Week 7 Predictions of the Artist as a Young Man

I used to grow moocows but I was scared of the moocows because there were so many of them and they were so much bigger than me so I guess you would say that the moocows were grown by my grandfather. I guess that isn't right either, he was good at growing stubble on his beard, so it was super scratchy when you had to kiss him goodnight. He never talked very much but he watched the baseball games all the time. He wasn't much into predicting the games but he would say this -- the fix is in, the fix is in, especially if his favorite Steelers or Pirates were on the losing end of the TV screen.

I hated to repeat myself even then, but that is exactly what is happening this week in the USCL matches and so I guess repeating myself is almost inevitable this week even though, as I said, I hated to do it. Pappap, that was our name for our grandfather, I never heard anyone else call their grandfather pappap before, I wonder if it was just like how we were calling the moocows moocows-- Pappap, moocows, moocows, Pappap. But then grandma was grandma, so I don't know, don't some people call Grandma, NaNa cum Nah-Noh. Nah, nanna is more like it. But we just used Grandma.

Grandma insisted that the aliens she saw in the backyard were angels, but I guess it was a dream. She was a Christian, with a big C, and those aliens she saw were dressed in white, just to make sure she would know they are angels on the side of good. I dream of grandmas sometimes, and she invents things for me, like a little wooden man that sits on the end of a stick and he dances and dances when you hop him on your leg. I guess she didn't invent that so much as give me that for Christmas one year. She used to talk about how she would milk the moocows during the Depression and how her brother went to World War II I guess right after the Blitz.

Was he part of D-Day? I don't know, I guess he never talked about. Grandma liked to talk though, and she said that he did once, and then cried about it, just like I cried that day when the hornet's nest stung me after I knocked it out of the swingset one night. I swelled up like a big ol' balloon and had my hand soaked in Epson salts for a week and I never did go back to that swingset again. Well, once I did when, in the wintertime, when I wanted to stick my tongue to the frozen pole. I think you could predict what would happen, but I pulled away when I felt that it was just about going to stick.

My uncle used to loom over us kids when we were getting too close to those moocows but I think he never understood that we were really scared of those moocows. The barn, though, we loved to hide in there, and he would come out and say, as if to God, -- I'm going into the barn now, and I better not find anyone in there. We hid pretty good.

'Nothertime, this Uncle of mine said -- You'll get stuck in a bale and be dead. -- I'm careful -- So was I but I almost lost my leg fallin' in a hole. -- I don't think I'm worried about it. -- Well, don't go back in there again. -- I promise. Of course I lied and we never did lose our leg.

I didn't have an Uncle Charles, but there is a Charles in that Joyce book they make some of us read in college. A Mrs. Riordan, too. With a fortuitous coincidence like that, I don't see how anyone else has a chance this week, especially since I don't remember any Costigans. I think there was a Costigan in the Departed, but I'm pretty sure it don' turn out none too good for that Costigan, either. I liked the Departed but Raging Bull is probably objectively better, if not nearly as much fun. It was the best use of cell phones for dramatic tension, the Departed. I wish I made that up, but I read it somewhere.

I thought that my Uncle hated me once when I tried to call him. He just bought an answering machine, and I had imagined a tinny robot would pick up the receiver and say-- I-AM-SORRY-BUT-THE-MEMBERS-OF-THE-HOUSE-ARE-NOT-HERE. Instead I get my uncle's voice --I'm sorry, but no one can come to the phone right now.... -- I kept talking over him and saying, --It's me, it's me. You know me. and my message was later played for my parents. -um, ah, um-, well, -um, OK, -er, -um, never mind. And the machine didn't hear it but I cried, probably worse than the hornets. I felt real sick in my guts, after that, for I was sure my Uncle didn't love me anymore and was ignoring me on purpose. He didn't sound like a robot like I expected, not at all, and who could have predicted that an answering machine was just a tape recorder?

I guess that cryin' meant I had a lot of anger built up on the inside, and so one day I punched a kid right in the face. It was a complete sucker punch to the chin, turned around a whap! right in the kisser, like I was invincible, immortel. He didn't fall down or nothin' and I was pretty sure I cried right after that, too, even though he didn't touch me. The look of shock on his face must have impacted my delicate sensibilities to the point where I just didn't know what else to do but release the howling demons inside. Either that, or my abject failure to even cause a tear to come to that eye of his just dehmelt me such a blow and demonstrated so clearly to my soul that I couldn't do to other men what even a tape machine could do to me.

