Wednesday, July 30, 2014

BCC RECRUITING CENTER: AU BON PAIN // HARVARD SQUARE // WHERE CHESS / ART / PEOPLE SHARE //

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB
THURSDAY NIGHT SWISS
5 THURSDAYs EVENT
Au Bon Pain Chess Cafe, Harvard Square
NM Chris Williams tops with 4-0 !
(seen here at the chess tables, playing blitz)
Boylston Chess Club Presidet, Carey Theil plays white vs
Harvard Square Resident Chess Master Andre Froem, at
the chess tables of Au Bon Pain Cafe.
Professor Natesh Pillai, Harvard University,
warming up at blitz chess, plans to play some serious
chess at the BCC this coming Fall Semester.
CHINA/HARVARD SQUARE INTERFACE
Meia Geddes engages the group: surrounded by her colorful origami cranes.
Born in Anhui Province, China, and raised in California, Meia graduated 
from Brown University this Spring of 2014,
with a concentration in English and Literary Arts. Awarded
a Fulbright Grant, Meia will teach English this
Winter in South Africa. Meia generates creativity and
thoughts of peace where ever she goes and is a catalyst
for world integration and harmony.
Meia engages interest in cranes with Chinese girls from summer 
camp at her Crane Table in front of Au Bon Pain Chess Cafe.
Meia shows her pink crane earring.
INNOCENT JOY
Chinese sister and brother, on vacation in USA, 
in total amazement as they watch a blitz chess game
at the chess tables of Au Bon Pain Cafe.
CHESSMEN OF HARVARD SQUARE
IM Marc Esserman holds court in a blitz game with Daniel,
who has also played tournament chess at the BCC,
while (left to right) Bob, Corey, Misha and Professor Jerry
Williams, watch in total rapture.
WEEK-DAY 12 NOON CHESS ACTIVITY
Resident Chess Master Andre Froem (right) takes 
his turn with white pieces in a blitz chess match with
one of his clients, at the chess tables, Harvard Square,
Cambridge, MA USA. In the evening hours, these chess tables
are full of BCC players engaging in recreational fast chess.
"Blue Note"
Professor Jerry Williams lends an artistic flavor to this
scene, during an entertaining 3 minute blitz chess game.
FINAL NOTE
Meia Geddes with her collection of origami crane creations.
With her newsletter and friendship network, Meia promotes a
positive outlook on the world and radiates peace into our Global Village.
Come, visit her for a chat, a chess game, and a free crane.
PHOTOS STEVE STEPAK
Photo: Meia Geddes
Sweet Chinese Calligraphy
Jun  Yi, 15 yr old chess player
living in Arlington, MA
REMINDER
BCC QUADS
THIS
SATURDAY

Sunday, July 27, 2014

BCC $5 OPEN // NM GODIN SHINES // WILL WISDOM PERSEVERANCE U1800 4-0 // NEW FACES ABOUND //

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB
$5 OPEN
A TIME TO PLAY GOOD CHESS
IN 2 SECTIONS
OPEN SECTION
NM Eric Godin: 3 wins and a bye for 3.5 points
takes clear 1st place in Open Section.
Eric plays Harold Dondis in Round 1.
Andrew Lam Trattner, from Oregon, scored 3 points
to take clear 2nd place and a +13 to 2015 rating.
Here Andrew is playing white vs Richard Alan Chen in Round 1.
Richard scored 2 points and a +18 to 1552. Bravo, Richard!
Jesse Nicholas writes down the moves as his opponent,
Professor Jerry Williams makes his move with the white
pieces in Round 2. Jesse won this game and also his
Round 3 game and along with a 1st round half point bye, 
scored 2.5 points to take clear 3rd place in the Open Section, 
Jesse withdrew from the event in Round 4.
U1650 SECTION
Will Wisdom perseveres. Taking his time over the year, 
Will learned to secure his footing and find his own
groove in playing chess for the win. Today
he succeeded! 4 wins for a +106 to 1453 rating,
Will took clear 1st place in the U1650 section.
Bravo, Will! 
Will ponders the openingf position vs Daniel Zhou in Round 1.
(background): Advait Natti
 Ed Chiu (red) plays Janardhan Nallapu (blue) in Round 1.
Ed scored 3 points to take clear 2nd place in the U1650 section.
This is Janardhan's first USCF rated event and first trip
to the Boylston Chess Club. Welcome Janardhan!
Alan Song, black vs Niranjan Shankar in Round 2.
Niranjan scored 2.5 points to share 3-4th place with Alan Song.
(background): Richard Alan Chen vs Varatharjan Venkatraman, 
extra game;  Lucy Cai, black vs Stephen Savage.
CHESS LESSON
Steve Stepak, black vs Venkatraman Varatharjan, Extra Game, Round 1.
Caro Kann B12: Fantasy Variation
[Note: Just in case anyone is paying attention/interested, I fell asleep after
Venk played 12.Qc2, aiming at "h7"; had I been awake, I would
have for sure played: 12. ... g6!  However, I was not, and my 8 yr old
opponent had a chance to find the key for a full point in this game.
He came close! But lost his way towards the end of the game
leaving me with some tactical tricks against his king on an open file!]
DETERMINED 6 YR OLD
Alan Song vs 6 yr old Raymond Xu, Round 1: draw!
Raymond Xu takes his chess seriously. He scored 1.5 points in
the U1650 section for a +49 to 817 rating. Bravo, Raymond!
NEW FACES:
Advait Natti: 2 points, U1650 section.
 
