A Chess Challenge In the State Library of Victoria

While exploring Melbourne central, I came upon the State Library of Victoria, from where I'm writing this post now. It's a spectacular building– by far the largest and busiest library I've ever been in. This, for example, is just one of its many, many rooms:

The area I found the most interesting, though, is the chess room: a section of the building filled with chess literature and chess players of all skill levels:

As a player myself, I saw an opportunity. While I'm by no means at a world-class level, I can hold my own against some very good players when I'm on my game. So, I sat down at an empty board and wrote the following open challenge on my phone:

$100

to anyone who can beat me

(bored foreigner)

I propped up my phone, placed a hundred dollar bill beneath it, and waited to see what would happen...

It didn't take long to get my first customer– one of the regulars from the table over, a lanky, elderly gent who didn't speak much English. He was prone to making quick moves that resulted in mistakes I could capitalize on. I captured his knight and was up two pawns by move 7. It was an easy win. We shook hands, and I waited for my next challenger.

My second, third, and fourth games were also somewhat one-sided. The third match, against a friendly Asian man in his mid-30s, ended up being pretty close until I was able to fork his king and bishop by advancing a protected pawn.

As I won, I spent more time waiting in between matches. Where I originally offered the $100 as an incentive for some good local players to play a stranger for an hour or two, it was becoming an intimidating factor. To those who looked interested, I said that they really had nothing to risk, and that I was only a recreational player killing time. Still, it seemed the pressure was a bit too much for some. One female student asked, somewhat endearingly, if we could play without any money involved, to the protest of her boyfriend.

I was still waiting, reading a tactics book pulled from the shelves, when an older man wearing a grey beret came up to me, somewhat incredulously, and asked if what I was offering was true. I said that it was. He smiled as he took his seat, we shook hands, and the fifth game began.

It became clear pretty quickly that this guy was no pushover. He applied pressure immediately after opening Sicilian and, through a solid attack on my king side, was able to get into favorable position early on. I defended and stabilized in the midgame, and began setting up a counterattack in the center.

Advancing my b-pawn to remove a defender, I captured a center pawn with my rook and threatened further material gain. My opponent responded by moving his queen through a diagonal, now clear, into my back rank to put me in check. Though I anticipated this, thinking that I could simply defend with my other rook, I didn't see the following variation:

With Qb2 threatening mate by Qxg2#, I can defend either with Re2 or Qe2. Because Qe2 gives up material and tempo, I opt for the former. He moves his queen back to the same spot, Qc1+, and I give the same response, Re2. A third move to Qc1+ is him trying to force a draw. I could decline with Qe2, despite the disadvantages, and still be materially even. My overall position, however, would perhaps not be very favorable. Rather than take a high variance spot, and with the library closing as well, I respond with Re2 and accept the draw.

We shook hands again, and this time I asked his full name. He introduced himself to me as Elie Beranjia, and (a later Google search revealed) he's a well-respected regular at the Melbourne Chess Club with a rating of nearly 1800. We talked for a while– about our game, our backgrounds in chess, among other things. Before he left, he posed me a very interesting problem from a real game between two grandmasters. Edit: Removed for inaccuracy

The library was shutting down, and after thank yous and goodbyes, one of the spectators asked if I would be around tomorrow to resume the challenge. I could see already that the big guns were going to be drawn. But, other than saving $100 that I had already resigned to forfeit, I didn't see a reason why not. I'm here to play. So, I said that I probably would be back as long as I didn't have another commitment.

When I returned the next afternoon, there was already a small crowd of high school students, all in the same maroon uniform, gathered around one board. Among them was the kid who asked if I'd be back the previous day. The game in progress was abandoned and way cleared for me to sit. The player across from me was an Asian teen, relaxed and confident. Brief introductions, and then I asked him what his rating was. He gave a sheepish smile, and said that he would tell me after the game.

The game that followed is not really worth going into, as it was more a summary execution than a fair contest. I resigned an unwinnable position in less than 20 moves.

It's no wonder too. His name is Bobby Cheng– International Master, Australian World Champion, and U12 World Chess Champion with a FIDE rating of 2435. They brought the big guns indeed.

I congratulated him on his victory (as if that really meant anything) and his fair-earned $100 (which to a high school student might've been slightly more rewarding). Fielded some questions, many about poker. And then I left.

My challenge so concluded, it was definitely a fun and slightly different experience, if anticlimactic in the end. I met some cool people, and got my ass kicked by one of the very best. Thanks, Melbourne!