Monday, December 31, 2012

#1088 Kenilworth Ch. Starts Jan. 10

The 22nd Kenilworth Chess Club Championship will begin on Thursday, January 10th, 2013 and run through February 7th, 2013. Here are the details :

22nd KCC Championship
  • Not-rated
  • 5-round Swiss
  • January 10th-February 7th, 2012.
  • Time Control: G/75+5 second delay.
  • Rounds to start at 8:20 p.m. every Thursday, for the duration of the event.
  • 1 half-point bye per player allowed.
  • Prizes (tentative): Trophies for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Top U2000, Top U1800, Top U1600, Top U1400, Biggest upset.
  • Tiebreaks: 1. Head to Head, 2. Modified Median, 3. Solkoff, 4. Cumulative.
  • EF: $10 entry fee + $5 anti-forfeit deposit + dues (= $30 for most players).
  • KCC and USCF memberships are required (KCC dues for 2013 are $7.50 for those age 17 or less, $10 for those age 65+, $15 for everyone else).
  • Please register with TD Geoff McAuliffe during our 1/3 meeting or before 8:20 p.m. on 1/10 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
  • Late-joins accepted until round 2 is paired.

Past Champions include LM Scott Massey (who has won the title 12x), Rene Ray (1996), FM Steve Stoyko (2005-2007),  LM Mark Kernighan (2008), SM Yaacov Norowitz (2009), NM Arthur Macaspac (2010, 2012) and NM Ken Chieu (2011).
 
22 players took part in last year's event.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Friday, December 21, 2012

#1086 Norowitz Surpasses 2600!

Life Senior Master Yaacov Norowitz went 4-0 in last night's New Yorker G/30 and raised his USCF rating to 2601.

Congratulations Yaacov!

#1085 KCC Business Meeting Minutes


Minutes of the Kenilworth Chess Club's 2012 Business Meeting:

- The meeting commenced at 8:45 p.m.

- Members in attendance included Don Carrelli, Geoff McAuliffe, Greg Tomkovich, Pat Mazzillo, Lou Sturniolo, Joe Azzarello, Michael Goeller, Mark Kernighan, Howard Osterman, Bert Shiffman, Bob Sherry and John Moldovan.

- Treasurer Geoff McAuliffe announced the club had a profit in 2012 and noted that was primarily because payment for our website wasn't due this year.

- A donation to the Kenilworth Recreation Department was approved.

- Michael Goeller gave a brief report about kenilworthchessclub.org's traffic and our blogs' high ranking.

- Secretary Moldovan declared that he was too busy to continue being a club officer.

- Don Carrelli was elected President, by a 7-4 vote, over Bob Sherry.

- Joe Renna was re-elected Vice-President, in a narrow 6-5 tally over Sherry.

- After Sherry and Kernighan declined nominations. Ian Mangion was elected Secretary, by acclamation.

- Geoff McAuliffe (Treasurer and Tournament Director) and Michael Goeller (Webmaster) were re-elected to their offices by acclamation.

- Greg Tomkovich was re-elected (by acclamation) to another term (2013-15) as Trustee.

- USATE sponsorship in the amount of one full entry fee ($150?) was approved. Funds will be divided between teams that contain 4 KCC members and use KCC (or Kenilworth) in the team name.

- A 5-round Swiss was chosen as the format for the 2013 Club Championship, by a 7-3 margin over an 8-player Round-Robin.

- The membership then decided, by an emphatic 10-1 count, that the Championship will not be rated.

- The Club Championship will begin on January 10 and run thru February 7th. The time control will G/75;d5 (not the 90+5 of previous years.). February 14th will be reserved as a snow date. The entry fee will remain dues + $10 + $5 anti-forfeit deposit ($30 for most players).

- Finally, regarding the Garden State Chess League...

  • The Kortchnois' players in attendance chose to play their January match at the Kenilworth Community Center, not at Rutgers University.

  • The Karpovs' acting Captain (Moldovan) revealed that the team needed another player for the January 7th match in West Orange.


#1084 Carrelli Elected Kenilworth CC President

Don Carrelli has been elected President of the Kenilworth Chess Club. 2013 will be his 2nd term at the helm. Don also served as President in 2010.

Ian Mangion replaces John Moldovan as KCC Secretary. Joe Renna, Geoff McAuliffe and Michael Goeller were re-elected to their posts.

Friday, December 07, 2012

Saturday, November 24, 2012

#1082 Correspondence Update

It has been 79 long days since my last correspondence update.

