Sydney International Open is alive!

Brian Jones, SIO organizer (Photo: The Chess Connoisseur)

THE adage 'you can't put a good man down' and its paraphrase 'you can't shut a good chess tournament off' aptly describe both international organizer FM Brian Jones and the Sydney International Open.

After 3 successful annual staging the 2010 edition was on the verge of death caused by the withdrawal of its main sponsor just after this year's international tournament.

It was then that Jones made an appeal for contributions from generous chess-loving individuals and groups through the Australian Chess Federation and Australasian Chess magazine. Neighboring New Zealand Chess Federation joined in soliciting contributions to save the annual international event.

Jones, the experienced organizer that he is, minced no words in stating the minimum amount required to be raised that if not met on a specified date would mean the cancellation of the event.

The response of the chess community was fantastic! The 2010 Sydney international events have been saved according to this press release from Jones.

"Entries are invited for the 2010 Sydney International Open and Challengers Chess Tournaments, to be held 7-11 April 2010.

The organisers have received financial support from a variety of sources and the principal sponsor for 2010 is GM Murray Chandler.

The venue is again the historic Parramatta Town Hall in Western Sydney and free hotel accommodation (twin share room) is offered to International Chess Grandmasters.

There are two nine-round FIDE-rated swiss tournaments, the Sydney International Open (SIO) and the Sydney International Challengers (SIC).

Cash prizes exceed A$16,000 and visas can be arranged on request for overseas players (please provide passport details).

More information is available here.

For those players that want even more chess, the Doeberl Cup will be held in Canberra from 1-5 April 2010. See http://www.doeberlcup.com.au/. Transport from Canberra to Sydney on Tuesday 6 April 2010 will be provided free of charge for all overseas players.

We look forward to welcoming all players to Sydney and to Australia."

SIO's organizer Brian Jones contact information are as follows:

Brian Jones
Australian Chess Enterprises
1 Garfield Road East
Riverstone NSW 2765 Australia
Tel: 61-2-9838-1529
Fax: 61-2-9838-1614
Email: info@chessaustralia.com.au
Web: http://www.chessaustralia.com.au

Previous SI Open winners are: 2009 - GM Darryl Johansen, Australia; 2008 - GM Surya Shekhar Ganguly, India; and 2007 - GM Georgy Timoshenko, Ukraine.

The SI Challengers was introduced only last year and had won so far by Australians Colin Savige (2009) and David Lovejoy (2008).

The main sponsors are: Gold - GM Murray Chandler, NSW Chess Association; Silver - Castle Hill RSL Club, Charles Zworestine; Bronze - Phil & Louise Fernandez, Roland Brockman, Shaun Press, William Gletsos, Parramatta RSL Club, North Rocks Medical Practice; others - Scott Colliver, John Kable, Jonathan Adams, Dr Tony Dowden, George Lester, Lawrence Bretag, Elliott Renzies, Blayney Chess Club, Dr Vladimir Smirnov, Arthur Huynh, and Hamish Selnes.
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GM Gawain Jones wins Kiwi Masters

THE George Trundle NZ Masters tournament held at the Auckland Chess Centre in Auckland, New Zealand from Saturday September 26 to Sunday October 4, ended with yet another triumph for England grandmaster Gawain Jones who tallied 7½ points in the 10-player closed event.

It may be recalled that GM Jones, England’s number 6 from the September FIDE rating list, wiped out the opposition at the 32nd Waitakere Licensing Trust Open over the Queen's Birthday weekend (June 6-7). New Zealand is becoming to be a good chess honors hunting ground for Gawain.

Incidentally his girlfriend, Sue Maroroa, is one of Kiwi country's top female players who recently obtained her WIM title from the 2009 Oceania zonal chess championship held in Gold Coast, Australia in late June.

Equal second with six points each are Austalia’s GM Darryl Johansen and IM Stephen Solomon.

Fourth and best New Zealander is event organizer Mike Steadman with 5 points. He inflicted the winner’s lone loss in the second round on the very day New Zealand’s 2009 daylight saving time began. Mike, one among most active Kiwi players and organizers, obtained his FIDE master title from the 2009 Oceania zonal.

