Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I wish all of you a Happy, Healthy, and Successful 2010!

PanAm Scores

Top Scores at 2009 Pan American Intercollegiate Championship:

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Tot
1	IM Sasha Kaplan	2453	UMBC-A	W57	W21	W14	W33	D29	W93	5.5
2	GM Leonid Kritz	2654	UMBC-A	W30	W17	W54	D67	W34	W39	5.5
3	IM Davorin Kuljasevic	2568	TXTECA	W101	W71	W67	D12	W52	W11	5.5
4	IM Bogdan G. Vioreanu	2461	YALE-A	W103	D30	W101	W115	W106	W61	5.5
5	GM Axel Bachmann	2595	UTB-A	W42	W50	W90	W82	D16	D49	5.0
6	IM Gergely Antal	2537	TXTECA	W91	W40	L9	W90	W32	W83	5.0
7	Mackenzie S Molner	2430	NYU	W26	W56	D15	D31	W22	D10	4.5
8	IM Gabor Papp	2592	TXTECA	W46	W19	D49	D10	W51	D20	4.5
9	IM Marko Zivanic	2551	UTD-A	W18	W83	W6	D16	W95	U---	4.5
10	IM Salvijus Bercys	2521	UTD-B	W38	D51	W31	D8	D20	D7	4.0
11	FM Elliott J Liu	2340	STANFO	W27	L67	W61	W17	W12	L3	4.0
12	IM Julio C. Sadorra	2531	UTD-B	W115	W52	D34	D3	L11	W54	4.0
13	Chase M. Watters	2018	TXTECA	W94	W25	L33	L37	W55	W35	4.0
14	Sean N Finn	2133	NYU	W65	W85	L1	L29	W117	W37	4.0
15	GM Sergey Erenburg	2602	UMBC-A	W43	U---	D7	W49	D31	W36	4.0
16	IM Giorgi Margvelashvili	2527	UMBC-A	U---	W68	W82	D9	D5	W18	4.0
17	WFM Bayaraa Zorigt	2255	UTD-C	W60	L2	W115	L11	W87	W72	4.0
18	Alejandro J. Nieto	1815	UTB-B	L9	W78	W109	W77	W40	L16	4.0
19	Atanas Petkov	2142	PRINCE	W97	L8	W69	W51	D36	D38	4.0
20	Daniel W Schwarz	2313	STANFO	F44	W74	W79	W68	D10	D8	4.0
21	WFM Nath Saheli	2135	UTD-C	W105	L1	W84	W83	D48	D50	4.0
22	Shamel Howell	2171	BARBAD	L31	W44	W103	W76	L7	W86	4.0
23	Gilan K. Salehi	1175	YALE-A	L95	W41	W94	L53	W111	W81	4.0
24	Gilberto L. Luna II	2041	MIAMI	W75	W82	W65	L50	W57	L32	4.0
25	Daniel Minkin	1941	PRINCE	W63	L13	W88	L55	W93	W53	4.0
26	Joshua D. Osbourn	1865	TXTECB	L7	W86	W56	W97	L68	W105	4.0
27	Jeffrey A. De Jesus	2237	LONEST	L11	D73	W64	W108	D115	W101	4.0
28	Katharine A Kormanik	1475	UTAH	L32	L84	W92	W91	W104	W109	4.0

PanAm Results - Final Four appearance for TTU

2009 PAN-AM INTERCOLLEGIATE TEAM CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP AWARD WINNERS

Teams going to The President’s Cup, also known as the Final Four of Chess, in April at UTB/TSC:

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The University of Texas at Dallas
Texas Tech University
UTB/TSC

International teams:

First place: University of the West Indies, Bridgetown, Barbados
Second place: University of Toronto "A" Team
Third place: University of Toronto "B" Team

Division winners:

Division I: The University of Maryland, Baltimore County "B" Team
Division II: UTB-TSC "B" Team
Division III: Yale University
Division IV: Texas Tech University "B" Team

Board winners:

Board 1: Leonid Kritz, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Davorin Kuljasevic, Texas Tech University "A" Team, Bogdan Vioreanu, Yale University
Board 2: Sergey Erenburg, University of Maryland, Baltimore County "A" Team
Board 3: Axel Bachmann, UTB-TSC "A" Team and Gergely Antal, Texas Tech University "A" Team
Board 4: Sasha Kaplan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County "A" Team
Alternate: Daniel Yeager, The University of Texas at Dallas "B" Team

Source: Brownsville Herald

Top 10 teams:

