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Chess Life — March 2009
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“I just received my first copy of New In Chess, and after spending the last 24 hours devouring it, I thought I’d give you my review: absolutely wonderful.” Alan D. Brunelle, Merrimack, NH, USA
“Thank you for the big effort you make to keep improving New In Chess.” Dr Attillio Sacripanti, Rome, Italy “Every issue is a gem of magnificent chess analysis. I especially like the endgame analysis by Jan Timman.” Rolf Knobel, Rotkreuz, Switzerland
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Find out why subscribers in 97 different countries think New In Chess is the best. Visit www.newinchess.com and take out an introductory subscription. You will pay only $47 for 5 issues. You will receive more than 500 pages of chess delight: on-site tournament reports from all over the world, annotations by top grandmasters themselves, in-depth interviews, opening surprises, personal essays, full color pictures, honest book reviews, juicy gossip, endgame analysis and Garry Kasparov’s exclusive column.
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March Chess Life PHOTO: HENRY D. WALLACE
Columns 14 CHESS TO ENJOY What Would Fritz Do? By GM Andy Soltis
16 SOLITAIRE CHESS Flankenstein’s Defense By Bruce Pandolfini
18 LOOKS AT BOOKS Answered Questions By Dr. Alexey Root, WIM
19 WHAT’S THE BEST MOVE? Readers Weigh In By GM Larry Evans
44 BACK TO BASICS Learning From Losses By GM Lev Alburt
46 ENDGAME LAB Dresden Dramas By GM Pal Benko
Departments 5
PREVIEW
6
COUNTERPLAY
8
FIRST MOVES
11 USCF HISTORY 48 USCF AFFAIRS 53 TOURNAMENT LIFE
24 | COVER STORY
The Wavemaster By Paul Gold
How do FM Robby Adamson’s Arizonan teams keep knocking off the scholastic powers from major metropolitan areas?
70 CLASSIFIEDS 71 SOLUTIONS 30 | COLLEGE CHESS
Can Anyone Beat These Guys? By Dr. Alexey Root, WIM
Once again, the University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Maryland, Balitmore County dominate a college chess event.
34 | KASPAROV
On The Cover
FM Robby Adamson, aka “The Wavemaster,” also pictured in the photo above right with Eli Alster (left) and Kevin Zhang. Kevin annotates a game (on page 28) as part of our cover story which begins on page 24. Cover Photo: Dennis Brownfield Art Direction: Frankie Butler
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Kasparov’s Curriculum By Macauley Peterson
Building on your strengths is always a smart business strategy. After a few years of steady, top-flight results by our youngest players on the international stage, Garry Kasparov comes to New York to work with a group of America’s best and brightest scholastic chess players.
40 | CORRESPONDENCE CHESS
Absolutely New and Improved By FM Alex Dunne
An experienced, strong group—all of them used to winning— “gathered” on a webserver to contest the 2007 Absolute. They then finished the 2006 Absolute.
uschess.org
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Contributors Al Lawrence (“USCF History,” p. 11) served as both USCF and World Chess Hall of Fame Executive Director. His latest book, with Lev Alburt, is Chess Training Pocket Book II.
Dr. Alexey Root, WIM (“Looks at Books,” p. 18; “College Chess,” p. 30) is a regular Chess Life contributor and is the author of Read, Write, Checkmate: Enrich Literacy with Chess Activities, Libraries Unlimited, publication date March 30, 2009.
Paul Gold (“The Wavemaster,” p. 24) is a chess master/promoter and occasional Chess Life contributor living in Tucson, Arizona.
FM Alex Dunne (“Correspondence Chess,” p. 40) is a chess journalist and the correspondence chess director for the USCF. His monthly column, “The Check is in the Mail,”
appears on uschess.org in the correspondence chess section under “Activities and Interests.”
Macauley Peterson (“Kasparov’s Curriculum,” p. 34) is a media developer & foreign correspondent for the Internet Chess Club’s Chess.FM. He was voted 2008 “Chess Journalist of the Year” by the Chess Journalists of America. His written work has appeared in Chess Life, Chess Life Online, New in Chess, 64 (Russia), Chess (U.K.), and elsewhere. In 2006, he completed work as an editor on Adam Nemett’s independent feature film, The Instrument, which appeared at the 2005 Dances With Films festival, in Los Angeles, and was part of New York’s Anthology Film Archives’ NewFilmmakers series, and he has produced the DVD releases of A Turnpike Runs Through It (2008), and Excess Hollywood (2006), for the Princeton Triangle Show.
March on uschess.org
SHULMAN BY BETSY DYNAKO; KAIDANOV BY MATT BARTON; BENJAMIN BY CHRIS BIRD
Uncrowned Champions
Reuben Fine, Pal Benko and Gregory Kaidanov (left) are three of the most accomplished players in U.S. chess history but one title eluded each of them: U.S. Champion. As the excitement for the 2009 U.S. Championships (May 7-17) in Saint Louis increases, David Friedman profiles the surprising omissions in championship history.
March Grand Prix madness
March Grand Prix CLO coverage includes the Western Chess Congress (March 6-8, Concord, CA), the Eastern Class Championships (March 6-8, Sturbridge, MA) and the Mid-America Open (March 13-15, Saint Louis, MO).
GRAND PRIX
GM Joel on American Olympiads
SuperNationals Superstars
The list of superstars set to attend the SuperNationals (April 3-5, Nashville, Tennessee) keeps growing. The current roster includes Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and U.S. Champions GM Yury Shulman (above) and IM Anna Zatonskih. More surprise stars and events will be announced on uschess.org so be sure to book your trip to Nashville if you haven’t already. uschess.org
Keep checking GM Joel Benjamin’s regular Chess Life Online Q & A column! Recent entries include questions on the likelihood of an Olympiad in America and various opening deviations and endgame troubles. Send your own burning inquiries to
[email protected].
Chess Life — March 2009
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Counterplay MadCap Software correction Chess sponsorship is difficult to obtain and even harder to retain. So it was especially disappointing to see the February article on the American Open attributing the donation of clocks to Mad Catz, rather than correctly citing MadCap Software and its website, www.madcapsoftware.com. Randy Hough Tournament Organizer
Chess Life regrets the error. ~ed. Looking deeper In the January 2009 issue of Chess Life, a position from Perelshteyn-Yermolinsky (U.S. Championship 2008) appeared in “Chess to Enjoy” (Problem I, p. 13) with the following solution: “1. Rch8! threatens 2. R4h7 mate (1. ... Kf7. 2. d5).” The first move and the threat are correct, but the response to 1. ... Kf7 can be improved. 2. Bg4 Rh1+ 3. Kxh1 Nf2+ 4. Kg2 Nxg4 5. Rxg4 nets more material, though the black pawns on the a- and b-files remain minor problems. Rybka 3 rates the two lines +4.11 and +4.63, respectively. Dr. Steven M. Stannish Potsdam, New York
Olympiad Coverage I try to read every issue of Chess Life
from cover to cover, always finding games, puzzles and news items of interest. As a former resident of Europe, I am very keen on getting news of international events. Knowing that the Dresden Chess Olympiads took place in November 2008, I looked for news about them in your December and January issues, but found nothing. Now the February issue “Bronze!” concentrates on the efforts of both our men’s and women's teams to end up in third place. While these efforts were covered in great, and thrilling, detail, I saw no complete tables of results or news of how other countries fared. I found the names of the gold and silver winners for men and women by accident on p. 42 in the last paragraph of the “Bronze Times Two” article. Maybe I missed something in the December or January issues, in which case kindly refer me to those pages or a website. Walter Unterberg Van Nuys, California
For the most up-to-date information on chess events, especially ones affecting American players, see Chess Life Online on uschess.org. We offered regular coverage from Dresden, still available in the November archives. The event ended on November 25, so the February issue was the first issue a report could appear in. The January issue was already in the mail to the membership
when the event concluded. Our editorial policy is to strongly focus on American chess. There are numerous outlets for international chess news. ~ed.
Would you like to be profiled in Chess Life?
In an issue later this year we will profile seven USCF members— examining how the USCF has been important to them—and for this we need your help. Would you like to be profiled? Do you know someone who should be profiled? If you were born in the year 1939, 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 1989, or 1999 and you are willing to be interviewed and have your photograph published in Chess Life, please contact us at
[email protected]. If you don’t have e-mail access, please see our address on page 2. Chess Life welcomes letters from its readers. Letters are subject to editing for content and length. Send your letters to
[email protected], and include your full name and a telephone number. Senders should not expect a personal response.
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Looks First Moves at Books
Harold Dondis and the U.S. Chess Trust
One of the key charitable partners with the USCF is the U.S. Chess Trust, and Harold Dondis was instrumental in making it viable.
Harold Dondis: “Chess remains an enormous puzzle for me.”
According to the I.R.S., not all not-forprofits are created equal. You can donate all the money you want to the USCF, for example, but you cannot (legally) claim that donation as a tax deduction. In 1967, the USCF’s then Executive Director, Ed Edmondson, saw the need for a charitable organization that would be consistent with the USCF’s mission, but would also allow donations to be tax deductible. He turned to a Boston-based lawyer to draw up the paper work. That lawyer was Harold Dondis. He created the U. S. Charitable Trust (the Trust) with a one-dollar donation, and remains as its Chairman Emeritus. Over the years the Trust has added a number of trustees and grown its corpus from that single dollar to hundreds of thousands of them. (See sidebar “The Trust’s Purpose”) Dondis was born in Rockland, Maine on October 1, 1922. He was educated in the Rockland public schools, Bowdoin, and then Harvard Law School. At the age of ten, he was taught to play chess by a summer camp counselor. After checking out the one book on chess in the local library (by Howard Staunton), he was soon playing with a regular opponent after school. The demands of higher education took him away from the game until a chance encounter drew him back. He attended a meeting of a modern poetry group whose members included Jim Burgess, who was then writing the Boston Globe’s chess 8
Chess Life — March 2009
column, along with Harry Lyman. Established in his legal career, he decided he could spare some time for chess, and met Lyman at the Bolyston Chess Club. He played in his first tournament game at the age of 30. He played in a chess league and remembers tournaments with fewer than ten players. That all changed when Bobby Fischer came along. By 1964, Dondis was president of the Massachusetts Chess Association, and in position to take over the Globe’s chess column following Burgess’ sudden passing (See sidebar, “Dondis’ Column”). His love for the game continued to grow as did his interest in problem solving in general. According to Dondis, “Chess remains an enormous puzzle for me. It involves great energy, computational ability, knowledge and steady care. I find it esthetically pleasing, instructive, and by the way, very helpful in keeping active in one’s old age.” Along the way, the Trust ran into trouble with the IRS and lost its tax exempt status. Dondis got it back. The corpus at the time was around $50,000. Dondis resisted pressure to liquidate and his determination was rewarded when a lady named Nearing made a substantial legacy in her will for the USCF, provided that the gift must be tax free. Edmondson’s original insight and Dondis’ steadfastness had been vindicated. Gradually, the Trust grew and other trustees were appointed. Mr. Dondis does not want to overlook anyone’s contribution, but makes a point to mention that George Cunningham was a “Rock of Gilbraltar.” George served until his death in 1983. At various points, others pressed the Trust to merge with the American Chess Foundation (later Chess-in-the-Schools), but Mr. Dondis, while seriously considering it, always concluded that it would result in a loss of membership representation. The Trust continued to grow and eventually purchased the Hall of Fame. It was moved first from New Windsor to Washington, and then to its present site in Miami, Florida. Although the corpus of the Trust has grown into hundreds of thousands of dollars, Mr. Dondis believes it is still too small. He is hopeful that the new web site
(uschesstrust.org) will help attract new donations, but believes that the real key to success is finding wealthy donors. The Trust has had some challenges and struggles over time, but Mr. Dondis has persevered throughout. One of his favorite things about being a trustee is that, “It is managed honestly, and there is little or no rancor among the Trustees, though often there is disagreement.” Perhaps that’s because the right tone was set from the top at the beginning.
The Trust’s Purpose To promote, stimulate, and encourage the study and play of the game of chess as a means of developing the intellectual powers; to disseminate information relative to the history and science of chess; to teach and to cooperate with others in the teaching of the fundamentals of chess to persons of all ages and particularly, but not by way of limitation, to students, members of the armed services of the United States, underprivileged persons, senior citizens, prisoners, and hospitalized and physically handicapped persons; to donate chess equipment to schools, colleges, hospitals, military installations, and similar institutions; to support activities of the United States Chess Federation (USCF) that qualify as charitable activities or purposes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, including scholastic activities; to sponsor, supervise, and conduct chess tournaments for juniors as a means of recreation and of combating juvenile delinquency; to sponsor, supervise and conduct chess tournaments for members of the armed services of the United States; to cooperate with the United States government in selecting, training and improving the caliber of candidates representing the United States in international competition, and to assist in financing the participation of candidates representing the U.S. in such competition. uschess.org
PHOTO: PAUL TRUONG
By Jim Eade
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Dondis’ Column
Here is a sample of Harold Dondis’ Boston Globe column, a reprint from August 4, 2008, written with GM Patrick Wolff.
Last week we discussed the World Grand Prix tournaments, a series of competitions that will choose the future challenger to the World Championship. The challenger will be chosen on the basis of cumulative points from best performance in invitational tournaments. This week we move back to the American Grand Prix tournaments. The Grand Prix prizes in this country, previously supported by Chess Café, are now sponsored by U.S. Chess Live through the United States Chess Federation. U.S. Chess Live has its own Grand Prix tournaments on the Internet Chess Club web site. Players with the highest points for the year from designated Grand Prix events receive prizes. In the past of course adults have always won it. But now the USCF has added a Junior Grand Prix eligible for players in five separate categories, the oldest being in the group born
between 1985 and 1987. In the adult section Sergei Kudrin of Connecticut is the clear leader this year with 96.16 points. Alexander Ivanov of Massachusetts is running third, but no doubt the increased costs of traveling due to higher fuel costs is creating difficulties in the race for Grand Prix Points. Igor Ivanov won the title nine times; Aleksander Wojkiewiecz won it five times through 2004. Both players were careless of their health and died at an early age. Recent Grand Prix winners have been Jaan Ehlvest of New York, entirely more careful with his habits than his predecessors, in 2005 and 2006. The winner last year was Zviad Izoria of New York. The USCF has a cornucopia of chess events for youngsters, and it is not possible to understate its contributions to scholastic chess. There are the Denker Tournament for High School Champions, aided by the U.S.
Chess Trust, and of course the massive elementary to K6-8 championships which plays host to thousands of kids and parents. The current issue of Chess Horizons has a lead article by Dave Angermeier of Franklin explaining the rise of his son Danny to the K-3 championship. Watching one’s son win a national championship reminds this column of an owner watching his horse win the Kentucky Derby. It is even more thrilling than that. The Junior Grand Prix is the latest addition to the scholastic events. We have some reservations about it because the prize depends on constant attendance at highly rated tournaments. This requires money and a lot of time. We have thought of scholastic chess as largely supplemental for children, though a few may have their eye on a professional future in chess.
Hugh Myers: 1930-2008
“The ground trodden above is yet rather new, and you may explore it as well as anybody else.” ~ E M A N U E L L A S K E R By FM Allan Savage
PHOTO: ARCHIVAL
Hugh Myers in 1954 photo from Chess Review
Hugh Myers learned the game of chess from Lasker’s Manual of Chess and his favorite line from that book (above) inspired his lifelong exploration of openings. Thus he explained in his fourth book, Exploring the Chess Openings (Thinkers’ Press, 1978), a wonderful uschess.org
examination of offbeat lines and games from his practice. He was a trailblazer, iconoclast, original thinker, curmudgeon, and at his peak, a strong master. While he was most proud of his games, he was best known for his analytic ability in the opening. This was featured in his books and most significantly in The Myers Openings Bulletin (MOB), a journal that he published and edited intermittently from 1979-1996. The MOB became a cause celebre for practitioners of unusual openings, a forum for airing of opinions of diverse chess writers, and a target for those conformists who would malign the very existence of offbeat ideas. The criticism of the skeptics, coupled with his opinionated writing style, led at times to occasional harsh treatment of Myers in print. But he rose above it and soldiered on, ultimately producing a lifelong body of work of which he could be proud, and that could be considered the vanguard of today’s movement toward opening creativity. The current series Secrets of Opening Surprises (New in Chess) and especially the journal Kaissiber (edited
and published by Stefan Bucker, an early contributor to MOB) have carried on Myers’ legacy. Born in Illinois, he lived most of his life in Iowa, but traveled, played chess, and lived for a short time in many other states and countries. At one time or another his exploits included: organizing the first Illinois Open (1951); membership in the Manhattan Chess Club in New York City; defeating William Lombardy (Chess Review, March 1957) in what he considered his best game; chess teacher in the Dominican Republic, playing first board twice for their Olympic team (Lugano, 1968 and Haifa, 1976); and state champion of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Myers most important opening work was on the Nimzowitsch Defense (1. e4 Nc6), of which he was considered the foremost authority. His first edition, The Nimzovich Defense (Thinkers’ Press, 1973), was followed by later editions published by Caissa Editions in 1985 and 1995. He frequently published analysis of this opening in MOB. Based on correspondence he published in that journal, Chess Life — March 2009
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Looks at Books much of his work on this opening influenced many players around the world, including yours truly. Lesser known but almost as significant was Myers’ pioneering efforts regarding the King’s Indian Attack (KIA). He played it first in the early 1950s and apparently may have influenced Fischer’s later use of that opening. Once I asked Hugh point blank if he, in fact, was the first to use the opening in the United States. He said “I can claim to be a pioneer, but the pioneer? I don’t know.” He gave a lot of credit to Stephan Popel’s KIA games when the latter was champion of Paris in the 1940s, and also to Tigran Petrosian (Petrosian-Barcza, Budapest 1952) for the particular knight maneuver Nd2-f1-h2-g4 that Myers used in his famous game vs. Penquite (Chess Review, April 1954). Myers researched and wrote extensively about how chess openings were named. He believed that precedence of using an opening in serious competition was most important, but that tradition or popular acceptance of a name was sometimes acceptable. For instance, though Aron Nimzowitsch was not the first to use the defense 1. e4 Nc6, he was the first to play it with frequent success in international competition. That is a sufficient reason to accept his name on the opening. If an opening had been played previously and analysis published, Myers had little sympathy for those who later
named a variation after themselves even if they conducted more extensive analysis. So in his opinion, the opening 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 should not be called the Panov-Botvinnik Attack since it was played well before their era by Paul Leonhardt, Richard Reti, Alexander Alekhine, Orland Krause, and others. Myers also had no patience for names like “The Rat” (1. e4 g6). He thought that this comic attempt was not logical and just created confusion, since the opening had so many other names (King’s Fianchetto, Robatsch, Ufimtsev, and Modern Defense, to name a few). Myers’ other books include New Strategy in the Chess Openings (Schroeder, 1968), Reversed King Pawns: Mengarini’s Opening (Thinkers’ Press, 1977), and his autobiography, A Chess Explorer (2002). The latter is scarce because it was selfpublished in an edition of only 300. In my opinion the book is quite enthralling with a myriad of chess stories and colorful annotations. Hugh Myers dedicated the epilogue in Exploring the Chess Openings to Louis Paulsen, Nimzowitsch, Savielly Tartakower, Hans Kmoch, Max Pavey, Alexey Sokolsky, Weaver Adams, and Nicolas Rossolimo. That gives you the true flavor of his philosophy of openings and his penchant for creative invention. He didn’t use computers but he was not a technophobe; he just “despised fanatics who wanted computers to replace books!”
So he was a bibliophile and researcher, and a true innovator of new ideas. One of his favorite phrases was “deserves respect” as in [that player] or [this quality game] deserves respect. Clearly this late master, one of Caissa’s devoted flock, has left us with many ideas that deserve respect. English Opening (A11) Hugh Myers William Lombardy New York, 1956
1. g3 Nf6 2. Bg2 d5 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. c4 c6 5. cxd5 cxd5 6. Qb3 Bc8 7. 0-0 e6 8. Nc3 Nc6 9. d4 Bd6 10. Rd1 h6 11. a3 Na5 12. Qc2 Bd7 13. b4 Nc4 14. e4 dxe4 15. Nxe4 Rc8 16. Ne5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 Nd5 18. Qe2 0-0 19. Qh5 Qc7 20. Rxd5 exd5 21. Nf6+ gxf6 22. exf6 Nd6 23. Bxh6 Bf5 24. Bxd5 Qc2 25. Bxf8 Rxf8 26. Qh6 Ne8 27. Re1 Bg6 28. Rxe8 Qd1+ 29. Kg2 Qxd5+ 30. f3 Qd2+ 31. Qxd2 Rxe8 32. Qh6, Black resigned.
Pirc Defense (B07) Hugh Myers Dave Ferguson Chicago, 1972 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be2 Bg7 5. g4 h6 6. Be3 c6 7. h4 Nbd7 8. f4 Qa5 9. Qd2 e5 10. 0-0-0 b5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. g5 hxg5 13. fxg5 b4 14. gxf6 bxc3 15. Qd6 Bf8 16. Qxc6 Ba3 17. Rxd7 0-0 18. Rd5 Bxb2+ 19. Kb1 Qb4 20. Rb5 Qa4 21. Qxa8 Be6 22. Qxf8+, Black resigned.
Mark Diesen: 1957-2008
Mark Diesen, age 51 of Conroe, Texas native of Buffalo New York, passed away suddenly December 9, 2008 in Conroe, Texas.
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Chess Life — March 2009
tions. He also practiced controlled aggression—attack when the position demands it—this latter quality is reminiscent of GM Portisch. All in all, he struck me as a very “European” player—worlds apart from the piece-sacking barbarians one often runs into at American Swisses”. Symmetrical English (A30)
Mark Diesen Joel Benjamin New York, 1977
1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 d6 6. 0-0 g6 7. d3 Bg7 8. e4 0-0 9. Nh4 Ne8 10. f4 e6 11. Be3 Nc6 12. f5 Nd4 13. Qd2 Rb8 14. Rf2 Nf6 15. Bg5 Qd7 16. h3 b5 17. Raf1 exf5 18. exf5 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 b4 20. fxg6 fxg6 21. Bxf6 bxc3 22. bxc3 Bxf6 23. Rxf6 Rxf6 24. Rxf6 Rb1 25. Kh2 Nc6 26. Qg2 Ne5 27. Qa8+, Black resigned. uschess.org
PHOTO: ARCHIVAL
Mark Diesen in an archival photo
Mark Diesen, age 51 of Conroe, Texas, native of Buffalo New York, passed away suddenly December 9, 2008 in Conroe, Texas. He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in chemical engineering. He worked as a reservoir engineer for Shell Oil, Pennzoil and Noble Energy. Mark was world junior chess champion in 1976, the U.S. Junior co-champion, the Louisiana state champion in 1986, 1987, 1988, Texas state champion, Southwestern Open champion, and an active chess coach in Houston, Texas and online, IM Mark Ginsburg has written a two-part feature for Chess Life Online at uschess.org, January archives, titled, “The Games of Mark Diesen.” A sample from the article: “Mark’s play reminded me of GM Huebner’s style—take what you are given, and display accuracy converting superior posi-
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Firsts and Fallout Shelters USCF’S 3RD DECADE: 1959-1968 By Al Lawrence
uring the 10 years America went from watching Walt Disney’s big-screen Sleeping Beauty to wincing at TV images of the war in Vietnam and protests at home, the USCF organized itself into an effective service organization, tripling its membership. Bobby Fischer is a historical vortex unto himself, but his ‘60s highlight-reel provides us a sense of the alternating excitement and frustration he generated. Fischer won seven more U.S. Championships—including the only perfect score (11-0) in event history. (In Bobby’s absence, Larry Evans won in 1962 and 1968.) In 1960 Fischer tied for first with Boris Spassky at Mar del Plata, Argentina. In 1961 an unbeaten Bobby was second only to recently dethroned world champion Mikhail Tal at Bled, Yugoslavia, scoring 3½ out of 4 against Soviets. Fischer then romped to a win at the 1962 Stockholm interzonal. Falling short in Curaçao of winning the right to challenge resurgent world champion Botvinnik, Fischer famously accused the Soviets of collusion and largely abstained from international play until the Sousse, Tunisia interzonal in 1967. There, leading with 8½ out of 10 near the midpoint, he withdrew over a scheduling dispute. Forlorn fans had to wait for another decade. Away from Bobby’s board and brinksmanship, others also made history. In 1959 Frank Brady took over from Harkness as business manager of the USCF. Arthur Bisguier bagged his fourth U.S. Open, winning the event’s 60th incarnation in Omaha while honeymooning with wife Carol. The 1960 U.S. Open yielded a milestone, as USCF finally adopted bylaws— pending since 1949. Fred Cramer won the presidency and Robert Byrne the play. Members were spread across the globe doing Cold War duty. PFC Arthur Feuerstein, serving in France, and Captain John Hudson jointly won the first Armed Forces Championship in 1960. In August the U.S. Student Team—William Lombardy, Charles Kalme, Ray Weinstein, Anthony Saidy, Edmar Mednis, and Eliot Hearst—plucked the first U.S. team gold since our triumphant, Kashdan-led Olympiad lineups of the 1930s. The evergreen Gisela Gresser, who first won in 1944, captured or shared four of the decade’s six U.S. Women’s Championship titles. But it was 1959’s winsome champ Lisa Lane who, in 1960, appeared on TV’s popular What’s My Line—and who in 1961 graced the widely-read Look (“the picture magazine”), and the
D
cover of Sports Illustrated. In January 1961, Fred Wren of Maine ended his three-year editorship. Brady, taking on an added role, remade the publication from a bi-monthly newspaper into a slick, monthly magazine. (One of his issues spoofed the Zeitgeist with an editorial calling for the organization of fallout-shelter chess clubs.) J. F. Reinhart assumed both of Brady’s positions in 1962. In 1963 Air Force major Ed Edmondson became USCF president, with a mission to recruit. When Marshall Rohland was elected USCF president in 1966, by then Colonel Ed Edmondson became our first executive director. Soon Burt Hochberg began his much-admired reign as Chess Life editor. In just four months, Hochberg put the magazine back on schedule by publishing seven issues. In 1967 Edmondson made a strategic command move, relocating USCF headquarters from New York City to Newburgh, one hour upstate, avoiding Manhattan expenses. In 1968—as USCF membership topped 11,000—Hans Berliner capped USCF’s third decade by winning the International Correspondence Chess Association championship, becoming America’s first correspondence GM.
.
Burt Hochberg, Chess Life’s longestserving editor, began his tenure in 1966
EN PASSANT • “King of the Opens”: Pal Benko won the 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967 U.S. Opens, the (first) 1965 American Open, and the 1966 and 1968 National Opens. • Walter Browne, 17 won the first U.S. Junior Invitational in 1966. • The 1966 U.S. Olympic team of Fischer, R. Byrne, Benko, Evans, Addison, and Rossolimo took silver at Havana, where Fidel Castro, listed as the event organizer, enjoyed simpatico chats with Bobby. • Trivia: First Chess Life cover date was the same day as John F. Kennedy’s inauguration, January 20, 1961. Headline: “FISCHER WINS U.S. TITLE FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR.” uschess.org
Chess Life — February 2009
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12/16/2008
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In association with
Present
The Sixth Annual All-Girls Open National Championships April 24 – 26, 2009 – Dallas, Texas Awards The University of Texas at Dallas, www.utdallas.edu, has established an Academic Distinction Scholarship to the winner of the 18-years-old and younger section. The scholarship is valued at $80,000 for an out-of-state student. Trophies to top 15 individuals and top 3 teams in each section. 3 or more players from the same school to make a team (top 3 scores added to give team final standings). Every player receives a souvenir medal.
Special Appearance by Anna Zatonskih
Reigning Champion, ReigningU.S. U.S.Women’s Women’s Champion, two-time Women’s Championship; WGM Annawinner Zatonskihofis U.S. two-time U.S. Women’s Champion, U.S. Member Olympiad member since including of USteam Olympiad Women’s Team2004, since 2004, BronzeSilver Medal team of 2008, Silver medalist at 2004 medalist of the 2004 World Chess Olympiad. Olympiad, Gold Medalist for Board 2 at 2008 Olympiad.
Main Event Saturday, April 25 9:00 AM–Opening Ceremony Rounds 1–4: 9:30–11:30 AM; 12:00–2:00 PM; 3:00–5:00 PM; 5:30–7:30 PM Sunday, April 26 Rounds 5–6: 9:00–11:00 AM; 11:30 AM–1:30 PM; 2:30 PM–Closing Ceremony Entry Fee $45 if postmarked by March 25th, $70 on-site. USCF membership required. All events will be hosted at Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd. Side Events Friday, April 24 3:00 PM– Blitz Tournament (G/5) $15 if postmarked by March 25, $25 on-site. 5:00 PM Bughouse Tournament, $25 per team. 7:00 PM–Simultaneous Exhibition by WGM Anna Zatonskih. Please bring clocks for all the events. Chess sets and score sheets provided for the Main and Side Events.
6-SS, G/60, Sections U 8-years-old and younger U 10-years-old and younger U 12-years-old and younger U 14-years-old and younger U 16-years-old and younger U 18-years-old and younger Entry & Info Make check payable to: Dallas Chess Club Attn: Barbara Swafford 2709 Longhorn Trail Crowley, TX 76036 Tel: (214) 632-9000 Online registration www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_ id=1643715 www.kasparovchessfoundation.org Hotel Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd. 300 Reunion Blvd., Dallas, TX 75207 Hotel Chess Rate: $109 (up to 4 people per room) if reserved by April 1, 2009 Hotel Reservations: Please call (800) 233-1234 or (214) 651-1234
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12/22/08
10:15 AM
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Official Sponsor of the 2008 US Men’s and Women’s Olympiad Teams.
Kasparov Chess Foundation’s mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess throughout the United States by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs.
Highlights of the Foundation’s Worthwhile Programs and Initiatives: : * KCF developed blueprint chess educational curriculum for schools, working with schools throughout the country to establish KCF program as de-facto curriculum standard * Organize and conduct teacher’s seminars and workshops * Official Sponsor of 2006 and 2008 U.S. Olympiad Teams; Men's and Women's teams won bronze in 2008, Men's team won bronze in 2006. * Sponsored and conducted training program for 2004 U.S. Women’s Olympiad Team, Silver Medalists * Founder and organizer of the All-Girls Nationals * Sponsor of Greater New York Scholastic Championships * Create program for talented children with Annual Master Class Series conducted by Garry Kasparov
For more information about Kasparov Chess Foundation’s programs, please visit us at www.KasparovChessFoundation.org Or email us at
[email protected]
Kasparov Chess Foundation is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) educational organization Supported by charitable donations from concerned individuals, private foundations and corporate sponsors.
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Chess to Enjoy
What Would Fritz Do?
Six decades ago, mankind made a social contract with machines. As computer chess reaches a milestone this month, we now know we got the better of the deal. By GM Andy Soltis
If computer chess has a birthday, it’s March 9. That’s the day 60 years ago when a mathematician/engineer named Claude Shannon gave a remarkable talk before a conference of radio engineers in New York. Shannon presented to them his plan for a “computing routine”—or “program,” he said, using a new term. It was a program for a machine to play chess. Shannon admitted that a chess-playing computer might have “no practical purpose.” But, he said, what scientists would learn from this project would enable them to tackle others, such as devising machines to route telephone calls, translate foreign languages, orchestrate a melody or even plan military strategy. In other words, we’d teach the machines how to play chess—and the machines would teach us how to program. But in 60 years the social contract has changed. Today the computers are teaching us how to play chess.
WWFD? GM Viswanathan Anand GM Ruslan Ponomariov Wijk aan Zee 2005
rnl+kl r +p+ +ppp pq ppn + + + + + + +P+ + +NN +P+ PPP+ +PP R LQKL+R
After 7. ... e6
In this, a standard Sicilian Defense position, Black’s annoying queen will keep White from castling kingside for sev14
Chess Life — March 2009
eral moves. White usually plays something like 8. Qe2, followed by Be3 and 0-0-0, even though the queen is somewhat clumsy on e2 and his king is often a target on the queenside. While White was thinking here, spectators following on the Internet asked the universal question of 21st century chess: “WWFD?” (What would Fritz do?) They were stunned when their computers answered 8. Ke2!. It’s actually a perfectly good move. Yet it’s one almost no carbon-based player would consider. That’s beginning to change. The generation of players who grew up on computers has now reached the world’s top 10 and it is proving that “computer moves” are perfectly good. As Gata Kamsky said in a Sport day by day interview, “When you constantly prepare with computers, you begin to think like a computer.” But how do computers think differently from us? Here’s a few things they’re teaching us.
Materialism “The use of computers has made people more skeptical and now they are prone to go pawn-grabbing unless there is definite compensation,” Vishy Anand wrote in his game collection. This challenges a common 20th century view that if you have a choice between obtaining a positional edge and getting a material edge of approximately the same value, the former is better. Alexander Alekhine, for example, said a strong master will always prefer the positional edge if the alternative is having to defend with the extra material. This carbon-based thinking is illustrated by:
Carbon-based thinking GM Bobby Fischer GM Tigran Petrosian Candidates finals match 1971
r+lqk+ r + + lppp p+ + n + + +p+ + Q+ + + + + NL+ + PP + PPP R L +RK
After 12. Qa4+
Black’s 12. ... Qd7 was praised and so was White’s reply 13. Re1. One or both moves was routinely given an exclamation point by annotators. But today a world class player—certainly a Kramnik or a Leko—would avoid 12. ... Qd7? if he were Black. And he would grab material, 13. Bb5! axb5 14. Qxa8, if he were White. Sure, Black has lots of play after 14. ... 0-0 15. Qa5. But White has the Exchange. Computers are teaching us that White is safe and sound—and better. Another lesson we’re getting concerns the minor pieces. When a white bishop pins a knight on, say, f6 or c6, Black is tempted to ask its intentions by advancing a rook pawn one square. We call that “putting the question to the bishop.” If White is a computer, he is much more likely than a human to answer with BxN. White may benefit in two ways. First, he gains a tempo, compared with retreating the bishop. Second, he may double Black’s pawns. White benefits in both ways after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6, rather than 4. Ba4. What is new is that players today, following the lead of computers, are willing to play BxN when they gain only one of the two benefits. Case in point: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 and now the unprovoked 4. Bxc6!? dxc6 is common. uschess.org
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Marshall/Showalter Centennial This year marks the 100th anniversary of one of the last matches for the title of U.S. champion. It was a match no one expected to take place: Frank Marshall had assumed he was champion after the titleholder, Harry Pillsbury, died in 1906. But a better claim was staked by the man Pillsbury had succeeded as champion, Jackson Whipps Showalter. To settle the issue once and for all, Marshall defeated Showalter in 1909 by a score of seven wins to two, with three draws. Games from the Marshall-Showalter rivalry provide our quiz positions this month. In each one, you are asked to find the quickest way to win. For solutions, see page 71.
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Problem I
Jackson Showalter Frank Marshall
L+ + +k+ p + + + + +l+p+ + + + + r + p K + + +P+ P + + P R + + +
Black to play
Problem IV
Frank Marshall Jackson Showalter
k+ + + r pp+l+qp + + + + +PL n +p + +L+n+ + + + + P+ +Q+PP + RR+ +K
White to play
r+lqklnr pp+ pp+p +p+ +p+ + p + + + +P+ + + + +N+ PPPP PPP RNLQK +R
After 4. ... dxc6
Shannon, now called the “father of information theory,” proposed in that 1949 lecture that programmers use the same point-count system that humans do—nine for a queen, five for a rook and so on down to one for a pawn. But he added something new: The weakness of a doubled pawn can also be quantified, at minus half a pawn. Since Shannon posited bishops and knights as being equal, this means White is already a half pawn ahead in the diagram. It is harder to quantify the value of a tempo, the other benefit of BxN. But today’s GMs, influenced by machines, are increasingly willing to trade the bishop if it saves a tempo—regardless of whether it inflicts pawn damage. You see this in popular lines such as 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bxf6!? and 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 0-0 5. a3 Bxc3+. uschess.org
Problem II
Problem III
Jackson Showalter Frank Marshall
Jackson Showalter Frank Marshall
+
+r+k+ p p + +p + + Qpq + pp+ + + L + + + + + N PPP+ +rP +K+R+ +R
White to play
Jackson Showalter Frank Marshall
Frank Marshall Jackson Showalter
+ +q+k+ +ppl+pp + + +np +Q+ P + +PrN+P+ P + + LP P + P + +K+ +L+R
And computers are telling us more about “putting the question.” They don’t have a problem making the kind of pawn moves that we were warned against when we had three-digit ratings. A machine can meet a ... Bg4 pin with h2-h3 and then answer ... Bh5 with g2-g4! with a clear conscience. Today’s masters are beginning to agree that loosening the pawn structure isn’t so scary after all.
Indefensible Conventional wisdom tells us the defender errs much more often than the attacker and therefore we should avoid positions that seem even slightly dubious. Machines disagree. “Computers teach man not to fear difficult positions,” David Bronstein said in a 2002 interview, recently published on the ChessPro website. “You know, a computer can defend any ‘hopeless’ position, from a human point of view, finding incredible, again from the human viewpoint, moves.” King as defending piece GM Levon Aronian GM Loek van Wely Wijk aan Zee 2008
(see diagram top of next column)
The natural defense to Black’s threat of ... Bxe3 is 12. Nd1. That makes sense because White seems to be forced onto the
Black to play
Problem VI
Problem V
White to play
+r+ +k+ + +q+pp + p + + +P+Qp lp + +P+ + + N + + r + PPP +R+R+ K
k+ K + + + +P+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + r +p R + + + + + + +
White to play
r+l+k+ r + + +ppp pqp+ + + +plpP + + + Pn+ + NLPQ+ PP + +PP R L K +R
After 11. ... Qb6
defensive. But if you remember our first example this month you know that 12. Ke2! is not only playable but possibly stronger. White can attack (13. h3! and 14. g4!) with his king sitting on e2, even if the center is opened. Play went 12. ... Nh6 13. h3 Nf5 14. g4 Ne7 15. Rb1 a5 16. e4!. Black went downhill quickly, 16. ... Bb7? 17. f5 Bd4 18. exd5 Bxe5 19. Be3 Qc7 20. Rbc1 b4 21. dxc6 Bxc6 22. Ne4 Rd8? (22. ... 0-0!) and lost following 23. f6 Nd5 24. Rxc6 Qxc6 25. Rc1 Qd7? 26. Nd6+ Qxd6 27. Bb5+ Kf8 28. Bc5. “Think different” was the memorably ungrammatical Apple computer slogan of a decade ago. “Think the same as us” is what the computers are saying now. I think they’re right.