Photo shows New Zealand Masters winner GM Gawain Jones receiving his prize from organizer FM Mike Steadman. (Photo: New Zealand Chess)

Steadman, Mike (2252) - Jones, Gawain (2553)
George Trundle NZ Masters 2009 (2), 2009.09.27"
E70 – King’s Indian Defense

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nge2 Nd7 7. Be3 e5 8. d5 Nd4 9. Nb5 Nxb5 10. cxb5 O-O 11. Ng3 h5 12. Qc2 b6 13. f3 h4 14. Ne2 Nc5 15.Bc4 f5 16. b4 Nd7 17. Bd3 Rf7 18. Rc1 Nf8 19. Qc6 Rb8 20. h3 Bf6 21. Qc2 Bg5 22. Qd2 Nh7 23. a4 Ra8 24. a5 Bd7 25. Nc3 Qf6 26. Ra1 Bf4 27. Bxf4 exf4 28. Rc1 Re8 29. Kd1 bxa5 30. bxa5 Qd4 31. Ra1 Ng5 32. Ra4 Qe5 33. exf5 Bxf5 34. Rxf4 Bxd3 35. Rxf7 Kxf7 36. Qxd3 Qf4 37. Qd2 Qb4 38. Kc2 Nh7 39. Ra1 Nf6 40. Ra4 Qc5 41. Rxh4 Re5 42. Rd4 Qa3 43. f4 Re7 44. Ra4 Qc5 45. Kb2 Qg1 46. Rc4 Qf1 47. Kb3 Qa1 48. a6 Qf1 49. Qd4 Qa1 50. g4 Nd7 51. Rxc7 Nc5+ 52. Rxc5 dxc5 53. Qxc5 Qh1 54. d6 Re1 55. Qxa7+ Kf8 56. Qb8+ Kf7 57. Qc7+ Kf8 58. a7 Re3 59. Qb8+ Kg7 60.a8=Q Qb1+ 61. Kc4 Qd3+ 62. Kc5 Qxc3+ 63. Kb6 Qd4+ 64. Kc7 Qc4+ 65. Qc6 Qxf4 66.Qd7+ Kh6 67. Qh8+ 1-0.

Games of the combined event may be downloaded from here.

A collage of photographs from the event taken and placed in the public domain by Simon Lyall may be found here, here and here.
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Daniel Shen, 14, wins 2009 George Trundle Qualifier

Daniel Shen, smiling winner of Trundle Qualifier (Photo: New Zealand Chess)

THE 2009 George Trundle Qualifier, a 10-player all-play-all tournament, held side-by-side with the 2009 New Zealand Masters, was won by 14-year old Daniel Shen with 6½ points from 9 games. Shen spearheaded Auckland Grammar team as Secondary Champions in the National Interschool Finals held at Palmerston North just before the Qualifier. Shen will see action in the New Zealand Masters next edition.

In solo second place is 51-year old Bruce Wheeler, just one-half point behind the winner. Bruce could have altered the final picture if not for an upset lost to Edward Tanoi in round 3 in the event’s shortest game.

Veteran player and organizer Bennett Hilton, 54 years old, scored 5.5 points to win third place honor. Hilton is the only undefeated player in the event.

WFM Helen Milligan, 47, formerly of Scotland, won his last round game with black against Bob Gibbons that secured for her a fourth-place finish. Milligan is the webmaster of New Zealand Chess website.

Here is the score of the tournament's winner-defining game between Wheeler and Tanoi.

Wheeler, Bruce (2077)—Tanoi, Edward (1967)
George Trundle Qualifier 2009(3), 2009.09.28
C47-Four Knights Opening

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. g3?! Bc5 5. Nxe5?? (Almost a reflex reaction. With a black bishop at c5 and a knight at c6 White’s knight pseudo-sacrifice followed by the pawn push to d4 was ‘standard play’. The problem was it doesn’t work in conjunction with 4.g3) Nxe5 6. d4 Bxd4! 0-1 (White resigned, realizing that he cannot recapture with 7.Qxd4 because of 7…Nf3+, winning White’s queen. Not possible if only the g-pawn was still in its original square!)

Games of the combined event may be downloaded from here.

