Congratulations to both Australian teams at the World Youth Under 16 Olympiad. The Australia A-team is pretty strong with 2 IM's, Bobby Cheng and Ari Dale in the team. They came through a tough first round game against an unknown (and probably under rated Chinese team) to win 3-1 with no losses. Australia is also fielding a second team, which is also quite strong, led by rapidly improving, and in form Michael Chan. Michael has benefited from being a member of the ultra strong Noble Park Chess Club in Melbourne where he regularly gets competition against 2200+ strength opposition. The b-team also won 3-1 and now both teams will be up among the top boards for round 2, with the b-team playing the top seeds, Russia, while the a-team have an ashes clash against England's b-team. The tournament is 10 rounds and decided by match points so the next couple of rounds should see a big sorting out before the top teams come into contact and the fight for the medals begins for real.
I haven't seen any games yet by the Aussies, but the b-team will be on the live boards later today against Russia. While a daunting task for the young Aussies, they should consider the match a test of their current strength and see just how close they are to the highly rated Russian team. Being a fringe country to a large extent, Australian ratings tend to be a little under value, and with juniors it is impossible to gauge their strength until they reach a level. Now the Australian b-team are on average 400+ FIDE rating points behind their Russia rivals, but I know that the young Australian players can all play considerably above their published ratings. On the other hand, the Australian A-team must avoid complacency against England-B as the same sort of issues are at play, though it is the Aussies who are considerably higher rated than their English opponents.
Good luck to all the Aussie players today, and hopefully we'll start to get some games published soon.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
The Inspirational Jacques Mieses
I haven't played much chess this year (well, not so much serious chess) and the club I've been helping to set up is due to start a round robin event this week which should see fields of players fairly evenly matched. I have to admit, I'm feeling a bit out of form. I've played a bit online though it isn't the same. Nevertheless, it's still better than not playing at all.
Playing fast games online is a good way to force yourself to work hard tactically, and can hone your openings. I'm usually not a big advocate of fast games. I personally believe that the best way to improve at playing long play chess is by playing long play chess, and working as hard as possible at the board. But there are, of course, other methods including studying games and positions, solving tactical puzzles and, (ok, I admit it) playing fast chess. But I qualify these methods by saying that there has to be an objective involved with each training method.
Anyway, I played a game on Chess.com using a favourite old opening variation of mine....not that it's good, but it is interesting. I was white in the 5-2 game which started 1.e4 d5 [and I already wished I'd opened with 1.d4] 2.exd5 Qxd5 [I'd almost forgotten that this could be played, expecting 2..Nf6. I've never really put much work into the Scandinavian which I suppose is due to it being considered a pile of rubbish when I was growing up. Now, besides being considered respectable, or possibly dangerous there are also large opening roadmaps to guide players.] 3.Nc3 [I think I read somewhere that 3.Nf3 is more accurate, but whatever!] 3..Qa5 4.Nf3 [I think I should look at some mainlines with 4.d4, but as Bigdatabase 2013 has over 30,000 games from this position, it makes things a bit daunting] 4..Nf6 5.Be2 [Very conservative play, but there's a reason for this. I'm waiting for black to move the light squared bishop] 5..Bg4 [...and there it is]
6.b4 [Ths move was a favourite of maverick German born player Jacques Mieses. Mieses was a pretty formidable player who liked some strange openings. In 1895 he drew a match with David Janowsky and then played at the super strong Hastings tournament of that year. He played in some of the strongest tournaments of the next 10 years such as Paris 1900 and Cambridge Springs 1904 and won a strong tournament in Vienna 1907 ahead of Tartakower, Maroczy, Duras, Vidmar and Schlecter. In a time when positional chess was gradually taking over from the old swashbuckling school of the 1800's, Mieses still played Centre Games and Danish Gambit's, Vienna Gambit's and Scotch Gambits, King's Gambit's and as black he championed the Scandinavian. So it is always interesting to see what a player chooses against their favourite opening.] 6..Qh5 [I remember when I first saw this type of idea, in the 1990's, the choice for black always seemed to be between 6..Qb6 and 6..Qxb4. After taking on b4, white gets a great initiative on the queenside. 6..Qxb4 7.Rb1 Qd6 (or 7..Qa5) 8.Rxb7 and black's usual plan of queen side castling and attacks on opposite sides is immediately thwarted; 6..Qb6 is the safest and black should be ok with moves like ..c6, ..Nbd7, ..e6 and ..Bd6.] 7.0-0 Nbd7 [Persisting with hopes of queen side castling? I'm not sure. As black, I'd have been tempted to play 7..e6, put my bishop on d6 and castle king side, getting on with things. After 7..e6 white has to consider the safety of his b-pawn]
8.d4 [It's odd that I should really have been worried about my position here. I mean, black has played 3 queen moves, has a central king and lacks any meaningful development. However, white isn't really looking too hot either. I desperately wanted to put the question to black's light squared bishop with 8.h3, but was worried about a sacrifice on h3 to open my king up. It surely is not enough, but anything can happen in a 5 minute game] 8..e6 9.h3 [I couldn't resist. I didn't really believe in the bishop sac on h3 last move, and my opponent didn't try it instead playing...] 9..Bxf3 but after 10.Bxf3 winning time by hitting black's unfortunate queen again, I grasped the initiative and eventually went on to win this game.
