Where Organized Chess in America Began
EMPIRE CHESS Spring 2015 Volume XXXVIII, No. 1 $5.00
Chess Flight of Six in Lockport. Empire Chess P.O. Box 340969 Brooklyn, NY 11234
NEW YORK STATE CHESS ASSOCIATION, INC. www.nysca.net
The New York State Chess Association, Inc., America‘s oldest chess organization, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting chess in New York State at all levels. As the State Affiliate of the United States Chess Federation, its Directors also serve as USCF Voting Members and Delegates.
President Bill Goichberg PO Box 249 Salisbury Mills, NY 12577 Records: Made to be broken. [email protected]
Vice President From its founding as the first state scholastic chess tournament in the Polly Wright country, the New York State Scholastics have long been about being 57 Joyce Road Eastchester, NY 10709 cutting-edge and record-setting. [email protected] This year’s 920-player event in Saratoga Springs continued that long Treasurer Karl Heck tradition. On behalf of NYSCSA, thank you for the support of all of the 5426 Wright Street, CR 67 players, coaches and parents who came to the Spa City to contest our East Durham, NY 12423 Scholastic Championship. [email protected] th Membership Secretary The 48 annual tournament set an Upstate record for attendance, and was Phyllis Benjamin the second-highest attended tournament ever. A few years ago, the USCF P.O. Box 340511 National Office had largely written off chess in New York. Empire Chess Brooklyn, NY 11234-0511 [email protected] players are showing the country, and the USCF, where the best and most dedicated scholastic players in the country live. Board of Directors Upstate Downstate William Townsend Phyllis Benjamin This year’s tournament also had one feature not previously known in our Bill Goichberg Dr. Frank Brady history: two venues. Despite the recent expansion of the Saratoga Springs Shelby Lohrman Mark Kurtzman City Center, the venue still wasn’t big enough for our tournament. A Karl Heck Lenny Chipkin Ron Lohrman Ed Frumkin neighboring hotel had to be rented at the last minute to handle the High Polly Wright School tournament and the Parents/Friends event. Hopefully the officials Steve Immitt in Saratoga Springs to find some more room to make the City Center even Gata Kamsky Sophia Rohde larger. Harold Stenzel Carol Jarecki The New York State Scholastic has become a celebration of the Empire State’s scholastic players. Three of them qualified for the summer Scholastic Invitationals: SM Joshua Colas, our New York State Scholastic Tournament Clearinghouses Zip Codes under 12000 (downstate) Champion, will be representing us in the Denker Tournament of High Bill Goichberg School Champions. NM Marcus Mikasaya won the Junior High [email protected] Championship and will represent New York in the Barber K-8 Championship. Ella Papanek was the top girl player in the High School NYS Zip Codes over 11999 (upstate) Karl Heck section and won the right to represent us in the National Girls Invitational [email protected] Tournament.
Deadlines Congratulations to all of these champions. All three invitations will occur December 15 for the Winter Issue March 15 for the Spring Issue during the US Open in August in Phoenix. June 15 for the Summer Issue September 15 for the Fall Issue In two years, the New York State Scholastic will celebrate its 50th Advertising Manager anniversary. It has become a event that is not only a great tradition in New Contact the Editor. York, but throughout the entire country. It is a tradition we can all be proud of establishing and growing.
2 EMPIRE CHESS Where organized chess began in America Volume XXXVIII, Number 1 – Spring 2015
Cover: Mayor Anne McCaffrey, has invited the Golden Knights of Lockport to the Lockport City Council meeting tonight at 6pm to give special recognition certificates to the six players who participated in the 48th annual New York State Scholastic Chess Championships. Pictured is 2015 New York State Scholastic undefeated Champion - Ashton A. William and USCF Head Coach Michael A. Mc Duffie. L-R (front) are Jonathan Carmina, Ashton William, JonLuke Pencille and Ryan Carmina. (Back) are Drew Podgorny, Andrew Pencille, USCF Head Coach Michael A. Mc Duffie and Mayor Anne McCaffrey. (photo Michael McDuffie).
From the Editor. 2 Table of Contents 3 State Scholastics by Bill Townsend 4 New York’s Scholastic Invitational Representatives 11 You Don’t Need to be Perfect by Neil Bellon 12 Brooklyn Represents! Spinnell Wins Top Section of Greater NY Scholastics 14 2014-15 MHSCL Season Summary by Larry King 16 Marchand Madness Warms Up Rochester’s Winter by Karl Heck 18 News from the Marshall by Frank Romano. 19 Postional Compensation by Zachary Calderon 21 Queens CC Winter Summary by Ed Frumkin 23 Watertown Chess News byy Don Klug 24 Wilkes-Barre/Traxler by Richard Moody 25 Capital Region News from staff reports 26 New York Tournaments 29 Editor: Karl Heck, [email protected]. Webmaster: Daniel Heck, www.nysca.net.
Empire Chess, the official publication of the New York State Chess Association, Inc., is published quarterly. No liability is assumed with respect to the use of any information contained herein, or for any advertised products. Opinions expressed are solely those of the contributors, and not necessarily those of NYSCA. Empire Chess is COPYRIGHTED, 2015.
Empire Chess accepts articles, games, tournament reports, art work and photos. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All material submitted for publication becomes the property of Empire Chess, and will not be returned unless accompanied by a selfaddressed, stamped envelope. Letters received by Empire Chess are accepted & subject to editing. Please send to: Karl Heck, [email protected]. Membership in the NYSCA: $20/year with four printed Empire Chess; $12/year with online Empire Chess (two printed). To join, write to: Phyllis Benjamin, P.O. Box 340969, Brooklyn, NY 11234. NYSCA membership now gets you discounts at Continental Chess Association events in New York State and all New York State Championship tournaments.
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3 th with 5½-½, but the fight was very close until the very 48 NY State end. Colas drew with Olivier Chiku-Ratte in round five, and in the final round beat former New York State Champion Nicolas Checa, the only perfect 5-0 Scholastics in remaining.
Saratoga Smashes The other 4½, Chiku-Ratte, could only draw against expert Lev Paciorkowski leaving Colas all alone on Attendance Record top. Besides the trophy, Colas gets free entry to the State Championship proper in September and also is the New York State representative at the Denker Yet Again Tournament of High School Champions. Joshua Colas wins his second High Second thru seventh with 5-1 were: Olivier Chiku- Ratte, Nicolas Checa, Isaac Barayev, Alisher School title; Marcus Miyasaka Podavonov, Lev Paciorkowski and Patrick Chi. clear winner of Junior High Eighth through tenth with 4½-1½ were: Shawn Swindell, Ethan Li and Mubassar Uddin. There were section nine players with 4-2, but only the top 15 players are awarded trophies. Eleventh through fifteenth were: by Bill Townsend Andrew Meyer, James Black, Zachary Martin, Brian The 48th Annual New York State Scholastic Arthur and Empire Chess columnist Zachary Championships took place February 28 and March 1 Calderon. Joe Fratianni was top player rated under in Saratoga Springs. The total of 927 players in nine 1500 with 2½ and Theodore Chapman was top player sections again smashed the record for most players in under 1300 with 2. an upstate scholastic, leapfrogging over last year’s total of 775. There was some debate about last year’s Ella Papenak scored 3 1/2, and won the right to being the biggest tournament ever held in Upstate represent New York State in the National Girls’ New York, but this is clearly a new high water mark. Invitational Tournament during the US Open on It is, however, not the biggest turnout at a New York tiebreaks over Martha Samadashvili. State Scholastic – while four-digit turnouts have been claimed the biggest I could find was 990 at the 2000 Top team here was Nest-M School with 17½ points event, held in Pleasantville in Westchester County. while Brooklyn’s Edward M. Murrow High School There were 984 in 2002 in Brooklyn. was second with 16½. Brighton High School from the Rochester area was third with 15, Brooklyn Tech Will this record fall at next year’s event? It is a was fourth with 14 and Joseph C. Wilson Magnet possibility, but there are problems running an event High School of Rochester was fifth with 12½ points. this size. Last year the tournament expanded into the Saratoga City Center attached to the playing site, and The 98-player High School Reserve section finished this year it expanded further: the High School and with three players at the top with 5½ with their final High School Reserve sections were held at the places decided by tiebreaks. First through third were: Marriott down the road from the Saratoga Hilton. Weston White, Austin Kossow, and Alexander While the two sites were only a third of a mile apart, Ordonez. Fourth through eighth with 5-1 were: it was not a fun walk: the sidewalks were icy and the Abdoulaye Diallo, Rohit Mehandru, Danny Diaz, weather was very cold. There would be room for the Masai Williams, and Rocco Franklyn. Ninth through whole tournament at the City Center, but alas there is twelfth with 4½ were: Trevhon Cox, Uriel Calixto, another group that regularly holds an event that Shadman Khan, and Devyn Jimenez. Thirteenth weekend there, and they don’t seem likely to give it through fifteenth with 4-2 were Praharsha Gurram, up. What to do? Bennett Boakye and Isaac Rodriguez. Andres Flores was top player under 900, also with 4-2. Jerry Fruit- Anyway, on to the results. The 79-player High Whitfield was top unrated player with 3½, Luke School Championship section was won by its Villani was first under 700 with 3-3 and Zachary highest0-rated player, Joshua Colas of White Plains, Belfance was second unrated with 1-5. who also won it in 2013. He was the only player 4 The battle for top team in this section was Dieterle and Eliana Asiedu. Joseph Fletcher was top particularly intense with three schools finishing with unrated player with 4-2 and Yosef Yomtobian was top 15½ points and their placement determined by player under 700, also with 4-2. Jonathan Clark was tiebreaks. First through third were: Avenues: The second unrated with 3-3 while top player under 500 World School, Success Academy PS523, and Promise was Lila Espinoza with 3-3. Third unrated was Stelin Academy II. Just a half-point behind in fourth and Poola with 2-4. fifth places were Harlem Central Success Academy and Pioneer High School. Brooklyn’s Park Slope PS282 was top team in this section with 17½. Second was Success Academy There was an additional team prize, for best “Mixed Charter School Harlem East with 16½ while Success Doubles” team, for the best male-female pair playing Academy Charter School Bronx 1 PS493 was third, in the two High School sections. Top team consisted also with 16½. Fourth with 16 points was Success of two Capital District players, Martha Samadashvili Academy Charter School Harlem North West and and Zachary Calderon who scored 7½ points. Second fifth with 15 was Harlem Central Success Academy were Yvonne Scorcia and Alisher Podavonov with a Charter School. total of seven points. In third were Kassi McTague and Rhamel Bynum with five points. The 124-player Elementary Championship section ended with two 5½ scores at the top, their places The 96-player Junior High section had a clear winner determined by tiebreaks. First was Wesley Wang and in Marcus Miyasaka, the only player to finish with second was Brandon Wang, no relation apparently. 5½. Miyasaka will be representing New York in the Third through seventh with 5-1 were: Nico Chasin, K-8 Barber National Championships during the US Akash Kumar, Daniel Levkov, Aidan Ahram and Eric Open in Phoenix. Chan. Eighth through fifteenth with 4½ were: Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, Ethan Gu, Hamilton Shillingford, Second through sixth with 5-1 were: Jacob Chen, Tyler Roonprapunt, Hudson Beaudoin, Francis Nathaniel Shuman, Ananda Saha, Vicki Yang and Durette, Djuna Mauceri and Zachary Yan. Larisa Arjun Rai. Seventh through tenth with 4½ were: Breskin was top player under 1000 with 2-4. Maury Ahram, Akira Nakada, Warren Wang and Gabriel Rivera. Eleventh through fifteenth with 4-2 Dalton School was top team in this section with 18 were: Malcolm Galpern, Steven Xue, Justin points while Nest+M School was second with 17½. Dalhouse, Maxwell Beem and Justin Chen. Top Greenwich Village PS41 was third with 16 ½, School player under 1200 with 2-4 was Shane Alston while of Discovery and Exploration PS503 was fourth with Justin-Crestito Regner was top under 1000 with 1-5. 