A collage of photographs from the event taken and placed in the public domain by Simon Lyall may be found here, here and here.
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George Trundle and Auckland Chess Centre sponsor 2009 Kiwi Masters

George Trundle accepts his award on 8th February 2008 at the clubrooms of the Auckland Chess Centre. Presenting the award is NZCF President Paul Spiller. (Photo: New Zealand Chess)
THIS year’s New Zealand Masters tournament took place from Saturday September 26 to Sunday October 4 in Auckland, New Zealand.

The event was sponsored by Auckland Chess Centre and avid local chess enthusiast George Trundle.

George Trundle, 91 years old, a lifelong chess enthusiast has generously supported a number of New Zealand chess events in recent years. In particular his annual Trundle Masters provide invaluable title norm opportunities for New Zealand players. In 2008 the New Zealand Chess Federation introduced the concept of "President's Awards" for outstanding services to chess and the first award was fittingly made for George Trundle.

The Auckland Chess Centre was first incorporated in 1871. The centre’s clubrooms are situated at 17 Cromwell Street, Mt. Eden, Auckland.

The Auckland Chess Centre meets weekly on Monday and Friday nights. It runs a series of competitions throughout the year. The center participates in interclub chess tournaments between other Auckland chess clubs and host major tournaments.

Get more information about the Auckland Chess Centre here, and its history here.
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Shirov fire on Gold Coast boards; Ketsana rain in Manila castles

WHILE tropical storm Ketsana was wreaking havoc over the weekends in Metro Manila, Philippines, a figurative wildfire was ablaze in the Land Down Under—at the Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast, Australia—when Spanish super grandmaster Alexei Shirov, one of the world’s elite players, took on 26 opponents in a simultaneous exhibition at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre on Sunday, 27th September.

Ketsana, locally named Ondoy in Manila, poured a heavy volume of rain the country has never seen before to unsuspecting population in the metropolis and nearby cities and municipalities. Nearly a month's worth of rain fell in just six hours Saturday, triggering the worst flooding in the Philippine capital in 42 years, which stranded thousands on rooftops in the city and elsewhere.

Destruction to houses and properties and death tolls were colossal in magnitude. The raging flood caught by surprise both the unwary local and national governments. A selection of photographs from the affected areas over the past week can be viewed here.

Surfers Paradise triple chess events

The Shirov simultaneous exhibition is part of the Surfers Paradise triple chess events held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and organized by Amir Karibasic who is fond of novelty events. Here’s a description of the events from the tournament chief arbiter, Charles Zworestine:

"For the 2008 event, Super GM Alexei Shirov judged the brilliancy prize: a nice feature of the event, which understandably proved very popular. But this time, both Amir and Alexei did substantially better: Alexei showed up in person! Yes, he made the long trip to Australia (his second visit, after the 2000 Olympics in Sydney where he played an exhibition game against Vishy Anand) to give a talk on the Saturday night and a simul on the Sunday afternoon.

Shirov played against 26 “brave souls” (in Dr. Zworestine’s words) from across Australia including youngsters, adults and seniors such as Gold Coast organizer Graeme Gardiner who was seen playing for the first time by most Aussie chess players and parents. It was originally planned for Shirov to play against 25 players but Amir decided to use the opportunity to play the super grandmaster who willingly accommodated him as the 26th entry.

Here is the list of the participants to GM Shirov’s simultaneous display:

Wildfire on chess boards

The spectators were all amazed to witness one of the world’s chess elite players aggressively attacked on practically all boards. The kibitzers and the challengers realized why Shirov's play is described as 'fire on board' which bear the title of the two volumes of his best games. No wonder after almost three hours of play all challengers went down in defeat save for one! The last man standing (‘last kid sitting’ is literally more apt) was 11-year old Daniel Lapitan who offered the grandmaster a draw after his 28th move of their Sicilian Sveshnikov encounter.

"I drew with the Super Grandmaster!"	Daniel Lapitan's Score Sheet

As a matter of protocol a draw offer should come from the exhibition player but here Shirov did not mind consenting to a draw because as he told the crowd after their game Daniel, playing black, ‘has a better position’.

Shirov gave Daniel his new book entitled “Fire on Board Part II”, along with an autographed chess board. This was the second time Daniel finished in a draw with a Grandmaster in a simultaneous chess game. He was only eight years old on the first occasion when he finished in a draw with Grandmaster Dejan Antic from Serbia/Montenegro.