It is always good to find an imaginative player and look at their games. It helps if the player is strong. Mieses was one of FIDE's original Grandmasters in 1950. He moved to England in the 1930's and his name has recently come back to prominence with his variation of the Scotch Opening back in vogue (1e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5). This comes from his use of this opening at Hastings 1895, where Mieses didn't perform too well, but he still drew with Lasker and Chigorin in this variation which is no mean feat.
Playing fast games online is a good way to force yourself to work hard tactically, and can hone your openings. I'm usually not a big advocate of fast games. I personally believe that the best way to improve at playing long play chess is by playing long play chess, and working as hard as possible at the board. But there are, of course, other methods including studying games and positions, solving tactical puzzles and, (ok, I admit it) playing fast chess. But I qualify these methods by saying that there has to be an objective involved with each training method.
.jpg) |
| Jacques Mieses (from Wikipedia) |
Anyway, I played a game on Chess.com using a favourite old opening variation of mine....not that it's good, but it is interesting. I was white in the 5-2 game which started 1.e4 d5 [and I already wished I'd opened with 1.d4] 2.exd5 Qxd5 [I'd almost forgotten that this could be played, expecting 2..Nf6. I've never really put much work into the Scandinavian which I suppose is due to it being considered a pile of rubbish when I was growing up. Now, besides being considered respectable, or possibly dangerous there are also large opening roadmaps to guide players.] 3.Nc3 [I think I read somewhere that 3.Nf3 is more accurate, but whatever!] 3..Qa5 4.Nf3 [I think I should look at some mainlines with 4.d4, but as Bigdatabase 2013 has over 30,000 games from this position, it makes things a bit daunting] 4..Nf6 5.Be2 [Very conservative play, but there's a reason for this. I'm waiting for black to move the light squared bishop] 5..Bg4 [...and there it is]
It is always good to find an imaginative player and look at their games. It helps if the player is strong. Mieses was one of FIDE's original Grandmasters in 1950. He moved to England in the 1930's and his name has recently come back to prominence with his variation of the Scotch Opening back in vogue (1e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5). This comes from his use of this opening at Hastings 1895, where Mieses didn't perform too well, but he still drew with Lasker and Chigorin in this variation which is no mean feat.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Some Chess to Follow
I think it's been a while since I mentioned that I'm going on holiday to the USA in September. There's only 8 weeks or 57 days left before I go, and I can hardly wait! The only problem is that while something exciting is looming in your life, time drags by slowly. So over the next couple of weeks I'm delighted to have some chess tournaments to follow which bring a personal touch to my observation.
The World Youth Under 16 Olympiad is being held in China, and I'll be following the exploits of the Australian Junior teams competing there. I've played almost all the young players there (with varying success!) and wish them the very best of luck. The teams have the expert GM guidance of Australian number 1 ranked player Zong Yuan Zhao, and legendary Australian GM Ian Rogers. Last year, the tournament was exciting and Australia had chances for a medal going into the last round. This year the tournament looks a little stronger at the top level, but the Aussie team matches up pretty well. It will be particularly intersting to see how IM Bobby Cheng compares to the other board 1's. Bobby is a prodigious talent who won the World under-12 championship a few years back. The question is whether his peers from more chess developed countries such as Russia or India have pulled ahead of him, or whether he can still hold his own. Of course it will be interesting to see how the whole Australian team match up on their respective boards. Especially exciting is Anton Smirnov, the number 1 rated player in the World born in 2001 who is playing on board 2 for the under 16 team despite his young age!
As I was born in England, I eagerly follow the British Championships, traditionally held at the end of July and beginning of August each year. This year is the 100th British Championship and 10 Grand Masters are among the players making the trip to the west country seaside resort of Torquay. Another English immigrant to Australia is playing. IM Gary Lane who originally hails from the West of England is in the field and I wish him good luck! Of course, part of the enjoyment of watching this event is that I know and have played against a number of the competitors, and will be hoping they do well. I guess GM Gawain Jones is the man to beat in the Championship after coming joint first in the Scottish Champs last week, but it is a pretty tough field. There are a whole series of events at the British, including age group championships, seniors championship (not long for me to be in this!), limited ratings events, one week tournaments, weekend and rapid and blitz events. There is usually a simul over the middle weekend, and a cricket match that I seem to remember IM Andrew Martin always had a lot to do with organising.
The World Youth Championship starts tomorrow, and as it finishes next week, the British Championships start. This gives me 3 weeks of uninterrupted chess excitement, and after the British is finished there will be just 38 days to go before I fly off to the USA!
The World Youth Under 16 Olympiad is being held in China, and I'll be following the exploits of the Australian Junior teams competing there. I've played almost all the young players there (with varying success!) and wish them the very best of luck. The teams have the expert GM guidance of Australian number 1 ranked player Zong Yuan Zhao, and legendary Australian GM Ian Rogers. Last year, the tournament was exciting and Australia had chances for a medal going into the last round. This year the tournament looks a little stronger at the top level, but the Aussie team matches up pretty well. It will be particularly intersting to see how IM Bobby Cheng compares to the other board 1's. Bobby is a prodigious talent who won the World under-12 championship a few years back. The question is whether his peers from more chess developed countries such as Russia or India have pulled ahead of him, or whether he can still hold his own. Of course it will be interesting to see how the whole Australian team match up on their respective boards. Especially exciting is Anton Smirnov, the number 1 rated player in the World born in 2001 who is playing on board 2 for the under 16 team despite his young age!
As I was born in England, I eagerly follow the British Championships, traditionally held at the end of July and beginning of August each year. This year is the 100th British Championship and 10 Grand Masters are among the players making the trip to the west country seaside resort of Torquay. Another English immigrant to Australia is playing. IM Gary Lane who originally hails from the West of England is in the field and I wish him good luck! Of course, part of the enjoyment of watching this event is that I know and have played against a number of the competitors, and will be hoping they do well. I guess GM Gawain Jones is the man to beat in the Championship after coming joint first in the Scottish Champs last week, but it is a pretty tough field. There are a whole series of events at the British, including age group championships, seniors championship (not long for me to be in this!), limited ratings events, one week tournaments, weekend and rapid and blitz events. There is usually a simul over the middle weekend, and a cricket match that I seem to remember IM Andrew Martin always had a lot to do with organising.
The World Youth Championship starts tomorrow, and as it finishes next week, the British Championships start. This gives me 3 weeks of uninterrupted chess excitement, and after the British is finished there will be just 38 days to go before I fly off to the USA!
Allegro, Allegro, Allegro!!!
As the World becomes a smaller place, city dwellers outnumbering country people, and time becoming a precious commodity, so it seems that 21st Century chess needs us to play at 21st Century speeds. At least there is a growing trend in tournaments with a faster rate. Or so it appears to me. I remember growing up in the UK and there being popular 30 minute, and 40 minute tournaments held monthly in London, either in Islington, or at the Barbican. Even those time controls now seem pedestrian.
Frankston Chess Club joined the ranks of organisers for weekend events, this past Saturday with what appeared a very successful 7 round allegro (G15) tournament. There was a good local turn out, and the event attracted players from other parts of the state, though I'm not sure any traveled from far outside the metropolitan area of Melbourne. But even that is good, as Frankston is situated about 40 km south of Melbourne's CBD with fairly easy access via car on the Eastlink, or on public transport via train. This distance will act as a deterrent to a lot of players unless they see something special to travel for. Luckily, it seems that was what was put on, and Frankston Chess Club will hopefully use their organisational skills to put on more weekend events to attract players down the peninsula.
The tournament was won by Chess Victoria President, IM Leonid Sandler who scored 6.5/7. Leonid is a fearsome fast player who has won the Victorian blitz championship in the past. Dimitri Partsi was the only player to hold Sandler, and Dimitri duly finished second on 6/7. It was very close after that, but Milenko Lojanica managed third with 5.5, though there were over 20 players within 1.5 of him. In all, over 50 players competed and it was great to see lots of prizes distributed throughout the field.
