Wednesday 14 March 2012

Gold Coast Junior Masters + OCC + Fiji Open.

GOLD COAST JUNIOR MASTERS

As promised last post I went to the Junior Masters last weekend at Emmanuel College . This school provided excellent facilities for the event and several other events are to be held there in future for example the Gold Coast Active Championship on Sunday the 25th of March. Click on the link for the entry form.
Getting back to the tournament, apart from the Masters there was also an open on Sunday which was won convincingly by Jason Wang with 9/9!
The masters was played at a slower time-control over two days and ended in a tie between Raymond Liang and Oliver McCarthy with 6/7. Three of my students were playing. Kevin Song finished the tournament with a win over the top seed Matthew Piper with black and giving more than 400 Elo points head start!(4.5/7) =3rd.  David Liu who is currently rated  352 (!!) won his last three games finishing on a fantastic 4/7.
My third student missed the first two games due to basketball and left the event early probably due to other commitments scoring only one point. Blame his coach :-)

The Junior open.


It was a  pleasant surprise for me to see my former student GM David Smerdon on the weekend handing out prizes. We left independently but a few hours later met again accidentally on Burleigh Heads Beach. Great minds think alike :-) We went for a few beers at the Surf Life-saving Club with a few other chess-playing friends and caught up. David mentioned the Olympiad and asked if I was applying. I was unaware that the ACF had asked for applications as I had received no notification. He hadn't either but a friend of his who reads "Chesschat" had told him. It seems that this is the official organ of the ACF these days. I "suscribed" (try subscribe)  again for the newsletter, maybe this time.
Anyway while browsing the "in" chess site I happened upon a little discussion about the Oceanic Chess Confederation. It seems that there is an organisation....or maybe there isn't, you figure it out. Just in case you couldn't be bothered I have selected a few snippets for you.

another SHITE FITE in OZ

Dennis Jessop @ Brian Jones

I have done all that I can do to point out to you what the deficiencies in the OCC are. You have rejected my observations out-of-hand. If that is your attitude, to hell with you. There can be no resolution of this matter if you maintain an intransigent, uniformed and pig headed attitude. Some attempt to win friends rather than alienate potential supporters would reveal your human side, though I appreciate that subtlety and a sense of humour are not your strongest points.

IM Robert Jamieson @ Brian Jones

It is clear from the above, and this discussion in general, that Mr.Jones has little understanding of how to set up and run an organisation properly and, as such, is clearly ideally qualified to hold a high FIDE post.
I learnt many years ago that the best option was to avoid any dealings with Mr.Jones.

Brian Jones @ ACF & and retired chessplayers.

I am just an unpaid volunteer doing a job that few chess players want to do because of the shit they receive from the ACF Executive and from retired chess players who are too sick, lame or lazy to do the job themselves!

FIJI OPEN


While the executive of the ACF and the president of the Oceanic Chess Confederation are engaging in highly constructive discussions which are undoubtedly keeping them from doing something about the ACF website, one Oceanic nation is doing something that is of use to chess-players.  From the 5-12 of May they are holding an International tournament! Interested? Want to know more? Easy, just go to the Fiji Chess Federation Website! Yes, they have one, we don't. It is easy on the eye, full of useful information and up to date. Perhaps the Australian Chess Federation can take a Junket to Fiji to learn from the masters :D





Thursday 8 March 2012

About Queensland

Queensland Chess


I would like to share an email with you that I received from CAQ president Mark Stokes. After many years the Chess Association of Queensland is on the move again.

Hi Alex
          Bill Powell certainly did a fantastic job promoting Chess in Qld. His Calendar had 12 Open Events.

          The 2012  CAQ Calendar has 11 Open Events on it.

Feb 19 Bill Powell Open.

April 6 Qld Open

May 5 Peninsula Open Redcliffe

June 23 Gold Coast Open

Aug 11 Mackay Open

Aug 18 Bundaberg Open

Aug 25 Maryborough Open

Sept 8 Darling Downs Open

Sept 22 Nell Van Der Graff Classic  Gold Coast

Oct 6 Wendy Terry Memorial Open Redcliffe

Nov 24 Caloundra Open

The Queensland Championship, with $1000 for first, and with regional champions included, will be on during the new Queens Birthday Long Week-End at Sherwood in Brisbane.

Cheers   Mark C Stokes

                                                 Queensland Elections

In other Queensland news, last week our State elections got announced. I have not been paying attention to Australian, much less Queensland politics for a decade but the scene seems familiar. Our left leaning incumbents, the Labour party, led by Anna Bligh, has presided over several instances of mind-blowing incompetence the funniest of which a Clever Kiwi claiming to be a Tahitian Prince (no alarm bells yet?) scammed the health service for 16 million.

Her opponent is  Cambell Newman , the leader of the opposition party, the LNP (liberal national party). He was until recently the Lord Major of Brisbane. He has been in the news a lot recently in connection with an interesting Land deal the details of wihich also beggar belief.

Eerily similar to US elections a lot of the discussion is centred on issues like Gay marriage . Otherwise each is promising public funds to different interest groups. 

Democracy at work. We have a choice between half-wits and crooks like everywhere else but somehow it doesn't seem so bad here. Voting is compulsory so I will have to waste my vote on "neither of the above".

Gina & Donald


On the home front two Goats have joined the household. Gina is training to become a table-dancer and Donald


a hedge-trimmer? Goats like to climb on things...anything in fact. They also eat anything. Plants, grass, ropes, clothing, fingers if not removed rapidly etc.

That's all for today folks. Tomorrow a tournament in on on the Gold Coast but unfortunately I am about 30 years too old to play. Instead I will put on my journalist hat and bring you a report. Have a nice day :-)