SPICE Cup 2011 in progress

SPICE Cup 2011 is in progress

Tuesday, 18 October 2011 16:20 www.FIDE.com

The 5th annual SPICE Cup, the highest rated international RR invitational tournament in U.S. history, is currently ongoing in Lubbock, Texas. The 2011 SPICE Cup A group takes place on October 15-25. The B and C groups take place on October 15-19. The FIDE Amateur Rated Open will take place on October 21-23. All sections are being held on the beautiful campus of Texas Tech University. Official website Live games with computer analysis Group A round 3 standings: 1. GM Le Quang Liem 2717 (VIE) - 2.5 2. GM L. Dominguez 2710 (CUB) - 2.0 3-4. GM Yury Shulman 2608 (USA) and GM Ray Robson 2583 (USA) -1.5 5. GM Georg Meier 2648 (GER) (Texas Tech Student) - 1.0 6. GM Sebastien Feller 2668 (FRA) - 0.5 Group B round 5 standings: 1. GM Anatoly Bykhovsky ISR 2521 - 4.0 2. IM Roberto Mogranzini 2439 ITA - 3.5 3-5. IM Mackenzie Molner 2453, IM Darwin Yang 2439 and IM Enrico Sevillano 2490 - 3.0 6. GM Denes Boros 2508 HUN (Texas Tech Student) - 2.5 7-8. IM Marc Arnold 2505 and GM Mesgen Amanov 2541 TKM - 2.0 9-10. IM Lev Milman 2452 and IM Dean Ippolito 2477 - 1.0 Group C round 5 standings: 1. GM Ben Finegold 2489 - 4.0 2. GM Joshua Friedel 2518 - 3.5 3. IM Levon Altounian 2429 - 3.0 4-7. GM Eugene Perelshteyn 2534, GM Andre Diamant 2505 BRA (Texas Tech Student), IM John Bartholomew 2440 and IM Vitaly Neimer 2373 ISR (Texas Tech Student) - 2.5 8-10. FM Kayden Troff 2306, SM Faik Aleskerov 2316 AZE (Texas Tech Student) and SM Matthew Herman 2414 - 1.5

Teach them Math, Science, and Chess

Maybe Teach Them Math, Science and Chess
By JAMES WARREN
New York Times
Published: October 15, 2011

The 120 elementary school children sat so quietly and intently that you might have assumed this was a mass detention period.

But it was chess, not confinement, in an Oak Brook hotel ballroom on Columbus Day. And the lessons learned might assist school leaders everywhere, including those attempting a systemwide resuscitation for Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s very disciplined, if impatient, mayor.

“My dream is to get in front of education decision makers and convince them to make chess part of the curriculum for K through second grade,” said Susan Polgar, the star of the show. “That’s when thinking patterns and habits are formed. It should be mandatory, like physical education.”

Ms. Polgar, 42, was a Hungarian chess prodigy taught by her psychologist father after she stumbled on chess pieces in a closet at home. At age 4, she stunned Budapest by winning the 11-and-under category in the city championships, sitting on phone books and pillows to reach across the board.

She was the first woman to become a grandmaster and the first to qualify, in 1996, for what was still known as the Men’s World Championship. She was one of the three highest-ranked female players for more than two decades, traveling the world and winding up fluent in seven languages.

I’d made my way to the Susan Polgar Foundation’s World Open Championship for Boys and Girls with an ulterior motive: to explore why boys dominate every class or tournament to which chess-ignorant me has taken my 7-year-old son.

“It’s interesting,” said Ms. Polgar. “Socially, I think, they’re not supported enough, so in general girls drop out of chess by fourth and fifth grades,” she said as 5-to-9-year-olds competed nearby.

When she was a girl, “it was very much ingrained that women were not able to play,” Ms. Polgar said. “A lot of experts and elite players believed that we were not physically able to do it, our brain was not big enough or that we couldn’t keep quiet long enough.”

She became an advocate for girls, especially through the Susan Polgar Foundation, which she founded while living in New York. She’s now in Lubbock, Tex., with her husband and their two children, where she runs the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech University.

The foundation supports chess for boys and girls, but especially girls, and sponsors events nationwide. The institute lures young players, with the university offering scholarships and excelling in college tournaments.

Ms. Polgar’s mantra is that chess teaches discipline, analytical thinking, time management, focus and patience — skills that can be useful throughout life. She cites countries, like Armenia, where chess is either a mandatory part of school curriculums, especially in the early elementary years, or strongly encouraged.

It cuts across socioeconomic divides, exemplified by impressive performances of high-poverty students in Brownsville, Tex., who have whipped privileged Manhattan rivals — “kids who get individual lessons from grandmasters,” she said — and shown how “a boost in self-confidence can change lives.”

Indeed, there is no shortage of hedge fund managers and corporate leaders who are chess players, some of whom link the habits of mind learned at chess with their success. As we fret about China’s economic success, we might note that it’s a growing chess force, including four female world champions in 20 years.

Last week’s tournament in Oak Brook brought children from all over the country; perhaps 70 percent were boys. Many of the children were Asian-Americans, including Ashley Ceohas, 6, of Wilmette, the child of a Chinese-American mother who smilingly swore to me that she was “not a Tiger mom!” as her daughter segued from a chess match to drawing a crowd as she played a nearby piano beautifully.