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Chess Life — March 2009
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Solitaire Chess
Flankenstein’s Defense
Mary Shelley wrote in Frankenstein, “... nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose. ...” In this month’s game, Pillsbury’s mind should have been very tranquil. By Bruce Pandolfini
Today the logic behind flank openings and flank defenses is well known. The flanking, “hypermodern” player allows the opponent to build a pawn center and then tries to undermine that center, compelling it to move unsoundly, with serious weaknesses spawned in the process. But that strategy doesn’t always work. Sometimes the center and the initiative it engenders become overwhelming. In this month’s game we see an early and almost primitive use of ... b7-b6. The imprecise play that follows turns Owen’s Defense into a real horror. The opening of the opening was: Owen’s Defense (B00) Harry Pillsbury Samuel Tinsley London 1899 1. d4 e6 2. e4 b6 3. Bd3 Bb7 4. Ne2 Nf6 5. Nd2 d6 6. 0-0 Nbd7
r+ qkl r plpn+ppp p ppn + + + + + + PP+ + + +L+ + PPPNNPPP R LQ+RK
Your starting position
Now make sure you have the above position set up on your chessboard. As you play through the remaining moves in this game, use a piece of paper to cover the article, exposing White’s next move only after trying to guess it. If you guess correctly, give yourself the par score. Sometimes points are also rewarded for 16
Chess Life — March 2009
second-best moves, and there may be bonus points—or deductions—for other moves and variations. Note that ** means that the note to Black’s move is over and White’s move is on the next line.** 7.
f4
Par Score: 5
This follows Morphy’s idea from forty years earlier. Accept 1 bonus point if you knew the idea of developing the knights to the second rank, freeing both of White’s bishop-pawns for movement.
7.
…
c5
Add 1 bonus point if you saw that 7. ... Ng4 would be met by 8. Nf3.** 8.
c3
8.
…
9.
Ng3
9.
…
Par Score: 5
Naturally, White had intended c2-c3 by playing Nb1-d2. g6
Too many pawn moves. Simply 8. ... Be7 and 9. ... 0-0 looks right. Also, 9. ... cxd4 is fine.** Par Score: 5
With the d4-pawn secure, White can set his eyes on supporting f4-f5. h5
Tinsley plans to attack the g3-knight but his development is too stunted to succeed.**
10.
f5
Par Score: 5
White pushes ahead, ignoring Black’s last “threat.” 10.
…
h4
Black forges ahead. Safer was 10. ... e5, keeping lines closed until he can develop further.** 11.
fxe6
Par Score: 5
Receive only 3 points part credit for 11. Nh1. But why bother with this idea when
White can already open lines of attack. 11.
…
12.
exd7+
12.
…
13.
h3
13.
…
14.
cxd4
14.
…
15.
Qf3
15.
…
16.
d5!
16.
…
hxg3
It’s too late to turn back. On 11. ... fxe6 Black has to contend with 12. e5 hxg3 13. Bxg6+ Ke7 14. exf6+. Add 1 bonus point if that was your intention.** Par Score: 4 Kxd7
On 12. ... Qxd7? 13. Rxf6 (1 bonus point) while 12. ... Nxd7 did not appeal.** Par Score: 5
Receive only 3 points part credit for 13. hxg3, since even though it opens the hfile it accepts doubled pawns. Pillsbury figures on doing better, keeping the file closed, picking up the g3-pawn later. cxd4
Black’s move is probably a mistake. At this stage the open c-file can only benefit White.** Par Score: 4
That’s why the pawn was placed on c3, for this very purpose. Qe7
Black develops and pressures the e4pawn.** Par Score: 5
A two pronged move: Pillsbury guards e4 while lining up to take at g3. Bg7
Tinsley continues development, though move 15 is a bit late to get the king’s bishop out.** Par Score: 6
White solidifies the center, releasing the knight to move and free the bishop. Qe5 uschess.org
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March exercise: After every serious game, in a notebook or electronic file, list the three key things you could have done better. Be selective, making certain to include the most relevant items, since there's probably going to be more than three. Being pertinent here is part of the remedial art. Review that expanding list every week, reading it out loud, in your best actor's voice. Hopefully, it will sound less monotonous than Jack Nicholson's ominous novel in The Shining. Regardless how repetitious, it should make you more mindful of troubling areas, and that's a good way to start focusing on recurring problems. So Black protects g3 and attacks b2, but chess is played in the real world, and the queen can’t stay on e5 for long.** Par Score: 5
With this shift, White clears the diagonal for the dark-square bishop while watching d4. 17. 18.
… Bf4
Raf8
…
Qxb2
Black captures on b2 anyway, figuring it gives him a pawn for his troubles.**
19.
Bb5+
19.
…
Par Score: 5
Take only 3 points part credit for capturing g3. Taking on d6 is stronger, after the king has been driven off. Kc8
Tally 2 bonus points for expecting to answer 19. ... Kd8 with 20. Rab1 Qxa2 21. Bg5. Add 1 bonus point more for analyzing 19. ... Kc7 20. Rac1+ Kb8 21. Bxd6+.** 20.
Bxd6
Par Score: 5
With this move White makes sure Black’s king won’t be able to run to the corner. Probably the threat is 21. Rb1 (a finesse to control d4) 21. ... Qxa2 22. uschess.org
Problem III
Mating net
r+ + r k pQ+ + p n + q p + + +l+ + p + + + +P+NP P + PL+ + +K+R+R Problem IV
+
k lp + + + + + + + + + LQ+ + + + + + P+ + + + K + + +R +
+
q
21.
Rac1+
21.
…
+k+ +p+r + + +p+ + +L+ + +Pl + + + + +QpP q + +P+ + + +R+K
Nxd5
Sensing imminent demise Tinsley launches a desperate sacrifice.** Par Score: 5 Kd8
+
+
Problem VI Mating net
+r+ +k+ +Q+ + p n + +qp + + + + + + + + +P+ + + PLlN + + + K +R+
Rbc1+ Kd8 23. Bc7+ Ke7 (23. ... Kc8 24. Bxg3+ and 25. Qf4) 24. d6+ Ke6 25. Nd4+ Ke5 26. d7+ Kxd4 27. Qd3 mate. Give yourself 2 bonus points if you saw the general outline of the variation. …
+
+
Discovery
+ + r +k+ + +p+ + n + + L + + + +P+ + + + Q q +L+ K + + + +
20.
+
+
Problem V
Fork
+
r
Mating net
Par Score: 5
Add 1 bonus point if factored this move in when playing 16. d5. Now the queen has to depart. Deduct 1 point if you were needlessly worried about ... Qe5xb2. 18.
Problem II
Pin
These problems are all related to key positions in this month’s game. In each case, Black is to move. The answers can be found in Solutions on page 71.
Nb3
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Problem I
ABCs of Chess
17.
5:19 PM
+r+ +k+ + +p+ + + +q+ + +QN + l +l+ + + + + + L + P + + +K+ +R +
Ne3 and sets the finale, tempting Black to play on the pinned rook. Accept only 5 points part credit for 24. Kh2 (or 24. Kh1). 24.
…
25.
Be5
Nf6
Black has run out of options. If he leaves the knight on d5, Pillsbury will surely take it.** Par Score: 5
This move is also the reply to 24. ... Ne3. Here it forks queen and knight but Pillsbury does not really want to take either piece.
If Black had played 21. ... Bc3, White would have continued 22. exd5. On 21. ... Nc3 Pillsbury could play 22. Bb4, 22. Bxf8 or probably best 22. Qg4+ (2 bonus points).**
25.
…
Tinsley forks queen and rook but he’s not going to get either piece.
22.
Qxg3
26.
Bf6+
22.
…
23.
Nxd4
26.
…
Par Score: 5
More threats: 23. Bc7+ (a) 23. ... Nxc7 24. Qxc7 mate; (b) 23. ... Ke7 24. Qd6 mate; (c) 23. ... Kc8, 24. Be5+. Add 1 bonus point for each analyzed variant. When in doubt give a check.
Bd4+
Par Score: 4
This allows the queen to come to the center, but with Black’s dark-square bishop gone, the dark squares are weaker than ever. 23.
…
24.
Rf2
Qxd4+ Par Score: 6
White avoids any hassle with 24. ...
Nxe4
Par Score: 6
If Black takes on f6 he gets mated on c7. Another way was 26. Bxd4 (accept 5 points part credit) 26. ... Nxg3 27. Bf6 mate. But here, if Black wanted to be a poor sport, he could decline the queen and put off mate for a few moves. Black resigns
Total your score to determine your approximate rating below: Total Score 95+ 81-94 66-80 51-65 36-50 21-35 06-20 0-05
.
Rating
2400+ 2200-2399 2000-2199 1800-1999 1600-1799 1400-1599 1200-1399 under 1200
Chess Life — March 2009
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Looks at Books
Answered Questions Chess Life columnist Bruce Pandolfini pens a chess book in the tradition of Reinfeld and Chernev By Dr. Alexey Root, WIM reasure Chess answers questions that you may have wondered about and others that you likely never considered. The following eight questions reflect the range of Pandolfini’s topics, from the practical to the historical to the intriguing. Answers are at the end of the review. Have you ever researched which opening is most successful for white? Pandolfini has. For Question One, which white opening wins the greatest percentage of games? a. Benko Opening (1. g3); b. Blackmar Diemer Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. e4); c. Queen’s Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. c4); d. Ruy Lopez (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5). Pandolfini gives the winning percentages of 10 different white and black openings. Pandolfini has many true yet humorous quotes from the world champions. Vladimir Kramnik thought that there were only two styles of chess. For Question Two, pick those styles: a. the simple or the complex one; b. the classical or the modern one; c. the right or the wrong one; d. the losing or the winning one. Similarly, Mikhail Tal thought there were only two kinds of sacrifices. For Question Three, pick those two types: a. correct ones and mine; b. sham and real; c. losing ones and mine; d. speculative and sound. World champions were also aware of the competition. For Question Four, when Botvinnik said, “We will have to start keeping an eye on this boy,” he meant a. Tal; b. Fischer; c. Kasparov; d. Karpov. Of course, Pandolfini has several quotes from Bobby Fischer. For Question Five, who was Bobby Fischer talking about when he said, “That man is too normal. There must be something wrong with him.” a. Max Euwe; b. Donald Byrne; c. Shelby Lyman; d. Arnold Denker. Pandolfini also features earlier top players, from the years before the title of world champion even existed. For Question Six, who was the first chess author to give an example of smothered mate? a. Greco; b. Philidor; c. Lopez; d. Damiano. In addition to his thorough coverage of
T
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Chess Life — March 2009
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ +Q+ + K + + + + + + + + + L
A Sam Loyd three-for-the-price-of-one
Treasure Chess: Trivia, Quotes, Puzzles, and Lore from the World’s Oldest Game (2007) by Bruce Pandolfini. 275 pp., New York: Random House. List Price: $19.95. Available on USCFsales.com with a member’s discount for $18.95
top players, Pandolfini also has stories of chess-playing movie stars and musicians, writers who use chess images, and places where chess has been played. College chess even gets its turn. More than a century before The University of Texas at Dallas and University of Maryland, Baltimore County topped the college chess ranks, Cambridge University had a chess team. But it was not invincible. For Question Seven, which institution’s team defeated Cambridge University in 1883? a. Harvard University; b. House of Lords (Parliament); c. Oxford University; d. Bedlam Insane Asylum. Pandolfini also gives some intriguing chess problems, such as this Sam Loyd problem. (see diagram top of next column)
For Question Eight, list the squares
the black king needs to be on so that: a. it is stalemated; b. it would already be mated; c. it could be mated in one move. The answers for a, b, and c are all different, so give all three squares. Though I recommend Treasure Chess, I have two criticisms and one warning about it. First, Pandolfini doesn’t include references. I think the book would have been much stronger with a “Sources and Notes” chapter, such as Shenk had in The Immortal Game. If such documentation would have added too many pages, Pandolfini might have included a link to an online page where he lists his sources. Second, Pandolfini repeats himself. For example, he gives the same quote from Gustave Flaubert (Chess is “too trivial to be a science”) on page 226 and 272. My warning is about Pandolfini’s sarcastic humor. I enjoyed it, but others might be put off as in this instance from page 20, “You might very well master the process of analyzing a chess position. If you don’t, there is always checkers.”
.
Answer Key
(page number of Treasure Chess with answer)
1. c (page 9)
2. d (page 35) 3. a (page 80)
4. b (page 117) 5. a (page 77) 6. a (page 90)
7. d (page 100)
8. 1. h1 2. e3 3. a8 (page 143)
uschess.org
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What’s The Best Move?
Readers Weigh In By GM Larry Evans USCF member games Games rarely contain thunderbolts destined for the anthologies. Alas, most players struggle in garden variety positions that are spoiled by an outright blunder (position 1). In the next two examples youthful David Pruess, recipient of the 2006 Samford Fellowship (worth $32,000) topples two grandmasters. Finally, Mike Callaham sends his thanks for some guidance we offered him long ago while he was stationed in Germany. Solutions on page 71.
Readers are invited to send their positions in for possible consideration in this column. Send to
[email protected] or mail to Chess Life, c/o What’s The Best Move, PO Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557.
1. White moves
+k+ + + +R+ + + p K + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Pr + + + + + + +
(a) Kc6 (b) a4 (c) Rh7
3. Black moves
r+ +r+k+ + + +p+ p+N+ Pp+ + +Pp +p +P+p+ + +R+ Q K +q+ +PP + + + +
(a) Qd1 (b) Kh7 (c) h4+
uschess.org
2. White moves
+ +r+ + pp+ +R+ + Lp+ + + +p+ + + +k+ + +P+n+ P P+ + + P + + + K
(a) Re7 (b) Rxb7 (c) a4
4. Black moves
+l+ + r +p+ lpkn +p+ + q P + Q p +L+Pn + +NN +P+ PP+ +P+ R +R+ K
(a) Bf6 (b) Qf6 (c) Nf6
Chess Life — March 2009
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Advertorial ADVERTORIAL
“ Put the fun back into chess” at the 2009 Las Vegas Chess Festival … and the National Open! By Fred Gruenberg The 2009 Las Vegas Chess Festival and the $100,000 National Open, June 4th through June 7th, will be the grandest chess event EVER! The new South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa on Las Vegas Boulevard, a few miles south of McCarren Airport in Las Vegas will dazzle you with all their grandeur and amenities: spacious rooms with 42” plasma televisions in every room, an indoor sixteen screen Century Theater movie complex—showing all the latest hits, a 64-lane, state-of-the-art, in-house bowling alley (not a misprint—64 lanes!!), bingo almost all day long, and eight very affordable restaurants that will please any palate: Michael’s Gourmet Room, Silverado Steakhouse, Don Vito’s Italian, Primarily Prime Rib, Baja Miguel’s Mexican, Coronado Cafe, Garden Buffet and my very favorite, the Big Sur Oyster Bar. A unique feature at the South Point is their Equestrian Arena & Events Center, the finest horse facility in the country. Headliner entertainment and dancing to live bands every weekend. This is absolutely a chess player’s dream. A fabulous chess vacation with affordable rates: $65 weekdays and $95 Friday and Saturday. You’ll want to
spend a few extra days and really have the chess vacation of your life! The casino will also dazzle you. South Point has the most popular slot machines, video poker machines, over 60 gaming tables with blackjack, Pai Gow poker and three card poker. And South Point has added a new Race and Sports book for sports and horse betting that will add to all your pleasures. Bet baseball and the NBA finals and pick up some extra change. And yes, for all you chess playing poker players, there is a very convenient poker room. And you can soak up the sun and let your chess stress melt away into a lagoon-style shimmering turquoise paradise pool. You’ll think you’re on a tropical island! Check it out at
www.southpointcasino.com/hotel/pool.php
And wait until you see our playing site: 60,000 square feet with a well-lit ballroom, completely isolated, and completely insulated to assure complete quiet. With the guarantee of all rounds starting on time and complete quiet in the playing room you will, most assuredly, play the best chess of your life! Since 1983 when then President Tim Redman asked me to revive the National
Open in Las Vegas, I’ve had a lot of fun and met so many great people. We’ve had some marvelous guests: Grandmasters Kamsky, Karpov, Koltanowski, Bronstein, Reshevsky and Korchnoi, just to mention a few. And all of our U.S. grandmasters have played at one time or another too. The National Open has been the jewel tournament of the west. And I must mention the 20,000 or so of you that have attended this tournament over the past twenty five years. I THANK YOU ALL!!! And the tournament staff, over the years, has been nothing short of phenomenal. Headed by Al Losoff, Bill Snead and a staff of twenty five they have tried to make the National Open the very best run tournament in the U.S. I, personally, think they have succeeded. “Thank you” to them also. But after 25 National Opens it’s time to really retire. At 74 I still have some time left to travel, play golf and even play some chess myself. So please come to my last National Open tournament, have a great time, and say farewell. It will be great to see you again. Take care.
BRING THE FAMILY!!!!
There is, literally, something for everyone! The Susan Polgar tournament for boys and girls, simuls, chess camps, bughouse tournaments, scholastic tournaments, contests, blitz tournaments, tournament director camp, FREE RAFFLES and the Rochester book store and much more!! Don’t miss the excitement of the 2009 Las Vegas Chess Festival and the National Open.
“PUT THE FUN BACK INTO CHESS!” www.vegaschessfestival.com
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Cover Story
THE
Wave
A S T H E S C H O L A S T I C C H E S S W O R L D G E A R S U P F O R T H E S U P E R N AT I O N A L S TOURNAMENT BEING CONTESTED IN NASHVILLE THIS COMING APRIL 3-5, C H E S S L I F E E X A M I N E S W H AT H A S M A D E F M R O B B Y A D A M S O N ’ S T U C S O N ,
BY PAUL GOLD
f you have been following scholastics in Chess Life the past few years, you will have noticed some remarkable accomplishments by the Catalina Foothills High School chess team from Tucson, Arizona. Four national titles in the spring nationals (students call this the “real nationals”), seven national titles overall, all in the span of five years. How has a team from Arizona, of all places, done it? In addition to local, state, and national newspaper coverage, a Tucson billboard was dedicated in 2007 to the Catalina Foothills National High School champions. “Cat Foot” has all but locked out the competition, winning in 2005, 2007 and 2008 (finishing second in 2006). This has been against stiff opposition, primarily from New York City teams often graced with internationally titled players. So how did this extraordinary team of chess players come about in a place like Tucson? Coach Robby Adamson says that back in 2003, many of the players from the Cat Foot “feeder” program, Orange Grove Middle School, had quit chess or were losing interest but he saw the potential and reassembled the group. By 2004 there were results—the team of Sean Higgins, Chris De Sa, Pavel Savine and Eddie Moskala won the K-9 nationals, while finishing eighth at high school nationals. Cat Foot team camaraderie was built in part by the students traveling to adult chess events together, usually with their
I
24
Chess Life — March 2009
coach. The key was to operate and function as a team, with less emphasis on individual results. The kids responded; some who had been enemies were now friends, close and caring about each other. To achieve this level of affinity, Robby invested his most valuable commodity— his time—but it was well worth it, he says. While we talked over material for this article, Robby’s cell phone went off twice. One call was from a student in Texas and one from California, both seeking advice from the master on specific opening preparation. Robby’s secret ingredient is access. The year was 1978, my last of high school, thank God. I attended chess club back then to play blitz. One night I battled this little kid, an eight-year old boy wonder—bright-eyed, hair combed back, fidgeting all over the place; boy, was he obnoxious! After every move he hit my clock harder and harder, while I pleaded with him to go easy on the timepiece. Finally the plastic clock face fell off and the thing was broken, and that was my first contact with Robby Adamson. It was the end of my clock but the beginning of a long and wonderful relationship. Thirty years have passed. Though we both live in Tucson, we have lost touch at times but sooner or later we are always reunited, and always because of chess.
Boy Wonder
Robby is a purely local chess product, born in Tucson in 1970, matriculating through grade school (where he was first discovered as a prodigy), through middle school (where he won two national titles and was ranked in the top ten for his age) and on into high school (where he won the Denker), dominating those events as the top board of the powerhouse University High School teams, which won three national team titles. He graduated from the University of Arizona (he is a HUGE Wildcats fan) with a degree in accounting, and later earned his law degree at the McGeorge School of Law. Robby works as an estate planning attorney, juggling his day job with his “chess job.” He is a strong, master-level player, having achieved a peak USCF rating of about 2450, and the FIDE-awarded FM title. His chess vita includes three individual national titles as a player, nine national titles as a coach, organizer of the Western Invitational Chess Camp as well as tutor, writer, tournament director, and analyst. But even with all of these credentials, Robby chose to play his own game in an original manner a long time ago, transferring his personal chess aspirations into an enterprise of doing for others —a far-reaching move made for longterm compensation. His energetic, ultra-competitive and opinionated approach to chess (and just about everything else) makes him as popular with kids as he is with adults. uschess.org
PHOTO: DENNIS BROWNFIELD
A R I Z O N A C H E S S T E A M S S U C H C O N S I S T E N T LY S T R O N G C O M P E T I T O R S
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master
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Cover Story
Perhaps Robby’s dedication has its origin in his early days playing chess. One of his first teachers, Bill Abbott, while a skilled player, was also a kind, gentle soul who never raised his voice and may have taught Robby the first lessons about treating everyone with respect. Grade school coach Jim Tallmadge and contemporary master -coaches like Ken Larsen and Craig Jones (now in North Carolina) must have contributed to Robby’s shaping of his own teaching methods. The “Robby Stone” was further etched assisting future grandmaster and 1997 World Junior Champion Tal Shaked (FM Ken Larsen was Tal’s primary coach, while Robby was responsible for his theoretical repertoire). And there were the countless blitz games with many local masters at places like Troy’s Chess Shop in the 1980s (the late Alan Troy was a nationally recognized blitz player), as well as the recent addition to Tucson of IM Lev Altounian, whom Robby credits in helping to shape the Catalina Foothills program. The recipe would not be complete without the influence of crack organizers like Myron and Rachel Lieberman, who ran all adult tournaments in Phoenix for many years, and Lee LaFrese, who organized the 1996 Elementary 26
Chess Life — March 2009
nationals with a then world record attendance. It was the unprecedented success of the nationals held in Tucson that year which caused the USCF to finance all nationals thereafter. But even with this kind of background and exposure, you might not achieve results. Something or someone has had to assemble the pieces. Robby’s tenacity and dedication to chess activities has been played out over decades now. While a lot of players fade away from the chess scene in favor of family and other life pursuits, even after many years, the chess fire still burns brightly in Robby, a passion that has been passed on to his students. Robby credits the Southern Arizona Chess Association (SACA) as being instrumental in his development as a player and coach. It is certain that none of us would have enjoyed the chess “careers” we had without a local organization that has run chess events in southern Arizona for nearly 40 years. SACA has hosted numerous national scholastic events (and spawned champions thereof); a typical scholastic event will draw hundreds of
Southern Arizona Chess Association
kids. While SACA is currently run largely by chess parents, there have always been strong players who have volunteered their time to help the organization. SACA organizers fostered the idea of kids playing in adult events—few played in the days when Robby started, but now it is a given to see many young, strong players in Tucson adult events. For the past 15 years the signature Tucson event has been the U.S. Amateur West, originally conceived by the late USCF President Denis Barry in 1992, who passed the torch to this author; the current organizers are Karen Pennock and Kiki Huerta (president and vice president of SACA). In 2008 the USCF graced SACA with the Scholastic Organizer of the Year award. Robby observes that schools in the Catalina Foothills school district have participated in SACA scholastic tournaments for almost thirty years. National success first struck in the Foothills area in 1984 when Orange Grove Middle School, coached by Will Wharton (a senior master who has since coached chess in North Carolina and now in Phoenix), won Junior High Nationals. Orange Grove is one of the most successful middle school programs in the country, having won four national K-8 titles. Because the uschess.org
PHOTO: HENRY D. WALLACE
A sampling of the best from Arizona scholastic teams of the last few years (left to right): Eli Alster, Chris De Sa, Victor Yee, Jenelle Wallace, Sean Higgins, Kevin Zhang, Pasha Savine, Andy Lin, Vaishnav Aradhyula, Eddie Moskala, Robby Adamson. Not pictured: Landon Brownell (the 2006 National High School champion), Bryant Brownell, Yunlin Zhang.
CL_03-2009_wavemaster_AKF_r7.qxp:chess life
Foothills area had no high school at that time, many of the middle school graduates attended University High School, a nationally recognized public high school, which by chance is where Robby enrolled the year after Orange Grove won their first national title. The elementary and middle schools in the Foothills district all have thriving chess programs, currently coached by Ken Larsen, which feed into Cat Foot. Ken describes the Foothills schools as “a machine,” churning out local, state, and national champions. The success of SACA scholastics can be partially attributed to the long-standing culture which encourages students to take private lessons or attend chess camps offered by instructors other than their school coach. This trading of students is done freely and in the best interest of the kids. For example, IM Levon Altounian privately tutors several students from Cat Foot, providing a valuable alternative perspective which Robby believes has greatly contributed to their success. Robby trusts Lev implicitly and has actually called him while at nationals if help is needed preparing a student for a particular game. Foothills burst onto the scene at the 2005 SuperNationals, shocking everyone but their coach by winning the high school nationals over the redoubtable Edward R. Murrow, a New York City team featuring IMs Alex Lenderman and Sal Bercys. In an unprecedented move days before the event, Robby announced to his team that they had a good chance to win nationals and that they should not get on the plane if they didn’t think they could win. The performance was so impressive that the team was featured in a chapter of Michael Weinreb’s excellent book on the Murrow team, The Kings of New York. Foothills finished second in 2006 despite their top board, Landon Brownell, winning the individual national title, a finish that bothered Robby for many months (a testament to his competitive fire). The team bounced back to win in 2007 with a dramatic last-round performance. The “three-peat” was completed by the 2008 team: Vaishnav Aradhyula, Landon Brownell, Kevin Zhang, Eli Alster, Jenelle Wallace, Victor Yee, and Matt David. This year’s team was depleted by the inevitability of graduation; the biggest losses were Aradhyula (to Stanford) and Brownell (to law school). The 2007 championship team had graduated 2100-rated Sean Higgins (now at Tulane), Chris De Sa (Stanford) and Pasha Savine (University of Arizona). Although Robby admits that winning nationals is unlikely in this rebuilding year, the team that will play for
Cat Foot Chess Team
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the 2009 championship will be something to reckon with, featuring two experts: top board Kevin Zhang returns with his solid, technical style, and freewheeling freshman and “ICC junkie” Andy Lin. The team is rounded out by Eli Alster, Jenelle Wallace, Sam Cotter and Michael Reed. Interviewing the players at the weekly chess club and at high school events, I was struck by how well-rounded and diverse they were, seeming more than able to balance their academic and social activities while still being able to play chess at a high level. The students have participated in a wide range of activities, including academic decathlon, band, science olympiad, cross country, wrestling and basketball. I asked the kids to discuss Robby’s influence on the team and on them individually. Senior Leland Sanson, who hopes someday to work in economics or finance, emphasized Robby’s rapport with the players, saying he thinks of Robby more as a friend than as his coach. Like the other kids, Leland mentioned Robby’s unique sense of humor as one of his attractions. Freshman Nam Tran is goofy and mascot-like with the other kids but was more serious when I got him alone. He said he too likes how funny Robby is, a continuous reminder that the players judge Robby first as a person, and less on his expertise as a player or teacher, which is an interesting note in itself when you consider Robby’s considerable chess resume. I also spoke with Sam Cotter, another freshman, who reminded me a little of a young John Lennon with retro long hair and wire framed glasses. Sam noted differences between Robby’s aggressive coaching methods and those of his teacher, the positionally-conscious Lev Altounian. Voluble Eli Alster started high school with a 1200 rating, and while he seemed to be underrated to Robby throughout middle school, once at Cat Foot his rating jumped 600 points, and he could be counted on when the point was needed. Senior Jenelle Wallace is another experienced player who contributes to the depth of the team. Jenelle has been recently accepted at Stanford, another Cat Foot player headed to Palo Alto. Andy Lin seemed somewhat uncomfortable one-on-one, resorting to jocular silliness, but such are high school boys. Andy told me that the way he got his expert rating was that he “got lucky and beat three 2100 players.” Andy loves this kind of mantra, always bantering on about how he is not a good chess player and that it is all luck. He thinks Robby has a very intimidating, aggressive personality, although he says everything with a grin and it is hard to mask affection for his coach. Andy explains his style
of play, saying that “I base everything on probability ... and somehow I usually win ... but 95% of the time I am in a tough spot at some point in my games.” Robby’s exchanges with Andy during club meetings are as predictable and hilarious as a scripted comedy team routine. You can always count on Andy to interrupt Robby: Robby: OK, let’s look at this problem ... what should White do in this position? I am asking each of you to come up with a plan, and then to—uh, Andy, could you please be quiet? Andy: What? Robby: What? (Aping Andy’s deep voice, getting him to smile.) Andy: Sorry, sorry. Robby: You are not sorry and you know it. (Everybody laughs.) Sophomore Kevin Zhang remarked that playing chess helps him with his academics, particularly math, and says chess has taught him patience when solving problems. Like most high school kids, he also likes to play video games and watch TV (and he dislikes ... reading!). Kevin learned how to play chess in first grade from Ken Larsen (Robby’s coach during high school). Kevin holds the top rating for 15 year old players in Arizona. He says Robby is a very demanding coach, and that it has helped taking private lessons with him. I was impressed with the mature and articulate sophomore Sangeetha Pugazhendi, who was still very excited about having attended the 2008 nationals where she scored 4/7 in the U1200 section. She spoke highly of the team spirit and that everyone seems to get along. While Sangeetha takes private lessons with Lev Altounian, there seems to be no issue with this kind of mix, again a common feature of the Tucson scholastic chess culture. I was anxious to observe Robby’s method of teaching at the weekly chess club and how he interacted with the students. Robby sometimes reviewed student games from a recent tournament. During one lecture, he showed the team an endgame of a team member that ended with an outcome that was “against the law!” according to Robby, as the game flipflopped from lost to worse to drawing to winning for the Cat Foot player, courtesy of his overambitious opponent. It is a favorite technique of Robby’s to query the players about what the plan should be, forcing them to visualize the correct path forward (no moving pieces!). He holds out a long time but knows that finding the plan by sight is the best way to continuously simulate good analyzing habits. Ultimately the lesson wound down to a point about when to correctly accept a draw, and how easy it is to overstep and lose when pushing too hard for the win. I also observed that the students were Chess Life — March 2009
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Cover Story attentive when Robby explained how the goals of the team are achieved by accepting individual challenges. Robby requires the students to write down goals for the next school year, which helps keep the focus over the summer and into the following year. The more time I spent with the Cat Foot team, getting acquainted with the players and attending their events, the more I sensed a mighty shape forming. I am reminded of the 19th century French painter Gustave Courbet, who painted “The Wave.” The version I am thinking of hangs in the Phoenix Art Museum. It is powerful and dark, expressing the forces of nature, the viewer watching the great rolling wave alone from the beach. Robby’s chess seasons are waves: small occurrences beginning far away (the first team meeting), the inevitable rising approach (the planning and scheming every week at chess club), the buildup, massing (excitement, team pulling together) and finally the crescendo (nationals). Robby has orchestrated these campaigns for years. He gets each student for only a few years and then—poof, they are off to their adult lives. Robby’s challenge is to preserve continuity, consistency and performance from one class overlapping with the next, with all of the certain uncertainty inherent in adolescents.
The Wave
After talking with the students, I wanted to gain some insight from their parents about their thoughts on Robby and the success of the team. Erwin De Sa, who serves as the perennial chaperone at nationals, is the father of graduate Chris and freshman Jacquelyn. Erwin said there are three reasons for Cat Foot’s chess success. “First, there is Robby, who is an exceptional person. A professional attorney, who never gave up his own love for chess, carried on as an adult. He could have been doing other fun things on his Saturday and Sunday nights but chose to teach kids.” Second is the parental involvement. “Early on parents saw the team chemistry and took advantage of this knowledge, encouraging their kids to be taught, taking them to adult tournaments.” Third, there is SACA’s fostering of chess programs. “Without SACA, there is no Foothills team. Sacrifices have been made by all of the coaches, parents, volunteers, and people behind the organization in order to provide the forum for the experiences to occur.” I spoke with Cindy Wallace, Jenelle’s mother, about what makes the magic. “The true team definition is the camaraderie with the
Parent’s Take
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players, keeping the kids together; Robby is good at focusing on that. Doing what is best for the team and not the individuals. As Jenelle went into high school, what impressed her most was the kids traveling together, what was done as a team. If Robby said what was needed was a draw, then the kids would do it. Robby’s dedication makes it work—he cares about each kid and teaches that everyone is important. Parents will not step up if the coach does not have that dedication to the team. Robby’s funny, infectious personality makes me want to help him. He wants a lot. And somehow he does this one year after the next, making new teams after those that have graduated. The nationals is where all of that intensity comes in but it helps so much to like Robby. I will miss him when Jenelle graduates, his passion for chess.” The AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association) team championship was held in early November 2008, at San Luis High School in Yuma, Arizona. While Cat Foot was favored, their archrival Gilbert High School (Gilbert is a suburb of Phoenix) would be there and Robby was curious how his team would respond. It was not nationals, but an important stop on the Cat Foot itinerary—especially for a young team that needs to learn to handle pressure. Robby recalled the intense stress Cat Foot was under at last year’s nationals as the clear favorite, a pleasant but uncomfortable predicament to be in. “I will always appreciate the 2008 title because we were favored for the first time since I was at Foothills, but we did not handle the pressure well until the last day, when the team came together and when team points were at a premium.” Robby said he agonized about exactly how to pick his board order for the state team tournament, deciding finally to go with a lineup by rating. When Cat Foot lost the coin toss for their round one match, that was not a problem because having black in round one would mean that they would very likely face Gilbert as white in the last round (white on boards one, three and five; black on two and four) ... but then ... their first round opponents inexplicably chose to play black, not what Robby wanted or expected. But this detail became quickly irrelevant as Cat Foot piled up 14 wins (out of a possible 15 games) in the first three rounds. The Wave was building toward a final round meeting with Gilbert. Robby tried calculating the tiebreaks in the event that Gilbert and Cat Foot might tie, but it was too close to determine. Robby went to Andy on board two before the round, telling him that he thought his game was
The Wave Rolls at State
a “must win” for the team. Kevin got a rematch against expert-rated Nick Thompson on board one (Nick won the last time they were paired in a tournament). Robby and Kevin’s preparation was to follow Kevin’s previous game with Nick with a slight twist to see how Nick would react. The gamble paid off with Nick not playing the best reply and Kevin had easy equality that he eventually parlayed into a won position: Caro-Kann Defense, Exchange Variation (B13) Nick Thompson (2004) Kevin Zhang (2150) Arizona State High School Team Championship (4), 11.08.2008 Notes by Kevin Zhang 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Qc7
I lost to Nick in a previous game in this same Exchange Caro-Kann line so I went over this with Robby around midnight the night before the round. The purpose of this move is to prevent White from playing Bf4 and gaining instant control over e5.
6. Nf3
Robby and I spent most of our time looking at 6. Nf3 because 6. Ne2 is not as easy to find if you have not seen it before. I was happy when 6. Nf3 was played because Black gets easy equality. Black aims for a queenside attack, and White usually tries to attack the kingside, though as the game shows, this is difficult to accomplish. 6. Ne2 is more normal—again the purpose of this move is to play Bf4. 6. ... Bg4 7. 0-0 e6 8. Nbd2 Bd6
Black has easily equalized, White's c1bishop is awkward, and it is difficult for White to come up with a good plan. We prepared this exact position and looked at all the games in the database in this variation. 9. Qa4?
I do not know why he played this move. It is not very good because the plan for Black in these lines is to play a6, b5 anyway, so I will later gain a tempo. 9. h3 was better. 9. ... Nf6
The other move I considered here was 9. ... Ne7 but 9. ... Nf6 seemed a little more logical. 10. Re1 0-0
Unlike the normal Exchange CaroKann lines where White easily gets his uschess.org
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knight to e5, and is backed up with Bf4, Nd2-f3, White can never accomplish this plan. Black is equal and now is pushing for an edge. 11. h3 Bh5
r+ + rk+ pp q +p pp +n lp n + + +p+ +l Q+ P + + + PL+N+P P P N PP+ R L R K
After 11. ... Bh5
12. g4?
This seems positionally incorrect, but White didn’t know how to proceed. I now control the f4-square very well and White has unnecessarily weakened his kingside.
12. ... Bg6 13. Bxg6 hxg6 14. Nf1 a6
I expect a kingside attack of some sort because White played g2-g4. My plan is to attack the queenside faster with a minority attack with ... a7-a6, ... b7-b5b4. 15. Qd1 b5 16. Ng5 b4 17. Qf3 bxc3 18. bxc3
Now I have a backward pawn to work on—the entire point of the minority attack. 18. ... Na5
This may not be best but White has no real attack here and he has lots of weaknesses. 18. ... e5 makes sense because opening up the center makes his kingside attack less likely to be successful. 19. h4
White tries to crack my kingside open.
19. ... Rfc8 20. h5
White goes for it, but unfortunately things are going to get traded quickly. If 20. Bd2 Nc4—White is suffering here— then even ... e6-e5 is still possible. 20. ... gxh5 21. gxh5 Qxc3 22. Be3 Qd3!
