#1118 Summer Tourney Addendum

I forgot to mention 2 things in the previous post:

- Entries for the Kenilworth Summer Tournament are usually accepted thru July 4th. The TD, however, reserves the right to cut-off registration at an earlier date, if the field becomes too large.

- Results and standings will be posted on the KCC Tournaments blog.

#1117 Kenilworth Summer Tourney Starts Tonight!

The Kenilworth Chess Club's fun, friendly, yet highly competitive Summer Tournament starts tonight at 8:00 p.m.

Here are the rules :

• The entry fee is $5.00.
• The tournament will run from June 13th through August 29th.
• The event is not rated.
• The time control is G/60.
• G/55+5 (delay) may be used if there is mutual agreement between paired players. Increment settings are not allowed.
• You may play anyone who is entered. The first time you play an opponent, the lower rated or unrated player has White. In subsequent games against the same opponent you alternate colors.
• If both players are unrated or have identical ratings, they toss for initial color.
• You may not play the same opponent more than four times in the tournament.
• You get one point for a win, one half point for a draw, and zero for a loss.
• You may play as many or as few games as you like, but no more than two in one night. The more you play the more points you can win.
• All games are to be played at the Kenilworth Chess Club during normal operating hours.
• The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of the tournament.
• The prizes are 60% for first place, 30% for second, and 10% for third.

Bob Sherry won last year. Other past winners of this popular event include LM Scott Massey (2004), LM Mark Kernighan (2005, 2011), Greg Tomkovich (2006), Ari Minkov (2007, 2010), John Moldovan (2008) and Ian Mangion (2009).

#1116 NED-USA Match: 2 Draws For Me

This morning I drew my games on board 8 of the Netherlands-USA correspondence match:

John Moldovan 2307 - Rein D.J. Thierry 2306
D35 Queen's Gambit

I could not get any advantage from the opening and neither side wanted to take any chances in the middlegame.

Thierry - Moldovan
C06 French Defense

Not a single original move was played, as we followed Toenisson - Siigur : correspondence, ICCF 2010 through White's 35th turn. Perhaps White could have improved with 22.Qd1 Ne4 23.Bc2 Qa6 24.Bxe4! (N) dxe4 25.Qb3+.

PGN of the 2 games above
PGN of all 128 NED-USA games

The Dutch now lead the 64-board match 11.5-6.5.

#1115 My New Burnt Chess Set

Last month I purchased the Burnt Grandmaster Chess Pieces from The Chess House.

Unfortunately, there are several minor flaws with the set I received. Firstly, the color and finish is a duller than expected.

The base of 1 Rook isn't level and the weight in one of the Knights is loose. Finally, the "luxurious billiard cloth" pads are too thin.

Here's how the whole set looks, paired with my 30 year old mahogany and maple board.

In closing, I should also mention that the Kings are 3.82" tall, not 4", and tell you that the shipping cost to NJ would have been $38, had I not added a $16 book.

#1114 Chess Mates Open Championship Starts Today

Chess Mates Open Championship starts today. The first round begins at 1:30 p.m.

Here are full details on the event:

Chess Mates Open Championship
June 8-9 or 9

Trophies Plus Grand Prix Points: 10

Format: 5-SS
Time Control: G/55;d5 (1 day option: rounds 1-3 G/25;d5).
Register: Saturday 6/8 12:35-1:25 p.m., Sunday 6/9 10:00-10:25 a.m.

Rounds: Sat. 6/8 1:30, 3:45, 6:00 p.m. Sun. 6/9 2:30, 4:45 p.m. (1 day: Sun. 10:30, 11:45 a.m., 1:00 p.m. then merge.)

Byes: 2 byes available. Must commit prior to round 4.
Re-entry: $45, before round 2 or 3.
Entry Fee: $85 non-members, $75 members.

Prize Fund: $1500 b/20 entries.

Prizes: 1st place $300, 2nd place $225, 3rd place $150, U2200 $150-75, U1900 $150-75, U1600 $150-75, U1300 $100. Biggest Upset $50. Trophy & Club Champion title to Top Chess Mates member.

Site: Chess Mates, 1531 Irving St., Rahway, NJ 07065.
Info: 732-499-0118, chessmates@chessmatesnj.com

#1113 KCC To Hold Members' Meeting This Week

The Kenilworth Chess Club will be holding a members' meeting on Thursday, June 6th, starting at 8:15 p.m., to address waning interest in our club and discuss ways to boost attendance. 

