#1168 Happy Holidays

 

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

#1167 FYI

Much of the content uploaded to this blog & several others that I (John Moldovan) author, is stored on the Kenilworth Chess Club's web site.

I received access to Kenilworth's site in September 2006, have been allowed to use it for 8+ years, without objection from 4 other Presidents, club officers, trustees or members, and hope that arrangement remains in place.

If it does not & my access is cut-off, I will demand removal of my intellectual property.

The Kenilworth Chess Club does not own content that I have created for the Chess Coroner blog, Garden State Chess League blog, Chess Mates blog and KCC Tournaments blog. The content includes, but is not limited to, annotated games and related files.

#1166 Kenilworth CC Business Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Kenilworth Chess Club's 2014 Business Meeting:

- The meeting was delayed until there was a quorum and did not commence until 9:15 p.m.

- Those in attendance included Ziggy Bliznikas, Mark Kernighan, Scott Massey, Pat Mazzillo, Geoff McAuliffe, Jack McCorkell, Joe Renna, Luis Ruales, Ed Selling, Bob Sherry, Lou Sturniolo, and John Moldovan.

- President Moldovan announced he would not seek re-election or accept any appointment. He advised a club path for 2015 that included more lectures and seeking an earlier starting time.

- Treasurer McAuliffe reported that, following a donation to the Kenilworth Recreation Department and payment for the Holiday Party, the club will only break even this year and warned that we may not be able to keep our website when renewal is due.

- Bob Sherry was elected President for 2015. 
- Joe Renna was elected Vice-President.
- Geoff McAuliffe was re-elected as Treasurer.

- There was no voting for Secretary, Webmaster, Tournament Director and Trustee. Those nominated for the 1st 2 positions declined or were not present. The other posts were not even discussed. The club will attempt to fill the 4 vacancies by soliciting nominations and voting via email.

- The club will not sponsor any USATE entries in 2015. 

- The price of Regular membership dues ($15) and Senior membership dues ($10) will remain the same. Junior membership dues have been increased to $10.

- After a long discussion on the Club Championship, the attendees agreed to a two-section, USCF-rated tournament with a 6-8 player RR in the top group & a 5-7 round RR or Swiss in the lower section. To play in the top you must have an 1800+ rating.

   The event will start March 26. It could conclude as early as April 23rd and as late as May 14. The cost to join will be dues (1 full year) + $10 entry fee + a $10 anti-forfeit deposit (=$35 for most players). The time-control was not discussed and will have to be addressed when details are finalized.

- A motion to hold another meeting in late May was approved.

- Finally, the Kenilworth CC approved the Westfield CC's offer to cross-honor memberships in 2015. Kenilworth members will be able to play in Westfield's events, at a discount, and play in the WCC Championship. Westfield members will get a weeknight venue and the right to play in the KCC Championship.

#1165 Friday G/60 At Chess Mates

Tonight, at 8 p.m., Chess Mates is beginning a 3-round Friday G/60 that will run through December 26th.

The entry fee is $30 for Chess Mates' members, $40 for non-members. 70% of EF returned in prizes.

For details, visit http://www.uschess.org/tlas/5308.tla or click on the image below.

#1164 Scott Massey Lecture On Carlsen-Anand II Tonight

Tonight, at the Kenilworth Chess Club, LM Scott Massey will be giving a lecture on last month's Carlsen-Anand match.

 

Admission is $5. The lecture will probably begin at 8:30 but I suggest that you arrive 15 minutes early.

#1163 Jon Edwards Presentation In Westfield, On 11/23

On Sunday, November 23, the Westfield Chess Club will be hosting a presentation by, & book signing with, Jon Edwards, author of ChessBase Complete: Chess in the Digital Age.

The event will take place from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m, at the Westfield YMCA's main branch, prior to the Westfield Quick Swiss.

Jon, a 2-time U.S. Correspondence Champion, has written many other chess books including Sacking the Citadel: The History, Theory and Practice of the Classic Bishop Sacrifice.

#1162 Sy Fish Memorial Starts Tonight

7th Annual Sy Fish Memorial

October 23rd thru November 6th, 2014

• USCF-Rated
• 3-round Swiss
• Time Control: G/40;d5
• Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on October 23, 30 and November 6.
• Site: Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, NJ 07033.
• Entry Fee: $5.
• Projected Prizes, based on 8 entries: 1st place $15; 2nd place $11, 3rd place or Class prize $10.
• 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.

#1161 Kenilworth CC Schedule For The Remainder Of 2014

Here is the Kenilworth Chess Club's Schedule for the rest of 2014:

October

 

9 - Game/30 Tournament, rounds 1 & 2 (non-rated, 4-SS, G/25;d5, EF: free)

16 - Game/30 Tournament, rounds 3 & 4

23 - Sy Fish Memorial, round 1 (USCF-rated, 3-SS, G/40;d5, Details tba)

30 - Sy Fish Memorial, round 2

November

 

6 - Sy Fish Memorial, round 3

13 - Kenilworth Consultation Game, week 1

20 - Kenilworth Consultation Game, week 2

27 - No Meeting (Thanksgiving)

December

 

4 - Lecture (speaker & subject TBA)

11 - Scott Massey Lecture on Anand-Carlsen II. $5

18 - Business Meeting & Holiday Party

25 - No Meeting (Christmas)

#1160 USA Leads India In Correspondence Match

On Wednesday night, I defeated Vaibhav Saxena, to give the United States a 10.5-7.5 lead in its ICCF match versus India.