“She’s aware of there being more boy players,” said her mother, Yijia Ceohas. “But we tell her anything boys can do, girls can do better. And she knows that Susan Polgar’s dad said geniuses are not born but made through hard work.”

My investigation into the gender divide led me to Shiva Maharaj, a private investor who teaches the game throughout the Chicago area, including a free Saturday morning session that my son has attended at the Edgebrook Library on the Northwest Side.

Mr. Maharaj had students competing in Oak Brook and cited an American Girl mentality of parents, referring to the store that sells high-priced dolls and accessories. He sees the parents succumbing to cultural stereotypes of daughters being pretty rather than intellectually empowered.

I’ve watched him teach diverse groups of children, mostly boys, and effectively insist they sit up straight, concentrate, take time to assess problems critically and learn to deal with losing. He offers seemingly creative solutions to challenges faced on the board.

On the heels of the impressive inaugural Chicago Ideas Week, here’s a free idea for its energetic, ambitious promoters: a panel next year on “American Education: Should We Make a Move to Chess?”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com

8th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Open

TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE)
The Susan Polgar Foundation
and the Knight Raiders present

8th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Open
Saturday, September 24, 2011

A 4 Round Swiss USCF Rated Tournament (Game/30)
Event Site: Science Spectrum 2579 S. Loop 289, Lubbock, TX
Contact Info: 806-742-7742 E-mail: Spice@ttu.edu

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

Registration: On-site registration and check in 8:30am-10:00am. All players must check in by
10:15am. Late arrival will receive a ½ point bye for the first round. Chess boards and sets
provided, bring clock.

Round schedule: 10:30am - 12:00pm - 1:30pm and 3:00pm

Entry Fee: $15 by 9/16, $20 by 9/22; after or onsite $25. K-12 or TTU students $15.

Entry fee includes access to the museum OR one free IMAX movie.

Prizes: 1st $125 2nd $75 3rd $25Top U-2000 $50 Top U-1600 $50. All prizes are based on 20 paid entries.

Please send Entry Blank and Entry Fee to Susan Polgar Foundation at 6923 Indiana Ave. #154 Lubbock, TX 79413

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9-24-11 Open Entry Form: Please PRINT all information and make check to Susan Polgar Foundation.

Name: _________________________Phone: (_____)__________
Address: ________________ City/State:____________ Zip:_____
Email:____________________________________DOB:_______
USCF ID# and expiration date:________USCF Rating (if any) ______
Sibling Team_____Parent/Child Team___ Student/Coach Team____
Amount paid____Check#_____Cash_____ Bye request R1 R2 R3 R4

Big National Chess Day Celebration on October 8th!

Big National Chess Day Celebration on October 8th! There will be many additional surprise events during the tournament!

The 2011 SP World Open for Boys and Girls has moved from Las Vegas (in June 2011) to Chicago (in October 2011) per the request of many parents and coaches. I expect this event will be bigger and better than ever! I would like to thank the organizer of the LV Chess Festival for hosting this event in previous years. The North American Chess Association will be the new host this year.

Susan Polgar World Open for Boys and Girls 2011
October 7 – 10, 2011
Doubletree Hotel – Oakbrook, IL

Over $100,000 in Chess Prizes and Scholarships

Register Online Now

7R Swiss System; 8 sections: (K-3), (4-5), (6-8), (9-12)

Time Controls:	(K-3) G/30 + 5/sec delay (4-5) G/45 + 5/sec delay (6-8) G/45 + 5/sec delay (9-12) G/60 + 5/sec delay
Round Times:	(K-3) Sat/Sun 11am, 1pm, 3pm; Mon 10am (4-5) Sat/Sun 11am, 1:30pm, 4pm; Mon 10am (6-8) Sat/Sun 11am, 1:30pm, 4pm; Mon 10am (9-12) Sat/Sun 11am, 2pm, 5pm; Mon 10am
Side Events:	Bughouse – Friday 7:30pm Puzzle Solving – Saturday 7:30pm Blitz – Sunday 7:30pm

Ongoing Side Event: Walk-in simul presented by the Chicago Blaze US Chess League team. Done with your game or waiting for your child to finish? Take on a member of the Chicago Blaze between the hours of 12pm and 6pm!

Additional side events to be listed closer to event date. Please check the tournament website for more details.

All equipment will be provided (boards, sets, clocks). Organizer provided equipment must be used. Equipment will be on discounted sale upon tournament completion for school clubs and parents to purchase.

Cajun Chess will be equipment vendor onsite.

All 4th – 12th grade participants who are not a current member of the US Chess Federation will receive a 1-year free membership (no magazine option) included with their tournament entry fee.

All (K-12) participants will receive a free 1-year membership to ChessKid.com (a $49.95 value!)

Prizes
(Boys and Girls – All sections)

All 4th – 12th grade participants who are not a current member of the US Chess Federation will receive a 1-year free membership (no magazine option) included with their tournament entry fee.

All (K-12) participants will receive a free 1-year membership to ChessKid.com (a $49.95 value!)

1st place: Netbook Computer
2nd place: $250 in Chess Prizes
3rd place: $175 in Chess Prizes
4th place: $100 in Chess Prizes

1st place in 9-12 to receive scholarship to Texas Tech University!

