Bomble's Bulletin

for the

2005 Gold Coast Junior Masters Term 2 Tournament

at the Gardiner Chess Centre,

Mudgeeraba Queensland, Planet Earth

ROUND 1, April 18

MAXINE HITS THE MARK!

Well howdy-doody there ladies and gents. I’m back from a glorious holiday in sunny Hawaii, and I’ve even got the snaps to prove it. On the left is indeed me immortalised in a holiday picture with two ice-cold cans of coconut juice strapped to my hat. And you thought you’d never get to see a picture of the real me! Mind you, once I’m back into my dusty old suit and tie, and free from any headwear, you’ll never even recognise me. But, onward with the report:

Quotes of the week: 

“Examine all checks and captures. I’ve said it once; I’ll say it once again: CHECKS AND CAPTURES… CHECKS AND CAPTURES … oops, that was twice.” (Nik)

“Hey look, it’s Sir Bomble’s friend!” (Sophie)

“Weeendy???” (some unidentified ankle-biters at the front counter)

“Chaaaa!” (whatever that means – Jessica)

“Just what do you think you’re up to?!” (Mr G)

“Did you see that puzzle in the paper?” (Daniel)

“Hmmmmmmmmm” (Anonymous)

“Can I get my game analysed?” (Pretty much everyone)

Other News:

*Moulthun Ly had a tough match with a rampant Stephen Solomon (check out the games on the Gardiner Chess website, and watch the master at work)

*The Junior Masters has a record field of 38! At this rate they’ll have to build another chess centre next door just to accommodate everyone.

*Craig Duxbury, the Gold Coast’s highest rated player (if you don’t count Alex Wohl who’s hardly ever here anyhow) has kindly agreed to join in on Monday nights and analyse the evening away with whichever players are first in the queue. Craig managed the remarkable feat of defeating an International Master (Terrey Shaw) in full tournament play, when only 13 years old, many moons ago.

And now, to the …..

GAME OF THE WEEK:

(3) Tan,M (926) - Lee,L (1224) [D35]

GC Junior Masters T2 05 (1), 18.04.2005

 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bf4 Bb4 5.a3 Bd6 6.Bg5 Nc6 7.e3 Be7 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bf4 a6 10.Nf3 Nh5 11.Be5 0–0 12.Bc2 dxc4 13.Qe2 f6 14.Bg3 Nxg3 15.hxg3 b5 16.Bg6 f5 17.0–0–0 Bg5 18.Ne5 Nxd4 19.Qh5 Nb3+ 20.Kc2 Qf6 21.f4 Nc5 22.Nf3 Bxf4 23.exf4 Bb7 24.Ng5 Qe7 25.Bh7+ Kh8 26.Bg6 Bxg2 27.Rh2 Bc6 28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Ng5 Be8 30.Rdh1 Bxg6 31.Qxg6 Qxg5 32.fxg5 Rf7 33.Rxh6 Kf8 34.Rh8+ Ke7 35.Nd5+ exd5 36.Re1+ Ne4 37.Rxa8 d4 38.Rxa6 d3+ 39.Kd1 Kf8 40.Ra8+ Ke7 41.Qc6 f4 1–0

What can one say about this game? Leoma played strongly as usual to gain a large advantage, and should have pushed for a quick breakthrough on the queenside, but unfortunately allowed a nasty net for his bishop on g5, and from there Maxine gave him no chance of a comeback. I must say that Leoma showed exceptional sportsmanship after this game, and is a true gentleman. Maxine and her sister Sophie, not to mention her brothers, Wilbert and Felix, are all keen players, and all show great potential. It’s pleasing to see the Tans enjoying and learning from their games, as well as maintaining good humour, regardless of whether they win, lose or draw. This is just the sort of demeanor that helps to make the chess environment a friendly and fun place. Maxine has patiently gone about her chess, and has made steady improvement. This is her biggest win to date. Well done!

Until the next exciting episode,

be good to your parents and pets,

Sir Bomble

ROUND 2, April 25

LOWER RATED PLAYERS ARE DANGEROUS !