I guess I was a crybaby, and once when I was no longer afraid of them moocows I would wander into the holler where the moocows would drink from a concrete trough and I saw a crawdad in there. I wanted to catch him one day, so I invented me a crawdad catcher out of an old Saltine tin, which I punched holes in with some awl I found in the shed where I also wasn't supposed to go but we went anyway even if my cousin once almost did lose his hand to the giant cutter that mowed down the hay. -Gulk, Gulk, Gulk, went that Crawdad Catcher as the air passed through the perforations and let my saltine can sink to the bottom. I scooped him up and the sound of concrete mixed with the mud that accumulated over how many decades made a -SHM-ELOV kind of scrape and glop as I caught that little crawdaddy and pulled him to the free air. Point for me, but when I got him to the surface, his claw pinched me hard enough to make me drop him and I cried all the way home.

I made it about halfway home, when my uncle called me over from the farmhouse and he showed me the ribs he was cookin' up that day for dinner. The bonin's were stickin' out of one side of the juicy meat sizzling' and cookin' up and for a moment I wondered if the crawdad would be tasty like those meatsticks my uncle was tongin' and flippin'. I was getting good and hungry(ski) at the sight of all that meat. Polska Kielbasas, too. My grandma of the big Christian faith was Polish through and through (nee' Muloski), and we ate like Polacks, so I imagined, every New Year's with sauerkraut and pork-stuffed cabbage rolls, thick kielbasas and those dumplings stuffed with potatoes, pierogis! My brother made a tee-shirt in high school that said --Polska Kielbasa and was done up like the grocery store advertisements.

Either my memory is mixin' and matchin' my past, or that BBQ of the crawdad failure was also the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year and the anniversary of the day that some miners who borrowed our farm back in the days before I existed blew themselves up in the woods with some nitroglycerine they were transportin' down by the crick. Glycerine Hollow what all we called it and pappap used to point it out when we were hikin' by that crick. The young un's like myself were sure that the ghosts of the departed would come out in the dusk of the solstice and one day we saw rain pouring down about 60 yards away before it hit us and lightning came krasiking down on us like the finger of the dead and we thought for a moment we were all struck dead. We remained matlin'ed to the ground for about 10 heartbeats after that strike and then hooted and hollared all the way down the hill as the dark rain finally caught us and turned our clothes to droopy tears.

Another story Pappap told past his scratchy chin was about 15 moocows up on the hill, legs up in the air, struck dead by lightning. The sentinel tree up there was white as a ghost, barkless, leafless, but remained erect and alive in our imagination some decade after those moocows were gone. Once under the chicken coop I found a pearly white moocow jawbone smiling up at me, and I suspected that was where they had gone. That chicken coop was empty now, but I was hiding from Mr. Wilson, our neighbor who came to the farm to shovel manure for fertilizer and we had plenty of it to go around to those in need. I was hiding from him on account of my dog, Alex the astrodog, had reared up and bitten him in the behind and caused him to hoot and holler that last time. He threw down the shovel, fixed his gaze right on me, and I quaked when he said what he would do to my mutt if he ever caught him again after that. But I could see him from under the chicken coop, shoveling his stink pats, and I knew the astrodog would be safe, even if the cowskull probably was a bad omen if I knew to look for omens then. Somehow, though, seeing that curved jawbone with the chewing cud molars sticking out, worn smooth from chewing grass, I knew they all would be safe, Grandma, Pappap, my Uncle, my brother, everyone, as long as god has a mind to keep us at a distance and, after that, we can all lay down and have lightning pass through us and ferry us to the other side.

Tic-Tac-Toe-Grandmaster Invents New Gambit

From the Onion "News in Photos" section (It made me laugh):



Tic-Tac-Toe Grandmaster Invents New Gambit

We need more Tournament Directors!

TDs WANTED!

Want to have more chess tournaments?
Why not become a tournament director?

Earn a little cash and have more chess events.

We’ll train you. It’s easy!

Students—great for boosting that college résumé with a leadership role

Parents—great for hosting more scholastic events for your kids

Contact Jason Rihel at rihel@mcb.harvard.edu or boylstonchess@gmail.com, or talk to the TD running the show at the next chess event.

New England Still Undefeated. Boston Blitz win to claim sole 2nd place

Hello Boston-area chess fans!

On Wednesday night both local teams scored major victories against teams in the West, as New England remained undefeated against the St. Louis Archbishops and the Boston Blitz won over the strong San Fran. Mechanics.

Here are my recaps of the action, in Tweet-sized blasts (no more than 140 characters per comment, per Twitter rules). All the games can be found here.
Photos as always from the archive of Tony Cortizas, Jr.

New England Noreasters 3.5-0.5 over St. Louis Archbishops.

Board 1. GM Finegold of St. Louis needed a win. King's Indian became an equal end that is better for Shank. GM blundered a pawn and lost the game.

Board 2. NE- IM Vigorito 1 after IM Brooks blundered a pawn. NE up 2-0 with the top boards impressing. Vigorito sits atop the USCL MVP rankings!

