#277 USATE Rating Gains & Losses

Exactly half of the 22 Kenilworth CC members who played at the U.S. Amateur Teams - East gained rating points. Max Sherer, who added a club-high 69 points in Parsippany, has raised his rating 169 points since Jan. 1!! Chris Lim (+36) & Ian Mangion (+29) also made sizable strides in the event. Here's the complete list of changes :

Sherer +69 to 1666
Lim +36 to 1041
Mangion +29 to 1736
Stoyko +15 to 2260
Agress +15 to 1165
Renna +14 to 1178
Demetrick +12 to 1611
Moldovan +10 to 1814
Hart +9 to 1608
Goeller +7 to 2034
McCorkell +5 to 1542
Minkov -4 to 1901
Massey -8 to 2209
Bliznikas -9 to 1800
Cole -13 to 1114
Wojcio -15 to 1620
Kernighan -16 to 2200
Roach -17 to 1721
McAuliffe -18 to 1736
Tomkovich -24 to 1705
Hrebinka -34 to 1371
Mann -59 to 1481

#276 Post Tonight's KCCC Results As Comments

I invite those playing in the Kenilworth Championship to post tonight's results and games as comments.

Results & game (courtesy of Don C.)

• Shiffman 0-1 Mangion
• Carrelli 0-1 Sherer

Don Carrelli 1685 - Max Sherer 1497
A02 Bird's Opening

1.f4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Be7 4.e4 0–0 5.b3 c5 6.c4 b6 7.h3 Bb7 8.g4 d5 9.cxd5 exd5 10.e5 Ne8 11.d4 Bh4+ 12.Kd2 Nc7 13.f5 Qe7 14.Bd3 Bg3 15.Ke2 cxd4 16.Ba3 Qe8 17.Bxf8 Kxf8 18.Qc1 Bxe5 19.Kf2 Nc6 20.Re1 f6 21.Nbd2 Ba6 22.Qa3+ Qe7 23.Qxe7+ Kxe7 24.Bxa6 Nxa6 25.a3 Nc5 26.Kf1 Kd6 27.Ra2 Rc8 28.b4 Nd3 29.Rd1 Nf4 30.h4 Kd7 31.Nb3 d3 32.Ne1 d2 33.Raxd2 Bc3 34.Rc2 Bxe1 35.Rxe1 Ne5 36.Rxc8 Kxc8 37.g5 Kd7 38.Nd4 a6 39.a4 Nfd3 40.Rb1 Kd6 41.Ke2 Nf4+ 42.Ke3 Ned3 43.Rb3 Nc1 44.Rc3 Na2 45.Rc6+ Ke5 46.Rxb6 Ng2+ 47.Kf2 Kxd4 48.Kxg2 Kc4 49.Rxa6 Nxb4 50.gxf6 gxf6 51.Rxf6 d4 52.Rh6 d3 53.Rxh7 d2 54.Rd7 Nd5 55.f6 d1Q 56.0–1


Joe D reports :

• Hart 1/2-1/2 Demetrick

Result & game (courtesy of Gordon A.)

• Agress 1-0 Wojcio

Gordon Agress 1150 - Mike Wojcio 1621
C01 French Defense
Exchange Variation
(by transposition - 4.exd4)

