The third round in a day is always somewhat of a lottery, a test of stamina as much as a test of skill. And when the games over run it is doubly hard for the competitors. So far, both the rounds have gone over time today, and the third round started an hour later than advertised. I don't think that anyone is too bothered of the last round starting at 5pm, but when it was scheduled to start at 4pm it is rather annoying, especially if anyone had plans in the evening (like me, for instance!).
Board 1, no surprises with IM James Morris (left), but Matthew Cheah upset second seed, Zelesco in the previous round
Board 2, Zachary Loh (left) against Michael Chan
Board 3, Savithri Narenthan (left) against Karl Zelesco
The main playing area
Talented Girls (Gawin and Dilnutt) against talented boys (Yung and Yuan)
All MCC clash, Ari Dale (left) against Nicolaas Schroeder
The back of Sam Gluzman is nearest to us, while Jimmy Ying faces him, on board 5. The line of top boards is Box Hill Chess Club's DGT transmission boards.
In round 3 we saw Max Chew Lee's great victory against Ari dale, and that looked like being the upset of the day. However, he was trumped in the next round by Matthew Cheah in the 4th round, beating Karl Zelesco. This means that only one of the top seeds remains undefeated, and that is James Morris. He has to play Matthew Cheah in the fifth round. The other top seed is Michael Chan, who had dropped a half point to top girl, Savithri Narenthran, in the third round this morning. Michael found top gear in his next game beating Ari Dale.
The juniors in the hall are not looking their brightest at the moment. In fact exhaustion is the best description of the character of the main playing hall. Half the games of the round are already finished, and mistakes are being made across the board. Arbiter, David Hacche, who hasn't fitted in an afternoon nap today, has just commented on an inaccuracy by the top seed, though I haven't actually seen the game. I'm sure it is nothing too major, though.
I would definitely be looking at scheduling as an issue to remedy from this tournament. Earlier I talked with CV Treasurer Trevor Stanning, and CV President Leonid Sandler, and the general feeling is that there is too much tournament chess being played for our population in Victoria, which means that tournaments such as the Victorian Juniors, and even the State Championship do not seem overly exciting. I will be coming up with some formulae and ideas to try to remedy this situation, because the State Championships and the State Junior Championships should be flagship events.
It is day 2 of the Victorian Junior Championship for the titles of U-18, U-16 and U-14. There has already been some speculation that the tournament is not particularly representative of the older age groups, and indeed, there are a number of younger (under-12's) players in the tournament hall. Perhaps a discussion regarding how best to attract older kids needs to be opened, and this may help with the wider issue of retaining players in the game generally, rather than the falling off at club level we see in the 16-25 age group. Funnily enough, some over 25's return to the game, and some of these become lifelong addicts, but they have lost some of the best chess playing years of their lives, and not as many return as give up.
Anyway, this is really a celebration of Junior chess rather than a condemnation. Chess Victoria and the Box Hill Chess Club have arranged the tournament. There are some issues with the format. It has been suggested the prizes are small, especially compared to the entry fee. However, I have certain issues with handing out anything other than nominal cash prizes in junior events, and if I go back to when I was a junior, there was no prize money on offer. Yesterday, Box Hill Chess Club had a clash with the tenants of the building they use, and the kids were squeezed into a small room, though it was sufficiently large to play, if not particularly comfortably.It is certainly not the worst venue I have seen used! Today there have been 3 games scheduled which seems a bit tough seeing the schedule is 75 minutes + 30 seconds per move. That could easily work out at 9 hours chess for some players today, and seems to be against the general guidelines of the Australian Junior Chess League for their staging of the Australian Junior Championship where even 2 games a day is deemed excessive.
The field in the end has turned out to be quite good. The late inclusion of James Morris and Michael Chan has bolstered up the top end of the field. The winner of the Under-12 event, Karl Zelesco, along with his arch rival Ari dale means that the tournament can claim to have strength at the top. All these players have made their way to 2/2, though not without some difficulties. Reports are that Karl Zelesco was a little lucky against Jason Chew in round 1 for example. The third round is currently under way, and about half way through. It is a fascinating round with some great match up's (the rounds will become more competitive through today), with perhaps the board 2 game between Zachary Loh and Karl Zelesco being the stand out game. The top games can be followed live at Box Hill's website.
Time to look at some games (there are already a few finished).
