Another tactic

White is down a piece but has an advanced pawn on d7. Can white utilize the pawn to get into a winning position?

 

July Big Money Swiss

In its second itteraion we saw another strong crowd for the clubs newest event. We say 59 people sign up for the event which at least in my opinion is the perfect amount for the size of the club.

 The event ended with three players GM Nagi, Mikayel, and Andrew all on 3.5 out of 4 in the open section. GM Nagi ans Mikayel drew each other in the final round while Andrew won his final round game. Of note Jericho Carlson scored 2.5/4.0 to cross 1900 for his first time. 

 Another weekend and another proze for the Zhang sisters as Ella took first in the U1900 section with a perect score. Her strong performance increased her rating 68 points to 1692.

 Zachary Tower took first in the U1500 section. It’s good to see the Thursday Night crew doing well.

Mikayel takes another Friday Night Swiss

Mikayel took the Friday Night Blitz event on July 19th with a score of 11/12. A pair of draws against Zachary Pan is all that stood in his way of a perfect event.

Jianchao takes Big Money Blitz with a perfect score

 Jianchao scored 12/12 in July’s Big Money Blitz event. Mikayel finished 2nd with Andrew and Felix Wu tied for 3rd. The big question now is whether someone can stop Jianchao from doing the double and taking 1st in the Big Money Swiss event on July 20th. 

Interesting website for evaluation

 I have been sharing tactics that I have found interesting. While I will continue to do that I wanted to share a website I came across that might be of interest to lower rated players like myself. 

https://chessevaluationtraining.com/

The website gives you a position, tells you whose move it is and asks the simple question which color is better. It gives you links to the position in lichess and chess.com so you can see the computers take. I thought it was a unique way to practice evaluation skills in positions where material is close. I say it’s for lower rated players as at least in my limited experience one side is always at least 1.5 ahead. So it’s a pretty clear evaluation.  

Sunday Morning Action

After a busy period I am back to blogging about BCC events. 

On Sunday the action came back to BCC with Sunday Morning Action.  Four rapid games to start the day. Nikhil Kalaghatgi took first in the Open section with a perfect score.  Congrats to Carter Z who based on a strong performance finished third and crossed 1900 for the first time in the process.  Daniel Pineda and Dinh Nguyen tied for first in the under section with 3 out of 4  

June Quads

With the AC finally fixed the club combatants could focus on chess without the challenge of the heat. Thomas Rees took the top quad. Holden Chalfant took the top spot in the second quad.  His strong performance resulted in him passing 2000 for the first time. Big time congrats. Jerry Chen won the small Swiss. It’s a tough crown when an 1800 gets relegated to the small Swiss. It needs to be mentioned that Marcus Farzaneh-Far continues his ascent from the scholastic level with a 2 out of 3 performance increasing his rating by 144 points. Marcus is a junior to watch, having picked up over 500 points in the last two months. 

Removing the escape square

White has one move which wins, all the other options are equal games.  The rest of the action isn’t forced but the computer assures me that it’s mate in a lot if black wants to draw things out.  I picked the illustrative move for black rather than a series of spite checks and sacrifices.  

Club Championship Cycle kicks off

The club championship cycle kicked off on Monday with the Weaver Adams. Club members with a rating of under 1800 can compete for a spot in the Rueben Landy. The battle will surely be fierce. Round 1 began with the two top rated players being held to draws ensuring a wide open tournamanet. Michael Brown ground out a win in the last game of the night to finish outting him in pole position for the tournament. With Justin Guerra taking a bye in round 2 and the two first round draws, Michael will play Patrick Colleran for a chance to be the only player on 2 points after two rounds. Interestingly they both ended the May Tuesday Night Swiss tied for first, so anything can happen.

Hoy wins Open Section on May Tuesday Night Swiss

Andrew took first in the Open section. The Under section was hotly competed with four players tied for first Congrats to Michael Brown, Michael Barry, Ed Astrachan, and Patrick Colleran for finihsing tied for first.

Boylston Chess: Early Summer Six-Week Swiss Online

 

 

Early Summer Six-Week Swiss Online

 

Register Online Now

 

 

Date

beginning Tuesday, May 28, 2024

 

Event Format

6SS, 1 lichess game per Tuesday night set up by individual challenge

 

Time Control

Open: G/60 + 10 sec, U1900: G/45 + 5 sec

 

Sections

Open & U1900 (Unrated); accelerated pairings may be used

 

Entry Fee

$40, $25 for BCF members

 

Prizes

Open: $120-$80 based on 10 players; U1900: Trophy to 1st Place

 

Registration

Deadline June 18, 2024 @ 6 PM

 

Round Times

6:30pm

 

Description

Contact info: TD Nick Sterling. E-mail: td@boylstonchess.org. Text/cell: 781-733-0849.

If I do not have your e-mail and cell phone # already, please send those to me in case we have to contact each other.

If I do not have your lichess Username, please send that to me or include it in the comments in your Registration.

For Round 1, Pairings will be posted on Tuesday just after 6 PM on the Boylston CC website. The cutoff time for registration in time to play a Round is Tuesday at 6 PM. Any players who register subsequent to 6 PM will be skipped until the following week's Round. Each Round begins at 6:30 PM except for games whose start times were agreed in advance to be changed.

Players must join Zoom and Share their Screens or show their play areas in their camera views. The link will be sent to players by e-mail. Players with scores of at least +2, or in contention for a prize, may, at the TD's discretion, be required to provide at least two separate camera views on Zoom.

Players must be current Members of USCF for the OPEN SECTION ONLY, not the U1900. However, if the Sections need to be combined due to insufficient registration, then players who joined the U1900 Section will need USCF Memberships to play in the Open.

Forfeit of a Round for any reason may result in forfeit of any prize $$$ that would otherwise have been won, at the TD's discretion.

Rating with USCF will be delayed by 72 hours after the completion of the tournament to give lichess time to ensure Fair Play was observed in all games.

 

Event Dates

Tuesday, May 28 

Tuesday, June 4 

Tuesday, June 11 

Tuesday, June 18 

Tuesday, June 25 

Tuesday, July 2

Register Online Now

Entry List

 _________________

Need to withdraw or take a bye? 

Email td@boylstonchess.org at least 30 minutes before the round.

For parking and transportation info, 

please visit Parking and Public Transit.

If the metal gate to the building is closed, 

please press the doorbell marked #1

 

 

 

IM Shmelov wins Friday Night Blitz as Mikayel hot streak comes to an end

IM Shmelov took first with 9.5 a full point and a half ahead of Andrew Hoy and Jay Yalamanchili in second. As a reminder there will be no Friday Night Blitz on Memorial Day weekend.

An endgame tactic

 Does black have a chance here?

19 battle it out at the $15 Open

 Maximus Lu took first in the open section with a 3.5 out of 4 score. The performance took him over 1800 for the first time. Congratulations are also in order for Ben Palmer who recently graduated up from winning the under section regularly who took down Kelsey Liu in round 4. A nearly 400 point upset. 

Ella Zhang took first in the 76er section with a perfect score. The performance improved her rating and she is back to within a couple points of her sister who struggled with the increased competition in the Open section. Peter Marston may be one to watch out for. The adult improver got 2 wins in his first OTB tournament and should have had three wins as your author won on time from a clearly losing position.

Friday Night Blitz Round Robin edition

 On May 10th, 9 people signed up for Friday Night Blitz so we moved from a 7 round Swiss to a round robin event. 9 rounds 16 grueling blitz games were had. When the dust settled Mikayel took first with 13.5, 1.5 points clear of Andrew in second. Mikayel has been dominating the non-Danya blitz events recently. Will the streak continue next week?

Boylston Chess: Sunday Morning Action

 

 

Sunday Morning Action

 

Register Online Now

Date

Sunday, May 12, 2024

 

Event Format

4SS

 

Time Control

G/25 + 5

 

Sections

Open & U1800

 

Entry Fee

$20, $35 for non-BCF members

 

Prizes

$360 based on 30 paid entries: Open 1st $150, 2nd $90; U1800 1st $70, 2nd $50

 

Registration

8:45m - 8:55am

 

Round Times

First round promptly at 9:00am, rest ASAP

 

Description

In accordance with BCF policy, unrated players may play in any section. Rated players rated within 200 points of the lower section maximum may play up one section. Sections may be merged if there are few players in one section.

A current USCF membership is required. Please visit the US Chess Membership site to join or renew.

Metered street parking is free on Sundays!

First round is at 9:00am, second round will be no earlier than 10:00am, but rds 2-4 will be played as soon as possible.

Register Online Now

Entry List

 _____________________

 Need to withdraw or take a bye? 

Email td@boylstonchess.org at least 30 minutes before the round.

For parking and transportation info, 

please visit Parking and Public Transit.

If the metal gate to the building is closed, 

please press the doorbell marked #1

 

 

Boylston Chess: $15 Open

 

 

$15 Open  

 

Register Online Now

 

 

 

Date

Saturday, May 11, 2024

 

Event Format

4SS

 

Time Control

G/60 d5

 

Sections

Open & U1800

 

Entry Fee

$15

 

Prizes

$225 based on 25 paid entries: Open: $110-$55, U1800: $60

 

Registration

9:00am - 9:15am

 

Round Times

9:30am, 12:30pm, 3:00pm, 5:30pm

 

Description

Sections with few players may be merged.

In accordance with BCF policy, unrated players may play in any section. Players rated within 200 points of the lower section maximum may play up one section.

A current USCF membership is required. Please visit the US Chess Membership site to join or renew.

Register Online Now

Entry List

 _____________________

Need to withdraw or take a bye? 

Email td@boylstonchess.org at least 30 minutes before the round.

For parking and transportation info, 

please visit Parking and Public Transit.

If the metal gate to the building is closed, 

please press the doorbell marked #1

 

 

Andrew, Emma, and Anand take quads

 Andrew Hoy won the top quad with 2.5/3. 

Emma Zhang won the second quad with a perfect score. The performance helped push Emma over 1600 for the first time. 

Anand Swaroop win the bottom quad with a perfect score. 

Mate in 9

 This one is shown as a mate in 8 but is technically a mate in 9 as our opponent has a spite block.  To solve this you will need to combine two tactical motifs. Warning this one isn’t easy despite the fact it came from 1001 tactics for beginners.  

New month, same result at Big Money Blitz

GM Naroditsky took first with 11.5 out of 12. Not surpringly, Danya who is considered one of the best speed chess players in the world defeated all comers at our Big Money Blitz event.  IM Shmelov as the only person not to lose both games to GM Naroditsky holding him to a draw with the white pieces. 

Is it really a sacrifice if you end up material at the end of the tactic?

 

Anton takes April Tuesday Night Swiss

The Tuesday night event ended with familiar faces in the top spots.  Anton Barash took first despite taking a 0 point bye in the last round. Andrew Hoy finished second.  In the Under section Nicanor Millán won with 5 out of 5. Nicanor has completely graduated from the under sections as between this event and the Spring festival he has increased his rating to 1828.

Boylsston Chess: May Thursday Night Swiss

 

 

May Thursday Night Swiss

 Register Online Now

 

 

 

Date

Thursdays, May 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30

 

Event Format

5SS

 

Time Control

40/90 SD/20 d5

 

Sections

Open & U1610

 

Entry Fee

$20, $35 for non-BCF members

 

Prizes

300 based on 25 paid entries: Open $125, $75; U1610 $60, $40

 

Registration

Onsite registration is 6:45pm-7:00pm

 

Round Times

7:15pm

 

Description

Need to withdraw or take a bye: please send email to td@boylstonchess.org at least 30 minutes before the round.

In accordance with BCF policy, unrated players may play in any section. Players rated within **200** points of the lower section maximum may play up one section. Sections with less than 6 players may be merged.

This is a US Chess Federation rated event. USCF membership is required for all players. Please visit US Chess Membership to join or renew.

 

Event Dates

Thursday, May 2 Thursday, May 9 Thursday, May 16 Thursday, May 23 Thursday, May 30

Register Online Now

Entry List

 

 ____________________

Need to withdraw or take a bye? 

Email td@boylstonchess.org at least 30 minutes before the round.

For parking and transportation info, 

please visit Parking and Public Transit.

If the metal gate to the building is closed, 

please press the doorbell marked #1

 

 

 

Is there a fork?

White is down a pawn. Can white make Ne6 work? Is there something else?

GM Zhou win BBQ and Blitz

Good food and fun was had by all at the BBQ and Blitz event. Charles Slade generously prepared the food for the players. While the food was a new thing, the results were the same with GM Zhou taking first. Thanks to everyone who signed up esrly helping to facilitate the food preparation.

Justin Guerra wins Thursday Night Swiss

Justin Guerra won the April Thursday Night Swiss event with a score of 3.5/4.0.

Jianchao wins the Spring Festival

GM Zhou took first place in the Open section with a 4.5/5.0 sscore. The GM was able to win in the final round over GM Ivanov to separate himself from GM Ivanov NM Hoy, and IM Shmelov. Andrew Hoy finished tied for second with IM Shmelov. Nicanor Millan had a very strong event, raising his rating 201 points to 1812 (P14). Those that play in the weekday under sections will be glad he has graduated from the under section. Ren Yang won the Under section with a perfect score. with that performance Rem raised his rating 200 points 1620.

Sunday morning tactic

 

GM Ivanov and IM Shmelov lead heading into final day of Spring Festival

59 combatiants are taking part in the Spring Fesitval. The three day event includes side events like Bughouse and Time odds blitz after 3 rounds GM Ivanov ans IM Shmelov are leading the open section with 3 points. 6 players are in the chasing pack including GM Zhou. Michael Carey and Jacob Morris are performing abive their rating with 2.5 out of 3.0. Rem Yang is the only player on 3 in the under section. The Zhang sisters sre right behind tied for second with 2.5. Lots of interesting chess to be played today. The night will be capped off by time odds blitz giving the lower rated players a chance to topple the higher rated club members.

Mate in 5.

 There is also a mate in 4 if black doesn’t defend as resolutely. Correct calculation should show you both. 

Youth dominate Tornado #141 event

The youth dominated Saturday’s event. Bohan Wang took 1st in the Open section with 3.5 out of 4. Bohan who is already one of the top 13 year olds in the country picked up 60 rating points and is very close to 2000. Royce Zhang finished tied for second with 3.0 out of 4 and passed 1800 for the first time. Royce was in the top 50 in the country for his age group at the time of the April Supplement will likely see that position skyrocket having picked up nearly 150 points since then. 

Rohan took the top spot in the under section finishing with 3.5 out of 4.0.