Team USA now leads Sweden 36-16. Here is how my remaining game against Anders Brissman stands:

D36 Queen's Gambit
Exchange Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bh2 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Rc1 b5 17.Nd2 Bd7 (N) 18. Nb3 Nf8 19. g4 h6 20. Rhg1 Qe7 21. Ne2 Ne4 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Qxe4 Rxe4 23. Ng3 Re7 25. Nf5 Bxf5+ 26. gxf5 Kh8 27. Rc3 b4 28. Rc2 Nd7 29. Rgc1 Nb8 30. Nc5 Rd8 31. Nd3 b3 32. Rc3 bxa2+ 33. Kxa2 Rc7 34. Ne5 Rd6 35. b4 a6 36. Kb3 Rf6 37. R1c2 Kh7 38. Rc5 Rxf5 39. Nxc6 Nd7 (draw offered) 40. Ra5 Rh5 41. Rxa6 Rxh3 42. b5 Rh1 43. Ne5 Rb7 44. Nxd7 Rxd7 45. b6


In other matches:
- The U.S. is tied with England, 14-14, and leads Australia/New Zealand 1.5-0.5.
- CZE-USA has finished but there are still 2 games going in GER-USA.

PGN of all 90 SWE-USA games.
PGN of all 68 ENG-USA games.
PGN of all 110 AUS/NZL vs. USA games.

Finally, one of my opponents in section 3 of the U.S. Championship Semi-Finals, Harry Ingersol, was featured in the October issue of Chess Life (pages 32-33).

Friday, November 16, 2012

#1081 Consultation Game Drawn

The Kenilworth Consultation game ended in a draw, as White didn't try to invade on the Q-side or attempt c4-c5.

Here are the adjourned position, moves played last night and final position:


31. Bf5 (sealed move) h6 32. Ke3 Kf7 33. Kf3 Kg7 34. h3 Kf7 35. h4 gxh4 36. gxh4 Kg7 37. Ke3 Kf7 38. Kd4 Ng7 39. Bc8 Nfe8 40. Bd7 Nf6 41. Bh3 Nfe8 42. Ke4 Nf6+ 43. Kf3 Nfe8 44. Bg4 Kg6 45. Kf4 Kf7 46. Bd7 Nf6 47. Bc6 Nfe8 48. Bxe8+ Nxe8 49. Kg4 Kg6 50. Kf4 Kf7 51. Kf5 Ng7+ 52. Kg4 Ne8 53. Kf5 1/2-1/2


Saturday, November 10, 2012

#1080 Consultation Game Adjourned

The 2012 Kenilworth Consultation Game was adjourned on Thursday night following White's sealed move on turn 31.

Here are the moves played thus far:

B62 King's Indian Defense
Panno Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 0-0 5. g3 d6 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. O-O e5 8. d5 Ne7 9. e4 Ne8 10. Ne1 f5 11. f4 exf4 12. Rxf4 (N)


12...Bxc3 13. bxc3 Nf6 14. exf5 Bxf5 15. Be3 Qd7 16. Nc2 Bxc2 17. Qxc2 Nf5 18. Bd2 Nh5 19. Rff1 Nfg7 20. Rae1 Rxf1+ 21. Rxf1 Rf8 22. Rxf8+ Kxf8 23. Bh6 b6 24. Qf2+ Qf7 25. Bg5 Qxf2+ 26. Kxf2 Kf7 27. Bd8 Ne8 28. Bh3 Nhf6 29. Be6+ Kg7 30. Kf3 g5


Play will resume next Thursday (11/15) at 8:20 p.m.

LM Mark Kernighan (2233), Michael Goeller (2094), Dr. Ian Mangion (2042) are among those taking part. I am acting as White's moderator.

For full rosters and notes, go to the event's Java-Replay page or download its PGN.

Monday, November 05, 2012

#1079 Westfield Web Site Error

The Westfield CC's web site is showing incorrect time controls for its November & December Quads.

The time control for those events is G/40 TD 5s, as noted here and in Chess Life.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

#1078 Chess Mates Open Today, Westfield Closed

Chess Mates has regained power and will be open today. Quads are at 10:30 a.m. Lessons begin at 2:30 p.m. EST

The Westfield Y is still without power. So, there will be no Grand Prix or meeting there.

Remember Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m.

