GM Alexander Shabalov wins 2015 U.S. Open title in Phoenix, Arizona GM LEVON ARONIAN 2015 Sinquefield Cup Champion November 2015 | USChess.org IFC_chess life 10/7/2015 7:34 PM Page 1 CL_10-2015_K-12_Advertisment_FB_r2.qxp_chess life 11/09/2015 04:29 Page 1 2015 NATIONAL K-12 GRADE CHAMPIONSHIPS DECEMBER 4-6, 2015 DISNEY’S CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT, 1000 WEST BUENA VISTA DR., LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL 32830 $129 single/double/triple/quad OPENING CEREMONY 7SS, G/90 D5 13 SECTIONS Play only in your grade. November 2015 Friday: 12:30 pm rating supplement will be used. Team Score = total of top three (minimum two) finishers from each school per grade. First place individual and team, ROUNDS including ties, will be national champion for their grade. Friday: 1 pm, 6 pm Trophies to top individuals & top teams in each grade. Saturday: 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm AWARDS Every participant receives a commemorative item! Full list of trophies Sunday: 9 am, 1 pm on tournament info page. AWARD CEREMONIES BLITZ Trophies in K-6 and K-12 sections. Full list of trophies on Sunday: 4:30 pm (K-1) approx. tournament info page. & 5 pm approx. BUGHOUSE Top five teams. SPECIAL ROUND TIMES FOR K-1 SECTIONS Friday: 1:30 pm, 5:30 pm SIDE EVENTS Saturday: 9:30 am, 1:30 & 5:30 pm Sunday: 9:30 am, 1:30 pm BUGHOUSE Thursday: 11 am Reg. onsite only Thurs. 9-10 am. $25/team. ON-SITE REGISTRATION BLITZ Thursday: 5 pm Reg. onsite until 4 pm. Entry in advance $15 12/3: 9 am-9:00 pm by 11/23, $20 after or at site. Register at https://secure2.uschess.org/ 12/4: 8 am-11:00 am webstore/tournament.php Players registering late (after 11 am Friday) will not be paired for round 1, will receive a half-point bye, and will begin play with round 2. Team Rooms are limited! Contact Susan Kantor 931-787-1234 ext. 136 or by e-mail: [email protected] NAME ___________________________________________________________USCF ID #________________________________ RATING ____________________________________ ADDRESS __________________________________________________ _________________ CITY_________________________________ STATE _________ ZIP_________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS ______________________________________________________________________________________________ REGISTRATION INFORMATION: US Chess membership is required and must SCHOOL _______________________________________________________________________________ GRADE ________________ be current. You may pay US Chess membership BYE REQUESTED: Rd. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1/2 -pt bye available if requested in advance (except rd. 7) with your entry. Adult: Please check our website q q q q q q (uschess.org) for Adult and Young Adult options. USCF MEMBERSHIP DUES: Please go to www.uschess.org for appropriate membership category and rates. Advance entries must include player’s name and all fees to be accepted. Roster changes ENTRY FEES: $50/participant postmarked by 11/2, $70/participant postmarked by 11/23, $85 after 12/3 or $90 on site. are considered new entries and will be charged (Add $5 for all phone registrations.) Blitz entry: $15 until 11/23, $20 after or at site. according to date received. List name, address, phone, section, grade, school (even if no team), AMOUNT ENCLOSED: Entry Fee $ _________ Blitz $ __________ USCF Dues $ __________ TOTAL ENCLOSED $ _____________ coach’s name, e-mail, birth date, US Chess ID #, USCF expiration (enclose USCF dues if nec- In advance: Make checks payable to: US Chess. On site: Make payments in cash, by money order, or credit