This allows me to defend the kingside with ... Qf5.
23. Qh3 Qf5
After a queen trade, White’s attack is not very dangerous.
24. h6 Qxh3 25. Nxh3 Ng4 26. hxg7 Kxg7 27. Re2 Rh8 28. Kg2 Rag8 29. Ng3 Nxe3+ 30. Rxe3 Nc4 31. Rd3 f5 32. f4 Kf6 33. Re1 Rg4 34. Rf1 Rhh4 35. a3 uschess.org
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+ + + + p+ lp k + + +p+p+ +n P Pr r P +R+ NN + + +K+ + + +R+
After 35. a3
35. ... Ke7
35. ... Bxf4 36. Nxf4 Rxf4 37. Rxf4 Rxf4 38. Nh5+ Kg5 39. Nxf4 Kxf4—I am not losing this but I didn’t want to allow White any counterplay. 36. a4 Bxf4 37. Nxf4 Rxf4 38. Rxf4 Rxf4 39. Ne2 Rg4+ 40. Kf3 e5 41. Kf2 e4 42. Rh3 f4 43. Nc3 Ne3 44. Rh5 Rg2+ 45. Ke1 Ke6 46. Re5+ Kd6 47. Rh5 f3 48. Rh6+ Ke7 49. Rh7+ Kf6 50. Rh6+ Kg7, White resigned.
As is the technique of many top coaches, Robby prepared his team before the round and, in fact, the night before as well. This scheming may not always pay off, but even if the plan does not play out exactly as anticipated, it is not a waste of effort since there is a strong sense of focus from the feeling of being prepared. Robby keenly appreciates that Cat Foot and Gilbert have each other. Where else besides possibly New York City do you have two teams ranked in the top 10 who have to beat each other to win their state championship? This kind of competition cannot be bought or replicated. Robby thinks of himself as the team’s sixth man in these situations, trying to fire them up. The Wave—Robby’s teams are meant to ride the crest. In the critical final-round match with Gilbert, Eli notched the first win and Andy followed, securing an advantage out of the opening that he converted fairly easily. When Nick resigned to Kevin it was 3-0, Cat Foot. So a nice trophy and another Cat Foot title, though the match was close in the end. The final score was 3-2, perhaps some consolation to Gilbert who took a 5-0 drubbing against Cat Foot in the final round the previous year. Gilbert coach Michael Reading looks at Cat Foot as the symbol of excellence, but strongly believes in his own team’s chances in the future (in fact, the near future, at the 2009 nationals). This leap several months ahead was, of course, on the mind of the Wavemaster, even with the state championship trophy still warm to the touch. Robby’s powerful drive makes him seem to never be quite satisfied. Two weeks later the Foothills players
were in action again, this time at the state individual tournament hosted at Cat Foot, during round five of six. The first game I saw turned out to be the critical one, with Andy Lin paired against Nick Thompson on board one. Andy was down a pawn with the worse position; not at all the kind of passivity I’d expect from this wily kid. Nick has a very stoic look to him when he plays, moving the pieces fairly slowly and quietly pressing the clock, more like an adult player. But he is definitely a kid, with his mop of blond hair combed forward, literally hanging in and over his eyes (I pictured my mother saying “how does he see like that?!”). Andy soon went from being down one pawn to two, but then the landscape changed when Andy started playing more quickly and the position began to open up. Complications ensued and it became the kind of tactical position where it looked like anybody’s game. In the end, Andy’s counter-tactics resulted in an advantage and Nick cracked in time pressure, trading queens into a lost ending. While Andy easily won his last round against a much lower-rated player, Nick exacted some revenge, defeating Kevin in the last round to finish second to Andy. It was in this manner that Cat Foot freshman Andy Lin became the 2008 Arizona state individual high school chess champion (all luck, eh?). Can he match the Wavemaster, who won it four years running when he was in high school? I called Robby after the state individual tournament, asking what the team does now, since the trip to SuperNationals in Nashville is four months away. With high school chess league play having ended, how does he keep the players interested and in some kind of form? Robby pointed out plans for some of the kids to play in adult events in Tucson, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as the weekly chess club meetings. Robby also mentioned that he is working with Kevin to help develop his leadership skills, as he did with some of his former players, because he knows every successful team needs a leader, with qualities that will also benefit future life endeavors. In a relaxed and offhand moment, Robby said it will be nice going to nationals without the expectation to win. I heard what he was saying, but also knew that based on my 30+ years of knowing Robby Adamson that the “wave water” was boiling somewhere, ready to rise up and crash over the top.
The Calm
.
See how the Arizona teams do at this year’s SuperNationals beginning April 3. Follow the action on Chess Life Online at uschess.org. Chess Life — March 2009
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College Chess
Can Anyone Beat These Guys? UTD and UMBC tie at the Pan American Intercollegiate Championship, or, “Dog Bites Man.”
By Dr. Alexey Root, WIM
Dreams Come True College chess isn’t just about tournaments such as the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (Pan Am), but about success in courses and after graduation too. For Women’s Candidate Master Nelly Estrada, a member of the B-team from The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College (UTB/TSC), dreams began when Chess Life arrived in her mailbox. She said:
Back in 2005, I remember seeing an article in Chess Life about a student winning a full-ride scholarship to The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). I thought to myself, “She won a scholarship. And my rating is higher than hers.” That article was the first time I had heard of scholarships for chess. I began thinking about studying in the United States on a chess scholarship myself, though I had already completed three semesters at a university in Juarez, Mexico. On the day after I read that Chess Life article, UTB/TSC Chess Program Director Russell Harwood called my house. He had heard about my chess abilities. Because I had just read about college scholarships for chess, I was interested in what he had to say. And Russell Harwood is a good recruiter and promoter of chess. UTB/TSC is lucky to have him. This [last] December (2008), I graduated from UTB/TSC with a 3.88 GPA, Magna Cum Laude. I majored in biology. I have been accepted to four different medical schools. I would like to be a psychiatrist.
Tournament dreams came true for UTD and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), as they are the 2008 co-champions of college chess. Both teams had five out of six match points. 30
Chess Life — March 2009
The first place trophy, on tiebreak, went to the B-team from UTD. UTD was well-prepared, having trained intensively for the month before the December 27-30 Pan Am. From November 26-30, UTD invited four top players from around the country to compete with UTD students: the 10-player international master norm section was won by GM Jesse Kraai, and the 10-player grandmaster norm section by GM Julio Becerra. On December 6th several UTD students, playing under the team name Dallas Destiny, won the United States Chess League for the second year in a row. The UMBC team got the second place trophy. Chess Program Director Alan Sherman wrote, “Having narrowly missed Pan-Am victories in 2006 and 2007, UMBC was eager to avenge its recent losses to UTD.” During weekly training sessions, the highest-rated players prepared with GM Sam Palatnik, UMBC Chess Program Associate Director. Second-echelon players, such as the two alternates for this year’s winning team, worked with Igor Epshteyn, Coach of the UMBC chess team. GM Palatnik mentioned that UMBC players compete in open and invitational tournaments, citing GM Sergey Erenburg’s win at this past summer’s New Jersey Futurity. With this year’s Pan Am co-championship, Sherman observed, “UMBC has won (or tied for first place) at the Pan Am eight times, more than any other college in the history of college chess.” The Pan Am serves as the qualifier for the Final Four, to be held April 4-5, 2009 at the UTD campus. Qualifying were the following institutions: UTD, UMBC, UTB/TSC, and Stanford University. Each institution is not restricted to players that competed in the Pan Am. UMBC’s Alan Sherman warned, “With IM Sasha
Kaplan (Israel) joining UMBC in January, UMBC will have an even stronger team for the Final Four.” Full standings for all Pan Am events (Intercollegiate, Scholastic, and Open) can be found at http:// swchess.com/sce/tourney/PanAms08/St andings.htm. All Pan Am events are six rounds, Swiss system. In the Intercollegiate section, each team has four players, with up to two alternates per team allowed. Therefore, a four-board match can be tied 2-2. Match points matter the most. Game points scored within each match are not the first tiebreak used if teams tie for places/trophies, though they are one of the later tiebreak mechanisms. When there are multiple teams entered from one institution, the team with the highest average rating is labeled the A team, the second team is the B team, and so forth. Of the 29 teams entered in the Pan Am, an unprecedented four teams were from one institution, UTD. The UTD-D team, composed of five women (four players and one alternate), took top team rated 2000-2199. This was the second year in a row for UTD to have an allfemale team at the Pan Am. Although no other teams had all-female rosters, several teams had one or two female players. Round by Round Action At the halfway point of the Pan Am, UTD-A and UTD-B were the only undefeated teams, as UMBC and Miami Dade-A tied in round two. In round four, UTD-B and UTD-A quickly tied. Going into round five, UTD-A, UTD-B, and UMBC led the tournament with 3½ of 4. The stage was set for two showdowns. In order to win the tournament, UMBC would have to defeat UTD-A in round five, and then tie or defeat UTD-B in uschess.org
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round six. In round five, UMBC defeated UTD-A by a score of 2½ to 1½. Tension was high during round six. If UMBC tied with UTD-B, the teams would be cochampions with the first place trophy determined by tiebreak. In that final match, UMBC won on board one, boards two and three drew, and UTD won on board four (see games section for board four Foisor-Bercys). Therefore, the match was tied 2-2, giving UTD-B and UMBC equal first place with 5 of 6 match points. In the last round, UTB/TSC-A was paired with Stanford. The teams tied quickly, and thus ensured that they tied with UTD-A for third through fifth places in the Pan Am. UTB/TSC-A (third on tiebreak) and Stanford (fifth on tiebreak) thus earned spots in the Final Four. Since each institution can enter only one team in the Final Four, the fact that UTD-A also tied for third through fifth did not affect the qualifying chances of UTB/TSC-A or Stanford. UTB/TSC had another reason to be excited: It will host the 2009 Pan Am at the Sheraton Beachfront Resort, South Padre Island, Texas. Check ‘em, Tech Texas Tech University (TTU) faculty advisor Dr. Hal Karlsson said that his players had just returned from celebrating holidays. First board IM Gergely Antal flew back from Hungary on the 24th, second board Chase Watters had been in Louisiana, third board Stephanie Ballom’s family lives near Fort Worth (Mansfield), and fourth board Josh Osbourn came in from Kentucky. Since the Pan Am is always held between Christmas and New Year’s Day, many of the 126 college participants were traveling directly from holidays in their hometowns to the tournament site in Fort Worth, Texas. Stephanie Ballom’s third round win fit the team’s slogan of Check ‘em Tech, with Stephanie giving check in six of the last 11 moves: Check ‘em Tech and mate ‘n nine Ernesto Alvarez (2185), Miami Dade-A Stephanie Ballom (1802), TTU Pan Am Intercollegiate (3) (see diagram top of next column)
The mate in nine is 23. Qh6+ Kxh6 24. Rh1+ Kg5 25. Rdg1+ Kf4 26. Rh4+ Bg4 27. Rgxg4+ Kf3 28. Rg3+ Kxf2 29. Ne4+ Ke1 (or 29. ... Ke2 30. Bd3+ Ke1 31. Rh1 mate) 30. Rh1+ Ke2 31. Bd3 mate. Luckily for Stephanie, her opponent missed this beautiful mating combination. Instead, Alvarez chose a different 23rd move. uschess.org
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r nl+ r + pp+ +p kp + + Np+ q + P + + P + + P p Q + +L+ P + + KR+ R
White to move and mate in nine.
23. Rdf1 Qxa3+ 24. Kd1 Qa1+ 25. Ke2 Qa6+ 26. Kf3 Rh8 27. Rh1 h5 28. Qg5 Nc6 29. Nxh5+ Kf8 30. Nf6 Nxd4+ 31. Kg2 Bh3+!
11. Bb2
r+ q r k+ pp p np pp + p n + + +P pl+ +P+ + + +P+ P + P L NL PP P R +Q+R K
After 11. Bb2
Now I realized that 11. ... c6 would be met by 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. c5!
(TTU Coach GM Susan Polgar said that 31. ... Bh3+ was definitely an exclamation point move although the silicon monster likes 31. ... Qxf1+).
White wants to capture, because letting the black pawn stay on c5 would have restricted White’s pieces.
32. Rxh3 Rxh3 33. Kxh3 Qxf1+, White resigned.
13. ... bxc6 14. b4 d5 15. Nf3 Re8 16. cxd5 cxd5 17. Rc5
No walk in the park Because of Swiss System pairings, the first round of the Pan Am saw teams paired 400-800 points above or below their own team average. So the first round pairing of UTB/TSC-B (average rating of 1978.8) with UMBC (2595.5) was not an unusually large gap. Although Nelly (rated 1976) lost to her grandmaster opponent, UMBC’s GM Timur Gareev (rated 2631), it was not a walk in the park for the stronger player. In fact, UTB/TSC coach Gilberto Hernandez noted, Gareev took longer on the clock. As Nelly showed me the game, I recorded her comments as annotations along with the game score. Bogo-Indian (E11) GM Timur Gareev (2631), UMBC WCM Nelly Estrada (1976), UTB/TSC-B Pan Am Intercollegiate (1) Notes by Estrada
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. d4 Bb4+ 4. Nbd2
This has transposed to a regular d4 opening.
4. ... Nc6 5. e3 0-0 6. Be2 d6 7. 0-0 Bxd2
I played 7. ... Bxd2 because White was threatening Nb3 with the idea of a2-a3. Then my bishop has nowhere to go.
8. Nxd2 e5
As compensation for White having the bishop pair, I get to attack in the center. 9. d5 Ne7 10. b3 Bf5
10. ... c6 directly might have been better, but White would respond with 11. e4. Therefore, I played 10. ... Bf5 so that, when I play c7-c6, he cannot play e3-e4.
11. ... Ng6 12. Rc1 c5 13. dxc6 e.p.
I considered 17. ... Qd6 with the idea of ... Rad8. I also thought about 17. ... Qb6, with the idea of pressuring the b-pawn with ... Rab8 as well.
17. ... Rc8 18. Qa4
If White chooses 18. Qc1 Rxc5 19. Qxc5 Qb6 20. Qxb6 axb6 Black is fine.
18. ... Rxc5 19. bxc5 Qc7
I hoped to play ... Bd7-c6.
20. c6 Rb8 21. Ba3 Ne4
Better would have been 21. ... Ne7 to coordinate my pieces, for example moving that knight to c8 to defend my a-pawn. 22. Rc1 f6 23. Ba6
With the idea of 24. Bb7 and then 25. Qxa7.
23. ... Bc8
rl+ +k+ p q + pp L+P+ p n+ + +p p + Q+ +n+ + L + PN+ P+ + P P P + R + K
After 23. ... Bc8
Better might have been 23. ... Rb6 to keep my rook active. 24. Bxc8
I didn't expect this capture. I thought he would play 24. Bd3, and then I Chess Life — March 2009
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College Chess planned 24. ... Bf5 and an eventual ... a7a5. I also thought he would not capture, because after the capture I have the homogenous pair (two knights).
(12. Ne5 e3 13. f4 c5 with a double-edged position) 12. ... e3 13. Nde4 exf2+ 14. Kxf2 c5 then I would have had play against the white king.
24. ... Rxc8 25. Qb5 Qf7 26. Qb7 Nd6
11. ... dxe5 12. e4
If 27. Bxd6 then 27. ... Qxb7 and I win a queen! But I should have played 26. ... Qc7, because my queen no longer had to defend my d-pawn.
27. Qa6, Black resigned.
My coach, GM Gilberto Hernandez, gave this move an exclamation point. Now I’m lost because if 27. ... Rd8 (to defend my knight) then 28. c7. So I resigned. I thought this game was interesting because he had to find piece play to exploit my uncoordinated pieces. King’s Indian, Fianchetto Variation (E67) WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor (2418), UMBC IM Salvijus Bercys (2483), UTD-B Pan Am Intercollegiate (6) Notes by Bercys (with IM Jacek Stopa)
UMBC and UTD-B tied 2-2. By winning this game, Bercys also won the board prize for best fourth board performance, with 5½ of 6. The annotations in this game are from Bercys, as I wrote down what he said during a post mortem analysis. Occasionally IM Jacek Stopa, first board for UTD-B, also commented during this post mortem.
1. d4 d6
I wanted to avoid the Saemisch.
2. c4 e5 3. Nf3 Nd7 4. Nc3 c6 5. g3 Ngf6 6. Bg2 g6 7. 0-0 Bg7 8. Qc2 0-0 9. Rd1 Qe7 10. b3 h6
r+l+ rk+ pp+n qp l +p p np p + + p + +P P + + +P N +N P P+Q+P PL P R LR+ K
After 10. ... h6
I am preparing to play ... e5-e4, and don't want White to be able to respond to ... e5-e4 with Ng5. 11. dxe5
Sal quickly rattled off the following variations that he considered while he was thinking about playing 10. ... h6. If she had responded 11. Ba3 e4 12. Nd2 32
Chess Life — March 2009
I wanted her to block in her bishop with this move.
12. ... Re8 13. a4
White has lost control of the dark squares. 13. ... a5 14. Ba3 Nc5 15. h3
This move is too slow. Sal thought White should play 15. Ne1. He then intended 15. ... Bf8 16. Nd3 Nfd7 with the idea of ... Qf6.
15. ... Bf8 16. Ne1 Qc7 17. Nd3
r+l+r lk+ +p q +p+ +p+ np p p n p + P+P+P+ + LP NN+ PP +Q+ PL+ R +R+ K
After 17. Nd3
17. ... Nxd3
Sal gave the following lines: 17. ... Ne6 18. c5!; 17. ... b6 18. Nxc5 Bxc5 19. Bxc5 bxc5 with the idea of ... Qe7 and redeploying my knight to d4; 17. ... Nfd7 18. Ne2 Nxd3 19. Bxf8 Kxf8 20. Qxd3 Qb6.
18. Bxf8 Kxf8 19. Qxd3 Qe7 20. Qe3 Kg7 21. c5 Be6 22. Ne2 Red8 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Qc3 Qc7 25. Kh2
Better for White was 25. Rf1 with the idea of f2-f4 according to Sal.
25. ... Kh7 26. Rf1 Nh5 27. Ng1 f6 28. Nf3 Ng7 29. Rb1 Rd7 30. b4 axb4 31. Qxb4 Qd8 32. a5 Bf7 33. Qc3 Ne6
At this point, IM Jacek Stopa joked that with 33. ... Qe7 instead Black could have completed his apparent plan of putting every piece on the seventh rank. 34. Rb6
Sal said that 34. h4 (to stop Black from winning the e-pawn), as White will play Bh3 pinning the knight, was a better choice.
34. ... Qe7 35. a6 bxa6 36. Rxc6 Rc7 37. Rxa6
Sal said this move was a mistake for White. A better line, though one where Black is still better, is 37. Rxc7 Qxc7 38. c6 Be8 39. Bf1 Qxc6 where Black is a pawn up, but White has drawing chances.
(39. ... a5 40. Bb5 Nd8—IM Stopa suggested this line.) 37. ... Nxc5 38. Ra1 Nb3 39. Qb2 Nxa1 40. Qxa1 Qc5
With the plan of putting his rook on White’s second rank and winning the fpawn. The rest of the game is technique. 41. Qb2 Kg7 42. Qd2 Ra7 43. Nh4 Ra2 44. Qd1 Qxf2 45. Qc1 Re2 46. Qg1 Qxg1+ 47. Kxg1 Be8 48. Bf3 Rb2 49. Ng2 Bc6 50. Ne3 Rb4 51. Nd5 Bxd5 52. exd5 Rd4 53. Kf2 Kf7 54. Ke3 Ke7 55. g4 f5, White resigned.
Finally, I leave you with this heavyweight battle. GM Leonid Kritz has annotated the game for us. Alekhine’s Defense (B04) GM Leonid Kritz (2656), UMBC GM Alejandro Ramirez (2608), UTD-A Pan Am Intercollegiate (5) Notes by Kritz 1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 dxe5 5. Nxe5 c6 6. h3!?
It’s not the main line, but still playable.
6. ... Nd7 7. Nf3 g6
Too passive is 7. ... e6. The bishop on c8 will have a difficult life. 8. c4 N5f6 9. Nc3 Bd6 10. Be2 0-0 11. 0-0 BauerLuther (Bled, 2002) 8. c4!?
An interesting idea. White intends to castle long and to attack Black's kingside. Another possible continuation is 8. Bc4 Bg7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Re1. White's main task is to prevent Black's ... c6-c5 and ... e7-e5. 10. ... e6 11. c3 c5 (11. ... N5b6 12. Bd3 c5 13. Bg5 Qc7 14. Nbd2 cxd4 15. cxd4) 12. Bxd5 exd5 13. dxc5 Nxc5 14. Be3 Ne4 15. Nbd2 Re8 16. Bd4 f6 17. Qb3 Macieja- Rozentalis (Warsaw, 2006) 8. ... Nc7!? 9. Nc3 Bg7 10. Bf4
White takes e5 under his control.
10. ... 0-0 11. Qd2 Re8 12. 0-0-0 b5!
Black tries to open queenside files to attack White's king. 13. Ne5?
Taking on b5 doesn't come in question. Still, White can play stronger with 13. h4! 13. ... Bb7 14. Be2 (see diagram top of next column) 14. ... Nb6?
Black now had a great chance to punish White for the mistake on move 13 with 14. ... Ne6! 15. cxb5 Nxf4! uschess.org
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r+ qr+k+ pl nn pp lp +p+ +p+ +p+ N + +P P L + + N + +P P P QL PP+ + KR+ +R
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Ninth grader wins UTD scholarship; new scholarship announced
After 14. Be2
15. c5!
The position changes with each move —White is better again. One of Black’s greatest problems is the b7- bishop. 15. ... Nbd5 16. Nxd5 Nxd5 17. Bf3?
It is obvious that 17. Bh6 had to be played. 17. Bh6 Bxe5 (17. ... Bh8 18. h4 Qc7 19. f4) 18. dxe5 Qc7 19. e6 f6 20. Bf3 Rad8 21. Kb1.
17. ... f6 18. Ng4 Qd7?
For the second time Black doesn’t punish White’s mistake. White now seizes the initiative for the rest of the game. 19. Bh6!
Not to play this move again is dubious.
19. ... Bh8?!
White’s attack is even stronger with the pair of black bishops on the board.
20. h4 e5!?
Black refuses to wait until he is killed.
21. dxe5 fxe5 22. h5 e4 23. hxg6! exf3
r+ +r+k l pl+q+ +p +p+ +P L +p Pn+ + + + +N+ + + +p+ P P Q PP+ + KR+ +R
The Pan American Under 20 Scholastic Chess Championships attracted twelve players. Coming out on top was expert Mitchell Powell, who won an Academic Distinction Scholarship from The University of Texas at Dallas for his 6-0 victory. Mitchell is a ninth grade student at Jasper High School in Plano, Texas. His favorite subject in school is band. He plays trombone, which he described as, “unique among instruments because it has a slide and a trigger.” He said marching season, where the band played at all the varsity football halftimes, was “tough but fun.” Mitchell is also a year ahead in math, taking algebra II. Next year he will be in pre-calculus. About bughouse he says, “It opens your eyes to where pieces could go and makes you aware of the whole board.” He liked being in the same room with the other Pan Am events. Mitchell said, “This is the first time I’ve seen a college match set-up. It’s been interesting. I’m rooting for UTD, since we live 10 minutes down the street from it.” He felt that his best game of the tournament was his win, as white in round three, over USCF master Conrad Holt. French Defense, Tarrasch Variation (C03) Mitchell Powell (2113) Conrad Holt (2256) Pan Am Under 20 Scholastic (3)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2
Mitchell said that he usually plays 3. Nc3, but noticed in pre-game preparation that Conrad plays 3. ... Nf6. And Mitchell didn't want to play against that line. 3. ... Be7 4. Bd3 c5 5. dxc5 Nf6 6. Qe2 0-0 7. Ngf3 a5
Mitchell said he thought that Conrad intended to follow this up with ... a5a4, to restrict White’s d2-knight.
After 23. ... exf3
24. Qg5!!
Not 24. gxh7+? Qxh7 25. Qg5+ Kf7 26. Rxd5 cxd5 27. Qf4+ Kg8 28. Qg5+ Kf7 and equality. 24. ... Re4
Black is helpless.
25. gxf3 Rc4+ 26. Kb1 Rxc5 27. gxh7+ Kf7 28. Qh5+ Ke7 29. Bg5+ Kf8 30. Qh6+ Kf7 31. Ne5+! Bxe5 32. Qh5+ Kg7 33. h8=Q+ Rxh8 34. Qxh8+ Kf7 35. Qxe5, Black resigned.
.
uschess.org
5:44 PM
8. 0-0 Na6 9. b3 Nxc5 10. e5 Nxd3 11. Qxd3
Mitchell said he recaptured with the queen because he wants to control the d-file. Also, he intends to counter Black's ... Ba6 by playing c2-c4. 11. ... Nd7 12. Bb2 b6 13. Rfd1 Bb7 14. Qd4 Bc5 15. Qg4 Qe7 16. Re1
Mitchell said that Re1 was to inhibit Black from playing f7-f6.
16. ... Rae8 17. Re2 f6 18. Rae1 fxe5 19. Nxe5 Nf6 20. Qh3
Here the queen keeps pressure on Black’s e6.
20. ... Ne4 21. Nd3 Ba6 22. Nxc5
+
+r rk+ + + q pp l p +p+ + p Np+ + + +n+ + +P+ + +Q P LP NR PP P + + R K
After 22. Nxc5
22. ... bxc5
22. ... Bxe2 23. Ncxe4 is better for White; 22. ... Qxc5 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. c4 and the black e-pawn will fall. 23. c4 Nxd2 24. Rxd2 dxc4 25. bxc4 Bxc4 26. Qc3 Ba6 27. f3
Mitchell considered instead 27. Rxe6, but he was worried that his back row would be weak in the subsequent variations. 27. ... Rf7 28. Qxa5 Bb7 29. Ba3 Qg5 30. Rb2
Mitchell said he spent 20 minutes finding 30. Rb2, about which he says, “I think this is the only move.” 30. ... Bxf3 31. Qxc5 Bd5
Mitchell thought that 31. ... Rf5 was a better try for Black.
32. Rxe6 Ref8 33. Re1 Qf4
A blunder by Black, caused by being low on time. 34. Qxd5
Now Black realizes that 34. ... Qf1+ doesn’t work, because the f7-rook is pinned to the king. 34. ... Rc8 35. Rbe2 Qb8 36. Rf2 Qa7 37. Ref1 Rcc7 38. Qd8+, Black resigned.
The University of Texas at Dallas will award one Academic Excellence Distinction Scholarship, covering tuition and fees for eight semesters (4 years) to the student that wins the 2009 Denker Tournament of High School Champions sponsored by the U.S. Chess Trust and USCF. In addition, this scholarship currently provides $1,000 a year toward rental expenses. The Denker is held in conjunction with the U.S. Open.
Chess Life — March 2009
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Kasparov
Kasparov’s
By Macauley Peterson
n the shortest day of 2008, a gray and bitterly cold Sunday in New York, Garry Kasparov arrives in a very good mood. His eight pupils for the day are hard at work on an endgame study he had left for them as a morning warm-up, and now the 13th world champion is eager to show the solution. The Kasparov Chess Foundation’s (KCF’s) Master Class is in session. The room, on the 25th floor of a midtown office building, is long and narrow with windows lining one wall and a corporate conference table stretching the full length. A large LCD display hangs on the wall at the end of the table which mirrors the laptop at Kasparov’s seat. The kids sit in plush brown leather chairs with six individual display terminals at their disposal, sprinkled around the table. There are no chess sets or demo boards —too slow and unwieldy. The KCF has sponsored five training sessions for tal-
O
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ented young Americans over the past few years, but this weekend is unusual for the playing strength of the participants: Alec Getz, Kassa Korley (who was only able to attend on Saturday), Daniel Ludwig, Alisa Melekhina, Mackenzie Molner, Andrew Ng, Ray Robson and Sam Shankland, are all masters. Anna Matlin, the youngest in the room and just shy of a 2000 rating, was also invited to watch. Ranging in age from thirteen to twenty they are a cross section of America’s chess future. Prior KCF classes were comprised of much larger groups—at first more than twenty, then fifteen—but Kasparov and his long time friend and collaborator Michael Khodarkovsky decided the group was still too big and the gap between the players was too wide. It became difficult to explain certain concepts in a way that was both clear to the weaker players yet instructive to the strongest. Kasparov himself has led every class, and readily agrees that this
group stands out from the rest. “This session we moved into smaller groups, to concentrate on the best kids.” The exclusivity of this class has its benefits. “The level of discussion is very high because the average rating of the group is high, and also most of the games they show [are] the games against even stronger players,” he explains. “Everybody speaks, let’s say, the same language.” After settling in and going over the warm-up exercise, Kasparov decides another study is in order. The students ruminate for a minute, before Kasparov offers them a hint. “Let’s try to attack.” Daniel Ludwig mutters some variation to himself. “What line cowboy?” asks Kasparov. No response. Everyone is hunched over the small screens searching for the answer. Not even Kasparov has it worked out entirely. “I vaguely remember the final idea, but we still have to get there.” uschess.org
ALL PHOTOS BY MACAULEY PETERSON
Building upon your strengths is always a smart business strategy. After a few years of steady, top-flight results by our youngest players on the international stage, Garry Kasparov comes to New York to work with a group of America’s best and brightest scholastic chess players.
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Curriculum
Garry Kasparov: “The level of discussion is very high because the average rating of the group is high ...”
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Kasparov
Kasparov is regularly critical of GMs who offer draws in worse positions. We would look at several studies during the day, all composed by a Russian chess problemist named Oleg Pervakov for a book in development with Mark Dvoretsky. They’ve given part of the work to Kasparov for review, and as of today’s session he had reviewed about a hundred of the problems, and refuted five. The next problem, Kasparov explains, is “just something easy and nice. It’s about domination ... an unusual domination.” He quickly sets up the position, flipping virtual pieces at the sixty-four squares like playing cards on a blackjack table.
+ + l + +P+ + + P L + +q p + + + kp + + + + + + + rP + + N K + + + +
White to play
1. b8=Q Bd6 2. Qxd6 Rg2+ 3. Kxg2 Kh4+ 4. Ng4!! Qxd6 5. Ne5!
If 5. ... Qxe5, then 6. Bd8+; if 5. ... Qd2+, then 6. Bf2+ Kg5 7. Nf3+; if 5. ... Qd5+, then 6. Nf3+. Sam Shankland protests, “I heard that in every study every piece has to have a purpose. What is the purpose of the pawn being on a6? Kasparov concedes that this one may not be perfect—the pawn could perhaps be on a2 instead—but that’s not the point. Sam is the most talkative of the crew, always throwing out variations or cracking jokes. “Last time I had that many extra pawns I was playing my grandma,” he blurts out during one endgame, eliciting giggles. He is tactically sharp with a self-confidence as impressive as his ratings history graph. Credit goes, in part, to the KCF training. “When someone improves,” Sam told me later, “you can point to a whole bunch of reasons and it’s very hard to single one out as the reason, but I do know that, for better or for worse, I went up from a 2200 to 2450 FIDE IM in less than a year, and [Kasparov] was in the 36
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middle of that. And I don’t think that played a small part. It’s probably a bigger part than working with my friends and everything.” I wondered how working with Kasparov compares to working with other grandmasters. Sam indicates it’s a difference of degree, not kind, but he definitely sees a difference. “It’s always good to go over games with strong players, and this guy is the king of strong players.” Oh yeah. This guy. The short-hand reminds me of another brash and affable player, GM Loek van Wely, who’s been known to refer to his opponents in a similar way. Sam elaborates: “One thing about this guy is he’s a lot faster than any other, and a lot better than any other. ... I remember when I went over my game [against] Alexander Ivanov with him, and I saw this tactic that was maybe fifteen moves deep that I was really proud of, and it led to a better endgame for me. And it took me about twenty to twenty-five minutes to figure it out and I got into time trouble. [Kasparov] looked at the position and about ten seconds later he found a problem with my variation, where Ivanov could have proven an advantage. I put it into Fritz, Fritz disagreed, and then when I let it run about a minute, it agreed with [Kasparov], and I was just like, ‘wow!’” With the morning exercises out of the way, they get to the meat of the session: Analysis of the student’s games. Each participant was asked to bring four-six recent games to analyze with the entire class. Daniel Ludwig is up to bat. He takes a seat to Kasparov’s left and inputs the moves on the laptop hooked up to the LCD wall screen. Ludwig shows a game against GM Leonid Kritz, an Alapin Sicilian, in which Black plays ... b6 and ... Bb7. It reminds Garry of a game he played with black against Peter Svidler, the current Russian champion, and he rattles off about ten moves from that game on the computer. Kasparov frequently goes off on tangents like this during the eight hour session. The day is largely unstructured, and Kasparov’s broad aim is to share his vast experience with the kids. When I later ask him about his pedagogical approach, he is unequivocal. “I’m not a teacher ... I learned a lot from Botvinnik, and I think his method works because I’m sharing my experience. I’m teaching them how to understand the game of chess. I mean some say, ‘oh, [the class is] very
short it doesn’t change anything’—no, it does, because I remember when I was a kid and I could hear an opinion of a person who represented a great authority in the game of chess for me and for others. It doesn’t guarantee tremendous progress, but it helps them, actually, with their work, with their preparation, because they know more about chess wisdom than their competitors ... It helps them to broaden their vision of the game.” Daniel comes to a critical moment in his game with Kritz. “Here he offered me a draw, so i thought for a really long time because I figured if a grandmaster is offering me a draw with white, then there must be some reason why I can’t take on a1,” winning a pawn, he explains. “But there is no reason, so I took.” Fair enough, but Kasparov suggests, “a more logical conclusion would be that since he’s offering you a draw it means he blundered the pawn!” Thus begins a running joke throughout the day: Kasparov is regularly critical of grandmasters who offer draws in worse positions. Daniel flips through his games to find another one to analyze. “I don’t have many games with white to show you because I just switched to d4 a month ago.” “Anand did the same!” Kasparov laughs. Kasparov’s own knowledge of opening theory during his playing career was unparallelled, and although he no longer keeps up with the latest theory, he was pleased to answer any questions the students could throw at him. For instance, from move one he says, “d4 always offers you a variety of options. It doesn’t mean that e4 is weak, but it’s no accident that leading players are all moving to d4. With e4 there are too many complex problems that White has to solve.” In other words, you’d rather deal with the Grunfeld than with the Marshall, and confronting a solid Queen’s Gambit is still more pleasant than facing the Petroff. Daniel finds a new game, against Marc Esserman whom Ludwig says had been sort of stalking him by following all his games live on the Internet Chess Club and using his blitz history to prepare for their tournament match up. “But now we train together,” he hastily adds, as though to diffuse any suggestion of impropriety. Playing through the opening, Daniel’s position seems preferable, prompting Kasparov to quip that Esserman’s “genius preparation isn’t working.” “You should send him more blitz games.” The kids eat up this kind of snark from the champ, a sort of ex post facto trash talking that would be petty coming from mere mortals, but not from their hero. Daniel continues, “and here I didn’t even consider taking the knight.” Kasparov is amazed. “I wouldn’t even consider any other move ... Clearly the uschess.org
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Garry Kasparov: “A more logical conclusion would be that since he’s offering you a draw it means he blundered the pawn!”