Friday, November 02, 2012

#1077 Chess Mates Cancels Friday & Saturday Events

Chess Mates has canceled tonight's blitz tourney and tomorrow's Quads. They are still out of electricity following Hurricane Sandy.
Please check their blog and Facebook page for possible updates.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

#1076 Westfield Fall Grand Prix Canceled

The Westfield Fall Grand Prix, scheduled for Sunday, November 4th has been canceled because the Westfield YMCA, is without power.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

#1075 Kernighan Wins Fish Memorial

LM Mark Kernighan won the 5th Sy Fish Memorial with a perfect 5.0 score and distanced the competition by a point and a half.

Dan Komunicky finished 2nd. Geoff McAuliffe and Joe Renna were joint 3rd-place and U2050 winners.

Lou Sturniolo was the top U1750 and James Castellano was best U1525.

Last round results, final standings and several games will follow.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

#1074 Revised Pairings

Here are the revised pairings and board assignments for tonight's Sy Fish Memorial finale:

1. Kernighan - Castellano (no change)
2. Komunicky - McAuliffe (no change)
3. Sturniolo - Constantino
4. Mazzillo - Vinson
5. Garcia - Shiffman (no change)

Renna: 1/2 point bye (requested).

Friday, October 12, 2012

#1073 Sy Fish - 5th Round Pairings

Here are the pairings and board assignments for the Sy Fish Memorial's final round on October 18th:

1. Kernighan - Castellano
2. Komunicky - McAuliffe
3. Renna - Constantino
4. Sturniolo - Vinson
5. Garcia - Shiffman

Mazzillo gets a 1 point bye.

#1072 Sy Fish Memorial - Rounds 3 & 4

5th Sy Fish Memorial
September 13-October 18

Round 3 results, by board:

1. McAuliffe 0-1 Kernighan
2. Palakollu 0-1 Komunicky
3. Sturniolo 1/2-1/2 Mazzillo
4. Constantino 1-0 Vinson
5. Renna 1-0 Garcia

1/2 point bye: Castellano
1 point bye: Shiffman

Round 4 results, by board:

1. Kernighan 1-0 Komunicky
2. Constantino 0-1 McAuliffe
3. Castellano 1-0 Sturniolo
4. Mazzillo 0-1 Renna
5. Vinson 1-0 Shiffman

1 point bye: Garcia
Palakollu withdrew

Standings, after 4 of 5 rounds:

1. Kernighan 4.0
2. McAuliffe 3.0
= 3-6. Komunicky, Mazzillo, Castellano, Renna 2.5
7. Constantino 2.0
= 8-10. Sturniolo, Vinson, Garcia 1.5
= 11-12. Palakollu, Shiffman 1.0

The event ends next Thursday night.

Monday, October 01, 2012

#1071 Kenilworth's GSCL Lineups

Here are the KCC's Garden State League lineups for 2012-13:

Kenilworth Karpovs

1. Dr. Ian Mangion 2042
2. Max Sherer 1847
3. Dr. Richard Lewis 1766
4. Bob Pelican 1621

reserves: Mikhail Kruglyak 1638, Chris Constantino 1332


Kenilworth Kortchnois

1. John Moldovan 1821
2. Greg Tomkovich 1635
3. Dr. Geoff McAuliffe 1600 (captain)
4. Joe Renna 1412

reserve: Chris Constantino 1332

To improve our chances, we (both teams) need reserves that can play on board 1 or 2. If you can help-out in that area or by being the Karpovs' captain/manager, please respond.

Btw, each team is scheduled to play 6 of its 8 games at home!

Monday, September 24, 2012

#1070 Sy Fish Pairings

Here are the pairings for round 3 of the Sy Fish Memorial:

1. McAuliffe (2.0) - Kernighan (2.0)
2. Palakollu (1.0) - Komunicky (1.5)
3. Sturniolo (1.0) - Mazzillo (1.0)
4. Constantino (1.0) - Vinson (0.5)
5. Renna (0.5) - Garcia (0.5)

1/2 point bye: Castellano (1.0)
1 point bye: Shiffman (0.0)

#1069 Sy Fish Memorial - Rounds 1 & 2

Sy Fish Memorial
Kenilworth, NJ
September 13-October 18

Round 1 results, by board:

1. Pat Mazzillo 0-1 LM Mark Kernighan


2. Samritha Palakollu 1-0 Joe Renna
3. Jim Castellano 0-1 Geoff McAuliffe
4. Lou Sturniolo 1-0 Bert Shiffman
5. Jose Garcia 1/2-1/2 Robert Vinson

1/2 point byes: Dan Komunicky, Chris Constantino

Extra game: Komunicky 0-1 Don Carrelli

Round 2 results, by board:

1. Kernighan 1-0 Sturniolo
2. McAuliffe 1-0 Palakollu



3. Komunicky 1-0 J. Garcia
4. Vinson 0-1 Castellano
5.  Shiffman 0-1 Mazzillo

1/2 point byes: Constantino, Renna

Standings, after 2 of 5 rounds:

= 1-2. Kernighan 2.0
3. Komunicky 1.5
= 4-8. Palakollu, Sturniolo, Mazzillo, Castellano, Constantino 1.0
= 9-11. Vinson, Renna, J. Garcia 0.5
12. Shiffman 0.0

Thursday, September 13, 2012

#1068 U.S. Correspondence Ch. Semi-Finals

The top seeds in the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals are:

1. IM Carl I Siefring 2479
2. SIM Ciaran O'Hare 2429
3. Harry Ingersol 2414
4. Grayling V. Hill 2373
5. IM Keith A. Rodriguez 2365
6. Daniel M. Horwitz 2360

I will be playing in section 3, along with Ingersol, Kenneth E. Jones (2256), William J. Morris (2200 provisional), Seydar Akent (2175), Kyle Biedermann (2146) and Lester P. Weiss (2051).
 
You won't be able to see my games, or the others, until they are finished and at least 7 games in the section are done.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

#1067 Correspondence Updates

Team USA now leads Sweden 22.5-12.5. My remaining game against Anders Brissman is approaching the 4th time control:

D36 Queen's Gambit
Exchange Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bh2 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Rc1 b5 17.Nd2 Bd7 (N) 18. Nb3 Nf8 19. g4 h6 20. Rhg1 Qe7 21. Ne2 Ne4 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Qxe4 Rxe4 23. Ng3 Re7 25. Nf5 Bxf5+ 26. gxf5 Kh8 27. Rc3 (White declines Black's draw-offer.) b4 28. Rc2 Nd7 29. Rgc1 Nb8 30. Nc5


PGN of all 90 SWE-USA games.

In other matches:

- The U.S. leads England 3-2, thanks to Charles Merrow's win on board 19.
- There are 2 games left in GER-USA and one in CZE-USA.

PGN of all 68 ENG-USA games.

#1066 Fall Lectures At Kenilworth CC

The Kenilworth Chess Club will be hosting 2 lectures this fall.

On October 25th, LM Scott Massey will present endgames played by Akiba Rubinstein and on November 29th expert Michael Goeller will speak about the Urusov Gambit.

#1065 Sy Fish Memorial Starts 9/13

The KCC's 5th Annual Sy Fish Memorial will begin next Thursday, on September 13th. This year's tourney will be a 5-round swiss with a G/60 (or G/60;d5?) time control.

5th Sy Fish Memorial
 September 13-October 18, 2012

Kenilworth Community Center
575 Kenilworth Boulevard

USCF-rated
Format: 5-SS
Time Control: G/60 (+ 5s delay?)
Entry Fee: $10.
Prize Fund: 90% of entry fees collected.
Prizes: 1st place 30% of EF; 2nd place 20% of EF; 3rd place, U2050, U1750, U1525 each 10% of EF.
Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on 9/13, 9/20, 9/27, 10/11 and 10/18.
Late-joins accepted until the 3rd round is paired.
Late-joiners will receive a 1/2 point for each round missed but lose a bye-option.
Two byes per player allowed.
Byes may be taken in any round.
Please inform the TD or Club President before that round is paired.
Pairings for rounds 1-2 to be made on site.
Pairings for rounds 3-5 to be made on the prior Friday.
Register: On site 9/13, 9/20, 9/27 from 8:00-10:45 p.m.

Note: There will be no round on October 4th.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

#1064 Kenilworth Fall Blitz Canceled

The Kenilworth Fall Blitz tournament scheduled for tomorrow night has been canceled.

Casual games and the Garden State Chess League's annual pre-season meeting will take place, instead.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

#1063 Summer Tourney - Final Round

Bob Sherry beat U1200 prize-winner Antonio Altamirano and broke the (unofficial) KST points record. Mark Kernighan defeated Greg Tomkovich and finished 3rd.

Pat Mazzillo and Andy Altamirano split a twin-bill. I won twice to end at +13-3=2. Here is one of the games:

John Moldovan (1821) 1-0 Robert Vinson (1365)
B01 Scandinavian Defense

Results:
 
Tomkovich 0-1 Kernighan
Moldovan 1-0 Vinson
Renna 0-1 Moldovan
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Sherry
Andy Altamirano 1-0 Mazzillo
Mazzillo 1-0 Andy A.
 
