Chess Room Newsletter #589

Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News #589
June 21, 2012

He is the man who regrets leaving chess. He misses the attention he got in chess, somehow he wants to be there. Maybe he should play again.

—World Champion Viswanathan Anand, responding
to criticisms of his play by Garry Kasparov.

1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News

The 68-player Spring Tuesday Night Marathon has seen plenty of upsets the first five rounds and no one is running away with the event. Seven players are tied for first at 4-1: FM Andy Lee, NMs Peter Zavadsky and Russell Wong, Experts Michael Lin, Steven Gaffagan and Farid Watson plus Brendan Lacounte (1772!) who has beaten three players in the last three rounds who were on average rated 250 points higher than he. Watson is also having an outstanding event with draws against Wong and Lee, and a round 5 win over 2182-rated Jorge Lopez.

Highlights of the 2012 Stamer Memorial.

Guioco Piano C55
Gregory Young - Ricardo De Guzman
49th Arthur Stamer Memorial (5) 2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.d3 Nf6 5.c3 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Bb3 Na5 8.Bc2 c5 9.Re1 Nc6 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Nf1 Bf8 12.Ng3 g6 13.a3 a5 14.a4 h6 15.Bd2 Be6 16.Qc1 Kh7 17.h4 Bg7 18.h5 Nxh5 19.Nxh5 gxh5 20.g3 Rg8 21.Kg2 Bg4 22.Rh1 Qf6 23.Bd1 Bf8 24.Ng5+ Kg7 25.Nf3 Ne7 26.Nh4 Rh8 27.Be3 b6 28.c4 Kg8 29.Qd2 Ng6 30.Bxg4 hxg4 31.Nf5 Ne7 32.Rh5 Nxf5 33.exf5 d5 34.Qe2 Bg7 35.Qxg4 Kf8 36.Rah1 Rd8 37.Qf3 e4 38.dxe4 dxc4 39.e5 Qxe5 40.Bxh6 Bxh6 41.Rxh6 Rxh6 42.Rxh6 Qd5 43.Rxb6 Qxf3+ 44.Kxf3 Kg7 45.Rb5 Rd5 46.Kg4 Rd4+ 47.Kg5 Rd2 48.f6+ Kh7 49.f4 Rd5+ 50.f5 Rd3 51.g4 Rb3 52.Rxc5 Rxb2 53.Rxc4 Rb4 54.Rc7 Kg8 55.Kh6 1-0

Sicilian Accelerated Dragon B35
Elliott Winslow - Gregory Young
49th Arthur Stamer Memorial (6) 2012

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 0-0 8.Bb3 a5 9.0-0 d6 10.f3 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bd7 12.Qd2 a4 13.Bc4 Qa5 14.Rfd1 b5 15.Bf1 b4 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qxd5 Rfc8 19.Qd4+ f6 20.Bd3 a3 21.b3 Bb5 22.Rd2 Bxd3 23.cxd3 Rc3 24.Re1 Rac8 25.g3 R8c6 26.f4 Rc2 27.Ree2 Rxd2 28.Rxd2 h5 29.Kg2 h4 30.g4 g5 31.e5 dxe5 32.Qe4 Qc5 33.fxg5 fxg5 34.Re2 Kh6 35.Qc4 e6 36.Qxc5 Rxc5 37.Kf3 Kg7 38.Ke3 Rc1 39.d4 exd4+ 40.Kxd4 Kf6 41.h3 Rc3 42.Rf2+ Ke7 43.Rh2 Rc1 44.Re2 Kd6 45.Rd2 e5+ 0-1

Queen Pawn A46
Keith Vickers - Hovik Manvelyan
49th Arthur Stamer Memorial (2) 2012

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.b3 d6 3.d4 Nbd7 4.Bb2 c6 5.g3 g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.Nc3 d5 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 e6 10.e4 dxe4 11.Ng5 Qc7 12.Ncxe4 Nxe4 13.Nxe4 Rd8 14.Qf3 e5 15.dxe5 Nxe5 16.Nf6+ Kh8 17.Bxe5 Qa5 18.Bc3 1-0

French D20
Elliott Winslow - Hayk Manvelyan
49th Arthur Stamer Memorial (5) 2012

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 0-0 8.Nf3 a6 9.0-0 b5 10.Bb3 Bb7 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.a4 b4 13.Na2 Bd6 14.h3 Nd5 15.Bd2 a5 16.Nc1 N7f6 17.Re1 c5 18.dxc5 Bxc5 19.Nd3 Ba7 20.Nfe5 Rc8 21.Qf3 Ba8 22.Bg5 Qb6 23.Nd7 Nxd7 24.Bxd5 Bxd5 25.Qxd5 Qd4 26.Qxa5 Ra8 27.Rad1 Bb6 28.Qxb4 Qxb4 29.Nxb4 Rxa4 30.Rxd7 Rxb4 31.Be7 Rxb2 32.Bxf8 Bxf2+ 33.Kf1 Bxe1 34.Ba3 Rd2 35.Re7 1-0

2) Nathan Divinsky 1925-2012

Nathan Joseph Harry “Tuzie” Divinsky died in Vancouver, on June 17, 2012, of cancer after an illness of several weeks. He was 86.

