M.C.C Announcements

Big news! One of Australia's strongest ever players GM David Smerdon will be playing the allegro and giving a lecture at the club on Saturday the 8th of February. Lecture starts after the allegro!

Allegro players are being spoiled as this comes 1 week after Carl Gorka's lecture on Saturday the 1st of February.

The lecture is FREE to attend if you are a member or if you play in the allegro that day, otherwise it's $5 for visitors (don't say the MCC isn't good to you chess players!).

I'd also like to mention Noble Park Chess Club's Club Championship, which starts on Saturday the 8th. I'm sorry for the clash however David's time in Melbourne is limited. I am playing in the NPCC championship and taking a round 1 bye, and I'd encourage other MCC members to support our friends at Noble Park.

See you on the 8th!

38 entries to the Australia Day weekender means the Grand Prix pot has raised to $190 after one of 9 events.
Current leaders are:
Open:
1st: Fedja Zulfic (6 points)
2nd: Svetozar Stojic (5.5 points)
3rd: Max Chew-Lee (5.5 points)

U/1800:
1st: Cavezza, Krstevski, Yu, T. Kolak (3.5 points)

U/1500:
1st: Tanya Kolak (3.5 points)
2nd: Regan Crowley, Damien Van Den Hoff, Al Matthew Canafe (2.5 points).

Next event is the Club Championship with 9 points up for grabs.

http://www.melbournechessclub.org/ev...014/grand-prix

What's on every week @ Melbourne Chess Club?

Sunday: Novice games & coaching (starts 2pm, finishes ~5.30pm)
Monday: Tournament night (Games start 7.15pm, next event starts 28th of April)
Tuesday: End-game study group with Master Bill Jordan (free for members, $5 for visitors, all levels welcome)
Wednesday: Novice night with Giles Lean (casual, social games)
Thursday: Openings study group with Master Bill Jordan (free for members, $5 for visitors, all levels welcome)
Friday: Club closed at the moment
Saturday: Junior classes start at 10am, and one of our most popular events "the allegro" goes from 2-6pm.

If you have any questions about the club or our events please feel free to post them here.

Cheers,
Paul

Australian chess will be remembering Andrew Saint and Hannibal Swartz this week. Andrew gave a lot to Australian chess, South Australian Chess and The Melbourne Chess Club in particular, his service and his nature will not be easily forgotten by anyone who knew him. He remains a strong influence and though he is no longer with us so many people carry him close to their heart- he made the world a better place.

I will remember his kindness, his humility, his openness and his non-judgmental way. You can watch a video of Andrew playing blitz at the MCC early last year here.

You can also read the memorial page on our website about Andrew and Hannibal here.

We will also be remembering Hannibal Swartz (Nghia Nguyen) this week. Those wanting to contact Hannibal's family can send me an email at pcavezza@gmail.com and I will pass on contact details.

The MCC will be running The Andrew Saint & Hannibal Swartz memorial again this December and we hope to see many of you attend.

I am pleased to report that others close to the events of last April are recovering well. James Morris has begun work on his university degree, Anthony Hain has completed training as a fitness coach and continues his work with Chess-Kids, and Dimitri Partsi is working on several creative projects which you can ask him about next time you see him. Alex Saint continues to be an example to those who know him, his positivity in the face of adversity is an example to everyone.

The Club will likely be closed tonight (Tuesday 15th) and on Thursday (17/4) as Bill Jordan is away for the week. Hope to see you all on Saturday for what should be a big MCC Allegro starting at 2pm!

GM Nigel Short V IM Leonid Sandler playing blitz at the MCC! A couple of photos here.

FIDE Master Chris Wallis (ACF 2384) will be giving an advanced lecture at the club on Saturday the 26th of April, at roughly 7.30pm (after round 5 of the ANZAC day weekender).

The talk is free for members, and free for players who take part in the ANZAC day weekender or allegro. Non-member visitors are welcome and are asked to contribute $10.

