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. Some how, 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 th 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.