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An opening novelty is to the chess Grandmaster what a slick draw is to the gunfighter. You gotta have one or you're gonna die! Yasser Seirawan |
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News 2) Boris Spassky to return 3) World Record simul attempt 4) Fritzinger-Burkett 5) The Readers write 6) Fred Wilson and Chess.FM 7) US Championship Qualifiers 8) Upcoming Events 1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club NewsLongtime Mechanics' member David Gee died in the Chessroom yesterday (May 16) afternoon. Mr. Gee, a rated Expert, was watching a game when he was suddenly stricken. He died of cardiac arrest despite the efforts of Gary Like and James Clarke who administered CPR. We will have more on Mr. Gee in the next Newsletter. NM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs leads the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon with 6.5 points from 7 but will be taking a bye in round 8 to play in the HB Global Challenge in Minneapolis this week. This will give some of her pursuers with 5.5 (IM John Grefe, NM Victor Ossipov and Igor Traub) a chance to close the gap. Ms. Tuvshintugs, who became the first women in the history of the TNM to win the event last March, is trying to repeat her triumph in the Winter Marathon. IM Ricardo DeGuzman won the 34-player 5th Annual Charles Powell Memorial held May 14. DeGuzman, who scored 5-0 in the upset filled event, defeated NM Nicolas Yap in the last round. Yap finished second with 4. Among those tied for third with 3.5 points was Mongolian Chess Federation President and FIDE Executive Board Member FM Genden Altanouch. Anthony Corrales directed for the Mechanics. The MI's advanced Chess Camp, with GM Alex Yermolinsky as lead instructor, will be back for the fifth consecutive year this summer. The all day camp will run from August 1-5. Complete information for both the both the beginner (June 20-24) and advanced camp are available on the MI website (http://www.chessclub.org/) under programs for children. 2) Boris Spassky to returnHi John, Have you heard the news from Jerry that Boris and Marina Spassky are going to return to Reno for the Western States Open again this year? They had such a great time that they want to come back! GM Spassky will be in Reno October 12-16, 2005 for the Western States Open. The tournament is a six round swiss, seven sections, $52,400 prize fund based on 500, $33,550 guaranteed. There is a Welcome Reception for GM and Mrs. Spassky on Wednesday 10/12; the GM Spassky simul, with boards selected by random draw of entries received, on Thursday 10/13; a book signing on Friday 10/14, GM Spassky clinic on Saturday 10/15, and on Sunday 10/16 GM Spassky will give a "favorite game" analysis. All of the details will be posted soon at www.renochess.org/wso. Best regards,
Barbara Woodward 3) World Record simul attemptUS Executive Board Candidate Joel Channing is organizing an attempt by Zsuzsa Polgar to break the world record for playing the greatest number of chess games simultaneously. Details for the event and some feedback by Jack Peters follows. Older readers of the Newsletter might remember that IM Peters, was sponsored by Church's Chicken to give simuls around the country before taking his present job as chess columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Location: The Gardens Mall, 3101 PGA Boulevard Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410 Date: Monday, August 1st - 2nd (a 24-hour period) Start Time: 10am World Record Ratification Body: Guinness Book of World Records World Record Attempt: Playing the greatest number of chess games simultaneously Challenger: Grandmaster Susan Polgar Challenger's Qualifications: Currently #1 ranked female chess player in the United States 4-time Women's World Chess Champion - The only World Champion in history (male of female) to win the Chess Triple-Crown (World Rapid, Blitz and Classical Chess Championship) 5-time Chess Olympiad Champion (5 Gold, 4 Silver and 1 Bronze) 1st American woman ever to rank #1 in the world (January 2005) 1st ranked #1 in the world at age 15 - Top 3 in the world for more than 20 straight years 1st woman to become a Grandmaster (1991) 1st woman to qualify for the Men's World Championship (1986) Opponents: Chess enthusiasts from all over Florida Supporting Organizations: Susan Polgar Foundation, the Gardens Mall, Channing Corporation, Northern Palm Beaches Chamber of Commerce, Boca Raton Chess Club, Palm Beach County Sports Institute Purpose of this event: Raise money for the Susan Polgar Foundation to promote chess, with all its social, educational and competitive benefits throughout the United States, for young people of all ages, especially girls. How does it work? More than 350 Chess stations are set up in the Gardens Mall. Each chess station consists of a table and chair, a chess board and pieces. Each player is assigned to a station. Susan walks along the rows of tables. At each station she will observe her opponent move. Then she will respond with her move. Then she walks to the next station and repeats the process. Susan should take 15-20 minutes to complete one full lap in the early stages, from 20-45 minutes during the mid-sections of the games, and 10-20 minutes towards the end as games are completed and stations start to empty out. Susan must win 80 percent of the games to be eligible for the world record. How does Susan manage to play so many games like this? As Susan walks along the tables, rather than picture each game as a set of individual pieces, she is able to envision the whole as an image, and capture the positions of the pieces intuitively. This allows her to very quickly ascertain her situation in the game, and where her opponents' weaknesses lie. Information on the World Record as it stands: Current Holder: International Chess Master Andrew Martin # of simultaneous games played: 321 Location & Date of current record: Crowthorne, England, February 21st 2004 I have a lot of experience giving simuls and I know that many things could go wrong with Zsuzsa's attempt to play 350 people at once. In my opinion, such a record says more about the organizer than the player. Will they find 350 (or more) players willing to spend 12 hours or more at the board? Will the opponents actually play their moves instantly when she gets to their boards? Even in small simuls, the rate of play varies tremendously; it opponents hesitate for a few seconds when the master arrives, the whole simul drags on much longer. Zsuzsa will want to make most of her moves in a second or two. It's up to the organizer to inform players, repeatedly, that they must move instantly. My toughest simul was 48 boards in San Antonio in 1978. It was the last stop on one of my exhibition tours, I was tired, there were several strong opponents, and the simul took about seven hours. Those who stuck around seemed to enjoy it, but many left as soon as their game finished. I don't think I succeeded in making it a thrilling experience for most of them. I estimate 7 to 10 boards per hour as a reasonable pace against adult opposition (club players). Zsuzsa will have to play much faster, but she will probably face many near-beginners who will neglect defense of f7. Capablanca supposedly could beat 40 club players in one hour. I once had to play 72 kids in 70 minutes and I made the mistake of telling them that unfinished games would count as draws. I went as fast as I could and completed 67 games. Best wishes, Jack Peters 4) Fritzinger-BurkettOpen up a book on combinations and there is a reasonable chance that a position from a game played between Max Burkett and Dennis Fritzinger in 1969 will be included. However you might not recognize it from the names given. Fritzinger survives translation into Cyrillic and back to the