Board 3. Chase game a bonus; match already won. Crazy stuff: Chris was better,worse,losing,won. Too many errors for game of the week, but exciting.

Board 4. NE’s Theil didn’t lose to a 12 year old girl as he promised, but drew. Victim of USCL upset prize. Draw clinched match, he was better.

Boston Blitz vs. San Francisco Mechanics. Blitz win 2.5-1.5

Board 1. GM Larry vs. GM Kraai. Don’t castle to opposite sides against Christiansen! Larry’s attack was clean and efficient. Boston up 1-0.

Board 2. Marc’s TN (Qxg2) wasted when IM Z. dropped piece w/ Bf5. Marc wanted to offer takeback. Ng3 and Marc has a queen sac for Game of the Year.

Board 3. Black’s 2 Bs and White’s weak pawns proved 2 much 2 hold a draw. Corke’s 1st loss didn’t hurt the team. All eyes turned to Ilya on Board 4.

Board 4. Ilya was worse and low on time for 40+ moves. Played accurately and made holding the draw look easy. Clinched the team win after midnight

New England dodges St. Louis 3-GM lineup; Boston tackles San Fran Mechanics

This week, both local USCL teams face off with the West League in Interdivisional play.

New England Nor'easters vs. St. Louis Archbishops
New England gets White on Boards 1+3

New England Nor'easters St. Louis Archbishops
IM Sam Shankland: 2567 vs GM Ben Finegold: 2589
IM David Vigorito: 2524 vs IM Michael Brooks: 2411
FM Chris Chase: 2382 vs NM Jim Voelker: 2141
NM Carey Theil: 2251 vs Margaret Hua: 1770
Avg Rating: 2431 Avg Rating: 2228

St. Louis's lineup is still depleted by the Olympiad, where both GM Yuri Shulman and GM Hikaru Nakamura are doing well for team US. Perfect timing for the Nor'easters, as getting more than a draw from the 3 GM lineup might have been too much for our undefeated locals.

Instead the Nor'easters have their biggest ratings advantage yet, with an equal rating on board 1, a 100 point gap on board 2, a 250 point gap on board 3, and a 400+ gap on board 4.

The biggest challenge for the Nor'easters is the East Coast-(mid)West Coast change to a more rapid Game 75, 30 second delay from the G90 the team has used all season. This may especially affect the USCL neophytes on Boards 3+4, who have already given us some exciting clock adventures. I've seen both Chris and Carey get scalped by underdogs in our Boylston Club G60 cage matches, so watch out for upsets on these boards.

Doing the math, I see New England getting to the marginal 2.5-1.5 yet again this week. The Nor'easters may have dropped to #2 in the Bioniclime power rankings behind New York, but I'd rather be in first place then win an occasional match 4-0.

Come Wednesday to the Boylston Chess Club at 8PM (NOTE TIME CHANGE!) to watch the action live and hear color commentary from other club members.

Boston Blitz vs. San Francisco Mechanics
Boston has White on Boards 1+3

Boston Blitz San Francisco Mechanics
GM Larry Christiansen: 2665 vs GM Jesse Kraai: 2551
IM Marc Esserman: 2492 vs IM Dmitry Zilberstein: 2429
WGM Anya Corke: 2322 vs FM Steven Zierk: 2426
NM Ilya Krasik: 2253 vs NM Yian Liou: 2254
Avg Rating: 2433 Avg Rating: 2415

Kicking off at 8:30 PM, Boston faces a much more even battle.

On Board 1, GM Christiansen with the White pieces has been fearsome this year, while Jesse Kraai is making his 2010 debut as the 4th Mechanic to helm the top board. A testament to the incredible depth of the Mechanics; too bad they can't get all their top players on the Board at the same time. Not that they need it, with a 1st place spot in the West. Still, I say not a good week for Kraai to pick up USCL duties.

On Board 2, Esserman's Velociraptor tactics will be somewhat quelled by having the Black pieces. But Zilberstein's play in the USCL has always been a little tepid, and Marc will be hitting his personal circadian stride around 8:30PM, so....... fireworks could ensue.

On Board 3, San Fran's Zierk must have the edge against Corke, but his so-so results thus far in the League (1/3, two draws and a loss) don't match up well with Anya's stellar results (1.5/2 this year, 2/3 last year with ZERO losses). Small sample size, but I predict Anya to at least secure a draw with the White pieces in this one.

On Board 4, Ilya Krasik faces the insurmountable 1 rating point deficit against Yian Liou. Seriously, to that 1 rating point has to be added another 200 points for the rapidly improving 13 year old, Liou, who scored 6.5/10 last year and 2/3 this year with only 2 losses.

