USCHESSORG !ô53#&ô0UBLICATION DONATE TO U.S. TRUST ONLINE! Now you can donate online through a secure website at www.uschesstrust.org Simply click on Donate and then on the Make a Donation button! uschess.org Chess Life — April 2010 1 Chess Life Editorial Staff Chess Life Editor & Director of Publications Daniel Lucas [email protected] Chess Life Online Editor Jennifer Shahade [email protected] Chess Life for Kids Editor Glenn Petersen [email protected] Senior Art Director Frankie Butler [email protected] Editorial Assistant/Copy Editor Alan Kantor [email protected] Editorial Assistant Jo Anne Fatherly [email protected] Editorial Assistant Jennifer Pearson [email protected] Technical Editor Ron Burnett TLA/Advertising Joan DuBois [email protected] Advertising inquiries: (931) 787-1234, ext. 123. All TLAs should be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent to P.O Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557-3967. Letters to the editor should be submitted to [email protected]. USCF Staff Main Office in Crossville, TN (931) 787-1234 Executive Director/EB Secretary Bill Hall [email protected] ext. 189 Assistant Executive Director & Director of National Events Patricia Knight Smith [email protected] 931-200-3411 Administrative Assistant Cheryle Bruce [email protected] ext. 147 Clubs & Membership Associate Alan Kantor [email protected] ext. 128 Chief Accountant Peggy Stephens [email protected] ext. 131 Chief Financial Officer Joe Nanna [email protected] ext. 150 Accounting Associate Susan Houston [email protected] ext. 136 Director of Business Operations Judy Misner [email protected] ext. 126 Membership & Ratings Supervisor Jim Johanson [email protected] ext. 127 Mailing Lists/Membership Assoc. Traci Lee [email protected] ext. 143 Membership Associate Jay Sabine [email protected] ext. 146 Director of Communications & Affiliate Relations Joan DuBois [email protected] ext. 123 Correspondence Chess Alex Dunne [email protected] Fundraising/Sponsorship Assoc. Joan DuBois [email protected] ext. 123 National Education Consultant Jerry Nash [email protected] FIDE & Scholastic Associate Chuck Lovingood [email protected] ext. 148 OTB Ratings/FIDE Walter Brown [email protected] ext. 142 Computer Consultant Mike Nolan [email protected] ext. 188 IT Director, Webmaster & Tournament Director Certification Phillip R. Smith [email protected] ext.134 USCF Executive Board President Jim Berry [email protected] PO Box 351 Stillwater, OK 74076 Vice President Ruth Haring [email protected] PO Box 1993 Chico, CA 95927 Vice President Finance Randy Bauer [email protected] 3923 - 153rd Street Urbandale, IA 50323 Member at Large Michael Atkins [email protected] PO Box 6138 Alexandria, VA 22306 Member at Large Bill Goichberg [email protected] PO Box 249 Salisbury Mills, NY 12577 To subscribe to Chess Life, join the USCF or enter a USCF tournament, go to uschess.org or call 1-800-903-USCF (8723). Change of address should be sent to [email protected]. For other inquiries: [email protected], (931) 787- 1234, fax (931) 787-1200. United States Chess Federation PO Box 3967, Crossville, Tennessee 38557 1-800-903-USCF (8723) (931) 787-1234 2 Chess Life — April 2010 uschess.org April on uschess.org An Open Prelude to the U.S. Championship A month before the U.S. Championship goes down at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis (May 13-25), some of America’s top players will play in the Bill Wright Saint Louis Open (April 10-11). Participants include GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Robert Hess, GM Pascal Charbonneau, the club’s GM- in-residence Ben Finegold, IM Irina Krush and WIMs Alisa Melekhina and Iryna Zenyuk. Look for games from the Open and breaking news on the U.S. Championship on CLO. NATIONAL SPRING Spring Scholastic Season SCHOLASTIC The Spring Scholastic season begins with the 2010 National Junior High Championship, set for April 9-11 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The action CHAMPIONSHIPS continues in Columbus, Ohio where the 2010 National High School Championship and 2010 All Girls National Championship will both be held from April 16-18. CLO coverage from the Spring scholastics will include blogs 2010 from a variety of