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.e3 exd4 4.exd4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nc3 Be6 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Bxc4 10.Qa4 Be6 11.Qb5 0–0 12.Qxb7 Nb4 13.0–0 a5 14.Bf4 Nfd5 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.Bd2 Qd7 17.Ne5 Qa4 18.Nc6 Bb4 19.b3 Bc8 20.Qxa8 Nb6 21.bxa4 Nxa8 22.Nxb4 axb4 23.Bxb4 Rd8 24.Rfe1 f6 25.Rad1 Nb6 26.a5 Nd5 27.a3 Ba6 28.Re6 Bc4 29.Rc6 Bb3 30.Rdc1 Ba4 31.R6c5 Kf7 32.a6 c6 33.Ra5 Bb5 34.a4 Bxa6 35.Rxa6 Nxb4 36.Ra7+ Kg6 37.Rc4 Rb8 38.g4 f5 39.f3 fxg4 40.fxg4 Kf6 41.a5 g6 42.h4 h5 43.gxh5 gxh5 44.Kg2 Ke6 45.Rc5 Kd6 46.a6 Nd3 47.Rg5 Rb4 48.Rg6+ Kd5 49.Rb7 Ra4 50.Rd7+ Kc4 51.Rxc6+ Kb5 52.Rdd6 Ra2+ 53.Kf1 Rf2+ 54.Kg1 Rf7 55.Rb6+ Kc4 56.Rb7 Rf5 57.d5 Nc5 58.Rc7 Kb5 59.a7 Rf8 60.Rdc6 Rg8+ 61.Kh2 1–0

Ted M. reports :

• Roach 1-0 Mann

#275 Change In Tonight's Pairings

Mark Kernighan has taken a bye due to illness. So, tonight's KCCC Open Section pairings have been changed to :

Carrelli (0.5) - Sherer (1.0)

Moldovan, Kernighan & Minkov have byes

#274 Checkmate Championship - Round 5

Mark Kernighan, Ari Minkov & Bob Sherry won last night while I missed 6 wins & had to settle for a draw against Don Carrelli.

Here are the standings, last night's games, in java-replay & zipped PGN and ...

the pairings for round 6 :

• Minkov - Kernighan (if Mark wins, he clinches 1st)
• Sherry - Carrelli
• Moldovan - Mann
• Azzarello - Renna

Links fixed 2/29 @ 10:00 a.m. (Thanks, Don!)

#273 KCC's USATE Scores

Here are the individual scores of the 22 KCC members who played in last weekend's USATE :

Steve Stoyko 4.5
John Moldovan 4.5
Joe Demetrick 4.5
Ian Mangion 4.0
Scott Massey 3.5
Glen Hart 3.5
Max Sherer 3.5
Mike Goeller 3.0/3
Ari Minkov 3.0/5
Mike Wojcio 3.0
Ziggy Bliznikas 2.5/5
Leon Hrebinka 2.5/5
Mark Kernighan 2.5
Greg Tomkovich 2.5
Justin Roach 2.0/5
Geoff McAuliffe 2.0
Ted Mann 2.0
Joe Renna 2.0
Gordon Agress 2.0
Kris Lim 2.0
Jim Cole 1.5/5
Jack McCorkell 0.5/3

updated 2/29 at 6:55 p.m.

#272 KCCC Pairings

Here are the pairings for Round 7 (2/28), which will be directed by Joe Demetrick:

Open Section

• Sherer-Kernighan
• Minkov-Carrelli
• Moldovan : bye

U1800 A

• Agress-Wojcio
• Shiffman-Renna
• Mangion : bye

U1800 B

• Hart-Demetrick
• Roach-Mann
• Lim-Yampolskiy

... and the remaining Open Section schedule :

Mar. 6th

• Sherer-Minkov
• Carrelli-Moldovan
• Kernighan : bye

Mar. 13th

• Moldovan -Kernighan
• Carrelli-Sherer
• Minkov : bye

Mar. 20th

• Kernighan-Minkov
• Moldovan-Sherer
• Carrelli : bye

#271 KCCC - 5th Round U1800 Games

All the U1800 games from round 5 have been added to the java-replay page & PGN file. Again, thanks to TD Geoff McAuliffe for "Fritzing" them.

I'll try to get the Minkov-Kernighan draw for you.

#270 Kenilworth Championship - Round 6

Open Section

Mark Kernighan beat Don Carrelli while I lost to Ari Minkov. Ed Rodda is officially out.

U1800 Sections

Justin Roach, Joe Demetrick & Joe Renna won last night over Dmitry Yampolskiy, Ted Mann & Gordon Agress. Jim Cole withdrew and his results were nulled but there will be no change in format.

Updated standings : Open, U1800-A & U1800-B

Here are four of the five 6th round games : replay & PGN. Notes & next week's pairings will follow in a few days.

notes to Minkov-Moldovan uploaded 2/24 @ 10:45 a.m.

#269 Kenilworth Teams At the USATE

I'm worn out from the U.S. Amateur Team - East. So, I'll just tell you how our teams fared there :

Kenilworth A 5-1; Kenilworth 9ers 3.5-2.5; Kenilworth Rookies 2-4 (10 board points in 23 games)

... and give you the java-reply & PGN links to my games (+4-1=1, 1907 PR).

#268 Lotus House

Playing at the USATE? Looking for a good place to have lunch or dinner? I highly recommend the Lotus House Chinese Restaurant on Route 10 East in Whippany. It's a little pricer than some other joints ($8.75 for Eggplant with Garlic Sauce) but very good!

Other reviews here.

no web site

P.S. - I'll upload the raw scores of my games Monday night.

#267 USATE Schedule, KCC Teams

USATE Schedule :

Saturday 2/16
Round 1 - 1:00 p.m.
Round 2 - 7:30 p.m

Sunday 2/17
Round 3 - 11:00 a.m.
Round 4 - 6:00 p.m.

Monday 2/18
Round 5 - 9:00 a.m
Round 6 - 3:30 p.m.


As last year, the Kenilworth CC will be fielding three teams :

1. FM Steve Stoyko, NM Scott Massey, NM Ed Allen, Bob Rose + Michael Goeller (alternate)
2. NM Mark Kernighan, Geoff McAuliffe, Greg Tomkovich, Joe Demetrick
3. John Moldovan, Joe Renna, Gordon Agress, Jim Cole (captain)

This will be my first U.S. Teams experience &, quite frankly, I'm not looking forward to it at all. 6-hour games?? My record is 3:15.

Oops. Forgot to mention that KCC members Mike Wojcio, Glen Hart, Jack McCorkell, Ted Mann, Leon Hrebinka and Chris Lim will also be playing in the event.

Also - Ari Minkov, Ziggy Bliznikas, Max Sherer, Justin Roach & Ian Mangion.

#266 Missing Games From KCCC Rounds 3 & 4

TD Geoff McAuliffe & I are missing four games from the the KCCC's U1800 'B' section :

Lim-Roach, Hart-Yampolskiy & Demetrick-Cole from the 3rd round; as well as Yampolskiy-Demetrick from round 4.

Please be aware that scoresheets are, by USCF rule, property of the TD! and a copy should be submitted. The club recently purchased 400 carbon scoreheets for that very purpose!!

#265 Kenilworth Championship - Round 5

Open Section

NM Mark Kernighan kept his half-point lead with a draw against 2nd-placed Ari Minkov. I won but my foe missed a chance to reverse the outcome :

Moldovan-Carrelli
after 27.a3

Black to win

U1800 Sections

Mike Wojcio grabbed a share of the 'A' group lead with a win over Ian Mangion while Glen Hart beat Chris Lim for his 4th straight game to stay atop the 'B' group.

Ted Mann & Bert Shiffman also won; against Dmitriy Yampolskiy and Gordon Agress. However, Jim Cole took byes for this round, 2/21 & 2/28 and Justin Roach either took a bye or forfeited to Joe Demetrick.

I'll get a confirmation on that pairing this weekend and find out if Ed Rodda is still competing but here's how the standings look now : Open, U1800-A & U1800-B

You can go through my game and notes here or download them. The rest will have to wait until after the USATE.

UPDATE : Roach took a bye & is still in the event.

#264 Checkmate Ch. Update

NM Mark Kernighan won his 4th round game and now leads with 4.0, Minkov is 2nd at 3.5 while I'm 3rd with 2.5.

Along with Mark's win, full notes to my game with Renna have been uploaded to the week's replay page & PGN file.