Trophies to top 15 individuals
Trophies to top 4 school teams*
Trophies to top 4 club teams*

Certificate of Participation for all players

Tournament Fees

$45 post-marked by 8/27/2011
$50 post-marked by 9/10/2011
$55 post-marked by 9/24/2011
$60 thereafter and onsite

Side events are each $15 mailed in with entry or $20 on-site

Register Online Now

Payments to be mailed to (payable):

North American Chess Association
4957 Oakton Street Suite 113
Skokie, IL 60077

Questions: sevan@nachess.org
or call 847.423.8626
Mention Polgar Tournament in your message

* Top 4 player scores count toward school team prizes; school team trophies awarded in each section; Top 4 player scores count towards club team prizes; club team trophies awarded overall (not based on sections).

Doubletree Hotel – 1909 Spring Road – Oakbrook, IL 60523 – 630.472.6000 $79 room rate; must call hotel directly and ask for North American Chess rate.

Checkmating Hardship

SPICE Checkmates Hardship
August 4, 2011

The Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence Invitational was a life-changing event for two young women.

Written by Melanie Hess

At Texas Tech, chess represents more than a challenging game and checkered board.

For two young women who visited Texas Tech last week to participate in the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) Invitational, it was a life-changing event. Meet Dyhemia Young and Vanita Young.

Dyhemia, age 15, has spent most of her life in the California foster care system. She was selected as a wild-card invitee by Susan Polgar. The SPICE invitational was Dyhemia’s first officially rated tournament. Vanita, a 17-year-old who lost both of her parents by her early teens, currently lives in Pennsylvania with her grandparents. Vanita beat out 600 other young women in her state to win a spot at the Polgar invitational.

But there was one problem. In the few weeks leading up to the invitational, neither girl was in a position to pay for travel expenses.

SPICE and many other generous donors, namely Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith and Pennsylvania U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, helped sponsor the two young ladies, and at the end of the competition, Dyhemia and Vanita were awarded out-of-state scholarships worth up to $40,000 to attend Texas Tech once they graduate high school.

Dyhemia and Vanita, who are not related, recently shared their experiences of their time at Texas Tech with Texas Tech Today.

Q & A:

How did you feel when you found out you had been invited?

Dyhemia: It’s been really exciting. I was just, wow. That’s all I could say. “Wow! For real? Really?”

Vanita: I was definitely more excited than nervous. Since I was top at state, I had a big head for a while. I thought I could beat anybody, but when weeks turned into days, I got nervous.

How did you feel about the support you received from so many people?

D: When they asked me that question before, I nearly started crying. When I started talking about Susan, I never, ever, ever thought I was going to meet her in person. And then I met her, and now I’m teary-eyed because I’ve been here all week, and now I’m fixing to leave. I have learned so much.

How was your time with Susan Polgar?

D: I’d always heard of her. People spoke very highly of her, and then when I met her when we got off the plane, we talked. She gave me a ride all the way to the dorm and showed me around. She gave me some gifts, and I got so emotional I nearly cried. Well, I did cry. I was so emotional today. I think I cried about four different times for just about ten minutes straight. I’ve really enjoyed my time being here.

Again, I’m speechless. Susan, I think you know I am very thankful and happy to have you in my life. Oh my gosh, I’m going to have tears again, but Susan has done a lot for me while I’ve been here, and I am most definitely going to keep in touch with her when I do leave. I think so highly of her.

V: You would not believe the first time I saw her. I was at middle school nationals in Fort Worth and I was in the elevator with her. I was running late, and I didn’t know who she was at the time. I was in eighth grade. Then later people were talking about her and I asked, “Who’s Susan Polgar?” and they said, “top female,” and they showed me her and I was like, “Wait, I was on the elevator with her!”

What kind of training did you receive last week?

D: My class was kind of like Vanita’s, but she’s a higher level. We mainly focused on puzzle solving and basically making sure you know the main key things when you open, making sure you know your openings and key pieces, making sure each move you do is either to attack, or you’re defending. Then we played against each other in class using the tactics and notations. I had to learn notations. I don’t use them well, but I do know how to notate now.

It was like a 180-degree turn around from when I got here. My first game, it was like I was playing blitz. For real, I got down to the end and had to resign because the girl didn’t want to draw, and I knew I was going to lose. Then my second game was way better. I was down a bishop. I could have won if I had a bishop, but it was a good game. I gave the girl a run for her money. The game I played after that, I won. And the one I just played, I lost. But I had the girl show me the moves that I made that I should have not done. Luckily, she was my friend, so she was able to show me.

V: We had a lot of training this week. They were three-hour classes each, four classes altogether. We did a lot of analyzing, deep analyzing, and imagining things in your head without looking at the board. It was fun.

What was your favorite experience about last week?

D: I finally won a game! Oh, and I have my face on my own chess board. It’s my face on the board, and it says Dyhemia Young Cinderella! It has a list of all the people that helped me get here.

V: Meeting female chess players and working with top chess players. Susan and her husband have been amazing this week. I’ve learned so much from them in thinking steps ahead in my game. You know, when he said the tactic of visualize the pawn? I’d never thought of looking at the board like that, so I definitely learned something new.

What are your plans after high school?

D: Oh yeah. I’m going to college, I am going to college!

At first I didn’t know anything about Texas Tech, so I couldn’t really give an answer of whether I wanted to come here or not, but now I’ve read the brochure and spent some time here. I will always keep Texas Tech in mind, especially since I know I’d be on the same campus as Susan. I know if I needed anything, I could just call her and be like, “Susan, can you please come to my dorm? I need help!”

