39th Club Championships 2004

Chess players have come far and wide to enter this years Ballarat Club Championship including players from Buninyong, Ballan and Barker's Creek. The A division consists of 14 players in a Round Robin Event with thirteen rounds. 10 players ECO 1600+ have so far entered. Current top seed, Australian U-12 Junior Champion 2003 Jing Jia is expected to trouble many in what promises to be an exciting event in closely matched field. The B division looks to consist of approximately eight players, It will be a Double Round Robin event of 14 rounds unless numbers swell. Top Seed Tim Cummons, and new members Michael Pippin and Ian Rogers (!).

Round 1

The first round saw some the tournament heavyweights in key match-ups, most notably the showdown between arch rivals Peter Lumsdon and seven times club champion, Kevin Perrin. The game was a suitably tense and difficult affair; Lumsdon gained a piece for two pawns after a spirited attack against Perrin's Sicilian Defence and converted his advantage late in the endgame.

The other key pairing had Scott Stewart versus strong newcomer Gordon Lindberg. Another Sicilian, the two players maintained a dynamic equilibrium, typical of the Sicilian, before settling on the only draw of the round. Both players were probably happy with the result.

Top seed, 13 year old Jing Jia, had surprisingly little trouble in disposing of the dangerous Jamie Brotheridge, who dropped a pawn early in a Caro-Kann Defence. Efficient pressure saw Jing win the exchange as well, and Jamie resigned shortly after

John Frangakis, promoted from last years Reserves, faced the experienced John Lavery from Barkers Creek. Lavery eventually ground down Frangakis' Catalan-type structure, despite stubborn resistance. Charlie Andrews, the Houdini of the 2002 event, proved too good for a determined Judd Madden.

Patrick Cook played a Larsen's Opening against Clint Stewart's Dutch set-up: no surprises there. The game was a fighting affair, with Stewart walking into a mate in 1 in a position he may well have been winning! A lucky escape for the four times champion.

The most dramatic game of the round saw the Bailey boys, Robert and Mitchel, square off in a Queen's Gambit Declined. After a typical QGD positional struggle, the game reached a drawn pawn ending. However, Mitchel, believing he'd found a win, set off on a fatal adventure with his King and quickly found himself forced to resign.

A Grade Results
Robert Bailey v Mitchel Bailey	1 - 0
John Frangakis v John Lavery	0 - 1
Peter Lumsdon v Kevin Perrin	1 - 0
Charlie Andrews v Judd Madden	1 - 0
Jing Jia v Jamie Brotheridge	1 - 0
Patrick Cook v Clint Stewart	1 - 0
Scott Stewart v Gordon Lindberg	½ - ½

B Grade Results
William Stokie v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
Tim Commons v Michael Schreenan	1 - 0
James Eldridge v John Abson	1 - 0
Darren Young	Bye

Round 2

With 1st round nerves out of the way, the players settled down for the long struggle ahead. The Major pairing had John Lavery play the Grand Prix attack against Peter Lumsdon's Sicilian Defence. In a wild and woolly game, Peter was already two pawns in arrears, with an exposed king, when he left a Rook en prise and promptly resigned.

Jamie Brotheridge met second seed Patrick Cook and found an unusual continuation against Patricks Chigorin Defence (1.d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6). Black struggled to gain some activity and dropped a queen-side pawn, but gain some play. At this point, Patrick offered a draw and was surprised when Jamie accepted after some thought.

Judd Madden faced the confident top seed Jing Jia and caused the upset of the round, and maybe the tournament. With a fine display of calm, positional chess. Having won a pawn early, Judd continued his logical game, winning a 2nd pawn in the endgame and finished off the game effectively.

In the miracle of the round, Clint Stewart Played resourcefully against his brother, Scott's Sicilian Defence and gained What looked to be a totally winning position, the exchange and three pawns to the good!! However, Clint was unable to deliver the coup de grace, and combined with Scott's never say die attitude, found himself under extreme time pressure with to many problems to solve, and collapsed. A terrible blow for Clint who could easily have 2/2.

Keven Perrin Faced Charlie Andrews who ventured his usual Kings Indian defence. Perrin Nursed a slight edge throughout a lengthy game, but was never able to find more, and players agreed a draw. Mitchel Bailey, versus Gordon Lindberg was anther Kings Indian That also seemed headed for a draw, until Mitchel went astray in the endgame to hand Gordon the full point.

Robert Bailey versus John Frangakis followed a similar course from a Queens Gambit Accepted, enabling Robert to share the lead with John Lavery on 2/2.

