Will I be following the Candidates Tournaments? You bet!! The next 3 weeks will be full on. The Candidates events will dominate the chess scene until April 23rd and on the 25th April, a 9-round tournament starts in Hobart that I'd like to play. That runs through until 28th April, which means the whole month in pretty much worked out.
April is officially chess month!!
Although the Candidates will dominate the chess news, it is not the only event on, and as I know none of the Candidates personally, following events with people I know can be just as interesting. I'm of the opinion that the most important event for anyone should be the one they are personally involved in, either as a player, a helper, or a friend of a participant/helper. Currently, the Melbourne International Chess Open is being held at my old club, the Melbourne Chess Club. There are a lot of players that I know personally in this event, as there were in last week's annual Doeberl Cup in Canberra. In that event, there were a bunch of very talented primary school kids playing: Ashwath Kaushik of Singapore who became the youngest player in history to beat a Grand Master late last year; Reyaansh Chakrabarty, who also beat a Grand Master earlier this year at Victoria's annual Ballarat tournament in March; and Rheyansh Annapureddy, who I am glad to say I have beaten when he was probably 7 or 8 years old, and already a tough competitor. This is a scalp that I will have when he becomes a great player in the next few years.
Rheyansh put up an incredible fight in round 1 against top Australian IM James Morris. Both players had to play a difficult rook and bishop vs rook ending with very little time on their clocks.
As Black, Rheyansh had made 41 of the 50 moves necessary for a draw when the position above was reached. It is a difficult defence, and the youngster had played heroically to last this long, but he finally committed an error that the experienced IM pounced on. 138..Ra7? allowed White to force a win with 139.Bb3+ Ka2 140.Rh1 [142.Rh2 was quicker, but let's not quibble] 140..Rc7+ 141.Bc4, and Black has to give up their rook to avoid immediate mate.
From the position, it was better for Black to keep their rook active, pinning White's bishop so 138..Rc8 was a drawing move, when White has to make their position worse. For example, 139.Rh1 Ka5 140.Rh6 Ra8
Why I will be voting for an Indigenous Voice in Parliament:
1. This was a key part of the Uluru Statement. At that time a majority of the country seemed to back Indigenous opinion and rights. I guess the change now has come from a negative, anti-Indigenous misinformation campaign.
2. Constitutional representation of First Nations Peoples is an enshrined right in the UN Charter. We can't cherry pick the rights we like and blank those we don't like
3. First Nations people are in the best position to say whether a constitutional Voice would be a good thing, and they seem to be saying it would. I don't want to impose my white background on a decision which doesn't affect me.
4. I lived in Melbourne for about 15 years where I was fed the lie of the city's great cultural diversity. In fact, like the rest of Australia, it seemed to me to be predominantly White with huge discriminatory problems affecting Indigenous, Asian, African etc groups. And Melbourne probably is more liberal than other cities! So I will support the Indigenous identity in the Voice Referendum and stand with under represented, or minority groups, who have faced discrimination and are still being subjected to discrimination now.
Hopefully, the Voice will be a step towards Australia's Indigenous peoples having a better life.
You often hear people saying that they clearly remember what they were doing when 9/11 struck, when Princess Diana died, or when JFK was shot, those historic newsworthy moments. I can only remember the first two of these as I am too young to remember Kennedy's murder. I was in Florence/Firenze, Italy, when I heard about 9/11 and in Stratford-upon-Avon in England the morning after Diana's death when I heard the news.
The same will be said for Trump in the future. Even now, people are reminiscing about what they were doing on January 6th 2021, but any indictments that stick will be massive news. There have been some highly prominent trials in the fairly recent past, with Saddam Hussein and OJ Simpson coming prominently to mind. But these will be nothing compared to what we can expect from the upcoming Trump trials.
Currently there are 4 major cases in Florida (secret documents), New York (Stormy Daniels hush money), Washington (January 6th), Georgia (election interference). There's also the civil case brought by E Jean Carroll and possible future indictments about retaining documents in his Bedminster home. There's a good case tracker in the Guardian.