Melbourne currently has a gamut of 15 minute allegro chess tournaments. Firstly, most of the junior events run through the city are 15 minute tournaments. That is the interschool tournaments run by Chess Kids and Chess Victoria, and the monthly RJ Shield, and Rookies Cups. At the adult level, the Melbourne Chess Club has a weekly Saturday allegro event and most of the clubs run an allegro tournament at their club at some stage of the year for members to get away from the long play events for a short while. This is all good, and is encouraging juniors to play more and allows them to feel comfortable at adult clubs who provide this time limit, and may act as an introduction to the adult game. Meanwhile, the long play game isn't for everyone so it's good that there are alternatives for players around the city on a regular basis.
Coming up in August is an exciting event run by the Melbourne Chess Club, the Fitzroy Skittles. This is run as a knock out event, and depending on your rating you are assigned a number of points that you can lose throughout the event, the higher your rating the less points you are given. When you have lost the number of points that you were assigned to start with, you are knocked out the event. It is a fun system, and has become a fixture on the Victorian chess calendar. The MCC have already announced the inclusion of 2 IM's, Ari Dale, and ex Victorian Champion Igor Goldenberg, and the tournament usually attracts decent sized fields. In fact, I might see if I can get down to it this year.
So imagine my surprise when I get a facebook message from Frankston winner and CV President Leonid Sandler advertising an event on the same weekend in August. The Victorian Open Rapidplay tournament is to be held over the weekend of August 24-25 in Lorne, with sponsorship from a hotel group in the region. My initial reaction was what a great idea to have a chess tournament in the seaside resort of Lorne. Then when I realised it clashed with the MCC's allegro event on the 25th August I thought "who arranged that?" I could kind of understand if it was a different sort of tournament, perhaps an ACF rated longplay event, or even FIDE rated, but to hold 2 prestigious allegro tournaments at the same time seems a bit ludicrous to me.
So anyway, I had a bit of a dig at MCC President, Grant Szuveges about this, but he claimed ignorance of the organisation of the Lorne event, saying that it was all down to Leonid Sandler. Grant is not only MCC President, but also a committee member of Chess Victoria, so he should have known about the Lorne event. It is after all offering Victorian Open titles, whatever they are? Grant assured me he would not have agreed to hold such an event simultaneously with the Fitzroy Skittles, though to be fair he has been positive about the Lorne tournament, welcoming extra events on the calendar. I am less enthusiastic about the clash. I personally think the Victorian chess calendar is full to brimming with events, and as a result some events suffer from lack of numbers. A tournament in Lorne could be a great fixture but not at the same time as another tournament featuring virtually the same product nearby which has been established for a number of years. To my mind it is simply bad scheduling, and as much as I'd like to see an event on the Great Ocean Road succeed, I'll be pointing my students towards the already established Fitzroy Skittles at the MCC.
Frankston Chess Club joined the ranks of organisers for weekend events, this past Saturday with what appeared a very successful 7 round allegro (G15) tournament. There was a good local turn out, and the event attracted players from other parts of the state, though I'm not sure any traveled from far outside the metropolitan area of Melbourne. But even that is good, as Frankston is situated about 40 km south of Melbourne's CBD with fairly easy access via car on the Eastlink, or on public transport via train. This distance will act as a deterrent to a lot of players unless they see something special to travel for. Luckily, it seems that was what was put on, and Frankston Chess Club will hopefully use their organisational skills to put on more weekend events to attract players down the peninsula.
The tournament was won by Chess Victoria President, IM Leonid Sandler who scored 6.5/7. Leonid is a fearsome fast player who has won the Victorian blitz championship in the past. Dimitri Partsi was the only player to hold Sandler, and Dimitri duly finished second on 6/7. It was very close after that, but Milenko Lojanica managed third with 5.5, though there were over 20 players within 1.5 of him. In all, over 50 players competed and it was great to see lots of prizes distributed throughout the field.
Coming up in August is an exciting event run by the Melbourne Chess Club, the Fitzroy Skittles. This is run as a knock out event, and depending on your rating you are assigned a number of points that you can lose throughout the event, the higher your rating the less points you are given. When you have lost the number of points that you were assigned to start with, you are knocked out the event. It is a fun system, and has become a fixture on the Victorian chess calendar. The MCC have already announced the inclusion of 2 IM's, Ari Dale, and ex Victorian Champion Igor Goldenberg, and the tournament usually attracts decent sized fields. In fact, I might see if I can get down to it this year.