Latin alphabet remarkably well, not so Burkett which is squeezed down to Bircut (not beergut - Max has been a long distance bicyclist for many years now). NM Dennis Fritzinger of Berkeley tells the story behind the game. Hi John, You can find the position in Blunders & Brilliancies by Ian Mullen & Moe Moss, published by Pergamon Press.It's position #38, page 17, and correctly attributed: "Burkett-Fritzinger, California 1969". Here's the game--with notes. Dennis Max Burkett - Dennis Fritzinger, Bay Area Team Championships 1969 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 d6 Hoping for a Philidor. 3. Nf3 White obliges. 3...Be6 End of my book knowledge at the time. 4. Bxe6 fxe6 5. d4 exd4 Nowadays I would play 6...Nc6 and say "What you got?" 6. Nxd4 Qf6 7. c3 Instead 7. Qh5+ looks strong: 7..g6 8. Qb5+ Nd7 9. Qxb7 wins, but 8...c6 9. Qxb7 Qxd4 10. Qxa8 Qb6 and the queen is out of play, which may be why white didn't go in for this line. 7...Nd7 8. O-O e5 9. Nf5 Nc5 10. Be3 g6 11. Ng3 Ne6 12. Qb3 O-O-O I'll say this much: black has guts. 13. Bxa7 Why not? 13...h5 Continuing the attack. 14. a4 Nf4 15. Be3 h4 16. Bxf4 exf4 17. Ne2 f3 18. Nd4 fxg2 19. Kxg2 h3+ 20. Kh1 Re8 21. Nd2 Qf4 22. a5 Nf6 I didn't like the looks of 22...Qxd2 23. a6 so I thought I'd develop a piece--novel idea! 23. a6 bxa6 24. Rxa6 Qxd2 I decided 24...Nxe4 was too slow, so I might as well grab the piece. 25. Qf7! Should win. 25...Qd3 Setting a trap. In all honesty, I thought I was winning at this point: both rooks are hanging, and I'm threatening Qxe4. Of course, being in severe time pressure may have had something to do with my rosy assessment. 26. Rfa1??! Gaining white negative immortality. Can you spot the win he missed? 26...Qxe4+ Black, on the other hand, seizes the day. 27. f3 Qe1+ 0-1 Poor Max, instead of winning brilliantly (26. Ra8+, Kb7 27. Qb3+ Kxa8 28. Ra1+ and mate next move) he lost "brilliantly". But if it wasn't for the dramatic turnaround I doubt the game would have got as much publicity as it did. 5) The Readers writeHi John, You neglected to include 15 year-old Joel Banawa in your list of winners at the Orange County Open. Joel drew with Sevillano in a tough game in the last round to tie with Sevillano and Khachian at 3.5. Joel also recently won the Junior High School Championship (and four-year UTD scholarship) at the Supernationals in Nashville, while his brother Jouaquin tied for first for the High School championship. Tak Kurosaki. One of the recent pleasures of directing the Tuesday Night Marathon is an opportunity to discuss chess with former US Champion John Grefe who shared the title with GM Lubomir Kavalek at El Paso in 1973. John is making a return from tournament chess after a break of several years. Understandably he is a bit rusty but he still possesses a discerning eye. Check out the following correspondence between two-little known masters that caught his attention. It brings to mind Alekhine's assertion that gold can be gleaned from players of all levels, not just top GMs, it just requires a lot more sifting. Stanishevski,A - Nikonov,A] Correspondence, 1992 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d3 g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.e5 Ne7?! 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Ne4! d5 10.Nxc5 Nf5 11.d4 Rb8 12.Bg5 Qc7 13.b3 Rb6 14.Kh1 a5 15.Qd2 Ba6 16.Rg1 h6 17.Bf6 Bxf6 18.exf6 Kh7 19.g4 Nd6 20.Rae1 Bb5 21.Qf4 Qd8 22.Re3 Ne8 23.Nd7!! Qxd7 24.Ne5 Qd8 25.Nd7!! Qxd7 26.Rh3 h5 27.gxh5 g5 28.Qxg5 Qd8 29.h6 Qxf6? 29...Bf1!! 30.Rh4 (30.Qg7+ Nxg7 31.hxg7+ Bxh3; 30.Rxf1 Qxf6; 30.Rh5! Be2! 31.Rh3 Bf1 32.Rh5 Be2 Draw!) 30...Qxf6 31.Qg7+ Nxg7 32.hxg7+ Qxh4 33.gxf8Q Qe4+ 30.Qg7+ Nxg7 31.hxg7+ Qh6 32.gxf8N+ Kh8 33.Rxh6 1-0 Schach Magazin 64, 3/1994, pages 77-78 Newsletter reader Andy Ansel sends in the following tactical masterpiece by former World Junior Champion Max Dlugy that is not to be found in Mega DataBase 2005.
