Chess Room Newsletter #396

~ IM Irina Krush : Chess Life Online May 2008

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1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) US Championship Fantasy Chess Competition
3) A poem by Dennis Fritzinger
4) Aerosvits Foros 2008
5) Here and There
6) New England Masters

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Sam Shankland defeated fellow NM Daniel Naroditsky in the last round of the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon to win the event with a score of 7 from 8 ( 6 wins and two byes). The 16-year-old Orinda high school student, who will make his debut in the US Championship in less than a week, picked up $500 and improved his rating to 2368.

Veteran Oleg Shaknazarov upset NM Andy Lee to take home second at 6.5.1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4 Nc6 4.d4 d6 5.Nf3 Be7 6.g4 h6 7.Rg1 e5 8.d5 Nb8 9.g5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7 11.Qc2 Nf8 12.c5 Ng6 13.cxd6 cxd6 14.0�0�0 a6 15.Kb1 Bd7 16.Be2 Rc8 17.h4 b5 18.Qb3 Nh5 19.Be3 Qa5 20.a3 Bf6 21.Ng5 Ngf4 22.Bg4 Bxg4 23.Rxg4 0�0 24.Na2 Qd8 25.Nb4 Qd7 26.f3 Bd8 27.Nxa6 f5 28.exf5 Qxf5+ 29.Ka2 Bxg5 30.Rxg5 Qh3 31.Bxf4 Nxf4 32.Rdg1 Rf7 33.R1g3 Qf1 34.Nb4 Ne2 35.Nd3 Rc1 36.Qb4 Ra1+ 37.Kb3 Qd1# 0�1Glendale GM Melik Khachian visited the Mechanics' Institute this past weekend. He conducted a well-received training seminar for top juniors on Saturday ( go to NM Michael Aigner's excellent blog at http://fpawn.blogspot.com for a complete report with photos by Yian Liou's parents, Chiiwen and Chi-Ju.)

Sunday the Mechanics' hosted the 2nd Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz which was won by Melik who scored 8.5 from 10 to win the $300 first prize. WIM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs was second at 8 for $200 followed by Expert Ray Salvatierra who was third at 7.5, good for $100. Tying for fourth with 7 points in the 34 player five double round Swiss were SM Greg Kotliar, FM Ron Cusi, NM Dennis Fritzinger and Expert Victor Ossipov.

Kerry Lawless helped to preserve the following games from the blitz. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 0�0 10.Rc1 Rd8 11.d5 e6 12.c4 Qa4 13.Bd3 b6 14.Bh6 exd5 15.cxd5 Ba6 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.0�0 Bxd3 18.Qxd3 Nd7 19.e5 Qf4 20.Rfe1 Nf8 21.Rc4 Qf5 22.Qxf5 gxf5 23.d6 f6 24.Nh4 fxe5 25.Nxf5+ Kf6 26.g4 Ng6 27.h4 h5 28.f3 Rh8 29.Kg2 hxg4 30.fxg4 Nxh4+ 31.Nxh4 Rxh4 32.g5+ Kxg5 33.Rxe5+ Kf6 34.Ree4 Rxe4 35.Rxe4 Rd8 36.Re7 a5 37.Kf3 0�1 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 c6 3.e4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6 6.g3 h5 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.c3 h4 9.h3 hxg3 10.fxg3 Qd5 11.Bg2 Qe4+ 12.Kf2 Be6 13.Bf4 Nd7 14.Ng5 Qg6 15.Nxe6 fxe6 16.Qb3 e5 17.dxe5 fxe5 18.Be3 0�0�0 19.Rhe1 a6 20.g4 Bh6 21.Qc4 Bxe3+ 22.Rxe3 Rhf8+ 23.Kg1 Rf6 24.Rd1 Kc7 25.Qd3 Qxd3 26.Rexd3 Rd6 27.Kf2 Nf6 28.Rxd6 exd6 29.g5 Nh5 30.Bf3 Nf4 31.h4 d5 32.Kg3 Rh8 33.Bg4 Ng6 34.Rh1 Kd6 35.h5 Ne7 36.Rh2 Ng8 37.g6 Nh6 38.Kh4 b5 39.Kg5 Ke7 40.Rf2 a5 41.g7 Nf7+ 42.Rxf7+ 1�0Thanks to Bill and Ray Schutt Jr. and the rest of the Schutt family for helping to make this event possible.

World Under 12 Champion Daniel Naroditsky turned in a score of 16-0 in a fund raising simul held Sunday, May 4th, at the Crystal Springs Uplands school in Hillsborough.

Good luck to Mechanics' members IMs David Pruess and Josh Friedel, WIM Batcimeg Tuvshintugs and NM Sam Shankland in the US Championship which starts May 13 and runs through the 21st. The games will be shown live by Monroi (http://monroi.com). Many thanks to International Arbiter Frank Kim Berry of Stillwater, Oklahoma, for sponsoring the US and US Womens Championship for the second consecutive year.

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The 2008 Fantasy Chess Competition, run by Chess Life Online, is now open for registration. Contestants enter 7-player teams (that must have a rating average of 2555 or below) from the Frank Berry U.S. Championship roster, and compete for prizes such as Monroi PCMs and extensions to their USCF memberships. Read the complete rules here: http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8392/141/

The contest makes watching the action very exciting for spectators, and we hope to get as many entries as possible. The U.S. Championship begins at 3:30 EST on May 13, so all entries must be received before then.

Best wishes,
Jennifer Shahade

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the fighter reminisces

back in the ring again.
today i
played in my first blitz tournament
in many years,
and my last actual game
of lightning chess
(or blitz, as we call it)
was 6 months ago,
give or take a few.
and it was one. only.
i was telling everybody
it felt like the first tournament
i ever played in--
totally at sea,
trying to keep score,
make moves, punch the clock,
i was completely inept.
and lost. like i lost my
first three games today--
the only thing worse
than my board sense was my clock sense.
still, i survived,
hung on, and managed to
rack up the next seven games
and finish in the money.
what luck--what dumb luck!
i'm looking forward
to doing it again.

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The Ukrainian chess federation has announced the 2008 Aerosvit tournament which will take place fromJune 8-19 in the Crimean resort of Foros in Ukraine. The average rating (2712) will be considerably higher than the two previous events. 2006 US Champion Alex Onischuk will be the American representative.

Participants:
Carlsen, Magnus (NOR, 2765)
Svidler, Peter (RUS, 2746)
Ivanchuk, Vassily (UKR, 2740)
Shirov, Alexei (ESP, 2740)
Karjakin, Sergey (UKR, 2732)
Jakovenko, Dmitry (RUS, 2711)
Alekseev, Evgeny (RUS, 2711)
Eljanov, Pavel (UKR, 2687)
Volokitin, Andrei (UKR, 2684)
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter (ROU, 2684)
Van Wely, Loek (NED, 2676)
Onischuk, Alexander (USA, 2664)

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Writer and physicist Russell Targ will discuss his history creating the Remote Viewing program at the Stanford Research Institute during the Cold War as well as his relationships with the late Bobby Fischer and Ayn Rand.http://coasttocoastam.com

IM Nikolay Minev new book Tony Miles: Fifty Great Short Games is just out and can be purchased at Phil McCready's website at http://thechesslibrary.com/books

Longtime MI member Henry van Bergen died January 7 of a heart attack in Glen Ellen, California. The native of the Netherlands, who was 89 at his passing, carried a Master rating for much of his career and defeated Boris Spassky in a simul in the early 1980's during one of the Paul Masson tournaments.

Susan Polgar will be visiting Fresno this fall. She will give simuls on October 24th and 25th at $50 a board. All 60 boards for the first exhibition are booked but space is still available for the second which has no board restriction. Go to http://fresnochessclub.com for more information.

IM Larry Kaufman won the 2008 US Senior Open in Boca Raton, Florida, last weekend with a perfect score, defeating fellow IM Igor Foygel in the last round. In addition to the title and prize money Kaufman won a spot in the US Championship and is the official US entry for the World Senior Championship this fall.

Senior Open top finishers

1. IM Larry Kaufman-5
2. IM Albert Kapengut-4.5
3-8. IM Igor Foygel, Bill Kramer, IM Joseph Bradford, Leonid Balmazi, GM Dmitry Gurevich and FM John Curdo

Sevan A. Muradian writes:

The Holiday Inn Chicago North Shore Hotel offers fantastic year round rates for chess playersSkokie, IL May 5, 2008: The Holiday Inn Chicago North Shore Hotel, the premier hotel in thefabulous North Shore of Chicago has graciously agreed to offer a standing rate of $99/night based onsleeping room availability, effective immediately.

The hotel recently conducted major renovations including the addition of nearly 7,000 sq. ft. ofadditional banquet space, updated sleeping rooms, and other hotel amenities. The hotel offers an indoorswimming pool and a 5 minute walk to the Village Crossing Shopping Center. Additionally thehotel is the home to a fantastic fusion restaurant featuring the delectable dishes of Southeast Asia.The hotel recently hosted the 2008 Illinois Polgar and Denker Qualifier tournaments, the 2008 IL AllGirls State Championship, and the 1st North American Match Challenge. On June 28-29, 2008, thehotel will host the 2008 US Game 60 and US Game 30 National Championships. Additional events arecurrently under discussion with the hotel.

The hotel is located just north of the city of Chicago, 1 mile west of the I-94 (Edens) Expressway.O�hare International airport is a mere 30 minutes away as is downtown Chicago. The Holiday InnChicago North Shore Hotel is not only easily accessible, offers fantastic benefits to its patrons but is ayear round chess friendly hotel � something no other hotel in the greater Chicago area can boast.Make sure you ask for the North American Chess Association special rate when you book yourreservations!

Holiday Inn Chicago North Shore
5300 West Touhy Avenue
Skokie, IL 60077
847.679.8900http://www.hiskokie.com

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Dear Chess Player,

The New England Masters 2008 is a 9 round FIDE Swiss with good GM and IM norm opportunities that will take place near Providence, Rhode Island, USA from August 11-15, 2008.

The Masters event is part of the Blackstone Chess Festival which also includes the Blackstone Open which will take place at the same venue from August 16-17, 2008. All GMs and IMs receive a free entry into this tournament while other Masters participants receive a reduced rate on their entry fee. Most of the prizes in the Open section are guaranteed!

With 5 Grandmasters already signed up for the New England Masters (4 rated above 2550 and 4 foreign) there will be good GM norm chances! Please note however that the tournament is open only to the first 50 paid entries received. Currently there are 17 confirmed entries so nearly half of the spots are already taken!

Foreign IMs receive a free entry to the event and a reduced accommodation. Complete details are at http://www.newenglandmasters.com/entryinfo.htm. ; All other foreign players receive a heavily reduced entry fee to encourage participation.

The Comfort Inn Pawtucket is offering a room rate of just $89/night for the whole Festival (August 11-18). To book, please call the hotel at 401-723-6700 and request the "chess tournament rate." More details are at http://www.newenglandmasters.com/accommodation.htm.

For complete details on the New England Masters 2008, please visit the tournament website at http://www.NewEnglandMasters.com.

Regards,

Chris Bird
Organizer, New England Masters 2008
http://www.NewEnglandMasters.com