NM Mark Glickman - "Chess Ratings: An Insider's Perspective

The Boylston Chess Club Presents:
“Chess Ratings:

An Insider's Perspective”

Professor Mark Glickman,
Chairman, USCF Rating Committee
Wednesday April 16, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Boylston Chess Club, 240B Elm Street, Suite B9, Somerville, MA

In this non-technical presentation, Prof. Glickman will provide an overview of the USCF rating system, an insider's view of the work by the USCF ratings committee (including methods used to monitor the rating system), some recent history of the rating system, and some insights into how the rating system works. Prof. Glickman will also answer questions you have about the chess ratings, so come prepared!

Mark Glickman is Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management in the Boston University School of Public Health, and Senior Statistician at the Center for Health Quality, Outcomes and Economics Research in Bedford, a Veterans Administration Center of Excellence. He is a USCF national master, has served on the USCF Ratings Committee since 1985, and has been chair of the committee continuously since 1992. Mark, a PhD in Statistics from Harvard University, publishes much of his scholarly work on the development and refinement of rating systems for chess players and other competitors. More information: http://math.bu.edu/people/

Free to BCC Member
$10 to Non -Members
Refreshments will be served.
For More Information:
BCC: 617-351-7668
Chris Chase: Chris@sixty-four.com, 617-417-8800.

The So-So Invitational

About one month ago, four aspiring class A players met weekly in the Boylston Chess Club for a double round robin. At stake was no prize, save rating points-- a breakout tournament by any player would move them to the next 100 point rating class. We called it the So-So Invitational, for those players who are only so-so.

The participants were: Phillip Nutzman, Dan Schmidt, Ruben Portugues, and me, Jason Rihel. Phillip and I have occasionally climbed over 2000, while Dan and Rueben are solidly over the 1800 mark. It would be a good tournament, this much was clear. (Aside: I encourage club members to hold matches or mini-tournaments using the club space. It is one of the membership perks to get your little event rated. Of course, be respectful of the regular events the club plans, and check with a club TD about your event beforehand). All of the games and results can be found at: http://www.hamesucken.com/soso/

Phillip and I raced out to a 2-0 lead, and collided in Round 3. Although the "expected" outcome, these first rounds were gory affairs. In both my own games, I had sacked a pawn by move 12 and certainly didn't win easily. However, these bloody events failed to prepare me for the limb hacking that Phillip and I did in round 3. Right before time control, I survived a winning king assult from Phillip, and then started to assert my own advantages. Then, late in the game but with pieces crawling all over, Philip makes a heroic king walk around the board (Kb2-b3-c4-d4-e4-f5-e6-d7-c6-b6-c7-b6-b5!!) and avoids my daggers. (I miss a few wins, tis true, tis true!) Then, no surprise in such a game, a simple mate in 2 escapes both our attention for 5 or more moves, and it is only realized when I attack Phillip's knight, forcing it to make the winning blow! A terrible loss for me, but a great win for the new leader of the tournament.

This is not Phillip's only escape from the painful pinchers of defeat, however. In the next two rounds, Phillip, down an exchange and running out of play, suddenly suckers Ruben with a mate trick. Then, Phillip missteps during an attack on Dan's fortress, and Dan holds all the winning chances (up several pawns). Fritz screams out win after win, but Dan had a touch of time pressure and could only muster a draw. As I had won my two games, it added to the drama of the last round with Phillip. There would be no tie for first, and the winner would climb back over 2000.

Again, Phillip and I play a splatterfest. I hung a pawn in the middlegame, and that encouraged me to play an over-ambitious sacrifice. I win black's queen, but the price is dear: a queen and two pawns for a rook and two pieces. Trying to decide the merits of this position, I also gave up a lot of time on my clock. See for the game. In time pressure, I misplace my queen, and Phillip rocks me with some pigs on the 7th. Phillip wins the 2000 prize, and I will have to wait another day to get back to that mark. Dan and Ruben decide to make peace early, splitting their encounters with 2 draws.

The close matchups made this a very fun tournament to play in. Also, we had some flexibility in our schedule, so we could accomodate schedules. I will definately love to organize another So-So Invititional-- the high quality games with friends who would analyze afterwards made this a memorable event for me.

Public Service Opportunity for Chessplayers

Hi everyone. Please consider the opportunity below.


Dear Boylston Chess Club,

I'm reaching out to your membership in the hopes that one or two of
your members might consider becoming a volunteer with our
organization, MATCH-UP. We provide volunteers to visit lonely and
isolated elder and disabled adults throughout Boston. Usually our
volunteers provide conversation, help with reading mail and errands,
companionship on walks, share a meal or tea, etc. But we've recently
had requests from three different older gentlemen specifically
requesting visits from a volunteer who will play chess with them, and
we've been unable to fill the positions with volunteers currently in
our ranks. (Two of the elders were very clear about wanting someone
with advanced-level chess skills.)