Final Standings:
 
1. Sherry 16.5
2. Moldovan 14.0
3. Kernighan 10.5
= 4-5. Tomkovich, Reinoso 8.5
= 6-7. Palakollu, Mazzillo 7.0
8. Antonio Altamirano 6.5
9. Balakrishnan 5.5
10. Shumowitz 5.0
11. Mann 4.5
= 12-14. Sturniolo, Senyatkin, Vinson 4.0
15. Andy Altamirano 3.0
= 16-18. Mangion, Carrelli, McAuliffe 2.5
= 19-20. Goeller, Renna 2.0
= 21-23. Lewis, Al.Tang, Darshan Patel 1.5
24. J. Tang 1.0
25. Dhruv Patel 0.5
= 26-28. Constantino, Cutts, Ruales 0.0
 
Java-Replay for rounds 7-12
PGN for rounds 7-12

Sunday, August 26, 2012

#1062 Sherry Wins Summer Tournament

Bob Sherry clinched 1st place in the Kenilworth Summer Tournament and tied Scott Massey's (unofficial) 2004 record for most points in the tournament, 15.5.

I won twice to seal the 2nd spot but should have lost the following game. My opponent missed 2 shots (17...Bxh3! -+, 21...Re3! -+) and hung a piece at move 39.

John Moldovan (1821) 1-0 Pat Mazzillo (1450)
C24 Bishop's Opening
Berlin Defense

Results:
 
Tomkovich 0-1 Moldovan
Sherry 1/2-1/2 Mazzillo
Darshan Patel 0-1 Palakollu
Dhruv Patel 0-1 Reinoso
Moldovan 1-0 Mazzillo
Sherry 1-0 Reinoso
 
Standings after week 11 of 12:
 
1. Sherry 15.5
2. Moldovan 12.0
3. Kernighan 9.5
= 4-5. Tomkovich, Reinoso 8.5
6. Palakollu 7.0
7. Antonio Altamirano 6.5
8. Mazzillo 6.0
9. Balakrishnan 5.5
10. Shumowitz 5.0
11. Mann 4.5
= 12-14. Sturniolo, Senyatkin, Vinson 4.0
= 15-17. Mangion, Carrelli, McAuliffe 2.5
= 18-20. Goeller, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 21-23. Lewis, Al.Tang, Darshan Patel 1.5
24. J. Tang 1.0
25. Dhruv Patel 0.5
= 26-28. Constantino, Cutts, Ruales 0.0
 
The event concludes on Thursday.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

#1061 Another GM Draw

This afternoon I agreed to another GM draw with Jo Wharrier of England.

My 14.Nd4 (N) varied from the 14.e3 of Agdestein-Alburt : Taxco Interzonal 1985 but didn't bring any advantage.

John Moldovan (2306) 1/2-1/2 Wharrier (2357)
D41 Queen's Gambit
Semi-Tarrasch Defense

 
ENG-USA is now tied 1-1 and the U.S. leads Sweden 21.5-11.5.

Friday, August 17, 2012

#1060 Summer Tourney - Round 10

Bob Sherry split 2 games and clinched a tie for 1st. Mark Kernighan won twice and moved to within a half-point of 2nd place.

I beat the leader but blew a win against Darshan Patel (48...Rxg4+?? instead of ...Rf3 -+) and had to yield a draw. Greg Tomkovich also had 1.5/2.

Sherry (1812) 0-1 John Moldovan (1821)
B43 Sicilian Defense
Kan Variation

 
Darshan Patel (977) 1/2-1/2 Moldovan
B15 Caro-Kann Defense
Gurgenidze System
 
Results:
 
Vinson 0-1 Kernighan
Sherry 0-1 Moldovan
Darshan Patel 1/2-1/2 Moldovan
Dhruv Patel 0-1 Palakollu
Sturniolo 1-0 Andy Altamirano
Mazzillo 1/2-1/2 Tomkovich
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Reinoso
Reinoso 0-1 Tomkovich
Mazzillo 0-1 Sherry
Andy A. 0-1 Kernighan
 
Standings after week 10 of 12:
 
1. Sherry 14.0
2. Moldovan 10.0
3. Kernighan 9.5
4. Tomkovich 8.5
5. Reinoso 7.5
6. Antonio Altamirano 6.5
7. Palakollu 6.0
= 8-9. Balakrishnan, Mazzillo 5.5
10. Shumowitz 5.0
11. Mann 4.5
= 12-14. Sturniolo, Senyatkin, Vinson 4.0
= 15-17. Mangion, Carrelli, McAuliffe 2.5
= 18-20. Goeller, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 21-23. Lewis, Al.Tang, Darshan Patel 1.5
24. J. Tang 1.0
25. Dhruv Patel 0.5
= 26-28. Constantino, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

Monday, August 13, 2012

#1059 USA Leads Sweden 17-9

This afternoon I drew one of my correspondence games against Sweden's Anders Brissman:
A26 English Opening
Closed System

 
The U.S. now leads the match 17-9.