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v Gordon Lindberg	0 - 1
Clint Stewart v Scott Stewart	0 - 1
Jamie Brotheridge v Patrick Cook	0 - 1
Judd Madden v Jing Jia	1 - 0
Kevin Perrin v Charlie Andrews	½ - ½
John Lavery v Peter Lumsdon	1 - 0
Robert Bailey v John Frangakis	1 - 0

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v John Abson	0 - 1
Darren Young v James Eldridge	0 - 1
William Stokie v Tim Common	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan	Bye

Round 3

The first two rounds have given notice that there are no easy games in this tournament and that trend continued. In the only decisive game of the round (so far), Gordon Lindberg overcame a discouraged Clint Stewart in a lively Dutch Defence, which looked to offer Clint some saving chances.

Second seed Patrick Cook played his usual Larsen's Opening against Judd Madden and gained a pawn from premature aggression by Judd. Patrick then efficiently traded down to a winning pawn ending, only to push the wrong pawn and the win slipped to a draw. Another good result for Judd.

Peter Lumsdon took on Robert Bailey's Petrov Defence and after a careful manoeuvring game was surprised and grateful when an over-respectful Rob offered him a draw when a pawn to the good in the end game. Top seed Jing Jia played veteran Kevin Perrin, competing in his 39th consecutive club championship! Kevin essayed the Modern Defence (1.e4 g6) and neither player was able to gain an advantage.

Scott Stewart versus the enigmatic Jamie Brotheridge was another Sicilian for Scott. The most interesting aspect of the game for spectators was that Jamie had written 'resigns' on his score sheet whilst waiting for a reply that he feared! Scott however, had calculated that the continuation was bad for him and played an alternative move, saving Jamie from embarrassment. The give was eventually drawn.

Charlie Andrews played the Barcza System against John Lavery and a long positional struggle, typical of the opening, ensued. The game was adjourned late in the night with John having a bishop for two pawns in a clogged up rooks and pawns ending.

John Frangakis versus Mitchel Bailey has been postponed to a later date.

A Grade Results
John Frangakis v Mitchel Bailey	½ - ½
Peter Lumsdon v Robert Bailey	½ - ½
Charlie Andrews v John Lavery	0 - 1
Jing Jia v Kevin Perrin	½ - ½
Patrick Cook v Judd Madden	½ - ½
Scott Stewart v Jamie Brotheridge	½ - ½
Gordon Lindberg v Clint Stewart	1 - 0

B Grade Results
Tim Commons v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
James Eldridge v Michael Schreenan	1 - 0
John Abson v Darren Young	1 - 0
William Stokie	Bye

Round 4

This round saw the 'Clash of the Titans', Kevin Perrin versus Patrick Cook in their 20th championship encounter! Between them, they have 11 titles. The game itself was a bit of a fizzer. Kevin opted for a cautious line of the Reti, while Patrick responded with a careful defence. He made his usual early draw offer which Kevin declined, only to rather sheepishly offer a draw himself 5 moves later after mass exchanges had left the board bereft of life. (And the overall score? 8-7 with 5 draws in favour of Patrick).

In the other main attraction, John Lavery took on top seed Jing Jia. Both players spent some time on the opening, a "Queen's Pawn Opening", vaguely similar to a Gruenfeld. Jing picked up a pawn in the middle game and in his familiar, precise fashion, increased his advantage to have four pawns for the exchange when the game was adjourned. John resigned without resuming play. Jamie Brotheridge played Gordon Lindberg and was 'blown away' by the Ballarat Uni student after ten moves of a French Tarrasch. Tournament leader Rob Bailey played Charlie Andrews and was very pleased with his position after the opening, the Austrian Attack against Charlie's Pirc Defence. However things went sour for Rob in the middle game where he blundered attempting to sharpen the position. Charlie finished him off with some inventive tactics at the end. A setback for the ambitious Rob Bailey.

John Frangakis played a Reti very similar to that of Kevin Perrin, against Peter Lumsdon and seemed to be holding his own late in the middle game. Superior technique and experience told in the end and Peter gained a winning advantage. The only drama was John's interesting attempt to stave off defeat by aiming for the notoriously tricky ending of King, Bishop and Knight against King. Peter didn't need to prove his technique however, since kept a pawn and registered his 2nd win.

Judd Madden lined up against Scott Stewart and surprisingly found himself facing an Alekhine's Defence. Scott won a pawn in a tough theoretical battle before gaining a decisive advantage when Judd dropped a piece in the late middle game. Scott finished him off with precise technique. Mitchel Bailey and Clint Stewart was postponed.

One other game was played, in advance of round 10, when Peter Lumsdon played Gordon Lindberg. According to Gordon, he gained a winning advantage from a Sicilian Najdorf but 'let it slip away'. An important win for Peter.

