John Curdo, the New England chess legend, was recently profiled by Mark Arsenault for the Boston Globe. Though he doesn't venture into Boston for tournaments much these days - he used to be active at the BCC and the Metropolitan Chess League - he still plays all around Mass - most recently in Sturbridge.
Let's say you play Monday evening at the Boylston, then Tuesday at MetroWest, and then in the BCC Thursday Night Swiss -- and you need a chess fix to tide you over till the Saturday tournament at the Boylston. Nick Sterling reminds us that the Waltham Chess Club meets every Friday at 7. You are invited to play. Remember, a day without chess is like a day without sunshine.
.................................................
Are any of you interested in being on the e-mailing list for Waltham Chess Club?
We meet every Friday from 7 PM on at the IBM Building in Waltham, and MASTERS PLAY FOR FREE.
On vacation in California I realized how similar cosmopolitan cities are all around the world, yet each government has its ways of dealing with immediate problems that give them uniqueness.
In California you have to fit all your trash in one of three "official" bins (trash, recycle, or lawn clippings) and a truck with a gigantic robotic arm rushes down the street flipping the barrels over its top.
In the countryside of Maine you are responsible for your personal trash and recycling. My son said they never really throw anything out in Maine - they hold a yard sale and whatever is left stays there. While vacationing in Maine in the Moosehead region, recycling was at a local home. Years before Kramer and Newman of Seinfeld fame tried to leverage the +5 cents between state lines, my two boys wanted me to fill all voids in our trailer with bottles to recycle in Maine to get the extra nickel.
In the yard of this recycling center rested a surplus military deuce and a half with a For Sale sign and a warning in crayola on the fender "needs brakes". For about six consecutive years that truck rested in the driveway. I regret not photographing it before it was gone. I wonder if you traded in that old truck if you could collect $4,500 in cash for clunkers. Or go in and buy a clunker for say $800 and flip it? I bet Seinfeld could do that plot justice.
I was thinking how "green" chess is compared to other recreations. Although most clocks now require batteries, when compared to most pastimes chess, go, and bridge are very green. Is chess greener than golf?
4SS; G/60 EF: $25, $20 to BCF members if received by 8/19; $5 more at door. Two sections: Open & U1900; Prizes: $$400G: 100-50-50 in both sections. Reg: 9:15 – 9:55. Rounds: 10, 12:40, 3:00, 5:10
........
This is usually a great tournament for several reasons: guaranteed prize fund, turn-out, competive level, and as a event honoring a remarkable man.
Please consider playing.
Walter Driscoll has for 16 years honored and remembered his friend Charles Drafts by helping sponsor a tournament for which he personally guarantees the prize fund.
Charles Drafts
by David Glickman
This Saturday the ... Annual Charles Drafts Openis being held at the Boylston Chess Club. Charles died several years ago and so for newer members of the club and the broader readership of the weblog I thought it might be worthwhile to briefly review his story.
Charles was a disabled, double-amputee living in the housing projects in Mission Hill. He loved to play chess but his condition made it difficult for him to come to a club or attend tournaments. At some point in time he contacted the BCC to see if any players would be willing to come to his apartment to play. Over the years several heeded the call, but in particular club member Walter Driscoll was a frequent visitor. I believe Walter was also the driving force behind the Charles Drafts Open. At the beginning and for many years, the tournament was held at Charles' building in Mission Hill so that at least one time a year Charles would have an opportunity to play in a "traditional" chess tournament. Since his death, the tournament has continued at the club as a memorial event.
The introduction of internet chess was obviously a boon to Charles and he was an active player on the ICC. It was, in fact, in the middle of a chess game on the ICC in 1996 when the event occurred which thrust Charles into momentary international prominence:
BOSTON -- A disabled man who became ill while logged on to an Internet chess site reached out to fellow players from around the world for emergency assistance.
Charles Drafts, a double amputee who types using a stick in his mouth, was playing chess in cyberspace Saturday on the multi-use World Wide Web site where 159 others also were logged on.
Suddenly, he sent out this message: "i'm having physical illness problems and need help."
"He was starting to have some really bad feelings, shortness of breath and dizziness, and he typed in a message to all our members," said Daniel Sleator, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University near Pittsburgh who founded the Internet Chess Club.
"It took a little while to know whether it was serious or not because there's an awful lot of kidding and bantering that goes on," Mr. Sleator said. "At first, I think some people were thinking it was a joke. But others realized it was a serious thing and started getting the information right away."
Mr. Drafts managed to type in his address.... while several users tried to find out what symptoms Drafts was suffering, Andy McFarland of Owensboro, Kentucky, was calling Boston's emergency medical services on his second phone line. "When he finally got through, he told dispatchers where he was calling from and explained the situation," Howland relates. 'I think I lost them for just a second,' McFarland said. 'It's not something they get every day.'"
...firefighters rushed to Draft's home, but no one answered the door. They called McFarland back to verify the address. McFarland told the wire service, "The last thing I heard them say was, `We're going in,' and they hung up." ...a short while later Boston firefighters broke down his door to get inside. They rushed the 48-year-old man to Beth Israel Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition ..., suffering from an undisclosed ailment.
About 20 minutes later, a Boston dispatcher called to tell McFarland that they had found Drafts inside and that he had needed help.
[This text is a re-gifting of David Glickman's 2005 post.]
