#607 Handicap Tourney

There was a 3-way tie for 1st place at last night's Handicap Partner Tournament in Kenilworth.

Winning with 4-1 scores were:

• Bob Sherry & John Moldovan (1818.0 average)
• NM Mark Kernighan & Ari Minkov (2078.5)
• SM Yaacov Norowitz & Dr. Richard Lewis (2115.5)

Bob & I upset Yaacov & Doc but lost to Mark & Ari.

The stronger side gave material odds of 1 pawn (or the equivalent) per 100 points of rating-difference.

Also taking part in the event, which featured a G/5 control, were Greg Tomkovich, Mike Wojcio, Joe Renna, Bert Shiffman, Ted Mann & Luis Ruales.

#606 Kramniks Awarded 3-1 Victory

The Kenilworth Kramniks have been awarded a forfeit win on board 4 & a 3-1 victory in Monday's match vs. Summit because their opponents used an ineligible player.

For more info, visit the GSCL blog.

#605 Kramniks Tie Summit 2-2

Last night the Kenilworth Kramniks played to a 2-2 against Summit.

Full details have been posted on the Garden State Chess League blog.

Update 12/8 at 9:28 a.m. - Summit games uploaded

#604 Kortchnois Sweep, Karpovs Fall

In 3rd round Garden State League action, The Kenilworth Kortchnois swept Sparta 4-0 but the Karpovs lost to Hamilton 2.5-1.5 & were knocked out of 1st place.

More details on the GSCL blog.

On Monday night, the Kramniks visit Summit.

#603 National Chess Congress

GM Alexander Stripunsky, GM-elect Alex Lenderman, IM Bryan Smith & IM/WGM Irina Krush tied for 1st at the National Chess Congress in Philadelphia (11/27-29)

Don Carrelli, who tied for 5th place in the U1800 section, had the best showing among Kenilworth CC members.

Daniel Zhu beat a 1941-rated in the 2nd round, finished =10th in the U1800 &, according to the Ratings Estimator, is now up to 1787!

Here's how all the Kenilworth guys did :

U2000
Ari Minkov =44th

U1800
Don Carrelli =5th
Daniel Zhu =10th
David Pawlowski =37th
Mike Wojcio =47th

#602 Stoyko Point Count Lecture

I have uploaded the outline of FM Steve Stoyko's Oct. 15th lecture on "Evaluating Chess Positions, An Introduction" plus the java-replay & PGN of games that were presented.

If you have any thoughts about the system, please leave a comment. Any feedback will be forwarded to Steve.

#601 V. Shen Wins Westfield Grand Prix

NM Victor Shen took clear 1st in Sunday's Westfield Grand Prix, with a 4-0 score. FM Tom Bartell & SM Yaacov Norowitz tied for 2nd, a half-point back.

Other prize-winners included :

• Sam Chatsky, Leonid Fleysher, Kevin Dresher (U2100)
• Dr. Richard Lewis, Jackson Hueckel, John Moldovan (U1850)
• David Johnston, Anthony Decinque (U1600)
• Leon Wu, Robert Lachausse, Darren Knaub & Melissa Biegel (U1350)

There were 25 participants, including 9 who were rated >2100!
All the Kenilworth CC, Checkmate CC & Garden State CL players collected prizes!!


I had an up & down event. After missing a forced mate & losing the opener to Shen, I played like a zombie against tail-ender Sasha Prystupa (a lucky win after 2 lost positions) & NM Peter Radomskyj (a bad opening & quick loss) but closed-out with a nice victory over Konstantin Mazur to finish =8th.

Here are all 4 of my games (fully annotated) in java-replay & PGN.

#600 December KCC Schedule Changed

Yaacov Norowitz's Lecture & the Kenilworth Chess Club's Annual Business Meeting have been pushed back 1 week to accommodate a match between the Karpovs & Hamilton.