V: I definitely plan on going to college. I wouldn’t mind going to Texas Tech because I want to be in computer science as a computer engineer, and I want to be part of Susan’s chess team.

Polgar on Dyhemia and Vanita

Polgar said both girls represent hope for many other young women in difficult situations.

Speaking specifically about Dyhemia’s story, Polgar said last week’s experience was not only life changing for Dyhemia, but for many others.

“I think Dyhemia is a very special girl. The way I look at it is that she’s just one of the many Cinderella potentials, and her story can inspire thousands of other girls in difficult situations that they are in. It can become hope and encouragement.”

Source: http://today.ttu.edu

SP Girls' Invitational Final Standings

Final standings

##	Name	ID	Rtng	Post	-1-	-2-	-3-	-4-	-5-	-6-	Tot	TB-M	TB-S	TB-O	TB-C
1	Apurva Virkud	13464694	1967	1987	W21	W20	W7	W8	W2	W6	6	20	23	90	21
2	Mandy Lu	13907446	1761	1778	W34	W13	W3	W9	L1	W10	5	22	24	90½	19
3	Kristen Sarna	13102097	1591	1620	W38	W23	L2	W18	W8	D4	4½	19½	21½	76½	16½
4	Maggie Feng	14105448	1728	1714	L23	W40	W29	W12	W9	D3	4½	18	19½	72	14½
5	Maraani Kamphorst	14521372	1815	1819	Z43	U---	W43	W15	W29	W13	4½	10½	10½	41½	12½
6	Claudia Munoz	13481236	1872	1856	W27	D19	W11	D10	W7	L1	4	21	24	86	16
7	Katherine Davis	14381402	1668	1667	W26	W30	L1	W11	L6	W18	4	20	22½	83	15
8	Clarissa Abella	13528222	1692	1685	W25	W24	W18	L1	L3	W19	4	19½	22½	84	16
9	Savanna Naccarato	14207292	1600	1607	W40	W44	W14	L2	L4	W24	4	19	20½	71	16
10	Evelyn Chen	13547567	1501	1552	D29	W17	W19	D6	W22	L2	4	18½	21	81½	15½
11	Diamond Shakoor	13972728	1293	1393	W36	W16	L6	L7	W28	W20	4	17½	19½	71	14
12	Vanita Young	13835092	1461	1478	W41	L14	W25	L4	W34	W22	4	16	17½	60½	13
13	Rebecca Deland	13470414	1349	1390	W45	L2	W23	D14	W21	L5	3½	19½	20	69	13½
14	Annastasia Wyzywany	13984743	1801	1763	W32	W12	L9	D13	D19	D15	3½	18	20½	74	14
15	Amelia Wyzywany	13984737	1466	1451	L30	W37	W34	L5	W25	D14	3½	16	18	59	11½
16	Sadia Qureshi	14024572	1607	1562	W33	L11	D30	W17	L20	W29	3½	15½	17½	62	12
17	Aiya Cancio	13850035	1255	1265	D31	L10	W33	L16	W40	W21	3½	15	16½	58	10
18	Heather Young	13153973	1345	1368	W39	W22	L8	L3	W23	L7	3	14	20½	75½	13
19	Ashritha Eswaran	14044705	1484	1491	W46	D6	L10	W31	D14	L8	3	14	20	69½	12½
20	Cheryl Liu	12848066	1580	1547	W37	L1	W32	L21	W16	L11	3	13	21	71½	12
21	Mina Takahashi	14333584	1254	1263	L1	W38	W26	W20	L13	L17	3	13	21	69½	12
22	Cristina Pieve Ferrer	14697376	1674	1620	W28	L18	W27	W24	L10	L12	3	13	20	70½	13
23	Logan Schoonover	14163285	1015	1084	W4	L3	L13	W36	L18	W33	3	13	19½	69½	10
24	Joy Chen	13499884	1295	1293	W35	L8	W28	L22	W26	L9	3	13	19	69	12
25	Tori Whatley	13269020	1006	1018	L8	W33	L12	W42	L15	W35	3	11½	16½	55½	9
26	Rea Katarina Chroneos	14431605	921	1031	L7	W35	L21	W27	L24	W34	3	11	17	61	9
27	Anjana Murali	14490650	1179	1178	L6	W46	L22	L26	W32	W30	3	11	17	55½	8
28	Bryn Dolan	14090925	928	938	L22	W39	L24	W35	L11	W37	3	10	16	55	9
29	Elisabeth Gondolo	13236653	593	826	D10	W31	L4	W30	L5	L16	2½	17	22	73	11
30	Isabel James	13435414	1124	1155	W15	L7	D16	L29	W31	L27	2½	15	19	65½	10
31	Sneha Chikkala	13008090	1271	1208	D17	L29	W36	L19	L30	W40	2½	11½	15	56	8
32	Chenyi Zhao	14465305	1082	1052	L14	W41	L20	D40	L27	W36	2½	11	14½	48½	7½
33	Helen Vaughn	13832662	864	838	L16	L25	L17	W39	W42	L23	2	12½	16	50	5
34	Alexandra Mann	14138695	1021	995	L2	W45	L15	W43	L12	L26	2	12	17	59	8
35	Ananya Murali	14692845	Unr.	729	L24	L26	W37	L28	W43	L25	2	12	15	49½	6
36	Marleah Mullen	14417932	101	240	L11	W42	L31	L23	W39	L32	2	11	15	48½	7
37	Sarah Cheatham	14220140	622	625	L20	L15	L35	W45	W38	L28	2	10½	14	43½	5
38	Janna Borg	13284210	645	584	L3	L21	L39	W41	L37	W42	2	9½	14	44½	4
39	Faith Munoz	13999788	320	367	L18	L28	W38	L33	L36	W45	2	9½	12½	39	5
40	Esther Whitney	14084916	823	830	L9	L4	W45	D32	L17	L31	1½	13	17½	57	5½
41	Jade Hibdon	13967740	339	316	L12	L32	L42	L38	D45	W43	1½	7	11	35	2
42	Dyhemia Young		Unr.	111	L44	L36	W41	L25	L33	L38	1	10½	13½	33	4
43	Aksithi Eswaran	14583755	503	445	Z5	H---	L5	L34	L35	L41	1	5½	10½	29	4½
44	Mary Kerr	14437867	179	231	W42	L9	U---	U---	U---	U---	1	1	5	20	6
45	Jenaye Hibdon	13967755	338	297	L13	L34	L40	L37	D41	L39	½	9	12½	39	1
46	Evelyn Kerr	14201134	574	572	L19	L27	U---	U---	U---	U---	0	3	6	20	0

