Tasmanian Championships

By Miles Patterson

As a committed ‘chess tourist’, I never delay in booking my annual expedition to northern Tasmania. The Tasmanian Championships are usually held over the March long weekend, in or around Launceston. There are few better bases for spending some time exploring the sights and enjoying the hospitality of the area, including excellent wine-tasting, spectacular scenery, good food and of course some enjoyable chess.

Although it decides the Tasmanian championship titles (residents only), the tournament is open to all and visitors are welcome (and occasionally allowed to win the event, if not the title). I am always surprised that so few interstate players have discovered this great opportunity to mix chess with a pleasant holiday.

This year it was run, under Carl Gorka’s excellent direction, in the very picturesque town of Deloraine. Innovations this time included a female-only blitz tournament (for International Women’s Day), and a minor (U1400) tournament held alongside the main championships. There was a strong turnout, and everything ran smoothly with a typically laid-back atmosphere. The tournament was won by a German exchange student, with Will Rumley taking out a close-fought championship title ahead of the old guard.

Major Division Prize Winners

1st Justus Sommer, 2nd, Tasmanian Champion: Will Rumley, 3rd and Tasmanian Seniors Champion: Ian Rout
Women's Prize and Tasmanian Women’s Champion: WCM Anya Song
Senior Prize: Miles Patterson, Junior Prize: Samuel Cassidy
Ratings Prize: Addison Djatschenko/David Escobar/Thomas Powell-Davies/Jonty Oud

Minor Division Prize Winners

1st Darvin Hansen, 2nd Vivaan Gupta-Devdia, 3rd Saad Ahsan