So imagine my surprise when I get a facebook message from Frankston winner and CV President Leonid Sandler advertising an event on the same weekend in August. The Victorian Open Rapidplay tournament is to be held over the weekend of August 24-25 in Lorne, with sponsorship from a hotel group in the region. My initial reaction was what a great idea to have a chess tournament in the seaside resort of Lorne. Then when I realised it clashed with the MCC's allegro event on the 25th August I thought "who arranged that?" I could kind of understand if it was a different sort of tournament, perhaps an ACF rated longplay event, or even FIDE rated, but to hold 2 prestigious allegro tournaments at the same time seems a bit ludicrous to me.
So anyway, I had a bit of a dig at MCC President, Grant Szuveges about this, but he claimed ignorance of the organisation of the Lorne event, saying that it was all down to Leonid Sandler. Grant is not only MCC President, but also a committee member of Chess Victoria, so he should have known about the Lorne event. It is after all offering Victorian Open titles, whatever they are? Grant assured me he would not have agreed to hold such an event simultaneously with the Fitzroy Skittles, though to be fair he has been positive about the Lorne tournament, welcoming extra events on the calendar. I am less enthusiastic about the clash. I personally think the Victorian chess calendar is full to brimming with events, and as a result some events suffer from lack of numbers. A tournament in Lorne could be a great fixture but not at the same time as another tournament featuring virtually the same product nearby which has been established for a number of years. To my mind it is simply bad scheduling, and as much as I'd like to see an event on the Great Ocean Road succeed, I'll be pointing my students towards the already established Fitzroy Skittles at the MCC.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Hennig Schara Gambit
Everyone has favourite systems, and we all try to defend openings that get a bashing. Even some pretty decent openings come in for a bashing every now and again. Take the King's Indian Defence, or the Sicilian Dragon. Then again, if you're going to play a fighting opening, then you will also have to fight to defend your opening's reputation.
The system that I have a soft spot for is the Hennig Schara Gambit. When I was a young player, Kasparov was not yet World Champion and was playing the Tarrasch Variation of the Queen's Gambit (among other fighting systems). It was back then in the mid 80's that I first really became aware of the Tarrasch and the amazing piece play that black can generate at the expense of pawn weaknesses. Certainly at club level a player who is good with active pieces should consider openings such as the Tarrasch which offer excellent play for the expense of a pawn.
Black immediately challenges the centre, and after 4.cxd5 exd5 we will have a position where white can give black an isolated queen's pawn. In fact, positions with an isolated queen's pawn for black were those championed by Kasparov on his way to the World Championship in 1984. He successfully used the defence against Beliavsky, Korchnoi and Smyslov, and even used it against Karpov in their first match in 1984. Here is (essentially) the deciding game in the 1983 Candidates Final. It left Kasparov 8-4 ahead against Smyslov, needing only a draw to progress which he duly scored in the next game.
It wasn't until the 1990's that I became aware of an interesting sideline of the Tarrasch, the Hennig Schara Gambit. Instead of accepting an isolated queen's pawn, black sacrifices a pawn again for great piece play. I didn't really take it too seriously at first as I can't really say I am that inspired by gambit openings generally. I'm more the sort of player who grabs poisoned pawns and tries to hold on to them! However, I was fully converted by 2 articles written by Irish correspondence GM Tim Harding. Harding has been writing a monthly column at chesscafe.com since the mid 1990's and many of his early columns were about odd openings that tend to crop up more often in correspondence play that over the board. His articles on the Hennig Schara (no 1, and no 2)were beautifully written and were good enough to make me believe in the opening. I've used it on a number of occasions, and have every intention of trying it out some more. As pawn sacrifices go, it is very enterprising, and there is no easy way for white to get anything out of the opening. The mainline goes 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 cxd4!? [The Gambit] 5.Qxd4 Nc6 [While white's queen grabs a central pawn, black is able to develop quickly and aggressively] 6.Qd1 exd5 7.Qxd5 [Now white will be a pawn up out of the opening, but with the centre wide open it's anybodys game] 7..Bd7 [Black can play a pawn down in a queenless position as well which is also interesting. 7..Be6!?] 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qd1
So here's the main tabiya. After 9..Bc5 black has excellent minor piece deployment, and to add a further random feature to the game, black most often castles queen side to whites king side castling. My own favourite game, a win against ex Australian Champion Doug Hamilton was in this opening, but rather than singing my own praises, take a look at this recent game where a 2600ish GM gets smashed by a 2300ish player. Enjoy :D
The system that I have a soft spot for is the Hennig Schara Gambit. When I was a young player, Kasparov was not yet World Champion and was playing the Tarrasch Variation of the Queen's Gambit (among other fighting systems). It was back then in the mid 80's that I first really became aware of the Tarrasch and the amazing piece play that black can generate at the expense of pawn weaknesses. Certainly at club level a player who is good with active pieces should consider openings such as the Tarrasch which offer excellent play for the expense of a pawn.