About 400 pictures here: https://picasaweb.google.com/SPICEChess/SPGirlsInvitational2011

Big success for Knight Raiders and SPICE at 2010 SPICE Cup

Big success for Knight Raiders and SPICE at 2010 SPICE Cup
Posted: November 12, 2010 - 12:12am

After more than 10 days of exciting high-level chess competition, the 2010 SPICE Cup Chess Festival came to an end last Sunday.

All the major Internet chess servers and media covered the SPICE Cup. Even the New York Times wrote about our prestigious event with the following headline: “Texas Tech Attracts Top Players to SPICE Cup.” Overall, chess enthusiasts from more than 170 countries were able to follow SPICE Cup News and LIVE games. This brought incredible positive attention to Texas Tech, SPICE and the Knight Raiders.

The B group was won by a pair of Texas Tech Knight Raiders. Grandmaster Anatoly Bykhovsky (Tech freshman) and Grandmaster-elect Gergely Antal (Tech graduate in August 2010) tied for first with six points.

The youngest participant of the SPICE Cup, FIDE Darwin Yang of Plano, earned his second International Master norm. He earned his first International Master norm at the 2010 SPICE Spring Invitational. He needs one more norm to earn the International Master title.

The A group was won by American Grandmaster Alex Onischuk, former U.S. No. 1 and champion, as well as multiple-time Olympiad medalist. Even though Onischuk finished with the same +3 score as German Grandmaster Georg Meier (who is ranked No. 2 in Germany and plans to apply to attend Tech for the fall of 2011), he was declared the winner due to the special scoring system where a win is equal to three points instead of the traditional 1 point.

Tying for third and fourth in the A group were Hungarian No. 1-ranked player Grandmaster Zoltan Almasi and the Philippines No. 1-ranked 17-year-old chess phenom Grandmaster Wesley So. So has also expressed interest in attending Tech in the near future.

Grandmaster Georg Meier won the 2010 SPICE Cup Blitz Championship with the score of six points in seven games. Grandmaster So finished second with 5.5 points.

The SPICE Cup FIDE Rated Open was won by Grandmaster Georgi Kacheishvili, who is one of the top-rated players from the Republic of Georgia. He scored 5.5 points in six games to earn the top honor.

Tied for second were Tech International Master Itsvan Sipos (Hungary), Senior Master Faik Aleskerov (Azerbaijan) and Joachim Nilsen (Norway). Aleskerov plans to attend Tech next semester.

Once again, I would like to thank the following generous sponsors and supporters of the 2010 SPICE Cup: Texas Tech Office of the Chancellor, Office of the President, Office of the Provost, Division of Institutional Diversity, Equity & Community Engagement, Office of International Affairs, Gov. Rick Perry, Chancellor Kent Hance, President Guy Bailey, Provost Bob Smith, Dr. Rob Stewart, Dr. Juan Munoz, Lubbock Mayor Tom Martin, Ambassador Tibor Nagy, Hungarian Consul General Kroly Dn, Dr. Kelly Overley, Grace Hernandez, Russell Thomasson, Jodey Arrington, Dr. Sheryl Santos, Dean Sam Dragga, Dr. Hal Karlsson, Dr. Alice White, Dr. Rich Rice, Jerry Perez, Lucia Barbato, Sam Segran, Dr. Phil Smith, Katherine Neville, Jon Crumiller, Jeff Smith, Cohen family, Mautner family, Paul Azzurro, Cory Chandler, Sally Post, Chase Watters, Bill Snead, Anatoly Lekhter, Marty Grund, Dewain Barber, Peggy Flores, Rachel Flores, Abbie Kleppa, Dr. Richard Mautner, Paul Albert, Hanon Russell, Albert Vasse, Dr. James Brink, Bill Brannan, Angelo Barranda Jr., Abie Cox, Kevin Mulligan, Brett James, Zachary Haskin, Greg Jones, Amber McCloud, Erica Perry, Zeljka Malibabic, Brana Malibabic, Andy Kormendi, Nancy Sachs, Robert Glassman, Douglas Goldstein, Dr. Marvin Corman, Lev Alburt, Josh Waitzkin, Tim Dallas, Lynn Elms, Leigh Martzall, Scott Cheatham, Jobi Martinez, Amanda Foster, Dahlia Guerra, Ashley Gonzalez, Jon Quinn, Dr. Kanika Batra, Magne Kristiansen, Aud and Kris Kristiansen, Norwegian Society of Texas — Vestlandet, Karin Slyker, Naveen Yarlagadda, CopyCraft, Laura Smith, Mr. & Mrs. Barranda and Mr. & Mrs. Chua-Tuan, and the Susan Polgar Foundation, etc.

