It was disappointing there were only
enough players to warrant two sections.
The missing section was the Under 18′s.
All the top players decided not to play,
or were unavailable to play.
The VJCL strives to support our best
players with opportunities to travel, play
in tournaments and have good competitions
here in Melbourne. If our top players
choose not to play it reflects poorly
on the state of junior chess in Victoria.
The two existing sections; Under 12′s
(above) and Girls (below) were successful
in thier own right.
Next year hopefully the Under 18′s will
be filled as well.

Under 12′s – 5th, 6th & 7th July

Sam Chow and Gordon Lindberg tied
for first place and ,elforts were made to
find suitable times for a playoff. Eventually,
after no time could be arranged
they were declared equal winners.
Ruperto Lugo and Thilini Basnayake
were awarded’ a trophy each for third
place.

Girl Masters – 5th, 6th & 7th July

Melissa Alexander and Gayanie Basnayake
were a class above the rest in
this tournament. Their crucial encounter
was won by Melissa.
Ira Grossman played well to finish 3rd,

and 7 year old Michelle Lee showed that
she will be someone to contend with in
the future by finishing 4th.
Many of the players were unable to play
their rounds at the correct time, but
provision was made for each game and
some players ended up playing 5 games
a day instead of the scheduled 3 games.
This tournament was by invitation only
and everyone selected to play should
feel honored even if they did not do
quite as well as they had hoped in their
games.
Some of the games played in the tournament
are on the next page.
Thanks to Joel McDonald for assisting.