Welcome to the Perth Chess Club

(Update 2023-05-29: Games from all rounds are now available for viewing and download (PGN) on the Tournament page.)

Report from Dylan Gough:

The 2023 Perth Club Championships have completed for another year and this year saw the greatest turnout ever. The tournament saw a record 54 entrants participate in 7 rounds of high quality chess.

The winner of the tournament literally came down to the last game of the final night on board 1, where newcomer and welcome member Viktor Spirin defeated an in-form Iker Hernandez Mendez to secure first place with a fantastic score of 6 out of 7. A win from Jamie Laubbacher in the last round helped him to leapfrog Iker for second place and Iker secured third place with some impressive chess over all the weeks. Well done to these three guys.

This year for the first time we will be introducing a reserves prize for the best performance of any player 1600 in rating and below. This year that prize goes to Lennon Kerr, one of our youngest players and one of a collection of many fast-improving juniors in today's game. Well played Lennon, keep up the good work.

A tournament like this is never possible without all the work behind the scenes in addition to coming along and playing. Special mention must go to Rob Maris and the crew who help with setup and pack away every week, often being the first to arrive and the last to leave. Also for the diligent team of Daniel Clarke, Dave Barry and others who consistently ensure that the games are PGN'd and placed onto the website for all to enjoy. The Tournament page also shows the cross table.

Thank you and congratulations to everybody for making this tournament a success. See you again next year.

The club will be holding an Allegro Tournament over the next two weeks. If you have not done so already and you wish to play, please notify me by text phone 0402 747 737 or email by start of play next Wednesday.

See you at the club.

(Update 2023-03-31: The PGN for the final round is now available on the Tournament page.)

Report from Dylan Gough:

Wednesday the 22nd March saw the conclusion of the 2023 Mary Thomson Cup. This year there was a record number of players (54) over six playing groups, all of which were closely contested right down until the last games were played. Below is a list of the final results.

Congratulations to the final six winners:

Group A: Jay Lakner
Group B: Ross List and David Barry
Group C: Dylan Gough
Group D: Ashley Michael
Group E: Kobe Wu and Jean Michel Maujean
Group F: John Brooke

Congratulations to these players having topped their division despite some tough opposition.

Also a thank you and acknowledgement goes out to those members who diligently put together and collated the PGN's every week. These are (as usual) available on the Tournament page, along with the cross tables.

The Ratings page has been updated with the March ACF and FIDE ratings.

The Perth Chess Club is now in recess. The club will re-open on 11 January; see the Calendar for all club events in 2023.

The Ratings page has been updated with the December PCC, ACF, and FIDE ratings.

(Update 2022-12-17: The PGN for the final round is now available on the Tournament page.)

Report from Dylan Gough:

Last Wednesday saw the conclusion of the 2022 Norbert Muller Cup. Whilst some of the results may not be a good representation of the quality of chess played, this is no reflection on the closeness of the games that were played week in, week out and played in great spirit. In summary these are the final winners for each division.

Division A: A consistent, no-loss effort from Derwent Maggs saw him fend off a late challenge from Jay Lakner to finish first and second respectively. Third place was a three-way tie and testament to the high quality chess being played involving Gyula Plaganyi, Alan Wolstencroft and Rob Maris.

Division B: The standout winner in division B was Dave O'Shaughnessy who didn't lose a game to register an almost perfect total to win the event with a round or two to spare. Great chess was played as this closely contested group were well matched and each game was a challenge. Second place with a great score of 4.5 was Chirag Doshi, half a point ahead of club veteran Wolfgang Leonhardt.

Division C: Division C was possibly the most closely contested group, with the final placings only decided in the last round. Congratulations to Stephen Hintz for coming out on top, keeping his nerve, playing great chess and securing a half-point victory over Franz Oswald and a further half-point back to the youngest player Yonal De Vas in third.

Division D: Player of the tournament across all divisions with the mercurial score of 7 wins from 7 games came from this group with Justin Massam achieving this outstanding result. Such were Justin's results over the course of the tournament that the biggest fight in the final two weeks came to be the battle for second which ended as a two-way tie between Jean-Michel Maujean and young Senudi De Vas on 5 out of 7.

Cross tables can be seen on the Tournament page, along with games for viewing and download (PGN).

The <Ratings page> has been updated with the latest PCC, ACF, and FIDE ratings.

Report from Dylan Gough:

The Wolfgang Leonhardt Cup and John Brooke Cup events are now concluded and there has been some quality chess played.

As we now journey into follow up events, let me fill you in on the standings in both events.

Firstly, the Wolfgang Leonhardt Cup. Going into round 7, a number of possibilities on the top boards could have brought about a different result but in the end, when the dust settled the top 3 placings were as follows:

1st, 5.5/7: Saminda De Vas
2nd, 5.5/7: Iker Hernandez Mendez

A strong win against Marc Saxon in the last round was enough to secure third place for Derwent Maggs (5.0/7) on countback ahead of Jacob Gibson (also 5.0/7).

Well done to all the players and to the three place getters, well played.

In the John Brooke Cup, after the final round there was a standout winner with 6 out of 7 points. Well done to Thomas Browning.

Only one point behind on 5 out of 7 and clear 2nd was Darren Powell.

Third after countback with a great tournament was Justin Massam on 4.5 out of 7.

Well done to all players and congratulations to the three place getters. Well played.

Cross tables, along with games available for viewing and download (PGN), are on the <Tournament page>.

This week we have the Fischer Random Tournament, which will be followed by the return match of the Bernard Anton and then the Norbert Muller Cup.