14½ and Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School was fifth, also with 14½. Top team here was Brooklyn’s IS 318 with 18½. Manhattan’s Dalton School was second with 16½. The 150-player Elementary Reserve was the largest Third and fourth with 13½ were Nest+M and NYC of the nine sections and it also finished with two Lab Middle School for Collaborative Studies while perfect 6-0 scores. First was Megha Kumar with Browning School was fifth with 10½. Ashton William second on tiebreaks. Donovan Lamonte-Stewart, the only player with 5½, was clear The 144-player Middle School Reserve was one of third after a third-round draw. the biggest of the nine sections and it finished with two perfect 6-0 scores, with both players going from Fourth through tenth with 5-1 were: Justin Lin, Quinn three-digit ratings to four-digit ones with the result. Balber, Joey Zhang, Raghav Karthikeyan, Estelle First on tiebreaks was William Tsay with Che Dixon Morden, David Youngwood, and Zachary Frean. in second place. In clear third with 5½ was Aliyah Eleventh through fifteenth with 4½ were: Vincenzo Baugh. Montanti, Oscar Turner, Angel Chavarria, Charlie Silver and Nico Wagstaff. Top player under 500 was In fourth through twelfth place with 5-1 were: Noah Benjamin Gordon with 4-2. Amanda Li was top Brauner, Kenneth Thompson, Allan Elson, Bally unrated with 3½ while Jonathan Carmina was 2nd Sissoko, Fatou Mbaye, Pippa Millstone, Ian Chen, unrated with 3. Top player under 300 was Jia Tang Christian Chin, and Alexis Schlaak. Thirteenth with 3 while Papa Ndiaye was 3rd unrated with 2½. through fifteenth with 4½ were: Josh Kloepfer, Ryan 5 Top team here was Success Academy Charter School fifth with 15½ points. Bronx 1 PS493 with 18½ points out of a possible 24. The 59-player K-1 Championship section was won Second with 16½ was Success Academy Charter by Quebec player Kevin Zhong with a perfect 6-0 School Cobble Hill PS129. Browning School was score. Zhong received a provisional 2024 rating from third with 15½. Brooklyn’s PS139 was fourth, also USCF from his effort. with 15½. Another Brooklyn school, School of Discovery and Exploration PS503, was fifth with Second through sixth with 5-1 were: Thomas Fini, 14½. Daniel Luo, William Safranek, Dylan Ma and Gary Felsher. Seventh and eighth with 4½ were Grant The 71-player Primary Championship section, for Carlson and Shane Saber. Ninth through fifteenth players in grades three and below, was won by its with 4-2 were: Jonathan Weinberg, Ethan Lencz, highest rated player (1770!), second grader Adi Spencer Kojima, Maya Nozaki, Cade Rutkoske, Murgescu with a perfect 6-0 score. Murgsecu got to Gabriel Rhodes and Edmund Daucher. Top player 1797 after this event, rated under 200 was Cameron Anderson with 1½. Top unrated, also with 1½ was Carter Kojima. James Second through fifth with 5-1 were: Charles Hua, Chen and Liam Alexis were second and third unrated Davis Zong, Jordan Leung and Wyatt Pak. Sixth with 1 point. through eighth with 4½ were: David Katsman, Robert Ulmer and Henry Burton. Ninth through fifteenth Competition for top team here was very close - only with 4-2 were: Ryan Peterson, James Oh, Veda 1½ points separated the top five schools. First with Safranek, Nikhil Pande, Jesse Roonprapunt, Amy Sun 16½ was Dalton School. Second with 16 was and Luis-Joshua Casenas. Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School which beat out Speyer Legacy School on tiebreaks. Nest+M School was top team here with 19 points. Collegiate School was fourth with 15½ and Nest+M Dalton School was second with 16, Greenwich School was fifth with 15. Village PS41 was third with 15, Collegiate School was fourth with 12 and William T. Harris PS11 was On Sunday there was a “Parents and Friends” fifth, also with 12 points. tournament for players not competing in the state scholastics, and this was won by Bryan Carlson with There was another perfect score atop the 115-player a 3-1 score. David Gordon was second, also with 3. Primary Reserve section as Sannah Kumar won all Jim Carter was third with 2-2. Kevin Dufford was six games, beating fellow 5-0 player Michael top player under 1200, also with 2-2. Rubinvo in the last round, who drew in the last round with Emani Babb with a share of first place at stake. On Saturday Night 22 two-player teams competed in In clear second with 5½ was Emma Hoi-an Adams. the Bughouse tournament, proving that too much chess is never enough. Top team with 4½-½ was Third through tenth with 5-1 were: Emani Babb, “The $1000 Bills” which consisted of Malcolm Michael Rubinov, Sean Hallinan, Otto Braun, Sam Galpern and Li Heng Wang. Second through fourth Weinick, Amelia Hamilton, Bryce Martey and Ron with 4-1 were: I.S. 318, (Nasir Rasheed & Edwin Mena. Eleventh through fourteenth with 4½ were: Lucero), Sempai (Calvin Yang & Arjun Rai), and The Raunak Tej Sondhi, Jonluke Pencille, Ethan Rafferty Ultimate Trickshotters (PJ Sheils & Nick Breskin). and Sami Uyanik. Eleanor Hamilton was fifteenth Fifth with 3½ was Cheetos (Anthony Asseviro & with 4-2. Griffin Alterio was first under 200 with 3½. Jacob Carranza) with sixth was Chess 4 Life Tanmay Goel and Justin Maung were first and second (Anthony Saquisili & Gabriel Davis). unrated with 3-3. Ryan Carmina was third unrated with 2½. Chief Director for this massive event was Steve Immitt for the New York State Chess Association. Park Slope PS282 from Brooklyn was top school in Assistant tournament directors were David Hater, this section with 18 points. Right behind them with Brother John McManus, Alan LeCours, Bill 17½ points was Mary Lindley Murray School PS116. Townsend, Harold Stenzel, Andrew Rea, Jabari Third with 17 points was another New York school, McGreen, Sreemivas Alampalli, Maya McGreen, Lower Lab School PS77. William T. Harris PS11 was Kofi McGreen, Hector Rodriguez III, Mariah fourth with 16½ while Alexine A. Fenty PS139 was McGreen, NYSCA Vice-President Poly Wright 6 among others. 30. e4! With this White grabs control of the center, and Black Ah, the games, the games. I consider them the most is in trouble. important part of any tournament report. Sure the 30…Bxc3 31. Qxc3 dxe4 32. Ng5 Qf6 33. Qb3 Nf8 writer can describe the drama of the event, but the 34. Nxe4 Qg7 35. Nd6 Qf6 36. Re2 Rd8 37. Nxb7 games can actually show you, take you right there to Rxd1 38. Qxd1 Ne6 39. Nd6 a5 40. Ne4 Qd4 41. the battleground. Qxd4 Nxd4 42. Rb2 axb4 43. axb4 Ra3 44. Kg2 Re3 45. Nd6 Rd3 46. Nc4 Nf5?! As I’ve said before it’s always difficult to get games This allows White to draw a bead on Black's c-pawn. from this event – most of the players are writing the only thing holding back White's queenside pawns. down their moves in hardcover books so they can’t Better was 46... Rc3. share their scoresheets, and the fast time control 47. Ne5 Rxg3+ 48. Kh2 Rc3 49. Nxc6 Kf8 50. (game in 60 minutes with a 10 second per move Na5?! delay) meant that many games ended in time Time was getting short, otherwise White would have scrambles with nobody writing down the moves. By seen he could dash for the goal line with 50. b5! Rxc5 the beginning of Round Four on Sunday I had gotten 51. b6. only one (!) scoresheet so it was plain I had to take 50...Nd4 51. Kg2 Ke8 52. Rd2 Ne6 53. Rf2 Nd4 54. matters into my own hands and copy down the games Rd2 Ne6 55. Re2 f5 56. Rf2 Kd7 57.Rf3 Rc2+ 58. from the top boards myself. I wound up with only 14 Kg3 Rb2 59. Rd3+ Kc7 60. Rd6 Nd8 61. Rb6 Rc2 games from this entire event, most of them recorded 62. Ra6 Rb2 63. Ra7+ Kc8 64. Rxh7 Rxb4? by me. Of course Black wants to get rid of these dangerous passed pawns, but this winds up costing him a For all that there are some high-quality games in the Knight. Instead after 64...Ne6 65. Nc6 Rb3+ 66. Kh4 mix. For example, here is the game that decided first Nxf4 Black is still in a bad way, but he is still place in the High School section between the event’s fighting. highest rated player and the only player with a perfect 65. Rh8 Rb5 5-0 score. Colas played this game very patiently – he There is no saving the piece: 65... Kc7 66. Rxd8 Kxd8 seemed to be better for most of the game, and while 67. Nc6+, etc. he took no crazy chances he calmly exploited his 66. Nc6 Rxc5 67. Nxd8 Kd7 68. Nf7 Ke7 69. Ng5 opportunities when they presented themselves. Rc1 70. Rh7+ Kf8 71. Rb7 Black's position is all but resignable, but time is short SM Joshua Colas (2429) – SM Nicolas Checa for both players so he plays on hoping for a miracle. (2404) [D12] QGD-Slav For example, better for White here is: 71. Ne6+ Ke8 NYS Scholastic Championships 72. Rg7 and the g-pawn falls. High School section 71... Kg8 72. Rb6 Kg7 73. Ne6+ Kf7 74. Kh4 Rc3 Round 6, March 1, 2015 75. Ng5+ Kg7 76. Rb7+ Kg8 77. Ne6 Re3 78. Re7 Kh8 79. Nf8 Rf3 80. Nxg6+ Kg8 81. Ne5 Rxf4+ 82. 1.d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bf5 5. Nbd2 e6 6. Kg5 Rf1 83. Kf6 Be2 Nbd7 7. Nh4 Be4 8.Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Nf3 Bb4+ 10. White has a mate in three with 83. Kh6 Kf8 84. Ng6+ Kf1 Kg8 85. Rg7# but the players were down to bare Why not simply 10. Nd2 ? seconds and moving very fast. 10... O-O 11. g3 Ndf6 12. Kg2 Qe7 13. c5 Ba5 14. 83... Rh1 84. Rg7+ Kf8 85. Ng6+ Ke8 86.Re7+ Kd8 Qb3 Rfb8 15. Qc2 Nd7 16. a3 e5 17. b4 Bc7 18.Bb2 The players were now moving too quickly for me to exd4 19. Nxd4 Be5 20. Bd3 Nef6 21. Rhe1 g6 22. follow, but White won in just a few more moves.1-0 Bc3?! A sharper way to refute Black's somewhat passive Here is the other important last round game featuring play is with 22. e4! Nxe4 23. Bxe4 dxe4 24.Rxe4 Qf8 the only player capable of catching Colas, Canadian 25. Ne6 fxe6 26. Bxe5 Nxe5 27. Rxe5. player Olivier Chiku-Ratte, the rare foreign player 22... Qf8?! 23. f4! Bc7 24.Qb2 Qe7 25. h3 Ne4 26. who has played in the New York State Scholastics Bxe4 Qxe4+ 27. Nf3 Bd8?! four consecutive years. Outrated by over 300 points After 27... f5 the game is just about even. Paciorkowski seemed content to draw, and did not 28. Rad1 Qe6 29. Kh2 Bf6? play the opening in a very challenging way, Black's last chance to lock up the center with 29... f5. eventually sliding into an inferior position. However 7 under pressure he defended like a champion, and but in plain fact White can keep the Black King out when a perhaps-winning opportunity presented itself forever so the game is drawn. For example: 46... b5 in the ending, Black missed it. 47. b4 Kf5 48. Kd3 a6 49. Ke3 Kg6 with an obvious draw, even though the computer still thinks Black is Lev Paciorkowski (2099) – better. SM Olivier Chiku-Ratte (2403) 47. Kd3 Ke7 48. a4 Kd7 49. Kc3 ½-½ [A47] Torre Attack Here is the aforementioned draw between Colas and NYS Scholastic Championships Chiku-Ratte, a very tense affair that it appears that High School section Colas should have won. Round 6, March 1, 2015 SM Olivier Chiku-Ratte (2403) – SM Joshua Colas (2429) [E24] Nimzo-Indian 1.d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 e6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e3 b6 6. NYS Scholastic Championships Bd3 High School section The Torre Attack, not a terribly challenging opening Round 5, March 1, 2015 system 6…Bb7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. O-O d6 9. Qe2 Nbd7 10. 1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 O-O 5. a3 Bxc3+ e4 Re8 11. Rfd1 Nf8 12. Rac1 6. bxc3 d5 7. e3 c5 8. Bd3 Nc6 9. Ne2 e5 10. cxd5 Is this where White missed his big chance? My Nxd5 11. e4 Nf4 12. Bxf4 computer recommends: 12.e5! and after 12…Nd5 13. My computer suggests 12. d5 but 12…Nxd3+ 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. g3 cxd4 15. cxd4 dxe5 16. dxe5 Red8 Qxd3 f5 doesn't look that good for White. 17. Nc4 White has a stronger position than in the 12... exf4 13. d5 Qh4+ 14. g3 fxg3 15. Nxg3 Ne5 16. game, but not outrageously so. O-O Qf4 17. Qe2 Bh3 18. Rf2 Rad8 19. Rd1 Rd6 12... Ng6 13. Ba6 This opening has clearly not been a success for White Shows a lack of ambition. Again 13. e5 suggests - Black has him under a lot of pressure. itself. 20. Kh1 g6 21. Qd2 Rf6 22. Qxf4 Rxf4 23. Be2 f5? 13... Qc8 14. Bxb7 Qxb7 15. h3 Rad8 16. Re1 h6 Even to me, trying to keep track of three games at 17. Bxf6 Bxf6 once, 23... Ng4! looked very strong for Black. I White has dissipated whatever advantage he had, but assumed he didn't play it because of some tactical there doesn't look to be a lot of play in the position. subtlety I failed to see, but he winds up playing it 18. g3 d5 19. e5 Be7 20. h4 Nh8 21. h5 f6 22. exf6 under less favorable conditions a move later. Bxf6 23. Ne5 Nf7 24. f4 Nxe5 25. fxe5 Bg5 26. 24. exf5 Ng4 25. fxg4 Rxf2 26. d6 Rf4?! Rcd1 cxd4 27. cxd4 Rc8 28. Nf3 Qe7 29. Qd3 Qf7 26... Rd8 is a much better idea. 30. Nxg5 hxg5 31. Kg2 g4 32. Rd2 27. d7 Rd8 28. Bb5 gxf5 29. Re1 fxg4 30. Re8+ Rf8 32. Rh1 was the only way to hold on to the h-pawn. 31. Re7 h5 32... Qxh5 33. Rh1 Qf5 34. Rf1 In spite of the uneven material, my computer regards My computer queries this move, but clearly worse for this position as dead even. White is 34. Qxf5 exf5 35. Kf2 Kf7 36. Ke3 Re7 37. 32. Bd3 Rf3 33. Bg6? Rf2 Kg6 38. Rhf1 Rf7 39. Kf4 Rc4, etc. A terrible mistake which should lose. Best was 34...Qxd3 35. Rxd3 Rc4 36. Rd2 Rec8 37. Kf2 Rc1 forcing a repeat of the position with 33. Re8+. 38. Rxc1 Rxc1 39. Ke2 Ra1 40. a3 Rh1 41. Kf2 33... Rxc3? Rh2+ Black misses his chance. After 33... h4! 34. Re8+ Rf8 Of course sitting here with my analysis engine and 35. Rxd8 Rxd8 36. Ne4 b6 37. Bf5 Kf7 38. Nd6+ Ke7 unlimited thinking time I can figure out that trading 39. Nc8+ Kf6 40. Nd6 Rf8 41. c4 Ke5 42. Nf7+ Kxf5 Rooks is a bad idea here, but in a tournament hall 43. d8=Q Rxd8 44. Nxd8 Bf1 it’s a pretty with the clock ticking it's not so simple. This seems to straightforward win for him. be a better path for the second player: 41... Kf7 42. 34. Ne2? Kg2 Rc1 43. Rf2+ Kg6 44. Rf4 Rc2+ 45. Rf2 Rc7 46. Another mistake. White is still holding the balance Rf4 Kg5 and now White has the unenviable choice after 34. Kg1. between allowing the Black Rook to roam around 34... Rxd7? inside his position or letting the Black King in at e4. In an uncertain position Black goes for a very likely 42. Ke3 Rxd2 43. Kxd2 Kf7 44. Ke3 g5 45. Kd3 draw when in fact he has a win: 34... Rf3! 