Here is an update on the Blackstone Chess Festival.
Festivities begin Saturday August 22nd. The club should be open around noon, and the simul with David Griego is scheduled to begin at 2pm.
I have attached the latest flyer [see below]. This is a great way to beat the heat in the air conditioned comfort of the Blackstone Chess Center. We have a cooler full of cold beverages, and Kafe Lila has the best iced coffee in Rhode Island (cold-pressed), along with home made ice cream, ice tea, and fresh squeezed lemonade.
Also, it's not too late to get in on the Thursday night 3-round swiss. Arrive by 7:30, as we are starting round one this Thursday. We are allowing a single bye in any round. Last round bye must be declared when you sign up. We have 4 entries already signed up, so we will start a 3-week cycle this Thursday (8/20), and continue with the next cycle on Sept 10th.
------------------------------------------------
2009 Blackstone Chess Festival Pawtucket RI August 22-August 30
Blackstone Chess Center, 250 Main St., Suite B3, Pawtucket RI
Saturday August 22 – 2pm – Simultaneous Exhibition – Senior Master David Griego The 2009 Blackstone Chess Festival opens Saturday August 22nd with a simultaneous exhibition by Senior Master David Griego. Arrive by 2:00pm if you want to play. Fee is $7, $5 for club members. David Griego has won numerous chess titles, including the US Junior Open, 10 Rhode Island Championships (the first at age 14), and 3 New England Championships (back to back in '84, '85). Just show up at the Center, or send a message to director@blackstonechess.com to reserve a spot.
Friday August 28 – 7:30pm – Masters Blitz - Invitational Spectators are welcome to come watch the Masters Blitz, Friday, August 28th, at 7:30pm. Game/7 double round robin. Participants include Senior Masters Jorge Sammour, David Griego, and Denys Shmelov. This is the first in a series of Blackstone Masters and Experts blitz competitions. Jorge Sammour and Denys Shmelov are members of the Boston Blitz USCL team. The Blitz made it to the USCL finals in the past two seasons, but lost to the Dallas Destiny in an exciting but disappointing tie-break playoff. Six local masters are expected to be competing in this event.
Saturday August 29 – 10:30am – Blackstone Chess Festival Open The Blackstone Chess Festival Open will be held Saturday August 29th. This is a 4SS in 2 sections, Open and Under 1700. Registration: 10:00am-10:30am. Time control: Game/60 (Game 55, 5 sec. delay). Entry fee: $25, advance entry: $20. IM/GM Free! Prizes: $400 based on 20 entries. Two or more members of the same family or chess club can enter together and receive $5 off each entry. This can be in addition to the $5 advance entry discount. Schedule: Round 1: 10:30am, Round 2: 1:00pm, Round 3: 3:00pm, Round 4: 5:00pm or ASAP. Byes: One ½ point bye, first or second round only Mail Entry: Blackstone Chess, 45 Taft Ave, Providence RI 02906 postmark by 8/24 Email Entry: director@blackstonechess.com by 6pm 8/28 include USCF ID and phone #
The Blackstone Chess Center is open regulary on Thursday evenings (USCF rated weekly tournaments) and Saturday afternoons (pick up games, and one day events). Membership is optional, but helps to support the Chess Center. Introductory 6-month membership is only $20.
Directions: From Massachusetts/I-95 South, take RI exit 27, then take a right onto George Street. From points south/I-95 North, take RI exit 27, and take a left at the second light. Go past the Comfort Inn, to the end of the road. Take a right, and enter the parking garage at the bottom of the hill. The entrance is on Main Street. Kafe Lila is on the street level, the Blackstone Chess Center is down the stairs, and to the right, Suite B3. The address is 250 Main Street (The Grant), Suite B3, Pawtucket RI 02860. Chess books and equipment are available for sale. Air conditioned!
At last evening's board meeting,Bernardo Iglesias, head of the tournament committee, brought up several issues about the championship cycle - Weaver Adams, Reubens-Landey, and the Championship itself, and also the Hauptturnier, which runs parallel.
The Hauptturnier I believe was initiated by Bob Fuhro to provide a challenging event for the best club players who hadn't qualified for the Championship. After extensive discussion the board voted to limit the Hauptturnier to the 10 highest rated players who register. There is a signup sheet posted in the club - if you are interested please sign up and give your phone number and email address. If you can't make it to the club, you can email oresick@bu.edu or biglesia@bu.edu.
If more than 10 players register, the lower rated players will play in a Swiss or Round Robin.Alex Cherniack andBill Kelleher suggested the corresponding tournament would be for, ... what's the German word?... for patzers. So, if there is sufficient interest, we will sponsor the first annual Patzerturnier. I think I might try to register for that one directly - I should qualify.
Have a heart for Chess! It might save a life. Sunday, August 30, 2009 Join IM David Vigorito for a brief lecture with a Q&A followed by a Simultaneous Exhibition starting at 1PM at the Boylston Chess club (BCC). The proceeds will go to help the American Heart Association.
Here’s Why:
Unfortunately, too many of us have a loved one affected by heart disease or stroke. To help stop this, George Duval ( aka Blunderprone) along with others in the chess community will be participating in this year's Start! Heart Walk on September 12, 2009 benefiting the American Heart Association. You can help raise funds and protect those you love by participating in something fun and chess related.
