After taking a couple of byes in rounds 2 and 3, Jack Smith comes back to face Zoran Babic in the penultimate round. Both players are on 2/3, with Mio Ristic and Geoff Barber lurking in the shadows on 1.5 each. The tight situation at the top will make the final couple of rounds an interesting struggle to watch!

Round 3 Results:
Zoran Babic vs Anthony Bauer 1-0
Mio Ristic vs Geoff Davis 1-0
Gary Nolan vs Geoff Barber 1F-0F
Jack Smith vs BYE 0.5
Paul Brown vs BYE 0.5
Daniel Pinhasov added to round 4 draw

Round 4 Pairings:
Jack Smith vs Zoran Babic
Gary Nolan vs Mio Ristic
Anthony Bauer vs Geoff Barber
Daniel Pinhasov vs Geoff Davis
Paul Brown vs BYE 0.5

The Summer Swiss has started with a modest number of 6 participants.
Mio Ristic requested a half-point bye for round 1, so there were two games played and Paul Brown had the full-point bye.

Jack Smith and Geoff Barber met on board 1. Barber erred early in the game in a Ruy Lopez, and felt compelled to sacrifice knight and bishop for 2 pawns. Though Geoff tried to rustle up some of his trademark wizardry, Jack found the correct path to consolidation, and clinched the victory.

On board 2, Zoran Babic took the white pieces against Rodel Sicat. This game was more positional, with Babic playing 6. Be2 against the Najdorf Sicilian. Rodel’s pieces found active squares and he developed an excellent position, before almost spoiling it all by making a slip of the hand. However, his position was still slightly better, and it was enough for him to grind out the win in the endgame.

Round 1 Results:
Jack Smith vs Geoff Barber 1-0
Zoran Babic vs Rodel Sicat 0-1
Paul Brown vs BYE 1-0
Mio Ristic 0.5 BYE

Round 2 Pairings
Rodel Sicat vs Paul Brown
Geoff Barber vs Mio Ristic
Zoran Babic vs BYE 1-0
Jack Smith 0.5 BYE

The next tournament on the calendar for Geelong Chess Club is the Summer Swiss! This will be the first opportunity this year for locals to get their teeth into some serious chess.

Number of rounds: 5
Time control: 60 mins + 30 seconds
ACF Rated: Yes
Additional Information:

Please submit requests for byes as early as possible so that we can let your opponent know and no one will be inconvenienced. (You must submit a bye request at least 2 days before the round in question.)

We can only accommodate late entries as late as round 2.

For any enquiries, feel free to contact us at: 0406199457 – SMS preferred.

The second half of the Summer Swiss has finished, giving a clear winner: Reza Daneshvar ripped through the opposition to achieve a score of 5.5/6! Mio Ristic was playing well, and followed closely on 5 points.

(Note that the pairing system was different for this tournament, due to last-minute circumstances regarding the club computer, so a keen eye might spot some discrepancies. [e.gthe only bye available is the half point bye; Garry Quince for some reason got 2 byes] This tournament will therefore NOT be ACF rated. Further tournaments will be paired by the usual Vega system.)

Round 1 Results:
Geoff Davis vs Reza Daneshvar 0-1
Garry Quince vs Jack Smith 0.5-0.5
Harry Soo vs Mio Ristic 0-1
Paul Brown vs BYE 0.5

Round 2 Results: (Note that Zoran Babic entered in round 2)
Reza Daneshvar vs Zoran Babic 0.5-0.5
Mio Ristic vs Garry Quince 1-0
Jack Smith vs Paul Brown 1-0
Harry Soo vs Geoff Davis 0-1

Round 3 Results: (Note that Harry Soo withdrew in round 3)
Reza Daneshvar vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Zoran Babic vs Jack Smith 0-1
Paul Brown vs Geoff Davis 0-1
Garry Quince vs BYE 0.5

Round 4 Results:
Jack Smith vs Reza Daneshvar 0-1
Geoff Davis vs Mio Ristic 0-1
Garry Quince vs Paul Brown 1-0
Zoran Babic vs BYE

Round 5 Results:
Reza Daneshvar vs Garry Quince 1-0
Mio Ristic vs Jack Smith 1-0
Geoff Davis vs Zoran Babic 0-1
Paul Brown vs BYE 0.5

Round 6 Results:
Paul Brown vs Reza Daneshvar 0-1
Mio Ristic vs Zoran Babic 1-0
Jack Smith vs Geoff Davis 1-0
Garry Quince vs BYE 0.5

Final Standings:

The first tournament of the year has kicked off, with 8 participants in the Summer Rapid.
A few notable appearances were made by old club members Garry Quince and Geoff Davis. Keen junior Harry Soo was also welcomed!

Note that a different pairing system is being used for this tournament out of necessity, and that byes caused by odd numbers are half points instead of full points

Half-Point Byes: Zoran Babic was given a round 1 bye, and Harry Soo was given a round 3 bye.

Round 1 Results:
Geoff Davis vs Reza Daneshvar 0-1
Garry Quince vs Jack Smith 0.5 – 0.5
Harry Soo vs Mio Ristic 0-1
Paul Brown vs BYE (0.5)

Round 2 Results:
Reza Daneshvar vs Zoran Babic 0.5-0.5
Mio Ristic vs Garry Quince 1-0
Jack Smith vs Paul Brown 1-0
Harry Soo vs Geoff Davis 0-1

Round 3 Results:
Reza Daneshvar vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Zoran Babic vs Jack Smith 0-1
Paul Brown vs Geoff Davis 0-1

Round 4 Pairings:
Jack Smith vs Reza Daneshvar
Geoff Davis vs Mio Ristic
Garry Quince vs Paul Brown
Zoran Babic vs Harry Soo

Please be advised that because of a small decrease in numbers, we will now be charging $3/person at our Saturday afternoon sessions to cover costs. We hope this is not an inconvenience to you. If you bring your chess friends along, we might be able to bump it back down to $2!

The Summer Rapid will commence this coming Thursday (6th Feb), and will be the first tournament for Geelong Chess Club’s new year!

There will be 6 rounds over two weeks (Feb 6: R1, R2, R3 and Feb 13: R4, R5, R6) and the time control will be 20 minutes plus 2 seconds per move. The tournament will be ACF (Australian Chess Federation) quickplay rated. Don’t worry if you don’t have a rating; you can still play!)

We will try to start at roughly 7:15, so please ensure you are at the club by then if you want to play.

Hope to see you there!