1	UMBC-A	2559	UMBC-A	W14 [4.0]	W13 [3.5]	W12 [3.5]	W2 [3.0]	W5 [2.5]	W7 [4.0]	6.0
2-4	UTD-A	2574	UTD-A	W7 [4.0]	W8 [3.0]	W3 [2.5]	L1 [1.0]	W6 [3.5]	D5 [2.0]	4.5
2-4	Texas Tech University - Team A	2429	TXTECA	W26 [4.0]	W9 [4.0]	L2 [1.5]	D4 [2.0]	W10 [4.0]	W8 [3.5]	4.5
2-4	UTD-B	2498	UTD-B	W18 [4.0]	W10 [3.5]	D5 [2.0]	D3 [2.0]	D8 [2.0]	W12 [2.5]	4.5
5-7	UTB-A	2577	UTB-A	W17 [4.0]	W6 [3.5]	D4 [2.0]	W12 [3.5]	L1 [1.5]	D2 [2.0]	4.0
5-7	UMBC-B	2258	UMBC-B	W11 [3.0]	L5 [0.5]	W17 [2.5]	W15 [2.5]	L2 [0.5]	W13 [2.5]	4.0
5-7	UTB-B	1988	UTB-B	L2 [0.0]	W27 [4.0]	W28 [4.0]	W20 [3.5]	W9 [2.5]	L1 [0.0]	4.0
8-10	Stanford University	2260	STANFO	W19 [3.0]	L2 [1.0]	W20 [4.0]	W13 [3.0]	D4 [2.0]	L3 [0.5]	3.5
8-10	Princeton University	2072	PRINCE	W23 [4.0]	L3 [0.0]	W21 [3.0]	D10 [2.0]	L7 [1.5]	W18 [3.5]	3.5
8-10	University of Texas at Austin	2189	UTA	W22 [4.0]	L4 [0.5]	W14 [2.5]	D9 [2.0]	L3 [0.0]	W15 [3.5]	3.5

So, Hammer, Robson confirmed for SPICE Cup 2010

GM Wesley So has just confirmed his participation in the 2010 SPICE Cup A group.

To make the event a lot more exciting, the SPICE Cup committee has unanimously voted to adapt the following new rules for the A group:

- No draw offer allowed prior to move 30
- A win = 3 points, a draw = 1 point, and loss = 0 point



GM Georg Meier (Germany), GM Jon Ludvig Hammer (Norway), GM Ray Robson (USA) and GM Eugene Perelshteyn (USA) have already confirmed their participation.

The format of the A group will once again be a 6-player DRR (category 16 or 17) event. The B group will be a 10-player (category 11-12) RR event. We are planning to add a 3rd group for 2010.

www.SPICE.ttu.edu

CHESS Winter Camp in Lubbock

CHESS Winter Camp
December 21-23, 2009
Science Spectrum
Lubbock, Texas

Learn chess from world champion Susan Polgar’s curriculum through her team of instructors. Beginner to advanced players are welcome ages 7 to 12. Campers will focus on learning chess theory and practice, but will also spend time with other activities at the museum.

Participants will be taught basic chess tactics and strategy, scorekeeping, etiquette, logical thinking, and strategic planning.

Campers will be divided in groups based on age and skill level. Camp hours: 10am -3pm. Bring your own sack lunch.

Fee: $79. Early-bird discount of $5 if registered by 12/11/09.

For additional camp information or reservations call the Science Spectrum at 806-745-2525 x234.

Winter Chess Camp at the Science Spectrum

Winter 2009 Classes & Holiday Camps

Adventurers - Ages 7 to 9:

Mon. to Wed., Dec. 21 to 23– Winter Chess Camp
Learn chess from world champion Susan Polgar’s curriculum through her team of instructors. Campers will focus on learning chess theory and practice, but will also spend time with other activities at the museum. Participants will be taught basic chess tactics and strategy, score keeping, etiquette, logical thinking, and strategic planning. Campers will be divided in groups based on age and skill level, so all players, beginner to advanced are welcome.

Cost: $79 non-members / $74 members

http://www.sciencespectrum.org/new/childrenfamilies.shtml

Voyagers - Ages 10 to 12:

Mon. to Wed., Dec. 21 to 23 – 10am to 3pm – Winter Chess Camp
Learn chess from world champion Susan Polgar’s curriculum through her team of instructors. Campers will focus on learning chess theory and practice, but will also spend time with other activities at the museum. Participants will be taught basic chess tactics and strategy, scorekeeping, etiquette, logical thinking, and strategic planning. Campers will be divided in groups based on age and skill level, so all players, beginner to advanced are welcome.

Cost: $79 non-members / $74 members

Parents - Kids night at Slaton ISD

Chess night at Slaton ISD conducted by Dr. Rich Rice and Paul Truong.

Texas Tech chess team captures two state championships

Texas Tech chess team captures two state championships in Houston
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Story last updated at 11/29/2009 - 3:09 am

The Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess team just captured two Texas Collegiate Championships last weekend in Houston.

International Masters Gergely Antal and Davorin Kuljasevic finished first and second place respectively in the state individual competition.

Antal scored 4.5 points in 5 games to win the prestigious 2009 Texas State Collegiate Championship individual title. They key battle was in round three where he defeated the top seed, Grandmaster Mauricio Flores, from UT Brownsville. He drew his teammate and roommate International Master Davorin Kuljasevic in round four, and won his final game against National Master Nelson Lopez of UT Dallas to clinch the title.

Kuljasevic had a chance to tie for first with his teammate and roommate Antal but was unable to score a full point against International Master Max Cornejo of UT Brownsville in the final round. He had to settle with 4 points in five games and a second place finish.

Together with International Master Gabor Papp and Chase Watters, the Knight Raiders "A" team captured the state team title on tie breaks over the powerful UT Brownsville team. UT Dallas finished in a distant third and the Knight Raiders "B" team finished fourth.