Alan Song, 2.5 points, U1650 section.
Janardhan Nallapu, U1650 section.
Varatharajan Venkatraman, 1 point, Open Section.
Jason Xiong, 1 point, U1650 section.
8 yr old Venkatraman Varatharajan
TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION
Sign-up and registration: Nathan Smolensky
Rounds Management: FM Chris Chase.
Bravo to TD staff for a well-run, congenial event.
Origami by Meia Geddes
PHOTOS BY STEVE STEPAK
crane

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

BCC PRESENTS: $5 OPEN // LOWEST ENTRY FEES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD // QUALITY CHESS // GREAT EVENT FOR KIDS // HAPPY AMBIENCE

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB PRESENTS
$5 OPEN
THIS IS THE LEAST EXPENSIVE
TOURNAMENT
FOR
SATURDAY
July 26, 2014
Register Early for Discount
This event is preferred by the kids of chess . . . 
and amateur players of all ages who just want to play
some friendly tournament chess in a relaxed environment.
ON A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER DAY
Chess and Good Cheers
4SS // 60/SD
Play 4 rounds, 3 rounds + half point bye;
or 2 rounds + 2 half point byes
A casual, friendly experience
See you this Saturday!

Sunday, July 20, 2014

BCC SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP // JESSE NICHOLAS 1ST // NICHOLAS LESIEUR 1ST U1800 // 24 PARTICIPANTS // TOP JUNIORS // GAME ANALYSIS

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB
SUMMER CHAMPIONSHIP
OPEN SECTION
Jesse Nicholas wins Open Section with undefeated score of
3.5/4 for a +10 to 2100 rating and $100 cash prize.
CRITICAL GAME
Conway Xu plays black vs Jesse Nicholas, Round 4: draw.
Fast passed action characterized the opening.
David Tianyi Zhou, black vs Conway Xu in Round 1.
Conway won this encounter and took clear 2nd place
with 2.5 points and a +3 to 1943 rating earning a $30 cash prize.
8 yr old David scored 1 point for a +31 to 1469 rating.
3-7th
NM Hal Terrie, Nithin Kavi, Uri Feld, Brandon Wu, Derek Jin
NM Hal Terrie, black vs Brandon Wu. 10 yr old Brandon
took the full point from the master in Round 1 for a 2/4
score overall, and a +25 to 1943 rating.
Nithin Kavi plays black vs Harold Dondis in Round 1.
Nithin won this encounter and was 2/4 overall,
for a +2 to 2024 rating.
(background): Nicholas Lesieur vs Will Wisdom.
A FEW OF THE BEST KIDS IN MA AND THE USA
7 yr old Derek Jin plays black vs 10 yr old Alex Yu, Round 2. 
Alex took the full point in this game and was
+4 to 1705 rating. Derek was 2/4.
(background): 8 yr old David Tianyi Zhou vs 91 yr old Harold Dondis.
David won the day with the white pieces.
U1800 SECTION
Nicholas Lesieur scored a perfect 4.0 to take clear 1st place
winning a $60 cash prize.
Lesieur's rating pushed up +14 to 1806. Bravo, Nicholas!
DORMANT CHESS TALENT
Greg Ardini (left) engages Jeff Weinstein in Round 2.
Greg scored 3 points to take clear 2nd place and a
+174 provisional rating to 1400. Greg received
a $30 cash prize for his efforts. Greg also won his
game vs GM Larry Christiansen at the 2nd Tuesday
South Station, Boston, Simul of July. Bravo, Greg!
 Greg told us that he hasn't played a tournament chess
game for over 10 years. Well, welcome back Greg!
(background): Seth Lieberman vs Rory Liao;
Niranjan Shankar, black vs Will Wisdom;
Robert Margaryan vs Tony DiNosse.
NEW FACES AT THE BCC
Rory Liao, from China plays Raymond Xu, Round 1.
Rory scored 1 point for a +43 to 829 rating.
Greg Ardini, white vs Robert Margaryan, Round 4.
Robert is from Armenia and this is his first rated event where he 
was 2 for 4 and a provisional rating of 1299. Welcome Robert!
(background): Niranjan Shankar, black vs Richard Alan Chen;
Rory Liao, black vs Will Wisdom;
Jeff Weinstein, white vs Nicholas Lesieur.
CHESS LESSON
Steve Stepak offers the Caro Kann Defense vs Raymond Xu
in this Round 2 extra game. Raymond got a full point bye
for the event and this extra game to keep his mind sharp.
[You wouldn't think you could learn something from a 6 yr old,
but I did! The first 5 moves went:
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Bd3 Bd3 5.cd3!?
I had encountered this once before but thought it just a "random"
sequence made by a beginner. This time, I learned from my database
research that this is indeed a line in the B12 Caro Kann with the
intension of launching king-side attack on Black's king.
I was caught in a trap and indeed Raymond succeeded in creating
a won-position and a forced checkmate, which he did not actually
find.  Well, at 6 yrs old, he has many years to perfect his play. But
from a "theoretical" point of view, he's doing quite well, already.
He is poised at the board, totally still and took almost the entire hour
to play his Game 60 moves. Well done Raymond!]
B12: RAYMOND XU - STEVE STEPAK 7/19/2014
ESSAYING ". . . (6.Bd3 Bxd3; 7. cxd3!?)"
MASTER CHESS GAME FEATURING 4. . . .Bxd3; 5. cxd3!?
Yuri Rushkin (2232) v Edward Babushkin (2200), 
Moscow, USSR Spartakiad, (Soviet Sports Olympiad) 1963.
JUNIOR STARS REUNION WITH BLITZ
Brandon Wu plays some spirited blitz games with
Alex Yu as Richard Alan Chen and Rory Liao observe.
PUTTING THE JUNIOR STAR THROUGH HIS PACES
Derek Jin (1538) holds Bernardo Iglesias (1729) to a draw
in this extra game. Bernardo was also the event TD.
PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK
The old and the new: Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA