#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.

#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.

 

My games:

Moldovan - Brissman

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

Brissman - Moldovan

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.

#1045 Summer Tourney - Round 4

Bob Sherry maintained his one point lead with victories against Greg Tomkovich and Ted Mann.

I won twice, to stay within striking distance, but should have lost to Chris Constantino. Mark Kernighan also had 2 wins and is now in 3rd place.

It was the busiest week to date, with 14 games played:

Constantino 0-1 Kernighan
Senyatkin 0-1 Balakrishnan
Kernighan 1-0 Balakrishnan
Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Shumowitz
Ruales 0-1 Moldovan
Constantino 0-1 Moldovan
Tomkovich 0-1 Sherry
Mann 0-1 Sherry
Senyatkin 0-1 Tomkovich
Andy Altamirano 0-1 Palakollu
Reinoso 1-0 McAuliffe
Vinson 1-0 Mazzillo
Mazzillo 1/2-1/2 Vinson
Ruales 0-1 Antonio A.

Standings after week 4 of 12:

1. Sherry 6.0
2. Moldovan 5.0
3. Kernighan 4.5
4. Antonio Altamirano 4.0
5. Mazzillo 3.5
= 6-7. Senyatkin, Reinoso 3.0

= 8-12. Balakrishnan, Shumowitz, Tomkovich, Vinson, Andy Altamirano 2.0

= 13-16. Goeller, Lewis, Palakollu, Mann 1.5

= 17-19. Carrelli, Sturniolo, McAuliffe 1.0

= 20-21. Mangion, Renna 0.5

= 22-26. Constantino, Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

B15 Caro-Kann Defense

Gurgenidze System

C. Constantino 1332 - J. Moldovan 1827 

#1044 Summer Tourney - Round 3

Bob Sherry had a win a and draw versus Pat Mazzillo to take a clear 1 point lead in the Kenilworth Summer Tournament.

Marvin Shumowitz, Don Carrelli and Joe Renna joined, making a field of 25.

I got away with a bad opening against Robert Vinson and am now tied for 2nd place.

Results:

Ruales 0-1 Kernighan
Shumowitz 1-0 Balakrishnan

Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Carrelli
Carrelli 0-1 Goeller
Ruales 0-1 Antonio A.
Vinson 0-1 Moldovan
Mazzillo 0-1 Sherry
Sherry 1/2-1/2 Mazzillo
Mann 1/2-1/2 Sturniolo
Andy Altamirano 1-0 Senyatkin
Senyatkin 1-0 Andy A.

Standings after week 3 of 12:

1. Sherry 4.0
= 2-5. Moldovan, Senyatkin, Mazzillo, Antonio Altamirano 3.0

6. Kernighan 2.5
7-8. Reinoso, Andy Altamirano 2.0
= 9-11. Goeller, Lewis, Mann 1.5

= 12-17. Balakrishnan, Shumowitz, Carrelli, Tomkovich, Sturniolo, McAuliffe 1.0

= 18-21. Mangion, Palakollu, Vinson, Renna 0.5

= 22-25. Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

R. Vinson 1461 - J. Moldovan 1827
A85 Dutch Defense
Leningrad Variation

#1043 Summer Tourney - Round 2

Bob Sherry and Pat Mazzillo lead after 2 rounds of the Kenilworth Summer Tournament.

Praveen Balakrishnan, Ian Mangion & Ted Mann joined last night. I had 2 wins vs. Aleksey Senyatkin and am tied for 3rd.

Results:

Ruales 0-1 Balakrishnan

Balakrishnan 0-1 Kernighan

Mazzillo 1/2-1/2 Mangion

Senyatkin 0-1 Moldovan

Moldovan 1-0 Senyatkin

Palakollu 0-1 Sherry

Ruales 0-1 Mann

Mann 0-1 Sherry

Sturniolo 0-1 Reinoso

Vinson 1/2-1/2 Tomkovich

Andy Altamirano 0-1 Antonio Altamirano

Antonio Altamirano 0-1 Andy Altamirano

Standings after week 2 of 12:

= 1-2. Sherry, Mazzillo 2.5

= 3-5. Moldovan, Senyatkin, Antonio Altamirano 2.0
= 6-7. Kernighan, Lewis, Reinoso 1.5

= 9-13. Balakrishnan, Tomkovich, McAuliffe, Mann, Andy Altamirano 1.0

= 14-18. Goeller, Mangion, Palakollu, Sturniolo, Vinson 0.5

= 19-22. Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

A. Senyatkin 1564 - J. Moldovan 1823
C01 French Defense
Exchange Variation

J. Moldovan - A. Senyatkin
D13 Queen's Gambit
Slav Defense

#1042 Summer Tourney - Round 1

Aleksey Senyatkin and Pat Mazzillo lead after the Kenilworth Summer Tournament's opening round. Dr. Richard Lewis is 3rd.

Results from June 14th:

Goeller 1/2-1/2 Kernighan

Lewis 1-0 Sherry

Sherry 1/2-1/2 Lewis

Tomkovich 1/2-1/2 Palakollu

Reinoso 1/2-1/2 Sturniolo

Vinson 0-1 McAuliffe

Andy Altamirano 0-1 Senyatkin

Senyatkin 1-0 Andy Altamirano

Ruales 0-1 Mazzillo

Mazzillo 1-0 Ruales

Darshan Patel 0-1 Antonio Altamirano

Standings after week 1 of 12:

= 1-2 Senyatkin, Mazzillo

3. Lewis 1.5

= 4-5. McAuliffe, Antonio Altamirano 1.0

= 6-12. Kernighan, Goeller, Sherry, Palakollu, Sturniolo, Tomkovich, Reinoso 0.5

= 13-19. Moldovan, Vinson, Dhruv Patel, Darshan Patel, Andy Altamirano, Cutts, Ruales 0.0

#1041 20th USCCC Semi-Finals

From www.iccfus.com:

ICCF-US Announces 20th US Correspondence Chess Championship

The 20th US Correspondence Chess Championship is scheduled to start October 1, 2012. It is open to all US citizens or residents with an established rating of 2000 or higher. This includes OTB ratings as well as USCF, CCLA, or ICCF ratings. Play in this Semifinal will be in seven player sections, play by ICCF server, with section winners qualifying for the Final. Entry fee is $20, no additional fee for the Final. The USCCC Champion will qualify for a World Correspondence Chess Championship Prelim or Semi.

Players can send entries or questions to ICCF-US Secretary Corky Schakel, schakels@comcast.net . Entries should be submitted by September 1, 2012.

#1040 Summer Tourney Begins

The Kenilworth Summer Tournament is underway. 17 players registered this evening and more should join in the weeks to come.

I waited around for an hour, could not get a game and left before there were any results.

Here is a list of the entrants, by rating:

1. LM Mark Kernighan 2209

2. Michael Goeller 2094

3. John Moldovan 1823

4. Bob Sherry 1812

5. Dr. Richard Lewis 1766

6. Samritha Palakollu 1688

7. Greg Tomkovich 1635

8. Dr. Geoff McAuliffe 1600

9. Aleksey Senyatkin 1564

10. Robert Vinson 1456

11. Pat Mazzillo 1446

12. Dhruv Patel 1134

13. Antonio Altamirano 1085

14. Darshan Patel 944

15. Andy Altamirano 771

16. Render Cutts 725

17. Luis Ruales 705

Please check the KCC Minutes blog this weekend for possible updates.

Update 6/15 @ 9:36 p.m. - Lou Sturniolo (1639) and Braeden Reinoso (1388) also joined last night. Their game was drawn.

#1039 Summer Tourney Starts Thursday

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

Here are the rules :

• Entry Fee is $5.00.
• The tournament will run from June 14th through August 30th.
• 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.
• 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.

• If there is more than 1 section, you may only play others in your section.
• If both players are unrated or have identical ratings, they toss for initial color.

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

#1038 Correspondence Update

It's been about 4 weeks while since I've posted a correspondence update and there are several items to report.

In SWE-USA, the first result is in: A 13-move draw on board 12.

My games, meanwhile, have entered the 2nd time control:

Moldovan - Brissman

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

Brissman - Moldovan

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

UKR vs. the U.S. has concluded. We lost 79-47 despite going +6 on the top 11 boards. C. O'Connell, Carl Siefring, Robert Fass, David White, Patrick Ryan and David Ballard all went 2-0.

There is 1 game left in ARG-USA, another 1 in CZE-USA and 7 in GER-USA.

#1037 Chess Mates Grand Prix Tourneys

Starting June 23rd, Chess Mates will be running a 4-round grand prix tournament on the 3rd Saturday of every month.

Here are the details for the June event:

Dr. Luvizminda Machan Grand Prix I

Saturday, June 23, 2012

GPP: 10 Enhanced

Chess Mates

1531 Irving Street

Rahway, NJ 07065

Format: 4-SS

Time Control: G/40;d5

Registration 12:30-1:25 p.m.

Rounds: 1:30, 3:15, 5:00, 6:45 p.m.

Byes: One Two available per player. Must commit at least 15 minutes prior to the game round 2.

EF: $40 non-members/ $30 members/ GMs free ($25 deducted from prize)

Prizes: 1st place $200, 2nd place $150, 3rd place $100, 4th place $50.  Trophies will go to the top-scoring U2200, U1800, U1400, U1000

Information: (732) 499-0118, (760) 583-8429, chessmates@chessmatesnj.com, www.chessmatesnj.com

#1036 Massey Lecture On Alekhine, Part 2

LM Scott Massey will be giving part 2 of his lecture on Alexander Alekhine this Thursday (June 7) in Kenilworth. The years 1927-1946 will be covered.

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