Dlugy,M - Weeramantry,S Source: Open Lines May/June 1981 page 13. 6) Fred Wilson and Chess.FMHi folks: My internet radio show, Chess & Books with Fred Wilson, returned Tuesday evening, March 15th, at 8:00 PM (EST). You can access it easily by simply going to the excellent website: http://www.chess.fm . It will run every Tuesday night from 8:00 to 10:00 PM (EST), with a replay of the live show following almost immediately afterwards, for chess enthusiasts on the West Coast. There will also be a couple of replays the following afternoon. My ninth guest,Tuesday evening, May 17th, 2005, will be: Fred's guest on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005, will be one of the premier children's chess teachers in the United States, DAVID MacENULTY. David, who taught at Commmunity Elementary School 70 in the Bronx, New York City, for 8 years, and now heads the prestigious DALTON CHESS ACADEMY, also in NYC, will discuss the methods he devised to create his amazingly successful children's chess teams, which besides winning 5 consecutive NYS Scholastic Championships, also won 4 National Team titles and came in second 5 times! David also produced, wrote and starred in the superb beginner's video "Chess for Children", and has written 3 terrific books for novices, "The Chess Kid's Book of Tactics", "The Chess Kids Book of the King and Pawn Endgame" and "The Chess Kid's Book of Checkmate" (David McKay/Random House, 2003 & 2004)." David will discuss the correct methods for introducing chess to children, the value of scholastic chess competitions, and his take on the relatively "hot-button" topic of whether or not it is appropriate to have gender-segregated chess classes and/or tournaments for only girls. He will also talk about the recently completed National Scholastic Chess Championships in Nashville, Tennessee, which had almost 5,300 children competing! Please email questions for Daviud MacEnulty to either Tony Rook or fred@fredwilsonchess.com. SO, I WANT SOME GOOD QUESTIONS OUT OF YOU GUYS (AND GIRLS)!! ALSO, my guest for the following Tuesday, May 24th, will be the always popular & engaging GM JOHN FEDOROWICZ, just returned from his participation in the huge HB Global Challenge Chess Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota. GOOD LUCK and "go get'em" John!! In future weeks I hope to have GM John Fedorowicz, IM Jennifer Shahade, NM Nick Conticello (expert on life & career of CAPABLANCA) GM Larry Christiansen, GM Alexander Baburin, GM Joel Benjamin, IM Jack Peters, GM Max Dlugy and many, many more important members of our chess community on my show. Please feel free to email me interesting questions for these chess professionals. I am very happy to be back and hope you will all listen in! Best in chess, Fred Wilson 7) US Championship QualifiersThe list of qualifying events for the US Championship and the number of qualifiers from each does not appear to have been published anywhere yet. An educated guess might suggest the following but I would very much welcome any clarification and confirmation. The AF4C and USCF sites do not have the information up.
Overall + women
Senior Open 1 8) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI
Stamer Memorial - June 4-5 Northern California
June 11-12 EBCC June Swiss GPP: 6 N. California Southern California
May 28-30 2005 Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic. July 21-24, 22-24 or 23-24 10th Annual Pacific Coast Open GPP: 120 S. California 6SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2-day option, rds 1-3 G/60), Renaissance Agoura Hills Hotel, 30100 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills CA 91301 (US-101 to Reyes Adobe Road exit). Adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains, 26 miles west of Burbank, 12 miles from Malibu, 28 miles from Ventura. Free parking. Prizes $40,000 based on 320 entries; minimum $30,000 (75% each prize) guaranteed. In 7 sections. Open: $4000-2000-1000-600-400, clear winner bonus $200, U2400 $1500, U2300/Unr $1500. If tie for first, top 2 on tiebreak play speed game (white 7 min, black 5 min and gets draw odds) for title &bonus prize. FIDE rated. Under 2200: $2500-1200-600-400-300. Under 2000: $2500-1200-600-400-300. Under 1800: $2500-1200-600-400-300. Under 1600: $2500-1200-600-400-300. Under 1400: $2500-1200-600-400-300. Under 1200: $1600-900-600-400-300. Unrated may play in any section, with maximum prize U2200 $1200, U2000 $1000, U1800 $800, U1600 $600, U1400 $400 U1200 $200; balance goes to next player(s) in line. Top 6 sections EF: 4-day $164, 3-day $163, 2-day $162 mailed by 7/13, all $161 online at chesstour.com by 7/18, all $170 phoned by 7/18 (406-896-2038, entries only, no questions), all $190 (no checks, credit cards OK) at tmt. SCCF membership ($12, jrs $7.50) required for rated Southern CA residents. Under 1200 Section EF: all $40 less. Re-entry (except Open) $80, count as half entries. Advance EF $10 less if paid with $49 USCF dues. 4-day schedule: Reg Thu to 6:30pm, rds Thu 7 pm, Fri 7 pm, Sat 12-7, Mon 10-4:30. 