The Chess Coroner

#982 KCC Ch. - Round 5 Games & Wrap-Up

2012-02-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

My short but interesting 5th round draw versus Michael Goeller has been posted in java-replay and PGN.

I played a model opening in the 2 Knights French that left my opponent with "nothing" but didn't find the best continuation, completely lost the thread at move 21 and stood worse at the end.

Finally, to put a bow on the 21st KCCC... a few stats:

Players: 22 (most since 2009's 26)
Games played: 49
Decisive games: 41 (.837)
Games drawn: 8 (.163)White scored: +26-15=8 .612
Higher-rated players scored: +35-6=8 .796
Biggest rating gain: Pat Mazzillo +76!!

#981 KCC Ch. - Prize Winners

2012-02-10T07:55:00.000-05:00

2012 Kenilworth CC Championship Prize Winners

1st place: Arthur Macaspac 4.5

2nd place: Michael Goeller 3.5 (on 4th tie-break!)

3rd place: John Moldovan 3.5 (2nd tie-break)

U2050: Dr. Ian Mangion 3.5

U1800: Greg Tomkovich 3.0 (2nd tie-break)

U1600: Pat Mazzillo 2.5

U1400: Chris Constantino 2.0 (2nd tie-break)

Biggest Upset: Constantino over Komunicky in round 4 (-286).

Moldovan had the best score by an U1800 and will be listed as such on the KCC Ch. plaque.

Standings, in tie-break order.

Congratulations to the winners and a big thank you to those who are donating trophies.

#980 Macaspac Wins Kenilworth Ch.

2012-02-10T06:14:00.002-05:00

NM Arthur Macaspac defeated Max Sherer last night to win the 21st Kenilworth CC Championship by a full point.

Michael Goeller, Dr. Ian Mangion, LM Mark Kernighan and I tied for 2nd.

Final Standings

A list of trophy-winners, notes to my last-round draw with Mike and a wrap-up will follow.

If anyone has games to submit please email them to kenilworthchessclub@gmail.com.

Thanks to all for playing.

5th round pairings and results:

Macaspac 1-0 Sherer
Goeller 1/2-1/2 Moldovan
Kernighan 1-0 Hart
Mangion 1-0 Palakollu
Mazzillo 1/2-1/2 Sturniolo
Demetrick 1-0 Agress
Constantino 0-1 Tomkovich
Komunicky 1-0 McAuliffe
Mann 0-1 Renna
Mendonca 1-0 Ruales

Carrelli and Chen withdrew.

#979 KCC Ch. - More 4th Round Games

2012-02-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

4 games have been added to the 4th round java-replay and PGN.

Thanks to Geoff McAuliffe and Glen Hart for sending them.

#978 Kenilworth Ch. - Final Round Pairings

2012-02-07T18:03:00.000-05:00

2012 Kenilworth Championship
Final Round Pairings

Thursday, February 9th

8:20 p.m.

Board	White	Black
1	Macaspac, Arthur M (3.5)	Sherer, Maximillian (3.0)
2	Goeller, Michael (3.0)	Moldovan, John (3.0)
3	Kernighan, Mark D (2.5)	Hart, Glen B (2.5)
4	Mangion, Ian (2.5)	Palakollu, Samritha (2.0)
5	Mazzillo, Patrick (2.0)	Sturniolo, Louis (2.0)
6	Demetrick, Joseph (2.0)	Agress, Gordon (2.0)
7	Constantino, Chris (2.0)	Tomkovich, Greg (2.0)
8	Komunicky, Daniel (1.0)	Mc Auliffe, Geoff (1.5)
9	Mann, Theodore (1.0)	Renna, Joe (1.0)
10	Mendonca, S. (1.0)	Ruales, Luis (0.0)

Carrelli and Chen withdrew.

Good luck and good chess to all.

#977 Czechs Lead U.S. 22-21

2012-02-05T23:21:00.000-05:00

IM Michael Brooks won one his games against Tomáš Sedláček but the Czech held the other and cut his team's magic number to 3.5.

We now trail 22-21.

To download all 50 CZE-USA games, including the 7 that are still in progress, right-click here.

#976 Germany Defeats U.S.

2012-02-05T22:55:00.001-05:00

Germany has taken an insurmountable 51.5-28.5 lead in its correspondence match with the United States.

#975 KCC Ch. - 4th Round Games & Table

2012-02-05T12:30:00.000-05:00

My hard-fought win vs. Lou Sturniolo and Tomkovich-Mendonca have been uploaded in java-replay and PGN. Additional games are expected.

An expanded crosstable, with tie-break info, color needs and performance ratings has also been posted.

#974 Kenilworth Ch. - Prize Leaders

2012-02-05T12:10:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of prize leaders entering the Kenilworth Championship's final round:

1st: Macaspac 3.5

2nd: Goeller, Moldovan, Sherer 3.0

3rd: Goeller, Moldovan, Sherer 3.0

U2050: Goeller, Moldovan, Sherer 3.0

U1800: Hart 2.5

U1600: Agress, Constantino, Mazzillo 2.0

U1400: Constantino, Mazzillo 2.0

Biggest Upset: Constantino (-286) over Komunicky in round 4.

#973 Kenilworth Championship - Round 4

2012-02-03T12:09:00.000-05:00

Arthur Macaspac drew Michael Goeller to maintain his slim lead.

Max Sherer & I moved to within a half-point of first with victories.

Mark Kernighan, Greg Tomkovich, Chris Constantino, Gordon Agress and Joe Renna also won.

Glen Hart drew Ian Mangion.

4th round pairings and results:

Macaspac 1/2-1/2 Goeller
Hart 1/2-1/2 Mangion
Sherer 1-0 Demetrick
Sturniolo 0-1 Moldovan
Kernighan 1-0 Palakollu
Mazzillo vs. McAuliffe *
Tomkovich 1-0 Mendonca
Komunicky 0-1 Constantino
Agress 1-0 Mann
Ruales 0-1 Renna

Carrelli and Chen received 0 point byes.

* Ruled as un-played draw for pairing purposes. The players have the option of playing their game.

Current standings:

1. Macaspac 3.5

= 2-4. Goeller, Sherer, Moldovan 3.0
= 5-8. Kernighan, Mangion, Carrelli, Hart 2.5
= 9-15. Palakollu, Sturniolo, Demetrick, Tomkovich, Agress, Mazzillo, Constantino 2.0
= 16-17. Chen, McAuliffe 1.5
= 18-21. Komunicky, Mann, Renna, Mendonca 1.0

= 22. Ruales 0.0

Games and updated crosstable will eventually follow.

The 5th round pairings will likely be delayed 3-4 days.

#972 KCC Ch. - Pairing Changes

2012-02-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

Kevin is skipping round 4 due to illness.

Boards 1-5 are the same as before. So is Dan vs. Chris.

Pat, Geoff, Greg, Ted, Gordon, Schnaider, Joe R. and Luis have new opponents.

The re-pairing is:

Macaspac-Goeller
Hart-Mangion
Sherer-Demetrick
Sturniolo-Moldovan
Kernighan-Palakollu
Mazzillo-McAuliffe
Tomkovich-Mendonca
Komunicky-Constantino
Agress-Mann
Ruales-Renna

Carrelli & Chen 0 point byes

#971 KCC Ch. - 4th Round Pairings Update

2012-02-01T09:34:00.000-05:00

The pairings for tomorrow's 4th round of the Kenilworth Championship are set. They are, by board number:

Macaspac-Goeller
Hart-Mangion
Sherer-Demetrick
Sturniolo-Moldovan
Kernighan-Palakollu
Mazzillo-Chen
Agress-McAuliffe
Tomkovich-Mann
Komunicky-Constantino
Mendonca-Renna

Ruales 1 point bye
Carrelli 0 point bye

#970 KCC Ch. - Preliminary R4 Pairings

2012-01-28T10:38:00.000-05:00

2 sets of pairings for round 4 of the Kenilworth Championship have been prepared.

Version #1 - With all 22 players:

Macaspac-Goeller
Carrelli-Mangion
Sherer-Palakollu
Sturniolo-Moldovan
Hart-Demetrick
Kernighan-Chen
Mazzillo-McAuliffe
Tomkovich-Mendonca
Komunicky-Constantino
Agress-Mann
Ruales-Renna

Version #2 - If Don Carrelli can't play:

Macaspac-Goeller
Hart-Mangion
Sherer-Demetrick
Sturniolo-Moldovan
Kernighan-Palakollu
Mazzillo-Chen
Agress-McAuliffe
Tomkovich-Mann
Komunicky-Constantino
Mendonca-Renna

Ruales 1 point bye

Carrelli 0 point bye

#969 Kenilworth Ch. - 3rd Round Games

2012-01-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

5 games from round 3 of the Kenilworth Championship, have been uploaded in java-replay and PGN.

Thanks to Geoff McAuliffe for annotating his draw vs. Greg Tomkovich and his 2nd round loss to Joe Demetrick.

#968 Kenilworth Championship - Round 3

2012-01-27T16:42:00.000-05:00

NM Arthur Macaspac took a clear lead by beating Ian Mangion. Mike Goeller defeated Kevin Chen and is tied for 2nd, with Don Carrelli.

I missed an obvious win at move 12 but was able to grind-out a full point against Dan Komunicky..

Samritha Palakollu, Lou Sturniolo Joe Demetrick, Pat Mazzillo and Chris Constantino also had victories.

Max Sherer drew LM Mark Kernighan.

3rd round pairings and results:

Mangion 0-1 Macaspac
Goeller 1-0 Chen
Sherer 1/2-1/2 Kernighan
Moldovan 1-0 Komunicky
Palakollu 1-0 Agress
Mann 0-1 Sturniolo
Demetrick 1-0 Mendonca
McAuliffe 1/2-1/2 Tomkovich
Renna 0-1 Mazzillo
Constantino 1-0 Ruales

Carrelli and Hart received 1/2-point byes.

Current standings:

1. Macaspac 3.0

= 2-3. Goeller, Carrelli 2.5
= 4-10. Mangion, Sherer, Moldovan, Hart, Palakollu, Sturniolo, Demetrick 2.0
= 11-13. Kernighan, Chen, Mazzillo 1.5
= 14-20 McAuliffe, Tomkovich, Komunicky, Mann, Agress, Constantino, Mendonca 1.0

= 21-22. Renna, Ruales 0.0

Games, an updated crosstable and preliminary 4th round pairings will follow.

#967 PGN For 2012 Updated

2012-01-21T15:59:00.000-05:00

My running PGN Archive for 2012 has been updated.

#966 Kenilworth Ch. - 2nd Round Games

2012-01-21T15:55:00.000-05:00

Eight games from round 2 of the Kenilworth Championship have been posted in java-replay and PGN.

An updated crosstable has been uploaded, as well.

#965 More Pairing Changes

2012-01-21T15:12:00.000-05:00

Here are the revised pairings for Round 3 of the Kenilworth Championship on January 26th:

Board	White	Black
1.	Mangion, Ian (2.0)	Macaspac, Arthur M (2.0)
2.	Goeller, Michael (1.5)	Chen, Kevin E (1.5)
3.	Sherer, Maximillian (1.5)	Kernighan, Mark D (1.0)
4.	Moldovan, John (1.0)	Komunicky, Daniel (1.0)
5.	Palakollu, Samritha (1.0)	Agress, Gordon (1.0)
6.	Mann, Theodore (1.0)	Sturniolo, Louis (1.0)
7.	Demetrick, Joseph (1.0)	Mendonca, Schnaider (1.0)
8.	McAuliffe, Geoff (0.5)	Tomkovich, Gregory (0.5)
9.	Renna, Joe (0.0)	Mazzillo, Patrick (0.5)
10.	Constantino, Chris (0.0)	Ruales, Luis (0.0)
	Hart, Glen B (1.5)	Bye Requested
	Carrelli, Donald A (2.0)	Bye Requested

Hopefully there will be no further changes.

#964 Kernighan Wins West Orange G.P.

2012-01-21T02:44:00.000-05:00

LM Mark Kernighan won the West Orange Late Fall Swiss/Grand Prix, which concluded Tuesday night. Roger Pedersen finished 2nd.

Due to repairs at the site, the event ran longer than expected. It also had a number of forfeits and extra games that should have been placed in another section, to make the crosstable less confusing.

#963 Dehmelt, Stoyko Tie In DOCA Championship

2012-01-21T02:01:00.000-05:00

NM Karl Dehmelt and FM Steve Stoyko tied for 1st in the DOCA Championship, which wrapped-up Tuesday night, in Branchburg. Both players scored 5.5/7.

In the final round, Stoyko beat IM Dean Ippolito but Dehmelt drew to take the title on tiebreaks.

#962 Kenilworth Ch. - Pairing Changes

2012-01-20T22:42:00.001-05:00

Glen Hart has requested a bye for next week.

Pairings on boards 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 remain as posted.
Boards 4, 5, 8 are to be determined.
Board 9: McAuliffe vs. Mazzillo
Board 10: Renna vs. Constantino

Luis Ruales will get a full-point bye.

#961 Kenilworth Ch. - 3rd Round Pairings

2012-01-20T13:00:00.000-05:00

2012 Kenilworth Championship
Round 3

Thursday, January 26th
8:20 p.m.

Board	White	Black
1.	Mangion, Ian (2.0)	Macaspac, Arthur M (2.0)
2.	Carrelli, Donald A (2.0)	Goeller, Michael (1.5)
3.	Sherer, Maximillian (1.5)	Chen, Kevin E. (1.5)
4.	Kernighan, Mark D (1.0)	Hart, Glen B (1.5)
5.	Moldovan, John (1.0)	Komunicky, Daniel (1.0)
6.	Palakollu, Samritha (1.0)	Agress, Gordon (1.0)
7.	Mann, Theodore (1.0)	Sturniolo, Louis (1.0)
8.	Demetrick, Joseph (1.0)	Mendonca, Schnaider (1.0)
9.	Mc Auliffe, Geoff (0.5)	Tomkovich, Gregory (0.5)
10.	Renna, Joe (0.0)	Mazzillo, Patrick (0.5)
11.	Constantino, Chris (0.0)	Ruales, Luis (0.0)

The pairings are subject to change. If you need to take a bye, please contact the TD or Assistant TD ASAP.

If you wait until Thursday afternoon, we may not receive/notice your request in time or we may reject it.

#960 Kenilworth Championship - Round 2

2012-01-20T12:42:00.001-05:00

Ian Mangion beat top-rated Mark Kernighan. Glen Hart nicked #3 seed Mike Goeller for a draw and Pat Mazzillo did likewise to Greg Tomkovich.

I lost a long game to Arthur Macaspac and (including 11 blitz games) am now 0-14 against the Chess Mates owner.

Other winners included Kevin Chen, Don Carrelli, Joe Demetrick, Dan Komunicky, Ted Mann and Gordon Agress.

White scored 7/10 (+6-2=2) on the night.

2nd round pairings and results:

Mangion 1-0 Kernighan
Macaspac 1-0 Moldovan
Hart 1/2-1/2 Goeller
Sturniolo 0-1 Carrelli
Chen 1-0 Palakollu
Demetrick 1-0 McAuliffe
Mazzillo 1/2-1/2 Tomkovich
Komunicky 1-0 Renna
Ruales 0-1 Mann
Agress 1-0 Constantino

Mendonca received a full-point bye.

Current standings:

= 1-3. Macaspac, Mangion, Carrelli 2.0

= 4-7. Goeller, K. Chen, Sherer, Hart 1.5
= 8-16. Kernighan, Moldovan, Palakollu, Sturniolo, Demetrick, Komunicky, Mann, Agress, Mendonca 1.0
= 17-19. McAuliffe, Tomkovich, Mazzillo 0.5

= 20-22. Renna, Constantino, Ruales 0.0

Games and an updated crosstable will follow.

#959 Corr Update: I Win! USA Trails by 2

2012-01-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

This morning my opponent played 52...Ke8 and resigned after 53.g6.

John Moldovan 1-0 Radek Svítil

D38 Queen's Gambit

Ragozin Defense

Notes to this game and our previous draw will follow.

We (the U.S.) now trail the Czech Republic, 21.5-19.5. You can download all the games here.

My next correspondence event will probably be a Master Class or Master Norm tournament. Although my rating is too low for automatic qualification into the latter it may be high-enough (43 points shy of 2350) for acceptance.

I'd also like to enter the U.S. Championship Preliminaries again but can only guess when they would be. (In the fall?)

#958 KCC Ch. - 1 More From Round 1

2012-01-17T22:08:00.000-05:00

Tomkovich-Macaspac has been added to the Kenilworth Championship's opening round Java-replay and PGN. Thanks to Greg for sending the game and annotating it.

#957 Kenilworth Ch. - 2nd Round Pairings

2012-01-17T20:11:00.001-05:00

Kenilworth Championship

Round 2

Thursday, January 19th at 8:20 p.m.

	White	Black
1.	Sherer, Maximillian (1.0)	Kernighan, Mark D (1.0)
2.	Macaspac, Arthur M (1.0)	Moldovan, John (1.0)
3.	Hart, Glen B (1.0)	Goeller, Michael (1.0)
4.	Mangion, Ian (1.0)	Palakollu, Samritha (1.0)
5.	Sturniolo, Louis (1.0)	Carrelli, Donald A (1.0)
6.	Chen, Kevin E (0.5)	McAuliffe, Geoff (0.5)
7.	Demetrick, Joseph (0.0)	Renna, Joe (0.0)
8.	Mazzillo, Patrick (0.0)	Tomkovich, Gregory (0.0)
9.	Komunicky, Daniel (0.0)	Constantino, Chris (0.0)
10.	Ruales, Luis (0.0)	Mann, Theodore (0.0)
11.	Agress, Gordon (0.0)	Mendonca, Schnaider (0.0)

The pairings are subject to change.

Good luck and good chess to all. :-)

#956 Stoyko-Panchanathan Notes

2012-01-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

Notes to last Tuesday's Stoyko-Panchanathan have been added to the recent games replay page and PGN.

#955 Kenilworth Championship - Round 1

2012-01-15T03:16:00.000-05:00

The 21st Kenilworth CC Championship began Thursday night with 2008 Champion LM Mark Kernighan and 2010 Champion NM Arthur Macaspac heading a 22-player field that also features experts Michael Goeller and Kevin Chen.

Last year's titleist, NM Ken Chieu could not play because he has moved out of state. 3-time winner FM Steve Stoyko, who is battling for 1st place in the DOCA Championship, is also sitting-out.

1st round pairings and results:

Kernighan 1-0 Joe Demetrick
Greg Tomkovich 0-1 Macaspac
Goeller 1-0 Dan Komunicky
Ted Mann 0-1 Ian Mangion
Don Carrelli 1-0 Gordon Agress
Joe Renna 0-1 Max Sherer
John Moldovan 1-0 Pat Mazzillo
Chris Constantino 0-1 Glen Hart
Samritha Palakollu 1-0 Luis Ruales
Schnaider Mendonca 0-1 Lou Sturniolo

Kevin Chen and Geoff McAuliffe received a 1/2-point byes.

Just 2 of the 10 games were submitted for posting: My win over Pat Mazzillo and Goeller-Komunicky (annotated at the The Kenilworthian).

However, with Greg Tomkovich finding a sizeable stash of old yet fully useable copy scoresheets in our equipment cabinet, there should be more next week!

Java-replay

PGN

Current standings:

= 1-10. Kernighan (2233), Macaspac (2137), Goeller (2043), Mangion (1986), Carrelli (1870), Sherer (1824), Moldovan (1797), Hart (1721), Palakollu (1666), Sturniolo (1665) 1.0

= 11-12. K. Chen (2003), McAuliffe (1644) 0.5

= 13-22. Demetrick (1661), Tomkovich (1611), Komunicky (1520), Mann 1476, Agress (1429), Renna (1425), Mazzillo (1353), Constantino (1234), Ruales (608), Mendonca (unrated) 0.0

Crosstable

Late-joins will be accepted in multiples of 2. Please see post #940 for details and contact TD Geoff McAuliffe or email the club before next Thursday, if you'd like to enter.

#954 Recent Games

2012-01-15T02:00:00.000-05:00

I have uploaded the following in java-replay and PGN:

Steve Stoyko's January 10th, DOCA Championship win over GM Magesh Panchanathan
My January 5th Garden State League draw against Ian Mangion (w/notes)
Anthony Norris's games from Chess Mates' New Year's Day Quad (gathered from Anthony's excellent YouTube videos)
Frank Bloise's Sept. 2010 upset win over NM Arthur Macaspac, which was recently recovered

Steve comments, as best I can remember them, will be added on Monday or Tuesday.

#953 Slav Exchange With 5...Bf5 6.Qb3 b6

2012-01-15T01:58:00.000-05:00

As a supplement to my New Year's Eve win over Ted Mann, I have uploaded a java-replay page and zipped PGN file with 4 more Slav Exchange games that featured 5...Bf5?! 6.Qb3 b6?? 7.e4!! +-.

#952 More Corr Moves

2012-01-13T15:20:00.001-05:00

This morning, my Czech opponent, Radek Svítil, played 51...Kf7 but, instead of taking his Knight with check, I made a 3rd connector with 52.hxg5, and proposed "If 52...Ke8 then 53.g6."

Moldovan-Svítil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7! Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4 Nd3 40.f3 Nc1+ 41.Kd2 Rc6 42.Rxe4 Nxa2 43.Be5 Nc1 44.Rb4 a5 45.Rb5 a4 46.e4 Nb3+ 47.Ke3 Nc5 48.f4 Nd7 49.Bd4 f6 50.Rb7 fxg5 51.f5+ Kf7 52.hxg5

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#951 Kenilworth Ch. Starts Tonight

2012-01-12T16:46:00.002-05:00

The 21st Kenilworth Chess Club Championship will begin on tonight and run through February 9th, 2012. For details see post #940.

#950 Further Corr Update

2012-01-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

After 11 days of deliberation, my opponent played 50...fxg5. I replied 51.f5+.

Moldovan-Svítil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#949 CZE-USA Update

2012-01-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

Since my last update, the Czech Republic has upped ~~their~~ its lead over the U.S. to 3 points, 21.5-18.5, and reduced ~~their~~ its magic number to 4.

We (Team USA) stand to lose on board 7 but are equal or better in all the other games, where +4-0=5 would tie the match. Ethan Civan is winning with White and I am beating Svítil, who hasn't moved since 12/30. IM Michael Brooks has 2 advantages (see here and here) and Wilbur Tseng has 2 edges.

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#948 IM Turzo To Play 1000 Board Correspondence Simul

2012-01-10T00:22:00.002-05:00

IM Attila Turzo is going to play a 1000 board correspondence simul at chess.com.

The event's website says there are 167 spots left but the last update was January 3rd.

If you want to give signing-up a shot, anyway... hurry! The deadline is 5 a.m. today New York time (EST).

Update 6:45 a.m. - As expected, I was too late.

#947 New Year's Eve Quad

2012-01-01T19:09:00.001-05:00

Ari Minkov, Bob Sherry and I tied for 1st in a non-rated, 30+15 New Year's Eve Quad.

New Year's Eve Quad

Mountainside, NJ

12/31/2011

	Player	USCF	1	2	3	4	Points
1	Ari Minkov	1955		½	½	1	2.0
2	Bob Sherry	1812	½		½	1	2.0
3	John Moldovan	1797	½	½		1	2.0
4	Ted Mann	1476	0	0	0		0.0

5 of the 6 games, with notes, in java-replay and PGN.

#946 Preliminary KCC Calendar For 2012

2011-12-31T12:41:00.000-05:00

I have posted a preliminary Kenilworth Chess Club Calendar for 2012 and linked to it on my sidebar.

New KCC President Ian Mangion will add events and modify it over the coming weeks.

#945 PGN Archive For 2011

2011-12-31T12:28:00.000-05:00

I have uploaded my 215-game PGN Archive for 2011 and a 1318-game ChessBase archive covering June 1, 2006-December 30, 2011.

Links to games from the STC Bunch's Winter Blues 2011 and May Mania 2011 games have been added to my sidebar, as well.

A running PGN file for 2012 will be attempted.

#944 Loose Ends

2011-12-31T01:31:00.001-05:00

Over the past four months, I neglected to post 12 games from several events and link to 8 Garden State League games from rounds 1-3.

Belatedly, here they are:

Rahway Quad 8/20/2011

Replay PGN Post

Thanks to Kevin Chen for annotating his 2 wins and accepting my GM draw-offer :-)

Ruy Lopez Thematic 9/15/2011

Replay PGN

Thanks to Greg Tomkovich for annotating his loss and not finding a winning Q sac against me :-o

Rahway Quad 11/12/2011

Replay PGN Post Crosstable

I tied for 1st but missed a win in the last round that would have put me back over 1800 :-(

Garden State Chess League

Round 1: replay PGN

In a 100-mover, my inspired doubled pawn sac in a drawish-looking opposite Bishops ending gave Summit a tie with Newark-McDonalds!

Round 2: replay PGN

In Summit's win over Staten Island, I got away with a bad opening and defeated Ed Selling.

Round 3: replay PGN

I opened with 1.f4 and got an edge against the Karpovs' Max Sherer but then quickly fell apart.

#943 CZE-USA Update

2011-12-30T11:55:00.001-05:00

The Czechs still lead the U.S. 20-18. My remaining game is approaching the finish line:

Moldovan-Svítil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

#942 Black Wins Kenilworth Consultation

2011-12-30T02:36:00.003-05:00

Black won Kenilworth Consultation Game #7, which began December 1st and finished last night.

Adjourned Position

18. Bxb5 (sealed move) Qxb5 19.Nd4 Qe8 20.Nf5 g6 21.Nxe7+ Qxe7 22.e5? dxe5 23.f5? Nd5 24.Bh6 Qh4 25.fxg6 hxg6? 26.Qd3 Rd8 27.Qf3? Qxh6 28.Qxf7+ Kh8 29.Rc6? Rf8 30.Rxg6 Qe3+ 31.Kh1 Rxf7 32. White resigns 0-1

Updated, fully annotated Java-Replay and PGN.

#941 KCC Consultation Resumes Tonight

2011-12-29T13:56:00.000-05:00

The 2011 Kenilworth Consultation Game will be resumed tonight, when White's sealed move will be revealed at 8:15 or 8:30 p.m.

#940 Kenilworth Ch. Starts January 12th

2011-12-26T10:32:00.000-05:00

The 21st Kenilworth Chess Club Championship will begin on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 and run through February 9th, 2012. Here are the details :

21st KCC Championship

USCF-rated
5-round Swiss
January 12th-February 9th, 2012
Time Control: G/85+5 second delay. Analog clocks must be set to G/85, per new USCF rules.
Rounds to start at 8:20 p.m. every Thursday, for the duration of the event.
Prizes : TBA
EF: $10 entry fee + $5 anti-forfeit deposit + dues (= $30 for most players)
KCC & USCF memberships are required (KCC dues for 2012 are $7.50 for those age 17 or less, $10 for those age 65+, $15 for everyone else)
Please register with TD Geoff McAuliffe by 8:20 p.m. on 1/12/2012

19 players took part in the 20th Championship, which was won by NM Ken Chieu.

#939 Championships Mis-numbered

2011-12-26T10:26:00.003-05:00

The Kenilworth Championships for the years 2005-2011 were erroneously numbered as championships 15-21, instead of the correct 14-20.

The 2012 event will be the 21st Club Championship.

Sorry it took us 6.5 years to discover the error.

#938 Happy Holidays

2011-12-25T06:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays to all my chess friends, acquaintances and readers.

#937 Corr Update

2011-12-24T08:46:00.001-05:00

A win by Jiří Ryška on board 21 has given the Czech Republic a 20-18 lead over the United States and reduced ~~their~~ its magic number to 5.5.

My remaining game:

Moldovan-Svítil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

#936 Business Minutes Addendum

2011-12-23T08:17:00.001-05:00

A check of post #744 reveals that Greg Tomkovich's present term as KCC Trustee is not expiring. Therefore, his new term will run 2013-2015 and there will be no trustee election in 2012.

Lou Sturniolo will begin his 3-year term (2012-14, deferred from last year) in January. Pat Mazzillo's term will run through Dec. 2013.

#935 Business Meeting Minutes

2011-12-23T08:16:00.000-05:00

Minutes of the Kenilworth Chess Club's 2011 Business Meeting:

- The business meeting was delayed for 30 minutes, until at least half of the membership (required by rule) was present. The meeting commenced at 8:45 p.m.

- Members in attendance included Joe Renna, Geoff McAuliffe, Greg Tomkovich, Pat Mazzillo, Lou Sturniolo, Mark Kernighan, Jack McCorkell, Ted Mann, Joe Azzarello, Bert Shiffman, Kevin Chen, Ziggy Bliznikas, Bob Sherry and John Moldovan.

- The following officers were elected by acclamation:

President: Ian Mangion
Vice President: Joe Renna
Treasurer and Tournament Director: Geoff McAuliffe
Secretary: John Moldovan

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

- USATE sponsorship in the amount of one full entry fee ($145?) was approved. Funds will be divided between teams that contain 4 KCC members and use KCC (or Kenilworth) in the team name.

- The 2012 Club Championship will be USCF-rated but will otherwise use the same 5-SS format as 2010. Prizes (trophies and/or cash) will be determined by a vote of those playing, prior to the event.

The swiss format and alternating years of unrated, rated will be reviewed at next year's Business Meeting.

- Preliminary plans for the KCC's 40th Anniversary were announced! There will be a tournament (in the spring), a party in late May, and, hopefully, a picnic (probably mid or late September).

- Treasurer Geoff McAuliffe announced the club had a $49 profit in 2011.

- A donation to the Kenilworth Recreation Department was approved.

- A written change to the Club Constitution, with Trustees replacing Members At Large in the organization structure, will be drafted by Greg Tomkovich and put to a members' vote at the January 12th meeting.

#934 Hertan Wins Westfield Holiday Blitz

2011-12-18T23:34:00.001-05:00

FM Charles Hertan won today's unrated blitz tournament at the Westfield Chess Club.

Expert Mauricio Camejo finished 2nd. Alexander Ilnytsky was first among U2000s and Anatoly Shpirt took U1700 honors.

Anthony Norris (2nd U2000) and Ishan Mazumdar (2nd U1700) also collected prizes.

Westfield Holiday Blitz

December 18, 2011

Rank	Player	USCF	Points
1	FM Charles Hertan	2453	13.0
2	Mauricio Camejo	2034	12.0
3	Alexander Ilnytsky	1999	11.5
4	Anatoly Shpirt	unrated	11.0
5	Anthony Norris	1952	10.0
6	Fermin Arias	1849	8.5
7	Leonid Fleysher	2007	7.0
8	Ishan Mazumdar	1657	7.0
9	Ari Minkov	1929	7.0
10	Leon Deng	1537	5.5
11	Samuil Chatsky	1762	4.0
12	Merric Hu	160	3.0
13	Ted Mann	1499	3.0
14	Kurt Kriesel	1422	2.0
15	Edward Hu	759	0.5
--	Ernesto Labate	1700	wd

Since Labate withdrew before playing half of his scheduled games, his results were excluded from the standings.
(USCF rule 30B)

Crosstable

#933 CZE-USA Update

2011-12-17T23:37:00.000-05:00

With 2 more draws since Dec. 2nd, the Czech Republic, which now leads the United States 19-18, has reduced its magic number to 6.5.

My remaining game:

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

#932 Business Meeting Re-scheduled

2011-12-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

The KCC's Business Meeting scheduled for Dec. 29th will now be held on Dec. 22, along with our Holiday Party.

#931 Consultation Resumption Postponed

2011-12-08T22:14:00.000-05:00

Part 2 of the Kenilworth Consultation has been postponed until December 29th because the analysis room was unavailable this evening.

#930 Westfield Quads

2011-12-04T21:59:00.002-05:00

42 players participated in the Westfield Chess Club's G/45 Quads today.

Here is a list of winners, by quad number, with their current ratings:

SM Yaacov Norowitz (2552) and FM Arthur Shen (2325)
Alice Dong (1950), Rishi Rajendran (1900) and Andy Chen (1848)
Alan Gu (1762)
Justin Samuels (1765)
Leon Deng (1598)
Jason Huan Yan (1547)
David Zhurbinsky (1428)
Stephen Cheng (1196)
Vrithik Umapathy (1207)
Edward Hu (903), Matthew Pell (856) and Anrey Romanov (unrated)

The event could not be rated tonight because a membership exclusion request is pending. Please check the WCC's tournament history page tomorrow.

Update 12/5 @ 1:57 p.m. - The event has been rated. Thanks to Todd Lunna and the USCF's Susan Houston for their help.

#929 Consultation Game Adjourned

2011-12-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

The 2011 Kenilworth Consultation Game was adjourned last night following White's sealed move on turn 18.

Here are the moves played thus far:

B42 Sicilian Defense

Kan Variation

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nb3 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. c4 d6 9. Nc3 O-O 10. Be3 b6 11. f4 Qc7 12. Rc1 Bb7 (N)

13. Nd5! exd5 14. cxd5 Qd7 15. dxc6 Bxc6 16. Qc2 Rfc8 17. Qb1 Bb5

Play will resume next Thursday (12/8) at 8:30 p.m.

LM Mark Kernighan (2233) and Ian Mangion (1986) are among those taking part. I am acting as Black's moderator. For full rosters and notes, go to the event's Java-Replay page or download its PGN.

#928 Another Corr Update

2011-12-02T13:38:00.001-05:00

Here is yet another update on my remaining game against the Czech Republic's Radek Svitil:

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 (N) 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7! Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4 Nd3 40.f3 Nc1+ 41.Kd2 Rc6 42.Rxe4 Nxa2 43.Be5 Nc1 44.Rb4 a5 45.Rb5 a4 46.e4

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#927 Italy Defeats USA

2011-11-29T21:35:00.001-05:00

Italy has upped its lead over the United States to 41.5-27.5 and clinched victory in their ICCF correspondence match.

In bouts yet to be decided, the U.S. trails the Czech Republic 18-17 and Germany 40-18.

#926 Westfield Quads

2011-11-27T23:33:00.004-05:00

The report for today's Westfield Quads has been validated by the USCF but, due to unforeseen circumstances, it could not be submitted for rating this evening.

Update 11/28 @ 7:00 p.m. - The event has been rated. Thanks to Pat Mazzillo for his help.

#925 CZE-USA Update

2011-11-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

By drawing both games on board 1, the Czech Republic, which now leads the United States 18-17, has reduced its magic number to 7.5.

My remaining game:

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

#924 Massey Lecture Tonight

2011-11-17T10:59:00.000-05:00

Tonight at the Kenilworth Chess Club, LM Scott Massey will be lecturing on Alexander Alekhine, who was World Champion 1927-35 and 1937-46.

The event begins at 8:15 p.m. Admission is $5.

#923 Norowitz Wins Westfield Grand Prix

2011-11-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

SM Yaacov Norowitz won today's Westfield Grand Prix with a perfect 4-0 score. FM Arthur Shen, NM Greg Nolan and Anthony Norris (top U2150) tied for 2nd. Sam Chatsky earned the U1850 prize.

#922 Westfield Grand Prix Tomorrow

2011-11-12T21:02:00.000-05:00

The Westfield Chess Club is running a 4-round, G/30 Grand Prix tomorrow afternoon. Registration begins 1:30 p.m.

Here is their Tournament Life Announcement:

Nov. 13 Westfield Swiss #70 GPP: 10 Enhanced New Jersey 4 SS, Game/30. Westfield Y, 220 Clark St., Westfield, NJ 07090. $500 Guaranteed, $150, $125, $75, under 2150, under 1850 $75 each. EF: $35, $25 members. Reg.: 1:30-2:15 p.m. Rds.: 2:30-3:45-5:00-6:30 p.m.

#921 Kernighan, Balakrishnan Win Fish Memorial

2011-11-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

NM Mark Kernighan and Praveen Balakrishnan tied for 1st at the 4th Sy Fish Memorial, which wrapped-up in Kenilworth last night.

Ian Mangion was clear 3rd. Kevin Chen was the U2050 winner. Lou Sturniolo and Samritha Palakollu received U1750 honors while Aleksey Senyatkin and Chris Constantino tied among U1525s.

The KCC's next rated event is scheduled for early January.

#920 ICCF Rating Forecast

2011-11-11T13:28:00.001-05:00

With the draw against Svitil, my ICCF rating is forecast to be 2307 (!!):

Unpublished rating before, resistance = 24500, score = 7.5

New results = 1, new sum of resistance = 26300, new sum of score = 8

Games = 12, p = 8/12 = 0.667, D(p) = 122.333333333333, F(p) = 0.944

Opponents average Rc = 26300/12 = 2191.667

New Rating Rn = Rc + D(p) * F(p) = 2307 from 12 games

#919 Corr Update

2011-11-11T13:08:00.001-05:00

This morning I drew one of my games against Radek Svitil of the Czech Republic, which now leads the USA 17-16:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.0-0 d6 11.Nd2 Qe7 12.Qc2 (N) c5 13.a4! Nc6 14.Nb3! e5 15.d5 Na5 16.Nxa5 bxa5 17.Rfb1 Ba6 18.Rb2 Rab8 19.Rab1 Rxb2 20.Rxb2 e4 21.Bxe4 Bxc4 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Bxe4 Re8 25.Bf3 Ba6 26.h4 g5 27.Kh2 Kg7 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Kh2 Kf6 30.Kg3 Re7 31.Rb8 Rb7 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.c4 Ke5 34.Bd1 Ba6 35.Bb3 f6 36.f3 Bc8 37.Bc2 Ba6 38.Bd3 Bc8 39.Kf2 Bd7 40.Bc2 Be8 41.Kg3 Bd7 42.Kf2 1/2-1/2

My opponent could have tried 42.f4!? gxf4+ 43.exf4+ Kd4 44.g5 fxg5 45.fxg5 Kxc4 46.g6 Kxd5 47.g7 Be6 48.Bh7 and, after 48...Kc4, held via 49.Kf4! Kb4 50.Kg5 c4! 51.Kf6 Bd5 52.Ke7 Kxa4 53.Kxd6 Bf7 54.Be4 c3 55.Bd5 Bxd5 56.Kxd5 c2 57.g8Q, etc.

Full notes will follow.

The remaining game is looking good, however:

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4 Nd3 40.f3 Nc1+ 41.Kd2 Rc6 42.Rxe4

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#918 CZE-USA Update

2011-11-04T17:47:00.002-04:00

Dr. K.E.D.G. Edwards' 2nd win on board 23 has brought the U.S. to within 1 point of the Czech Republic, which now leads 16-15.

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4 Nd3 40.f3 Nc1+ 41.Kd2

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

Post revised 11/5 @ 9:33 a.m.

#917 Sy Fish Pairings For November 10th

2011-11-04T17:40:00.000-04:00

Here are the pairings for the 5th/final round of the Sy Fish Memorial, on Thursday, November 10th:

1. Kernighan-Sturniolo
2. Chen-Balakrishnan
3. Senyatkin-Mangion
4. Palakollu-Renna
5. Tomkovich-Komunicky
6. Mann-Constantino

Pat Mazzillo withdrew.

I am taking a half-point bye and do not expect to be at the Kenilworth club next week.

#916 W. Orange Grand Prix Starts Nov. 8

2011-11-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

The West Orange Chess Club is running a 6-round Grand Prix tournament, from November 8th to December 20th.