Another junior player, Amin Fazel also came close to getting a draw as Shirov, who admitted afterwards, thought about offering a draw in their game. Amin played for a win but lost in the end, as it was the super GM who better handled the pinning tactics…

Here is the score of the Lapitan (Black) game:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Na3 b5 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Nd5 Bg7 11.Bd3 O-O 12.c3 Re8 13.Nc2 f5 14.Qh5 f4 15.g3 Ne7 16.Ncb4 Bb7 17.gxf4 Nxd5 18.exd5 e4 19.Be2 Qf6 20.Rg1 Rf8 21.Rg4 Kh8 22.O-O-O Qh6 23.Qxh6 Bxh6 24.Nc2 Rae8 25.Ne3 f5 26.Rh4 Bg7 27.Rg1 Bc8 28.Kd2 h6 1/2-1/2

Eight of the 26 games were streamed live on the internet via Monroi and can be replayed from here.

Shirov lecture on Saturday night

Besides the simultaneous display Shirov also gave a lecture the night before on Saturday. He first showed one of his games as Black in the complicated Dragon variation of the Sicilian Defense. He used it to demonstrate how top players prepare for a game, trying to find favorable transpositions to improve on the standard positions arising from the opening. Then he showed something completely different: how he thought at the board in a game where his position was not good, and managed to win the game.

Chess Results

Here are the results of the main tournaments:
The tournament arbiter's description of the main tournament follows:

"Amir’s 3 tournaments: the 6 round Open and Under 1600 events on both days, and the 6 round ‘fun tournament’ on the Sunday. While not quite as strong as last year, the Open event still featured our latest GM, David Smerdon, as top seed; an IM, fourth seeded Leonid Sandler; a WIM, fifth seed Anastasia Sorokina; and two FMs, second seed Vlad Smirnov and young Gene Nakauchi. Add to this a former Australian Junior Champion, third seed Moulthun Ly, and we knew we're in for a fun event!"

Open Prizes: = 1st Moulthun Ly, Phachara Wongwichit, David Smerdon 5/6; = 4th Leonid Sandler, Jonas Muller, George Lester (the latter two = 1st Under 2000) 4.5/6; = 5th (and all = 3rd Under 2000 except the first two) Vladimir Smirnov, Ben Lazarus, Yi Liu, Brodie McClymont, Ian Rout, Ryan Stevens, Justin Tan, Bruce Williams 4/6.

Under 1600 Prizes: 1st Joerg Hackenschmidt-Uecker 5.5/6; = 2nd Doug Williams, Alex O’Flynn 5/6; 4th Craig Stewart 4.5/6; = 5th Axel Stahnke, Mark Cervenjak 4/6; = 1st Under 1200 Joe Delmastro, Kees Huband-Lint 4/6.

Under 1000 (Fun Section) Prizes: 1st Curtis Jack 5.5/6; = 2nd Jake Pyper, Andrew Peck 4.5/6; = Best Junior (latter two also = Best Female) Alex Jack, Melanie Karibasic, Shelley Xing 4/6.

Uzbek GM Filippov snares PGMA Cup in Manila

GM Anton Filippov of Uzbekistan emerged as the champion in the fourth President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Cup international chess championship which came to a fitting end at the Duty Free Fiesta Mall in Paranaque City.

(The event which took place from September 24 to 30 was suspended for a day after 4 rounds of play because of flooding in Metro Manila caused by tropical storm Katsena, locally named Ondoy. As a result a number of players lost by way of forfeit.

The devastating effect of tropical storm Katsena in the Philippines and Vietnam can be seen here. -TCC)

Filippov, seeded third with an ELO of 2595, subdued IM Richard Bitoon of the Philippines in the eighth and penultimate round late Tuesday and drew with top seed GM Mikhail Mchedlishvili of Georgia in the final round to finish with a nine-round aggregate of 6.5 points on four wins and five draws.

Four other players – GMs Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam, Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran, Merab Gagunashvili of Georgia and Gopal Nayanan of India – also finished with similar scores of 6.5 points but lost the title to Filippov in the tiebreak.

