#1137 Happy Holidays

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

Thanks to all of you for putting-up with my mood swings, a lack of games and infrequent posts in 2013. I hope to resume uploading annotated games in the coming year.  

#1136 Kenilworth Championship Starts January 9th

The 23rd Kenilworth Chess Club Championship will begin on Thursday, January 9th, 2014 and run through February 6th, 2014.

Here are the details :

23rd KCC Championship

• Not-rated
• 5-round Swiss
• January 9th-February 6th, 2014.
• Time Control: G/75+5 second delay.
• Rounds to start at 8:30 p.m. every Thursday, for the duration of the event.
• 1 half-point bye per player allowed.
• Prizes (tentative): Trophies for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Top U2100, Top U1800, Top U1600, Top U1400, Biggest upset.
• Tiebreaks: 1. Head to Head, 2. Modified Median, 3. Solkoff, 4. Cumulative.
• EF: $10 entry fee + $5 anti-forfeit deposit + dues (= $30 for most players).
• KCC membership is required. KCC dues for 2014 are $7.50 for those age 17 or less, $10 for those age 65+, $15 for everyone else.
• Please register with TD Geoff McAuliffe during our 1/2 meeting or before 8:25 p.m. on 1/9 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J. 07033
• Late-joins accepted until round 2 is paired.

Past Champions include LM Scott Massey (who has won the title 12x), Rene Ray (1996), FM Steve Stoyko (2005-2007), LM Mark Kernighan (2008), IM Yaacov Norowitz (2009), NM Arthur Macaspac (2010, 2012), NM Ken Chieu (2011), and NM Praveen Balakrishnan (2013).

 

20 players took part in last year's event.

Round by round coverage of the tournament will be posted on the KCC Tournaments blog.

#1135 Kenilworth CC Officer Elections

Last night I was elected Kenilworth Chess Club President, the 4th time in 7 years that I have been so honored.

Bob Sherry will serve as Vice-President and Joe Renna will be the Secretary.

Dr. Geoff McAuliffe and Michael Goeller return as Treasurer and Webmaster while Greg Tomkovich, Pat Mazzillo and Lou Sturniolo continue as Trustees.

If juggling the added responsibilities with those at Westfield, Chess Mates and the Garden State Chess League proves too taxing, I will take a back seat and hand the KCC reins to Bob.

#1134 KCC Holiday Party & Business Meeting

Tonight, beginning at 8 p.m., the Kenilworth Chess Club is having its annual Holiday Party, Business Meeting, Officer Elections and Awards Ceremony.

The club will be providing pizza. Members may bring other food and refreshments, if they desire. Alcohol is not permitted.

Trophies are to be awarded to NM Praveen Balakrishnan, LM Mark Kernighan, LM Scott Massey, Michael Goeller, Nelson Gutierrez, Joe Renna and Robert Vinson.

#1133 LM Massey To Lecture In Kenilworth On Thursday

On Thursday night, at the Kenilworth Chess Club, Life Master Scott Massey will lecture on last month's Anand-Carlsen World Championship match.

Admission is $5. The club opens at 8 p.m. and the lecture will begin at 8:15.

#1132 Irina Krush To Give Lecture & Simul In Staten Island

GM-elect Irina Krush, the current and 5-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion, will be giving a lecture and 20-board simultaneous exhibition at the Staten Island Chess Club on Wednesday, December, 11, 2013.


The lecture will begin promptly at 8 p.m., with the simul to follow.

Admission to the lecture is free. The cost to participate in the simul is $30. There are currently 10 seats available. Please contact Jackson Hueckel ASAP if you would like to play against Irina.

Hat tip to Melissa Biegel.

#1131 Varneckas Memorial Today

Today Chess Mates will be hosting a tournament in memory of my late friend Don Varneckas.

Date & Time:
Saturday, November 23, 2013
1:30 p.m.

Site:

Chess Mates

1531 Irving St.

Rahway, NJ 07065

Format: 3 Round Swiss, G/50;d5

3 Sections: Open, U1800, U1400

Entry Fees: $25 for Chess Mates members, $30 for non-members

Prize Fund & Prizes, per section:

70% of EF Returned.