Here is their Tournament Life Announcement:

Nov. 8, 15, 22, 29, Dec. 13, 20 West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss GPP: 6 New Jersey 6 rds., G/100, Reg. 7-7:30 P.M., rds. start at 8:00. EF: $30.00, members $25. Prizes: 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $75 guaranteed; Best under 1900, $60, 1700, $50, 1500, $35 guaranteed. Details: http://westorangechessclub.blogspot.com/ and buickchess@gmail.com. Byes: Two 1/2 pt. byes available in any rd; must know by the end of rd. 4. Address: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052. Chess Magnet School JGP.

#915 Tonight's GSCL Matches Postponed

2011-11-01T11:56:00.001-04:00

The West Orange Chess Club will be closed tonight, due to the effects of Saturday's snowstorm.

Therefore, the Karpovs-West Orange and Hamilton-Essex County College matches have been postponed.

Team captains should contact each other and Garden State League President John Hagerty about re-scheduling.

Matches at Kenilworth, Rahway and Branchburg are still scheduled for Thursday.

#914 Fish Memorial - Round 4

2011-10-31T15:16:00.002-04:00

Round 4 of the Fish Memorial brought 3 more upsets, including my 1st rated-loss to an ~~U1700~~ U1685 since November 10, 1990.

As in my recent defeats to Jo. Cohen and A. Chen, I was winning out of the opening.

Results:

Balakrishnan 0-1 Kernighan
Palakollu 0-1 K. Chen
Moldovan 0-1 Sturniolo
Mangion 1-0 Constantino
Senyatkin 1-0 Tomkovich
Renna 1-0 Mann
Mazzillo -+ Komunicky

Standings:

=1. Kernighan, Balakrishnan, K. Chen, Sturniolo 3.0

=5. Mangion, Senyatkin 2.5

=7. Moldovan, Palakollu, Renna 2.0

=10. Tomkovich, Constantino 1.5

=12. Komunicky, Mann 1.0

=14. Mazzillo, Ferrero 0.5 (wd)

Replay

PGN

#913 Correspondence Update

2011-10-31T14:20:00.000-04:00

Match Scores:

Czech Republic 15 United States 13

Germany 33.5 United States 14.5

Italy 39 United States 26 (magic # for ITA is 2.5)

United States 29.5 Argentina 11.5 (USA has clinched)
Ukraine 65.5 United States 36.5 (UKR has clinched)

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#912 Lunna Wins Westfield Championship

2011-10-24T06:42:00.000-04:00

Todd Lunna won the Westfield Chess Club Championship last night with a score of 3.5/4.

Richard Blank, Mauricio Camejo and Andy Chen finished a half-point behind.

After a win in round 3:

Robert Vinson 1203 - John Moldovan 1809

A80 Dutch Defense

... I had a chance to share 2nd place but lost the finale and ended-up tying for 6th:

John Moldovan 1809 - Andy Chen 1792

E67 King's Indian Defense

Fianchetto Variation

Highlight: Winning an Exchange in the opening.

Lowlights: Missing wins at moves 15, 19, 27, 28.

PGN of both games, with light notes.

#911 Fish Memorial - Round 4 Pairings

2011-10-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

This week's (4th round) Sy Fish Memorial pairings are:

Balakrishnan-Kernighan

Palakollu-Chen

Moldovan-Sturniolo

Mangion-Constantino

Senyatkin-Tomkovich

Renna-Mann

Mazzillo-Komunicky

#910 Fish Memorial - Round 3

2011-10-22T23:57:00.000-04:00

The upsets continued at the Sy Fish Memorial this week with Aleksey Senyatkin and Chris Constantino winning against Dan Komunicky and Pat Mazzillo while I drew top seed Mark Kernighan.

Praveen Balakrishnan defeated Lou Sturniolo to take a full point lead going into the penultimate round.

4th Sy Fish Memorial
Kenilworth, NJ
September 29th- November 10th, 2011

Standings after 3 rounds of 5

No.	Player	USCF	R1	R2	R3	Points
1	P. Balakrishnan	1997	W14	W5	W6	3.0
2	M. Kernighan	2261	W15	D3	D4	2.0
3	K. Chen	1959	W12	D2	D7	2.0
4	J. Moldovan	1801	-H-	W9	D2	2.0
5	S. Palakollu	1647	W10	L1	W11	2.0
6	L. Sturniolo	1534	W7	W13	L1	2.0
7	I. Mangion	2013	L6	W8	D3	1.5
8	G. Tomkovich	1659	D9	L7	-X-	1.5
9	C. Constantino	938	D8	L4	W14	1.5
10	A. Senyatkin	unr.	L5	D11	W15	1.5
11	T. Mann	1511	-H-	D10	L5	1.0
12	J. Renna	1263	L3	W15	-F-	1.0
13	S. Ferrero	1960	-H-	L6	-U-	0.5
14	P. Mazzillo	1327	L1	-H-	L9	0.5
15	D. Komunicky	1534	L2	L12	L10	0.0

Java-replay & PGN for round 3.

#909 Corr Update

2011-10-22T23:26:00.001-04:00

CZE 13.5 USA 11.5

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#908 Zhao Xue Dominates At Nalchik

2011-10-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

Zhao Xue has clinched first place with 2 rounds to spare at the Women's Grand Prix tournament in Nalchik, Russia.

Her 8.5/9 score leads the field by a remarkable 3.5 points!!

official website

#907 Fish Memorial Games

2011-10-18T21:24:00.000-04:00

Nine games from the Sy Fish Memorial's opening and 2nd rounds have been uploaded in Java-replay and PGN.

Mangion-Sturniolo

After 24.Qe4

Black to win

Kernighan-Chen

After 21...Qf4

White to win

#906 Fish Memorial Pairings

2011-10-17T21:53:00.001-04:00

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

1. Sturniolo - Balakrishnan
2. Kernighan - Moldovan
3. Chen - Mangion
4. Mann - Palakollu
5. Tomkovich - Renna
6. Constantino - Mazzillo
7. Komunicky - Senyatkin

Steve Ferrero withdrew.

#905 Lunna, Blank Lead Westfield Ch.

2011-10-17T02:31:00.000-04:00

LM Todd Lunna & Expert Richard Blank lead the Westfield Chess Club Championship at its halfway point, with 2-0 scores.

Experts Jonathan Cohen, Mauricio Camejo and Alexander Ilnytsky are a half-point back.

Westfield Chess Club Championship

Westfield, NJ

October 16 & 23, 2011

G/90

No.	Name	USCF*	Points	R1	R2
1	Lunna, Todd W	2208	2.0	W13	W6
2	Blank, Richard All	2099	2.0	W14	W8
3	Cohen, Jonathan D	2105	1.5	W7	D5
4	Camejo, Mauricio	2019	1.5	D9	W12
5	Ilnytsky, Alexander	2001	1.5	W10	D3
6	Fleysher, Leonid	1973	1.0	W15	L1
7	Moldovan, John	1809	1.0	L3	W15
8	Chen, Andy	1792	1.0	W11	L2
9	Jacobson, Aaron	1783	1.0	D4	D13
10	Mazzillo, Patrick	1327	1.0	L5	W14
11	Vinson, Robert D	1183	1.0	L8	-B-
12	Jacobson, Brandon	1165	1.0	-B-	L4
13	Chatsky, Samuil	1764	0.5	L1	D9
14	Wu, Jiang-Ming	1775	0.0	L2	L10
15	Deng, Leon Y	1543	0.0	L6	L7

* = Current rating.

October supplement used for pairings & prize distribution.

I am tied for 6th-12th after dropping the opener:

John Moldovan 1809 - Jonathan Cohen 2105

D36 Queen's Gambit

Exchange Variation

Highlight: 11.Nxd5!! +-, winning 2 pawns in the opening.

Lowlight: Blundering a full point away with 42.Qe1?? -+

... and struggling to beat a young C player, who played very well until move 35, in the nightcap:

Leon Deng 1543 - John Moldovan 1809

A84 Dutch Defense

Highlight: Setting a trap with 33...d5! =+ and watching it succeed.

PGN of both games, with light notes.

The event, which concludes next week, is missing 2-time defending champion LM Peter Radomskyj but is stronger, from top to bottom, than in recent years, as just 4 of the 15 participants are rated <1764.