knight is better than the bishop. Black has only one good piece. You have lots of good pieces.” The observation provides a clear difference between Kasparov and other grandmasters, according to Daniel. Kasparov is able to hone in on flaws in his play, that he hopes to correct. Sam and Daniel are friends. They have roomed together at the U.S. Championship and World Youth. They’re about the same rating. In this room they’re like chess-crazed versions of Dumas’ Aramis and Porthos, minus the wine, women and song. “I think we’re both pretty good at this game,” says Sam. “We both are not shy, and we just like to contribute our variations, and if it means they just get refuted, then great, we realize what we did wrong.” When the gang breaks for a pizza lunch at one thirty, I expected they would all want to have a walk, or get some fresh air, and some do. But within a few minutes of eating, and despite being mid-way through a day full of chess analysis, I find Daniel and Ray Robson in the midst of a blindfold game. “This is kind of just something we do all the time,” Daniel explains. “We went to the World Youth together one time and we traveled around before that, and we just did nothing but blindfold chess. Even in uschess.org
front of, like, the Parthenon and stuff we were still too busy playing blindfold chess to notice.” A tad obsessive, maybe? “No, I mean it’s fun! Well, I never get to play blindfold chess with anyone and Ray’s the only one I know who plays it.” From across the room, Sam catches wind of the conversation and pipes up, “Daniel, d4.” “No! I’m already in a game!” “Blindfold simul!” Sam shoots back, jokingly. Ray is skeptical, but Daniel says it’s not too hard. “When you get to about five boards that’s really hard, but two I think is doable.” “Well I play Rc1,” says Ray, preferring to focus on the game at hand. Daniel is busted, or so he says—I, of course, have no clue of the position. Daniel echoes the general consensus that this more exclusive training session is much better than the only one he attended before, in 2005. Back then the larger group necessitated that each student bring only two games instead of four to six. The smaller class size is a noticeable improvement, he says. “As close as you can get to one-on-one the better.” Daniel likes the group dynamic as well. Although he has studied with experi-
enced trainers Gregory Kaidanov and Larry Christiansen, “when you’re working with Kasparov, the brilliance is so obvious and so apparent,” he has noticed. “The ideas they just come so quickly and so naturally. I think the biggest thing about working with Kasparov is if there’s some position that seems unclear to me, he can immediately write it off as much better or much worse or winning, and that’s something I can’t do at this point.” After lunch, the group tackles another brief endgame study, to get the mind moving again. Mackenzie “Mac” Molner, the oldest participant today, is generally silent. He and the two young girls (Alisa Melekhina and Anna Matlin) give the impression that they are mainly waiting for their turn to show Kasparov their games, and are otherwise happy to passively listen. When I ask Kasparov about this after the session he insists that one thing he learned from Botvinnik is the importance of involving everyone in the discussion. It is not ideal that some are just watching. “I’m trying to encourage more participation, but sometimes you have to fight certain problems of the character.” Some kids are bound to be the quiet type. And yet the work should be very intense for Chess Life — March 2009
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Kasparov
“Last time I had that many extra pawns I was playing my grandma.” each of them, including Kasparov himself, he says. He wants the students to learn not only from their own games, but also from the games of their fellow classmates. The conclusion of Mac’s win over GM Julio Becerra, a tactical slugfest, generates some camaraderie. Andrew Ng spots the final flourish. “Rg7, ‘gg.’ Aww. Nice Mac. Poor Becerra.” 1 Everyone is impressed. “Next time, I think we should make a note,” Sam chimes in. “Let’s just go over Mac’s games ‘cause they’re the most interesting.” In the next game Anna Matlin tries to get in a small suggestion, one of the few times the group has heard from her. Sam shoots it down at first, an unfortunate inclination, but this time Daniel comes to her aid. “Nf5, I like it.” “Interesting,” Kasparov agrees. “Keeping the bishop alive.” At this, a tiny hint of a satisfied smile creeps onto Anna face. But almost immediately the boys move on. A moment later Anna proffers a new idea. Again, it is initially brushed off, but then Kasparov warms up to it after all. Sam turns to Anna and whispers, “he just said your suggestion was right. I guess we should listen to you more.” This time her smile is unambiguous. Sam can take criticism. “Once you wipe the tears away, you’re stronger and you have a better sense of the position,” he says. “I know some people who are like, ‘oh my god you said my move is bad,’ and they go cry in a corner ... but you don’t get better by someone saying, ‘all your moves are perfect,’ because, unless you win every game, all your moves are not perfect.” Not everyone is so thick-skinned, but the best learn how to recover and move on from failure, and everyone needs a little encouragement from time to time. Today, Kasparov is satisfied. “You know, I think it’s working nicely, because in a small group, almost everyone participated. Even the girls, they had a few questions and they had a few comments, but of course when you have a couple of strong players and they’re bright, they’re quick, they’re trying to dominate, and there’s nothing wrong with it.” Ray is one of the youngest. His family drove to New York from Florida, and this is already his fourth KCF session, second only to Andrew, who has attended all five. The pair are the same age—fourteen —and sit next to each other during the 38
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day, huddled around the same computer screen, whispering variations. They are not as aggressive as Sam and Daniel, but nevertheless do not hesitate to jump into the conversation when they think they’ve found something noteworthy. Ray in particular speaks up often, and often seems to be just a little bit ahead of the discussion, nearly keeping up with Kasparov move for move. When it’s his turn to show his games, Ray picks a tough last round loss from the Miami International. Kasparov is incredulous. “Did you need to win the last round?” “No, I was a point ahead,” says Ray. “You were a point ahead and you lost? “Yeah.” “With white?” He resets the pieces on the monitor. Kasparov’s criticism can be swift and uncompromising. When Ray explains that he feels he played too passively in the middle game, he’s met with a slightly sarcastic, “we can see that.” A few moments later, Ray, moving the mouse, indicates, “I went here,” provoking an immediate and audible cringe from Kasparov, who gasps and shakes his head. He doesn’t have any words of encouragement after Ray’s loss. He just lets it go by and moves on to the next game. Sometimes I would expect Kasparov to have some salient observation about a given position, especially during a lull around the table, when no one seems to have a comment or even to understand clearly what’s going on. Instead he is silent, just subtly urging Ray to continue. I asked him about this later, whether there was a difference, or if it was just my imagination. “[Ray] has huge potential,” said Kasparov. “He plays, I would say, mature chess, and it was a pleasure to watch this very young kid showing the lines and playing very high quality games. I could have offered criticism, but I appreciated the fact that it was a very different strength. He plays chess which already could make him a GM. So that’s why I told him, ‘don’t be too concerned about the title. You will get it soon if you keep playing the same chess.’” The next game from Ray goes somewhat better. GM Renier Gonzalez offered Ray a draw in a dead lost position, misbelieving that there would be a perpetual check. This precipitates uproarious laughter, as yet another illustration of the weekend’s inside joke. Grandmasters don’t like to
lose to young upstarts. Kasparov is amusingly dismissive of many grandmasters, even top ten players, the way an ordinary grandmaster might be with masters, or the way a master is with a C player. Ray’s last game for the day is from the Essent Open, in North Holland, played on Ray’s birthday, “but it didn’t work out” as a celebration. In a sharp Richter-Rauzer, Kasparov advocates White dropping his bishop back to e3 and pushing g2-g4 because Black’s bishop is misplaced on d7 in an English Attack setup. The f6knight has no retreat square. He goes on to explain several other strategic points in the game with GM Abhijeet Gupta from India, plucking out key moments with incredible speed. When a line isn’t working, he is decisive as to where to revert to find the right path. He doesn’t like to admit defeat, but will occasionally reach a dead end and back up, with a casual, “well, we tried.” Only once, toward the end of the day, when everyone was a little tired, does he turn Fritz on to confirm the end of a tactical sequence. In this case Fritz confirms a clever only-move defense that Daniel spotted. In general, appeals to authority don’t work on Kasparov, and he constantly emphasizes the need to think for oneself. He doesn’t once refer to theory, or any other authority other than his own assessment, analysis, and games. That’s not to say he won’t refer to other games—he does—but not to make them the final arbiter of truth. For instance, after the game analysis, Kasparov opens the room for questions. These are mostly centered around opening selection. Regarding 4. Ng5 in the Two Knight’s Defense (a.k.a. The Fried Liver Attack), Kasparov approves, although he says it’s still not properly analyzed, probably. Daniel is dubious. “This is actually okay for Black, according to Informant,” he proclaims. “Well, what about common sense?” comes the immediate retort. Sam asks, “do you think the Dragon is better than its reputation?” “Look many strong players are playing it again, but I don’t think it’s an opening I would rely on.” As to why Radjabov has revived the Kings Indian Defense, he remarks, “Radjabov must play complicated unbalanced positions, because his level of understanding of simple positions is not sufficient to top level tournaments.” Karjakin’s aptitude for opening innovations “still lags behind” the rest, but as for Morozevich, “he finds something, every second or third time.” For more down to earth advice, he suggests that, with the caveat that each player is different, you can exclude ceruschess.org
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Anna Matlin (left) and Alisa Melekhina (right), two top scholastic players taking the opportunity to pick Kasparov’s brain.
tain lines. “There are dead openings, like, you know, the Benoni.” Everyone laughs. “What would you recommend instead of the Benoni?” asks Andrew. “Anything!” Kasparov says. Meanwhile the Marshall attack, “statistically, is like a dead end.” Another top level game, another draw, and “White has nothing.” Therefore, the anti-Marshall is the way to go. “I would recommend to avoid it. That’s why they play [d2-]d3, and these kind of maneuvers ... that’s why they play [d2-]d3 at move 5 or 6 even.” I begin to notice that Kasparov even speaks very fast. It’s after 6:00 now, well past dark. One last study before they adjourn for 2008.
+
+n+ + + + K + + N + P + + + k + + +P+ + +R+ + +p+ + L + + +r+
White to play uschess.org
The main defensive idea is for the black rook to get to either the h-file or eighth rank (and apparently there is no way to stop it). Kasparov is disappointed as he concludes that this is another Pervakov problem that will need to be be added to the “refuted” list. (A few days later the students receive an e-mail containing the winning line. They had all missed the key.)2 The KCF has a difficult task, which Kasparov fully understands. “The chess world has been stagnating for a while. It offers few options for talented kids, so unless you are top ten, you will not make a decent living, so everyone is looking for a better job and for a better future.” He argues that more attention will be needed from private sponsors, or state and local authorities. “Unfortunately, in the United States, difficult time now in the economy we see the talented kids reaching a certain point and then being forced to make a tough choice for their career, and they move out.” He hopes a few of the talented kids here will continue. “First you have to build the structure to find the talent, to encourage kids to play chess. So that’s what we have been doing here, and doing quite successfully. The next problem is how to make sure this talent stays in the game of
chess, but that’s beyond our task.” All the students show talent and determination, and have the potential to move onto the professional level, if they stick with chess. If today is any indication, it’s hard to imagine we won’t see some of them competing on the U.S. Olympiad team in a decade. It’s the shortest day of the year, but for these kids, not nearly long enough. 1. Andrew uses the Internet chess abbreviation for “good game.”
.
2. 1. h7 Re1+ 2. Ne4+!! (the move they missed!) 2. ... Rxe4+ 3. Kd8 (and Black cannot now play 3. ... Rh1!) 3. ... Nd6 4. Bxd6 (4. Rxd6? Ra4) 4. ... Re8+ 5. Kxe8 c1=Q 6. Be7+ Kg6 7. h8=Q etc.
The KCF was the main sponsor of the U.S. Olympiad teams (see February Chess Life). For more information, including how to order their curriculum guide, see kasparovchessfoundation.org.
Previous KCF class articles in Chess Life can be found in the September 2006 and August 2008 issues. Chess Life — March 2009
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Correspondence Chess
Absolutely New and Improved An experienced, strong group—all of them used to winning—“gathered” on a webserver to contest the 2007 Absolute. They then finished the 2006 Absolute.
By FM Alex Dunne
On August 10, 2007, 13 of the USA’s strongest correspondence players began a battle for supremacy—not by postcard, not by e-mail, but by webserver. For those of you unfamiliar with correspondence chess (CC) by webserver, it is almost exactly like playing against an opponent over-the-board (OTB) chess on a computer screen except instead of minutes to make a move, you have days (fifty days to make 10 moves in this tournament), and you may consult books (but not generate moves using a computer). The chess is generally of very-high quality and free of those blunders caused by nerves, time pressure, and carelessness. The thirteen warriors are names easily recognized by CC fans and are becoming better known to OTB fans as well. In alphabetical order they are SIM Wesley (Ted) Brandhorst, also first in rating order (2482). Ted won the Absolute event in 2002, shared it in 2003, finished second in 2004, and will tie for third in the 2005. During those four years he lost only two games against the best of the best. Ted also won the prestigious X North American Invitational. Walter Brower (2384) has future triumphs ahead of him. At this writing he leads the 2006 Absolute. You might wonder why the 2007 Absolute finished ahead of the 2005 and 2006 events. The main reason is the use of a webserver. Faster even than e-mail, no bookkeeping, no recording errors, the webserver (coming soon to a USCF near you) is changing the nature of correspondence chess. Lawrence Coplin (2401) tied for third place in the 2004 Absolute. SIM Edward Duliba (2452) is the only player to accomplish the grand slam of correspondence chess—a first-place tie in the 1992 Golden Knights and the 1998 Absolute and first in the 15th United States Correspon40
Chess Life — March 2009
dence Chess Championship. Gino Figlio (2434) has finished tied for third in the 1999 Golden Knights championship and has been active in ICCF leadership. William Gray (2365) tied for third in the 2005 Absolute. Robert Keating (2382) has won back-to-back Golden Knights tournaments in 1995 and 1996. IM Kristo Miettinen (2364) is one of the most experienced of the present Absolute players, having appeared in 1992, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and now 2007 Absolutes. Ciaran O’Hare (2405), USCF member and a native of Ireland, is appearing in his fifth Absolute. Mark Robledo, Sr. (2336) is the newcomer to the group, relatively untested in top-flight play, but sporting a hefty rating gained mostly in scrappy Golden Knights play. IM Keith Rodriguez (2384) tied for first in the recently finished 2005 Absolute. IM Leonard (Corky) Schakel (2329), the new leader of ICCF/US, has shown his strength in winning the 1998 Golden Knights (third in 1992) finishing tied for first in the 2003 Absolute and clear first in the 2004. Abe Wilson (2377) is the winner of the 2000 Golden Knights. The tournament began as most Absolutes do with a few scattered draws followed by the first decisive result, a win by Brower over Keating when Keating’s kingside attack failed to materialize in a King’s Indian Defense. But then came the first shocker—less than two months into the event, Abe Wilson defeated Ted Brandhorst. Brandhorst had lost only three times before this in the last six(!) Absolutes stretching back to 2001 and over 79 games. Ruy Lopez, Berlin Defense (C67) Abe Wilson (2377) Wesley Brandhorst (2482) 2007 Absolute
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8
Both players have had experience with this line before. Wilson-Jacobs, 2006 Absolute, continued 9. Nc3 Be6 10. Ng5 Ke7 11. f4 Bc4 12. Rf2 Ke8 13. b3 Bd5 later drawn and Everitt-Brandhorst, 2005 Absolute with 9. Nc3 Ke8 10. h3 Be7 11. Rd1 Be6 and drawn on move 19. 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. h3 h6 11. Be3 Ke8 12. Rad1 Nf5
This is Brandhorst’s theoretical novelty deviating from Palac-Hracek, 2006 Olympiad.
13. Bc1 Be6 14. g4 Ne7 15. Nd4 Bd7 16. f4 Nd5 17. Ne4 Rd8 18. f5 c5
+ rk l r pp pl+p p + + + p + pn PP+ + NN+P+ + + + +P P PP+ + + + LR+R K
After 18. ... c5
19. c4 cxd4 20. cxd5 Bb5 21. Rxd4 c5?
Black had to play 21. ... Bxf1 and accept a slightly inferior game.
22. Rdd1 Bc4 23. d6 Bxf1 24. Kxf1 b6 25. Kg2, Black resigned.
Not long after Brandhorst’s loss, the other man who had been winning Absolutes lately fell as Schakel dropped a full point to Edward Duliba. uschess.org
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Classical Dutch, Classical Stonewall (A93) Edward Duliba (2452) Corky Schakel (2329) 2007 Absolute 1. d4 e6 2. c4 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0-0 6. 0-0 d5 7. b3 Bd7
A strategic idea that doesn’t quite pan out in this game. Schakel immediately plays to activate the problem Stonewall bishop with the plan ... Bd7-e8-h5 but it never reaches its assigned destination.
8. Nc3 Ne4 9. Bb2 Be8 10. Ne5 Nxc3
With the investment of two bishop moves to move the bishop from c8 to e8, Black has to avoid trying to establish as Stonewall by 10. ... c6 as 11. Nxe4 fxe4 12. f3 opens up the game favorably for White. 11. Bxc3 c6 12. Qd2 Nd7 13. Ba5 Qb8 14. Nd3
White repositions this knight, avoiding its exchange for the more passive black knight.
14. ... dxc4 15. bxc4 e5 16. Bb4 Bxb4 17. Qxb4 e4
Black has a difficult game after 17. ... exd4 18. Rab1 Rf7 19. Qxb7 Qxb7 20. Rxb7 Nb6 21. Rxf7 Bxf7 22. c5 Nd5 23. Ne5, but that might have been better .
18. Nf4 c5 19. dxc5 Qc8 20. Rad1 Nxc5 21. f3
White’s better development allows him to open up the position favorably. 21. ... exf3 22. Rxf3 Ba4 23. Rd5 b6 24. Re3 Rb8 25. Re7, Black resigned.
rq+ rk+ p + R pp p + + + + nR+p+ l QP+ N + + + + P P+ +P+L P + + + K
Final position
Duliba thought that Schakel’s resignation was slightly premature, but then Duliba has the enjoyable side of this position. Black’s scattered pieces offer little hope for survival. In January, the Absolute lost six-time veteran William Gray, Jr. who died at the Walter Reed Hospital. His final score of 1½-10½ is hardly representative of his true strength. Excluding points lost by his death, Gray’s overall Absolute total was a robust 27-22. uschess.org
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After the initial skirmishes it became clear that this year it would be a two-man race between Edward Duliba and Gino Figlio (though both men had to surpass Lawrence Coplin, who finished 8-4, and Kristo Miettinen, who had a late surge to attain the same score). One of the other contestants described the race as the “standard ICCF move”—starting slow to see who were the fish and who the competitors, and to establish exactly how high a score would be needed ...” Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation (Poisoned Pawn) (B97) Lawrence Coplin (2401) Gino Figlio (2434) 2007 Absolute 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 8. Nb3 Be7 9. Qf3 Nbd7 10. 0-0-0 Qc7 11. Bd3 b5 12. a3 Rb8 13. Bh4
This remarkable move apparently has a copyright by Coplin. The idea is a kingside pawn storm by g2-g4-g5 without being impeded by the g5-bishop. It certainly seems worth trying again. 13. ... b4 14. axb4 Rxb4 15. Rhe1 Bb7 16. Qh3 h6 17. Kb1 Ba8 18. Na2 Rb6 19. Nc3
White offers to smoke a peace pipe, but Black wants some adventures.
19. ... Qb8 20. Bf2 Rb4 21. g4 0-0
Into the teeth of the attack! What happens next shows combinative CC at its finest. Almost every move for both sides from now to move 35 deserves an exclamation point. 22. g5 hxg5 23. fxg5 Nh7 24. Nd5 exd5 25. exd5 Nxg5 26. Qxd7 Bf6 27. Ba7 Qd8 28. Qxd8 Rxd8 29. Bxa6 Ra4 30. Bb6 Rb8 31. Bd3 Bxd5 32. Bf5 Be6 33. Bxe6 Nxe6 34. Bf2 Be5 35. Bg3 f6 36. Bxe5 dxe5
After the whirlwind an endgame is reached of about even chances, as long as White plays actively. 37. Rd6 Ng5 38. Nc5 Rh4 39. Re2 Rb5 40. Ne6 Ne4 41. Rc6 Kf7 42. b3 g5 43. Kc1 Rb8 44. Kb2 Re8 45. Nc7 Rd8 46. b4 Nd2 47. Ne6 Rd5 48. Nc7 Rd7 49. Na6 Rd6 50. Rxd6 Nc4+ 51. Kb3 Nxd6 52. Nc7 Nc4 53. c3 Ke7 54. Ra2 f5 55. Na6 Kd6 56. b5
+
+ + + + +n+ + N+ k + + +P+ p p +P+ p r +K+ + + + + R P + + + +
After 58. ... Nd7
Coplin finally hits an iceberg and hisgame sinks. Even with 59. Rd2+ Coplin loses—59. ... Ke7 60. c5 e4 61. b6 e3 62. Rxd7+ Kxd7 63. b7 Rh8 64. Kc3 f3 65. Kd3 f2 66. Ke2 Rf8!. Had Coplin drawn the game, he would have finished second (instead of tied for third) and Figlio would have dropped to a tie for third. Likely Coplin was playing this dangerous position for a win to give him a chance to tie for first. 59. ... Nc5+ 60. Kb4 Nxa6+ 61. bxa6 f3 62. a7 Rh8 63. Ra2
Expecting 63. ... Ra8 64. Ra6+ Ke7 65. Kc3 f2 66. Ra1 which would only leave Black with a small edge. 63. ... e4, White resigned.
The rook cannot battle against the connected pawns. The end could be 64. Kc3 e3 65. Kd3 e2 66. Kd2 Re8! 67. Ke1 f2+ and Black wins.
Third-place finisher ICCM Kristo Miettinen works as a civil affairs officer who manages the effect of civilians on U.S. combat operations. Kristo is currently the playing team captain of the Sixth North Atlantic Team Tournament. Miettinen, Kristo’s study of combat situations surely must have helped in this ferocious struggle against Ciaran O’Hare.
Sicilian Defense, Sveshnikov Variation (B33) Kristo Miettinen (2364) Ciaran O’Hare (2405) 2007 Absolute
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Nd5 Nxd5 8. exd5 Nb8 9. Qf3 a6 10. Qa3 Be7 11. Bg5 f6
White cannot let his pawns be successfully blockaded if he hopes to hold the game.
Black cannot profit by 11. ... Bxg5 12. Nxd6+ Kd7 13. Nxf7 when White should win.
56. ... Nb6 57. Rf2 f4 58. c4 Nd7
12. Be3 0-0 13. 0-0-0 Bf5 14. Nc3 Nd7 15. f3 b5 16. h4 Qb8 17. Ne4 Nb6 18. g4 Bd7 19. Ng3
(see diagram top of next column) 59. Rc2?
After conducting a titanic struggle,
A hard move to find, retreating instead of attacking, but White must prevent Black from counterattacking in the cenChess Life — March 2009
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Correspondence Chess ter. After 19. h5 f5! Black generates counterplay. 19. ... Rc8 20. Qd3 b4
Weakening his grip on c4, Black is planning to exchange light-squared bishops, but that maneuver will also weaken f5. 21. Qe4 Bb5 22. g5 Bxf1
r qr+ +k+ + + l pp p n p p + + +P p P p +Q+ P + + LP N P PP+ + + + KR+l+R
After 22. ... Bxf1
23. Nf5!
A solid zwischenzug that strengthens White’s attack. 23. ... Bf8 24. Rhxf1 Nd7 25. Nh6+ Kh8
Accepting the sacrifice fails to 25. ... gxh6 26. gxh6 Qc7 27. Rg1+ Kh8 28. Rd2 Nb6 29. Rdg2 Qf7 30. Qg4 Bxh6 31. Bxh6 Rg8 32. Bg7+. 26. Nf7+ Kg8 27. g6 hxg6
Keeping the position closed must fail in the long run—27. ... h6 28. Qg4 Qc7 29. Rf2 Re8 30. Bxh6 gxh6 31. g7 Kxf7 32. g8=Q+. 28. Qxg6 b3 29. Nh6+ Kh8 30. Qf7 Be7 31. Rg1, Black resigned.
2006 Absolute: Goodbye to e-mail
The 2006 Absolute finished two months after the 2007 Absolute. Once again the reason was the changing technology that has been remodeling correspondence chess. The 2007 Absolute was the first to be played by webserver; the 2006 was the last to be played by e-mail. There was still plenty of time for the 2006 participants to follow Italian champion Mario Napolitano’s definition of CC play: “Correspondence chess is not a school for technique or an academy for virtuosity, it is a discipline of deep thought, of research, of tenacity. There is no place for the easy and convenient draw by agreement, but there is always the torment of the search for the best.” That is the philosophy, but of the 78 games played, 44 were draws, 56% of the total. Still, that 42
Chess Life — March 2009
brings in a healthy 44% decisive games played. The lowest rated player at the start, Laurence Anderson, summed it up, “I keep being surprised how quickly these strong players offer a draw.” Nevertheless, something has to be said for the cautious strategy—the co-winners were undefeated and the top six finishers lost a total of three games. That being said, the co-winners of the 2006 Absolute Championship reached their goal by winning four games and drawing eight. Walter Brower of Hopewell, New Jersey improved on his tie for third in the 2005 Absolute by climbing to the top, but the trip was not always smooth.
Vienna Game (C27) Joe Shipman (2283) Walter Brower (2390) 2006 Absolute
Of the “regulars” in the Absolute championships, Joseph Shipman is an anomaly. He is a throwback to a pre-Steinitz time, the 1850s, where macho men offered and accepted gambits. One of his main weapon is the Morra Gambit and this “primitive, pre-scientific” approach to the game has taken many scalps over the years. He is a dangerous opponent and draws are rare visitors to his games. 1. e4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Bc4 Bc5
Walter sidesteps the aptly named Frankenstein-Dracula Variation of the Vienna with 3. ... Nxe4 4. Qh5 Nd6 5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nb5 g6 7. Qf3 where Shipman would have been right at home. 4. f4 d6 5. d3 0-0 6. f5
Shipman announces his intention—a kingside attack based on a pawn storm. Not many players could withstand the following storm. 6. ... c6 7. Qf3 b5 8. Bb3 a5 9. a3 Bb6!?
I was puzzled by this move when I first saw it. I remain puzzled by it now. The punctuation mark is for the eventual success Black achieves with it.
10. g4 Na6
White’s attack looks fierce here— Black’s queenside pieces don’t look like they can help their king any.
r+l q r k+ + +n+p p n lp+ +P+ pp+N p + + +P+ + PL+P+Q+ PP+ + P R L K NR
After 14. Nxd5
Strong—but bankers might prefer 16. Bxa8.
16. ... Ra7 17. Ne2
Shipman has played with great verve, but now he misses his last chance to cash in by 17. gxf7+ Raxf7 with a small plus. Instead he wants to checkmate his opponent, but now it becomes Brower’s turn to show some attacking prowess. 17. ... Be6! 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Qh5 Qf2+ 21. Kd1 Rf6 22. Qxe5
Material is even but the white king is now the one under fire. It is now Brower’s turn to eschew material gain. What happens next is both brutal and beautiful. 22. ... Qf3 23. Re1 Bf2 24. Qxb5 Nc5! 25. Qb8+ Rf8 26. Qxa7 Nxd3! 27. Qe7 Qe3 28. Qxe6+ Kh8 29. c3 Bxe1
Black takes the rook en route to checkmating the white king. This time Romanticism failed.
30. Kc2 Qxe2+ 31. Kb3 Qxb2+ 32. Kc4 Qxc3+ 33. Kb5 Qc5+ 34. Ka4 Nb2+ 35. Kb3 Qc3+ 36. Ka2 Nc4 37. Qh3+ Qxh3, White resigned.
Laurence Anderson of Foristell, Missouri finished tied for first, but not without a little luck (the good players are always lucky). His undefeated record may indicate that we will hear much more about him in the future, especially if he plays like he did in the following game: Symmetrical English (A34) Eric Fischvogt (2316) Laurence Anderson (2231) 2006 Absolute
11. g5 Nd7 12. g6 hxg6 13. fxg6 d5 14. Nxd5!? (see diagram top of next column)
I am an admirer of Shipman’s chutzpah. He will attack anybody on the chessboard at any time. But here most masters would be content with a material reward with 14. exd5 Ndc5 15. Ba2 fxg6 16. dxc6+ with a plus to White. 14. ... cxd5 15. Bxd5 Nf6 16. Bg5
1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. b3 e5 8. Bb2 Be7 9. Rc1 Ne6 10. 0-0 0-0
The strategic battle lines have been joined. Black occupies the center with pawns and pieces, claiming the territory for himself. White keeps his central pawn majority back, a potential occupying force, and fianchettoes his bishops to strike at the center at a distance, intending to uschess.org
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gradually take over the center at a later time. 11. Ne1 f5 12. f4!?
This corresponds to White’s plan to attack Black’s center pawn structure, but it has a drawback of weakening the pawn support of White’s own center.
12. ... exf4 13. gxf4 Bf6 14. e3 Bd7 15. Qe2 a6 16. Kh1?!
White intends a possible Rg1 with some kingside play but he overlooks a tactical shot that gives Black strong piece activity in the center. 16. ... Nb4 17. a3 Na2!
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29. Qf2 Ng5 30. Rde1 Rf4 31. e6 Nxe4 32. Rxe4!?
Eric Fischvogt is no stranger to Absolute events, scoring a plus score this year and an even score in 2004. He knows his only chance is to sacrifice the Exchange to reinvigorate his central pawns, capture f3, and put some fire in his attack against the black king, but it is not enough.
32. ... Rxe4 33. Qg3 Qg6 34. Qxf3 h5 35. b5
Failing to hold is 35. Qf7+ Kh7! 36. Qxg6+ Kxg6 37. Rg1+ Kf5! 38. Rf1+ Kg4 and the center pawns fall.
35. ... Kh7 36. bxa6 bxa6 37. Rd1 Rg4 38. e7 Rb8 39. Bb4 c3 40. d6
Naturally 40. Bxc3 fails to 40. ... Rb1.
40. ... c2, White resigned.
The last trick is 41. Rc1 Rbxb4! 42. axb4 Qg5 43. Qxg4 Qxc1+ 44. Kg2 Qd2+ 45. Kg3 Qe1+ and Black wins.
20. ... Bxe5 21. fxe5 Nxc3 22. Bxc3 Bb5 23. d3 Bc6
Thirty years ago in 1976 the First Absolute Championship was held. A young man named Robert Jacobs won that event with an undefeated 8-4 score. Robert has played, successfully, in six Absolutes. Thirty years later he is still playing well. In the following game he defeats one of the most dominant figures in recent Absolute play, depriving Ted Brandhorst of the opportunity to at least tie for first. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that Jacobs is a magician who scatters his pieces randomly across the board, utters an incantation, and, magically, his pieces coordinate into a deadly attacking unit capable of felling the biggest giant. And yet ...
24. b4 Bxg2+ 25. Qxg2 f4!
Sicilian Defense, Grand Prix Attack (B21) Robert Jacobs (2414) Wesley Brandhorst (2444) 2006 Absolute
After 17. ... Na2
Black’s knight, that was commanding few good squares, finds the opportunity to exchange itself for White’s superior knight on c3. 18. Rd1 Qe8 19. Nd3 Rd8 20. Ne5
It is easy to condemn this move as White’s central pawn structure will be weakened after the following trade but it is not so easy to suggest a better plan. The result of Black’s maneuver ... Nb4a2xc3 is that White’s center has been compromised, he is stuck with the worse bishop, and White’s passed e5-pawn is securely blockaded: plus to Black. And now White will have to further worry about the safety of his king.
26. e4 c4!
Anderson may have been the lowest rated player at the start of this event, but he plays like one of the strongest. White can’t allow the doubled isolated epawns. Nevertheless, this had to be carefully calculated. 27. d4 Qh5 28. d5 f3!
Here is the kicker that Black had planned on when he played 25. ... f4! White’s keystone to his pawns, the e4square, falls. uschess.org
1. e4 c5 2. f4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. Be2 Nc6
Jacobs has tried this line before against strong opposition. The game JacobsCoplin, 2002 Absolute continued 5. d3 Nh6 6. 0-0 d5 7. Qe1 0-0 8. c3 d4 when Black weathered Jacobs’ attack and a draw was reached by move 45. 5. 0-0 d6 6. d3 e6 7. Qe1 Nge7 8. Kh1
The king is tucked into the corner for two reasons here. The first is to avoid any surprises on the g1–a7 diagonal. The second is White plans a kingside pawn storm when the g-file may become open and White would like a white rook or two on that file.
8. ... 0-0 9. Qh4
This transfer of the queen to the kingside is standard fare in both the Dutch and Sicilian. 9. ... d5 10. c3 b6 11. Na3 Ba6 12. Rf2 b5
Black has neutralized White’s attack with center play and some queenside activity. 13. Nc2 b4?!
r+ q r k+ p + np lp l+n+p+p+ + pp+ + p +P P Q + PP+N+ P PN+L RP P R L + +K
After 13. ... b4
This misstep is the beginning of Black’s slide—instead of opening up the queenside to Black activity, it leads to its closing. 14. c4! dxe4
And now the center grows a bit whiter.
15. dxe4 Re8 16. Be3 Qa5 17. g4!
With more than half of Black’s forces bivouacking on the queenside, White initiates a deadly raid on the kingside.
17. ... Rad8 18. f5 exf5 19. gxf5 f6
Perhaps Brandhorst relied on 19. ... gxf5 here, but then White breaks through with 20. Ng5 h6 21. Nxf7! which leads to a winning attack—21. ... Kxf7 22. Bh5+ Kg8 23. Rg1 Ne5 24. Bxh6 N7g6 25. Bxg6 Nxg6 26. Rxg6 Rd1+ 27. Kg2 Rd7 28. Bxg7 Rxg7 29. Rxg7+ Kxg7 30. Qg5+ Kf7 31. Rxf5+ and White is winning. 20. Bh6 Bh8 21. Rg2 Bb7 22. Rag1 Rd7 23. Ne3, Black resigned.
Amazing. The white pieces just swarm up the board and the black king is hopelessly outnumbered. Brandhorst resigns here as there is no reasonable defense—23. ... Nd4 24. fxg6 Nxg6 25. Qh5 Bg7 26. Rxg6! hxg6 27. Qxg6 Ree7 28. Ng4 and there is no hope for Black. Jacobs is proof that these eighty year old fellows can play with youthful vigor.
.
Read more correspondence chess news in Alex Dunne’s monthly column, “Check is in the Mail,” online at uschess.org. Click on “Activities and Interests” in the left margin then click on “Correspondence Chess.” Chess Life — March 2009
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Back to Basics
Learning From Losses
Capablanca once said that we learn most from our lost games. Capa’s own most famous loss happened in a game against Emanuel Lasker (Petersburg, 1914), in a line with a deserved drawish reputation. By GM Lev Alburt
Most of my correspondents submit their won games; however draws, or even losses, can be instructive, for both the writer and for future readers. The winner of this month’s award, Paul Serrano, writes: Here is a submission for your Chess Life column, different from most, perhaps, in that the author lost. But we learn more from losses than from wins. In this case, it’s the endgame prospects of two pieces against a rook. As usual, Lev’s comments are in italics. Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation (C68) William Franklin (1521) Paul Serrano (1636) Arlington Ladder, 2008 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4
Not a bad choice for those who love endings and hate theory! Today, Fischer’s 5. 0-0 is more common and more ambitious— but to play it, some deeper opening knowledge is required. I don’t see the 5. d4 variation much. It’s an old idea, trading center pawns and queens with the intention of moving quickly to a superior endgame. 5. ... exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4
r+l+klnr +pp +ppp p+p+ + + + + + + + NP+ + + + + + PPP+ PPP RNL K +R
After 7. Nxd4
IM Bill Hartston’s manual (The Penguin Book Of Chess Openings) gives 7. ... Bd7, followed by ... 0-0-0 and perhaps a 44
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fianchetto of the dark-square bishop. The bishop pair makes up for the doubled pawns. But I couldn’t remember that now. I’m on my own. Garry Kasparov agrees with Hartston: “Simpler is 7. ... Bd7 and ... 0-0-0 with a quite comfortable game.” Also good was 7. ... Bd6, as “Capa” played against Lasker. 7. ... Bc5 8. c3 Ne7 9. Bf4 Bd6
When I get in an opening which isn’t sharp, I relax, perhaps too much. The bishop comes back sheepishly. But if I had recognized how important it is for Black to avoid trading bishops, I would have looked at 9. ... Bb6. I don’t like 9. ... Bb6 that much; e.g., 10. a4 or 10. Nd2, followed by Nc4. I think 9. ... Bd6 is at least as good. After all, Black undoubles his pawn while capturing toward the center.
10. Bxd6 cxd6 11. c4 Ng6 12. g3
Hard to imagine what White was thinking of here. It prevents the entry of the knight on f4, only to create a hole on f3. 12. ... Ne5 13. b3 Bg4 14. Nd2 Nd3+ 15. Kf1
r+ +k+ r +p+ +ppp p+pp + + + + + + +PNP+l+ +P+n+ P P+ N P P R + +K+R
After 15. Kf1
I couldn’t resist the opportunity to prevent White from castling and to bottle up the king rook.
15. ... 0-0-0
The plan now is to clear away the center pawns and open files. White’s knights line up on the d-file to make a target.
16. Kg2?
White ignores (or misses) the threat. Pushing the black bishop away would have been better. 16. ... d5 17. exd5 cxd5 18. cxd5 Rxd5 19. N2f3
Now Black has a substantial initiative. How to convert it into something tangible? I figure getting two pieces for a rook will be winning. 19. ... Rhd8 20. h3 Bh5 21. Nc2
+kr + + +p+ +ppp p+ + + + + +r+ +l + + + + +P+n+NPP P+N+ PK+ R + + +R
After 21. Nc2
White avoids losses by 21. g4 Bg6 22. Ne2, but his position remains difficult.
21. ... Bg6
I won’t claim that I saw the opportunity to win White’s f-pawn with 21. ... Bxf3+ 22. Kxf3 Rf5+. But the consequences of 23. Ke3 Nxf2 24. Rhf1 with the rook unprotected are too hard to contemplate. The crucial moment. If only Paul could clearly visualize the position after 24. Rhf1 (his line) he’d have found 24. ... Re8+, with a now clear (and perhaps decisive) black advantage. But even simpler to calculate, 22. ... Nxf2 (instead of 22. ... Rf5+ in Paul’s note) 23. Kxf2 Rd2+ leaves Black with an extra pawn and better pieces—a likely win. 22. Ne3 R5d7
22. ... R5d6!?—L.A.
23. Kf1 Be4 24. Ke2 f5 uschess.org
CL_03-2009_alburt_AKF_r8:chess life
2/10/2009
White is tied up. I want to move ... f5f4 and trade pawns. 25. Rhd1 f4 26. Ng5 Bg6 27. Ne6
I hadn’t foreseen how White would squirm out, but I figured I’m still getting two pieces for the rook. 27. ... fxe3 28. Nxd8
+kN + + +p+r+ pp p+ + +l+ + + + + + + + + +P+np PP P+ +KP + R +R+ +
After 28. Nxd8
28. ... Kxd8
An in-between move, 28. ... exf2, allows Black to get a material advantage, albeit after 29. Ne6! Re7 30. Rxd3 the emerging rook ending is most likely drawish. 29. fxe3
Now White has an extra pawn, but I figured I can blockade and win (if only it was so easy).
29. ... Be4 30. Rd2 Ne5
The trade of rooks is inevitable, even as it favors White. Good observation on both counts.
31. Rxd7+ Kxd7 32. Rc1
3:56 PM
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32. ... g5 33. b4 b6
With their 33rd moves, both sides, for no good reason, create weaknesses for themselves. Black, for instance, should have played 33. ... Bg2, in order to create for White a weak pawn on h4 (after 34. h4 gxh4 35. gxh4 Bf3+!.) while 33. ... b6 weakened both the b-pawn and the apawn. On the other hand, 33. b4 weakened White’s queenside.
34. Rd1+ Ke7 35. Rc1 Bd3+ 36. Kd2 Bc4 37. a3 Kd6
+ + + + + + + +p pp k + + + + n p Pl+ + + P + P PP + K + + + R + +
After 37. ... Kd6
38. Kc3
A mistake in a difficult position.—L.A.