It wasn't until the 1990's that I became aware of an interesting sideline of the Tarrasch, the Hennig Schara Gambit. Instead of accepting an isolated queen's pawn, black sacrifices a pawn again for great piece play. I didn't really take it too seriously at first as I can't really say I am that inspired by gambit openings generally. I'm more the sort of player who grabs poisoned pawns and tries to hold on to them! However, I was fully converted by 2 articles written by Irish correspondence GM Tim Harding. Harding has been writing a monthly column at chesscafe.com since the mid 1990's and many of his early columns were about odd openings that tend to crop up more often in correspondence play that over the board. His articles on the Hennig Schara (no 1, and no 2)were beautifully written and were good enough to make me believe in the opening. I've used it on a number of occasions, and have every intention of trying it out some more. As pawn sacrifices go, it is very enterprising, and there is no easy way for white to get anything out of the opening. The mainline goes 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 cxd4!? [The Gambit] 5.Qxd4 Nc6 [While white's queen grabs a central pawn, black is able to develop quickly and aggressively] 6.Qd1 exd5 7.Qxd5 [Now white will be a pawn up out of the opening, but with the centre wide open it's anybodys game] 7..Bd7 [Black can play a pawn down in a queenless position as well which is also interesting. 7..Be6!?] 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qd1
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Melbourne Clubs Round Up
As this blog is essentially a personal thing, I tend to focus mainly on local chess which I am familiar with and which means much to me. So here's a brief round up of what's happening around Melbourne at the moment.
Sorry to plug my own club first, but hey that's life! Melbourne's newest chess club, Glen Eira Chess Club has been closed for a couple of weeks but will reopen on this Friday, 19th July with a social night and some blitz. Soon after that we want to start with some long play round robin events and our aim is to build our membership. To help with this we have a brand new venue, the excellent Carnegie Library. Like before, we will run a junior club from 6 pm - 7 pm and then an adult club after that. We welcome all comers to our friendly little club! (Coffee rating of the neighbourhood is 4/5 with some really good cafes in Koornang Road)
The club that has been my home for the past 5 or so years, the Melbourne Chess Club, has started a new Monday night FIDE rated tournament, the 7-round Malitis Memorial. Congratulations go out to IM Mirko Rujevic for dominating the last event, the City of Melbourne Open, and he is playing in this event as well. The MCC is the only club open 7 days a week in Melbourne, so there is plenty for everyone whether you are a Grand Master or a beginner. The allegro tournaments on Saturday afternoons maintain their popularity. Going back to the Malitis Memorial, the first round happened last night and the top 2 seeds, Rujevic, and Malcolm Pyke overcame tricky juniors (Finley Dale and Jason Chew) to start their tournaments off with wins. However, there were plenty of upsets on the night, though as players improve rapidly it is almost harsh to call their victories upsets when their rating may be well below their actual playing strength. I don't really want to get too much into the first round, but I would like to wish Tom Kalisch a good tournament return to the MCC :) (Coffee rating of the neighbourhood 5/5 with some of the best cafes around Melbourne)
Box Hill Chess Club have their Tuesday night tournament starting tonight. In fact it should be underway as I write this. The Winter Cup is a 7-round swiss and is supposed to be run at the same time as the Box Hill Masters which is a usually a 10 player round robin event. However, I haven't seem anything about this which is a shame as I have fond memories playing in it, and I truly believe that there aren't enough round robin events at the moment. Box hill Chess Club do have 'Grades' tournaments starting this Friday, and possibly this is taking over from their Masters event, though I don't know. (Coffee rating of 4.5/5 though Maling Road's Post Office Cafe is a 10/10 by itself)
Noble Park Chess Club is gradually taking centre stage in Victorian Chess as their tournaments keep attracting large and strong fields. Noble Park are currently running their Masters event which is a 10 player round robin which is pretty strong. Top seeds are FM Chris Wallis and FM Dusan Stojic but these guys will have their work cut out to win this very tough event. Alongside this a challengers event is being run, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the following year's Masters. This promotion based system is really good for chess development, and Noble Park should be applauded for using it. (Coffee rating hmmm...no comment :D)
Further from the centre of Melbourne, this Saturday sees an impressive looking allegro being held at Frankston Chess Club. Like other suburban clubs such as Croydon and Hobson's Bay, Frankston is quietly doing the right things by their members, which is basically listening to what the people want and growing in stature because of it. All these clubs have a friendly atmosphere, and while all the players are fiercely competitive during the games, the clubs definitely cater more for people who prefer a social atmosphere. Although I won't be able to go to the allegro this Saturday, it already looks to be shaping up to be an excellent event. Meanwhile Croydon Chess Club have just run their annual weekender and what an amazing success it was! Croydon Chess Club have decided to run 1 weekender a year and run it well. The tournament had a capacity of about 50 players and the number was reached with an IM and 4 FMs in the field. In the end, John Nemeth and FM Dusan Stojic, both of Noble Park CC, shared first placed on 4.5/5. On the other side of town, Hobson's Bay Chess Club have now announced their annual weekender, the Best in the West tournament. This has always been a popular event, and it is good to see it happening again this year. Hobson's Bay CC have had to deal with the recent death of their influential member and organiser, Peter Caissa who will be sadly missed by the whole Victorian chess community. I'm sure that this year's Best in the West will be a fitting tribute to Peter.
