The US Championship started yesterday.

 

 

1	IM  JOSHUA E FRIEDEL		GM HIKARU NAKAMURA  0-1
2	GM ALEXANDER ONISCHUK		GM WALTER S BROWNE  1-0
3	IM IRINA KRUSH		GM GREGORY KAIDANOV 1/1-1/2
4	GM JAAN EHLVEST		IM DAVID PRUESS  1-0
5	FM ROBERT L HESS		GM  ILDAR IBRAGIMOV  0-1
6	GM  ALEXANDER SHABALOV		IM  JUSTIN SARKAR 1-0
7	FM JOSEPH MARK BRADFORD		GM YURY SHULMAN  1/1-1/2
8	GM ALEXANDER STRIPUNSKY		IM BRYAN SMITH 1-0
9	IM  MICHAEL MULYAR		GM BORIS GULKO  1/2-1/2
10	GM VARUZHAN AKOBIAN		IM RONALD W BURNETT  1-0
11	IM JAY BONIN		GM ALEXANDER IVANOV 1/2-1/2
12	GM SERGEY KUDRIN		FM RAY S ROBSON  1-0
13	FM  MICHAEL LANGER		GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN 0-1
14	GM JULIO BECERRA		MICHAEL AIGNER  1-0
15	FM MOVSES MOVSISYAN		GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY 0-1
16	GM  DMITRY GUREVICH		WFM IRYNA ZENYUK  1-0
17	WFM CHOUCHANIK AIRAPETIAN		IM  ENRICO M SEVILLANO  0-1
18	GM  MELIKSET KHACHIYAN		OK Champ TOM BRAUNLICH 1-0

Pretty much all the favorites won but an exception was a theoretically important draw between America's top-rated women, IM Irina Krush and the Lion of Lexington, GM Gregory Kaidanov.

 

 

 

 

1	GM HIKARU NAKAMURA		GM SERGEY KUDRIN
2	GM EUGENE PERELSHTEYN		GM ALEXANDER ONISCHUK
3	GM ALEX YERMOLINSKY		GM JAAN EHLVEST
4	GM ILDAR IBRAGIMOV		GM JULIO BECERRA
5	GM DMITRY GUREVICH		GM ALEXANDER SHABALOV
6	IM ENRICO M SEVILLANO		GM ALEXANDER STRIPUNSKY
7	GM MELIKSET KHACHIYAN		GM VARUZHAN AKOBIAN
8	GM GREGORY KAIDANOV		FM JOSEPH MARK BRADFORD
9	GM YURY SHULMAN		IM IRINA KRUSH
10	GM BORIS GULKO		IM JAY BONIN
11	GM ALEXANDER IVANOV		IM MICHAEL MULYAR
12	FM RAY S ROBSON		IM JOSHUA E FRIEDEL
13	GM WALTER S BROWNE		FM MICHAEL LANGER
14	IM DAVID PRUESS		FM MOVSES MOVSISYAN
15	MICHAEL AIGNER		FM ROBERT L HESS
16	IM JUSTIN SARKAR		WFM IRYNA ZENYUK
17	IM BRYAN SMITH		WFM CHOUCHANIK AIRAPETIAN
18	IM RONALD W BURNETT		TOM BRAUNLICH

 

 

Michael Aigner writes:

 

Hello chess friends,

Rounds 1-8  of the US Championship will be played daily at 2pm Central time (12noon Pacific). 
You can follow the games live on the MonRoi website and the Internet Chess Club.  Even if you can't log in when the games start (school or
work), check them out when you can--each round will last 4-6 hours.

1. Go to the official website <http://www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/USChamp07>.  Click on Live
Games and then select the US Championship at the top of the list.  You need to agree to their
license by clicking on "Click Here to Accept License Terms" (small text near the top of the page).
Select the correct round number and then choose a game.

2. Log into ICC with your username and password or go to <http://www.chessclub.com/register> to
sign up for a free trial (14 days free if you've never used ICC before).  After you logged in, go
to the Window menu and select the Events list.  The Internet Chess Club will relay five games live
each day.  Find the game you want to look at from the top of the list and click on the eyeball to
observe it.  Watch for live commentary by GMs and IMs!

