SPICE Cup Chess Festival

SPICE Cup FIDE Rated Open
November 5-7, 2010

Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
806-742-7742

6SS, G/90 with 30 second increment.
FIDE/USCF rated
One Section $2,000 based on 40 paid entries: $1000-$500-250-150-100
Open to all FIDE rated players and USCF 1600 and higher

Limit to the first 50 registrants!

Reg: 9-10:30am 11/5.
Rounds: 11/5 11am and 4pm
11/6 10 am and 3 pm
11/7 9 am and 2 pm
No byes in the final 2 rounds.

Entry Fees: US players with FIDE rating $50 / without FIDE rating $75 if rec'd by November 2. $25 more on site.
Titled players and foreign FIDE rated players free, $50 deducted from prize.

Check payable to:
Texas Tech SPICE
6923 Indiana Avenue (Suite 154)
Lubbock, TX 79413

Players in the SPICE Cup FIDE Rated Open will have a chance to play alongside with the players in the SPICE Cup Invitational A and B Group in the final 3 days!

There is also an open tournament for everyone, including players under 1600, schedule for the weekend before.

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SPICE Cup Open Chess Championship
Saturday, October 30, 2010
A 4 Round Swiss System Tournament (Game/45)

Event Site: TTU (Student Union Building) Lubbock, TX
Contact Info: 806-742-7742 E-mail: Spice@ttu.edu

Description of Tournament: A USCF rated event. Open to all USCF members. You may join online or on site on 10/30 before the start of the event.
Registration: On-site registration and check in 9-10am. All players must check in by 10:15am.
Round schedule: Saturday 10:30am- 12:15pm - 1:30pm and 3:15pm.
Entry Fee: $25 received by 10/25. $35 on site. K-12 or TTU students $10 off.
Prizes: $150-$100-$50 Top Under 1600 $50 Top U-1200 $50 based on 24 paid entries.

Other: Chess sets and boards will be provided. Bring your own clock if you have one.

Please send Entry Blank and Fees to TTU-SPICE at Box 45080 Lubbock, TX 79409-5080.

Entry Form: Please PRINT all information and make check / money order to TTU-SPICE.

Name: ______________________________Phone: (_____) ___________ SPICE Cup Open 2010
Address: _____________________________ City/State:______________ Zip:_____________
Email:________________________________ DOB: ____________Section________________
USCF Rating (if any) _______USCF ID#:______________ Amount Enclosed (No cash, please) $____

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SPICE Cup Invitational A & B Group

The 2010 SPICE Cup will take place on Thursday, October 28 - Sunday, November 7 (B group ends on November 5) at the beautiful campus of Texas Tech University. This prestigious event is growing bigger every year. It is the highest rated international invitational tournament in U.S. history to date.

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 format of the A group will once again be a 6-player DRR (category 16) event. The average FIDE rating of the A group is 2631, which is tied with the 2009 SPICE Cup A group.

GM Zoltan Almasi (HUN) 2707 (#1 in Hungary on the current LIVE rating list)
GM Alexander Onischuk (USA) 2688 (#3 in the U.S., former U.S. #1 and Champion)
GM Wesley So (Philippines) 2668 (#1 in the Philippines)
GM Georg Meier (Germany) 2659 (#2 in Germany)
GM Ray Robson (USA) 2539 (Youngest American GM)
GM Eugene Perelshteyn (USA) 2528 (winner of 2007 SPICE Cup)

The B group will be a 10-player (category 10 - 2486 / 22375) RR event. The players confirmed for the B group are:

GM Davorin Kuljasevic (2555 - Croatia) Texas Tech Knight Raiders
GM Ben Finegold (2534 - USA) 2009 SPICE Cup B group co-champion
IM Gegerly Antal (2526 - HUN) Texas Tech Knight Raiders
GM Andre Diamant (2498 - Brazil) Texas Tech Knight Raiders
GM Anatoly Bykhovsky (2497 - Israel) Texas Tech Knight Raiders
IM Irina Krush (2490 - USA) 2010 U.S. Women's Champion
IM Dean Ippolito (2469 - USA) Famous chess coach
IM Danny Rensch (2404 - USA) Famous chess coach
FM Darwin Yang (2402 - USA) One of the most talented young players in the U.S.

GM norm will be 6/9 and IM norm will be 4/9.

SPICE Cup success

2008 Spice Cup Ends in Four-way Tie for First Place
The 2008 Spice Cup International Invitational Tournament culminated on Sunday (Sept. 28) with a four-way tie for first place.
Written by Jessica Benham

The 2008 Spice Cup International Invitational Tournament culminated on Sunday (Sept. 28) with a four-way tie for first place.

Harikrishna Pentala of India, Alexander Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian, both of the United States, and Leonid Kritz of Germany tied for first place with 5.5 points each.

Paul Truong, director of marketing at the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE), said the focus of the chess world was on Texas Tech during the Spice Cup.

“We are very fortunate to have 10 incredible players competing and the ending was full of drama,” he said. “Going into the final round, we had six of the 10 players in contention to win this prestigious title. We had no idea who would win this world-class event until the final game was completed.”

Texas Tech’s International Master (IM) Gergely Antal and Grandmaster (GM) Alejandro Ramirez of the University of Texas at Dallas were named co-champions of the Spice Cup Open.

Antal found out just before the Spice Cup Open that his father had passed away in Hungary.

“We are so proud of Gergely Antal,” Truong said. “He still competed to represent Texas Tech and gave everything he had to bring the title to our university in spite of being only the third seed in the tournament.”

SPICE is trying to raise money for Antal’s ticket home to attend the funeral of his father. Donations can be made to the Susan Polgar Foundation on behalf of Gergely Antal. For more information call (806) 742-7742.

Antal’s achievement of co-champion in the Spice Cup Open is the biggest title in the history of the Knight Raiders.

“He is a true champion and leader of the Knight Raiders,” Truong said. “Antal will be helping the Knight Raiders shoot for the first national title next year.”

GM Sabina Foisor of Romania won the Texas Women’s Championship, and IM Bayaraa Zorigt of the University of Texas at Dallas placed second - earning the title of the highest-finishing Texan.

Truong said both Kritz and Foisor are planning to attend Texas Tech next fall.

Source: TTU

Chase Watters wins SPICE Cup Open

Watters takes first at Tech chess tournament

Chase Watters won first place in the open chess tournament hosted during Texas Tech's SPICE Cup 2007, the first invitational tournament in Lubbock.

Watters, the president of Tech's chess club, earned a perfect 5-0 score while competing against chess players within the community.
Grandmaster Imre Hera of Hungary, who plans to attend Tech next fall, placed fifth in the SPICE tournament, competing against nine internationally acclaimed chess players from around the world over an eight-day period.

Hera is representing Hungary in the World Chess Federation World Cup this winter in Russia.

Source: Avalanche Journal

NewWise article here.