Truong Son, who held the solo lead after the seventh round, settled for back-to-back draws with Mchedlishvili and Gagunashvili in the eighth and ninth rounds.

Ghaemmaghami, the lone Iranian player in the field, made the biggest jump when he defeated GM John Paul Gomez of the Philippines in the eighth round and GM Tigran Kotanjian of Armenia in the ninth round to finish in a tie for first place.

Gagunashvili beat GM Meng Kong Wong of Singapore and halved the point with Nguyen, while Nayanan drew with Kotanjian in the eighth round and trounced GM Darwin Laylo of the Philippines in the final round.

The five players, however, earned US$4,000 each out of the total prize fund of US$40,000 in the tournament organized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and supported by the Department of Tourism, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, PAGCOR, Duty Free, Local Water Utilities Administration and Crown Regency Hotel.

NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay awarded the trophies and cash prizes, assisted by NCFP executive/events director Willie Abalos and chief arbiter Toti Abundo.

Mchedlishvili, the highest-rated player here with an ELO of 2613, finished in sixth place with six points in a tie with GMs Rogelio Antonio, Jr. and Oliver Dimakiling.

Antonio, one of three players who will represent the country in the World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia next month, drew with GM Anuar Ismagambetov of Kazakhstan in the eighth round and then nipped compatriot GM-elect Ronald Dableo in the final round.

Dimakiling drew with Dableo in the eighth round and won over No. 16 Pyotr Kostenko of Kazakhstan in the final round to join Antonio as the highest-placed Filipino players.

Mchedlishvili, Antonio and Dimakiling pocketed US$1,333 each.

Nine other players, led by Filipino GMs Jayson Gonzales, Buenaventura “Bong” Villamayor and Gomez and IM Richard Bitoon, finished in ninth to 17th places with 5.5 points. They received US$933.

Also in the group are Kotanjian, Ismagambetov, GM Das Neelotpal of India and Emmanuel Senador.

A big letdown was Bitoon, who managed only half point in the last two rounds. After the loss to Filippov, he drew with Senador in the final round.

Laylo, the reigning Asian Zone 3.3 champion, and Dableo, the country’s newest GM, led four other players with five points.

(Dableo was joint leader with GM Wong Meng Kong after 4 rounds but forfeited their 5th round match for having arrived late due to transport problem caused by typhon Ondoy. -TCC)

Defending champion, GM Eugene Torre, who won the title in a three-way tie last year, withdrew after the seventh round.

The 11th-seeded Filipino GM finished with only 2.5 points on five draws and two losses to No. 28 seed David Elorta in the sixth round and No. 36 FM Haridas Pascua in the seventh round. –By: Ed Andaya

Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2009-10-01&sec=7&aid=104066
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Curtain’s down in 2009 SPICE Cup

THE most popular chess tournament in the USA over the past two weeks—the 2009 SPICE Cup—has ended with resounding success.

For the first time in its three staging, the SPICE Cup organizers decided to have a second group of 10 participants with title norms are stake. True to expectations it turned to be an exciting one which almost eclipsed the Category 16 first group consisting of very strong juniors and last year’s champion.

The tournament, dubbed as a chess festival, culminated with a traditional farewell party and blitz tournament in the home of organizer Susan Polgar.

Two titles in SPICE Cup B


IM Ben Finegold achieved his third and final GM norm in the penultimate round while FM Daniel Rensch got his long overdue international master title with a draw in the last round against IM Ray Robson, himself seeking his 3rd and final GM norm to become the youngest ever American grandmaster.

Finegold, who led the B-tournament throughout, could have been the outright winner with a draw in the last round against Eugene Perelhsteyn. The euphoria of completing his title quest, however, caused him to lower his guard and enabled Perelhsteyn and GM Vinay Bhat to catch up with him.

A three-way tie resulted among Perelhsteyn, Bhat and Finegold, all of USA. Officially Perelhsteyn is declared tournament winner for obtaining the highest tiebreak score among them.

IM Ray Robson's failure to win his last round game halted him temporarily from achieving his aim of becoming America's youngest grandmaster ever. A win could have achieved for him not only that distinction but also a piece of the tournament top honors via a 4-way tie. As fate would have it, that was not to be. No, not yet! Robson can still achieve the honor from one of his next tournaments before the year is over.