1st place: minimum $75.

2nd & class prizes will be added, based on the number of participants in each section.

Registration: On-site 12:35-1:25 p.m.

Rounds: 1:30, 3:35, 5:40 p.m.

Byes: 1 bye available.

Note: Sections will be combined if there are less than 4 players in a section.

#1130 KCC Quads Canceled

The Kenilworth CC's Quads scheduled for tonight and next week have been canceled due to a lack of interest.

The club will, however, be open for casual play on Oct. 24 and 31.

The next KCC event will be the November 7th Garden State Chess League match vs. West Orange.

#1129 Two Tourneys Today At Chess Mates

Chess Mates in Rahway is running 2 tournaments today.

At 10:20 a.m. they have G/30 Quads and at 2:30 p.m. it's G/45 Quads.

The entry fee for each event is $20, $15 for members. Prizes are $55 to 1st place in each section.


Full details here and here.

#1128 Norowitz And Massey To Lecture In Kenilworth

The Kenilworth Chess Club has added lectures by International Master Yaacov Norowitz and Life Master Scott Massey to its fall calendar.

On October 17th, Norowitz will present "My Road To The IM Title". The $5 admission includes pizza for everyone!

On December 12th, Massey will lecture on the Anand-Carlsen World Championship match, which begins November 7th. Admission is $5.

Non-rated G/60 Quads, which will run October 10th-31st have also been added to the KCC schedule.

#1127 Fish Finale Pushed-Up To October 3rd

The last round of the Sy Fish Memorial has been advanced 1 week and will now take place on October 3rd.

#1126 Correspondence Update

This morning I drew 2414-rated Harry Ingersol and finished the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals with a 4-2 score.

At the moment I lead our section but Ingersol (3.5/4), Bill Morris (2.5/4) and Serdar Aykent (0.5/1) have the ability to surpass me.

Here is a snapshot of the final position and move list:

Sacking a pawn with 35.Nf3?! was foolish and nearly cost me the game but at the time I had just 1 advantage (vs. Weiss) and needed to take risks.

PGN of the above
Replay

PGN of the games finished in USA/C20/sf03

#1125 RIP Steve Ferrero

Steve Ferrero, editor and publisher of the Atlantic Chess News, passed away yesterday. He was 51.

Steve played 4th board on the Top NJ Team at the 2012 USATE, had a 2039 FIDE rating and regularly participated in the Dean Of Chess Academy League.


Update 9/19 @ 4:28 p.m. (per Lou Sturniolo)

Wake:

Friday, September 20
2-4 and 7-9 p.m.

Vainieri Funeral Home
5923 Kennedy Boulevard
North Bergen, NJ 07047
201-868-6555

Maps and Directions


Funeral Mass:
Saturday, September 21
9:00 10:00 a.m.
at Vainieri Funeral Home

Entombment to follow at:

Madonna Mausoleum
2070 Hoefleys Lane
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
201-944-7723

Obituary in the Jersey Journal

Updated 9/20 @ 5:00 p.m. (with info from Jim West On Chess)

#1124 Sy Fish Memorial Starts On Thursday

The Kenilworth Chess Club's 6th Annual Sy Fish Memorial will begin this Thursday night.

The event will be a 4 or 5 round swiss and have a G/60;d5 time control. It will run thru 10/10 or 10/17.

Here are the details:

6th Annual Sy Fish Memorial

September 12th - October 17th, 2013

• USCF-Rated
• 4 or 5-round Swiss
• If there are 16 or fewer players, there will be 4 rounds. If there are 17-32 players, there will be 5 rounds.
• Time Control: G/60;d5
• Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on September 12, 19, 26 and October 10.
• If a 5th round is necessary, it will be on October 17.
• There is no game on October 3rd!
• Site: Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, NJ 07033.
• Entry Fee: $10.
• Prize Fund: $90% of EF.
• Prizes: 1st place 30% of EF; 2nd place 20% of EF; 3rd place, U2000, U1750, U1500 each 10% of EF.
• 10% of EF reserved for rating fees and scoresheet purchases.
• Register with Geoff McAuliffe or John Moldovan, on site, before 8:25 p.m. on 9/12.
• Late-joins accepted until the start of round 2.
• 1 bye allowed, any round. Must declare before the end of round 3.
• If taking a bye, please inform the TD (Geoff or John) before the round is
  paired.

