Sunday, May 11, 2014

BCC SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP: FM CHASE / RICHARD ALAN CHEN U1800 / PERFECT 4-0 FOR CLEAR 1st PLACE // 31 PLAYERS COMPETE //

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB
SPRING CHAMPIONSHIP
WARM WEATHER EVENT
IN 2 SECTIONS: OPEN AND U1800
OPEN SECTION
FM Chris Chase +4 to 2384 scores
4 wins to take clear first prize.
ACCOMPLISHMENT
Expert Carissa Yip takes the full point from 
NM Lawyer Times in Round 3.
Carissa was +14 for 2157 rating and 2.5 points, sharing 2-6th place
with Alex Slive, Arthur Tang, Conway Xu, Brandon Wu and
Professor Jerry Williams.
Expert Alex Slive holds the draw vs Natasha Christiansen
in Round 2. Alex was +4 for 2013 rating, and Natasha +7 to 1864.
Maintaining Equality
Alex Slive keeps things level as NM Frank Wang observes.
Rating Watch
Arthur Tang cannot escape Brandon Wu's mating net in
Round 2. Arthur and Brandon both scored 2.5 points
to share 2-6th place. 10 yr old Brandon was +24 to 1945 rating.
WORRIED PREMONITION
Eddie Wei can't hold the fort as Conway Xu takes the full point
in Round 1. Conway scored 2.5 points and +8 for 1973 rating.
Professor Jerry Williams checkmates Matt Manzo in Round 3
as Sandeep Shankar and Evan Wei look on enthralled.
(background): Achutha Raman plays Michael Yu.
Professor JW scored 2.5 points and shared 2-6th place.
WITH THE GLOVES ON
Even with the gloves on, 91 yr old Harold Dondis, Esq. could
not stop 10 yr old Brandon Wu in Round 1.  Yes, Harold was
indeed impressed at Brandon's skills on the chess board!
New face at the BCC
Achutha Raman, a Yale University student home for
the summer vacation, plays at the BCC for the first time.
Welcome Achutha!
U1800 SECTION
Midas touch
Richard Alan Chen matures into an awesome chess force,
winning all 4 of his games for clear 1st place in the U1800 section.
Richard was +161 to 1591 rating.
Rare face at the BCC
Peter Teodorescu, last seen at the BCC $5 Open in February,
plays Ed Chiu in Round 1. Peter was a perfect 3 for 3, 
clinching clear 2nd place, withdrawing
from the event in the last round! Peter was +60 to 1628 rating.
Welcome back Peter. Hope to see you again soon!
Alekhine's Defense for the First Time
David Martin demonstrates the effects of a mis-step from the 
opening 1.e4 Nf6 vs Sammi Pan. Sammi admitted that she had
never encountered this defense in her young career. I suggested
that she might consider playing 2.e5 next time. She smiled in
agreement. David scored 2.5 points to share 3-4th place with
Sandeep Shankar. (background): Eddie Wei vs Bernardo Iglesias, TD.
Sammi scored 2 points with a +19 to 979 rating.
Round 1 Extra Game
Daniel Zhou plays Professor Williams, Extra Game.
(background): Sandeep Shankar black vs Tony DiNosse.
The Professor won his game and so too Sandeep, to share 3-4th
place with David Martin. Farthest board on this table:
Evan Wei black vs Richard Alan Chen: a good learning experience.
Looks and sounds familiar?
Why yes. This is Evan Wei, Eddie's 5 yr old brother!
Evan is playing at the BCC for the first time, but he
has, indeed, played 49 rated tournaments games
since he was 4 and a half. Evan has 22 wins, 1 draw
and 26 losses for a 45.9 percent win percentage.
Welcome Evan!
Serious dudes play chess
Bernie Xu plays black vs Alex Brown, Round 1.
(background): David Martin vs Tom Shneer.
Achievements: Alex, +32 to 1099;
Tom, +42 to 1260; both scoring 2 points each.
Dramatic pose
Tom Shneer, 15 yr old high schooler from
Andover, Massachusetts.
(background): Ed Chiu plays David Tianyi Zhou
Many perspectives on the wall
The TD shouts "Find your opponent"
as the time has arrived to start the
next round. Arthur Tang and Eddie Wei
write down the names and ratings of their
opponents, and the assigned boards
where the games are to be played.
Let us extend a special "thank you" to all
the parents who are willing to spend their
entire Saturday at the BCC so that their
kids can play tournament chess!
Moms and dads share conversation in the BCC
Skittles room as their children play chess in
the tournament hall.
Making new friends, from around the world.
Suraj Ramanathan's mom from southern India
chats with Bernie Xu's mother from China.
(background): Bernardo Iglesias, TD runs the show!
KIDS PLAY CHESS
5 yr old Evan Wei plays 9 yr old Sammi Pan, Round 3.
BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB:
FAMILY CHESS
Jiong Wei (rt) with his 2 sons,
5 yr old Evan and 8 yr old Eddie.
DEDICATION TO THE CAUSE
Bernardo Iglesias, TD devotes his entire Saturday
to the BCC. Here Bernardo plays Eddie Wei in an 
extra game. Without Bernardo's expertise, there would 
not be the full selection of chess tournaments
on the BCC calendar, year after year.
Thank you Bernardo!
WHATS IN A NAME?
Evidently plenty. Achutha Raman plays black
vs Suraj Ramanathan. "Raman" signifies families
from southern India, like the famous math genius 
Srinivasa Ramanujan.  Interestingly enough,
the game between these two "cousins" ended
peaceably in a draw.
CHESS ANALYSIS FROM ROUND 1 GAME
David Martin was indeed surprised and delighted to
learn how he might have won this game which ended 
in a draw by perpetual check. Did Tom have a checkmate
at the very end which he missed? To be continued . . . 
ORIGAMI BY SAMMI PAN
PHOTOS BY STEVE STEPAK

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