About Scott

A full-time Engineer but part-time chess nut. Ask me about chess coaching (0478 572 688) or visit betterchess.org.

Please make sure you attend your game!

Posted on 13 April 2018 by Scott

Just a quick reminder about coming to chess when you are paired to play! Some players travel considerable distance to play at the club, therefore in fairness to players who attend we need to make sure that they get a game, preferably against their paired opponent.

All games get underway by 7:30pm, with a 30 minute forfeit period.

Please ensure that Steven is advised either by email or phone if you can’t attend on a night that you are paired to play (phone only if notifying on the day of the game). If he is notified he will try to contact your opponent. In addition, if you know in advance that you cannot attend a round, Steven should be advised as soon as possible so that the computer can allocate requested byes.These policies are in place to make every effort to ensure that all players attending the club actually get to play.

At the 2017 AGM we adopted the following policy for failure to attend without previous advice:

1st time in tournament – Warning and player needs to confirm that they are wishing to continue.
2nd time in tournament – Player withdrawn from tournament.

New time format for long-time games

Posted on 12 April 2018 by Scott

We conducted a ballot on whether future rated tournaments would remain at 60 minutes + 30 seconds a move as per the Purdy Cup or revert to 75 minutes + 30 seconds a move. The results of the ballot were clear, with 19 votes cast for the former and 9 for the latter. Therefore, tournaments will use the 60 minutes + 30 seconds a move time control for at least the remainder of 2018. This can be re-visited at the AGM at year end.

Personally, I don’t think the chess quality has suffered unduly, but the shorter time frame gives us all an opportunity for a slighter earlier night.

Purdy Cup final round results

Posted on 12 April 2018 by Scott

Dean and Ronald played out a draw in the final round, so Dean won the event on 4.5/5. This also qualifies him to play in the Club Championship later in the year. Congratulations Dean!

Round 5 (Final round) results

 1 = Enano,Ronald         ( 3.5) - Hogg,Dean            ( 4.0) =   7 -   1 = ½ - ½
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2 = Beaumont,David       ( 3.0) - Nowak,Ruben          ( 3.0) =   2 -  13 = 1 - 0
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  3 = Gusain,Daniel        ( 3.0) - Minichelli,Felice    ( 3.0) =   4 -  19 = 1 - 0
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  4 = Hogan,Steven         ( 3.0) - Ilic,Milan           ( 3.0) =  11 -   8 = 0 - 1
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  5 = Johns,Brent          ( 2.5) - Szuveges,Narelle S   ( 2.5) =  23 -   5 = 0 - 1
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  6 = Salanowski,Mark      ( 2.0) - Mullen,Chris         ( 2.0) =   9 -  17 = 1 - 0
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  7 = Ryan,Isaac           ( 2.0) - McIntyre,Julian      ( 2.0) =  10 -  21 = 1F-0F
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  8 = Russo,Guy            ( 2.0) - Saric,Sergey         ( 2.0) =  12 -  37 = 0 - 1
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  9 = Hunt,Philip E        ( 2.0) - McIntyre,Charlie     ( 2.0) =  20 -  15 = 1 - 0
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 10 = Kostakakis,Angelo    ( 2.0) - Ramos,Antonio        ( 2.0) =  24 -  16 = 0 - 1
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 11 = Humphreys,Scott      ( 1.5) - Richards,Derek       ( 2.0) =   6 -  14 = 1 - 0
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 12 = Watson,Nicolas       ( 0.0) - ( bye )              ( 0.0) =  39 -   0 = 1    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13 = Bejjanki,Pranav Sai  ( 1.5) - Kurian,Max           ( 1.0) =  29 -  36 = 0 - 1
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 14 = Minic,Branislav      ( 1.0) - Clerk,Max            ( 1.0) =  33 -  26 = 0 - 1
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 15 = Whitford,Matthew     ( 1.0) - Mathew,Daniel        ( 1.0) =  22 -  32 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 16 = Tagala,Randy         ( 1.0) - Clerk,Felix          ( 1.0) =  35 -  28 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 17 = Nawar,Mena           ( 0.0) - Deraniyagala,Kevin   ( 0.5) =  38 -  27 = 0 - 1