38. ... b5
I wanted to avoid making my bishop’s position too rigid, but I thought being able to block the c-file would be an advantage. I forgot about defending the a-pawn. Instead of this move, which weakens both the a6-pawn and the c5-square, Black gets a real edge with 38. ... Be6!, threatening both 39. ... Bxh3 and 39. ... Nc4. 39. Rd1+ Kc7
+ + + + +p+k+ pp p+ + + + + + n + + +l+ + +P+ P PP P+ +K+ + + R + +
After 32. Rc1
Only after I looked at a database did I realize that R+P beats B+N more often than it loses. I might have set up a defensive position with h5 and g6, but at this point I still thought I could penetrate. I still believe that, on average, R+P as in the diagram is, at best, equal to B+N, and indeed not as good if we exclude easily recognizable positions where the rook-side has a dangerous passer or even two. Indeed, Black is better here but, with good play, White is likely to draw. uschess.org
Better is 39. ... Ke7 40. Kd4 Nd7, and Black holds.
+
+
+ + R + +n+ + + k + +p+ + +p Pl+PKpP P + + P + + + + + + + +
After 48. ... Nf7
49. ... bxa4 50. Rxa4 Ne5 51. Ke3
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ + k + + + n +p RPl+P+pP + + K P + + + + + + + +
After 51. Ke3
Last chance to draw? 51. ... Nc6 would win the outside pawn. Not enough to force a draw easily: 52. Ra1, ready to meet 52. ... Nxb4 with 53. Ra4, enough to create some problems.
51. ... Ke6 52. Ra5 Bf1, Black resigned.
And the score ends, with Black in time trouble, resigning when promotion becomes imminent. A very instructive ending, showing problems, and opportunities on both sides of the R+P vs. B+N equilibrium.
.
40. Kd4 Kd6 41. h4
I think now that trading pawns makes these positions more drawish. Of course! A rule of thumb: in a worse ending, trade pawns. Besides, his h-pawn will be very vulnerable. 41. ... g4 42. Ke4+ Ke6 43. Rd8
With the rook having penetrated, Black is toast. White will get the a-pawn and a passer on the queenside. Even if Black is lost, this is not a time to mentally give up. Stay alert and watch for your chance—an opponent isn’t that perfect, either, and can err. 43. ... Ke7 44. Ra8 Nf7 45. Rxa6 h5 46. Kf4 Nd6 47. Ra7+ Kf6 48. e4 Nf7 (see diagram top of next column) 49. a4
Stronger was 49. Ra6+ Ke7 50. e5 (If 49. ... Be6, 50. Rb6, winning the b-pawn.)
Send in your games!
If you are unrated or were rated 1799 or below on your Chess Life label, then GM Lev Alburt invites you to send your instructive games with notes to: Back to Basics, c/o Chess Life PO Box 3967 Crossville, TN 38557-3967
Or e-mail your material to
[email protected] GM Alburt will select the “most instructive” game and Chess Life will award an autographed copy of Lev’s newest book, Chess Training Pocket Book II (by Lev Alburt and Al Lawrence) to the person submitting the most instructive game and annotations.
Chess Life — March 2009
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CL_03-2009_benko_JP_r7:chess life
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Endgame Lab
Dresden Dramas
Four endgames from the Olympiad in Dresden feature two quick victories full of tactical complications and two showing patient maneuvering. By GM Pal Benko
Pawn up GM Gata Kamsky (FIDE 2729, USA) GM Peter Svidler (FIDE 2727, Russia) 38th Olympiad, 2008
+ r + + +p+ +kl + + + p p + + +P NnP+ +p+ +R+P+ P + + P + + + NK+
White to play
Gata is a pawn up against the Russian champion, but it is difficult to convert this into a victory. He has tried everything else, so now he tries giving up the blockade of the passed a-pawn. 38. Nc5 b6 39. Ne4 Bf8 40. Ke2 Re8
Black tries to regain the pawn, though 40. ... a4 seems more logical. 41. Kd2 Re5 42. Nc2 Rxh5 43. d4 b5 44. c5 Rd5 45. Nxb4 Rxd4+ 46. Nd3 Rxe4 47. Rxb5 a4 48. Rb8 h5 49. Ra8 Bh6+ 50. Kd1 Bg7
Now the c-pawn becomes dangerous. More effective was 50. ... Rd4 51. Ke2 Re4+ 52. Kf1 Bf8 53. c6 Bd6, stopping the pawn.
51. Ra7+ Kg6 52. c6 Rc4 53. Nf4+ Kh6 (see diagram top of next column) 54. Ra5?!
Though this threatens mate, the immediate 54. c7! was better. For example 54. ... Be5 55. Ne6 a3 56. Ra6! Kh7 57. Rxa3 Kg6 58. Ra8! Bxc7 59. Rc8 wins. 54. ... Bd4?
No bishop moves help here. Thus 54. ... Bf6 55. Rxh5+ Kg7 56. Rc5! Rxc5 46
Chess Life — March 2009
+
R
+
+
+
+ + l +P+ + k + + + +p p+r+ Np+ + + + P + + P + + +K+ +
After 53. ... Kh6
57. Ne6+ Kf7 58. Nxc5 Bd8 59. Nxa4 must be winning. The only move that seems to offer serious resistance is 54. ... Kh7! 55. c7! Rxc7
The attempt 55. ... a3 also fails since after 56. Rxh5+ Kg7 57. Rc5!! a2 58. Rxc4 a1=Q+ 59. Kc2 Qa2+ 60. Kd3 and finally Black runs out of useful checks. 56. Rxh5+ Kg7 57. Ne6+ Kg6 58. Rd5
Even simpler was 58. Rg5+ Kf6 59. Nxc7 Kxg5 60. Ne6+ but the game was also firmly in White’s grasp.
58. ... a3 59. Rxd4 Ra7 60. Rxg4+ Kf5 61. Rg7 Ra4 62. Nc5 a2 63. Nb3 Rb4 64. Ra7 Rxb3 65. Rxa2 Kg4 66. Ra4+ Kf3 67. Rf4+ Kg2 68. Ke2, Black resigned.
Pawn up II GM Kirshnan Sasikiran (FIDE 2694, IND) GM Gata Kamsky (FIDE 2729, USA) 38th Olympiad, 2008 (see diagram top of next column)
+r+r+k+ p +l+n+p + + pp+ + pP+ + +N+PR + + p + + P+L+ +PP +R+ + +K
Black to play
Black has the advantage even after 32. Rc1 Rb4. 32. ... Ba4! 33. Rb3
Not much better is 33. Bb3, considering 33. ... Rxe4. 33. ... Rb4?!
It was simpler to accept the Exchange and after 33. ... Bxb3 34. axb3 Ng5 35. e5 Rf8 Black should win after trading rooks.
34. Rxf7??
Missing his escape chance with 34. Rxb4! then after 34. ... cxb4 35. Bxa4 Rxe4 36. Rf1 Rxc4 37. Bb3 Rc8 38. d6 c2 39. d7 c1=Q 40. d8=Q+ Rxd8 41. Rxc1 Rd7 42. Rc8+ Kg7 43. Rb8 would have equalized. Black could then get even more winning chances by the 34. ... Bxc2! “sac” but after 35. Rb7 Bxe4 36. Rfxf7 Bxd5 37. Rfe7 Rd8 38. Rb1 Bxc4 39. Rbe1 the clear win cannot be seen. It is impossible to calculate such long variations accurately within limited time.
White has sacrificed a pawn for this position, but Black strives for active play instead of playing defensively with 31. ... Kg7 32. Rf3 etc.
Even 36. Nd6+ Ke7 37. Nxe8 Kxe8 and ... Rd4 are hopeless for White.
31. ... Rb8! 32. Rxf6?
36. ... Rxc4, Black resigned.
Risky with a vulnerable back rank, but
34. ... Bxb3 35. axb3 Kxf7 36. Kg1
(see next page)
uschess.org
CL_03-2009_benko_JP_r7:chess life
2/10/2009
Benko’s Bafflers Most of the time these studies resemble positions that could actually occur over-the-board. You must simply reach a theoretically won position for White. Solutions can be found on page 71.
Please e-mail submissions for Benko’s Bafflers to: pbenko@ uschess.org
Marathon GM Peter Leko (FIDE 2747, Hungary) GM Vassily Ivanchuk (FIDE 2786, UKR) 38th Olympiad, 2008
+
r
+
k q + + pp + +lp + + + +N+ + + Q + + + + +P + + +PK + + +R+
Black to play
Black won a pawn on the 32nd move but White managed to escape into this position where the pawns are on one side, without any passed pawns—so a draw looks probable. After trading two pawns it should be possible to sac a piece for the remaining pawn for a draw. Let’s see that in practice. 50. ... Qb8
After a lot of different tactical tries Black hopes to increase his winning chances in a queenless endgame. I am not going to bore my readers so I skip 70 moves “featuring” some repetitions and empty tries at exhausting the opponent.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ + + kl+ + + + + + + K R r + + +
After 120. ... Kf4
uschess.org
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Problem I
Gunter Amann, Austria
N+ K + + + + + + +Pkp+ + + + +n+ + + P + +PP + p + + + + + + + +
White to play and draw
Here we go again with an ending that is fairly frequent. 121. Rh8
Giving up the defense of the second rank was not forced. Better is 121. Rg2 or 121. Kg2 since after 121. ... Ra2+ 122. Kg1 Black cannot force a win.
121. ... Ra2+ 122. Ke1 Re2+ 123. Kf1 Kg3 124. Rd8??
This is a crucial mistake in a tough position. The only way to hold on was 124. Rf8! Re7 (124. ... Ra2 125. Re8! with equality in a Szen position!) 125. Kg1, reaching the Lolly, a theoretically drawn position—though still complex enough to be worth studying. 124. ... Re3!
Again, the only winning move. Not 124. ... Re7? 125. Rd3+.
125. Rg8 Re7 126. Rg5 Rh7 127. Ke1 Rd7, White resigned.
Noboby enjoys being the subject of such a “sweating,” normally not even the stronger side, since all efforts may be in vain. The next game’s situation is similar to the previous one, but here Leko is the torturer. Leko as torturer GM Peter Leko (FIDE 2747, Hungary) GM Sergei Zhigalko (FIDE 2592, BEL) 38th Olympiad, 2008
+r+ + k + + + p + n + p + + + + NR + + + + + + P + + PKP + + + +
Black to play
Problem II
Iuri Akobia, Georgia
k+ +l+ + + +n+ l + + + + + + + + + + +P+ + + K + + +R+ + + + + +
White to play and draw
45. ... Rc4 46. Rb8+
White thought he had better winning chances by avoiding the rook trade. Again I skip forward 70 moves to the decisive mistake.
+ + n + + + r k R+ + +p+ + + + + + + PP+ + + +NK + + + + + + + +
After 115. Ra6
Black has set up a satisfactory hedgehog position and only should make tempo moves like ... Rc7-Rb7 to wait and see what happens on the seventh rank, but:
115. ... Nd7?? 116. Nh4!
Black has no more defense because after 116. ... Nf8 117. f5 White wins the last pawn.
116. ... Nf6 117. g5 Re3+ 118. Kf2 Ng4+ 119. Kg2 Rb3 120. Rxg6+ Kf7 121. Ra6 Ne3+ 122. Kf3 Nd5+ 123. Ke4 Rb4+ 124. Kxd5 Rxf4 125. Ng6 Rf5+ 126. Ne5+ Kg7 127. Ra7+ Kg8 128. g6 Rf6 129. Re7 Ra6 130. Re6 Ra5+, Black resigned.
Moral: With current time controls, moves in the game’s ending phase must often be made immediately. In order to avoid disaster we must devote more time to studying endings.
.
Abbreviations used in this column: IND=India; UKR=Ukraine; BEL=Belarus
See uschess.org to download a .pgn file of all the games in this issue or to download the .pdf file of this entire issue of Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids. Chess Life — March 2009
47
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USCF Affairs March
Report to the USCF Membership Regarding Current Litigation The USCF is currently involved in six lawsuits. I have listed them below in the order of filing: Sloan vs. USCF, et al., 1:07-cv-08537-DC (District Court for the Southern District of New York) On October 3, 2007, Sam Sloan sued the USCF, members of the Executive Board, members of the USCF Forums Governance, and others citing a lengthy list of allegations. Among the allegations were claims that USCF Executive Board member Paul Truong had impersonated Sloan in thousands of defamatory and vulgar Internet postings prior to and while both were candidates for the USCF Executive Board. The suit was filed in federal court in New York, but dismissed due to lack of diversity jurisdiction. Mr. Sloan filed a motion to reconsider with the court, which was denied. He then filed a motion to reconsider the ruling on his motion to reconsider, which was denied. Currently, Mr. Sloan is appealing the dismissal to the federal circuit appellate court.
Parker vs. USCF, et al, 2:08-cv-00829-JCJ (District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania) On February 21, 2008, Gordon Roy Parker sued the USCF, some members of the USCF Executive Board and Mr. Sloan. The complaint alleges, among other things, that Mr. Parker was impersonated by Paul Truong in defamatory and vulgar Internet postings. Initially the complaint was dismissed without prejudice because it was “long and convoluted, failing to clearly and concisely set forth his factual allegations and legal claims.” Thereafter, Mr. Parker re-filed his complaint, omitting Mr. Sloan as a defendant. After reviewing the amended complaint, the court dismissed the majority of the claims made by Mr. Parker, including all counts against the USCF and most of the Executive Board. The Court ruled that three claims against USCF Executive Board members Susan Polgar and her husband, Paul Truong, would survive. The court then ordered Mr. Parker to effectuate proper service of process on defendants Polgar and Truong.
USCF vs. Does 1–10, CGC-08-476777 (San Francisco Superior Court); after removal and amendment the case was renamed as, USCF vs. Polgar, Alexander & Does 1-10, 3:08-cv-05126-MHP (District Court for the Northern District of California) The USCF discovered that then still unknown persons had unlawfully accessed the e-mail accounts of one or more USCF Executive Board members, and such unknown persons had unlawfully copied and publicly posted attorney-client privileged e-mails belonging to the USCF. As a result, on June 25, 2008, the USCF filed suit against Does 1-10 in San Francisco Superior Court in California. Thereafter, a San Francisco judge signed a discovery order permitting the USCF to serve subpoenas in order to investigate and try to identify the unknown persons responsible for the wrongdoing. Based on the belief that Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong had information that could help with the investigation of this matter and based on the fact that certain e-mails had appeared in Ms. Polgar’s possession and she gave conflicting answers to how she acquired the information and then refused to cooperate in the investigation, the USCF gave notice of the intent to take their depositions during the week of the US Open in Dallas, Texas. Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong failed to appear at their depositions and subsequently refused to be deposed in the matter. On October 24, 2008, based on information received from various neutral third parties in response to subpoenas, the 48
Chess Life — March 2009
USCF amended its complaint to name USCF Executive Board member Susan Polgar and USCF member Gregory Alexander as defendants in the case. USCF Executive Board Secretary Randall Hough was added as a plaintiff, as Mr. Hough’s personal e-mail account was one of the accounts improperly accessed. The case has been removed to federal court in California and re-named, USCF v. Polgar, Alexander & Does 1-10. Ms. Polgar has filed an answer to the complaint, and Mr. Alexander has filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. We areThe USCF is waiting for a ruling on Mr. Alexander’s motion. Ms. Polgar and Mr. Alexander have denied the claims and have refused to cooperate in the investigation.
Polgar vs. USCF, et. al., 5:08-cv-00169-C (District Court for the Northern District of Texas) On August 9, 2008, at the USCF Delegates meeting, Ms. Polgar filed a lawsuit against the USCF and several members of the USCF Executive Board. The lawsuit named the USCF, all Executive Board members excluding Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong, and a group of other Defendants. The suit was filed in State Court in Texas and alleges liable, slander, defamation of character, business disparagement, interference of contract, and a host of other allegations. Subsequently, the case was removed to federal court in Texas. One Defendant, Sam Sloan, denied the claims and filed claims against Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong regarding their alleged improper activities regarding the alleged fake Internet postings. All remaining dismiss on various grounds, including Polgar’s failure to state legally sufficient claims. The Parties are currently awaiting a ruling on the pending motions.
CyberCafes vs. USCF (Connecticut) On November 13, 2008, CyberCafes, LLC filed suit in State Court in Connecticut asking for injunctive relief on five contractually disputed items. The case is pending in the initial stages and is related to our book and equipment outsourcing agreement. USCF vs. Polgar & Truong, 2008MR000751 (Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit, Sangamon County, Illinois) On December 29, 2008, the USCF filed suit in State Court in Illinois asking the Court to remove Susan Polgar and Paul Truong as USCF Executive Board members for various reasons. At the time of the writing of this update (February 10, 2009), the USCF been unable to service the complaint on either of the two Defendants. Further, Ms. Polgar and Mr. Truong have refused to waive service of process. For additional updates to these cases, please go to www.uschess.org/legalupdates. There we will have all of the public documentation from each case available for our membership. These are challenging times for the USCF considering the time and resources needed to handle these various cases. In an attempt to help protect the USCF, the USCF Executive Board voted to establish the USCF Legal Defense Fund. Anyone wishing to make a contribution please contact Susan Houston at the USCF office by calling (931) 787-1234 ext. 136 or by e-mail
[email protected].
~Bill Hall Executive Director, USCF uschess.org
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10/9/08
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SuperNationals IV
$50,000 in cash scholarships to be awarded! www.SuperNationalsIV.com for tournament information and registration. Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center 2802 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214 (615) 883-2211 Chess Rate: $139.00 Single – Quad ENT R IES TO: US Chess Federation Attn: SuperNationals P. O. Box 3967 Crossville, TN 38557
Questions and Team Rooms: Cheryle Bruce –
[email protected] 931-787-1234 ext. 147 On site entries after 10 a.m., Friday 4/3/2009 will receive a 1/2-point bye for the first round.
See TLA this issue (Nationals section) for detailed tournament information.
CL_03-2009_gp_AKF_r3.qxp:chess life
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2:47 PM
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2008 WORLD CHESS LIVE GP FINAL RESULTS World Chess Live sponsors $20,000 at the 2008 Grand Prix!
Welcome, Welcome to World Chess Live (WCL), a new familyfriendly service with special benefits for USCF members. WCL is pleased to sponsor USCF’s 2008 Grand Prix (GP) and 2008 Junior Grand Prix. We’re providing prize funds of $20,000 and $7,500 (in cash, merchandise, and memberships), and will also be running online grand prize satellite events throughout the year. The final results are in, and it was ultimately the teenage IM Alex Lenderman who took the big cheese and won all of $5,000. Settling for second—and $2,500— was long-time front-runner GM Sergey Kudrin, who must have been shocked to see himself outrun in the final mile. GM Alexander Ivanov, who was leading the charts as late in the race as the October standings,
Members!
managed third and Julio “the Sleeper” Becerra rounded out the top four. The Age Category results brought some excitement as well as IM Kirill Kuderinov of Kazakhstan chalked up big points in Illinois tournaments to beat out GMs Friedel and Nakamura for the top spot for those born 1985-1987. The Kazakhstani IM was born in 1987, putting him toward the younger end of this age class. Lenderman easily swept the field for the 1988-1990 birth category, but GM Alejandro Ramirez of University of Texas at Dallas fame did put in a notable performance for second, earning over 100 points. Daniel Ludwig, who has shown dramatic improvement over the past year, took third.
The category for those born 1991-1992 was the most hotly contested of any in 2008. Denker Champion FM Daniel Yeager took on IM Sam Shankland in a rough-andtumble contest which the Pennsylvanian won by a fraction of a point. The next division was a bit more lopsided, as young IM Ray Robson made collecting 100 GPP look like child’s play. Fewer points were earned in the “Those Born 1995 and After” category, but FM Daniel Naroditsky’s triumph with about 30 GPP was still convincing. Finally, Massachusetts FM John Curdo won the Senior’s category. GM Anatoly Lein is already off to a good start for 2009, though, splitting the money at a recent GP event in Ohio, the Cardinal Open. We’ll see what happens in 2009! ~Jonathan Hilton
2008 WORLD CHESS LIVE GRAND PRIX STANDINGS The following point totals reflect all rated event information as of January 29 for the 2008 World Chess Live Grand Prix. These are the official 2008 results.
OVERALL STANDINGS
JUNIOR CATEGORIES
NAME 1 IM Alex Lenderman
STATE PTS. NY 298.51
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
CT MA FL CA NY PA CA SD MD NY NY TX PA NJ
287.28 247.01 236.68 205.00 195.13 193.41 178.51 160.96 150.54 143.63 142.31 133.86 121.61 117.28
MA OH NY
26.00 18.33 14.66
GM Sergey Kudrin GM Alexander Ivanov GM Julio Becerra GM Melikset Khachiyan GM Jaan Ehlvest GM Alexander Shabalov IM Enrico Sevillano GM Alex Yermolinsky GM Sergey Erenburg GM Mark Paragua IM Jay Bonin IM Kirill Kuderinov IM Bryan Smith GM Alexander Stripunsky
SENIOR CATEGORY IM Alex Lenderman Will he now attempt to catch up to nine-time Grand Prix winner, the late IM Igor Ivanov, another IM who managed to outpace the grandmasters?
Players born 1943 and before: 1 FM John Curdo 2 GM Anatoly Lein 3 FM Isay Golyak
NAME STATE PTS. Players born between 1985 and 1987 inclusive: IM Kirill Kuderinov TX 133.86 1 NH 83.00 2 IM Joshua Friedel NY 66.71 3 GM Hikaru Nakamura Players born between 1988 and 1990 inclusive: 1 IM Alex Lenderman NY 298.51 2 GM Alejandro Ramirez TX 103.00 3 Daniel Ludwig FL 62.16 Players born between 1991 and 1992 inclusive: 1 FM Daniel Yeager PA 2 IM Samuel Shankland CA 3 John Bryant CA
52.58 52.01 42.06
Players born between 1993 and 1994 inclusive: 1 IM Ray Robson FL 2 Mark Heimann PA 3 Steven Zierk CA
105.01 43.50 27.08
Players born 1995 and after: 1 FM Daniel Naroditsky 2 FM Darwin Yang 3-4 Aquino Inigo 3-4 Stuart Finney
30.25 12.00 10.00 10.00
CA TX CAN RI
CATEGORIES AND PRIZES $12,000 IN CASH PRIZES!
SENIOR CATEGORY
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUBJECT
FIRST PRIZE: $5,000 ! 2nd: $2,500 5th: $700 8th : $400
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1943 / before 1st: $300 4th: $800 7th: $500 10th: $200
$4,000 IN MERCHANDISE PRIZES! 11th: $200 12th: $200
13th: $200 15th: $150 14th: $150
Top 40 non-titled players: 1-year WCL membership worth $50. (FIDE-titled players are always free on WCL)
$7,500 IN JUNIOR GRAND PRIX PRIZES! 2nd: $200
3rd: $100
JUNIOR CATEGORIES (according to date of birth)
1985-87 1988-90 1991-92 1993-94 1995/after
1st: $250 1st: $250 1st: $250 1st: $250 1st: $250
2nd: $150 2nd: $150 2nd: $150 2nd: $150 2nd: $150
3rd: $100 3rd: $100 3rd: $100 3rd: $100 3rd: $100
For all of the above junior categories: 1st place is also awarded a 3-year WCL junior membership ($75 value); 2nd-5th places are awarded a 2-year WCL junior membership ($50 value); 6th-10th places awarded 1-year WCL junior memberships ($25 value).
www.worldchesslive.com
FIRST PRIZE: $1,000 ! 2nd: $600 5th: $150 8th : $50
3rd: $300 6th: $100 9th: $25
4th: $200 7th: $75
The first place JGP winner will also receive U.S. Open entry and a plaque from the USCF. 1st-10th place winners will receive 2-year WCL junior and USCF Young Adult memberships; 11th-20th place winners will receive 1-year WCL junior and USCF Young Adult memberships. Each state JGP winner will receive 1-year WCL junior and USCF Young Adult memberships and a $20 WCL store gift certificate.
Real chess. Real people. Real fun!
CL_03-2009_jgp_AKF_r1:chess life
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World Chess Live, a new family-friendly online chess service, is sponsor of the 2008 World Chess Live Junior Grand Prix (JGP). Official standings for events received and processed by February 9, 2009.Top prize includes free entry and $1,000 in expense money to the 2009 U.S. Open as well as a plaque. Other prizes awarded to the top 20 finishers and the top individual in each state.
2008 World Chess Live
Junior Grand Prix Top Overall Standings Name PENA, JOEL ANTHONY U HEUNG, CHRISTOPHER DEJONG, ANDREW GIANNATOS, PETER PINKERTON, JAMES CARL KUTIKOFF, ADAM HUTTON, JACK SREENIVASAN, RAMANUJA BODEK, MICHAEL H SINGH, REVA SHREE ROSENTHAL, NICHOLAS TROFF, KAYDEN WILLIAM ZHAO, SHICHENG HARMON-VELLOTTI, LUKE CHIANG, MICHAEL CHEN, JEREMY PAPALIA, STEVEN A VIRKUD, APURVA LARSON, ERIC DANIEL SCHNEIDER, THOMAS KLEINMUNTZ, ROBBIE S SHEINWALD, NOWELL R
State NJ FL NC NC MD FL NY MD NY NY FL UT VA ID NY NJ UT MI MI WI IL NY
Pts. 250 220 185 180 180 180 170 165 160 160 155 155 150 145 140 140 140 140 135 135 135 135
Name and State Winners PARSHALL, MATTHEW HELLWIG, LUKE CHIKKALA, SNEHA GURCZAK, JOHN AGARWAL, ROHAN POLSKY, RYAN HUGHES, TYLER B CHANDRAN, KAPIL DEMCZU, CHE HAUGE, DAVID RICHEY PERGEORELIS, MICHAEL W HEUNG, CHRISTOPHER GUREVICH, DANIEL KRIENKE, MARISSA M IYER, VENKAT HARMON-VELLOTTI, LUKE KLEINMUNTZ, ROBBIE S GATER, DANIEL LATHAM, ANDREW WHITNEY, RAYSEAN GLORIOSO, VINCENT J LEE, MATTHEW R PINKERTON, JAMES CARL FISHBEIN, MATTHEW EVAN VIRKUD, APURVA VOLKER, SONJA ZAGAR, DANE B CAO, KEVIN Y DING, JIALIN HICKS, ALFRED JALADON
State AK AL AR AZ CA CA CO CT DC DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MIL MN MO MO MS
Pts. 35 125 50 105 125 125 50 110 30 30 55 220 120 55 110 145 135 70 95 100 60 85 180 35 140 15 85 80 80 40
Name and State Winners FORD, MONQUEZ DEJONG, ANDREW APTE, MANEESH D GAGE, WILLIAM MORAN, HARRISON M LONG, DAVID BURGER, CAMERON PENA, JOEL ANTHONY U SERNA, JEFFREY MICHAEL SEID, RAYMOND HUTTON, JACK CLAYTON, RYAN DANIEL LIN, KENNY L HANNIBAL, CARSON J FISHER, WILLIAM FINNEY, STUART S LAURIA, MICHAEL D JAMES, JACOB C VAZQUEZ MACCARINI, CHRIS COMAS COLON, ABNELL MARSH, MATTHEW L WOODBURY, GEORGE BALLOM, STEPHANIE TROFF, KAYDEN WILLIAM ZHAO, SHICHENG BROOKS, WILL JOSEPH LEHMANN, SPENCER GEORGE LEE, WILLIAM ALEXANDER SCHNEIDER, THOMAS GEORGE WESTERN, CASEY JAMES
State MS NC ND NE NH NH NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TERR TERR TN TN TX UT VA VT WA `WA` WI WV
Pts. 40 185 20 25 60 60 60 250 75 45 170 120 50 50 115 105 60 30 30 30 85 85 105 155 150 75 90 90 135 35
A new family-friendly online chess service from the Internet Chess Club, is pleased to welcome our friends from the U.S. Chess Federation. To celebrate its launch, this year WCL will be: • Sponsoring the USCF’s 2008 Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix • Running weekly and monthly Online Grand Prix tournaments • Giving every USCF member a free six-month subscription to WCL • And more...
For details, go to www.worldchesslive.com/uscf uschess.org
Chess Life — March 2009
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Tournament Life
USCF National Events See TLA in this issue for details: 2009 SuperNationals IV April 3-5 • Nashville, Tennessee April 24-26 • Dallas, Texas
2009 All Girls Open Championships May 23-25 • Tucson, Arizona
2009 U.S. Amateur - West
June 4 • Las Vegas, Nevada
2009 U.S. Game/10 Championship June 4-7 • Las Vegas, Nevada
2009 National Open Chess Festival July 10-12 • Waukesha, Wisconsin
2009 U.S. Junior Open
August 1-9 • Indianapolis, Indiana
110th U. S. Open
Future Events (Watch for details) 2009 U.S. Championship May 7-17 • St. Louis, Missouri
July 6-10 • Crossville, Tennessee
2009 U.S. Cadet
July 12 - 17 • Waukesha, Wisconsin
2009 U.S. Junior Closed
2009 GM Susan Polgar National Invitational Tournament for Girls July 26-31 • Lubbock, Texas
2009 Denker Tournament of State High School Champions
August 1-4 • Indianapolis, Indiana
2009 Tournament of College Champions
August 1-4 • Indianapolis, Indiana
May 6-8 • Dallas, Texas Note: Organizers previously awarded options for USCF National Events must still submit proposals (including sample budgets) for their events.
Championship
Bids on the following tournaments are past deadline and will be considered immediately: 2009 U.S. Amateur (South, North, East) 2009 U.S. Senior Open 2009 U.S. G/15 (QC) 2009 U.S. Action G/30 2009 U.S. G/60 2009 U.S. Masters 2009 U.S. Class Championships 2009 Collegiate Final Four 2010 U.S. Open*
Overdue Bids
Bids due by June 15, 2009: 2011 U.S. Open*
Please contact the National Office if you are interested in bidding for a National Event. The USCF recommends that bids be submitted according to the following schedule. However, bids may be considered prior to these dates.
Bidding Deadlines
*USCF reserves the right to decline all bids and organize the event itself.
November 20-22 • Oakbrook, Illinois
2009 National Youth Action
December 11-13 • Dallas, Texas
2009 National Scholastic (K-12) December 27-30 • South Padre Island, Texas
2009 Pan Am Intercollegiate
2010 National Elementary (K-6) Championship May 7-9 • Atlanta, Georgia
2010 National Scholastic (K-12) Championship Dec. 10-12 • Lake Buena Vista, Florida
2011 National Elementary (K-6)
Tournament memberships not valid for National events Junior Tournament Memberships (JTMs) Available
USCF’s Tournament Membership (TM) program, which allows players the option of joining for only one event at a greatly reduced rate, has been modified. Junior TMs for age 24 or below may be purchased from affiliates and are now available to them for $7 online with rating report submissions. They include one issue of Chess Life or Chess Life for Kids, and $5 of this fee may be applied to a full membership within 60 days. JTMs not valid for National events. Many scholastic tournaments exist that are not USCF-rated, and the USCF is concerned that the reason is that organizers fear losing players unwilling or unable to pay entry fee plus dues. The availability of a $7 option should cause some of these events to switch to being USCF-rated, promoting membership. The idea behind the TMs is not to sign up a lot of them, but rather to cause more USCF-rated tournaments to be held. More details on uschess.org. Rating supplements will be updated EACH MONTH on the USCF website, and each monthly rating supplement will be used for all tournaments beginning in that month, unless otherwise announced in Chess Life. The USCF website at www.uschess.org also frequently lists unofficial ratings.The purpose of unofficial ratings is to inform you of your progress; however, most tourna- ments do not use them for pairing or prize purposes. If you would otherwise be unrated, organizers may use your unofficial rating at their discretion, even without advance publicity of such a policy.
uschess.org
The TLA pages “Information for Organizers, TDs, and Affiliates” and “Information for Players” can now be found online at main.uschess. org/ go/tlainfo. TheTournament Announcements on the following pages are provided for the convenience of USCF members and for informational purposes only. Unless expressly indicated otherwise, neither the U.S. Chess Federation nor Chess Life warrants the accuracy of anything contained in these Tournament Announcements. Those interested in additional information about or having questions concerning any of these tournaments are directed to contact the organizer listed. Chess Life will exercise all due diligence in providing accurate typesetting of non-camera-ready copy but assumes no responsibility for errors made in such work. SUBMISSIONS: If possible e-mail your tla to:
[email protected] (Joan DuBois). For tla deadline schedule, formatting help and Grand Prix information see January 2009 pg. 49-50 or check www. uschess.org/tla/grprixstdarc.php and click on a WCL GP Summary. Payment can be done online through the TD/Affiliate area or sent to: U.S. Chess, TLA Dept., PO Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557.
Nationals
All tournaments listed in Tournament Life are USCF rated. USCF MEMBERSHIP IS REQUIRED FOR ALL EVENTS. If not a member, add dues to advance entry fee or pay them with entry at site. Apr. 3-5, Tennessee SuperNationals IV 2009 Elementary, Junior High and High School National Championships in one great event! 7SS, G/120 (K-1 G/90), Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, 2802 Opryland Dr., Nashville, TN 37214. (615) 883-2211 HR: $139 single-quad. All under one roof! $50,000 in Cash Scholarships!! 20 Sections (Select only one): High School: K-12 Championship; K-12 U1600; K-12 U1200; K-12 U800; K-12 Unrated. Junior High: K-9 Championship; K-8 Championship; K-9 U1250; K-8 U1000; K-8 U750; K-9 Unrated. Elementary: K-6 Championship; K-5 Championship; K-6 U1000; K-5 U900; K-3 Championship; K-3 U800; K-1 Championship; K-6 Unrated; K-3 Unrated. EF: $40 postmarked, faxed or online by 3/5, $60 postmarked, faxed or online by 3/19, $75 after 3/19, $80 on site. DO NOT mail entries after March 19 – they may not be received in time. $5 extra for all phoned registrations. $20 change fee for roster or section changes after March 19. USCF membership is required (may be paid with entry). AWARDS: Trophies awarded in accordance with Scholastic Regulations and based on number of participants.Team score = total of top four (min. two) finishers from each section. March 2009 rating supplement will be used. BYES: One 1/2 –pt. bye available in rounds 1-6 if requested prior to 10am, Fri (4/3). On site entries after 10am, Fri 4/3 will receive a 1/2-point bye for the first round. SCHEDULE: Rounds 1-2: Friday (4/3) 1:00pm & 7:00pm, Rounds 3-5: Saturday (4/4) 9:00am, 2:00pm, & 7:00pm, Rounds 6-7 (4/5) 9:00am, & 2:00pm. Main Event Awards Ceremonies, Sunday (4/5); K-1 at approximately 5pm, all others approximately 7pm. SIDE EVENTS: Bughouse Championships:Thursday, 4/2, 11:00am, Register ON SITE ONLY by 10:00am. EF: $20 per team/2. Blitz Championship:Thursday, 4/2, 5:00pm. EF $15 postmarked, faxed or online by 3/19, $20 after 3/19 or on site. On site registration ends at 4pm. Please refer to the website: www.SuperNationalsIV.com for updated schedule details, Simuls, lectures, and other activities. Advance entries must include player’s name/information and all fees to be accepted. Roster changes are considered new entries and will be charged according to date received. List name, address, phone, section, grade, school (even if no team), coach’s name, email, birthdate, USCF ID number, USCF expiration (enclose USCF dues if necessary) and rating. Players must be eligible to play in accordance with USCF Scholastic Regulations. Entries may be faxed to: 931787-1238. Mail Entries To: 2009 SuperNationals IV, P. O. Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557. Enter online at: www.uschess.org. WCL JGP.
Apr. 24-26, Texas Kasparov Chess Foundation in Association with UTD, DCC and USCF, Presents All Girls Open National Championships 6SS G/60, Hyatt Regency Dallas, 300 Reunion Blvd., Dallas, TX 75207; Phone: (800) 233-1234 or 214-651-1234 Mention All Girls National Chess Tournament for special Hotel rate: $109 Reserve By 4/1. 6 sections: 8 years old and younger; 10 years old and younger; 12 years old and younger; 14 years old and younger; 16 years old and younger; 18 years old and younger. Age as of 4/1/2009. USCF rated. USCF membership is required. Winner of 18 years old and younger Section wins an Academic Distinction Scholarship to The University ofTexas at Dallas, worth up to $80,000 for an out-of-state student. EF: $45 if postmarked by 3/25. $70 at site. Do not mail after 4/16 as your entry may not be received. Trophies to top 15 ind. & top 3 teams (top three players added for team scores) Sat., April 25: Opening Ceremony: 9 AM, Rounds: 1 - 4; 9:30-11:30 AM; 12:00-2:00 PM; 3:00-5:00 PM; 5:30-7:30 PM. Sun., April 26: Rounds 5 - 6; 9:00-11:00 AM; 11:30 AM-1:30 PM Sun., April 26: Awards Ceremony: 2:30 PM One 1/2 pt bye available, any round, if requested before end of rd. 2 and if player has not received a full point bye. Entries to: Dallas Chess Club, c/o Barbara Swafford, 2709 LonghornTrail, Crowley,TX 76036. Entry must include Name, USCF ID (or new/pending), date of birth, grade & school and school location. Email:
[email protected], 214-632-9000. Side events: Blitz tournament G/5 Friday April 24 3 pm, EF: $15 by 3-25, $25 on site. Simultaneous exhibition by Anna Zatonskih Fri., April 24 at 7:00 P.M. Bughouse Tournament Fri April 24 5 pm. EF: $25/team. NS, NC, W.
May 23-25, Arizona 2009 U.S. Amateur West Championship Holiday Inn Palo Verde, 4550 S Palo Verde Rd.,Tucson, AZ 85714, 520-746-1161.