The human brain is an amazing thing. People are capable of all sorts of brilliant achievements. It is the ability to learn extremely complex concepts and to use our imaginations to develop these concepts, in addition to our ability to acquire vast reservoirs of knowledge in short amounts of time that set us apart from the rest of the living beings on earth. For this reason, any chess player who thinks that they will win with little effort against someone just because they have a higher rating, is often sorely mistaken. Round 2 showed this, with many of the top seeds conceding draws and losses to the dark horses of the tournament. The simple moral: WATCH OUT! SHARKS ARE ABOUT! All players in the junior masters are improving out of sight. DON’T take anyone lightly! ANYBODY can win on their day.

Notable sharks that scored some points against the star players include: Kaleb Mariner-Refiti, Robert Medland, Kantley Wu, Brendan Baker, and Aki Matsui.

(Note: The results shown on the game viewer are slightly incorrect. Liam did NOT beat Daniel, and Andrew did NOT beat Jonas).

And now for a SPECIAL FEATURE ARTICLE (Courtesy of chessbase.com) : EINSTEIN, The CHESS PLAYER

The great intellectual was interested in chess, and for many years he was a friend of the German world champion Emanuel Lasker. But when the two met they would spend more time discussing mathematics and philosophy than chess. Occasionally Einstein would actually play a game, as the following game against the physicist Robert Oppenheimer (one of the “fathers” of the atomic bomb) documents. It is a wild encounter between two of the world’s leading scientists. Einstein – Oppenheimer, Princeton 1940 (Ruy Lopez): 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 b5 5.Bb3 Nf6 6.0-0 Nxe4 7.Re1 d5 8.a4 b4 9.d3 Nc5 10.Nxe5 Ne7 11.Qf3 f6 12.Qh5+ g6 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Qxh8 Nxb3 15.cxb3 Qd6 16.Bh6 Kd7 17.Bxf8 Bb7 18.Qg7 Re8 19.Nd2 c5 20.Rad1 a5 21.Nc4 dxc4 22.dxc4 Qxd1 23.Rxd1+ Kc8 24.Bxe7 1-0.

Till next time, watch out for sharks, and do your homework before the dog eats it!

Sir Bomble

ROUND 3, May 9, 2005

SOLOMON PROFILED!

On Sunday May 15, some ‘alien’ players visited the Gardiner Chess Centre to take on the locals, and a few of the junior masters, in the Gold Coast Rapid Champs. (See the GC website for all the gory details). As part of the day, your ever-diligent bulletin editor grabbed the chance to send his assistant, Nik Stawski, into the aliens’ lair to obtain some exclusive player profiles. The first profile to emerge from this expedition is none other than that of Queensland’s no. 1 player, International Master Stephen Solomon. Study it carefully and you may just unearth some clues as to Stephen’s personality, and this might just give you the edge against him, (except in the endgame!):

And now to the games of the week: Check out Aki Matsui vs Lachlan Pedersen-Lee, Molly McGarity vs Brendan Baker, and Daniel Ford vs Jonas Muller. All six of these players put up a fantastic fight in these games. Lachlan was very fortunate to get away with the win in a drawn ending; Lachlan’s study of Kerry Corker’s “Master of the Endgame” workbooks has paid off! Aki is a new addition to the Junior Master’s ranks, and is extremely talented. Watch out for him in the future! Molly and Brendan fought honourably, and it was so good to see such a high quality game by these two. Molly attacked ferociously, and Brendan defended stubbornly, until Molly’s knight got stranded on b6 and Brendan pounced. Brendan is another ‘shark’ to watch out for.

Daniel and Jonas (whose bad headache can’t have made things easier) battled on board 1. Jonas equalized nicely in the opening, but then played d5 a bit too soon and Daniel was able to conjure up some nasty kingside tactics, finishing off with a nice mating net.

Stay tuned for next week’s exciting installment, where a few of the junior masters will be profiled for posterity, (if any of them hand in a half decent profile!).

Sir Bomble

 round 4

BOMBLE’S BULLETIN for the 2005 GOLD COAST JUNIOR MASTERS TERM 2 TOURNAMENT at the GARDINER CHESS CENTRE, MUDGEERABA, QLD, PLANET EARTH.

ROUND 4, May 16, 2005

CRUCIAL SCORESHEETS LOST AT THE OFFICE!

