I Want Some Action!
[imagefield_assist|fid=6752|preset=frontpage_200x200|title=|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=200|height=200]I Want Some Action!
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2010 Chess Olympiad Preview
[imagefield_assist|fid=6736|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]BY IM John Donaldson
The FIDE Presidential race between incumbent Kirsan Ilumzhinov and challenger Antaoly Karpov has been attracting most of the media attention to date, but that will likely change as soon as the Chess Olympiad begins on September 21.
The 39th in a series of competitions dating back to London 1927, the 2010 Chess Olympiad will be held in Khanty-Mansiysk in Western Siberia not far from the confluence of the mighty Irtysh and Ob rivers. A rapidly growing oil town and home to a population of 62,000, Khanty Mansiysk may be almost 1,800 miles from Moscow but is well known to the chess world for hosting the 2005, 2007 and 2009 World Cups.
Victory in Indy
[imagefield_assist|fid=6734|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Spencer and I went to Indianapolis last weekend for the aptly named Indianapolis Open. This was a CCA event, and CCA has not held an event in Indy in 35 years! Prizes were based on 220 players, and it looked like they would be lucky to get 150, as advance entries were slim. However, there were enough on-site entries to pay the prizes in full! This tournament had several sections (Open, U2100, U1900, U1700, U1500, and U1300) and there were some MO players in each section.
The most successful was Jialin Ding, who scored 4-1 in the U2100 section, and tied for first place! Spencer played in the Open, and beat his first FM, Andrew Karklins, in round 1. Thirteen year old Kevin Cao had an excellent tournament, scoring 3-2, to attain his highest rating ever, about 2200 USCF.
First-ever Saint Louis Arch Bishops game Monday
[imagefield_assist|fid=4391|preset=frontpage_200x200|title=|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=200|height=200]The Saint Louis Arch Bishops begin their first foray into the U.S. Chess League on Monday, and they're bringing with them some heavy hitters.
GM Yury Shulman will be on board one for the Arch Bishops with GM Ben Finegold and IM Michael Brooks on board's two and three respectively. New Saint Louis resident, GM Hikaru Nakamura will also play for Saint Louis this year, but will not be in town for the first match. The Arch Bishops have the top two highest-rated players in the league in Shulman and Nakamura, both former U.S. Champions. Add Finegold to the mix, and the Arch Bishops have three of the top 16 highest-rated players in the league, making them an instant powerhouse.
GM Finegold: Missouri Invitational Champion
[imagefield_assist|fid=6720|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]The CCSCSL was host last weekend to the Missouri Invitational Championship and the Missouri Amateur Championship. The Invitational had 15 participants, and the Amateur had 55, much more than expected.
I played well (for once) and won the Invitational with 4.5-0.5. A mild surprise was clear-second finisher Kevin Cao, who once again broke 2200, and beat IM Michael Brooks along the way, scoring an impressive 4-1. IM Brooks took clear third with 3.5-1.5.
Magnus Carlsen to take on Hikaru and the World
[imagefield_assist|fid=6713|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura will be one of three super-GMs tabbed to represent the world against the world No. 1, GM Magnus Carlsen, on September 10.
Nakamura will join GM Judit Polgar of Hungary and GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France as the world representatives who will challenge Carlsen. The event will be held in New York City and will begin at Noon EDT (11 a.m. CDT). Following Carlsen's first move, each of the three GMs will submit his or her reply, and the public can access a central website to vote for the move they like best.
Sign up for the event by clicking the link here.
Missouri Amateur Championship
[imagefield_assist|fid=6710|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]The Missouri Amateur and Invitational Championship will take place next weekend, August 14 and 15. The TLA for the tournament is as follows:
August 14 & 15 – Missouri Amateur Championship – Saint Louis
**A State Championship Event**
Happy Campers
[imagefield_assist|fid=6708|preset=frontpage_200x200|lightbox=true|title=|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=200|height=200]Hi everyone! I have not blogged in a while. The U.S. Junior Championship and U.S. Women's Championship tournaments were quite exciting, and Jennifer and I had a lot of fun commentating on the games. Congrats to Shankland and Krush, who both qualify for the 2011 U.S. Championship.
Currently, I am teaching at an advanced chess camp for Missouri's best junior players. We have six strong players this week: Kevin Cao, Nick Karlow, Isaiah Gadson, Spencer Finegold, William Tong and Jialin Ding. The camp has been fun and informative. Hopefully, we can run a similar camp next Summer and get 8-10 top juniors.
Chess Boy Scouts Merit Badge announced in Saint Louis
[imagefield_assist|fid=6705|preset=frontpage_200x200|title=|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=200|height=200]Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, who founded the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis with her husband Rex Sinquefield made a special announcement at the closing ceremony of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Championship, held at the the Saint Louis University John Cook School of business. Dr. Sinquefield, who has supported and volunteered for the Boy Scouts for more than 20 years, announced that the Boy Scouts of America just approved Chess as the next Merit Badge for development.
Boys Scouts earn Merit Badges in more than 100 areas from camping to coin collecting.
A Chess Merit Badge would show that the recipient has attained a specified level of knowledge of the game of Chess. This merit badge would focus on the benefits that chess can bring, as this sample from the proposal shows.
A Perfect Storm
IM Sam Shankland had an atrocious first two rounds at the Junior Closed Championship. After announcing his early retirement from chess before coming to the Junior Closed, Shankland appeared listless as lower-rated opponents made quick work of him in rounds one and two.
Then, after scoring a win against FM John Bryant in round three, Shankland appeared more relaxed, and was even able to crack a few jokes in his post-mortem analysis with GM Ben Finegold and WGM Jen Shahade. Shankland went on a tear to close out the Junior Closed, scoring six points out of his final seven games.