Here's the updated December schedule :

Dec. 3rd - Garden State League match : Karpovs vs. Hamilton
Dec. 10th - Yaacov Norowitz Lecture on Color Complexes ($5)
Dec. 17th - Business Meeting & Holiday Party
Dec. 24th - no meeting
Dec. 31st - no meeting

#599 Diagram Difficulties

At the moment, ChessBase 10 is not generating the desired diagrams for my HTML pages. I suspect its "Green Marble" board is the problem. Never had any trouble with the "Cherry" board or my custom purple & gray job.

I'll try to correct the situation early next week. Until then... sorry for the lack of visuals.

#598 Anand-Ivanchuk Blitz Game

I have annotated Anand & Ivanchuk's ...Qd7 Winawer game from the recent World Blitz Championship. Hope you like it.

Java-replay
PGN

#597 GSCL - 2nd Round Annotations

Notes to my 2nd round draw with Paul Corcoran have been posted on the Garden State Chess League blog.

#596 Westfield Grand Prix

On Sunday, November 22nd, the Westfield Chess Club will be hosting a 4-round, G/30 tournament. It will be their 500th event at the Westfield YMCA!

The entry fee is $30 for members; $40 for non-members. There is a $615 guaranteed prize-fund. For more details, go to the club's website.

#595 Kenilworth Quads - Wrap-Up

Yaacov Norowitz & David Pawlowski were clear winners in the top 2 sections at the Kenilworth Quads, which concluded last night. Gordon Agress and Bert Shiffman shared 1st in the other group.

3rd round results & final standings :

Quad 1

Mangion 0-1 Norowitz
Ferrero 1-0 Carrelli

1. Norowitz 3.0
2. Ferrero 2.0
3. Carrelli 1.0
4. Mangion 0.0


Quad 2

Wojcio 0-1 Pawlowski
Tomkovich 0-1 Sturniolo

1. Pawlowski 2.5
2. Tomkovich 1.5
3. Wojcio 1.0
3. Sturniolo 1.0


Quad 3

Shiffman 1-0 Renna
Ali 1-0 Agress

1. Agress 2.0
1. Shiffman 2.0
3. Ali 1.5
4. Renna 0.5


As promised, here are some games (9), in java-replay & PGN, plus the crosstables.

#594 Kenilworth Quads - Rounds 1 & 2

Kenilworth Quads #2

Standings after 2 rounds
+ Results & Pairings

Quad 1

1. SM Yaacov Norowitz (2431) 2.0
2. Steve Ferrero (2020) 1.0
2. Don Carrelli (1791) 1.0
4. Ian Mangion (1929) 0.0

11/5
Carrelli 0-1 Norowitz
Ferrero 1-0 Mangion

11/12
Norowitz 1-0 Ferrero
Mangion 0-1 Carrelli

11/19
Norowitz vs. Mangion
Ferrero vs. Carrelli

Players in quad 1 must toss for color! Those in quads 2 & 3 have already done so.


Quad 2

1. David Pawlowski (1777) 1.5
1. Greg Tomkovich (1698) 1.5
3. Mike Wojcio (1622) 1.0
4. Lou Sturniolo (1446) 0.0

11/5
Sturniolo 0-1 Pawlowski
Tomkovich 1-0 Wojcio

11/12
Pawlowski ½–½ Tomkovich
Wojcio 1-0 Sturniolo

11/19
Wojcio-Pawlowski
Tomkovich-Sturniolo


Quad 3

1. Gordon Agress (1283) 2.0
2. Bert Shiffman (1283) 1.0
3. Joe Renna (1359) 0.5
4. Umar Ali (1346) 0.5

11/5
Agress 1-0 Renna
Ali 0-1 Shiffman

11/12
Renna ½–½ Ali
Shiffman 0-1 Agress

11/19
Shiffman-Renna
Ali-Agress

A wrap-up, games & crosstables will follow on Friday or Saturday.

#593 Radomskyj Wins Westfield Championship

NM Peter Radomskyj took clear 1st at last month's Westfield Championship, with a perfect 4-0 score.