You can enter the ANZAC day weekender via this link:
http://www.melbournechessclub.org/events/entry

You can download 47 games from the recently completed MCC Club Championship on this page:
http://www.melbournechessclub.org/ev...nt-games?pli=1

The file is called MCCchamps2014.pgn. Enjoy, and thanks Kerry as usual for collating!

The MCC will be closed on Thursday & Friday nights until further notice. Our week at the moment looks like:

Monday: Tournament night
Tuesday: End-game Group with FM Bill Jordan
Wednesday: Novice night with Giles Lean
Thursday: Closed
Friday: Closed
Saturday: Junior Classes 10am - Midday. Then Saturday Allegro starts at 2pm.
Sunday: Open at roughly 2pm, all welcome.

Received a call last month from the Maritime Museum of Tasmania who found this coin they say dates back to the 19th century, when the MCC was the Melbourne Whist & Chess club!

Dear parents and players,

The committee is currently seeking volunteers to help out at the club in whatever way possible. There are big jobs and small jobs, manual jobs and intellectual jobs: no offer of assistance is too great or too small.

To keep the club in operation, and to keep fees low and avoid the need for paid staff, we need players and parents to contribute to the club's operation. Please send us an email at melbchessclub@gmail.com if you're interested in helping out.

Sincerely,
Paul Cavezza
President

Announcing: The 2014 Greg Hjorth brilliancy prize.

A $300 Chess Book / Chess DVD prize for the best game played at the Melbourne Chess Club in the calendar year. This award is on top of our regular series of 9 brilliancy prizes offered at the club each year.

The winner can make their own selection of books / DVDs from Amazon or wherever, provide receipts and be reimbursed up to $300 by the club. Eligible games are the 9 brilliancy prize winners from our 2014 events and perhaps any notable "runners-up" in those competitions (tbc).

We are also in the process of re-stocking the book-shop and players are welcome to make selections from there too.

The next tournament at the MCC is the Malitis Memorial, starting on Monday July 14th, enter now (http://www.melbournechessclub.org/events/entry ) and be in with a chance to win the grand prize!

Current brilliancy prize winners are here: http://www.melbournechessclub.org/ev...y-prizes?pli=1
and we're currently in the process of deciding the winner of the City of Melbourne Brilliancy prize.
The annual prize will be judged by a master level player with no conflict of interest (i.e. who doesn't have a game eligible of winning).

Those who drive to the club will be pleased to know a large car parking lot has opened right next door to the MCC. You can see some pictures on my blog (I can't seem to upload any more here).

Dear players & parents,

Please note that the Saturday Allegro will NOT be running on Saturday the 1st of November. From Friday October 31st to Tuesday November the 4th our biggest slow-play tournament of the year "The Greg Hjorth Open" will run. There is $4500 in guaranteed prize-money.

Players of all levels are advised to get their entry in early due to limited places. Enter here: http://www.melbournechessclub.org/ev...cc-hjorth-open

Dear players and families,

Please note the following changes to MCC fees for 2015.

1. Discount for early renewal of membership increased.
A $15 discount on MCC membership is now available to those renewing their membership on or before The Australia Day Weekender (1/26/2015)

2. Membership fees: (unchanged)
Adult, $170.
Concession, $120.
Junior: $80
Family: TBA
Life: $2500
Senior Life: $1500
Visitor’s fee: $5

3. International Masters & FIDE Masters are required to be Club Members to receive free entry to events. Inter-state International Masters are exempt.

4. Allegro fees:
Members: no change
Non-Members:
Adults: $20
Juniors: $15

5. Slow-Play tournament fees:
Members: no change
Non-Members: pay a minimum $15 more than Members per event

6. Family membership policy: A family membership must include a member under the age of 18. Independent adult family members (e.g. Adult siblings, or Parents and Adult Children) do not qualify for a family membership.

7. “Half year” membership policy: Half year memberships (half price) are only available to first year members of the club.

Where possible, the committee hopes to:

• Continue Membership renewal discounts.
• Maintain Member entry fees at a steady price.
• Increase Non-Member tournament fees again in 2016.
• Support, recognise and encourage membership of the Club.


Sincerely,
MCC Committee