Fee: $20 for both BCC and Non-BCC members, remember this is a fundraiser. Make checks payable to American Heart Association.
Your contribution will make a difference in the fight against our nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers: heart disease and stroke.
Where: Boylston Chess Club; 240 Elm St., Suite B9; Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 (617) 629-3933 SUNDAY FREE PARKING ! When: Sunday August 30, 2009 at 1PM Registration: 12:00 – 12: 45.
“Blunderprone” promises to make this a fun event for all levels of expertise as he guarantees no one will lose any USCF rating points. Bonus: You might actually be saving someone’s life.
If you can’t attend but wish to make a donation to the AHA’s heart walk, follow this link through George’s Blog at http://blunderprone.blogspot.com ( click on the thermometer on the right)
In a skillfuly played endgame with short time Greg Kaden edged Farzad Abdi to win his fith victory and clinch sole possesion of 1st place in the 2009 Reubens Landey. He will be invited to play in the BCC championship beginning Sept. 14.
Farzad ended up with 3.5, as did Simon Warfield and Ken Newman. There is a possibility that one of the secondary leaders might also be able to play in the championship, but the ruling will be carried to the board meeting on Weds for a decision.
Congratulations to the leaders and thanks to all for playing. See you at the Hauptturnier?
ABC's WIFE SWAP CASTING FOR A CHESS ENTHUSIAST AND FAMILY $20K
ABC's primetime series "Wife Swap" is currently casting its fifth season and looking for unique, outgoing families with a defined family philosophy to take part in the show. Families who participate in this documentary-style program are given a unique opportunity to share their beliefs and lifestyles with another family. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience that can be life-changing for everyone.
Each week on Wife Swap, the mothers from two families with different values and belief systems will exchange lives. It's an amazing family experience and opportunity to learn how others lead their lives. Half of the week, mom lives the life of the family she is staying with. After making her observations, she introduces several "rule changes," where she implements rules and activities that are important to her family. It's a positive experience for people to not only learn but teach about other families and other ways of life. Wife Swap airs on Disney owned ABC television on Fridays at 8 pm.
If you are a family with at least one child over the age of 5 living and you think your family would be a good fit for the show, contact us to be a part of this show.
*If you refer a family who appears on our show, you will receive $1000 per family.
The $10 Open remains one of the most popular tournaments sponsored by the BCF. The club provides a stimulus for one's chess budget which works as well as cash for clunkers.
Saturday's event was no exception - drawing 42 players, including 9 masters (Shmelov, Esserman, Theil, Riordan, Times, Williams, Cherniack, Pismenny, and Chase.)
Denys Shmelov (2506) won the open section (n = 27)with a perfect 4.0. Marc Esserman (2456) and Carey Theil (2261) tied for 2nd with 3.5.
In the U1800 section (n = 16), there was a 5-way tie with 3.0 points: Amrit Gupta, Bernardo Iglesias, Ryan Ottavanio, Steven Stepak, and Matthew Reale-Hatem.
Directed with finesse as usual by Bernardo Iglesias.
Just wanted to let you know that I recently made a Chess Database application for the iPhone/iPod Touch that you can download from App Store; just go to the App Store and search for "ChessDB". Its kind of like ChessBase for the iPhone. It comes with the databases of games of Morphy, Fischer, Kasparov, etc., and you can download any database you have onto your iPhone too. Anyways, enough advertising; if any of you decide to try it out, let me know what you think!
Granted this story isn't about chess exactly, but Christine is the wife of NM Carey Theil, an active club player and member of the board of directors, and the one-room office mentioned in the article is down the hall from our club. (I've been looking for a Ken Rogoff connection but haven't found one yet. rjo)
with permission from: Bostonia: The Alumni Magazine of Boston University
A Dogged Fight
Christine Dorchak is on a mission to phase out greyhound racing across the United States
| From Alumni Notes | By Cynthia K. Buccini
Christine Dorchak (COM’90), cofounder and president of GREY2K USA, a national nonprofit working to end greyhound racing. Photo by Vernon Doucette
When the Massachusetts polls closed on November 4, 2008, Christine Dorchak was among a crowd of 100 people anxiously awaiting the results at Jillian’s in Kenmore Square. Their butterflies had nothing to do with the outcome of the presidential race. For more than a decade, Dorchak, cofounder and president of the national nonprofit GREY2K USA, had been waging a fight to end dog racing in Massachusetts. She had crafted a ballot measure that would phase out the practice by 2010, and her group had campaigned hard all year. Now, all they could do was wait.
“We were on pins and needles,” Dorchak recalls.
Just after 10 p.m., a local television news station announced the results: the measure had passed with 56 percent of the vote. As the crowd of supporters cheered, Dorchak ran to embrace a friend with such exuberance that the two fell to the floor. “I just couldn’t believe that we had finally defeated the cruelty of dog racing in our state,” she says.
The victory was the culmination of more than just a long political battle — it capped a personal struggle as well. In 1992, Dorchak (COM’90) was hit by an MBTA train as she crossed Comm. Ave. with her dog, Kelsey, one morning before work. She suffered severe head injuries and broke two bones in her back, and her spleen was crushed. Worse, her memory had been wiped clean. She didn’t recognize her parents, her brother, or her boyfriend. She could no longer speak fluent Spanish and French, as she had after studying foreign languages at BU.