Added to that is an unheralded secret to the Mechanics success-- the early start time. 8:30 for the Blitz is only 5:30 for San Fran, right at the time a 13 year old is still wide awake. They are not only armed with improving players on Board 4, they are armed with AWAKE improving players on Board 4. We don't count Ilya down for the count, but a technical knockout is in the air.

Doing the math, I see a 2.0-2.0 drawn match. However, mixing in the Esserman Velociraptor methods and some make-nice points with Ilya, I'll make a final prediction of 2.25-1.75 for the Blitz.

The Blitz can be seen at the Harvard University Center for Astrophysics starting at 8:30 PM.

Esserman and Dondis Rule the $10 Open

IM Mark Esserman won the open section (n=21) and the indefatigable Harold Dondis took the U1800 (n= 15) at Saturday's everpopular $10 Open at the BCC. 13 of the players took advantage of the $8 discounted rate for registration by our new PayPal account, a successful experiment.

Arcade Fire-- "Deep Blue" song mentions Kasparov

I was recently listening to the new Arcade Fire CD, The Suburbs, which debuted at #1 on the charts a few weeks ago. I came across the song "Deep Blue", which I of course assumed had no relation to the Deep Blue that we chessplayers all know and love/hate. Then they specifically sing: "Kasparov and Deep Blue, 1996."

A number 1 chart-topping album has a song about chess and not as a metaphor for war! Has that ever happened before?

Lyrically and muscially, this is a great album, by the way. Each song contributes to the theme in a way few albums do these days, but it is not exactly an overt concept album, where some blatant story is told. Thematically and musically, it's tight.

Pretty cool. Here are the complete lyrics to "Deep Blue", by the Arcade Fire:

Here
Are my place and time
And here in my own skin
I can finally begin
Let the century pass me by
Standing under night sky
Tomorrow means nothing

I was only a child then
Feeling barely alive when
I heard a song from the speaker of a passing car
And prayed to a dying star
The memory's fading
I can almost remember singing la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

We watched the end of the century
Compressed on a tiny screen
A dead star collapsing and we could see
That something was ending
Are you through pretending
We saw its signs in the suburbs

You could never have predicted
That he could see through you
Kasparov, Deep Blue, nineteen-ninety six
Your mind's pulling tricks now
The show is over so take a bow
We're living in the shadows la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

Hey
Put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey
Put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la
La la, la la, la la la la

NM Gregg Kaden is the 2010 BCF Blitz Champion

BCF Blitz Championship 2010

NM Greg Kaden is the BCF Blitz champion for 2010, with 12 of 14 points.

He ruled the field on Tuesday, Sept 21. The club has been humming with chess - the evening before, the Noreasters', the BCC championship and the hauptturnier were all running.

#	Name/Rtng/ID	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Tot
1	Blum, Tony	B 7	W 6	B 5	W 4	B 3	W 2	W 8
	2085 12750331	2	2	2	1.5	2	1	0		10.5
2	Stepak, Steven Phi	B 6	W 5	B 4	W 3	W 8	B 1	W 7
	1504 12437339	0	2F	0	2	0	1	1		6.0
3	Di Nosse, Anthony	B 5	W 4	W 8	B 2	W 1	B 7	W 6
	1071 12922817	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0.0
4	Lieberman, Seth	W 8	B 3	W 2	B 1	W 7	B 6	W 5
	1643 12604895	0	2	2	.5	0	0	2		6.5
5	Soares, Afranio C	W 3	B 2	W 1	B 7	W 6	B 8	B 4
	1830 12596201	2	0F	0	.5	0	1	0		3.5
6	Theil, Carey Miles	W 2	B 1	W 7	B 8	B 5	W 4	B 3
	2238 12594672	2	0	1	0	2	2	2		9.0
7	Mevs, Emmanuel	W 1	B 8	B 6	W 5	B 4	W 3	B 2
	1900 12875341	0	1	1	1.5	2	2	1		8.5
8	Kaden, Gregory O	B 4	W 7	B 3	W 6	B 2	W 5	B 1
	2207 12000550	2	1	2	2	2	1	2		12.

Annual Membership Meeting- Tuesday Sept 28th, 7PM

Attention Boylston Chess Club and Foundation members --

The Annual Membership meeting will be held at the Chess Club at 240 Elm Street, Room B9 in Davis Square on Tuesday, September 28th, 7PM.

The purpose of this meeting is to elect a new President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Board of Directors.

Please come to help us elect the people who not only keep the club running but also stive to give direction to chess in the greater Boston area.

Boston Blitz take on New Jersey KOs

In local chess news, tonight the Boston Blitz take on the New Jersey KOs in a critical US Chess League battle for both teams. The Blitz really need to win to try to keep pace with the upstart newcomers to the USCL scene, the undefeated New England Nor'easters. The KOs need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

New Jersey Knockouts vs Boston Blitz
KOs have white on Boards 1 +3

GM Joel Benjamin: 2614 vs GM Larry Christiansen: 2665
IM Mackenzie Molner: 2548 vs GM Eugene Perelshteyn: 2568
IM Albert Kapengut: 2372 vs NM Vadim Martirosov: 2248
Anna Matlin: 2078 vs NM Evan Rabin: 2227
Avg Rating: 2403 Avg Rating: 2427

The Blitz have an overall ratings advantage, but don't let that fool you-- most of that comes from a lopsided matchup on Board 4 plus marginal plusses on Boards 1+2.

The marquee matchup on the top board transports us to the 80s, when GM Joel and GM Larry square off. Based on the matchups, a win for Joel appears critical, while Larry would probably be happy with a draw, especially with the Black pieces.

On Board 2, the Blitz hope that GM Eugene Perlshteyn's GM title can outclass IM Molner's IM title, even though they have similar ratings. Molner also has a good record in the USCL, so this one's a tossup, with a slight advantage to Eugene with the White pieces, where is record in the league is very good (excepting against a certain GM Pascal Charbonneau from the team-that-should-not-be-named).

On Board 3, IM Albert Kapengut must be a favorite over the Blitz's Vadim Martirosov. But Vadim has proven his staying power in this league with some great results. He'll be looking at Boards 1+2 late in the game to determine if a draw is good enough for the team, or if he needs to go all out for the win. IM Kapengut is 3-0 this season, so the Blitz have a tough matchup here.

On Board 4, the Blitz's Evan Rabin plays Anna Matlin. This is the most lopsided of the ratings advantages (but only 100 points or so) , and the Blitz must be eyeballing a win from Evan on this board. Let's hope that the pressures of Brandeis haven't built up too much yet.

Not too late-- Sept. 25 only $8 if registering by Paypal

Dear chessplayers,

As a way to promote the use of Paypal to Donate to our club, this September's $10 Open will now only be $8 if you sign up through the Paypal button (see homepage, BCC calendar, below, or under Featured Events to the right). It is still $10 if you mail it in or otherwise pay in advance. We also must receive confirmation of your payment by Friday, September 24th to get the $8.00 rate. Make sure you specify $8.00 Open when you fill out the payment form.

Please also note, pushing the button also will give the option to pay by credit card, if you do not have a Paypal account.

$8.00 Open- Online Only

Monster Chess

Darwin and Max invent novel variations of monster chess to relax after a tournament.
Photo: Dan Bromberg

New England Nor'easters vs. Philly Inventors, Monday! 7PM

Hi Ho! Welcomee to the Schwag Blah-g! No matter what I write, there is no way to produce a blog as obnoxious as Philly's! A few weeks ago, they wrote, "There is absolutely no way we could produce a blog as obnoxious as Boston’s. This year, the otherwise indecipherable prediction blog produced by Boston actually has the nerve to predict a 4-0 win. Sure, Boston…in your dreams!"

Now I'm switching to purple! Three minutes of typinggg and I get an awarddd !!! Ohh, is this too hard to read? How about this colorrrr! Maybe I should put it on a big blue background, too, like a junky Myspace page. Well, let's look at the matchups.

New England Nor'easters vs Philadelphia Inventors

IM David Vigorito: 2524 FM Tom Bartell: 2429
FM Charles Riordan: 2397 IM Jay Bonin: 2424
FM Braden Bournival: 2381 FM Karl Dehmelt: 2308
NM Alex Cherniack: 2288 NM Elvin Wilson: 2240
Avg Rating: 2398 Avg Rating: 2350

You know, I really like our chances.

I don't want to go predictingg too much, but Bartell's win over Gulko in Week 1 maybe isn't as impressive now that Gulko got crushed again this week. David can even spot his opponent's extra pawns in the opening and still win.

Jay, now playing for Philly, used to play tons of games, but Charles has a clear-minded, almost purely intellectual approach to the game that really speaks well of his chances.

Brad and Karl-- hard to say, neither of them really play that much in the League.

Evan Wilson vs. Alex Cherniack, Evan was once a Board 4 all star, but his performance has trailed off in recent years. Alex's play is up and down, good against Shen, dancing with death against Krasik last week.

I won't go so far as to say that New England is going to beat, Philly, but YEAH, New England is going to beat Philly! New England will BRING IT. Expect Philly to UN-invent some chess play this week. Philly, while flying a kite with a key on it, will indeed discover the electricity of the Nor'easter when it gets BURNED this week. Philly will be knocked back to 1776!


and END voice:
-------------------------------------------------------
Charles has a great recap/preview of the match at the New England Nor'easters homepage. I really like how his notes are easy to follow with just the help of the diagrams, instead of endless side computer variations with ( followed by [ followed by { and then } with a ] and a ).