(Coffee ratings: Frankston/Croydon no data available; Hobson's Bay 3/5 Altona has some ok coffee, though when the tournament was in Yarraville I'd have pushed things up to 4/5)
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| Frankston Allegro on July 20th |
Sorry to plug my own club first, but hey that's life! Melbourne's newest chess club, Glen Eira Chess Club has been closed for a couple of weeks but will reopen on this Friday, 19th July with a social night and some blitz. Soon after that we want to start with some long play round robin events and our aim is to build our membership. To help with this we have a brand new venue, the excellent Carnegie Library. Like before, we will run a junior club from 6 pm - 7 pm and then an adult club after that. We welcome all comers to our friendly little club! (Coffee rating of the neighbourhood is 4/5 with some really good cafes in Koornang Road)
The club that has been my home for the past 5 or so years, the Melbourne Chess Club, has started a new Monday night FIDE rated tournament, the 7-round Malitis Memorial. Congratulations go out to IM Mirko Rujevic for dominating the last event, the City of Melbourne Open, and he is playing in this event as well. The MCC is the only club open 7 days a week in Melbourne, so there is plenty for everyone whether you are a Grand Master or a beginner. The allegro tournaments on Saturday afternoons maintain their popularity. Going back to the Malitis Memorial, the first round happened last night and the top 2 seeds, Rujevic, and Malcolm Pyke overcame tricky juniors (Finley Dale and Jason Chew) to start their tournaments off with wins. However, there were plenty of upsets on the night, though as players improve rapidly it is almost harsh to call their victories upsets when their rating may be well below their actual playing strength. I don't really want to get too much into the first round, but I would like to wish Tom Kalisch a good tournament return to the MCC :) (Coffee rating of the neighbourhood 5/5 with some of the best cafes around Melbourne)
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| Downies Auctions recently sold these for $75. Was it an MCC member who bought them? |
Box Hill Chess Club have their Tuesday night tournament starting tonight. In fact it should be underway as I write this. The Winter Cup is a 7-round swiss and is supposed to be run at the same time as the Box Hill Masters which is a usually a 10 player round robin event. However, I haven't seem anything about this which is a shame as I have fond memories playing in it, and I truly believe that there aren't enough round robin events at the moment. Box hill Chess Club do have 'Grades' tournaments starting this Friday, and possibly this is taking over from their Masters event, though I don't know. (Coffee rating of 4.5/5 though Maling Road's Post Office Cafe is a 10/10 by itself)
Noble Park Chess Club is gradually taking centre stage in Victorian Chess as their tournaments keep attracting large and strong fields. Noble Park are currently running their Masters event which is a 10 player round robin which is pretty strong. Top seeds are FM Chris Wallis and FM Dusan Stojic but these guys will have their work cut out to win this very tough event. Alongside this a challengers event is being run, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the following year's Masters. This promotion based system is really good for chess development, and Noble Park should be applauded for using it. (Coffee rating hmmm...no comment :D)
Further from the centre of Melbourne, this Saturday sees an impressive looking allegro being held at Frankston Chess Club. Like other suburban clubs such as Croydon and Hobson's Bay, Frankston is quietly doing the right things by their members, which is basically listening to what the people want and growing in stature because of it. All these clubs have a friendly atmosphere, and while all the players are fiercely competitive during the games, the clubs definitely cater more for people who prefer a social atmosphere. Although I won't be able to go to the allegro this Saturday, it already looks to be shaping up to be an excellent event. Meanwhile Croydon Chess Club have just run their annual weekender and what an amazing success it was! Croydon Chess Club have decided to run 1 weekender a year and run it well. The tournament had a capacity of about 50 players and the number was reached with an IM and 4 FMs in the field. In the end, John Nemeth and FM Dusan Stojic, both of Noble Park CC, shared first placed on 4.5/5. On the other side of town, Hobson's Bay Chess Club have now announced their annual weekender, the Best in the West tournament. This has always been a popular event, and it is good to see it happening again this year. Hobson's Bay CC have had to deal with the recent death of their influential member and organiser, Peter Caissa who will be sadly missed by the whole Victorian chess community. I'm sure that this year's Best in the West will be a fitting tribute to Peter.
(Coffee ratings: Frankston/Croydon no data available; Hobson's Bay 3/5 Altona has some ok coffee, though when the tournament was in Yarraville I'd have pushed things up to 4/5)
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Monet on a Sunday
It's back to work to me tomorrow after a week off during school break. I have a relatively easy lead in with only half a normal week coming up as some schools start their chess programs in week 2 of term. Anyway, today was my last day off and I was blessed to share the day off with my wife, Caroline, so we decided to head to the National Gallery of Victoria to check out the Monet's Garden exhibition. I have seen some work of the Impressionist in Paris and New York, but never this much in one place. To have an exhibition devoted to just Monet, his life and work, was amazing. There was familiar work, but some stuff which I didn't know about and that really impressed me.
This painting of the Clichy region of Paris appealed to me in it's composition (and as a chess player who has played at the annual Clichy Open, it took me back to the time I was there). In fact, the philosophy of Monet seems to be for the artist to provide an experience for the audience, and his paintings are images of light and movement. Looking at the image above, the trees in the foreground aren't still, and Monet's beautiful brush work helps us to feel the breeze that he obviously felt while painting this scene.
Monet is best known for the paintings of his gardens at Giverny, the Japanese Bridge and the water lillies series. Seeing so many of these in the exhibition gave us a great feel for this amazing garden, and the final room had a fantastic wraparound film of the last day of the season of his garden. Seeing the house with its distinctive green shutters, the overhanging archway for his rose garden, the lake with lillies and bridge, gave the exhibition and Monet's paintings of his garden a context, and gave us, the audience, a chance to see his inspiration.
The vibrant reflections that make the lake and water lillies so wonderful, and the use of light and texture were major themes of the exhibition. Earlier in his life, Monet spent time in London which he loved because of the fog: ‘I love London much more than the English countryside; yes I adore London … but what I love more than anything is the fog’
The whole experience took no more than a couple of hours, and seeing so many of these masterpieces, and finding out about Monet's life was a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I feel I have a better understanding of Impressionist art, and have even looked online at some of his contemporaries, friends, and influences. So not only did the exhibition provide pleasure and information but also, for me at least. inspiration to look more into art as a whole, a subject I've paid little attention to over the years.
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| Springtime Through the Branches (courtesy Claude Monet Gallery) |
This painting of the Clichy region of Paris appealed to me in it's composition (and as a chess player who has played at the annual Clichy Open, it took me back to the time I was there). In fact, the philosophy of Monet seems to be for the artist to provide an experience for the audience, and his paintings are images of light and movement. Looking at the image above, the trees in the foreground aren't still, and Monet's beautiful brush work helps us to feel the breeze that he obviously felt while painting this scene.
Monet is best known for the paintings of his gardens at Giverny, the Japanese Bridge and the water lillies series. Seeing so many of these in the exhibition gave us a great feel for this amazing garden, and the final room had a fantastic wraparound film of the last day of the season of his garden. Seeing the house with its distinctive green shutters, the overhanging archway for his rose garden, the lake with lillies and bridge, gave the exhibition and Monet's paintings of his garden a context, and gave us, the audience, a chance to see his inspiration.
The vibrant reflections that make the lake and water lillies so wonderful, and the use of light and texture were major themes of the exhibition. Earlier in his life, Monet spent time in London which he loved because of the fog: ‘I love London much more than the English countryside; yes I adore London … but what I love more than anything is the fog’
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| Reflections on the Thames (courtesy of allposters.com) |
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