All three men are local, living in Boston, the South End, and
Brookline. Ideally a volunteer would be able to visit their elder once
every week or two for about an hour or so, and the volunteer must
complete a short online application, a brief interview at our office
in Downtown Crossing, and pass a background check.

Would you consider sharing this information with your members? I
figured the BCC might be our best bet at finding altruistic chess
players in the area!
Anyone who is interested in finding out more can reach me via email or
phone, or can apply to become a volunteer by visiting our website at
www.matchelder.org.

Thank you for your time and best wishes,

Kendra Grimes
MATCH-UP
kgrimes@matchelder.org
617-482-1510

photos from Kasparov vs Harvard

Tony wanted to post these historic photos of Garry Kasparov beating on the 1989 Harvard Chess club. I like how seriously Kasparov seems to be taking these games: He wants to win!

Myer Edelstein

[ From the chess photo archives of Tony Cortisas (tens of thousands of chess images), he found picturer of Myer Edelstein as background spectator at the Karpov at Harvard - 1990 and enlarged his portion of the photo. ]

Middle 1970's with the post Vietnam War recession in full bloom, many people were out of work especially difficult for recent college grads to find a job. The BCF at the YMCU/Young Man's Christian Union, being open from about 6am to midnight seven days a week (or even longer for special occasions) became a popular hangout for unemployed people who spent the morning looking for work and the afternoons killing time. Larry Tapper

[not to be confused with Tom Sifter]

and myself were the "lucky" two who had obtained a teaching job in the City of Boston. Larry at Trade and me at South Boston High. Given there were 10,000 plus other teaching graduates in Massachusetts for the few hundred positions available we were beyond lucky.
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Another group of BCF regulars were the folks who were retired. Many of these gentlemen dressed down below their true financial stature to be able to move more safely to and from the YMCU through the nearby Combat Zone and dark regions of the train station entrances where other unemployed youths were looking to shake down vulnerable people who look like they might have some money. Other members lived in boarding houses, renting a room in the South End, decades before they were condo-ized at plus million prices.
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High percentage of people in attendance at the club didn't play much chess at all, but due to it being the Fischer Era and given the excitement, camaraderie, and action, they hung around the club for the social contact.
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Every evening a group would congregate and discuss where to go and what to eat. Chairing the conversation was Myer "Mike" Edelstein. If Harry Lyman was The Dean of New England Chess; Myer Edelstein was the BCC Cruise and Entertainment Director. Myer was the funniest guy I ever met. Not funny in a gut busting way but everything and everyone surrounding him was caught in a Sienfieldian tsunami. Although not typically vaudevillian, some of his specialties were: if anyone made the statement "On the other hand" Myer would state "She wore a glove". People who were not rocket scientists "Wore Earlaps". And if he heard about a blunder you made he would call you a "schlepperhead". According to tireless director and librarian Bernardo Iglesias,

Meyer didn't play in many OTB tournaments but was a serious club contributor to the BCC Met League second team winning many games. Meyer was a proponent of "lateral thinking" as outlined by Edward de Bono. And Myer a pharmacist, was decades ahead of Atkins. He avoided carbohydrates: no bread and especially bad was the killer potato being on the top of his hit list. The potato he would state was a member of the nightshade family and should be feared as such.
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There were two big rooms at the YMCU, a playing hall with tables and sets where the tournaments were played, besides a fantastic skittles room separated from the hall by a glass wall, so you could watch everything going on in either room. A typical Friday night was teeming with people, numbers as high as a tournament on the weekend; skittles playing, blitz, backgammon, kibitzing, and there were all types of discussions all around. Many visitors would drop in: foreigners, sailors, students, always guests. Myer would be holding court sitting in a big comfortable chair in the corner of the skittles room.
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One Friday when I showed up only one other person was there. Because Myer had a tip on a greyhound with 99 to 1 odds at the Wonderland Dog Track in Revere and persuaded everyone to have dinner there and try their luck.
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The economy was so bad at the time one good player was volunteering to take experimental clinical drugs in order to obtain walking around money. Given the dark economic cloud that was dragging on many people, Myer was a beacon. I still get a warm happy glow just thinking of the subtle genius, zaniness, and never ending optimism that emanated from the man. We were all saddened when he passed in 1993. Do you have any Myer Edelstein stories? Please Comment.

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A special thank you to Bernardo Iglesias who helped research information for this essay.

Lateral thinking & Edward de Bono author of Serious Creativity Using the Powers of Lateral Thinking

We may need to solve some problems not by removing the cause but by designing the way forward even if the cause remains in place

– (Edward de Bono) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

Mike Griffin 04/01/2008

DARTMOUTH CHESS OPEN

DARTMOUTH CHESS OPEN

4-round Swiss System * G/60 * USCF-rated

Saturday, April 12, 2008

FEATURING ANALYSIS OF YOUR GAMES BY

GM YURY SHULMAN, 2008 FOXWOODS OPEN CHAMPION!