Should be fun. Looking at the 3.5-0.5 match score compared to their total games score (at 59%, it is lower than 3rd place Baltimore), the Nor'easters have certainly been entertaining! These stats are exactly what a balanced team hopes for.

Come to the Boylston Chess Club to watch the match Monday. Concurrent with our club Championship, it is an opportunity to observe even more of our local talent live.

Blitz Championship

BOYLSTON CHESS FOUNDATION

Presents

BCF Annual Blitz Championship

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

RR G/5’ (02” dl)

Registration: 6:30 – 6:55 PM

Rounds: 7 PM, ASAP

Possible sections.

EF: $10, $7 to BCF members

Prizes: $120/b20.

---------------------------------------------------------

240B Elm St. Suite B9
Somerville – MA – 02144
Tel. 617-629-3933

Blitz vs. Nor'easters WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY, WEDNESDAY!!!

Tony Cortizas made this fine (and slightly disturbing) poster in honor of the Boston T-Party battle between the 3-0 upstarts New England Nor'easters and the mercurial, perennial favorite, the 2-1 Boston Blitz.

Here is the matchup:
Boston Blitz New England Nor'easters
GM Larry Christiansen: 2665 IM Sam Shankland: 2567
SM Denys Shmelov: 2471 IM Robert Hungaski: 2520
WGM Anya Corke: 2322 FM Christopher Chase: 2382
NM Ilya Krasik: 2253 NM Alex Cherniack: 2288
Avg Rating: 2428 Avg Rating: 2439

Come to the Boylston Chess Club at 240 Elm St. B9 to watch and discuss the action!

Who will win? To answer that question, I think back on the old Saturday Night Live, Bulls vs. Bears Chicago fan sketches. In a quiz show, they were simply asked the question Bulls vs. Bears. One contestant wrote:

"The senseless waste of pitting these two mighty forces of nature against each other, like matter vs. anti-matter, will be a tragedy, not only for the teams involved but for our planet. All nations must band together, to ensure that such a conflageration never takes place."

Bryan Clark on Chess from Las Vegas

Bryan Clark, a life member of the BCC, is a professional poker player in Las Vegas:


I've got some material which you may be able to use for the Boyston Chess Club Weblog. Though, you should note that the article links are somewhat promotional for the magazine I edit.

Poker / Gaming Books and Strategy Forums

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1. Two very famous poker players have a proposition bet on a chess game.

The first player is Howard Lederer. He's won $5.5 million in tournament poker including two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles. He's also the primary owner of Full Tilt Poker (though a company called Tiltware and later Pocket Kings).

Howard is a former chess player who had a peak rating over 2100. However, he hasn't played a tournament game since at least 1987 when his rating was 1951.

The second player is Allen Cunningham. His career tournament winnings are over $10 million, including five WSOP bracelets.

Allen was a total novice at chess when the bet was made.

The bet was made in early 2010. The two of them will play a single game of chess in early 2011 (one year after the bet). Whoever wins the game, wins the bet. The stakes have been specified.

So, Allen Cunningham (the total novice) has one year to learn how to play chess well enough to beat Howard Lederer, the former Expert who hasn't played chess seriously in a couple decades.

Allen is putting tremendous effort into studying the game. Howard is not preparing at all.

This thread contains considerable information (including comments from Allen Cunningham as 'Allen C') about the bet and Allen's progress. I have posts in the thread under the name 'Dynasty'.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/140/chess-other-board-games/cunningham-prop-bet-get-2100-a-736080/



2. As the editor of an online poker magazine, I've published three chess articles recently.

All three of the articles are very good. I think the quality is at least as good was what you would expect from Chess Life or Chess Horizons (when it was good).

Due to the magazine's agreement with the author, you can't reproduce the articles on the BCC Weblog. But, you are certainly welcome to link to the articles if you think they're worthwhile.

September- Breakthrough in the Endgame
http://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/issue69/pierre-boutquin-chess-breakthrough-endgame.php

July- The Weaker Minor Piece
http://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/issue67/pierre-boutquin-chess-weaker-minor-piece.php

May- The Principle of Two Weaknesses
http://www.twoplustwo.com/magazine/issue65/pierre-boutquin-chess-principle-weaknesses.php

Boston Blitz-Manhattan Applesauce preview

Some days you just know not to get out of bed. A woman screaming outside your front door is one of those days. I kicked some pants on and stumbled to the door. I went through the rolodex of ex-lovers in my head trying to find the one whose heart I broke this time, and I came up with the same thing I had for dinner last night. Nothing. So I opened the door.

"What do you want? It's 3AM and I'm nursing a hangover that you wouldn't believe." Like the rest of this city, I muttered to myself.

"It's my friend, Eugene! He challenged the Strip to a mind battle this week!"

I've had my run-ins with the Strip before. A terminator of the chessboard. A steel mind with steel eyes and a steel nerve that will melt your brain. Greater players than Eugene have been turned into applesauce by the Strip. Eugene was in grave danger. Unless....

"He has the White icons, right?" Only a fool would challenge the Strip to the cyberspace mental squares otherwise.

"No, Eugene has Black!" she wailed.

"We've got to get down there!" I grabbed my gun, my whiskey, and the girl. We raced to the 101 train as fast as my tired legs and her stiletto heels could go. We didn't get very far.

"Where you all goin', catdog?" curdled a voice behind me. I knew that voice. Marc Esserman had been hustling me since we were wearing short pants down at the Big H. He could *feel* my money burning a hole in my pocket. In his mind, it was already his.

"I'll give you 1 second at 1 second increment and knight odds to...." I cut him off with a swig of whiskey and told him about Eugene. But in a crazy city like this, you can barely finish a sentence without a fight breaking out. As we talked, Eli Vovsha crawled out of the shadows and into our lives.

"Mr. Esserman." Vovsha hissed. "Would you give me such odds?"

"Bring it, catdog. But no odds." Immediately, Marc and Eli locked in mortal combat, dueling with fists and kicks and minds and checks. I reached for my gun to help my old friend, but the woman touched my arm. "There's no time!" The last I saw, Esserman was holding his own, but they disappeared into a crazy tactical alleyway moments before we ducked into the train station.

Hopping on the train, we relaxed for a little while. "Why don't you tell me how this happened. How did Eugene get mixed up in all this?" I nursed my hangover by filling my empty belly with whiskey while the mystery woman caught me up on the tale.

"It actually started when WGM Anya Corke ...."

Apparantly Anya got locked into a cybernet mental battle with a bad piece of work from Manhattan, Andrei Zaremba. Andrei had kicked Esserman to the curb last year, and Anya said she would take Andrei to the cleaners for good.

But Andrei pulled in some favors from the Cybernetic Overlord Shahade and ambushed Anya before she was fully prepared. Eugene stepped into the cybernet to help out his teammate, when the Strip showed up. Eugene had no choice but issue the challenge to Stripunsky to prevent Anya from facing two opponents at once.

The whiskey, the only food keeping me alive, was starting to sour. "So this means that the Blitz..."

"Are in grave danger, yes."

As the train barreled underneath the fetid streets of that decaying city, I wondered if the Blitz were finished.

Before I could complete that thought, my retina-phone started silently ringing in my peripheral vision. I scanned my eye to the lower left corner and mentally answered. Vadim Martirosov's face and voice filled my mental space:

"Jason, I was speedcar-ing it over to Eugene and Anya, when I got sideswiped by some thug I'd never heard of before." Vadim's image momentarily vanished as his attacker's photo scanned into my mental space.

"Hold on, Vadim, I'll pull up his vitals." Mentally, I turned away from the retina phone and starting tweaking on the cybernet. Datastreams filled my mind as I danced through the old USCL.comfiles. Although useless against mental bombs, my hand still clenched more tightly on my gun when I entered THAT irreputable space.

"Vadim-- you are up against Shaun Smith. Age-20. Score 0.5 of 4. Affilation, uh-oh, he's one of Strips guys. Mental rating- 2000. Vadim, he'll counter with...."

Just then static filled my brain. Disoriented, I thought ruefully that it was the whiskey, but it was just a lost connection. "Even in the future, nothing works," I spat.

The train thundered on. My new lady friend was distraught. I took another draught. My gun grip was tighter still.

HOW WILL THIS END?

FIND OUT-- WEDNESDAY!

Nor'easters -- New Jersey KOs preview

This is Sam Shankland. He is a chessplayer for team Wind and Rain.
Sam used to live far, far away. Do not worry about him. He is not lost. He is visiting.

On Wednesday, Sam will play Joel Benjamin in a game of chess. Joel is a grandmaster. That means he is very good. A long time ago, Joel was even United States Champion. That means he is REALLY good. How will Sam do against GM Joel? You will have to wait and see.

This is Jan Van de Mortel. You might know a Jan, but she is a girl. This Jan is a boy. Sometimes people from other places have different kinds of names.

Jan plays for Team Wind and Rain now. Jan used to play for a team in Chicago. Do not worry about Jan. He is not lost, either!

Jan will play a game of chess with Dean Ippolito. Dean works hard on his chess. Dean also works hard on making his muscles strong. When you grow up, will you have strong muscles?