National Master Alex Chua of UT (Austin) captured the individual honor and UT Dallas captured the team title last year. This is the first time Texas Tech sent an "A" team to the state championship and this is also the first two state titles for the Knight Raiders.

Here are the members of our A team: Gabor Papp, Davorin Kuljasevic, Gergely Antal and Chase Watters.

And here are the members of our B team: Zach Haskin, Josh Osbourn, Rebecca Lelko, Brett James, and Ananya Roy.

In just two short years and only one full recruiting year under our belt, members of the Knight Raiders chess team have now captured one national title and two state titles. No other school has reached this kind of success in such little time before.

Our original goal was to reach this level in four or five years and we definitely could not do this without the wonderful support from Texas Tech and our generous anonymous donor.

Congratulations to all the team members, Knight Raiders student advisers Dr. Hal Karlsson and Dr. Rich Rice, and all our supporters for this unprecedented success.

http://lubbockonline.com/stories/112909/col_530044972.shtml

Knight Raiders A & B team at the State Championship

Brett James, Ananya Roy, Rebecca Lelko, Zach Haskin (missing is Josh Osbourn who had to leave early)


Chase Watters, Gabor Papp, Gergely Antal, Davorin Kuljasevic

Introducing chess to Slaton school

Dr. Rich Rice and Paul Truong introducing chess to kids in Slaton

2 state titles for TTU Knight Raiders Chess Team

The Texas Tech University Knight Raiders A team just captured two Texas State Collegiate Championships. International Masters Gergely Antal and Davorin Kuljasevic captured 1st and 2nd in the individual competition.

Together with International Master Gabor Papp and Chase Watters, the Knight Raiders A team captured the state team title on tiebreaks over the powerful UT Brownsville team, led by the top seed GM Mauricio Flores. UT Dallas finished in a distant third and the Knight Raiders B team finished 4th.

This is the first time Texas Tech sends an A team to the state championship and this is also the first state title for the Knight Raiders. Congratulations to all the team members!

Top 10 individual standings:

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Total	TBrk[M]	TBrk[B]	TBrk[S]
1	IM Gergely Antal	2543	TTECHA	4.5	14	10	14.5
2	IM Davorin Kuljasevic	2581	TTECHA	4.0	14.5	10	16.5
3	GM Mauricio Flores	2663	BUTB	4.0	13	8.5	15
4	FM Max Cornejo	2405	BUTB	4.0	12.5	8.5	13.5
5	Arturo Gracia Jr	2094	BUTB	4.0	9.5	6	10.5
6	IM Gabor Papp	2597	TTECHA	3.5	14	10	16
7	NM Nelson Lopez II	2197	UTD	3.0	13	8.5	14.5
8	NM Yashodhan Gogte	2186	UTD	3.0	13	8.5	14
9	NM Bradley J Sawyer	2224	BUTB	3.0	10.5	6.5	11.5
10	Chase Miles Watters	2018	TTECHA	3.0	10	6	11.5
11	John K Hendrick	2185	HUSTTH	3.0	8.5	5.5	10

Top 3 teams:

	Code	Name	Score	TBrk[B]	TBrk[S]	TBrk[R]	TBrk[C]
1	TTECHA	Texas Tech University 'A' Team - Cnt: 4	12.0	30	47	35.25	39
		IM Gergely Antal 4.5
		IM Davorin Kuljasevic 4.0
		IM Gabor Papp 3.5
		Chase Miles Watters 3.0
2	BUTB	University of Texas at Brownsville - Cnt: 4	12.0	23	39	27.75	35
		GM Mauricio Flores 4.0
		FM Max Cornejo 4.0
		Arturo Gracia Jr 4.0
		NM Bradley J Sawyer 3.0
3	UTD	U of Texas at Dallas - Cnt: 5	8.0	27	44.5	18.5	28
		NM Nelson Lopez II 3.0
		NM Yashodhan Gogte 3.0
		NM Chaitanya Vaidya 2.0
		NM Francisco Guadalupe II 2.0
		Medina Parrilla 2.0

Making a difference in West Texas

Making a difference in West Texas through playing teaching chess

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Story last updated at 11/15/2009 - 3:06 am

The question of the week is has there been any chess event that actually involves the fans during the game?

Actually, there was. On Feb. 27, 2005, I was involved in another historic battle of the genders that took place during the Millennium Chess Festival in Virginia Beach, Va. It featured the 2005 U.S. champion and No. 1-ranked American player, Hikaru Nakamura and me.

The unique format was a big hit with the fans. Instead of competing face to face, the two of us occupied adjacent rooms with large demo boards. We then explained our thoughts, analysis, and evaluations to the audience. For the fans, it was like being inside the grandmasters' minds. The audience could ask questions and sometimes even got involved with the analysis.

Both of us arrived before 7 p.m. to a mass of people waiting in line. After spending a few minutes going over the rules, my opponent and I went to our separate playing rooms. While waiting for all the technical things to be set up, we greeted the fans. Hikaru went on the Internet where he is a very popular player to chat with the fans. On the other hand, I spent this time with the folks standing in line to get into the playing hall while posing for pictures and signing autographs.