Location:

Kemeny Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Contact: Rishi Sethi rishi.sethi@dartmouth.edu

EF: $25 if rec’d by April 10, otherwise $30

On-site registration ENDS 9:30 AM

Rounds: 10 AM, 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 5:30 PM

Two sections: OPEN (open to all, including unrated)

RESERVE (U1800, unrated players welcome)

Prizes:

OPEN: $150-100-50 b/24

RESERVE: $100-50-30 b/16

All prizes are proportional and will be raised or lowered based on number of entries.

1/2 pt bye available Rd 1 ONLY.

USCF membership required.

Checks payable to Rishi Sethi.

BRING BOARDS, SETS, CLOCKS—NONE PROVIDED!

Rishi Sethi

Hinman Box 4227

Hanover, NH 03755.

Chess and gambling in the old days.

National Geographic magazine stated a few years ago that world wide more money was spent via recreational gambling than all the money spent on food, legal, and illegal drugs combined. The culture of the early to middle of the last century in Boston actually catered to a different type of recreational gambling whether it be under the table gambling or wagering, having no state sanctioned lottery or casino with taxation, and very few traveled to casinos at Los Vegas or Atlantic City then. Gambling was entwined in recreation that had old country origins with horse tracks and dog tracks attracting people as did boxing; all of these industries are now dying as are their customers. People gambled via informal wagers or employing the dark side as a middle man. It was a time when everyone played "the number" and played football cards. Every payday my dad would cash his paycheck at the local bar, pay his tab, and transact with the local bookie. BTW his bookie attended my dad's wake to say goodbye to a good friend and solid customer, somehow I don't see Mass State Treasurer Timothy Cahill doing the same.

When I was six years old and giving my grandfather Frank Power SR. trouble in our skittles he called in the heavy artillery -- BCF member from 30's thru the 50's my great uncle Justin "Ducky" Power. He taught me both openings: the Giucco Piano & Captain Evan's gambit. He is the reason I am playing OTB today. In addition I learned about gambling from watching my Uncle Ducky in action while I was a caddy at Franklin Park Golf course in the 60's. Uncle Ducky told me to always plant in your opponent's mind that they lost because it was a bad break, a bit of luck, where one better executed shot would have won (Ducky Power a man who shot 69 at the age of 69 - when he had to) but never nuked an opponent he was gambling with. He also warned me if you are gambling and you are thinking you need just a little more to win: you are being had; pay up and walk away.

A decade later I watched a very similar process while a young Jim Rizzitano would earn lunch money playing speed chess at the old Boston Chess Studio on Newbury Street against adults during 1970's.

There was some gambling in the smoke filled back room of the Boston Chess Studio, very little happened out of doors at Harvard Square in Cambridge, but where it occurred big time was in the old YMCU/Young Man's Christian Union, home of the BCF. The 70's introduction of Backgammon increased the incidence of all types of gambling. Backgammon has the doubling cube, the average game lasts 11 minutes, and the presence of dice gives the appearance that luck plays a bigger role than it does. This makes Backgammon most seductive for gambling. Similar to the current wave of poker this past decade has had in redirecting many OTB players of today, as backgammon had in the 70's.

This YMCU atmosphere weaned Dan Harrington of poker fame

[Dan Harrington (BCC Champion 1972) won the World Series of Poker in 1998 ($1 million) and place 4th in 2004 ($ 1.5 million). In 2005 he finished 6th in the World Poker Tour ($ 620,730) and to 2006 has won $ 4,800,000 playing poker. ]

and developed world backgammon champ Bill Robertie as well. [ Bill Robertie, 1975 BCC Champion. Bill shifted his interests to poker (writing books with Dan Harrington) and backgammon. He was the World Champion in backgammon in 1983 and 1987 and won the 1994 Backgammon World Cup in Istanbul. ]

When people gambled in the YMCU no money ever passed hands in public, score was kept in a match book and both parties would retire to the men's room to pay up. I vaguely remember a +.25(cents) victory over Robertie one time. I can't say I have ever beaten any world chess champ yet.

Fortunately today chess gambling happens in broad daylight in parks. And chessplayers being a frugal bunch don't gamble much, so people attracted to gambling are playing poker because today it's the game that attracts the most money with the dumbest participants. Chess a game of skill where luck manifests itself only in opponent oversight; very different than the roll of the dice or the card that is dealt which seems to provide a randomness that could offset skill. As my Uncle Ducky would say: that's the margin that enables him to make money.