perspectives, including FMs Mike Klein and Alex Betaneli. Topalov versus Tiebreaks! Anand U.S. Chess League and U.S. Chess School The World Championship founder IM Greg Shahade match will take place in Sofia, writes about possible Bulgaria from April 21 to May improvements to current 12. Make your predictions mathematical tiebreak and then look for GM Ian systems, especially for Rogers’ exclusive CLO reports strong Swiss events. Veselin Topalov from the scene. Follow Chess Life and Chess Life Online on Facebook®! Get regular updates as part of your news feed, post comments, and easily communicate directly with the editorial staff. This Month’s Contributors Al Lawrence (“Looks at Books,” p. 12) is a frequent contributor to Polly Wright (“Scholastics,” p. 26) has Chess Life. been a USCF life member since 1972 and is an active player, tournament Glen Schmiege (“Cover Story,” p. 18) is a lawyer, the author of director and chess teacher. POSTED: Property Rights, Trespass, and Recreational Land Use in Michi- gan (Lansing: Protar House, 2005), and secretary of the Lake Superior Alex Betaneli (“Scholastics,” p. 30) Chess Association. is a frequent contributor to Chess Life. Dr. Robert S. Graber (“Cover Story,” p. 22) is an associate professor Randy Hough (“2009 N. American Open,” of finance, University of Arkansas at Monticello, and faculty sponsor p. 34) is a long-time contributor of the university chess club. to Chess Life. Guy Nelson (“Cover Story,” p. 22) is an instructor of mathematics at GM Ian Rogers (“Wijk aan Zee,” the University of Arkansas at Monticello and was faculty sponsor of p. 43) is a frequent contributor to the chess club from 1989-2005. Chess Life. uschess.org Chess Life — April 2010 3 April Chess Life Columns 18 | COVER STORY 12 LOOKS AT BOOKS Talking A Good Game The Country Club: Rural America Plays Chess By Al Lawrence BY GLEN SCHMIEGE 14 CHESS TO ENJOY How to build a chess club away from Getting the Upper “Hand” a major population center. By GM Andy Soltis Chess In Rural Arkansas 16 SOLITAIRE CHESS BY ROBERT S. GRABER, PH.D., & GUY NELSON, M.S. The Sixth World Champion College chess clubs are making a splash By Bruce Pandolfini in major metro areas like Dallas and Baltimore. 50 BACK TO BASICS How can a rural college keep up? Press On! By GM Lev Alburt 26 | SCHOLASTICS 52 ENDGAME LAB OMG! Ong Is Big Winner Blitz! at National K-12 By GM Pal Benko BY POLLY WRIGHT 54 WHAT’S THE BEST MOVE? Our annual look at the grade level 62nd Russian Championship championships includes a look By GM Larry Evans at the NYA championships, penned by Alex Betaneli. Departments 3 PREVIEW 34 | 2009 N. AMERICAN OPEN 6 COUNTERPLAY Five Say, “Viva Vegas!” 8 FIRST MOVES BY RANDY HOUGH 10 USCF AFFAIRS Five GMs top mammoth Vegas tournament. 11 CANDIDATE STATEMENTS 58 TOURNAMENT LIFE 39 | 2009 YEARBOOK 78 CLASSIFIEDS 2009 Annual USCF Yearbook 79 SOLUTIONS Our annual listing of all things USCF. 43 | WIJK AAN ZEE Carlsen Wins in Wijk aan Zee BY GM IAN ROGERS Nakamura stars in Grand Slam debut. On The Cover Sure, in this Internet age, running a chess club can be a challenge. But what if you add to the difficulty by trying to run a club away from a major population center? See our advice on how to accomplish this, whether near a pasture or on campus, beginning on page 18. Design by Frankie Butler PHOTO BY PINK SHERBET PHOTOGRAPHY 4 Chess Life — April 2010 uschess.org New Membership Options! Premium and Regular USCF Memberships Now Available PREMIUM Membership REGULAR Membership Printed copy of Chess Life Online-only access to Chess Life (monthly) or Chess Life for Kids OR or Chess Life for Kids; (bimonthly) plus all other benefits TLA Newsletter will be mailed to you of regular membership. (adults: bimonthly, scholastic: 3 per year) What you get as a REGULAR USCF member: The right to play in USCF-sanctioned tournaments and be assigned an official rating Access to member-only content on uschess.org, including our USCF forum discussion group. (9) Online access to Chess Life & Chess Life for Kids. What you get as a PREMIUM USCF member: All of the above plus a printed copy of Chess Life or Chess Life for Kids! 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Counterplay Carlsen versus Kramnik 14.