card. essary) and rating. Players must be eligible to play in accordance with US Chess Scholastic MASTERCARD q DISCOVER q AMEX q VISA q NUMBER _______________________________________________ Regulations. Please bring clocks. Ent: “K-12 Championship,” c/o US Chess, PO Box 3967, EXPIRATION: ______ /______ V-CODE (last 3 digits on the signature line) ____________________________________________ Crossville, TN 38557-3967. For more info or to register online: www.uschess.org. Please make all checks payable to US Chess. SIGNATURE: ________________________________________________________________________________________ CL_11-2015_masthead_JP_R5_chess life 10/7/2015 7:40 PM Page 2 Be a US Chess Benefactor! Benefactor Membership includes Life Membership, a special membership Main office: Crossville, TN (931) 787-1234 card, and recognition on a benefactor page of our website and periodically Advertising inquiries: (931) 787-1234, ext. 123 in Chess Life. The cost is $3,000, or $1,500 to existing Life Members. 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Sunrise Dr. Director of Administration, Judy Misner Ste. 120-118 ext. 126 [email protected] Tucson, AZ 85750 Affiliate Relations Associate, Joan DuBois [email protected] ext. 123 [email protected] Senior Accountant, Debra Robison Member at Large ext. 130 [email protected] Ruth Haring Membership Services Supervisor, Cheryle Bruce U.S. Chess Federation ext. 147 [email protected] Attn: Ruth Haring PO Box 3967 Mailing Lists/Membership Associate, Traci Lee Crossville, TN 38557- ext. 143 [email protected] 3967 Membership Associate, Jay Sabine [email protected] ext. 127 [email protected] Correspondence Chess, Alex Dunne [email protected] 2 November 2015 | Chess Life CL_10-2015_pg5_chess life 10/9/2015 10:24 AM Page 5 ED UYINB GG UIDEE NGC LGUIDOS US CF SALESALS SPESRING SPRING BUYIN PLAYPLAY IN THE U.S.U.S. OPENOP EN ININ ORLANDO!ORLANDO! SeeSee TLA on pages 53/54. MAY 2014 APRIL 2014 A USCF Public ation A USCF Publication $5.95 $5.95 www.uschess.org 3 CL_11-2015_TOC_AKF_r6.qxp_chess life 14/10/2015 10:55 Page 4 Chess Life NOVEMBER COLUMNS 14 LOOKS AT BOOKS / RISK AND BLUFF IN CHESS: THE ART OF TAKING CALCULATED RISKS Adding Some Spice By John Hartmann 16 CHESS TO ENJOY / ENTERTAINMENT Why We Like Chess By GM Andy Soltis 18 BACK TO BASICS / READER ANNOTATIONS Tactics are the Fabric of Chess By GM Lev Alburt 46 THE PRACTICAL ENDGAME / INSTRUCTION 20 COVER STORY / 2015 SINQUEFIELD CUP The Art of Liquidation By GM Daniel Naroditsky Sinquefield Scoreline: Armenia 3, America 0 By FM Mike Klein; annotations by GM Robert Hess GM Levon Aronian follows a ‘beat the Americans’ path to the 2015 SOLITAIRE CHESS / INSTRUCTION 48 Sinquefield Cup Championship A Straightforward Win By Bruce Pandolfini 32 US CHESS NATIONAL EVENTS / 2015 U.S. OPEN Promises Kept DEPARTMENTS by Al Lawrence GM Alexander Shabalov streaks to a win at the 116th U.S. Open 6 NOVEMBER PREVIEW / PHOTOS BY LENNART OOTES, COURTESY OF CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CENTER SAINT LOUIS. THIS MONTH IN CHESS LIFE AND US CHESS JOURNALISM / 2015 CJA AWARDS CHESS NEWS 39 The 2015 Chess Journalists of America Awards By Joshua Anderson 8 COUNTERPLAY / READERS RESPOND 10 FIRST MOVES / 40 ENDGAMES / RBgh VERSUS Rfgh CHESS NEWS FROM AROUND THE U.S. Going Deep By GM Jim Tarjan 11 FACES ACROSS THE BOARD / Surprising resources in endings featuring rook/bishop/g-h pawns BY AL LAWRENCE versus rook and f-g-h pawns 12 US CHESS AFFAIRS / NEWS FOR OUR MEMBERS Above, the world champion shows the strain of the intense competition as Chief Arbiter Chris TOURNAMENT LIFE / NOVEMBER 52 Bird does some housekeeping after the game.