The nation's elite

Here are the qualifiers of the 2008 Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, the most prestigious all-girls event in the United States. The event was held at the Frazier Alumni Pavilion from July 27 to August 1, 2008.

California representative wins TTU scholarship

Riverside girl wins scholarship to Texas university with chess skills

10:00 PM PDT on Thursday, August 7, 2008
By JENNIFER DEAN
The Press-Enterprise

Growing up playing in chess tournaments, 17-year-old Nisha Deolalikar, was always surrounded by boys.

"In a room with say, 200 boys, there'd be 10 or 20 girls," Nisha said.

But competing in the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls last week, Nisha finally got to play in a room full of fellow female chess players.

Nisha, a Riverside resident and Poly High School senior, began playing chess in second grade. At the time, the Deolalikar family lived in Seattle, where chess clubs and scholastic tournaments were common throughout the region.

They moved to Riverside when Nisha began seventh grade. The family found that scholastic tournaments weren't common in the areas, so Nisha and her younger brother Sunil began playing in adult tournaments.

During a tournament last May, she earned the honor of representing the state of California at the tournament, which was hosted by Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

One female chess player from each state in the nation gathered at the university July 27-Aug.

"There were six games, one every day," Nisha said.

Here is the full story.

Governor's Letter

Young star heading to Lubbock event

Young chess star headed to prestigious Texas tournament

Kaitlynn Loos has found success and friends through game
By Peter CentineoThe Weekly News
Published: Thursday, July 17, 2008 4:47 PM CDT

Three years ago, Kaitlynn Loos decided she wanted to play chess.

Her father Doug had no idea why she wanted to play, but he and his wife Karen encouraged her and the 12-year-old has had great success.

She’ll be an eighth-grader at South Middle School this fall, and she’s also done well in the classroom, sporting a 4.0 GPA.

Doug Loos believes chess has had a direct impact on his daughter’s success in the classroom.

“She’s very competitive to start off, and she’ll tell you exactly how she feels. She doesn’t mince words,” he said. “But she’s also very analytical, and that comes from chess. I think it’s really had a great impact on her.”

Kaitlynn has won a number of tournaments, including the 2008 K-12 South Dakota State Championship this past winter. That victory earned her an invitation to the Susan Polgar Chess Invitational, being played in Lubbock, Tex., July 27 through Aug. 1.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s very exciting,” Kaitlynn said. “I started playing back in 2005 when we moved here and I started at Grandview. I didn’t have a lot of friends when we moved and chess really helped me meet some good kids.”

Kaitlynn and her family were living on the west side of town and she was attending Corral Drive Elementary School back in 2005, but she never got the chance to play chess because of the distance between the school and her home.

“My dad wanted to make sure I could get home OK and he thought it was too far to walk. It was pretty far but when we moved it all worked out,” Kaitlynn said.

She was extremely happy knowing she could pursue chess, and meet other kids with the same interest.

“When we moved and I found out I’d be able to play chess I was really happy. I played at Grandview and still go there and play,” she said.

“During the school year we play every day and go to at least one tournament a month.”

Her next tournament will probably be her biggest to date. She did go to nationals last year in Denver, but the Susan Polgar Chess Invitational is one of the most prestigious in the country.

The event is for girls in grades K-12, and just one girl from each state is invited. Polgar is a grandmaster in chess and has won four women’s world championships and five Olympic gold medals. To get the opportunity to play in such a competitive event is something Kaitlynn has been wanting for a long time.

“I think I’ve gotten some good experience from the different tournaments I’ve been to. This tournament is going to be very hard. There are going to be very good players,” she said. “But I should do OK.”

Karen Loos said Kaitlynn has what it takes to win it, it’s just a matter of getting there and seeing what the competition is like. She said Kaitlynn is very serious about chess, and said her daughter will probably be playing for some time.

“She’s been going to the Susan Polgar Web site and there’s a lot of good information there for her. The thing is when she goes to these tournaments she could be playing 18-year-olds in high school, but she does well,” Karen said.

The tournament will be played on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.

Here is the full story.

Representing California

Chess champion finds kindred spirits with new club

By JENNIFER DEAN
The Press-Enterprise

Chess lovers have a new home at the Riverside Public Library thanks to a Poly High School student, who also happens to be a nationally ranked chess competitor -- No. 60 in his age group.

Sunil Deolalikar, 15, began playing in kindergarten. Just in time for his sixth birthday, he took second place in his age group at the National Elementary School Championships in Phoenix.

Riverside had a chess club for almost 40 years, but it disbanded in the 1990s, said the previous club director James Williamson. There hasn't been another chess club in the area -- until now.

"We wanted a place to play," Sunil said.

Sunil grew up in Seattle, where chess clubs were common in elementary schools. His sister, Nisha, 17, began playing chess in second grade. She will represent California at the Susan Polgar National Invitational Tournament for Girls at Texas Tech on July 27-Aug. 1.

"I like that chess is so much more than a regular board game -- other games you can memorize the strategy," Nisha said. "You have to put your whole self into the game -- it's just you, the board and your opponent."

The family moved to Riverside when Sunil was in fifth grade and found, to their dismay, that there were no scholastic chess tournaments in the area.

"When the kids moved here, they got to playing adult tournaments," said Pama Deolalikar, Sunil and Nisha's mother. To improve their national ratings, the children had to compete. So they began to compete with adults.

"I think chess has been good for my kids," Deolalikar said. "The club meetings are open to everyone -- all levels of play."

Here is the full story.

SPICE Cup makes history!

The 2008 SPICE Cup will take place from September 19-28 at Texas Tech University (Student Union Building) in Lubbock, Texas.

The field for the 2008 SPICE Cup is now completed. I am pleased to announce that former World Junior Champion GM Harikrishna Pentala (India) has confirmed his participation in the 2008 SPICE Cup! The average rating is over 2605 which is FIDE Category 15. This makes the 2008 SPICE Cup the highest rated 10 person International RR event in U.S. history!


Here are just some of GM Harikrishna's accomplishments:

- World under-10 championship, 1996, Menorca (Spain), Gold
- World under-12 rapid championship, 1996, Paris, Silver
- Children's Olympiad, 1998, Istanbul, Gold
- Commonwealth championship, 2000, Sangli, Gold (under-18)
- India's youngest International Master, 2000
- Asian under-14 championship, 2000, Tehran, 2000-01, Gold
- Chess Olympiad, 2000, Istanbul, First Grandmaster (GM) norm
- Corus tournament, 2001, Wijk Aan Zee, Second GM norm
- Asian junior championship, 2001, Tehran, Silver
- Asian championship, 2001, Kolkata, Qualified for World championship; Final GM norm
- India's youngest GM, 2001
- Ron Banwell MSO Masters tournament, 2001, London, Gold
- Commonwealth championship, 2001, London, Gold
- World Junior Champion, 2004
- Tiayuan Chess Tournament (FIDE Category 15) in China on 20 July 2005, Clear First
- 9th Essent Tournament Hoogeveen, 2005, Clear First
- Bermuda Invitational Tournament, 2005, Shared First with Boris Gelfand
- Pamplona International Tournament, 2005, Shared Second with Ivan Cheparinov
- Reykjavik Open, 2006, Shared First
- 4th Marx Gyorgy Memorial tournament in Hungary, 2006, Clear First
- Defeated Arkady Naiditsch in Mainz to become Chess960 World Junior Champion
- Number two ranked junior under 20 in the world in 2006
- Top 50 overall in the world 2007 - 2008
- Member of 5 Indian Olympiad teams, including the 2008 Chess Olympiad
- Highest FIDE rating: 2682
- Highest FIDE ranking: #2 Junior in 2006 (Jan - Sept 2006) / #25 overall in the world (Apr - Sept 2006)

Here are the full list of players in the 2008 SPICE Cup:

USA - GM Onischuk, Alexander 2734 USCF / 2670 FIDE
IND - GM Pentala, Harikrishna 2724 USCF / 2668 FIDE
GER - GM Kritz, Leonid 2667 USCF / 2610 FIDE (Will attend TTU in the fall of 2009)
USA - GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2660 USCF / 2610 FIDE
USA - GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2664 USCF / 2605 FIDE
USA - GM Becerra, Julio 2640 USCF / 2598 FIDE
ISR - GM Mikhalevski, Victor 2679 USCF / 2592 FIDE
POL - GM Miton, Kamil 2703 USCF / 2580 FIDE
ISL - GM Stefansson, Hannes 2597 USCF / 2566 FIDE
USA - GM Perelshteyn, Eugene 2619 USCF / 2555 FIDE (Defending Champion)

