Hi everyone! Thursday Chess will resume this coming Thursday the 10th of June.
We were due to be playing the 2nd round of the Tandem Chess rapid event, however on the 10th we will likely play casual games – which is a good opportunity for newer players to come along or those who can’t commit to longer format tournaments.

A few notes for anyone thinking about coming along:
– Please do NOT turn up if you have been to a hotspot or are feeling at all unwell – this is clearly our best defence against the spread of Covid!
– Please, when arriving, use the QR code available at the entrance to the Girl Guides Hall to check in (this is now a legal requirement) – the manual paper system wont be used anymore
– Please wear your face mask, unless seated at your table, or outside
– Please practice the now-normal hygiene protocols around hand washing and social distancing – especially when watching someone else’s game

The Autumn Swiss kicked off last Thursday with 10 players entered. Paul Brown graciously took charge of the running of the tournament, as the usual DOP was out of town and took a half point bye.

Brian Coppock, a Saturday afternoon enthusiast, took on Mio Ristic on board 1; Brian had a fine position at one point but Mio’s experience won out.

On board 2 Geoff Barber played talented young Fin Hutton; Fin also had good chances, but Geoff is a tricky customer and eventually took the win.

Toby Mew and Serge Corbeil battled it out on board 3; Toby, another talented junior, overcame Serge to pull off a fine upset off the bat!

Geoff Davis and newcomer Michael Ryde played on the last board; Geoff, the winner of the previous Swiss, proved he’s still got it and took the victory.

Jack Smith was out of town and took a half point bye while Paul Brown selflessly elected to take the bye so no one else had to miss out.

Round 1 results:
Brian vs Mio 0-1
Geoff B vs Fin 1-0
Toby vs Serge 1-0
Geoff D vs Michael 1-0
Paul vs BYE 1-0
Jack 0.5 BYE

Round 2 pairings:
Mio vs Geoff D
Toby vs Geoff B
Serge vs Fin
Michael vs Brian
Paul 0.5 BYE
Jack 0 BYE

Geoff Davis has won the Summer Swiss, drawing his last game with Chris Lamming to finish on a score of 4/5, with Chris and Serge Corbeil coming equal second on 3.5!

Well done to Geoff and thanks to everyone who played!
The game on board 1 saw Mr. Davis playing White, essaying the Scotch; (1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4) Chris replied with the speculative line 3… exd4 4. Nxd4 Ne5!? and Geoff soon got a big advantage in space. White was pressing for the whole game but Black’s cramped position proved rock solid, even in the face of a passed e6 pawn late in the game. White couldn’t prove anything and the players agreed to draw.

Board 2 saw tragedy for Rodel Sicat against Serge Corbeil; Rodel played the Black side of a Benoni-like structure, with Serge deploying his pieces in a cautious but risk-free manner. Black had fine play, breaking out and reaching probable equality before a careless blunder cost him a rook thanks to a nice tactical find by Serge, who secured equal second place in the first game to finish.

Board 3 was a slugfest between two equally inconsistent players in Geoff Barber and Jack Smith. Jack, taking the black pieces, played quite quickly for the first several moves, as the game repeated the first 12 moves played in the round 4 game Chris vs Jack. Jack sacrificed an exchange for an abundance of activity and an easy game, and then cleverly blundered a piece. He clawed his way back to an endgame where he had 2 pawns for a bishop and nothing to lose. Geoff overlooked a unique tactic, and had to give back the piece, but there was nothing for black in the resulting position and the players agreed a draw.

Mio Ristic won a fine game against Paul Brown on board 4 in a Classical Sicilian. Mio, playing White, essayed his trusty English attack, and followed the simple plan of castling queenside and pushing his h and g pawns into Blacks kingside-castled face. Paul missed a surprising resource in the opening after White stuck a knight on d5, and Black wound up not being able to solve the problems presented.

Final Standings:
1. Geoff Davis 4
2 – 3. Chris Lamming 3.5
Serge Corbeil 3.5
4. Mio Ristic 3
5 – 7. Jack Smith 2.5
Geoff Barber 2.5
Rodel Sicat 2.5
8 – 10. Anakin Kotus 1
Paul Brown 1
James Davidson 1

Round 4 of the Geelong Summer Swiss is over, and we are seeing a freight-train performance by Geoff Davis, only halted a few rounds ago by Geoff Barber who held him to a draw.

His latest victim was Serge Corbeil, where Geoff, playing White played 3. e5, the Advance Variation, against Serge’s French. Geoff snatched a pawn in the middlegame but Serge stuck it out through a 127 move slug fest before finally going down to Geoff’s material advantage.

On board 2, Chris Lamming turned around an unpleasant position as White against Jack Smith after Jack missed White’s tactical opportunity, and Black proceeded to play on down 2 pawns for a piece; the position was probably drawn until Jack inexplicably placed both passed pawns en prise in a row.

