tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-145398852009-07-11T19:38:13.171+10:00"Chess is very simple. He goes there, I go here. I go there, he goes here."The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.comBlogger2274125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-5331977819852596852009-07-11T19:33:00.002+10:002009-07-11T19:38:13.294+10:00

The Western Australian Closed Championships will be held from 12th to 13th July. It will be a 10-player round robin that will feature some familiar names such as Haydn Barber, Tristan Boyd, Yita Choong and Marc Vlietstra. It's an impressive lineup with half the players rated over 2000. Also participating is one who should be well-known to some Sydney players, Akef Abdat. He must have moved west!

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-85517221757246364732009-07-09T22:16:00.003+10:002009-07-09T22:23:14.900+10:00

The PNG's Joselito Marcos dropped in and posted an analysis of the last few moments of his game against Marc Vlietstra from the Gold Coast Open. Here's the starting position.The ex-Pinoy lost this one, but not before giving his Western Australian opposition a tough fight until the very end. Joselito takes over from here.2009 Gold Coast OpenVlietstra, MarcMarcos, JoselitoC1141. bxc3 Bh3!(Black

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-3403284916661772152009-07-08T13:06:00.001+10:002009-07-08T13:08:27.903+10:00

This just in. My Chessdom.com contacts have just emailed me this special news that the two K's, Gary Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov, will reprise their over-the-board rivalry with a 12-game match later this year. The event is set to take place in Valencia, Spain.

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-62262071219972353482009-07-06T23:12:00.001+10:002009-07-06T23:14:05.851+10:00

From The Guardian paper, this little tidbit about former English cricket star Freddie Flintoff:Born in Preston 31 years ago, Flintoff grew up in a cricket-mad family: his father played on Saturday afternoons, his brother Chris joined him, and his mother made the teas. "So from an early age I was being pushed around the boundary, playing at the side," he recalls. But he never rebelled against it,

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-49485079309694130782009-07-05T23:01:00.004+10:002009-07-05T23:49:46.927+10:00

GM Ian Rogers' column in the Sun Herald today has an optimistic take on the future of Australian chess. Commenting on the just released July FIDE ratings:Overall, Australia is ranked 58th on the world list; a position that is unlikely to improve more than incrementally until the new wave of young players begin to displace seven players aged 39 or more in positions 3 to 10 on the Australian

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-3930305335334291652009-07-04T21:34:00.002+10:002009-07-04T21:38:39.543+10:00

Earlier this year I posted about the case of Indian grandmaster G.N. Gopal who was banned by his federation for not playing. Now just few months later, the All India Chess Federation has decided to take the just step of revoking that ban. From Latest Chess: "All India Chess Federation took an important decision to revoke a one year ban on Grand Master G.N. Gopal. The decision was taken at the

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-30956692427726390072009-07-02T15:42:00.008+10:002009-07-02T16:38:41.420+10:00

The Sydney Academy of Chess's FM Brett Tindall was contacted by a TV production house recently apparently because they were looking for potential candidates for an upcoming local version of Beauty and the Geek. First launched in the US and co-produced by Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk), the show, at its core, is basically your standard challenge and elimination reality TV.More about the US show

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-75190439110778221152009-07-01T18:13:00.002+10:002009-07-01T18:24:46.186+10:00

Last week's penultimate round skirmish in the Zonal tournament between Australia's two young talents, Zong Yuan Zhao and eventual winner David Smerdon had us all on the edge of our seats. Well now there is even more reason to be excited. In just over a month, Aussie GM-elect David Smerdon will be taking on New Zealand's hottest talent, IM Puchen Wang! A chess retailer across the Tasman, Chess

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-89190551236364117682009-06-30T22:06:00.002+10:002009-06-30T22:10:27.399+10:00

If you haven't had enough chess after the Gold Coast or just want to get in some weekend action, then a couple of days in the city of churches could be just the thing. On 4 and 5 July will be the Freytag Checkmate Open, dubbed as "South Australia's #1 Weekend Chess Event". Already registered to participate are two GMs - David Smerdon and Daryl Johansen.Sadly, I won't be there. I've just checked

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-17302762374330912892009-06-29T23:16:00.008+10:002009-06-30T00:09:05.190+10:00

Englishman grandmaster Gawain Jones turned from keen spectator of the just completed Zonal tournament to top seed and eventual winner of the 7-round Gold Coast Open. He outpointed his rivals with 6 points, dropping a single game to IM Puchen Wang of New Zealand.For Wang, who is on a chess scholarship at the University of Texas, it was a good outing overall as he also took out Zonal champ, David

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-89591530770946497312009-06-27T22:22:00.006+10:002009-06-29T12:30:08.788+10:00

I'll post a summary later on about the just completed Zonal tournament, but for now let me just say congrats to both David Smerdon and Arianne Caoili for winning their respective events. Quite apart from their OTB performances, these two really impressed during the closing ceremony. Articulate and intelligent, both are very good representatives of our game.Winners: GM David Smerdon and WIM

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-52064523368481614402009-06-26T14:23:00.002+10:002009-06-26T14:26:36.145+10:00

With a last round draw against IM Stephen Solomon, Melbourne's FM James Morris (who, by the way, only received his FM certificate yesterday from FIDE) elevated his title to that of international master.

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-13389017951947362802009-06-26T09:50:00.001+10:002009-06-26T09:50:23.022+10:00

Live Blog - Zonal Round 9

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-74847512471847139352009-06-26T09:27:00.003+10:002009-06-26T09:54:01.894+10:00

Here's what has been confirmed so far this morning. Tomek Rej and James Morris go home with norms. Although if Rej wins, he goes home with the title! Igor Bjelobrk needs to win.In the women, the info I have is that Anton will need a win to secure the WFM title. If she draws, then she'll need other results to go her way. But I know that Caoili will do everything she can to stop Anton.

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-66811126653219084812009-06-25T15:31:00.000+10:002009-06-25T15:32:33.726+10:00

Live Blog - Zonal Round 8

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-2915222521057149972009-06-24T20:28:00.002+10:002009-06-24T20:30:21.472+10:00

The live blogging widget is currently undergoing maintenance. Not much we can do about that. Transmission from the zonal is interrupted.

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-27716048651186839032009-06-24T15:43:00.001+10:002009-06-24T15:43:37.438+10:00

Live Blog - Zonal Round 7

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-21100152600630433042009-06-24T01:02:00.005+10:002009-06-24T11:11:36.134+10:00

Here's a little tidbit of news that I obtained courtesy of PNG Olympiad rep Rupert Jones. Melbourne's IM Mirko Rujevic, who is here in the Zonal tournament, will participate in the upcoming South African Open. But the most interesting aspect is that Mirko will play his games via the net, specifically through www.chesscube.com.Also participating in the SA Open via chesscube.com will be GM Gawain

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-80804340591079307072009-06-23T17:06:00.002+10:002009-06-23T17:11:37.480+10:00

The much anticipated showdown between the first seed, IM Irina Berezina, and the second seed, WIM Arianne Caoili, turned out to be a fizzer. A draw.Of both players it was Arianne, holding the white pieces, who had the better position. She knew that and wasn’t happy about the result. Later in the officials’ room she was harsh on herself saying, “I'm totally gutless". That is, referring to her

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-51569104023305666972009-06-23T16:08:00.002+10:002009-06-23T16:15:46.104+10:00

Courtesy of Peter Parr's latest column I've just now learnt that GM Ian Rogers saw OTB combat last month in the 22nd Mohd Badshah Memorial Open Chess Championships in Fiji. He finished the event with a perfect score.As far as I know this is Rogers' first serious action since he announced his retirement nearly 2 years ago at the Lidums Checkmate Open. So, is GM Rogers making a comeback? We'll have

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-13418548225112948712009-06-23T13:30:00.002+10:002009-06-23T13:41:39.118+10:00

I've just stepped out of the Oceania Zone meeting and I can let slip this unofficial news that the next Oceania Zonal tournament is likely to be held in Rotorua, New Zealand. That will take place in 2011. The critical missing piece now is funding. No dates have been set.The meeting which is currently under way and attended by FIDE general secretary Ignatius Leong and hosted by the zone president

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-73939738721796139572009-06-22T11:17:00.000+10:002009-06-22T11:18:08.776+10:00

Live Blog - Zonal Day 3

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-14601091915600035522009-06-22T09:25:00.005+10:002009-06-23T16:17:09.446+10:00

Day two saw the most bizarre incident so far in the Zonal tournament. Playing black against Sydney's IM Irina Berezina, Kiwi lass Sue Maroroa resigned her position after just 8 moves into the game. I watched her sobbing as she and Irina exchanged scoresheets. So, did Maroroa somehow walk into a trap? Was she losing a piece? Neither. Check it outBerezina I.Maroroa S.1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-18839999465603575262009-06-21T11:17:00.001+10:002009-06-21T11:17:56.497+10:00

Live Blog - Zonal Day 2

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14539885.post-42551212497541034342009-06-21T11:16:00.001+10:002009-06-21T11:17:14.068+10:00

This being Queensland you do tend to see a few strange things. Like yesterday at lunch time, for instance, I spotted some bloke who was dressed all in pink! From head to toe. As if that wasn't bad enough he sported some serious VPL. For the uninitiated that's "visible panty lines".Over the board there were a few, let's say, unexpected outcomes but not quite as strange as a pink-clad fellow. In

The Closet Grandmasterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17680425849888374045noreply@blogger.com0