The excitement generated by the fighting spirit displayed by the protagonists in the B group ensures that it will become a permanent fixture of SPICE Cup tournaments in the years to come.

Kuzubov wins blitz playoff, takes SPICE Cup A title


A three-way tie for first resulted in the SPICE Cup A-group among Yuriy Kuzubov (Ukraine), Dmitry Andreikin (Russia) and Rauf Mamedov (Azerbaijan), with 5.5 points apiece. Another three-way tie for last place ar0se among Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway), Wesley So (Philippines) and Varuzhan Akobian (USA), each with 4.5 points. These results were an indicator of the equality in relative playing strength of the competitors.

The top three in Group A—Kuzubov, Andreikin and Mamedov—all scored plus one undefeated while the remaining three with minus one. Wesley lost one game against Hammer in round 2 and drew 9 games. Akobian got his only win from Hammer in the penultimate round against 2 losses. Hammer has the most number of wins with 2 and, consequently, with most number of losses 3.

The double round robin blitz playoff that ensued in determining the tournament winner provided some exciting moments in the otherwise ‘lackluster’ closed event in terms of sporting results (decisive games total of 20% only). Actually the playoff was not a double-round robin but rather a single round robin of two-game mini-matches.

The first round witnessed Kuzubov split his mini-match with Mamedov, 1-1. Andreikin trounced Mamedov in the second round, 1.5-0.5.

Standings going to the third and final round: Andreikin, 1.5 out 2; Mamedov, 1.5/4; and Kuzubov, 1/2.

The third and final round between Kuzubov and Andreikin started with a draw in the first game. Andreikin still leading with 2/3 and Kuzubov 1.5/3. The stage was set for a very exciting second and final game between the two. Andreikin needed only a draw to bag the title and the trophy. .

The final game saw Kuzubov edged out Andreikin who contrived to lose the endgame despite being both exchange up (rook against bishop) and one minute ahead on the clock! In fact Dmitry was the one who even lost on time!

The diagram shows the position after Kuzubov’s (White) 30th move. Andreikin erred with 30… Rb8??(30… Kf8 would lead to a draw with precise play and the SPICE Cup would be his).

White concluded the game adroitly with 31.Kf3 Kf8(One move too late!)32.Ke4 Ke7 33.Kd5 Rd8 34.Kc5 Rb8 35.a4 Rd8 36.h4 f6 37.Bf3 Kd7 38.Kb6 Kd6 39.Be4 Re8 40.Bf3 Rd8 41.h5 gxh5 42.Bxh5 Rf8 43.Bg4 Rb8 44.Bf5 h5 45.f3 h4 46.Bg4!(Zugzwang) Rxb7 47.Kxb7 Kc5 48.Kc7 Kb4 1-0

Despite the high drawing percentage (the most prevalent result in closed events among players of relatively equal strength) most of the games were well fought out.

The Philippines number one player Wesley So, second seed in the event, failed to win a game to the disappointment of his many followers. The number of hits in Susan Polgar's blog showed his games and results were the most sought after by internet users.
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A pioneering international chess event in the Solomon Islands

Four rated Australians (wearing flower garlands) and six Solomon Islanders complete the cast of the first ever international chess tournament in Solomon Islands. Front row from left: Fernando Aguilar, Australians Shaun Press and Kerry Stead. Back row: FMs Lee Jones and Brian Jones. The other nationals in the picture are not identified. (Photo: Solomon Star)

THE ground-breaking international chess tournament in Solomon Islands kicks off on Thursday, September 24, at the Red Mansion Comfort Inn at Panatina Ridge, Honiara, Solomon Islands.

The official opening of the Solomon Islands International Chess Tournament was hosted at the Red Mansion on Thursday night.

The tournament system is a single round-robin (or all-play-all) format which means there will be 9 rounds of play. The first round takes place on the same day of the opening ceremony.

The participant roster include four FIDE-rated Australian players and six national players. The rated players are FIDE Masters Lee Jones (rated 2117) and Brian Jones (2065), Shaun Press (2076), and Kerry Stead (2087). The national players are Fernando Aguilar, Brandon Tangaibasa, Price Tepuke, Scarden Tesua, Budds Maruia and Takika Tuata.