03/26/2008 Mike Griffin

Chris Williams Wins Big

USCF Home Chess Life Online 2008 March

Chris Williams Wins Big

By Jennifer Shahade
March 20, 2008

In the first round of the Foxwoods Open (March 19-23), teenager Chris Williams of Boston Blitz and "Chris is Awesome" fame, defeated top-seed and U.S. Champion Alexander Shabalov in a thrilling game. This makes for a 440 point upset, and raises hopes for a very exciting Foxwoods. Can you guess what Williams played in the following positions?I.

Position after 24.Ng3
Show Solution
SolutionChris played 24...Nxd5! If 25.Qxd5 Qxd5 Rxd5 Bxg3 Rxe8 Rxe8 hxg3 Re1+ and Black has a winning advantage.(Hide Solution)
In light of the above variation, Alex avoided the queen trade, and they reached the following position after 33 moves. II.

Position after 33.Nh5
Show Solution
SolutionWilliams found 33...Bf3!! Now the knight on h5 is trapped because Ng3 takes away the king's only escape square, g3. (Hide Solution)
Here is the full game: Participating GMs include Yury Shulman, Julio Becerra, Alexander Stripunsky, Alexander Ivanov, Darmen Sadvakasov, Eugene Perlshteyn, Keith Arkell, Pascal Charbonneau, Ildar Ibragimov (who drew in round 1 to Alisa Melkehina), and Mark Paragua.

Check out the round two pairings here. Beginning with round three, live games will be available on Monroi.com.

Read Jonathan Hilton's blog after the first round, and watch for more by Hilton from Foxwoods and from Michael Aigner from the Far West Open in Reno.

Five Best Chess Books

Five Best
These chess books make all the right moves, says Gabriel Schoenfeld

Wall Street Journal, March 22, 2008; Page W10

1. My 60 Memorable Games By Bobby Fischer Simon & Schuster, 1969

The great chess books are great less for their prose style than for their insight into the application of highly controlled violence. "My 60 Memorable Games" was written while Bobby Fischer was still on his steep ascent to the world-champion title -- and long before the slide into madness that ended with his death in January. He recounts his eviscerations of some of the most brilliant minds of the mid-20th century. But Fischer was never content with victory alone; he aimed to inflict agony on his opponents -- in his own words, "I like the moment when I break a man's ego." Where did such ferocity come from? Fischer, who never knew his own father, once explained that "children who grow up without a parent become wolves."

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2. Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors By Garry Kasparov Everyman, 2003-06

Before Garry Kasparov ended his playing career in 2005 to battle for democracy in Russia, he was rightly considered to be the greatest grandmaster of all time. But here he humbles himself charmingly before giants such as world champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942). In this comprehensive study of grandmaster play -- from the "Italian school" of the 16th century to our current postmodern synthesis -- Kasparov aims to connect his forebears' playing style with "the values of the society in which they lived and worked" and the "geopolitical reality" of their respective eras. The result is a work of unparalleled depth, spirit and ambition -- it already stretches into five volumes, and a sixth is on the way.

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3. Tal-Botvinnik, 1960 By Mikhail Tal Russell Enterprises, 1970

How exactly do grandmasters think? Mikhail Tal's account of his struggle for the world championship title nearly a half-century ago is not merely an analysis of 21 thrilling games. It is an intimate view of the chessboard fantasies of a supreme tactical genius. Tal (1936-92) was pitted against Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-95), the world's foremost "scientific" player, the defending title-holder and the dean of the Soviet school of chess. In the resulting clash of styles, Tal prevailed by a convincing margin. His victory was a vindication of unfettered imagination and a demonstration that chess can be scientific only in the way that Soviet socialism was scientific, which is to say not at all.

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4. My System By Aron Nimzowitsch 1925

Aron Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) described "My System" as a "chess manual" based "on entirely new principles." His idea that pawn masses at the center of the board might be a liability -- vulnerable to attack from the flanks -- was revolutionary, toppling verities and generating fierce resistance. "The reward for my new ideas consisted of abuse," he wrote bitterly, "or at best systematic silence." Today, nearly a century later, he would delight to know that his "hypermodern" approach is widely accepted. But if Nimzowitsch's "My System" aimed at rationalizing chess, as the title suggests, its premise was supremely romantic: "For me," he wrote in a characteristic passage, "the passed pawn possesses a soul, just like a human being; it has unrecognized desires which slumber deep inside it and it has fears, the very existence of which it can but scarcely divine."

5. Lasker's Manual of Chess By Emanuel Lasker Dutton, 1927

The German mathematician Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) wrote in his "Manual of Chess" that the game "would be laughable, were it not so serious." After decades of studying philosophy, he came to believe that truth could be found only in mathematics and chess. Of the contest of wills between two players manipulating 32 wooden pieces on 64 squares, he wrote: "Lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in a checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite." Lasker, a close friend of Albert Einstein's, won the world championship in 1894 and held the title for 27 years, the longest reign so far.

