The 50th Ballarat Begonia Open Chess Tournament was held on the 12th-14th March, 2016, and was a runaway success, with a record field of 147 entries including 3 IGMs (International Grandmasters), 1 IGM elect, and 9 IMs (International Masters).
First place was shared three ways, between the top seed, former PCA World Chess Championship Challenger IGM Nigel Short (UK), IM Kanan Izzat (Azerbaijan), and reigning Australian Champion IM Bobby Cheng, all on 6 points out of 7.
Geelong was well represented with Geoffrey Gill, Alistair Anderson, and Michael Sugrue all scoring 4 points, and Mio Ristic on 3 points. Mio had the distinction of reaching the highest board level (Board 8), for an honorable defeat against IM Ari Dale (see below).
Geelong’s Mio Ristic in deep concentration on Board 8, with IGM Nigel Short looming behind.
See the gallery for more media. Further details may be found at begoniaopen.com.
Geelong Chess Club 