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SEE PREVIOUS ISSUE FOR TLAS APPEARING MARCH 1-14
Tournament Life SECTIONS: Championship (U2200), Reserve (U1600), Booster (U1200) & Scholastic (must be K-8 and U1000). Scholastic section is 3 separate 1-day tournaments. SCHEDULE: (Championship, Reserve, and Booster) 6/SS, 40/2, 25/1. Reg: By mail or 5/23, 8:30 - 9:30 AM. Rds: 10-4, 10-4, 9-3. (Scholastic) 4/SS, G/40. Reg: By mail or 8:30 - 9:30 AM each day. Rds: Round 1 at 10 AM then as available for Rounds 2-4. PRIZES: (Championship) Chronos clock + plaque to Top 3; Digital clock + plaque to Top 1900-1999, 1800-1899, 17001799, 1600-1699, and U1600; Plaque to top Senior 50+, Junior U19 and Junior U13. (Reserve) Chronos clock + plaque to 1st; Digital clock + plaque to 2nd, 3rd, Top 1300-1399, 1200-1299, and U1200; Plaque to top Senior 50+ and Junior U13. (Booster) Chronos clock + trophy to 1st; Trophy to 2nd - 5th, Top Unrated and Junior U10. (Scholastic, each day) Digital clock + trophy to 1st; Trophy to 2nd - 5th, Top U800, U600, and Unrated. 1-yr USCF membership for perfect scores that don’t win the clock. SPECIAL PRIZES:Top 2 Family Pairs in the non-scholastic sections. Biggest Upset of each round in the non-Scholastic sections. Chronos clock to Scholastic player with the highest combined score over the three 1-day tournaments. EF: (Championship & Reserve) $55 if by 5/20, $65 if after 5/20. (Booster) $40 if by 5/20, $50 if after 5/20. (Scholastic) $15 for each tournament or $40 for all three days if by 5/20, additional $5 if after 5/20. ALL: Half-point byes allowed for all rounds but must be requested prior to start of Round 2. HR: (if by 5/8): $64 (single) or $72 (suite), mention “SACA”. ENT: Make checks payable to SACA, entry form available at www.sazchess.org. Info: Karen Pennock, 520-975-3946, e-mail:
[email protected], web: www.sazchess.org. NC. NS. W. WCL JGP.
June 4, Nevada World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 50 2009 U.S. Game/10 Championship (QC) 6SS, G/10. South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89183. $$b/100 7,000 ($$Gtd 4,500). 2000-1000-700, U2300 600, U2100 550, U1900 500, U1700 450, U1500 400, U1300 350, U1100 300, unrated 150. EF: $79 by 5/19, $89 by 6/3, $100 on site. Late Registration 4-6:30 p.m. Rds: 7-7:30-8-8:30-9-9:30. Higher of regular or quick rating used. Bring clocks. 1/2 point bye available in any round (limit 4), must be requested with entry. HR: $65 (not $75) single or double ($95 Friday and Saturday nights). 1-866-7917626 or (702) 796-7111. ENT: Las Vegas International Chess Festival, PO Box 90925, Henderson, NV 89009-0925 or www.VegasChessFestival.com. NS NC W.
A Heritage Event! An American Classic! June 5-7 or 6-7, Nevada World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 200 (enhanced) 2009 National Open 6-SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2 day option rds 1-3 G/60). South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, 9777 Las Vegas Blvd South, Las Vegas, NV 89183. $100,000 Prize Fund based on 850 paid entries ($70,000 guaranteed). Championship. $$: 80004000-2000-1000-600-400-400-400-400-400-200-200-200-200-200, under 2500 2000, under 2400 1600, under 2300 1200, Unrated 600-400-200. $2,000 EXTRA for perfect score.The winner of the Championship section also receives a replica of the Edmondson Cup. Under 2200. $$: 5000-2500-1300-600-350-250-250250-250-250-100-100-100-100-100. Under 2000. $$: 5000-2500-1300-600-350250-250-250-250-250-100-100-100-100-100. Under 1800. $$: 5000-25001300-600-350-250-250-250-250-250-100-100-100-100-100. Under 1600. $$: 5000-2500-1300-600-350-250-250-250-250-250-100-100-100-100-100. Under 1400. $$: 2500-1500-1000-500-250-150-150-150-150-150-100-100-100-100100. Under 1200. $$: 1500-1000-500-250-150- 100-100-100-100 -100-100100-100-100-100. Plus score bonus ($16,000) in addition to any other prizes,
USCF Membership Rates Premium (P) and Regular (R) (U.S., CANADA, MEXICO)
Type Adult P Adult P ** Adult R Adult R ** Senior (65+) ** Young Adult P (U25)* Youth P (U16)* Scholastic P (U13)* Young Adult R (U25)* Youth R (U16)* Scholastic R (U13)*
1 yr $49 $42 $36 $29 $36 $32 $27 $23 $24 $20 $16
2yr $85 $78 $59 $52 $65 $59 $49 $42 $43 $36 $28
3yr $120 $113 $81 $74 $93 $85 $70 $60 $61 $51 $39
Premium membership provides a printed copy of Chess Life (monthly) or Chess Life for Kids (bimonthly) plus all other benefits of regular membership. Regular membership provides online-only access to Chess Life and Chess Life for Kids; TLA Bulletin will be mailed to adults bimonthly and to scholastic members three times per year. Youth provides bimonthly Chess Life, Scholastic bimonthly Chess Life for Kids, others listed above monthly Chess Life. See www.us chess.org for other membership categories. Dues are not refundable and may be changed without notice.
*Ages at expiration
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**Purchased online only
Chess Life — March 2009
every player who finishes with 3-1/2 points or better wins a $50 gift certificate. Plus score certificates will be given on site only. EF: $159 by 1/19, $179 by 5/19, $199 by 6/3, $220 on site. $41 less for unrated players, $99 more for players rated under 2100 in the Championship Section. This is an open tournament - you may play in any section at or above your rating level; unrated players may play only in Championship Section. Provisionally rated players may not win more than 3rd prize in any section except Championship. CCA minimum ratings or other ratings may be used if higher than USCF June Supplement. Reg: 4-11 p.m. Thursday, 8-9:30 a.m. Friday. Rds: 11-6, 11-6, 10-5. 2-day schedule: Reg: 8-9 a.m. Saturday. Rds: 10-12:30-3-6: merge with 3-day in round 4. Half point byes available in any round, but round 5 or 6 byes must be requested before the start of round 2. Chess sets and boards provided for tournament play only, not for skittles. Please bring chess clocks! The LAS VEGAS INTERNATIONAL CHESS FESTIVAL features the National Open, the U.S Game/10 Championship and the Susan Polgar World Chess Championship for Girls and Boys. Many free extras and surprises! Free parking. Free raffle with great prizes. Free lectures by GM Susan Polgar and others. Free analysis of your games by GM Arthur Bisguier. Susan Polgar International Chess Camp all day Thursday. Grandmaster Simul Thursday afternoon. US. Game/10 Thursday night. Scholastic Tournament Friday. LOW room rates! HR: $65 (not $75) single or double ($95 Friday and Saturday nights). 1-866-791-7626 or (702) 796-7111. Don’t be shut out; make your reservations early and be sure to ask for the chess rates; South Point sells out most weekends. Cutoff for special hotel rate is May 19th. Rates may be as high as $150 a night after May 19th. RESERVE NOW! Credit card or one night room deposit will be required to hold reservation, may be canceled 72 hours in advance for nominal fee.Tournament Registration: National Open, PO Box 90925, Henderson, NV 89009-0125, on line at www.VegasChessFestival.com or by fax at (702) 933-9112. NS. W. FIDE. WCL JGP.
July 10-12, Wisconsin 2009 U. S. Junior Open Championship Three sections based on age: Under 21, Under 15, Under 11. 5SS, G/90. Milwaukee Marriott West, W231N1600 Corporate CT, Waukesha, WI 53186. Chess Rate of $85.99 is valid until July 1st. Reserve early. (262)-574-0888. U21: $300+entry to 2010 Junior Closed-$150. Individual trophies: 1st overall, best player for ages 17-18, 15-16, under 15. Team trophies: top three high schools, top club. U15: Individual trophies: top 3 overall, best player for ages 11-13, under 11.Team trophies: top three middle schools, top club. U11: Individual trophies: top 3 overall, best player for ages 9, 8, 7, 6&under. Team trophies: top three elementary schools, top club. All participants receive commemorative medals. EF: $35 ($30 per player if 4 or more pre-register together) advance; $50 after July 10th. Cash only at site. Schedule: Opening ceremony: Friday at 2:45pm. Rounds: Friday 3:00pm, Saturday 10:00am and 2:00pm, Sunday 10:00am and 2:00pm. Closing ceremony: Sunday 5:30pm. Side Events: ($20/event) BLITZ: Friday at 7:00pm. BUGHOUSE: Saturday at 7:00pm. SIMUL: Friday at 7:00pm and Saturday at 7:00pm. PARENTS AND COACHES TOURNEY: 3SS G/30 (not rated) Saturday 10:30am, 2:15pm, 3:30pm. Info/questions: ashish@vajachess. com or 414-234-1005,
[email protected] or 608-334-2574. Make Checks Payable to and Send Entries to: VICA, 6822 North Crestwood Dr., Glendale WI 53209 or online registration at www.wsca chess.org. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event! Aug. 1-9, 4-9 or 6-9, Indiana World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 300 (enhanced) 110th annual U.S. Open CELEBRATE USCF’S 70TH ANNIVERSARY BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS TRADITIONAL EVENT! New features this year include 4-day option requiring only 3 nights hotel stay for most players, and later start for 6-day option so most will need only 5 nights hotel stay. 9SS, 40/2, SD/1 (4 day option, Rds. 1-6, G/60). Indianapolis Marriott East, 7202 East 21st St, Indianapolis IN 46219. Luxurious hotel with great lighting in tournament room! Phone: 317-352-1231. HR: $99 single/quad. $50,000 in prizes based on 500 paid entries, else proportional, except $40,000 (80% of each prize) minimum guarantee. A one section tournament with Class prizes. Top 5 US players qualify for 2010 US Championship. Many side events, including US Blitz Championship 8/8. USCF Delegates meeting 8/8-9, workshops 8/5-7, USCF Awards Luncheon 8/8 noon, GM lectures & simuls to be announced. Choice of three schedules: Traditional: 40/2, SD/1. One round daily at 7 pm, except rd. 9, 8/9 at 3pm. 6-Day Option: 8/4 7 pm, 8/5-7 12 noon & 7 pm, 8/8 7 pm, 8/9 at 3pm. 4-Day Option: 8/6 2 pm, 5 pm & 8 pm; 8/7 10 am, 1 pm, 3:30 pm & 7 pm, 8/8 7 pm, 8/9 3pm. All schedules merge after Round 6 & compete for same prizes. Projected prizes: Top Places: $8000-4000-2000-1500-1000-800-600-500, clear winner $200 bonus. If tie for first, top two on tiebreak play speed game (white 5 minutes, black 3 minutes and gets draw odds, 5 second delay) for bonus and title. Class Prizes: Top Master (2200-2399): $2500-1200-800-500. Top Expert (2000-2199): $2500-1200-800-500. Top Class A (1800-1999): $2500-1200800-500. Top Class B (1600-1799): $2500-1200-800-500. Top Class C (1400-1599): $2000-1000-600-400. Top Class D (1200-1399): $1500-700-500300. Top Class E or below (under 1200): $1500-700-500-300. Top Unrated: $800-400-200. Half Point Byes: must commit before round 4; up to 3 byes allowed for 2000/up, 2 byes for 1400-1999, one bye for Under 1400/Unr. Zero point byes are always available in any round. Entry Fee: Online, $135 by 5/15, $155 by 7/29. By mail, $137 postmarked by 5/15, $157 postmarked by 7/23. By phone, $140 by 5/15, $160 by 7/29. At site, all $180. GMs free. August official ratings used; unofficial ratings used if otherwise unrated. CCA ratings used if above USCF. Foreign player ratings: usually 100 points added to FIDE or FQE, 200+ added to most foreign national ratings, no points added to CFC. Highest of multiple ratings generally used. Ent: USCF, ATTN: 2009 US Open, PO. Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557. Online entry: https://secure. uschess.org/webstore/tournaments.php. Phone entry: 800-903-8723. Tournament website: main.uschess.org/tournaments/2009/usopen/. FIDE rated, no cell phones. Bring a clock - none supplied. Sets/boards supplied for tournament but not for skittles. WCL JGP.
Grand Prix Mar. 1, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 (enhanced) Grandmaster Challenge (NOTE: Mar. 1 Marshall CC Sunday Action now moved to Mar. 15.) 6-SS G/25 (G/20, D/5), Marshall CC, 23 W 10th St, NYC: 212-477-3716, limited to first 64
entries. EF: $35 over 55/under 18, $45 others, $10 less to Marshall members (free buffet for participants.) GMs free, $25 deducted from prize. Reg. ends 11:45 am. G$$350-250-150-100-75-50, $100 U2400, $100 U2200, $75 U2000, $50 U1800, top over 55$=age, top under 18 $=3x age, top scoring female ($=# of players), special beauty prize. Rds.: 12-1:15-2:30-4:00-5:15-6:30. Byes: limit 2, request before Round 3. Quick rated; regular ratings used for pairing and prize purposes. Additional class prize $500 2800+, $250 2700+. WCL JGP.
Mar. 7-8, California Southern World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 BIG BANG Open Sponsored by Dr. Harold Valery (Cardinal Medical Group). 6-SS, G/60. Los Angeles Chess Club, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd., LA, CA 90025, 2nd fl. (4 blks W 405). $$1500 Guaranteed. In two sections, Open: $400-200-50, U2200: $125, U2000: $125. Reserve: (U1800) $$200-100, U1600 $125, Under 1400/unrated $100, U1200 $75. EF: $55 if received by 3/4; $60 at the door ($40 LACC members if received by 3/4; $45 at the door; $30 new LACC members) $2 off SCCF members. Up to 2 half-point byes available. Re-entry $25. Reg.: 11:00 - 11:45 a.m. Rds.: 12:00, 2:00, 4:00 each day. 2 Free Parking lots on the SW corner of Santa Monica & Purdue - 1 block, or in the building basement ($3). Inf: (310) 795-5710 or
[email protected]. URL: www.LaChessClub.com. Ent: LACC - P.O. Box 251774, Los Angeles, CA 90025. State Championship Qualifier.
Mar. 13-15, California Southern World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 20 7th Annual Western Pacific Open 5-SS, 3-day 40/2, SD/1, 2-day rds. 1-2 G/60 then merges. LAX Hilton, 5711 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045. $$6000 b/160, 50% of each prize guaranteed. In 2 sections: Open, $$1200-700-400-200-100, U2200 $400-250. Amateur (U2000/Unr), $$500-300-150, U1800 400-200-100, U1600 400-200100, U1400 200, U1200 100, Unr. 100. Unr. may win Unrated prize only. Reg.: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Fri., 9-10 a.m. Sat. Rds.: 3-day 7 p.m., 10:30-5, 10-4:30. 2-day: 10:30-1 (G/60), then merges. EF: $69 if received by 3-13, $79 at site. All: $25 Best Game prize, all sections eligible. One halfpoint bye if requested with entry, rds 4-5 cannot be revoked. SCCF membership req. of S. Cal. res., $18 reg, $10 jr. HR: $109, (310) 410-4000. Ask for “7th Annual Western Pacific Open.” Parking $8/day. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles, CA 90038, on line at www.westernchess.com. Inf: admin@western chess.com. NS, W, F. State Championship Qualifier. WCL JGP.
Mar. 13-15 or 14-15, Missouri World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 100 (enhanced) 13th Annual Mid-America Open 5SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2-day option, rds 1-2 G/70), Crowne Plaza Hotel St. LouisClayton, 7750 Carondelet Ave., St. Louis MO 63105 (I-64 W/US 40-W Exit 32B, 1.2 miles north on Hanley Rd). $$ 20,000 based on 250 paid entries (re-entries count half, U900 Section one quarter), minimum $16,000 (80% of each prize) guaranteed. In 7 sections: Open: $2000-1000-600-400, clear winner or 1st on tiebreak $100 bonus, top U2300 $900, U2200 $800, U2100/Unr $700. FIDE. Under 2000: $1500-700-400-300. Under 1800: $1500-700-400-300. Under 1600: $1500-700-400-300. Under 1400: $1200-600-300-200. Under 1200: $1200-600-300-200. Under 900: $100-60-40, trophies to top 7. Unrated may enter any section, with prize limits: U900 $50, U1200 $150, U1400 $300, U1600 $400, U1800 $500, U2000 $700. Balance goes to next player(s) in line. EF: 3-day $103, 2-day $102 mailed by 3/5, all $105 online at chesstour.com by 3/10, $110 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 3/10 (entry only, no questions), $120 at site. Under 900/Unr Section EF: 3-day $23, 2-day $22 if mailed by 3/5, $25 online at chesstour.com by 3/10, $27 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 3/10, $30 at site. FREETO UNRATED IN U900 OR U1200 SECTIONS. All: Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games usually used if otherwise unrated. Special 1 yr adult USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry: online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Re-entry $60; not available in Open Section. No checks at site, credit cards OK. MCA memb. ($5; higher with printed magazine) required for MO residents. 3-day schedule: Reg ends Fri 6 pm, rds Fri 7 pm, Sat 11-6, Sun 9-3:15. 2-day schedule: Reg ends Sat 10 am, rds Sat 11-2:30-6, Sun 9-3:15. Byes: OK all; must commit before rd 3, having under 2 pts. HR: $87-87, 888-303-1746, 314-726-5400, request chess rate, reserve by 2/27 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633, or reserve car online through chesstour.com. Ent: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. Questions: 845-496-9658. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
Mar. 14-15, Texas World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 15 (enhanced) TexOhma Fide Open 5SS, G/90 with 30 second increment. Dallas Chess Club, 212 S Cottonwood Dr #A, Richardson, TX 75080. One Section $$550G.: Open: This section is FIDE rated but uses USCF Rules. $400-$100-$50. EF: $50, Juniors(U19)/Senior/Hcap $30, plus $5 non-DCC membership fee. Registration: 9:45 -10:15 am. Rds. Sat 10:45 - 3:10 - 7:16, Sun 10:45-3:10. One Bye allowed if requested before rd 2, withdrawals are not eligible for prizes. Ent: Dallas Chess Club, see address above. Info: 214-632-9000,
[email protected], www.dallaschess.com NS. NC. FIDE. WCL JGP.
Mar. 15, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) Binghamton Monthly Tourney 4 Round SS, Time control G/60. Reg. 8:45 AM to 9:00 AM. (Please register in advance if possible) ENTRY: $30/ $35 at site. Cash only at site. (checks payable to Cordisco’s Corner Store) ROUNDS: 9:15-11:45-2:15-4:30. PRIZES: 1st $200- 2nd $100- 3rd $50- Best Under 1600 $30. Guaranteed! Please bring clocks. Cordisco’s Chess Center, 308 Chenango St., Binghamton, NY 13901. (607) 772-8782.
[email protected].
Mar. 17, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 15 (enhanced) St. John’s Masters at the Marshall Chess Club 4SS, G/30.ThirdTues. of every month. 23 W. 10th St., NYC. 212-477-3716. Open to players rated over 2100 (plus all players scoring 2.5 or more at any CCNY at MCCThursday 4 Rated GamesTonight! since the prior month’s SJM) EF: $40, members $30, GMs $10 (returned on completion of tournament). For each event, money added to prize fund by the sponsors, St. John’s University, and other generous patrons.Top three prizes guaranteed. $$G 300-200-100.Top U2400 and Top U2300 prizes. Special prize for biggest upset. Reg.: 6:15-6:45. Rds.: 7-8:159:30-10:45pm. One bye available, rds 1 and 4 only; declare at registration.
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Mar. 19, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) 10 Grand Prix Points Tonight! 4-SS, G/30, Chess Center at the Marshall Club, 23 West 10 St, bet. 5-6 Ave, NYC: 212-477-3716. EF: $35, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$560 b/32 paid entries (may be limited to 1st 36 to enter), top 2 Gtd: $$ 200-110-50, Top U2200/unr $105, U2000 $95. Limit 2 byes (1 bye for U2000), commit by 8:15. Reentry $15. CCA ratings may be used. Class pairings OK rd. 4. Reg ends 10 min before game. Rds 78:15-9:30-10:45 pm. Phone entry often impossible!
A State Championship Event! Mar. 21-22, Alabama World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2nd Annual Alabama Class Championship 5-SS, 30/90 SD 30, Quality Inn & Suites, 2705 E South Blvd., Montgomery, Al 36116. EF: $39 by 03/14, $49 at site. ACF memb req ($10) OSA. ALL PRIZES 100% GUARANTEED! (see full flier at www.teachmechess.com for info on Beach Vacation prize option; cash alternative available to beach vacation) Four Sections: Open G$$: $250 or Beach Vacation, $120. Class A/B G$$: $200 or Beach Vacation, $100. Class C/D G$$: $170 or Beach Vacation, $90. Class U1200/Unr G$$: $150, $80. Byes 1-4; commit before round 1. Reg.: 89. Rds.: Sat 9:30, 2, 7, Sun 9, 1:30. Info: www.teachmechess.com. Questions:
[email protected]. NS, NC, W. WCL JGP.
Mar. 21-22 or 22, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) New York March Open! 4-SS, 30/90, SD/1, Chess Center at the Marshall Club, 23 W 10 St, bet. 5th-6th Ave, NYC: 845-569-9969. $$ 1,200 b/60 paid entries, minimum half each prize Gtd. May be limited to 1st 62 entries! 2 sections, Open. $$ 400-200-100, U2200/unr. $100. FIDE. Under 2000. $$ 200-100, U1800 $100, $100 unr. prize limit. Both, EF: $45, Club membs $30, GMs free ($25 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. Online entry at www.chesscenter.cc thru 3/19. 2 options: 2-Day, rds 12:30-5:30 pm each day; 1-day (rds 1-2 G/30), 10-11:15 am-12:30-5:30 pm Sun., merge rd 3. 2 byes max, commit by rd 2. Reg. ends 15 min. before game. Re-entry $20, counts half. Foreign unr. must enter Open. CCA Ratings may be used. EF $10 extra by phone! WCL JGP.
Mar. 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16, Connecticut World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 UCONN Chess Club Championship Grand Prix UCONN Castleman Bldg., Room 204, 261 Glenbrook Rd., Storrs, CT 06269. 4SS, G/90. EF: $35, FREE to all students. $$ 200-100 both gtd., Top U-2200, Top U2000, U1800, U1600, U1400 $100 each b/30. Trophy to top student. Prizes increased as entries allow. Reg.: 7 -7:30 PM, Rounds at 7:30 PM. Parking is across the street behind the Bronwell building. Advance Entry & Info: Tom Hartmayer, 963 Mansfield City Rd., Storrs, CT 06268. Make checks payable to: “Tom Hartmayer”. 860-989-5394,
[email protected], www.uconn chess.uconn.edu. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event! Mar. 27-29 or 28-29, Ohio World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 40 (enhanced)
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47th Cincinnati Open Four sections: Open, Under 2000, Under 1600, Under 1200. Holiday Inn, 4501 Eastgate Blvd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45245. 5 Round Swiss System, USCF and FIDE (Open) rated.Time Control: 40/2 SD/60, (2 day option rds 1-2 G/70). Prizes $5,000 (Guaranteed): Open: $800-400-300, Under 2200: $300-150, U2000: $500-250-150, U1800 $300-150, U1600: $400-200-150, U1400 $250-150, U1200: $300-150-100 U1000 Trophies to top 5.(no unrated may win over $100 in U1200, $200 in U1600 or $300 in U2000. EF: $68, if mailed by 3/23 $80 at site. Under 1000 and unrated, $28 if mailed by 3/23, $40 at site. Free to GM/IM who complete schedule, $80 deducted from prize. Registration: Friday March 27th ends 6:30pm. Saturday March 28th ends 10:30am. Rounds: 3 day option: Friday 7pm, Saturday 11am, 6pm, Sunday 9:30am, 3:30pm. 2 day option: Saturday 11am, 2:30pm, 6pm, Sunday 9:30am, 3:30pm. Byes: Maximum two 1/2 point byes, must commit before round 3. Hotel: $79 Holiday Inn, 4501 Eastgate Blvd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45245. Call 513-752-4400 (mention chess). Advance Entry & Questions: Central Ohio Chess c/o Grant Perks, PO Box 9830, Bexley, Ohio 43209,
[email protected], (614) 774-2532. WCL JGP.
Mar. 27-29, South Carolina World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2009 South Carolina Senior Open Ramada Inn, 1310 Tiger Blvd., Clemson, SC 29631. $800 guaranteed. EF: $35 if rec’d by 3/20; $40 at site. GMs and IMs free, $35 deducted from prize. Reentry $20. Bye: all rds, must commit before 2nd rd. (irrevocable bye). SCCA memb. req’d, OSA. In 4 Sections: 4SS, Game/120 Senior Open: $200-100-50, U2000 $50 guaranteed!!! Senior U1800: $200-100-50, U1600 $50 guaranteed!!! Seniors must have been born prior to 3/27/59. Senior Schedule: Reg ends 3/28 at 10:30am. Rds. Sat. 11:00, 5:00, Sun. 10:00, 4:00. 5SS, Game/120 Aspiring Senior Open: $200-100-50, U2000 $50 b/20. Aspiring Senior U1800: $200-100-50, U1600 $50 b/20. Aspiring Seniors must have been born between 3/28/59 and 3/27/90. Aspiring Senior Schedule: 3-day Schedule: Reg ends 3/27 at 7pm. Rds. Fri. 7:30, Sat. 1:00, 7:30, Sun. 10:00, 4:00. 2-day Schedule: Reg ends at 9:30am on 3/28, Rd 1 at 10:00am, then merges with 3-day. HR: $75/night double before 3/15, mention chess (864-654-7501) at Ramada Inn, 1310Tiger Blvd., Clemson, SC 29631. Info/Reg: Greenville Chess Club, c/o Wayne Christensen, 306 Canebreak Lane, Simpsonville, SC 29681.
[email protected].
Mar. 28-29, California Southern World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 Kern County Open Championship 5-SS, 25/75, SD/30 (Rounds 1-3), 40/2, SD/1 (Rounds 4-5). Clarion Hotel 3540 Rosedale Hwy, Bakersfield, CA 93308 (661) 326-1111. $1700 prize fund b/o 40, 80% GUARANTEED: $500 (Gtd!) 300-200 top U2000 $250, U1800 $200, U1600/Unr $150-$100. EF: $45 by 3/25, $55 after; $6 discount for BCC members and SCCF members. GMs & IMs FREE ($45 from prize). Special K-8 Tournament: March 28 5-SS G/30, Rounds 10-11:30-1pm-2:30-4 EF: $20 by 3/25, $30 after; prizes 1st–3rd place Overall & 1st – 3rd place trophies in scholastic categories. All: 1/2-pt bye available any round with entry Reg.: 8:459:30 a.m. Saturday Rds.: Saturday: 10am-2pm-6pm, Sunday: 10am-4:30pm. Info: Kenneth J. Poole 661-304-7468,
[email protected] or visit www.bakers fieldchessclub.com. HR: $59 special rate, mention “BakersfieldChessClub”
reserve by 3/13 or rate may go up! Ent: Bakersfield Chess Club, P.O. Box 176, 3501 Mall View Rd., Suite 115, Bakersfield, CA 93306. State Championship Qualifier. WCL JGP for Open Championship only.
Mar. 28-29 (Not Mar. 14-15), Maryland World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 UMBC Open - Alvin S. Mintzes Chess Tournament 5SS, 20/1, SD/1. University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 (in Commons Bldg, 3rd floor). Held concurrently with separate Sweet 16 Invitational, which determines MD Scholastic Champion who wins 4-year tuition scholarship to UMBC (worth over $35,000). Spectators free & welcome. Open: (All) $$650: $350-200-100; $$400 (b/40): Top U2250, U2150, U2050, U1950 $100 ea. Free ent. to GMs, $40 deducted from any prizes. U1800: (U1800/Unr.) $$765 b/40: $250-175-100, Top U1600, U1400, U1200 (b/4) $80 ea. No Unr. player may win more than $200 in this sect. All EF: $40 if postmarked by 2/27, $50 late, $10 less if under 20. Reg: 8:309:30am Sat., Rds: 10am-3-7:30pm, 10:30am-3:30. Byes: Up to three 1/2-point byes avail. in Rds. 1-5 if req’d at least 1 hr. before Rd (before Rd 2 for any Rd. 4-5 bye), but only at most one 1/2-point bye in Rds 4-5. Hotel: La Quinta Inn and Suites, 1734 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 21090, 410-859-2333, Ask for UMBC chess rate. www.lq.com (From I-95, take Exit 47A onto I-195 towards BWI Airport.Take Exit 2A onto 295 north towards Baltimore; take first exit, bearing right onto West Nursery Road.) Directions to UMBC: Take Exit 47B off I-95 & follow signs to UMBC. Park in Lot 9 or 16. Ent/Info: Cks payable to UMBC, Dr. Alan T. Sherman, Dept. of CSEE, UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, Attn: Open.
[email protected], 410-455-8499, www.umbc.edu/ chess. W. FIDE. WCL JGP.
Mar. 28-29, New Hampshire World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 20 (enhanced) Nashua Open Holiday Inn Nashua, 9 Northeastern Blvd. Nashua, NH 03062. In 2 Sections: Open: 5SS, GAME/110 + 10 Sec. FIDE rated. $$GTD: $500-250. U2250 $150, U2000 $150. U1750: 5SS, GAME/110 + 10 Sec. Open to 1749 & under. $$GTD: $400-200. U1500 $100, U1250 $100. ALL: EF: $50 in advance, $55 at site. Registration: 9:00-9:45. Advance entries must be postmarked by 3/21/2009. Rds.: 10-2:30-7, 9:30-2. Unrated may only win 50% of place prizes in U1750. ENT: Alex Relyea, 49 Technology Dr. #89, Bedford, NH 03110. INFO: Alex Relyea,
[email protected]. www.relyeachess.com. NS W. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event! Mar. 28-29, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 120 (enhanced) 2009 Marchand Open-31st Annual St. John Fisher College - Kearney Auditorium. Dr. Erich Marchand “requested that his friends play chess in his memory.” 5SS, 30/60, SD/60. St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Ave, Rochester, NY. $$10,750 Gtd. Open: FIDE Rated (all) $2000-1300-850-550-300, U2200 & U2000 each $500-300. EF: $70. Under 1800: $600-400-250, U1600 $400-250. EF: $65. Under 1400: $400-275-175, U1200 $275-175. EF: $60. U1000: $260-190-130-70, U800 $150-90-60. EF: $55. Unrated players in the U1800 section can only win $200, in U1400 & U1000 $100. All EF: $25 more after 3/18. IM and GM free if registered by 3/18. Great food
Chess Life — March 2009
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Tournament Life
SEE PREVIOUS ISSUE FOR TLAS APPEARING MARCH 1-14
available at site. Reg.: 8-9:15 am. 3/28. Rds.: 10-2:15-6:30, 10-2:15. One 1/2 point bye available in rd. 3 or 4 if requested at entry. Optional first round 7 pm. 3/27 (reg. by 6:30pm.) at Rochester Chess Center, 221 Norris Drive, Rochester, NY 14610. Entries & Info: R.C.C. 585-442-2430. WCL JGP.
Mar. 29, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 (enhanced) Grandmaster Challenge (QC) 6-SS G/25 (G/20, D/5), Marshall CC, 23 W 10th St, NYC: 212-477-3716, limited to first 64 entries. EF: $35 over 55/under 18, $45 others, $10 less to Marshall members (free buffet for participants.) GMs free, $25 deducted from prize. Reg. ends 11:45 am. G$$350-250-150-100-75-50, $100 U2400, $100 U2200, $75 U2000, $50 U1800, top over 55$=age, top under 18 $=3x age, top scoring female ($=# of players), special beauty prize. Rds.: 12-1:15-2:30-4:005:15-6:30. Byes: limit 2, request before Round 3. Quick rated; regular ratings used for pairing and prize purposes. Additional class prize $500 2800+, $250 2700+.
A State Championship Event! Mar. 29, Pennsylvania World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2009 PA State Game/29 Championship (QC) 5SS, G/29. Wm. Pitt Union, Univ. of Pitt., 5th & Bigelow, Pittsburgh PA 15213. 2 Sections: Champ: EF: $25 by 3/21, $35 later. $$ (690G): $200-100, U2000 $90, U1800 $80, U1600 $70, U1400 $60, U1200 $50, U1000 $40. Trophies: 13 U1400, 1-3 U1200, 1-3 U1000. Scholastic: Grades K-12 unrated or U900. EF: $15 by 3/21, $25 later.Trophies toTop 7, 1-3 U600. ALL:Trophies: 1-2 Schools, 1-2 Clubs, Teams of 4-7 players from both sections. PSCF $5, OSA. Reg 1010:30am. Rds: 11-12:30-1:45-3-4:15. Ent/Info: PSCF, c/o Tom Martinak, 25 Freeport St., Pittsburgh, PA 15223-2245, 412-908-0286. W.
Mar. 30-Apr. 20, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 84th Nassau Grand Prix 4-SS, 40/80. 1st Presbyterian Church, 1st & Main Sts, Mineola. 2 sections. Open: EF: $35 by 3/28. $$ (615 b/20, top 2 G) 180-120, U2100, 1900, 1700/UR each 105. Booster: open to U1500/UR. EF: $19 by 3/28. $$ (180 b/12) 80, U1300, 1100/UR each 50. Both: 2 byes 1-4 (Last rd bye must be req before rd 3 and is irrevocable). $10 more for non-memb. EF $7 more at site. Reg ends: 7:15 PM. Rds.: 7:15 each Mon. April ratings used. Info only:
[email protected]. Ent: Harold Stenzel, 80 Amy Drive, Sayville, NY 11782. WCL JGP.
Apr. 4-5, Michigan World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 Wiener-Rubenstein Memorial 5-SS, G-90. All The King’s Men Chess Supplies and Brain Games, Parkview Square Strip Mall (Around Back), 27170 Dequindre Rd., Warren, MI 48092 (11 Mile & Dequindre Rds.). USCF and MCA memberships required (can be purchased on site). EF: $60 ($50 for Oage 65, Uage 16, or UNR) by Tues., 3/31. Add $10 after. IMs and GMs FREE (EF deducted from prize). No Re-Entries allowed. Up to TWO 1/2-pt. byes allowed-must be requested prior to start of RD 3. TL: G-90. REG.: Sat, 4/4, 10-11:30am. RDS.: Sat, 4/4: 12-3:30-7. Sun, 4/5: 11-2:30. Headphones cannot be used if opponent objects for any reason.
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Must be willing to present same to TD for exam at any time. Failure to do so will result in removal from tournament without refund. Cell phones must be turned off or in silent mode while in the tournament room. $$2100 (b/52, b/min. 6 per prize section). 60% Guaranteed! 1st, 2nd, 3rd: $500, $350; $250; TOP 1900-2199, 1600-1899, 1300-1599, 1000-1299, U1000/UNR: $200 each (UNR eligible ONLY for Unrated or Overall prizes). $50 Gift Certificate for biggest upset of tournament! Info & ENT: Dr. Ed Mandell, address above, (586) 558-4790.TollFree: (866) 538-7890; Fax: (586) 558-2046; Email:
[email protected], Web: www.allthekingsmenchess.com. WCL JGP.
Apr. 4-5, Nebraska World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2nd Annual Spring Open Note: corrections to prizes which now makes this a GP event. 5 SS, Rnd 1 G/90, Rnd 2-5 G/120. Site: Creighton Univ. Harper Center, Rm #2066, 590 N 20th St., Omaha, NE 68102. EF: $25 if payment received by 4/2. $30 on-site. Prizes: $$G $150-85-65, U1600 $50, U1400 $50, U1200 $50. USCF & NSCA memb. req’d ($10 adult, $6 under 20) Other states honored. Reg.: 9am-9:45. Rds.: Sat 10-1:456:30, Sun 9:30-2:30. ENT: Ben Ryan, 4423 Frederick St. Omaha, NE 68105. 402.452.7686
[email protected]. WCL JGP. This version corrects what was in the Feb. CL.