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v Clint Stewart	1 - 0
Jamie Brotheridge v Gordon Lindberg	0 - 1
Judd Madden v Scott Stewart	0 - 1
Kevin Perrin v Patrick Cook	½ - ½
John Lavery v Jing Jia	0 - 1
Robert Bailey v Charlie Andrews	0 - 1
John Frangakis v Peter Lumsdon	0 - 1

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v Darren Young	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan v John Abson	1 - 0
William Stokie v James Eldridge	1 - 0
Tim Commons	Bye

Round 5

Round 5 proved to be a particularly bloodthirsty round with all 7 games decisive, 6 of them won by white! The Heavyweight pairing saw Patrick Cook play his favourite Larsens Opening against John Lavery who responded with a critical main theoretical line. Patrick played a modest novelty on move 11 by swapping B for N to create a queenside pawn weakness that proved crucial in the endgame. White sidestepped several clever traps to record a nice win in the pawn ending.

Charlie Andrews was surprised by John Frangakis' Scandinavian Defence (1.e4 d5) but carefully picked his way through its subtleties to gain a material edge after John unwisely allowed a vicious pin. Charlie had no trouble pocketing the full point thereafter. Gordon Lindberg continued his express pace from round 4 by demolishing Judd Madden's French Tarrasch in just 12 moves. The game featured the classic mating attack with a B sacrifice at h7 against a castled K.

13 yo Jing Jia continued in his quiet Karpov like manner with a polished win over Rob Bailey. Jing demonstrated his versatility by adopting a line of Larsen's Opening against Rob's Dutch Leningrad structure. Rob proved unable to cope with Jing's relentless pressure and lost on time in a losing position.

Peter Lumsdon found himself in some trouble against Mitchel Bailey's Caro-Kann Defence but a daring h-pawn push by Peter confused matters until Mitchel blundered into a mate in 1.

Scott Stewart versus Kevin Perrin was a visit to the 19 th Century when Scott played the almost defunct Centre Game (1.e4 e5 2. d4) and sacrificed a pawn for some vague initiative. Kevin seemed to have the advantage until Scott's Tal-like qualities surfaced with a quick piece sacrifice that gave him a dangerous passed pawn. Kevin might have saved the draw but for a misplaced R that proved costly. The sixth white win for the night.

Only Jamie Brotheridge prevented a Rd 5 ?white wash? when he overcome a spirited Clint Stewart. Clint showed capable preparation by surprising Jamie's Alekhine's Defence with a rare line involving a pseudo ? piece sacrifice previously played successfully by John Lavery against Patrick Cook. Clint however was unable to capitalise on his psychological initiative and Jamie registered his first win of the tournament.

One other game was played earlier in the week when Gordon Lindberg played Patrick Cook in their round 13 encounter. In a classical French, Patrick typically grabbed a hot pawn but found himself unable to hold it, and worse, in an inferior position and soon a pawn down. The R ending may have been salvageable, but inaccurate play against good technique by Gordon saw Patrick resign after 55 moves.

A Grade Results
Peter Lumsdon v Mitchel Bailey	1 - 0
Charlie Andrews v John Frangakis	1 - 0
Jing Jia v Robert Bailey	1 - 0
Patrick Cook v John Lavery	1 - 0
Scott Stewart v Keven Perrin	1 - 0
Gordon Lindberg v Judd Madden	1 - 0
Clint Stewart v Jamie Brotheridge	0 - 1

B Grade Results
James Eldridge v Tim Commons	1 - 0
John Abson v William Stokie	0 - 1
Darren Young v Michael Schreenan	0 - 1
Reuben Barnett	Bye

Round 6

The major pairings in this round had Peter Lumsdon take on Charlie Andrews' usual Pirc Defence. Black created a serious K-side pawn weakness to aim at and quickly organized his pieces for an attack that netted a pawn and shortly after, a piece as well, to force Peter's resignation. A feature of the game was a pleasing Queen offer by Charlie on move 20, wisely declined by Peter.

Also important was the game between Kevin Perrin and Gordon Lindberg. Kevin opened with the English (1.c4) but the game quickly transposed into the fianchetto variation of the King's Indian Defence. Static pawn structures and major piece maneuvering followed with all the pieces and pawns still on the board into the middle game. Gordon pressed home his advantage with Q sacrifice for R and N with what he thought was forced mate. Kevin coming to the same conclusion resigned, Gordon pointed out that it was perhaps premature seeming a rook ending 1 pawn better for Gordon would have resulted if he sought to regain his material after a counter Q sacrifice from Kevin.

John Lavery, reeling after 3 losses in 2 weeks, faced a dangerous Scott Stewart. John ventured the Moscow variation, a rare line, against Scott's Sicilian Defence, but gained nothing from the opening. A dour battle around John's isolated Q-pawn ensued, and with a Bishops-of-opposite-colour ending looming, a draw was agreed.

Rob Bailey was looking to arrest a 2 game slump when he met 2 nd seed Patrick Cook. Patrick left his Chigorin Defence in the repair shop and opted for the safe and solid Queens Indian Defence. Neither player gained any advantage, which encouraged Rob to offer a draw after 20 moves. Patrick unsurprisingly accepted, after, surprisingly (!) thinking for some time.