P.S. - Here's my guess on the pairings for round 3: Lunna-Blank, Camejo-Cohen, Ilnytsky-Fleyscher, Mazzillo-Chen, B. Jacobson-Moldovan, Vinson-A. Jacobson (I should be playing Bob but don't think the brothers would be matched), Wu-Chatsky, + a 1 pt. bye for Deng.

#904 Fish Memorial Update

2011-10-14T17:52:00.000-04:00

Praveen Balakrishnan and Lou Sturniolo lead the Kenilworth Chess Club's Sy Fish Memorial after 2 upset-full rounds of play.

NM Mark Kernighan, Kevin Chen and I are tied for 3rd, a half-point back.

4th Sy Fish Memorial
Kenilworth, NJ
September 29th- November 10th, 2011

Standings after 2 rounds of 5

No. Name                   USCF Points R1   R2
1   Balakrishnan, Praveen 1997   2.0    W12 W7
2   Sturniolo, Lou       1534   2.0    W6   W9
3   Kernighan, Mark    2261   1.5    W15 D4
4   Chen, Kevin    1959   1.5    W8   D3
5   Moldovan, John        1801   1.5    -H- W13
6   Mangion, Ian           2013   1.0    L2   W10
7   Palakollu, Samritha    1647   1.0    W14 L1
8   Mann, Ted            1511   1.0    -H- D14
9   Renna, Joe             1263   1.0    L4   W15
10   Ferrero, Steve         1960   0.5    -H- L2
11   Tomkovich, Gregory     1659   0.5    D13 L6
12   Mazzillo, Pat    1327   0.5    L1   -H-
13   Constantino, Chris    938   0.5    D10 L5
14   Senyatkin, Aleksey      ---   0.5    L7   D11
15   Komunicky, Dan       1534   0.0    L3   L8

Nine of the 13 games played so far will follow, along with the 3rd round pairings.

#903 Fish Memorial Resumes Thursday

2011-10-11T23:04:00.001-04:00

The Sy Fish Memorial Swiss resumes Thursday night.

If you need to take a bye, please let TD Geoff McAuliffe know before the next round is paired.

Late joins will be accepted until the end of round 2.

Round 3 will be played on October 20th. Round 4 is 10/27. The event concludes November 10th.

#902 CZE-USA Update

2011-10-10T09:32:00.000-04:00

The Czech Republic still leads its correspondence match against the U.S., 13-11. There hasn't been a change in at least 16 days.

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 0-0 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 (N) 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.0-0 Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#901 Kenilworth Teams In Action Tomorrow

2011-10-05T22:51:00.000-04:00

The Kenilworth Karpovs and Kenilworth Kortchnois will open their 2011-12 Garden State Chess League seasons tomorrow night against the DOCA Knights and Essex County College.

Here are the home teams' expected lineups:

Karpovs - 1. FM Steve Stoyko 2251, 2. Dr. Richard Lewis 1820, 3. Max Sherer 1797, 4. Joe Demetrick 1661

Kortchnois - 1. NM Richard Mattern 2114, 2. Dr. Ian Mangion 2013, 3. Greg Tomkovich 1659, 4. Dr. Geoff McAulffe 1644

KCC members not listed above are encouraged to attend the matches and make themselves available, if necessary.

Chess Mates and 2-time defending champion Hamilton will also be playing.

#900 Fish Memorial Starts Tonight

2011-09-29T16:12:00.000-04:00

The USCF-rated, Sy Fish Memorial chess tournament starts tonight at the Kenilworth Chess Club.

Registration will begin at 8 p.m. Details here.

#899 U.S. Loses To Ukraine

2011-09-29T15:54:00.000-04:00

With a 63.5-34.5 lead, the Ukraine has clinched victory in its correspondence match with the United States.

Crosstable

#898 U.S. Defeats Argentina

2011-09-26T02:08:00.000-04:00

With an insurmountable 27.5-10.5 lead, the United States has clinched victory in its 26-board correspondence match against Argentina.

#897 Correspondence Updates

2011-09-24T09:10:00.000-04:00

Match Scores:

Czech Republic 13 United States 11

Germany 24.5 United States 9.5

United States 25.5 Argentina 10.5 (magic # for the U.S. is 1)

Ukraine 62 USA 34 (magic # for the UKR is 1.5)

Italy 35.5 USA 21.5 (magic # for ITA is 6)

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#896 Stoyko Lecture At KCC Tonight

2011-09-22T13:06:00.000-04:00

FM Steve Stoyko will be lecturing at the Kenilworth Chess Club tonight, starting at 8:15 p.m. The subject is Bishop Endings. Admission is $5.

#895 Random Quads

2011-09-15T16:51:00.000-04:00

NM Mark Kernighan and Lou Sturniolo won the Random Opening Quads held at the Kenilworth Chess Club on September 8th.

Samritha Palakollu was a surprise runner-up in the top group.

Java-Replay

PGN

Random Opening Quads

Kenilworth, NJ 09/08/2011

G/15+5 (delay)

Section 1

	Player	USCF	1	2	3	4	Points
1	Mark Kernighan	2264		1	1	½	2.5
2	Samritha Palakollu	1612	0		1	1	2.0
3	Max Sherer	1797	0	0		1	1.0
4	John Moldovan	1809	½	0	0		0.5

Section 2

	Player	USCF	R1	R2	R3	Points
1	Lou Sturniolo	1535	W5	W2	W4	3.0
2	Joe Demetrick	1661	W3	L1	W5	2.0
3	Joe Renna	1297	L2	W4	W6	2.0
4	Ted Mann	1511	W6	L3	L1	1.0
5	Bert Shiffman	1294	L1	W6	L2	1.0
6	Joe Azzarello	----	L4	L5	L3	0.0

#894 KCC Fall Calendar

2011-09-10T13:55:00.001-04:00

Kenilworth Chess Club

Calendar For 9/15 thru 12/31/2011

September 15 – Closed Ruy Lopez Thematic, 8:30 p.m. Non-rated, G/30, 2 rounds, EF: Free. Pairing format TBA. All Games to begin 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 (Main Line Tchigorin). See diagram below.

September 22 - Lecture by FM Steve Stoyko on Bishop Endings, 8:15 p.m. Admission: $5

September 29 – Sy Fish Memorial #4, Round 1, 8:30 p.m. USCF-rated. Time Controls: 40 moves in 50 minutes, then G/15. 5-SS, Entry Fee: $10. Prizes: 1st place 30% of EF; 2nd 20%; 3rd, U2050, U1750, U1525 10% each. Late-joins and byes allowed. More info: here and here.

October 6 - Garden State Chess League matches, 8:15 p.m. Teams TBA

October 13 - Sy Fish Memorial #4, Round 2, 8:30 p.m

October 20 - Sy Fish Memorial #4, Round 3, 8:30 p.m

October 27 - Sy Fish Memorial #4, Round 4, 8:30 p.m.

November 3 - Garden State Chess League matches, 8:15 p.m. Teams TBA

November 10 - Sy Fish Memorial #4, Round 5, 8:30 p.m.

November 17 - Lecture by NM Scott Massey on Alexander Alekhine, 8:15 p.m. Admission: $5

November 24 - NO MEETING. The Community Center is closed due Thanksgiving.

December 1 - Garden State Chess League matches, 8:15 p.m. Teams TBA

December 8 – Consultation Game #7, week 1, 8:15 p.m

December 15 – Consultation Game #7, week 2, 8:15 p.m.

December 22 - Holiday Party, 8 p.m.

December 29 - Annual Business Meeting, 8:15 p.m.

The calendar will be updated when the 2011-12 GSCL schedule is finalized on September 25th.

#893 Stoyko & Massey To Lecture At KCC

2011-09-10T11:13:00.001-04:00

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

On September 22nd, 6-time NJ Champion Steve Stoyko will speak about "Bishop Endings" and, on November 17th, 12-time KCC Champion Scott Massey will talk about World Champion "Alexander Alekhine".

Admission to each lecture is $5.

I am looking forward to both!