Rodel Sicat played a fine game as White against Geoff Barber on board 3 in a Slav, with Black finding his king under heavy siege in the middlegame, and White forced resignation before the endgame.

Mio got a forfeit win over Anakin, and James and Paul Brown were apologies. (James was given a half point bye.)

Going forward, Geoff Davis needs only a draw to win the tournament, but Chris will have something to say about that in their game I’m sure! It should be an exciting finish to the event.

Round 5 pairings:
Geoff Davis vs Chris Lamming
Serge Corbeil vs Rodel Sicat
Geoff Barber vs Jack Smith
Mio Ristic vs Paul Brown
James Davidson vs Anakin Kotus
Standings before round 5:
1. Geoff Davis 3.5
2. Chris Lamming 3
3-4. Serge Corbeil 2.5
Rodel Sicat 2.5
5 – 7. Jack Smith
2Geoff Barber 2
Mio Ristic 2
8-9. Paul Brown 1
Anakin Kotus 1
10. James Davidson 0.5

Round 3 saw Geoff Davis and Serge Corbeil take the lead, after Davis thwarted Jack Smith’s attempts to bamboozle with 1. e4 c5 2. a3?! on the top board, and Serge patiently put away Anakin Kotus on board 2.

Mio Ristic went down on board 3 to Geoff Barber, after hanging a knight fork of king and queen. Rodel Sicat won his game against keen newcomer James Davidson without too many issues; Chris Lamming was not present, as he had unavoidable work committments.

Round 3 results:
Jack Smith vs Geoff Davis 0-1
Serge Corbeil vs Anakin Kotus 1-0
Geoff Barber vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Rodel Sicat vs James Davidson 1-0
Paul Brown 0.5 BYE

Round 4 pairings:
Geoff Davis vs Serge Corbeil
Chris Lamming vs Jack Smith
Rodel Sicat vs Geoff Barber
Mio Ristic vs Paul Brown
James Davidson vs Anakin Kotus

There were two draws out of 4 games played on Thursday, one of them being the game on Board 1 between Chris Lamming and Serge Corbeil.

Chris started with 1. e4 and Serge replied with the French Defense; the next few moves unfolded into a Two Knights, where Serge provoked e5 with …Nf6. Black tried to pick at the e5 pawn, but White had enough play to hold the balance, and looking for play along the f-file. The game remained even, though, and the players agreed to a draw in a NvB ending where there was no way in for either king.

Anakin Kotus played an excellent game on board 2 against Jack Smith, displaying great tactical awareness. Jack, with the Black pieces, won a pawn early in a “Botvinnik English” kind of setup, but Anakin kept playing and eventually snagged back the pawn with a cute tactic. White continued to put pressure on Black, but didn’t see the danger until Black struck back with a combination against White’s king that saw an immediate loss of material. A good show from a promising Geelong junior!

Geoff Davis faced Geoff Barber in a Petroff Defense on Board 3, and as one might expect the opening stage was pretty quiet, with Mr. Davis playing some passive moves, allowing Mr. Barber to gain a fine position in the opposite side castling middlegame; White admitted to being worried afterwards! However, Black forgot to follow the grandmaster rule: “Always play Kb1” and White managed to change the nature of the game by forcing a trade of queens with a check. In the longest game to finish by far, Davis eventually looked to be completely winning, with his king behind Barber’s pawns in an ending, and a bishop for knight to boot. But with a nifty display of endgame understanding, Black combined counterattacks and defence to steer the game into a tranquil drawn position. A neat escape in Geoff B’s return to OTB chess!

On Board 4, Mio Ristic played James Davidson in a Scandinavian. James played quite solidly, putting a knight on c6 instead of the usual pawn, ala Alistair Anderson. However, he was not quite careful enough with his queen and soon found it trapped on b6; Mio was, of course, able to convert a full queen without further drama.

Round 2 results:
Chris Lamming vs Serge Corbeil 0.5 – 0.5
Anakin Kotus vs Jack Smith 0-1
Geoff Davis vs Geoff Barber 0.5 – 0.5
Mio Ristic vs James Davidson 1-0
Paul Brown vs BYE

Note: Fess and Aidan were not present for round 2, and Rodel had to take a BYE due to work. If Fess and Aidan are not present in round 3 they will be taken out of the draw; their opponents will likely be playing each other in this case.

Round 3 pairings:
Jack Smith vs Chris Lamming
Serge Curbeil vs Geoff Davis
Geoff Barber vs Anakin Kotus
Paul Brown vs Mio Ristic
Rodel Sicat vs Fess Vehbi
Aidan Vehbi vs James Davidson

The Summer Swiss has started strong with 10 participants, many of whom were new faces at the club, including an overseas visitor in Chris Lamming, starting off with a solid win against Fess Vehbi on board 1 on the Black side of a Sicilian Dragon.
Fess set up a Yugoslav Attack formation, but was somewhat delayed in pushing the h-pawn, allowing Chris time to counter-attack in the centre and stave off the eventual kingside threats.