Some interesting endgames:
Here it is white to play, and Oswald Lee on board 19 exchanged bishop for knight. Was this correct? The bishop is usually a better piece than the knight when there are pawns on both sides of the board, but white does suddenly have a passed a-pawn.
White, Daniel Yuan, has got his rook stuck. Luckily, he knew the drawing pattern and played 1.Rxa6! as even if he loses his b-pawn, the bishop is the wrong colour for promoting the a-pawn! Well played!
One of the most interesting fights was between David Cannon and Nicolaas Schroeder, 2 pretty evenly matched younger players, and it has come to this. David has created a frontal defence to the passed pawn and should secure a draw.
Generally speaking, this is showing a pretty high standard of chess as juniors are usually weak in this part of the game, but Daniel and David are showing that good endgame knowledge can win a player valuable points and half points!
I spoke too soon in the last position. David Cannon had set up an excellent defence, but couldn't hold out. It was great to see 2 young players continuing their game to the death, and Nicholaas tried to win the position. Unfortunately, David didn't know the technique and succumbed.
I showed this to the boys after, and hopefully they have gained something from this ending.
The tournament hall is buzzing as James Morris just wins, and Ari Dale blunders a piece to Max Chew Lee. Max has a low ratin (1465) but already has some big scalps and is a dangerous opponent. Ari is going to find it tough to get a half point from this game.
Meanwhile, it has to be remembered that girls titles are also on offer in this event, although everything is run as one big tournament. Currently, Savithri Narenthran, the Australian under 18 girls champion is on 2/2 and is in a tough fight against Michael Chan. The next top seed is Denise Lim, but she is having her work cut out and Zhi Lin Guo in the following position.
This game has moved on somewhat, and white has made the most of the position. Black had a central king that was immediately hassled with 1.Rae1. After some exchanges, white has then fastened on black's backward b-pawn, and looks to be cleaning up the queen side. I think Denise will have her work cut out to hold on.
Meanwhile, Ari looks busted, Karl Zelesco has won a pawn against Zachary Loh, but I think Zach looked good earlier. Michael Chan looks to be winning a pawn in a double rook ending against Savi Narenthran. Will it be enough to win? Difficult to say. Kyle Gibson has a huge bind against Charlotte Dilnutt and is looking at breaking through, while the game between Dmitry Lee and Jack Puccini is a tough one. A perrenial favourite of openings at junior events is the 2 knights and this round was no exception.
There are just 3 of games left but none of them look like finishing soon. The next round is due to start in just under 10 minutes, which begs the question of whether the organisers have really considered the correct times for each round. It is an issue which tournament organisers need to look at. With 3 games in a day, the organisers obviously want to get the games finished as quickly as apossible, but not giving enough times between rounds is not the answer. This round will start 30 minutes late, and if the same is said of the next round, then some players could be subjected to over 10 hours play today. At the moment there is much hanging around which is not healthy for the players. Really, when there is a 2.5 hour basic time, and 30 second increment, it is obviously dangerous to give a 3 hour playing time. Are the last players to finish going to be given some time before their next games? Will this mean that the whole round will be delayed even longer? I don't know, and I'm going to have to go for a while. I will be back for the last round today, though I have no idea when it will start!
It's school holidays so with 2 weeks off work (mostly) it would be criminal not to get out and about a bit. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been great but as my wife is a photographer, that means good conditions. We decided to head down the Morning ton Peninsula, with the idea of checking out some places on the ocean side of the Peninsula. First we went for lunch in Sorrento, at Buckley's Chance, a great cafe/restaurant that does pretty good coffee, and a mean savoury pancake.
After that, we were ready for the elements. We started with a small trip round to the Sorrento Back Beach. The surf was amazing, the spray from the sea invigorating, and the sights of the cliffs, and sea stacks along with the sound of the surf and the smells of the sea were fantastic. We walked on the beach, and I took a trek to a lookout on the cliffs, while Caroline took on the role of professional photographer on the beach (hopefully she will put up some silky water, long exposure shots on her blog soon).
Around the corner is Portsea Beach, and further is Point Nepean
Sorrento Back Beach had great swell today.
Even Arthur's Seat and Port Phillip Bay can be seen from the cliffs.
From Sorrento we took a short drive back towards Melbourne before turning off. We weren't sure where we were going, but found ourselves on a track which led to Bridgewater Bay. This was a fantastic experience. The tide was in and was crashing high up the beach. We were able to just get down to the beach, but had to be careful to not get drenched or stranded.