Final Standings

Pos  Pts  ID  NAME                         | Rtg  PRtg Fed |   Buc1    BucT  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1  4.5   1     Hogg,Dean                 | 2034 2037 VIC |    13.5 
  2  4.0   7     Enano,Ronald              | 1708 1520 VIC |    13.0 
  3  4.0   2     Beaumont,David            | 1996 1758 VIC |    12.5 
  4  4.0   4     Gusain,Daniel             | 1868 1676 VIC |    12.0 
  5  4.0   8     Ilic,Milan                | 1581 1514 VIC |     9.0 
  6  3.5   5 WIM Szuveges,Narelle S        | 1735 2150 VIC |    11.5 
  7  3.0   3  CM Davis,Tony J          (W) | 1903 2154 VIC |    13.0 
  8  3.0  11     Hogan,Steven              | 1467 1381 VIC |    12.5    14.5 
  9  3.0  13     Nowak,Ruben               | 1439 1377 VIC |    12.5    14.0 
 10  3.0  19     Minichelli,Felice         | 1251 1591 VIC |    12.0    14.0 
 11  3.0  16     Ramos,Antonio             | 1356 1195 VIC |    12.0    12.5 
 12  3.0  10     Ryan,Isaac                | 1542 1047 AUS |    11.0 
 13  3.0  20     Hunt,Philip E             | 1090 1465 VIC |    10.5 
 14  3.0   9     Salanowski,Mark           | 1556 1091 VIC |    10.0 
 15  3.0  37     Saric,Sergey              | 1129 1176 VIC |     9.0 
 16  2.5   6     Humphreys,Scott           | 1713 1303 VIC |    11.5    13.5 
 17  2.5  23     Johns,Brent               |  985 1026 VIC |    11.5    13.0 
 18  2.0  14     Richards,Derek            | 1430 1193 VIC |    14.0 
 19  2.0  15     McIntyre,Charlie          | 1400 1235 VIC |    13.5 
 20  2.0  12     Russo,Guy                 | 1464  898 VIC |    12.5 
 21  2.0  17     Mullen,Chris              | 1351  755 VIC |    12.0    14.0 
 22  2.0  36     Kurian,Max                |    0  887 VIC |    12.0    13.0 
 23  2.0  21     McIntyre,Julian           | 1054  755 VIC |    11.5 
 24  2.0  22     Whitford,Matthew          | 1037  944 VIC |    11.0    12.5 
 25  2.0  25     Davis,Sophie          (W) |  845 1447 VIC |    11.0    12.5 
 26  2.0  24     Kostakakis,Angelo         |  886  846 AUS |    11.0    11.5 
 27  2.0  26     Clerk,Max                 |  631  922 VIC |    10.5 
 28  2.0  35     Tagala,Randy              |    0 1022     |     9.0 
 29  1.5  29     Bejjanki,Pranav Sai       |  352  618 VIC |    11.0 
 30  1.5  27     Deraniyagala,Kevin        |  520  631 VIC |     9.5 
 31  1.0  18     Wootten,Rory          (W) | 1318 1234 VIC |    12.0 
 32  1.0  34     Pope,Roger            (W) |    0  551 VIC |     9.5    11.0 
 33  1.0  33     Minic,Branislav           |    0   27 VIC |     9.5    10.0 
 34  1.0  39     Watson,Nicolas            |    0  551 VIC |     9.5     9.5 
 35  1.0  32     Mathew,Daniel             |    0  680 VIC |     9.0    11.0 
 36  1.0  28     Clerk,Felix               |  436  363 VIC |     9.0     9.5 
 37  1.0  31     Hell,Alex             (W) |    0  352 AUS |     8.0 
 38  0.0  38     Nawar,Mena                |    0    0 VIC |     9.5 
 39  0.0  30     Royston,Zac           (W) |  100  412 VIC |     8.0

Purdy Cup round 4

Posted on 9 April 2018 by Scott

This round saw a few absences, some planned, others not notified.