Board 2 saw Jack Smith play a surprisingly uninspiring Scotch Gambit against Rodel Sicat; Rodel stepped off the beaten track, and Jack had a small and pleasant edge but failed to do much with it; pieces came off the board and it looked quite drawish until Rodel took one too many pawns and allowed Jack a nice trick to trap the bishop.

Newcomer James Davidson took the White pieces against Geoff Davis on board 3 in a “delayed alapin Sicilian”; Geoff got early pressure against the e4 pawn, and James didn’t find the right response; he eventually resigned down a few pieces.

On board 4, Serge Curbeil made an appearance against Aidan Vehbi; clearly an experienced player, Serge took control with a Stonewall structure, and quickly checkmated the youngster.

Geoff Barber took a bye in the first round, but Anakin Kotus did not go without a game; a visiting Geoffrey Gill had a casual game or two with him, and Anakin got the full point bye.

Round 1 results:
Fess Vebhi vs Chris Lamming 0-1
Jack Smith vs Rodel Sicat 1-0
James Davidson vs Geoff Davis 0-1
Serge Curbeil vs Aidan Vehbi 1-0
Anakin Kotus vs BYE 1-0
Geoff Barber requested BYE .5

Round 2 pairings:
Chris Lamming vs Serge Curbeil
Anakin Kotus vs Jack Smith
Geoff Davis vs Geoff Barber
Rodel Sicat vs Fess Vehbi
Aidan Vehbi vs James Davidson

We were happy to see healthy numbers (13 altogether) for the return of the Saturday afternoon sessions, but we will not be able to meet this coming Saturday (27 Feb) as the venue will not be open.

Hope to see you next week, or, if you’re playing, for round 2 of the Summer Swiss on Thursday!

David O’Dea shared first place with Jack Smith in the first Geelong Chess Club tournament of 2021, both players scoring 5 points; David looked unstoppable going into the final round on 5/5 where he played the Black pieces against a trailing Rodel Sicat, but Rodel played a picturesque final game, culminating in a fine sacrifice to drag down his strong opponent.

We were happy to welcome many newcomers to the Club in this first tournament of the year, with David, Ash Batta, James Davidson and Fess and Aidan making their first appearance, all putting on a good show against tough contenders.

Round 1 Results:
Aidan vs Geoffrey Gill 0-1
Ashutosh Batta vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Jack Smith vs James Davidson 1-0
Fess vs Geoff Davis 0-1
Rodel Sicat vs Anakin Kotus
David O’Dea vs BYE 1-0

Round 2 Results:
Geoffrey Gill vs Rodel Sicat 0-1
Geoff Davis vs David O’Dea 0-1
Ashutosh Batta vs Jack Smith 0-1
Mio Ristic vs Fess 1-0
James Davidson vs Aidan 0-1
Anakin Kotus vs BYE 1-0

Round 3 Results:
David O’Dea vs Jack Smith 1-0
Rodel Sicat vs Mio Ristic 0-1
Anakin Kotus vs Geoffrey Gill 0-1
Aidan vs Geoff Davis 0-1
Fess vs Ashutosh Batta 1-0
James Davidson vs BYE 1-0

Round 4 Results:
Geoffrey Gill vs David O’Dea 0-1
Mio Ristic vs Geoff Davis 1-0
Jack Smith vs Rodel Sicat 1-0
Anakin Kotus vs Aidan 1-0
James Davidson vs Ash Batta 0-1
Fess vs BYE

Round 5 Results:
David O’Dea vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Geoff Davis vs Jack Smith 0-1
Rodel Sicat vs Fess 1-0
Ash Batta vs Anakin Kotus 1-0
Geoffrey Gill vs James Davidson 1-0
Aidan vs BYE

Round 6 Results:
Rodel Sicat vs David O’Dea 1-0
Jack Smith vs Mio Ristic 1-0
Ash Batta vs Geoffrey Gill 0-1
Geoff Davis vs Anakin Kotus 1-0
Aidan vs Fess 0-1
James vs BYE

Final Standings:
1 – 2. David O’Dea 5
Jack Smith 5

3 – 4. Rodel Sicat 4
Geoffrey Gill 4

5 – 8. Mio Ristic 3
Geoff Davis 3
Ash Batta 3
Fess 3

9 – 11. Anakin Kotus 2
James Davidson 2
Aidan 2

We are happy to announce that we have decided to start running the Saturday afternoon sessions again at the usual place and time, starting this Saturday the 13th February! Anyone interested is encouraged to come along and join in the fun. For more details, see the event page here: https://geelongchess.com/saturday-afternoon-casual/