An American Classic! Apr. 8-12, 9-12 or 10-12, Connecticut World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 200 (enhanced) 11th annual Foxwoods Open Open Section, Apr 8-12: 9SS, 40/2, SD/1. GM & IM norms possible. Lower Sections, Apr 9-12 or 10-12: 7SS, 40/2, SD/1 (3-day option, rds. 1-4 G/50). Foxwoods Resort Casino & Hotel, Rt 2, Mashantucket CT 06339 (I-95 to Exit 92 to Rt 2 West, or I-395 to Exit 85 to Rt 164 to Rt 2 East). Free parking. 45 miles fromT.F. Green Airport (Providence, RI), 14 miles from Groton/New London Airport; for shuttle from New London Amtrak station call 1-800-USA-RAIL. Bus transportation: 1-888-BUS2FOX. Free shuttle to Mashantucket Pequot Museum, largest Native American museum in USA. Prizes $100,000 based on 650 paid entries (Seniors count as 3/4 entries; U1000 Section, re-entries, GMs, WGMs & foreign IMs/WIMs as half entries), else proportional, minimum $70,000 (70% of each prize) guaranteed. In 7 sections: Open: $10000-5000-2500-15001000-700-600-500-400-400, 2300-2499 $3000-1500-700, Under 2300/Unr $3000-1500-700. If tie for first, top 2 on tiebreak play speed game (White 5 minutes, Black 3 minutes & gets draw odds, with 5 second delay) for title & free room at 2010 Foxwoods Open. FIDE rated. Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700: each $5000-3000-2000-1000-700-600-500-400-300-300. Under 1500, Under 1300: $4000-2000-1500-1000-700-600-500-400-300-300. Under 1000: $1000-600-400-300-250-200-150-100. Prize limits: 1) Players with under 26 lifetime games rated as of 4/09 list may not win over $500 in U1000, $1500 in U1300, or $2500 in U1500. Games rated too late for 4/09 list not counted. 2) If more than 30 points over section maximum on any USCF rating supplement 4/08-3/09, prize limit $1500. 3) Unrated (0-3 lifetime games rated) cannot win over $300 in U1000, $600 U1300, $1000 U1500, $1300 U1700, $1600 U1900, or $2000 U2100. Initial ratings that will appear after the 4/09 list used at Director’s discretion; if used, rule 1 applies. 4) Balance of limited prize goes to next player(s) in line. Mailed EF: 5-day (Open only) $205, 4-day $204, 3-day $203 if mailed by 1/10; 5-day $225, 4-day $224, 3-day $223 mailed by 3/31; all $250 at site. CSCA members may deduct $4 from mailed EF only. No checks at site, credit cards OK. Online EF at chesstour.com: $207 by 1/10, $227 by 4/6, $250 after 4/6 until 2 hours before rd 1. Phone EF at 406-896-2038 (entry only, no questions): $210 by 1/10, $230 by 4/6. No phone entry after 4/6. GMs, foreign IMs, foreign WGMs, foreign WIMs free; $150 deducted from prize. US WGMs $100; another $100 deducted from prize. EF $70 less to seniors over 65 in Under 1300 & above sections. Under 1000 Section EF: 4-day $104, 3-day $103 if mailed by 3/31, all $107 online at chesstour.com by 4/6, $110 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 4/6 (entry only, no questions), $120 at site. All: FREE TO UNRATED IN U1000 OR U1300 SECTIONS. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games usually used if otherwise unrated. Special 1 yr USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry: online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. No checks at site, credit cards OK. Re-entry: $100, no re-entry from Open Section to Open Section. 5-day Open Section schedule: Reg. ends Wed 6 pm, rds. Wed. 7 pm, Thu 12 & 7, Fri/Sat 11 & 6, Sun 10 & 4:30. 4-day Lower Sections schedule: Reg. endsThu 6 pm, rds.Thu 7 pm, Fri/Sat 11 & 6, Sun 10 & 4:30. 3-day Lower Sections schedule: Reg. ends Fri 7 pm, rds Fri 8 pm, Sat 10,12:30, 3, 6, Sun 10 & 4:30. 4-day & 3-day merge & compete for same prizes. Byes: OK all; limit 4 (limit 2 in last 4 rds), must commit before rd 3, having under 2 pts. Bring sets, boards, clocks if possible- none supplied. HR: Grand PequotTower (tournament site, very luxurious) $132-132, Great Cedar Hotel (connected building; very close) $118-118, Two Trees Inn (15 minute walk; free shuttle) $108-108. 1-800-FOXWOOD, must reserve by 3/26 or you will have to stay at least 3 miles away. Car rentals: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633 or reserve car online
at chesstour.com. Foreign player ratings: Usually 100 points added to FIDE, 100 to FQE, 200/more to most other foreign, no pts added to CFC, PR or Jamaica. Most foreign ratings other than CFC, PR, FQE or Jamaica not accepted for U2000 or below. Highest of multiple ratings usually used. Players who fail to disclose foreign or FIDE ratings may be expelled. US player ratings: April list used; FIDE ratings not used. Special rules: Players must submit to a search for electronic devices if requested by Director. In round 4 or after, players with scores of over 80% and their opponents may not use headphones, earphones or cellphones or go to a different floor of the hotel without Director permission. Ent: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. Questions: 845-496-9658, www.chesstour.com. You may request “lowest possible section” if April rating unknown. $15 service charge for refunds. Advance entries will be posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
Apr. 10-12, Nevada World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 150 (enhanced) 9th Annual RENO-FAR WEST OPEN 6SS, 40/2, 20/1, G/1/2. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345 N. Arlington Ave., Reno, NV 89501. 1-866-386-7829 or (775) 348-2200. $$22,500 b/250. $$15,000 Gtd. (Prizes 1-10 in Open Section Gtd. plus 1/2 of all other prizes). Free Lecture & Analysis Clinic by GM Larry Evans! 5 Sections. Open (2000 & above) EF: $137, (1999 & below = $151) (GMs & IMs free but must enter by (3/21) or pay late fee at door). $$2,000-1,200-1000-800-600-500-400-400-300-300, (2300/below) - $1,000, (2299/below) - $1,000-500, (2199/below) - $1000-500300-200 (If a tie for 1st then a playoff for $100 out of prize fund). Sec.”A” (1800-1999) EF: $136; $$1,000-500-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100. Sec.”B” (1600-1799) EF: $135; $$900-500-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100. Sec.”C” (1400-1599) EF: $134; $$800-400-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100. Sec.”D”/under (1399-below) EF: $133; $$700-400-300-200-100-100-100-100; 1199/below $$300; Top Senior (65+) -$200; Club Champ.- $400-200. ALL: Entries must be postmarked by 3/28 or pay late fee-$11 until 4/3 (do not mail after 4/3), $22 at site. All classes have trophies 1st – 3rd. Unrated players are free entry but not eligible for cash prizes- must join USCF for 1 full year thru this tournament . 1st Unrated = trophy + 1 yr. USCF Mem. $10 discount to Seniors (65+ yrs.) & Juniors (19-under). Players may play up. Provisionally rated players may only win 1/2 of 1st place money. CCA ratings may be used. Note: pairings not changed for color unless 3 in a row or a plus 3 and if the unlikely situation occurs 3 colors in a row may be assigned. SIDE EVENTS:Thurs. (4/9) 6-7:15pm Free Lecture-GM Larry Evans; 7:30pm-GM Khachiyan Simul ($15); 7:30pm-Blitz (5 Min) tourney ($20) 80% entries = Prize Fund. Sat. (4/11) (3-4:30pm) Free Game/Position Analysis - GM Larry Evans. ALL REG: 5-9pm (4/09), 9-10am (4/10). RDS: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4:30. Byes available any round (if requested by Rd.1). ENT: make checks payable and send to: SANDS REGENCY (address listed above), postmarked by 3/28. $11 late fee if postmarked by 4/3. Do not mail after 4/3 or email after 4/08. $22 late fee at site. HR: (SunThurs. $27!) (Fri. & Sat. $54!) + tax.1-866-386-7829 mention (Code) CHESS09 (Reserve by 3/21/09). INFO: Jerry Weikel 6578 Valley Wood Dr., Reno, NV 89523, (775) 747-1405,
[email protected] Or check out our website at: www.reno chess.org/fwo. To verify entry check website. WCL JGP.
Apr. 10-12 or 11-12, Colorado World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2009 Boulder Open 5-SS 40/120 G/60 (2-day schedule, Rds 1-2, G/90). Best Western Boulder Inn, Flatirons room, 770 28th Street, Boulder, CO. Two sections. Open, U1600. EF: $50, $10 less if rec’d by 4/8, $10 less for Jr/Sr/Unrated. Prizes: $1500 b/50. Open: $300-175-125, U2000, U1800 $100 ea. Reserve: $250-150-100, U1400, U1200 $100 each. 3-day Regis: Fri 6-6:30 PM, Rounds: Fri: 6:30, Sat: 10, 5, Sun 9:30, 4. 2-day Regis: Sat 9-9:45 AM, Rds Sat 10, 1:30, merge with 3-day at 5. Entries: Klaus Johnson, 3605 Endicott Dr., Boulder, CO 80305. Email:
[email protected]. A CO Tour event, CSCA membership req’d ($15/yr, $10 for Jr/Sr), OSA. WCL JGP.
Apr. 16, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) 10 Grand Prix Points Tonight! 4-SS, G/30, Chess Center at the Marshall Club, 23 West 10 St, bet. 5-6 Ave, NYC: 212-477-3716. EF: $35, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$560 b/32 paid entries (may be limited to 1st 36 to enter), top 2 Gtd: $$ 200-110-50, Top U2200/unr $105, U2000 $95. Limit 2 byes (1 bye for U2000), commit by 8:15. Reentry $15. CCA ratings may be used. Class pairings OK rd. 4. Reg ends 10 min before game. Rds. 78:15-9:30-10:45 pm. Phone entry often impossible!
Apr. 17- May 8, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 Queens Spring Open 4-SS, G/120, All Saints Lutheran Church, 164-02 Goethals Avenue, Jamaica NY 11432. EF: $40, QCC members $30. $$200-100 guaranteed to top 2, more per
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entries. Up to two 1/2 pt byes with advance notice (if declared before Rd 3). REG.: 7:30-8:00 RDS.: 8:15 each Friday. ENT (mail by 4/11): Ed Frumkin, 445 E 14th St #10D, NYC 10009 (212-677-3224 before 10pm and before 5pm on Fri). WCL JGP.
Apr. 18-19, Louisiana World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 2009 Louisiana Pro-Am 5-SS, G/2. Site: Baton Rouge Bridge Center, 3033 Old Forge Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808. EF: $45 if mailed by 4/10, $55 at site. LCA Memb. req’d ($10 Adult, $5 Schol.), OSA. Prizes: $2000 b/60, 50% Gtd. Two Sections: Pro (Open): $400-200-100; U2000 $200-100. Amateur (U1800): $250-100; U1600 $200-100; U1400 $150-100; U1200/UNR $100. Reg.: 4/18, 8:15-9:15am. Rds.: Sat: 9:302-6:30, Sun: 9:30-2. Bye: A 1/2 point bye is allowed but must be declared before round 2 begins. HR: Comfort Suites (very close to site), (225) 923-3377, call for rates. Ent/Info: Alex Steger, 14946 Currency Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70817,
[email protected], (225) 933-9548. NS, NC. WCL JGP.
Apr. 19, California Southern World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 2009 Westwood Spring Open 5-SS, G/40. Los Angeles Chess Club, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd., LA, CA 90025, 2nd floor (4 blocks West of 405 Fwy). $$1500 b/50, 80% of each prize guaranteed. In two sections: Open: $400-200-50, U2200 125, U2000 125. Reserve (U1800): $$200-125, U1600 $100, Under 1400/unrated $100, U1200 $75. EF: $47 if received by 4/18, $55 at site. SCCF memb. ($18, under 18 $10) req. for rated S. CA residents. No checks or credit cards at site. Half point byes: limit 1, must be req. w/entry. Reg.: 9-9:45 a.m. Rds.: 10-11:30-1:30-3:15-4:45. 2 Free Parking lots on the SW corner of Santa Monica & Purdue, or in the building basement ($3). Inf:
[email protected]. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Place #1, Los Angeles, CA 90038. On-line entry: www.western chess.com. State Championship Qualifier. WCL JGP.
Apr. 19, District of Columbia World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 G/60 Spring Sensation $2,200 in prizes for a 1 day, 5 round event! Caldwell Hall Auditorium, 620 Michigan Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20064. Open: $600-400-200 Top A,B/unr $120 ea. Free ent. to GMs, $55 deducted from any prizes, preregistration required. U1600: $300-200-100, Top U1200/U1000 $80 ea. Unr. player must play in Open Section. All prizes b/o 50, U1600 players count as 2/3 entry. 50% of all prizes guaranteed. Rds. 9:30-11:45-2:30-4:45-6:30. Entry: $50 rec’d by 4/13, $60 after. $20 off for U1600. 2 half point byes available - must be requested at registration. Mail EF to CUA Chess, 204 Pryzbyla, 620 Michigan Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20064, Visit studentorg.cua.edu/chess for online registration/information.
Apr. 19, New Jersey World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 ICA Spring 2009 Open Championship Bergen Academy, 200 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack, NJ 07601. OpenTo All Ages With Rating >1400 4SS G/60 U. S. Chess Federation Membership Required, Prize Fund ($$ b/40) 1st - 3rd $300, $250, $200, U2000, U1800, U1600 each
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$100. Best Under 13 Years Old $75, Best Over 65 Years Old $75. Prize Fund Will Not Be Reduced Below 70 %. Reg Ends at 9 Late Entrants Will Receive 1/2 Point Bye For Rnd 1. EF: Adv (pmk. By Apr 15th) $40, AT Site $45. GMs Free Entry. Make EF: and/or USCF membership checks payable to: International Chess Academy. INFO 201 287 0250 or 201 833 1741, Email:
[email protected] (Web Site Entries: www.icanj.net). Rds: 9:30 AM, 11:45 AM, 2:15 PM, 4:30 PM. ENT: Diana Tulman, 28 Canterbury Lane, New Milford, NJ 07646. NS NC W.
Apr. 21, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 15 (enhanced) St. John’s Masters at the Marshall Chess Club 4SS, G/30.ThirdTues. of every month. 23 W. 10th St., NYC. 212-477-3716. Open to players rated over 2100 (plus all players scoring 2.5 or more at any CCNY at MCCThursday 4 Rated GamesTonight! since the prior month’s SJM) EF: $40, members $30, GMs $10 (returned on completion of tournament). For each event, money added to prize fund by the sponsors, St. John’s University, and other generous patrons.Top three prizes guaranteed. $$G 300-200-100.Top U2400 and Top U2300 prizes. Special prize for biggest upset. Reg.: 6:15-6:45. Rds.: 7-8:159:30-10:45pm. One bye available, rds 1 and 4 only; declare at registration.
Apr. 23-May 21, Pennsylvania World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 15 (enhanced) 2009 Hatboro Open 5-SS, 40/90, G/1.Trinity Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 151 W. County Line Road (near Blair Mill Road), Hatboro 19040. $$950 Gtd. In one section: $400-200, U1900 $100, U1700 $100, U1500 $100, Upset Prize $50. EF: $35 at site, $5 less to Chaturanga CC members. Write checks to “Chaturanga Chess Club.” Reg.: 6:45-7:20pm. Rds.: 7:30pm each Thursday. Bye: limit 1, any round, must request before Round 3 starts. Info: Jorge Amador, POB 387, Forest Grove PA 18922, (215) 794-8368, (new email)
[email protected]. NS, NC, W. WCL JGP.
Apr. 24-26, Michigan World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 15 Great Lakes Open 3 Sections: OPEN, U1800, U1400. 60% Guaranteed. 2-Day & 3-Day schedules available for ALL sections. Merge after RD 2. Held at McCamly Plaza Hotel, 50 Capital Avenue SW, Battle Creek, MI 49037 (See Lodging below). SPECIAL EVENTS: Sat, 7pm Blitz Tournament, EF: $10 (90% payout). Sun, 9am IM or GM Lecture ($10). STRICT RULE ENFORCEMENT: Cell phones must be off or in silent mode in tournament room. 1st infraction, deduct half remaining time or game forfeiture if less than 10 minutes remaining on clock; automatic forfeiture for 2nd infraction. Spectator infraction: Banned from tournament playing areas for remainder of tournament. Headphones cannot be used if opponent objects for any reason and cannot be used in last round by players with a plus score; must be willing to present headphones to TDs for exam at any time; failure to do so will result in removal from tournament without refund. ChiefTD: SeniorTD Ed Mandell. EF (Uage 16 deduct $10): By 4/1: OPEN: 2-Day $72; 3-Day $73 (IM’s, GM’s Free; early EF deducted from winnings). U1800: 2-Day $62; 3-Day $63. U1400: 2-Day $52; 3-Day $53. By 4/20: 2-Day $82-$72$62; 3-Day $83-$73-$63. After 4/20 or on-site: 2-Day $92-$82-$72; 3-Day $93-$83-$73. USCF and a State membership required; can be purchased on site. Up to TWO 1/2-pt. byes available; must request prior to start of RD 3. TL: 3-
Day: Rds 1-3, G-2hrs; Rds 4-5, 40/2, SD1. 2-Day: Rds 1-2, G-60; Rd 3, G-2hrs; Rds 4-5: 40/2, SD1. REG.: 3-Day, Fri, 4/24: 5:00-6:29pm. 2-Day, Sat, 4/25: 8:3010:29am. RDS.: 3-Day: Fri, 7pm; Sat, 12, 4; Sun, 10, 4:30. 2-Day: Sat, 11, 1:30, 4; Sun, 10, 4:30. $$: $5,000 Prize Fund (60% guaranteed): OPEN $2,500 (b/42, min. 6 per prize group): 1st, 2nd $1000, $600;TOP X: $350,TOP A: $300;TOP U1800/UNR: $250 (UNR elig. only for OPEN or U1800 prize). U1800 $1,400 (b/32, min. 6 per prize group): 1st, 2nd $450, $300;TOP C: $250;TOP D: $225; TOP U1400/UNR: $175 (UNR elig. only for Top or U1400 prize). U1400 $1,100 (b/30, min. 6 per prize group): 1st, 2nd $425, $275; TOP E: $225; TOP U1000/UNR: $175 (UNR elig. only for TOP or U1000 prize). Lodging: For reservations, go online at www.mccamlyplaza.com or call toll-free: 1-888622-2659; ask for Great Lakes Open chess rate ($79/night if booked by April 3rd). Covered lot parking: $4 overnight (unlimited in/out privileges), free in nearby areas on weekends. For directions to hotel, go online to www.map quest.com or www.yahoo.com/maps. Info & Ent: Stan Beckwith, 84 Bond St., Battle Creek, MI 49037-1907; (269) 964-2927 OR Ed Mandell, AllThe King’s Men, (586) 558-4790, www.allthekingsmenchess.com.
Apr. 24-26 or 25-26, Vermont World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 20 (enhanced) 6th annual Vermont Spring Open 5 SS, 30/90, SD/1 (2-day option, rds 1-2 G/60), Stratton Mountain Inn, Middle Ridge Rd (take Stratton Mt Rd from center of Bondville), Stratton Mountain, VT 05155. Bondville is 13 mi SE of Manchester, VT on Rt 30; under 2 hours from Albany, NY or Springfield, MA. $$G 2000. In 2 sections. Open: $400-230-120, top 1800-2049/Unr $200-100, top Under 1800 $200-100. Under 1550: $250120-60, top Under 1300 $150-70, no unrated may win over $100. EF: 3-day $68, 2-day $67 mailed by 4/17, all $69 online at chesstour.com by 4/22, $75 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 4/22 (entry only, no questions), $80 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK. FREE ENTRY TO UNRATED if paying 1 year USCF dues. Special 1 year USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry- online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Re-entry $40, not available in Open section. GMs free; $50 deducted from prize. 3-day schedule: Reg. ends Fri 6:30 pm, rds Fri 7, Sat 12-6, Sun 9-2:15. 2-day schedule: Reg ends Sat 11:30 am, rds. Sat 12-3-6, Sun 9-2:15. Half point byes OK all, must commit before rd 2; limit 2 byes (limit 1 bye towards U1800 prizes). HR: $79-79, 1-800STRATTON, 802-297-2500, reserve by 4/10 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, AWD #D657633, or reserve car online at chesstour.com. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games used if otherwise unrated. Ent: Continental Chess, PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577. Questions: 845-496-9658, www.chesstour.com. $15 service charge for refunds. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
Apr. 25, New Mexico World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 15th Annual Pir Maleki Memorial United World College, Montezuma, NM. 6 Sections. Professor: Above 1699 (U/age 21 above 1599) or UR. 1st 225 gtd, 2nd 125 gtd, U2000: 100 b/12. 3SS, G/100. EF $32, $27 U/21. Tutor: 1300-1800 or UR. 1st 150 gtd, 2nd 100 b/20, U1550: 50 b/20. 4SS, G/60. EF $22, $17 U/21. Sophomore: Under 1350 or UR. 1st 100 gtd, 2nd 70 b/20, U1100: 40 b/20. 4SS, G/60. EF $22, $17 U/21. Scholastic: U/age 19 and U1200 or UR. 4SS, G45. 1st 75 gtd, 2nd 45 b/20 +
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Tournament Life
SEE PREVIOUS ISSUE FOR TLAS APPEARING MARCH 1-14
trophies. EF $12. Youth U17: U/age 17 and U900 or UR. 4SS, G/45. EF $8. Youth U14: U/age 14 and U700 or UR. 4SS, G/45. EF $8. Round 1 all sections 10 am. Late entries only by e-mail. Complete details at www.nmsco.org/ Schedule.html or TD Andy Nowak at 505-310-0095 or
[email protected].
Apr. 25, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 The 10th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial Chess Tournament 4SS, G/45. Hotel New Yorker, 8th Avenue & 34 St., NYC. 212-971-0101. EF: $15. $$G: $250-$175-$125, U2200 $100, U2000 $75, U1800 $60. Reg.: 11:1511:45, Rds.: 12-1:45-3:45-5:30pm. Ent: Cks or MO payable to Pat Bowyer, (be sure to specify “Grand Prix, Saturday”), c/o PAR Group, Inc., 119 N. Park Avenue, Suite 303, Rockville Centre, NY 11570. Limit 70 players & positively NO door ents. April 25th Bughouse team tourney starting time: 8pm. 5 minute Swiss or roundrobin depending on # of entries. 2 players per team. EF: $5/player. Cash to top team, trophies to top 2. PLEASE NOTE: Bring clocks and sets, none will be provided. $$$ payment must be received by Wednesday, April 22nd at the latest. Info:
[email protected] or (Pat Bowyer) 516-371-3717. (See New York section for Apr. 26, 10th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial Scholastic Tournament.)
Apr. 25, Wisconsin World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 Hales Corners Challenge IX 4SS, G/60. Two Sections: Open & Reserve (under 1600). Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel, 4747 S. Howell Avenue, Milwaukee (414-481-8000). EF: $35-Open, $25-Reserve, both $5 more after 4/22.Comp EF for USCF 2200+, call TD for details. $$ Open (b/25)=1st-$325 (guaranteed), 2nd-$175 (guaranteed), A-$100, B & Below-$75; $$ Reserve (b/25)=1st-$100, 2nd-$75, D-$50, E & Below-$40. Reg.: 8:30-9:30, Rds.: 10-1-3:30-6. Ent: Payable to Southwest Chess Club, c/o Allen Becker, 6105 Thorncrest Drive, Greendale, WI 53129 Questions to: TD Robin Grochowski: 414-744-4872 or 414-861-2745.
Apr. 25-26, California Northern World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 6 4th Annual Frank Doyle Open Exchange Bank, 444 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA 95403. 4 round Swiss, G/120. In 3 Sections Open: $$GTD: $250-175. Reserve: Open to 1899 & under. $$GTD: $200-125. Booster: Open to 1499 & under. $$GTD: $150-100. Unr. must play in Open Section. ALL: EF: $35 advance until 4/18, $45 at site. Reg.: 04/25 8:30am - 9:30am. Rds.: Sat 10,3; Sun 10,3. ENT: Mike Goodall, 461 Peachstone Terrace, San Rafael, CA 94903-1327 (415) 491-1269. INFO:
[email protected]. No phone or e-mail entries. Bring equipment, none provided. NS NC W. WCL JGP.
A State Championship Event! Apr. 25-26, Connecticut World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 Connecticut State Chess Association State Championship Grand Prix Sponsored by the UCONN School of Engineering & UCONN CC. UCONN Castleman Building, Room 201, 261 Glenbrook Rd., Storrs, CT 06269. Parking in North Garage. 4 – SS, G/120. 2 sections, Open & Reserve (U-1800). Both EF:
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$50 by 4-22, $60 later. Checks payable to “UCONN”. GM’s & IM’s free if no prize won. Reg.: 8-9:30 AM, Rds.: 10-3, 9-2. Half point byes available in rds. 1-3 only, no last round byes. $$ 700-500-300, Top U-2200 $200, Top U-2000 $200, Reserve $250-$100,Top U-1600 $150-$100.Trophy and state title to top CT resident in Open. All cash prizes, $2500, unconditionally guaranteed! Lodging available, please ask. Info & Entries to: Tom Hartmayer, 963 Mansfield City Rd., Storrs, CT 06268, 860-989-5394,
[email protected], www.uconn chess.uconn.edu, www.engr.uconn.edu, UCONN Map admissions.uconn. edu/virtualtour/search/. WCL JGP.
Apr. 26, New Jersey World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 (enhanced) 2009 South Jersey Open 4-SS, G/60, td/5. $2000 Guaranteed Prizes. Wyndham Hotel, 1111 Rt. 73 N., Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054. Top South Jersey player to be named South Jersey Champion and receive a 1 year lease on the HoffmanTrophy! 4 Sections, Open: $500-250-150-100-50. U2000: $250-100-75-50. U1400: $250-100-75-50. U1000: 1st wins a House of StauntonTournament Pkg. valued at $175.Trophies to top 4.TD reserves the right to place unr. players at his discretion and/or limit an unr. player’s prize to $75. EF top 3 sections: $49 via mail by 4/20, $52 online by 4/25, $59 cash onsite. U1000 EF: $25 via mail by 4/20, $27 online by 4/25, $35 cash onsite. Reg.: 8:30 – 9:30 AM. Rds.: 10 AM, then ASAP. Lunch break after rd. #2. Two 1/2 pt. byes allowed (rounds 1-3) if requested with EF. ENT: All the King’s Men, 62 S. Broadway, Pitman, NJ 08071 or YourChess Set.com/SJopen. INFO: Stephen Dick
[email protected] or 856-5828222. DIR: Just off the NJ Turnpike exit 4 or 295 exit 36A. Hotel Ph #: 856-234-7000. Must bring your own equipment! Register online before April 15 and be entered to win a $70, NY Times Deluxe Handheld Chess Computer by Excalibur. WCL JPG.
Apr. 26, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 (enhanced) Grandmaster Challenge 6-SS G/25 (G/20, D/5), Marshall CC, 23 W 10th St, NYC: 212-477-3716, limited to first 64 entries. EF: $35 over 55/under 18, $45 others, $10 less to Marshall members (free buffet for participants.) GMs free, $25 deducted from prize. Reg. ends 11:45 am. G$$350-250-150-100-75-50, $100 U2400, $100 U2200, $75 U2000, $50 U1800, top over 55$=age, top under 18 $=3x age, top scoring female ($=# of players), special beauty prize. Rds.: 12-1:15-2:30-4:005:15-6:30. Byes: limit 2, request before Round 3. Quick rated; regular ratings used for pairing and prize purposes. Additional class prize $500 2800+, $250 2700+.
May 1-3, South Carolina World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 Lee Hyder Memorial $2000 b/40 ($1000 Gtd.) 5SS, 30/90, SD/1, Tri-Development Center, 314 Hampton Ave, Aiken, SC 29801. (2day, Rd.1 - G/90 then merge with 3-day). EF: $55 if rec’d by Apr. 27, $65 at site, $35 re-entry. Free entry to Masters and above ($60 deducted from any prizes). Checks payable to W. Taylor. Memb. Req’d: OSA. $$b/40: $500-300-200. U2000, U1700, U1400 each $200-130. 3 day: Reg.: Fri. 6-7p - Rds.: 7:30, 1-7, 9-2:30 2 day: Reg.: Sat. 8-8:45a - Rd.1: 9 then
merge with 3 day. Half pt. byes available all rounds. Must commit to rds.4/5 before rd.2. ENT: Bill Taylor 918 Seminole Ave., Aiken, SC 29801. FOR INFO:
[email protected]. www.aikenchess.net. WCL JGP.
May 2, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) New York May Action! 5-SS, G/30, Chess Center at the Marshall Club, 23 W 10 St, bet. 5-6 Ave, NYC: 845-569-9969. EF: $40, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free! $$ 840 b/42 paid entries, minimum half each prize Gtd: $$ 300-200-115, top U2200/unr. $125, U2000 $100. Limit 2 byes, commit by 1:30. Re-entry $20. CCA ratings may be used. Rds. 12-1:302:45-4-5:20 pm. Reg. ends 10 min. before game. Online entry at www.chesscenter.cc thru 4/30; $10 extra to “enter” by phone!
May 7, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 10 (enhanced) 10 Grand Prix Points Older Tonight! 4-SS, G/30, Chess Center at the Marshall Club, 23 West 10 St, bet. 5-6 Ave, NYC: 212-477-3716. EF: $35, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$560 b/32 paid entries (may be limited to 1st 36 to enter), top 2 Gtd: $$ 200-110-50, Top U2200/unr $105, U2000 $95. Limit 2 byes (1 bye for U2000), commit by 8:15. Reentry $15. CCA ratings may be used. Class pairings OK rd. 4. Reg ends 10 min before game. Rds 78:15-9:30-10:45 pm. Phone entry often impossible!
May 8-10 or 9-10, Florida World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 16th Space Coast Open 5SS, 30/90, SD/1 (2-day Rd. 1 G/60). Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Resort, 1300 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach, FL. $$10,000 b/165 pd., 60% Gtd. 6 Sections: Master/Expert: $1200+trophy-700-300, U2400 $600+trophy, U2200 $600+trophy-300. Class A: $600+trophy-300-200. Class B: $600+trophy-300-200. Class C: $600+trophy-300-200. Class D: $600+trophy-300-200. U1200: $600+trophy-300-200, U1000 $300+trophy-200, U800 $200+trophy-100, trophies to top Brevard County scholastics players in K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12, book to plus score not winning other prize. All: Rated players may play up one class only. Unr. may play in Master or U1200. Unr. limited to $100 prize unless place prize in Master. Prizes for 1st-3rd brilliancy and biggest upset rds 1-4, sponsored by Hollywood Kings. EF: $79, via mail or on-line by 4/30, $89 on-line by 5/6 or at site (no credit cards); $20 less if Unr. or under age 18. Reentry $40 by round 3 (1/2 point Byes for earlier rounds). GM/IM free entry available on-line until 4/15, else $80 from prize. Special EF for Brevard County students in any section: $20 on-line, $25 at site (counts as 1/4 entry for based on prize fund). Reg: ends 1 hr. before 1st rd. Rds: Rd. 1 8pm Fri (2-day 10am Sat. at G/60), Rds. 2-5 Sat. 1-7, Sun. 9-3. Side events: Space Coast Open Blitz. 4-SS (2 games/Rd), G/5. Prizes: Cash prizes based on entries. EF $10. Rds Sat. 12:30-6:30, Sun. 8:30-2:30. (i.e., Blitz rounds are prior to rounds 2-5 of main tournament). Other events: see sco2009.eventbrite.com. HR: $89.99 single-quad, $109.99 Kids Suite, $189.99 loft. 888-840-8601 or 321-783-2271, code SFT, reserve by 4/17. Ent: Space Coast Chess Foundation, c/o Harvey Lerman, 921 N. Thistle Ln, Maitland, FL 32751 or sco2009.eventbrite.com. Info only: Peter Dyson 321-452-9863,
[email protected]. FIDE, W. WCL JGP.
uschess.org
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May 15-17 or 16-17, New York World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 30 (enhanced) 17th annual New York State Open 5SS, 30/90, SD/1 (2-day option, rds 1-2 G/60), Howard Johnson Tiki Resort, 2 Canada St, Lake George, NY 12845. $$G 3000. In 2 sections. Open: $500-300200, U2100 $230-120, U1900 $220-110. Under 1700: $400-230-120, U1500 $200-100, U1300 $180-90, trophies to top U1100, U900, Unr, no unrated may win over $200. All: 1 year NYSCA membership to NY residents who are not members. EF: 3-day $78, 2-day $77 mailed by 5/8, $79 online at chesstour.com b y 5/13, $85 phoned by 5/13 to 406-896-2038 (payment only, no questions), $90 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK. FREE ENTRY TO UNRATED if paying 1 year USCF dues. Special 1 year USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry- online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Re-entry $40, not available in Open Section. GMs free, $60 deducted from prize. 3-day schedule: Reg ends Fri 6:30 pm, rds. Fri 7, Sat 12-6, Sun 9-2:15. 2-day schedule: Reg ends Sat 11:30 am, rds Sat 12-3-6, Sun 9-2:15. Half point byes OK all, must commit before rd 2; limit 2 byes (limit 1 bye towards U1900 or U1300 prizes). HR: 59-59-70 (2 double beds), 65-65-76 (2 queen beds), 518-6685744, reserve by 5/5 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633, or reserve car online through chesstour.com. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games used if otherwise unrated. Ent: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577. $15 service charge for refunds. Questions: www.chesstour.com, 845-496-9658. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
An American Classic! May 22-25, 23-25 or 24-25, Illinois World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 200 (enhanced) 18th annual Chicago Open 7SS, 40/2, SD/1 (3-day option, rds 1-2 G/75; 2-day option, rds. 1-4 G/45). Under 900 section plays separate 2-day schedule only, G/45. Westin Chicago North Shore Hotel, 601 North Milwaukee Ave, Wheeling IL 60090 (from Chicago, I294 north to US-45 north; from Milwaukee, I-94 east to Lake Cook Rd to US-45 south.) Free parking. $100,000 guaranteed prize fund. In 8 sections. Open: $8000-4000-2000-1200-800-600-500-400-400-400, clear winner bonus $200, top Under 2500 $2000-1000. If tie for first, top 2 on tiebreak play speed game (White 5 minutes, Black 3 minutes & gets draw odds, with 5 second delay) for title & bonus prize. Under 2300, Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700: each $6000-3000-1500-1000-700-500-400-300-300-300. U2300 Section is FIDE rated. Under 1500: $5000-2500-1200-1000-700-500-400-300-300-300. Under 1300: $3000-1500-1000-800-600-500-400-300-300-300, top U1100 $800-400. Under 1100 play for both U1300 section prizes & U1100 class prizes; receive larger if winning both. Under 900: $200-120-80, trophies to top 10. Prize limits: 1) Players with under 26 lifetime games rated through 5/09 list may not win over $1500 U1300 or $2500 U1500. Games rated too late for 5/09 list not counted. 2) If more than 30 points over section maximum on any list 5/08-4/09, prize limit $1500. 3) Unrated (0-3 lifetime games rated) cannot win over $100 in U900, $600 U1300, $1000 U1500, $1300 U1700, $1600 U1900 or $2000 U2100. 4) Balance of any limited prize goes to next player(s) in line. Mailed EF: 4-day $199, 3-day $198, 2-day $197 mailed by 3/16; 4-day $219, 3-day $218, 2-day $217 mailed by 5/13; all $250 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK. Online EF at chesstour.com: $200 by 3/16, $220 by 5/19, $250 after 5/20 until 2 hours before rd 1. Phone EF at 406-896-2038: $205 by 3/16, $225 by 5/19 (entry only, no questions). No phone entry after 5/19. GMs free; $150 deducted from prize. WGMs $100; another $100 deducted from prize. EF $70 less to all in Under 1300 Section and to seniors over 65 in Under 1500 & above sections. Under 900 EF: $24 if mailed by 5/13, $25 online at chesstour.com by 5/19, $30 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 5/19 (entry only, no questions), $40 at site. No checks at site, credit cards OK. All: FREE ENTRY TO UNRATED in U900 or U1300 Sections. ICA membership ($15, scholastic $10) required for rated Illinois residents. Special 1 yr adult USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry: online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Re-entry: $100, no re-entry from Open to Open. $20 fee for switching section after 5/19. 4day schedule: Reg. ends Fri 6 pm, Rds. Fri 7 pm, Sat 12 & 7, Sun 12 & 7, Mon 10 & 4:30. 3-day schedule: Reg. ends Sat 11 am, Rds. Sat 12, 3:30 & 7, Sun 12 & 7, Mon 10 & 4:30. 2-day schedule (U1300 & up): Reg. ends Sun 9 am, Rds. Sun 10-12:30-2:30-4:30-7, Mon 10 & 4:30. Above schedules merge & compete for same prizes. Under 900 schedule: Reg. ends Sun 9 am, Rds. Sun 10-12:30-2:30-4:30, Mon. 10-12:30-2:30. Byes: OK all, limit 4 (limit 2 in last 4 rds), must commit before rd 3 having under 2 pts. Hotel rates: $94-94-94-94, 800-937-8461, 847-777-6500, reserve by 5/9 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, AWD #D657633, or reserve car online through chesstour.com. Foreign player ratings: Usually 100 points added to FIDE, 100 to FQE, 200/more to most other foreign, no pts added to CFC or Jamaica. Most foreign ratings other than CFC, FQE or Jamaica not accepted for U2000 or below. Highest of multiple ratings usually used. Players who fail to disclose foreign or FIDE ratings may be expelled. US player ratings: May official ratings used; FIDE ratings not used. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games usually used if otherwise unrated. Special rules: 1) Players must submit to a search for electronic devices if requested by Director. In round 4 or after, players with scores over 80% in U1300/up and their opponents may not use headphones, earphones, cellphones, or go to a different floor of the hotel without Director permission. Ent: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577. Questions: 845-496-9658, chesstour.com. You may request “lowest possible section” if May rating unknown. $15 service charge for refunds. Advance entries will be posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
June 4, Nevada World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 50 2009 U.S. Game/10 Championship (QC) See Nationals.
A Heritage Event! An American Classic! June 5-7 or 6-7, Nevada World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 200 (enhanced) 2009 National Open See Nationals.