NM Todd Lunna, Jonathan Cohen (top U2100) & Ziping Liu (top U1850) shared 2nd place honors, with 3-1.

Lev Zilbermints, Ian Mangion & Eve Zhurbinskiy tied for 5th, at 2.5.

Andy Chen, Shivani Shanmigudas & Pat Mazzillo shared the U1600 prize.

Sasha Romayev was the U1350 winner.

#592 Clark & Listoch Tie In Scotch Plains Swiss

James Clark & Ivan Listoch went 3-0 to tie for 1st in last month's Scotch Plains Swiss.

Joe Renna, Bert Shiffman, Alexander Gorbach, Scott Seyffarth & Pablo Vasconez tied for 2nd place, with 2-1 scores.

All of the above received Kenilworth Chess Club membership for the rest of 2009. Current KCC members Renna & Shiffman will get 25% off their 2010 dues, in lieu of a pro-rated refund.

#591 GSCL : 2nd Round Report & Games

A report on the Karpovs & Kortchnois victories over West Orange & Staten Island has been posted on the Garden State League's blog, along with a recap of the other matches and a few games.

At the The Kenilworthian, Michael Goeller has posted notes to Steve Stoyko's win over Jose Fernandez.

#590 GSCL - 1st Round Annotations

Notes to my 1st round win over Richard Lewis & the Stoyko-Norowitz draw have been posted on the Garden State Chess League blog.

#589 Scotch Plains Simul : 7-0-1

I went 7-0-1 against 5 opponents at today's simul in Scotch Plains. There were just 3 foes at the start (all girls, interestingly) but 2 fathers showed pity & took seats.

#588 Simul Today!

This afternoon, from 12 noon - 4 p.m., I will be giving a free simultaneous exhibition at the Scotch Plains Public Library.

The announcement, (which was supposed to say correspondence chess expert not KCC president) states that only U1800s are invited but, since there still 13 spots available (at last count), the rating limit has been waived.

#587 Free Tourney In Paterson 11/22

On Sunday, November 22nd, there will be a free, non-rated tournament in Paterson, NJ.

The time control & format are not listed on the official announcement (click it for a larger view) but the organizers told me it will be a G/25, 7-round Swiss with rounds at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m. & 4 p.m.


Disclaimer : The Chess Coroner and KCC are not involved with this event.

#586 Advisory & Upcoming Posts

Approximately 95% of the java-replays, zips & other files linked from posts 1-327 will be unavailable starting tomorrow, due to Geocities' closing.

However, the PGN archives covering that period (September 2006-May 2008) can be downloaded from my sidebar.

It may take 4 or 5 weeks to re-up everything and revise the dead links because I also have to rebuild the Checkmate CC site and will be posting quite frequently.

Items to come include :

• Notes to my recent, strategically rich game vs. Doc Lewis
• A report on the free tourney in Scotch Plains
• An outline of Steve Stoyko's lecture + the games presented.

Also on the horizon are the Westfield Championship, Scott Massey's lecture, my 2nd simul in Scotch Plains, the November GSCL matches and the Kenilworth Quads.

#585 Star-Ledger Complaint

I'm breaking my hiatus to complain about the Newark Star-Ledger pulling the chess column from its 10/18 issue.

Here is the email that I sent (minor edit for grammar) :

I was disappointed to find that the 10/18 issue of the Newark Star-Ledger did not feature the usual chess article by Steve Doyle & Peter Tamburro.

Their column, long a weekly staple for the NJ chess community, has been the NY-area's best for the past several years. It provides better analysis than those in the Times and Post while highlighting games played by local amateurs!

In the future, I would appreciate that you don't skip the Doyle/Tamburro pieces. Quite frankly, they are the only reason I buy your paper on Sunday.


...the response I received :

Thank you for taking the time to write.

It was nice to know that there were a few fellow chess players out there who take note when the ChessMate column doesn't run in our Sunday section. (But surely you are getting a lot more in your Sunday Star-Ledger for your $2 than a chess column...)