Here is the game:

With the victory, my rating should surpass 2340 is 2336. Having completed 30+ games, I am now eligible to play in an ICCF IM Norm tourney but will instead take a long break from correspondence play.

#1159 Browne Wins U.S. Senior Championship

GM Walter Browne won the U.S. Senior Championship, which was held Sepetmber 14-20, on a cruise ship.

Ariel Levi was 2nd. FM Steve Stoyko, who recently moved to Florida, tied for 3rd.

#1158 Kenilworth's Events For 9/18 & 9/25

The Kenilworth Chess Club has scheduled a Partner Tournament for this Thursday (September 18) and a Blitz Tournament for next week (September 25).

Here are the details for the events:

Partner Tournament
September 18
8:30 p.m.
Non-Rated.
G/15;d5.
3-SS.
EF: Free.
Prizes: none.
TD: John Moldovan.

• Lower-rateds get to pick their partner for the 3 games.
• Higher-rated partner may switch his team's playing order up to 3 times per game.
• Otherwise, partners will alternate moves.
• Lower-rated player on a team gets to play his team's 1st move in each game.
• A player may only tell his partner "be careful", "take your time", "watch our time" or "help!"
• Only the higher-rated partner can offer draws, accept draws, or resign a game.
• Score-keeping is optional but will be necessary for claims.

Blitz Tournament
September 25
8:30 p.m.
Non-Rated.
G/5;d.
3-SS. 2 games per round.
EF: $3 KCC members, $5 non-members.
Prize Fund: $3 x number of players.
Prize distribution: TBA.
TD: Geoff McAuliffe or Bob Sherry.

#1157 KCC Swap Meet Next Thursday

Next Thursday night (September 11th), the Kenilworth Chess Club will be having a swap meet.

Current members & past members invited by the Club President, may bring chess books, equipment & software for trade or sale.

Please do not bring too many items. 20 per person is the maximum. If space proves to be short, we may have to limit individual displays to 10 items each.

Although the event will be private, I suggest that you inventory the items you are bringing.

One more thing... let's respect everyone's stuff by keeping all food, beverages, etc. away from the display area.

#1156 KCC Club Championship Awards Ceremony Tomorrow

Before tomorrow night's Summer Tourney finale, the Kenilworth CC will have its Club Championship Awards Ceremony.

If you are to receive a trophy, please arrive before 8:00 p.m. Those playing in the tournament should not begin games until 8:15.

I apologize for the extremely short notice but did not know if the 1st-place trophy would be done until late this afternoon.

John Moldovan

#1155 Wesfield Open Moved To 11/9

To avoid competing with the recently re-scheduled, $18,000 Boardwalk Open (originally slated for 10/25-26), the Westfield Chess Club has pushed its Westfield Open back to November 9th and moved its 11/9 Quads up to November 2nd.

#1154 NJ All-Girls Chess Camp

On Saturday, November 6th & Sunday, December 7th, Alice Dong will be leading a free, NJ All-Girls Chess Camp at the Dean of Chess Academy in Branchburg.

More details can be found in the links below:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gcnj2014
Eventbrite, for signing up: http://gcnj2014.eventbrite.com/
GoFundMe, for donation: http://www.gofundme.com/gcnj2014

#1153 Kenilworth Site Back Online

The Kenilworth Chess Club's website is back online.

#1152 Kenilworth CC Site Down Due To Server Failure

The Kenilworth Chess Club's website, www.kenilworthchessclub.org, has been down since sometime on Saturday, due to hardware failure on its server.

It will take several days for the site to be restored.

#1151 Anna Matlin Earns NM Title

Congratulations to Anna Matlin, who earned her National Master title on Saturday, at the Manhattan Open!

#1150 West Orange Mid-Summer Swiss (Corrected)

The West Orange Chess Club is running a USCF-rated Swiss on July 29th and August 5th.

Here are the details:

West Orange Mid-Summer Swiss
July 29 & August 5

Format: 4-SS
Time control: G/50 + 5 second delay
Address: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052.
Entry Fee: $20 West Orange CC members, $25 non-members.
Prizes: Based on the number of participants
Register: 7:40-7:55 p.m. on July 29.
Rounds: 2 rounds per night. 8:00 p.m., then ASAP on 7/29 & 8/5.
2 half-point byes are permitted.
Chief TD: Doran Race

Updated 7/18 at 11:12 a.m.

#1149 Chess Mates' July 4 Blitz Canceled

Tonight's 1st Friday Blitz Tournament at Chess Mates has been canceled. The club is closed today.