I would also like to thank ICC (Internet Chess Club), Chessdom.com, MonRoi.com, PlayChess.com, TWIC, Chess.com for covering the games live, as well as DGT and MonRoi for providing the live broadcast technology.

Finally, a big thank you to Marty Grund (Internet Chess Club) for personally creating the unique and beautiful trophies for the SPICE Cup A & B Group.

SPICE Cup annual chess trivia

Each year at the SPICE Cup closing party at my home, the players participate in a fun chess trivia contest.

This year, GM Onischuk was the winner with 16 of 20 correct answers.

GM Meier, GM Perelshteyn and IM Krush tied for second with 15 of 20 correct answers.

Below are the SPICE Cup chess trivia questions. How many can you get correctly without looking up the answers?

SPICE Cup 2010 Trivia

1. Is this the third, fourth or fifth SPICE Cup? A) third; B) fourth; C) fifth
2. Who won the 2010 Women’s Chess Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk? A) China; B) Ukraine; C) Russia; D) Other
3. Nov. 2 is the birthday of which Polgar sister? A) Susan; B) Sofia; C) Judit
4. The 2012 Chess Olympiad will be held in: A) Troms; B) Istanbul; C) Albena; D) Elista
5. Legendary American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan was born in which country?
6. Who was the World Chess Champion in 1968?
7. Who won the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship?
8. How many players representing Russia are there in the Top 10 of November FIDE (active) rating list?
9. Who is older, Magnus Carlsen or Sergey Karjakin?
10. What year was the first Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky match held?
11. What real-life grandmaster’s life was the musical “Chess” based on? A) Karpov; B) Kasparov; C) Korchnoi; D) Spassky
12. One of the greatest World Chess Champions Paul Morphy was raised in which state? A) Louisiana; B) Pennsylvania; C) New York; D) North Carolina
13. Who is the second youngest World Chess Champion of all time?
14. Who broke Bobby Fischer’s long standing record to become the youngest Grandmaster (in 1991)?
15. Which year did Gary Kasparov lose to Deep Blue?
16. Which Israeli player won the 1996 World Junior Chess Championship?
17. Since 1990, how many World Junior Championships were won by U.S. players?
18. Which famous actor said “I failed to make the chess team because of my height”?
19. Which World Chess Champion said: “When you see a good move, look for a better one”?
20. Which famous person said: “Life is a kind of Chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events”?

Source: Avalanche Journal

Chessdom SPICE Cup wrap up

SPICE Cup 2010

GM Alexander Onischuk takes the trophy in the main A-group

The 2010 SPICE Cup was held from October 28th to November 7th at the beautiful campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. This was the highest rated international invitational tournament in U.S. history to date.

The format of the A group was a six-player double round robin (category 16) event. The average FIDE rating of the A group was 2631, which is equal with the 2009 SPICE Cup A. The B group was a 10-player (category 10) round robin event, and SPICE Cup FIDE Rated Open was played over 6-round Swiss on 5-7th November.

To make the tournament 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.

The main event saw an interesting chase between the former US Champion Alexander Onischuk and German talent Georg Meier. Meier enjoyed a one point advantage prior to the final act, but he couldn't make more than a draw in the last round, while a crucial victory against the future star Ray Robson propelled Onischuk to the clear first place in the 2010 SPICE Cup GMA.

Final standings:

1. Alexander Onischuk - 18 points
2. Georg Meier - 17
3-4. Wesley So and Zoltan Almasi - 14
5-6. Ray Robson and Eugene Perelshtein - 7

GM Anatoly Bykhovsky and IM Gergely Antal shared the first place in SPICE Cup GMB with 6.0 points each. This tournament was a 10-player round robin.

GM Georgi Kacheishvili (Georgia) won the 2010 SPICE Cup FIDE Open with the score of 5.5 / 6.

More information on the official website. Over 1.100 photos from the SPICE Cup 2010 are available from this list.

Susan Polgar kindly provided the event summary for Chessdom

I am very happy with the fighting spirit at this year's SPICE Cup. With the 3 point for a win scoring system and no draw offer allowed before move 30 in the A group, the intensity on all three boards was very high as anything could still happen in the final round. The outcome was only decided in the final game of the tournament. I am proud to be able to provide excellent playing opportunities for many players. The SPICE Cup will get stronger and better each year. The A group next year will be at least category 17.

Texas Tech University and the Susan Polgar Foundation are proud to support this important annual event. I believe that it is essential to build a solid chess culture in America. Since November 2007, the SPICE Cup has established itself as one of the most important and prestigious round robin annual events in U.S. history. I am confident that this will inspire more top level round robin events in the U.S. in the future.

The Texas Tech Knight Raiders also have the biggest success to date in the SPICE Cup, with GM Anatoly Bykhovsky (1st year student at Texas Tech) and GM-elect Gergely Antal (just graduated from Texas Tech) winning the B group. I am a strong advocate for chess and education. I realize that it is not easy for everyone to establish strong security as professional players. It is also not easy to receive proper chess training to maximize one’s chess ability and potential.