Of all of these, the January 6th case seems the most important after the dramatic scenes of the US Capitol being stormed. It may not be the one that eventually brings Trump down, but it is certainly an epic trial, hinting at insurrection and treason. Living in Australia, we often hear American news the next day because of time zone differences. But the news of this indictment came to me in real time as I was climbing the Nut in Stanley to try to see a sunrise. The Nut is a large headland overlooking the historic town of Stanley and the surrounding coastline of North West Tasmania. The walk around the Nut gives great panoramic views and is listed as one of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks.
Unfortunately, I was not to see a sunrise because of cloudy weather, but I did see a lot of beautiful scenery, lots of gorse showing and wattle beginning to flower, and a load of pademelons, small marsupials that look like little wallabies.
Gorse grows abundantly in Tasmania although considered an invasive species
Wattle flowers beginning to show on this Coastal Wattle
I'm writing a lot about travelling around Tasmania at the moment, because, funnily enough, I'm travelling around Tasmania. But while I'm away, I'll miss the Tasmanian Rapid Championship where I'm the defending Champion. The tournament is being held in Burnie in the north of the state, while I'll be over on the east coast at that time. To be honest, I didn't have much choice with timing because of my house renovation, it's just a little sad that the two things coincided. Ah well, never mind.
And I'm still following the Victorian State Championship with interest. Top seed, IM Stephen Solomon took 2 half point byes in the first two rounds, but then has since been held to two draws leaving him well off the pace after 4/9 rounds. He'll probably need a clean sweep of 5/5 in the second half if he wants a chance at first place. It will be interesting, as he is definitely capable of that sort of run. There are still two players on 4/4 and surprisingly neither of them are hot favourites for the event. Both are untitled with Cheng Dai being the 8th seed and Tejas Datar 11th. But they are just two of a bunch of talented young players who are really taking it to the established elite.
Standings: Datar, Dai 4/4; FM Wallis 3.5; Rozuwiecka, FM Ilic 3; Ilic, FM Soo, CM Bassig, Gibson, FM Nemeth, IM Rujevic, Annapureddy, Zafirakos, J. Li, Raine 2.5...36 players.
It seems I'll also miss the next Australian Championships which is being held in Adelaide from 2-14 January 2024. I have apparently qualified as Tasmanian State Champion. but won't be able to play. I can't see a website for it, but it is another event to look forward to. the last time I played in the Australian Championship was 2016, when I scored a creditable 5/11 including Draws with FM Nakauchi, IM Tan, Choong, Puccini, Nemeth and a win against IM Andrew Brown. I also scored a draw with my dear friend Malcolm Pyke who I remember fondly...
I had some fortune along the way, including the draw against Jack Puccini who wasn't an FM then, but is now a strong FM.
As Black I'd been fighting a losing battle for some time, until Jack just took one pawn too many with this swindle that I'd set. 1.Rxc6? Rd2 with a miracle draw 4 pawns down. Black will play Nh2-f3-h2-f3 and White can do little to stop it. The game finished 2.Ne2 Nxh2+ 3.Kf1 Nf3+ and Jack accepted the draw by moving his king back to e1.
We left Stanley and headed south to Queenstown along the Murchison Highway. The Murchison Highway is named because it passes the Murchison ranges and Mt Murchison, the highest mountain in the region, a little bit higher than Mt Wellington/Kunanyi. Mt Murchison was named after the geologist, Baronet Roderick Murchison. Interestingly, Murchison made great discoveries helping to map the age of rocks and establish the Silurian system. His work was based on the successive age of rock groups and he also discovered elements leading to the later Devonian period being established. But he opposed Darwin's revolutionary evolutionary theories, believing that species were created in successive waves over long geological periods until humans were finally created. In Queenstown, there is a garden with rocks and geological information about them, the oldest being over a billion years old Quartzite.
Nelson Falls flowing freely after heavy rain
This particular part of our journey saw both Caroline and I weary. I guess the combination of driving and cold weather had taken its toll and we didn't do as much as in Stanley. The drive down was during very heavy rain which meant driving slowly but it also allowed us to go to Nelson Falls and witness it in full flow. The walk to the falls is through lush, moss covered, forest with plenty of myrtle beech and sassafras trees as well as ferns of many different types and is well worthy of being one of the 60 Great Short Walks of Tasmania.