#1123 Norowitz Wins NJ Open

IM Yaacov Norowitz won the 2013 NJ Open on tiebreaks over NM David Hua.

The event attracted 157 players.

#1122 Chess Mates Site Hacked Again

Google Chrome users who visit Chess Mates' website (www.chessmatesnj.com) are getting a "Reported Phishing Website Ahead!" warning about www.chesscamp.us.

Chess Mates has nothing to do with this other site, which according to Who Is, is owned an Alexsandr Stripunsky. See photo below.

It is not known if the aforementioned is GM Stripunsky or if rival chess establishment, ICA is involved.

Post modified @ 2:01 p.m

#1121 Germany Wins NATO Championship

Germany won the 2013 NATO Championship, which was held in Rynia, Poland from August 12-16.

The United States team finished tied for 4th. Dan Ranario led the American contingent with 5/7 and tied for 6th place among individual players.

Chess Mates owner/Army Captain/NM Arthur Macaspac, who has been serving in Djibouti, and is due to return home in late September, had 4.5 points and tied for 8th.

All 287 games in ChessBase format.

For more details read U.S. Shines At 24th NATO Champs on the USCF web site.

#1120 Correspondence Update

This morning I defeated Kenneth E. Jones, bringing my score in the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals to 3.5/5 and raising my "live" ICCF rating to 2326.

My opponent varied from Nickel-Loeschnauer: ICCF GM Norm Tourney #34 with 18.Bg5, got into severe time-trouble and started going wrong with 24.Kg2. 27.exf6? let my Ng8 into play and after 29.Qd6?! Black was already winning. I used just 20 days compared to Jones' 200.

Here is a snapshot of the final position and move list:

... plus a replay of the game:

Jones-Moldovan
C18 French Defense

PGN of the above
 

USA/C20/sf03 Crosstable

#1119 Tomorrow's Chess Mates Tourney Shortened, Sunday's G/30 Canceled

Tomorrow's swiss tournament at Chess Mates in Rahway has been shortened to 3 rounds. The time control, entry fee and prizes will be as advertised.

The G/30 scheduled for Sunday, June 23 has been canceled.

Chess Mates' regular schedule will resume on Wednesday, June 26th.

#1118 Summer Tourney Addendum

I forgot to mention 2 things in the previous post:

- Entries for the Kenilworth Summer Tournament are usually accepted thru July 4th. The TD, however, reserves the right to cut-off registration at an earlier date, if the field becomes too large.

- Results and standings will be posted on the KCC Tournaments blog.

#1117 Kenilworth Summer Tourney Starts Tonight!

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

Here are the rules :

• The entry fee is $5.00.
• The tournament will run from June 13th through August 29th.
• 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.
• If both players are unrated or have identical ratings, they toss for initial color.
• 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.

Bob Sherry won last year. Other past winners of this popular event include LM Scott Massey (2004), LM Mark Kernighan (2005, 2011), Greg Tomkovich (2006), Ari Minkov (2007, 2010), John Moldovan (2008) and Ian Mangion (2009).

#1116 NED-USA Match: 2 Draws For Me

This morning I drew my games on board 8 of the Netherlands-USA correspondence match:

John Moldovan 2307 - Rein D.J. Thierry 2306
D35 Queen's Gambit

I could not get any advantage from the opening and neither side wanted to take any chances in the middlegame.

Thierry - Moldovan
C06 French Defense

Not a single original move was played, as we followed Toenisson - Siigur : correspondence, ICCF 2010 through White's 35th turn. Perhaps White could have improved with 22.Qd1 Ne4 23.Bc2 Qa6 24.Bxe4! (N) dxe4 25.Qb3+.

PGN of the 2 games above
PGN of all 128 NED-USA games

The Dutch now lead the 64-board match 11.5-6.5.

#1115 My New Burnt Chess Set

Last month I purchased the Burnt Grandmaster Chess Pieces from The Chess House.

Unfortunately, there are several minor flaws with the set I received. Firstly, the color and finish is a duller than expected.