The one thing she could call to mind without hesitation: the rambunctious black Russian terrier she had adopted several months before. “When I came out of my first coma, having no idea who I was or what was going on, I was struggling to say something, and I said, ‘How’s Kelsey?’ I’ve come to strongly believe she pulled me out of the direct path of the train.”
Dorchak, an office manager at a downtown Boston law firm before the accident, spent two years recovering from her injuries and reflecting on her life. “I must be here for some reason, and it wasn’t about me,” she says. “Because my dog and I had this experience together, I felt I should help animals.”
She volunteered for animal welfare organizations and in 1998 became director of research and public outreach at the New England Anti-Vivisection Society. About the same time, a friend told her about a group opposed to racing — they believed it was cruel to the dogs — who demonstrated every weekend outside Wonderland Greyhound Park in Revere, Massachusetts. Dorchak joined the pickets and supported the group’s ballot initiative to halt dog racing. The measure was narrowly defeated in the 2000 election. The following year, Dorchak and two other members of the group formed GREY2K USA and got back to work. In 2006, they drafted a similar measure, but the state Supreme Court struck the question from the ballot, declaring it was overly broad, she says.
Not to be deterred, Dorchak and her organization took a new approach in the 2008 campaign, which she describes as smarter and better planned. The group obtained photos of the dogs’ living conditions and records detailing the injuries reported by Wonderland and the state’s other track, Raynham Park. Dorchak says the effort was endorsed by area animal shelters and hospitals, veterinarians, some business leaders, and two dozen lawmakers. “We wanted to show this was a nationally supported campaign in 2000. In 2008, we wanted to show that it was a locally supported campaign and that it was the people of Massachusetts who were saying no to greyhound racing.”
The strategy paid off. Nearly 300 of the state’s 351 cities and towns passed the measure, she says. “I was glad to finally have proof of my convictions, and that’s what all those records were: proof that we were fighting the right fight and that there was a problem that needed to be solved.”
Dorchak, who earned a law degree in 2005 and is general counsel of GREY2K USA, says the group wants to phase out racing in every state. They have helped to halt the practice or close tracks in fourteen states since December 2004; now their sights are set on New Hampshire and Florida. “There are only ten states where racing is live and operational,” she says. “I’ve got ten more campaigns to run.”
She runs those campaigns out of a one-room office in Somerville, Massachusetts, which she shares with her husband, Carey Theil, GREY2K USA’s executive director, and their adopted greyhound, Zoe. (Kelsey died in 2005 at fifteen.) “Ironically, I’m working to put myself out of business,” Dorchak says. “That’s my ultimate goal: to make GREY2K USA nonessential.”
In last night's round 4 of the annual Reubens Landey tournament,Gregory Kadenfaced off with Simon Warfieldand at the end of the day remained undefeated. Farzad Abdi took out Zaroug Jaleelto enter round 5 with 3.5 points, so next week it isFarzad Abdi vs Gregory Kaden.
The winner of Abdi-Kadenwill be invited to play with the masters in the annual Boylston championship. Kaden entered the Reubens Landey rated at 2178 and now after 4 rounds is 2204. If he wins, in addition to the invitation he would earn the National Master title.
Saturday August 1, 2009, from:Up Close & Personal with Prof Kenneth Rogoff
By THEAN LEE CHENG
“We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, We’re going to see a whopper, we’re going to see a big one, one of the big investment banks or big banks.”– Prof Kenneth Rogoff, Financial Times, Aug 20, 2008
LESS than one month after he made the above remark in a Singapore conference organised by RAM Holdings Bhd, investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed on Sept 15 and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were nationalised on Sept 10. And Harvard economics professor Kenneth Rogoff, who predicted the fallout in the financial sector, went into hiding for two weeks. Britain’s Financial Times calls him a crisis nerd. He calls himself “a conservative economist.”
Prof Kenneth Rogoff the present-day economic guru, and (inset) as a 16-year-old representing the US in the under-21 chess championship.
Rogoff did not realised the impact his views had around the world until he was mid-flight to Sweden via London. He happened to glance at the headlines of The Guardian a fellow passenger was reading.
“I was shocked and nervous when I saw the headlines. I kept replaying the statements I made in Singapore. Could the press have misquoted me? It seemed so extreme when you see yourself on the newspapers. I asked myself, what is going on? Did I say something I did not mean to say? “I was not trying to make headlines although I know how to do it. It was just a straight discussion.” His remarks generated “400 emails from political leaders, famous investors and crazy religious people all over the world.”
“I was scared. I hid. I didn’t want to be hounded and I didn’t want to go on TV and be asked which bank I mean.”
That was one year ago. Last week, on July 20, during the first year anniversary of his remarks, Rogoff was in Kuala Lumpur for the first time, in another seminar organised by RAM. The fear is replaced by a glint of mischief in his eye, mixed with amusement. He laughs and jokes about that incident which sent him into hiding for two weeks.
“I research financial crisis. I don’t predict, or cause a crisis.”
Rogoff enjoys his work tremendously today, not because of how things have turned out in the global financial landscape. But 15 years ago, when he was doing theoretical work, he would not have said that, he says.
“There are different aspects of economics. In my most basic research, you can go for months as a time filling in the details. Every two to three years, you have the Eureka! moments which you live for, and a model crystalises. That is one element.”