As noted in the Sunday section, the chess column will return next week. We had to hold it this week because it came in too long for us to publish. Typically, Doyle and Tamburro don't write about matches that are longer than 30 moves, which is the ideal for the space we have allotted for ChessMate. Yesterday's column, which I pasted below (without the puzzle), was a match that went for 121 moves. The chess columnists wrote about 61 moves. I just don't have that much space for chess. And, yes, we did ask them to show restraint moving forward.

A relevant side note, I waited all day Sunday and yesterday to see if there were any other complaints about chess not appearing in the paper, and sadly we only had a handful of readers who called or emailed. On the other hand, when I hold Bridge or when the TV Jumble puzzle moved, I had an avalanche of mail.

I hope you enjoy the column below and that my reply satisfied your query.

Enrique Lavin
Assistant Managing Editor


... and my rebuttal :

Thank you for sending the omitted column. I realize there are space requirements but good games are usually more than 30 moves long. In shorter games, one person typically plays well and the other plays poorly. So, you see, 30 should not be the guide. 50 moves would be more appropriate.

I would be in favor of occasionally dropping the chess puzzle to fit in a longer game.


If you want to protest as well, contact Mr. Lavin at 973-392-1745, elavin@starledger.com or the following address :

The Star-Ledger | Features
1 Star-Ledger Plaza
Newark, NJ 01702-1200

#584 GSCL Games From Last Night

7 games from last night's Garden State League matches have been uploaded. Links can be found on the league's blog.

#583 Fish Memorial Games

5 games from the recently concluded Sy Fish Memorial have been uploaded in java-replay and zipped PGN.

Sorry for the week-long delay. Getting Kenilworth's teams organized & the GSCL site finished took priority.

#582 Karpovs Beat Kortchnois; Kramniks Tie

Last night, in Garden State Chess League action, The Kenilworth Karpovs beat the defending champion Kenilworth Kortchnois 2.5-1.5 while the Kenilworth Karpovs drew Staten Island 2-2.

Details on the league's blog. Games, when posted, will also appear there.

#581 Calendar Update

The 2009 KCC Events Calendar has been updated to include our upcoming lectures and Garden State Chess League matches.

#580 Chess Improvement Lectures At The KCC

The Kenilworth Chess Club will be hosting 3 lectures this fall, all of which are geared toward chess improvement.

• On October 15th, FM Steve Stoyko will present "Evaluating Chess Positions, An Introduction".
• On October 29th, NM Scott Massey will show us "How To Improve At Chess".
• On December 3rd, NM Yaacov Norowitz will speak about "Color Complexes".

The lectures will begin at 8:15 or 8:30 p.m. and the admission price for each is $5.00 per person. Non-members are welcome.

#579 Sidebar Link To The GSCL Changed

The new Garden State Chess League site is finished. Please visit it, participate in the polls and bookmark. All 2009-10 match results & games will be posted there. The Chess Coroner will just provide headlines and links.

The sidebar link no longer directs to the soon to be defunct Geocities site.

#578 Roster Adjustments

The following adjustments have been made to balance Kenilworth's GSCL rosters :

The Kortchnois have added Mark Schwarcz.
NM Mark Kernighan has been re-assigned to the Kramniks.
Geoff McAuliffe has been transferred to the Kortchnois.

For the full rosters see post #576.

One more move... Ted Mann added to the Kramniks squad.

#577 Stoyko Wins Fish Memorial

FM Steve Stoyko won the 2nd Sy Fish Memorial with a 4-0 score. Mark Kernighan, Ken Chieu & Ian Mangion tied for 2nd place.

David Pawlowski, Mike Wojcio & Lou Sturniolo split top U1800 honors. Joe Renna was the top U1500.

