Hi all
Welcome to email newsletter 1/2007.
Queensland is situated to make a large leap
forward this year - all we need is your
support. Attend your club nights and play in
open tournaments and chess will grow.
It is a very long time since the CAQ Council
has had such a talented line up of good
people on Council. With player strength
ranging from just under 2000 to wood
pushers, one third of the Council have
university degrees, we have age and youth,
retired business people, also a futures
trader, chess coaches and a pensioner -
experienced Council members plus new blood
to add new ideas.
With such wide range of life skills, Council
is set to represent Queensland to make this
the best chess state in Australia.
With more Myer Tan Australian Grand Prix
tournaments on the calendar this year,
Queensland players have a better chance to
win Grand Prix prize money at the end of the
year. This prize money is over and above the
tournament prizes won.
The first Myer Tan Australian Grand Prix
tournament in Queensland was The March
Madness - a Grand Prix Category 4 event
attracting 58 players.
The CAQ Council aims to lift the prestige of
the Queensland Championships this year. For
far to long have most of our top players
failed to enter this event. Without a top
line championship the young guns have
nothing to aim at in Queensland.
We will try to alter this by offering the
top six rated players appearance money of
$150 each if they play all seven games in
the eight-player round robin tournament.
This is over and above any prize money won.
The event will also be FIDE rated.
It is hoped that the North Queensland
Champion from last year will play in this
year's Queensland Championship. CAQ will
subsidise his air fares to compete in
Brisbane, to make it truly a Queensland
Championship tournament, plus have our best
players available.
Sponsorship of the Queensland Championship
is required. If you have any pull with your
firm or know who may like to sponsor the
Queensland Championship and Reserves
tournaments please let us know.
Without a major sponsor we may never reach
our future goal of an eight-player
Championship, eight-player Major,
eight-player Minor and open Reserve. Such a
sponsor would need to lock in for a number
of years to boost this to a truly elite
tournament structure.
Please check the CAQ web site as the
tournaments from Townsville and Mackay have
been put back a week since the calendar was
first published at the end of last year. The
Easter Tournament in Townsville will now not
be held this year.
Congratulations to young gun Kieton Beilby
(1307), seeded number 30, for his 5½/6
result in winning the 2007 Tin Cup. Also
congratulations to Peter Bender and his team
for another great tournament.
Congratulations to John Surridge, CAQ Vice
President and President of Logan City Chess
Club, for starting off the inter club teams
event this year with A and B divisions.
The CAQ plans to run a Director of Play
course and would like to hear from people
interested. More about that listed below.
Please be part of the great movement forward
in Queensland chess this year, remember
chess is better over the board.
Yours in chess
Bill Powell
Editor
