2025 Arthur Teters Memorial
2025 Champion: CM Declan Smith
The Arthur Teters Memorial tournament for 2025 was a 7 round Swiss event at classical time controls (60 minutes + 30 seconds increment). It was our 3rd classical tournament for the year and had a fantastic entry of 53 players, young and old, including a welcome return to competition chess by 2014 Club Champion Rod Jacobs. Club Champion, CM Declan Smith was top seed, but remarkably, of the top 6 seeds, 4 were in the veteran category .
The first 2 rounds produced no real upsets, but there were a few draws of note : in Rd.1 Declan Mahar was held to a draw by Ryan Lambrou, while in Rd.2 Sam Song could not overcome 10 year old Shanaya Guha and Anna Yates fought veteran Kevin Perrin to a draw.
In Rd.3, Shanaya went one better and defeated experienced Vipin Jyani. It was business as usual in Rd.4. With the tournament past the halfway mark, Declan Smith was playing like the Candidate Master that he is and leading with 4/4. Surprisingly, junior Declan Mahar and veteran Patrick Cook were just a half point behind, with a strong chasing pack on 3.
Things got interesting in Rd.5 when Declan Mahar, in his “disturber of the peace” mode, snatched a draw from Declan Smith, 8 time Club Champion Bas van Riel fell to an inspired Jasan Barnett, and inaugural Women's Champion Anna Yates was defeated by Alberto Biju.
Rd.6 saw a meeting of old friends when 7 time Club Champion Kevin Perrin took on Rod Jacobs. Rod prevailed.
So to the final round, and 8 time Club Champion Patrick Cook faced reigning Champion Declan Smith who won yet again to claim a second successive Teters Memorial title. Feisty Jamie Brotheridge showed his class in downing Rod Jacobs, and Sam Song overcame Declan Mahar. These 4 players finished equal 2nd, along with Oscar Heawood, who quietly progressed through the field and defeated Kevin Perrin in the last round to claim the Reserves title.
Declan receives his champion's medal and Oscar Heawood his Reserves Champion medal.
For the past decade or so, the period between the annual Club Championships, for the Andy Miitel shield and John Baynham shield, has been filled with non-descript rapid play tournaments. At the suggestion of some club members, a new annual 7 round Swiss, games to be rated, was devised. All that remained was to give it a name. After a great deal of discussion, it was finally agreed to honour a past Ballarat player who has faded, almost to obscurity, in our collective memories.
Arthur Teters was part of the great wave of post-war immigration to Australia of Baltic chess players. He arrived in Australia in 1950 and won the Australian Open in Melbourne in 1953, before settling in Ballarat in 1954.
It can be established that he won the Ballarat Club championship in 1954 and 1957, and possibly several other years as well. He was elected President of the Club shortly after arriving here and played successfully for the Club in numerous inter-city matches. His other OTB achievements included winning the Country Victorian championship in the 1950’s, and then the Victorian State championship in 1965, no doubt after he had returned to live in Melbourne.
Upon his arrival in Ballarat, he had told the “Courier” that a highlight of his youth was holding the World Champion to a draw in a simultaneous exhibition in Riga. The Champion could only have been Mikhail Botvinnik, a notable achievement indeed.
He was also a strong and active CC player, winning the Victorian Correspondence Chess championship in the 1950’s and representing Australia in a CC Olympiad.
By a curious coincidence, the current President of the Club, Patrick Cook, played against Mr. Teters a number of times in the 1970’s and ‘80’s, without ever knowing of his connection to Ballarat chess. So, it is important that he not be forgotten and this new tournament is an appropriate salute to a past Ballarat champion.
The Arthur Teters Memorial Clock - tournament winners' names are appended to the back of the clock.