Mitchel Bailey versus Jamie Brotheridge featured another Queens Indian Defence. Jamie won a pawn early in the middle game and held on to it into a probably winning rook ending. However, in a bizarre reversal of fortune, Jamie somehow managed to lose! A confidence booster for Mitchel after the disaster in round 1.

Judd Madden built up a nice position against Clint Stewart's Sicilian Defence, culminating in a neat piece sacrifice on move 20 to reach a winning position. He let the win slip with a few inaccuracies and Clint grabbed his chance to snatch a draw by perpetual check. John Frangakis proved no match for the ruthless Jing Jia who swept to victory with the Gruenfeld Defence after just 20-odd moves. Another comprehensive win for the top seed who has recovered from his round 2 shock against Judd Madden.

No less than 4 other games were played during the week. The postponed round 4 game, Mitchel Bailey versus Clint Stewart was a demoralizing disaster for Clint who dropped a rook on move 8 in a Leningrad Dutch. He resigned on the spot of coarse.

The round 7 clash, Gordon Lindberg versus John Lavery was a French Winawer which John was just unable to hold, despite reaching a bishops of opposite colour ending. Another important win for the club debutant. From round 8, Rob Bailey faced Gordon's Queens Indian Defence and was crushed! Black gained a dominant position after an exchange sacrifice and finished Rob off with a rook sacrifice to boot!

The mayhem continued when Gordon played his round 9 game against John Frangakis who seems to have added the Scandinavian Defence (1.e4 d5) to his repertoire. He was probably out of book on move 2!(e5) and was outplayed by Gordon to register his 6 th tournament loss.

Gordon Lindberg is now the player to catch and if he wins his last 2 games, only Scott Stewart could theoretically match his final score!

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v Jamie Brothridge	1 - 0
Judd Madden v Clint Stewart	½ - ½
Keven Perrin v Gordon Lindberg	0 - 1
John Lavery v Scott Stewart	½ - ½
Robert Bailey v Patrick Cook	½ - ½
John Frangakis v Jing Jia	0 - 1
Peter Lumsdon v Charlie Andrews	0 - 1

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v Michael Schreenan	0 - 1
William Stokie v Darren Young	1 - 0
Tim Commons v John Abson	1 - 0
James Eldridge	Bye

Round 7

Round 7 was anther bloodthirsty round; as with round 5, all games were decisive. The highlight was the pairing of top seed, Jing Jia against the wily Peter Lumsdon. Once again, Jing adopted a line of Larsens Opening again (1.Nf3 … 2. b3) That he used in round 5 and gained strong Queenside pressure after Peter incautiously castled Queenside. Jing eventually won the exchange and converted his advantage in his polished positional style. Scott Stewart essayed the swashbuckling opening he used two rounds earlier, this time against Robert Bailey. A wild, tactical melee ensued. When the smoked cleared, Robert found himself a rook down for only a few spite checks and resigned after 17 moves.

Jamie Brotheridge versus Judd Madden was a strange and exciting affair. A seemingly standard Queens Gambit quickly metamorphosed into a peculiar king pawn opening. A middle game with a material imbalance was reached in which Judd gained a winning advantage, only to blunder a piece to allow Jamie to pick up the full point.

Patrick Cook versus John Frangakis was yet anther Larsen opening, from which while gained a slight edge after saddling John with an isolated Queen's pawn. After some plan-less manoeuvring in the early middle game, Black seized the initiative. At this point, Patrick saw fit to make one of his infamous “Psychological” draw offers, which John declined after lengthy reflection. A grave error, since he promptly blundered a piece for two pawns and was quickly outplayed in the endgame, another disappointing result for the 2003 reserves champion.

Clint Stewart versus Kevin Perrin was a Pirc Defence in which white launched a big kingside push. Kevin managed to survive the pressure to emerge a pawn to the good going into a rook ending. Clint, however, made it easy by leaving his rook en prise and was forced to resign.

Gordon Lindberg versus John Lavery was played earlier (see round 6 report).

Charlie Andrews versus Mitchal Bailey was postponed, so with Gordon free, the round eleven game versus Charlie Andrews was played. Predictably, This was a Kings Indian Defence. Black looked to be under some pressure early, but managed to exchange material to reach a seemingly innocuous position to judge from the pleased expression on Charlies face. A logical looking Queenside pawn push on his 17 the move had a huge hole in it, however, and Gordon's calm reply, netting a piece, left Charlie staring at the board, red faced, before he resigned.

This week leaves Gordon with just one game to play, against Jing Jia, a game that will have a crucial bearing on the tournament outcome.