Mr. Schoenfeld, the senior editor of Commentary, is a chess columnist for the New York Sun.

BB&N Scholastic Open

BB&N Scholastic Open Scholastic Chess Tournament BB&N Upper School, Cambridge, Massachusetts Sunday, April 13th, 2008

Where:		BB&N Upper School, 80 Gerry's Landing Road, Cambridge, MA (http://www.bbns.org)
What:	Four round Swiss system tournament, sections based on April, 2008 published rating.
Sections:	Your section is determined by your April, 2008, official published rating or most recent MSA rating if no official published rating. (Unrated players may play in any section.) Premier: 1400+ (time control G/60) Classic: 1200-1399 (time control G/60) Challenge: 1000-1199 (time control G/45) Reserve: 800-999 (time control G/45) Novice II: 400-799 (time control G/30) Novice I: 100-399 (time control G/30)
Registration:		8:15-9:00 AM
Rounds:		Round 1 at 9:30 AM; others as soon as possible.
Entry Fee:		$15 if mailed by Tuesday, April 8 or online at www.MassChess.org (via Paypal) by Friday, April 11. $20 on site day of tournament.
Prizes:		Trophies to the top three places in each section. Medals to all players who score at least 3 points and who do not win trophies.

	• Free parking available near tournament site
	• Strongly recommended to bring lunch
	• USCF and MACA membership required. (MACA dues $6 junior [under 18 years of age], $12 adult.)
	• Emergency contact/withdrawals day of tournament: (508) 561-2160
Questions:	Maryanne Reilly, mcreilly2001@yahoo.com. MACA web site http://www.MassChess.org.

Sunday Scholastic Quads

If you're not looking for Easter eggs on Sunday, maybe you'll be looking for a chess game or two.

The Boylston Chess Club is holding its monthly

Sunday Scholastic Quads

and you are invited.

Sunday, March 23: Sunday Scholastic Quads
3RR; Game/40.
Sections: Groups of four according to rating;
Entry fee: $15; $10 for Boylston C. F. members, join at the tournament and get the member rate.
Prizes: $30 1st per Quad, 2nd Medal .
Registration: 9:00-9:50 am; Rounds: 9:45 – 11:00 - 12:45

When is the proper time to resign?

In the book "Chessmaster at any Age" Rolf Wetzell recommends that you not waste your energy in a tournament fighting a hopelessly lost battle, but let the game go, resign and prepare for the next round.

Several years ago in the Mass Open I faced a Wetzellite. Obviously because he dropped his flashcards on the floor before our game started. Me with white developed a hellacious attack having pieces swirling around my opponent’s king, No forced mate was yet obvious nor did I have any substantial material advantage, but it was obvious he was in trouble, and he subsequently resigned to my surprise.

At the BCF - given current demographics and distribution of player strength - I have had the (mis)fortune of being pared against IM David Vigorito many, many times for the first round game. This particular day our game went:

Griffin v Vigorito

1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Bb5 Nd4
4. f4 Nxb5
5. Nxb5 d5
6. d3? Qa5+
0-1 OUCH!

[This is an Annotation Novelty Mike has introduced which may be widely useful for describing many club games....rjo]

David found this short interesting and displayed charity when he named me "NN" when publishing this short in the MACA magazine July -September 2007.

I usually resign quicker than usual when playing a very strong master - firstly out of respect and secondly in the hopes they are willing to take time to review the debacle. I would rather spend the time learning something from the bad experience than being tortured to death. And I have found that pain is the best motivator for me to remember what I did wrong.

But normally I don't resign an obviously lost game until I have 99% confidence that given my opponent’s technique and the condtion of the position will bring my loss.

Under two situations I have played to the bitter mate or much further than above mentioned.

1. Anger at an opponent: One time about six years ago at game start a strong former-Soviet expert flipped his cigarettes by the set, made a grimace and grunt with no other response when I stuck out my hand. He gave me the impression that he was insulted to be sitting and having to waste his time killing this fish. Hitting like a hot poker was the decision that mate, stalemate, or naked kings would be the only way this game would end. Almost four hours later by some miracle I had an outside h pawn flying up the board (my 5 pawns and rook vs his 6 pawns and rook). As we were both in time pressure to meet the first control; our rooks both acting like PacMen gobbled up all of the pawns but one each. I was losing when all of a sudden the story of Walter Brown being unable to win a Queen v Rook ending against a computer flashed into my head. I realized I could arrange for that outcome and gleefully for the next two hours danced my king around my rook. Time and time again my opponent tried to pry them apart with his queen and king but did not know the technique. Unfortunately I was 5 minutes behind him and time running out. I no longer had time to keep score (analog clock) the mistake I made was not asking a director to count the moves because we clearly broke 50 without capture, and so my flag fell after 5 hours 58 minutes. One of my most enjoyable losses.

2. More common is anger at myself: Once in a while especially if it's the first round, having lost enough material without initiative making my game fatal, I play on just to get exercise for my brain because I want to get ready for the next game. This self flagellation probably doesn't make my opponent happy.

I've seen kids and beginners play on forever, and my chess nemesis always does. I try not to get offended about this because it's within my opponent's rights to play on as long as they play by the rules.

What is your feeling about the proper time to resign? Do you have any interesting stories about this?

Please Comment 03/18/2008 Mike Griffin

FM Chris Chase conducts chess classes for young players

Tony Cortizas captured some moments at the Boylston club, where FM Chris Chase teaches youngsters chess. In addition to being an active and strong tournament player, Chris has an uncommon knack for developing enthusiasm and skill in novice players. The weekly, Wednesday lessons are free to club members and supported by contributions to the Boylston Chess Foundation.

Playing chess a serious business at work

By Yan Hui (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-18 07:31

Xiao Ren, my girlfriend, was worried about her weight so she dragged me off to go skiing. As soon as she set foot on the slopes, however, she tripped and sprained her ankle. I visited her every day, but our conversation soon dried up and we started looking at each other, in silence. Then, one day, she announced: "Let me show you how to play go."

Chinese chess, or go, is something I associate with hermits dressed in long robes, who lived in the mountains and rode on red-crested cranes when they visited friends.

Xiao Ren stroked my hair and laughed heartily: "Your teacher, me, started learning go at 6 and followed many masters. I was the only level-two woman go player in the city."

Learning go should start with the basics. For example, one must learn to distinguish good quality pieces by raising them to the sun and determining their translucency. One must also learn to adopt an elegant style when picking up the pieces and putting them down.

I soon discovered that learning the game is not fun, especially with my meticulous teacher. The first time she finished explaining a match to me, she cleared away all the pieces and asked me to repeat each step - without making a single mistake!

To impress my girlfriend, I gave up my hobby of sleeping for an extra hour on the weekend. I learned from other beginners on the Internet. With this new hobby, I suddenly found that time was disappearing faster. The sun would be shining in the east when a game commenced, but the lights would be on by the time I looked up again.

As our department drafted its new year's entertainment plans my boss, Mr Cao, said: "I really want to take part in a go match. But I haven't practiced for years. I heard you are learning it now. Perhaps we should play a few games."

Cao is not an amiable leader. Even seasoned colleagues are nervous in front of him. As a newcomer, I wanted to impress. So everyday at noon I played chess with him. A week passed, I didn't win.

If I was to always lose, my boss would look down on me. I told my girlfriend about this and she was quite happy to review each game we played. Three days later, my dear teacher had found Cao's weak points and showed me some mighty strategies.

The next day, while we were counting our gains and losses over the last stage of the game, Cao looked at the board and murmured: "Man, one should never waste one's youth. If someone wants to be prominent, he must endure great hardships."

The office was quiet. His words struck my heart and my back was covered with a cold sweat. Was he saying that I didn't work hard enough?

A few days later, we learned at work there was a chance to study abroad. I didn't join the fierce fight. But my boss gave me the chance.

"The strongest fragrance of plum blossom comes from the coldest winter," my girlfriend said. "I'm going to learn guitar. Do you want to learn?"

(China Daily 03/18/2008 page20)

$10 Open at the BCC

On Saturday, March 15 there was a very successful $10 Open at the BCC - in fact, it was one of the largest and strongest open, Swiss tournaments we've had in many months.

43 players entered, including 2 IM's (Vigorito and Yedidia), 5 masters (Riordan, Chase, Cherniack, Godin, and Times) and 8 experts (Calhoun, Plotkin, Chinodakufa, Goodman, Theil, Noy, Yeh, and Mays) in the Open section, won by Riordan and Chase with 3.5 each.

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13 players contested in the U1800 section, won by Nicholas Zhang and Seth Lieberman, also with 3.5 each.

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Thanks again to Bernardo Iglesias, the able and patient Tournament Director.

Unlikely Chess Champions Avoid After-School Dangers

By: Jenny DeHuff, The Bulletin 03/14/2008


To ask some parents, one might be surprised to learn a student's most vulnerable time is right after school, when they are searching for activity and often lose their way.

Students at Carver High School in North Philadelphia were winners of the Philadelphia Chess League Championship two weeks ago, a proud title they have never borne before.

Just last week, the Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League, comprised of 24 high school teams from around the city, went to state championships in Harrisburg and finished fourth. With help from the After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP), which recruits school-age youth for constructive pastimes like chess, Scrabble games, yoga and debate, students are able to put their restiveness to good work. Dr. Marciene Mattleman, president of ASAP, said this is the first time Carver High School has won a chess competition against the ever-victorious J.R. Masterman High School - a 10-year-in-a-row winner.


"Eighty percent of the kids in Philadelphia public schools come from home incomes so low they are eligible for free or reduced price lunch," she said. "The most violent time for kids is from 3 to 6 p.m., and there are about 35,000 kids alone in the afternoon. This is the time when kids get into trouble, are victims [of crime], and many of them are just home watching TV or playing computer games."

Lee Silverman, chess coach at Carver High, said the Philadelphia Scholastic Chess League now has 220 active chess clubs with 3,000 participants playing weekly in schools, recreation centers, libraries and other community-based centers. "Everything we do teaches skills, respect for rules and guidelines and discipline," he said. "It teaches [students] how to win and lose gracefully." But the true heart-warming story goes beyond the underdog upset of Carver High against Masterman. "Our team is a bunch of inner-city kids," Mr. Silverman said.
"Four out of five [students] come from broken homes, are immigrants, or don't have a mother or father."

Mr. Silverman, who said he was happy to volunteer his time, money and effort to seeing the students succeed, gave credit to Carver High principal Linda Ahmed for making the league possible. Israel Riley, a senior at Carver High, said he first took interest in chess in ninth grade, when he saw a lot of his peers playing it. "It's imbedded in me," he said. "I saw that it was a great competition. Chess challenges your mind and I think that is what is really necessary in life, even over physical strength and ability." Mr. Riley, who is poised to graduate in June, said chess has helped him pursue his future business goals.

Much of the financial support for the chess team is from sponsors like the Philadelphia Eagles, the Annenberg Foundation and PECO. ASAP offers a variety of after-school activities, from bodybuilding and lacrosse to art and dance programs.

Jenny DeHuff can be reached at jdehuff@thebulletin.us
©The Evening Bulletin 2008

Paul Winkle paradox: defending the ladder

Ruben Fine said "Chess is a difficult game." Obviously more difficult for some than others.

The experience of raising two kids with dyslexia gives me unique insight having watched with the utmost respect, pride, and love while my two dragged their butts into school every day, year after year, and fought the good scholastic fight to obtain terrific learning skills in spite of a huge starting disadvantage. In contrast to their situation was my oldest son, the "normal" one (800 SAT verbal), who was the master of his educational dojo. On one side school a place full of rewards and adulation, on the other incredibly hard work and uncertainty. Fortunately they all have turned out great, are all successful, despite of having to deal with defective genes donated to them from their crazy old man.

Love of the game of chess takes many forms; you can understand why Captains of Chess, the masters, arrive to play OTB with enthusiasm, confidence, and anticipation. But you have to ask why do people who are stuck on the bottom rung of the chess ladder show up to play? Many of them just as happy and excited to play as the ones on the top?!

The late Paul Winkle [This is an illustration of Rip van Winkle which I found looking for an image of Paul Winkle, but to me it is evocative of what I remember of Paul Winkle's look...oresick]

stands paramount, given his record in the 1990's. Paul noted for his cantankerous demeanor, displays of unhappiness in losing, and impeccable Bruins sweatshirts. Paul never gave up his passion of playing OTB chess until his health failed.

If you go into the USCF cross tables you will see that from August 1993 until May 2000 Paul's rating began at 1012 and ended at 766 having played in 108 tournaments (he was a common BCF houseman), in an estimated 200+ games of the period he had 13 wins and 1 draw.

Paul had a power that would make Bobby Fischer envious, Paul's defeats crushed chess ego's: most people Paul defeated left tournament chess very quickly.

There’s a certain Je ne sais quoi about Paul's paradox, and I feel players like Paul have an equal right to play and should be given respect as it always takes two people to play OTB chess. As demographics show, adults and teens are dropping out of OTB chess at accelerating rates. Will there be a day when no one arrives to a chess tournament?

I do feel that with ever expanding entertainment options of these modern times chess seems dated to many outsiders. Somehow we have to find a way to communicate with the public the sublime joy of the inner journey every player makes in their personal quest in trying to master this infinite game.

Comrades! We who love this form of the game, we need every opponent willing to play, better yet we have to involve all who love the game. Each should find their way to donate and invest some time and effort to promote chess: in order to make OTB chess better known and more available.

What do you see in the future of OTB chess? Do you have any ideas to improve OTB participation? Please Comment 03/11/2008 Mike Griffin

MA players top winners in World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East Championship

from George Mirijanian on the MACA website:

February 20, 2008: MA players top winners in World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East Championship

A team consisting of three grandmasters (Zviad Izoria, 24, of New York; Eugene Perelshteyn, 28, of Swampscott, MA; and Roman Dzindzichashvili, 63, reportedly living in Massachusetts) teamed up with 5-year-old Stephen Fanning of Hull, MA to win the 2008 World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East Championship, held Feb. 16-18 in Parsippany, NJ. Bearing the name of "GGGg," the team won all its matches, 6-0. It was intially ranked 47th in a field of 291 teams, with an average rating of 2017. Izoria, Perelshteyn and "Dzindzi" had ratings of 2714, 2592 and 2586 respectively, with Fanning bringing up the rear with a rating 178. Both Perelshteyn and "Dzindzi" tallied 6-0 individual scores for boards 2 and 3 respectively.