Round 4 results

===================================================================================
  1 = Hogg,Dean            ( 3.0) - Beaumont,David       ( 3.0) =   1 -   2 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2 = Enano,Ronald         ( 2.5) - Szuveges,Narelle S   ( 2.5) =   7 -   5 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 = McIntyre,Charlie     ( 2.0) - Gusain,Daniel        ( 2.0) =  15 -   4 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  4 = Ilic,Milan           ( 2.0) - Richards,Derek       ( 2.0) =   8 -  14 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  5 = Nowak,Ruben          ( 2.0) - Ryan,Isaac           ( 2.0) =  13 -  10 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6 = Ramos,Antonio        ( 2.0) - Hogan,Steven         ( 2.0) =  16 -  11 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  7 = Minichelli,Felice    ( 2.0) - Russo,Guy            ( 2.0) =  19 -  12 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  8 = Johns,Brent          ( 1.5) - Bejjanki,Pranav Sai  ( 1.5) =  23 -  29 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9 = Kurian,Max           ( 1.0) - Salanowski,Mark      ( 1.0) =  36 -   9 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10 = Minic,Branislav      ( 0.0) - ( bye )              ( 0.0) =  33 -   0 = 1    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11 = Mullen,Chris         ( 1.0) - Watson,Nicolas       ( 0.0) =  17 -  39 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 12 = Kostakakis,Angelo    ( 1.0) - Wootten,Rory         ( 1.0) =  24 -  18 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13 = Saric,Sergey         ( 1.0) - Whitford,Matthew     ( 1.0) =  37 -  22 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 14 = Hunt,Philip E        ( 1.0) - Clerk,Felix          ( 1.0) =  20 -  28 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 15 = McIntyre,Julian      ( 1.0) - Mathew,Daniel        ( 1.0) =  21 -  32 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 16 = Hell,Alex            ( 0.0) - Nawar,Mena           ( 0.0) =  31 -  38 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 17 = Davis,Tony J         ( 3.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =   3 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 = Humphreys,Scott      ( 1.5) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =   6 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 19 = Davis,Sophie         ( 2.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  25 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 20 = Clerk,Max            ( 1.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  26 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 21 = Deraniyagala,Kevin   ( 0.5) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  27 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 22 = Royston,Zac          ( 0.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  30 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 23 = Pope,Roger           ( 1.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  34 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 24 = Tagala,Randy         ( 1.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  35 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Round 5 (provisional) draw

===================================================================================
  1 = Enano,Ronald         ( 3.5) - Hogg,Dean            ( 4.0) =   7 -   1 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2 = Beaumont,David       ( 3.0) - Nowak,Ruben          ( 3.0) =   2 -  13 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 = Gusain,Daniel        ( 3.0) - Minichelli,Felice    ( 3.0) =   4 -  19 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  4 = Hogan,Steven         ( 3.0) - Ilic,Milan           ( 3.0) =  11 -   8 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  5 = Johns,Brent          ( 2.5) - Szuveges,Narelle S   ( 2.5) =  23 -   5 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6 = Salanowski,Mark      ( 2.0) - Mullen,Chris         ( 2.0) =   9 -  17 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  7 = Ryan,Isaac           ( 2.0) - McIntyre,Julian      ( 2.0) =  10 -  21 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  8 = Russo,Guy            ( 2.0) - Saric,Sergey         ( 2.0) =  12 -  37 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9 = Hunt,Philip E        ( 2.0) - McIntyre,Charlie     ( 2.0) =  20 -  15 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10 = Kostakakis,Angelo    ( 2.0) - Ramos,Antonio        ( 2.0) =  24 -  16 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11 = Humphreys,Scott      ( 1.5) - Richards,Derek       ( 2.0) =   6 -  14 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 12 = Bejjanki,Pranav Sai  ( 1.5) - Wootten,Rory         ( 1.0) =  29 -  18 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13 = Whitford,Matthew     ( 1.0) - Mathew,Daniel        ( 1.0) =  22 -  32 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 14 = Minic,Branislav      ( 1.0) - Clerk,Max            ( 1.0) =  33 -  26 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 15 = Tagala,Randy         ( 1.0) - Clerk,Felix          ( 1.0) =  35 -  28 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 16 = Hell,Alex            ( 1.0) - Kurian,Max           ( 1.0) =  31 -  36 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 17 = Nawar,Mena           ( 0.0) - Deraniyagala,Kevin   ( 0.5) =  38 -  27 =  ... 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 = Watson,Nicolas       ( 0.0) - ( bye )              ( 0.0) =  39 -   0 = 1    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 19 = Davis,Tony J         ( 3.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =   3 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 20 = Davis,Sophie         ( 2.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  25 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 21 = Pope,Roger           ( 1.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  34 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 22 = Royston,Zac          ( 0.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  30 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Purdy Round 3

Posted on 29 March 2018 by Scott

Round 3 of the Purdy Cup results are below.