Finally, the game got under way. My husband Paul Truong was the emcee for my playing hall and FIDE Master Sunil Weeramantry, my opponent's stepfather, was the emcee for Hikaru's side. When we were ready to move, we would inform either Sunil or Paul who would then relate the moves to each other through walkie-talkies. In the meantime, the event was broadcast live on the Internet with voice and video live feeds.

The audiences in both playing halls were very enthusiastic and cheered the players on. The game was very exciting and filled with psychological warfare and unexpected twists and turns. It was a fantastic event.

The sponsors got tremendous coverage and the fans got to be involved in a real exciting chess battle. They actually witnessed how two world-class grandmasters think while trying to outwit each other on the chess board. Overall, it was a win-win situation for everyone.

Below is the game that we played:

Grandmaster Susan Polgar - Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura

Virginia Beach, Feb. 27, 2005

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5

The Albin Counter Gambit is quite rare in grandmaster practice and only very few "dare" to play it. Grandmaster Morozevich of Russia is one who plays it occasionally and with success. Hikaru is likely the second strongest player who is willing to surprise his opponents with it. Prior to the game I primarily anticipated a more solid opening. However, I was ready for the Albin psychologically.

3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7

Formerly, Black used to play 5...Be6 or 5...Bg4 instead. This is a new idea of Morozevich's.

6.Bg2 Ng6 7.Bg5

In some games, White returned the pawn with 7.0-0 Ngxe5 8.Nxe5 Nxe5 but Black has little to worry then. Protecting the pawn with 7.Bf4 allows 7...Nxf4 ruining White's pawn structure on the kingside.

7...Qd7

A strange looking move but it is the best choice. After 7...Be7 8.Bxe7 Black has problems getting the sacrificed pawn back.

8.e6!

By returning the pawn, White forces Black's f-pawn to the e-file.

8...fxe6 9.0-0 e5 10.Nbd2

Apparently, my opponent was hoping for 10.Qa4 as I suggested in my article, but I surprised him with 10.Nbd2.

10...h6 11.Bh4 Bd6

I don't think that this is an improvement over Krasenkow - Morozevich, where Black developed the bishop to e7.

12.c5 Bxc5

This came to me as a pleasant surprise. It also shocked the audience; retreating to e7 was much safer. It shows that Hikaru is not afraid of sharp games, nor is he afraid of a challenge.

13.Qc2

This move forks Black's bishop and knight.

13...Nxh4

The only way to avoid losing a piece.

14.Nxh4 Bb6

I did not even consider this retreat, only to d6, b4 or e7.

15.Ng6 Rg8

The rook could not go to h7 because of a discovery with the knight. White is clearly better here. The dilemma is which tempting continuation to choose.

16.Qc4

I considered this along with a different execution with 16.Qb3. However, I found an additional interesting continuation after the game with 16.Nc4. For example 16...Qf5

17.Be4 Qf6 18.Bxc6+ bxc6 19.Ngxe5.

16...Qe6

The only way to save the rook! After 16...Ne7, White would trade knights and then simply capture the rook on g8.

17.Bxc6+

This is one of the critical positions of the game. I had the opportunity to win an exchange with 17.Bd5 Qxg6 18.Bxg8 but with the short time control I did not want to give Hikaru counterplay with 18...Bh3. Then Black has a pawn for the exchange and the light squares around my king are pining for my bishop which is stranded on g8. Another option was after 17.Bd5 Qxg6 was 18.Bxc6, but I decided against it because of 18...Kf8. To my amazement, my opponent told me after the game that he planned to sacrifice the exchange anyway with 18...bxc6. If I had known that, I would have played the 17.Bd5 variation.

17...bxc6 18.Nxe5 Qxc4 19.Ndxc4

This is the position I was hoping for. White has the better pawn structure and the black bishop on b6 is really out of play.

19...c5 20.Rfc1 a5

Perhaps better was 20...Be6. On the other hand, 20...Bb7 is not good because of 21.a4 (threatening to trap the bishop with 22.a5) 21...a5 22.Nxb6 cxb6 and 23.Nc4 winning a pawn.

21.e3! dxe3 22.Nxe3 Be6 23.Nd3?

This mistake lets most of the advantage slip. The more accurate move was 23.Rd1 not allowing Black to castle.

23...0-0-0 24.Nxc5 Bh3

This bishop is becoming like an "annoying monster" constantly setting up back rank checkmate traps.

25.Rc2 Rge8 26.Rac1 Kb8 27.a3 a4!

A very good move! After 28.Nxa4, Black answers with 28...Rxe3 29.fxe3 Bxe3 check 29.Kh1 Bxc1 30.Rxc1 Rd2.

28.Rc3

According to the computer better was 28.Rc4 Rd2 29.Rb4.

28...Rd2 29.Nxa4

A blunder would be 29.R1c2, because of checkmate in two after 29...Rd1 check.

29...Bxe3 30.Rxe3 Rf8 31.Rb3 check Ka8 32.g4!

Giving up a pawn to force the bishop away from its powerful position!

32...Bxg4 33.Rxc7 Rfxf2 34.Nb6 check Kb8 35.Nd5 check Ka8 Game drawn.

Black offered the draw. White had 2'25" left and Black had 4'31" left. White is still better after 36.Ne3 Bh3 37.Rc5 Rf7 38.Ra5+ Ra7 39.Nc4. But since this was an exhibition and the game went overtime, we decided to accept a friendly draw so the fans would not miss other activities.

