48th Begonia Open 2014

News

117 players came to Ballarat to play in the Ballarat Open this year. Kanan Izzat and Christopher Wallis tied on 6 out of 7.

Notes from Robert Jamieson on Chess Kids

Last weekend was the Labour Day long week-end in Victoria so chess players did what they have been doing for around 50 years, namely journey to Ballarat for the Begonia Open Chess Tournament.   This 3 day event attracted 117 players to their new venue at Clarendon College, after having been in the School of Mines for many years.  The new venue was modern, spacious and well lit and the draw was displayed on two big overhead screens for all to see.  All-in-all a big improvement on the previous venue, except it is a little further out of town and away from the cafes/restaurants.

The tournament resulted in a tie for first between Chris Wallis, who defeated defending champion James Morris in the last round to finish on 6/7 and new-comer Kanan Izzat, an 18 year-old Fide Master from Azerbaijan who is visiting Australia possibly for a good while.