The base of 1 Rook isn't level and the weight in one of the Knights is loose. Finally, the "luxurious billiard cloth" pads are too thin.

Here's how the whole set looks, paired with my 30 year old mahogany and maple board.

In closing, I should also mention that the Kings are 3.82" tall, not 4", and tell you that the shipping cost to NJ would have been $38, had I not added a $16 book.

#1114 Chess Mates Open Championship Starts Today

Chess Mates Open Championship starts today. The first round begins at 1:30 p.m.

Here are full details on the event:

Chess Mates Open Championship
June 8-9 or 9

Trophies Plus Grand Prix Points: 10

Format: 5-SS
Time Control: G/55;d5 (1 day option: rounds 1-3 G/25;d5).
Register: Saturday 6/8 12:35-1:25 p.m., Sunday 6/9 10:00-10:25 a.m.

Rounds: Sat. 6/8 1:30, 3:45, 6:00 p.m. Sun. 6/9 2:30, 4:45 p.m. (1 day: Sun. 10:30, 11:45 a.m., 1:00 p.m. then merge.)

Byes: 2 byes available. Must commit prior to round 4.
Re-entry: $45, before round 2 or 3.
Entry Fee: $85 non-members, $75 members.

Prize Fund: $1500 b/20 entries.

Prizes: 1st place $300, 2nd place $225, 3rd place $150, U2200 $150-75, U1900 $150-75, U1600 $150-75, U1300 $100. Biggest Upset $50. Trophy & Club Champion title to Top Chess Mates member.

Site: Chess Mates, 1531 Irving St., Rahway, NJ 07065.
Info: 732-499-0118, chessmates@chessmatesnj.com

#1113 KCC To Hold Members' Meeting This Week

The Kenilworth Chess Club will be holding a members' meeting on Thursday, June 6th, starting at 8:15 p.m., to address waning interest in our club and discuss ways to boost attendance. 

The input of all current and lapsed members would be most welcome.

#1112 Correspondence Update

My game against Serdar Aykent has ended in a draw, bringing my score in the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals to 2.5/4.

It was a well-played Winawer, with no apparent mistakes by either side. We followed theory until I varied with 19...f5.

Aykent 2175 - John Moldovan 2313
C18 French Defense

PGN (from ICCF)

#1111 Victory In Rahway & A New OTB Best!

Today I won a strong, 4-player tournament at Chess Mates in Rahway.

Here are my victories over expert Mauricio Camejo and FM Boris Privman, both of whom spurned draw-offers and blundered a few moves later:

John Moldovan 1833 - Camejo 2164

A55 Old Indian Defense

Moldovan - Privman 2364

D35 Queen's Gambit

PGN

With the 2700 performance, my rating jumped 58 points, to a personal best 1891. The previous high was 1853 on June 19, 2010.

Unfortunately, my last-round opponent forfeited. So, I missed-out on a nice bonus and an even bigger gain (at least 31 additional points).

#1110 SWE-USA Update

This morning I defeated Anders Brissman in the SWE-USA match. The game is probably my best-ever correspondence effort.

Here is a snapshot of the final position and move list:

If Black had played 67...Rh4!, I would have won with 68.b8=N!!

PGN of the above game
Replay

The U.S clinched the match some time ago and now leads it 53.5-22.5.

Crosstable
PGN of all 90 games.

#1109 Games From Section 3 Of The Corr Semis

The public can now see and download the finished games from section 3 of the 20th U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

Replay links to my draws and victory have been added to the sidebar.

#1108 Another Update On 20th U.S. Corr. Ch. Semis

Yesterday, I won against Lester Weiss, in the U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

Here's a quick rundown on the game, which started on September 13th:

Black tried to neutralize my Q's Gambit Exchange by going into an ending but a slight mistake on move 14 let me secure an edge. I eventually created a passer and forced him to sac a pawn. A shot on turn 29 increased my advantage and 10 moves later my foe capitulated, though he probably did so prematurely.

I can't post the score until at least 1 more game in my section is finished. For a look at the standings click here.

#1107 Tica Leads West Orange Championship

Expert Juan Tica leads the West Orange CC Championship after 4 of 7 rounds. Six players are a half-point back. Last year's winner, Ari Minkov is tied for 12th, at 50%.