Average FIDE: 2605
Average USCF: 2669

The SPICE Cup Invitational will be the main attraction of the annual SPICE Cup Festival. Other activities will include the 2008 Texas Women's Open Championship, SPICE Cup Grand Prix, SPICE Cup Scholastic, SPICE Cup Pro-Am event, etc. Our goal is to add a group B next year and even more activities.

A historic event coming to TTU

The 2008 SPICE Cup will take place from September 19-28 at Texas Tech University (Student Union Building) in Lubbock, Texas.

Here are the players:

USA - GM Onischuk, Alexander 2734 USCF / 2670 FIDE
GER - GM Kritz, Leonid 2667 USCF / 2610 FIDE
USA - GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2660 USCF / 2610 FIDE
USA - GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2664 USCF / 2605 FIDE
USA - GM Becerra, Julio 2640 USCF / 2598 FIDE
ISR - GM Mikhalevski, Victor 2679 USCF / 2592 FIDE
POL - GM Miton, Kamil 2703 USCF / 2580 FIDE
ISL - GM Stefansson, Hannes 2597 USCF / 2566 FIDE
USA - GM Perelshteyn, Eugene 2619 USCF / 2555 FIDE (Defending Champion)

Average FIDE: 2605
Average USCF: 2663

The 10th player with a FIDE rating over 2650 has tentatively agreed to take part in the 2008 SPICE Cup. The average rating will be over 2605 which is FIDE Category 15. This will make the 2008 SPICE Cup the highest rated 10 person International RR event in U.S. history. The average USCF rating will be around 2663.

The SPICE Cup Invitational will be the main attraction of the annual SPICE Cup Festival. Other activities will include the 2008 Texas Women's Open Championship, SPICE Cup Grand Prix, SPICE Cup Scholastic, SPICE Cup Pro-Am event, etc. Our goal is to add a group B next year and even more activities.

2008 SPICE Cup Update

The 2008 SPICE Cup will take place from September 19-28, 2008 at Texas Tech University (student union building) in Lubbock, Texas.

Here are the confirmed players so far:

USA - GM Onischuk, Alexander 2734 USCF / 2670 FIDE
GER - GM Kritz, Leonid 2667 USCF / 2610 FIDE
USA - GM Akobian, Varuzhan 2660 USCF / 2610 FIDE
USA - GM Kaidanov, Gregory 2664 USCF / 2605 FIDE
USA - GM Becerra, Julio 2619 USCF / 2598 FIDE
ISR - GM Mikhalevski, Victor 2679 USCF / 2592 FIDE
POL - GM Miton, Kamil 2703 USCF / 2580 FIDE
ISL - GM Stefansson, Hannes 2597 USCF / 2566 FIDE
USA - GM Perelshteyn, Eugene 2619 USCF / 2555 FIDE (Defending Champion)

USCF average: 2660.22
FIDE average: 2598.44

This will be a category 15 event (2600+ FIDE and 2660+ USCF) which is the highest rated 10-player International RR tournament in U.S. history. The latest preliminary inquiry has gone out to 3 players over 2650 FIDE to complete the roster. I expect to finalize the last spot soon.

Invitations were made to Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura, two of the top 4 women players in the world as well as 4 other players who are over 2700. They could not make it due to prior commitment.

The SPICE Cup Invitational will be the main attraction of the annual SPICE Cup Festival. Other activities will include the Texas Women's Open Championship, SPICE Cup Grand Prix, SPICE Cup Scholastic, SPICE Cup Pro-Am event, etc.

Our goal is to add a group B next year and even more activities.

MATE: A thrilling upcoming feature film

The upcoming feature film MATE is psychological thriller of mystery and suspense in the vein of MEMENTO and THE USUAL SUSPECTS.

About MATE:

In a world of corruption and deceit, two former world chess champions cross paths and are unsuspectingly drawn into a deadly game of mystery and suspense. Michael Foster and Kyle Kessler are long time archrivals in the highly competitive game of sixty-four squares. Each has staked his claim to be the best grandmaster of his time. Each has arguably been deemed the greatest chess champion to ever play the game.

Yet, beneath the surface of tactics and strategies, there is a truth that engulfs them beyond their calculated geniuses; a truth that suddenly turns their world upside down; a truth that unfolds and forces them on the run from a group of killers who have coerced them into a dangerous game of intrigue.

In the world of sixty-four squares, where lies intersect the truth, nothing is what it seems. Inside the mind of a chess king, reality is merely an illusion.

I have signed on as a co-producer and I will also have a featured appearance in the film. The press release for the full cast will be released very soon. I was a chess consultant for the off-Broadway show "Fit to Kill" back in 2005. It was a blast! I am very excited about this project and I am looking forward to being a part of this movie.

Local youngster wins National Championship

Lubbock boy wins national chess title
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Story last updated at 5/13/2008 - 1:45 am

Tom Polgar-Shutzman, a third-grader at Ramirez Charter School, won his third national chess title at the National Elementary Chess Championship in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Polgar-Shutzman was among 2,200 young chess players who competed for national titles during the event Friday through Sunday.

He scored 6.5 points in seven games, earning six wins and one draw. He shares the first-place title in the K-3 section with Danny Angermeier of Massachusetts.

Polgar-Shutzman is the eldest son of Susan Polgar, director of Texas Tech's Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence and Knight Raiders head coach.

Two weeks ago, Polgar-Shutzman represented the Ramirez Charter School and captured first place in the first Lubbock Open (third- through fifth-grade section) with a perfect 4-0 score.

He also helped his school team win the third-through fifth-grade first-place team trophy.

Source: Avalanche Journal

Young Polgar captures national title for Lubbock

Written by Paul Truong

Tommy Polgar, a third grader at Ramirez Charter School, the eldest son of TTU SPICE Director and Knight Raiders Head Coach Susan Polgar, has just captured his third national chess title at the National Elementary Chess Championship in Pittsburgh, PA.

2,200 young chess hopefuls from across the United States competed for the coveted national titles. The event took place from May 9 to 11 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Tommy scored 6.5 points in 7 games (6 wins, 1 draw, and no loss) to share the first place title in the K-3 section with Danny Angermeier of Massachusetts.

This victory almost did not happen at all. After the first day of competition, Tommy got sick. He woke up on Saturday morning not feeling well. He almost had to withdraw from the tournament.

At the last minute he decided to give it his best shot and gutted it out. After drawing round 4 which cost him ½ point in the point standing, he had to win his remaining 3 games against very tough opponents to even have a shot at the title.

Feeling a little better on Sunday, Tommy had to make a big come back and pulled off an almost impossible feat. He scored two huge upsets against two of the top five seeds in back to back games to earn a share of the national title. He dedicated his championship to his mother as a Mother’s Day present.

He thanked the Texas Tech / SPICE Chess Club and the members of Texas Tech Knight Raiders Chess Team for practicing with him and taking him under their wings. He also thanked everyone at the Ramirez Charter School for supporting him.

Two weeks ago, he represented the Ramirez Charter School and captured 1st place in the first ever Lubbock Open (3rd – 5th grade section) with a perfect 4-0 score. He also helped his school team captured the 3rd – 5th grade 1st place team trophy. His younger brother Leeam was a member of the 1st place K – 2nd grade team in the same event and he finished tied for 2nd in the individual competition.

Big boost for SPICE and Chess in Lubbock

SPICE and chess in general in Lubbock get big boost from benefactor
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Story last updated at 5/11/2008 - 4:01 am

Last week, I mentioned the record-breaking participation at the first Lubbock Open Chess Championship. The Lubbock Open took place on April 26 at Monterey High School. The local support for the event was overwhelming, and we are very excited about organizing the event every year.

Now there is more good news for Texas Tech's Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and chess in Lubbock. A number of schools in Lubbock ISD already offer chess as an after-school program. The Lubbock Area Foundation recently awarded SPICE a substantial grant to introduce chess in schools that do not have such programs.

