BCC $5 OPEN // TIMES / GODIN / HOY /// DONDIS / LI / U1950 // 29 PARTICIPANTS // NEW FACES

BOYLSTON CHESS CLUB + $5 OPEN

IN TWO SECTIONS

OPEN SECTION

1-3rd

NM Lawyer Times scores with White vs NM Hal Terrie,

in Round 2.  Lawyer scored 3 points to share 1-3rd place

with NM Eric Godin and NM Andrew Hoy!

 

NM Eric Godin dressed for summer, scored

3 out of 3 to share 1-3rd place with NM

Lawyer Times and NM Andrew Hoy!

CRITICAL GAME

NM Eric Godin scored the full point vs NM Lawyer Times

in Round  3 for a +19 to 2250 rating. Bravo, Eric!

NM Andrew Hoy scored 2 wins plus 2 half-point byes, to

total 3 points to share 1-3rd place with NM Lawyer Times

and NM Eric Godin. Here Andrew is playing black vs

Niranjan Shankar.

U1950 SECTION

Harold Dondis, Esq. plays black vs Jason Xiong in Round 1

as John Archibald observes. Harold was 3 for 3 with

a last round half point bye to share 1-2nd place with

Boshen Li. Bravo, Harold!

YOUTH SURGES

Boshen Li scored 3 straight wins with a last round

half-point bye to share 1-2nd place with Harold

Dondis.  Boshen was +127 for 1487 rating!!

Bravo, Boshen!

CREATIVE SPARK

Mariam Abd-El-Barr first time at the BCC!

Welcome, Mariam!

Mariam Abd-El-Bar plays black vs Jerry Li in Round 1.

(background, left-to-right): Nithin Kavi, Aidan Sowa, 

NM Lawyer Times, NM Eric Godin (holding up the wall)

BROTHERS ZHAO HOLD STEADY

Maxwell Zhao scored 1.5 points in the Open

section for a +2 to 1917 rating.

SHADES OF MICHAEL JORDAN

Is this position delicious, or what? 8 yr old Winston 

Zhao sets up his game with the black pieces vs 

Jerry Li: draw! Game played in Round 3. Winston

was 50 percent on the day 2/4!

BOB IS BACK!

Robert "Bob" Oresick, Dean Emeritus, Boston

University, is back on the chess circuit after

recuperating from a serious illness.  Here he is

seen playing Richard Alan Chen in Round 2. Bob is 

also in the field of the 10 2RR Paramount, played 

on Monday nights.  Welcome back Bob! 

You look marvelous!!

CONTEMPLATIVE CHESS SCENE

Ed Foye plays Boshen Li in Round 2.

(background, center): Bob Oresick, Jared Becker (playing an adjourned

 round of the Paramount with Soren Pedersen); David Zhu Sun,

Winston Zhao; as a portrait of Harry Lyman, BCC Guardian

Angel, radiates  approval and joy at this splendid robust chess event.

BERNARDO IGLESIAS: TD

PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK

PS

NEUROSCIENCE

has it that sticking out your tongue helps

your brain to power-up for serious thinking

and critical action!

 

Michael Jordan

Gary Kasparov

BCC: NM CHRIS WILLIAMS VS CARISSA YIP // BCC LEGENDS // GAME ANALYSIS // COMMENTS // APPLAUSE // CARISSA +41 FOR 1-2ND PLACE

GAME OF THE YEAR

BCC LEGENDS OF CHESS FEBRUARY 21, 2015, R=4

POSTURE IS KEY

NM Chris Williams played 9.g5 . . . prompting Nfd7;  now

Chris is thinking about playing "f4"; Carissa looks ready!

Objectively, the position was equal through move 16.

The tenor of the game was spirited, both sides playing boldly. 

Though by move 17. . . . Qxg5, Carissa had "stuff" especially 

because of Chris's uncastled king, still in the center of the board.

Maybe the final chance for Chris to "save things" was choosing

to play 20.Qe2!? rather than what he played (20.Qd2 . . . )

What do you think?

Carissa displayed some very impressive endgame technique to put this game

in the win column for the black pieces.  Very well played, Carissa!
[After this BCC Legends event (February 21, 2015), in which Carissa tied for
1st place, attaining a +41 to 2191 rating, she completed her participation in the BCC
Thursday Night Swiss in which she scored 2/4 for a +3 to 2194 rating (February 26, 2015).
Finally, on February 28, 2015 Carissa closed out her play in the Billerica CC February
Swiss, in which she scored 2.5 points out of 3 with a rating increase of +9 to to 2203.
This gave Carissa the clear distinction of becoming the youngest female player
in USCF history to become a master! Brava, bravissimo, Carissa!]