Bridgewater Bay, with the sea right in your face!
The real photographer in the family dodges the waves for her art!
You can see by the photo's that the weather was grim. We were wet, cold and getting tired, but we did manage a couple of other small stops at Gunammatta Beach (where it was literally 'blowing a gale'), and at Flinders, where unfortunately the views were marred by works machinery on the pier. And then it was home, in about an hour!
When I moved to Melbourne from England a bit over 6 years ago, it was an exciting experience, and with day trips like today, things remain as exciting as ever. And for the first time in my life, I am living this close to the sea, and it is something that I will not take for granted.
The MCC Open ended last Monday, and I have followed the rounds live over the past 7 weeks. I haven't been able to upload all the games, so here is a selection of games that haven't been previously published. Thee are still some games from the top boards missing, and some on the lower boards that I would have liked to have published.
Richard McCart and Rad Chmiel face their opponents
The main hall of the MCC
The back room...out of focus...Morris and Dowling are nearest to the camera on the top board.
The final round of the MCC Open has just got underway. There are a number of interesting match-up's across the boards. Currently, young IM James Morris is half a point clear of top seed IM Mirko Rujevic, with Domagoj Dragicevic a further point back. Paul Cavezza and Anthony Hain are leading the underdog status in the small room tonight.
1 hour down
The game between Riley Lenard and Kevin Brown has been postponed, while Endre Simon has gone to Europe and couldn't find time to play Jim Papadinis before leaving. Roger Beattie did show up at the club and somewhat colourfully announced he was forfeiting his last game. This left 2 players, Jim Papadinis and Ben Gavine without opposition, so they have been repaired together.
Around the games being played, there has been some mention of the board 3 game between Malcolm Pyke and Eddy Levi. The game started 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Bb4 3.Nd5 Ba5 4.b4 c6 5.bxa5 cxd5 6.cxd5 d6 7.Qa4+ Nbd7 8.Ba3 leaving the following position
MCC President asked of this position, "Isn't this just good for white?" Well a pawn up, but a very undeveloped king side...I'm not sure I'd like to be trying to attack someone like Malcolm Pyke from this position with the black pieces; then again, I don't think I'd like to defend against Eddy Levi with white!
James Morris looks good, a pawn up and with an attack. Dowling can be a pretty tough nut to crack though. David Garner has accepted an IQP against Paul Cavezza, and it is a tricky situation for both players now.
Anthony Hain is showing no fear on board 5 against Justin Tan. The position looks tricky for the higher rated Tan as black.
Another interesting game is on board 7 where 2 in form players are meeting. Ari Dale as black has put both his knights on the edge of the board but can take both white's bishops, though he is a pawn behind (even if white does end up with tripled f-pawns).
On the lower boards, things seem only to be getting going. Felix Wyss looks forlorn....he has lost his beloved bishop pair to Alex Kaplan. Meanwhile Stephen Jago is a pawn up against Sarah Anton. But the most interesting game for me is between Richard McCart and Gary Bekker. Gary is a pawn up in the following position
As black Gary just played 1..Re4.
2 hours gone
Ben Frayle is the first winner on the night. Ben has had another solid performance in this tournament, showing just how misleading ratings can be. His ACF of 1231 might make him appear an easy target to many, but he has shown he is better than this rating suggests, and looks as if he will post a FIDE rating of nearer to 1600 in the next list. Well done Ben! Felix Wyss wins
Stop Press *** James Morris wins and takes the tournament. Well played James, a deserving tournament victory.
On board 2 it is 2 minor pieces vs rook and pawn endgame. Mirko, as black, is deep in thought over this tricky situation.
On 3 Malcolm looks as if he's a piece ahead. Does Eddy as black have any tricks? It is white to move in the next diagram.
Paul Cavezza is doing a good job against David Garner, he has the 2 bishops and a decent looking position, though he is getting characteristically low on time. Anthony Hain, is looking even more impressive against Justin Tan who is working out the complications in this position. tan as black to play.
In the main room, the Beaumont-Dale game is very interesting with David having 3 pawns for a piece. Gary Lycett is a piece up while Richard Voon is an exchange down against Mario Palma. Stephen Jago is now an exchange for a pawn ahead and Jack Puccini has a dangerous looking attack, but is material down and only has 8 minutes left on his clock. On board 20 there is an interesting ending between Michael hain and Roger McCart.