The LAF is a tremendous resource for Lubbock and West Texas citizens. My hope is to be able to raise enough financial support to begin or support chess programs in every school in Lubbock and surrounding cities. Chess is such an effective and inexpensive tool to enhance young people's educational and life experiences.

Also, a few days ago, SPICE announced an extremely generous pledge from a private donor. The gift will provide $320,000 for TTU scholarships beginning this fall and spread out over the next five years. This support follows $25,000 in support already given to Texas Tech's chess program by the same benefactor in 2007. Get your guns up, chess fans!

There's more. Additional funds will support the installation of three double-sized concrete chess tables between Texas Tech's Student Union building and library to support the increased enthusiasm for chess on campus.

Texas Tech has enjoyed a large number of inquiries from student chess players in the past year. In the fall, some of the top chess players in the United States, and indeed the world, will enroll at Tech. Rising water raises all boats, and it sure has been raining a lot this past week! Soon, Lubbock will be known as the center of chess in the United States.

Here is the full article.

SPICE and Chess get big boost

Polgar: SPICE and chess in general in Lubbock get big boost from benefactor
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Story last updated at 5/11/2008 - 4:01 am

Last week, I mentioned the record-breaking participation at the first Lubbock Open Chess Championship. The Lubbock Open took place on April 26 at Monterey High School. The local support for the event was overwhelming, and we are very excited about organizing the event every year.

Now there is more good news for Texas Tech's Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) and chess in Lubbock. A number of schools in Lubbock ISD already offer chess as an after-school program. The Lubbock Area Foundation recently awarded SPICE a substantial grant to introduce chess in schools that do not have such programs.

The LAF is a tremendous resource for Lubbock and West Texas citizens. My hope is to be able to raise enough financial support to begin or support chess programs in every school in Lubbock and surrounding cities. Chess is such an effective and inexpensive tool to enhance young people's educational and life experiences.

Also, a few days ago, SPICE announced an extremely generous pledge from a private donor. The gift will provide $320,000 for TTU scholarships beginning this fall and spread out over the next five years. This support follows $25,000 in support already given to Texas Tech's chess program by the same benefactor in 2007. Get your guns up, chess fans!

There's more. Additional funds will support the installation of three double-sized concrete chess tables between Texas Tech's Student Union building and library to support the increased enthusiasm for chess on campus.

Texas Tech has enjoyed a large number of inquiries from student chess players in the past year. In the fall, some of the top chess players in the United States, and indeed the world, will enroll at Tech. Rising water raises all boats, and it sure has been raining a lot this past week! Soon, Lubbock will be known as the center of chess in the United States.

Click here to see the full column.

A tête-à-tête with Yvonne Lai

An article in POST MAGAZINE in Hong Kong

24 Hours

Chess grand master divides her time between two great loves – her children and chess. In a tête-à-tête with Yvonne Lai, the Hungarian-born player clears up some misconceptions about the game.

“I usually wake up around 6.30am. I get my kids up and drive them to school around 7.15am. Then I start my own day. I have a new position at the Texas Tech University [in the US] as the director of the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (Spice).

I go to my office, which is right across the street from the campus, and I usually have a lot of e-mails to answer and arrangements to make. For example, I recently organised a major international chess competition.

Before I showed up, the university only had an amateur club. One of the reasons I was [hired] was to put Texas Tech on the world map of chess. I interact with the chess playing students and meet them once a week.

We are still formulating [ideas], everything is very new. I’m starting a whole new life. We are recruiting some accomplished chess players who want to study at the same time. Two international students have applied and are very likely to join Texas Tech – not only to study but to represent the university in chess competitions.

One third of the time I have business lunches with various departments or within the chess group. If not, I have a late lunch or even skip lunch, depending on how my day goes.

One of the most important aspects of Spice is the research. We look into how chess can help and influence life. It’s been known for years that chess is a wonderful tool to enhance the minds of youngsters and prevent or delay Alzheimer’s.

An average chess grand master knows about 20,000 game patterns. I’ve seen millions of chess positions in my life. That said, one of the biggest misconceptions about the game is that it requires a wonderful memory.