June 25-29, Pennsylvania World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 150 (enhanced) 3rd annual Philadelphia International 9SS, 40/2, SD/1, Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel, 17th & Race Sts., Philadelphia, PA 19103. Special parking rate for players with guest rooms
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$5/day; may be available for players without guest rooms, through 6/29 only. $$G 10,000: $3000-1500-1000-600-400-300-200, top FIDE 2200-2399 $1000500, top FIDE under 2200 or unrated $1000-500. Minimum prize if completing all games: $500 to foreign GMs, $200 to US GMs, foreign IMs, foreign WGMs, foreign WIMs. IM & GM norms possible; FIDE rated. EF: GMs, IMs, WGMs, WIMs, foreign FIDE rated players $115 mailed by 6/16, $117 online by 6/23, $125 phoned by 6/23 (406-896-2038, payment only, no questions), $150 at tmt. USA FIDE 2100/up rated players: $215 mailed by 6/16, $217 online by 6/23, $225 phoned by 6/23, $250 at tmt. Others: $315 mailed by 6/16, $317 online by 6/23, $325 phoned by 6/23, $350 at tmt. All: No checks at site, credit cards accepted. Special 1 year USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entryonline at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Reg. endsThu 10 am, rds Thu through Sun 11-6, Mon 11. Two half point byes available (must commit before rd 2); norm not possible if taking bye. HR: $93-93, 215-448-2000, reserve by 6/5 or rate may increase. Bring sets, boards, clocks if possiblenone supplied. Ent: Continental Chess, PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577. $15 service charge for refunds. Questions: 845-496-9658, www.chesstour.com. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event! An American Classic! July 1-5, 2-5, 3-5 or June 29-July 5, Pennsylvania World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 300 (enhanced) 37th Annual World Open 9SS, 40/2, SD/1 (4-day option, rds 1-2 G/75, 3-day option, rds 1-5 G/45), Under 900/Unr Section plays separate 3-day schedule only, G/45. Sheraton City Center Hotel, 17th & Race Sts., Philadelphia 19103. Parking $5 for hotel guests playing in tournament. Downtown location, Franklin Institute, many museums, stores, restaurants within a few blocks. Prizes $250,000 unconditionally guaranteed. Free analysis of your games by GM Sam Palatnik; free lectures by other GMs 9 am 7/3 & 7/4. In 9 sections (Unrated eligible only for Open, Under 2400, or Under 900). Open: $20000-10000-5000-2500-1500-1000-800700-600-500, clear winner bonus $200, top U2500 $2000-1000. If tie for first, top 2 on tiebreak play speed game 7/5, 11 pm (White 5 minutes, Black 3 minutes & gets draw odds, 5 second delay) for title & bonus prize. GM & IM norms possible in 5-day & 7-day schedules. FIDE rated. Under 2400: $14000-70003000-2000-1000-900-800-700-600-500, top U2300 $2000-1000. FIDE Under 2200: $14000-7000-3000-2000-1000-900-800-700-600-500, top U2100 $20001000. Under 2000: $14000-7000-3000-2000-1000-900-800-700-600-500, top U1900 $2000-1000. Under 1800: $14000-7000-3000-2000-1000-900-800-700600-500, top U1700 $2000-1000. Under 1600: $12000-6000-3000-20001000-900-800-700-600-500, top U1500 $2000-1000. Under 1400: $100005000-2500-1500-1000-900-800-700-600-500, top U1300 $1500-800. Under 1200: $5000-2500-1500-1000-800-700-600-500-400-300. Under 900/unrated: $300-200-100, trophies to top 10, no unrated may win over $100. Prize limits: 1) Players with under 26 games played as of 7/09 list may not win over $1500 in U1200, $3000 U1400 to U1800. Games rated too late for 7/09 list not counted. 2) Players with official rating more than 30 points over section maximum any month 7/08-6/09 have a prize limit of $2000. 3) Balance of any limited prize goes to next player(s) in line. EF, if mailed by 2/17: 7-day $307, 5-day $305, 4-day $304, 3-day $303. Mailed by 5/15: 7-day $317, 5-day $315, 4-day $314, 3-day $313. Mailed by 6/18: 7-day $327, 5-day $325, 4-day $324, 3-day $323. At site: All $350; no checks, credit cards OK. Online entry at chesstour.com: $310 by 2/17, $320 by 5/15, $330 by 6/24, $350 after 6/24 until 2 hours before rd 1. Phone entry at 406-896-2038: $315 by 2/17, $325 by 5/15, $335 by 6/24 (entry only, no questions). No phone entries after 6/24. GMs free; $200 EF deducted from prize. WGMs $100; another $100 EF deducted from prize. EF $100 less to all in U1200 Section and seniors over 65 in Under 1400 & above. Under 900/Unrated Section EF: $25 if mailed by 6/17, all $26 online at chesstour.com by 6/24, $30 phoned by 6/24 (entry only, no questions), $40 at site. FREE ENTRYTO UNRATED in U900/Unr Section. No checks at site; credit cards OK. Re-entry: $160, no re-entry from Open to Open. $20 fee for switching section after 6/30. Special 1 yr adult USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry: online at chesstour.com $30, mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. 5-day schedule: Wed 7 pm, Thur 11 am & 6 pm, Fri 11 am & 6 pm, Sat 11 am & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 5 pm. 7-day schedule: Mon-Fri each 7 pm, Sat 11 am & 6 pm, Sun 10 am & 5 pm. 4-day schedule: Thurs 11, 2:30 & 6, Fri 11 & 6, Sat 11 & 6, Sun 10 & 5. 3-day schedule: Fri 11, 1:30, 3:30, 6 & 8:30, Sat 11 & 6, Sun 10 & 5. All schedules merge & compete for same prizes. Under 900/Unr schedule: Fri 1:30, 3:45 & 6, Sat 11, 1:30, 3:45 & 6, Sun 10 & 12:30. Half point byes OK all, limit 4 (limit 2 in last 4 rds), must commit before rd 3 and have under 2 pts. Entries, re-entries close 1 hour before your first game. Bring sets, boards, clocks if possible- none supplied. HR: 93-93, 215-4482000, may sell out about 5/31, two night minimum 7/3-4. Backup hotel: Radisson Plaza Warwick, 215-735-6000, $104-104, special chess rates for parking $8/day with guest room at Radisson. Special car rental rates: Avis, 800-331-1600, AWD #D657633, or reserve car online through chesstour.com. Foreign player ratings: 100 pts added to FIDE, 100 to FQE, 200 or more to most foreign, no pts added to CFC. Most foreign ratings other than CFC or FQE or Jamaica not accepted for U2000 or below. Highest of multiple ratings used. Players who fail to disclose foreign or FIDE ratings may be expelled. US player ratings: JULY LIST USED; FIDE ratings not used. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games usually used if otherwise unrated. Special rules: 1) Players must submit to a search for electronic devices if requested by Director. In round 4 or after, players with scores over 80% and their opponents may not use headphones, earphones, cellphones or go to a different floor of the hotel without Director permission. Ent: Continental Chess, Box 249, Salisbury Mills, NY 12577. Questions: www.chesstour.com, 845-496-9658. You may request “lowest possible section” if July rating unknown. $15 service charge for refunds. Advance entries will be posted at chesstour.com. Bring set, board, clock if possible- none supplied. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event! Aug. 1-9, 4-9 or 6-9, Indiana World Chess Live Grand Prix Points: 300 (enhanced) 110th annual U.S. Open See Nationals.
Regional Alabama B’ham C. C. Meets Mon. nites each wk., 2116 Columbiana Rd. (Columbiana Crossing Shopg.
Ctr.) B’ham 35226. All skills & levels welcome! W. N.S. USCF rtd tourns. planned in 09. Mon. Quads by request. Vulcan Open-May; B’ham City C’ships-Aug.; Magic City Open-Nov. SS 4rd G/60 2d Sat.ea. mo. Details & flyers: R.W. Ellis 205-9796068,
[email protected].
Mar. 21-22, 2nd Annual Alabama Class Championship See Grand Prix.
Mar. 28, Alabaster Scholastic 5SS, TC: G/30. Thompson Intermediate School, 10019 Highway 119, Alabaster, AL 35007. Scholastic (K-12): Rated and Not Rated Divisions with 3 Sections each. Late REG.: Mar 28th, 8:00-9:00. EF: $20/$10; if mailed by 03/21/2009. $10 more at site. Prizes: Trophies and Medallions – Top 3 each section. Rds.: 9:30-10:45-12:30-1:45, 3. Checks PayableTo: Caesar Lawrence. ENT: Caesar Lawrence, 882 McAllister Dr., Calera, AL 35040. Info: Caesar
[email protected] /ACF: www.alabamachess.com.
Apr. 4, Montgomery Scholastic 5SS, TC: G/30. Forest Avenue Magnet School, 1700 W 5th St, Montgomery, AL 36106. Scholastic (K-12): Rated and Not Rated Divisions with 3 Sections each. Late REG.: Apr 4th, 8:00-9:00. EF: $20/$10; if mailed by 03/28/2009. $10 more at site. Prizes: Trophies and Medallions – Top 3 each section. Rds.: 9:30-10:45-12:30-1:45, 3. Checks PayableTo: Caesar Lawrence. ENT: Caesar Lawrence, 882 McAllister Dr., Calera, AL 35040. Info: Caesar
[email protected]/ACF: www.alabamachess.com.
May 2, En Passant - Birmingham City Scholastic Championship 5SS, TC: G/30. W. J. Christian School, 725 Mountain Drive Birmingham, AL 35206. Scholastic (K-12): 6 Sections - Rated and Not Rated. Late REG.: May 2nd, 8:00-9:00. Rds.: 9:30-10:45-12:30-1:45, 3. EF: $20/$10; if mailed by 04/25/2009. $10 more at site. Prizes: Trophies and Medallions – Top 3 each section. Checks Payable To: Magic City Chess U. ENT: Caesar Lawrence, 882 McAllister Dr., Calera, AL 35040. Info:
[email protected]/ACF: www.alabamachess.com.
Arizona May 23-25, 2009 U.S. Amateur West Championship See Nationals.
Arkansas Mar. 14, Conway Southern Scholastic Open (Bob Nabholz Memorial Chess Tournament) – Team & Individual Chess Tournament 5SS, G/30. St. Joseph School, 502 Front St., Conway, AR. 7 total Sects: (USCFrated sects. for teams and ind.) K-2; K-5; K-8; K-12. Reserve Sects (non-USCF rated for ind. only): K-2; K-5; K-8. Reserve Sects are not USCF rated and do not require USCF membership. No elimination – everyone will play all 5 rounds. PRIZES: Trophies to top 5 individuals & top 3 teams in each section (more ind. trophies awarded depending on pre-entries). Every non-trophy winner receives a souvenir medal. Teams must have minimum of 3 players from the same school or home-school district registered in the same section; the top 3 scores will count for final team score. USCF-recommended computer tiebreaks will decide trophy and medal placements for all winners. TOURN. FREEBIES: Every scholastic player will receive a Free chess gift. Free chess clock to player who travels farthest to tourn. HR: For info on hotels, restaurants and other attractions in Conway, please click on www.conwayarkansas.org. EF: $20 by 3/10; $25 at site. On-site reg. from 9-9:30 a.m., 1st Rd. at 10 a.m. Other Rds will follow immediately (small lunch break after 2nd Rd. - lunch and snacks will be avail. for purchase on site). Players should bring their own chess boards, sets and clocks, as none will be provided. Chess vendor Cajun Chess will be on site. Byes: One half-pt. bye avail. for any Rd. (commit before Rd. 3). ENT: On-line registration and printable entry form at www.cajunchess.com, or mail entry form with check payable to Cajun Chess, 7230 Chadbourne Dr., New Orleans, LA 70126, or fax with credit card info to (504) 208-9620. More detailed info at: www.cajunchess.com or Phone Ent.: 504-905-2971. Major credit cards accepted.
California Northern Mar. 21-22, Hans Poschmann Memorial 4-SS, 30/90; SD/60 Fremont Adult School, 4700 Calaveras Ave., Fremont, CA 94538. $$B 80 paid entries (not counting unrated entries) Three Sections: Open: $350-225 U2200 $220-115; A/B (1999-1600): A $220-115 B $220115; Reserve (U1600): C $220-115 U1400 $220-115 Unr:Trophy First. All, EF: postmarked by 3/16 $50, $60 at site. Unrateds $20 in the Reserve section or may play up to the Open section for the regular fee. USCF memb. req’d. May play up for add’l $10 per section. Reserve players in the A/B section compete for the B prize. Reg.: Sat 3/21 9:00-9:45am. RDS.: Sat 10:00-3:30; Sun 10:003:30; One 1/2 pt bye available if requested in advance (bye in rds 3 or 4 must
WA RN I N G ! CELL PHONE THE USE OF A
PROHIBITED! IN THE TOURNAMENT ROOM IS AT MOST TOURNAMENTS!
IF YOUR CELL PHONE RINGS IN A ROOM WITH
GAMES IN PROGRESS, YOU COULD BE SEVERELY
TURN IT OFF! PENALIZED, MAYBE EVEN FORFEITED!
Chess Life — March 2009
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Tournament Life
SEE PREVIOUS ISSUE FOR TLAS APPEARING MARCH 1-14
be requested before rd 1). 2009 March Ratings List, CCA minimums and Directors discretion will be used to place players as accurately as possible. Please bring clocks and equipment. INFO: Ken Zowal (510)-623-9935 Email:
[email protected] or
[email protected] Ent: Ken Zowal, P.O. Box 3211, Fremont, CA 94539. No Phone entries. WCL JGP.
Apr. 4, 23rd Visalia Open Sierra Room, Visalia Convention Center, 303 E Acequia Ave., Visalia, CA 93291. In 2 Sections Open (Current/Former USCF Members): 4SS, Game/60, Prizes:Trophies 1-3, Classes B C D & under 1200. Beginners (Non-rated New Players): 4SS, Game/60, Prizes: Trophies 1-5. ALL: EF: $25 pre-reg; $32 at door. Onsite 8:30-9:30. Reg.: 8:30-9:30. Pre-entry must be rec’d by 04/01. Rds.: 10:00 12:30 3:00 5:30. ENT: Allan Fifield, PO Box 27, Visalia, CA 93279 559-7342784; 559-967-3379. INFO:
[email protected]. 1/2 point bye available. NS NC W.
Apr. 25-26, 4th Annual Frank Doyle Open See Grand Prix.
July 4, 6th Pacifica Chess Open 5 rounds, G/30. 1125Terra Nova Blvd., Pacifica, CA 94044. Contact: John Galpin,
[email protected] or website: atcc.us/Index.htm for additional details.
California Southern
LA CHESS CLUB * www.LaChessClub.com Fridays: 8 PM-10 PM (Blitz Tournament) Saturdays: 10AM-10 PM (Class& 2 Tournaments) Sundays: 12 PM-6 PM (Tournament) Tuesdays: 7:30 PM-9:30 PM (Intermediate/Advanced Lecture) 11514 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025 * (310) 795-5710 (4 blocks West of 405, Santa Monica& Butler * Second Floor) Private (1:1) Lessons * Group Classes * Tournaments. Mar. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, LACC Sunday Swiss Open 3SS, G/60 LACC, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd LA, 90025, 2nd Fl. 4 blks W 405. EF: $20 ($15 LACC memb). Reg: 11:30-12. Rds: 12, 2, 4. Prizes: 1/2 EF. Free parking on streets. Inf: (310) 795-5710 or www.LaChessClub.com.
Mar. 1, 15, LACC February Scholastics I & II 5SS, G/30 LACC, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd LA, 90025, 2nd Fl. 4 blks W 405. EF: $25 ($20 LACC memb). Reg: 1:30-2. Rds: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Prizes:Trophies, Medals, special prizes (every player wins a prize!). Free parking on streets. Inf: (310) 795-5710 or www.LaChessClub.com.
Mar. 6, 13, 20, 27, LACC Friday Nite Blitz (QC) 5SS, G/5 (10 Games). LACC, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd LA, 90025, 2nd Fl. 4 blks W 405. EF: $10. Q-rated. Reg: 7:30-8. Rds: 8-8:30-9-9:30,10. 2 Free Parking lots SW of S Monica/ Purdue; or underground ($3). Prizes: 1/2 EF. Inf: (310) 795-5710 or www.LaChessClub.com.
Mar. 7-8, BIG BANG Open
$30 ($20 LACC memb). Reg: 5:30-6. Rds: 6, 7, 8, 9. Prizes: 75% EF. 2 Free lots SW of S Monica/Purdue; or underground ($3). Inf: (310) 795-5710 or www. LaChessClub.com.
Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28, LACC Saturday Swiss Open 4SS, G/30 11514 Santa Monica Blvd LA, 90025, 2nd Fl. 4 blks W 405. EF: $20 ($15 LACC memb). Reg: 11:30-12. Rds: 12, 1, 2, 3. Prizes: 1/2 EF. 2 Free lots SW of S. Monica/Purdue; or underground ($3). Inf: (310) 795-5710 or www. LaChessClub.com.
Mar. 13-15, 7th Annual Western Pacific Open See Grand Prix.
Mar. 14-15, 2009 SCCF State Scholastic Championship LAX Hilton, 5711 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045. In 4 sections: HS (gr 12-below), 5-SS, G/75. Reg ends 2 p.m. 3/14. Rds.: Sat 2:20-5:30, Sun 9:301-4. Top HS student receives invitation to Denker Tournament of High School Champions, top girl invitation to Susan Polgar Invitational Tournament for Girls. Trophies to top 10, best grade 12-11-10, 1-3 U1200/unr, best club team, school team (sum of all scores, must declare by end of rd. 1, no additions or changes later). State Championship Qualifier. JHS (gr 9-below): 7-SS, G/45. Reg.: 8-9 a.m. Rds.: Sat. 9:30-11:30-2:30-4, Sun 9:30-11:30-2:30.Trophies to top 10, best grade 9-8-7, 1-3 U1000/unr, best club team, school team (sum of all scores, must declare by end of rd. 1, no additions or changes later). Elementary (gr 6-below): 7-SS, G/45. Reg.: 8-9 a.m. Rds.: Sat. 9:30-11:30-2:30-4, Sun 9:30-11:30-2:30.Trophies to top 8, 1-2 U800, best club team, school team (sum of all scores, must declare by end of rd. 1, no additions or changes later), best grade 6-5-4. Primary (gr 3-below): 7-SS, G/45. Reg.: 8-9 a.m. Rds.: Sat. 9:30-11:30-2:30-4, Sun 9:30-11:30-2:30. Trophies to top 6, 1-2 U600, best club team, school team (sum of all scores, must declare by end of rd. 1, no additions or changes later), best grade 3-2-1/below. All: SCCF membership ($10) required of players rated 800/above. Best Game prize $100, all sections eligible. Refreshments! EF: $35 adv, $40 door. HR: $109. (310) 410-4000. Ask for “7th Annual Western Pacific Open.” Parking $8/day. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N Wilton Place #1, Los Angeles, CA 90038, on line: www.western chess.com. Inf:
[email protected]. NS. NC. W. WCL JGP only for HS section.
Mar. 15, WPO Hexes 3-SS, G/90. LAX Hilton, 5711 W Century Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90045. Six-player sections by rating. EF: $20 if received by 3-13, $25 door. $$ 40-20-10 each section. Reg.: 9:30-10:30 a.m. Rds.: 10:45-2-5. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles, CA 90038, online at www.westernchess.com.
Mar. 28-29, Kern County Open Championship See Grand Prix.
Apr. 19, 2009 Westwood Spring Open See Grand Prix.
See Grand Prix.
Colorado
Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28, LACC LA Masters
Mar. 28-29, Colorado Class Championship
4SS, G/30 LACC, 11514 Santa Monica Blvd LA, 90025, 2nd Fl. 4 blks W 405. EF:
4-SS, 40/120 G/60. Metro State, Auraria Campus, 9th and Larmier Street,Tivoli
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Building, Room #320 B & C. Held concurrent with Colorado Closed Championship. 5 Sections, Class X/A, B, C, D, and E. EF: $35, $30 if rec’d by 3/25. $8 less for Jr/Sr/Unrated. Prizes: 60% per entries. Regis.: 8:30-9:30. Rds.: Sat 9:30, 4:00, Sun 9:00, 3:30. Entries: Klaus Johnson, 3605 Endicott Dr., Boulder, CO 80305. Email:
[email protected]. A CO Tour event, CSCA membership req’d ($15/year, $10 for Jr/Sr), OSA. WCL JGP.
Apr. 10-12 or 11-12, 2009 Boulder Open See Grand Prix.
Connecticut
UCONN Chess Club Tues. & Thurs 7:30PM. Castleman Building, Room 204, 261 Glenbrook Rd., Storrs, CT 06269. Contact: TOM HARTMAYER. Contact Phone: 860-989-5394. Email:
[email protected]. Web Site: www. uconnchess. uconn.edu. No dues required. Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Blitz Events, League Play, Matches, Club Championships, Sets & Clocks Available, Chess Items for Sale, Classes, Lectures, Simuls, Under Age 18 & Beginners Welcome, Handicap Accessible. As location may change, please check website or call contact phone #. Mar. 26, Apr. 2, 9, 16, UCONN Chess Club Championship Grand Prix See Grand Prix.
Apr. 8-12, 9-12 or 10-12, 11th annual Foxwoods Open See Grand Prix.
Apr. 25-26, Connecticut State Chess Association State Championship Grand Prix See Grand Prix.
A State Championship Event! Apr. 26, Connecticut State Chess Association K-8 State Open Championship Sponsored by the UCONN School of Engineering & UCONN CC. UCONN Castleman Building Room 206, 261 Glenbrook Rd., Storrs, CT 06269. Parking in North Garage. 4 – SS, G/60. EF: $50, by 4-22, $60 later. Reg.: 8 – 9:30 AM, Rds.: 10-12:30-2:30-4:30. Half point byes available in rds. 1-3 only, no last round byes. Prizes: Trophies to Top 5. Trophy to Top 3 teams of 4 from 1 school. Info & Entries to:Tom Hartmayer, 963 Mansfield City Rd., Storrs, CT 06268, 860-9895394,
[email protected], www.uconnchess.uconn.edu, www.engr.uconn.edu, UCONN Map admissions.uconn.edu/virtualtour/search/.
A State Championship Event! Apr. 26, Connecticut State Chess Association K-12 & UCONN School of Engineering High School $14,000 Scholarship State Open Championship Sponsored by the UCONN School of Engineering & UCONN CC. UCONN Castleman Building Room 204, 261 Glenbrook Rd., Storrs, CT 06269. Parking in North Garage. 4 – SS, G/60. EF: $50 by 4-22, $60 after. Checks payable to
uschess.org
CL_03-2009_tla_JP_r5:chess life
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“UCONN”. Reg.: 8 – 9:30 AM, Rds.: 10 – 12:30 – 2:30 – 4:30. Half point byes available in rds. 1-3 only, no last round byes. Prizes: State Champ title, CSCA Denker/Polgar $300 Award & trophy to highest scoring CT male/female residents in grades 9-12. UCONN School of Engineering Scholarships to Top 3 in grades 9-12, 1st:Trophy plus $2000 scholarship renewable for 4 years with 3.4 GPA, 2nd: Trophy plus $1000 scholarship renewable for 4 years with 3.4 GPA, 3rd: Trophy plus $500 scholarship renewable for 4 years with 3.4 GPA, 4th 5th:Trophies. Scholarships are available only to tournament winners in grades 9-12 who are admitted to and enroll in an engineering program at the UCONN School of Engineering. Scholarships are not transferable and are renewable for a maximum of 4 years. Students are limited to 1 scholarship in the School of Engineering. Prior winners are eligible to upgrade only, prior 1st prize winners are eligible for trophy & titles only. Other previous winners may upgrade only. Trophy to top 3 teams of 4 from 1 school. Info & Entries to: Tom Hartmayer, 963 Mansfield City Rd., Storrs, CT 06268, 860-989-5394, tomhart3@ charter.net, www.uconnchess.uconn.edu, www.engr.uconn.edu, UCONN Map admissions.uconn.edu/virtualtour/search/.
June 25-29, 3rd annual Philadelphia International (PA) See Grand Prix.
Delaware Mar. 21, Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Championships (PA) Radnor Middle School, 150 Louella Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087. Sections: K-3, K-6, K-8, K-12. Time Control: K-3, K-6 5SS, G/30; K-8, K-12 4SS, G/60. EF: $25 online by 3/18; $35 on-site 9:00-9:30. Rds.: K-3, K-6 10-11:05-12:30-1:45-3; K-8, K-12 10-12:30-2:30-4:30. Prizes: trophies to top individuals & schools. Free game analysis by IM Bryan Smith. Winner of K-12 is seeded into Greater Philadelphia Junior Invitational. See www.silverknightschess.com to register.
District of Columbia Mar. 28, Rated Beginners Open (RBO) 4-SS, G/30. US Chess Center, 1501 M St. NW, Washington, DC 20005. Open to players rated under 1200 or unrated. EF: $20 ($15 if by 3/21). 5 sections by age. Reg.: 12-12:45. Info: 202/857-4922. www.chessctr.org/rbo.php.
Apr. 19, G/60 Spring Sensation See Grand Prix.
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See Grand Prix.
Has won the bid for 09 US Open. All Sat Monthly’s will offer Orange Points that may be used for FREE ENTRY to US Open in 09. WCL JGP.
Idaho
FREE ENTRY: Quad Quick Chess Tournament (QC) Fri. before the second Sat. of the Month
Apr. 4-5, 2009 Idaho Open Chess Championship
G/15, U.S.C.F. rated. Located at 2302 West Morris St. at the West Morris St. Free Methodist Church in the Ellis Hall Room. Entrance in back, down stairs, by office. Late Ent. 6-6:25pm. Rd 1, 6:30pm. Prizes: First in each quad gets choice of 50% off entry fee for Sat. Monthly a $15.00 value certificate, or chess merchandise. A cash buyback option is available on the certificate, call for details. Second gets the prize not chosen by First EF: Free. Adv. ENT: Donald Urquhart, 501 N. East St. # 802, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1629. Info: call Don at 317-6346259 or e-mail
[email protected]. A ORANGE CRUSH EVENT.
May 8-10 or 9-10, 16th Space Coast Open
5SS, G/120. 2 Sections: Open and Reserve (U1400). Site: ISU, Student Un Bldg, Salmon River Suites, 1065 S. 8th St., Pocatello, Idaho. EF: USCF mem req., $30 (U18 & 60+ $25), ISU students and ISU Chess Club $10, by 3/28/09. $40 (all) after. Reg & Ck in: 7:30-8:30 AM 04/04/09. Those not paid & ck’d in by 8:30 AM may not be paired in 1st rnd. RNDS.: 9,2,7,9,2. 1/2 pt byes: Max 1, Rd 1-4 only. Commit by end of rd 2. Prizes: $$ b/30 non ISU; Open: $200-10075; Reserve: $100-75-50. HR/ENT/INFO: ICA % Jay Simonson, 391 Carol Ave. Idaho Falls, ID, 83401, 208-206-7667,
[email protected], www.idahochess association.org. NC, NS, W. WCL JGP.
Illinois Mar. 14, 7th Annual Mark Oestreich Memorial Chess Tournament Time controls 30/70, then 40/60. No sudden death. Salem Community Center, 416 Oglesby St., Salem, Illinois. Entry fee: $15.00. Prize fund: $360.00, based on 30 players. 1st $80, 2nd $40. Classes: A, B, C, D/E/Unrated $60.00 each. Registration: 8:00 – 9:15. Rounds: 9:30, 1:00, 5:00. Entries: Jim Davies phone 314-721-4967, 7358 Shaftesbury, St. Louis, MO 63130. email jandadavies@ sbcglobal.net.
See Grand Prix.
Aug. 1-9, 4-9 or 6-9, 110th annual U.S. Open See Nationals.
Iowa
Indiana Chess Club Friday Night Blitz (QC) 2302 West Morris St. at the West Morris St. Free Methodist Church. Entrance is in the back, down the stairs by the office. When: Starts Every Friday except the Fri before the second Sat doors open at 6:00 P.M. tournament starts at 6:30 P.M. Type: 3 Rounds, Game/5, Round Robin Quad, U.S.C.F. Rated. EF: $7.00 if received one week before tournament starting date, $8.00 at the door. Prizes: Based on 4 full Pd. entries per quad, First in each quad: $20.00, Second in each quad: chess merchandise. Send advance entries to: Donald Urquhart, 501 N. East St. #802, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1629. For more info: call Don at (317) 634-6259 or e-mail
[email protected].
Every SECOND Sat. of the Month. OPEN CHESS TOURNAMENT 5 Round, G/61, U.S.C.F. rated. 2302 West Morris St. at the West Morris St. Free Methodist Church in the Ellis Hall Room. Entrance in back, down stairs, by office. Late Ent. 8-9am, Rd 1, 9:30am. Prizes: $465.00 b/o 20 full pd. Ent. 1st $150; 2nd $75; Class A, B, C, (D, E, Unr) $60 each. Prizes increased if entries allow. EF: $25 if rec’d one week before tournament date, $30 at door, $5.00 discount for your birthday month, FIDE Titled Players Free. + Free Snack Bar Adv. ENT: Donald Urquhart, 501 N. East St. # 802, Indianapolis, IN 46204-1629. Info: call Don at 317-634-6259 or e-mail
[email protected]. Note: there must be at least 3 entries in a class for that class prize to be awarded. If two adjoining class prizes are vacant, a combo prize will be awarded. News Flash!!! OCCC
Boca Raton Chess Club
May 22-25, 23-25 or 24-25, 18th annual Chicago Open (IL)
See Grand Prix.
May 3, Metro First Sunday Quads
South Florida Chess Club Wednesday’s 6:30-10:30pm. Rated G90 Tournaments and skittles. www.SouthFloridaChessClub.com.
4SS, G/12, Our Lady of Lourdes School Cafeteria, 30 South Downey Avenue, Indianapolis IN 46219. Open to Age 18 and Under. EF: $5 onsite, $4 in advance. Unr: Free. Prizes: Trophies for 1st-3rd. Reg.: Anytime between 3:05pm and 3:55pm. Rds.: 4p, 4:30p, 5p, 5:30p. Clocks and boards provided. ENT: www.ollchessclub.org. INFO: Kieron Mitchell, 317-430-5254. info@ollchess club. org. NS NC.
May 22-25, 23-25 or 24-25, 18th annual Chicago Open
3-RR, G/90. US Chess Center, 1501 M St. NW. EF: $20 $$ $40 each quad. Scholastic sections. EF: $10, Trophy prizes. Both: Reg.: 9:15 - 9:50. Rds.: 10 - 1 - 4. (202) 857-4922. www.chessctr.org./quads.php.
Florida
May 18, Indianapolis Youth Open (QC)
Apr. 24-26 or 25-26, 3rd Annual Okoboji Open GM Alex Yermolinsky to Play and Hold Lecture & Simul 5SS, G/2, Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center, 1405 Highway 71 S, Okoboji, IA 51355. An Iowa Qualifying Points Event. EF: $40 by 4/18 or $50 at site. Sr/Jr’s $25 by 4/18 or $35 at site. GMs and IMs Free Entry. Memb. Req’d: $15 (Jr/Sr $10). OSA. USCF reqd. $$b/50 Full Entries: Sr/Jr entry count as half. $300-200-100-50. U1900 $175-100-50, U1600 $150-75-50, U1300 $75-50, U1000/Unr $75-50. Trophies to 1st, top female, top Sr. and top Jr. 1/2 pt bye any round if req. before rd. 2. Rds: 3-Day Option 4/24 6:00, 4/25 9:00-4:30, 4/26 9:00-2:30; 2-Day Option 4/25 9:00-1:00-4:30, 4/26 9:00-2:30. Reg.: 4/24 5:00-5:45 and 4/25 9:00-9:45. Satellite locations may be available for 1st rd, see website for details. HR: $89 by April 10. 1-800-727-4561, mention Chess group. ENT: Jodene Kruse, 934 6th St, Sibley, IA 51249. INFO:
[email protected]. www.fiorechess.org. NS NC W. WCL JGP.
Louisiana A State Championship Event! Mar. 14, 2009 Louisiana G/30 Championship 5-SS, G/30. Site: Baton Rouge Bridge Center, 3033 Old Forge Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808. EF: $30 if mailed by 3/6, $40 at site. LCA Memb. req’d ($10 Adult, $5 Schol.), OSA. Prizes: $600 b/30, 50% Gtd. $150-50. U2000: $80, U1800: $80, U1600: $80, U1400: $80, U1200: $80. Reg.: 9:15-10:15am. Rds.: 10:30-12-1:15-
Friday nights, Game 90 Tournament, one game a week for 4 weeks. www.bocachess.com, 561-883-2917. WCL JGP.
Mar. 7, Apr. 4, May 2, St. Petersburg $500 Absolutely Guaranteed Cash Open 5rd Swiss, G/30. Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N., St. Petersburg. EF: $25; $30 at door. (SPCC Mems. $5 off) $100-$60-$40; U1600, U1400, & U1200 $50-$30$20 each. Part of the lucrative and prestigious FCA Grand Prix. Preregister www.stpetersburgchessclub.com with Paypal. Cash or check only onsite 910 AM. Chief Organizer: Andrew Scherman. 727 822 1171. NS NC W.
Mar. 7, Apr. 4, May 2, St. Petersburg 66 Trophy RBO 5rd Swiss G/30 USCF RBO 4 Sect. K-2U400; K-5U500; K-8U700; & K12U1000; top 12 in each get trophy; all others get medal. Also Trophies to top 12 teams.Team (2 or more) - take best four scores from all divisions. Bughouse at lunch. EF: $18. (SPCC members $15) Onsite reg. cash or chck 9-10AM. First round 10:15 AM. Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N., St. Petersburg. 66 trophies every event. www.stpetersburgchessclub.com for dirctins and Paypal prergistration. Chief Organizer: Andrew Scherman. 727 822 1171. NS NC W.
Apr. 11, 2nd DBCC G/50 Open Schnebly Recreation Center, 1101 N. Atlantic Ave (A1A), Daytona Beach, FL 32118. 4SS, G50, EF: $25. $$ ($250/b12): $100-75. U1600: $50-25. Rds.: 1011:45-2-3:45. ENT: Paul B Tomaino, 575 N. Williamson Bl #116, Daytona Beach, FL 32114. 386-239-9485. INFO:
[email protected]. www.daytonabchcc.org. NS NC W.
Apr. 18, Orlando Bonus Tornado 4-SS, G/75, Melody Manor, 813 Montana St. EF: $30, CFCC mbr: $25, Masters free-EF deducted from prize. $$605 b/30: 200-100-80, U1800, U1600, U1400 $75 ea. Prize increased 50% for 4-0 score. Reg.: 9:30am. Rds.: 10-12:303-5:30. Info: (407) 629-6946, centralflchess.org. WCL JGP.
PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS FUND Many Grand Prix tournament organizers will contribute $1 per player to the Professional Health & Benefits Fund. All Grand Prix tournaments which participate in this program are entitled to be promoted to the next higher Grand Prix category—for example, a six-point tournament would become a 10-point tournament. Points in the top category are promoted 50%. uschess.org
Chess Life — March 2009
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Tournament Life 2:30-3:45. Ent/Info: Alex Steger, 14946 Currency Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70817,
[email protected], (225) 933-9548. NS, NC.
SEE PREVIOUS ISSUE FOR TLAS APPEARING MARCH 1-14
A State Championship Event! Mar. 28, 2009 LA State Scholastic Team & Individual Chess Championships 5SS, G/30 (K-12 sections will play 6SS, G/30/45 – first 3 rds will be G/30, last 3 rds will be G/45, Rd. 1 for K-12 sections will start at 9am; Rd. 1 for all other sections will start at 10am). Hilton New Orleans Airport Hotel, 901 Airline Dr., Kenner, LA (504-469-5000 or 800-872-5914). USCF membership required for all sections and may be purchased at site. Sections (individual & team): K1, K-2, K-3, K-4, K-5, K-6, K-8-Under 800, K-8-Open, K-12-Under 1000, K-12-Open. Team info: Must have a minimum of 2 players to make a team, and all team members must be from the same school (or home-school district) and register in the same section. Top 3 scores from each school count as final team score. No limit on entries from one school or home-school district. Prizes: Trophies to top 10 individuals & top 3 teams in each section (more ind. trophies awarded depending on number of pre-entries); medals to all non-trophy winners. USCFrecommended computer tiebreaks will decide trophy & medal placements except for the K-12 Open section where there will be head-to-head playoffs in the event of a tie to determine the Denker representative. Winner of K-12 Open section will represent Louisiana at the 2009 Arnold DenkerTournament of High School Champions. HOTEL: $79 plus tax - please request “chess rate.” Hilton New Orleans Airport Hotel, 901 Airline Dr., Kenner, LA (504-469-5000 or 800872-5914). Reservations must be made by March 14 to assure group rate. ENTRY FEE: $25 for players in grades K-8, and $30 for players in K-12 sections (includes required $5 LA Chess Assn. dues for K-12 sections) if rec’d by 3/21; $40 thereafter and at site. TEAM ROOMS: Coaches may reserve a private team room for the day for $150, subject to hotel availability – please reserve early. Registration: On-site reg. 7:30-8:30am, Rd. 1 for K-12 sections at 9am; Rd. 1 for all other sections at 10am. ENTRIES: Go to www.cajunchess.com for online reg. or printable entry form which can be faxed to 504-208-9620 with credit card info, or make check payable to Cajun Chess and mail to 7230 Chadbourne Drive, New Orleans, LA 70126. For more detailed info go to: www.cajunchess.com and click on “Upcoming Tournaments” or Email:
[email protected] or call (504) 208-9596 or (504) 905-2971.
Apr. 18-19, 2009 Louisiana Pro-Am See Grand Prix.
A State Championship Event! May 9, Louisiana G/60 Championship 4-SS, G/60. Site: Baton Rouge Bridge Center, 3033 Old Forge Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70808. EF: $30 if mailed by 5/1, $40 at site. LCA Memb. req’d ($10 Adult, $5 Schol.), OSA. Prizes: $600 b/30, 50% Gtd. $150-50. U2000: $80, U1800: $80, U1600: $80, U1400: $80, U1200: $80. Reg.: 8:30-9:15am. Rds.: 9:30-12-2:154:30. Ent/Info: Alex Steger, 14946 Currency Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70817,
[email protected], (225)933-9548. NS, NC.
Maryland
Silver Knights Chess Tournaments We organize USCF-rated tournaments on Saturdays
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Reno-Far West Open IX April 10-12, 2009 The Sands Regency Casino Hotel Reno, Nevada
$22,500 (b/250) - $15,000 Gtd. 6 Rd Swiss - 5 Sections 150 GP Pts (enhanced) Average entry $135!
Rooms $27! mid-week / $54! Fri & Sat. Sands Regency Reservations 1-866-FUN STAY Code CHESS09
Simul $15! GM Khachiyan
ENTRY FORM/MORE INFO: www.renochess.org/fwo
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for adults and kids. Free analysis by a National Master at every tournament for the scholastic players. Trophies to top scholastic finishers; 70% of entries returned as prizes in open (adult) sections. To see a list of dates and locations, see our website at www.silverknights chess.com. Phone: 610-446-0818. Email: chess@silver knightschess.com. A State Championship Event! Mar. 21-22, 2009 Maryland Scholastic Championships 5SS 8 sections, Dumbarton Middle School, 300 Dumbarton Road, Towson, MD 21212, 92 individual and 42 team trophies! MD Residents only. 2-Day Sections: HS Championship (9-12) – Winner is Denker rep for MD; MS Champ(6-8); Elem(K-5) Champ; 1-Day Sections: HS JV(