===================================================================================
  1 = Gusain,Daniel        ( 2.0) - Hogg,Dean            ( 2.0) =   4 -   1 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  2 = Beaumont,David       ( 2.0) - McIntyre,Charlie     ( 2.0) =   2 -  15 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  3 = Ryan,Isaac           ( 2.0) - Davis,Tony J         ( 2.0) =  10 -   3 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  4 = Enano,Ronald         ( 1.5) - Ramos,Antonio        ( 2.0) =   7 -  16 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  5 = Szuveges,Narelle S   ( 1.5) - Humphreys,Scott      ( 1.5) =   5 -   6 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  6 = Ilic,Milan           ( 1.0) - Wootten,Rory         ( 1.0) =   8 -  18 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  7 = Minichelli,Felice    ( 1.0) - Salanowski,Mark      ( 1.0) =  19 -   9 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  8 = Hogan,Steven         ( 1.0) - Hunt,Philip E        ( 1.0) =  11 -  20 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9 = Russo,Guy            ( 1.0) - Tagala,Randy         ( 1.0) =  12 -  35 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10 = Kostakakis,Angelo    ( 1.0) - Nowak,Ruben          ( 1.0) =  24 -  13 = 0F-1F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11 = Richards,Derek       ( 1.0) - Saric,Sergey         ( 1.0) =  14 -  37 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 12 = Davis,Sophie         ( 1.0) - Mullen,Chris         ( 1.0) =  25 -  17 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 13 = Whitford,Matthew     ( 0.5) - Johns,Brent          ( 1.0) =  22 -  23 = ½ - ½
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 14 = Clerk,Max            ( 0.5) - McIntyre,Julian      ( 0.5) =  26 -  21 = ½ - ½
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 15 = Deraniyagala,Kevin   ( 0.5) - Bejjanki,Pranav Sai  ( 0.5) =  27 -  29 = 0 - 1
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 16 = Kurian,Max           ( 0.0) - Royston,Zac          ( 0.0) =  36 -  30 = 1F-0F
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 17 = Clerk,Felix          ( 0.0) - Minic,Branislav      ( 0.0) =  28 -  33 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 18 = Mathew,Daniel        ( 0.0) - Hell,Alex            ( 0.0) =  32 -  31 = 1 - 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 19 = Pope,Roger           ( 1.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  34 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 20 = Nawar,Mena           ( 0.0) - ( not paired )       ( 0.0) =  38 -   0 = 0    
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Purdy Cup, round 2

Posted on 22 March 2018 by Scott

The Purdy cup continues apace. It is disappointing that there were a number of forfeits for this round. Some of our members travel considerable distances to get to the club, so they can play a competitive game of chess. So you can imagine their disappoint, given the time and cost expended to get to the club, that their opponent is absent! So please, let Steven know with sufficient notice, if you cannot make it on a Tuesday. This is just common courtesy. Sure, emergencies can happen, but this should be a rarity!

Round 2 results

Hi and Bye to club members

Posted on 19 March 2018 by Scott

As we have had a few comings and goings to our club member (seniors) list, I thought I should update the ACF ratings list on the ratings page. Bruce Williams and his partner Regina Edwards have had to return to sunny Qld; we will all be sad to see them go. Some new names to the club include Max and Felix Clerk, Kevin Deraniyagala, Alex Hell, Randy Tagala, Daniel Sheen, Zac Royston, Branislav Minic. Welcome all! Apologies if I have left someone out.

Purdy Cup round 1

Posted on 16 March 2018 by Scott

We have 35 players starting for our next serious event – the Purdy Cup (5 rounds). Round 1 went with rating except my game, where it only took one bad move to convert a win to a draw. Results are below.

Lightning strikes Altona tonight!

Posted on 6 March 2018 by Scott

Tonight would be a good time to visit the club to check us out – we are playing a few rounds of lightning (5 minute) chess from 7:30 pm – a bit of fun, not to be taken too seriously. We play this sort of event and allegro events a few times each year – see the Calendar for details.

ACF Ratings update for March