Today, he writes, teaches, speaks publicly and is consulted all over the world. “I enjoy people and I enjoy teaching policies. I learn so much from policy makers because they understand their problems so deeply.”
Rogoff is in the midst of co-writing a book about the economy This Time Is Different with Carmen M. Reinhart
Rogoff comes across as consistently controversial. He dropped out of high school at 16 to play chess, which he had earlier found difficult to grasp. His father, a radiology professor had given him a chess set at six, but it was a game he did not take to until he was in his teens.
When he finally learned the game, he mastered it to eventually become “the most promising young American since (Bobby) Fischer roamed the Manhattan Chess Club in sneakers.”
When he quit school to make a living out of chess, his parents were dubious. “I did not do it for the adventure. My parents, being true liberals, insisted on living in the city where their children could have a genuine American inner city high school experience. It was a good place to learn how to deal with all kinds of people but I was not learning anything else. But that was not the reason I dropped out. I was already a top chess player and rising very fast. I really enjoyed the game,” he says.
At a time when he was touted to be the top player in the United States, living off his prize money, he quit chess to go back to college. He dropped out of graduate school because he lacked direction in life only to later become among the top student in the field.
Today, Rogoff is one of several economists with a large following around the world. He writes, speaks publicly and is consulted for his views.
Ironically, Rogoff did not embrace economics easily until he started his first job with the Federal Reserve.
The choice of studying economics was itself not a conscious decision. While playing chess in Greece, he had, at 17, befriended John Geanakoplos (now Yale economics professor). But the real evangelist was Jeremy Bulow (now Stanford economics professor) who had a huge influence on his decision. The three were to become roommates in Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate school.
But Rogoff continued to be torn between being a professional chess player and research economist. He repeated his high school experience when he dropped out of MIT after one semester. One year later, he returned to MIT and was glad they took him back. He also counts himself very fortunate that Yale accepted him when he decided to return to college despite dropping out at 16.
“It was only during my first job at the Federal Reserve that I embraced economics and took a professional view of the whole thing.
“I’m not someone who instantly picks up on everything, but I am patient and persistent. It takes me a long time to get a grasp of things. Maybe that’s why I am able to explain things clearly because I need a lot of time to really understand something myself.
“Most of my classmates went to universities to join the academia. If you are a top student, you don’t go into the International Monetary Fund (like I did). But my research was different. My first academic paper was Why countries should have an independent central bank.”
Until today, his ties with chess continue to feature. Rogoff still gets letters from some of the top 30 players seeking advice on how to quit chess. “I cannot play chess now because if I play, I become an addict. I’m always asked why I quit and how I quit.
“I quit because I wanted to do something more with my life. I feel now I have done that. It was not easy for me to say that 15 years ago when I was doing theoretical work.
“The second reason I quit was because I was unhappy with my social life. I like girls and chess tournaments are rather male-oriented. The third reason was I did not want to travel so much. “But when I went into theoretical work, there were not many women in that field and I travelled all the time. I then realised it was me, and not chess.”
Rogoff wants his life to be inspiring, to count for something. On what motivates him, he says it is important to do things which he finds interesting and enjoyable.
“To be creative and successful, you have to enjoy what you are doing. If you do not find the work you do interesting, it is difficult to make it interesting for someone else.
“There are all sorts of duties which are not interesting, but which have to be done. There will be false starts and I’ll be depressed for months, but if I were to flee from one thing to another, I will not find anything. So I try to be responsible. I try to think of ideas or define ideas which are helpful.”
Because he spends so much time working and travelling, he says he needs to exercise and meditate for relaxation. “I learned this when I was playing chess. You have to have stamina for so many days and hours. You have to train and until today, although I don’t play chess anymore, I continue to train.”
...............................
The Star (daily) and Sunday Star, Malaysia's most widely-read English-language daily and Sunday newspapers, are published in four editions - two editions which cover the northern peninsular states of Penang, Kedah, Perlis and northern Perak while the other two editions cover the rest of the country
July 17 -- it was a Friday and I had just been having an early dinner in the Chinatown area with family and friends visiting from Costa Rica. Walking at the intersection of Washington St. and Beach St. - where not long ago this section of Boston was known as the "Combat Zone." Just around the corner was 48 Boylston St. - YMCU - and “the headquarters of the Boylston Chess Club” from the 1870’s to 1989.
I saw from a close distance a clear landscape now, where in the past, about 30 years ago, I can recall there were a movie house and other weird stores around.
[Editor's note: I found a photo of how it looked in 1899. rjo]
.
.
.
In from of me, I can distinguish the back of the old place where the BCC main playing room was - big, tall windows and the high lights decorating the big room, I can see it now as a flash from the past. That room never had AC and the heat in winter was very light.
There was always thunder coming down and shaking the ceiling from time to time from the third floor. [Editor's note: I have heard that the "thunder" was from wrestling lessons being given by "Killer Kowalski" from the old studio wrestling days. rjo]
The summers when the temperature reaches 75-80F, everyone used to sweat crazy and wear light clothes and in winter you needed to wear a jacket or sweater all the time when the temperature was getting 30-25F.
And now I believe there will be new buildings covering this zone and covering this present view,- I do not know if the small and closed alley will remain there too, to peek the wall.
I have a lot of memories from this old place that maybe in the future I can share with anyone who interested to know: little pieces of the past of the BCC.
