Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Aussie Four in Youth Olympiad

They may not have the over-rated celebrity of their compatriots in Beijing, but four young Australian chessers are in Turkey just quietly going about their business in the World Youth Olympiad. After receiving a drubbing in the first round - the Aussie team rebounded to draw their second match at 2 points all against Turkish side Isek Aquamatch, then proceeded to beat Syria, 2.5-1.5, in the third.

Unfortunately - the Australians lost to another Turkish team, Turkiye - Mersin, in the fourth round on a score of 1 point to three. Isaac Ng, manning board 2, was the sole winner over Ahmet Olcum.

The Aussies have 5.5 points after 4 rounds.

For local readers hoping to avoid seeing an Australian side finish behind the Poms, I'm afraid there is only bad news. The Mother Country has sent in a capable crew led by the 2259-rated Zhou Yang-Fan.

In other news, Jenni Oliver informs me that GM Zhong Yuan Zhao is off to Brazil to play in an RR grandmaster tournament. We'll provide updates as soon as we can find a website!

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