#892 Sy Fish Memorial Starts 9/29

2011-09-10T11:02:00.000-04:00

4th Sy Fish Memorial

Dates : September 29
           October 13, 20, 27
           November 10

Site : Kenilworth Chess Club

Location: Kenilworth Community Center
              575 Kenilworth Boulevard
              Kenilworth, NJ 07033

Format : USCF-rated, 5-round swiss (over a 7-week span)

Time Controls : 40 moves in 50 minutes, followed by G/15

Rounds : 8:30 p.m. each week

Entry Fee : $10.00

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.

*EXAMPLE*
If there are 10 players, 1st place would get $30, 2nd place would receive $20. 3rd, U2050, U1750 & U1525 would be awarded $10 each.
(The KCC would reserve $10 for rating fees & scoresheet purchases)

Register : On site 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6 from 8:00-10:45 p.m.

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.

Byes: Two per player allowed. Byes may be taken in any round. Please inform the TD or Club President before that round is paired.

Pairings: 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 9/15, 9/22, 9/29, 10/6 from 8:00-10:45 p.m.

TD: Geoff McAuliffe (if available)

USCF membership required. Make sure yours is up-to-date.

#891 Chieu Simul Today

2011-09-10T01:38:00.000-04:00

Weather permitting, NM Ken Chieu, reigning Kenilworth Chess Club Champion, will be giving a simultaneous exhibition today, starting at 11 a.m., at the Front St. Dunkin Donuts in Plainfield.

A blitz event will also be held.

For details, click on and enlarge the image below.

#890 Team USA Correspondence Update

2011-09-08T09:52:00.001-04:00

Here is an update on Team USA's ongoing correspondence matches, with crosstable links:

Czech Republic 11 United States 9

Germany 16 United States 4

United States 24 Argentina 10 (magic # for the U.S. is 2.5)

Ukraine 60.5 USA 33.5 (magic # for the UKR is 3)

Italy 35 USA 21 (magic # for ITA is 6 6.5)

My games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

#889 Seven Tie For 1st At NJ Open

2011-09-08T09:08:00.001-04:00

Dean Ippolito, Mikhail Zlotnikov, Tom Bartell, Dragan Milovanovic, Ed Allen, David Hua and Saurabh Deshpande tied for 1st at the 65th NJ Open, which was held at the Holiday in Somerset on September 3-5.

Kevin Chen, who scored 2.5/6 in the event, asked me to share links to his photos of rounds 3 and 4.

#888 Summer Tourney - Round 12

2011-09-04T08:42:00.003-04:00

Open Section

Mark Kernighan defeated Ian Mangion to clinch 1st place. I sealed the 2nd spot by drawing Max Sherer and beating Chris Constantino, in yet another simul. Greg Tomkovich wrapped-up 3rd with a draw vs. Joe Demetrick.

Lou Sturniolo & Joe Renna finished with victories. Pat Mazzillo and Wayne Burnett drew.

Results:

Mangion 0-1 Kernighan
Sherer 1/2-1/2 Moldovan (annotated)
Constantino 0-1 Moldovan (annotated)
Tomkovich 1/2-1/2 Demetrick
McAuliffe 0-1 Sturniolo
Burnett 1/2-1/2 Mazzillo

Renna 1-0 Shiffman

Final Standings:

1. Kernighan 10.5
2. Moldovan 9.0
3. Tomkovich 7.5
4. Mangion 6.0
5. McAuliffe 5.5
6. Shiffman 5.0
= 7-8. Mazzillo, Renna 4.5
9. Balakrishnan 4.0
10. Goeller, 3.5
= 11-12. Carrelli, Reinoso 3.0
= 13-15. M. Sherer, Sturniolo, Constantino 2.5
16. Demetrick 2.0
= 17-19. Chen, Liesch, Gadgil 1.5
= 20-22. Kumar, Mann, Burnett 1.0
= 23-24. Stoyko, Hart 0.0

U1200 Section

Andy Altamirano & Aleksey Senyatkin split a pair of games, to secure first and the runner-up position. Antonio Altamirano bested & overtook Joe Azzarello in the battle for 3rd place.

Results:

Senyatkin 1-0 Andy A.

Andy A. 1-0 Senyatkin
Azzarello 0-1 Antonio A.
L. Sefia 0-1 Tomkovich *
P. Sefia 0-1 Sturniolo *
L. Sefia 1/2-1/2 Antonio A.
Azzarello 1-0 P. Sefia

* Indicates intersection games. As per the event rules, Greg and Lou's wins will not be counted.

Standings:

1. Andy Altamirano 14.0
2. Senyatkin 12.0
3. Antonio Altamirano 11.0
4. Azzarello 10.5
5. L. Sefia 9.5
6. P. Sefia 2.5

= 7-8. Matta, Ruales 0.0

Java-replay

PGN for round 12
Crosstables

PGN for rounds 1-12

replay & pgn of McAuliffe-Sturniolo corrected 9/6 @ 11:24 p.m.

#887 Correspondence Update

2011-09-03T22:09:00.001-04:00

Here's an update on my ICCF games:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

Crosstable

post revised Sun. 9/4 @ 8:03 a.m.

#886 Kernighan Wins Summer Tourney

2011-09-01T14:28:00.000-04:00

NM Mark Kernighan won the Kenilworth Summer Tournament ahead of yours truly and Greg Tomkovich.

Andy Altamirano won the event's U1200 section.

For the complete standings & more details, see Greg's post on the KCC Minutes blog.

#885 Summer Tourney - Round 11

2011-08-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

Open Section

Mark Kernighan extended his lead to 2 points with a win over Bert Shiffman. Greg Tomkovich, Ian Mangion and Pat Mazzillo also notched victories.

I was busy setting-up a scholastic event (to be held at the Scotch Plains library) and could not play.

Results:

Shiffman 0-1 Kernighan
Mangion 1-0 Sherer
Tomkovich 1-0 Renna
Constantino 1-0 Mazzillo

Standings:

1. Kernighan 9.5
2. Moldovan 7.5
3. Tomkovich 7.0
4. Mangion 6.0
5. McAuliffe 5.5
6. Shiffman 5.0
= 7-8. Balakrishnan, Mazzillo 4.0
= 9-10. Goeller, Renna 3.5
= 11-12. Carrelli, Reinoso 3.0
13. Constantino 2.5
14. Sherer 2.0
= 15-19. Chen, Demetrick, Liesch, Sturniolo, Gadgil 1.5
= 20-21. Kumar, Mann 1.0
22. Burnett 0.5
= 23-24. Stoyko, Hart 0.0

U1200 Section

Andy Altamirano clinched a tie for 1st by defeating Joe Azzarello. Aleksey Senyatkin won 2 games to move within striking distance of Andy. Antonio Altamirano, who also had 2 wins, is now tied for 3rd.

Results:

Azzarello 0-1 Andy A.

Sturniolo 1-0 L. Sefia*
P. Sefia 0-1 Senyatkin

Ruales 0-1 Antonio A.
Antonio A. 1-0 Ruales

L. Sefia 0-1 Senyatkin
Sturniolo 1-0 P. Sefia*

* Indicates intersection games. As per the event rules, Sturniolo's wins will not be counted.

Standings:

1. Andy Altamirano 13.0
2. Senyatkin 11.0
= 3-4. Azzarello, Antonio Altamirano 9.5
5. Senyatkin, L. Sefia 9.0
6. P. Sefia 2.5

= 7-8. Matta, Ruales 0.0

Java-replay

PGN
Crosstables

#884 Summer Tourney Tables

2011-08-21T11:31:00.000-04:00

The crosstables for week 10 of the KST have been uploaded along with corrected versions for rounds 7, 8 and 9.

#883 Correspondence Update

2011-08-21T08:17:00.002-04:00

Here's an update on my ICCF games and the USA's matches:

Svitil-Moldovan

E12 Queen's Indian Defense

Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

Moldovan-Svitil

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

PGN of all the CZE-USA games

Match scores, with crosstable links:

Czech Republic 10 USA 9
Germany 11.5 USA 1.5
United States 21 Argentina 10 (magic # for the U.S. is 5.5)
Ukraine 57 USA 30 (magic # for the UKR is 6.5)
Italy 34.5 USA 20.5 (magic # for ITA is 7)