3SS 80 MINUTES SUDDEN DEATH 10" DELAY
IN 2 SECTIONS
OPEN SECTION
NM Farzad Abdi, black vs Michael Carey, Round 2
Draw! Both Farzad and Michael finished the event with
2.5 points to share 1-5th place.
BCC benefactor Mark Fins plays black vs NM Farzad
Abdi, in Round 1.
Jerry Li, black vs NM Andrew Hoy, Round 2.
Andrew scored 2.5 points to share 1-5th place.
Jerry scored 2 points for a share of 6-7th place.
Suraj Ramanathan, black vs Lewis Tu, Round 1.
Suraj scored 2.5 points to share 1-5th place.
[I am watching Suraj's rating which now stands at 2187!]
Jonathan Pfefer, black vs Yue (Kerry) Huang, Round 2.
Joanthan scored 2.5 points to share 1-5th place.
NM Nithin Kavi vs Natasha Christiansen, Round 1.
Nithin scored 2 points to share 6-7th place.
Natasha also served as Assistant TD for this event.
U1800 SECTION
Will Wisdom, black plays Ruohan Yin. Will scored a
perfect 3-0 to claim clear 1st place and a + 60 to 1562 rating.
Ruohan Yin scored 2 points to take clear 2nd place.
Ruohan started out with a provisional rating of 384 and
increased his numbers to 1041, a +657 hike, the highest
I have ever seen!
[I note 6 yr old Ruohan as BCC's Mozart of Chess!
Ruohan and his family are newly arrived from Beijing,
China. Ruohan speaks no English as yet, but inspecting
his scoresheet, he writes with a penmanship clear and
bold and worthy of the status of calligraphy! He had
been playing a lot of tournament chess in China . . . ]
Ruohan Yin, a 7 and a half yr old calculates.
IMPRESSIONS OF A CHESS TEACHER
Ruohan Yin, black vs Steve Stepak, Round 8.
[Notes by Steve Stepak: I played Ruohan, without
a breather from my intense game vs Will Wisdom.
In my game with Will playing black, I made a brilliant
exchange sacrifice, arriving at a totally won position.
Pondering and planning, I went into a "trance"
forgetting that my time was running out.
At the very end I made a mis-step which threw away
the win, but maintained a drawn position, barely.
Sadly, my mistake cost me the game. On my last
move, I stepped on a land mine, as my flag fell.
I was totally crushed, psychologically.
So I came into my Round 3 game with Ruohan
without a moment's rest and blundered into a
totally lost position, though Ruohan gave me some
hope. As and as the dust settled, I had a position,
down the exchange but with 2 connected extra pawns
for my efforts. But the day wore on and my energy was
sapped. I just lost my focus on the key to a draw: trade my
remaining rook for one of Ruohan's and play a N plus +2 pawn
advantage vs Rook which would have required a very
precise essaying of moves to secure the draw.
But I was out of gas, my mind frozen in a fog.
I blundered badly with 5 minutes left, allowing
Ruohan to queen a pawn which he did with a sense of
satisfaction and a gleeful smile on his face as he signaled
to his mother, watching from behind, that he had won.
Ruohan was a very happy little boy from Beijing who
will spend a year in the Cambridge area doing chess
and no doubt becoming fluent in English. Also, I must
report that at the board during our game, Ruohan was
a model of proper comportment. He was quiet and pleasant,
and totally focused: incredible to behold.
I predict great achievements for Ruohan
and was so happy to meet him and his father and mother.]
Ruohan Yin: welcome to America!
and welcome to the Boylston Chess Club!
SCENES FROM AROUND
THE HALL
Derek Jin
Daniel Levin vs Qingdong Meng, Round 1.
(above): Ruohan Yin vs Will Wisdom
What is interesting about this photo is that
Qingdong is playing his first tournament and
by his side is his 4 year old daughter.
Qingdong also has a son, Alexander Fang Meng,
who played in the Open Section of this event.
Will Wisdom, the only perfect 3-0 score in the
event. Bravo, Will !
CHESS: ALWAYS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Chess teacher, Steve Stepak listens to Riya Kanury,
as Benjamin Yin looks on. Photo: ChessPress
CONSTRUCTING A CHECKMATE
Elias Tesfaye, black vs Riya Kanury, Round 2.
This is Elias' first tournament ever! He is
a resident in the condo building in which
the BCC in located. Elias is very
enthusiastic about playing and learning
chess. He is just beginning to learn
how to write down his moves.
Bravo, Elias, for having the courage
to play and to learn.
Kids play chess at the Boylston Chess Club, Cambridge MA
TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION
David Milliern, Chief TD