Final standings :

• 4.0 Stoyko
  
• 3.0 Kernighan, Chieu, Mangion
  
• 2.0 Singh, Pawlowski, Wojcio, Sturniolo, Renna
  
• 1.5 Mann, Komunicky, Garcia
  
• 1.0 Carrelli, Mazzillo, Shiffman, Agress

Board by results :

Round 3

1. Kernighan 0-1 Stoyko
2. Komunicky 0-1 Chieu
   
3. Singh 1-0 Mann
   
4. Wojcio 0-1 Mangion
   
5. Pawlowski 1-0 Sturniolo
   
6. Mazzillo 0-1 Renna
   
7. Shiffman 0-1 Agress
   

Garcia received a full-point bye

Round 4

1. Stoyko 1-0 Chieu
   
2. Pawlowski 0-1 Kernighan
3. Mangion 1-0 Singh
   
4. Komunicky 0-1Wojcio
5. Mann 1/2 Renna
   
6. Sturniolo 1-0 Agress
   
7. Mazzillo 1/2 Garcia

Shiffman received a full-point bye.

Replays, PGN & a table will be uploaded tonight, sometime after the N.Y. Rangers' game.

#576 Kenilworth's GSCL Rosters & Schedules

Here are Kenilworth's rosters & schedules for the 2009-2010 Garden State Chess League season :

Karpovs

Steve Stoyko 2240, Ian Mangion 1878 (captain), John Moldovan 1812, Max Sherer 1668, Bob Pelican 1649, Mike Wojcio 1613

Day	Date	Opponent	Site	Time
Thursday	Oct. 8th	Kortchnois	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.
Tuesday	Nov. 3th	W. Orange	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Tuesday	Dec. 1st	Hamilton	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Thursday	Jan. 7th	Summit	Kenilworth	8:15 p.m.
Thursday	Feb. 4th	Staten I.	Kenilworth	8:15 p.m.
Tuesday	Mar. 7th	Sparta	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Thursday	Apr. 6th	Kramniks	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.

Kortchnois

Yaacov Norowitz 2395, Mark Kernighan 2200, Michael Goeller 2095, Ari Minkov 1958, Richard Lewis 1700 (captain), Mikhail Kruglyak 1367, Joe Renna 1326, Bill Sokolosky 1167

Day	Date	V/H	Opponent	Site	Time
Thursday	Oct. 8th	H	Karpovs	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.
Wednesday	Nov. 4th	V	Staten I.	Staten Island	TBA
Tuesday	Dec. 1st	H	Sparta	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Thursday	Jan 7th	V	Kramniks	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.
Monday	Feb. 1st	V	Summit	Summit	8:00 p.m.
Tuesday	Mar. 7th	H	W. Orange	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Tuesday	Apr. 4th	V	Hamilton	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.

Kenilworth Kramniks (formerly Maplewood)

Ziggy Bliznikas 1800, Don Carrelli 1794, David Pawlowski 1777, Mike Patrucker 1717, Geoff McAuliffe 1704, Greg Tomkovich 1698, Lou Sturniolo 1530, Dan Komunicky 1496, Gordon Agress 1277, Jim Cole 1160 (captain)

Day	Date	V/H	Opponent	Site	Time
Thursday	Oct. 8th	H	Staten I.	Kenilworth	8:15 p.m.
Tuesday	Nov. 3rd	V	Sparta	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Monday	Dec. 7th	V	Summit	Summit	8:00 p.m.
Thursday	Jan. 7th	H	Kortchnois	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.
Tuesday	Feb. 2nd	V	W. Orange	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Tuesday	Mar. 7th	H	Hamilton	W. Orange	8:00 p.m.
Thursday	Apr. 6th	V	Karpovs	Kenilworth	8:30 p.m.

Not Assigned - NM Scott Massey 2213, Mark Schwarcz 1948, Richard Buschgans 1866, Howard Osterman 1856, Glen Hart 1696, Daniel Zhu 1669, Ted Mann 1550, Jack McCorkell 1534, Aaron Kiedes 1531, Leon Hrebinka 1354, Pat Mazzillo 1352, Bert Shiffman 1316, Jose Garcia 973, Brian Balint 927

If you have not been assigned and would like to play please contact John Moldovan.
Those who have been placed on a team but are not interested in playing should contact their captain.
Only 8 or 9 guys are willing to play every month. So, if possible, please make yourself available for 1 road match.

