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2008 Weaver Adams

The month of June is coming to a close and the traditional first phase of the BCFchampionship the Weaver Adams has come to a close. A hard fought four round event was co-won by Jonathan Lee and Adam Yedida (age 15)
tied for first with 3.5 points winning U1800 BCC Championship.

Jonathan Lee took the lead by winning three games in a row but drew in round four, unable to break through Ken Ho’s super solid black defensive Ruy formation - Ken having knights on c6 and e7. 2008
Meanwhile Adam Yedidia out maneuvered Mike Griffin in a strategic French battle to win in round four catching up to Lee.

The usual band of WA contestant’s Ed Foye, Bob Oresick, Tony Cortizas, Ted Gorczyca were complemented with the addition of Seth Lieberman, Nicholas Lesieur, Tom Pendergast, along with the very solid Khikmet Sadykov.

The new Weaver Adam’s trophy was unveiled and presented by director Mike Griffin playing “Take me out to the ballgame” by blowing into said trophy. The trophy will be retired to the WA trophy archive with Jonathan and Adam’s names attached as the 2008 winners.

Jonathan and Adam will move up having free entry into the Reubens/Landey BCC Qualifier U2200 Championship beginning 7/7. We wish them great success.

USCF ID PAIR NAME ST PRERATE PSTRATE 1 2 3 4 TOTAL

12742928 1 LEE, JONATHAN MAR MA 1787* 1818* W–10 W—6 W—5 D—3 3.5
12871990 2 YEDIDIA, ADAM MA 1746* 1779* D—3 W—8 W–10 W—5 3.5
12436950 3 HO, KENNETH MA 1700* 1742* D—2 W–12 W—6 D—1 3.0
13897647 4 SADYKOV, KHIKMET MA 1498/11 1619/15 W—7 L—5 W—8 W—9 3.0
10017793 5 GRIFFIN, MIKE MA 1769* 1758* W—9 W—4 L—1 L—2 2.0
13246294 6 LESIEUR, NICHOLAS MA 1646* 1630* W–11 L—1 L—3 X—0 2.0
12378850 7 CORTIZAS, ANTHONY MA 1551* 1542* L—4 L—9 W–12 W–11 2.0
12642210 8 GORCZYCA, THADDEU MA 1374* 1401* W–12 L—2 L—4 B—0 2.0
12659519 9 ORESICK, ROBERT J MA 1512* 1511* L—5 W—7 H—0 L—4 1.5
12604895 10 LIEBERMAN, SETH MA 1603* 1591* L—1 W–11 L—2 F—0 1.0
13869178 11 PENDERGAST, THOMA MA 1237/14 1220/17 L—6 L–10 B—0 L—7 1.0
12888390 12 FOYE, EDWARD FRAN MA 1659* 1606* L—8 L—3 L—7 U—0 0.0

The Poikovsky tournament is taking place from July 8-17, 2008.

Round 8 results:

Gashimov, Vugar - Shirov, Alexei 1-0
Bologan, Viktor - Wang Hao ½-½
Rublevsky, Sergei - Volokitin, Andrei ½-½
Jakovenko, Dmitry - Inarkiev, Ernesto ½-½
Sutovsky, Emil - Onischuk, Alexander ½-½

Standings after 8 rounds:

1-4. Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2699 5
1-4. Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2709 5
1-4. Gashimov, Vugar g AZE 2717 5
1-4. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2741 5

5. Wang Hao g CHN 2691 4½

6. Bologan, Viktor g MDA 2686 3½

7-10. Sutovsky, Emil g ISR 2654 3
7-10. Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2675 3
7-10. Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2670 3
7-10. Volokitin, Andrei g UKR 2672 3

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

Chess whiz kid Negi aims for bigger goal

Himanshu Singhal / CNN-IBN
Published on Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 22:53

New Delhi: For nearly two years after becoming the second youngest Grandmaster in chess history, Parimarjan Negi remained a victim of the expectations that he himself gave rise to. But now Negi seems to be fast emerging as a mature player.

In the last two months, Negi has done enough to suggest he is more than just a participant in the big league.

Against all odds, he emerged as a front-runner in three successive events in which he twice tied for the honours…

“I was trying to just concentrate on playing move by move and plan by plan. And not to think about the final result from the start because then it just becomes easier to concentrate on solving one problem. Even if I have a bad position, I just try to survive as long as I can,” says Negi.

For his recent performances, the teenager will gain 40 ELO points to take his tally to 2570 in the rating list.

After a good performance this year, Negi is now aiming for 2600 ELO mark and believes the World Junior Chess Championship later in the year will help him reach that milestone.

“The main thing will be if I can keep performing consistently in the first and second part, and then I will have to just keep on playing game by game. I hope to just do that,” Negi adds.