The tournament chief arbiter is no other than Oceania zone president, International Arbiter Gary Bekker, who collaborated with the Solomon Islands chess federation in organizing the country’s first international chess event.

The only player in the Solomon Islands team who has played in an international rated event is Fernando Aguilar who represented the island nation in the 2009 Oceania zone chess championship held in Queensland, Australia last June. He, however, did not make it to the September FIDE rating list as he lacked one game from the required minimum of nine.

The Solomon Islands chess players will earn their international ratings after the tournament which ends on Monday, September 28.

The Solomon Islands chess federation is the latest member of the world’s chess governing body— FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) to be registered under the Oceania chess zone which include the countries of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Palau.

Before the Solomon Islands the Palau Chess Federation was accepted as member of FIDE in 2005 and had conducted its first international tournament in 2006. Palau, incidentally, is currently going about its national chess championship this year with four of its six international rated players participating.

Both the Solomon Islands and Palau are yet to participate in the biennial chess Olympiad which was last held in Dresden, Germany last year. There is high hope that they can join in the next Olympiad scheduled late next year in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Brief facts about Solomon Islands

• Full name: Solomon Islands
• Population: 507,000 (UN, 2008)
• Capital: Honiara
• Area: 27,556 sq km (10,639 sq miles)
• Major language: English (official), Melanesian dialects
• Major religion: Christianity
• Life expectancy: 63 years (men), 64 years (women) (UN, 2008)
• Monetary unit: 1 Solomon Islands dollar = 100 cents
• Main exports: Timber, fish, palm oil and kernels, copra
• GNI per capita: US $730 (World Bank, 2007)
• Internet domain: .sb
• International dialling code: +677

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1249307.stm

THE Solomon Islands is a double chain of islands located 1860 kilometres to the north east of Australia. Shaped by earthquakes and volcanic activity thousands of years ago, the 922 individual islands, of which 350 are uninhabited, are divided into nine provinces.
The six main islands of Choiseul, Santa Isabel, Guadalcanal, Malatia, Makira and New Georgia make up most of the 28,000 square kilometre land mass. Hundreds of smaller islands and atolls are scattered throughout the group.

The Solomon Islands are a uniquely, beautiful environment, wild and untamed. The landscape is mountainous with 80% of the islands covered in dense rainforest.

Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, there are several active volcanoes and numerous uplifted atolls and coral islands.

The nation is largely untouched by tourism. Most of the population live in small villages and follow traditional cultures and lifestyles with hunting, fishing, carvings, handcrafts and subsistence farming being their main activities.

The Solomon Islanders are a friendly, warm and generous people who make visitors to their Islands feel most welcome.

Source: http://www.wayfaring.info/2006/09/28/the-uniquely-solomon-islands/

Further information about the Solomon Islands may be obtained from the following links:

www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2799.htm - Facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, foreign relations of Solomon Islands.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bp.html - Features map and brief descriptions of the geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military and transnational issues.

www.lonelyplanet.com/solomon-islands - Solomon Islands tourism and travel information including facts, maps, history, culture, transport and weather in Solomon Islands.

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Australasian Chess latest issue now out

THE latest issue (September-October) of the bi-monthly Australasian Chess magazine has been delivered to subscribers two weeks ahead of schedule. The current issue features in its cover the group photo of the participants to the Oceania Zone chess developmental meeting held in Gold Coast, Australia.

The 2009 Oceania zonal was the main story of the issue which was comprehensively covered by no other than the tournament chief arbiter himself, Dr. Charles Zworestine.

The magazine is published six times a year by Australian Chess Enterprises and is competently edited by international organizer FM Brian Jones, who is a good friend of The Chess Connoisseur. Among its regular features include columns on games, problems, combinations, and book reviews in addition to news brief from events around the world, Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

With 72 quality pages to digest in each issue, the cost of sixty six Australian dollars per year for Oceania subscribers is a real bargain. For America and Asia the cost is AUD 77.00; for Europe and the rest of the world it is AUD 82.50. However one looks at it still it is cheaper compared to other international chess magazines. Its four center pages consist of photographs, mostly colored.