Once a player plays for a team during the 2009-2010 season, he is bound to them for the season.
However, those who have not yet played can be traded or interchanged; if a team needs someone to play on the road or with a certain rating, etc.
The captains should work-out such transactions.

#575 Fish Memorial - 3rd round pairings

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

1. Kernighan (2.0) - Stoyko (2.0)
2. Komunicky (1.5) - Chieu (2.0)
3. Singh (1.0) - Mann (1.0)
4. Wojcio (1.0) - Mangion (1.0)
5. Pawlowski (1.0) - Sturniolo (1.0)
6. Mazzillo (0.5) - Renna (0.5)
7. Shiffman (0.0) - Agress (0.0)

Jose Garcia (0.0) gets a full point bye.

#574 Free Tourney In Scotch Plains, 10/10

On Saturday, October 10th, from 12 noon to 5 p.m., the Scotch Plains Public Library will be hosting a free chess tournament for players U1800 or unrated.

Here are the details :

Scotch Plains U1800

Date : Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Site :
Scotch Plains Public Library
527 Bartle Ave
Scotch Plains, NJ

Format : non-rated, 3 round swiss
Time Control : G/45

Rounds : 12:00 noon, 1:40 p.m. & 3:10 p.m.

Entry Fee : Free!

Prizes : The Kenilworth Chess Club will be giving free memberships for the remainder of 2009 to each player scoring 2 or more points.


This event is limited to the first 24 entrants who

1. Have a USCF rating <1800
2. Pre-register by calling the library at 908-322-5007, extension 204.

Sun. 9/25 @ 11:19 a.m.- The dates are finally correct. Sorry for the mistakes.

#573 Westfield Championship Starts 10/4

The 67th Westfield Championship begins on Sunday, October 4th.

Here are the details :

67th Annual Westfield Chess Club Championship

Dates : October 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th

Site :

Westfield Chess Club
220 Clark Street
Westfield, NJ

Format : 4-SS, USCF-rated
Time Control : 40 moves/100 + G/60

Rounds : 2:30 p.m. on each day

Entry Fee : $25
Westfield CC membership required ($50 Adults; $40 Juniors)

Prize Fund : $550 Guaranteed
Prizes : $150 for 1st place; $100 for 2nd place; $75 to top U2100, U1850, U1600 & U1350

Registration : at the site on 10/4, from 2:00-2:30 p.m.

No byes in the event.

#572 Fish Memorial - Rounds 1 & 2

Steve Stoyko, Mark Kernighan & Ken Chieu lead after 2 rounds of the Sy Fish Memorial.

Full standings :

• 2.0 Stoyko 2240, Kernighan 2200, Chieu 2109
• 1.5 Dan Komunicky 1496
• 1.0 Errol Singh 1900, Ian Mangion 1978, Don Carrelli 1794, David Pawlowski 1777, Mike Wojcio 1613, Ted Mann 1550, Lou Sturniolo 1530
• 0.5 Pat Mazzillo 1352, Joe Renna 1326
• 0.0 Bert Shiffman 1316, Gordon Agress 1277, Jose Garcia 973p

Board by results :

Round 1

1. Wojcio 0-1Stoyko
2. Kernighan 1-0 Mann
3. Sturniolo 0-1 Chieu
4. Singh 1-0 Mazzillo
5. Shiffman 0-1 Mangion
6. Carrelli 1-0 Agress
7. Garcia 0-1 Pawlowski

Kominicky & Renna late-joined & received 1/2-pt byes

Round 2

1. Stoyko 1-0 Singh
2. Mangion 0-1 Kernighan
3. Chieu 1-0 Pawlowski
4. Agress 0-1Wojcio
5. Mann 1-0 Shiffman
6. Garcia 0-1 Sturniolo
7. Renna 0-1 Komunicky
   

Mazzillo 1/2-pt. bye
Carrelli, who played as a fill in round 1, was not paired.