At its Annual General Meeting earlier this year, the Perth Chess Club awarded life membership to long-time member Victor Markou. The Member Profiles page now contains an entry for Victor, along with a draw he made against former world champion Max Euwe in a simul in 1972.

The Perth Chess Club has won the B and C divisions of this year's Harris-Edwardes Interclub tournament! Southern Suburbs won the A division, with Perth finishing third. Games from the B Division are available for viewing and download (PGN).

Dear Chessplayers,

The biennial Australian Open Championships is one of Australia's premier chess events. From 2nd-10th January 2023, this event will be run by the Chess Association of Western Australia, on behalf of the Australian Chess Federation.

The 2023 Australian Open will be a GM norm tournament, the first event in this category to be held on Australian shores since 2020. It will be an 11 round Swiss, open to all players regardless of rating.

The 2023 Australian Minor is another 11 round Swiss tournament, running parallel to the Australian Open. The Minor is restricted to players rated below 1500 FIDE (or 1600 ACF, for players without a FIDE rating).

The event will take place in the beautiful Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough. Players will be able to enjoy Scarborough's perfect beach, art projects, outdoor heated swimming pool, children's playgrounds, laid-back cafes, and a wide range of restaurants and vibrant bars along the beachside. There will also be some of the best chess that you will find anywhere. It has the makings of a memorable tournament.

Attached to this communication is a promotional flyer, which holds the answers to a range of initial questions regarding the tournament.

For further information, you might also visit our website.

If you have any queries, please get in touch with me by email (2023auschessopen@gmail.com) or by phone.

Please forward this message to anyone you know who may be interested in participating.

Kind regards,

Andrew Hardegen
Chief Organiser – 2023 Australian Open
(+61) 407 421 084

(Update: Games from the final round are now available on the <Tournament page>.)

Report from Rob Maris:

The Fred Maris Cup had 40 players competing in six rating groups with a time control of 50 mins plus 30 secs per move.

The "A" group was a 6-round swiss consisting of 16 players. In round 5 Marc Saxon defeated Iker Hernandez Mendez in an exciting game to go a point clear. However, in the last round Jacob Gibson defeated Marc whilst Iker defeated Daniel Clarke. This resulted in Marc and Iker sharing first place on 4.5/6, with Jacob third and Daniel equal fourth with an unbeaten Derek Roebuck. Stephen Phillip made an outstanding return to competitive chess, joining the "A" group in round 4 to score 2.5/3.

The final game of the "B" group between Yonal and Steven decided the winner. Yonal triumphed to win with 4/5; his only loss was to Charles Knight, who is also improving and finished second on 3.5/5.

Miles Sowden was leading the "C" group with 3/4 going into the last round. However, he was beaten by Justin Massam, so Martin Leech was able to overtake Miles to win the group with 3.5/5.

Going into the last round of the "D" group, Jake Watson and Darren Powell were both on 4/4. Darren was victorious to win the group, plus as the only player to win all of his games, Darren is the winner of the Fred Maris Perpetual Trophy. In his first rated tournament at the club, 11-year-old Dominic Davoll played impressively and scored 3/5 to finish third.

Ridge Kwenda went into the last round of the "E" group a point clear on 4/4. However, young Senudi defeated Ridge to share first place with him on 4/5.

The games are on the <Tournament page>; Daniel has kindly been entering these each week.

Report from Rob Maris:

The Allegro Championship was an 8-round swiss held over 2 weeks at the time control of 15 mins plus 3 secs per move.

Derwent was sole leader on 4/4 after the first week. However, in round 5 Marc Saxon defeated him to take the lead. Then in round 6 Marc was held to a draw by Alex Janceski, so Derwent was able to catch him up. Then in the final round Marc was beaten by Saminda De Vas who finished 2nd with him, whilst Derwent came 1st. Alex Janceski shared equal 4th with Josh Davoll and Vasil Nikolov. This tournament attracted 32 players, who competed in a good atmosphere and the tournament will be ACF Quick rated. Please see the cross-table for all players' results on the <Tournament page>.

The <Ratings page> has been updated with the June PCC, ACF, and FIDE ratings.

(Update: Games from round 7 are now available on the <Tournament page>.)

Report from Rob Maris:

An excellent turn out of 41 players took part in the Perth Club Championship, a 7-round swiss that is also FIDE rated.

This is the only normal rated tournament where players are in one swiss, so it gives members the chance to play those they don't usually meet (leading to plenty of upsets).

Derwent Maggs is the club champion after defeating Marc Saxon in the final round to score 6.5/7.

Jacob Gibson was an impressive second after winning against Alex Janceski in a instructive endgame.

Equal third were Marc Saxon, David Barry and Yonal De Vas, with Alex Janceski 6th.

As can be seen from the cross-table, a few of the other players that performed far above their rating: Ernest Boswarva scored 4 points, including a win over Ross List, plus draws with Dylan Gough and the out of form Rob Maris. Kuol Garang started with 3/3 which included early wins over Robert Stortz and Ross List, so faced a tough field. Sebastian Gough, although rated 40th, was able to win 3 games.

With thanks to Daniel Clarke and David Barry, the games are available to play on the <Tournament page>.

This tournament is included in the June ratings; only one new player (Ahmad) does not yet have a FIDE rating.

Lightning Championship; Fixed Openings

Mary Thomson Cup

For any rescheduling of games or contact details of members, please contact Rob Maris. Tel. 0434 018 624 or email <rob.maris@perthchessclub.org.au>.