As for the games and other goings-on; there were a few strange occurrences befalling some of the stronger players. Sam Grigg played strongly to achieve a crushing position against Lachlan, but then allowed Lachlan’s passed pawn and renegade rook to do some serious swindling. It must be said that Sam showed excellent sportsmanship after what must have been a very disappointing outcome for him. (Lachlan could learn from this!). It just goes to show, you need to be ever-VIGILENT to make sure that your opponent doesn’t hit back with a cheap trap.

And now, for a commercial break: the Mind Games festival at Surfers Paradise is on this weekend. Do your brain a favour and have a go! Details on the homepage.

In other news, Duke Duxbury and Duke Doogie have bravely decided to keep assisting the Junior Masters with post-game analysis, despite head-splitting teenager-produced noise in the cafe, preposterous blunders, and some very cheeky back-talk from a few of the participants.

Send ‘em to the dungeon I say, and throw the key down the loo. Delinquents!

Sir Bomble

ROUND 5, May 23, 2005

YOUNG LIONS READY TO TAKE CHARGE!

Well then, here we are again; yet another bulletin for you kiddies to peruse at the breakfast table. Being a gentleman of solid British-style upbringing, it is no surprise that I have turned to the lion as a symbol of determination and strength. So, who will be the next lions to break from the pack and make a charge at the leader board? Yitao Lei, certainly looks strong at the front. Lachlan Pedersen-Lee, Brendan Baker and Jonas Muller are definitely dangerous. Daniel Ford is stubbornly holding his ground. Cameron Thompson, that slightly older lion, is finding some form, and those two wild lionesses, Molly McGarity and Jessica Kinder are poised to pounce at any moment. Let’s not forget the others hiding in the long grass, such as Sam Grigg, Zane Adams, Liam McGarity, Kantley Wu, and Gene Nakauchi, who can all do damage on their day. One old cat who has proved that he won’t be pushed around is Daniel Barrett, a player rapidly on the rise. What will the outcome of all this be? Only time will tell. ……. And now ….. to the game of the week:

Madness and mayhem abounded over the board in this week’s round. On the top board, Jessica’s  normally razor-sharp tactical vision suffered a little hiccup and her poor queen fell victim to a bout of pawn poisoning. This just goes to show, beware the pawn grab lest you too get poisoned!

Lei,Y (1438) - Kinder,J (1338) [E90]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0–0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Be2 c5 8.d5 Qa5?! This queen now looks a bit misplaced. [8...h6 9.Bd2 a6 10.0–0 Qc7 Looks to be a better way to go.] 9.0–0 h6 10.Bd2 Ng4 11.a3 a6 12.b4! Setting a neat trap. 12...cxb4?! [12...Qc7 13.b5 Nge5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 Is more sensible.] 13.axb4 (see diagram) Qxb4?? 14.Na4 oops! Just what white was hoping for. 14...Bxa1 15.Bxb4 Bg7 16.Bc3 f6 17.Nd4 Nge5 18.Ne6 Re8 19.Nc7 1–0   Oh well. Accidents can happen to anyone.

And that’s all I have to say on the matter this week.

So, until next time…

WAAHOO!

Sir Bomble

ROUND 6, May 30, 2005

JUNIOR MASTERS ON TV!

Yes indeedy, live and exclusive in this 'ere bulletin, is some late, breaking news. A few of the Junior Masters, like Jonas Muller and Brendan Baker were filmed for the channel 9 local news program as part of a story promoting the Mind Games festival happening right now at Surfers Paradise. Local top junior, Kelvin Finke also was interviewed and made the focal point of the story. And you thought these guys were just humble chess players! Watch out Hollywood, next thing you know these guys will be all over the big screen.  Jonas also featured in the game of the week, against Cameron Thompson. This was a game of quality, and it went the distance. For over 4 hours these guys slogged it out, and the late middlegame was highly complex. Cameron had enough kingside compensation to give up his lonely queenside rook, and then won the material back. It was probably equal at the end, however Jonas made an unfortunate mistake and resigned before Cameron could grab the extra material. Not an easy game for either player – well done to both of them. I now invite the reader to check it out for themselves:

Muller,J (1283) - Thompson,C (1225) [B06]

1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 Bg4 5.Be2 Nd7 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Bxf3 c6 8.Be3 Ngf6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Be2 Qc7 11.f4 e5 12.fxe5 dxe5 13.d5 Qd6 14.Qd2 Rfb8 15.Bf3 c5 16.Nb5 Qb6 17.c4 a6 18.Nc3 Qd6 19.Rab1 b5 20.b3 h5 21.Qf2 Ra7 22.b4 Rc7 23.bxc5 Nxc5 24.cxb5 Ncd7 25.Qd2 Rbc8 26.Rfc1 Nh7 27.a4 a5 28.Be2 Qa3 29.Ra1 Qb3 30.Nd1 Rxc1 31.Rxc1 Ra8 32.Qc3 Qxa4 33.Ra1 Qxe4 34.Bf3 Qh4 35.Qc6 Nhf8 36.Qxa8 e4 37.Bf2 Qg5 38.Bxe4 Bxa1 39.Qxa5 Qe5 40.Bf3 Kh7 41.b6 Bd4 42.b7 Bxf2+ 43.Nxf2 Ne6 44.Nd3 Qd4+ 45.Nf2 Nec5 46.Qc7 Qb4 47.Qg3 Qxb7 48.Qf4 Kg7 49.d6 Qa6 50.Bd5 Qa1+ 51.Kh2 Nf6 52.Qb4? [52.Bc6 Ne6 53.Qe3 Qd4 54.Qxd4 Nxd4 55.Ba4 Kf8 56.g4 Nd5 57.g5 would be about equal, yet tricky.] 52...Qe5+ 0–1

By the way, the Palview game viewer shows Jonas as black. NO! Jonas was white.

And so it has come to pass that another week has flown by. This week’s player profile is by Charis Chan, who is an extremely well-mannered  and clever young lady. (Just don’t tell her to: “Don’t Laugh” because then she will giggle uncontrollably).

Adios amigos,

Sir Bomble.

FRANKENSTEIN VARIATION NOWHERE TO BE FOUND!

Hello again, dear readers. Let me make one thing clear. I am a patient man. I have sat on the sidelines for a whole year, watching and waiting for someone to bravely play the infamous Frankenstein – Dracula variation, and yet there has been no-one! Not even once has one of the Junior Masters ventured forth and bashed out this wild opening. Therefore, it is high time that I gave away a few ghoulish secrets about this time-honoured counter-attack, that’s bound to have Steinitz turning in his grave. HOOUAOOHAAAAHAAHAHAAAAA!

Firstly, it comes from the Bishop’s Opening; secondly, it gives black plenty of compo for the sacrificed rook; and thirdly, it makes for a wild and bloody encounter, for both sides! Try it out, if you dare! Here’s the basic variation:

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nxe4 4.Qh5 Nd6 5.Bb3 Nc6 6.Nb5 g6 7.Qf3 f5 8.Qd5 Qe7 (Not as silly as it looks) 9.Nxc7+ Kd8 10.Nxa8 b6 11.d3 Bb7 12.Nxb6 axb6 13.h4 f4...etc

The game of the week is in fact what we call a ‘miniature’; that is to say, a game of 20 moves or less. The game’s opening is the closest thing I’ve seen to a Frankenstein – Dracula variation in this comp, and proved to be almost as hairy. Henry could have been checkmated in 2 moves on move 12, but was let off the hook:

Leef, Henry (852) - Curtis, Kristen (814) [C30]

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Bc5 3.Bc4 Qh4+ 4.g3 Qf6 5.d3 exf4 6.Bxf4 g5! [6...Qxb2 7.Nf3 Qxa1 8.Be5 Bb4+ 9.Kf2 Qxe5 10.Nxe5²] 7.Qh5!? gxf4 8.Qxc5 d6? [8...Qxb2! 9.Bxf7+ Kxf7 10.Qc3 Qc1+ 11.Kf2 Qe3+ 12.Kg2 Nf6µ] 9.Qxc7 Bg4 10.Nc3 fxg3 11.Kd2?? Qf2+? [11...Qf4+ 12.Ke1 Qf2#] 12.Nge2 gxh2? [12...g2 13.Rhe1 Nd7 14.Qxd6 Bxe2 15.Nxe2 Ngf6 Is a better chance.] 13.Raf1 Qh4 14.Qxf7+ [¹14.Bxf7+ Kf8 15.Bh5+ Qf6 16.Rxf6+ Nxf6 17.Qf7#] 14...Kd8 15.Qf8+ Kc7 16.Rf7+ Nd7 17.Nb5+ Kc6 18.Qxd6# A nice checkmate pattern to finish with! 1–0