Rank	Player	Rate	Pts
1.	Tica, Juan	2183	3.5
= 2.	Rosas, Victor	2092	3
	Mangion, Ian	2042	3
	Pedersen, Roger E	1974	3
	Napper, Nathaniel	1966	3
	Hart, Charles M	1915	3
	Race, Doran	1914	3
= 8.	Zilbermintz, Lev	2117	2.5
	Boxer, Matthew	1921	2.5
	Adamo Jr, John	1766	2.5
	Rivero, Rene	1679	2.5
= 12.	Minkov, Ari	2039	2
	Martinez, Alberto	1913	2
	Cohen, Bryan	1844	2
	Garrett, Damon	1820	2
	Sharpell, Fred	1807	2
	Burn, Murray	1764	2
	Katz, Harry	1704	2
	Nayak, Mohan	1598	2
	Trieste, Edward	1530	2
	Moreira, Leonardo	1043	2
= 22.	Fortunato, Joseph	1617	1.5
	Hagerty, John	1529	1.5*
	Smalt, Robert	1185	1.5
	Bejinariu, Neculai	unrated	1.5
	Sanchez, John	unrated	1.5
= 27.	Hart, Glen B	1684	1*
	West, Robert	1622	1
	Vinson, Robert	1200	1
	Levanda, Mark	1129	1
= 31.	Lynn, Robert	1461	0.5
	Kirck, Charles	1311	0.5

* withdrew

The above ratings are from the February 2013 Golden Database.

#1106 Update On 20th U.S. Correspondence Ch. Semis

On Monday, I drew my game with Kyle Biederman, in the U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

My opponent opened with his favorite Catalan. I steered play into a Bogo-Indian and my 8th was a slight improvement over previous practice. We went into an endgame and I tried to sharpen play with an Exchange offer but he declined and successfully fought-off all other attempts. The point was split after 43 moves, with each side having a Bishop and 3 pawns.

You can collect the 66 completed contests from sections 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 but games from my section can't be seen until 3 more are finished.

#1105 A Bizarre Coincidence!!?

In a rather incredible coincidence, Kenilworth Chess Club member Luis Ruales has played two different Bobby DeMarcos in consecutive weeks!!

Ruales played DeMarco #1 (of Newark-McDonald's) in a Garden State League match on April 4th and faced DeMarco #2 in the last night's opening round of the Ellner Memorial.

#1104 New Staten Island CC Site

The Staten Island Chess Club is in the process of building a new web site.

Its template looks great! I've always liked that burnt set... may have to get one.

Hat tip to Ed Selling.

#1103 Local Clubs Update

I have added Chess Mates and the Garden State Chess League to my list of local chess clubs. I have deleted the defunct Summit club and Newark's Sleepless Knights.

Info for the Westfield, Kenilworth, West Orange, Roselle, Clark, Scotch Plains, Maplewood and Checkmate clubs have also been updated.


Addendum 4/12 @ 9:40 p.m. - The Checkmate CC now meets on Saturday nights, from 8:30 to 11:00 p.m.

Hat tip to Robert Vinson.

#1102 RIP Donatas (Don) Varneckas

Donatas Varneckas died yesterday, 23 days after suffering a stroke while playing at the Morris County Chess Club in Parsippany.

Don, a retired former butcher and retired accountant, was a friend and teammate to many. We played together in the USATE tournaments (2010, 2011) and in the Garden State Chess League (2010-11, 2011-12). I last saw him on March 9th, at Rahway's Chess Mates, just a few days before he was stricken.

For those who knew Don and would like to pay their respects, here is some information on his memorial services:

Wake
Sunday, April 7 from 2-6 pm
Doyle Funeral Home
106 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Funeral Mass
Monday, April 8 at 10 a.m.
Church Of The Assumption
91 Maple Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Entombment
Holy Rood Cemetery
61 Whippany Road
Morristown, NJ 07960

Those unable to attend may write a condolence message here or leave a comment to this post.

#1101 Springfield's Checkmate CC

With the Springfield Barnes and Noble now closing at 9 p.m. on Sundays and tables generally unavailable for chess until after 8 p.m., the Checkmate Club's future is in doubt.