The prize for the top MA team went to "There Will Be Bloodgood" (GM Larry Christiansen of Cambridge, FM Paul MacIntyre of Malden, Andrew Wang of Sharon, and Natasha Christiansen of Cambridge - all MACA members) [and all Boylston Chess Club members ...rjo], who tallied 5-1. They were initially ranked 9th with an average rating of 2197.

Also scoring 5-1 but losing out on tiebreak points were the MA-based "Cambridge Springers" (FM William Kelleher [also BCC], IM Joseph Fang, Leonard Morrissey, Anatoly Levin and alternate WIM Vesna Dimitrijevic [also BCC].)

An excellent performance was turned in by a team from Boston University, "BU Baku," (Melvin Zhang, Roza Eynullayeva, Jacob Schwartzman, Steven Abrahams), who scored 4.5-1.5 and were initially ranked 67th with an average rating of 1909. [They were tied for the U2000 class but lost on tie-breakers ...rjo.]

A record total of 1251 players competed in the three-day event. More than a half-dozen other MA teams participated in the championship.

George Mirijanian
Publications Coordinator

NEW R.I. CHESS CLUB OPENS THIS WEEK

Welcome to a new New England chess club serving the RI community.

NEW R.I. CHESS CLUB OPENS THIS WEEK
ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 12, 7 PM

Blackstone Chess Academy

Come visit the Blackstone Chess Academy. This new chess center will host a variety of chess activities: casual play, club style tournaments, weekend tournaments, and more.

Upcoming events:

Wednesday, March 12, 7pm: Grand Opening! Friday, March 14, 7pm: Open House Friday, March 21, 7pm: Game Night Friday, March 28, 7pm: Open House

We are located at the To Kalon Club, 26 Main St. Pawtucket, RI

adjacent to Interstate 95. It is just a few minutes from the East Side of Providence, less than 20 minutes from Warwick, Barrington, and Attleboro, and about 30 minutes from Woonsocket, Franklin, Walpole and Fall River.

Membership

Members receive discounted entry fees to tournaments,invitations to special events, and enjoy the use of the club. A family membership extends these benefits to all members of a single household. A youth membership is available to USCF youth members.

For more information, visit:

http://blackstonechess.com

Magnus Carlsen, 17, edged closer to the No1 ranking

Leonard Barden
Saturday March 8, 2008 The Guardian

Magnus Carlsen, 17, edged closer to the No 1 ranking at Morelia-Linares, which ended last night. The Norwegian began slowly but was soon chasing the world champion, Vishy Anand, who led throughout. With one round left, Anand had 8/13, Carlsen 7.5.

Fide's ratings due on April 1 could put Carlsen as high as No 4 in the world. Bobby Fischer was in a similar spot when he was 17 in 1960 but Carlsen's situation is better, since he is 15-20 years younger than the top pair Vladimir Kramnik and Anand.

Carlsen could head the rankings in a year or so but he may have to wait longer for the world title. He has to qualify via the World Cup, a chancy knock-out, or via Fide's new Grand Prix series, which looks vulnerable to the global recession.

V Ivanchuk v M Carlsen
1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 O-O Nxe4 5 d4 a6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 Qe2 Bf5 8 Re1 Bb4? 9 c3 Bd6 10 Qc2 Qd7 11 dxe5 Bc5 12 Rxe4 O-O-O 13 Nbd2 Qd5 14 Kf1 Rhe8 15 b3 g5 16 Bb2 g4 17 Nd4 Bxd4 18 cxd4 c5 19 Rae1 cxd4 20 Qc4? Bxe4 21 Rxe4 Rxe5 22 Rxg4 Rde8 23 Nf3 Qxc4+ 24 bxc4 Re2 25 Bxd4 Rxa2 26 Rg7 a5 27 Rxf7 Rc2 28 g4 a4 29 g5 a3 30 Rxh7 a2 31 Rh8 Rxh8 32 Bxh8 Rxc4 33 h3 c5 34 Ne1 Rc1 35 g6 Kd7 36 Bb2 Ke6 37 h4 c4 38 h5 c3 39 Bxc1 a1=Q 40 Nd3 0-1

The English GM Stuart Conquest sealed his adjournment move as White here, then went off to dinner. His opponent preferred to go hungry and spent the hour-long adjournment analysing. The resumed game lasted two moves on each side including the sealed move.

No3026 Can you explain?


[Ok, so the BCC Paramount isn't the only tournament in the world with adjourments. rjo]