A record 61 entries were received for the Ranges Rookies Shield Lightning Chess Tournament held on Sunday 28th Feb as part of the Knox Festival.  Sadly, because of space limitations, we had no room for seven other last minute entries (two Ranges members graciously stepped aside to allow some latecomers in - thank you!).  Our sincere apologies to those who missed out competing in this competition - we do hope you will come back for the next Rookies Shield on May 2nd when there will be room for everyone.  (At next year's Knox Festival the Council organisers have indicated that they will allocate more space AND look at sponsoring a Knox Festival Cup with additional prize-money!)

Despite the cramped conditions everyone joined in the competition with good spirit.  Some upsets happened when players overlooked a check, made an illegal move, pressed their clock  - which allowed their opponent to claim a win.  All part of the fun of Lightning (5 minute) chess!

But after the 9 rounds had been completed it was 'the usual suspects' who rose to the top:  12 year-old Joseph Wong beat adults and juniors alike to take out 1st in the Open Section on a score of 8, Greg Albarracin was 2nd on 7.5, and Bruce Simpson came 3rd over-all on 7.  Ruihong Lu, also on 7 points, earned 1st in the U14 and Top Girl honours.  Three players scored 6.5:  Karl Zelesco showed his talent by coming 1st in U12, Serif Tuglaci was 1st in the Adults section, and once again Ethan Lim was among the leaders and won the U8. Vinay Lakshman won the U16 section with 6 points and newcomer Carl Dingfelder won the Under 10s with a score of 4.5. 

The cinema tickets prizes (kindly donated by ChessPlanet) went to Joshua Devarajh who was the Lucky Entrant prizewinner and to Rose Kelly and Angus McConnell who earned the Encouragement Awards.

Many of our Ranges club members (and Bruce and Roslyn) gave their time to help set up and run the competition, and also helped at the free coaching on the Saturday of the Festival, for which I am very grateful.  It was a real team effort.  Thanks, guys!

Paul Bearup,  Director of Play.

Here are the full results.

Place Name                    AWARD   Age  Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Wong, Joseph          1st OPEN  U12  8        37.5  49.0   39.0
  2   Albarracin, Greg      2nd OPEN  OPEN 7.5      40.5  53.0   40.0
 3-4  Simpson, Bruce        3rd OPEN  OPEN 7        35.5  45.0   30.0
      Lu, Ruihong           1st U14   U14  7        35.0  45.0   31.0
 5-7  Zelesco, Karl         1st U12   U12  6.5      44.0  52.5   39.5
      Tuglaci, Serif        1st ADULT OPEN 6.5      42.0  54.0   33.0
      Lim, Ethan            1st U8    U8   6.5      38.5  49.0   34.0
8-15  Prathiraja, Omesh     2nd U14   U14  6        41.0  53.5   32.0
      Humphreys, Scott      2nd ADULT OPEN 6        41.0  52.0   33.0
      Chua, Manny           3rd ADULT OPEN 6        38.5  49.5   33.5
      Lakshman, Vinay       1st U16   U16  6        37.5  49.0   35.5
      Yiu, Trevor           3rd U14   U14  6        37.5  47.5   32.0
      Hilbig, Josiah        2nd U16   U16  6        37.0  47.5   34.0
      Foo, Cameron                    U14  6        36.5  47.5   27.0
      Cheah, Matthew        2nd U12   U12  6        33.5  43.5   28.0
16-17 Bull-Quijano, Damar             U14  5.5      35.5  45.0   28.5
      Lim, Denise           3rd U12   U12  5.5      34.0  43.0   30.0
18-29 Williams, Luke                  U14  5        41.0  51.5   33.0
      Devarajh, Joshua                U12  5        37.0  48.5   29.0
      Chen, Steven                    U12  5        35.5  46.0   27.0
      Hunter, Daniel                  U14  5        35.0  44.0   23.0
      Whitehead, Simon                OPEN 5        33.5  44.0   26.0
      Moad, David                     U12  5        33.5  43.0   29.0
      Burnicle, Shaun                 U14  5        32.5  41.5   25.0
      Penman, Aidan                   U14  5        31.5  40.5   22.0
      van Scheepen, Frits             OPEN 5        30.0  40.5   26.0
      Cook, Jamie           3rd U16   U16  5        29.0  36.5   19.0
      Penman, Nadia                   U12  5        28.0  38.0   23.0
      Williams, Jay                   U12  5        27.5  36.0   22.0
30-33 Tissainayagam, Jonathan         U12  4.5      33.0  42.5   25.0
      Hinh, Patrick                   U12  4.5      32.5  41.5   24.0
      Dingfelder, Carl      1st U10   U10  4.5      28.5  36.0   18.0
      Smith, Belinda                  OPEN 4.5      28.0  35.5   19.0
34-46 Foo, Colin                      U12  4        39.0  48.0   22.0
      Fox, Michael                    U12  4        35.0  45.0   24.0
      Robinson, Lauren                U12  4        34.0  44.0   24.0
      Brennfleck, Jarod               U12  4        33.5  42.5   19.0
      Ang, Nathan                     U12  4        32.0  39.5   24.0
      Bock, Magnus          2nd U10   U10  4        30.5  37.5   19.0
      Hinh, Raymond         3rd U10   U10  4        29.5  40.5   19.0
      Wendleman, Ryan                 U10  4        28.0  35.5   19.0
      Jahn, Brendan         2nd U8    U8   4        27.5  34.5   17.0
      Cameron, Damon                  U10  4        27.0  34.5   19.0
      Hunter, Lachlan                 U12  4        26.5  33.0   14.0
      Williams-Skouras, James         U10  4        25.0  33.0   15.0
      Kelly, Jasmine                  U10  4        23.5  29.5   14.0
47-57 Ang, Natalie                    U10  3        31.5  40.5   18.0
      Bruce-Tennant, Benjamin         U14  3        29.5  37.5   18.0
      Foo, Calvin           3rd U8    U8   3        29.0  36.5   17.0
      Davis, Brandon                  U14  3        27.5  35.0   17.0
      Shah, Naman                     U10  3        27.5  34.0   17.0
      McAuley-Hines, Quinn            U12  3        26.0  33.5   10.0
      Chelliah, Anishtha              U10  3        25.5  31.0   11.0
      Grant-Roy, Christopher          U10  3        24.0  32.5   14.0
      Bennett, Alex                   U10  3        22.5  30.0   12.0
      Kapadia, Suren                  U8   3        21.5  28.5   11.0
      Bruce-Tennant, Jackson          U10  3        21.5  28.0   15.0
58-60 Ball, Nathan                    U10  2        27.0  35.0   12.0
      van Huizen, Rori                U8   2        23.5  30.5   11.0
      McConnell, Angus                U8   2        23.5  29.0    8.0
 61   Kelly, Rose                     U8   1        26.0  34.0    4.0