PHOTO AND GAME PREPARATION: 
STEVE STEPAK

BCC PARAMOUNT EVENT 10 ROUNDS // DOUBLE ROUND ROBIN // TIME CONTROL: 40/90; d5, G/60; d5 // CALL FOR PLAYERS // CONTACT ASAP

16th Annual Paramount 

CALL FOR PLAYERS

TO ADD TO THE FIELD TO MAKE 2 SECTIONS

OF 6 PLAYERS EACH FOR A 2RR 10 ROUND EVENT

FOR THOSE WISHING TO JOIN

THE FIELD, PLEASE CONTACT:

BERNARDO IGLESIAS (EVENT TD)

email: biglesia@bu.edu

BCC: GIRL POWER // FEBRUARY GRAND PRIX REPORT: NATASHA CHRISTIANSEN / MAXWELL ZHAO 1-2nd / 21 PLAYERS / 1 SECTION // NEW FACES // MILESTONES GALORE // CARISSA YIP BECOMES NM

BCC: GRAND PRIX (OPEN)

NM Eric Godin on the move vs Natasha Christiansen, Round 4,

 ready to win in her regal chess sweater, anticipates the set-up.

Natasha scored 3 wins and a 3rd Round half-point bye to

chalk up 3.5 points for a share of 1-2nd place. Natasha earned
a +69 to 1925 rating. Brava, Natasha!

LASER FOCUS

Maxwell Zhao, ready to rumble with white vs Jerry Li in their

Round 2 game. Max won 3 games in row with a half-point bye

 for Round 4 to share 1-2nd place with Natasha Christiansen.

Max scored 3.5 points and a +62 to 1915 rating. Bravo, Max!
ROCK SOLID

NM Andrew Hoy (orange) (event TD) "silent force" awaits
his opponent's (Jason Tang) move in Round 4. With this win,
Andrew went on to share 3-5th place. Jason was 50 percent
with 2 points. Bravo, Andrew!
RECOVERY MODE

Nithin Kavi scored 3 wins in a row
after losing to Maxwell Zhao in
Round 1 to post 3 points and a
share of 3-5th place. Bravo, Nithin!
PLANNING THE ATTACK

Brandon Wu, (right) calculates his win vs Juan Payan in Round 2.
Brandon pulled himself together after his Round 1 loss to
Michael Yu, to score 3 wins in a row to share 3-5th place.
Bravo, Brandon! Always a fighter! (center, background: Jason Tang)

MILESTONE

Winston Zhao (rt.) plays NM Eric Godin in Round 2. Keeping his
eye on the center of the board, Winston recorded 2 wins, one
loss (to Eric) and 2.5 points to take clear 6th place!
8 yr old Winston was +74 to 1602 rating. Bravo, Winston!
MILESTONE

Michael Yu scored a Round 1 upset over
Brandon Wu to finish the tournament
with 2 point and a +66 to 1801 rating.
Bravo, Michael!
Jin Watch

8 yr old Derek Jin plays Mark Fins in Round 2.
Though Derek lost this game, he regained his
composure to draw his next two games for
1.5 points and a +7 to 1632 rating. Bravo, Derek!
SKITTLES BREAK BETWEEN ROUNDS

Michael Yu plays blitz with Brandon Wu.
(background): John Archibald, Max, Winston and Yi Zhao.
ANTICIPATION

Round 4 pairings: (left to right): NM Eric Godin, Mike Griffin,
Jared Becker, TD trainee, Andrew Hoy, TD, Pinyi Hu, Michael Yu
and Brandon Wu: in the BCC Skittles/TD room.
BEST HAT

Harold Dondis, Esq. 92 years young!
BEST PHOTO!

Harold Dondis, Esq. black vs Jason Tang, Round 3: 1-0 .
NM ANDREW HOY EVENT TD

PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK
LATE BREAKING NEWS
It's official: Carissa Yip is youngest girl USCF master!

Carissa Yip had two good tournaments in a row
to get her rating to 2203! Brava, Carissa!
Carissa Yip: Step 1: press here!
Carissa Yip: step 2: press here !!
Carissa Yip final lap: press here!

16th Annual Paramount

16th Annual Paramount

Photo collage:  Tony Cortizas Jr.