Australasian Chess magazine can be obtained from

Australian Chess Enterprises
P.O. Box 370 Riverstone
NSW 2765 Australia

The reader may contact the publisher by email at info@chessaustralia.com.au, or visit its website at http://www.chessaustralia.com.au/.

Subscribe now!
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Palau chess championship starts August 30

THIS year’s Palau national chess championship takes place at two alternating venues—D. J. Cruz General Merchandise and Palau Royal Resort—both in Koror city starting on Sunday, 30 August, according to Tia Belau’s chess columnist Roberto Hernandez.

The closed championship will see in action four of Palau’s six internationally rated players, namely Menandro Manuel (1942), Cyril Montel Jr (1870), Gene Pastrana (1870), and Roberto Hernandez (1830). Palau’s two other rated players, Jose Omega (1870) and Manny Nedic (1830), had left the country for good one after the other.







Palau’s top four: Menandro Manuel, Cyril Montel Jr, Gene Pastrana, and Roberto Hernandez.

The country’s top player for the past four years, Manuel remains the heavy favorite to win the title. It may be recalled that he tied for fourth-fifth places, the highest among local entries, in the first international chess tournament held in Palau in 2006 that was won by New Zealand’s Hilton Bennett.

Meanwhile the next Palau international is planned for next year where Papua New Guinea champion Joselito Marcos (2200), a newfound correspondent of Hernandez, and Australian-Filipino chess prodigy Daniel Joseph Lapitan are among the invited rated foreign participants.

Pastrana continues to be a formidable contender together with Montel who now intends to incorporate silicon assistance in his preparation. Each of them is expected to give a good account of his self and offer defending titlist Manuel a run for his chess money.

The ever active Hernandez, who organizes the event with venue host Pastrana in addition to writing his weekly column Chessmate, is the tournament’s dark horse. His recent participation as Palau representative to the 2009 Oceania zonal championship held in Queensland, Australia would undoubtedly boost his chess stocks and confidence.

A musician by profession, Hernandez works at Palau Royal Resort, a five-star international resort hotel developed and owned by Royal Hotel Group and operated by Nikko Hotels International, which opened in June 2005. He has been a working resident in the country for the past 17 years.















Palau Royal Resort

The inclusion of three Bangladesh nationals—Masum Billah, Hasan Mamud and second timer Mohammad Manik—would add fuel to the excitement generated by this year’s championship which, Hernandez averred, shall be rated by the World Chess Federation known by its acronym FIDE. Palauans Tutii Joe Chilton, Francis `Sno' Temaungil and Morton Sawaichi lead the cast of local contestants who are out to obtain international ratings.

In the meantime, the election of new officers of Palau Chess Federation is planned to coincide with the opening of the championship. Current chairman Temaungil shall be persuaded to serve for another term at the top post.

Palau Chess Federation was admitted as a member of FIDE in 2005 and registered under the Oceania zone comprising of member countries in the South Pacific, namely Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands (the zone’s most recent member).

Brief facts about Palau














Palau's new capitol

Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Palauan: Beluu er a Belau), is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo. It comprised of 16 states, including the states of Hatohobei and Sonsorol located some 250 miles southwest of Koror. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship (administered by the United States) in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states. In English, the name is sometimes spelled Belau in accordance with the native pronunciation. It was formerly also spelled Pelew.

Further information about Palau may be obtained from the following links:

http://visit-palau.com/
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/palau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1840.htm
http://www.palaugov.net/
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Pinoys' wins in the 2009 Oceania zonal

WE feature a selection of games won by Filipino players from the 2009 Oceania Zonal. The Chess Connoisseur used Chess Viewer for this post as it allows replay of multiple games and with annotations at that! A caveat though—the board display becomes fuzzy when you scroll up or down the page. This can easily be remedied by minimizing and then restoring your browser’s window.

Most notable were the couple of sensational victories scored by ten-year old Daniel Lapitan. The first against Fiji representative Gaurav Raicar (FIDE rated 1560) was the shortest game in the Open section, while the second was an upset of Fiji's top rated player, Damian Norris (2142). It would appear that Daniel has got the Fijians' number but this could not be confirmed as he has not played the other two Fiji players—Manoj Kumar (2017) and Calvin Prasad (1912) who both performed very well in this event. The onus is still on the Fiji players.

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(Photo: Roberto Hernandez)

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