James Morris final round victory:
Ok, we're getting close to the end now. Domagoj and Mirko have the K+R v K+N with no pawns. Mirko is shrugging, but I guess Domagoj will try to win it. Malcolom Pyke has won, as has Sarah Anton (the luckiest escape of the tournament). Paul Cavezza's great tournament finally fell against David Garner, though Paul should still be happy about his play in this event.
Last shout.
Anthony Hain looks to be winning an opposite coloured bishop ending against Justin Tan. Watch out for this game, as Malcolm Pyke pointed out a brilliant queen sacrifice earlier in the game which would have won for Anthony. Kerry Stead is winning against Karl Zelesco (actually, just won), Shane Lawson is continuing his great tournament, being a piece up against Peter Fry. Jack Puccini is fighting valiantly against Marcus Ogden, and Jack has been down to his last 30 seconds for a long time. I think he is going to find it tough to hold on much longer. Besides that, the tournament is virtually over. James has won, Mirko is second, and Malcolm and Domagoj shared third. The rating prizes are yet to be decided, but I'll post them by tomorrow on the MCC website.
Stop Press *** Anthony Hain hits the upset of the tournament, beating Justin Tan.
Thanks to all viewers, the next live games will be from the Victorian Juniors next week, and then the Malitis Memorial, the next Monday night tournament at the MCC.
The penultimate round of the MCC Open has just started, with much resting on the last 2 games. There are 3 games not starting tonight. Justin tan has called in sick against Ari Dale, and they have agreed to play on Thursday. Jim Papadinis couldn't get his car to start, and has forfeited against Abdullah Durani. Sarah Anton is interstate and her game with Riley Lenard has not been rearranged yet but will hopefully be played later in the weekend. As the arbiter, I thank the players for their understanding and apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Most games are underway. Eddy Levi has just arrived, so it must be about 10 minutes into the round, and we are just waiting for Gary Bekker and Alex Kaplan to make up a full complement. On a point of law, I have had to remind a player that writing moves down before they are played is against the rules.
Already, we have a visitor from the Yarra Chess Club. Dan Zoraja is currently blitzing with Elie Beranjia until the games start to get interesting.
Beranjia (left) vs Zoraja (right)
1 Hour into the games
Early news from the top boards. Board 1 is a Sicilian Kan with Domagoj having double pawns on the a-file but some piece activity for this. David Garner has pushed forward int he centre against Rujevic's Closed Sicilian. Dowling and Beaumont have both castled long in a Reti, a game that looks set for the night. Shane Lawson doesn't find himself in the backroom often, and is making the most of it, taking on Malcolm Pyke's French with the Wing Gambit, b4. Eddy Levi is doing his utmost to liven up a typically stodgy Peter Fry Caro Kann.
First game of the night to finish is Rad Chmiel winning against Ben Frayle, a one move blunder by all accounts.
Paul Cavezza has Richard Voon tutting and shaking his head. Cavezza prepared a line against Voon's Najdorf, and Richard has played into it. Further down, Felix Wyss is a pawn to the good against Roger McCart, Endre Simon is a piece to the good against Damien Feaine, Michael Hain is 2 pawns to the good against James Brennan, and Ganesh Krishnan is a piece down against Stephen Jago, but Stephen has some defending to do.
Positions to follow soon:
This mad position is the board 13 game between Marcus Ogden and Richard McCart. I prefer white, but that d5 knight looks good.
On board 2 Mirko as white to play here is facing a Maroczy Bind against the white pieces. David garner seems pretty happy at the moment.
On board 1, James Morris does not seem happy. He has just gone a pawn down against Domagoj Dragicevic and is in deep thought trying to work out how to compensate for this deficit.
Wonderboy Karl Zelesco doesn't even give me a chance to have a decent look at his game before he has won! The opening to the Krishnan-Jago game was interesting
Into the second hour:
Puccini-Beattie is a difficult endgame. Opposite coloured bishops means a draw doesn't it? Both players look as if they are trying to win!
James Morris as white, is under immense pressure from Dragicevic here.
Kevin Brown must be happy with 2 bishops, and a pawn, but Alex Kaplan is fighting on.