3-day schedule: Reg. Fri to 11am, rds Fri 12-7, Sat 12-7, Sun 10-4:30. 2-day schedule: Reg Sat to 9am, rds Sat 10-1-4-7, Sun 10-4:30. All schedules: Bye all, limit 2, rd 4-6 byes must commit before rd 3. HR: $79-79-79-79, 818-707-1220, reserve by 7/7 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633. Ent: Continental Chess, PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. Advance EF minus $5 service charge refunded if you withdraw and give notice at least an hour before rd 1. Questions: http://www.chesstour.com/, 845-496-9658. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com 7/20. National and International
Paul Keres Memorial - May 20 - 23
Oklahoma Chess Foundation presents: GPP: 80 Oklahoma May 28-30 or 29-30 Washington Open. 6SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2-day option Rds 1-3 G/60) The new Lynnwood Convention Center, Seattle Area, 3711 196th St. SW, Lynnwood, WA 98036, 425-778-7155, free parking. Prizes: $$12,500 fully guaranteed. Format: 4 sections, Open: FIDE rated. EF $90 adv. Free Entry to GMs, IMs, WGMs. Prizes: $2000-1000-500-400-300-200-100-100, U2150: $600-400-200-100-100. Premier: U2000, EF $80 adv. $$1000-500-250-200-150-100-50-50, U1850 300-200-100-50-50. Reserve: U1700, EF $70 adv. $670-330-160-130-100-70-35-35, U1550: $200-130-70-35-35. Booster: U1400, EF $60 adv. $330-160-80-65-50-35-20-20, U1200 $100-72-36-20-20. UNR: $250-122-40-40-40. ALL: add $4 to any EF for 2-day schedule. All adv. entries must be rec?d by May 20th, add $12 if later or at site. Ten free raffle tickets for Laptop Raffle if entry rec?d by April 15, 5 free tickets if rec?d by May 1st. Canadians may pay $C at par. Reg: Sat, 3day 5/28 10-11:45, Sun, 2day 5/29 9-9:45. Rds: (3day) Sat 12:30-6:45, Sun 10-5, Mon 9-3, (2day) Sun 10-12:30-3-6:45, Mon 9-3. Byes: 2 avail. Rds 4-6 commit by end of Rd.2, irrev. WCF/OCF memb. req?d. OSA. Side Events: WA Blitz Champ. Sun 10:00 p.m., reg 9-9:45, EF $10. Blindfold Mini-Tnmt/Exhibit, Sat 5 p.m. (Reg. 4:30), Lecture: Sat 10:30- 12:00, to be announced. WCF Membership Meeting: Sun 4 p.m. Scholastic: Sat, 5/28, 5SS, G/30 in separate room. K-3, 4-6, 7-12, Trophy Awards. Rds: 10-11:15-1-2:15-3:30. Scholastic Entries to: WCF Scholastic Director, David Hendricks, 2439 220th PL NE, Sammamish, WA 98074, 425-868-3881, DavidCHendricks@comcast.net. Clock Simul, Mon 12:30, G/75 (reg 11:30-12:15). Book/Software/Equipment Vendor, Snacks on site, nearby hotels, restaurants, shopping. HR $69 incl. cont?l breakfast, Best Western Alderwood, 19332 36th Ave. W, Lynnwood WA 425-775-7600, 1 block from Center, reserve by May 20. Ent/Info: WCF Tnmt Coordinator, Carol Kleist, 2420 S. 137th St, Seattle WA 98168 , 206-242-7076, wcftnmtcor@cs.com. All Checks payable to WCF. Also see http://www.whsca.org/ Las Vegas International Chess Festival The Las Vegas International Chess Festival comprises of the following events: June 9th, Polgar Sisters Tandem Simul! For the first time in over 10 years the Polgar sisters, Susan, Judit and Sofia will give a tandem simul. June 9th, National Open Blitz Championship 7 double rounds, seeded Swiss format tournament. June 10th, Breakfast with the Polgar Sisters June 10th-12th, National Open Tournament $55,000 guaranteed prize fund! First place, $5000. 6 round, seeded Swiss format. 8 different sections. US Championship Qualifier. June 13th, US Game/10 Championship $5,000 guaranteed prize fund. 7 round, seeded Swiss format. June 13th-18th, US Senior Championship Open to US residents/citizens born before 6/13/1955. 6 round, seeded Swiss format, one round a day and this is also a US Championship Qualifier. June 13th-18th, US "Under 50" Championship Open to US residents/citizens born on or after 6/13/1955. 6 round, seeded Swiss format, one round a day. You can find out more information about all the above events, along with online entry at http://www.64.com/ |