Pattern-recognition is much more important, as is being able to react quickly and accurately to a situation you have seen before. It’s not the same kind of memory required to memorise a phone book. It’s like air travel: for an inexperienced traveller, the airport in Dallas may look totally different from the one in Hong Kong.

But there are patterns or similarities such as security checks, lounges and signs. For an experienced traveller, one airport is like another. They focus on the important points; let’s say, getting from terminal A to B and finding gate 25.

For speed and accuracy, calculation skills are extremely important. Also, the difference between an amateur chess player and a champion, besides the knowledge of putting the puzzle together with efficiency, are the psychological elements. It’s a matter of self confidence and dealing with pressure during the game.

There are many talented young players who could go much further if they kept it together. There are no postponements in matches, and something like a break-up in a personal relationship, or a cold, could affect the outcome of a game.

I was raised in a disciplined and result-oriented environment and with a very strong work ethic, which is one characteristic many people lack. They give up too easily; they are not diligent enough. In order to excel at anything, be it art, sport or business, one has to make a lot of sacrifices, especially with one’s time. I dedicated most of my childhood and teenage years to my career.

I have no regrets but I understood even back then that others my age were going to the movies more often or going on dates or going dancing, things most girls do during their teens. I was replacing that for the large part with practising for chess competitions.

My boys are seven and eight, so now it’s different. I hardly compete any more. I dedicate my time to them and to my job. I learned a lot from my father [in terms of childrearing techniques] and I certainly use some of them with my children but, unfortunately, their situation is a little different from mine when I was growing up.

....I clearly remember an incident in 1986, when I was living in Hungary. I qualified to represent my country in the world championships but was not allowed to participate because I am a woman. The reason they stated was because the competition was called the Men’s World Chess Championship, therefore a woman could not play. Later that year, they changed the rule, eliminating the word “men”.

Deep Blue [a chess-playing machine developed by IBM] was a huge monster of a supercomputer. It was a lot of computers connected together. I went to the lab and saw it. I would have liked the opportunity to challenge Deep Blue and show that I could have done better than [Russian chess grand master] Garry [Kasparov; who lost a six game series against Deep Blue two to one, with three draws] but IBM declined my request, saying they had nothing to gain from it.

Chess helps young people learn about life in a fun and playful way. We use computer programs to teach chess, especially at higher levels. Computers are especially useful for players from smaller towns, who don’t have a master chess player around them.

I hope more people discover Spice. We hope to prove a lot of theories through research about how chess is a useful tool in the education system. Ideally, chess should be a part of the regular school curriculum. It is such an accessible and inexpensive way towards better focus, organising skills, maths and literature. My children know the basics of chess and they learn a lot better because of that. At school, they are at the top of their class.

I pick up my kids between 3pm and 4pm. Sometimes I go back to the office if I have some more things to take care of, or we come home, we eat together and I spend some time with them. After I put them to bed later in the evening, I work on the computer. I usually go to bed around midnight or 1am.

This article appeared in POST MAGAZINE in Hong Kong last year.

TTU announces substantial donation to SPICE

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: May 5, 2008
Contact: Cory Chandler
http://news.ttu.edu/browse/newsRelease/1599

Texas Tech Chess Institute Announces Donation
Pledge will fund scholarships, build public chess tables.

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence announced a more than $320,000 pledge that will fund scholarships for recruiting chess talent and pay to install three public (double) chess tables on campus.

The gift, given by an anonymous donor, will provide $320,000 for scholarships in which Knight Raiders team coaches Susan Polgar and Paul Truong can use discretionally to attract chess players to Lubbock. It builds upon $25,000 already given to Texas Tech’s chess program by the benefactor in 2007 and will provide revenue over five years beginning in the fall.

Additional funds will support the installation three concrete chess tables between Texas Tech’s Student Union Building and Library in hopes that the public setting will create more exposure and enthusiasm on campus for the game and attract more student players.

SPICE leaders hope the money will spur further support for the fledgling program. Texas Tech has enjoyed a growing number of inquiries from student chess players as it built its program over the past three years; Polgar’s hiring in 2007 broadened the university’s recruitment reach as she garnered interest from an international pool of potential checkmaters.