Across the boards, Rujevic is under great pressure, and is fighting doggedly. Beaumont has a shot pawn structure so is trying to make something happen against Dowling. Malcolm Pyke has retained his pawn advantage, but is under some pressure from a frontal attack with his king in the centre. Paul Cavezza is a piece up against Richard Voon, but only has 15 minutes for the game, while the Kovacevic-Hain game is an interesting struggle of opposite side attacks with both having castled king side!
Stop Press!!
*** James Morris has made chances for himself exchanging his queen for 2 rooks and some pawns, but he has an advanced central passed pawn that is going to give Domagoj some headaches. Added to this, Domagoj has less than 10 minutes.
*** Paul Cavezza has an exchange and a pawn lead against Richard Voon and possibly has Richard in a maitng net. But he has only 5 minutes to finish Richard off!
*** Kaplan has fought well and has exchanged all but 2 pawns of Kevin Brown. The game is still probably winning for the bishop pair, but with every pawn exchange, the win looks harder.
Board 1 has simplified to this position. Domagoj as black played 1..Qf3 which forced Morris into a fit of tutting and head shaking. But the young master is not leading the tournament for nothing, gritted his teeth and fights on with, 2.Rhe8 Kf5 3.Ra2, leaving Domagoj with some issues and only 6 minutes left to sort the game out.
A big crowd is surrounding board 1 as Domagoj is down to the last minute. The tension is amazing! Right behind them, Mirko is also struggling....could it be a night where both our IM's lose? Eddy Levi finally breaks through against Peter Fry, and Alex Kaplan fought bravely to hold that difficult endgame to a draw! Paul Cavezza had a great result, with a win against Richard Voon. He still got into some time trouble but never dropped below 5 minutes, perhaps learning from the last few weeks.
The Final Dash:
Mirko Rujevic has won! In a difficult position he worked out the tactics better than his opponent, as David Garner's time started to run short. James Morris is putting up a terrific fight on the top board and has reduced the position to R+R+P v Q+2P, and Domagoj is still down to a minute. Malcolm Pyke has just won, though there were some scares along the way. And in the other room, the only 2 games left involve the father and son Hain team, and it looks as if they are both doing well!
Morris-Dragicevic draw! According to James, the game was "full of errors....by both sides". At the other end of the table, it's good to see Michael Hain score his first win on his return to chess after a 20+ years absence. Malcolm Pyke admits that he was a bit lucky in his game against Shane Lawson, but was very happy with the move 29..a5. Only 3 games remain. David Beaumont is fighting in a worse position against John Dowling, Gary Bekker has played above his weight again, and is holding Kerry Stead, whileAnthony hain looks to be taking another scalp in Paul Kovacevic.
I love chess, but coaching for 6 days a week, acting as arbiter for a tournament once a week, spending another night at my chess club, trying to organise a chess league, playing in a league online, volunteering as a helper for various chess related causes (eg. Australian Junior Championships 2012), and sometimes even just playing a bit of chess leaves me a bit sick of chess every once in a while. So it was great to be able to get away from it all with Caroline today. In just an hour you can be out of the city and into beautiful hills or along stunning coastlines. We managed to get away a few weeks ago (with Caroline working as a nurse, doing shift work, we don't get too much time together) and we headed off to Sassafras for a walk in the forests.
Tropical tree ferns dominate the forests in the Dandenongs
Today, Caroline and I headed to Phillip Island, famous for the Motocycling Grand Prix, and penguin tours. But there is plenty to see and do there. We headed to the amazing surf beach at Woolamai which was in great shape today, probably due to the windy conditions.
Strong surf at Woolamai
Walks around the Cape Woolamai offer some great views. There is the unusual wildlife, such as muttonbirds, though if I ever get to see one, then sheep will fly! Then there are spectacular geological sights such as the Pinnacles created about 360 million years ago! Who says Australia has limited historical interest?
The Pinnacles at Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island
On the drive back home, it is just too easy to jump on the South Gippsland Highway, look straight ahead and drive directly to Melbourne and home. But you'd be missing out on some other great sights along the way. For instance, Westernport Bay can be extremely beautiful and is full of interesting natural features such as mangroves and saltmarsh areas. Caroline was reminiscing of her trips to Coronet Bay, Tenby Point and suchlike, so we took a random turn off the South Gippsland Highway towards the coastal village of Jam Jerrup. The mangrove beach environment approaching dusk was magical, and can't really be done credit in a photo from my phone...