Greetings from Stinson Beach CA where my wife Pat and I are vacationing with our two boys.
For a dozen years (mid 80's thu the 90's) typically our vacations used to consist of loading up the pop-up trailer, strapping on the Old Town 17'4" canoe and trucking up to the northern part of Moosehead Lake ME. During those times I would choose a chess agenda and spend a couple of hours a day. Subject material could be end game improvement, a world championship match, or a famous tournament from the past. In the trailer I would pack my best set , board, along with several books.
My three kids are all good chess players and the solitude of the woods, having a limited choice of activities, guaranteed opportunities for chess games, as well as a myriad of card games. Some time in the mid eighties my daughter Melissa pulled of the upset of the last century by beating this old man. Victories by my kids were very rare. In fact my wife has said that I would pummel my grandmother into submission if I had the opportunity. I am simply passing on the philosophy my first coach great uncle Justin "Ducky" Power (a BCC member) had to be unmerciful at all times. BTW Melissa's real forte is in checkers.
As a college student in the early 70's in the summer, working at Fenway Park allowed me many Tuesdays to visit the old Boylston Chess Club and work with Harry Lyman to fine tune my game. Each fall I would return to Westfield State College and win board one on the chess team, only to lose it during the year to Dave 'Wiz" Copy. Then return again the next fall to reclaim it again.
As for this California trip we had to pack light and so the only chess book I brought was Lev Alburt's Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Position & Ideas. The main plan being that I would borrow my wife's notebook to log into the ICC. But this is only a partially effective as we are roughing it in paradise and have such low bandwidth that high lag time precludes me from playing much. So you won't be seeing FENWAY1 on very often.
Nonetheless Stinson Beach, secluded on the west side of Mt Tamaplais, of which Muir Woods sits on the east side, consists of a series of coastal cottages where people have accounted for the relative coolness of the ocean breezes by using architecture and civil engineering to trap warmth in outside settings. So even with ambient temperatures in the high 50's low 60's you can sit in the sun in places that climb into the mid 80's if you want to. And the water temperatures are more like Nantasket Beach than Bar Harbor, so you can jump in without stopping your heart.
What are some of you summer chess rituals? Please Comment.
Last evening we played round two of the Reubens Landey.
Ben Goldberg, Greg Kaden, and Daniel Leach emerged with 2 points each.
Farzad Abdi and Simon Warfield played to a draw by repetition of position, and so now have 1.5 each, as do Ken Newman and Philip "there's gotta be a planet somewhere out there" Nutzman.
Natasha Christiansen joined the group, but unfortunately bothKen Hoand Jason Rihelhad to withdraw because of other commitments.
Thumbing through some of Kasparov's My Great Predecessors got me idly thinking about, even at my vastly inferior level of play, which of the World Champions I most resemble in terms of style. I'm sure they would all resemble such a remark.
Perhaps I should instead write about which of the World Champion's playing styles I most strongly identify with.
I can barely combine myself out of a wet paper bag, so out went Alekhine, Tal, Spassky, Fischer, Kasparov, and Anand. I have long greatly admired the endgame and other successes of Capablanca and Smyslov, but my style might be closest to Petrosian's (although after my savage attacking loss to him in the Reubens-Landey, I think I will never persuade Farzad Abdi of that).
Giving an opponent the torture treatment:
After the game, Dick grunted that it was just the kind of game he hates, where I dictated the pace and he was always defending. It's certainly pleasant to hear that your opponent felt they were under your thumb the whole game, but I was still miffed that I hadn't won, having labored under the mistaken impression that I'd had a meaningful edge for most of the game. One of Joe Shipman's (excellent) 1989 Chess Horizons opening analysis columns stated that 10...Bxe4 is equal, but I didn't know that at the time of the game. It would be great to have enough Petrosian-like python technique to be able to squeeze more points out of opponents (ah, Pars-s-seltongue).
In the recently completed Weaver Adams tournament, I had what might have been my most smoothly flowing Petrosian style win ever (sorry, John, but anyway we both made it to the Reubens-Landey). I dictated play all over the board, and in this game I did squeeze the point out.
If it is at all accurate that I align myself with Petrosian, Spassky being Mike Griffin's chess hero may partially explain why our chessboard battles to date have been full-blooded struggles, given the 2 slugfests those giants fought for the World Championship.
Does your play resemble that of any World Champion? Come join me in inciting World Champions, or their spirits, to resemble remarks about shared chess styles. Maybe we can get one of those who has passed on to rise up again -- Korchnoi may be looking for another spiritual opponent (although I doubt Petrosian would be his top choice!).
In the May rating supplement Andrew Tichenor, who often plays at the club, achieved the 2200 rating which makes him a National Master. Congratulations.
NM Chris Williams won his quad with 2 points. He defeated NM Carey Theil and Joshua Lee, losing to NM Lawyer Times.
Max Lu and Seth Lieberman won the 6-player small Swiss with 2.5 points; Robert Oresick, Daniel Bromberg, Anthony DiNosse and Eden Hochbaumrounded out the field.
As usual on the second installment of the bimonthly Early Bird Rapid Quads, Chris Chase directed with his undivided attention.
Mass chess synergies in recording events and history.