• Helping children

In the past two years, SPICE, with some financial assistance from my foundation, has made great strides in getting chess into schools in West Texas. But we are not able to accomplish everything we wanted to do for young children in our area.

The Susan Polgar Foundation needs your support. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and our mission is to promote chess, with all its educational, social, and competitive benefits for young people of all ages, especially girls.

Our goal is to raise $50,000 in order to continue serving the Lubbock area. It is clear that chess playing has many educational and social benefits, and our work is making a difference. Please consider contributing to support chess excellence.

This year, for instance, we hosted and directed many scholastic tournaments, led workshops for a number of schools, helped start a chess program at Wolfforth Library, and donated many chess sets and books and supplies. We hosted free chess lessons at various places around town for players of all ages.

We organized multiple tournaments with grandmasters from around the world. We built a chess park on Tech's campus and celebrated top-place finishes in collegiate national competitions, among many other things.

We're stretched in many directions and we really need your help. Please consider contacting us to help teach chess, or help us through a tax-deductable donation. One hundred percent of your donationwill go to support chess in our community.

Donations can be made to:

The Susan Polgar Foundation

6923 Indiana Ave. No. 154

Lubbock, TX 79413

Beating the perception about chess

Chess for Success tournament tries to beat perceptions about the game

By Allan Brettman, The Oregonian
November 07, 2009, 6:32PM

Jerryd Bayless, Phillip Margolin and Susan Polgar. Remember those names.

Linda Hu and Camille Franklin don't know any of them, but they do know chess.

This morning, 8-year-old Hu, a Woodstock Elementary third-grader, and 9-year-old Franklin, a Vernon Elementary fourth-grader, hunched over a vinyl chess mat. Their rapid moves on the board and shoving arms somehow imitated a fencing match.

With countering claims of "check," it was over and Hu thrust her right arm in the air -- the signal to call a tournament judge.

In the bigger scheme of things, both Hu and Franklin, were victors, along with about 70 other participants in the girls-only Chess for Success practice tournament at Harold Oliver Primary.

The gymnasium floor in the school on Portland's east side was half filled with lunch tables covered with chess mats. Parents on folding chairs filled the other half.

Chess for Success executive director Julie Young watched the action from the perimeter.

Chess, she said, has long been perceived as a men's sport.

Today's event and Chess for Success try to erode that perception, though the nonprofit program has more boys than girls.

Other youth chess programs may emphasize strategy and the importance of winning. That's not Chess for Success' game.

"The main thing is," Young said, "we want it to be fun and social."

The program targets schools with a high proportion of children receiving free or reduced-price lunch. With the help of a Meyer Memorial Trust grant, it was launched in 1992 in nine schools. Today, it's in 87 far-flung schools, mostly in the metro area, and reaches about 3,400 children a year.

As for Bayless, Margolin and Polgar? All linked by chess, Young said.

Bayless is a Trail Blazers basketball player. Plays a mean game of chess, too, and along with Mona Lisa, he is one of the subjects of promotional posters for Chess for Success.

He's not a mollycoddler when it comes to playing the impressionable youngers.

"He plays to win," Young said.

Margolin of Portland seems to always have a best-selling thriller on The New York Times' list.

For 17 years, until June, he was president of Chess for Success. The novelist credits chess with transforming his approach to school as a young man.

"He says," Young said, "'We trick kids because they think they're just going to play a game and we teach them how to think.'"

And Polgar is regarded as among the best female chess players in the world.

The Hungarian native is director of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech University.

And she heads a foundation that promotes chess, her Web site says, "with all of its educational, social and competitive benefits ... for young people of all ages, especially girls."

Source: http://www.oregonlive.com

The historic connection between chess and baseball in the U.S.

The historic connection between chess and baseball in the U.S.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Story last updated at 11/8/2009 - 12:27 am

The question of the week is when did chess become popular and how popular is chess today? In addition, does chess have a worldwide governing body?

In the late 1820s and early 1830s, chess gained new popularity because of the "great chess automaton" - a kind of 19th century precursor of a chess playing computer. This great automaton was designed to resemble a large "mechanical brain" capable of playing masterful games of chess. In actuality, the games were played by a human being hidden inside the machine.

The deception was so cleverly done, however, that the audiences invited to peer inside the machine before the exhibition began were none the wiser. That the automaton turned out to be a fraud did nothing to dampen the surging enthusiasm for the game. By the middle of the 19th century, chess had come into its own in America.

Between 1857 and 1860, there were only two major sports "crazes" in the United States: baseball and chess. In 1857, both chess and baseball were among the first sports to form national organizations. That was the year the American Chess Association was founded.

Chess and baseball were so closely linked in the public's mind that Amherst College hosted a "doubleheader," which featured both the first intercollegiate baseball game and the first intercollegiate chess match.

Today, according to CBS news and the U.S. Chess Federation, 40 to 45 million people play chess in the United States. Worldwide, chess is played in more than 160 countries, and it is estimated that more than 700 million people know how to play chess.

What account for the popularity of chess? Well, for one thing, chess is one the fairest games of all. Men, women, and children of all ages start out in chess at the same level. Children with little experience can beat adults who have played for years. There is no advantage due to height, weight, gender, age, skin color, nationality, or social class. To play, you don't have to have money or belong to a club; all you need is a chess set and a place to play (or the Internet).

Unlike other board games, chess is considered a combination of art, sport and science. Certainly chess can be fun and can be played by everyone. But to be a competitive or professional chess player requires skill, knowledge, strategy, experience, wit, logic, focus, patience, discipline, fitness, good memory, strong nerves, mental toughness, and yes, sometimes even luck.

Chess wasn't always a thought of as an equal opportunity game. At one time, chess was considered something of a rarefied pastime, competitively dominated by men who were generally wealthy and well connected. But in the last few decades, the world of competitive chess has broken wide open.

For instance, my sisters Sofia, Judit, and I proved to the world that women can play chess as well as men, competing with and beating our male counterparts. Nor is age a barrier to achieve: teen such as Sergey Karjakin from Ukraine, and Magnus Carlsen of Norway are both world-class grandmasters.

Competitive chess players train as vigorously as Olympic athletes, spending up to 8-12 hours analyzing games of opponents, and improving various parts of their games. In the United States, there are several noteworthy young stars, such as 17-year-old grandmaster Robert Hess, and 15-year-old grandmaster Ray Robson (youngest grandmaster in U.S. history and reigning U.S. Junior Champion).

Organizing Chess Play

International chess competition is governed by the World Chess Federation, which is known by its French acronym FIDE (Fdration Internationale des checs) and was founded on July 20, 1924, in Paris.

With its headquarters in Athens, Greece, FIDE is the umbrella organization for more than 160 national chess federations, as reflected by its motto: Gens Una Sumus (we are one family). National chess federations, such as the USCF (U.S. Chess Federation), which have been admitted to FIDE, manage chess activities in their respective countries. With more than 5 million registered chess players worldwide, FIDE is one of the largest organizations recognized by the IOC (International Olympics Committee).

Important FIDE titles

Here are some of the important and prestigious titles awarded by FIDE:

Grandmaster

International Master

FIDE Master

Woman Grandmaster

Woman International Master

Woman FIDE Master

International Arbiter

Source: LubbockOnline.com

Carlsen 1/2 Morozevich

[Event "Tal Memorial"]
[Date "2009.11.06"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Carlsen, M."]
[Black "Morozevich, A."]
[ECO "E25"]
[WhiteElo "2801"]
[BlackElo "2750"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. f3 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 c5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. dxc5 Qa5 9. e4 Nf6 10. Be3 O-O 11. Qb3 Na6 (A lesser known move. Most popular is 11...Nfd7) 12. Nh3 += (I expect Morozevich to play Nd7 here. Even though Black is down a pawn, he can recapture at c5 at will. However, I am not very impressed with Black's position. The Bishop on c8 is stuck.)

12... Nd7 (Now, White's best option is to take the Knight on a6. Even when Black recaptures with the Queen, White does not worry about the castling problem because White always has the f2 square for the King. White can also play c4 to block the Black Queen.)

13. Ba6 Qxa6 14. c4 (White can now castle safely.)

14...Ne5 (The only decent square for the Knight)

15. Rc1 Bd7 (Pretty much a must since Black has to begin to develop his Bishop.)

16. Qc3 f6 17. 0-0 Ba4 += (The idea is to block the White's Rooks from the d file.)

18. Nf4 Rfd8 (White must chase the Black Knight from the best square e5. Bd4 would solve this problem. White can also solidify his Bishop with Ne2 eventually.)

16. Bd4 (Black has many choices to retreat his Knight. A logical spot is on f7. Nc6 is no good because of Nxe6. Ng6 is also playable and interesting.)

16...Ng6 (If White captures the Knight, it would lead to a Bishop opposite color endgame.)

17. Nxg6 hxg6 18. e5 (White is up a pawn. But after 18...f5, I am not sure if White has enough to score a full point.)

18...f5 19.h4 Rd7 += 20. Rf2 Rad8 (21. Rd2 is must.)

24. Rd2 Qc6 25. Kh2 Qc7 26. Qe3 Kf7 (White is up a pawn but has the double c pawns and opposite color Bishops. White is still slightly better.)

27. Kg3 (The only play White has is to open up the h file to have Kingside play. However, Black can simply park his Rook on the h file to hamper White's plan.)

27... Rh8 28. Qf4 (White has a dilemma. He must be careful not to exchange more pieces because the Bishop endgame would lead to an easy draw for Black.)

28...Qd8 (I still fail to see any real threat or plan for White. White can continue to shift his focus back and forth between the h and b file. However, Black has no problem defending against these plans. Many websites and servers have LIVE commentary as well such as Chessdom.com, Chessvibes.com, ICC, PlayChess, etc.)

29. Rb1 Bc6 30. Rb2 = / += Qa5 31. Be3 (White is giving back a pawn voluntarily. I still see nothing for White.)

31...Rxd2 (I expect a draw soon.)

32. Rxd2 Qxa3 33. Qd4 (A possible idea is to play Bg5, Qd6, followed by Qc7 or Qe7 because the Black Queen is temporarily out of play. You have to give credit to Magnus for trying. His plan is quite sneaky :) Black can solve this problem with 33...Rc8 with the idea of Qa5 then Qc7.)