35. Ng3 h4 Kg6 46. Ke3 Kf7 and White must lose material. After this my computer says the game is dead even, 35. Rxd7 Rxa3 36. Rxb7 Ra1+ 37. Ng1 h4 38. Be4 8 g3 39.hxg3 hxg3 40. Rb3 Be6 41. Rxg3+ Kf7 42. What happened? Thankfully I was able to get the Kg2 Ra2+ 43. Kf3 Ra3+ 44. Kf4 Rxg3 45.Kxg3 remaining moves from Patrick Chi later. In fact the Now that the rooks are off only Black with his pawns computer's sanguine opinion of White's chances was still has winning chances, but White's pieces should based on him seeing a rather unlikely move, which be able to stop the Queenside pawns. was just about impossible considering that there was 45…a5 46. Ne2 a4 47. Kf4 Kf6 48. Nc3 Bb3 49. practically no time left. Bd5 Bxd5 50. Nxd5+ Ke6 51. Nc3 a3 52. Ke3 Kd6 42.Rf7 e3 43.Kf1 Kb5 44.Rxb7 Rf8+ 45.Ke1 Kc4 ½-½ 46.Rc7+? Here is where it all falls apart for white. The only Here is another tense last round battle, won by former move for White to hold the balance is 46.g4! a move I State Elementary champion Patrick Chi. I felt that defy anybody to find at ten seconds a move. The Black was better for most of the game, but my chess point is to keep a Rook off of f5. The game might have computer begged to differ. With the all-seeing continued: 46...Kd3 47.Rg7 d4 48.Rd7 Kxc3 49.Ra2 perfect vision of a chess computer the game was Re4 50.Rc7+ Kb3 and white is still struggling, but perhaps even, but the plain fact was that White’s isn't dead yet. position was much harder to play in practice. 46...Kd3 47.Kd1 It's now too late for 47.g4 Rf4 48.Rg7 d4 49.b7 Rxa5 Andrew Meyer (2012) – and Black wins. NM Patrick Chi (2280) 47...Rf1+ 48.Re1 e2+ [B13] Caro-Kann Here White resigned, since he's losing the rook on NYS Scholastic Championships e1.0–1 High School section Round 6, March 1, 2015 Here is new champion Colas’ fourth round win over Isaac Barayev. This game is an object lesson in the 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nf6 5.Bf4 Nc6 power of the pin: Colas uses a couple of pins to 6.c3 g6 7.Nd2 Bf5 8.Bxf5 gxf5 9.Ne2 e6 10.Ng3 Be7 hogtie black, and then another one eventually undoes 11.0–0 h5 12.Bg5 him. 12.h4 was probably a better idea. 12...h4 13.Ne2 Qc7 14.Bf4 Bd6 15.Bxd6 Qxd6 SM Joshua Colas (2429) – Isaac Barayev 16.b4 Ne4 (2177) [D12] QGD/Slav Somewhat stronger seems to be 16...Ng4 17.Nf3 h3. NYS Scholastic Championships 17.Nxe4 fxe4 18.f3 f5 19.a4 0–0–0 20.a5 Rdg8 High School section 21.Qd2 e5?! Round 4, March 1, 2015 This costs Black the majority of his advantage. Instead after 21...a6 22.fxe4 dxe4 23.Rad1 Ne7 he 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.e3 Bf5 5.Nbd2 e6 6.Be2 still has the initiative. Nbd7 7.Nh4 Bg6 8.Nxg6 hxg6 9.Nf3 Bd6 10.h3 0–0 22.b5 Ne7 23.dxe5 Qxe5 24.b6 a6 25.Qf4 Ng6 11.0–0 Qc7 12.b3 e5 13.dxe5 Nxe5 14.cxd5 Nxd5 26.Qxe5 Nxe5 27.fxe4 fxe4 28.Rad1 h3 29.g3 Nf3+ 15.Bb2 Qe7?! To me it looks like Black is better, but my computer is It looks like a small thing, but this allows a rather not impressed - it says the position is dead even. awkward pin. Notice that White's next move doesn't 30.Kh1 Rd8 31.Nd4 Ne5 32.Ne6 Rd6 33.Ng5 Rd7 work after 15...Rfe8 16.Qd4 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Bh2+ 34.Ne6?! 18.Kh1 Be5. This Knight should stay where it is for now. Instead 16.Qd4 Nxf3+ 17.Bxf3 Nf6 18.Rad1 Rfd8 19.Qc3 34.Kg1 suggests itself. Bc7 20.a4 a5 21.Rfe1 Bd6 22.Qc4 Bb4 23.Rf1 Nd7 34...Nc4 35.Rfe1 Nb2 24.Qd4 Nf6 25.Qc4 Nd7 Why not 35...Nxa5? I'm sure Black had fond hopes of a draw here, but 36.Rd2 Nd3 37.Rf1 Re7 38.Nf4 Nxf4 39.Rxf4 Re5 White is not going to let that happen. 40.Re2 Kd7 41.Kg1 Kc6 26.Qc2 Nc5 27.Bc3 Ne6 28.Ba1 Rac8 29.Qb2 b5?! At this point the players were moving too fast for me Once again Black misses another annoying pin. to keep up with them. Later, looking at the moves I Better was 29...Rd6. had I couldn't understand what happened next. I 30.Rxd8+ Qxd8 31.Bg4 f5 32.Be2 Qd7 33.Rd1 Qb7 knew that Black won in just a couple more moves, but 34.Qe5 in my computer's opinion Black's advantage was tiny. A decisive invasion. Black is lost. 9 34...Kf7 35.axb5 cxb5 36.Bxb5 Rc5? Material is even, but Black has a Bishop while White An obvious shot, but it loses instantly. To be fair has a Knight. Balancing things up for White is the Black only had a minute and half left while White had fact that his Rook is better placed. 12 minutes. 38...e5 39.Nc3 Bd3 40.Ra7+ Kh6 41.Nd5 Re6 42.h4 37.Be8+! Ke7 38.Qd6+ Kxe8 39.Qxe6+ Qe7 Rd6 43.Ne7 Kh5 44.Ng8? 40.Qg8+ The game would still be even after 44.Nc8. White wins Black's Queen after 40.Qg8+ Qf8 44...Kxh4 45.Rxh7+ Kg5 46.Ra7 e4 47.Ne7?! f4 41.Rd8+, so Black resigns.1–0 48.a4? White finally gets his queenside majority in motion, Here is a game with a lot of middlegame twists and but after this the e-pawn can't be stopped. turns, but in fact is decided in the ending. Yes, that 48...e3! 49.fxe3 fxe3 50.Rc7 e2 51.Rc1 Re6 52.Re1 even happens at Game in 60 minutes. Rxe7 53.axb5 Rf7 54.b6 Rf1+ 55.Kh2 Rxe1 56.b7 Rh1+ 0–1 NM James Black (2279) – SM Nicolas Checa th (2404) [D10] QGD/Slav The 2016 State Scholastics, the 48 in the series of NYS Scholastic Championships the longest-running state scholastic chess tournament High School section in the country, will return to Saratoga Springs next Round 4, March 1, 2015 year for the ninth consecutive time.
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 a6 5.Qc2 g6 6.Bd3 While Saratoga has become the place in the State Bg7 7.Nge2 dxc4 8.Bxc4 0–0 9.0–0 Nbd7 10.Rd1 where New York State Scholastic Champions are b5 11.Bb3 Qb6 12.e4 c5 13.dxc5 made, it hasn’t always been that way. The Better was 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.Bxd5 Bb7 15.Bxb7 Qxb7 tournament has been held in Binghamton several 16.dxc5. times, and spent most of the 1980’s in Syracuse. 13...Qxc5 14.Be3 Qc7 15.Rac1 Ng4 16.Bf4 Qa7 Rochester, Brooklyn, Albany, Ithaca, Westchester and 17.Bg3 e6 18.h3 Nge5 19.Bf4 Nb6 20.Be3 Qb7 Long Island have also hosted the event in its long and 21.Nb1?! successful history. Too slow, as it turns out. Better for White was 21.Bc5. Champions in the tournament have included GM 21...Nec4 22.Bxc4 Nxc4 23.Bd4 Bh6!? 24.b3 Nd6 Alex Lenderman (2004 and 2005), GM Irina Krush 25.Bc5 Nxe4 26.Bxf8 Bxc1 27.Bb4? (2000 and 2001), Rocgester’s Ben Dean-Kawamura Here White zigs when he should have zagged. He (1998) and Schenectady’s Deepak Aaron (2010 and emerges on top after 27.Nbc3! but that requires him 2012). seeing who's better after this tactical sequence: 27...Nxf2 28.Kxf2 Be3+ 29.Kxe3 Qb6+ 30.Nd4 Kxf8 As always, the winner of the K-12 Champion is the 31.Kf2 Bb7 (31...e5? loses to 32.Nd5) 32.Qe2 Rc8 New York State Scholastic Champion, though 33.Qe3 and White is a piece up for two pawns. sections have been added over the years to include 27...Bg5 28.Rd4? Junior High, Elementary, then Primary, then K-1. Better was 28.Nbc3 but Black is still better. Reserve sections were also added to accommodate 28...f5 29.Qd3? Qb6? continued growth as the tournament has almost Black misses winning material with 29...Bf6! reached 1,000 players three times in its history, and 30.Nbc3 Bb7 31.Nxe4 Bxe4 32.Qg3 Bh6 continues to grow in stature, quality and size. In spite of all the tussling, the position is just about even. Could 2016 be the year that over 1,000 players 33.Rd6 Qc7 34.Qe5 Re8 35.Bc3 Bg7 36.Qxg7+ participate in the main tournament? We will all see Qxg7 37.Bxg7 Kxg7 38.Rxa6 together. Save the dates. You know the place. Saratoga: the February Place to be! Watch for 2016 State Scholastic Details on www.nysca.net or on Facebook! 32 New York’s 2015 Scholastic Invitational Representatives
American Chess Team five years in a row and will be Ella Papanek representing New York at the Denker Tournament of High School Champions for the third consecutive National Girls Invitational Tournament year. Joshua was New York State Champion in 2013, and was the youngest black chess master in history. Joshua aspires to become a Grandmaster and to study accounting in college. Currently, Joshua is sixth in his age bracket in the country, and recently met the qualifications for the FIDE Master title. More detailed information about Joshua’s career is available at the website www.joshuacolas.com.
The son of Haitian immigrants, he lives in White Plains with his parents and two siblings. NM Marcus Miyasaka Barber Tournament of K-8 Champions
Ella is thrilled to be representing New York in National Girls Invitational. She is a sophomore at The Brearley School and has been playing chess since she was nine years old. In her free time she likes creating art, eating steak, and petting dogs. She lives in Manhattan with her parents, her brother, and her stuffed animals. Ella is in the Top 40 in her age bracket among girls. FM Joshua Colas Denker Tournament of HS Champions
Marcus Miyasaka is a sixth grader and is a National Master. He has participated in nine National Elementary/K-12 Championships and has placed first or second in the last seven of them. He has represented the United States at the World Youth Chess Championships in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He has a 50% score playing in simultaneous exhibitions against Super GM’s, losing to Hikaru Nakamura, drawing versus Magnus Carlsen, and winning against Viswanathan Anand. Currently Marcus is fifth in the country in his age bracket. Marcus lives in New York City and has an older brother and a younger sister who are also chess Joshua has had many accomplishments in chess. A players. Marcus’s other interests include tennis, junior in high school, he has been on the All- squash, and piano. 11 No Need to be Perfect by Neal Bellon ([email protected])
Many chess books and instructors talk about finding It wins material, dealing a psychological the “best” move. We’ve all heard the adages and blow to the opponent maxims. IM Jeremy Silman says we should ask,”What wonderful thing does this move do for my position?” Former World Champion Emanuel Lasker famously said that when we see a good move we should look for a better one. These are all well and good, but it is my belief that when two amateurs sit down to play, straining to always find the “best” or “perfect” move is hardly necessary, and can even be hurtful.
The reason is simple: Over-thinking or over- analyzing often causes more problems than it attempts to solve. In addition, consistently finding the objectively best move is not required to win at the amateur level.
Let’s begin with three positions from games I won by playing adequate moves, rather than perfect ones. Skla r - Bellon 2014
Here, as Black, I played ...c5, missing the tactical ...Nxe4!, which wins a pawn.
1...c5 is not best, but is perfectly fine. It’s a thematic pawn lever and gets the job done, as Black is still winning and maintaining pressure on his opponent.
Bell on - Chinkel 2014
Above, I was White and on the move and played Rxa7. Although Ne5! is best, a move I gave a cursory look but dismissed, it didn’t matter and I went on to win. Regarding the played Rxa7:
White is still better Bell It’s still a good, playable move 12 on - Roche 2014 Rowson’s The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, a book I In the last position above, I was on the move as mentioned in a previous column. Chapter Six is White and played 1. a3!, although the theoretical best actually titled “Perfectionism,” and this section alone (computer) move is Rac1. I list a3! with an is worth the price of the book. Rowson also mentions exclamation point because it’s very solid and what GM Jonathan Speelman calls “plus/equals (+/=) effective. It maintains White’s advantage without mode,” an intriguing psychological method where forcing things and keeps Black’s pieces off b4, a so you play for only a slight advantage over your called tidying-up move. opponent (+/= as White or =/+ as Black) as that can be awkward and unsettling for him over the course of To be clear, I am not by any means advocating that as the game. amateur players it’s okay to be lazy and cavalier and only look for passable moves. Of course we should Perhaps the most fascinating statement regarding try to understand the position and find the best move perfectionism comes from Simon Webb in his classic we can - but within reason. My contention is simply Chess for Tigers: “The best move for a Grandmaster that we shouldn’t obsess over finding the perfect is not necessarily the best move for you or me. If you move each time it’s our turn to play. want to win your won games you should allow for your own limitations by playing moves which you This perfectionist approach: know are good rather than moves which you think ought to be tremendous.” Though Webb is referring Leads to time pressure and clock to positions where one is already better, I feel this management issues applies to the game in general. Many times I “know” Expends unnecessary mental energy that a certain move is best, but I refrain from playing it should be saved for truly critical positions because the ensuing position is one I’m not Causes us to miss simple moves due to over comfortable with and I fear - usually correctly - that analysis. I’ll stumble somehow because of the unnecessary Is not necessary against another amateur pressure I put on myself, when instead I could have (non-titled) player. played a reasonable alternative, resulting in a position I’m comfortable with. For more on the perils of constantly aiming for the perfect move, I highly recommend Jonathan
The Mount Academy Two Team receives their awards as the winners of the 2014-15 season of the Mid-Hudson Scholastic Chess League/ (photo courtesy Larry King).