Recently in the Blog we copied the MACA release of the Somerville Open tournament. We got some comments implying that the BCF should not have ripped off MACA but written their own article. George Mirijanian gave us permission to copy the post and we felt that this was a well written article of the facts so why duplicate effort? Re-use what is good; it's the way of the green ethos, the lazy ethos as well.
Some suggest perhaps it would be nice if some BCF member hand crafted their own version of the Somerville Open but surprisingly most chess players like to spend their surplus time playing or studying chess?! And if such reporting was deemed a necessary requirement it would fall on the few BCF volunteers that already do so much. Regardless lately more BFC members have been writing for the blog and contributing quality/fun entries. I hope these guys continue to contribute.
I look at this "borrowing" from MACA as leveraging a good report of the facts of an event from George Mirijanian who was nice enough to write it. In fact perhaps there are other ways that BCF, MACA, and other organizations could work together sharing information and resources creating other synergies that enhance each other and therefore all of local chess. I think the MACA site has it’s audience and BCF has its audience, and while they may intersect they are also partially exclusive. So why not borrow from each other at times?
Hopefully soon Steve Dann, George Mirijanian, and myself are trying to start a Mass chess oral history archive. We missed Gus Gosselin but are hoping to catch the likes of Irving Yaffee before they pass. Also I'm thinking of trying to use our records and these guy's memories to create a Mass Chess history timeline.
The pool of chess volunteers is very limited, it would be nice if every chess player could find a way to contribute some time to chess and their beloved organizations. Even if it's 15 minutes a year to help move chairs and tables at the Herb Healy. Or even if it was 30 seconds to pick up after themselves. Take a look at the average chess day of Bernardo Iglesias: every tournament directed by him is an act of dedication to the game. And realize that every empty cup, piece of paper, un set chess set, has to be picked up and set up by someone and it's usually the director?! While it would take almost no time for an individual to pick up after themselves at the end of day there are many cumilative/multplactive tasks that add much time to the director before going home. Per Bob Oresick "Reduce Entropy."
Do you have any ideas about where these organizations could borrow, cooperate, and co contribute?
As you can tell from the comments, this is a very special tournament - it is highly competitive for expert and A players under very good playing conditions - a slow time control, one game/ evening, and a five week event.
In reviewing our membership and playing list over the last year, I noticed that there are about 220 expert and A players who are eligible for this event. Please consider playing - starting tomorrow, Monday, July 13.
------------------------------------------------------ If you are rated 1800+ but U2200, you are invited to play in a terrific five round Swiss - the Reubens Landey. . It is a traditionally a very competitive yet friendly tournament. Only club members can enter, but if you aren't a member, this is the perfect excuse to join. . The 2009 Reubens Landey begins Monday, July 13. It is the second component of the club championship cycle. The winner becomes the BCC U2200 champion and moves into the club championship to compete against club masters.
Simon Warfield won the 2008 BCC U2200 championship - the Reubens Landey with 4 of 5 points.. Ben Goldberg and Carey Theil tied for second with 3.5 of 5. Simon was invited into the 2008 BCC club championship to play against the club masters.
Ken Ho mentioned “Storm over the Chessboard” at a recent chess event in Quebec, and I think what that means is the French game “Tempête sur L’Echiquier.” It’s a really intriguing and pretty wacky game that involves cards and the chessboard. In lieu of making a normal chess move, you can make use of a card which may give a piece special powers, allow you to swap positions of pieces, resurrect dead pieces, and quite a few other variations. The cards all have wonderfully silly art on them. Here’s what the box that the deck comes in looks like:
Here are some examples of the cards: Translation: Your opponent wants to take one of your pieces, but this one defends itself! The attacked piece stays where it is, and it’s the attacking piece that is eliminated.
Translation: You move one of your pieces onto a square occupied by another of your pieces. These two pieces “fuse” into a new piece which from then on moves like either of the two original pieces, which stay together on the same square. The King may not fuse!
Translation: This card is particularly meant for players of “SuperGang,” an excellent game available at all good game stores. You choose one of your opponent’s pieces excluding the King and you place it on the edge of the table, then you move to a spot four meters away with a dart gun. If using three darts you are able to hit the piece, it is removed from the game. If not, the piece is put back where it came from.
Translation: You transform an opposing piece of your choice (except the King and the Queen) into a “neutral” piece. A neutral piece can be moved in turn by each of the players, and can take pieces belonging to both players.
I’ve never actually had the chance to play this game, as it requires having wacky French chess players around. This Quebec chess marathon seems like just the place, though.
"When you come to the chessboard after a long break, the pieces tend to fall back to their original squares in your mind."
So said a player in the West Virginia Chess Bulletin, after annotating a game from his victorious run at the WV Championships that year (back in the 90's, kids). That observation stuck with me, but now, after my own six month break, I appreciate it even more. In my calculations, I'm finding I often have two of the same piece-- one on the square where I plan to move it and a ghost piece on the original square. (aside to Adam Yedidia, maybe ghost chess could be yet another new variant for you to invent-- every move leaves a ghost piece behind for a few moves...)
In my first tournament back, I managed to dispell those ghost pieces mid-calculation. That led to a few thought moments like, "Calculate, calculate, OK, now I'm better here, and DUH! my piece isn't there anymore, time to rethink." As long as it stays in your head, only precious time gets wasted.