Friday, August 10, 2012

#1058 Summer Tourney - Round 9

Bob Sherry extended his lead to 4.5 points with 2 more victories and snapped Braeden Reinoso's 14-game unbeaten streak.

Ted Mann defeated Jun Tang twice while Mark Kernighan, Greg Tomkovich, Lou Sturniolo, Robert Vinson and I also picked-up wins.

Here are my simultaneously-played games:
 
Ant. Altamirano (1122) 0-1 John Moldovan (1821)
B10 Caro-Kann Defense

Moldovan 0-1 Kernighan (2200)
B51 Sicilian Defense
Moscow Variation
 
 
Results:
 
Palakollu 0-1 Sherry
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Moldovan
Moldovan 0-1 Kernighan
McAuliffe 0-1 Tomkovich
Andy Altamirano 0-1 Sturniolo
Renna 0-1 Vinson
Reinoso 1/2-1/2 Mazzillo
J. Tang 0-1 Mann
Mann 1-0 J. Tang
Reinoso 0-1 Sherry
 
Standings after week 9 of 12:
 
1. Sherry 13.0
2. Moldovan 8.5
3. Kernighan 7.5
4. Tomkovich 7.0
= 5-6. Reinoso, Antonio Altamirano 6.5
7. Balakrishnan 5.5
= 8-10. Shumowitz, Palakollu, Mazzillo 5.0
11. Mann 4.5
= 12-13. Senyatkin, Vinson 4.0
14. Sturniolo 3.0
= 15-17. Mangion, Carrelli, McAuliffe 2.5
= 18-20. Goeller, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 21-22. Lewis, Al.Tang 1.5
= 23-24. J. Tang, Darshan Patel 1.0
25. Dhruv Patel 0.5
= 26-28. Constantino, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

Sunday, August 05, 2012

#1057 SWE-USA Update

Team USA now leads Sweden 12-7.

D36 Queen's Gambit
Exchange Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bh2 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Rc1 b5 17.Nd2 Bd7 (N) 18. Nb3 Nf8 19. g4 h6 20. Rhg1 Qe7 21. Ne2 Qe4 22. Bxe4 Qxe4 23. Qxe4



A26 English Opening

1. c4 g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 d6 4. Nc3 e5 5. d3 Nc6 6. Nf3 f5 7. O-O Nf6 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Qc2 h6 10. b4 a6 11.Bd2 (N) Be6 12. a4 a5 13. bxa5 Nxa5 14.Nd1 Nc6 15. Qc1 Kh7 16.Rxb7 e4 17.Ne1 d5 18.cxd5 Nd4 19.Nc3 Bxd5 20.Rd2 exd3 21.Nxd3 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Nxe2



PGN of all 90 SWE-USA games.

Saturday, August 04, 2012

#1056 ENG-USA Update

This morning I drew one of my games against England's 7th board:

Jo A. Wharrier (2357) - John Moldovan (2306)
E16 Queen's Indian Defense
Bogo-Hybrid Variation

 
The match is tied 0.5-0.5.

Friday, August 03, 2012

#1055 Summer Tourney - Round 8

I had fun going 3-0 in a simul against 2 visitors and Jun Tang (who missed 16.Nxe5! +/-) but could not make-up any ground on leader Bob Sherry.

Ian Mangion, Marvin Shumowitz, Greg Tomkovich and Darshan Patel also notched victories.