This is why I jumped at the opportunity of establishing SPICE (Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence) at a major university like Texas Tech in 2007. Because of SPICE, we are able to offer players a fantastic college education while getting the chance to improve their chess with serious coaching. Last year, members of the Texas Tech University Knight Raiders chess team gained on an average 90 rating points per player while maintaining a 3.28 / 4 grade point average.

Last but not least, I would like to thank all our sponsors and supporters for making the SPICE Cup a success.

Texas Tech Attracts Top Players to SPICE Cup

November 2, 2010, 7:00 pm
Texas Tech Attracts Top Players to SPICE Cup
By DYLAN LOEB MCCLAIN
New York Times

When Texas Tech University in Lubbock started the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence, known as Spice, in 2007, one of the program’s goals was to organize and promote tournaments, particularly for top-level players.

The program has been very successful in that regard.

The first Spice Cup in November 2007 had six grandmasters, but the best, Kamil Miton of Poland, was only ranked around No. 100 in the world. There have been three Spice Cups and three Spring Invitationals since then, and the quality of the players has improved over the years. The Spice Cup has also expanded to include two sections.

This year’s competition began Thursday with a strong field in the A section, including Zoltan Almasi of Hungary, ranked No. 25 in the world; Alexander Onischuk of the United States, No. 53; Wesley So of the Philippines, No. 73; Georg Meier of Germany, No. 89; Ray Robson of the United States, No. 499; and Eugene Perelshteyn of the United States, No. 514.

The B section has 10 players, including four grandmasters, five international masters and a master, Darwin Yang of the United States, whose rating, the system used to rank players, is the level of an international master.

The A section is a double round robin, meaning that each competitor plays the others twice. After five rounds — the halfway mark — Meier is leading with 11 points (using a scoring system in which a win is 3 points and a draw is 1); followed by So and Onischuk with 8 each; Almasi, 7; and Perelshteyn and Robson, with 2 each.

In the B section , Anatoly Bykhovsky, an Israeli grandmaster, leads with 4.5 points, followed by Gergely Antal, a Hungarian grandmaster, and Davorin Kuljasevic, a Croatian grandmaster, who each have 3.5 points.

Tuesday, Bykhovsky beat Bryan Smith, an American international master, in a game with an amazing final position, while Kuljasevic beat Yang, who is having a good tournament nonetheless.

The A section was idle on Tuesday, but on Monday, Meier beat Perelshteyn after a long endgame and Onischuk beat Robson who, at 16 years old, is the youngest player in the field.

Source: NY Times

Here is the link to 178 pictures from the 2010 SPICE Cup Blitz Championship at the SUB.

Here is the link to over 430 pictures from the SPICE Cup 2010 at the SUB.

Lubbock, the famous American chess destination

Lubbock, the famous American chess destination
Posted: October 24, 2010 - 12:40am

The question of the week is do top-level chess players from around the world know of Lubbock?

The short answer is absolutely. Not long ago when Texas Tech SPICE organized the first SPICE Cup in November 2007, I remember having a very difficult time inviting 10 strong chess players to come to Lubbock to compete. One of the first questions they asked was where is Lubbock?

Today, I am proud to say that our city has become one of the hottest chess destinations. When I recently was at the Khanty-Mansiysk Chess Olympiad a few weeks ago, many world class players or their managers came to me to seek invitations to participate in the 2011 SPICE Cup.

This is stunning because the 2010 SPICE Cup does not start until later this week. Almost everyone knows about Texas Tech, SPICE and Lubbock. This is an incredible turnaround in less than three short years.

In fact, the five highest-rated international invitational chess tournaments in the United States since the fall of 2007 have all been held in Lubbock at Texas Tech. This is like having the Wimbledon of tennis or the Masters of golf in our great city. It takes a colossal effort from many people to make something like this happen.

And how could chess affect Tech and Lubbock? Chess is a huge sport with approximately 45 million players in the U.S. and over 700 million worldwide. Some of the biggest scholastic chess tournaments in this country draw between 13,000 and 15,000 players, parents and coaches. Imagine how much revenue our city can generate from hotels, meals, rental cars, gas, souvenirs, entertainment, flights, etc.

Students who play chess usually excel academically. Through chess, Tech could potentially attract hundreds and thousands of top-notch students from all over the country and around the world. The cumulative grade of the Texas Tech Knight Raiders chess teams (A team, B team, and women’s team) last year was approximately 3.28, with three student chess players earning a perfect 4.0.

They also have a wide range of majors, such as economics, finance, math, electrical engineering, psychology, law, Spanish, English, political science, biotech, microbiology, etc. Chess can also help many local students do better in school.

Unfortunately, we are not there yet. SPICE does not have the manpower, financial resources, or scholarships to pull things like this off right now. I am hoping to have more support in the future to make even a bigger positive difference for Tech and Lubbock.