“Our benefactor feels that chess is an outstanding surplus preparation for the real world, such as the marketplace,” said Haraldur R. Karlsson, associate professor in geosciences and faculty advisor to the Knight Raiders. “Chess helps nurture and develop critical thinking skills. He hopes that other donors will follow his lead and help build SPICE into a world renowned institution.”

“The amazing attention SPICE has received from potential students from around the world is testimony to Grandmaster Polgar’s reputation,” said James E. Brink, associate vice provost of the Heritage Consortium for the Natural and Historic Southwest, who coordinates SPICE efforts. “Outstanding chess players are most often outstanding students, and this scholarship support will greatly assist us in recruiting a world-class chess team.”

SPICE promotes chess as academic and outreach tool and provides an almost unprecedented forum for academic research on the game.

CONTACT: Hal Karlsson, advisor, Knight Raiders Chess Club, hal.karlsson@ttu.edu; Paul Truong, director of marketing and public relations, paul.truong@ttu.edu, SPICE, Texas Tech University, (806) 392-0758 or chess@ttu.edu.

Lubbock Open Results

Full results of the 1st ever Lubbock Open can be found here.

Record chess tournament in town

FOX News covering the Lubbock Open Chess Championship. Click here to see the clip.

Around 110 players showed up for the 1st Annual Lubbock Open (more than 20 are female players). The SPF (and SPICE) signed up about 70 new USCF members. The media (local network TVs and newspapers) came to cover the event.

Lubbock Commissioner Ysidro Gutierrez is among the participants.

Another notable player is John Hawthorne (2330 FIDE, 2362 USCF), distinguished professorial Chair of philosophy at Oxford at Oxford University. We have 2 players over 2300, 1 over 2200 and a number of other strong players.

Lubbock Mayor David Miller attended the Opening Ceremony to welcome everyone. This is the largest and strongest ever open event in this city and we hope to grow bigger and stronger each year.

TTU announces Lubbock Open

April 25, 2008

Texas Tech University Announces Lubbock's First Open Chess Championship

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) announces the first Lubbock Open Chess Championship.

Written by Cory Chandler

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) announces the first Lubbock Open Chess Championship. The championship, beginning at 10 a.m. April 26 at Monterey High School, consists of five sections from scholastic through adult.

The U.S. Chess Federation will rate the event, and players as far as Amarillo and Midland will compete for the title of Lubbock’s chess champion.

Top finishers will win trophies and other prizes. Lubbock Mayor David Miller will welcome the players at 10:45 a.m. and open the tournament. Spectators are welcome.

Texas Tech’s Knight Raiders chess team is co-hosting the event.

Contact: Paul Truong, director of marketing, SPICE, Texas Tech University (806) 742-7742, or paul.truong@ttu.edu, or spice@ttu.edu.

Knight Raiders win 3 awards

The Texas Tech Knight Raiders won the following awards given during Arbor Day today:

1. Most Improved Organization of the Year (Overall)
2. Organization of the Year (Special Interest Category)
3. Advisor of the Year (Hal Karlsson, Special Interest Category)

Since the formation of the Knight Raiders in 2003, the club has won a total of 9 Student Organization Awards.

Congratulations to Dr. Hal Karlsson for his relentless commitment to the Knight Raiders and SPICE!

Chess Tips

The Power Principles of Chess

CONTROL THE CENTER!

What does this mean? The center consists of the squares e4, d4, e5 and d5. So this means when you start the game in the opening, place your pawns in the center to occupy and control it as much as you can.

DEVELOP YOUR PIECES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

Get your Knights and Bishops out. This should be done before you try to checkmate your opponent.

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 lose them.

HAVE LOTS OF FUN! WIN WITH GRACE, LOSE WITH DIGNITY!

First and foremost, chess should be fun. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. That is part of the game. When you win, be a good sport and don’t trash talk or make fun of your opponent. When you lose, be an even better sport and not a sore loser. Shake hands and congratulate your opponent. This will go a long way toward making good friends.

These tips should be used together with my curriculum / training guide for teachers and parents. Click here to register for your FREE account on www.ChessDiscussion.com then click here to download your FREE copy of my curriculum / training guide.Good luck with your effort in introducing chess to young people!