TUESDAY BONUS POINTS ALLEGRO - FINAL RESULTS

It was a case of the tortoise beating the hares in the final straight of the Bonus Points Allegro competition which finished Tuesday of last week (23/2).  With the juniors earning a bonus point if they won against an adult, the front runners in this fun competition kept changing.  But Dr G kept his cool with a slow and steady march towards the finish line and 1st place with a final score of 7.5 out of 8.  Ethan caught up with Damar and both of them leaped over Stephen and Scott to post scores of 7 and come equal 2nd-3rd.  Josiah also jumped over the adults to claim 4th place on 6 points closely followed by Carla who scored 5.5 and won Best Girl prize.

Here are the Final Standings with bonus points added in:
 
Place Name                Score + Bonus M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Lambert, Grant      7.5              29.0  37.5   33.5
 2-4  Bull-Quijano, Damar 5.5 + 1.5 = 7    29.0  39.5   24.0
      Davies, Stephen     5.5              26.5  36.5   29.0
      Humphreys, Scott    5.5              25.0  35.5   23.5
  5   Lim, Ethan          5   + 2   = 7    28.0  38.5   23.0
 6-8  Morris, Peter       4.5              27.5  38.0   18.5
      Hilbig, Josiah      4.5 + 1.5 = 6    26.0  36.0   20.5
      Johansen, Carla     4.5 + 1   = 5.5  21.5  29.5   17.5
9-13  Lim, Yew Sze        4                26.5  35.5   22.0
      Williams, Luke      4   + 1   = 5    25.5  33.0   18.0
      Lim, Denise         4                24.0  32.0   18.0
      Penman, Aidan       4   + 1   = 5    24.0  31.0   20.0
      Ogden, Marcus       4                22.5  30.0   20.0
 14   Lu, Ruihong         3.5 + 1   = 4.5  20.5  27.5   14.5
15-20 Cook, Jamie         3   + 2   = 5    25.0  33.5   13.0
      Cviko, Jovic        3                24.0  32.0   15.0
      Albarracin, Greg    3                23.5  29.0    6.0
      Moad, David         3   + 1   = 4    21.5  28.5   13.0
      Angley, Allan       3                21.0  28.5    8.0
      Burnicle, Shaun     3   + 1   = 4    19.5  25.5   11.0
 21   Davis, Brandon      2.5              18.0  23.5    8.0
22-24 Van Dijk, Marieke   2                22.0  28.0   10.0
      Penman, Nadia       2                20.5  26.0    8.0
      Brennfleck, Tom     2                19.5  26.0    7.0
 25   Schofield, William  1                10.0  15.0    2.0
 26   Schofield, Connor   0.5              11.0  16.0    2.0
 27   Moyle, Adam         0                22.5  28.5    0.0
 



 

THURSDAY NEW YEAR LIGHTNING - FINAL RESULTS 

Congratulations to Jarod who secured 1st place with a final round victory over 2nd place-getter Lauren and a score of 5 out of 6.  Hamish was ranked in 3rd place after equalling Lauren's score of 4 points, closely followed by young Jasmine, also on 4.  This competition proved to be good practice for those who entered the Rookies Shield Lightning Tournament last weekend.

Ranges New Year Lightning 2010

Place Name      Score M-Buch. Buch. Progr.

  1   Jarod,    5        12.0  18.0   15.0
 2-4  Lauren,   4        13.0  20.0   15.0
      Hamish,   4        12.0  18.0   14.0
      Jasmine,  4        10.0  15.0   11.0
 5-7  Zane,     3        15.0  22.0   15.0
      Ziggy,    3        13.0  20.0   13.0
      Ryan,     3        10.0  13.0    6.0
8-10  Chris,    2        14.0  20.0    8.0
      Dougal,   2        11.0  16.0    7.0
      Rosie,    2        11.0  16.0    5.0
 11   Toby,     1        10.0  14.0    2.0
 12   Essy,     0        11.0  15.0    0.0

A Sizzler of a Tournament!

I am sure all of our members who were able to enter Ranges Summer Sizzler, or came and saw it in progress, would agree that Scott has made an impressive debut as Organizer and Director of Play of this successful event.  It attracted 45 entries - adults and juniors - some even coming from across the other side of Melbourne to enjoy a sunny two days and friendly atmosphere. 

Congratulations to Scott and to his team of helpers!  We are especially grateful to NY for the excellent job he did in guiding the competition with clear, calm and fair adjudication.  Thank you, NY!

To the winners, our Congratulations - Guy West 1st place on 5.5, It took Carl Gorka to hold Guy to a draw in the exciting final round.  Carl tied with David Flude on 5.  David also had an excellent tournament.

Among the juniors Nathan Hibberd performed well above his rating, taking the Under 1600 prize with a score of 4.5.  The same applies to Joseph Wong and Jamie Yung who shared the U1400 1st and 2nd place on 4 points. Another very promising junior is Ari Dale whose score of 4 gained him the U1100 prize with Cameron Yung coming 2nd on 3.5.  Also on 3.5 was the U800 1st prize winner, Karl Zelesco, and Jack Puccini was 2nd on 3.

We look forward to the Ranges Spring Break Weekender in September, and hope you will all come back for more mountain hospitality! 

For full results see the link on left of screen.

AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

HIGH FIVES ALL ROUND !

Ranges Chess Club has been excellently represented by all six of our members: Damar Bull-Quijano, Joshua Devarajh, Carla Johansen, Denise and Ethan Lim, and Ruihong Lu.  A big

THANK YOU

to you all for being willing and able to take it up to the top talent of Australian Junior Chess.

A special CONGRATULATIONS goes to the following three of the Ranges team:

TO ETHAN LIM whose final round draw gave him a score of 6 out of 11 and 15th overall place out of 46 competitors in the Under 12 Boys.  This result earned Ethan the right to a play-off for the Under 8 national title against Noah Gong from NSW.  It took FIVE rounds of play-off games before Ethan emerged triumphant as the

2010 Australian Under 8 Chess Champion

(Ethan and Noah drew in the first 2 rounds of the 15 minutes playoff games.  Then they went into 2 games of Lightning in which both won one each.  In the final playoff game Ethan won by claiming illegal move, capturing his opponent's king when a pinned piece was moved - a thrilling tussle between the two!).  Ethan now has back-to-back Under 8 titles!

Ethan also came 1st in Under 8 Rapid Chess, 2nd in U8 Problem Solving competition, and 3rd in U8 Lightning Chess.

TO DENISE LIM who finished on 7 out of 9 and gained 2nd place in the Australian Under 12 Girls Championship, one point behind 11 year old fellow Victorian Savithri Narenthran.

Denise also came 2nd in Under 12 Girls Rapid Chess and 3rd in Under 12 Girls Problem Solving Competition.

TO RUIHONG LU  who came 3rd in Under 14 Girls Rapid Chess, 2nd in Under 14 Girls Problem Solving, and 1st Under 16 Girls Lightning Chess.

Ethan, Denise and Ruihong were presented with their Rapid Chess Championship medals last Tuesday. 

It is hard work and intense concentration at the Australian Junior Championships	Hard work for the girls as well.
Ruihong Lu receives medal for 3rd in U14 Girls Rapid Chess from the Mayor of Hobart	Ethan Lim Australian U8 Rapid Champion
Denise Lim 2nd in U12 Girls Rapid Chess

TUESDAYS FROM 6.30pm onwards - Advanced Juniors and Adults

6.30-7.30pm    Advanced Coaching with Grant Lambert
7.30 onwards  Adults arrive
7.30                  Snack break
7.40                  Competitions and social chess                  
                          Juniors finish by 9.00pm
9.00 - 11.00     Social chess 

THURSDAYS FROM 6.30 to 8.30pm - Novice Juniors
6.30-7.30pm   Coaching with Wayne Guy
7.30                  Snack break
7.40-8.30         Competitions and social chess
9.00                  Close.

VISITORS WELCOME !