January 2021 Northwest Chess on the Front Cover: January 2021, Volume 75-01 Issue 876 Fairy Chess
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$3.95 orthwes N t C h e s s January 2021 Northwest Chess On the front cover: January 2021, Volume 75-01 Issue 876 Fairy Chess. Photo credit: Philip Peterson. ISSN Publication 0146-6941 Published monthly by the Northwest Chess Board. On the back cover: To see the games online in this issue click: Faded Warrior. Photo credit: Philip Peterson. http://www.nwchess.com/articles/games/published/ NWC_2021_Published_Games_cb.htm#202101 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Office of Record: Chesstoons: Northwest Chess c/o Orlov Chess Academy 4174 148th Ave NE, Chess cartoons drawn by local artist Brian Berger, Building I, Suite M, Redmond, WA 98052-5164. of West Linn, Oregon. Periodicals Postage Paid at Seattle, WA USPS periodicals postage permit number (0422-390) Submissions Submissions of games (PGN format is preferable for games), NWC Staff stories, photos, art, and other original chess-related content Editor: Jeffrey Roland, are encouraged! Multiple submissions are acceptable; please [email protected] indicate if material is non-exclusive. All submissions are Games Editor: Ralph Dubisch, subject to editing or revision. Send via U.S. Mail to: [email protected] Publisher: Duane Polich, Jeffrey Roland, NWC Editor [email protected] 1514 S. Longmont Ave. Business Manager: Eric Holcomb, Boise, Idaho 83706-3732 [email protected] or via e-mail to: [email protected] Board Representatives Chouchanik Airapetian, Eric Holcomb, Northwest Chess Knights Alex Machin, Duane Polich, Ralph Dubisch, Please donate today to help Northwest Chess! Jeffrey Roland, Josh Sinanan, Wilson Gibbins. Patrons, 2018-2020 Entire contents ©2021 by Northwest Chess. All rights reserved. Ralph Dubisch, Washington Chess Federation, Published opinions are those of the contributors and do not Josh Sinanan, Murlin Varner, Duane Polich, necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the Northwest Chess Stephen Buck, Dale Wentz, Kent McNall, Corey Bloom. Board. 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Foreign 1 year $ 60.00 Page 2 January 2021 Northwest Chess orthwes N t C h e s s Table of Contents Fairy Chess Philip Peterson .............................................Front Cover The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) Karen Schmidt ................................................................4 Portland Chess Club Championship Wilson Gibbins ...............................................................6 Apropos Adult Swiss #5 (Full-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Jan 16-17, 2021 ........................10 Apropos Adult Swiss #6 (Full-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Feb 13-14, 2021 .......................11 Team Washington Wins Inaugural States Chess Cup Josh Sinanan .................................................................12 Chesstoon Brian Berger .................................................................18 Washington Scholastic Mini Teams Championship Siva Sankrithi and Josh Sinanan ................................19 Seattle City Championship (Half-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Jan 30-31, 2021 .......................20 WA President’s Cup (Half-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Feb 6-7, 2021 ...........................21 Chess960 (Fischer-Random) Valentin Razmov ..........................................................22 1st WA State Chess960 Championship (Half-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Jan 10, 2021 .............................25 WA Chess960 Pilot Tournament Josh Sinanan .................................................................26 Oregon Class Championships Wilson Gibbins .............................................................28 Chess Shorts: Cheerleaders And Chess Breck Haining ...............................................................33 Recap For ICA Online Events Jeffrey Roland ...............................................................34 PCC Winter Open Mike Morris ..................................................................36 Global Corporate Chess Championship (Full-Page Ad) Online via Chess.com Register by Feb 6, 2021 ..........37 NWC Grand Prix Murlin Varner ...............................................................38 Faded Warrior Philip Peterson ..............................................Back Cover Photo credit: Philip Peterson. Northwest Chess January 2021 Page 3 The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) By Karen Schmidt In mid-October a chess friend style as “too bland.” To my surprise, the news stories, chess sets are flying off the texted me about a new Netflix series, series was based on a 1983 novel I had shelves in stores, and the series is wildly The Queen’s Gambit. I am a Netflix never heard of: The Queen’s Gambit, by popular not only in the United States, but customer, so I decided to check it out. I Walter Tevis. Further delving revealed in Russia! I noticed only a few minor will admit that I was a little skeptical. I that Tevis had been an English teacher, inconsistencies in the chess scenes, such had read an online synopsis of the story: professional pool shark, chess player, as players talking during a tournament the little Kentucky orphan girl becomes sometime alcoholic, and eventually a game, and opponents making moves very a chess prodigy, and eventually competes respected novelist. quickly. In real life this would not happen, in a world-class tournament in Russia. It As an aside, several of Tevis’ other but of course in a movie you can’t have sounded a little too much like a fairy tale. novels were made into huge box office scenes with 20 minute intervals between I watched episode one and was hit movies: The Color of Money; The chess moves! hooked. Over the next couple days, I Hustler; and The Man Who Fell to Earth. Beth’s story and struggles are binge-watched the other six episodes, I just picked up a copy of the book The reminiscent of the author’s own youth, and loved the whole experience. Around Queen’s Gambit, and I may be reading and also of the young Bobby Fischer, who this time, texts and emails started pouring several of Tevis’ novels. beat Boris Spassky of Russia in 1972 for in from my chess and non-chess friends, I particularly enjoyed a Slate the title of World Champion. That event asking if I was aware of the series. They interview about the series with Garry also sparked a huge interest in chess in know I’m a chess player, and that I’m Kasparov, Russian former world America at the time. usually the lone female chess player at champion. The director of the Netflix The only quibble I have with this Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. (See series, Scott Frank, consulted with both series is that almost all of Beth’s male The Seattle Times story of 7/15/2019.) Kasparov and Bruce Pandolfini, American opponents were friendly, helpful, and I decided to approach The Seattle chess expert and teacher, to make sure respectful. In real life for women players Times (again) to see whether they might that the chess scenes were very accurate. this is not always (or even usually) the want to print some of the chess stories (In the excellent 1993 film, Searching for case. I have had men tell me to my face I have written for Northwest Chess Bobby Fischer, Pandolfini was played by that they won’t play me because I’m a Magazine. (They had turned me down in Ben Kingsley. Kasparov and I both loved woman. the spring of 2019.) This time they got that film!) I continue to be amazed at the back to me and asked for a sample of my I also watched a November 14-minute number of email replies I have had to my writing. I happily sent them links to two CNN Amanpour interview with Kasparov online Times review (11/30/20) and the of my Northwest Chess stories, and they and Judit Polgar, Hungarian woman “Weekend Plus” section printed review invited me to write a review of the Netflix Grandmaster. It was a fascinating (12/4/20). Some of them have been heart- series. interview, including a discussion of warming chess stories from others’ lives, I had been captivated by the seven- 1989 comments made by Kasparov. In a including a woman who must be nearing episode series. It was well acted, with nutshell, his opinion in 1989 was that no 80. She played in a high school boys’ interesting characters, and outstanding women would ever be able to compete chess club tournament in 1958 to even out sets. The fictional story of Beth Harmon at the chess level of men. Judit, one of the number of players.