As for games, there's just one to offer (see below) because most of the club's scoresheets "disappeared" between meetings and we ran-out of them.

[Event "2nd Sy Fish Memorial"]
[Site "Kenilworth, NJ, USA"]
[Date "2009.09.24"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kernighan, Mark"]
[Black "Mann, Ted"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2200"]
[BlackElo "1550"]
[ECO "E76"]
[PlyCount "57"]

{King's Indian Defense : 4 Pawns Attack, by transposition}
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 d6 6.Bd3 0-0 7.f4 Na6 8.Nf3 Nb4 9.Bb1 Bg4 $146 10.0-0 Rc8 11.a3 Na6 12.Qe1 Nc7 13.Nh4 a6 $2 14.f5 gxf5 $2 15.h3 Bh5 16.exf5 Qd7 $2 17.g4 Nxg4 18.hxg4 Bxg4 19.Qg3 h5 $2 20.f6 $1 Bxf6 21.Rxf6 $1 exf6 22.Bf5 Ne6 23.Bxg4 hxg4 24.Qxg4+ Kh8 25.Qh5+ Kg8 26.Bh6 Ng7 27.Bxg7 Kxg7 28.Nf5+ Kg8 29.Qg4+ 1-0

A replay page with this nice win & games from the remaining rounds will be uploaded next Friday.

#571 Sy Fish Memorial 9/24 & 10/1

The USCF-rated Sy Fish Memorial starts next Thursday (9/24) at the Kenilworth Chess Club. Here are the details :

2nd Sy Fish Memorial

Dates : October 1st & 9th, 2009
Site : Kenilworth Chess Club

Format : USCF-rated, 4 round swiss
Time Control : G/30

Rounds : 8:40 & 9:45 p.m. on 10/1; 8:30 & 9:35 p.m. on 10/8

Entry Fee : $10

Prize Fund : 75% of entry fees collected

Prizes : Cash; based on the number of entries.

50% of prize fund to 1st place; 20% to 2nd place; 10% to 3rd place, top U1800 & top U1500

For example:

If there are 10 players, there would be a $75 prize fund.
1st place would get $37.50, 2nd place would receive $15 & 3rd place would get $7.50

The highest-scoring U1800, U1500 would also get $7.50 each.

Register : at site, on September 24th - from 8:00-8:30 p.m.

USCF membership required... Late entries accepted until the 2nd round is paired (½ pt. bye awarded)

Byes : ½ point byes available for rounds 1, 2 or 3 (1 per person)

TD : Geoff McAuliffe


Registration date corrected 9/24 @ 4:50 p.m. Sorry for the error.

#570 Current USCF Ratings Of KCC Players

Here are the current* USCF ratings of Kenilworth Chess Club members, with the change from the 2008 Annual List noted in parentheses:

NM Yaacov Norowitz 2395 (+183!!)

NM Steve Stoyko 2240 (-8)

NM Scott Massey 2213 (+4)

NM Mark Kernighan 2200 (-24)

Michael Goeller 2035 (+1)

Ari Minkov 1958 (0)

Mark Schwarcz 1948 (+48)

Rich Buschgans 1893 (+27)

Ian Mangion 1878 (+39)

Howard Osterman 1856 (0)

John Moldovan 1812 (+12)

Ziggy Bliznikas 1800 (-19)

Don Carrelli 1794 (+79)

David Pawlowski 1777 (+57) non-KCC member?

Geoff McAuliffe 1704 (-32)

Richard Lewis 1700 (-19)

Greg Tomkovich 1698 (+21)

Glen Hart 1696 (+73)

Ed Selling 1675 (-35)

Daniel Zhu 1669 (+430!!!)

Max Sherer 1668 (+13)

Mike Wojcio 1613 (-34)

Ted Mann 1550 (-30)

Jack McCorkell 1534 (-8)

Aaron Kiedes 1531 (+226!!)

Lou Sturniolo 1530 (+148!)

Dan Komunicky 1496 (0)

Mikhail Kruglyak 1367 (+66)

Leon Hrebinka 1354 (-17)

Pat Mazzillo 1352 (+7)

Joe Renna 1326 (+22)

Bert Shiffman 1316 (-28)

Gordon Agress 1277 (+143!)

Bill Sokolosky 1167 (+39)

Jim Cole 1160 (+55)

Jose Garcia 973 p/4 (0)

Brian Balint 927 p/9 (-)

These ratings will be used for next week's USCF-rated Sy Fish Memorial tournament & the non-rated 2009-2010 Garden State Chess League season

* as of 9/19/2009

#569 Simul Games

I have annotated & uploaded 3 games from my 11-board simul in Scotch Plains.

replay page
zipped PGN file

#568 West Orange Swiss

The West Orange Chess Club is running a USCF-rated, G/100, 5-round Swiss starting tomorrow night. The EF is $20. Rounds will be played on September 14th, 21st, 28th & October 13th, 20th.

For more information contact John Hagerty.

#567 Coroner Subs, Goes +10-0=1 In Simul

I was a last-minute sub for Ernie Labate at yesterday's simul in Scotch Plains and yielded just 1 draw in 11 games. Scott Seyffarth, 1 of 3 players to beat Chitra Sridhar on June 27th, was the only opponent to avoid defeat.

Since I am scheduled to give another simul at the same venue on Sunday, November 1st (12 noon-4 p.m., 16 boards, free), the inpromptu display was great practice.

Here's some additional info about my understudy performance :

- I was White on all boards & started each game with 1.Nf3!

- I had to keep score for 7 opponents.

- 2 sore-losing adults didn't submit their scores but I was able to reconstruct them.

- 6 players were lost before move 9 & there was 1 kid who made MANY illegal moves. However...

- The field was stronger than the one I, Greg Tomkovich, Max Sherer & Mike Wojcio went a collective 25-0 against at the Kenilworth Centennial Celebration of 2007.

- Robert Vinson lasted the longest of any player - 46 moves & 1 hour, 55 minutes.

I don't know if I will upload all the games or just those that were competetive. Check-back here tonight or tomorrow.

P.S. - Mr. Labate, who is a spry 86 years old, arrived an hour & 45 minutes late yet still managed to steal the show with some magic tricks; including 1 that involved a lighter & handkerchief!

#566 KCC's Fall Calendar

The Kenilworth Chess Club's Calendar has been filled as follows :

September 17th - casual games & GSCL rosters discussion

September 24th - Sy Fish Memorial : rounds 1 & 2

USCF-rated, G/30, 4-SS, EF: $10,

Prize Fund : 75% of fees, Prizes : TBA

This event was previously scheduled to begin on 10/1. Please note the change.

October 1st - Sy Fish Memorial, : rounds 3 & 4

October 8th - Garden State League match : Karpovs vs. Kortchnois & Staten Island vs. Kramniks

October 15th - Lecture by FM Steve Stoyko

Topic : "Evaluating Chess Positions, An Introduction".

Admission : $5

October 22nd - to be determined

October 29th - Lecture by NM Scott Massey

Topic : "How to Improve".

Admission : $5

November 5th - Kenilworth Quads #2 : 1st round

USCF-rated, G/60, 3-RR, EF: $10,

Prizes : $30 to 1st in each quad

November 12th - Kenilworth Quads #2 : 2nd round

November 19th - Kenilworth Quads #2 : 3rd round

November 26th - Closed (Thanksgiving Day)

December 3rd - Lecture by NM Yaacov Norowitz

Topic : "Color Complexes".

Admission : $5

December 10th - Annual Business Meeting

December 17th - Holiday Party

December 24th - Closed (Christmas Eve)

December 31st - ?? (NewYear's Eve)

The club will likely be closed. If we are open, it will only be until 10:30 or 11 p.m.

Calendar updated 10/6 @ 10:50 p.m.