#263 Checkmate Championship - Round 4

Ari Minkov beat Ted Mann to take over the top spot but 3rd-round leader Mark Kernighan can regain it with a win vs. Don Carrelli tonight (Springfield Barnes & Noble, 8:30).

Bob Sherry won easily against Joe Azzarello while I struggled to defeat Joe Renna. My opponent played very well and had a clear plus at one point.

Here are the current standings, last night's games, in java-replay & zipped PGN and ...

The pairings for round 5 :

• Kernighan - Mann 1.0
• Azzarello 1.0 - Minkov 3.5
  
• Carrelli - Moldovan 2.5
• Renna 0.5 - Sherry 2.0
  

... which will be on Feb. 24th. We are skipping a week to accomodate those playing in the USATE (2/16-18).

Full notes to my game will follow at some point.

#262 Sy Fish 1927-2008

Dr. Seymour (Sy) Fish, a founding member of the Kenilworth Chess Club, died Wednesday at the age of 80.

I think we should honor him and Irving Ellner in some way - perhaps with a memorial tournament; as the Checkmate CC did last year with the John Hoffman Swiss.

#261 Kenilworth Championship - Round 4

Open Section

NM Mark Kernighan held on to his half-step lead by smashing me in 18 moves. Ari Minkov kept pace with a forfeit win and Sherer-Carrelli was agreed drawn with White in a winning position.

U1800 Sections

The bye problems are worsening. With Pat Mazzillo having to withdraw, there are now 2 uneven groups. Perhaps the only solution is to combine them & change the format to a 12-player RR.

As for the games, Ian Mangion made up for his erased win (over Pat) by defeating Joe Renna, Mike Wojcio beat Bert Shiffman, Ted Mann won against Jim Cole & Joe Demetrick received a forfeit victory from Dmitriy Yampolskiy.

Here are the crosstables for the Open, U1800-A & U1800-B sections.

You can play thru both open section games here or download them. The U1800s should follow in a few days.

• annotated Cole-Mann uploaded 2/8 @ 9:39 p.m.
• fritzed Shiffman-Wojcio added 2/11 @ 4:49 p.m.
• fritzed Mangion-Renna added 2/15 @ 2:55 p.m.
  

#260 Checkmate Ch. - Round 3 Wrap

Ari Minkov & Don Carrelli finished off the 3rd round with wins over Bob Sherry & Ted Mann.

Mark Kernighan (3.0) and Ari (2.5) are the only players with a plus score. Don & I are tied for 3rd at 1.5

Here are the full standings, the week's games, in java-replay & zipped PGN, and...

Round 4's pairings :

• Kernighan 3.0 - Carrelli 1.5
• Moldovan 1.5 - Renna 0.5
• Minkov 2.5 - Mann 1.0
• Sherry 1.0 - Azzarello 1.0

java & pgn links fixed 2/8 @ 3:27 a.m.
Thanks to Don for pointing out the error.

#259 Kenilworth Championship - Round 3

Open Section

NM Mark Kernighan beat Max Sherer to take a half-point lead. Ari Minkov overcame 4 lost positions against me and swindled a draw but he missed 2 wins along the way (turns 36 & 37). Ed Rodda, who was a no-show, forfeited to Don Carrelli.

Moldovan-Minkov
after 20...Kg8

White to win

U1800 Sections

Division leaders Ian Mangion (who already has a 2 point margin) & Glen Hart took their 3rd-straight games but there were 2 big upsets. Joe Renna (1164) beat the A group's #2 seed, Mike Wojcio (1621) & young Kris Lim (1050) held the 'B' group's #1 seed Justin Roach (1711) to a draw! Joe Demetrick also won.


Here are the crosstables for the Open, U1800-A & U1800-B sections.

You can play thru my fully annotated game here or download it. The rest should follow in a few days.

Agress-Mangion & Renna-Wojcio added 2/4 at 1:40 a.m.