2007 NSW
Country Reserve Team Champions
Get into chess, its a lifetime of enjoyment!
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GM Dejan Antic's visit to Blayney
Being the first up close and personal contact with one of the game's elite players, many were unsure of just how things would proceed. Chess Grandmaster's have suffered bad publicity in the past with quirkish and irrational behaviour exhibited by some high profile members of that group leaving many with the impression that chess Grandmasters are some form of three headed monster that behaves in a manner that normal society cannot understand and that they should be avoided at all costs! How pleasantly surprised were we to find that Dejan was just an ordinary bloke very similar to people that we like to call friends.
Then an entertaining question and answer session followed where Dejan answered all queries in an honest and frank manner which impressed everyone. After a short refreshment break, play commenced in the simultaneous exhibition. Again Dejan's excellent good nature and love of chess shone through as he helped the younger and more inexperienced players whilst he was playing. I am sure that many went home with a new chess idol to follow, someone they now know more personally than just as a name in some book or magazine. Most games were over in around an hour, with Dejan finally resting with an impressive 17 wins and 1 draw from the 18 games. Dubbo's Sandy Aich was an extremely happy fellow, having secured the only draw. He felt that Dejan was being generous with him, as he was a pawn down, but the ending looked to be a theoretical draw. Four players received DVD's from Dejan as prizes for the best games on the day, they were Sandy Aich, Fritz Van der Wal, Rod McPhee, and Phil Bourke. Dejan was very complimentary on the standard of the play from the local players, saying that many played very good chess and some of the junior players showed great promise. Dejan also presented everyone with a CD for attending and along with the print out of the lecture material, everyone went home with good material for study. Please use the links to view Photos taken on the day, or to play through some of the Simul Games that occurred. On a personal note, I (Phil Bourke) would like to add that Dejan was an absolute pleasure to work with, from my first bumbling approaches on the possibility of having this event happen, right through to helping with outlines of how to run the day and organising extra materials for the participants. His lecture and delivery of it was ideal for the level of players he was dealing with, and his whole attitude throughout the day just made everyone feel at ease. The whole event has pleased me, and I look forward to doing a similar events with Dejan. I heartily commend that anyone contemplating doing something similar to go ahead and do it, the rewards more than justify the effort. I really think that most of the people who attended the day went home more in love with chess as a result of Dejan's efforts. |
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Grandmaster
Antic delivered an extremely informative lecture to the group of 20 that
was enthralling. His explanations of some basic concepts and principles had
light bulbs popping on everywhere as even experienced players were now looking
at things as though it was the first time they had ever seen it. He was
extremely patient and co-operative, answering all questions with simple and easy
to understand answers that satisfied the whole group.