The Nelson River running through moss covered forests
We also took a drive to Strahan, a small coastal town set in a bay on the west coast. The Ocean Beach is the longest in Tasmania at about 40 km, while the area is dominated by the Henty Dunes and Henty River. The River was named after William Henty, a lawyer and member of the legislative council of Tasmania. The Henty family were largely based in Victoria and are considered an important colonial family in that part of Australia's history. We followed the Henty River (panerunner is the believed aboriginal name?) and then the Little Henty River before heading back to Queenstown.
Henty River
Stormy conditions at Ocean Beach, Strahan
Learning about the land we live on, it's history and cultural significance, as well as it's natural beauty and features, will be a lifelong endeavour. But for now, here's a start on a day off from sightseeing to refresh and reflect.
After driving to Stanley, we decided to use it as a base to explore the North West of Tasmania a little. To be fair, this is only going to be a taste of the Island which we'll hopefully be able to explore in more depth over the years.
The journeys from Stanley on Days 2 and 3
On day 2 the main effort was a journey to the coast. But I decided to take a walk up The Nut in Stanley to see if a sunrise would happen. It didn't because of cloud cover, but I did hear about Trump's latest indictment while taking my early morning walk!
The Nut overlooking the town of Stanley
Some of the best views of the North Coast are from The Nut
When I got back to our hotel, Caroline and I headed off to Arthur's River and the Edge of the World where nothing stands between us and South America on this latitude. The sea is big and the waves are immense as the Roaring Forties rage in from the Southern Ocean. After checking out the Edge of the World we went back to Stanley via a stop at West Point where we saw wombats roaming around and the most amazing rocks and surf.
Foamy seas at the Edge of the World
Great surf crashing into the rocks at West Point
Tasmania is a lush, verdant land. This pond has formed inland at West Point
We were both aching a bit when we woke this morning, but decided to take a trip to Dip Falls Forest Reserve. And what a trip! The falls were flowing madly after recent rains. The sound was thunderous as the water cascaded over 2 drops of about 40 metres total. It was the most powerful waterfall I've seen in Australia, and the forest surrounds were lush and verdant. After viewing the falls we walked to some huge trees, over 60 metres tall and one giant was 17 metres in girth around the bottom.
The monumental Dip Falls
Dip Falls, lower tier (Caroline's photo)
Since coming to Tasmania a year ago, we've learned that the island is full of waterways. There are many rivers, including some major systems like the Derwent in the south, the Esk in the North, the Gordon in the West and the Huon in the south east, but there are some other major rivers that are less systemic like the Arthur River in the North West which is the state's third longest river. The Dip River flows from the Dipwood Mountain range to its east, and then carries on north until it joins the Black River which also comes out of the same range. Tasmania also has a large number of lakes some of which we will be seeing on our trip in days to come, and is, of course, surrounded by sea. So the island is incredibly lush all over.
Lots of fungus around in the damp conditions like this Coral Tooth Fungus
This massive Brown Top Paperbark is over 60 metres high and has a 17 metre girth!
Ferns are abundant, and some even look to be smiling at you 😊
The lush, verdant Dip River Forest Reserve
It's a great place for walking, although a lot of the walking tracks are quite challenging. There is a list of Tasmania's 60 Great Short Walks which I'm beginning to work my way through. Stanley Nut is one of the walks in this series, and I'm hoping to get to a couple more before the trip is through.
Due to our house turning into a building site because we're having our bathroom renovated, we decided to leave the builders to it and take a road trip around our new home state. We moved to Tasmania just over a year ago (26 July 2022) settling in Beaconsfield in the Tamar Valley, north of the state's second biggest city, Launceston. Actually, calling Launceston a city is a bit of a stretch, as a lot of towns in the UK are bigger, and my birth town, Basingstoke, is about twice the size of Launceston!
Penguin is a small seaside town on the northern Tasmanian coast that is crazy about penguins!
So yesterday, we took a leisurely drive across the north coast from our central position westward. The drive started by cutting inland, skirting Narawntapu National Park, but then catching the coast at Devonport where the Spirit of Tasmania sails to Victoria which was how I'd come to Tasmania last year. From Devonport, it was a mostly coastal drive, including a coffee stop at the picturesque seaside town of Penguin. We arrived at our destination, Stanley mid afternoon, and settled into our hotel, and explored a little. We are staying here a few days, hoping to get to Arthur's River and the Edge of the World coastline before heading south on the next stage of the journey.