A Grade Results
Charlie Andrews v Mitchel Bailey	1 - 0
Jing Jia v Peter Lumsdon	1 - 0
Patrick Cook v John Frangakis	1 - 0
Scott Stewart v Robert Bailey	1 - 0
Gordon Lindberg v John Lavery	1 - 0
Clint Stwart v Kevin Perrin	0 - 1
Jamie Brothridge v Judd Madden	1 - 0

B Grade Results
James Eldridge v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
Darren Young v Tim Commons	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan v William Stokie	1 - 0
John Abson	Bye

Round 8

The big clash of this round had Charlie Andrews launch the Danish Gambit against Jing Jia, who happily pocketed the extra pawn. White did gain an edge in the opening, but neglected his further development and soon found himself in a losing position. In the endgame, however, Jing revealed some technical deficiencies and Charlie escaped with a draw.

The other ‘big game’ saw old rivals Peter Lumsdon and Patrick Cook meet: Patrick defended with his usual French Defence and Peter chose the provocative Alekhine-Chatard attack against the Classical variation. A difficult and tense game ensued with neither side being able to gain a decisive edge. Patrick’s “usual” draw offer was ignored, but peter could find nothing more than immediately repeating moves. John Lavery versus Clint Stewart saw John challenge Clint’s usual Dutch Defence with the Staunton Gambit (1.d4 f5 2.e4?!).

A very complicated struggled resulted with a great deal of time used on the opening. This proved crucial in the end as Clint became lost in the labyrinth of possibilities and lost on time with much still to play for. Probably the most interesting game of the round was Mitchel Bailey versus Judd Madden. A pretty standard Queens Gambit resulted in an even position until Judd livened things up by sacrificing a knight for 2 pawn on his 19th move. He quickly gained a 3rd pawn and the game continued in a new phase with unbalanced material.

The game looked to be heading for a draw until Mitchel cracked under pressure and blundered a rook. A good result from Judd’s daring play. Kevin Perrin versus Jamie Brotheridge was dour struggle in the English opening. While picked up a pawn early and held on to it for the rest of a lengthy game. The great drama in this game occurred at the time control with Kevin having the chance to win on the spot by grabbing a rook. Short of time and seeing dangers he preferred king safety first and declined his chance. The rook ending that followed proved to be only worth a draw.

John Frangakis versus Scott Stewart was anther Dutch Defence. Once again John obtained a solid, if un-ambitious position from the opening. Black, pushing for play in the complex middle game, sacrificed the exchange for an attack against the white king and wrapped up the full point with a pleasing mating attack in which both bishops played a role. Yet anther disappointment for the 2003 reserves champion.

Robert Bailey versus Gordon Lindberg was played earlier (see round 6 report).

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v Judd Madden	0 - 1
Kevin Perrin v Jamie Brotheridge	½ - ½
John Lavery v Clint Stewart	1 - 0
Robert Bailey v Gordon Lindberg	0 - 1
John Frangakis v Scott Strewart	0 - 1
Peter Lumsdon v Patrick Cook	½ - ½
Charlie Andrews v Jing Jia	½ - ½

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v William Stokie	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan v Tim Commons	0 - 1
John Abson v James Eldridge	0 - 1
Darren Young	Bye

Round 9

The major pairing of this round saw Scott Stewart play the always dangerous Peter Lumsdon. Peter defended with a Sicilian Najdorf and typical double-edged position arose: Scott eventually gained a tricky piece before Peter, in a desperate attempt to save the game, forced Scott’s king on grand adventure from a2 to d8 with a series of checks!. At this point, move 39, Peter ran out of checks and ran out of time as well, an exciting game.

Jamie Brotheridge played John Lavery and found himself facing a Benko Gambit. The game seemed quite even until Jamie blundered horribly around move 27, giving queen for rook. Clint Stewart faced Robert Bailey. Like his brother Scott, Clint seems to like antique openings and sprang the venerable Bishop’s opening on his opponent: Robert was unable to cope with the tricks and dropped a rook and pawn for no compensation before Clint finished him off with a beautiful smothered mate.

Patrick Cook faced Charlie Andrews and knowing Charlie’s penchant for the Kings Indian, didn’t play his favourite Larsen. Charlie’s Knights went on the rampage early and Patrick found himself 2 pawns down right from the opening. He managed to limp into a rook ending, still 2 pawns down and made a valiant attempt to hold the game. Charlie successfully sidestepped various traps and finally forced white to resign after 70 moves.

Patrick’s laconic comment after the game was “I should have played 1.b3”. Jing Jia versus Mitchel Bailey was, unsurprisingly, a Caro-Kann, but the game was adjourned after 16 moves, at Mitchel’s request, due to illness. A generous gesture by the young top seed! Gordon Lindberg versus John Frangakis was played earlier. Judd Madden versus Kevin Perrin was postponed to a later date.