13 Brooklyn Represents! Spinnell Wins at Greater NY Scholastics
It’s a January tradition. About a thousand chess High School Varsity, Round 6 players from all five boroughs of New York City and Nimzo-Indian Defense beyond swarm in one location for two intensive days 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 of chess in the oldest continuously-un scholastic 6.Bd2 O-O 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Qe7 9.e4 e5 10.d5 chess tournament in history: The Greater New York Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Bd3 Ne4 13.O-O f5 14.Nd4 Scholastics. Qe5 15.Nf3 Qf4 16.Rae1 Nf5 17.Nxf5 Qxf5 18. Re3 Bd7 19.Rfe1 Re7 20.c5 dxc5 21.Qxc5 f4 22.f3 e6 Since the tournament has moved from Manhattan to 23. Bc4 Kh8 24. Re3 and Black eventually won hipster Brooklyn, it has become a six-round, two-day tournament in the style of the State Scholastics. A The 24-player High School Under 1900 section was total of 981 players from 199 schools played in 14 won by Class A player Florizelle Sonoco with 4 ½ sections in the 49th running of this American Classic. points. His only blemish was a draw against 1540- rated Travis Alverio in Round 2. Colin Kneucker and The 39-player High School Varsity section was won Angelo Nardo tied for second with 4-1 scores, and by Alexander Spinnell, an Expert who is aveteran of Daniel Giammanco was clear fourth with 3 ½ points. many scholastic wars. Spinnell finished with 5 ½ points, drawing in the second round against Quan In the 69-player High School Under 1400 section, Ince and therefore not playing the top two rated Siraat Mustafa won with a perfect 5-0 score, winning players in the section: FM Justus Williams and NM by half a point. Samuel Zuber and Nileidy Bello tied James Black. for second with 4 ½ points, working back through the field after early draws. Five players tied for fourth Spinnell defeated former New York Barber and with 4-1 scores: Dylan Schwartz, Vicente Gomez, National Girl’s Invitational representative Lilla Poteat William Yu, Ariel Rivera and Paris Prestia. in the last round with both players having 4 ½ points. Williams was second with an undefeated five points, Justin Chen won the 46-player Junio High Varsity drawing with Poteat in Round Five and Expert Hal with a perfect 6-0 score, besting the field by a full Rives in Round 3. Kyle Moon and Poteat tied for point. Spencer Ha and Omar Cunningham tied for third with 4 ½ points, while Ethan Li, Black, Shawn second with 5-1 scores. Ha lost to Chen in Round 5, Swindell, Mubassar Uddin and Jack Wen tied for fifth while Cunningham lost to Tyrone Davis in Round 3. with four points. Pictured below (center) is the guru of the Greater 49th Greater New York Scholastics, January 2015 New York Scholastics: Hall of Fame director and White: Alexander Spinnell organizer extraordinaire Steve Immitt. Black: Lilla Poteat High School Varsity, Round 6 Nimzo-Indian Defense 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bd2 O-O 7.a3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 Qe7 9.e4 e5 10.d5 Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Bd3 Nxe4 13.O-O f5 14.Nxd4 Qe5 15.Nf3 Qf4 16.Rae1 Ng5 17.Nxg5 Qxg5 18.Re2 Rf7 19.Rfc1 Rf8 20.c5 dxc5 21.Qxc5 f4 22.f3 c6 23.Bc4 Kh8 24.Re5 Rf5 25.bxc6 bxc6 26.Qa7 Rf8 27.Qe5 Qg4 28.Qe7 Qxe7 29.Rxe7 Re8 30. R1e4 Bc8 31.b4 Rf5 32.Rc7 Rf8 33.Rce7 Qg6 34. Bg3 Ra3 35.Rxc6 Bf3 36.Bf1h6 37.Rc7 Rd8 38.Kf2 Rd2 39. Kc1 1-0
49th Greater New York Scholastics, January 2015 White: NM Alisher Podavanov Black: FM Justus Williams Nancy Wang and Justin Dalhouse tied for fourth in
14 the section with 4 ½ points. They drew each other in 1200. the last round. Chen’s victory over sixth-place finisher Max Li is shown below: Zachary Gelman and Lukas Erlichson-Deliz tied for 49th Greater New York Scholastics, January 2015 third with 4 ½ points, with both yielding early draws White: Max Li and working back through the field. There was a 15- Black: Justin Chen player logjam tied for fifth with four points with Neil Junior High Varsity, Round Six Liu (undefeated), Elizabeth Bugavey, Lucas Rendina, QGD/Slav Andy Zhong, Ryan Chen, Vincent Tsay, Jacob 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 Markman (undefeated), Nelson Tung, Maxwell 6.Bd2 Be7 7.cxd5 cxd5 8.Bd3 O-O 9. h4 c5 10.Ne2 Friedland, Ryan Segalman, Nicholas Samowitz, Milo cxd4 11.exd4 Ne4 12.Bxe4 dxe4 13.Ng5 Nf6 14.Ng3 Bucalo-Carrer, Natan Tresser, Justin Macey and Qxd4 15.Bc3 Qxd1+ 16.Kxd1 Ng4 17.Ke2 f5 18.f3 Miguel Hernandez (undefeated). exf3+19.gxf3 Nf6 20.f4 b6 21.Rhe1 h6 22.Nf3 Ba6+ 23.Kf2 Bc5+ 24.Kg2 Nd5 25.Be5 Bb7 26.Rad1 The 155-player Elementary Under 700 section had Ne3+ 27.Rxe3 Bxe3 28.Rd7 Rf7 29.Rxf7 Kxf7 30. three perfect 5-0 scores: Ethan Striff-Cave, Nxf5 Bc5 31.Kg3 Rd8 32.Nfd4 Bxd4 33.Nxd4 a6 Alexander Joy and Benjamin Botnik. John Chandler, 34.Nf5 Bd5 35.a3 Be6 36.Nd4 Rc8 37.Kf3 Rc1 Kyle Yang, Victor Louie and Heath Winter all tied for 38.Nxe6 Rxe6 39. Bxg7 h5 40>bd4 b5 41.Ke4 Rh1 fourth with 4 ½ points. Chandler and Ynag drew in 42.f5+ Kf7 0-1 the last round to drop out of the first-place tie.
The Junior High Under 1300 section drew 24 players Nico Chasin won the 79-player Primary Varsity with and was won by James Adams and Chun Liu with 4 5 ½ points, drawing in Round 4 against Charles Hua. ½ points. The co-champions drew in the first round, Five players tied for second with 5-1 scores: Davis which is extremely unusual in an event of this Zong, Jr., Robert Shibata, James Oh, Henry Burton, magniture. Both won their last four games. and Ryan Peterson. Hua, New York State Primary Champion Adi Murgescu, Eric Tang, and Jack Levine Sakura Laporte was clear third with four points, tied for seventh with 4 ½ points. losing to Adams in the final round. Hercules Sotos and Alexander Liptak tied for fourth with 3 ½ points. The 85-player Primary Under 1000 section was won by Dhurv Jhmab with the section’s only perfect 5-0 The 21-player Junior High Under 700 section had a score. Zhog Long and Meghana Kancharla tied for 5-0 sweep by Pennsylvania player Oleksandr second with 4 ½ points. Long drew in the first round, Goncharov Jr. Timothy Longo and Troy Fischer tied while Kancharla yielded a draw in the last round to for second with 4-1 scores, though neither played the miss tying for first. Lucas Max, Edison Yuan, Aidan winner. Bart, Alexander Vidra, Own Katz, Jack and Joe Doyle, Alexander Powers and Nathan Burtman all The 111-player Elementary Varsity was the third- tied for fourth with 4-1 scores. largest section in the tournament, and Winston Ni was the outright winner with 5 ½ points. Ni drew Alexandra Jablonski and Pearce Marinis won the 86- Eric Chan in the fifth round, but beat Ethan Joo in the player Primary Under 400 section with perfect 5-0 last round to win the section. James Lee, William scores. Daniel Postelnik was clear third with 4 ½ Hahn, Chan, Jamie Nicolas, Theo Kogan and Avery points, drawing in the second round Hood all tied for second with five points. Lee, Hahn, Chan and Nicolas were all undefeated. William Safranek won the 30=player K-1 Varsity section with a perfect 6-0 score. Alexander Mash and David Zhurbinsky, Joo, Aasa Dommalapati and Dylan Ma tied for second with five points, with Mash Athony Wong tied for eighth with 4 ½ points. losing to Safranek in the fifth round. Gary Felsher and Daniel Luo tied for fourth with 4 ½ points. The Elementary Under 1200 section, at 132 players, was thesecond- largest of the tournament and had two Shane Saber and Albert Zhu tied for first in the 79- perfect 5-0 score: Joshua Dong and Eric Wu. Both player K-1 Under 500 section with perfect 5-0 svores. players, along with several others at the top, Connor Smyth and Milan Goodlin tied for third with “graduated” from the section with new ratings over 4 ½ points.(continued on page 22) 15 2014-15 MHSCL Season In Review by Larry King
The Mount Academy Team Two won the 2014-15 Mid-Hudson Scholastic Chess League (MHSCL) championship by compiling a record of 5-0 during the match portion of the season, and defeating Rondout Valley High School and Monroe-Woodbury in post-season play. The other team from The Mount Academy, The Mount Academy Team One, also went 5-0 in matches before losing to Monroe-Woodbury in the semi-finals. It was the first time in which two teams from the same school finished in first place with perfect scores in the history of the MHSCL. Here is a summary of the 13th MHSCL season.
Kickoff Swiss Tournament
The Mount Academy started the season on the good note by scoring 16 1/2 points to win the Team Championship in the 34-player Kickoff tournament that was held on October 25. Cornwall Central High School finished in second- place on tie-breaks over Kingston High School after each school finished with 12 points. Rondout Valley High School finished in fourth place with 11 ½ points. The top four scores from the individuals attending the same school counted for that school’s team score.
Titus Decker of The Mount Academy finished in first individualy with a 5-0 record. Lucas Donnellan (Cornwall Central), Rudi Meier (The Mount Academy), and Stephen Decker (The Mount Academy) finished in second- through-fourth place, each scoring four points. Seven of the top ten players were from The Mount Academy.
Match Play
The Mount Academy players continued to perform well, as both teams won their five matches. In the first round, The Mount Academy Team One rallied from a 3-0 set-one deficit to defeat Rondout Valley, 5-4. Rondout Valley High School clinched a playoff spot after defeating Kingston 7-2 in the fourth round.
Cornwall Central High School Team One and Monroe-Woodbury battled for the fourth playoff spot. Led by Kostya Shetekauri’s three wins, Monoroe-Woodbury clinched the playoff spot, defeating the five-time defending champs, 6 ½- 2 1/2. It was the first time since 2003-2004 season that Monroe-Woodbury participated in post-season play.
2014-15 Final Standings
Fischer Conference
Team Abbr Matches Matches Matches Matches Match Played Won Drawn Lost Points The Mount Academy Team Two MA2 5.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 Monroe-Woodbury HS MWH 5.0 4.0 0.0 1.0 4.0 Middletown HS MHS 5.0 3.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 Cornwall Central HS Team One CC1 5.0 2.0 0.0 3.0 2.0 James O'Neill HS JON 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0
Kasparov Conference
Team Abbr Matches Matches Matches Matches Match Played Won Drawn Lost Points The Mount Academy Team One MA1 5.0 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 16 Rondout Valley HS RVH 5.0 3.0 0.0 2.0 3.0 Kingston HS KHS 5.0 2.0 0.0 3.0 2.0 Cornwall Central HS Team Two CC2 5.0 1.0 0.0 4.0 1.0 Highland Falls Middle School HFM 5.0 0.0 0.0 5.0 0.0
Individual Points: Kostya Shetekuri leads all individuals with 15 points in 15 games. Kyle Pacia of Middletown High School finished in second with 14 points, Aman Patel of Kingston High School and Meteo Wareham of The Mount Academy Team One each had 11 points, Ella Collins of Cornwall Cenrtral High School Team One had 9 1/2 points.
Playoffs
Semi-Finals
Monroe-Woodbury High School vs The Mount Academy Team One: Kostya Shetekuri’s three wins and Jordan Glass’s two wins led Monroe-Woodbury to a 7-2 win over The Mount Academy Team One.
The Mount Academy Team Two vs Rondout Valley Hish School: Rondout Valley only had only two players. One would think the match would be an easy win for The Mount Academy since it would get three forfeit wins and needed only two wins out of six games to advance to the finals. . Also, in the fifth round, Rondout Valley lost, 9-0 to The Mount Academy Team Two. This was not the case. The match was tied 3-3 after two sets. Aiden Cullo had two wins and Brian Wiebke won one game. In the third set, Titus Decker and Judah Ben-Eliezer won their games (plus the forfeit win), clinching the match for The Mount Academy Team Two, 6-3.
Consolation Match: Rondout Valley vs The Mount Academy Team One. The match was tied, 3-3, after the second set. Jeff Baird won the third-set game and the forfeit win resulted in The Mount Academy Team One winning the match, 5-4. Brian Wiebke won three games for Rondout Valley.