In the G30 event I played Wednesday night, the ghost piece stayed on its square just a little too long:
In the following position, if Black challenges the open file with a rook, Black has achieved equality. The dark squared bishop will likely find freedom with Bf8. Black will grip the open file and redeploy the knights on the weak queenside squares. After assessing Rfd8 as a fine move, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to throw in Be6 to b3 first, controlling the d1 square and soon the open file will forever be mine: In my mind, this looked great. In the quantum mechanics world, my piece might be called Schrodinger's Bishop-- both alive and dead at the same time, until the box gets opened with White's next move, the "impossible" Rd7!Poof! goes the ghost on e6, and ugliness ensues.
Ghosts are always creeping into my calculations, but rarely are they so vivid.
At the 1986 U.S. Open, I walked by as Larry Christiansen and his opponent (Kamran Shirazi, I think) were in a postmortem of their just-drawn game. According to my recollection, Shirazi had some extra pawns as compensation for some sort of piece deficit. Larry (who won the U.S. Open outright that year) appeared to be making the case that he had a better position, and looked up at Boris Spassky, who was standing to the side looking things over.
Boris apparently considered it a draw and, in response to Larry, waved his hands encouragingly over Shirazi's pawns, wafting them onward to a queening square. It was perhaps the following day when Joel Benjamin, who I think had been present for some analysis by Spassky (for the aforementioned game?), exclaimed with a playful smile, "That guy really knows his chess!"
Since 2008 I've played two opponents at the club who had the black Chronos GX Touch Chess Clock. In both games I was struck by how useful and elegant the clock was, and I finally decided I should buy one for the upcoming Reubens-Landey tournament to eliminate clock functionality issues from distracting me.
First, however, I looked back at my August 2008 And Time won't give me Time... blog entry, in which, although it was not my main topic, I touched on differences between digital clocks. For my intended purchase, I kept in mind a comment from Jason Rihel about the drawback of single time control clocks, and I also scanned the Internet (a Series of tubes) for other information to increase my confidence that that particular GX model was truly the right clock for me.
In the process I came to the shocking realization ("I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!") that, despite my claim in that blog entry and its ensuing comment trail that I understood the differences between time-delay / time-increment / Bronstein settings, I...didn't.
One of the things I turned up on that fabled Series of tubes was DG's Are time delay and time increment the same? entry on this very blog(!), from two years before my own post. At that time (December 2006), I wasn't yet a regular reader here. Just as he did for my later blog entry, Matt Phelps came to the fore, attempting to dispel confusion about digital chess clocks. After reading his comments there, I now really know the difference between time-delay, time-increment, and Bronstein.
"Matt Phelps? That guy really knows his chess clocks!"
What drives a person to get in the position Michael Jackson got into?
Some social psychologists claim that we all have "UAC's" Underlying Automatic Commitments that are behaviors learned (many unconsciously) that can cause a person to act and decide in certain ways. Successful people and leaders that have battled their way up the competitive ladder are even more susceptible to behaving in a risky way as their experiences in gaining success and power sometimes provide a "king of my hill" mentality that blinds them from some seemingly obvious simple stupid self destructive behaviors. Granted addiction is the god of UAC's. Parallel to this is the common trait of many people to eschew medical care, this attitude toughens them up, until ultimately the quality and length of their lives gets diminished by a problem they take too long to deal with. Nonetheless, psychologists say many times people can't change until enlightened about, and worked thru, their hidden/uncontrollable dominant UAC's.
In chess we have certain biases and prejudices and usually revel in them. I know my outlook about chess was framed by my early coaches and teachers. Although upon my return to OTB chess I was enticed by the "Soviet/Botvinick approach" which I think instills in a player the drive to be disciplined to play the perfect game every time. But during the past two years I have really focused on how Harry Lyman wanted me to play, although stylistically to be questioned, it has lifted my strength to a place I have never been before and has been a lot of fun. I play the opponent and not the position, many times letting my gut override my brain. I'm willing to sacrifice to nick my opponent, have a brawl, and see what happens. Objectively this is all bad stuff. A situation occurred last Saturday in my game against Arthur Nugent:
YOUNG PLAYERS DON'T DO THIS AT HOME! [full score below]
Move 15. Bxe6??!! All in.............
Later David Vigorito told me. "Mike that was unsound as hell -- you should have lost!" From the tone of his voice you could tell he wasn't happy with me getting a half a point with junk like this. To that Arthur said "Harry would have played it the same way." Upon home analysis I feel I was delusional and lucky.
What are some of your UAC's of chess?
Please Comment Thank You Mike Griffin 07/01/2009
Mike Griffin,1 (1800) - Arthur Nugent,2 (2000) [B01] BCF - Swiss #23,
Photo: Robert Oresick
Photo: Robert Oresick
Saturday's event was no exception - drawing 42 players, including 9 masters (
Translation: You move one of your pieces onto a square occupied by another of your pieces. These two pieces “fuse” into a new piece which from then on moves like either of the two original pieces, which stay together on the same square. The King may not fuse!
Translation:
Translation:
After assessing Rfd8 as a fine move, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to throw in Be6 to b3 first, controlling the d1 square and soon the open file will forever be mine:
In my mind, this looked great. In the quantum mechanics world, my piece might be called Schrodinger's Bishop-- both alive and dead at the same time, until the box gets opened with White's next move, the "impossible" Rd7!
Poof! goes the ghost on e6, and ugliness ensues.