Date: Venue:

Geelong Captain's Report - Jack Smith

Geelong victorious! We were honoured to host Ballarat Chess Club once again for our annual interclub match. It was a tough contest; both teams brought strong fields, and the result of the match came down to the very last games.

Board 1 saw Reinier Millan champion board 1 for Geelong against CM Declan Smith, taking the white pieces for the first time in their four games against each other. Reinier played his signature pseudo-Trompowski, and Declan came prepared with 1. d4 d5 2. Bg5 f6 3. Bh4 Nh6! This is the critical line, and White's initiative rapidly faded. Despite tough resistance, Reinier eventually had to concede in a grim endgame. (Point: Ballarat)

On board 2, I took the Black pieces against James Watson, and equalised comfortably out of the opening, which was a Classical Nimzo Indian. Things got interesting in the middlegame, with minor errors from both sides in a complex skirmish. I came out with an exchange for a pawn, but James calmly established a strong outpost for his bishop, and my chances to win quickly faded to nothing - we agreed a draw in an equal position. (Draw)

On Board 3, we had Rodel Sicat taking the White pieces against Sam Song - Rodel played his signature Torre Attack and got a kingside attack. Black seemed to be holding his own with a strong knight outpost on e4, before missing a sneaky tactic which allowed White to garner the exchange, which Rodel prosecuted mercilessly. (Point: Geelong)

John Olle took the Black pieces on board 4 against Patrick Cook in a Benoni. Patrick played the opening well to maintain the customary space advantage, before playing a curious, illegal en-passant which blundered his queen. Neither player noticed the illegality until after the game, and John took the point home. (Point: Geelong)

Board 5 saw the return of talented Geelong junior Paul Landers, brushing off the dust against Paul Marko. As captain, I'd chosen to put Paul a few boards below his rating, since he hadn't played for most of a year, but he quickly demonstrated that his strength hadn't gone anywhere, as he played a masterful game to convert his space advantage. (Point: Geelong)

On board 6, Mio Ristic took Black against Kynan Thomson. Tragedy struck in the opening, which was a French Defense, and Mio found himself fighting down a piece for much of the game. It was a tough fight, but Kynan eventually converted his extra material into a win for his team. (Point: Ballarat)

One of Geelong's most criminally underrated players, Indily Francis, took White on board 7 against Alberto Biju in a Jobava London - she launched a fearsome attack early on, and while Black defended stubbornly, White eventually broke through in a display of clinical technique. (Point: Geelong)

On Board 8, Wisnu Subekti, wielding the Black pieces for Geelong, took on Julian Laffey. This was a long, tense game, and after a sudden tactic, Wisnu found himself fighting down a queen for rook and bishop. Julian proved up to the task of converting this extra material, and scored a well-earned victory. (Point: Ballarat)

Board 9 saw club stalwart Geoff Davis met Jasan Barnett in a non-descipt Queen's Pawn opening. Black came out of the opening in good shape, and with careful play, Jasan was able to grab the exchange going into the endgame. However, Geoff had dangerous pawns, and the question of how to stop them proved far from easy. As Geoff's pawns advanced, Black's pieces fell into passive positions, and White was eventually able to construct a brutal zugzwang, to score a surprising and important point for the home team. (Point: Geelong)

On board 10, John Cooke took Black against Ryan Lambrou. The players swapped many pieces early, and John collected the bishop pair going into an equal looking endgame. However, Ryan stayed ambitious, and eventually collected the win. (Point: Ballarat)

On the reserve board, James Kildea took white against Leopold Allen in a Slav. James grabbed the b7 pawn early, and things quickly went from bad to worse for Black as White found a series of strong moves to grind out a win.

Final Score: Geelong Wins (5.5 - 4.5)

Many thanks to all the players for helping to make this wonderful match happen, and congratulations to team Geelong on a hard-fought victory! Special thanks also goes to Terry and Sarah Kildea, who graciously facilitated refreshments for the match, and who were some of the first in the door to help set up. I am looking foward to next year, when we will venture to Ballarat in an attempt to defend our 3-year streak!

Ballarat Captain's Report -Patrick Cook

A Ballarat Chess Club team of 11 players travelled to Geelong on Sunday, 9th August for the 16th annual Fletcher – Fallow challenge match. As usual, Geelong fielded a strong team, but it proved to be a close contest, with our team losing 4.5-5.5. But for a bizarre example of mutual “chess blindness” on board 4, the result may well have been different. Our captain, Patrick Cook, played an en passant capture, quite legal, but removed the wrong pawn, illegal, and so lost his Queen and the game. Neither player noticed this irregularity until much later, after the game had ended, so the result stands. Declan Smith, Kynan Thomson, Julian Laffey, and Ryan Lambrou scored wins for our team, while James Watson conceded a draw. The overall match score is now 11.5-4.5 with 1 tie, in favour of Geelong.

Gallery

Click photo to open viewer..