Rondout Valley’s Brian Wiebke and Aiden Cullo battled their opponents in the playoffs despite odds stacked against them.
Championship Match: The Mount Academy Team Two vs Monroe-Woodbury: Rudi Meier’s two wins and Titus Decker, Stephen Decker, and Judah Ben-Eliezer winning one game each helped The Mount Academy win its first championship, 5-4. Kostya Shetekuri won three games and Jordan Glass one game for Monroe-Woodbury.
While the playoff matches were held in Cornwall High School’s library, the End-Of-Season Swiss tournament took place in the school’s cafeteria. Ella Collins of Cornwall High School finished first the event, wining four games and drawing one. Second-through-four-place finishers, with 3 1/2 points each and in tie-breaking order, were Carl Tyce of James O’Neill High School, Jensine Orcullo of Cornwall Central High School, and Rourke Bywater of Cornwall Central High School.
The End-Of-Season Swiss event was also a combination of individual and team tournament. Cornwall Central HS won the team trophy with 14 1/2 points. Kingston High School, with 11 points, held on to win second place, After a slow start, James O’Neill High School finished in third with 10 points.
Please view the league’s website, mhscl.lktechnodude.com, for additional information on the 2014-15 season and the league. Attention Mid-Hudson Valley, New York, High, Junior, and Elementary Schools - If your school is interested in participating in the MHSCL league next year, please email [email protected]
17 Marchand Madness Warms Up Rochester’s Winter by Karl Heck For the 37th consecutive year, chess players gathered Aaron, Nikolayev and Lubas all took one half-point in Rochester to support an event honoring one of the bye: Aaron in Round 1, and Nikolayev and Lubas in true chess greats in Upstate New York history, former Round 3. Aaron drew WFM Anna Levina in Round 4. New York State Champion Dr. Erich Marchand, who Nikolayev drew Nick Bessey in Round 2, and Lubas requested that his “friends play chess in his memory.” started the tournament with a draw before winning At the time of his death, Dr. Marchand had played three straight to get into the top group. more USCF-rated games than anyone alive. Levina and local players Lev Paciorkowski, Joshua One hundred forty players participated in four Rofrano and Kevin Roulhac tied for seventh with 3 ½ sections on the weekend of March 13-15 at the points. Levina was undefeated with two wins, a half- Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. Not only is the point bye and two draws to end the tournament. Her Good Doctor a member of the New York State Chess draw with Jacob Chen in the last round kept her out Hall of Fame, but chess itself is one of the newest of the top group. members of the National Toy Hall of Fame housed at the Museum. Perfect place for a chess tournament. The 39-player Under 1800 section was won by Canadian player Joey Orozco and Buffalo-area The closely-contested Open section drew 53 players organizer Thomas Warner, both with 4 ½ points. and ended up in a six-way tie for first place in one of Both players drew Fort Drum player Andrew Colwell the strongest top sections in tournament history. The in successive rounds on Sunday, and did not face players with 4-1 scores were U.S. and New York each other in the event. Colwell and John Westwig of Champion Gata Kamsky (below, right) Ithaca tied for third with 4-1 scores. Westwig lost to Orozco in Round 3.
Sam Cherin, Patrick Robinson and Ruizhong Wang tied for fifth with 3 ½ points.
The 22-player Under 1400 section was won outright by Eric Coltrain with 4 ½ points. Coltrain was held to a draw in Round 4 by Alexander Pacun, who had a strong 3 ½ point performance in his second rated tournament. Justin King was clear second with four points, fighting back through the field after a first- round loss to Theodore Chapman in the first round.
Pacun, Daniel Pike, Calvin Houlton and Steve Baer tied for third with 3 ½ points.
GM Sergey Kudrin, GM Bryan Smith, SM Deepak Guy Fuhrman was the top guy in the Under 1000 Aaron, FM Igor Nikolayev and Erik Lubas. section, winning it outright with 4 ½ points, yielding only a fourth-round draw to Arjun Patel in the fourth Kamsky was the 2014 co-champion of the event, round. Stephen Carey, Anirudh Ramesh and Michael while Smith was co-champion of the 2013 Marchand Niu tied for second with four points. Fuhrman beat Open. Aaron, Nikolayev and Kudrin tied for first in a Carey in the last round against draw odds to wrap up seven-player cluster in 2012. Like the tournament the top prize. remembering the history of a famous player, the results of this year’s Marchand Open also remember As has been the case for over 20 years, the Rochester past tournaments. Chess Center was the organizer of the Marchand Open. The directing staff was the expert team of Ron Kudrin was the only one in the score group to make it Lohrman, Ken McBride and Michael Lionti. to 3-0, and he drew Kamsky and Smith in the final two rounds. Smith and Kamsky drew in Round 3.
18 Notes from the Marshall by Frank Romano
The Marshall Chess Club Championship is not just a February 12 through March 12 was the five-round club tournament. It is an international tournament to FIDE Monday tournament at the Marshall, which rival many major FIDE Swisses. Four Grandmasters brought 28 players to the world-famous club for an participated in the event, including U.S. Champion opportunity to obtain or improve their FIDE ratings. Gata Kamsky. Kamsky and fellow GM Mark Paragua tied for first with 7-2 scores, with each The event was won by FM Nathan Resika with 4 ½ player winning $1,500. GM’s Zviad Izoria and points. Resika won all four games he played, taking Sergey Kudrin tied for third with 6 ½ points. a half-point bye in the second round. George Berg was clear second with an undefeated 4-1 score, Within the 55-player Swiss, the four GM’s had a conceding draws in the first and third rounds before round robin with all of the games drawn. Outside of winning out. NM Vencat Iyer and Edward Scher tied the “Big Four,” GM Kamsky drew NM Kapil for third with 3 ½ points, with Scher earning over Chandran in round three, GM Paragua drew David 100 USCF rating points to become an Expert for the Brodsky in round one, GM Izoria had two half-point first time. byes to start the tournament, and GM Kudrin drew NM Matthew Herman and FM Alisa Melekhina in Gregory Kenner directed the tournament for the the last round. Melekhina’s effort put her in the prize Marshall. fund and denied Kudrin a share of first place. The Marshall’s annual Fischer Memorial Blitz NM Qibiao Wang was clear fifth with six points, tournament was held on Tuesday, March 10 and drew overcoming a first-round loss to A-player Brandon 68 players to the world-famous club. Eight Jacobson in the first round. Grandmasters played in the tournament.
Six players tied for sixth with 5 ½ points: IM Justin Two Grandmasters: former New York State Sarkar, New York State Chess Hall of Famer IM Jay Champion Aleksandr Lenderman and New York State Bonin, FM Leif Pressman, IM Timothy Tayloe, FM Hall of Famer Joel Benjamin, tied for first with 7 ½- Alisa Melekhina and Aaron Jacobson. 1 ½ scores. They drew in the ninth and final round with first place on the line. Lenderman was GM Aleksandr Lenderman and Michael Rohde won undefeated, conceding draws in round three to GM the Marshall Championship the past two years. Giorgi Kacheishvili and GM Irina Krush in the fifth Gregory Kenner directed with assistance from Oscar round. Benjamin los to IM Mark Ginsburg in round Garcia. three.
March Madness came to the Marshall on St. Patrick’s GM Maxim Dlugy, GM Robert Hungaski and Day when the Luck of the Irish crossed with the Ginsburg tied for third with 7-2 scores. Ginsburg lost Marshall Masters. The event was a triumph for US to the other two third-place finishers, and Hungaski and New York State Champion GM Gata Kamsky, who won the 23-player tournament with 3 ½ points. also beat Dlugy in their mini round robin. GM Giorgi Kacheishvili was clear sixth with 6 ½ points. Kamsky conceded a draw in the third round to GM Zvian Izoria, and defeated GM Alexander Stripunsky Six players tied for seventh with six points: GM in the last round to clinch first prize, conceding draw Leonid Yudasin, GM Irina Krush, FM Carlos Mena, odds. GM Aleksnadr Lenderman, Stripumsky, Izoria, IM Jay Bonin, SM Nasyr Akylbekov and FM Leif GM Tamaz Gelashvili, NM Dan Lapan and NM Pressman. Aaron Jacobson all tied for second with three points in the star-studded field. Gelashvili and Jacobson The tournament was directed by Bryan Quick for the were undefeated. Marshall.
Bryan Quick directed the tournament for the The first day of March at the Marshall was the last Marshall. day of the club’s FIDE Grand Prix, which ran from 19 February 27 to March 1. Aravind Kumar.
GM Mark Paragua swept the 45-player field with a Gregory Keener and Oscar Garcia directed for the perfect 5-0 score, winning the event by a full point. Marshall.
NM’s David Brodsky and Pravenn Balakrishman tied GM Maxim Dlugy had a perfect 9-0 sweep in the for second with 4-1 scores. Both players were Marshall’s January FIDE Blitz tournament held on undefeated, with Brodsky taking two half-point byes, January 30, winning the 21-player tournament by 2 ½ and Balakrishman drawing Experts Aaron Jacobson points. in the fourth round and Edward Kopiecki in the first round. NM Anton Osinenko and SM Nicolas De T Checa tied for second with 6 ½ points. GM Robert FM Rostislav Taborsky and NM Sahil Sinha tied for Hungaski, one of three GM’s in the field, was clear fourth with 3 ½ points. fourth with six points. Gregory Keener directed the tournament for the Marshall. Jermaine Reid directed the tournament for the Marshall. January 20th brought 21 players to the Marshall for the January edition of the Marshall Masters, the first GM’s Zviad Izoria and Maxim Dlugy won the 20- Marshall Masters of 2015. player February Marshall Masters with 3 ½ points on February 17. The two GM’s did not play each other. GM Aleksandr Lenderman won the tournament with GM Dlugy drew NM Hans Niemann in the first 3 ½ points. Lenderman drew newly-crowned New round and fought back through the field, while Izoria York State Scholastic Champion Joshua Colas in the drew GM Aleksandr Lenderman in the third round. first round, and then won three straight to win the tournament, defeating GM Zviad Izoria in the last FM Leif Pressman and NM Juan Sena tied for third round. with 3-1 scores. Sena lost to former New York State Champion Nicolas de T Checa in the first round and GM’s Maxim Dlugy and Irina Krush tied for second won three straight, and Pressman took a first-round, with undefeated 3-1 scores. Izoria, Colas and NM half-point bye and drew Texas GM Hedinn Dan Lapan tied for fourth with 2 ½ points. Steingrimsson in the second round before winning two straight in what was a very difficult event. Gregory Keener directed the tournament for the Marshall. Former New York State Champion Lenderman was clear fifth with 2 ½ points in the Bryan Quick What turned out to be the last tournament of the directed tournament. Marshall Chess Club in 2014 was the December Marshall Grand Prix, held from December 26-28 to a A total of 48 players contested the Marshall February strong holiday audience at the club. Grand Prix held from January 30th to February 1st at the Marshall. The 32-player event was won by IM Yury Lapshun, who won the event with 4 ½ points. His only draw Four players tied for first with 4-1 scores: GM was in the last round, when he drew SM Nicolas De Michael Rohde, IM Jay Bonin, FM Awonder Liany T Checa. and NM David Brodsky.. GM Rohde took two half- point byes and won his other three games. Bonin and FM Rostislav Taborsky and NM Karan Bhatty tied Liang were also undefeated, drawing each other in for second with 4-1 scores. Taborsky lost to Lapshun round four. Bonin drew Brodksy in round five, and in the fourth round. Bhatty was undefeated, drawing Liang drew with current New York State Junior High NM Nathan Resika in the second round and Edward Champion NM Marcus Ming Miyasaka in round Kopiecki in the third round. three. SM Checa and Kopiecki tied for fourth with 3 ½ Four players tied for fifth with 3 ½ points: IM Justin points in the Jermaine Reid directed tournament. Sarkar, FM Rostislave Taborsky, NM Miyasaka, and 20 Positional Compensation: The Scholastic Column By Zachary Calderon
When we think of the term "Compensation" in chess, we think in terms of material. White is down a pawn, 4. f3 has been known as the Kmoch or Shirov Black is up an exchange, up a piece, down two Variation, but is more commonly known as simply 4. pawns, etc. The side with less material will hopefully f3. Much like the c3 Sicilian, White shows very little be able to compensate for this material deficit respect to Black's attempts at trying to restrain somehow, by initiative, space, pawn structure, White's center, and proceeds as if nothing had dynamic piece play/mobility/ or an attack. However, happened. 4. f3 can lead to very sharp play by both when thinking about different aspects of a chess sides. And finally, 4. a3, the Saemisch Variation, game, material only plays a small role. shows the most amount of contempt towards Black's opening strategy. He brazenly dares Black to take on Often times, one can "sacrifice" something, like pawn c3, which is what Black intended on doing anyways. structure, piece activity, king safety, or a number of It is with this variation that we'll start our exploration other things, in return for something else. Let’s take a of positional imbalances. look at one of the most crystal clear examples that arises from the ever-popular Nimzo-Indian Defense. 4. a3 Bxc3 5. bxc3 b6 6. f3
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4
As you can probably imagine, the f3 Nimzo and the The Nimzo-Indian is famed for its dynamic piece Saemisch King’s Indian often transpose. If you're placements and solid positions. Black has every serious about your chess, take a look at the following opportunity to play for the full point in this opening. diagram and treat it as an exercise. White has several moves at his disposal from move four. 4. Qc2 leads to the Classical Variation, or the Black just played 5...b6, seemingly just ignoring Capablanca Variation. The idea is to avoid the White's massive center. White's plan is pretty doubled pawns, after …Bxc3, while also straightforward - play e4 and steamroll the Black "threatening" to go ahead with e4. position. Your challenge is this; what is Black's plan? What should his next move be? What are White's 4. e3 is the Rubinstein Variation, The Rubinstein is weaknesses? very solid and direct, aiming for simple development and an easy, quiet game. 4. Bg5 and 4. Nf3 are the If you found the c4 pawn without already being Leningrad and Kasparov Variations, respectively. accustomed to Nimzo-Indian positions, then kudos to They are both quite similar in nature, neither you. While the c3 pawn is close to home and can particularly threatening, but still containing more easily be defended by the dark-squared Bishop (Note than a drop of poison if Black is unprepared. the absence of Black's own dark-squared Bishop) The 21 c4 pawn however, is a lot weaker. It's more advanced Black can often play d6-Qd7-Qa4 himself. We've and exposed to Black's pieces both in front and from been following the game Geller-Smyslov, which behind. Black has no intentions (or should have no eventually ended up in a draw. Black can often play intentions) of trying to actively jockey for the center, d6 and c5 to lock the c4 pawn in place, as well as but rather focus all his firepower on the poor c4 sometimes Ne8-d6 to continue to apply pressure to pawn. With that in mind, we can now see that 5...b6 the c4 pawn. was not at all intended to fianchetto the Bishop and try to fight for the middle, but to play Ba6 and open In this game, Smyslov chose the continuation with fire on c4. Qc8-b7-c6 to add pressure to the position. Either way, the plusses of both sides are crystal clear. White has a 6...Ba6 7. e4 Nc6 massive space advantage, but will inevitably lose the c4 pawn. We can start to feel the pressure mounting. Now the Knight joins the assault. I hope this has given you a better idea of what positional compensation and sacrifice looks like. 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 Na5 10. Qa4 Remember, there is a lot more to chess than just material. Keep that in mind next time you're playing. Rather than cringing at the idea of doubled pawns, think about the compact structure you'll get, or the open files that come with doubled pawns by nature. When your opponent is conducting a pawn storm, look for ways to slip behind his defenses. Every move leaves something undefended. Every move creates a weakness in the person’s position. Find it, and exploit it. Always look for the square left behind.