J. Tang (1362) - John Moldovan (1821)
A13 English Opening
Dutch Defense

Results:
 
Carrelli 1/2-1/2 Kernighan
Vinson 0-1 Shumowitz
J. Tang 0-1 Moldovan
Sherry 1-0 Mann
Sherry 0-1 Mangion
McAuliffe 1/2-1/2 Palakollu
Renna 0-1 Tomkovich
Dhruv Patel 1/2-1/2 Antonio Altamirano
Darshan Patel 1-0 Andy Altamirano
 
Standings after week 8 of 12:
 
1. Sherry 11.0
2. Moldovan 7.5
= 3-4. Kernighan, Antonio Altamirano 6.5
= 5-6. Tomkovich, Reinoso 6.0
7. Balakrishnan 5.5
= 8-9. Shumowitz, Palakollu 5.0
10. Mazzillo 4.5
11. Senyatkin, 4.0
12. Vinson 3.0
= 13-16. Mangion, Carrelli, McAuliffe, Mann 2.5
= 17-20. Goeller, Sturniolo, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 21-22. Lewis, Al.Tang 1.5
= 23-24. J. Tang, Darshan Patel 1.0
25. Dhruv Patel 0.5
= 26-28. Constantino, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

Friday, July 27, 2012

#1054 Summer Tourney - Round 7

Bob Sherry collected 2 more wins and now has a commanding 3.5 point lead. Greg Tomkovich and Antonio Altamirano also won twice.

My 20-game unbeaten streak with White was snapped by a loss to Ian Mangion:
 
John Moldovan (1822) 0-1 Mangion (2042)
A34 English Opening
Symmetrical Defense

Results:
 
Moldovan 0-1 Mangion
Vinson 0-1 Sherry
Sherry 1-0 Vinson
J. Tang 0-1 Tomkovich
Tomkovich 1-0 J. Tang
Al. Tang 1-0 Mann
Mann 1-0 Al. Tang
Andy Altamirano 0-1 Antonio Altamirano
Antonio A. 1-0 Andy A.
 
Standings after week 7 of 12:
 
1. Sherry 10.0
2. Moldovan 6.5
= 3-5. Kernighan, Reinoso, Antonio Altamirano 6.0
6. Balakrishnan 5.5
7. Tomkovich 5.0
= 8-9. Palakollu, Mazzillo 4.5
= 10-11. Shumowitz, Senyatkin, 4.0
12. Vinson 3.0
13. Mann 2.5
= 14-19. Goeller, Carrelli, Sturniolo, McAuliffe, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 20-22. Mangion, Lewis, Al.Tang 1.5
23. J. Tang 1.0
= 24-28. Constantino, Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0
 
With few scoresheets being handed in, there's no reason to upload a replay page and zip every week. Games will instead be added to the running PGN for 2012.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

#1053 England-USA Underway

The England-USA correspondence match is underway and we are currently in free time. Days used before August 1st will not be counted.
 
I am playing on board 7 against 2357-rated Jo A. Wharrier, who has 42 other games in progress.

See the sidebar for game links.

Monday, July 23, 2012

#1052 New Venue, Quad Dates For Hamilton

Starting Wednesday, August 1st, the Hamilton Chess Club will meet in the McManimon Building at 320 Scully Avenue in Hamilton, NJ.

Quads will be run at the new location on October 13th, November 24th and December 29th.

Friday, July 20, 2012

#1051 Summer Tourney - Round 6

Bob Sherry regained sole possession of 1st place by scoring 1.5/2.

Braeden Reinoso ran his winning streak to 13 games (!!) and I was routed by Pat Mazzillo.

Mazzillo (1450) 1-0 Moldovan (1822)
C15 French Defense
Winawer Variation

Results:
 
Vinson 0-1 Kernighan
Palakollu 0-1 Balakrishnan
Carrelli 0-1 Balakrishnan
Tomkovich 0-1 Shumowitz
Mazzillo 1-0 Moldovan
Sherry 1-0 Mann
Sherry 1/2-1/2 Vinson
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Senyatkin
Senyatkin 0-1 Palakollu
Antonio A. 0-1 Sturniolo
Ruales 0-1 Renna
Andy Altamirano 0-1 Reinoso
 
Standings after week 6 of 12:
  
1. Sherry 8.0
2. Moldovan 6.5
= 3-4. Kernighan, Reinoso 6.0
5. Balakrishnan 5.5
= 6-7. Palakollu, Mazzillo 4.5
= 8-10. Shumowitz, Senyatkin, Antonio Altamirano 4.0
= 11-12. Tomkovich, Vinson 3.0
= 13-18. Goeller, Carrelli, Sturniolo, McAuliffe, Renna, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 19-20. Lewis, Mann 1.5
21. J. Tang 1.0
= 22-23. Mangion, Al.Tang 0.5
= 24-28. Constantino, Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0
 
Java-Replay for rounds 1-6
PGN for rounds 1-6

#1050 Mega Games Post

I have finally gotten around to uploading zip files and replay pages for events of the past 4 months.