A Grade Results
Jing Jia v Mitchel Bailey	1 - 0
Patrick Cook v Charlie Andrews	0 - 1
Scott Stewart v Peter Lumsdon	1 - 0
Gordon Lindberg v John Frangakis	1 - 0
Clint Stewart v Robert Bailey	1 - 0
Jamie Brotheridge v John Lavery	0 - 1
Judd Madden v Kevin Perrin	0 - 1

B Grade Results
John Abson v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
James Eldridge v Darren Young	½ - ½
Tim Commons v William Stokie	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan	Bye

Round 10

This round saw the first and second seeds, Jing Jia and Patrick Cook, finally meet, though the outcome was important only for Jing Patrick defended with the French, as expected, but Jing surprised many by playing the Alekhine-Chatard Attack. The same position as in Lumsdon-cook from round 8 was reached, but Patrick erred badly on move 9 and Jing won a fine Miniature. Mitchel Bailey played Kevin Perrin and played Kevin’s own favorite Fianchetto variation against the Kings Indian. Mitchel won a piece in the opening by staying alert and seemed headed for a convincing win when he suddenly squanders his entire advantage with an ill-timed piece sacrifice. The game fizzled to a draw shortly after.

John Lavery versus Judd Madden was a tough manoeuvring game. Judd Tried to play the French, But John wasn’t in the mood and sidestep it into a strange Sicilian, which seemed a bad idea after Judd picked up a pawn with strong play. Judd continued confidently, swapping down to a rook and pawn ending. It was here that John’s great experience told, as he played aggressive endgame strategy to dominate the position and regain his material with interest. It was an impressive win for the Barkers Creek Veteran.

Robert Bailey took on Jamie Brotheridge in a Queens Gambit Accepted. A tight, interesting positional struggle ensued, with Jamie eventually winning a pawn late in the middle game. Robert however, patiently frustrated Jamie efforts to simplify the position and was duly rewarded, winning back his pawn and coming close to winning. The mutual back rank weakness forced a draw. John Frangakis met Clint Stewart and a horrendously complicated Dutch Leningrad was reached. Both players used a lot of time trying to fathom the complexities of the position, and it appeared Black who gained the upper hand when he grabbed a pawn and exposed the white’s King in the middle game.

John, though, is nothing if not persistent, and it paid off when he regained his pawn and won anther with a neat tactical trick. On move 32 he missed a golden opportunity to win a piece and finish off Clint, but confessed after the game that he just didn’t see it. With everything still to play for, John walked into a mate in one. Anther terrible blow for last years reserves champion. Charlie versus Scott Stewart was postponed while Peter Lumsdon versus Gordon Lindberg was played earlier.

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v Kevin Perrin	½ - ½
John Lavery v Judd Madden	1 - 0
Robert Bailey v Jamie Brotheridge	½ - ½
John Frangakis v Clint Stewart	0 - 1
Peter Lumsdon v Gordon Lingberg	1 - 0
Charlie Andrews v Scott Stewart	1 - 0
Jing Jia v Patrick Cook	1 - 0

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v Tim Commons	0 - 1
Michael Schreenan v James Eldridge	½ - ½
Darren Young v John Abson	1 - 0
William Stokie	Bye

Round 11

The crucial pairing of this round was the much anticipated showdown between Scott Stewart and top seed Jing Jia. Once again, Scott wheeled out the archaic Centre Game (1. e4 e5 2. d4); Jing kept a pawn from the opening but conceded the bishop pair and some space. Black seemed quite comfortable going into the middle game until Scott launched a counterattack which caused enough confusion for Jing to fall into mate in 2 in Scott’s time pressure! A fatal blow for the top seed who is now out of the running for the champions title.

Clint Stewart versus Peter Lumsdon was a Sicilian Najdorf – poison pawn variation and as with most of Clint’s games was very complicated. White seemed unable to keep a handle on the complexities and shed material to be the exchange and 2 pawns down and short of time as well. From here the game became somewhat surreal, with Peter blitzing out his moves in an effort to rush Clint into mistake. Instead, he committed a catastrophic blunder himself to drop a piece, then another to give up the exchange as well and thus Peter registered a painful loss instead of the expected win.

Judd Madden played Rob Bailey and black defended with the Petroff Defence (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6). Neither player seemed to gain much from the opening. Judd, pushing for a win, offered the “exchange” on move 20, only to discover a big hole in his combination. To his dismay, he found that he’d merely given away a rook and resigned shortly after.

The game of the round was undoubtedly that between veterans Kevin Perrin and John Lavery. A French Defence, advance variation (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5) white got lost in the theory and made a slight error, giving John sustained pressure that yielded him a piece after a neat combination. A beautiful position positional miniature.

Jamie Brotheridge destroyed the Kings Indian of the now thoroughly demoralised John Frangakis. John is staring at a disastrous 0/13 result.