Andrew Colwell wins Watertown Chess Club Blitz Championship Andrew Colwell, a recent new player to the Watertown Chess Club won the 2015 Blitz The other move, 10. e5, leads to tremendous Championship on March 10, 2015. He scored five complications after 10...g5, along the lines of the straight wins to clinch the 6 game round robin event MacCutcheon French. with a record of +5-1=0. Previous champion Robert Kratzat finished second at 4 ½ points. 10. Qa4 is the main move, trying to hang on to c4. In lines where White neglects to place his Queen on a4, Greater New York Scholastics (from page 15)
A tournament of this magnitude could not be held 2016 will be the 50th anniversary of the Greater New without a host of staff and volunteers. Along with York Scholastics, a tournament that has been Steve Immitt, the other main tournament directors successful since the beginning. The original 1966 were David Hater, International Arbiters Carol tournament drew 614 players when the previous Jarecki and Sophia Rohde, along with Brother John USCF record for turnout was 265, and it has been McManus, Jabari McGreen, Hal Sprechman, Jim onward and upward ever since. Mullanaphy, Harold Stenzel, Andrew Rea, Aaron Kiedes, NYSCA Vice-President Polly Wright, Oscar Back then, most organizers thought elementary Garcia, Anand Dommalapati, Mariah McGreen and school players were too young for organized chess. Maya McGreen, Along with the directors, there were Now, over half the players in most state and national hundreds of parents, coaches and spectators assisting championships are in the elementary and primary to make this tournament the annual success that it is. sections.
22 Queens Chess Club Winter Summary by Ed Frumkin
Bonin and Guevara Tie for Firstat January Open Zilbermintz than beat Frumkin while Kopiecki beat (January 2-23) top 2-1 Clayton Glad (1718). Lev and Eddie split the The Club drew 18 players for this event, headed by top prizes of $90 and $60 ($75 each), while Ken IM Jay Bonin, 2014 club champion Payam Parhami Cruz, Clay Glad and Guy Rawlins (1606) split the (2118) and Rob Guevara (2165) with four more of the $50 Under 1800 prize with 2-2 scores ($17 each). Ed usual suspects between 2000 and 2100, Bill Arluck, Frumkin and Joe Felber directed. New York State Chess Hall of Famers Ed Frumkin and Joe Felber, and Ed Kopiecki. Felber was held to Bonin Plays but Doesn’t Finish First! : Bill Arluck a first-round draw by Guevara’s protégé Alex Roti Does (1581) but the major upsets began in Round 2. The Winter Open (February 20-March 13) drew 15 Parhami lost to Kopiecki (reversing their club players as our rough winter continued. Joe Felber championship result) and Mulazim Muwwakkil had to start the event himself as Ed Frumkin had to (1878) beat Bill Arluck (2096). Bonin and Guevara skip the first week after a medical problem surfaced defeated Kopiecki and Muwwakkil in Round 3 and at the US Amateur Team. Joe was happy to draw in drew in Round 4 to split the top prizes of $200 and Round 1 with Guy Rawlins (1689). In Round 2 $100 ($150 each). Parhami lost again in Round 3 to Bonin beat Brian Lawson (2044) and Bill Arluck Jay Kleinman (1903). Guy Rawlins was Top Under (2111) beat Ed Kopiecki (1998). The last 1-0, Ken 1800 with 2½-1½ to win $60. Ed Frumkin and Joe Sasmor (1873) had the better of it when Ed Frumkin Felber directed, although Joe missed Rounds 2 and 3 bailed out with a draw offer while Joe beat Ira Cohen with car trouble. (1832). Bonin was up a pawn in a Knight ending with Arluck in Round 3 but couldn’t win it. Joe Zilbermintz and Kopiecki Tie for First at Winter missed Round 3 when his clutch died, so Sasmor G/45 (January 30-February 6) played Lawson instead and lost. Thanks to our terrible winter weather, only 12 hardy souls turned up for our two-week event. There were This result led to the last round pairings of Bonin- no surprises in Round 1, but in Round 2 there were Frumkin, Lawson-Arluck, Kopiecki-Felber and two strange draws. On Board 1, Rob Guevara (2131) Kleinman-Muwwakkil, with Bonin and Arluck with was winning easily against Joe Felber (2010) but was 2½, Kleinman as top 1½ and the other with 2. in his usual time trouble when he started dropping Frumkin managed to hold, while Arluck came back pawns with check, but Joe let him off with a draw from an inferior position to win, while Kopiecki beat when Rob was down to a couple of seconds (too nice Felber and Kleinman demolished Muwwakkil in a a guy!!) Eddie Kopiecki (2004) was up a Queen on miniature. Bonin collected his “Brooklyn Bridge former Empire Chess columnist Lev Zilbermintz scenario (“The Worst That Could Happen”)“ $50 (2060) on Board 2 when the former ran out of time before he left and that turned out to be all he would (get a delay clock!!). Ed Frumkin (2028) beat Jay win. Bill won the $200 first prize and Eddie split the Kleinman (1903) to be the only perfect score going $100 2nd prize with Jay. Ken Cruz won the Top into week 2. Ed beat Rob on time to reach 3-0 while Under 1800 prize of $50 with a 2-2 score. At 72, Bill Lev beat Joe and Eddie beat Ken Cruz (1741), the top might be the oldest player ever to win a QCC event 1-1 when Kleinman couldn’t play week 2. free and clear. Ed Frumkin and Joe Felber directed.
www.nysca.net 23 Kistler Wins Fifth Watertown Chess Club Title by Don Klug
Dr. David Kistler, a professor at SUNY Potsdam, Mr. Prieto, now down to less than five minutes on his won his fifth straight Watertown Chess Club Title by time clock, into some quick and rash decisions. defeating Adolfo Prieto 2-0 in the 2014 Championship Match. Dr. Kistler has enjoyed a There followed 32. fxe3 Nxe3 33. Bxe3 Qxe3+ 34. marvelous 2014 USCF tournament season by Qf2 and now the ominous 34… f4 created quite a compiling a USCF Tournament record of +40-7=10, few problems for White. Mr. Prieto suffered what we and raising his rating by nearly 40 points to 2124. all dread in time pressure, a blunder that ended the His performance at the club was even better; five game immediately, 35.Ra4?? Bxa4. tournament wins in six events and a score of +26-1= 6, in the nine tournament season that stretches from March till November. The top four club members in Wilkes/Barre-Traxler (from page 24) the standings qualify for the club championship 40.Nfxe5 Bxc4 41. Nxc4 Qxe4 42. Qb2 Re6 43. Rd1 matches held in December. Re7 44. Rd4 Qf5 45. Rd2 Qe4 46. g4 Kg6 47. Rd4 Qe6 48. Qc2+ Kg7 49. Qg2 Ne4 50. Qf3 Re8 51. Dr. Kistler finished the chess club season tied for Qd1 Nf6 52. Qf1 Nd5 53.Qd3 Nf6 54. Qe2 h5 55. total points in the final standings even though he Qh2 Re7 56. gxh5 Kh6 57. Rd8 Kxh5 58. Qg2 Ne4 played only 33 of the 43 scheduled games. He was 59. h4 Qf5 60. hxg5 Kg6 61. Rd1 Rf7 62. Ra1 Qd5 the number one seed in the championship tournament 63. Rf1 Rxf1+ 64. Qxf1 b5 65. cxb6 cxb6 66. Nxb6 based on his seasons’ undefeated record of +3-0=3 Qd6 67. Qg2 Qd1+ 68. Qf1 Qg4+ * 1/2-1/2 against #2 seed Adolfo Prieto. He defeated #4 seed Robert Kratzat in a semi-final match 1-0 and then The final variation that White can try, a escaped a championship first-round certain loss to recommendation of Stephen Bucher, a famous Mr. Prieto. His second round win was a perfect theoretician, is 5.d4 d5 6.Bxd5 Nxd4 7.Bxf7+ strategy of sitting and waiting for his opponent to err (against Nxf7 I was able to defeat Houdini 3) Ke7 during Mr. Prieto’s continuing time pressure issues. 8.Bc4 b5 9.Bd3 h6 10.Nf3 Ng4 11.Be3 Rf8 12.Bxd4! 1.d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. Bb5 Nd7 6. a4 Bxd4 13.O-O, Black doesn't even win the exchange Bg7 7. Nge2 Ne7 8. Ng3 OO9. OO f5 10. ef5 gf5 11 with Bxb2 choosing instead 13...Bxf2+ 14.Rxf2 Nxf2 . Bg5 Nf6 12. Nh5 a6 13. Ng7 ab5 14. Nh5 Nh5 15. 15.Kxf2 and White has a clear plus. Qh5 b416. Qh4 Rf7 17. Nb5 Qd7 18. Rfd1 Ra6 19. c3 Ng6 20. Qh6 bc3 21. Nc3 Qe8 22. h4e4 23. h5 However, Black can improve: 5.d4 d5 6. Bxd5 White needs to redirect the Black pieces away from Nxd5! 7. dxc5 Ndb4! 8.a3 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Na6 10. the Kingside. [23. Nb5The Knight on b5 attacks the Be3 Nd4 11. b4 b6 12. c3 Nb3 13. Ra2 bxc5 14. Nf3 backward "d" pawn. f6 15. Rb2 Be6 16. Nbd2 Nxd2 17. Nxd2 c4 18. b5 23... Qf8 24. Qf8 Kf8 25. h5 Ne526. Bf4 Re7] Nb8 19. Kc2 O-O 20. Ra1 Nd7 21.Rb4 a6 22. bxa6 23... Ne5...and now the momentum turns to the Rxa6 23. Nxc4 Rfa8 24. Nd2 Rxa3 =. Black side. 24. Bf6 Ng425. Qg5 Kf8 26. Bd8 Qe5 27. Qh4 In summary the Wilkes-Barre/Traxler can be wildly Bd7 tactical or rather quiet positionally, depending on 27... f4 A better alternative, 28. Rf1 Bf529. h6 to how play evolves. 5.Nxf7 is extremely complicated keep the Black "h" pawn at bay. even in correspondence chess, the 5.Bxf7+ variation 28. a5 Ra8 gives White less advantage than many players 28... f4 is still better. realize; with 5.d4 Black can steer for tactics and just 29. Bg5 h630. Bc1 Kg7 31. Ne2 e3 be much worse or play quietly and equalize. Dr. Kistler’s final round game move 31…e3 forced
