Ben's Blog: Weight Update

It has been a little more than 2 weeks, and so far I have lost 12 pounds.  I go to the health club everyday, and work the treadmill for one hour.  I listen to music and watch tv whilst I work out, so the time passes pretty quickly.  I have been sticking to my diet of fruits, veggies, rice, and soup, and that has been easy as well.

I have been receiving a lot of congratulatory texts and emails due to being on the cover of the recent Chess Life magazine.  Also, I am featured on the back cover of the latest issue of "New In Chess" magazine, in the column "checking in."

Ben's Blog: Chess Life Cover

The February 2010 issue of "Chess Life" magazine features yours truly on the cover, and I wrote a 6+ page article on my career and my GM norms. Chess Life Online, also known as CLO, has put the content on the USCF Website.

In other news, the GMs from the Silver Medal Winning World Team Championship have and will come to the CCSCSL over the next couple of months. Sunday, January 31, GM Yury Shulman lectured for over 2.5 hours, and everyone enjoyed his stories and games from the WTC. 

Ben's Blog: Working Out

I have decided to be referred to as "Big Ben" no longer!  For the last week, I have changed my diet to: Fruits, vegetables, rice, and soup. This is not as difficult as it sounds, since I have been a vegetarian since 1986!

I also have a health membership at Sante, which is located in the basement of the beautiful Chase Hotel.  Luckily, the health club is located only one block from the chess club, so I can work out every day.  I have been pounding the treadmill for an hour each day.

Exciting new format debuts at 2010 U.S. Championship

The 2010 U.S. Championship, scheduled to be held May 13-26 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, will feature a new format, which includes a 24-player, seven-round Swiss tournament followed by a four-player Championship final. The idea is designed to ensure drama in the final three days of play and to avoid the potentially less climactic pairings that are typical in a 24-player, nine-round Swiss.

This innovative new format will ensure an exciting finale for chess fans around the world. After seven rounds of play, the top four players will ...

Ben's Blog: Tales from the Winter Open

My first slow-rated chess in Missouri (ever!) was more interesting than I had hoped.  Luckily, Spencer was able to keep the Finegold name in good stead, as he had a solid 3.5-0.5 score, beating three lower-rated players and drawing a higher-rated player (as well as winning $42). I, on the other hand, oscillated between playing like the Rams and the Lions, but was very fortunate to go 4-0. Perhaps I should ask Mark McGwire for some tips on enhancing my performance.

The tournament was VERY successful with 57 players in attendance. There were upsets all over the place, with experts losing to lower-rated players, in the vain attempt to make me look good by comparison.

Winter Open results and prize payouts

The Winter Open at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis was a huge success with 57 participants and intense fighting chess throughout. Eight players with a rating higher than 2000 filled out the Master/Expert class, and the CCSCSL's own GM Ben Finegold took first place with a perfect 4-0 score. 

Click Read more below to view the tournament standings and prize payouts, and stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of the tournament by esteemed tournament director Ray Kurczynski!

GM Finegold lecture series scheduled for Thursdays at CCSCSL

Grandmaster Ben Finegold will begin his series of weekly lectures tonight, Thursday, January 14, at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. The lecture will start at 7 p.m. each Thursday and is free to all club members.

Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to pick the brain of one of the country's top players as he offers masterful insight and analysis. GM Finegold will cover a new topic each week, so come on out and improve your game with one of the best!

If you can't make the lecture, never fear. The staff at the CCSCSL ...

Ben's Blog: U.S. wins silver in Bursa

The U.S. Team won the silver medals today at the World Team Championships in Bursa, Turkey, by drawing their match with Azerbaijan in the last round, as all four boards were drawn.

This is an amazing result for the U.S. team, especially with the absence of Gata Kamsky from the team.

Russia won the gold, and the surprising late entry India won the bronze after a devastating 3.5-0.5 victory over hapless Brazil. I will post the individual scores of our team below:

Ben's Blog: Russia back in first as U.S. team slips

Russia, as expected, had an easy time against Egypt, so the USA needed to win against the tough Armenian team to maintain their slim lead.  It was not to be, as Armenia's #1, Levon Aronian, played an excellent game against Hikaru Nakamura and scored the only decisive game of the match. 

The U.S. team played well on all four boards, but a slip on move 41 by Hikaru allowed Levon the amazing 42.Rb6!! from which Hikaru could not recover.  

U.S. stands alone atop leaderboard at WTC

BURSA, TURKEY -- The United States stands in clear first after round seven of the World Team Championship.

On a crucial must-win day, the Americans demonstrated true grit in their path to victory over Greece. The Greek team, with surprise victories over Russia and Armenia, are dangerous rivals capable of upsetting any team. The victory was by the smallest margin at 2.5-1.5 and was not decided until the last moment. On board two, the game between Alexander Onischuk and Ioannis Papaioannou was the first to finish and resulted in a draw.