Penguin's fabulous Uniting Church
Rocky Cape National Park
This really cool Exchange Library apparently appeared in Penguin in 2019 and has been here since!
The Victorian Chess Championship started yesterday as a 9-round, one game per week, elite swiss event for the top 36 rated players entered. Now I know organisers have a hard time of it, but I have a few issues with this event. First, if this is an elite event, then why are none of the top 5 active players in the state playing? GM Bobby Cheng is currently overseas and will be playing in the World Cup at the end of July so there is a clash for him (although I'm not actually sure he's resident in Victoria at the moment), but GM Johansen, IM's Morris and Dale, and FM Puccini could play.
FM Chris Wallis is the highest rated player on the active list who is playing, and good on him as Chris rarely misses the chance to play in this event. In fact, the first time I played in the Victorian Championship I had to play against Chris when he was still a junior, a very strong one, but still a junior. Back then, in 2006 the tournament was arranged as round robin events where each round was played at different clubs in metro Melbourne. As the clubs meet on different days and at different times, it was a cumbersome event, but the top division was always strong, with the lowest rated players rarely dropping below 2000. I came equal first with Chris in the 2006 challengers event, so we both qualified for the 2007 Championship and both played regularly thereafter. This format was the brainchild of Victorian President Gary Wastell, but when he took over the mantel of Australian Chess Federation President and Leonid Sandler became Victorian President, the tournament format changed.
The first change was that the Victorian Championship stopped being shared around the clubs and found a single venue to host. While this is less inclusive and representative of the Melbourne chess scene, it is certainly more convenient for players who can fix a regular time and day and place in their calendar. Box Hill Chess Club has been the regular host of the event for a number of years. As one of the bigger and stronger clubs, this has meant the event has a good turn out, though it certainly favours players who live on the east of the city. I think it is safe to say that no venue will be perfect for all players! The second change was that the event morphed from being a round robin to an elite swiss tournament of 24 players and this year has expanded to 36 players. While this gives more chance for more players to compete, it makes the event less elite. It also makes the tournament less unlike other events that clubs run through their calendar year in Melbourne and Victoria. I'm looking at the field and seeing a strongish open field, but nothing that much stronger than the top events that the stronger clubs are running.
So what is the answer? Actually, is there an answer? I personally feel that if the top players don't want to compete, then tough for them and good luck for those who bothered to turn out. Liren Ding is the current World Champion because he was the best player who bothered to show up for the event. In this respect, and seeing the format if becoming more like open swiss tournaments, I can't see why it isn't a weekend tournament, or perhaps held over 2 weekends. There could even be a minimum rating requirement, like in the Doeberl Cup, and if numbers allowed, a second division could be held. I think Queensland holds an under 1600 event, or something like that. Would top players play in a weekend event? IM and Victorian number 2 played in the recent Victorian Open Championship at the Melbourne Chess Club in June. I would mention an increased prize fund, but the Victorian Open didn't have a significantly larger prize fund than the Victorian Championship has....
This year's Championship isn't bad. It has 2 IM's Stephen Solomon and Mirko Rujevic, and 4 FM's Chris Wallis, Kai Jie Soo, John Nemeth and Nick Ilic. There are 12 players rated over 2000 on the ACF rating list and 11 on the FIDE list, but a lot of the players are young and probably under rated. Because it is a swiss event, the organisers have allowed players to take byes and in the first round, top seed Solomon took advantage of this. Of the games that were played only 3 of the 16 went against the ratings in the first round. IM Mirko Rujevic was held to a draw by Marcus Raine and under rated players Anna Rozuwiecka and Douglas Dias upset Hamish Bassig and James Hartley respectively. Otherwise the top seeds came through, though not always with ease. Top seed Chris Wallis lost a pawn early on to Randheer Thogata, but played on as if nothing had happened until the following position was reached.
Castling on opposite sides means that the pawn deficit isn't so pronounced, and Chris as White has just lost another pawn on f4, though this was a greedy grab by Black that was punished efficiently by the top seeded FM. White played the exchange sacrifice 22.Rxf4! opening the long diagonal and after 22..exf4 23.Ne4 White's knight and bishop combination cutting into Black's weakened dark square complex was too much to defend. Black resigned just 10 moves later!