33...Rc8 34. Rd1 Qa5 (Obviously Morozevich is not afraid of giving back the a pawn to get the Queens off the board.)

35. Ra1 Qd8 36. Qxd8 Rxd8 37. Rxa7 (Black should have no problem drawing this game at this point with Rd3.)

37...Rd3 = (However, White has a neat possible trick up his sleeves with Bg5, then Ra8, followed by Bd8, Bc7, Bd6, and Rf8 :) I am sure Morozevich will see this though and not allow it.)

38. Bg5 Rd4 39. Be3 1/2

Saturday Quads

Texas Tech University Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) & The Knight Raiders present:

Saturday Quads

November 7, 2009

A 3 Round RR USCF Rated Tournament (Game/45)

Event Site: TTU – English Building Lubbock, TX

Contact Info: 806-742-7742 E-mail: SPICE@ttu.edu or Stephanie.Ballom@ttu.edu.

Description of Tournament: An open tournament for all players. USCF membership required.

On-site registration and check in 12:15pm-12:45pm.

Round Schedule: 1:00pm- 2:45pm- 4:30pm

Entry Fee: $15 Knight Raiders or K-12 Grades $10

Prizes: $30 to the winner of each Quad.

Please send Entry Blank and Entry Fee to Susan Polgar Foundation at 6923 Indiana Ave. #154 Lubbock, TX 79413. Please don’t send your entry after November 6th, but register on site instead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Entry Form: Please PRINT all information and make check / money order to Susan Polgar Foundation.

Name: ____________________________________ Phone: (_______) _________________

Address: __________________________ City/State: ____________________ Zip: ________

Email: _________________________________ DOB: _________ School: _______________

USCF ID# and expiration date: _________ USCF Rating (if any) ______ Amount Enclosed $_______

Chess opening traps for players to know and avoid

Polgar: Chess opening traps for players to know and avoid

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Sunday, November 01, 2009
Story last updated at 11/1/2009 - 12:52 am

Normally you can be safe by following the general opening principles. I discussed these principles in the past but I will discuss them again for ones who have not seen them before.

• Control the center

The center of the board includes the squares e4, d4, e5, and d5. When you start a game, place your pawns in the center to occupy and control as many of these squares as you can. Location, location, location.

• Develop your pieces as soon as possible

Get your knights and bishops out right away. This should be done before you try to checkmate your opponent, some time in the first 6 or 7 moves if possible.

• Castle as soon as possible

The first chance you have, castle immediately to keep your king safe. Remember: you can't win if your king is not safe and you get checkmated first. So, don't forget to castle! Then after you castle, connect your rooks by developing your queen.

• Keep your pieces protected

Don't leave your pieces hanging without protection. Each and every piece you have is very valuable, so don't forget to protect them. Protecting means if your opponent can take your piece, then you can take your opponent's piece.

Besides the valuable principles above, there are others that you should try to remember. Chess is a game with logic, strategies, planning, and tactics. Keep the following principles in mind as you play.

• Every move should have a purpose.

• What is the idea behind your opponent's move?

• Always think before you move. There is no take back in chess. So make your decision carefully.

• Learn to make plans. Planning is one of the most important elements of the game of chess.

• Analyze your games and learn from your mistakes. Every player, from beginner to world champion, makes mistakes. It is very important to go over your games to find mistakes and learn from them.

• Pace yourself wisely.

However, there are some famous opening traps which you need to know about. Here are three examples:

Click here to read the full article.

Zwischenzug

Zwischenzug
The newsletter of the Midland County Chess Club

Lubbock reminds me of a similie - or two: The Midland versus Lubbock match caused a lot of pain. I'm not going to go through this pain by myself -- the rest of you guys need to share it with me, and when I think of painful reading, I think of bad similies. So no one gets to stop reading. Take your punishment like men.

The Lubbock team came from all over the world, was as different from each other as chalk from cheese, yet the result to Midland when the Lubbockiners took the board was as damaging as a tornado going through a chainsaw factory, a solid 20 - 12 win for the visitors from up north.

The Lubbock team dominated from the top down with top rated Chris Cohen calm as a millpond as he compiled a 3.5 score while second rated Chase Waters was happy as a rat with a gold tooth as he won three of his four games. The Midlanders found beating Rebecca Lelko (3.5 points) as hard as putting a six legged cat in a pail of water, while Konstantin Parkhomento (3 points) was as cold as a brass toilet in the Yukon.

For Midland it was all funny as a rubber crutch, and now there's nothing left but to apportion the blame.

Charlie Vetter's problem was time management as he took so long thinking that he ended up playing each of his endings like a cheetah on a motorcycle.

For Willie Callo the problem was that his castled king position was like a letter, not any good unless it was opened.

On the positive side, we all I think had a fun time and the library was a good place to play. How's about the newspaper giving us two days worth of coverage? And who expected a four foot by three foot page one color picture of Bruce in Sunday's paper?

Our kids also did well. Joel Cortes won two games, trailing only Bruce (2.5) and Charlie (2.5) and was the only Midlander to beat Dneprovosk's Konstantin and Jared had a wonderful win against an adult player.

So in short, wait till next year.