24 The Wilkes-Barre/Traxler by Richard Moody Jr.
In the Winter 2015 issue of Empire Ches, I presented “...5. Bxf7+ Ke7 analysis and games played in the main line of the 5…Bc4 and Bd5 are ok also, but this is the most 4.Ng5 variation of the Two Knights' Defense. In this accurate move. issue I will address the wildest opening in all of 6. Bb3 Rf8 chess, the Wilkes-Barre/Traxler variation. I had GM Qg6 9. Be3 Bg4 10. Nbd2 {Black has no shadow of Roman Dzindzichashvili, who used Komodo 6 and compensation for a pawn... 6... Qe8 7. d3 d6 8. Nf3 Houdini 3 running on advanced hardware, analyze Qg6 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. fxe3 Rf8 11. Qd2 +-; Black can the key positions. Following his analysis, I had Deep improve marginally with 6...Qe8 7.d3 d6 8.Nf3 Qg6 Fritz 14 play both sides of the position at tournament 9.Be3 Bg4 10.Nbd2 Nd4 11.c3 Nxb3 12.axb3 Bxe3 level to test his evaluation (see below). 13.fxe3 Test+-) (6... d6 7. d3 {Even the engines like Houdini on powerful hardware prefer accurate and Before I start his analysis, the reader may wonder safe way to play to secure the winning edge} Qe8 8. what is wrong with 5.Nxf7?. The answer is 5...Bxf2+ Nf3 white is technically winning}) (6... Nd4 7.c3 and it doesn't matter whether White plays Kxf2, Kf1 Nxb3 8. Qxb3 Qg8 {the best, but also quite bad for or Ke2, Black has at least equality. black} (8... Qf8 9. Nf3 d6 10. d4 Bb6 11. dxe5 Nxe4 12. O-O +-) 9. Qc2 {In the middlegame, white's The classic game is Reinisch-Traxler, Prague, 1896: advantage is a lot greater} d6 10. Nf3 Bg4 11. d4 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Nxf7 Bxf3 12. gxf3 Bb6 13. Rg1 g6 14. Be3 Qe6 15. Nd2 Bxf2+ 6.Ke2 Nd4+ 7.Kd3 b5! 8.Bb3 Nxe4!! 9.Nxd8 {And again...White is a pawn up with the great Nc5+ 10.Kc3 Ne2+! 11.Qxe2 Bd4+ 12.Kb4 a5+ position}) 13.Kxb5 Ba6+ 14.Kxa5 Bd3+ 15.Kb4 Na6+ 16.Ka4 7. d3 d6 8. Nf3 Qe8 9. Be3 +- Qg6 10. Nbd2 Bxe3 Nb4+ 17.Kxb4 c5# 11. fxe3 Qh6 12. Qe2 +- {it's very hard to get greater advantage in any other normal opening}” *Test Deep Fritz 14 was able to restrain d4 for most of the Members online have analyzed all the key variations game but missed a key resource by White that leads out to a depth of 28 and concluded that Black has at to a pawn up ending with no counterplay for Black. least equality in the critical 5.Bxf2+ variations. However, when I scrolled through the the ChessBase This is a typical computer mistake---play for the big 2013 data base by lower rated players, White scored plus and overlooking a long-term plus that is slightly smaller. By the time that Fritz got in d4 in the game it much better than Black after 5.Nxf7. was too late to prevent Black from equalizing. Here is a quick draw I got with White against 5. Bxf7+ Ke7 6. Bb3 Qe8 7. d3 d6 8.Nf3 Bg4 9. Be3 Houdini 3. 5. Nxf7 Bxf2+ 6. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7. Kg1 Nd4 10. Nbd2 Qg6 11. c3 Nxb3 12. axb3 Bxe3 13. Qh4 8. g3 Nxg3 9. hxg3 Qxg3+ 10. Kf1 d5 11. fxe3 Rhf8 14. O-O Kf7 15. Qe1?! Bxd5 Bh3+ 12. Rxh3 Qxh3+ 13. Kg1 Qg3+ 14. White probably should play d4 here and go into a Kh1 * 1/2-1/2 Rook and pawn ending a pawn up: 15.d4! Kg8 [exd4? 16.e5! +-] 16.dxe5 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Qxe4 It also bears emphasis that Beliavsky drew Karpov 18.Qd4 Bxf3 19.Rxf3 Qxd4 20.exd4 dxe5 21.dxe5 and defeated Anand in the 5.Bxf7+ Wilkes- +/=) Be6!! (This is the critical move in this variation Barre/Traxler, so clearly the opening is a good of the game. Black does not want to play Bxf5 when practical choice. In the latter game Anand-Beliavsky, the Knight gets to f5. Linares, 1991, White was better in the opening 6.Bd5 16. Nh4 Qh5 17. h3 Kg8 18. b4 a6 19. c4 Rad8 20. Qe8 7.d3 d6 8.Bxc6! bxc6 9.Be3 Qg6 10.Nf3 Bxe3 Nf5 Rd7 21.Rf3 Qe8 22. Qc1 g6 23. Nh4 Rdf7 24. 11.fxe3 Qxg2? 12.Rg1 Qh3 13.Rxg7+ Kd8 14.Rg3 Rf1 Qe7 25. Qe1 Kg7 26. Ra5 Bd7 27. b3 Nh5 28. Qh6 15.Qe2 Ng4? 16.h3 Nf6 17.Nbd2 Ba6 18.O-O- Rxf7+ Rxf7 29. Nhf3 h6 30. Qa1 Kh7 31. Qb2 Rf8 O +/- but Anand hung a piece at the end of the 32. Qc2 Kg7 33. c5 Be8 34.Ra1 Bb5 35. Rc1 g5 36. game Inside Chess, v.4 Issue 7 p.8-9.Here are Nc4 Nf6 37. Rf1 Rd8 38. d4 Re8 39. dxe5 dxe5 Roman's comments: (continued on page 24). 25 Capital Region News from staff reports
Here are the results and final standings from the Berman, Schenectady: Zachary Calderon, Saratoga: Schenectady and Saratoga Chess Club Peter Michelman). Championships for 2014-15 based on email correspondence from the club presidents. On Wednesday, February 4, the Albany Area Chess Club (AACC) Championship for the 2014-2015 For the Schenectady Club, they played a single round season was decided: Jeremy Berman defeated robin with 8 players (7 rounds), and finished on Gordon Magat to reclaim the AACC Championship. February 12, 2015. The tournament was run by Carl Ademac. Unlike last year, the AACC Champion was decided from a two-game match between the winners of two This year’s winner for the club was Empire Chess approximately-balanced sections. This year those two columnist Zachary Calderon, a high school senior, section winners were Gordon Magat and Jeremy who also played in the annual Albany-Schenectady Berman. The first game of the Championship match Club Match in October 2014. Congratulations to had Berman as White and Magat as Black, and was Zachary. played on Wednesday, January 28th 2015. That game ended in mutually agreed draw. Here are the final standings for the Schenectady Club: As for the second game of the match, colors were reversed. In a thrilling King’s Indian Defense, we Standings: went for complications in the middle-game: Black 1. Zachary T. Calderon 6 1.2 gave up a Rook and two pawns in exchange for two 2. Philip Sells 6 of White’s minor pieces. However, the imbalance had 3. John Phillips 5 a unique caveat: White had a pawn securely planted 4. Carlos A. Varela 4 on g6 that would sustain mate threats against 5.Richard C Chu 3 Berman’s King. As for compensation, I had two 6. Joel R. Miranti 2 terrific Knights – one planted firmly on the outpost of 7. Matthew Clough 1 1/2 the d5 square, and one defending it on f6. Eventually 8.Balaji Mahadecan 0 the game trickled down to mutual time pressure, and Gordon timed out before making his move.Thus for As for the Saratoga Club, they ran a double-round the second year in a row, Jeremy Berman has won the robin with six participants (originally seven, but Alan Albany Area Chess Club Championship. Lecours had to drop out after three games). After the 10 rounds (not including Alan’s three games), this Here are the final results, from the regular season and year’s winner is Peter Michelman. Congratulations the Championship (excluding the Under 1800 to Peter. Championship, between Tom Clark and Cory Northrup, which still is TBD): Here are the final standings for the Saratoga Club: Regular Season Standings (with point total/games Standings: played to the right): 1. Peter Michelman 7 1/2 2. Gary Farrell 7 Round Robin #1: 3. Glen Gausewitz 5 1 = Jeremy Berman 7 4. Jonathan Feinberg 4 1/2 2 = Dean Howard 5 5. Joshua Kuperman 3 1/2 3 = Peter Henner 4 1/2 6. David Connors 2 ½ 4 = Thomas Clark 4 5 = Arthur Alowitz 4 Thus for the three major clubs in the area (Albany, 6 = Scott Boyce 2 1/2 Schenectady, and Saratoga), by mid-February of 7 = Paul Axel-Lute 1 2015 we have had the club championships finished, 8 = Charles Eson 0 and the champions crowned (Albany: Jeremy 26 Round Robin #2: The 14-player unrated Grades 6-12 section was won 1 = Gordon Magat 6 by Adam Aleksic and Spencer Moon, both with 2 = Tim Wright 5 1/2 perfect 4-0 scores. Jordan Simmons was clear third 3 = Peter Michelman 5 with three points, losing to Aleksic in the first round. 4 = John Lack 4 1/2 5 = Cory Northrup 3 1/2 Gabriel Rodriguez won the Grades 3-5 section with a 6 = Paul Moore 1 1/2 perfect four points. Jaden Cusprinie was clear second 7 = Ryan Rogers 1 with three points, going undefeated with two draws 8 = Stephen Kullas 1 and not facing Rodriguez.
The Championship Match Result: Damon Banks won the K-2 section with 3 ½ points, Jeremy Berman and Gordon Magat conceding a second-round draw to Harmann Sidhu in the first round. Game 1: Draw Game 2: Berman defeats Magat The tournament was directed by Sreenivas and Score: Sandeep Alampalli and organized by Borhter John 1. Berman (1.5/2) McManus. 2. Magat (0.5/2) Almost 100 players made it to the Miller School in The March 7 Make the Right Move tournament at the Kingston on February 21 during the President’s Week Albany at the Albany Community Charter School break for their annual event. There were rated and drew 105 players in various sections. unrated sections for scholastic players.
The closely-contested Open section was won by Seamus Gould won the 25-player Under 800 rated Philip Sells and Empire Chess columnist Zachary section with a perfect 5-0 score. Daniel Brucker and Calderon with 3 ½ points. They drew in the third Gavin Spide Perri tied for second with 4-1 scores. round, and then proceeded to defeat the rest of the Perri beat Brucker in their individual game in the field in the 10-player section. WFM Mathra third round, but Perri then lost in the fourth round to Samadashvili was clear third with an undefeated Balaji Mahadevan. three points, drawing in the first round and taking a half-point bye in the last one. The AWE section (All Welcome) drew 10 players and was very competitive. Bennie Blough. Matt Cref and Shane Thorkildsen won the rated 800-1400 Steve Brucker tied for first in the highly-competitive Queen.King section with the section’s only 4-0 score. section with 2 ½ points out of four. Blough and Cref Six players tied for second with three points: Shreyas drew each other in the last round to force the three- Raman, Joseph Schneider, Danny Diaz, Kenneht way tie. Etwaru, Harun Gopel and Killian Whyte. Gideon Shirky won the Grades 7-12 section with 4 ½ Stellin Poola won the 29-player rated under 600 points, besting the nine-player field by a full point. section with its only perfect 4-0 score in his first He drew second-place finisher Jared Tesone in the tournament. Xavier McCarthy was clear second with third round, and swept his other rounds. Tesone was 3 ½ points, winning its last three games after a clear secone with 3 ½ points. :”Swiss Gambit” first-round draw against John Lamont. In the 18-player Grades 4-6 competition, Lucas Dentico was the champion with a perfect 5-0 score. Six players tied for third with three points: Serigne Ike Blough and Fredric Winham tied for second. Sow, Luke Murphy, Andrew Cref, Connor Willis, Dentico beat Blough in Round 4, and Bough beat Ashutosh Yaligar and Atharv Agashe. Winham in Round 3.
The AWE (All Welcome) section drew nine players Another Dentico, Nico, won the 35-player K-3 and was won by Jared Federman and Bill Matters section with five points as well. Evan Dong and with three points. Federman Beat Matters in the last Adam Lane tied for second with four points, both round to force the tie. losing to Dentico. Chace Snyder and Sebastian Stote 27 tied for fourth with 3 ½ points. Move event at Albany High.
The Rockin’Rooks of Rhinebeck won the team Carlos Varela won the Open section with 3 ½ points, competition, followed by the St. Joseph Mighty winning the first three rounds before taking a half- Pawns of Kingston in second, and the Robert Graves point bye in the last round. Make the Right Move School, also of Kingston, in third. The tournament president Sandeep Alampalli was clear second with was organized by the Miller School Chess Club and three points, battling back from a first-round loss to directed by Brother John McManus. Karl Heck and winning three straight.
Below: St. Joseph’s Mighty Pawns do battle at the Derin Gumustop, Joseph Scheider and Danny Diaz State Scholastics in Saratoga tied for first with 3-1 scores in the King section. Springs. Gumustop was undefeated. Oliver Pflaum won the 28-player Queen section with a perfect 4-0 score, besting the field by a full point. Devon Guzy was clear second with 3 ½ points, yielding a second- round draw. Five players tied for third with three points: Blaze Guzy, Stephen Dong, Cooper Guzy, Harun Gopal, and Antonio Lacy.
The 26-player Rook section (under 600) was won by Erica Li with its only perfect 4-0 score. Xavier McCarthy, Luke Villani, Nathaniel Mitzel, Eleanor Cerf, Giovanny Vicento and Ethan Rafferty tied for second with three points.
Nitin Obla won the AWE (all welcome) section with 3 ½ points, yielding a third-round draw to Ken Evans One annual Albany event is the city-wide Police of Kingston. Matthew Samue and Shane Thorkildsen Athletic League chess tournament, which drew 44 tied for second, both losing the Obla. Adam Aleksic players and was held on February 17 at Albany High won the Grades 6-12 unrated section with 3 ½ points, School. The top Captain section was won by Danny yielding a draw in the last round while a full point Diaz and Zachary Benson, both with 3 ½ points. ahead of the 11-player field. Lisa Kemp was clear They drew in the third round, and bested the rest of second with three points. John Lamont won the the field. unrated K-5 section with a perfect 4-0 score,. In the 16-player Lieutenant section, Xavier McCarthy swept the field in what was very close to a “perfect Swiss.” Four players tied for second with three points: Gloria Kleinberg, Gavin Perri, Andrew Cref and Miguel Cruz.
The 19-player Sargeant section was won by Balajhi Mahadewan with a perfect 4-0 score. Four players tied for second: Kevin Deng, John Lamond, Tanmay Goel and Eleanor Cref.
The tournament was organized by Make the Rgith Move for the Police Athletic League and directed by Brother John McManus.
One hundred and three players came to the Albany The tournament was organized by the Albany High High School on February 7th for the TRM 91 chess School Chess Club, and directed by Sreenivas tournament, the second consecutive Make the Right Alampalli and Brother John McManus. 28 Upcoming NYSCA-Sponsored and Major Tournaments
APR. 4, 11,18, 25 MAY 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, JUNE 6, 13, 20, 27 Rochester Chess Center Saturday Tournaments! 3-SS, G/60 d5. Rochester CC, 221 Norris Dr., Rochester, NY 14610. 585-442-2430. Prizes based on entries. EF: $15, RCC members $13. $2 less for HS and Pre-HS. Reg.: 1-1:45 pm. Rds.: 2-4-6. One bye available, request at entry. www.nychess.org. Also, Youth tournament, G/30 d5, every Saturday morning 10am-1pm, trophies and prizes. EF: $5.