#1148 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 2014 Summer Tournament will run from June 5th through August 28th.
• The entry fee is $5.00.
• 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.
• All games are to be played at the Kenilworth Chess Club during normal operating hours.
• You may play up to 2 games per week. You can skip weeks but the more you play the more points you can accrue.
• You get one point for a win, one half point for a draw and zero for a loss. No bye points are awarded.
• 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 and in 2012. 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).

#1147 Kenilworth Wins GSCL Championship

Kenilworth edged Hamilton 2.5-1.5 last week to become the 2013-14 Garden State Chess League Champions.

The team, which featured Dr. Ian Mangion and Greg Tomkovich of Cranford, Jackson Hueckel of Staten Island, John Moldovan of Garwood, Don Carrelli and Bob Sherry of Mountainside, Dr. Geoff McAuliffe of Dunellen, Paul Gottleib of East Brunswick and finished with a +5-0=3 record, stumbled with draws against Summit & Newark-McDonald's in April, but came through in the must-win season finale against the 4-time defending champs.

#1146 Ellner Memorial Starts Tonight

The Kenilworth Chess Club's annual Irving Ellner Memorial tournament begins tonight. Here are the details:

7th Irving Ellner Memorial

April 10-May 8, 2014

• USCF-Rated
• 4-round Swiss
• Time Control: G/45 + 5 second per move increment.
• A player must keep score if he has 5 minutes or more remaining.
• Rounds: 8:30 p.m. on April 10th, 17th, 24th and May 8th. There is no game on May 1st!
• Entry Fee: $10
• Prize Fund: $150 b/ 16 entries. If there are more than 16 players, a 5th round will be added & the prize fund will be increased accordingly.
• Prizes: To be announced.
• Register before 8:25 p.m. @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
• Late-joins accepted until round 2 is paired. 1 bye allowed. Must commit prior to round 3.

#1145 Tomorrow's KCC Meeting Canceled

Tomorrow's Kenilworth CC meeting has been canceled due to weather and travel concerns.

Next week (Feb. 20th) the KCC will be running a Bughouse Tournament.

#1144 Norowitz To Lecture In West Orange

International Master Yaacov Norowitz is expected to give a simultaneous exhibition at the West Orange Chess Club on February 18th.

Further details will be provided when become available.

#1143 Ingersol Advances To USCCC Finals

Harry Ingersol defeated Serdar Aykent yesterday to clinch 1st place in Section 3 of the 20th U.S. Correspondence Chess Championship Semi-Finals and advance to the finals.

Others who have qualified, thus far, include SIM Carl Siefring (Section 1), Grayling Hill (Section 4), Daniel Woodard (Section 5) and Patrick Ryan (Section 6).

Larry Parsons and Leonid Gleyser lead Section 2, with 4.5/6. SIM Ciaran O'Hare, who has 3.5 & 1 game remaining, can join them.

#1142 Kenilworth Championship Begins Tonight!

The Kenilworth CC Championship begins tonight.

See post #1136 or click here for details.

#1141 RIP William J. Morris

Dr. William J. Morris, one of my opponents in Section 3 of the 20th U.S. Correspondence Chess Championship Semi-Finals, passed away on November 24th.

Although we didn't keep in touch after our draw, I will remember Bill as being one of my friendliest correspondence foes. During play, we sent messages back and forth, and after I offered to split the point on 12/24/2012, in the position below, ...

... Bill wrote:

"I would be rather foolish not to accept, given the position/material + of a Pawn, albeit isolated, doubled. And, your 2 B's vs my 2 Kn's. However, I am not sure that the Bishop pair is any advantage in this Pawn structure. Have never played 2 B's vs 2 Kn's in an endgame that I can recall. Nonetheless, Black has no opportunities to better himself, given the lack of a complete blunder on White's part, and I do not believe that will occur. So, I accept your gracious offer, given that I am unproven here, Black, and lower rated.

John, thank you for being a good and conversational opponent. I wish you well in the other games here and will be pulling for you. Only Weiss has been as friendly, but then, he's from South Bend! And, I do have to beat him in order to have a chance of advancing! Young Biedermann seems to be the likely candidate for a win in this section, (He played a French against me), but I suspect that 3 wins will be necessary to have a chance at the final. I'm thinking I have a good shot drawing Harry, and Jones as I  have White there. But, as I said, I'm new here. So what do I know?!

Good luck, and again, a good Christmas and a very good New Year."

Morris had 3/5 and an equal Rook ending when he died.

He will be sorely missed.

#1140 Kenilworth Championship Starts On Thursday

A reminder, the Kenilworth CC Championship begins on Thursday.

See post #1136 or click here for details.

#1139 Canada-USA Underway

The Canada-USA correspondence match is underway and we are currently in free time. Days used before January 17th will not be counted.

 

I am playing on board 3 (!) against 2324-rated Craig Sadler.

See the sidebar for game links.

Addendum 1/6 @ 1:57 a.m. - There is a 5-move transmission delay in effect. So, those who plan to follow the games won't see anything until White plays his 6th move.

#1138 Tonight's Kenilworth CC Meeting Canceled!

Tonight's Kenilworth Chess Club meeting has been canceled due to weather and travel concerns.

Tonight's Garden State Chess League matches have been postponed.