A message from Chancellor Kent Hance

Dear Texas Tech family:

As early voting begins, an opportunity to influence the future of higher education rests in the hands of Texas voters. When voters arrive at the polls, Proposition 4, a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, will appear on the ballot to be approved.

Co-sponsored by state Sen. Robert Duncan, Proposition 4 is designed to increase research efforts and enhance the reputation of higher education in Texas without requiring new state spending.

“We have a lot of students leave the state of Texas to go to these renowned institutions in other states simply because they’re great research institutions and they have a great reputation academically. This will cost the state of Texas nothing because we’re actually transferring a fund that isn’t being used today into a fund where we can use it to generate income, like an endowment, that will support this research effort of the state.” – State Senator Robert Duncan

If passed, Proposition 4 will establish the National Research University Fund (NRUF) from a dormant fund in the State Treasury, which will help emerging research universities to achieve “Tier One” status. By transferring resources from an existing fund, this amendment does not require new tax dollars.

At this time, the state of Texas has only three Tier One universities. A Tier One university is defined by many standards including endowments levels, amounts of research expenditures, and the number of doctoral degrees awarded. In comparison to other states, like California with nine, and New York with seven, Texas does not compete.

Tier One institutions have tremendous impact on economic development and prosperity. Research expenditures of $10 million result in an estimated 226 percent return on investment. It is also estimated that Texas loses $3.7 billion a year, along with thousands of our academically-gifted high school students who leave for out-of-state colleges, due to the few number of Tier One schools.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has designated seven emerging research universities which are moving toward national prominence. After meeting specific qualifications, these universities will be eligible for funding through the NRUF and establish their Tier One status.

Early voting is from Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Very truly yours,
Kent Hance
Chancellor

SPICE Cup Wall Chart

A Group

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pair | Player Name                    |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)      | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  | 10  |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 | DMITRY ANDREIKIN               |5.5  |D   6|W   4|D   2|D   3|D   5|D   6|D   4|D   2|D   3|D   5|
     | 14255482 / R: 2734P10->2738P20 |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   2 | RAUF MAMEDOV                   |5.5  |D   4|D   3|D   1|D   5|D   6|D   4|D   3|D   1|D   5|W   6|
     | 14255497 / R: 2696P10->2729P20 |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   3 | YURIY KUZUBOV                  |5.5  |D   5|D   2|W   6|D   1|D   4|D   5|D   2|D   6|D   1|D   4|
     | 14255476 / R: 2708P10->2728P20 |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4 | VARUZHAN AKOBIAN               |4.5  |D   2|L   1|D   5|L   6|D   3|D   2|D   1|D   5|W   6|D   3|
  CA | 12740522 / R: 2705   ->2699    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   5 | WESLEY B SO                    |4.5  |D   3|L   6|D   4|D   2|D   1|D   3|D   6|D   4|D   2|D   1|
     | 13145890 / R: 2717P10->2695P20 |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   6 | JON LUDVIG HAMMER              |4.5  |D   1|W   5|L   3|W   4|D   2|D   1|D   5|D   3|L   4|L   2|
     | 12787166 / R: 2679P17->2681    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B Group

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pair | Player Name                    |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)      | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1 | BENJAMIN P FINEGOLD            |6.0  |W  10|D   3|W   6|D   4|W   5|W   7|D   9|D   8|L   2|
  MI | 11264417 / R: 2601   ->2612    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   2 | EUGENE PERELSHTEYN             |6.0  |D   4|D   5|W   7|W   9|D   8|D   6|D  10|D   3|W   1|
  MA | 12627196 / R: 2596   ->2608    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   3 | VINAY S BHAT                   |6.0  |D   6|D   1|W   4|D   5|W   7|D   9|D   8|D   2|W  10|
  CA | 12551720 / R: 2499   ->2540    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   4 | RAY ROBSON                     |5.5  |D   2|W  10|L   3|D   1|D   6|W   5|D   7|W   9|D   8|
  FL | 12847250 / R: 2614   ->2616    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   5 | GABOR PAPP                     |5.0  |D   8|D   2|W  10|D   3|L   1|L   4|D   6|W   7|W   9|
  TX | 14244681 / R: 2597P17->2592    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   6 | DAVORIN KULJASEVIC             |4.0  |D   3|D   9|L   1|D   8|D   4|D   2|D   5|D  10|D   7|
  TX | 13218291 / R: 2581   ->2568    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   7 | GERGELY ANTAL                  |4.0  |W   9|W   8|L   2|W  10|L   3|L   1|D   4|L   5|D   6|
  TX | 13714777 / R: 2543   ->2537    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   8 | DANIEL M RENSCH                |4.0  |D   5|L   7|D   9|D   6|D   2|D  10|D   3|D   1|D   4|
  AZ | 12659833 / R: 2414   ->2432    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   9 | ANDRE DIAMANT                  |2.5  |L   7|D   6|D   8|L   2|D  10|D   3|D   1|L   4|L   5|
     | 14255502 / R: 2580P10->2484P19 |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  10 | DEAN J IPPOLITO                |2.0  |L   1|L   4|L   5|L   7|D   9|D   8|D   2|D   6|L   3|
  NJ | 12445752 / R: 2537   ->2506    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------