Update 4/12 @ 9:40 p.m. - The Checkmate CC now meets on Saturday nights, from 8:30-11:00 p.m.

Hat tip to Robert Vinson.

#1100 Ellner Memorial Starts April 11th

6th Annual Irving Ellner Memorial

Kenilworth Chess Club

April 11th-May 16, 2013

• USCF-Rated
• 5-round Swiss
• Time Control: G/60 with 5 second per move increment.
• Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on April 11th, 8:20 p.m. on April 18th, 25th and May 9th, 16th. There is no game on May 2nd!
• Entry Fee: $10
• Prizes Fund: $150 b/16 entries. (100% of EF minus rating fee)
• Prizes: To be announced
• Register with TD Geoff McAuliffe before 8:25 p.m. on 4/11 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
• Late-joins accepted. 2 byes allowed.

#1099 USATE PGN File

Today's MegaBase update (#11 for 2013) contains 302 games from last month's USATE. To download them, in zipped PGN, click here.

#1098 Stoyko To Lecture On The Semi-Slav

FIDE Master Steve Stoyko will be presenting part 1 of his Semi-Slav Defense lecture tomorrow night, at the Kenilworth Chess Club.

Anand's brilliant Tata Steel win over Aronian, the Latvian Variation and other lines will be covered during the 2-part series, which concludes March 28th.

Admission is $5.

#1097 My New Polish Chess Set

Back in December 2003, on my second visit the Scotch Plains Chess Club, I had the pleasure of playing 3 games, with Mark Doroba (who has since passed away), on an exquisite Polish chess set and have longed for one ever since.

Well, at last month's USATE in Parsippany, after a first round loss to NM Tod Chasin, I walked over to the equipment store and was very pleased to see a similar set for sale.

The board didn't have the dark-square and border engravings that Mark's set did but the pieces were exactly the same and that was good enough for me.

#1096 Norowitz Earns IM Title

2009 Kenilworth CC Champion Yaacov Norowitz earned his final IM norm today by tying for 3rd 4th place at the Reykjavik Open.

After starting out 1-1 (with a loss to an FM), Yaacov scored 6.5 over the last 8 rounds, including +3-0=2 vs. 5 GMs, to finish a half-point behind winners Pavel Eljanov, Wesley So and Amin Bassem.

To play-through all of the new IM-elect's games from the event, click here.

#1095 Local TD Certification

By scoring 95% on the USCF's Club TD exam and meeting its performance requirements, I am now a Local TD.

#1094 Chess Mates Closed Saturday

Chess Mates has canceled the Dr. Luzivminda Machan Open scheduled for Saturday, February 9 and will be closed that day due to expected blizzard conditions.

A decision about the Sunday G/30 and Lesson will made later today or tomorrow.

#1093 New Web Site For West Orange CC

The West Orange Chess Club's new web site is located at  http://westorangechess.webs.com/.

Hat tip to Leonardo Moreira.

#1092 New KCC Tournament Blog

Reports on the 2013 Kenilworth Championship and future Kenilworth events will be posted on the new KCC Tournaments Blog.

#1091 Correspondence Update

On December 24th I drew William Morris, in the U.S. Correspondence Championship Semi-Finals.

My opponent played a King's Indian, an improvement at move 18 and easily defended a pawn-down ending, as his 2 Knights and better structure compensated for my 2 Bishops.

In SWE-USA, we now lead 38.5-17.5. Not much has changed in my game, as I took a 39-day think from Nov.27-Jan. 5.

The U.S. also has a 9-6 edge over AUS/NZL but trails England 16.5-15.5. Again, 2 games remain in GER-USA.

See my sidebar for crosstable and PGN links.

#1090 ICA Hacker Targeting Chess Mates?

Visitors to Chess Mates' web site are receiving the following prompt: "A username and password are being requested by http://www.chesscamp.us..."

Log-ins to Chess Mates' web host and email account are similarly affected.
 
A WhoIs search revealed that chesscamp.us is owned by a GM with ICA ties but the hacker may be trying to make it look like a rival chess outfit is behind the problem.