. Joining him at this event was fellow Queenslander CM Micah Young (2194). Shaurya still on 1865 had a great tournament and performed at 2126. Micah may have been a little disappointed with his 2090 performance.
Last year FM Daniel Melamed (NSW 2112) played in the Paracin Open in Serbia. He returned this year in the 19th iteration of the event, playing again in Group A. Daniel made the same score as previously, 3.5/9 placing 64=.
FM Sam Chow (VIC 2358) had a bad start in the 2026 Sheffield Masters but turned his 0/2 result to 6.5/9. In so doing, he gained his third and final IM norm. Previous norms were achieved in New Zealand (2009) and during the 2023-24 4NCL season. He now needs to cross the 2400-rating threshold to secure the IM title.
CM Gary Bekker (VIC 1966) competed with 49 other players in the ØBRO & CXU International which celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Copenhagen chess club ØBRO. With about 70% of participants holding titles, Gary should be pleased with his 2006 performance obtaining two wins and four draws in his 4/9 result.
Amuthan Aran (VIC 1424) participated in the 5-round Southall Congress U1600 finishing on 2.5 in 10= place. No games available.
The 28th Asia Youth & Cadet Championships saw several Australians participating:
· U18 with 58 players Iker Hernandez Mendez (WA 1966) scored 4/9 finishing 36=.
· U16 with 59 players Ethan Chang (NSW 2089) scored 4.5/9 finishing 25= and Issa Majidi (WA 1962) scored 3.5 and 42=.
· U14 with 108 players Harvey Zhu (NSW 2215) scored 5/9 finishing 31= and Andy Kaiyang Luo (? 1484) 3.0 and 87=.
· U12 with 131 players FM Reyaansh Chakrabarty (NSW 2267) & CM Lucas Zhao (VIC 1924) each scored 6/9 finishing 12=, while Zhu Zane (NSW 1657) obtained 3.5 placing 92=.
· U12 Girls with 71 players Emma Zhou (VIC 1641) scored 5/9 finishing 20=.
· U10 with 138 players Matthew Jia (QLD 1731) scored 6/9 finishing 15=.
FM Daniel Melamed (NSW 2112) was one of 239 players in the 9-round 2026 Serbia Open Masters. Daniel had one win and five draws finishing 163=.
Upcoming Events
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 1st Berjaya Global Chess Open 7-14 September 2026, Erjaya Waterfront Hotel: 88 Jalan Ibrahim Sultan, Stulang Laut, 80300, Johor Bahru, Malaysia Details here
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
Win with the French
by Vassilios Kotronias, published by Quality Chess, softback 328 pages.
A black repertoire to give players of the French Defence a fighting chance to not only gain a slight advantage but win.
Kotronias is a high-class writer and a renowned grandmaster, so knows that to build a decent opening repertoire Black has to get his move on the board quickly. After all, it is pointless arguing for the Winawer Variation if your idea does not happen until move nineteen. For instance, against the Advance French he advocates for 5…Bd7 steering White towards his preferred set-up.
The heavily annotated games have plenty of prose to describe what to do in the opening and how this can lead to combative play in the middlegame. The former Greek champion recommends taking on the Tarrasch 3 Nd2 with 3…c5. Once again, he is good at guiding the position towards his favoured lines and any exchange on d5 is met by the lively …Qxd5 which is quite sharp. However, as Black you are more likely to play it all the time and understand the nuances in the position compared to White who only plays against the French occasionally.
After 3 Nc3, the author sensibly avoids the huge complications of 3…Bb4 and opts for the safer choice of 3…Nf6. He makes a convincing argument for Black to hold their own and explains how in the middlegame that White can gradually go seriously astray.
There is still time to examine the Exchange Variation and the various weird early moves that White can try to create mayhem. They are all expertly dealt with by providing solid lines with the chance of creating an active position.
A delight for players of the French who want to improve quickly.
Looking Back
In 19th century newspapers, while graphic and clearly distinct advertisements were still developing, text-based advertisements were commonplace. They included one-liners or slogans about a product inserted almost randomly in news or other articles, and even informative pieces underpinning an advertising message. This one appeared in Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph on 14th February 1894. Its historical information is pretty wide of the mark, although Murray’s A History of Chess wasn’t published until nearly 20 years later!
Chess is an extremely ancient game. On the walls of the palace of Amenoph II at Thebes the king is shown playing chess with the queen. This king reigned a long time before the Trojan war. It is known also to have been played in India 5000 years ago, and lately some excavations on the pyramid field of Sakkarra have brought to light a picture representing two people playing the game at the time of the Government of King Teta, who reigned about 3300 years B.C. So that chess must have been known in the once mysterious land of Mizraim, upwards of 5200 years ago! Chess-playing entails a considerable mental strain, some games between clever players lasting for many hours and sometimes days. The simplest and most nourishing food for chess players (as well as for their children, because these biscuits are really more especially prepared for young folks, to make them strong and healthy) will be found to be Arnott’s Milk Arrowroot Biscuits, which are so easily carried in the pocket, easily digested, and containing a vast amount of nutriment in a convenient and palatable form. — Advt.
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Solution to Study of the Month
White to play and win
Solution:
Bf5+ Kd8 2 Rd4+ Ke7 3 Re4+ Ke6 4 Bd7 (4 Rxe3 e1(Q) 5 Rxe1 stalemate) 4…e1(Q) 5 Bb5 intending 6 Re8 mate
(Richard Reti - corrected by Henri Rinck, 1928)
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