This is Chris Chase. You may think that Chris likes to run and run and run. Chase is just a last name. What is your last name? What would you chase if you ran? A squirrel? A dog? What about a King?

Chris will play a game of chess with Victor Shen. How can they play chess if they live so far away? They will use a computer. With a computer, you can play chess with anyone, anywhere.

This is Alex Cherniack. He has played chess many times. This will be the first time he plays for the Team of Wind and Rain. Alex is excited about his game. Do you get excited when you do something new?

Alex will play a game of chess with Arthur Shen. Arthur is a little boy. Anyone can play chess! Young people can play chess. Old people can play chess. Girls can play chess. Boys can play chess. YOU can play chess, too!

Each team has four players. The team that wins the most games wins the match! We will wait to see who wins the chess match.

Serb Fest Chess Tournament- Sept 19-20th

SerbFest asked us to pass along this info-- sounds like fun!

Dear friends,

This year for the first time we are organizing a chess tournament at the SerbFest on September 19 and 20 at the St. Sava Church in Cambridge, starting at 2:00pm. The tournament will be held by the Swiss System, and the number of rounds will depend on the total number of participants.

The games will be 5 chess clock minutes long, and the winner will receive a small gift. Suggested donations for participation are $10 for Saturday, September 18, and $10 for Sunday, September 20.

If interested, please send your application with the following information to Jovan Bošković at jovan@comcast.net:

1. First and last name
2. Level of play (beginner, intermediate, advanced)

We look forward to seeing you at the festival. With warm regards,

SerbFest Committee


It would be nice if you can post this information on your website.




Thank you

Alex Velickovic
(617) 572-1915

Recap of the Boston Blitz-Inventors

The Inventors were 99% perspiration, but lacked that 1% inspiration last night against the Boston Blitz. Here is a recap of the events as I remember them.

Board 1 Larry Christiansen had White

(All the great photos courtesy of Tony Cortizas, Jr.)

Larry played an unusual looking queen sortie in the early middlegame, but eventually liquidated into a +1 pawn rook and pawn endgame. Eventually, his GM opponent liquidated into a drawn endgame. 1/2-1/2

Meanwhile, Ilya Krasik, free to roam the halls, actually threatened, in front of several people, to punch me in the face. Over a few jokes on the blog. I cannot be more serious right now.

Board 2 Eugene had Black.

This game looked topsy-turvy, and then Eugene liquidated into an a+c pawn and rook vs. rook endgames. I know this can be drawn in some circumstances, but the technique is a monster. I'm not sure if the actual position allowed for such draws, but Eugene converted this into a win. 1.5-0.5 for the Blitz.

In related news, Krasik rasied his voice and said some curse words and suggested physical violence to my person. Directly in front of other people. Loudly. Frankly, it made some of these people less comfortable than it made me. And I am, rather famously, a wuss.

Board 3 Shmelov had White.

I didn't follow this game too closely, but it appeared that Shmelov tried that f3 Nimzo that got him in trouble last week. Bartell of the Inventors converted what appeared to be a strong front to back win, his second strong performance in a row. Inventors 1.5- Blitz 1.5

I could be wrong, because I was distracted by my musing. I have to wonder if the Boston Blitz, as an entity, condone such behavior from one of their players. I'm sure kids and parents would love to come and support the team, grab a snack, meet some grandmasters, and witness verbal and physical abuse from a national master.

Board 4 Grant Xu had Black

Grant impresses on his chess league debut. In a closed, opposite colored bishop and rook position, Grant slowly but inexorably found in-roads to convert his extra pawn. Nicely done. Blitz win, 2.5-1.5

Less nicely done was Krasik's greeting. I don't think someone has threatened to punch me in the face with any serious intent since the 7th grade. It was a real joy to be back in middle school for a night. And all these years, fans have wondered why the Blitz don't showcase more talented middle schoolers on Board 4-- little did they know, they always have !

Well, here it is. I'm sorry that "Krasik loses" became an internet meme that spread like wildfire, that I used it as a shorthand to an inside joke for USCL fans. In my defence, I supported Ilya many times, as well. Back in 2008, when he tore through the league, single-handedly dragging the Blitz's butts into the playoffs, I was first on board to call him the League's Board 4 MVP. I put credit where credit is due.

But I am not sorry for trying to bring a little light-hearted fun into the coverage of the Boston Blitz, the New England Nor'easters, and the USCL. Contrast my gentle teasing with the caustic remarks Krasik has left on message board after message board. His flaming wars in comment sections are legendary around the league. And now, he spews actual physical violence at me.

Why now? Did Matt Phelps yell,

"Release the Kraskin?"



The Kraskin emerges:

Overall, great job by the players tonight to grind out a much needed 2.5-1.5 victory.