2010 SPICE Cup

The 2010 SPICE Cup A group is tied with the 2009 SPICE Cup A group as the highest-rated International Invitational Chess Tournament in U.S. history. The opening ceremony will take place at 1:30 pm Thursday at the Texas Tech Student Union Building (Matador room). Here are the participants:

• Grandmaster Zoltan Almasi, Hungary, 2707 — No. 1-ranked Hungarian on the LIVE rating list, 2010 Chess Olympiad Silver Medalist

•Grandmaster Alexander Onischuk, United States, 2688 — Former U.S. Champion and No. 1-ranked American, multiple time Chess Olympiad Medalist

•Grandmaster Wesley So, Philippines, 2668 — No. 1-ranked Filipino, member of the 2008 and 2010 Filipino Olympiad team

•Grandmaster Georg Meier, Germany, 2659 — No. 2-ranked German, member of the 2008 German Olympiad team

•Grandmaster Ray Robson, United States, 2539 — Former U.S. Junior Champion, youngest ever American Grandmaster

•Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn, United States, 2528 — 2007 SPICE Cup Champion, winner of multiple national collegiate team championships

The SPICE Cup B group is tied with the 2010 SPICE Spring Invitational as the second-highest-rated International Invitational Chess Tournament in the U.S. in 2010 behind the SPICE Cup A group. Here are the participants:

•Grandmaster Davorin Kuljasevic, Croatia, 2555 — Texas Tech business major graduate student, two-time winner of the national collegiate team championship, member of the TTU Knight Raider Chess Team

•Grandmaster Ben Finegold, United States, 2534 — two-time U.S. Open Champion, two-time National Open Champion, 2009 SPICE Cup B co-champion, former winner of the prestigious Samford fellowship

•Grandmaster Gergely Antal, Hungary, 2526 — Texas Tech Economics Major Graduate, member of the TTU Knight Raider Chess Team, 2009 National Collegiate Champion

•Grandmaster Andre Diamant, Brazil, 2498 — Top-rated Brazilian Junior, former Brazilian National Champion, member of the TTU Knight Raider Chess Team

•Grandmaster Anatoly Bykhovsky, Israel, 2497 — One of the top young players in Israel, member of the TTU Knight Raider Chess Team

•International Master Irina Krush, United States, 2490 — three-time and reigning U.S. Women’s Champion, multiple time Olympiad medalist

•International Master Bryan Smith, United States, 2478 — Highest-rated player ever from Alaska, winner of multiple national collegiate team championships

•International Master Dean Ippolito, United States, 2469 — Former winner of the prestigious Samford fellowship and 11-time All-American

•International Master Danny Rensch, United States, 2404 — Former National Elementary, Junior High, and High School Champion, six-time All-American

•FIDE Master Darwin Yang, United States, 2402 — Currently one of the top-rated American juniors, earned first IM norm at 2010 SPICE Spring Invitational

SPICE Cup B Group Pairings

SPICE Cup B Group Pairings

October 28 2pm Round 1
Krush - Smith
Diamant - Finegold
Kuljasevic - Bykhovsky
Yang - Antal
Rensch - Ippolito

October 29 2pm Round 2
Smith - Ippolito
Antal - Rensch
Bykhovsky - Yang
Finegold - Kuljasevic
Krush - Diamant

October 30 2pm Round 3
Diamant - Smith
Kuljasevic - Krush
Yang - Finegold
Rensch - Bykhovsky
Ippolito - Antal

October 31 2pm Round 4
Smith - Antal
Bykhovsky - Ippolito
Finegold - Rensch
Krush - Yang
Diamant - Kuljasevic

November 1 2pm Round 5
Kuljasevic - Smith
Yang - Diamant
Rensch - Krush
Ippolito - Finegold
Antal - Bykhovsky

November 2 1pm Round 6
Smith - Bykhovsky
Finegold - Antal
Krush - Ippolito
Diamant - Rensch
Kuljasevic - Yang

November 3 2pm Round 7
Yang - Smith
Rensch - Kuljasevic
Ippolito - Diamant
Antal - Krush
Bykhovsky - Finegold

November 4 2pm Round 8
Smith - Finegold
Krush - Bykhovsky
Diamant - Antal
Kuljasevic - Ippolito
Yang - Rensch

November 5 10am Round 9
Rensch - Smith
Ippolito - Yang
Antal - Kuljasevic
Bykhovsky - Diamant
Finegold - Krush

SPICE Cup A Group Pairings

SPICE Cup A Group Pairings

Thursday, October 28 2pm- Round 1
Robson - Meier
Almasi - Perelshteyn
So - Onischuk

Friday, October 29 2pm - Round 2
Meier - Onischuk
Perelshteyn - So
Robson - Almasi

Saturday, October 30 2pm - Round 3
Almasi - Meier
So - Robson
Onischuk - Perelshteyn

Sunday, October 31 2pm - Round 4
So - Meier
Onischuk - Almasi
Perelshteyn - Robson

Monday, November 1 2pm - Round 5
Meier - Perelshteyn
Robson - Onischuk
Almasi - So

Wednesday, November 3 2pm - Round 6
Meier - Robson
Perelshteyn - Almasi
Onischuk - So

Thursday, November 4 2pm - Round 7
Onischuk - Meier
So - Perelshteyn
Almasi - Robson

Friday, November 5 2pm - Round 8
Meier - Almasi
Robson - So
Perelshteyn - Onischuk

Saturday, November 6 2pm - Round 9
Meier - So
Almasi - Onischuk
Robson - Perelshteyn

Sunday, November 7 1pm - Round 10
Perelshteyn - Meier
Onischuk - Robson
So - Almasi

360 pictures from 2010 SP Girl's Invitational

360 pictures from the 2010 SP Girl's Invitational. Click here to view them.