One of the giants of Canadian chess, Divinsky was a man of considerable and varied accomplishments as an author, journalist, player, politician and promoter of the royal game. He played twice for the Canadian national team (Amsterdam 1954 and Havana 1966), but represented his nation in many more Olympiads as its FIDE Delegate. A man of principle, who didn’t mind speaking his mind in the devil’s den of FIDE politics, his stentorian voice could be heard at many FIDE Congresses.

Divinsky will likely be best remembered by the chess world for his literary output, which included

Around the Chess World in 80 Years, Vols 1 and 2 - 1961 and 1965 BCM Quarterlies
The Batsford Encyclopedia of Chess - 1990
Life Maps of the Great Chess Masters -1994
Warriors of the Mind: A Quest for the Supreme Genius of the Chess Board (with Raymond Keene) 1989, 2002

He edited the column “Chess Charivari” from October 31, 1953 to June 19, 1954 in the Winnipeg Tribune. His column of February 20, 1954, reprinted in the Mechanics’ Chess Club Newsletter #374, included a nice victory over Sammy Reshevsky in a simul in Winnipeg.

Divinsky served for 15 years, from 1959-1974, as editor of the magazine Canadian Chess Chat. This was the only Canadian magazine for much of this time, and played an invaluable role in promoting chess in Canada.

A man with a strong interest in chess history, Divinsky was fascinated by the German chess master, historian and diplomat Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa. His article “The Mighty Baron”, which appeared in the June 1985 issue of the British Chess Magazine (pp. 226-232), was one of the first serious looks at Lasa’s career and was well-received, prompting Divinsky to dig deeper. The past two decades he spent a great deal of time delving into all aspects of the Baron’s life, in what promised be his magnum opus.

One example of the extent of his research is that, while Mega DataBase 2012 has 279 of Lasa’s games, Divinsky had dug up close to 500. This included the game against Heinemann played at the Mechanics’ Institute in late 1887/early 1888 which appeared in Mechanics’ Chess Club Newsletter #118.

Divinsky received a setback when his collaborator Peter Stockhausen dropped out of the Lasa project, but he continued on, and one can only hope that his work will be published one day.

Divinsky grew up in Winnipeg at the same time as the Yanofsky brothers, Abe and Harry, in what was the golden age for Manitoba chess. He won the Championship of this province in both 1946 and 1952, and finished runner-up in 1945. While he never devoted himself fully to tournament play, Divinsky did play in several Canadian championships, finishing tying for 3rd-4th in 1945.

A man of many interests, Divinsky was a master at bridge as well as chess. He was very active in politics in the 1970s and 1980s, serving on the Vancouver School Board from 1974-80, and as an alderman of Vancouver’s city council from 1981-82.

Divinsky earned a PhD from the University of Chicago in Mathematics in 1950, and served as a mathematics professor at the University of British Columbia, where he spent the entirety of his professional career. Among his students were future Grandmasters Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn Goldstone, and daughters Judy Kornfeld and Pamela Divinsky.

Those wishing to learn more about this remarkable man may wish to consult International Master Anthony Saidy’s tribute entitled “Chess Godfather of the North”, which appeared in Chess Life in December 2010 (pp. 17-19).


3) Saint Louis Chess Club Partners with KCF on Elite Training Program, by Mike Wilmering

SAINT LOUIS, June 18, 2012 - The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL) is partnering with the Kasparov Chess Foundation (KCF) on a five-year grant program to help develop several American chess prodigies from across the United States. The program, called Young Stars - Team USA, will begin with a kick-off training program in Saint Louis at the CCSCSL from June 18-20. Program participants range in age from nine to 15 years old.

The program’s players include
   • Awonder Liang, age 9, from Madison, WI - Won a gold medal in the under-8 section of the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship in Brazil.
   • Ruifeng Li, age 9, from Plano, TX - Won the 2011 Arkansas State Championships and a silver medal in the under-10 section of the 2011 World Youth Championships.
   • Jeffrey Xiong, age 11, from Coppell, TX - Recently, Xiong received a four-year scholarship to the University of Texas at Dallas.
   • Sam Sevian, age 11, from Santa Clara, CA - Is currently the youngest-ever American chess master.
   • Kevin Cao, age 15, from Saint Louis - Named to the 2010 All-American Team at the age of 12, participated in the Kings vs. Queens tournament in Saint Louis.
   • Kayden Troff, age 14, from West Jordan, UT - Troff participated in the Junior Championships at the CCSCSL in 2011.
   • Sarah Chiang, age 15, from Southlake, TX - Tied for third place at the World Youth Championship in the girls U-14 division in 2011.

“This inaugural group features some of the top young chess players in the country,” said CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich. “By fostering their talent now, we’re hoping to position the United States as a future chess super power.”

World chess champion and KCF Chairman Garry Kasparov will personally coach the young players in the training program, which will be held at the CCSCSL every summer, and in New York City each winter. The CCSCSL and KCF have established a five-year educational program for extraordinarily talented children to maximize their potential to achieve the highest level in chess and become members of the U.S. Olympiad Teams. The grant also provides individual coaching for each participant.

“The joint effort of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and the KCF provides these promising players a tremendous advantage,” said Michael Khodarkovsky, president of the KCF. “Their time spent in these training sessions will help prepare them for the demands of a career in chess—and hopefully the demands of winning championship tournaments as well.”

More information on the program can be found at www.SaintLouisChessClub.org or www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.