APR. 10, 17, 24, MAY 1 15th Queens Team Championship 4-SS, G/115 d5. All Saints Lutheran Church, 164-02 Goethals Ave., Jamaica, NY 11432. Open to two player teams with April ratings averaging under 2000. $$100-50 to top 2 teams, $60 to top U1700 team, $60 each to top Board 1 and Board 2 scorers/10 teams (prizes raised or lowered proportionally). One 1/2 point team bye permitted, which must be requested at entry. If one player on team is unavailable, replacement player must be rated lower and occupy board of player replaced, regardless of rating. EF: $35 per player, $25 QCC members. REG.: 7-7:30. Rds.:7:45 each Friday. ENT: Ed Frumkin, 445 East 14th St., #10D, New York, NY 10009 (212-677-3224 – do not call on Thursday or Friday). More detailed contact information at www.queens-chess.com. Mail entry by April 4.
APR 19, MAY 14: 60th AND 61st Binghamton Open 4-SS, G/65 d5. Prizes: $300 b/26. Open-$100-$60-$30; Reserve-$50-$40-$20 (U1700). Trophies: 1-3 Reserve section. Advance Entry: EF's Reduced! Open-$20 Reserve-$15 (U1700) $5 more on site-cash only on site. Schedule: Registration on site 8:45–9:15 AM. Rounds: 9:30-12Noon-2:30-4:45. Free chess set & board to all new players under 18 years of age. Mail Entry: checks payable to: "Cordisco's Corner Store", 308 Chenango St., Binghamton, NY 13901 (607) 772-8782, [email protected].
MAR. 30, APR. 6, 13, 20 102nd Nassau Grand Prix 4-SS, 40/80 d0. 1st Presbyterian Church, 1st & Main Sts., Mineola. 2 sections. Open: EF: $36 by 3/27. $$ (630 b/20, top 2 G) 180-120, U2100, 1900, 1700/UR each 110. Booster: open to U1500/UR. EF: $19 by 3/27. $$ (210 b/14) 90, U1300, 1100/UR each 60. Both: 2 byes 1-4 (Last rd bye must be req before rd. 3 and is irrevocable). $10 more for non-memb. EF $7 more at site. Reg ends 7:15 PM. Rds.: 7:15 each Mon. April ratings used. Info only: [email protected]. Ent: Harold Stenzel, 80 Amy Dr., Sayville, NY 11782.
Third Tuesday of each month. Marshall Masters at the Marshall Chess Club. 4-SS, G/30. 23 W. 10th St., NYC. 212-477-3716. Open to players rated over 2100 (plus all players scoring 2 ½ or more from CCNY at the Marshall's Thursday Night Action) EF: $40, members $30, GMs $10 (returned on completion of tournament). Top three prizes guaranteed. $$Guaranteed 250-150-100. Top Under 2400 and Top Under 2300 prizes. Special prize for biggest upset. Reg.: 6:15-6:45. Rounds.: 7-8:15-9:30-10:45 p.m. One bye available, rounds 1 or 4 only.
APR. 18 16th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial 4SS, G/45 d5. **NEW LOCATION!** Hotel Pennsylvania (401 7th Ave.) Across the street from Penn Station, between 32nd and 33rd Streets. Tel: 212.736.5000. **Note: Saturday Grand Prix and Sunday Scholastic • Info: [email protected] or (Pat Bowyer) 516.641.4521.EF: $20. $$G: $250-$175-$125, U2200 $100, U2000 $75, U1800 $60. Reg.: 11:15-11:45. Rds.: 12-1:45-3:45-5:30pm. Ent: Cks or MO payable to Pat Bowyer (be sure to specify "Grand Prix, Saturday"), c/o PAR Group, Inc., 119 N. Park Avenue, Suite 303, Rockville Centre, NY 11570 • Limit 70 players & NO door ents. Saturday, APR 18, evening: Possible Bughouse team tourney, starting time: 8pm. 5 minute Swiss or roundrobin depending on # of entries. 2 players per team. EF: $5/player. Cash to top team. You MUST bring clocks and sets, none will be provided $$$ Payment & entries must be received by Monday, April 13th at the latest.
APR. 18, 25 MAY 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Super Saturday Night Action in Brooklyn! Near Barclays Center! 4-SS, G/25 d5. ($325 b/15): 100-75 U1600-75 mixed doubles 75 (mixed doubles pair must be announced at entry with combined average rating U2200.) EF: $30. Rds.: 7-8:15-9:30-10:45 Max one bye, request at entry. EF deducted from prize for IM's and GM's. Brooklyn Chess Club: New York Chess and Game Shop located across the street from Barclay's Center, 20 minutes from Manhattan: Near All Trains: Take N, Q, R, B. D, 2, 3, 4, 5 to Atlantic
29 Ave. - Barclays Center. Walk 2 blocks South to 192 Flatbush Avenue. www.nycchesstournaments.com/, phone 718-398-3727. Register in advance by email, phone, on-site registration up until the beginning of round 1.
APR. 19 16th Annual Bruce Bowyer Memorial SCHOLASTIC Tournament 5SS, G/30 d5. Open to all students thru grade 12. EF: $10. NEW LOCATION! Hotel Pennsylvania (401 7th Ave) Across the street from Penn Station, between 32nd and 33rd Streets. Tel: 212.736.5000. Note: Saturday Grand Prix and Sunday Scholastic. Info:[email protected] or (Pat Bowyer) 516.641.4521. $$G: $200-$125-$75, U1800 $50, U1600 $40, U1400 $30, U1200 $25. Trophy to winner, speed playoff for 5-0. Reg.: 10:15-10:45. Rds.: 11am- 12:30-2:30-4pm-5:30. Entries MUST be received by APR 13th! Ck/MO payable to Pat Bowyer (be sure to specify Scholastic) c/o PAR Group Inc.,119 N. Park Avenue, Suite 303, Rockville Centre, NY 11570. Note: limited to first 70 players, no door entriess. Provide name,school, USCF rating, ID#, & exp date. Note: You MUST bring clocks and sets, none will be provided.
APR. 27, MAY 4, 11, 18 29th Nassau Amateur Team 4-SS, 40/80 d0. 1st Presbyterian Church, 1st & Main Sts., Mineola. Open to teams of 3 (+ optional alternate). Ave rating must be U1800. May ratings used. Teams play in rating order. EF: $54/team by 4/24, $75 at site, $10 more per non-memb. $$ (504 b/12 teams) 252, U1600, 1400/UR each 126. Team byes 1-4 (Last rd. bye must be req before rd. 3 and is irrevocable). Teams seeking players call 631 218-4440 or [email protected]. Players looking for teams $18 by 4/24, $25 at site, $10 more for non-memb. Reg ends 7:15 PM. Rds.: 7:15 each Mon.Ent: Harold Stenzel, 80 Amy Dr., Sayville, NY 11782.
MAY 2 2015 Watertown Open Chess Tournament 4 rounds-Swiss System Pairings, G/75+delay 5 seconds, Half pt. bye rds. 1-3 available with advance notice. Sponsored by the Watertown Chess Club, see our website at: www/watertownchessclub.com. Location: American Red Cross, 2d flr. Conference Rm., 203 N. Hamilton St., Watertown, NY 13601. A United States Chess Federation Sponsored Event, USCF membership required. Prizes: $125 Prize fund b/10 total paid entries. First $75, 2nd $30, & class $20. Registration: 8:30-9:20 AM, Rds. 9:30 AM, 12:15, 3 and 5:30 PM. EF: $25, ($22 for WCC members), send to Don Klug, 518 Sherman St., Watertown, NY 13601. D. Klug 315-785-8800.
MAY 15-17 OR 16-17 23rd annual New York State Open TROPHIES PLUS GRAND PRIX POINTS: 15 (ENHANCED) 5-SS, 40/110, SD/30 d10 (2-day option, rds. 1-2 G/60 d10). Tiki Resort, 2 Canada St., Lake George, NY 12845. $$G 3000. In 4 sections. Open:$$ 400-200-100, top Under 2010/Unr $210-110, top Under 1810 $200- 100. Senior, open to under 1910 or unrated born before 5/19/65. $$ 300-150-70, top Under 1710 $140-70. Under 1610: $$ 240-120-60, Under 1410 $120-60, unrated limit $150. Under 1210: $100-50, trophies to top 3, 1st U1000, U800, U600, Unr. Mixed doubles bonus prizes: best male/female 2-player “team” combined score among all sections: $200. Team average must be under 2200; teammates may play in different sections; teams must register (no extra fee) before both players begin round 2. Top 3 sections EF: $79 online at chessaction.com by 5/13, $85 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 5/11 (entry only, no questions), 3-day $83, 2-day $82 mailed by 5/6, $90 online until 2 hours before game or at site. Under 1210 Section EF: all $40 less than top 3 sections EF. All:Advance or online entry $7 less to NYSCA members (NYSCA dues $12/year with 2 issues Empire Chess, $20/year with 4 issues, may be paid with entry fee). No checks at site, credit cards OK. Special 1 year USCF dues with magazine if paid with entry- online at chesstour.com, Adult $30, Young Adult $20, Scholastic $15. Mailed, phoned or paid at site, Adult $40, Young Adult $30, Scholastic $20. Re-entry $40, not available in Open Section. GMs, IMs & WGMs free, $60 deducted from prize. 3-day schedule: Reg ends Fri 6 pm, rds. Fri 7, Sat 11 & 5, Sun 10 & 3:30. 2-day schedule: Reg ends Sat 10 am, rds. Sat 11, 2 &, 5, Sun 10 & 3:30. Half point byes OK all, must commit before rd. 2; limit 2 byes (limit 1 bye if under 1810/unr in Open). HR: $80-80, call 518-668-5744 Mon-Fri 9 am-5pm, reserve by 5/1 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633, or reserve car online through chesstour.com. Unofficial uschess.org ratings usually used if otherwise unrated. Ent: chessaction.com or Continental Chess, Box 8482, Pelham, NY 10803. Questions: www.chesstour.com, DirectorAtChess.us, 347-201-2269. $15 service charge for refunds. Advance entries posted at chessaction.com (online entries posted instantly). Blitz tournament Saturday 9:30 pm, enter by 9:15 pm. 30 JUNE 13-14 2015 Can-An International Chess Tournament 5-SS, G/100 d5. Venue: Wick Student Center, Daemen College, 4380 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14226. $10,000 guaranteed. Open: $1300 – 1000 – 750; U2000: $1000 – 725 – 525; U1800: $850 – 600 – 400; U1500: $650 – 450 – 300; U1200 & unr. $500 – 300 – 150. EF: $65, [Canadians $10 less], $80 after June 7. Unrated restricted to $500 winnings. Registration: 8:30-9:30 am June 13. Late entries must take ½ point bye first round.Rounds: Sat. 10:00, 2:30, 7:00; Sun. 10:00, 2:30. 1/2 point byes available for rounds 1-4 if requested at registration. Online registration atwww.wnychess.org; inquiries at [email protected]; or Brian Sayers – 716-570-3966. Mail check, name, USCF#, rating and section to WNY Chess, 4746 Shisler Rd., Clarence, NY 14031.
Labor Day Weekend: the 137th New York State Chess Championship. Albany Marriott, Wolf Road, Colonie, NY. America's Labor Day Tradition. See the Summer issue for full information. www.nysca.net -- your source for New York State Chess Information. Now on Twitter at #nystatechess
The Golden Knights of Lockport and the Buffalo Urban Thinkers Chess Teams are the 2015 Onondaga County Scholastic K-4 and K-12 Chess Team Champions! The tournament was held in Syracuse on March 22nd. Golden Knights taking Individual Top Honors were led by K-4 undefeated Champion, JonLuke Pencille, Charles Upson Elementary, K-4 Third Place - Jonathan Carmina, George Southard, and K-12 Third Place - Andrew Pencille(Lockport High School). Photo Contributed by The Archangel 8 Chess Academy Students L-R (front) William Oh, Jonathan Carmina, Ryan Carmina, JonLuke Pencille, Dov Ber Young and USCF Chess Coach Michael A. Mc Duffie.
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NYSCA's Discount Program – A New Direction for Membership
The NYSCA annual meeting approved a new way for affiliates and organizers of the New York State Championship and New York State Open to support NYSCA events. Organizers that offer a significant entry fee discount for the NYSCA events as well as other tournaments that the organizer holds. The State Scholastic Championship, which is the largest funder of NYSCA, is unchanged by this change in membership criteria. It is worth noting that the traditional membership-required model remains in effect, and may be used by any organizer, as has been the case throughout NYSCA's history.
There are two goals with the change. One is to make the State Championship a profitable tournament. The long- time organizer of the tournament has reported that the tournament, NYSCA's flagship event, has lost money since membership costs were absorbed into the entry fee. There has been a slow decline in the entries at the State Championship even with the current entry fee structure, so an increase may well lead to a further decline in entries. The pool of potential sites to hold the State Championship is not particularly large on Labor Day weekend, and by and large, the membership is satisfied with the Albany Marriott and the Capital Region location for the tournament. Therefore this new direction is being tried.
In 2014, membership at the State Championship and State Open will not be required, but members will be offered a $7 discount on their entry fee to the event. Continental Chess Association (CCA) is also offering a $5 discount at its other tournaments in New York, including the Long Island Open andManhattan Open. It should be noted that CCA revived the New York State Open in May in Lake George, and the event has been a success for NYSCA. NYSCA is willing to work with any other organizer on other NYSCA events.
NYSCA wants to work with organizers to expand the discounts. Organizers that offer the discounts will have their events advertised in Empire Chess, posted on the NYSCA web site and advertised through NYSCA's facebook and twitter feeds. By accessing NYSCA's group of committed tournament chess players, the discounts in entry fee will more than pay for itself with increased entries and the ability to obtain entries from further away. NYSCA is also working on internet options for membership verification and purchase.
Help us make NYSCA the best chess organization it can be in the best chess state in the country. It will make us better, and your events better as well.
NEW YORK STATE CHESS ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP FORM
Name:______Address:______City:______State:______Zip:______
E-Mail:______USCF ID:______
$20 for four printed issues $12 for two printed issues (Winter and Summer)
Mail to: Phyllis Benjamin, Secretary, NYSCA, PO Box 340969, Brooklyn, NY 11234. (please note new address)
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