The input of all current and lapsed members would be most welcome.

#1112 Correspondence Update

My game against Serdar Aykent has ended in a draw, bringing my score in the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals to 2.5/4.

It was a well-played Winawer, with no apparent mistakes by either side. We followed theory until I varied with 19...f5.

Aykent 2175 - John Moldovan 2313
C18 French Defense

PGN (from ICCF)

#1111 Victory In Rahway & A New OTB Best!

Today I won a strong, 4-player tournament at Chess Mates in Rahway.

Here are my victories over expert Mauricio Camejo and FM Boris Privman, both of whom spurned draw-offers and blundered a few moves later:

John Moldovan 1833 - Camejo 2164

A55 Old Indian Defense

Moldovan - Privman 2364

D35 Queen's Gambit

PGN

With the 2700 performance, my rating jumped 58 points, to a personal best 1891. The previous high was 1853 on June 19, 2010.

Unfortunately, my last-round opponent forfeited. So, I missed-out on a nice bonus and an even bigger gain (at least 31 additional points).

#1110 SWE-USA Update

This morning I defeated Anders Brissman in the SWE-USA match. The game is probably my best-ever correspondence effort.

Here is a snapshot of the final position and move list:

If Black had played 67...Rh4!, I would have won with 68.b8=N!!

PGN of the above game
Replay

The U.S clinched the match some time ago and now leads it 53.5-22.5.

Crosstable
PGN of all 90 games.

#1109 Games From Section 3 Of The Corr Semis

The public can now see and download the finished games from section 3 of the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

Replay links to my draws and victory have been added to the sidebar.

#1108 Another Update On 20th U.S. Corr. Ch. Semis

Yesterday, I won against Lester Weiss, in the U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

Here's a quick rundown on the game, which started on September 13th:

Black tried to neutralize my Q's Gambit Exchange by going into an ending but a slight mistake on move 14 let me secure an edge. I eventually created a passer and forced him to sac a pawn. A shot on turn 29 increased my advantage and 10 moves later my foe capitulated, though he probably did so prematurely.

I can't post the score until at least 1 more game in my section is finished. For a look at the standings click here.

#1107 Tica Leads West Orange Championship

Expert Juan Tica leads the West Orange CC Championship after 4 of 7 rounds. Six players are a half-point back. Last year's winner, Ari Minkov is tied for 12th, at 50%.

Rank	Player	Rate	Pts
1.	Tica, Juan	2183	3.5
= 2.	Rosas, Victor	2092	3
	Mangion, Ian	2042	3
	Pedersen, Roger E	1974	3
	Napper, Nathaniel	1966	3
	Hart, Charles M	1915	3
	Race, Doran	1914	3
= 8.	Zilbermintz, Lev	2117	2.5
	Boxer, Matthew	1921	2.5
	Adamo Jr, John	1766	2.5
	Rivero, Rene	1679	2.5
= 12.	Minkov, Ari	2039	2
	Martinez, Alberto	1913	2
	Cohen, Bryan	1844	2
	Garrett, Damon	1820	2
	Sharpell, Fred	1807	2
	Burn, Murray	1764	2
	Katz, Harry	1704	2
	Nayak, Mohan	1598	2
	Trieste, Edward	1530	2
	Moreira, Leonardo	1043	2
= 22.	Fortunato, Joseph	1617	1.5
	Hagerty, John	1529	1.5*
	Smalt, Robert	1185	1.5
	Bejinariu, Neculai	unrated	1.5
	Sanchez, John	unrated	1.5
= 27.	Hart, Glen B	1684	1*
	West, Robert	1622	1
	Vinson, Robert	1200	1
	Levanda, Mark	1129	1
= 31.	Lynn, Robert	1461	0.5
	Kirck, Charles	1311	0.5

* withdrew

The above ratings are from the February 2013 Golden Database.

#1106 Update On 20th U.S. Correspondence Ch. Semis

On Monday, I drew my game with Kyle Biederman, in the U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

My opponent opened with his favorite Catalan. I steered play into a Bogo-Indian and my 8th was a slight improvement over previous practice. We went into an endgame and I tried to sharpen play with an Exchange offer but he declined and successfully fought-off all other attempts. The point was split after 43 moves, with each side having a Bishop and 3 pawns.

You can collect the 66 completed contests from sections 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 but games from my section can't be seen until 3 more are finished.