And that was how it was. There is but one feisty round of the Junior Masters to go for this term. Going into the last round, Yitao Lei is a full point ahead of the field with 6.5/7, and in an impressive and unexpected fashion, Daniel Barrett is in outright second with 5.5/7. In equal 3^rd are the solid positional players, Sam Grigg and Daniel Ford, with 5/7. There are a stack of people close behind on 4.5. It’s going to be a close round! Stay tuned for all the amazing details.

Tally-ho

Sir Bomble

Round 8,
13 June 2005

BOMBLE BREAKS SILENCE FOR LAST HURRAH!

Humble, yet bombastic, greetings to you all dear readers. My good ‘friend’ Nik Stawski (pictured) has convinced me that the only gentlemanly course of action with regards the Junior Masters Tournam ent bulletins for Term 2, is to indeed complete the set and release to the world the long-awaited, infamous, and unpublished Bulletin 8, so here it tis! 

The junior masters are all improving at a rapid rate, and this tournament is getting harder to do well in, which shows that it’s working beautifully! Yitao Lei was again excellent in all areas of his chess and no one really got close to him throughout... maybe next time a new challenger will arise! Daniel Ford did well to secure second, and also impressive were Jessica Kinder, Brendan Baker, Cameron Thompson, Daniel Barrett, and Gene Nakauchi, who all tied for third. It will be interesting to see what happens in Term 3.

And so it is now time for the final awards list for the participants of term 2.

• Most improved: Gene Nakauchi, Brendan Baker, Alex Arase, and Aki Matsui

• Best fashion sense: All the girls (Maxine Tan, Sophie Tan, Molly McGarity, Jessica Kinder, Charis Chan, Kristen Curtis) and Zane Adams (a ladies’ man in the making).

• Most interesting giggle:  Yitao Lei and Molly McGarity

• Best feedback for bulletin: Henry Leef (perhaps a future politician)

• Best cooking: Wendy Gardiner and Liam and Molly’s mum.

• Most determined: Alex Stahnke, Jonas Muller, and Robert Medland

• Best comedic skills: Kieton Beilby

• Friendliest tall kid: Kaleb Mariner-Refiti

• Best coach: well… they’re all good: Craig Duxbury, Matthew Sonter, Nik Stawski, Anthony Lam and Arianne Caoili

• Best scowl: Graeme Gardiner

• Most ardent internet users: Joshua and Matthew Radford

• Keenest students of chess: Liam McGarity and Caleb Eriksson, and probably Yitao Lei and Daniel Ford too.

• Keenest chess fan: Graeme Gardiner

• Best display of sportsmanship: Sam Grigg, followed closely by Kantley Wu

• Best attacking play: Cameron Thompson, Lachlan Pedersen-Lee, and Jessica Kinder

• Stars of the future: Daniel Arase and Alan Lam

• Most studious school student: Leoma Lee

• Best behaved: Kento Ikoma, Keith Chan, Andrew Eom and William Eom

• Most dangerous dark horses: Tom Rynne and Nicholas Beresford

• Most regular customer at the lolly counter: Luke Toda

• Most surprising player: Daniel Barrett

• Most patient: All the parents

Nothing ever stands still on this planet (especially some of the players), and the future is here before you know it! And so it is at this point that I, Sir Bomble, who has had the pleasure of writing for the benefit of this esteemed event, must bid you adieu for the foreseeable future. Such is the way of these things. Before I depart, though, here’s some advice for your life.

1. Take a look at the bright side,

2. Time is more precious than you could possibly imagine,

3. A life lived in fear is a life half lived,

4. Don’t wallow like a hippo – instead make your own luck if you can, and finally,

5. As great as chess is, there’s more to life than a stupid game of chess (a good thing to keep in mind if you’ve just had a painful loss).

 Good luck, take care, … and … PLUNKETT!!

Sir Bomble