Patrick Cook versus Mitchel Bailey was postponed to allow the round 7 game Charlie Andrews versus Mitchel Bailey. Charlie surprised everyone with Bird’s Opening. Static pawn structures and a trading off of pieces resulted in an even middle game with queens and rooks still on the board. In the ensuring endgame, Mitchel spurned numerous drawing opportunities to hand Charlie a vital win. He retains a theoretical chance at the title.

The scheduled Round 11 game Patrick Cook versus Mitchel Bailey was played a few evenings later. Predictably, it was a Larsens opening and proved to be a short painless draw, neither player wishing to stretch on the night.

One other game was finished during the week. The adjourned game Jing Jia versus Mitchel Bailey from round 9 was resumed. Mitchel had spent a good deal of time analysing the adjourned position, only to find upon resumption that he’d set up the position incorrectly, and in his subsequent confusion blundered a piece. He resigned on the spot.

Gordon Lindberg versus Charlie Andrews was player earlier (See report Round 7).

A Grade Results
Patrick Cook v Mitchel Bailey	½ - ½
Scott Stewart v Jing Jia	1 - 0
Gordon Lingberg v Charlie Andrews	1 - 0
Clint Stewart v Peter Lumsdon	1 - 0
Jamie Brotheridge v John Frangakis	1 - 0
Judd Madden v Robert Bailey	0 - 1
Kevin Perrin v John Lavery	0 - 1

B Grade Results
Darren Young v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
John Abson v Michael Schreenan	0 - 1
James Eldridge v William Stokie	1 - 0
Tim Cummons	Bye

Round 12

Going into Round 12, only 3 players were left in the for the title: Gordon Lindberg, Scott Stewart and Charlie Andrews with a theoretical chance.

Top seed, Jing Jia toon on Gordon Lindberg and played his favourite version of the Larsen (1. Nf3 2. b3). White picked up a pawn early at the cost of an uncastled king and gained more space in the unusual middle-game position. However, Gordon regained the pawn with a neat combination late in the middle-game and seized the initiative in a tricky rook ending where white’s far advanced king appeared caught in a mating net. Jing escaped into a lost ending and patient harassment caused Gordon to slip up and Jing snatched a lucky draw. Gordon Lindberg thus finishes on 11 points and is the player to catch.

2nd seed Patrick Cook faced his recent bete noir Scott Stewart and for only the 2nd time in this tournament left his Larsen’s Opening at home, preferring to directly challenge Scott’s Dutch Defence. The players followed a CC game they are currently playing until Scott varied on move 9. A complex, dynamic position arose in which black was close to being in zugswang. White, in trying to confuse his opponent, succeeded only in confusing himself and quickly lost control of the game. Scott was typically ruthless in finishing Patrick off. A vital win for Scott who can now win the tournament outright if he wins his last two games.

Charlie Andrews was white against Clint Stewart and played what he himself called a “trash opening” 1. c3 (actually the obscure Saragassa Opening) which quickly transposed into Bird’s Opening (1. f4). Clint, having won three games in a row, was inspired and trapped a bishop as early as move 12 to Charlie’s astonishment. Clint had little trouble having in the full point thereafter. This defeat knocked Charlie out of the running for the title.

Peter Lumsdon took on Jamie Brotheridge and a pretty standard Sicilian saw white holding the initiative against seemingly solid defence by black. On move 22, white missed a marvellous combination that would win outright, opting for a modest retreat instead, before committing hari-kara shortly after with a grotesque blunder.

Robert Bailey versus Kevin Perrin was a Slav/Grunfeld hybrid; a typically manoeuvring game was played. With both sides having solid positions Rob offered a draw which Kevin declined, after which Rob “blundered” the exchange and discovered that he’d gained a winning attack.

Mitchel Bailey faced John Lavery’s Benko Gambit and handled this dangerous defence with calm assuredness, keeping the gambit pawn from the opening. White then picked up the exchange as well in the middle-game to be well placed for an upset win. The Barkers Creek veteran is tough to beat however, and after finally regaining the gambit pawn accepted Mitchel’s draw offer.

John Frangakis versus Judd Madden was a Catalan type opening typical of John in recent years. Looking to get on the scoreboard after 10 straight losses. White lashed out with a Queen sacrifice that never looked like working and registered loss no. 11.

One adjourned game was decided this week, when the John Lavery versus Charlie Andrews game from round 3 was “resumed”. As if to emphasise his gambling style of play, Charlie suggested the outcome be decided by the toss of a coin: “Heads you win, tails it’s a draw”. Heads it was, so John “won” a game he would probably have won anyway.