Negi has already left for Belgium to train with Vladimir Chuchulov and will head straight from there to Istanbul for the World Junior Championships next month.

Source: www.ibnlive.com

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

The Central West End will soon have one of the ritziest chess clubs in the country, if not the world.

The 6,000-square-foot, three-story Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis opens July 17, taking up a shop front at 4657 Maryland Avenue. Chess Club Executive Director Tony Rich said he hopes the highly visible space will lure people in off the street, and that the carefully designed interior could make it a potential venue for future national tournaments.

In the past, local chess players have relied on a series of ad-hoc arrangements, typically meeting in libraries and coffee shops. A club with which Rich was involved met at Barnes & Noble in Crestwood, but it was ousted when the store did some remodeling. The group then moved to Borders in Sunset Hills, but it was soon taking up too much room in the café and again was asked to leave.

When chess players have had space, “it has been borrowed space,” Rich said.

The Delmar Loop also has something of a chess scene, with pick-up games at the Market in the Loop and the Bread Company across the road. “It is a testament to the will of the chess players to play outside” in extreme heat or cold, Rich sad.

Now players will have a place they can call their own. The prospect of the club’s opening has created “a real buzz” within the chess community, and 70 members have signed up before the club has opened its doors, Rich said.

Members will pay a year to use the club or 0 for a family. There are reduced rates for students, as well as daily and monthly passes. First-time users do not have to pay a fee.

State of the art

Although a chess club is something of an unusual use for a building, especially one in such a desirable location, passersby will have no doubt about what is going on inside.

Seven stone chess tables will be placed on the street outside and in the main windows there will be four plasma-screen TVs displaying information about upcoming club events.

As one enters the building, a ground-floor waiting area for players’ families segues into a playing area, a space that will most closely resemble the casual feel of cafes where one can play pick-up games. Lively variants, such as blitz chess, and group games are encouraged.

But the classroom and library downstairs, and the tournament space upstairs, indicate this is also a venue aimed at serious players of the game.Club members will be able to check out chess-related books and DVDs from the library for free, as well as find a quiet corner to sit down and study.

The classroom is flexible enough to handle both straight lectures and more interactive workshops, and if the club were to snag a major event, this space could be used for a live link-up with a game in progress upstairs, with commentary given in the classroom by a chess expert.

The tournament space can hold 70 players and includes flat-screen TVs that can display results and pairings for ongoing tournaments.

The color scheme of the building is black and white, a reference to the appearance of a chess board, but there are swatches of gold, chocolate and green to add warmth to the look.

“I am so used to saying it is going to be beautiful, but it’s really there now,” Rich said, speaking shortly before the grand opening.Perhaps the most unusual visual touch will be the four art installations — recreations of famous chess games by Diane Thater.

A video artist, Thater has recreated games in such a way that the image is tightly focused on the players’ hands, while the board, which sits on a table draped in black cloth, appears to be floating.

Partnerships with schools

That’s the chess-club side of things. What about the scholastic aspect of the name?

Anecdotally, there’s a lot of evidence that playing chess improves kids’ analytical skills and attendance and behavior at school, Rich said.

Currently five public schools in the city of the St. Louis are using the program, and “we want to help them expand that,” Rich said.

The chess club also aims to do what it can to build and strengthen conventional after-school chess clubs.The club is governed by a four-person board of directors, one of whom is Rex Sinquefield, a CWE resident who has largely bankrolled the new club.

Sinquefield’s name is familiar in political circles for his hefty contributions to candidates, but his generosity extends to chess because of his interest in education and his personal passion for the ancient game.

“We hope to introduce the game of chess to thousands of youngsters and adults throughout the St. Louis area, and to help people benefit from themental strength and discipline which the game fosters among players,” he said.

Here is the full article.

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

White to move. How should White proceed?

Przepiorka, 1921, presented by Andreas.

7k/5p1p/8/7N/P1P5/8/K1R5/6q1 w - - 0 1

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

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One of the things chess is missing: good nicknames.

Boxing has used nicknames forever and it makes for great theater and stories read so much better with nicknames. All positive aggressive macho (for the guys) nicknames. A lot of color would be added to the game if we reported using them.

For instance the current players in the Reuben’s Landey:

Ben “Bull Dozer” Goldberg

Simon “Nuculur” Warfield

Cary “Ticking Still Ticking Timebomb” Theil

Alex “the Almighty” Slive

Philip “Go” Nutzman

Jason “Un” Rihel

“Wiley” Kyle Clayton

Lior “The Taimer” Rozhansky

Kenny “The Killer” Newman

Zaroug “So Long” Jaleel

Ed “AX man” Astrachan

Jon “Dr Jon” Lee

Adam “the Assassin” Yedidia

Directed by: Robert “Winning Chances” Oresick and backed up by Bernado “the Blessed” Iglesias

As a perk of a kind, we should probably have a BCF nicknaming committee that bestows nicknames following a player’s 5th tournament at the BCF as a member. And we won’t use the Animal House lottery system either.