Ellner Memorial

7 games, 5 with light notes.
Games From Chess Mates

11 games from the Weeknight & Saturday tournaments in Rahway. Most were gathered from Michael O'Connor's Facebook page.

May Mania

Chess Mates Championship

Contains notes to my 4 games plus 4 scores culled from Jim West On Chess.

Odds and Ends

7 games of mine plus 2 others.

Includes:
- tournament practice vs. Bob Sherry
- skittles against O'Connor & Jonathan Sherer
- a correspondence win on USCF Game Court
- Westfield Quads games against the Idnani twins

Monday, July 16, 2012

#1049 Hamilton Quads For July-September Canceled

The Hamilton Chess Club has canceled the Quads it had scheduled for July 21, August 18 and September 22.

Hamilton Township officials have told the club they can no longer meet at the Ray Dwier building.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

#1048 KST - Round 5 Games

Ted Mann (1400) 0-1 John Moldovan (1822)
C16 French Defense
Winawer Variation

White launches an attack with 12.g4?! but Black, despite a mistake at move 16, refutes it and wins easily.

 
Moldovan 1/2-1/2 Praveen Balakrishnan (2089)
A24 English Opening
Botvinnik System
 
White misses the winning 19.fxe5 and settles for a draw. Both sides played badly after move 10.
 
I hope to post annotated PGN files and Java-replays, for the Summer Tourney and other recent events, next week.
 
Thanks for your patience.

Friday, July 13, 2012

#1047 Summer Tournament - Round 5

I beat Ted Mann, took a draw against Praveen Balakrishnan and grabbed a share of 1st, alongside Bob Sherry.

Braeden Reinoso, who has swept quads in Westfield the past 2 Sundays, ran his winning streak to 9 games with a pair of victories and is now =3rd, tied with LM Mark Kernighan.

Jun Tang and Albert Tang joined just before registration closed. Prizes are now $77 for 1st, $35 for 2nd, $14 for 3rd and $14 for top U1200.

Here is a rundown on all 15 games from week 5:

Goeller 1/2-1/2 Kernighan
Tomkovich 0-1 Balakrishnan
Mazzillo 0-1 Shumowitz
Mann 0-1 Moldovan
Moldovan 1/2-1/2 Balakrishnan
Sherry 0-1 Palakollu
Reinoso 1-0 Vinson
Vinson 1/2-1/2 Sherry
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Palakollu *
Antonio A. 0-1 Tomkovich
Andy Altamirano 0-1 McAuliffe
A. Tang 1/2-1/2 Renna
Ruales 0-1 J. Tang
J. Tang 0-1 Reinoso
Ruales 0-1 Carrelli

* game was played with a 15-minute time control but is being counted

Standings after week 5 of 12:

= 1-2. Sherry, Moldovan 6.5
= 3-4. Kernighan, Reinoso 5.0
5. Antonio Altamirano 4.0
= 6-8. Balakrishnan, Palakollu, Mazzillo 3.5
= 9-11. Shumowitz, Tomkovich, Senyatkin 3.0
12. Vinson 2.5
= 13-16. Goeller, Carrelli, McAuliffe, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 17-18. Lewis, Mann 1.5
= 19-21. Sturniolo, Renna, J. Tang 1.0
= 22-23. Mangion, Al.Tang 0.5
= 24-28. Constantino, Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

My games will follow.

Friday, July 06, 2012

#1046 SWE-USA Update

Gerald Thomas won with Black on board 44, in a Steinitz French, to put the U.S. ahead of Sweden. The score is now 3.5-2.5.
 
D36 Queen's Gambit
Exchange Variation

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Bd3 O-O 9. Nf3 Re8 10. h3 Nf8 11. Bf4 Ng6 12. Bh2 Bd6 13. Bxd6 Qxd6 14. O-O-O Be6 15. Kb1 Rc8 16. Rc1 b5 17.Nd2 Bd7 (N) 18. Nb3 Nf8 19.g4

A26 English Opening

1. c4 g6 2. g3 Bg7 3. Bg2 d6 4. Nc3 e5 5. d3 Nc6 6. Nf3 f5 7. O-O Nf6 8. Rb1 O-O 9. Qc2 h6 10. b4 a6 11.Bd2 (N) Be6 12. a4 a5 13. bxa5 Nxa5 14.Nd1 Nc6 15. Qc1 Kh7

PGN of all 90 SWE-USA games.

In other news: ARG-USA has finished. We won 37-15. There is still 1 game left in CZE-USA and 6 in GER-USA. A match with England in in the works.