A Grade Results
Mitchel Bailey v John Lavery	½ - ½
Robert Bailey v Kevin Perrin	1 - 0
John Frangakis v Judd Madden	0 - 1
Peter Lumsdon v Jamie Brotheridge	0 - 1
Clint Stewart v Charlie Andrews	1 - 0
Jing Jia v Gordon Lindberg	½ - ½
Patrick Cook v Scott Stewart	0 - 1

B Grade Results
Tim Commons v James Eldridge	1 - 0
William Stokie v John Abson	1 - 0
Michael Schreenan v Darren Young	0 - 1
Reuben Barnett	Bye

Round 13

This is the official last round of the tournament, but several games are yet to be played, and the hunt for the title remains open.

The most important game, Scott Stewart versus Mitchel Bailey, was postponed for several nights, but when played was, predictably, a Caro-Kann Defence (Smyslov Variation). Mitchel, an expert on this defence managed to get Scott into a main theoretical line, which Scott perhaps suffering from stage fright misplayed. He decided to opt for the Cook solution and offered Mitchel a draw after 16 moves! Mitchel accepted and Scott claims he was lucky to get away with a draw!

Scott now must beat Charlie Andrews to force a playoff with Gordon Lindberg.

Four games were actually played at the club, with the most interesting being Kevin Perrin versus John Frangakis. A Catalan Opening, it featured another stab at glory by John Frangakis when once again he sacrificed his queen, this time for 3 pieces. He made it 4 pieces for the queen shortly after in this dramatic and fascinating game. Sadly, John was unable to properly coordinate his forces and was overwhelmed by the army of white pawns, loss number 12 for John.

Clint Stewart versus Jing Jia was another full-blooded encounter. A Bird’s Opening (1. f4) resulted in a middle game with a material imbalance, Jing having sacrificed a piece for 3 pawns. His king was under a great deal of pressure however, and Clint seemed to have all the winning prospects but he was unable to press home his initiative and was outplayed by the cool youngster.

Jamie Brotheridge surprisingly adopted the Larsen against Charlie Andrews who, unsurprisingly responded with a King’s Indian set-up. Nothing dramatic occurred until Jamie launched into some middle game madness and resigned on the verge of a losing endgame. John Lavery surprised Robert Bailey by playing the Winckelman-Riemer Gambit against Rob’s French Defence (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 dxe4 6. f3?!). Black found an interesting way of dealing with it, but was later outplayed by the experienced veteran.

Judd Madden versus Peter Lumsdon was postponed. Gordon Lindberg versus Patrick Cook was played earlier (see round 5).

A Grade Results
Scott Stewart v Mitchel Bailey	½ - ½
Gordon Lindberg v Patrick Cook	1 - 0
Clint Stewart v Jing Jia	0 - 1
Jamie Brotheridge v Charlie Andrews	0 - 1
Judd Madden v Peter Lumsdon	0 - 1
Kevin Perrin v John Frangakis	1 - 0
John Lavery v Robert Bailey	1 - 0

B Grade Results
Michael Schreenan v Reuben Barnett	1 - 0
Darren Young v William Stokie	1 - 0
John Abson v Tim Commons	0 - 1
James Eldridge	Bye

Epilogue

Gordon Lindberg is the 2004 Ballarat Chess Club champion. Congratulations on a consistent performance. The crucial showdown, Charlie Andrews versus Scott Stewart, was a dramatic, but short. The opening, a Sicilian Smith-Morra Gambit, was a lively, tense tactical battle. It ended with Scott blundering a piece and resigning after 16 moves. With this loss went Scott's last chance to catch Gordon and force a play-off for the title.

Judd Madden versus Peter Lumsdon, held over from last week, was a Queens Indian by transposition. Judd held on to an extra passed pawn early in the middlegame and dominated the position after Peter blundered the exchange as well. Somehow, Judd's position imploded and Peter scored a lucky win.

John Frangakis versus Mitchel Bailey was a Catalan structure, very typical of John's recent play. The position was dead even, until Mitchel livened things up with an inspired combination that gave him rook and 2 pawns for 2 pieces. Neither player could make anything of this unblanced situation and a draw was eventually agreed. This was John's only result of the tournament and he thus escaped the Colonel Moreau award by the skin of his teeth.

The last unplayed game, Judd Madden versus Kevin Perrin (postponed from round 9) was played also. Predictably, a Scandinavion Defence was played. Kevin gained two rampaging passed pawns on the g and h files for the cost of a piece and these proved enough for victory.

So the 2004 Ballarat Chess Club championships is over. This years event was unusually tense, right down to the last round and beyond. It also seems to signal a changing of the guard, with a new, young generation taking the high placings. The old guard of Kevin Perrin, Patrick Cook and Peter Lumsdon al scored less than 50%, leaving John Lavery and Charlie Andrews to fly the flag for the veterans.

B Grade Results
Reuben Barnett v James Eldridge	0 - 1
William Stokie v Michael Schreenan	1 - 0
Tim Commons v Darren Young	0 - 1
John Abson	Bye