Please Comment. Be nice.

“Psycho” Mike Griffin 07/15/2008

After 15 Innings, AL Extends All-Star Run
By RONALD BLUM,
AP
Posted: 2008-07-16 06:49:01

NEW YORK (July 15) - Baseball’s All-Stars came to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium - and what a long, long goodbye it was.

In a game that started Tuesday night and faded well into Wednesday, Justin Morneau slid home just in time on Michael Young’s sacrifice fly in the 15th inning, giving the American League a 4-3 victory that extended its unbeaten streak to 12.

Young ended a 4-hour, 50-minute marathon at 1:37 a.m. on the 453rd pitch, with the grand old ballpark half-empty. It was a good thing, too - neither team had any pitchers left in the bullpen, but this one was not going to end in another tie.

“It was just crazy how it seemed like it lasted forever,” Texas’ Ian Kinsler said. “It was the last year for Yankee Stadium, the last All-Star game, and it’s kind of fitting that it seemed like it lasted forever.”

The NL was given a pregame pep talk by Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, whose motto is: “Let’s play two!” And they nearly did, matching the NL’s 2-1 win at Anaheim in 1967 for the longest All-Star game ever.”

Yankee Stadium is tough, I’m telling you,” Yankees closer Mariano Rivera said. “Didn’t want it to end.”

Morneau started the winning rally with a leadoff single against loser Brad Lidge. After Dioner Navarro singled with one out, J.D. Drew walked to load the bases.

Young lofted a fly to right, and Corey Hart’s throw home took two bounces and was slightly to the first-base side of the plate. Catcher Brian McCann gloved the ball and tried a sweep tag, but Morneau sneaked his right foot in, barely ahead of the tag.

Plate umpire Derryl Cousins made the safe call, and the AL players left in the dugout rushed out to celebrate.

“It was a little deep for me,” Hart said. “I was just trying to get it as close as I could.”

The AL improved to 6-0 since the All-Star game began determining homefield advantage in the World Series and 11-0-1 since its 1996 loss in Philadelphia. And it even ended an old hex - it had been 0-9-1 in extra innings against its older rival.

Still, the NL leads 40-37-2 overall.

Source: AOL Sport
-

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

BCF launches 1st ‘Internet Chess Blitz’
By Amie PDH Ishak & Jon Tampoi

The Brunei Chess Federation (BCF) yesterday held the first Brunei Internet Chess Blitz in conjunction with His Majesty’s 62nd Birthday Celebration at the Brunei Chess Centre in Berakas.

Present as the guest of honour to launch the tournament was BCF President, Awg Hj Zainal Abidin Hj Mohd Ali.

In his speech, the guest of honour said, “Today’s chess blitz serves to highlight Brunei’s role as a host to prestigious chess events and also to promote the Sultanate as a potential tourist hotspot.

“However, this tournament represents a major achievement for BCF as it is in line with the federation’s aspiration to accelerate the development of the sport domestically. BCF also made history in incorporating information and communications in the international tournament.

“The inaugural Brunei Internet Chess Blitz will commence at the strike of two at Brunei local time, all over the world. Using the Internet as a forum to conduct the tournament allows Brunei talents of all ages to connect and compete with their international counterparts regardless of time and distance,” he added.

“With technology to aid players in gaining experience in the sport, I believe it will draw more local players to participate and hence, further enhance the game of chess in the Sultanate.

“In addition, with our club motto of ‘More Kids, More Chess, More Fun’, BCF hopes that the local youth will seize this opportunity and make full use of what the sport has to offer.

“I am a firm believer that chess players gain more than just an aptitude for strategy and critical thinking. One learns the importance of teamwork, discipline and developing good character, among other positive values,” he added.

Here is the full article.

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

Click here to see Chess Chat TV, hosted by Mr. George Mirijanian: FATV - Chess Chat Episode 22

Source: Susan Polgar Blog

Germany announces Chess Olympiad teams for Dresden 2008
Arkadij Naiditsch and Elisabeth Pähtz lead the olympic team
Report by Chessdom

Friday, 11 July, national head coach Uwe Bönsch announced the nominees for the four Olympiad teams. Arkadij Naiditsch, the current German Champion Daniel Fridman, and Jan Gustafsson. The team is completed by Igor Khenkin and David Baramidze.

Female A-squad player Elisabeth Paehtz, Marta Michna and Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska lead on the women’s team. Melanie Ohme and Sarah Hoolt will join the Dresden 2008 squad as well.

Source: Susan Polgar Blog