If the ICC does not relay my game, you can still view it on the MonRoi website.  After games are
finished, you can vote on the best game for each day on the MonRoi site.  I think you'll need to
register on their website, but I don't know the details yet.  The winner of the daily best game
prize receives $100.

Finally, check out my daily BLOG <http://www.chessclub.com/resources/event/uschamp07> on the ICC
website.  I have written two pieces so far and intend  to write something (good or bad) after each
round.  For example, tomorrow's blog should have photos from the opening ceremony that begins in
approximately 3 hours.


Michael Aigner

 

The New York Times has started a chess blog. Go to

 

 

 

 

Floyd Sarisohn (Lichess@aol.com ) of  Chess Collectors International writes that chess sets, books and postcards will be for sale for sale as well as an exhibition of Asian chess sets ands modern chess sets by California Artists, with free admission to the public, at the California Parlor and the Monterey room of the Palace Hotel on Saturday, May 26 . The Palace ( Sheraton Palace) is only a stones throw from the Mechanics' Institute. Both are easily accessible by BART ( Montgomery Station).

 

 

Dear chess player,

I hope you don't mind receiving this update about the 2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship, to be held July 7-15 in Ottawa at the Ottawa Marriott. The event is less than two months away, and the organizers are feeling very positive about progress to date in terms of titled players, rank-and-file players, sponsors and various side events that have been confirmed. Here's the latest news:

• Our one-section event has registered nearly 150 players so far, or which 11 are grandmasters. GM Nigel Short tops the field, but he will face stiff competition from GMs Vadim Milov and Sergey Tiviakov, both over 2650 as well. Most recently  GM Viorel Iordachescu of Moldova and GM Tomas Likavsky of Slovakia have confirmed their participation. On the IM front, Canadian IMs Leonid Gerzhoy and Tom O'Donnell have joined the pack. More GMs and IMs will be confirmed in coming weeks. (Note: entry is free for GMs and IMs.)
  
• Some of the side events will include simuls featuring Canadian GM Mark Bluvshtein, GM Iordachescu, and GM Suat Atalik and his wife, WGM Atalik, both of Turkey. As well, Canadian IM Lawrence Day will launch his book on the late, great Canadian IM Bryon Nickoloff. U.S, GM Alex Yermolinsky, author of the excellent books The Road to Chess Improvement and Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian, will lecture on the Classical Sicilian. More side events will be confirmed in coming weeks.
  
• Blitz and bughouse tournaments are in the works.
• MonRoi, the Montreal-based ESPN of chess, will be broadcasting top games on the Internet.
  

Some important deadlines:

• After May 31st, the entry fee of $125 CAD increases to $150 CAD. It is $175 CAD at the venue.
  
• The rates at the Marriott ($89 CAD /night single /double, add $10 CAD for triple and $20 CAD for quad) are available only until June 6th, after which they increase, I assume, quite steeply.

If you're already signed up, I hope the above makes you glad you've registered. If you're still on the fence, then I hope you'll be getting off soon to register! Here are the websites to visit:

Basic event information: www.canchess.ca
MonRoi's classy site: www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/CanOpen07/index.html
Online registration for the Canadian Open: http://canchess.myshopify.com/
Online reservations for the Ottawa Marriott: http://cwp.marriott.com/yowmc/chess/
Players registered in the Canadian Open: http://cocycc.pbwiki.com/CORegisteredPlayers

We'll be sending one more update soon -- with the prize fund breakdown which should make chess mercenaries happy. We're projecting a prize fund of $20,000 CAD on 200 paid entries, and the class prizes should be significant.

We hope to see you in Ottawa in July!

Best regards
Peter Hum
for the organizers
2007 Canadian Open Chess Championship
Event website: www.canchess.ca

 

 

 

Recently I was going through 200 Modern Chess Traps in the Fianchetto openings by J.B. Howson. On  page 148 I came across what is alleged to be