16th Annual Paramount

                    

Mon, March 2, 12am – Tue, March 3, 12am 

Weekly on Monday, until May 11, 2015

40 Norris St, Cambridge, MA 02140, USA map

10 Rounds. 2RR. Players divided into six player sections by rating.  40/90; d5, G/60; d5. Adjournments are allowed after 3 hours of play;  Entry fee: $25, $20 to BCF members;  Prizes: 50% EF  Registration: 6:00 to 6:45 PM  Round at 7PM.  No games on Patriot’s Day. For some people spring is signaled by the start of Red Sox reporting to spring training, by groundhog day, by the returning swallows to Capistrano... But for many of us it is the Paramount This will be the 16th annual edition of the popular tournament, a ten-round, double round-robin. Initiated by Bryan Clark, this format [generous time control with two try's against known opponents bunched in competitive groups] remains popular. And it is one of the few tournaments left that incorporate adjournments. This long running Boylston event is particularly attractive because of it rather unique format. It is a double round-robin among 6 closely rated players, so one knows one's opponent and color in advance. The time control is generous and - unusual for this days - allows for adjournments. If you haven't played in a Paramount before, give it a try. If you have, please play again. As Steve Stepak put it last year: "This is a thinking person's event: 10 rounds, double round robin.  The time control is: 40 moves in 90 minutes (+5" delay) and then G/60. A nuance in the time control is: after 3 hours of play, the game may be adjourned and resumed on a day agreed to by the players.  So this event is for players who like to think out complex combinations and strategies on the board and need the time to do so and who enjoy analyzing adjourned positions and resuming the game like was done in the "old days" . . . in the time of Bobby Fischer, for example.  Today, due to the proliferation of chess programs like Rybka (3199), Fritz (3080), Shredder (3058) and now Houdini (rating 3287) there is no more adjournment option, neither in professional chess play or most amateur club play. So the BCC Paramount may be one of the last places on earth where there is indeed an adjournment."                        Steve Stepak's photo report on last year's Paramount.

BCC LEGENDS OF CHESS: OSCAR PANNO // FARZAD ABDI & CARISSA YIP SHARE SPOTLIGHT // NICHOLAS OBLAK U1950 // 27 PLAY // MANY NEW FACES

MILESTONE

Carissa Yip shared a piece of 1st place in the Open Section of

the BCC Legends of Chess, February 21. Brava, Carissa!

Carissa scored 3 wins + a 1st round half point bye to 

earn a +41 to 2191 rating!
FOCUSED

NM Chris Williams sets up king-side assault vs Carissa Yip's
Sicilian Dragon. Carissa defended strongly and won the game!

COOL UNDER FIRE

A relaxed NM Farzad plays white vs NM Chris Williams in

Round 3. The game ended in a draw!

FARZAD PLAYS THE GENERAL

Terrence Fricker does battle with NM Farzad Abdi

in Round 4. This was a critical game for Farzad if he

wanted to take a piece of 1st place. He was up to the 

task, scored the point and tallied 3.5 out of 4 to share

1st place with Carissa Yip. Farzad was +10 to 2254 for 

his efforts. Terrence scored 2 points and a +25 to 1984

sharing 6-7th place in the Open Section.

3RD - 5TH PLACE

NM Chris Williams on the move vs Carissa Yip in Round 4.

Chris scored 2.5 points to share 3-5th place with Andrew Hoy

and Evan Meyer.

NM Andrew Hoy (right) defends dramatically to score the full

points over Pinyi Hu in Round 4. Andrew scored 2.5 points

to share 3-5th place with NM Chris Williams and Evan Meyer.

Evan Meyer (left) was strong with Black vs Brandon Wu to take 

the full point and a total of 2.5 to share 3-5th place.

U1950 SECTION

  

Nicholas Oblak, a West Point Cadet, takes a sip of 

coffee on his road to clear first place in the U1950 section

with 3.5 points, for a +16 to 1919 rating. Bravo, Nicholas!

 

Nowell Sheinwald, a UMass Lowell student from New 

York State, scored 3 points to take clear 2nd place

in the U1950 section for a +8 to 1931 rating. Bravo, Nowell!

NEWS THE OLD-FASHION WAY

Harold Dondis, Esq. checks out the New York Times

during a break in the action.

ENGLISH: THE VERDICT?

Looks even. Round 4 game. Chess is not only

applied intellect, but also endurance. This time

Black prevailed in a complicated endgame.

FATHER AND SON

David Zhou shares some chess pointers with his

dad, Dong Ping in the BCC Skittles Room.

NM ANDREW HOY, TD

PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK