West Orange Chess Club

Annual Club Meeting Set for Eight-Thirty p.m., Tue 24 Jan, 2012

2012-01-19T10:56:00.003-05:00

Details within email: With a few tiny changes to our note for view by the public:

Next Tuesday the 24th of January, our Annual Club Meeting is set to start at Eight-Thirty p.m.

Usually this could be expected to start at eight P.M. sharp, as is our custom, but unfortunately cannot this particular occasion. We hope none of you are inconvenienced.

Several board members and club members will be meeting with a professional news reporter of an esteemed regional, about a likely Feature Article which has been in development. We will keep you posted. This cannot but help our club directly, further reach out to our chess community, and in so doing, continue to increase the quality of chess and hopefully enrich us all socially.

Schedule of our Friends at the Kenilworth Chess Club

2012-01-19T09:49:00.008-05:00

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SCHEDULE, REPOSTED BY THE WOCC. A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF HIGHLY ORGANIZED ACTIVITY, WHICH WE ARE NOW CULTIVATING ON A REGULAR BASIS. WE ARE NOT COMPLETELY THERE YET, BUT CATCHING UP. WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM THEM HERE. MOST OF SCHEDULE AS INDICATED, EDITOR SMALL CUTS OUTS. CONTACT WOCC FOR HANDSOME PDF, OR KENILWORTH DIRECTLY. THANK YOU TO IAN MANGION FOR FURNISHING US WITH A COPY:

February 23 - Kenilworth Blitz Championship, 7-round swiss, G/5, EF $5, prizes to 1st, 2nd, best U1800 and best U1500 (50%, 20%, 15% and 15%).

March 8 - Kenilworth Quads #6, Round 1, USCF Rated, G/60, 3-RR, EF $10, Prizes $30 to first in each quad. March 15 - Kenilworth Quads, Round 2. March 22 - Kenilworth Quads, Round 3.

March 29 - Fischer Random Tournament Rounds 1 & 2, 4 rounds G/30, free to enter. April 5 - Fischer Random Tournament 3 & 4, 4 rounds G/30, free to enter.

April 19 -Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 1. Tournament Details: Irving Ellner Memorial, starts April 19th at 8:20 pm. • USCF Rated. • 6-round Swiss. • G/75 time control. • Rounds will commence at 8:20 p.m. every Thursday night for the duration of the event. • Prizes : 1st $100, 2nd $50, 3rd $25, best under 1900 $20, U1500 $20, all prizes guaranteed. • EF: $15 entry fee. • KCC memberships required: dues $7.50 for juniors U-18, $10 for seniors 65+, and $15 for all others. • Register with TD Geoff McAuliffe during our 1/5 meeting or before8:20 p.m. on 1/12 @ enilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J. April 26 - Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 2.

May 10 - Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 3, May 17 - Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 4.
May 24 - Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 5. May 31 - Irving Ellner Memorial, Round 6.

June 7 - Casual play or lecture TBA

June 14- - Start of Summer Tournament. Please submit your entry and pay your entry fee by this date. Here are the tentative rules of the tournament: • Not rated , • Entry Fee is $5.00. • The tournament will run from June 9 through August 25. • The time control is G/60 or 55+5. • You may play anyone in the tournament. The first time you play an opponent, the lower rated player has white, in subsequent games against the same opponent you alternate colors. • You may not play the same opponent more than four times in the tournament. • You get one point for a win, one half point for a draw, and zero for a loss. • You may play as many or as few games as you like, but no more than two in one night. The more you play the more points you can win. • All games are to be played at the Kenilworth Chess Club during normal operating hours. • The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of the tournament. • The prizes are 60% for first place, 30% for second, and 10% for third.

June 21- Kenilworth Summer Tournament. June 28- Kenilworth Summer Tournament. July 5 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. July 12 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. July 19 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. July 26 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. August 2 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. August 9 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. August 16 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. August 23 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament. August 30 - Kenilworth Summer Tournament, last round.

September 6 - Kenilworth Fall Blitz, 7-round swiss, G/5, EF $5, prizes to
1st, 2nd, best U1800 and best U1500 (50%, 20%, 15% and 15%)

September 13 - Sy Fish Memorial #5, Round 1. USCF-rated, G/60, 5-SS, EF: $10. Late-joins accepted until the 3rd round is paired. Late-joiners will receive a 1/2 point for each round missed but lose a bye-option. Two byes per player allowed. Byes may be taken in any round. Please inform the TD or Club President before that round is paired. Pairings for rounds 1-2 to be made on site. Pairings for rounds 3-5 to be made on the prior Friday. Register: On site 9/13, 9/20, 9/27 from 8:00-10:45 p.m.

Announcement: West Orange Chess Club, 2012 Winter Swiss

2012-01-18T10:28:00.004-05:00

Winter Swiss
Rounds Jan 31, Feb14, 21, and 28
4 rounds – Pairings done 30 minutes before start of round

Game 100min with 5 sec increment (if you move in 2 seconds your time increases by 3 seconds). If both players prefer to use a 5 sec delay or an analog clock that is acceptable.

EF: $20 plus $10 deposit to discourage forfeits. Non WOCC members pay additional $5
Chief TD: Doran Race assisted by John Haggerty and Roger Pedersen.

Forfeits should be rare since players can phone the TD any time before 7pm and asked not to be paired for the round. Deposit will be returned to players with no forfeits. Deposits forfeited will be distributed equally amongst all players with no forfeits. A player who wants to continue after a forfeit will have to pay another $10 deposit. Once you have entered the tournament it assumed that you will play every round unless you request a bye.

Prizes will be determined by TD staff after all entries have been collected. The percent of money returned as prizes and the prize structure will be similar to recent WOCC tournaments.

Genius. What a concept. What a singularity (Nigel scratches his head at 1:47. We all been there...).

West Orange CC Late Fall 2011 Swiss, Final Results

2012-01-18T09:38:00.004-05:00

West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss -- West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss (click red at left, to official USCF posting) 2011 Wall Chart, Page 1

Name/State ID Group/Team Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Rnd 5 Rnd 6 Rnd 7 Rnd 8 Rnd 9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kernighan, Mark D |2260 | W 12 | --- | B 5 | W 4 | B 2 | W 3 | W 28 | --- | --- | 1st $150
NJ 12147190 | | 1.0 | X2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 |
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2. Resika, Nathan |2201 | HALF | HALF | B 22 | B 16 | W 1 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
NY 12444347 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | F3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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3. Zilbermintz, Lev |2083 | HALF | W 20 | B 7 | W 5 | B 4 | B 1 | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12476202 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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4. Mangion, Ian |2016 | B 13 | W 24 | HALF | B 1 | W 3 | B 12 | --- | --- | --- | Tie 3rd $25
NJ 13497907 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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5. Race, Doran |1959 | W 15 | B 21 | W 1 | B 3 | --- | HALF | --- | --- | --- |
NY 12183660 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | F2.0 | 2.5 | F2.5 | F2.5 | 2.5 |
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6. Minkov, Ari |1958 | --- | --- | --- | W 23 | --- | B 23 | --- | B 23 | --- |
NJ 12676135 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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7. Pedersen, Roger E |1940 | B 16 | --- | W 3 | B 13 | W 8 | B 9 | W 31 | --- | --- |
NJ 10092990 | | 0.5 | X1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 2nd $100
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8. Boxer, Matthew |1921 | W 17 | B 31 | W 16 | W 24 | B 7 | --- | W 29 | --- | --- | Tie 3rd $25
NJ 12510577 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.0 | X4.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
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9. Hart, Charles M |1919 | B 18 | --- | HALF | W 31 | B 16 | W 7 | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 10004071 | | 1.0 | F1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | F3.5 | F3.5 | 3.5 |
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10. Cohen, Bryan Paul |1900 | W 21 | B 15 | W 17 | B 12 | W 31 | --- | --- | --- | --- | Tie 3rd $25
NJ 20020149 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | X4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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11. Norris, Anthony |1897 | B 24 | W 13 | --- | B 15 | --- | --- | W 23 | B 12 | --- |
NJ 12758884 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | X1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | F2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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12. Martinez, Alberto |1890 | B 1 | W 18 | B 24 | W 10 | B 17 | W 4 | --- | W 11 | --- |
NJ 12490535 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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13. Pepe, Michael A |1837 | W 4 | B 11 | --- | W 7 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12565700 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | X2.0 | 2.0 | X3.0 | F3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 |
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14. Sharpell, Fred |1835 | ZERO | W 28 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12088600 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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15. Garrett, Damon T |1824 | B 5 | W 10 | B 18 | W 11 | B 24 | B 31 | --- | --- | --- | Tie Under 1900 $30
NJ 12545276 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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16. Arias , Fermin |1739 | W 7 | B 17 | B 8 | W 2 | W 9 | --- | --- | --- | --- | Tie Under 1900 $30
NJ 12670179 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | X3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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17. Katz, Harry S |1718 | B 8 | W 16 | B 10 | B 21 | W 12 | W 18 | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12052860 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
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18. Nayak, Mohan Rao |1696 | W 9 | B 12 | W 15 | BYE | W 21 | B 17 | --- | --- | --- | Tie Under 1700 $25
NJ 12237580 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
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19. West, Robert |1686 | B 28 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12904515 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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20. Kwok, Man-Chit |1607 | HALF | B 3 | --- | ZERO | --- | --- | B 25 | --- | --- |
NJ 14201547 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | F0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
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21. Korn, David Allan |1604 | B 10 | W 5 | B 31 | W 17 | B 18 | W 24 | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 14564164 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
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22. Hagerty, John Mich |1574 | HALF | HALF | W 2 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 10043816 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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23. Moctezuma, Steve |1567 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | B 6 | ZERO | W 6 | B 11 | W 6 | --- |
NJ 12683162 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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24. Fortunato, Joseph |1553 | W 11 | B 4 | W 12 | B 8 | W 15 | B 21 | --- | --- | --- | Tie Under 1700 $25
NJ 12932570 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
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25. Napper, Nathaniel |1500 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | W 20 | --- | --- |
NJ 14760715 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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26. Trieste, Edward Wi |1386 | ZERO | ZERO | B 28 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 12029830 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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27. Nikitopoulos, Nich |1325 | HALF | HALF | --- | ZERO | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 14140077 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | F1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
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28. Nikitopoulos, Nicholas BB |1325 | W 19 | B 14 | W 26 | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | B 1 | --- | --- |
NJ 14140077 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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29. Balbi, Alis Amparo |1200 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | B 8 | --- | --- |
NJ 14706317 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
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30. Rue, John D. |1200 | HALF | --- | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | ZERO | --- | --- | --- |
NJ 14761813 | | 0.5 | F0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
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31. Senyatkin, Aleksey |nnnn | BYE | W 8 | W 21 | B 9 | B 10 | W 15 | B 7 | --- | --- | Top Under 1500 $40
NJ 14717317 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 |
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Things Besides Chess...

2012-01-12T19:40:00.004-05:00

but reminds us of the flag, in chess armageddon.

How To Host a Really Bad Chess Tournament

2012-01-11T23:49:00.004-05:00

Chess in the US in the eyes of the English. Read on, click red at L. Nightmare in Las Vegas?

Start of instructive article: 'Report from Las Vegas by Sabrina Chevannes.

'The 21st Annual North American Open was held at Bally’s Casino Resort, 3645 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, Nevada, from December 26-29, 2011. I had heard lots of stories about American chess events, but never experienced them myself. Even at a junior stage, their tournaments are bigger and better than the English events. Having read “Kings of New York” by Michael Weinreb, I had a good image of the dedication of teachers and trainers in America, taking them to several National tournaments a year and thereby producing stronger players.

'This year’s tournament was held in Bally’s Casino right on the Las Vegas Strip

'The building was huge, like every building in Vegas!

'It was difficult to find where the chess was actually being held, as there were no signs anywhere, just hundreds of slot machines and gaming tables. The staff had no idea either! When I stumbled upon the Pacific Ballroom, I assumed I had found the correct place, as it was set out in the format for a chess tournament – but no other evidence. This is when I realised, the players bring their own chess sets, boards and clocks! I started to think, this was a genius idea for the organisers – all they had to do was to put out the board numbers, minimal set up required.'

See link above for continuation of longer article. Not boring.

draft / 42ND World Team Amateur, WOCC Teams to USATE / draft

2012-01-11T13:36:00.014-05:00

Jose passed out his draft last night, for three possible teams for the big tournament, Sat-Mon 18-20 Feb, 2012. Quickly here by editor, very fast:

As Damon Garret called it last year, 'This is the high temple of chess on the East Coast for the entire year'. He did not say 'one of', but 'the'. So be it:

Subject to revision, ratification, final adjustment. Based on ratings, end Nov as required:

TEAM 1 (AVG =1899)

1. Lev Zilbermintz, Lev D. 2096
2. Boxer, Matthew 1924
3. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1910
4. Korn, David Allan 1666

TEAM 2 (AVG = 1898.75)

1. Race, Doran 1988
2. Hart, Charles M. 1909
3. Pedersen, Roger E. 1903
4. Garrett, Damon T. 1795

TEAM 3 (AVG = 1693.75)

1. Martinez, Alberto 1880
2. West, Robert 1687
3. Fortunato, Joseph 1634
4. Hagerty, John M. 1574

One passing note, for those of you who might be down ten or twenty points by now, or will be, some of these things could be the difference between being a disadvantaged team under 2000 elo or 1800... We are under the radar at 1900 twice, 1700 once.

Not sure who is or was affected, but Damon and editor know that they both are down a few (not a lot) points, so this subtle difference over four players can easily affect a team average by four or five elo, and thus affect potential performance, that is to say, chances of a win by section.

On that note, Jose to some extent let the numbers 'do the dialing'. So be it. Jose spreadsheet magic. Besides sporting no less than a 2101 USCF rating, it turns out that he is a gifted a math teacher in the public school system. Just imagine.

Thank you Jose!

DRAFT / corrections accepted / DRAFT / ratings not from year end, again, FYI. Smiles.

Informacion super importante para los ajedrecistas serios de New York y New Jersey

2012-01-10T12:00:00.016-05:00

Quiero informar a la comunidad ajedrecistica de origen hispano de las caracteristicas especiales que hacen de este club un sitio ideal para quienes desean participar en competencias serias de ajedrez.

Para mi, el ser bien recibidoes de vital importancia, y en West Orange Chess Club el visitante va a encontrar un ambiente de Amistad, cordialidad y respeto que sobrepasa lo esperado.

West Orange Chess Club lo compone un amalgama de razas, culturas y religions donde el hispano, aunque tenga un acento muy fuerto o no sepa ni decir ni una palabra en ingles encuentra siempre manos amigas que se extienden para saludarle y hacerle sentirse comom uno mas, como un integrante recibido y bienvenido.

Las condiciones de juego son excelentes, ya sea en competencias individuales o de equipos. El tiempo es de juego en 100 minutos aunque tembien se ofrecen competencias de tiempo rapido de 5, 10 o 15 minutos. No puede haber distraccion porque el director de club John Hagerty y los demas miembros de la directive Mandan a parar de molestar al instante lo mismo al que juega por primera vez que a un gran maestro, sin distinction alguna.

Las condiciones paralelas tambien son de primera. Tenemos café, te, chocolate, galletas dulces y saladitas, donuts, ets, pero no se permite hacer ruido al comer o beber por lo que las condiciones de juego no se alteran.

Localizacion: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ. Pero para evitar la confucion que otros han experimentado, llegue a Alyssa Drive, muy cerca de la salida 7 de la ruta 280 y doble hacia el parqueo de la escuela West Orange Hight School.

El club se encuentra frente al parqueo en sentido contrario a la escuela frente a un hermoso lago.

Premios: Los premios se pagan finalizar cada torneo. Ahora tenemos torneos que otorgan 6 Grang Prix Points.

Vengan y disfruten de un ambiente ameno y cordial, pero fuerte porque tenemos jugadores de todos los estilos, desde los super agresivos hasta los super solidos. Les esperamos!

[Above written by long time club member, Alberto Martinez.(click red at L, for his USCF [1]) . .. editor, on the fly among too many cares, find below a crude but quick rendition by Google. translator ...]

[1] Editor, sorry for tendentious link. It is an oddity of the USCF that if you link to a player directly, it just takes you back to the normal player look up (i.e. here), so that you must type in the name again. What is it, the oddities of aspx applications. We are not programers... In any event, no pun intended, the quick way is to go to link at red at his name, which will take you to his name, fifth seed, and just click his name. This is the fastest, easiest way to get there. Err.

Information super important for serious chess players in New York and New Jersey

I want to inform the Hispanic community of chess special features that make this club an ideal place for those who wish to participate in serious chess competitions.

For me, being well recibidoes of vital importance, and West Orange Chess Club visitors will find an atmosphere of friendship, cordiality and respect that exceeds expectations.

West Orange Chess Club made it a mixture of races, cultures and religions where the Spanish, although it has a very strong accent or know or say a word in English is always extending a friendly hand to greet you and make you feel comom one more, as an integral and welcome received.

The playing conditions are excellent, whether in individual or team competitions. The game time is 100 minutes but were offering skills Tembi quick time 5, 10 or 15 minutes. There can be no distraction for the club director John Hagerty and other members of the Mandan directive to stop bothering the same thing at the moment playing for the first time a great teacher, without any Distinction.

The conditions are also parallel first. We have coffee, tea, chocolate, cookies, crackers, donuts, ets, but noise is not permitted to eat or drink so that the playing conditions are not altered.

Location: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ. But to avoid that others have experienced Confucianism, come to Alyssa Drive, near Exit 7 of Route 280 and turn into the parking lot of West Orange school Hight School.
The club is located across the parking lot opposite to the school in front of a beautiful lake.

Prizes: Prizes are paid after each tournament. Now we give 6 Grang tournaments Prix Points.

Come and enjoy a pleasant environment and friendly, but strong because we have players of all styles, from super aggressive to super solid. We wait!

Getting Ready: 42nd Annual World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East

2012-01-09T11:07:00.007-05:00

5.7 weeks till 42nd Annual World Amateur Team & U.S. Team East (click red at left), starting Saturday February 18th 2012, and continues to Monday February 20th.

Mark your calenders to support our club, or please make sure you have submitted your forms to Jose or John as to general availability and/or preferences.

Last day for reservations at the Hilton at 'chess rate', 11:59 pm next Monday January 16th (click red at L, contact information at Hilton Parsippany).

Seven more days to dial it in. Don't forget, cancelations are allowed till 11:59 pm Friday February 17th. That's called zero risk for the majority of members with--as yet--little to no guarantee's of being selected for participation, yet if on a team wish to focus energy at what is, for some, reasonable cost.

Ambitious: Where We Want to Be

2012-01-03T18:50:00.011-05:00

Notice how the player's tables are marked. We don't need borders, beige, and flags, but this is the direction. The word is, upgrade at zero cost. Just imagine Peter next to Mark with their august imprimatur in your mind's eye.

Page down for '54th Reggio Emilia: Spaceship Nakamura takes off', photo of modern day Morphy Alexander Morozevich (next to Vitiugov).
.

Fascinating: Chess Engines Unmasked, Explicated, De- Incrimated

2012-01-03T18:38:00.003-05:00

Uncustomery to our blog: short and sweet, but thus able to include more variety.

For those of you who both use chess engines and are similarly aware of Rybka creator's Vasik Rajlich deeply embeeded controvery, whereby he was harshly accused of plagerizing open source chess engine Fruit's architecture. Who knows where the line of truth is. But whatever it is, Rybka is a darn good chess engine, from which great innovation evolved--read the clear and new leader, Houdini.

Here are two fantastical great articles about this, from chessBase, 'A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess', and even more fascinating: ' A Gross Miscarriage of Justice in Computer Chess (part two)'. Part three to follow.

Kickedly smart.

Announcement for Our Good Friends: 22nd Annual Kenilworth Chess Club Championship

2012-01-02T23:09:00.007-05:00

[
If a club were to ever have really great friends, it would be the Kenilworth Chess. Quality, real chess, real chess players, connected is the word.

Ian asked us if we could post below for his club, why sure, right away:
]

'Hi Guys,
Happy new year, hope all is well with you! I wanted to pass along the details for Kenilworth's upcoming club championship in case you thought it was worth advertising to your members, all would be welcome (though club membership is required, $15 for most people except seniors). Details are below. Also, we're planning on having more rated events throughout the year than we have in the past, so if it is of interest to you I will continue to provide you with updates.

Best, Ian

22nd Annual Kenilworth Chess Club Championship, starts January 12th at 8:20 pm
• USCF Rated
• 5-round Swiss
• G/90 time control.
• Rounds will commence at 8:20 p.m. every Thursday night for the duration of the event.
• Prizes : Tentative: Trophies for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Top U2050, Top U1800, Top U1600, Top U1400, Biggest upset
• Tiebreaks TBA
• EF: $10 entry fee + dues + $5 anti-forfeit deposit = $30 for most players.
• KCC memberships required: dues $7.50 for juniors U-18, $10 for seniors 65+, and $15 for all others.
• Register with TD Geoff McAuliffe during our 1/5 meeting or before 8:20 p.m. on 1/12 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.'

'See also: http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/calendar/index.html, click red, direct link here.

Just Talk To Harry

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Not all of you might know it, but long time West Orange Chess Club member Harry S. Katz is an accomplished checkers player, even going so far as to give simultaneous exhibitions. To go back in time, to the old days, March 5th, 1998 seemed so long ago. What were you doing then and who were you with? Some of us would rather not remember back to that time, others do so fondly.

[The video and sound quality, admitedly are not great, but the emotion and heart is there. It is touching stuff. Watch Harry interact with his opponents, and his imprimatur. The word is gentleman.]

Most of the standing members know who Harry is, but for anyone new to our club or visiting the blog, it is to his family to which we owe our most sincere gratitude of appreciation. The Japanese have a term which aptly describes this emotion (and very much an emotion it is, not just an idea) called ‘on’, translated as debt of gratitude’ (Kanji: 恩, Kana: おん, favor, favor, obligation, debt of gratitude [1]). It is important in their society which is so much based on subtle nuances, to be mindful of and thus remember to acknowledge where things stand. That said, Harry’s wife Toby arranged for the use of our community facility based on her significant involvement in the Township of West Orange City Council. Thank you again Toby. Let us not forget. That said, before sharing his checkers video, and two very different videos after that, to tell a brief but poignant story:

Taking a new job, one our members was moved to Seattle, by the famed Architecture and Engineering firm, John Graham and Associates [2]. He tells how when he was but 33 or just old enough to be bold but still young enough to know that trying to access an executive in a new business environment might be incorrect and thus hesitated, tells how on a dark and wet fall day not long after starting taking his job, tells how he walked across the hall to the by now very old Mr. Graham’s office. His young ‘girlfriend’ (by then his wife) Lois sat outside the door to his large corner office overlooking the Puget Sound. He was 82 and she was probably 72. He knew to marry his cute, shocking blond secretary. Just picture them. The image of mature but fully established romance.

Poking his round the door to the antechamber, this new employee asked to be able to speak with Mr. Graham, and with a nod, given pass beyond her desk to his sweeping office. It was so long ago, that he by now finds it hard to remember exactly what they discussed, but remembers something about his at the time innovative catamaran sailboat, conspicuously shown in a large framed photo behind him, and carefully give obeisance to his many accomplishments, which included Seattle’s well known, iconic Space Needle, the centerpiece of the 1962 World’s Fair. He also designed one of the prototypes of the first mall (not sure if that is something by now to be proud of, but back then…).

His urge was to invite him to lunch, and see what could be learned. He was like that back then, and now misses that youthful desire and curiosity which fuels change and wonder. As he tells it, later that night his French-German girlfriend (the one who had been the runway model, ouch!) promptly told him that he should have asked this Mr. Graham to lunch. This love of his life was not only devastatingly beautiful, but also very smart, and right she was. He can still remember clearly thinking that he would just follow up in the next few weeks, for what harm would delay be, and prudent also, so as not to intrude as an unfamiliar person. But to his utter shock Mr. Graham was dead three weeks later (see obituary in the NY Times linked here, click red).

So what does this have to do with The West Orange Chess Club: Talk to Harry. We hope that this will not embarrass him, but what is there to lose? He says it himself, ALL the time. “I don’t know how much more time I have left, four months, four years’. Does anyone think he is dumb? That he has no idea, that he is denial? No. Talk to Harry. You might get something more than a few stories or insights from a ‘doddering old man’ [3] which if you wait, will one day not be able to get back. In addition to his checkers skills, maybe the least of it, he once sold a company to a Fortune 400 Corporation. You don’t think he has any insights? Talk to Harry. He also once sported a 1884 USCF rating, back in 1994 which is hardly a laughing matter. Just remember that over all these years rating inflation has been so significant, that it could plausibly be argued that this might easily if not surely equate to a strength of as great as 1950 ELO (or more!) in today’s rating numbers [4]. This is a little bit of chess skill, no? How will you do when you get to where Harry is? Will you still be playing, have sold a company, still be married, still be walking? Talk to Harry.

[1.] "'On' is the social and psychological obligation taken on with favors received from others. The word comes from warrior society when lords granted to followers. It has been only 120 years since Japan got out of its feudal system. At present it is still fundamentally a vertical society, which values strict orders and strong relationships among people of different ranks". ... "To forget 'on' is morally wrong. However, this kind of sentiment, as well as others considered to be traditional Japanese feelings, is gradually" decreasing [editor, correction for 'dismissing'].

[2.] Latter consolidated to Regional Firm, John Graham DLR Architects, Engineers, Planners.

[3.] Let’s not get our dandruff up over these words. While Harry did not ask for us to write this post, he nevertheless approves this message.

[4.] Think of solid Roger or Alberto, or think of Doran or Ian on a slightly off day, or if your prefer Matthew or Brian on a better day. This is not a laughing matter as far as chess knowledge goes from a class perspective!

I M P O R T A N T . . Club is now closed Tue 03 Jan 2012

2011-12-31T12:38:00.015-05:00

I M P O R T A N T . . GSCL is postponed till 10 Jan 2012. The WOCC plays Hamilton, at home. Work being done to the building continues to be uncertain.

Thus: Round Six of the WOCC Late Fall Swiss must NOW again be postponed till 17 Jan 2012.

As these changes move downstream in the colander pipeline, the Annual Meeting and Elections have also to be further moved up, to Tuesday 24 Jan 2012.

President John Hagerty is examining whether a plan B is to be considered, since the uncertainty on the construction management side shows no sign of ending.

In view of that, it is decided by the TD that if any scheduled matches wish to meet offsite, and/or play their game before the 17th, that this is permitted. This of course is only if both persons agree amicably. The requirement is for the 17th.

Please let us apologize. Believe us when we tell you, its all on a day by day basis to our club leaders.

[Email, as we were publishing, club President John sent and email to the editor, similar to above, to make sure the status of the club was properly communicated. This was recently discussed, and he asked us to notify members. Copy of his note, directly here:

'David,
I just want to make sure that all WOCC members know that the schedule of events has been pushed up a week and that we reopen on Jan. 10th for the GSCL, the official 6th and final rd. of the Late Fall Swiss will be on the 17th, and that the Annual Meeting and Election will then be held on the 24th. Also, let them know that players in the tournament can make individual arrangements to wrap up their last round games.
Thanks and Happy New Year

John

ps. Jose Fernandez and I would like to get confirmations either by phone or e-mail about their commitment to be in the USATE event to be held in Feb. We need to know asap especially for those who may wish to reserve a hotel room at the Hilton to grt the special Chess rate. Again, thanks'.]

Remarkable Interviews: 'World Champion Anand on fatherhood, Kazan, and more'; 'On World Championship matches, and the new generation'

2011-12-28T10:59:00.009-05:00

As previously mentioned, here is the fabulous interview of World Chess Champion Vishi Anand called:

'Interview with the World Champion - Anand on becoming a father, Kazan and more (part 1 of 2)'. This is a long but most interesting interview. Because of its length, there is a second part, Part Two linked here (click red). None of this is run of the mill. Highly recommended.

As we were ready to publish, recently two days before Christmas, a second interview which was just as good came out, so we consolidate the three interviews, thus. Linked here:

'Vegetarian Predator: On World Championship matches, the new generation of top players and himself'.

One closing note: Twe duopoly of The Week in Chess and ChessBase.com were pretty much the two reigning sites on chess in the English speaking world, the last two years. It remains so. But then chessVibes.com came along, also quite good. Its editor Peter Dodgers gave himself the herculian task of running this third site in both Dutch and English. About three years ago, was it, he decided to make it English only, due to the scope of work involved. No less than the two prior site, Chess Center and ChessBase. This is the third site.

In the last half year, a forth site started to take off, called WhyChess.com. This is very good, and is thus linked in the third interview. Enjoy.

USCF TLA Came Out Today

2011-12-24T11:35:00.004-05:00

Click here For link to TLA below.

[... quickly, the day before Christmas. Copied exactly as it is, link to list here, click red at left. Usual edits to follow, but, for now... ]

6 Grand Prix Points
Mar 13 - May 8, 2012
West Orange CC 2012 Championship
West Orange, NJ
7 rds., G/100 (5 sec. delay),
Reg. 7-7:30 P.M., rds. start at 8:00.
EF: $30.00, members $25.00.
Prizes: 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $75, Best under 1900 $60, 1700 $50, 1500 $40.
All prizes guaranteed.
Details: westorangechessclub.blogspot.com and buickchess@gmail.com or 973-736-3433.
Byes: Three 1/2 byes available in any rd; must know by the end of rd.4.
Address: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052.
Advance entrees welcome.
Chess Magnet School JGP.
The information shown above is based on information in USCF records prior to publication of the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids.)
As such, the information shown above is subject to change.
Please check the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids) for any corrections, updates or other changes.
In special cases, changes that are made after the publication of Chess Life may be found on the Tournament Listings by State page.
Sponsoring Affiliate: A6002020, WEST ORANGE CHESS CLUB.
Tell the TD you heard about this event via TLA Mail or saw it on the USCF website. TLA ID: 8594

I M P O R T A N T . . Round Six of WOCC Late Fall Swiss is postponed till 10 Jan 2012, Issue with Building

2011-12-20T01:26:00.022-05:00

The Simplest person knows chess is relaxed, low stress, and best played in a tweed smoking jacket. Double click image to enlarge. A shocker. It was stressful for even some bystanders, little alone Mark and Nathan.

Dear Members, many of you, but not all have received an email, and/or phone call to please notify you that the last and final round of the Late Fall Swiss has had to be postponed till Tuesday 10 January 2012.

We must solemnly apologize, but this was not foreseen. It has been brought to our attention that our Toby Katz Community Center will not be available to us the next two weeks, due to the installation of a new floor [1]. This means we will not be meeting not just tomorrow night, but cannot meet the following week.

Moreover, round four of the GSCL is scheduled for the first Tuesday of every month, so this eliminated the availability of Tuesday 03 Jan, and according to John, as awkward as it is, had to be decided to resume the tournaments last and final round on this second Tuesday in January.

Secondly, the important Annual Club Meeting and Election, has had to be moved out to Tue 17 Jan. Time flies.

Since John had begun discussing the possibility of a quick Winter Round Robin (no specific plans, again, just discussed), that probably comes into doubt--at least as far as usual format goes, due to less available evenings.

The editor before the news about our postponement was already thinking that perhaps it might be a welcome change of pace to put on a six round swiss, with two games per night, at G30 for three consecutive Tuesdays. Editor is not sure if the revised schedule would then make a double round robin over three Tuesday more appealing, but maybe there are new factors preventing the prior (swiss) and hastening the latter (robin).

Comments welcome, will pass on to Club President John Hagerty, and TD's Roger Pedersen, and Doran Race.

That said, we hope no one needlessly drives from Philadelphia with the expectation of seeing us and finding a locked and empty clubhouse.

[1] Virtually all members appreciate the use of the space very, very greatly. Thank you to the Township of West Orange from all of us. We remind one another that it is not a matter of what is absent (missing a night or two, whether it be for upgrades, or a late start of competition for a meeting of wrestling coaches...) but what is present: secure space, easy access, a beautiful well-appointed setting (lake, club house, a bit of gardens), relative quiet near major interstates, good parking, clean areas to take care of personal, a small kitchen, good lighting, heat in winter, coolant in the summer--all that. Thank you for all of us to West Orange. We do not forget.

WOCC Quote of the Week:

2011-12-15T15:28:00.023-05:00

"I absolutely hate lossing".

Magnus Carlsen.

PROFILES
New Yorker Magazine, March 21, 2011 Issue.

The Prince’s Gambit: A chess star emerges for the post-computer age.
by D. T. Max

ABSTRACT OF ARTICLE BELOW. Click here in red for full article, but you might need a magnifying glass. Editor can read it. Worth a try:

PROFILE of Norwegian chess star Magnus Carlsen. Writer describes a match between Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik at the London Chess Classic in December. In the match, Carlsen had recovered from a situation that the Russian champion Garry Kasparov called “impossible” to force a draw.

Carlsen, who had just turned twenty two weeks earlier, is largely self-taught, and can play various styles of chess. He has been a full-time chess player since he was fifteen, and spends more than a hundred and sixty days a year on the road. When he is not travelling, he lives in a house with his family in an affluent suburb of Oslo. Carlsen left school two years ago without formally graduating.

Tells about Magnus Carlsen Against the World, an event staged by Carlsen’s sponsor G-Star at New York Fashion Week. Carlsen played against a team of three grandmasters. Many people in the chess world considered the contest vulgar. At the trophy presentation, Liv Tyler, another G-Star endorser, gave Carlsen a silver plaque.

Most grandmasters start chess extremely young, but Carlsen did not, though he had shown unusual mathematical aptitude as a little boy, which is often found in chess talents. He was more engaged by soccer and skiing. When Magnus was eight, his father made another attempt to engage him in chess and this time, he recalled, he found it “just a richer and more complicated game than any other.”

Tells about Carlsen’s development as a chess player. He has a prodigious memory for board positions and moves. He studied with Simen Agdestein, a top Norwegian grandmaster at the time, and later with Kasparov. Briefly discusses the history of chess, which was brought to the West by way of Persia sometime between the eighth and tenth centuries.

Describes the approach to the game developed by the Soviets and also tells about the development of computer chess programs. Mentions Kasparov’s loss to the I.B.M. mainframe Big Blue, in 1997. Carlsen said that for him, great chess playing is less the “scientific search for the best approaches” than “psychological warfare with some little tricks.”

Describes Carlsen’s performance in the 2011 Wijk aan Zee tournament in Holland, where he lost his confidence. He told the writer, “Suddenly, I started to get these doubts. All of a sudden, my fighting spirit was almost gone.” Carlsen was already thinking ahead to the Amber chess tournament, which is being played this month, in Monaco. The games there do not affect anyone’s official ranking, since the participants play either rapid or blindfold chess; all the same, he said, “I really, really want to win and restore the power balance.”

See upset at 2:30 mark when someone suggested to him that the Grob is not a viable opening?

Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round Five Results and Round Six Final Pairings

2011-12-14T13:42:00.011-05:00

[Editor, trying to get results, and crosstable, if possible, as we speak. dk]

West Orange Chess Club Late Fall Swiss 2011
Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
06 1. ___ Kernighan, Mark D (5.0) ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (3.5)
06 2. ___ Hart, Charles M (3.5) ___ Pedersen, Roger E (3.5)
06 3. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (3.0) ___ Resika, Nathan (3.0)
06 4. ___ Martinez, Alberto (3.0) ___ Mangion, Ian (3.0)
06 5. ___ Boxer, Matthew (3.0) ___ Pepe, Michael A (3.0)
06 6. ___ Norris, Anthony (3.0) ___ Arias , Fermin (2.5)
06 7. ___ Senyatkin, Aleksey (2.0) ___ Garrett, Damon T (2.5)
06 8. ___ Katz, Harry S (1.0) ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (2.0)
06 9. ___ Korn, David Allan (1.5) ___ Fortunato, Joseph (1.5)

More from London: What happens when two of the best chess players on earth extemporaneously discuss chess games together?? Delightful.

Prize Money Contenders with 1 round to go:

1ST $150 Kerighan
2ND $100 4 points wins: Zilbermintz 3.5+, Pedersen 3.5+, Hart 3.5+
3RD $075 Resika 3+, Mangion 3+, Boxer 3+, Cohen 3+, Martinez 3+, Pepe 3+

Under 1900 $60:
Martinez 3+, Pepe 3+, Norris 2.5+, Garrett 2.5+, Arias 2.5+

Under 1700 $50:
Nayak 2+, Korn 1.5+, Fortunato 1.5+

Under 1500 $35:
Senyatkin

Game: IM Dmitry S. London,2373 - Roger E. Pedersen,1950 [B19]

2011-12-13T10:13:00.006-05:00

A recent game submitted to the WOCC by our Roger E. Pedersen. To load into Fritz or ChessBase, copy below or cntl C, then paste or cntl v. Editor. A nice win and congratulations to Roger!

IM Dmitry S. London,2373 - Roger E. Pedersen,1950 [B19]
Dr David Ostfeld Memorial Early Winter, 11.12.2011
[Fritz 13 (120s)]
B19: Classical Caro-Kann: 4...Bf5 main line 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 e6 7.h4 h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nf6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Bb4 13.c3 Bd6 14.c4 Bb4 last book move. White has a very active position 15.0–0 Bxd2 16.Nxd2 0–0 17.c5 White has a new backward pawn: d4 17...Rd8 18.Qc2 White has an active position 18...Qc7 [18...Rxd4?? the pawn of course cannot be captured 19.Nb3 Qb4 20.Nxd4+–] 19.Qc3 Qd7 [19...Rd5 20.Nc4µ] 20.Rad1 Na6 Manoeuvre Nb8–a6–c7–d5 21.Nc4 Nc7 22.a4 Ncd5 Black threatens to win material: Nd5xc3. A valuable piece 23.Qf3 Qc7 24.Nd6 The white knight is well posted. 24...Ne8 25.Nge4 Ndf6 26.b4 [26.Nxf6+!? Nxf6 27.Rd3=] 26...Nxe4³ 27.Nxe4 a6 Black's piece can't move: e8 28.Rfe1 [28.Rd3 Rd5³] 28...Rd5µ 29.Nc3 Rf5 30.Qh3 Qf4 31.Ne4 Nf6 32.f3 Nxe4 33.fxe4 [33.Rxe4!? Qc7 34.Rb1µ] 33...Rg5 34.Rd3 Qg4 [¹34...Rd8–+ and Black could have gained the advantage] 35.Qxg4³ Rxg4 A double rook endgame occured 36.Kf2 Rd8 37.Kf3 White threatens to win material: Kf3xg4 37...Rh4 38.g4 Rh3+ 39.Ke2 Rxd3 [¹39...Rh2+!? 40.Kf3 Rb2µ] 40.Kxd3= e5 41.d5 cxd5 42.b5 This push gains space 42...dxe4+ White is in double check 43.Kxe4 f6 44.c6 bxc6 45.bxc6?? [¹45.b6³ would save the game] 45...Rd4+–+ 46.Ke3 Rc4 [46...Rc4 47.Rb1 Rxc6 48.Rb8+ Kh7–+] 0–1

Remarkable analysis by Kramnik. Notice how far and how fast he takes the line. He is the best of the best, as far as depth goes. Very, very funny remark at 3:00 mark by Trent: 'Is that all you could see??' Outrageous!

'...absolutely stunning video of Kramnik explaining his game with McShane as Wht, where he elaborates about a twenty move line off the top of his head, and all the variations. He does it quickly. Even Kasparov once said Kramnik probably had the deepest sense of chess, and from all reports, this is true. He won London yesterday:

[Comment off of chessVibes article, on Vlad's recent win at London yesterday: click red at L]]

"According to Peter Svidler himself, Vladimir Kramnik is the most talented and intuitive player that he has even known. Is it any surprise that this legend is performing so consistently and so well, including winning this tournament?"'.

Problems And Answers: How to Cook a Chess Club

2011-12-11T12:30:00.034-05:00

On Sat, Dec 10, 2011 at 4:23 PM, Brian Cohen wrote:

Hey John. I know you told me that Tony Norris is taking a half point bye in round five. Just so everyone affected by this pairing change (which would be myself, Senyatkin, Martinez, Katz, and I suppose Norris as well) is all on the same page, can you have Roger Pedersen send the updated, revised pairings to David Korn to be placed on the website? If all of the affected players are not aware of a pairing change there could be problems.

[Editor, paragraph break] First of all Senyatkin is now supposed to be playing me, and Martinez is now supposed to be playing Katz. Senyatkin and Martinez could be upset, thinking that they are supposed to be playing each other, which they were originally. Katz, who had a full point bye originally, may not be aware of a change and might not be expecting to play, or he might not even show up, although in his case he comes just about every week.

[Editor, break] I would hate for there to be a scenario where anybody is upset at pairing changes that they will not find out about until game time or for Martinez to not have a game, get an unearned free point, and not have a game to play because Katz doesn't show up. I just think it would be best to make it clear to avoid any confusion. Please send me a reply, and as always thank you again John, and I will see you on Tuesday night.

Bryan Cohen

---------------------------
From: John Hagerty To: david korn [1]
ject: Fwd: tony norris bye

[Dear] Bryan,

It should be clear from the posted information as to the possibilities as to what happens if Norris takes a bye. The people in question should check with Roger or me as what Tony`s situation is and therefore know as to whom they are playing. If they cannot figure this out, then maybe they should not be playing Chess at all. What I can do is this: I will e-mail David and ask him to double check with Roger and then repost the pairings reflecting the Norris 1/2 point bye effect on rd. 5.

John

---------------------------
From: David Korn
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 4:54 PM
To: [Roger] CT
Cc: John Hagerty
Subject: RE: tony norris bye

[Dear] Roger, back from HARD 1:15 run in the woods [...] ten minutes ago [...].

A surprising email from John, and asks me if you can pls let me know if there is an update. The patience of everyone is being tried, certainly not from you or John or me. You know, I have been competing at the club since the WOCCC in March, and this NEVER happened. Either we are attracting a portion of new breed of the wrong people [2], or we are just getting too free or lenient, but somehow there must be a way to control this.

In systems theory, when an entirely new sea change comes in, there must be an exogenous reason for it, no? We are not much different than we were a year ago, or are we? In any event, if you have new pairings, then I will post them.

On the fly, it just hits me if there are NO byes, while we might see a reduction in participation, maybe THAT set of participants will have more commitment?

Leave it to you and John.

Best, dk

---------------------------
From: David Korn
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 4:56 PM
To: [Brian]
Subject: FW: tony norris bye

Brian, not sure what it is all about. You sound reasonable to me. Your friend, dk

---------------------------
From: doran race
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 7:28 PM
To: david korn; roger pedersen
Cc: John Hagerty
Subject: RE: tony norris bye

I thought I saw somewhere that Norris is taking a half point bye for rounds 5 and 6

[Doran]

---------------------------
From: CT [Roger]Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2011 10:07 PM
To: [dk]Subject: Re: tony norris bye

Tony and Doran have requested round 5 byes SO the pairing "if" for Tony is what will occur and Pepe gets a forfeit win against Doran

Hackensack tournament tomorrow

Roger

---------------------------
From: John Hagerty Date: Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: tony norris bye
To: doran race

David, the idea of 1/2 point byes is not an original concept on my part; it is very simply a device that obviously allows for a greater number of participants in an event. I would rather suffer a number of 1/2 point byes and have a nice turnout rather than have a limited group to play. In fact, some players will not play if they are forced to take a 1/2 point bye even though you, Roger, myself and many others who have even a modicum of math and especially statistical probability theory knowledge and understanding realize that theyare being either foolish or ignorant of the "odds" inherent in the Elo rating system.

[Editor, break] In any event, for us to pursue Grand Prix status, we have to guarantee $300.00 to the first three places. Furthermore, we do not want to revert back to the days of postponed games and/or adjournments; that wreaked some havoc on our scheduling for the club calendar. We also have some club members who travel on their jobs (sometimes with very little notice) and if we did not offer the 1/2 point bye option, they might never play in any of our Swiss events.

[Editor, break] try to be pragmatic about these things and above all else I do not want to impose Spartan or Draconian measures which could very well "throw the baby out with the bath water", if you get my drift. We will, of course, have to draft a kind of "riot act" type of document that should be handed out to every tournament participant and/or official club member--yes, this will be yet another work in progress for the betterment of the club.

John

From: Nathan Resika
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 11:53 AM
To: John
Cc: David
Subject: RE: New Post: 'Problems And Answers: How to Cook a Chess Club'

at the marshall and in most tournaments. in 6 round events, byes MUST be committed to taken BEFORE round 4 not AFTER( which yur rules allow). I think perhaps this should be your future change in policy..: imagine this.. some one with 4 out of 4 could take 2 byes AFTER acheiving this score and win the event!. whereas is he commited to the last round byes BEFORE round 4 he couldnt be sure of his result:-) all best Nathan

Nathan Resika
www.resika.com [click red at L, to go to Nathan's impressive blog]

Video of FIDE Master Nathan Resika singing! Begs the question, 'what can this man NOT do?'

From: David Korn
Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 12:28 PM
To: 'Nathan Resika'; John
Subject: RE: New Post: 'Problems And Answers: How to Cook a Chess Club'

Dear Nathan, It is wonderful that you continue to take an interest in our club. We hope to see more of you.

Thank you for your comment. I took the liberty of posting your note to the blog sec ago. Please let us know if this is not OK. Ideally, everyone’s voice gets heard.

Posting emails to the blog is unusual and not the norm, but this is part of surfacing out the growing pains of a club reaching beyond local-regional to regional.

Somehow the process sorts out, and we grow. I know John will reinforce or clarify if not to himself then the entire club the current position or, if alternately it is to change, put his wisdom there, but, believe me, I can speak for the WOCC and John, whatever it is, we will come out better after.

This all extends out of the decision to experiment, innovate, correct, improve that John put into motion last March, both B. from the resuscitated blog, and A. and the great results at the World Team Amateur in February the month before also.

To me the whole issue is not about byes or forfeits or pairings, but about stability. We can be more stable by refusing to change, or we can allow change, but this causes disturbance. It seems to me right now, to put it into organizational development or social psychology terms, we are in the winds of evolution, and as we do, surprises will keep happening. We cannot do both—stay the same or not allow instability.

Best, dk

PS, Gosh, thank you for the wonderful singing at the start of round four the week before last. If you ever wish to do it again, somehow we will all resist complaining. Smiles :-)

[
From: Nathan Resika Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 1:09 AM
To: David Korn, John Hagerty
Subject: RE: New Post: 'Problems And Answers: How to Cook a Chess Club'

Hi David, Might I add that without the byes I wouldnt have been able to play... with byes( which are a great way for busy people to take part).. players will have to get used to not knowing who they will play in the first fewrounds.. beacuse someone could enter( like I did) with 2 byes. But its ok! People will have to think at the board without preparation for some rounds. This can be a good thing, occasionally:-) best Nathan

http://www.resika.com/ click red at L for link

From: David Korn Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 9:34 AM
To: 'Nathan Resika'
Cc: John Hagerty
Subject: RE: New Post: 'Problems And Answers: How to Cook a Chess Club'

Dear Nathan, You make a very, very good point. Maybe this is what everyone has been saying all along, but you seem to make it more clear. It’s like the Euro: ‘we will all tie ourselves to a currency we can all use, resulting in convenience, but this will lower the value of our more wealthy nations, and raise the less prosperous--the cost of seeking more openness by becoming more interdependent’ (my words). But then latter some nations fall (Greece, Spain, UK), and the piper must be paid (chess byes for Euro’s and default for changing one’s mind on previous commitments to play AND it being allowed).

On that note, maybe I can clarify as well what I see. But before I do, it is most important on the subject that I make it very clear that I am not at all against byes or byes here. What I am in favor of is surfacing the conflict. A conflict does not have to be serious. A conflict can be the need to not drink a second Coke after a two hour workout.

There is a saying in process psychology that ‘the source of resolving a disturbance resides in the conflict itself’:

Perhaps it is not that byes are to be to be continued to be used, but that a tighter rein on HOW those byes are allowed and taken. Again, much as I like Anthony—and I really do, I watched him continually say that he was pretty sure he could not continue in the tournament, then that he would. And let me hasten to repeat that it was me, from before the start of the tournament who kept encouraging him to enter the tournament, even if he needed to take byes in rounds five and six. So there ought not to have been a surprise. But from a group as distinct from an individual perspective, it begs the question as to how far it can go that one participant can unhinge a process or be allowed to do so. This becomes a group problem.

So it’s really about ‘if you are to take a bye’, ‘here are the conditions’, and ‘here are the limits’. It’s not taking a bye or not, but clarifying and objectifying formally. We had several persons saying they would participate, then did not. Someone officially leave the tournament, then come back, someone saying they would take a bye, then did not.

Please forgive me if I misunderstand, sincerely, but my stance is to taking a stance, not to the kind of stance!

Best, dk

[1] Some have gotten round to calling the editor (really a Communications Coordinator, as far as it goes) John's Assistant, certainly which cannot be called an insult. He told John the other day: 'John, I am not your assistant, but assist you--since I have no official capacity.

Be that as it may, as Victor or others resolve what a Secretary does for our club in the digital era, where emails, the internet, videos might count for more than board meeting minutes (those of course matters a lot, too), his role is that of 'activist' as Harry puts that.

That said, to be clear, he doesn't take a position on things like byes or standards or formats, but simply helps tie people, their communications, and events together as the club leadership wants them. To the extent that his name keeps showing up, its is only because someone needs to recieve and distribute those communications with an eye to the whole, to transparency, and hopefully fairness. dk

[2] To be clear, not that an individual opinion matters her, but the editor very sincerely likes Anthony and Nick, and certainly respects Man-Chit's chess to name a few, wishing only to highlite the aparent trend of the club there, not to focus upon any one of any number of pereginations by person or situation.

Click image to enlarge

FIDE ranking used to come out four times per year, and now a bit more often. But Hans Arlild Runde conceived a way to rank the super grandmasters, 2700 FIDE ELO and above in real time. For example, Carlsen won the recent Tal Memorial in Moscow and so topped 2830, Kramnik London yesterday and so topped 2800, which appears on the chart often to the hour. A real clever improvement. That we can tell, he recently sold it to be operated by others but nevertheless, still completely his brainchild. Link to 2700chess.com here. Click red at L.

Announcement: West Orange Chess Club, 2012 Annual Club Championship

2011-12-03T18:02:00.023-05:00

The WOCC and its Executive Board are pleased to announce the scheduling of our Annual West Orange Chess Club 2012 championship [1].

Like in previous years, this competition is planned as a seven round swiss. And like our Fall Swiss currently underway, also qualifies for Grand Prix status. So as to provide continuity, it takes place for six of seven Tuesdays, interupted only by the Garden State Chess League for the following Tuesday at the end of round three.

We invite all chess players to attend--local or far, new or experienced, in or out of state residents. We hope you all can attend or participate. The formal TLA currently being prepared for the February issue of the U.S. Chess Federation's Chess Life Magazine is as follows (click red for links):

Mar. 13, Mar. 20, Mar. 27, Apr. 10, Apr. 17, Apr. 24, May 8
West Orange CC 2012 Championship
7 rds., G/100 (5 sec. delay), Reg. 7-7:30 P.M., rds. start at 8:00. EF: $30.00, members $25.00.
Prizes: 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $75, Best under 1900 $60, 1700 $50, 1500 $40. All prizes guaranteed.

Details: westorangechessclub.blogspot.com and buickchess@gmail.com or phone: 9seven3-7three6-3four33. Byes: Three 1/2 byes available in any rd; must know by the end of rd.4. Address: Toby Katz Community Center, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, N.J. 07052. Advance entrees welcome.

Thank you, John M. Hagerty President and USCF TD

The usual parenthetic video, tonight: Watch Victor Korchnoi, bursting and bristling with energy. Rocking, shaking, almost jumping out of his chair, he embodies youthful excitment. He is only 84 years old, when well into his seventies, sustained a 2600 rating, still in the world top 100 at that time. Notice how gets going, starting at around the 7:00 mark, he is like a boy at Chrismas, lining up his presents. But it is not toys which he wants, but to beat Smyslov, getting the line which he had wanted. Also note 5:40, 9:15, and 10:30 marks:

[1.] Editor: Please all thank John for his many, many years of service, which we all very much hope will continue, both helping us and encouraging everyone by both being open and allowing change to occur. We won't always get it right, but by continually moving in new directions or expanding beyond what had been fixed and maybe unchanged, we keep realizing new possibilities as a club, and so discover and welcome more of the new. These might be repetitions from things already said, 'just words', but look at where we have gone in eight short months. Extrapolating out another eight months, and one can wonder what is else can occur, what new faces we will see--more solid, more fresh, more inclusive.

Garden State Chess Leauge: Information, Results and Links

2011-12-03T11:34:00.006-05:00

This next Tuesday is Round Three of The Garden State Chess League.

Click here for board results. Cross tables for match results shown here. Schedule is shown here. Rosters are shown here. Standings are shown here.

Our WOCC Team plays The Kenilworth Karpov's, at our club in West Orange this comming Tuesday.

Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round Four Results and Round Five Pairings

2011-11-30T11:31:00.030-05:00

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
05 1. ___ Resika, Nathan (3.0) ___ Kernighan, Mark D (4.0)
05 2. ___ Mangion, Ian (2.5) ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (3.0)--Ian's 2.5 consists of bye.nsists of bye.
05 3. ___ Pedersen, Roger E (3.0) ___ Boxer, Matthew (2.5)
05 4. ___ Arias , Fermin (2.5) ___ Hart, Charles M (2.5)--Charlie's 2.5 consists of byes.
05 5. ___ Race, Doran (2.0) ___ Pepe, Michael A (2.0)
05 6. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0) ___ Norris, Anthony (2.0)
05 7. ___ Senyatkin, Aleksey (2.0) ___ Martinez, Alberto (2.0)

05 8. ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (2.0) ___ Korn, David Allan (1.5)
05 9. ___ Fortunato, Joseph (1.5) ___ Garrett, Damon T (1.5)

Katz 1 point bye

If Norris takes a 1/2 point bye:
05 6. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0) ___ Senyatkin, Aleksey (2.0)
05 7. ___ Katz, Harry (1.0) ___ Martinez, Alberto (2.0)

Race has a 1/2 bye in round 6

Our good friend Anthony Norris has very kindly submitted the following video. His is not linking to content alone, but providing his own video. Thank you Anthony.

West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss -- West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss 2011 Wall Chart

Name/State ID Group/Team Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Rnd 5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kernighan, Mark D 2260 W 11 --- B 5 W 4 B 2
NJ 12147190 1.0 X2.0 3.0 4.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Resika, Nathan 2201 HALF HALF B 21 B 15 W 1
NY 12444347 0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Zilbermintz, Lev 2083 HALF W 19 B 6 W 5 B 4
NJ 12476202 0.5 1.5 2.0 3.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Mangion, Ian 2016 B 12 W 23 HALF B 1 W 3
NJ 13497907 1.0 2.0 2.5 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Race, Doran 1959 W 14 B 20 W 1 B 3 W 12
NY 12183660 1.0 2.0 2.0 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Pedersen, Roger E 1940 B 15 --- W 3 B 12 W 7
NJ 10092990 0.5 X1.5 2.0 3.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Boxer, Matthew 1921 W 16 B 28 W 15 W 23 B 6
NJ 12510577 0.5 1.5 1.5 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Hart, Charles M 1919 B 17 --- HALF W 28 B 15
NJ 10004071 1.0 F1.0 1.5 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1900 W 20 B 14 W 16 B 11 W 10
NJ 20020149 0.0 0.5 1.5 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Norris, Anthony 1897 B 23 W 12 --- B 14 B 9
NJ 12758884 0.0 0.0 X1.0 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Martinez, Alberto 1890 B 1 W 17 B 23 W 9 B 28
NJ 12490535 0.0 1.0 1.5 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Pepe, Michael A 1837 W 4 B 10 --- W 6 B 5
NJ 12565700 0.0 1.0 X2.0 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Garrett, Damon T 1824 B 5 W 9 B 17 W 10 B 23
NJ 12545276 0.0 0.5 1.5 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Arias , Fermin 1739 W 6 B 16 B 7 W 2 W 8
NJ 12670179 0.5 1.5 2.5 2.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Katz, Harry S 1718 B 7 W 15 B 9 B 20 ---
NJ 12052860 0.5 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1696 W 8 B 11 W 14 BYE W 20
NJ 12237580 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Kwok, Man-Chit 1607 HALF B 3 --- ZERO ---
NJ 14201547 0.5 0.5 F0.5 0.5 0.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Korn, David Allan 1604 B 9 W 5 B 28 W 16 B 17
NJ 14564164 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Hagerty, John Mich 1574 HALF HALF W 2 ZERO ZERO
NJ 10043816 0.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Fortunato, Joseph 1553 W 10 B 4 W 11 B 7 W 14
NJ 12932570 1.0 1.0 1.5 1.5
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28. Senyatkin, Aleksey unrated BYE W 7 W 20 B 8 W 11
NJ 14717317 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another video of Anothony's. Love this guy's spirit. Double click screenk to enlarge:

How Sweet?

Effort! Passion!

Who Can Not Like This Guy?

REVISON: Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round Three Results and Round Four Pairings

2011-11-24T11:37:00.015-05:00

Editor recieved the revised tables and results belew at 11:33 am, published 11:38 am. Revised 6:53 pm.

The WOCC is especially pleased to see new faces Mark Kernighan and Ian Mangion both from the esteemed Kenilworth Chess Club, Aleksey Senyatkin of East Orange, and now last night, Nathan Resika of NY.

We are blessed to have such strong players participating in a tournament with an already high average rating, further elevating the event. This does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you.

As many of you already know but bears repeating, Mark is a Life Master, 25th out of 1,914 active players in the State of New Jersey. He is exactly in the top 1.01% in the Nation. Thank you Mark.

Ian also has significant chess accomplishments, 103rd in the state, and 4.2% nationally. Thank you Ian.

Aleksey came in as an unrated but needless to say is making a mark, recent 1648 from his five provisional games at the recent 4th SY Fish Memorial also from the Kenilworth Chess Club. Thank you Aleksey.

Last but not least, guess who drove from New York, NY last night? Can you imagine? Nathan is also a Life Master, 82nd out of 4,593 in the State of NY, hardly a laughing matter! If Moscow existed in the United States, it would be NY. Thank you Nathan. He ranks in the top 1.2% nationally.

Thank you to TD Roger Pedersen for his suggestion as to bumping the WOCC Late Fall Swiss into Grand Prix status, and thank you to long time club president John Hagerty for his leadership in guiding us overall to continued improvement collectively, and evolving as a club overall. Thank you John and Roger. Good luck to all in round four, all hard fought.

04 1. xxx Kernighan, Mark D (3.0) xxx Mangion, Ian (2.5)
04 2. xxx Arias, Fermin (2.5) xxx Resika, Nathan (2.0)

04 3. xxx Zilbermintz, Lev (2.0) xxx Race, Doran (2.0)
04 4. xxx Pepe, Michael A (2.0) xxx Pedersen, Roger E (2.0)
04 5. xxx Hart, Charles M (1.5) xxx Senyatkin, Aleksey (2.0)
04 6. xxx Boxer, Matthew (1.5) xxx Fortunato, Joseph (1.5)
04 7. xxx Martinez, Alberto (1.5) xxx Cohen, Bryan Paul (1.5)

04 8. xxx Garrett, Damon T (1.5) xxx Norris, Anthony (1.0)
04 9. xxx Korn, David Allan (1.0) xxx Katz, Harry S (0.5)
04 1.0 Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0) BYE [revised back to 1.0, from 0.5, Wed 30 Nov, 2011, per instruction Roger P.]

West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss -- West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss 2011Cross Table, Page 1

No. Gr Name(Team) St Rate 1 2 3 Score

1. Kernighan, Mark D (1)......... NJ 2260 W11 FW8 W5 3.0
2. Resika, Nathan (2)............ NY 2201 -H- -H- W21 2.0
3. Zilbermintz, Lev (3).......... NJ 2083 -H- W19 D6 2.0
4. Mangion, Ian (4).............. NJ 2016 W12 W23 -H- 2.5
5. Race, Doran (5)............... NY 1959 W14 W20 L1 2.0
6. Pedersen, Roger E (6)......... NJ 1940 D15 FW27 D3 2.0
7. Boxer, Matthew (7)............ NJ 1921 D16 W28 L15 1.5
8. Hart, Charles M (8)........... NJ 1919 W17 FL1 -H- 1.5
9. Cohen, Bryan Paul (9)......... NJ 1900 L20 D14 W16 1.5
10. Norris, Anthony (10).......... NJ 1897 L23 L12 FW19 1.0
11. Martinez, Alberto (11)........ NJ 1890 L1 W17 D23 1.5
12. Pepe, Michael A (12).......... NJ 1837 L4 W10 FW25 2.0
14. Garrett, Damon T (14)......... NJ 1824 L5 D9 W17 1.5
15. Arias , Fermin (15)........... NJ 1739 D6 W16 W7 2.5
16. Katz, Harry S (16)............ NJ 1718 D7 L15 L9 0.5
17. Nayak, Mohan Rao (17)......... NJ 1696 L8 L11 L14 0.5
19. Kwok, Man-Chit (19)........... NJ 1607 -H- L3 FL10 0.5
20. Korn, David Allan (20)........ NJ 1604 W9 L5 L28 1.0
21. Hagerty, John Mich (21)....... NJ 1574 -H- -H- L2 1.0
23. Fortunato, Joseph (23)........ NJ 1553 W10 L4 D11 1.5
25. Nikitopoulos, Nich (25)....... NJ 1325 -H- -H- FL12 1.0
27. Rue, John D. (27)............. NJ 1200 -H- FL6 -N- 0.5
28. Senyatkin, Aleksey (28)....... NJ nnnn -B- L7 W20 2.0

Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round Three Results and Round Four Pairings

2011-11-23T12:04:00.011-05:00

The WOCC is especially pleased to see new faces Mark Kernighan and Ian Mangion both from the esteemed Kenilworth Chess Club, Aleksey Senyatkin of East Orange, and now last night, Nathan Resika of NY.

We are blessed to have such strong players participating in a tournament with an already high average rating, further elevating the event. This does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you.

As many of you already know but bears repeating, Mark is a Life Master, 25th out of 1,914 active players in the State of New Jersey. He is exactly in the top 1.01% in the Nation. Thank you Mark.

Ian also has significant chess accomplishments, 103rd in the state, and 4.2% nationally. Thank you Ian.

Aleksey came in as an unrated but needless to say is making a mark, recent 1648 from his five provisional games at the recent 4th SY Fish Memorial also from the Kenilworth Chess Club. Thank you Aleksey.

Last but not least, guess who drove from New York, NY last night? Can you imagine? Nathan is also a Life Master, 82nd out of 4,593 in the State of NY, hardly a laughing matter! If Moscow existed in the United States, it would be NY. Thank you Nathan. He ranks in the top 1.2% nationally.

Thank you to TD Roger Pedersen for his suggestion as to bumping the WOCC Late Fall Swiss into Grand Prix status, and thank you to long time club president John Hagerty for his leadership in guiding us overall to continued improvement collectively, and evolving as a club overall. Thank you John and Roger. Good luck to all in round four, all hard fought.

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
04 1. xxx Kernighan, Mark D (3.0) xxx Mangion, Ian (2.5)
04 2. xxx Arias , Fermin (2.5) xxx Resika, Nathan (2.0)
04 3. xxx Zilbermintz, Lev (2.0) xxx Race, Doran (2.0)
04 4. xxx Pepe, Michael A (2.0) xxx Pedersen, Roger E (2.0)
04 5. xxx Boxer, Matthew (1.5) xxx Senyatkin, Aleksey (2.0)
04 6. xxx Hart, Charles M (1.5) xxx Fortunato, Joseph (1.5)
04 7. xxx Martinez, Alberto (1.5) xxx Cohen, Bryan Paul (1.5)
04 8. xxx Garrett, Damon T (1.5) xxx Norris, Anthony (1.0)
04 9. xxx Korn, David Allan (1.0) xxx Katz, Harry S (0.5)
04 1.0 Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0) BYE

West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss -- West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss 2011
Cross Table, Page 1

No. Gr Name(Team) St Rate 1 2 3 Score

1. Kernighan, Mark D (1)......... NJ 2260 W11 FW8 W5 3.0
2. Resika, Nathan (2)............ NY 2201 -H- -H- W21 2.0
3. Zilbermintz, Lev (3).......... NJ 2083 -H- W19 D6 2.0
4. Mangion, Ian (4).............. NJ 2016 W12 W23 -H- 2.5
5. Race, Doran (5)............... NY 1959 W14 W20 L1 2.0
6. Pedersen, Roger E (6)......... NJ 1940 D15 FW27 D3 2.0
7. Boxer, Matthew (7)............ NJ 1921 D16 W28 L15 1.5
8. Hart, Charles M (8)........... NJ 1919 W17 FL1 -H- 1.5
9. Cohen, Bryan Paul (9)......... NJ 1900 L20 D14 W16 1.5
10. Norris, Anthony (10).......... NJ 1897 L23 L12 FW19 1.0
11. Martinez, Alberto (11)........ NJ 1890 L1 W17 D23 1.5
12. Pepe, Michael A (12).......... NJ 1837 L4 W10 FW25 2.0
14. Garrett, Damon T (14)......... NJ 1824 L5 D9 W17 1.5
15. Arias , Fermin (15)........... NJ 1739 D6 W16 W7 2.5
16. Katz, Harry S (16)............ NJ 1718 D7 L15 L9 0.5
17. Nayak, Mohan Rao (17)......... NJ 1696 L8 L11 L14 1.0
19. Kwok, Man-Chit (19)........... NJ 1607 -H- L3 FL10 0.5
20. Korn, David Allan (20)........ NJ 1604 W9 L5 L28 1.0
21. Hagerty, John Mich (21)....... NJ 1574 -H- -H- L2 1.0
23. Fortunato, Joseph (23)........ NJ 1553 W10 L4 D11 1.5
25. Nikitopoulos, Nich (25)....... NJ 1325 -H- -H- FL12 1.0
27. Rue, John D. (27)............. NJ 1200 -H- FL6 -N- 0.5
28. Senyatkin, Aleksey (28)....... NJ nnnn -B- L7 W20 2.0

New round 3 pairings placing Nick as 1 point (2 1/2 point byes)

2011-11-22T15:25:00.002-05:00

... Video is from a few years back, but still not without interest.

[Editor, I just recieved this from Roger five minutes ago, published thus, dk:]

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
03 1. ___ Race, Doran (2.0) ___ Kernighan, Mark D (2.0)
03 2. ___ Pedersen, Roger E (1.5) ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (1.5)
03 3. ___ Boxer, Matthew (1.5) ___ Arias , Fermin (1.5)
03 4. ___ Fortunato, Joseph (1.0) ___ Martinez, Alberto (1.0)
03 5. ___ Pepe, Michael A (1.0) ___ Nikitopoulos, Nich (1.0)
03 6. ___ Senyatkin, Aleksey (1.0) ___ Korn, David Allan (1.0)
03 7. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (0.5) ___ Katz, Harry S (0.5)
03 8. ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0) ___ Garrett, Damon T (0.5)
03 9. ___ Kwok, Man-Chit (0.0) ___ Norris, Anthony (0.0)

Community: Documentary Brooklyn Castle, ex-Chess Movie

2011-11-22T11:29:00.006-05:00

Dear WOCC, The editor recieved this note to his personal chess blog, once very active and well followed, but now inactive. He asked the Director below if she wanted this posted to his blog or the Club, and she gave him the choice. As follows. thank you. WOCC jh, dk

Hi [substitute for blog editor:] West Orange Chess Club

My name is Kali Holloway and I’m the Outreach Director for the documentary Brooklyn Castle (ex-Chess Movie). It’s a great film about an underserved junior high school in Brooklyn, New York (65% of students are from homes living under the poverty level), that has the highest rated chess team in the whole country (the trailer is here -- I hope you'll watch: www.brooklyncastle.com --click red at L for link). To cut to the chase, we’re very near finishing the film (in fact, we’ve just started to submit to film festivals) and rolling out our outreach campaign (which will focus on getting more chess programs in schools throughout the country). To pay for these things, we’re using Kickstarter. And I’m reaching out in the very humble hope that your – via [edit:] West Orange Chess Club Blog. [This] will help us let people know about our project, and spread the word.

Our project page is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rescuedmedia/finishing-brooklyn-castle-formerly-chess-movie (click red at L). I’m sure you’re immensely busy and there’s a lot of other chess news to cover, but if you might even give us and our project a mention, and we can get more eyes on it, I really think we can meet our goal. And, of course, we’d be immensely thankful.

Thanks so much for your time, David, and best to you.

Kali Holloway
Outreach Director

contact: kaliholloway at gee mail dot com

Editor, additional link: IS 318 CHESS TEAM

Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round Two Results and Round Three Pairings

2011-11-16T15:56:00.013-05:00

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black

2.0
03 1. ___ Race, Doran (2.0) ___ Kernighan, Mark D (2.0)
03 2. ___ Pedersen, Roger E (1.5) ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (1.5)
03 3. ___ Boxer, Matthew (1.5) ___ Arias , Fermin (1.5)

1.0
03 4. ___ Fortunato, Joseph (1.0) ___ Martinez, Alberto (1.0)
03 5. ___ Pepe, Michael A (1.0) ___ Korn, David Allan (1.0)
03 6. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (0.5) ___ Senyatkin, Aleksey (1.0)

0.5
03 7. ___ Katz, Harry S (0.5) ___ Garrett, Damon T (0.5)

0.0
03 8. ___ Kwok, Man-Chit (0.0) ___ Norris, Anthony (0.0)
03 9. ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0) ___ Nikitopoulos, Nich (0.0)
03 0.5 Mangion, Ian (2.0) BYE REQUESTED

Very nice interview of WCC Anand after brief, usual requisite advertisement for popular videos.

West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss -- West Orange CC Late Fall Swiss 2011 Wall Chart, Page 1

Name/State ID Group/Team Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Kernighan, Mark D 2260 W 10 --- B 4
NJ 12147190 1.0 X2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Zilbermintz, Lev 2083 HALF W 18 B 5
NJ 12476202 0.5 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Mangion, Ian 2016 B 11 W 20 HALF
NJ 13497907 1.0 2.0 2.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Race, Doran 1959 W 13 B 19 W 1
NY 12183660 1.0 2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Pedersen, Roger E 1940 B 14 W 24 W 2
NJ 10092990 0.5 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Boxer, Matthew 1921 W 15 B 25 W 14 (six out of six in top seeds, currently ahead. Editor)
NJ 12510577 0.5 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Hart, Charles M 1919 B 16 --- ZERO
NJ 10004071 1.0 F1.0 1.0 (Withdrew. Editor)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1900 W 19 B 13 W 25
NJ 20020149 0.0 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Norris, Anthony 1897 B 20 W 11 B 18
NJ 12758884 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Martinez, Alberto 1890 B 1 W 16 B 20 (Ten 1890 and over. Editor)
NJ 12490535 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Pepe, Michael A 1837 W 3 B 9 W 19
NJ 12565700 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Garrett, Damon T 1824 B 4 W 8 B 15
NJ 12545276 0.0 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Arias , Fermin 1739 W 5 B 15 B 6
NJ 12670179 0.5 1.5 (Top result, 1940 =< Congratulations Fermin. Editor)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Katz, Harry S 1718 B 6 W 14 W 13
NJ 12052860 0.5 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1696 W 7 B 10 W 22
NJ 12237580 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Kwok, Man-Chit 1607 --- B 2 W 9
NJ 14201547 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Korn, David Allan 1604 B 8 W 4 B 11
NJ 14564164 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Fortunato, Joseph 1553 W 9 B 3 W 10
NJ 12932570 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Nikitopoulos, Nich 1325 --- --- B 16
NJ 14140077 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
24. Rue, John D. 1200 HALF B 5 ZERO
NJ 14761813 0.5 0.5 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Senyatkin, Aleksey 1200 BYE W 6 B 8
NJ 14717317 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Club Update: Late Fall Swiss, Round One Results and Round Two Pairings

2011-11-09T19:24:00.009-05:00

Before comments or exegesis, a note from TD [1] Roger E. Pedersen:

"It's not too late to join the West Orange Chess Club Grand Prix aka Late Fall Swiss
Get a half point bye and play next week".

Prizes: 1st $150, 2nd $100, 3rd $75 guaranteed; Best under 1900, $60, 1700, $50, 1500, $35

Players Under 1900 are 11 players for $60
Players Under 1700 are 5 players for $50
Players Under 1500 are 2 players for $35

Round 1 Results

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
01 1. 1.0 Kernighan, Mark D (1.0) 0.0 Martinez, Alberto (0.0)
01 2. 0.0 Pepe, Michael A (0.0) 1.0 Mangion, Ian (1.0)
01 3. 1.0 Race, Doran (1.0) 0.0 Garrett, Damon T (0.0)
01 4. 0.5 Arias , Fermin (0.5) 0.5 Pedersen, Roger E (0.5)
01 5. 0.5 Boxer, Matthew (0.5) 0.5 Katz, Harry S (0.5)
01 6. 0.0 Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0) 1.0 Hart, Charles M (1.0)
01 7. 0.0 Cohen, Bryan Paul (0.0) 1.0 Korn, David Allan (1.0)
01 8. 1.0 Fortunato, Joseph (1.0) 0.0 Norris, Anthony (0.0)
01 1.0 Senyatkin, Aleksey (1.0) BYE
01 0.5 Rue, John D. (0.5) BYE REQUESTED * John, Unrated

Round 2 Pairings

Rd Bd White Black * new faces:
02 1. Hart, Charles M (1.0) Kernighan, Mark D (1.0) * Mark: 2250 ELO, Westfield
02 2. Mangion, Ian (1.0) Fortunato, Joseph (1.0) * Ian: 1997 ELO, Westfield
02 3. Korn, David Allan (1.0) Race, Doran (1.0)
02 4. Pedersen, Roger E (0.5) Rue, John D. (0.5) * John, unrated
02 5. Senyatkin, Aleksey (1.0) Boxer, Matthew (0.5) * Aleksey, unrated
02 6. Katz, Harry S (0.5) Arias , Fermin (0.5)
02 7. Garrett, Damon T (0.0) Cohen, Bryan Paul (0.0)
02 8. Norris, Anthony (0.0) Pepe, Michael A (0.0)
02 9. Martinez, Alberto (0.0) Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0)

Adele, Rolling In the Deep [2]

While several members were either unavailable, or dealing with personal or medical issues, it must be noted that this is still strong tournament. So much so that, with twenty participants, over a total of six rounds each person will have opportunity to play 32% of all of his ENTIRE competitors (twenty less one--you cannot play yourself--is nineteen, divided by six).

Unless you are near the top of the bottom of the seeding, you can pretty much rest assured that you will be playing six games with opposition averaging about 1780 ELO [3]

[1] WOCC President John Hagerty is the Tournament Director (TD) for this tournament, but Roger is, as always, a resource for the club with this same qualification. John officiates and stands by the quality of fair play, and Roger helps submit the results to the USCF electronically. Thank you Roger. Thank you John.

[2] The editor wishes to uphold his self-appointed adoption of Race's Third Theorem of Video Relevance. It states that across N occasions across a span of a1: b2 social-psychological variability, that if a blog editor were to post one video out of four (at least so it seems) apparently totally irrelevant to Tournament Chess at Standard time Controls, that the odds decrease linearly that Doran might seek to undertake a total and vehement coups d'état, if and only if such editor makes certain to thereafter post other videos pertinent to chess, to proactively protect against such an outcome. This video is one of those one in four, and as indicated members can now expect more chess videos, with the proviso that such editor, as a perk of his effort, can be expected to share one in four videos to entertain others, and in so doing, entertain himself.

[3] The editor wishes to vett these numbers, estimated for illustration purposes only. He will do that once he sees the seeding chart.

Remarkable Interview III: Kramnik on chess, Anand, Topalov and his future

2011-11-05T10:27:00.010-04:00

Here is a remarkable interview with former World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik. Despite the apparent length of what is reproduced below, the editor actually took quite a big of time to edit it down. It goes much longer, and is linked here (click red).

There are even discussions as to his preferences in food, opionions about politics, social life, and of course assessments as to--if you can believe it--hard to find weaknesses in Anand's chess playing style.

This is intended as an obvious continuation of the interviews we had published before, for example with Lev Aronian here, and here (click red at L). In the future, we have an equally wonderful long interview with Anand to share in turn, but that must wait another day. Enjoy.

The above video is from another interview, and is intended just to give a sense about his personality.

Kramnik on chess, Anand, Topalov and his future
(full version)

Vlad Tkachiev: This is an interview I’ve long dreamt about. As far back as the end of the 90s it seemed to me that Vladimir and I held positions that seldom coincided, and now finally I had the chance to clarify all the contradictions. Right from the outset the plan “sprung a leak” – firstly, because in the run-up to our conversation Kramnik had given a series of exhaustive interviews, and secondly… It’s not so easy to wear someone down with tricky, controversial questions when they’re so pleasant to talk to. Even during the process of agreeing a time and place for our conversation Vladimir turned out to be impeccably polite and at times even aristocratic in his manners. My fighting spirit slipped away, and I simply had the urge to talk about topics that interested me with a great chess player. Here’s what became of that …

V.T.: Have you ever tried to determine you biorhythms when establishing your tournament schedule? For example, I always play badly in January.

V.K.: For me winter is a difficult period. For example, I always play in Wijk-aan-Zee and it always goes badly, while correspondingly I play well in Dortmund. In winter I simply don’t get enough daylight. I go to sleep and get up very late, and at Wijk-aan-Zee I have the impression I don’t see daylight at all. So there are perfectly rational reasons to explain it.

V.T.: For an outside observer there’s been the impression in recent years that you’ve tried to sharpen your style. Is that true?

V.K.: No, I haven’t tried. My play always depends on how I’m feeling, and that simply changed when I lost the title. Perhaps I became more indifferent or liberated. Before a tournament I never decide what style I’m going to adopt, and although some changes do take place, they’re out of my control.

V.T.: Do you agree with the widespread view that while preparing for the match against Kasparov you changed your style so much that it later began to hold you back? Perhaps the seeds of your loss in the match against Anand were sown in your victory over Kasparov?

V.K.: Perhaps, but you always need to choose, as after all I don’t consider myself capable of playing brilliantly in any style. Yes, in order to beat Kasparov I had to make real changes, though that had already started to happen to my style before then. And afterwards I again tried to somehow transform myself by starting to play 1.e4, but for various reasons that didn’t work out. Above all, I was lacking a certain inner harmony. There was a lot of squabbling and political problems that I’d never enjoyed dealing with, but I considered myself obliged to do something as the situation was so difficult. Perhaps I was wrong and should have… Either way, those attempts to play sharply no longer corresponded to my inner state. My style is in any case more positional, and sharp play isn’t my thing. Of course, you’re partly right, but I don’t regret it. After all, I achieved a lot, becoming World Champion 3 times. I lost to Anand, but I could also have lost to him in my very best form.

V.T.: It seems to me that you’d already won the match against Kasparov before it started, as he wasn’t expecting to see such a Kramnik. And then Anand managed to do the same thing against you, undertaking a colossal amount of work to drag you into a concrete struggle from the first moves.

V.K.: In the match against Anand everything went wrong from the very beginning, just as it did for Kasparov in his match against me. I’m actually a fatalist to a degree, and feel that if that’s how something goes then that’s how it was fated to happen. Of course, Kasparov’s preparation couldn’t be compared to Anand’s – there’s no question Anand managed to do things much better, more intelligently and cunningly. Yes, he completely outthought me.

V.T.: Everything he did came as a surprise for you?

V.K.: Yes, my preparation period didn’t go well and I had practically nothing for White, although I’d worked a great deal, more than before the match against Kasparov. The things I’d put my emphasis on in preparation simply didn’t pay off. I had absolutely nothing against the Meran, although I’d spent months working on it, and I realized that I simply needed to make draws up until around the 10th game, but I couldn’t reconcile myself to such cynicism – after all, it was a World Championship match. So I was in two minds to a degree, although I realized that was my only chance.

V.T.: I’m not talking about that just now, but about the way you placed great restrictions on yourself: the Petroff, the Berlin, which, by the way, have started to unravel. After all, we can still remember the old Kramnik – the Sicilian Defense against anyone, trading blow for blow. Perhaps you made a mistake?

V.K.: Yes, but as the years pass, unfortunately, you don’t have any particular choice. Firstly, everyone limits themselves. Even Kasparov would always play the same thing. Moreover, your memory is no longer what it was at 20 years old, and you can’t do the same amount of work as before: family, a child. Of course, if you’re a fanatic and work 24 hours a day you can play all the openings, but that’s very hard to do if you want to spend time with your family and not forget about the pleasures of life.

V.T.: Especially if you live in Paris?

V.K. Perhaps. Over the years a new circle of acquaintances has emerged, certain social obligations, and so on. I’m no longer ready to sacrifice everything in order to get half a point more in each tournament. Therefore I make a choice and work with what I’ve got, and it turns out the way it turns out. Of course I understand such an approach has its drawbacks, but what can you do? Name me another option and I’ll think about it. I don’t see one.

V.T.: I consider you to be one of the most productive chess players in terms of openings in the whole of history. Moreover, I think your positional understanding is also among the purest I’ve come across. Do you agree with that?

V.K.: I always worked a great deal and really did dig up a lot, more than others. I’m not sure it was more than Kasparov, but it was at a comparable level. But in any event, a very large part of that nevertheless goes to waste. Little gets used; in percentage terms perhaps it’s 5-10%. That’s a problem for chess players in general, which is why you also get people who are lazy. In football things are much simpler: you go to training and know that if you run around and work on shooting it’ll benefit you later. But in chess it might very well work out the opposite: it often happened that I did a great deal of work on some line or other, and then someone refuted it a move earlier, meaning it all gets thrown in the rubbish bin. That’s the real reason, in my view, why chess players work relatively little in comparison to other sportsmen.

As for the positional style, I don’t know how pure it is. That’s something for others to assess, although I do agree it’s my specialty. Positional play is a very complex matter. I’ve often noticed that it’s strung together from short-range calculation. When Karpov began to weaken it wasn’t that he’d stopped understanding, but simply that he’d begun to miscalculate short variations. When he’d make one move in one direction and then go off course on the next you might get the wrong impression. When I’m in bad form I also understand chess badly, while in good form everything seems to be fine. But overall, positional play is my strong point, as are playable endgames.

V.T.: I had the impression that you’ve deteriorated a little in that regard in recent years. I can recall a few won positions that you couldn’t…

V.K.: No, I’ve always played won endgames poorly and couldn’t even tell you why myself. Perhaps I relax too soon. It’s when the evaluation isn’t yet clear, += or =+, that I play well and turn those endings into won ones, which I then sometimes make a mess of, just as I did in my younger years. To be honest, I’ve never particularly stopped to think about the features of my own style, while I could give you a full breakdown on Anand.

V.T.: Let’s try that.

V.K.: I always considered him to be a colossal talent, one of the greatest in the whole history of chess. Each champion has had some sort of specialty, and his is creating counter-play in any position out of absolutely nowhere. He’s got an amazing ability to constantly stretch himself so that even in some kind of Exchange Slav he nevertheless manages to attack something and create something. He also plays absolutely brilliantly with knights, even better than Morozevich – if his knights start to jump around, particularly towards the king, then that’s that, it’s impossible to play against and they’ll just sweep away everything in their path. I noticed it’s better to get rid of them when you’re playing against him.

In general, he’s improved a great deal in recent years, at some point after 2002. He’s a chess player of genius, but previously he didn’t work enough, by and large.

V.T.: But how has he managed to improve? Did marriage help?

V.K.: Perhaps. He’s matured, while previously he lacked the character to become World Champion. I remember in 1995 against Kasparov it was enough just to poke him a little and he simply fell apart. In the match against me things were completely different. Plus, he’s started to work a great deal and now his opening preparation is among the best, if not the best. At the given moment I don’t see who can compete with him when he’s on form. Perhaps only Carlsen in his very best condition, though probably not. I think he’ll only leave the stage when he weakens himself and ceases to maintain that extremely high level.

V.T.: His weaknesses?

V.K.: The trouble is there almost aren’t any…

V.T.: So nowadays it’s impossible to play the psychological card against him?

V.K.: Yes, though in any case I never wanted to do something on the level of slamming doors (it seems this is hinting at the well-known case of game 10 of the Anand-Kasparov match in 1995, when Kasparov, or so many people claimed, slammed the door noisily on purpose in order to affect his opponent – V.T.) and so on. That’s something that in any case probably wouldn’t work now. His main weakness is that he’s no longer so young, and now he’s also got a child. I can’t imagine he’s still going to work his socks off as before. But at the given moment I think he’s the best in the world in terms of play, namely in terms of play.

V.T.: And the defense of passive positions?

V.K.: He’s doesn’t get passive positions, as they immediately become active.

V.T.: It seems to me he’s got a very big weakness, only it’s difficult to get at it – his play in blockaded positions. I could list half a dozen examples.

V.K.: He does have weaknesses. For example, he doesn’t sense some nuances or move orders very well. But the thing is that in modern chess you can arrange the whole play to suit your style – that’s the problem. So with a computer you can create your own little chess world and live in it. Ok, blockaded positions, but then he probably knows about that too. If you can tell me how to block everything in the Meran and still get an edge I’d be very grateful.

I think that namely in terms of play Anand is in no way weaker than Kasparov, but he’s simply a little lazy, relaxed and only focuses on matches. In the last 5-6 years he’s made a qualitative leap that’s made it possible to consider him one of the great chess players. Perhaps it doesn’t look like that to observers, but when you play against him you sense what a great range he has.

V.T.: Are you for or against introducing rapid and blitz ratings from 1 January?

V.K.: I’m not against it. Definitely for rapid, while I’m not sure about blitz, though that’s also an option. Another possibility would be to include rapid ratings in the calculations for the classical rating, but with a lower ratio, although separate ratings would still be better. Let’s have different forms, like beach, mini and normal football, and a separate championship can be run for each of them. The important thing is simply to standardize the 3 different time controls, after which the market can decide. I don’t agree with Sasha (Grischuk), as it seems to me that’s wishful thinking. Let the market decide, which is actually what’s happening at the moment as no-one’s forcing anyone to organize Wijk-aan-Zee or Linares using the classical time control.

V.T.: What are your political convictions?

V.K.: Ah, now that’s a very complex question.

V.T.: Well, for example, Grischuk’s got a wild aversion to what’s going on in Russia. What about you?

V.K.: No, I don’t have any aversion. I’ve noticed that it’s very hard to explain any of my political leanings, because I look at all of this from a completely different angle. I don’t really understand the point of view of other people, and perhaps they don’t understand mine. I look at all of this from a rational point of view, in terms of common sense and real possibilities, of what actually exists or could exist. People mostly dream. When it comes to Russia they say that everything’s bad, but you need to understand that at the given moment we don’t have the potential to become a Germany or Switzerland. If I started playing tennis now I wouldn’t expect to take part in next year’s Wimbledon. It strikes me that we’ve still got some inflated expectations left over from Soviet times.

V.T.: And in terms of corruption Russia has the right to be 135th in the world? … then you’ve got a clear aversion to the communist project in Russia?

V.K.: Yes, of course, an absolute aversion. Of course, there were some positives, but it’s all a question of the cost. Stalin was a multifaceted man, even a talented one, but how clever do you need to be to imprison millions of people and then get them to do hard labor for nothing to rebuild a country. That absolute villain laid waste to a whole generation of people. … I was really inspired by the example of China. They were all busy somewhere and had gone completely quiet on the international stage. That lasted for around 20 years and then, all of a sudden, they’re a world superpower. Now they’re beginning to seize control of the financial markets and increase their influence, and rightly so. What we need to do now is pull ourselves together and improve human welfare.

V.T.: It seems despite the fact you live in Paris and you’re married to a French woman you still consider yourself Russian?

V.K.: Yes, of course, and my passport’s also Russian. I love Europe. I like the way people relate to each other, which is something we don’t do quite so well. But I grew up here and even if I ever receive a French passport I’ll still remain Russian.

V.K.: It’s just that my circle of acquaintances changed a little. There’s a time for everything. When you’re 17 years old that’s all fascinating, cool: parties, company, girls, alcohol, but then you grow tired of it, and want something else.

V.T.: And how do things look nowadays?

V.K.: Well, everything’s more moderate, as after all I’ve got a family, a child. But my house is still open for many people who often turn up without calling first or stay the night.

V.T.: Have you got more friends who are French or Russian?

V.K.: It’s probably something like 50: 50. I’m still quite free and open with people, but my circle of acquaintances has changed, which is natural. I’ve got some nostalgia for those times and I’m very glad that was part of my life, but the chapter’s closed and I’ve got no desire to repeat it. After all, my career’s gone well and I was also able to party a bit, while not doing any harm to my health. Many people who start their professional career at an early age never had that period, and then they try to catch up when they get to around 50. A big change in my relations with people was brought about by my World Champion status. For some I became unapproachable, it seemed. It wasn’t even a matter of envy or jealousy but, perhaps, some unachieved ambitions got in the way. In any case, the relations changed and perhaps became more cautious. I didn’t change greatly myself and I’m still quite down-to-earth with people. That’s a chapter I’ve closed.

V.T.: What are you preferences in terms of drinks and food?

V.K.: I’ve now become a bourgeois Frenchman. I drink a little wine but, in general, I don’t remember the last time I got drunk. When I was younger the goal was – to sit down and drink in order to get drunk, because why else would you? Now it’s no longer like that. I also like good cognac, and it’s always standing there at home. In the evening I like to have a glass or two.

V.T.: French affairs.

V.K.: Yes. I’m quite omnivorous when it comes to food. I love lots of things but I have to restrict myself because of my tendency to put on weight. For example, I like Indian cuisine, but that’s immediately a kilogram of extra weight the next day. I do in fact consider French cuisine to be the world’s unrivalled no.1.

WOCC Late Fall Swiss, Link to USCF

2011-11-01T22:02:00.007-04:00

One postscript: Link to the USCF posting, tournament report here. Click red.

. . .

. .

Two, Item of note: Nakamura versus Rabajbov at ICC. Naka appears to add time to the latter's clock at the end, as if to taunt him. These feature is allowed at ICC as an aspect of mercy. Rabajbov is now rated 2781 in the recent FIDE report. His chess play is not a joke.

The rumor is over. It was confirmed today that Nakamura is working privately with chess great Garry Kasparov, as Magnus Carlsen had also done earlier this year. News came out today, linked here. Click red at L.

. . .

. .

Final Resolution of Difficulty in Posting Results

2011-11-01T21:58:00.012-04:00

The WOCC could say as little as possible about this, but what is lost in lack of silence might be made up for in learning, or is it the word, 'education' for all of us.

John supported the draft of a report taking all club members, rank sorted by USCF expiration date, which has now been completed and elaborated. This was done yesterday not to address the recent delay, but to prepare for the next event.

As such, we now have a map as it were of all memberships looking forward, so that, for example, in the most unlikely event Fred at the end of December, or David at the end of January wished to compete in the next month AND did not renew, this would have to be firmly committed by the individual as well as tracked by the club before allowing an entry to a new event.

Decisive Hand Moves! No Fear.

This can be said in fewer words, but A. it is late Tuesday, and B. we all have now waited two weeks. Please forgive editor if this is not perfectly written...

Here is a note from Roger to us, received forty minutes ago. He was very persevering in trying to contact the member who failed to solve the problem. No one is angry. Its really just a disappointment. We were all young once. The editor did twenty times worse in 1983, and lived to make sure he didn't do what he did again. Matter done, moving onward. We hope N_. joins us in the future for new events.

Surprisingly, BTW, many, many WOCC members have memberships paid to the USCF not only looking forward to the spring or half year, but well nigh the year and next year after that. Again, we all learned, and as best as we can will insure against this to start and launch our Late Fall Swiss, next week, with of course the imprimateur of Grand Prix Status. Not crisis but opportunity. And now Rogers note and the TD resolve:

"I submitted the WOCC Fall Swiss 2011.

"The games against N_ N_. will be sent the next tournament as his USCF membership had expired and that was holding up the entire tournament. Hence, he could not be removed from the tournament submission so I substituted J_H_ to accept his 5 forfeits (no rated games).

"I spoke to J_. about this and he agreed to have me submit the tournament this way with N_'s 3 loses to be rated at a later date.

Roger E Pedersen"

WOCC thanks Roger and thanks J_H_ for his willingness to make a major contribution to this problem now being solved expeditiously.

Corrections and improvement gladly accepted, pls write WOCC.

Club Update, USCF Ratings Report on Fall Swiss

2011-10-26T12:18:00.006-04:00

The blog will continue to try to be meat and potatos. But sometimes these must be short announcements, more like carborhydrates. Just a quick update--the USCF ratings report which can be put in by Roger and/or John very, very quickly--thanks to the modernization of the club with SwissMaster, that report is currently held up.

John/Roger will let us know the course of events, but for those of you who might by now be checking daily or now weekly your USCF member information with your new or adjusted rating, might need to hold off for a little while at least as far as our recent club event goes. We appologize.

Secondly, in the next few days, there will be some very, very powerful interviews with Vishy Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, and--yes--some videos of Harry S. Katz. Katz and Anand is not a typo.

Blogs have to be fresh and individual, but time to time we will show the best of the best from outside sources. Anand and Kramnik are not only among the best of our era, but in the historic perspective, and their insights and offerings about their preparation, training, and outlook can be valuable.

Harry has done more than several unique pieces of work, and we will present them soon.

Lastly, reminder, Garden State Chess League Round Three is next Tuesday. And the Late Fall Swiss, a Grand Prix event throught the USCF, starts the following Tuesday. The board recently discussed this, and while we cannot as yet predict the level of participation, John is monitoring it, and we remind everyone, this COULD be a watershed event for the club, a way to test publicity and its impact on results for the Club Championship in March.

We are going to try to have this in the January Chess Life issue, for 15 January, which probably has a deadline of about December 7th, so just know we are looking out to March now, and have to resolve plans in November, to be ahead of the curve, to make this the WOCC Club Championships of ALL Club Championships. This is to be looked forward to. Editor, dk

West Orange CC Fall 2011 Swiss Final Results

2011-10-19T11:01:00.015-04:00

Let the Editor be perfectly frank: he has been waiting months to uncork this video. The pace of change at the WOCC is rapidly accelerating. It is time. Here it is:[1.]:

West.Orange.Chess.Club.Fall.2011.Swiss.--.West.Orange.Chess.Club.Fall.2011.SwissWall.Chart,.Page.1

......Name/State.ID..........Group/Team..Rate..Rnd.1...Rnd.2...Rnd.3...Rnd.4...Rnd.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...1..Radomskyj,.Peter..................|2272.|.B.14..|.W.10..|.B.7...|.W.2...|.---...|
.........NJ..12460475...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|..3.5..|.F3.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...2..Chieu,.Kenneth.Jos................|2148.|.HALF..|.W.16..|.B.11..|.B.1...|.W.9...|
.........NJ..12595190...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.5..|..2.5..|..3.0..|..3.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...3..Zilbermintz,.Lev..................|2089.|.W.15..|.B.11..|.W.9...|.B.6...|.---...|
.........NJ..12476202...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.5..|..2.5..|..3.0..|.X4.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...4..Feldstein.ESQ,.Robert.............|2000.|.W.28..|.---...|.B.28..|.---...|.W.28..|
........................................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...5..Pedersen,.Roger.E.................|1951.|.B.16..|.W.22..|.B.19..|.W.24..|.---...|
.........NJ..10092990...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.X3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...6..Norris,.Anthony...................|1946.|.W.17..|.B.13..|.HALF..|.W.3...|.B.7...|
.........NJ..12758884...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.5..|..3.0..|..4.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...7..Boxer,.Matthew....................|1921.|.B.18..|.W.12..|.W.1...|.B.19..|.W.6...|
.........NJ..12510577...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|..3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...8..Hart,.Charles.M...................|1919.|.W.19..|.B.27..|.W.20..|.---...|.W.22..|
.........NJ..10004071...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.F2.0..|..3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...9..Cohen,.Bryan.Paul.................|1900.|.B.20..|.W.19..|.B.3...|.W.25..|.B.2...|
.........NJ..20020149...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|..3.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..10..Martinez,.Alberto.................|1890.|.W.21..|.B.1...|.B.22..|.---...|.B.16..|
.........NJ..12490535...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.X2.0..|..3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..11..Pepe,.Mike........................|1889.|.B.23..|.W.3...|.W.2...|.B.22..|.---...|
.........NJ..12565700...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.5..|..1.5..|..2.5..|.X3.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..12..Garrett,.Damon.T..................|1824.|.W.24..|.B.7...|.W.21..|.B.20..|.W.14..|
.........NJ..12545276...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..13..Sharpell,.Fred....................|1819.|.B.26..|.W.6...|.B.24..|.W.16..|.B.20..|
.........NJ..12088600...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.5..|..2.0..|..2.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..14..Burn,.Murray......................|1814.|.W.1...|.B.21..|.B.16..|.---...|.B.12..|
.........NJ..10104891...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|.X1.0..|..1.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..15..Nayak,.Mohan.Rao..................|1758.|.B.3...|.W.20..|.B.23..|.W.27..|.W.19..|
.........NJ..12237580...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..16..Katz,.Harry.S.....................|1718.|.W.5...|.B.2...|.W.14..|.B.13..|.W.10..|
.........NJ..12052860...................|.....|..0.5..|..0.5..|..1.5..|..2.0..|..2.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..17..West,.Robert......................|1686.|.B.6...|.W.23..|.W.26..|.---...|.---...|
.........NJ..12904515...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|.F2.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..18..Rivero,.Rene.Thoma................|1671.|.W.7...|.---...|.ZERO..|.ZERO..|.ZERO..|
.........NJ..12441215...................|.....|..0.0..|.F0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..19..Kwok,.Man-chi.....................|1607.|.B.8...|.B.9...|.W.5...|.W.7...|.B.15..|
.........NJ..14201547...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..20..Korn,.David.Allan.................|1604.|.W.9...|.B.15..|.B.8...|.W.12..|.W.13..|
.........NJ..14564164...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..21..Fortunato,.Joseph.................|1550.|.B.10..|.W.14..|.B.12..|.---...|.---...|
.........NJ..12932570...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.X3.0..|.F3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..22..Palacios,Danny....................|1481.|.HALF..|.B.5...|.W.10..|.W.11..|.B.8...|
.........NJ..12801718...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..23..Lynn,.Robert.L....................|1446.|.W.11..|.B.17..|.W.15..|.---...|.---...|
.........NJ..14010970...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|.F0.0..|.X1.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..24..Trieste,.Edward.Wi................|1385.|.B.12..|.---...|.W.13..|.B.5...|.W.26..|
.........NJ..12029830...................|.....|..0.0..|.X1.0..|..1.5..|..1.5..|..2.5..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..25..Mehta,.Palash.....................|1345.|.---...|.---...|.---...|.B.9...|.---...|
.........NJ..14690738...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..26..Nikitopoulos,.Nicholas............|1325.|.W.13..|.BYE...|.B.17..|.---...|.B.24..|
.........NJ..14140077...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.F1.0..|..1.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..27..Levanda,.Mark.....................|1132.|.HALF..|.W.8...|.HALF..|.B.15..|.---...|
.........NJ..12394013...................|.....|..0.5..|..0.5..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.F1.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..28..Race,.Doran.......................|1970.|.B.4...|.---...|.W.4...|.---...|.B.4...|
........................................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st and 2nd $125 Zilbermintz and Norris
3rd $ 25 Radomskyj, Chieu and Cohen
Under 1900 $ 60 Pepe
Under 1700 $ 50 Fortunato
Under 1500 $ 35 Trieste

[1.] The WOCC does not approve, encourage, or condone unlawful or reckless behavior. But Fischer, Kasparov, Labron James, they all have one thing in common: incredible intensity. That is the message here. Single pointed will power. "Chess is war". Chess is violence in a controlled environment [2.]. Double click video, at lower R hand corner to be directed to the original YouTube video, or for another version not nearly as good a quality but with rivetting music if you like click here. Stunning. This is not a stunt. It is real.

[2.] Dutch scholar Wayne Huizinga, who wrote the epic work "The Wanning of the Middle Ages", wrote an equally great and by now quite well known treatise on the element of play in human culture, and how it has shaped the course of civilization. Homo Ludens is reviewed at Amazon, linked here. Click red for links.

"A masterpiece. * * * * * Huizinga's genius is to find the idea of play hiding like a spider in the most unlikely places. The medieval "judicial duel", where justice was done by fighting? Clearly a development of ancient forms of combat - and that combat itself was always highly stylised and ritualised, which show, according to Huizinga, that they themselves were "play" forms..."

West Orange CC Fall 2011 Swiss Rounds 1-4 results

2011-10-16T20:21:00.012-04:00

West.Orange.Chess.Club.Fall.2011.Swiss.--.West.Orange.Chess.Club.Fall.2011.Swiss.Wall.Chart,.Page.1

......Name/State.ID..........Group/Team..Rate..Rnd.1...Rnd.2...Rnd.3...Rnd.4...Rnd.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...1..Radomskyj,.Peter..................|2272.|.B.13..|.W.9...|.B.6...|.W.2...|.B.3...|
.........NJ..12460475...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|..3.5..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...2..Chieu,.Kenneth.Jos................|2148.|.HALF..|.W.15..|.B.10..|.B.1...|.W.8...|
.........NJ..12595190...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.5..|..2.5..|..3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...3..Zilbermintz,.Lev..................|2089.|.W.14..|.B.10..|.W.8...|.B.5...|.W.1...|
.........NJ..12476202...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.5..|..2.5..|..3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...4..Pedersen,.Roger.E.................|1951.|.B.15..|.W.21..|.B.18..|.W.23..|.B.16..|
.........NJ..10092990...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...5..Norris,.Anthony...................|1946.|.W.16..|.B.12..|.HALF..|.W.3...|.B.6...|
.........NJ..12758884...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.5..|..3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...6..Boxer,.Matthew....................|1921.|.B.17..|.W.11..|.W.1...|.B.18..|.W.5...|
.........NJ..12510577...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|..3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...7..Hart,.Charles.M...................|1919.|.W.18..|.B.26..|.W.19..|.---...|.W.21..|
.........NJ..10004071...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.F2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...8..Cohen,.Bryan.Paul.................|1900.|.B.19..|.W.18..|.B.3...|.---...|.B.2...|
.........NJ..20020149...................|.....|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|.X3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...9..Martinez,.Alberto.................|1890.|.W.20..|.B.1...|.B.21..|.---...|.B.15..|
.........NJ..12490535...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.X2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..10..Pepe,.Mike........................|1889.|.B.22..|.W.3...|.W.2...|.B.21..|.W.20..|
.........NJ..12565700...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.5..|..1.5..|..2.5..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..11..Garrett,.Damon.T..................|1824.|.W.23..|.B.6...|.W.20..|.B.19..|.W.13..|
.........NJ..12545276...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..12..Sharpell,.Fred....................|1819.|.B.25..|.W.5...|.B.23..|.W.15..|.B.19..|
.........NJ..12088600...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..1.5..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..13..Burn,.Murray......................|1814.|.W.1...|.B.20..|.B.15..|.---...|.B.11..|
.........NJ..10104891...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|.X1.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..14..Nayak,.Mohan.Rao..................|1758.|.B.3...|.W.19..|.B.22..|.W.26..|.W.18..|
.........NJ..12237580...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..15..Katz,.Harry.S.....................|1718.|.W.4...|.B.2...|.W.13..|.B.12..|.W.9...|
.........NJ..12052860...................|.....|..0.5..|..0.5..|..1.5..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..16..West,.Robert......................|1686.|.B.5...|.W.22..|.W.25..|.---...|.W.4...|
.........NJ..12904515...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.F2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..17..Rivero,.Rene.Thoma................|1671.|.W.6...|.---...|.ZERO..|.ZERO..|.ZERO..|
.........NJ..12441215...................|.....|..0.0..|.F0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..18..Kwok,.Man-chi.....................|1607.|.B.7...|.B.8...|.W.4...|.W.6...|.B.14..|
.........NJ..14201547...................|.....|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..19..Korn,.David.Allan.................|1604.|.W.8...|.B.14..|.B.7...|.W.11..|.W.12..|
.........NJ..14564164...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..20..Fortunato,.Joseph.................|1550.|.B.9...|.W.13..|.B.11..|.---...|.B.10..|
.........NJ..12932570...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..2.0..|.X3.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..21..Palacios,Danny....................|1481.|.HALF..|.B.4...|.W.9...|.W.10..|.B.7...|
.........NJ..12801718...................|.....|..0.5..|..1.0..|..2.0..|..2.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..22..Lynn,.Robert.L....................|1446.|.W.10..|.B.16..|.W.14..|.---...|.B.26..|
.........NJ..14010970...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|.F0.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..23..Trieste,.Edward.Wi................|1385.|.B.11..|.---...|.W.12..|.B.4...|.W.25..|
.........NJ..12029830...................|.....|..0.0..|.X1.0..|..1.5..|..1.5..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..24..Mehta,.Palash.....................|1345.|.---...|.---...|.---...|.---...|.---...|
.........NJ..14690738...................|.....|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|..0.0..|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..25..Nikitopoulos,.Nicholas............|1325.|.W.12..|.BYE...|.B.16..|.---...|.B.23..|
.........NJ..14140077...................|.....|..0.0..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.F1.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..26..Levanda,.Mark.....................|1132.|.HALF..|.W.7...|.HALF..|.B.14..|.W.22..|
.........NJ..12394013...................|.....|..0.5..|..0.5..|..1.0..|..1.0..|.......|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

West Orange Chess Club Fall 2011 Swiss Round 5 (Final Round)

2011-10-12T12:44:00.045-04:00

Top Gladiators Meet: Club Update, Results for Round Three, Pairings for Fall Swiss

2011-09-28T20:59:00.018-04:00

Joaquin Phoenix, standing next to Russel Crowe, in epic movie, Gladiator

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
04 1. ___ Radomskyj, Peter (3.0) ___ Chieu, Kenneth Jos (2.5)
04 2. ___ Norris, Anthony (2.5) ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (2.5)

04 3. ___ Kwok, Man chi (2.0) ___ Boxer, Matthew (2.0)
04 4. ___ Fortunato, Joseph (2.0) ___ Hart, Charles M (2.0)
04 5. ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0) ___ West, Robert (2.0)
04 6. ___ Palacios,Danny (2.0) ___ Pepe, Mike (1.5)
04 7. ___ Sharpell, Fred (1.5) ___ Katz, Harry S (1.5)
04 8. ___ Pedersen, Roger E (1.0) ___ Trieste, Edward Wi (1.5)

04 9. ___ Martinez, Alberto (1.0) ___ Nikitopoulos, Nicholas (1.0)
04 10. ___ Korn, David Allan (1.0) ___ Garrett, Damon T (1.0)
04 11. ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0) ___ Levanda, Mark (1.0)
04 12. ___ Burn, Murray (0.0) ___ Lynn, Robert L (0.00

Average rating of top eight: 2056, average next eight: 1812, and last eight ('ex'-1132): 1496. Average of all twenty-five, a whopping 1762. Now that is strong--calculations by dk

Joaquin in his new persona. Some thought him mad; others testing 'the edge'. You decide:

West Orange Chess Club Fall 2011 Swiss Swiss Wall Chart, Round 4
Name/State ID Group/Team Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4

1. Radomskyj, Peter 2272 B 13 W 9 B 6 W 2
NJ 12460475 1.0 2.0 3.0
2. Chieu, Kenneth Jos 2148 HALF W 15 B 10 B 1
NJ 12595190 0.5 1.5 2.5
3. Zilbermintz, Lev 2089 W 14 B 10 W 8 B 5
NJ 12476202 1.0 1.5 2.5
4. Pedersen, Roger E 1951 B 15 W 21 B 18 W 23
NJ 10092990 0.5 1.0 1.0
5. Norris, Anthony 1946 W 16 B 12 HALF W 3
NJ 12758884 1.0 2.0 2.5

6. Boxer, Matthew 1921 B 17 W 11 W 1 B 18
NJ 12510577 1.0 2.0 2.0
7. Hart, Charles M 1919 W 18 B 25 W 19 B 20
NJ 10004071 0.0 1.0 2.0
8. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1900 B 19 W 18 B 3 W 16
NJ 20020149 1.0 2.0 2.0
9. Martinez, Alberto 1890 W 20 B 1 B 21 W 24
NJ 12490535 1.0 1.0 1.0
10. Pepe, Mike 1889 B 22 W 3 W 2 B 21
NJ 12565700 1.0 1.5 1.5
11. Garrett, Damon T 1824 W 23 B 6 W 20 B 19
NJ 12545276 1.0 1.0 1.0
12. Sharpell, Fred 1819 B 24 W 5 B 23 W 15
NJ 12088600 1.0 1.0 1.5
13. Burn, Murray 1814 W 1 B 20 B 15 W 22
NJ 10104891 0.0 0.0 0.0
14. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1758 B 3 W 19 B 22 W 25
NJ 12237580 0.0 0.0 1.0
15. Katz, Harry S 1718 W 4 B 2 W 13 B 12
NJ 12052860 0.5 0.5 1.5
16. West, Robert 1686 B 5 W 22 W 24 B 8
NJ 12904515 0.0 1.0 2.0
17. Rivero, Rene Thoma 1671 W 6 WITHDRAWN
NJ 12441215 0.0 F0.0 0.0 0.0
18. Kwok, Man chi 1607 B 7 B 8 W 4 W 6
NJ 14201547 1.0 1.0 2.0
19. Korn, David Allan 1604 W 8 B 14 B 7 W 11
NJ 14564164 0.0 1.0 1.0
20. Fortunato, Joseph 1550 B 9 W 13 B 11 W 7
NJ 12932570 0.0 1.0 2.0
21. Palacios,Danny 1481 HALF B 4 W 9 W 10
NJ 12801718 0.5 1.0 2.0

22. Lynn, Robert L 1446 W 10 B 16 W 14 B 13
NJ 14010970 0.0 0.0 0.0
23. Trieste, Edward Wi 1385 B 11 W 12 B 4 B 4
NJ 12029830 0.0 X1.0 1.5
24. Nikitopoulos, Nicholas 1325 W 12 BYE B 16 B 9
NJ 14140077 0.0 1.0 1.0
25. Levanda, Mark 1132 HALF W 7 HALF B 14
NJ 12394013 0.5 0.5 1.0

Same Joaquin, After his six month episode... Talk about a striking guy!

Flash Note: "NJ Knockouts need emergency substitute standby player asap"

2011-09-22T22:10:00.018-04:00

Note from Rob three minutes ago, literally:

"Hello everyone,

Would you mind posting the paragraph on your blogs, sending to your email lists, etc., as soon as possible?

Thanks.

Rob Bernard, Manager, New Jersey Knockouts"

"Help! Your local US Chess League (www.uschessleague.com) team, the New Jersey Knockouts, needs you!

"We have some personnel issues this week, and may need an under-2000 (1800-1999 on the August 2011 list) rated player for fourth board, for this week only.

"You would be playing in Lincoln Park, on Monday September 26 at 7pm. You need to indicate your interest to me ASAP, as the lineup must be turned into the league by tomorrow (Friday Sep 23) by 9pm.

"There's no guarantee that you will play, but I need to have some options. Please indicate your interest by emailing me at [see email below in red, editor:]:

Thanks! Rob Bernard Manager, New Jersey Knockouts" [click link in red, directed to NJN blog. Editor]

minusone at alumni dot prince [:university, add L & R:]ton dot edu

Roger? Anthony? Matthew? Charles? Bryan? Alberto?

Club Update: Results for Round Two, Pairings for Fall Swiss

2011-09-21T01:00:00.018-04:00

Are We Club Members or Just In the Matrix?

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
03 1. ___ Boxer, Matthew (2.0) ___ Radomskyj, Peter (2.0)
03 2. ___ Zilbermintz, Lev (1.5) ___ Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0)
03 3. ___ Pepe, Mike (1.5) ___ Chieu, Kenneth Jos (1.5)

03 4. ___ Kwok, Man-chi (1.0) ___ Pedersen, Roger E (1.0)
03 5. ___ Hart, Charles M (1.0) ___ Korn, David Allan (1.0)
03 6. ___ Palacios,Danny (1.0) ___ Martinez, Alberto (1.0)
03 7. ___ Garrett, Damon T (1.0) ___ Fortunato, Joseph (1.0)
03 8. ___ Trieste, Edward Wi (1.0) ___ Sharpell, Fred (1.0)
03 9. ___ West, Robert (1.0) ___ Nikitopoulos, Nicholas (1.0)

03 10. ___ Katz, Harry S (0.5) ___ Burn, Murray (0.0)
03 11. ___ Lynn, Robert L (0.0) ___ Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0)

03 0.5 Norris, Anthony (2.0) BYE REQUESTED
03 0.5 Levanda, Mark (0.5) BYE REQUESTED
03 0.0 Rivero, Rene Thoma (0.0) BYE REQUESTED

West Orange Chess Club Fall 2011 Swiss -- West Orange Chess Club Fall 2011 SwissWall Chart

Name/State ID Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Radomskyj, Peter 2272 B 13 W 9 B 6
NJ 12460475 1.0 2.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Chieu, Kenneth Jos 2148 HALF W 15 B 10
NJ 12595190 0.5 1.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Zilbermintz, Lev 2089 W 14 B 10 W 8
NJ 12476202 1.0 1.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Pedersen, Roger E 1951 B 15 W 21 B 18
NJ 10092990 0.5 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Norris, Anthony 1946 W 16 B 12 HALF
NJ 12758884 1.0 2.0 2.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Boxer, Matthew 1921 B 17 W 11 W 1
NJ 12510577 1.0 2.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Hart, Charles M 1919 W 18 B 25 W 19
NJ 10004071 0.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1900 B 19 W 18 B 3
NJ 20020149 1.0 2.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Martinez, Alberto 1890 W 20 B 1 B 21
NJ 12490535 1.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Pepe, Mike 1889 B 22 W 3 W 2
NJ 12565700 1.0 1.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Garrett, Damon T 1824 W 23 B 6 W 20
NJ 12545276 1.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Sharpell, Fred 1819 B 24 W 5 B 23
NJ 12088600 1.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Burn, Murray 1814 W 1 B 20 B 15
NJ 10104891 0.0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1758 B 3 W 19 B 22
NJ 12237580 0.0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Katz, Harry S 1718 W 4 B 2 W 13
NJ 12052860 0.5 0.5
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. West, Robert 1686 B 5 W 22 W 24
NJ 12904515 0.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Rivero, Rene Thoma 1671 W 6 --- ZERO
NJ 12441215 0.0 F0.0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Kwok, Man-chi 1607 B 7 B 8 W 4
NJ 14201547 1.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Korn, David Allan 1604 W 8 B 14 B 7
NJ 14564164 0.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Fortunato, Joseph 1550 B 9 W 13 B 11
NJ 12932570 0.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Palacios,Danny 1481 HALF B 4 W 9
NJ 12801718 0.5 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Lynn, Robert L 1446 W 10 B 16 W 14
NJ 14010970 0.0 0.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Trieste, Edward Wi 1385 B 11 --- W 12
NJ 12029830 0.0 X1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. Nikitopoulos, Nicholas 1325 W 12 BYE B 16
NJ 14140077 0.0 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Levanda, Mark 1132 HALF W 7 HALF
NJ 12394013 0.5 0.5 1.0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Very Definition of Imprimateur

2011-09-20T00:27:00.015-04:00

Just days ago, an exhibtion match between former World Chess Champion Gary Kasparov (retired) and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (click link in red at L).

Watch how he waives his hands at the 0:43 seconds mark. How many 500,000 chess positions are being processed in his brain that very second?? All he needs are a white glove and scepter or some such thing.

At the 1:28 mark, he should be eating a marlin.

Amazing chair squeak at 1:40 shounds like Mahler.

You cannot make this stuff up.

Just watch how decisive if not elegant Kasparov is in the way he moves and touches the chess pieces.

'Having warmed up, and being an ultra-active player with a 2700+ rating, one might think that Garry would be at a disadvantage, however the ex-champion shrugged off the years of retirement and won their first game in a flourish sure to make fans wish for a bit more than these bits and flashes we get from him nowadays.'

EVENT: Three Hour Clinic, by GM Joel Benjamin, Branchburg NJ, Sat 24 Sept 2011

2011-09-14T11:44:00.000-04:00

"BREAKING NEWS from the Dean of Chess Academy and NJ Knockout Dean Ippolito..."

[A. Rob Bernard, father of our new member Jaron USCF 1041 ELO age ten, asked us if we could kindly post the announcement below.

B. GM Joel Benjamin, ranked 12th in The United States, USCF 2660, wrote American Grandmaster: Four Decades of Chess Adventures. For review and details at Amazon, click red here.]

"We here at Dean of Chess Academy (www.deanofchess.com click red at L to access site) have an exciting event planned! On Saturday September 24th from 5pm until 8pm, Grandmaster Joel Benjamin will be offering a three-hour clinic, where he will analyze games submitted by participants. GM Joel has won the US Championship three times, and he hosts a weekly chess radio show, "Game of the Week" on the Internet Chess Club.

"This event will be a fundraiser for the New Jersey Knockouts, New Jersey's only professional chess team. Both Dean Ippolito and Joel Benjamin have been members of the Knockouts since its inception. DOCA is proud to host this unique instructional seminar, given by one of the leading chess teachers in the USA.

"There will be a maximum of only 10 participants in the clinic, so Joel will have time to analyze each game thoroughly. Anyone age 14 and older is eligible to participate. If you are between 11 and 13 years old, you must be an experienced tournament player and must contact Dean directly for special permission to take part in this event.

"The cost of GM Joel's clinic is only $75 (in advance) for the three hour session, and $100 space permitting at the door; all funds will go to the Knockouts -- please sign up at DOCA.

"The Dean of Chess Academy is located at 3150 Rt. 22W, Branchburg NJ 08876.

"Additionally, we will have a G/5 tournament immediately after the clinic. The G/5 will be a 6 round swiss and is open to everyone. The entry fee is $20 to members and $30 to non-members. The prizes are 40% of the total entry fees collected minus the TD fee for first place.

"20% minus the TD fee will go to second, 10% minus the TD fee will go to 3rd. 5% minus TD fee will go to top Under 1600 (quick ratings used) and 5% to the top Under 1300. The remaining 20% will go to help fund the NJ Knockouts."

Summer Quad Results

2011-09-11T08:48:00.010-04:00

West Orange CC Summer Quads -- West Orange CC Summer Quads Cross Table

No. Gr Name(Team) St Rate Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Score

WINNERS BY SECTION:
Quad One, First:
1. Radomskyj, Peter (1).......... NJ 2277 W10 W18 W16 -U- 3.0

Quad Two, First:
2. Hart, Charles M (7)........... NJ 1900 D5 W22 W11 -U- 2.5

Quad Three, Two way tie:
6. Katz,Harry S (12)............. NJ 1707 W12 L7 W20 -U- 2.0
7. Rivero,Rene Thoma (14).......NJ 1613 W20 W6 L12 -U- 2.0

Quad Four:
8. Paris, Shea (16).............. NJ 1592 W19 L14 W13 -U- 2.0

Quad Five, Two way tie:
4. Kirck, Charles H (21)......... NJ 1384 W24 D15 W9 -U- 2.5

OTHER RESULTS:
Scored 2.0 or greater:
3. Kwok,Manchi (17).............. NJ 1538 D18 W23 -U- W16 2.5
5. Garrett, Damon T (10).........NJ 1827 D2 D11 W22 -U- 2.0
9. Trieste, Edward Wi (20)... NJ 1393 W15 W24 L4 -U- 2.0

Scored 1.5
10. Boxer, Matthew (6)............ NJ 1916 L1 D16 W18 -U- 1.5
11. Martinez, Alberto (8)......... NJ 1894 W22 D5 L2 -U- 1.5
12. West,Robert (13).............. NJ 1684 L6 D20 W7 -U- 1.5
13. Korn, David Allan (15)........ NJ 1600 W14 D19 L8 -U- 1.5
14. Palacios,Danny (19)........... NJ 1454 L13 W8 D19 -U- 1.5
15. Bernard, Jaron (24)........... NJ 1060 L9 D4 W24 -U- 1.5

Scored One or Less:
16. Pedersen, Roger E (3)......... NJ 1982 D18 D10 L1 L3 1.0
17. Race, Doran (4)............... NJ 1968 -U- -U- -U- W21 1.0
18. Cohen, Bryan Paul (5)......... NJ 1924 D16 L1 L10 D3 1.0
19. Fortunato,Joseph (18)......... NJ 1534 L8 D13 D14 -U- 1.0
20. Nayak, Mohan Rao (11)........ NJ 1726 L7 D12 L6 -U- 0.5
21. Feldstein ESQ, Robert (2)...NY 2000 -U- -U- -U- L17 0.0
22. Burn, Murray (9).............. NJ 1852 L11 L2 L5 -U- 0.0
23. Mehta, Palash (22)............ NJ 1345 -U- L3 -U- -U- 0.0
24. Falconi, Stefano (23)......... NJ 1177 L4 L9 L15 -U- 0.0

Remarkable Interview: 'GM Levon Aronian answers your questions: Part 2'

2011-09-10T09:06:00.005-04:00

Part Two of the GM Aaronian Interview, 'KC-Conference with Levon Aronian: Part 2'
linked here (click red for link).

A few Sample Question and Answers taken from a long interview. This is what we can truly call an 'Educated Person':

Alex (USA): You’re a fan of Franz Kafka as I am. What makes him so appealing to you? [CiT]

It’s the vulnerability of a man who, fundamentally, hasn’t done anything wrong, which is reflected in The Trial, The Castle and America, and reminds me of Soviet and post-Soviet times. I also like the fact that in his works there’s an attempt to look at the world from the most varied of perspectives as, for example, in “The Burrow”, or in “Investigations of a Dog”.

cher1508:
- Which non-chess books would you recommend?

I can vouch for everything written by Platonov, Kafka and Gogol.

- Which films can be instructive for a chess player?

That’s something I’ve never thought about. Perhaps some drama film with a sporting or musical theme. For example, “Raging Bull” or “Round Midnight”.

Zeppa: Who’s your favourite writer?
regent: Hello, Levon! Which are your favourite authors and works (I’ve got in mind literature, and not chess )?

Apart from those I’ve already named I also really love Mikhail Zoshchenko, Herman Hesse and Albert Camus.

- What’s new in the world of cinema? What have you liked recently, and who are your favourite directors?

I don’t follow trends in cinema. My favourite directors include – Woody Allen, Truffaut, Hitchcock, Fellini, Kurosawa, Ozu, Kar-wai, Bunuel, Malle, Solondz, Bertolucci, Tarkovsky and Bergman.

Zeppa:
- Who’s your favourite composer?

In classical music I love Bach, Scriabin, Ravel, Dvorak, Khachaturian. I know others less well, but I’m trying to fill in those gaps.

- Who’s your favourite film actor (actress)?

Among actors I really like Jean-Pierre Leaud, Fernando Rey, Johnny Depp, Alberto Sordi and Jean Gabin. Among actresses: Anna Maniani and Greta Garbo.

Bergstrasse: Prosit! Genatzt! Yung sing! Cheers! GM Aronian, I wish you good health and much success in the WCC Candidates Matches. Enjoy yourself!
- Can you name a novel or two or three that you’ve read at least twice? [CiT]

Having reached the mature age of 13 I decided not to re-read anything, so as to have time to read all the worthwhile books – and I’d already built up quite a pile at home. I can mention two books that I reread in my childhood – the “Collected Fairy Tales of Gianni Rodari” and “Karlson Who Lives on the Roof”.

Valchess: Could you please name three books, three films and three albums (musical) that you’d “take with you to a desert island”?

Among books I’d take “The Castle” by Kafka and think up its continuation, as I think there’d be time enough on the island, “Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy” by Niccolo Machiavelli and a volume of Marina Tsvetaeva’s poetry. Among films I’d take something entertaining, something by Scorsese, something with Rita Hayworth in the main role and some film with aliens. Among albums – “Kulu Se Mama” or “Live at the Half Note 1965” by Coltrane, “Live at the Five Spot” by Eric Dolphy and Booker Little and “Love Devotion Surrender” by McLaughlin and Santana.

Remarkable Interview: 'GM Levon Aronian answers your questions: Part I'

2011-09-10T08:49:00.012-04:00

Except in the rarest of places, as a rule a Blog [1] should be made up of original content. For who needs to go to a blog to get the news, or read articles when these are easily available elsewhere? No. We write or read blogs to be individual at the least, and unique if better, and refreshing as the ideal. We want to learn or find what cannot be found somewhere else, or if it is somewhere else, not easily found.

And now our subject. Today we must make an exception. If you read the longstanding Daily Dirt, or what is to the editor the single most current and intelligent chess discussion place in the English speaking world, then you could not help but notice the most remarkable translations by the handle known as mishanp. He is a non-Russian native skilled at translation of Slavic Languages, notably Russian, with a great fondness for chess. Truth be told, these are not just renderings, but gifts. He takes the best chess interviews in Russian and makes them readily and accurately available.

And they are never dull.

The four time US Chess Champion told the editor, 'I had lunch with Aaronian [2]. He is a most interesting conversationalist'. How true. Try this on:

The link to the full interview is provided here (click in red), and as an invitation, the editor copies only the smallest part of the long interview here. Do not, do not, do NOT miss this one!

'GM Levon Aronian answers your questions: Part I
By mishanp on June 9, 2011

'KC-Conference with Levon Aronian

'The questions, and most of the answers, were written before the Candidates Matches in Kazan, which of course makes it hard not to regret that Levon didn’t emerge as the challenger to Vishy Anand. Nevertheless, he mentions Boris Gelfand as one of his best grandmaster friends, and in the post-Candidates section at the end adds:

"I think Boris deserved this win. He’s a man who treats chess with great reverence, and who works a lot… and is very, you might say, patient with it. You know, it’s easy to work when you can see an immediate return, but he’s had difficult periods, and still to believe in yourself and try to keep working despite that… I’m very, very glad for him, that his dedication and love for the game has borne fruit. This success shows that there’s chess longevity in his blood!"

'One of the merits of these in-depth Crestbook interviews is that grandmasters have the chance to set the record straight. In Aronian’s case, for example, you might crudely summarise the preconception of him as being that he’s “an easy-going late-bloomer, who despite his great talent is lazy and tends to win by setting tactical traps for his opponents”. Let’s look at whether that’s true or not!

'FACT or MYTH?
1. “A diabolically talented lazy guy”

'This phrase comes from Sergey Shipov’s short introductory essay. When asked if he was offended, Aronian responded that it was definitely better than “a diabolically hard-working mediocre guy”. Is there any truth to the statement? The answer would appear to be yes…

"As a talented player I always had a great talent for being lazy as well. If it wasn’t for my family (and particularly my mother) and my friends, who did the majority of the work for me, then it’s unlikely I’d have been able to achieve success". Interview continues at link. On last sample that shows how truly remarkable this man is. Further down in the interview:

'I must confess, however, that I mainly added this section as an excuse to include the following quote. Levon is asked to explain the “bloodthirstiness” of his having the lowest draw percentage among elite chess players:

"So I’ve been found out. Yes, that’s how I am, and there’s nothing that can be done about it. It’s hard to explain, but I’ll give it a go. I think the thing here is my diet. For 11 years now I haven’t eaten any mammals – although it’s well-known that I’m a person with a bloodthirsty nature. So then, sitting down to play a game and, metaphorically speaking, meeting an animal face-to-face, I experience nostalgia and try to get my fill of blood in those short moments".

[1] Blog is short for Weblog, or web diary. Never meant to be perfect, but of the moment, if not informal, but saying what is not said elsewhere, and specific to the creator.

[2] Recently in China: 'The World Team Championship' took 'place July 15-26 in Ningbo, China. China, Ukraine, Israel, Hungary, Azerbaijan, India, USA, Egypt and Armenia' played.

No Results Yet

2011-09-02T21:19:00.010-04:00

...quicky, editor is getting a lot of email asking when final results are indicated and submitted to the USCF. Once Roger is back and plays Peter, this will be accomplished.

These questions do not bother and are most reasonable. Suffice to say, after Tuesday night we will... Of course, four of the five quads are done, but a moment more patience, please. 'I just work here'! The general lack of total rebelion and instead quiet muttering is much appreciated!

Lots more blogging in next week. Stay posted, all new stuff.

Have a nice holiday, jh/dk

Do You Understand QE, aka 'Quantitative Easing'?

Outrageous Video editor has had up his sleave for awhile.

This is just one among many :-)

Announcement: Fall Swiss, Five Rounds

2011-08-29T11:32:00.009-04:00

New Jersey
Fall Swiss, West Orange Chess Club, 2011 , Five Rounds: Tuesdays Sept 13, 20, 27, & Oct 11, 18. G/100+5 sec delay. 8:00 to 11:30 pm. Two ½ byes available in any round. Must know by end of round three.

EF $25, members $20, Prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Best Under 1900 , 1700, and 1500 (amounts based on entries).

Scholastics and Masters welcome alike. Details:

http://westorangechessclub.blogspot.com/ and Contact:
John Hagerty buickchess at g mail dot com, and phone:
(9seven3) 7three6-3four3three

Chess For Life's Annual Chess Exhibition at the Panera Bread Cafe in W. Orange, New Jersey

2011-08-26T10:21:00.017-04:00

[Double Clicking Image Above Will Expand This Handsome Flyer. Details Indicated.]

Time to time we recieve notice that club members are involved in events set to help the larger chess community, students, or are involved in commercial endeavours of a positive nature. Such efforts cannot help but be great for chess as a whole. We heartily applaud the effort on the part of CFL, Damon, and his staff. Below is an instance.

Please find below which the club recieved from one of our established club members, Damon T. Garrett. As many of you know, he is President of 'Chess For Life!' It works with children in our Region, and State (click link in red, to go directly to their site).

His emails is: dgarrett at chessforlife dot us
He can be conveniently reached at: (9-seven-3) 9-eight-5-1-zero-2-four.

"Greetings Everyone! Here we go again, Chess For Life's (CFL) Annual Chess Exhibition at the Panera Bread Cafe in W. Orange, New Jersey (click for map). I would personally appreciate your support, as you plan to come and bring plenty of kids, your family, staff, and your leadership team to this magnificent event on Saturday, September 17th @ 3:00pm.

"Our Team has been preparing to make this an exciting family event! We have provided the beautiful polished flyer for you (above), prepared by The Panera Bread Cafe Corporation, for your convenience. Kindly forward this flyer to all those that you invite. In the spirit of developing an effective networking team, may I ask you to invite all those in your sphere of influence, not only to attend, but, to invite all who they influence.

"This Fun & Free event promises to be an attraction for our youth, chess players, enthusiast, an dthe many of you who always say, 'I wished I would have learned chess when I was younger'… Well, here's your chance!!! So come join me and our terrific staff at our Annual Chess Ehibition.

"And finally, I'd also ask if you would" drop us a line" to let us know that you plan to attend" (modified from email, for blog)...

"Thank you for your partnership as you help CFL's efforts to promote chess education & leadership for our youth culture!"

West Orange Chess Club, Draft, Tournament and Activities Schedule 2011-2012

2011-08-21T14:51:00.006-04:00

On Top Of The World, First Getting There, then Up

DRAFT Sun 21 Aug 2011
PRELIMINARY 2011-2012 SCHEDULE:CLUB TOURNAMENTS, LEAGUES, AMATUER:

West Orange Chess Club, Late Summer Quads 2011
Tue 09. 16. 23 Aug 2011 (Three Round)

West Orange Chess Club, Fall Swiss 2011
Tue 13, 20, 27 Sept (Five Rounds)

Garden State Chess League 1
Tue 04 Oct (John Hagerty to advise after meeting of GSCL Thur 08 Sept 2011, possibly Nine Rounds?)

West Orange Chess Club, Fall Swiss 2011
Tue 11, 18 Oct

Garden State Chess League 2
Tue 01 Nov

West Orange Chess Club, 2011 Late Fall Swiss
Tue 08, 15, 22, 29 Nov (Likely Six Rounds, John to confirm)

Garden State Chess League 3
Tue 06 Dec

West Orange Chess Club, 2011 Late Fall Swiss
Tue 13, 20 Dec

Garden State Chess League 4
Tue 03 Jan 2012

West Orange Chess Club Annual Board Meeting
Tue 10 Jan 2012

[Proposed to be discussed] West Orange Chess Club, 2012 Annual Blitz Championship
Tue 24 Jan (!DRAFT! One Evening or 24 & 31 Jan to converge? Allows A & B
group to have Round Robin. i.e. 24 participants, two groups of preliminary
twelve, top three of each have double round robin, second evening. Top three
reduces loose of opportunity, for example from single games)

Garden State Chess League 5
Tue 07 Feb

2012 World Amateur Team Championship
Sat, Sun, and Mon 18, 19, 20 Feb (Six Rounds)

Garden State Chess League 6
Tue 06 Mar

West Orange Chess 2012 Club Championship
Tue 20, 27 Mar (Seven Rounds)—Rounds 1-2

Garden State Chess League 7
Tue 03 Apr

West Orange Chess Club 2012 Club Championship
Tue 10, 17, 24 Apr—rounds 3-5

Garden State Chess League 8
Tue 01 May

West Orange Chess 2012 Club Championship
Tue 08, 15 May—Rounds 6-7

[Proposed, to be (1) educated then (2) discussed: ] New Jersey State Annual Chess 960 Rapids Championship (AKA Fischerdom), Qualifying
Tue 29 May, 2011 (Swiss, Three evenings

Garden State Chess League 9
Tue 05 June

West Orange Chess Summer Quad (2012)
Tue 19, 26 June, 03 July & Tue 17, 24, 31 July (Five Rounds)

New Jersey State Annual Chess 960 Rapids Championship Semifinals
Tue 07 Aug (Concept for convergence, similar to Blitz 24,31 Jan above)

New Jersey State Annual Chess 960 Rapids Championship Finals
Tue 21 Aug

Comments welcome, WOCC Club President:
John Hagerty +9-seven-3 7-three-6 3-four-3-three

Go

2011-08-19T19:49:00.008-04:00

Evan Go Grandmasters Have Bad Moments:

And, you must, you must, you just have too see this

"The game of the century refers to a famous game of go between Honinbo Shusai (white) and Go Seigen (black) that was played to celebrate the 60th birthday of Honinbo Shusai. The game began on October 16, 1933 and finished on January 29, 1934.

"Each player was given twenty-four hours of thinking time. Shusai was arguably the strongest player of his day, and was head of the famous Honinbo go school, most prestigious of the schools originally founded at the behest of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu at the start of the 17th century. Go Seigen was famed as prodigy, first among a generation of young new brilliant players, and would go on to become one of the most celebrated players of the 20th century. This led newspapers to dub the match the game of the century.

"As the older player, Shusai had the right to adjourn the game at any time he saw fit. As there was as yet no practice of sealing the last move (putting in an envelope, hidden from the public and the opponent) Go Seigen was said to have had played the entire Honinbo go school. Players were allowed to analyze the game during adjournments, and Honinbo Shusai took thirteen adjournments, often at critical parts of the game. This clouded the game with controversy.

"A particularly brilliant move played by Honinbo Shusai was said to have been discovered by one of his pupils, Nobuaki Maeda, who later denied this. Before the move, Shusai had been behind for most of the game. Shusai would eventually win by 2 points, though it must be mentioned that this was a game without komi (points to compensate white for the fact that black moves first), which put Shusai at a disadvantage from the start".

Brings to mind the imprimateur of Fischer or Bottvinik or Kasparov. The editor is not kidding or being sarcastic. Feel a bit of sorrow or evanescence. Grab a kleenex.

Game sequence--past above clipped text--begins at about the 1:25 minute mark. Chills:

Third Round Colors, Ruling

2011-08-18T00:17:00.010-04:00

Great Physicist, Richard Feynman [1]

The third round pairings in a Quad is a coin toss, between the players, the night of the game. Winner to get White. Tournament Director Charles Hart specifically researched the ruling. Thus Rogers table is proxy only, for the third round.

Evidentially, it used to be that the winner got to choose, but if you think about it, its better the way it is. No one can prepare for the one color with better than a 50% chance. Also when determined the night of the game, it further takes away the potential advantage of a player known as Wht or Blk well before the game.

For IF the winner, for example, knew he wanted to choose Blk, anticipating that his opponent would likely want the conventionally conceived advantage of Wht if he instead won the toss (the other player), this random winner would be able to plan for Blk as a likelihood, given his predeliction for Blk in this specific instance. Not perfectly probable, but reasonably.

The editor is not saying this is good or bad, only that if two players well known to each other arrived at this juncture, said player could prepare better. Blk being more predictable, and despite the tempo disadvantage, having the potential advantage of predictability. Its the same in the stock market. Predictability is premium!

Its the old saw: "Woman decides, man abides". So Blk, if you ask me!

[1] Feynman was the person, who at a near glance, was able to determine the reason for the disasterous failure of the Challenger Space Shuttle, the O-Rings. Nice quick summery of his perspicacity linked here. A real practical genius. His utterly amazing summary, Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle, linked here in red. Incredible mind. Math genius of practical kind also.

Club Update: Table for Late Summer Quad, Round Two

2011-08-17T11:46:00.006-04:00

Humor Can Carry a Bit of the Truth. HIlarious!

West Orange Summer Quads -- West Orange Summer Quads
Name/State ID Group/Team Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Radomskyj, Peter |2277 | W 4 | B 3 | W 2 |
NJ 12460475 | | | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Pedersen, Roger E |1982 | W 3 | B 4 | B 1 |
NJ 10092990 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Cohen, Bryan Paul |1918 | B 2 | W 1 | W 4 |
NJ 20020149 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Boxer.Matthew |1916 | B 1 | W 2 | B 3 |
NJ 12510577 | | | 0.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Hart, Charles M |1900 | W 8 | B 7 | W 6 |
NJ 10004071 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Martinez, Alberto |1894 | W 7 | B 8 | B 5 |
NJ 12490535 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Burn, Murray |1849 | B 6 | W 5 | W 8 |
NJ 10104891 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Garrett, Damon T |1827 | B 5 | W 6 | B 7 |
NJ 12545276 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Nayak, Mohan Rao |1726 | W 12 | B 11 | W 10 |
NJ 12237580 | | 0.0 | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Katz,Harry S |1707 | W 11 | B 12 | B 9 |
NJ 12052860 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
11. West,Robert |1684 | B 10 | W 9 | W 12 |
NJ 12904515 | | 0.0 | | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Rivero,Rene Thoma |1639 | B 9 | W 10 | B 11 |
NJ 12441215 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Korn, David Allan |1613 | W 16 | B 15 | W 14 |
NJ 14564164 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Paris, Shea |1592 | W 15 | B 16 | B 13 |
NJ 12659701 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Fortunato,Joseph |1534 | B 14 | W 13 | B 16 |
NJ 12932570 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Palacios,Danny |1454 | B 13 | W 14 | W 15 |
NJ 12801718 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Trieste, Edward |1393 | W 20 | B 19 | B 18 |
NJ 12029830 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18. Kirck, Charles |1384 | W 19 | B 20 | W 17 |
NJ 12505370 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Falconi, Stefano |1177 | B 18 | W 17 | B 20 |
NJ 14571505 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Bernard, Jaron |1060 | B 17 | W 18 | W 19 |
NJ 13556911 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Club Update: Pairings, Summer Quad, Round 2

2011-08-11T12:09:00.003-04:00

Variety is the Spice of Life

West Orange Orange Chess Club, Summer Round Robin, Round 2, pairings:

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
02 101. Cohen, Bryan Paul Radomskyj, Peter
02 102. Boxer.Matthew Pedersen, Roger E
02 201. Burn, Murray Hart, Charles M
02 202. Garrett, Damon T Martinez, Alberto
02 301. West, Robert Nayak, Mohan Rao
02 302. Rivero, Rene Thoma Katz, Harry S
02 401. Fortunato, Joseph Korn, David
02 402. Palacios, Danny Paris, Shea
02 501. Falconi, Stefano Trieste, Edward
02 502. Bernard, Jaron Kirck, Charles

Club Update: Results for Round One, Late Summer Quad

2011-08-10T21:03:00.006-04:00

Parallels Between Sustained Investigation in Mathematics at the Highest Level and the Rigors of Top Level Chess Preparation. At end of video, continuation to part 2 of 5 is very particularly interesting, stunning one might say!.

West Orange Orange Chess Club, Summer Round Robin, Results:

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
01 101. xxx Radomskyj, Peter (0.0) xxx Boxer.Matthew (0.0)
01 102. 0.5 Pedersen, Roger E (0.0) 0.5 Cohen, Bryan Paul (0.0)

01 201. 0.5 Hart, Charles M (0.0) 0.5 Garrett, Damon T (0.0)
01 202. 1.0 Martinez, Alberto (0.0) 0.0 Burn, Murray (0.0)

01 301. 0.0 Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0) 1.0 Rivero, Rene Thoma (0.0)
01 302. 1.0 Katz, Harry S (0.0) 0.0 West, Robert (0.0)

01 401. 1.0 Korn, David Allan (0.0) 0.0 Palacios, Danny (0.0)
01 402. 1.0 Paris, Shea (0.0) 0.0 Fortunato, Joseph (0.0)

01 501. 1.0 Trieste, Edward (0.0) 0.0 Bernard, Jaron (0.0)
01 502. 1.0 Kirck, Charles (0.0) 0.0 Falconi, Stefano (0.0)

Milestones: Prizes for Summer Swiss:

2011-07-29T21:58:00.010-04:00

Here Can Be Heard Glimmerings of Eternity: 'Enrico Caruso - Una Furtiva Lagrima'

Revised, Saturday 30 July 2011, per 3rd email from Roger. Thank you:

'In a chess tournament for cash prizes, prizes are split amongst the
winners and a winner must receive their largest prize.

'1st Radomskyj $150
2nd/ 3rd ($100/ $50) Zilbermintz and Arias $75 each
Top Under 1900 ($75) with 3 points Garrett and Prettyman ($37.50 each
Top Under 1700 ($50) with 3 points Korn (giving Korn the most money)
Top Under 1500 ($35) with 2.5 points Hochheiser (since Korn has a prize)'

Initial Post, Friday 29 July 2011:

'Radomskyj 1st - $150
Zilbermintz and Arias 2nd/3rd $75 each
? Fermin Arias Under 1900 $75
Korn Under 1700 $50
? Hochheiser U1500 $35'

A. ... 'Perhaps U1700 goes to Kwok since Prettyman is slightly over 1700', Roger E. Peterson

B. Source data from two emails to editor from Roger, then revised by editor, upon review of USCF tournament result, linked here.

Announcement: Late Summer, Three Round, Round Robin

2011-07-28T11:35:00.007-04:00

India, Naughty Monkeys: Chaos (Just 1.5 minutes long)

Quickly, editor is on the clock consulting... this minute... 11:44 am [1].

Just got a call four minutes ago from Charlie Hart, that WOCC President John Hagerty wanted everyone to be notified through the blog, and thus email in kind, that there is to be a three round, round robin, starting in 12 days. Apologies for short notice, but 'better late than never'.

Round start on Tuesday the 9th of August, at eight pm, and continues on the 16th, and 23rd. Details on will be forthcoming in days ahead please.

Usual start time, 8 p.m. $20.00, for shorter session.

Unofficially while we are at it, John might have information about a Fall Swiss, potentially six rounds, to start the second Tuesday of September 13, 2011. But only as is so decided, but somewhere there and about, and obviously NOT the Tuesday after Labor Day Weekend (Tue 06 Sept = n/a).

[1] Let it be duly noted, editor selected this video days ago, before the announcement was received. Intent is to diversify perception by region, gender, modality, typology, historicity, motif, style, etc.

Summer Swiss Results

2011-07-28T11:07:00.008-04:00

[Pending a word.doc from Roger E. Peterson--if we can get it, please find the following table copied as plain, unformated text, directly from the USCF results page for the tournament, appropriately linked here.

Apologies for odd tabs, but better than none, at this time. Editor.

BTW, indicates six rounds, in error cf. Race vs. Hart. Currently have call out to Roger for clarification from him or otherwise notice to USCF, etc.]

Shamisen [1], Skill: Cultivated Over a Very Long Period of Time!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pair Player Name TotalRoundRoundRoundRoundRoundRound
Num USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) Pts 1 2 3 4 5 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 PETER RADOMSKYJ 4.5 W 9W 8W 5W 6D 2U 0
NJ 12460475 / R: 2269 ->2277
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 LEV ZILBERMINTZ 4.0 W 19D 6W 3W 7D 1U 0
NJ 12476202 / R: 2066 ->2081
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 DORAN RACE 4.0 W 27W 4L 2L 11W 17W 7
NJ 12183660 / R: 1977 ->1968
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 FERMIN ARIAS 4.0 W 28L 3W 23W 8W 9U 0
NJ 12670179 / R: 1817 ->1849
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 JUAN P TICA 3.5 W 24W 13L 1D 12W 11U 0
NJ 14020117 / R: 2202 ->2191
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 ROGER E PEDERSEN 3.5 W 20D 2W 14L 1W 12U 0
NJ 10092990 / R: 1960 ->1982
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 CHARLES M HART 3.5 D 11W 18W 25L 2W 14L 3
NJ 10004071 / R: 1900 ->1900
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 BRYAN PAUL COHEN 3.0 W 15L 1W 17L 4W 20U 0
NJ 20020149 / R: 1924 ->1918
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 DAMON T GARRETT 3.0 L 1W 20W 22W 13L 4U 0
NJ 12545276 / R: 1812 ->1827
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 WILLIAM H PRETTYMAN 3.0 D 12D 11L 13W 26W 22U 0
NJ 12393939 / R: 1710 ->1719
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 DAVID ALLAN KORN 3.0 D 7D 10W 19W 3L 5U 0
NJ 14564164 / R: 1466 ->1613
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 MATTHEW BOXER 2.5 D 10D 14W 15D 5L 6U 0
NJ 12510577 / R: 1916 ->1912
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 ALBERTO MARTINEZ 2.5 W 23L 5W 10L 9H 0U 0
NJ 12490535 / R: 1903 ->1894
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 MURRAY BURN 2.5 W 26D 12L 6W 21L 7U 0
NJ 10104891 / R: 1852 ->1844
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 HARRY S KATZ 2.5 L 8W 28L 12D 16W 25U 0
NJ 12052860 / R: 1720 ->1707
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 MAN-CHIT KWOK 2.5 H 0L 17D 18D 15W 24U 0
NJ 14201547 / R: 1504 ->1538
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 JEREMY SCOTT HOCHHEISER 2.5 H 0W 16L 8W 25L 3U 0
NJ 14446490 / R: 1208 ->1333
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18 FRED SHARPELL 2.0 D 25L 7D 16D 24D 21U 0
NJ 12088600 / R: 1853 ->1819
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 MOHAN RAO NAYAK 2.0 L 2W 27L 11L 22W 26U 0
NJ 12237580 / R: 1758 ->1726
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 ROBERT WEST 2.0 L 6L 9W 28W 23L 8U 0
NJ 12904515 / R: 1694 ->1684
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 RENE THOMAS RIVERO 2.0 H 0L 25W 26L 14D 18U 0
NJ 12441215 / R: 1656 ->1639
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22 SHEA PARIS 2.0 H 0H 0L 9W 19L 10U 0
NJ 12659701 / R: 1586 ->1592
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 JOSEPH A FORTUNATO 2.0 L 13W 24L 4L 20W 27U 0
NJ 12932570 / R: 1510 ->1534
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 PAUL A CORCORAN 1.5 L 5L 23W 27D 18L 16U 0
NJ 11476317 / R: 1783 ->1747
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 ROBERT L LYNN 1.5 D 18W 21L 7L 17L 15U 0
NJ 14010970 / R: 1445 ->1453
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26 EDWARD WILLIAM TRIESTE 1.0 L 14B 0L 21L 10L 19U 0
NJ 12029830 / R: 1414 ->1393
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 PALASH PARIMAL MEHTA 1.0 L 3L 19L 24W 28L 23U 0
NJ 14690738 / R: Unrated->1345P5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28 STEFANO FALCONI 1.0 L 4L 15L 20L 27B 0U 0
NJ 14571505 / R: 1220P12->1197P16
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are now being shown for recent events in the *Total Pts* column.For less recent events, it may take several weeks for the norm performances to be available.

[1] Wikipedia, linked here: 'The shamisen or samisen (三味線?, literally "three flavor strings"), also called sangen (三絃?, literally "three strings") is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi'.

Not So Semi-Slav

2011-07-17T19:19:00.016-04:00

The trouble doth our Sensei's [1] dish out:

Two posts in one day is a lot, but why not? Peter very kindly JUST sent us his recent game with the preturnaturally talented, usually rock solid Juan Tica. Rock does not seem to thwart Life Master Radomskyj. Watch his path of wrought destruction. You can see smoke come off the board.

The rest, without further ado, belongs to Peters verbatum:

'I'd like to submit my game vs Juan Tica for publication in the West Orange blog.

'Here goes: Peter Radomskyj (Master) White vs. Juan Tica (Master) Black. Meran Defense. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. N-f3 N-f6 4. N-c3 e6 5. e3 N(b8)-d7 6. Q-c2 B-d6 7. B-e2 O-O 8. O-O Q-e7 9. e4 de 10. Nxe4 Nxe4 11. Qxe4 e5 ( ...11 f5 is a complicated alternative) 12. B-g5 f6 (?) (...12 Q-e8 was better)13. B-d3 (!) g6 14. B-h6 R-e8 15. c5 B-c7 (If instead ...15 ed then 16. B-c4 check ... K-h8 17. Qxe7 ... Bxe7 18. R(f1)-e1 and White has the serious threat of 19. B-f7). 16. B-c4 check K-h8 17. R(f1)-e1 Nxc5 (Desperation, but Black is almost in Zugzwang). 18. dc Qxc5 19. Q-h4 Q-e7 20. N-g5 (!) b5 21. B-b3 c5 22. B-d5 B-f5 23. N-f7 check K-g8 24. Nxe5 discovered check B-e6 25. Nxg6 ...25. BLACK RESIGNS.'

Impatient listeners need only fast forward to the 2:10 mark for the epic swarm. In this music, the possibility is heard of what it is to feel that 'all things are possible'. This motif very fitfully occurs at the 5:20 mark, perhaps even more epic than the prior... Enjoy.

For those of you with a pgn or chessBase viewer, the editor quickly entered this into chessBase, suitable for copy, paste for convenient viewing:

Radomskyj ,Peter (2269) - Tica,Juan (2149) [D00]
WOCC Summer Swiss (3), 06.07.2011
[Peter Radomskyj ]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 e6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Qe7 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Qxe4 e5 12.Bg5 f6 13.Bd3 g6 14.Bh6 Re8 15.c5 Bc7 16.Bc4+ Kh8 17.Rfe1 Nxc5 18.dxc5 Qxc5 19.Qh4 Qe7 20.Ng5 b5 21.Bb3 c5 22.Bd5 Bf5 23.Nf7+ Kg8 24.Nxe5+ 1-0

[1] Sensei (先生^?) is a Japanese word that basically means "person born before another."^[1] In general usage, it means "master" or "teacher,"^[2] and the word is used as a title to refer to or address teachers, professors, professionals such as lawyers, CPA and doctors, politicians, clergymen, and other figures of authority.^[3] The word is also used to show respect to someone who has achieved a certain level of mastery in an art form or some other skill: accomplished novelists, sweepstakers, musicians, and artists for example are addressed in this way. The two characters that make up the term can be directly translated as "born before" and implies one who teaches based on wisdom from age and experience.^[4]

The word prefaced by the adjective 大, pronounced "dai" (or "ō"), which means "great" or "large," is often translated "grand master." This compound term, "dai-sensei," is sometimes used to refer to the top sensei in a particular school or tradition, particularly within the iemoto system. For a more senior member of a group who has not achieved the level of sensei, the term senpai (先輩^?) is used – note the common use of 先 "before"; in martial arts, this is particularly used for the most senior non-sensei member.

The Japanese expression of sensei shares the same characters as the Chinese word, pronounced xiānshēng in Standard Chinese. Xiansheng is a courtesy title for a man of respected stature. It can also be attached to a man's name to mean "gentleman" or, more commonly, "mister". Prior to the development of the modern vernacular, xiansheng was used to address teachers of both genders; this has fallen out of usage in Standard Chinese, though it is retained in some southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese, Hokkien and Hakka where it still has the meaning "teacher" or "doctor". In Japanese, sensei is still used to address people of both genders. It is likely both the current Southern Chinese and Japanese usages are more reflective of its Middle Chinese etymology.

Roger Peterson Tied for First at World Open Senior Amateur

2011-07-17T12:33:00.016-04:00

Let us all congratulate our very well seasoned Roger E. Peterson, 1960 ELO, (click red L & R for active links, USCF data) for his recent shared victory at the super tough field at The World Open Senior Amateur.

He placed first, shared among three, out of 35 contestants. Competing against such seasoned players cannot be a laughting matter.

Roger secured draws with the 1st and 4th seeds, and obtained victories against the 20th and 12th seeds.

We leave it to cognescenti of possible modifications to Italian economist Aprad Elo's rating system, such as Bucholdiz (dk: sp?? Word exists, cannot find it this sec, but you who know, understand...) tie break systems according to basically 'run away analysis'--where the strength of your opponents opponents are weighted, not unlike moment distribution in mechanical engineering [1].

What occured in round one is best explained by Roger. Whatever it was, Cohen who took shared first faced an average seed of 13.25, Roger 9.25, and Long 17. But Roger was measured over 4 or 5 games, with a forfiet for round one. Bitter sweet. It is duly noted, again, the weighted average is the real number, if you ask me, but I am not paid for this :-).

Thought at the speed of light:

[1] cf. for example see Jeff Sagarin of USA Today's incredably nimble sports handicapping analysis, which BTW also uses ELO analysis, linked here. This is one example of many. Page down. Other applications are NCAA, Baseball, etc, linked here.

Club Update: Summer Spring Swiss, Pairings Final Round Five of Five

2011-07-14T19:27:00.014-04:00

Rd Bd White Black
05 1. Radomskyj, Peter (4.0) Zilbermintz, Lev (3.5)
05 2. Garrett, Damon T (3.0) Arias, Fermin (3.0)
05 3. Korn, David Allan (3.0) Tica, Juan P (2.5)
05 4. Boxer, Matthew (2.5) Pedersen, Roger E (2.5)
05 5. Burn, Murray (2.5) Hart, Charles M (2.5)
05 6. Race, Doran (2.0) Hochheiser Jeremy S. (2.5)
05 7. Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0) West, Robert (2.0)
05 8. Paris, Shea (2.0) Prettyman, William (2.0)
05 9. Sharpell, Fred (1.5) Rivero, Rene Thoma (1.5)
05 10. Kwok, Manchit (1.5) Corcoran, Paul (1.5)
05 11. Lynn, Robert L (1.5) Katz, Harry S (1.5)
05 12. Trieste, Edward Wi (1.0) Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0)
05 13. Mehta, Palash (1.0) Fortunato, Joseph (1.0)
05 1.0 Falconi, Stefano (0.0) BYE
05 0.5 Martinez, Alberto (2.0) BYE REQUESTED

Who Among Us Does NOT Get Chills Up Their Spine When They Watch This? Fischer. Man.

West Orange Summer Swiss 2011 -- West Orange Summer Swiss 2011Wall Chart, Page 1

Name/State ID Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4 Rnd 5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Radomskyj, Peter |2269 | W 13 | B 5 | W 2 | B 7 | W 3 |
NJ 12460475 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Tica, Juan P |2202 | B 14 | W 8 | B 1 | W 6 | B 23 |
NJ 14020117 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Zilbermintz, Lev |2054 | W 15 | B 7 | W 4 | B 9 | B 1 |
NJ 12476202 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Race, Doran |1952 | B 26 | W 12 | B 3 | W 23 | W 28 |
NJ 12183660 | | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Cohen, Bryan Paul |1924 | B 16 | W 1 | W 28 | B 12 | W 18 |
NJ 20020149 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Boxer, Matthew |1914 | W 17 | B 11 | W 16 | B 2 | W 7 |
NJ 12510577 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Pedersen, Roger E |1911 | B 18 | W 3 | B 11 | W 1 | B 6 |
NJ 10092990 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Martinez, Alberto |1902 | W 21 | B 2 | W 17 | B 13 | HALF |
NJ 12490535 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Hart, Charles M |1900 | B 23 | W 10 | B 24 | W 3 | B 11 |
NJ 10004071 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Sharpell, Fred |1853 | W 24 | B 9 | B 22 | W 14 | W 19 |
NJ 12088600 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Burn, Murray |1852 | B 25 | W 6 | W 7 | B 19 | W 9 |
NJ 10104891 | | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Arias, Fermin |1817 | W 27 | B 4 | W 21 | W 5 | B 13 |
NJ 12670179 | | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Garrett, Damon T |1797 | B 1 | W 18 | B 20 | W 8 | W 12 |
NJ 12545276 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Corcoran, Paul |1783 | W 2 | B 21 | W 26 | B 10 | B 22 |
NJ 11476317 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Nayak, Mohan Rao |1758 | B 3 | W 26 | B 23 | W 20 | B 25 |
NJ 12237580 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Katz, Harry S |1720 | W 5 | B 27 | B 6 | W 22 | B 24 |
NJ 12052860 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Prettyman, William |1710 | B 6 | W 23 | B 8 | W 25 | B 20 |
NJ 12393939 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. West, Robert |1686 | W 7 | B 13 | W 27 | B 21 | B 5 |
NJ 12904515 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Rivero, Rene Thoma |1656 | HALF | B 24 | W 25 | W 11 | B 10 |
NJ 12441215 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Paris, Shea |1590 | HALF | HALF | W 13 | B 15 | W 17 |
NJ 12659701 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Fortunato, Joseph |1510 | B 8 | W 14 | B 12 | W 18 | B 26 |
NJ 12932570 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Kwok, Manchit |1504 | HALF | B 28 | W 10 | B 16 | W 14 |
NJ 14201547 | | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Korn, David Allan |1466 | W 9 | B 17 | W 15 | B 4 | W 2 |
NJ 14564164 | | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. Lynn, Robert L |1445 | B 10 | W 19 | W 9 | B 28 | W 16 |
NJ 14010970 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Trieste, Edward Wi |1414 | W 11 | BYE | B 19 | B 17 | W 15 |
NJ 12029830 | | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. Mehta, Palash |1300 | W 4 | B 15 | B 14 | W 27 | W 21 |
NJ 14690738 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27. Falconi, Stefano |1220 | B 12 | W 16 | B 18 | B 26 | BYE |
NJ 14571505 | | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
-------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------
28. Hochheiser Jeremy S. |1212 | HALF | W 22 | B 5 | W 24 | B 4 |
NJ 14446490 | | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who Ever Said That the WOCC Was Not An Oligopoly?

2011-07-13T11:37:00.028-04:00

Immediately upon club President John Hagerty's recieving formal notice from the USCF that if they did not immediately recieve acknowledgement that the WOCC was committed to overnighting club member Mr. Mark Levanda's USCF dues for its recept the next day, they would mandate our club to be closed down by Federal Injunction within 12 hours time. He was informed that this was a major violation.

Wasting not a moment, John immediately dispated William Prettyman who happened be nearby, to drive the wired note to the nearest post, which was inconveniently located at the top of blustery Mount Washington. Only minutes were left.

There are things about William which few--if any of you--know about him. For instance, just watch him drive. His average speed was a record 71 miles per hour, which means accounting for many tight curves, that he had to be doing no less than 100 miles per hour--sometimes 110--in some straightaways, on a narrowly confined or unimproved road, to make up for the tighter spots. Robert Lynn was navigating. Transportation provided by the Sport Team Suburu.

Viewers are encouraged, if they sit through the video, take special note of road conditions at around the four minute mark on the digital clock. Thats dirt. Finally, notice that he is then driving in fog at the six minute digital mark. Going over sixty miles per hour, up hill, on a narrow road dangling off precipices? Enjoy Bill's heroic complete rescue of our club, in the eyes of the USCF:

Bill, who is not exactly known for being reckless, was heard saying as he took off his driving gloves after running to the remote telex: 'If Tal can play chess this way, why not drive that way? Whatever it takes for the boys at the WOCC!'

There are several very, very strong chess clubs in New Jersey, and we can but be thankful to be counted just among them.

We encourage persons in our area to visit all of them, and we just aspire to be a good club--honest, strong, friendly, accurate, and up to date. Thank you to all members and thank you for the tireless efforts of our very long standing President, John Hagerty. Thank you.

We did a count, using the ranking data indicated below (while every effort has been made to be accurate, some of the ideosyncracies of the USCF's reports in table form are not being fully relational by date, to their individual, correct and current records).

It is easy to see, at a glance, that the 45 WOCC members below, of the top 709 players in the state, equal to or over 1200 or so, comprise 6.4% of all ranked chess players in the State of New Jersey. More 'proof of the pudding', among the top 71 leading chess players in NJ, we represent as much as 9.9%; and among the top 245, represent 6.9%. Let us all be thankful to be able to call ourselves WOCC members.

(In days ahead, editor will add a few comments or make some qualifications about some anomolies herein, noted in green to make the simple distinction for now.)

Click image above to enlarge. Data courtesy of Jeff Sonas legacy site, ChessMetrics.com (click red at left, and here for fruitful browsing).

And now for our blog feature, please see data below, from The United States Chess Federation, Top Rated Players in NJ (click here at left, at immediate below, in red, for source data)

(Recently Rated Current Members are shown.)

Rank USCF ID Exp. Date Name Current Official Published Rating Date Published USCF Title Earned

01 12715435 2018-12-31 GM ALEX STRIPUNSKY 2688 2011-07-01 Life Senior Master
02 10102511 2099-12-31 GM JOEL BENJAMIN 2615 2011-06-01 Life Senior Master
03 12473035 2099-12-31 GM BORIS GULKO 2587 2010-08-01 Life Senior Master
04 12077910 2099-12-31 GM A. FISHBEIN 2563 2011-04-01 Life Senior Master
05 12566496 2011-08-31 YAACOV NOROWITZ 2559 2011-07-01 Life Master
06 12445752 2012-06-30 IM DEAN IPPOLITO 2557 2011-06-01 Life Senior Master
07 12662506 2012-02-29 IM M. MOLNER 2486 2011-07-01 Life Senior Master
08 12809707 2011-10-31 FM VICTOR C SHEN 2435 2011-06-01 Life Master
09 14144017 2011-08-31 FM CARLOS PUJOL 2385 2011-06-01 Candidate Master
10 12233800 2012-02-29 IM DMITRY LONDON 2383 2011-06-01 Life Master
11 11453015 2099-12-31 IM MIKHAIL ZLOTNIKOV 2332 2011-04-01 Life Senior Master

12 12057550 2012-03-31 FM GREGORY MARKZON 2330 2011-04-01 Life Master
13 13100483 2014-02-28 NAGENDRA RENTALA 2322 2011-06-01 Candidate Master
14 12683277 2012-02-29 FM CARSTEN HANSEN 2318 2011-04-01 Candidate Master
15 12422448 2011-07-31 JOSE A LAHOZ 2318 2010-09-01 Candidate Master
16 12812851 2012-01-31 CM A. SHVARTSMAN 2297 2011-07-01 Life Master
17 14474623 2011-08-31 HASSAN LATIEF SR 2295 2010-10-01
18 10161371 2099-12-31 IM RICHARD A COSTIGAN 2288 2011-02-01 Life Master
19 12564026 2011-12-31 V. PEYSAKHOVICH 2278 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
20 12875350 2011-10-31 FM ARTHUR SHEN 2261 2011-07-01 Life Master
21 12460475 2099-12-31 PETER RADOMSKYJ 2261 2011-07-01 Life Master

22 12525821 2012-03-31 YURI ZADERMAN 2259 2011-05-01 Life Master
23 12870005 2012-04-30 ANDREW NG 2257 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
24 12407354 2013-08-31 FM BORIS PRIVMAN 2257 2011-07-01 Life Master
25 12770317 2012-06-30 DRAGAN MILOVANOVIC 2251 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
26 12669043 2011-09-30 IM GUILLERMO A ESTEVEZ 2245 2010-11-01 1st Category
27 10057256 2099-12-31 TOD S CHASIN 2239 2011-04-01 Candidate Master
55 12879834 2013-05-31 LEVY ROZMAN 2149 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
56 14020117 2011-12-31 JUAN P TICA 2149 2011-07-01 2nd Category
10050669: MAYER RIFF 2144
57 12595190 2012-01-31 KENNETH J. CHIEU 2148 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
68 12111450 2099-12-31 JOSE FERNANDEZ 2101 2011-04-01 1st Category
69 12476202 2012-04-30 LEV ZILBERMINTZ 2100 2011-07-01 Candidate Master
71 12875100 2011-07-31 VICTOR ROSAS 2092 2011-04-01 1st Category

12616543: MAURICIO CAMEJO 2022
120 12183660 2099-12-31 DORAN RACE 1977 2011-07-01 1st Category
151 20020149 2013-05-31 BRYAN PAUL COHEN 1928 2011-06-01 1st Category
167 10004071 2011-07-31 CHARLES M HART 1910 2011-06-01 1st Category
168 10092990 2099-12-31 ROGER E PEDERSEN 1906 2011-06-01 1st Category
171 12510577 2012-05-31 MATTHEW BOXER 1902 2011-07-01 1st Category
173 12490535 2014-03-31 ALBERTO MARTINEZ 1900 2011-06-01 1st Category
197 10104891 2012-06-30 MURRAY BURN 1852 2010-12-01 1st Category
200 10335141 2099-12-31 WALTER F STEPHAN SR 1842 2011-07-01 1st Category
206 12088600 2011-12-31 FRED SHARPELL 1835 2011-06-01 2nd Category
233 12545276 2012-01-31 DAMON T GARRETT 1797 2011-06-01 3rd Category
234 12237580 2012-09-30 MOHAN RAO NAYAK 1791 2011-06-01 2nd Category
237 13839528 2011-10-31 HUMBERTO VARGAS 1789 2011-06-01
11476317: PAUL A CORCORAN 1783

273 12052860 2012-07-31 HARRY S KATZ 1747 2011-06-01 2nd Category
275 12670179 2011-12-31 FERMIN ARIAS 1739 2011-06-01 3rd Category
278 12393939 2013-01-31 WILLIAM H PRETTYMAN 1737 2011-06-01
287 12560881 2011-10-31 JOHN T ADAMO JR 1724 2011-04-01 4th Category
309 12456765 2013-09-30 GLEN B HART 1702 2011-07-01 2nd Category
NY _ 10076587: LEON HARITON 1700
325 12904515 2014-04-30 ROBERT WEST 1686 2011-06-01 2nd Category
361 12441215 2012-01-31 RENE THOMAS RIVERO 1632 2011-06-01 3rd Category
365 12338160 2012-06-30 GUIDO RODRIGUEZ 1627 2011-06-01 3rd Category

395 14328955 2011-12-31 JAN CERMAK 1596 2010-12-01
396 12534357 2012-01-31 JOHN JOSEPH PICCOLI 1590 2011-06-01 3rd Category
409 10043816 2099-12-31 JOHN MICHAEL HAGERTY 1574 2011-06-01 3rd Category
416 12683162 2012-06-30 STEVE MOCTEZUMA 1567 2011-06-01 4th Category
418 12659701 2012-10-31 SHEA PARIS 1567 2011-04-01 4th Category
452 14010970 2012-01-31 ROBERT L LYNN 1520 2011-06-01 4th Category
470 12463740 2014-08-31 JOHN L VOLPE JR 1507 2011-06-01 3rd Category
14201547: MAN-CHIT KWOK 1504
508 14564164 2012-01-31 DAVID ALLAN KORN 1446 2011-06-01
517 12932570 2012-04-30 JOSEPH A FORTUNATO 1431 2011-07-01 3rd Category

533 12505370 2099-12-31 CHARLES H KIRCK 1413 2011-07-01 4th Category
14245808: JUAN MIGUEL BURWELL 1413
13427806: PARESH MEHTA 1385
588 12029830 2012-03-31 EDWARD W. TRIESTE 1358 2011-06-01 4th Category

678 12294660 2012-01-31 MICHAEL AJ WOLZ 1240 2011-04-01
681 20014730 2012-10-31 JOHN WIEGLEY 1238 2011-06-01
695 14446490 2014-06-30 JEREMY S. HOCHHEISER 1212 2011-05-01
12801718: DANNY PALACIOS 1185
12394013: MARK L LEVANDA 1132
14571505: STEFANO FALCONI 1120

New WOCC Member Reacting to a Bystander, Caught on Film

2011-07-08T23:23:00.003-04:00

Same member shocked by move, in round three:

Club Update: Summer Spring Swiss, Pairings Round Four

2011-07-06T17:17:00.008-04:00

"I completely had him. I don't know. Anyone can see it. Anyone! How can I believe it, but then..."

Rd Bd White Black
04 1. Pedersen, Roger E (2.5) Radomskyj, Peter (3.0)
04 2. Hart, Charles M (2.5) Zilbermintz, Lev (2.5)
04 3. Tica, Juan P (2.0) Boxer, Matthew (2.0)
04 4. Race, Doran (2.0) Korn, David Allan (2.0)
04 5. Arias, Fermin (2.0) Cohen, Bryan Paul (2.0)
04 6. Garrett, Damon T (2.0) Martinez, Alberto (2.0)
04 7. Rivero, Rene Thoma (1.5) Burn, Murray (1.5)
04 8. Hochheiser Jeremy S. (1.5) Lynn, Robert L (1.5)
04 9. Sharpell, Fred (1.0) Corcoran, Paul (1.0)
04 10. Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0) Paris, Shea (1.0)
04 11. Katz, Harry S (1.0) Kwok, Manchit (1.0)
04 12. Prettyman, William (1.0) Trieste, Edward Wi (1.0)
04 13. Fortunato, Joseph (1.0) West, Robert (1.0)
04 14. Mehta, Palash (0.0) Falconi, Stefano (0.0)

RENEW MEMBERSHIP C. Hart, J. Hochheiser and M. Kwok
USCF MEMBERSHIP IS
Premium Adult 1 Yr Membership $42 $78 $113
Full membership. Includes 12 issues per year of Chess Life, the right to earn a chess rating in the official national rating system.
Regular Adult 1 Yr Membership $34 $63 $91
Includes online access to Chess Life, the right to earn a chess rating in the official national rating system.

West Orange Summer Swiss 2011

Name/State ID Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3 Rnd 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Radomskyj, Peter 2269 W 13 B 5 W 2 B 7
NJ 12460475 1.0 2.0 3.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Tica, Juan P 2202 B 14 W 8 B 1 W 6
NJ 14020117 1.0 2.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Zilbermintz, Lev 2054 W 15 B 7 W 4 B 9
NJ 12476202 1.0 1.5 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Race, Doran 1952 B 26 W 12 B 3 W 23
NJ 12183660 1.0 2.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1924 B 16 W 1 W 28 B 12
NJ 20020149 1.0 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Boxer, Matthew 1914 W 17 B 11 W 16 B 2
NJ 12510577 0.5 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Pedersen, Roger E 1911 B 18 W 3 B 11 W 1
NJ 10092990 1.0 1.5 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Martinez, Alberto 1902 W 21 B 2 W 17 B 13
NJ 12490535 1.0 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Hart, Charles M 1900 B 23 W 10 B 24 W 3
NJ 10004071 0.5 1.5 2.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Sharpell, Fred 1853 W 24 B 9 B 22 W 14
NJ 12088600 0.5 0.5 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Burn, Murray 1852 B 25 W 6 W 7 B 19
NJ 10104891 1.0 1.5 1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Arias, Fermin 1817 W 27 B 4 W 21 W 5
NJ 12670179 1.0 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Garrett, Damon T 1797 B 1 W 18 B 20 W 8
NJ 12545276 0.0 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Corcoran, Paul 1783 W 2 B 21 W 26 B 10
NJ 11476317 0.0 0.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1758 B 3 W 26 B 23 W 20
NJ 12237580 0.0 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16. Katz, Harry S 1720 W 5 B 27 B 6 W 22
NJ 12052860 0.0 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Prettyman, William 1710 B 6 W 23 B 8 W 25
NJ 12393939 0.5 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18. West, Robert 1686 W 7 B 13 W 27 B 21
NJ 12904515 0.0 0.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Rivero, Rene Thoma 1656 HALF B 24 W 25 W 11
NJ 12441215 0.5 0.5 1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Paris, Shea 1590 HALF HALF W 13 B 15
NJ 12659701 0.5 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Fortunato, Joseph 1510 B 8 W 14 B 12 W 18
NJ 12932570 0.0 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Kwok, Manchit 1504 HALF B 28 W 10 B 16
NJ 14201547 0.5 0.5 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Korn, David Allan 1466 W 9 B 17 W 15 B 4
NJ 14564164 0.5 1.0 2.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24. Lynn, Robert L 1445 B 10 W 19 W 9 B 28
NJ 14010970 0.5 1.5 1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Trieste, Edward Wi 1414 W 11 BYE B 19 B 17
NJ 12029830 0.0 1.0 1.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26. Mehta, Palash 1300 W 4 B 15 B 14 W 27
NJ 14690738 0.0 0.0 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27. Falconi, Stefano 1220 B 12 W 16 B 18 B 26
NJ 14571505 0.0 0.0 0.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28. Hochheiser Jeremy S. 1212 HALF W 22 B 5 W 24
NJ 14446490 0.5 1.5 1.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chess Clubs, Venues in New Jersey, a Roster

2011-07-06T09:29:00.012-04:00

THIS IS A DRAFT. Wednesday 06 July, 2011

ITS PURPOSE IS ONLY TO SHARE INFORMATION FROM TWO DISTINCT SOURCES AND MAY HAVE REPETITIVE INFORMATION OR OUTRIGHT DUPLICATION. WHILE SOME OF THE INFORMATION IS OF REAL VALUE AND MOST HELPFULL, SOME OF IT IS K_N_O_W_N . T_O . B_E . Q_U_I_T_E . I_N_A_C_C_U_R_A_T_E .

IT IS OUR EXPRESSED PURPOSE TO REVISE IT, AS PART OF A GROUP PROCESS. AS SUCH, THIS WILL BE A LIVING DOCUMENT, SUBJECT TO REVISION, BUT IN THE SAME LOCATION. THE HOPE IS THAT IT MAY BE OF BENEFIT TO OTHERS, BY BEING SEARCHABLE ON THE WEB. IT IS INTENDED TO BE AN EVOLVING RESOURCE.

SINCE THIS WILL TAKE A LOT OF WORK, WE PLEASE ASK FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING, AS WE SIMPLY POST IT AS IS, BEFORE CORRECTING THE OBVIOUS DUPLICATIONS, AS AN OVERALL SYSTEMATIC PROCESS, TO BE DONE IN TRANCHES, NOT IN PIECEMEAL FASHION. THANK YOU.

PLEASE DROP US A LINE, TO INDICATE REVISIONS, ADDITIONS, EXCISIONS. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL D_A_V_I_D . K_O_R_N . A_T 206 284-TWO-SEVEN-TWO-TWO REGARDING THIS MATTER.

LAKE HIAWATHA NJ. NEW JERSEY ST CHESS FED (USCF ID T5002125). Affiliate Type: State Chapter. Contact: roger Inglis. Contact Phone: 973-794-4601. email:rwij@optonline.net. Web Site: http://www.njscf.org/, USCF Rated Events. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

BERKLEY HGTS NJ. MORRIS COUNTY CHESS LEAGUE (USCF ID A6010375). Affiliate Type: Club. TUES 7PM-9:30PM. HONEYWELL, 101 COLUMBIA RD, MORRISTOWN NJ, BERKLEY HGTS. Contact: ALAN STERN. Contact Phone: 215-497-2125. email: navigator247@live.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

CARTERET NJ. ON THE CHESS BOARD (USCF ID H6029791). Affiliate Type: Club. Contact: JAIRO W MOREIRA. Contact Phone: 718-710-2717. email: imjairo@gmail.com.(Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

CHERRY HILL NJ. CHERRY HILL CHESS CLUB (USCF ID H6009950). Affiliate Type: School, CHERRY HILL. Contact: DR LEROY DUBECK. Contact Phone: 856-428-0304. email: lwdubeck@aol.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

CHERRY HILL NJ. SOUTH JERSEY CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6023036). Affiliate Type: Club. SATURDAYS. CHERRY HILL LIBRARY, CHERRY HILL. Contact: DANIEL A HERMAN. Contact Phone: 856-287-2393. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

FOREST HILL NJ. NEW JERSEY CHILDRENS CHESS SCH (USCF ID A6006739). Affiliate Type: Club. fridays 6:30-9:00 PM. NJCCS, 862 DEGRAW AVE, NEWARK NJ 07104, FOREST HILL. Contact: ARKADY GELLER. Contact Phone: 973-483-7927. email: chesscamp@hotmail.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

FREEHOLD NJ. ATLANTIC CHESS NEWS (USCF ID A5002150). Affiliate Type: Club, FREEHOLD. Contact: GLENN PETERSEN. Contact Phone: 732-252-8388. email:chesslies@aol.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

GLEN RIDGE . BIONIC LIME CHESS (USCF ID A6031785). Affiliate Type: Club, GLEN RIDGE. Contact: Robert N. Bernard. email: bioniclime@gmail.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

GROVEVILLE NJ. HAMILTON CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6007704). Affiliate Type: Club. WED 8-11 PM. RAY DWIER REC CENTER, BLDG 392, GROVEVILLE. Contact: JOSHUA D HILL. Contact Phone: 609-847-9412. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

HACKETTSTOWN NJ. VIKING CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6008536). Affiliate Type: Club, HACKETTSTOWN. Contact: KEN THOMAS. Contact Phone: 908-763-6468. Address: 115 W MOORE ST, HACKETTSTOWN, NJ, 07840-2233. email: ACN@GOES.COM, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Blitz Events, Bughouse, Ladders, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Book Library, Chess Items for Sale, Classes Offered, Lectures Offered, Private Lessons Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

HACKETTSTOWN NJ. HACKETTSTOWN CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A5001846). Affiliate Type: Club. MEETS: MONDAY EVENINGS 7:30 PM. HACKETTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER, 293 MAIN ST, HACKETTSTOWN NJ 07840, HACKETTSTOWN. Contact: ERIC MARK. email: ericmark4@gmail.com. Web Site:http://www.hackettstownchess.blogspot.com/, USCF Rated Events, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Under Age 18 Welcome, Every Monday except specific major holidays. USCF Rated Events, Equipment Available. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

HOBOKEN NJ. CHESSOCIETY (USCF ID A6034716). Affiliate Type: Club. wed 8 PM SUN 11am BLITZ. yankee ferry shipyard, HOBOKEN. Contact: JOHANN GUZMAN. Contact Phone: 201-540-9405. Club Phone: 201-540-9405. email: chessociety@gmail.com. Web Site: chessociety.net. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

KENDALL PARK NJ. MYCHESSGURU (USCF ID A6036185). Affiliate Type: Club, KENDALL PARK. Contact: Sujeev Marupudi. Contact Phone: 732-207-6203. email:mychessguru@gmail.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

KENILWORTH NJ. KENILWORTH CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6009894). Affiliate Type: Club. THURSDAYS 8:00 PM. KENILWORTH COMMUNITY CENTER, 575 KENILWORTH BOULEVARD, KENILWORTH. Contact: John Moldovan. Address: 575 KENILWORTH BLVD, KENILWORTH, NJ, 07033. email:chesscoroner@kenilworthchessclub.org. Web Site: http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Bughouse, League Play, Matches, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Book Library, Lectures Offered, Private Lessons Offered, Simuls Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Analysis, A parent or guardian accompany those under age 15.. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

LAKEWOOD NJ. JERSEY SHORE HS CHESS LEAGUE (USCF ID H5001781). Affiliate Type: School, LAKEWOOD. Contact: JOHN BARTLETT. Contact Phone: 732-233-1545. email: JBART1517@YAHOO.COM. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

LOGAN TOWNSHIP NJ. GLOUCESTER COUNTY LIBRARY CC (USCF ID A6030817). Affiliate Type: Club. THURS 6-9 PM. GLOUCESTER COUNTY LIBRARY, LOGAN TOWNSHIP. Contact: ORLANDO K CACHUELA. Contact Phone: 856-241-0202. email: loganchess@comcast.net. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

MANALAPAN NJ. MONMOUTH COUNTY CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A5001790). Affiliate Type: Club. SAT 10-1PM. MONMOUTH CTY LIB HDQTRS, 125 SYMMES DRIVE, MANALAPAN. Contact: HAL SPRECHMAN. Contact Phone: 732-259-3881. email: hsprechman@characterkings.org. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

MAYS LANDING NJ. OAKCREST HIGH SCHOOL (USCF ID H6011069). Affiliate Type: School. Contact Phone: 000-000-0000. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

NEW MILFORD NJ. INTERNATIONAL CHESS ACADEMY (USCF ID H6014810). Affiliate Type: School. SUN 10-3:30,T 6-7:30,W 6-9 PM. 185 COURT ST, TEANECK NJ, NEW MILFORD. Contact: DIANA TULMAN. Contact Phone: 201-287-0250. email: diana@canj.net. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

NORTH BERGEN NJ. NORTH HUDSON ACADEMY (USCF ID H6017121). Affiliate Type: School, NORTH BERGEN. Contact: JOE IPPOLITO/DENNIS MCCARTHY. Contact Phone: 201-865-9577. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

PITMAN NJ. ALL THE KING'S MEN CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6030687). Affiliate Type: Club. Thr-7PM, Tue-11AM, Sun-1PM. All the King's Men Chess Shop, 62 S. Broadway, Pitman, NJ 08071, PITMAN. Contact: Stephen Dick. Contact Phone: 856-582-8222. Club Phone: 856-582-8222. email: cs@atkmchesssets.com. Web Site:www.ATKMchessSets.com/chessclub, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Ladders, Club Championships, Sets Available, Book Library, Chess Items for Sale, Classes Offered, Chess Camps, Private Lessons Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Refreshments, Scholastic K - 8 tournaments., Free parking behind the shop!. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

PRINCETON NJ. PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL (USCF ID H6017380). Affiliate Type: School. EXT 227 WEEKDAYS 8:00-3:15. SCHOOL, PRINCETON. Contact: BONNIE WAITZKIN. Contact Phone: 917-697-1048. email: chessteach@gmail.com. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

PRINCETON NJ. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CC (USCF ID G6035574). Affiliate Type: College, PRINCETON. Contact: JACK HUTTON. email: chess@princeton.edu. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

RAHWAY . CHESS MATES CORPORATION (USCF ID A6033755). Affiliate Type: Club, RAHWAY. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

RANDOLPH NJ. THE KING'S CHESS CLUB (USCF ID H6026345). Affiliate Type: School. 2 SAT PER MONTH 10:30-NOON. BETHLEHEM CHURCH, 758 ROUTE 10, RANDOLPH. Contact: Robert W. McAdams. Contact Phone: 973-694-3988. email: rwm@fambright.com, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Lectures Offered, Private Lessons Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Refreshments, Handicap Accessible. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

RED BANK NJ. COLTS CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6030467). Affiliate Type: Club. Contact: PATRICK J MELOSH. Contact Phone: 732-530-3987. email: budbencze@aol.com.(Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

RED BANK NJ. MONMOUTH CHESS SCHOOL AND CLUB (USCF ID A6030336). Affiliate Type: Club. 12-6: PM Sun. The Community YMCA, Children's Cultural Center, 51 Monmouth Street, RED BANK. Contact: Dr. Michael Koblentz. Contact Phone: 732-219-0916. Club Phone: 732-614-0738. email: learnchess@optonline.net. Web Site:www.monmouthchess.com, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Blitz Events, Bughouse, League Play, Matches, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Book Library, Chess Items for Sale, Classes Offered, Lectures Offered, Chess Camps, Private Lessons Offered, Simuls Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Refreshments, Handicap Accessible, Group Lessons available 9 AM, 10 AM and 11 AM Sun - call 732-219-0916 to register. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

RIDGEWOOD NJ. BERGEN CHESS MATES (USCF ID A5001684). Affiliate Type: Club. S 1-6, M 7-11:30. Ridgewood UMC, 100 Dayton Street, Ridgewood, NJ, RIDGEWOOD. Contact: Lawrence Constance. Contact Phone: 201-568-1506. Club Phone: C: 201-914-1719. Address: 384 WEST HUDSON AVENUE, ENGLEWOOD, NJ, 07631. email:lacon1963@yahoo.com. Web Site: www.bergenchessmates.com, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Blitz Events, Matches, Ladders, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Book Library, Classes Offered, Lectures Offered, Private Lessons Offered, Simuls Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Refreshments, Handicap Accessible. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

SPARTA NJ. SPARTA CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6020173). Affiliate Type: Club. AFTER SCHOOL. SPARTA SCHOOLS. Contact: TOM MURRAY. Contact Phone: 9737269405. Club Phone: 9737269405. email: ospreynj@aol.com. Web Site: www.spartachessclub.org. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

SPRINGFIELD NJ. WIZARDS OF THE MIND (USCF ID A6018570). Affiliate Type: Club. WED THROUGH SAT, SPRINGFIELD. Contact: MARK SCHWARTZMAN. Contact Phone: 973-262-1395. email: info@wizardsofthemind.com. Web Site: www.wizardsofthemind.com, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Classes Offered, Lectures Offered, Chess Camps, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

SUCCASUNNA NJ. EISENHOWER MS KNIGHT EAGLES (USCF ID H6031915). Affiliate Type: School. AFTER SCHOOL-DAYS VARY. SCHOOL MEDIA CENTER, SUCCASUNNA. Contact: J MITTAG. Contact Phone: 973-584-2973. email: jmittag@roxbury.org. Web Site: www.roxbury.org/ems/media.html. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

TOMS RIVER NJ. TOMS RIVER CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A5002109). Affiliate Type: Club. Thurs 7-11pm. Toms River Municipal Building, Washington Street, TOMS RIVER. Contact: Bob Garrison. Contact Phone: 732-255-6721. email: bob.garrison@tomsriverchessclub.org. Web Site: www.tomsriverchessclub.org, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Unrated Events, Matches, Sets Available, Simuls Offered, Handicap Accessible. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

W ORANGE NJ. 4 KNIGHTS CHESS SCHOOL (USCF ID A6018591). Affiliate Type: Club, W ORANGE. Contact: MIKHAIL ZLOTNIKOV. Contact Phone: 973-736-9142. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

WEST NEW YORK NJ. JOSE RAUL CAPABLANCA CC ACADEM (USCF ID A6008495). Affiliate Type: Club. WED SAT 6-9 12-9. 6018 Hudson Ave, West New York NJ 07093, WEST NEW YORK. Contact: Atilio Rodriguez. Contact Phone: 201-926-3680. Club Phone: 201-926-3680. email: atiliorodriguez@yahoo.com, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Blitz Events, Matches, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Classes Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Scholastic Chess Instruction. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

WEST ORANGE NJ. WEST ORANGE CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6002020). Affiliate Type: Club. TUES 7-12PM. TOBY KATZ COMM CTR, 650 PLEASANT VALLEY WAY, WEST ORANGE NJ 70752, WEST ORANGE. Contact: JOHN HAGERTY. Contact Phone: 973-736-3433. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

WESTFIELD NJ. WESTFIELD CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6010261). Affiliate Type: Club. SUNDAY 1:30-8PM. WESTFIELD YMCA, 220 CLARK STREET, WESTFIELD. Contact: TODD LUNNA. Contact Phone: 732-526-7163. email: lunnaco@aol.com. Web Site: www.westfieldchessclub.com, July- August: meeting times are from 3-6pm. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

WHITE HOUSE STATION NJ. DEAN IPPOLITO CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A6018754). Affiliate Type: Chess Program, WHITE HOUSE STATION. Contact: DEAN IPPOLITO. Contact Phone: 908-595-0066. email: dawn@deanofchess.com. Web Site: www.deanofchess.com, USCF Rated Events, Ladders, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Chess Items for Sale, Classes Offered, Lectures Offered, Chess Camps, Private Lessons Offered, Simuls Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

WOODBURY NJ. WOODBURY CHESS CLUB (USCF ID A5001951). Affiliate Type: Club. TUES 7PM. WOODBURY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, S BROAD & CENTRE ST, WOODBURY NJ 08096, WOODBURY. Contact: HENRY FELTMAN. Contact Phone: 856-845-5094. Club Phone: 856-845-5094. Address: 20 PROGRESS AVE, WOODBURY, NJ, 08096-1212. email: WoodburyChessClub@verizon.net, Club Membership Not Required, Casual Play, USCF Rated Events, Matches, Club Championships, Sets Available, Clocks Available, Book Library, Simuls Offered, Under Age 18 Welcome, Beginners Welcome, Refreshments. (Crosstables from past rated tourneys for this affiliate)

* * * *

ATLANTIC CITY. ATLANTIC CITY HIGH SCH CHESS. Scholastic. MONDAY 2:20-3:30 PM. A C H S (ART ROOM) , 1400 N ALBANY AVE . Contact: JOE DUFFY. (609) 343 - 7300.

BAYONNE. M J DONOHOE SCHOOL #4. Scholastic. DAILY 3:15-5:00PM. AUDITORIUM M J DONOHOE SCHOOL , 25 E 5TH ST , BAYONNE . Contact: MIKE LYNCH. (201) 858 - 5969.

BEACHWOOD. TOMS RIVER CHESS CLUB. THURS 7-11 PM. TOMS RIVER MUNICIPAL BLDG , WASHINGTON AVE , TOMS RIVER, NJ . Contact: ART AIKIN. aaikin@comcast.net. Additional Information: http://mywebpages.comcast.net/trchessclub/first.html

BEDMINSTER. BEDMINSTER SCHOOL. Scholastic. EXT 160. Contact: CARL HAZEN. (908) 234 - 0768.

BELLMAWR. BELL OAKS CHESS TEAM. Scholastic. MONDAY 3:00 - 4:30. BELL OAKS SCHOOL , 256 ANDERSON AVE , BELLMAWR,NJ . Contact: DENNIS W JONES. (856) 933 - 1611.

BELVIDERE. BELVIDERE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O JASON KORNEGAY.

BERKLEY HGTS. MORRIS CNTY CHESS LEAGUE. TUES 7PM-9:30PM. HONEYWELL , 101 COLUMBIA RD , MORRISTOWN NJ . Contact: GORDON PRINGLE.

BLAIRSTOWN. BLAIRSTOWN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. SAME . Contact: FELIX A STAFFARONI. (908) 362 - 6111.

BLOOMFIELD. ST THOMAS THE APOSTLE SCHOOL. Contact: C/O ED MONA.

BUTLER. CHAZ'S CHESS CLUB. Contact: C/O TIMOTHY FAHERTY.

CHATHAM. CHATHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL CC. ALTERNATE THUR 2:30-3:30PM. CHATHAM MIDDLE SCH . Contact: V CONNOLLY/J COSTELLO. (973) 635 - 7200.

CHERRY HILL. CHERRY HILL CHESS CLUB. Contact: DR LEROY DUBECK. (856) 428 - 0309. email: LWDubeck@aol.com.

CHERRY HILL. CHERRY HILL HIGH SCHOOL EAST. Contact: CHESS CLUB C/O ROBERT GODFREY.

CINNAMINSON. NEW ALBANY ELEM SCHOOL. Contact: JOHN HAAG. (856) 786 - 2284.

CRANBURY. HAMILTON CHESS CLUB. WED 8-11:30 PM. RAY DWIER CENTER , MAIN ST, GROVEVILLE, NJ . Contact: KRISTINA ERIN KAYE. (609) 918 - 0603.

DUMONT. DUMONT CHESS MATES.
MONDAYS 7:00-11PM. DUMONT HIGH SCHOOL CAFETERIA , NEW MILFORD AVE , DUMONT, NJ . Contact: RON GROSEIBL. (201) 794 - 2301.
EWING. THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY CC. College. WED 12:30-2:00. SOCIAL SCIENCE BLDG RM 230 , COLLEGE OF NJ . Contact: LEN SPRISHEN. (609) 637 - 6007. www.tcnj.edu/~chessc/.

FOREST HILL. NEW JERSEY CHILDRENS CHESS SCH. FRI 7-9:30 PM. UNION CONG. CHURCH , 176 COOPER AVE , UPPER MONTCLAIR . Contact: ARKADY GELLER. (973) 483 - 7927.

HACKETTSTOWN. HACKETTSTOWN CHESS CLUB. MEETS: MONDAY EVENINGS 7:30 PM. HACKETTSTOWN COMMUNITY CENTER , 293 MAIN ST , HACKETTSTOWN NJ 07840 . Contact: HAROLD J DARST. (908) 852 - 5925. email: HJDarst@Verizon.net. This club offers: USCF Rated Events Additional Information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HackettstownChessClub/

HAWORTH. TWO KNIGHTS ORGANIZATION. Contact: HARRISON COLEMAN. (201) 385 - 0876.

HILLSBOROUGH. GREATER SOMERSET COUNTY CC. TUESDAYS NIGHTS. CATANIAS RESTAURANT . Contact: C/O DAVID T FULTON. 908-672-4792. email: d.fulton@att.net. This club offers: USCF Rated Events , Casual Play , Under 18 Permitted , Refreshments , Beginners Welcomed

HOBOKEN. HOBOKEN CHESS CLUB. Contact: PETER CROCE. (201) 725 - 0439. email: hobokenchess@yahoo.com.

JERSEY CITY. ST PETER'S PREPARATORY SCH CC. Scholastic. TU/TH 3-5 PM. ST PETERS PREP , 144 GRAND ST , JERSEY CITY, NJ . Contact: JOHN DADAS. (201) 434 - 4400.

JERSEY CITY. LIBERTY ACADEMY CHARTER CC. Scholastic. THUR 1 HOUR. LIBERTY ACADEMY . Contact: ABDULLAH PAYTON. (201) 395 - 9400.

KENILWORTH. KENILWORTH CHESS CLUB. THURS 8PM. KENILWORTH COMM CTR , 24TH ST & THE BLVD , KENILWORTH NJ . Contact: MICHAEL D WOJCIO. (201) 276 - 7352.

LAKE HOPATCONG. ELLEN T BRIGGS ELEM SCHOOL. 12:00-1:30 PM LUNCH RECESS. SCHOOL . Contact: BARBARA PLATZ. (973) 383 - 7094.

LAKEWOOD. SHORE HS CHESS LEAGUE. Scholastic. Contact: WALTER J HEERSCHAP. (908) 542 - 1170.

LIBERTY CORNER. BONNIE BRAE SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O PAT HILGENDORFF. (908) 647 - 8811.

MADISON. MADISON AREA YMCA. (EXT 307). MADISON AREA YMCA . Contact: BARBARA CARKHUFF. (973) 377 - 6200.

MANALAPAN. MONMOUTH COUNTY CHESS CLUB. SAT 10-1PM. MONMOUTH CTY LIB HDQTRS , 125 SYMMES DRIVE . Contact: HAL SPRECHMAN. (732) 577 - 1457. email: jmull@aol.com.

MARLBORO. MARLBORO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB C/O LARRY BARTOLF.

MAYS LANDING. GREATER EGG HARBOR HS DIST. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB C/O D JUNGBLUT.

MEDFORD. MEDFORD MEMORIAL MID SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: DONALD ENG. (609) 654 - 7707.

MIDDLETOWN. MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL SOUTH. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB/BRIAN RASP.

MIDDLETOWN. MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL NORTH. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB/JENNIFER ARMSTRONG.

MONMOUTH JUNCTION. SOUTH BRUNSWICK HIGH SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O L FEKETE.

MONTCLAIR. THE MONTCLAIR KIMBERLEY ACAD. Scholastic. Contact: ROBERT J SINNER. (973) 746 - 9800.

MORRISTOWN. DELBARTON SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O MARTIN BURNE.

MORRISTOWN. BOB RUSSELL. Scholastic. Contact: BOB RUSSELL. (973) 292 - 2300.

MOUNT LAUREL. MOUNT LAUREL CHESS CLUB. THURSDAY 6-11 PM. BORDERS BOOKSTORE , 4010 DEARBORN CIRCLE . Contact: CRIAG GROSS. (856) 722 - 0898.

MULLICA HILL. CLEARVIEW REG HIGH SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB C/O TOM CHEESEMAN.

N ARLINGTON. N ARLINGTON PUBLIC LIB CC. Contact: C/O MARIA PUSZKAR.

NEW MILFORD. INTERNATIONAL CHESS ACADEMY. Scholastic. SUN 10-3:30,T 6-7:30,W 6-9 PM. 185 COURT ST , TEANECK NJ . Contact: DIANA TULMAN. (201) 833 - 1741. email: ica_nj@hotmail.com.

NORTH BERGEN. NORTH HUDSON ACADEMY. Scholastic. Contact: JOE IPPOLITO/DENNIS MCCARTHY. (201) 865 - 9577.

OAK RIDGE. CHESS CENTER OF NEW JERSEY. Contact: C/O GARY PRINCE.

OLD TAPPAN. OLD TAPPAN TACTICAL MOVES. Scholastic. Contact: C/O DIANA FEREBEE.

ORANGE. ORANGE RECREATION OESDP. Scholastic. Contact: CHESS CLUB C/O KEITH PRESSEY.

OXFORD. DEPT OF LAW & PUB SAFETY. Scholastic. Contact: JUVENILE JUSTICE COMM EDU BCH.

PRINCETON. PRINCETON DAY SCHOOL. Scholastic. EXT 227 WEEKDAYS 8:00-3:15. SCHOOL . Contact: BONNIE WAITZKIN. (609) 924 - 6700.

PRINCETON. RIVERSIDE SCHOOL CHESS CLUB. Scholastic. Contact: C/O J MURPHY. (609) 497 - 4662.

RAHWAY. EAST JERSEY STATE PRISON. Prison.

RAMSEY. INDIAN HILLS HS CHESS CLUB. Scholastic. Contact: C/O JOE COLLINS.

S PLAINFIELD. WESTFIELD CHESS CLUB. SUNDAY 3-8PM. WESTFIELD YMCA , 220 CLARK STREET , WESTFIELD . Contact: TODD LUNNA. (732) 946 - 7379. email: webmaster@westfieldchessclub.com. www.westfieldchessclub.com. Additional Information: July- August: meeting times are from 3-6pm
SOUTH ORANGE. OUR LADY OF SORROWS SCHOOL. Scholastic. FRIDAYS 2:45-3:45. SCHOOL CAFETERIA . Contact: JO ANN CHIERICO. (973) 762 - 5169.

SOUTH PLAINFIELD. SACRED HEART CHESS CLUB. Scholastic. Contact: C/O JOHN SY.

TENAFLY. THE MAUGHAM SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O CHAD POSTMAN.

TRENTON. TRENTON CHESS CLUB. Contact: C/O YORK FEBRES.

VINELAND. D'IPPOLITO INTERMED SCH LIB. Scholastic. Contact: C/O SANDRA AMARI.

VINELAND. CLEARY MIDDLE SCHOOL. Scholastic. Contact: C/O ERIC DEMITROFF. (856) 697 - 0100.

W CALDWELL. NEW JERSEY ST CHESS FED. State. Contact: MIKE SOMERS. (973) 228 - 7039. http://www.njscf.org/.

WATCHUNG. BAYBERRY SCHOOL CHESS CLUB. Scholastic. Contact: ELAINE CHESEBRO. (908) 755 - 8184.

WEST ORANGE. WEST ORANGE CHESS CLUB. TUES 7-12PM. TOBY KATZ COMM CTR , 650 PLEASANT VALLEY WAY , WEST ORANGE NJ 70752 . Contact: JOHN HAGERTY. (973) 736 - 3433.

WILDWOOD. WILDWOOD BOARD OF EDUCATION. Scholastic. MON 1 1/2 HRS. WILDWOOD SCHOOL . Contact: IONE W LAFFEY. (609) 522 - 7922.

WILLIAMSTOWN. WILLIAMSTOWN HS CHESS CLUB. Scholastic. AFTER SCH/1ST TUES OF MONTH. WILLIAMSTOWN HS , 700 N TUCKAHOE RD .

WILLINGBORO. WILLINGBORO REC DEPT. Contact: C/O JOE THOMAS.

WILLINGBORO. TOWNSHIP OF WILLINSBORO. Scholastic. Contact: REC DEPT/KENNEDY CTR.

WOODBURY. WOODBURY CHESS CLUB. TUES 6:30 PM. WOODBURY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH , S BROAD CENTRE ST , WOODBURY NJ 08096 . Contact: HENRY FELTMAN. (856) 845 - 5094.

Peter's Brilliant Win at USATE East

2011-07-01T11:09:00.008-04:00

Game 2 : US Team Championship East 2011 Round 5 2/21/11.

Team Board 2, Individual Board 2

White: Ben Katz (Expert)= Team: Taking Our Talents to Parsippany

versus : Black Peter Radomskyj (Master) = Team : West Orange Krush.

Opening: Ruy Lopez.

1. e4 e5 2. N-f3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. B-a4 N-f6 5. O-O B-e7 6. R-e1 b5 7. B-b3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 N-b8 10. d3 B-b7 11. N(b1)-d2 c5 12. N-f1 c4 (?) 13. dc Nxe4 14. cb Q-b6 (not ...14 ab (??) 15. B-d5 (!) etc) 15. Q-c2 (!) N-c5 16. ba N(b8)xa6 17. B-c4(!) e4 18. N-d4 d5 19. B-e2 Q-g6 20. B-f4 N-e6 21. Nxe6 (?) fe 22. Q-d2 R(a8)-d8 23. b4 B-f6 24. B-e3 e5 25. Bxa6 Bxa6 26. B-c5 R-f7 27. a4 B-b7 28. Q-e2 d4 29. Q-g4 B-g5 30. h4 e3 (!) 31. fe Bxh4 32. Qxg6 B-f2 check (!) 33. K-h2 hg 34. ed R-f4 35. g3 (??) (35. R-e3(!) draws) ...35 K-f7 (!) 36. WHITE RESIGNS. White can't stop the mate coming up with ... R-h8 Mate. Hope the readers on the blog will like these games. Regards, Peter Radomskyj. 6/19/11

Club Update: Summer Spring Swiss, Pairings Round Three

2011-06-29T22:10:00.012-04:00

Van Leyden Painting, The Chess Players, c.1508

Before the immediate business of posting the lattest pairings for Round Three of the WOCC Summer Swiss, let us take a moment to give special thanks to Roger E. Pedersen for being of service to the club in furnishing the pairing calculations and reporting them.

He has been among our chief advocates in favor of the club not only obtaining an inexpernsive computor to use at the clubhouse, but to do so with a view to have SwissMaster (link here, in red) software close at hand.

We love and appreciate our President, John Hagerty, but having already done way, way too much, this spares him that particular labor of love. John does so and did so to the fullest extent possible--manually, but this insures the work being done so without possible error or the slightest margin of interpretion. Any of us would face the same thing, were it us.

Roger has generiously allowed us to not only use his version, and has been of service in recording the results at evening end--to the fullest extent possible, but also taken time to promptlyy report the calculated next round pairings to the blog administrator.

Let us all be sure to thank Roger for his effort. Every bit helps, we all can agree. That said, our official business:

ROUND 3
Rd Bd White Black
03 1. Radomskyj, Peter (2.0) Tica, Juan P (2.0)
03 2. Zilbermintz, Lev (1.5) Race, Doran (2.0)
03 3. Burn, Murray (1.5) Pedersen, Roger E (1.5)
03 4. Lynn, Robert L (1.5) Hart, Charles M (1.5)
03 5. Cohen, Bryan Paul (1.0) Hochheiser Jeremy S. (1.5)
03 6. Boxer, Matthew (1.0) Katz, Harry S (1.0)
03 7. Martinez, Alberto (1.0) Prettyman, William (1.0)
03 8. Arias, Fermin (1.0) Fortunato, Joseph (1.0)
03 9. Paris, Shea (1.0) Garrett, Damon T (1.0)
03 10. Korn, David Allan (1.0) Nayak, Mohan Rao (1.0)
03 11. Rivero, Rene Thoma (0.5) Trieste, Edward Wi (1.0)
03 12. Kwok, Manchit (0.5) Sharpell, Fred (0.5)
03 13. Corcoran, Paul (0.0) Mehta, Palash (0.0)
03 14. West, Robert (0.0) Falconi, Stefano (0.0)

West Orange Summer Swiss 2011
Name/State ID Rate Rnd 1 Rnd 2 Rnd 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Radomskyj, Peter 2269 W 13 B 5 W 2
NJ 12460475 1.0 2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Tica, Juan P 2202 B 14 W 8 B 1
NJ 14020117 1.0 2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Zilbermintz, Lev 2054 W 15 B 7 W 4
NJ 12476202 1.0 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Race, Doran 1952 B 26 W 12 B 3
NJ 12183660 1.0 2.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Cohen, Bryan Paul 1924 B 16 W 1 W 28
NJ 20020149 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Boxer, Matthew 1914 W 17 B 11 W 16
NJ 12510577 0.5 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Pedersen, Roger E 1911 B 18 W 3 B 11
NJ 10092990 1.0 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Martinez, Alberto 1902 W 21 B 2 W 17
NJ 12490535 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Hart, Charles M 1900 B 23 W 10 B 24
NJ 10004071 0.5 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Sharpell, Fred 1853 W 24 B 9 B 22
NJ 12088600 0.5 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Burn, Murray 1852 B 25 W 6 W 7
NJ 10104891 1.0 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Arias, Fermin 1817 W 27 B 4 W 21
NJ 12670179 1.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
13. Garrett, Damon T 1797 B 1 W 18 B 20
NJ 12545276 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
14. Corcoran, Paul 1783 W 2 B 21 W 26
NJ 11476317 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
15. Nayak, Mohan Rao 1758 B 3 W 26 B 23
NJ 12237580 0.0 1.0

16. Katz, Harry S 1720 W 5 B 27 B 6
NJ 12052860 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
17. Prettyman, William 1710 B 6 W 23 B 8
NJ 12393939 0.5 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
18. West, Robert 1686 W 7 B 13 W 27
NJ 12904515 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
19. Rivero, Rene Thoma 1656 HALF B 24 W 25
NJ 12441215 0.5 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
20. Paris, Shea 1590 HALF HALF W 13
NJ 12659701 0.5 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
21. Fortunato, Joseph 1510 B 8 W 14 B 12
NJ 12932570 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
22. Kwok, Manchit 1504 HALF B 28 W 10
NJ 14201547 0.5 0.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
23. Korn, David Allan 1466 W 9 B 17 W 15
NJ 14564164 0.5 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
24. Lynn, Robert L 1445 B 10 W 19 W 9
NJ 14010970 0.5 1.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------
25. Trieste, Edward Wi 1414 W 11 BYE B 19
NJ 12029830 0.0 1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
26. Mehta, Palash 1300 W 4 B 15 B 14
NJ 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
27. Falconi, Stefano 1220 B 12 W 16 B 18
NJ 14571505 0.0 0.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
28. Hochheiser Jeremy S. 1212 HALF W 22 B 5
NJ 14446490 0.5 1.5

Conduct: Good Sportsmanship, Morals, and Learning

2011-06-28T11:43:00.011-04:00

DRAFT / DRAFT / DRAFT / subject to review by WOCC board / DRAFT / DRAFT

Played as a serious game, competitive chess while sedentary can be quite tense in nature.

Performed at a high level you must not only evaluate hundreds--if not thousands--of combinations and postions, but this must be done not only quickly, but accurately for a sustained period of time. As is well know in these circles, one bad move, and its OVER.

Then you are seated across from someone, for hours at a time, and cannot help but be affected by their state of mind, or conduct. Think about this.

Nevermind chess, but the much broader arena of life is filled with costs, benefits, and costs. Risk is everywhere, and while it can to an extent can be controlled, cannot completely done so. And the process of playing chess and the process of engaging our opponent is a small labority within which to do so.

Playing chess for two or three hours is s significant investment of time and energy. You might have worked all day and come straight to the club or tournament hall without letup; your opponent might have left spouses or children to face you across the board, or feel anxiety when there is a history of other battles with you or imbalance of skills or ability.

If it is true as Kasparov said that 'Chess is mental torture', it has never been encouraged to torture your opponent off the board. Well OK, if its not tortune, then disturbance if you will.

Then the clubhouse. Chess in a club such as ours is a real priviledge. Let it be remembered please, that membership is a priviledge not a right. Lets cherish this place and each other. Let there be good sportsmanship (Wikipedia, link at left).

It is not hard to be disruptive. Making faces, banging pieces, hitting the clock, making other noises, side talk or little comments, standing too close over the shoulder of another tables player, maing faces, all that is not what a good sportsman does.

We want to keep it positive. We are not a formal club. We are serious, but are friendly and do everything possible to keep it that way.

Take a moment and visit the webpages of some high level professional golf webpages. Sometimes, in the upper left, outside FAQ [1] is a note on code of conduct. Whereas golf can involve wearing spiked shoes and swing a metal club which is capable of great destruction, chess can be just a board and a clock. Why should we be any less?

[1] FAQ, abrev for 'Frequently asked questions'.

Ponderous Hippo

2011-06-24T18:03:00.011-04:00

We are all very proud of the imprimateur of NM Peter Radomsky (click red for web-link), who very kindly prepared the game record ready for publicaton at our blog. Peter ranks 415th out of 46,161 USCF members nationally, or an even more impressive figure, ranking 15th out of 815 rated players in the state of New Jersey. Notice how he demonishes his opponent, Candidate Master Lev Zilbermintz, who while also very much at times a most forminable force, falls ill to Peter by his preturnatural yearning for the idiosyncratic!

Radomskyj,Peter (2261) - Zilbermintz,Lev (2113) [A04]
West Orange Chess Club Double Round Rob (5), 17.05.2011
[Peter Radomskyj]

Hippopatamus Defence 1.Nf3 f6 This is not a typo 2.e4 e6 3.d4 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.0-0 g6 6.c4 Bg7 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.Be3 d6 9.e5! dxe5 10.dxe5 f5 11.Ng5 Qc8 12.f4 h6 13.Nf3 Nd7 14.b4 a6 15.Nd4 Nf8 16.c5 Nc6 17.Nxc6 Bxc6 18.a4 Qb7 19.b5! axb5 20.axb5 Rxa1? 21.bxc6!! Rxd1 22.cxb7 Rxf1+ 23.Kxf1 Nd7 24.Bb5 Ke7 25.c6 Nb8 26.Bxb6! Kd8 27.Ba7 Ke7 28.Na4 Rd8 29.Nc5 Rd1+ 30.Ke2 Rb1 31.Bxb8 Rxb5 32.Bxc7 Bf8 33.Bd6+ Kf7 34.c7 Bxd6 35.exd6 Rxc5 36.c8Q 1-0

Since this game stands on its owns so well, we will wait a few days till we furnish Peters second game, equally impressively and therefore shown seperately.

[Peter wishes to correct the error in our recent post, 'Next Up, and Spring Results'. He did not win his section in its entirety, but tied with Juan for 1st. Now let us also extend our congratulations to Juan also! Thank you Peter.]

Club Update: Summer Spring Swiss, Pairings Round Two

2011-06-22T09:05:00.010-04:00

Useful Swiss Knife

The character of The West Orange Chess Club has a variety of components, but outside of commitment, depth, and a much deserved reputation for genuine friendlyness, the major flavor of our club is our consistency.

We have been around for a long time, and we can still count among our regular members more than a few persons who have been comming for over twenty years. Can you imagine? Thats one fifth of a century, or 2% of 1000 years, or 1% of the elapsed time since antiguity. Thats a lot of time. Thats a lot of human character. And in our case, thats a lot of chess.

Our Board--and with it, our President John Hagerty--has put in place an environment where rated tournaments--often between all club members--are held on a regular basis. As our editor here told a family member last night, 'Its not that Tuesday night rated play is the exception, but rather that a few weeks of off from serious play is the exception'. This affords us all a regular venue within which to practice chess among familiar faces in a comfortable and secure environment. That is to say:

Besides being of very low cost relative to overal quality and availability (not to sound too much like Harvard Business Review, but this means location, access, ease of entry, good terms), we hasten to repeat that we are a friendly, welcoming club with a lot of strong players. And for sure a strong club are particularly welcoming of new players and visitors [1].

* . * . *
On that note, after the winter Club Championship and Spring Swiss, we are now underway with our Summer Swiss. This is five round (prior we seven and six respectively).

The pairings for round two are as follows. And our sincere appreciation to Roger Peterson for his great contribution of furnishing and operating his Swiss Master programs:

Rd Bd Scr White Scr Black
02 1. xxx Cohen, Bryan Paul (1.0) xxx Radomskyj, Peter (1.0)
02 2. xxx Tica, Juan P (1.0) xxx Martinez, Alberto (1.0)
02 3. xxx Pedersen, Roger E (1.0) xxx Zilbermintz, Lev (1.0)
02 4. xxx Race, Doran (1.0) xxx Arias, Fermin (1.0)
02 5. xxx Burn, Murray (1.0) xxx Boxer, Matthew (0.5)
02 6. xxx Hart, Charles M (0.5) xxx Sharpell, Fred (0.5)
02 7. xxx Prettyman, William (0.5) xxx Korn, David Allan (0.5)
02 8. xxx Lynn, Robert L (0.5) xxx Rivero, Rene Thoma (0.5)
02 9. xxx Garrett, Damon T (0.0) xxx West, Robert (0.0)
02 10. xxx Fortunato, Joseph (0.0) xxx Corcoran, Paul (0.0)
02 11. xxx Nayak, Mohan Rao (0.0) xxx Mehta, Palash (0.0)
02 12. xxx Falconi, Stefano (0.0) xxx Katz, Harry S (0.0)
02 1.0 Trieste, Edward Wi (0.0) BYE

[1.] Ten dollers per year, or about 19 cents per weekly visit. Can you imagine?

Next Up, and Spring Results

2011-06-18T10:26:00.016-04:00

Along the recent lines of our commitment to keeping the WOCC Blog fresh and up to date, one or two house keeping things, then a bit of news. In no particilar order of significance:

* . * . *

Starting this next Tuesday, the next Swiss starts, which promises to have a good turnout for the summer months. While 32 or 36 participants is a good turn out for our club--especially in the winter months when vacations are not often planned, Tournament Director Charlie Hart sees 24, possibly 25 members planned on entering the summer tournament [1].

Members have been hungering for another tournament, and this fullfills this need after the long six round Spring Swiss, which was seven weeks with a one week hiatus between round three and four, as players switched sides of play (double round robbin, white plays Blk, then black plays Wht).

If you are new to our area, new to chess, or a serious chess player looking for a new place to play, meet nice persons of engaging mind, we very greatly hope that you will visit. Easy contact information, page down to earlier post, including phone numbers.

* . * . *

Winners by section in the Spring Swiss:

Perenial winner Peter Radomskyj tied for first with Juan Tica, won their sections, sharing first honors. We all enjoy Peters leadership as one of our strongest players, and for participating at our club, raising our profile in the region as we take our club to the next level. Congratulations to Peter! And not least of which to say:

Let it be duly noted that Juan Tica played extraordinarily strong for someone who was only just making his debut games, as a provisional player. Can you imagine? 2000 elo plus, one must assume, as an unrated? The writer asked him so much and so on, and was told by Juan that he trains with CT-Art 3.0 [link here], which is known as still the best master level tactical trainer. Its an older program, based on Maxim Blokh's book Combinative Motifs [linked here] but the CR-Rom powerfully reflect his labor of of love. He trained several future GM's, not least of which, now world number 12, Alexander Grischuk. CD Publisher: Convekta, a competitor of ChessBase.

Matthew Boxer won the second section. Congratulations to Matthew. There is nothing harder than winning a won game. :-)

Fred Sharpell who is also very well accomplished as a correspondence player, not just nationally, but globally, won his section. If we have this right (correct us if the editor is wrong), he previously won the under 1900 section of the club championship, a very tough section if ever there was one. Congratulations to Fred for his 'convincing performance'. Fred does not fool around, and is known for deep, careful calculation.

Despite a tough work schedule, Fermin Arias still won the forth second he found himself in. The writer here--as many of us do--knows how hard it is to make as little as just a ham sandwitch after a long day working, never mind several hour battles at the chess board. He is noted for 'steady improvment'. Congratulations to Fermin, whom we are delighted to see keep making it to our club to compete and other. Thank you from all of us.

Shea Paris won his section. Shea is always understated, and anyone who underestimates his solid, quiet, but always very accurate play is making a very big mistake (the writer here??). Congratulations to Shea. Joseph Fortunato was the sole member in the chasing pack, very close behind. Hope to see more of Shea at our club. Shea is always a very positive person, which never hurts!

Ed Trieste won the sixth and final section commandingly.

[1] We remind kind readers, notably new ones, that we are not only quite well heated in the winter, and well appointed as we are, thanks to the efforts of Toby Katz whom we never wish to cease thank for our debt of gratitude, but also have the good fortune to enjoy a properly cooled environment for the summer. Can you imagine?? On a lake with trees and ample parking!

Announcement for Club Members Regarding a Roster

2011-05-30T10:55:00.011-04:00

Dear Club Members,

The initial steps towards having a club roster have been drafted and put into place. This makes us a better organized club. In the next three or four weeks when and if you stop by, please if you would check the side table to see if your contact information is correct.

Thank you, John Hagerty, WOCC President

Spring Swiss . | . Garden State Chess League

2011-04-30T10:51:00.011-04:00

Keeping up to date here:

ONE LAST NOTE ON WINTER 'ENDING':
We concluded our annual WOCC chess championship, which was handily won by the inestinable Peter Radomskyj (USCF 2240, linked here). The last of the seven rounds was played on Tuesday 23 March 2011. While 'only' seven rounds, its was a long hard fought slog for many of us.

Club Presient John Hagerty wanted everyone both involved and other club memembers to know how thankful he was that this could be made such a wonderful success. In kind, all the members thank him--as if to say it only once more, were somehow enough--for his ceaseless and unselfish efforts on behalf of our club.

A NOTE ON SPRING STARTING:
We have just reached the halfway point for our annual Spring Swiss (groups of four, all play all Wht and Blk, at six games) tournaments. Charlie Hart is stepping up again, and in his tweed jacket, the starting night, looked and sounded very presentorial. We all thank him.

SUMMER LOOMS:
Somehow the word 'summer' and 'Garden' State seems to sound so euphoneous together! This next Tuesday, we continue our efforts in the Garden State Chess League, (linked here)playing Dean Academy of Chess (linked here) at our club. These events are characterized by club level players often (but not always) having access to peer to peer competition, in a serious but not unfriendly competitive atmosphere.

We chess players as a rule of often (if not always!) the cundrum or spectre of having ratings hanging us. Chess players measure and are measured. What is the saying in carpentry: "Measure twice, cut twice". You win, your ratings go up, loose, go down.

The GSCL games are all the more delightful for not only playing new faces and styles, away from the somewhat familiar peers from your own club (maybe not over months, but YEARS!) and for the comrodery of playing along side your breathern in arms, but are unrated. Just chess as we say, for the love and art of it.

Come visit us, or give John a call. See you soon!

Very Informative Article By the US Amateur Winning Team

2011-03-30T06:32:00.024-04:00

The USAT Champs: from left, Matt Helfst, Jeremy Mandelkern, Peter Dyson (holding the South region’s ‘ugly rook’ rotating trophy), and IM Javad Maharramzade (photo: Lerman).

Information on any subject is often available on the internet. Of course.

But this does not mean that you will always be able to get it, or if you can that it will be anywhere near sufficient. If you check about USATE--or in our case, recheck, and then in a few weeks recheck again, and so on--on Google--you would think that numerous sources would be available, even a paragraph or two about a result or an experience. It is not true.

So it is with great delight that we not only found this article about our semi-final opponent from Saturday night (four days ago; see post immediate below), but written in detail about their preparation and posting the games. We faced IM Javad Maharramzade (2610), Peter Dyson (2099), and Jeremy Mandelkern (2098). Our team was comprised of IM Mikail Zlotnikov (2330), NM Peter Radomskyj (2246), Jose Fernandez, Captain (2108), and Victor Rosas (2052).

To give you a rough idea about how tough they were, they went on to win the nationals. Peter Dyson on board two against our team writes here, which can be found at the USCF website, linked here: Armageddon Your Pieces Wins US Amateur Team Playoff. It was posted on Monday 28th of March, 2011.

Now we have to extend our congratulations to their national win, against the North team, 'For Whom the Azbel Tolls'. How sweet the joy must be for them. Bravo!

Armageddon?

2011-03-29T17:25:00.034-04:00

The stupendous run of our top team West Orange Krush has come to a grinding halt. Truth be told, the team which overcame us in the semi-finals, Armageddon, deserves every congratulations.

We appreciated the chance to compete against them this last Saturday, and wish them every success. We cannot wish them good luck since based on the evidence, it would appear that luck is the one thing they may not be needing. A very strong team. Good luck anyway!

Now the brief news till we can elaborate with revision here, or post again: Armageddon beat us 3.5 to 0.5. A demonstrable win. Only our most esteemed IM Mikhail Zlotnikov managed the half point, for a much appreciated draw. Three tough loses--one draw. Chess is chess.

Please when you see our top team and its captain, Jose Fernandez, take a moment if you would and congratulate their serious effort. WOCC

Toby Katz: In Heartfelt Thanks From the Entire West Orange Chess Club

2011-03-25T17:51:00.015-04:00

Mr. Harry s. Katz, Vice President of our West Orange Chess Club.

Don't Let This Benign Smile Deceive You! Still Lethal at the Chess Board.

Our Vice-President is Harry S. Katz who has been a long time resident of W. Orange and member of the club. His wife, Toby, served 3 four year terms on the 5-member council of W. Orange. During that time, one of her many good accomplishments was urging the renovation of a small building at Degnan Field near the W. Orange High School.

Many town social events such as graduation parties, birthday and engagement parties take place in this building, as well as our club meetings on Tuesday nights.

Because of Toby's spearheading the effort to renovate the building, the then Mayor, Sam Spina, with approval of the Council, named the building 'The Councilwoman Toby Katz Community Center'.

Toby urged the town Recreation Department, which is in charge of the building operations, to continue to allow the chess club to conduct the Tuesday night sessions without the charges that other activities must pay.

Contact Us!

2011-03-08T17:47:00.018-05:00

Short and sweet: Set next to Degnan Park, lovely green outside our door, thanks to the very forward looking efforts of Toby and Harry S. Katz, we enjoy among the nicest of all facilities to play chess, in a refreshing and natural setting.

It was these most generous supporters who helped secure for the long term, the recreational center we use. They really are the ones we need to thank most of all, having given us what we needed to be a sustainable club enjoyed by many, many persons . Thank you.

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We love new members. While fully non-commercial (we don't count dollar bills), we always enjoy those who share our art, the creative endless richness of chess.

Please drop us a note here, or Buick [one word ] chess@ gee male [you get the idea] dot com. Also feel free to phone our wonderfully engaged John Hagerty at 97-three, 73-six, 343-three. John is the rare person who actually returns phone calls on a consistent basis in the 21st century. All messages are responded to. Please call before ten p.m. Besides being our President, John is our Tournament Director.

Our main room is very more often than not for standard (timed games), but we have a side room for blitz or 'skittles'. Often latter at night, you can find our senior players helping developing players in the analysis of their games in this informal side room. Always wonderful to see Chess Masters and Experts explaining the royal game!

Calling ahead is by no means necessary, but does add to our ability to fully welcome you, which we go out of our way to do! Thank you. Somehow snacks always appear. We aim to please.

West Orange Chess Club, Wins Top Honors

2011-03-08T09:14:00.023-05:00

[We promise to substitute an image of our top winning team (but other unmentioned winners here!), but this photo aught to give those who might not have attended a sense of the size of this event--about 1,000 persons in this room alone, one of several rooms!]

We are most proud to announce that our first team, West Orange Krush, won top honors at USATE--aka "The World Amateur Team Competition for the East", recently held at the Parsippany Hilton the weekend of 19-21 February.

The NJSCF rapidly and to their credit quickly posted the results here.

Our club also won top team under 1700. These were two of five teams sent by our club, at various levels. Team results were out of 444 teams, comprised of four participants each, or 1,776 chess players.

This was a very well organized event, and we all look forward to next year.

We also wish to thank the USCF for their prompt ELO results for each person with this very comprehensive table shown here. It is amazing how the USCF manages to keep up.

Thank you. WOCC members!!

This video does not pertain to our club, but does give a taste of the raw hum and energy of the room. A thousand person calculating (or were earlier)...

Simple Map of Our Location

2011-03-08T08:37:00.002-05:00

[Please click image above to enlarge.]

We promise to get a better image or link... But, for now, since we just south of West Orange High, a little map provided by the Recreation Department of the Township of West Orange, shown here.

We are just east off of Degnan Park, off of Pleasant Valley Way, between Eagle Rock Avenue to the North, Interstate Route 280 conveniently to the south, The Garden State Parkway to the East (about 3.5 miles), and Valley to the West. Easy Parking just off the High School. Degnan park is shown just right of Interstate 280 running top to bottom, in the expandable map above.

We meet every Tuesday at the West Orange NJ Toby Katz Community Center [above map, linked at here] between 7 p.m. and midnight. Chess sets are provided. Young, old, and all between invited. We are a friendly--but serious--club! West Orange Chess Club Members.

Summer Game-100 Swiss

2009-07-06T13:20:00.000-04:00

The club's summer Game-100 swiss system tournament got under way on Tuesday, June 23rd with the schedule picking up tonight with Round 2 at 8:00 p.m. (Tuesday evening June 30th the club hosted the Garden State Chess League, with at least one make-up game in the summer swiss.) Victor Rosas is directing the tournament and I will work with Victor and other club members to endeavor to post as many of the tournament games as possible, along with schedule information and results. To that end I have sent an e-mail to the creator of the Silverlight Chessboards (Martin Bennedik)to seek his permission to use his weblog display boards here at our site for preesnting games. (See The Week in Chess site: http://www.chesscenter.com/twic/twic.html for an example of these boards.)

In the meantime, here is the game Piccoli - Cohen from round one:

White - John Piccoli - 1561 Black - Bryan Cohen - 1851

1. e4 c5
2. Bc4 d6
3. d3 e6
4. a3 Nf6
5. Nf3 Nc6
6. Nc3 Be7
7. h3 a6
8. Bg5 Qc7
9. Bxf6 Bxf6
10. Qd2 0-0
11. g4 Nd4
12. Nxd4 Bxd4
13. 0-0-0 b5
14. Ba2 b4
15. Nb1 Bd7
16. ab cb
17. f4 Rfc8
18. Bb3 a5
19. Rde1 a4
20. Bc4 a3
21. ba ba
22. Ba2 Rab8
23. Nxa3 Bb2+
24. Kd1 Bxa3
25. Ref1 Ba4
26. Bc4 Rb2
27. Rh2 Rxc2
28. Qxc2 Bxc2+
29. Rxc2 Qb6
30. Ke2 d5
31. Ra2 dxc4
32. dc Rxc4
33. Rxa3 Qb2+
34. Kd3 Qxa3+
35. Kxc4 Qa6+
36. Kd4 Qxf1
37. f5 ef
38. gf Qf2+
39. Kd5 Kf8
40. h4 Qxh4
41. Kd4 Ke7
42. Ke3 Kd6
43. Kd3 Kc5
44. e5 Qd4+
45. Ke2 Qxe5+
46. Kf3 Kd4
47. Kg4 Ke4
48. f6 Qf4+
49. Kh3 Kf3
50. fg Qg3 MATE

Best regards,

Glen Hart

Bartell Simul Postponed to May 29th

2008-05-13T14:37:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note to pass along the news that FIDE Master Tommy Bartell has postponed his planned simultaneous exhibition at the Kenilworth Chess Club (see my previous post) until May 29, 2008. (He is going to play in a North America FIDE master invitational event which will take him out of town on the 15th.) I plan on attending and I hope to see some of the West Orange regulars there! I will get an update on the ongoing quads from TD Charlie Hart and see if I can post a mid-point, or "half-time" report on this double round robin event this weekend. If anyone has games or commentary on the event please let me know.

Best regards,

Glen Hart

Tommy Bartell Plans Kenilworth Simul

2008-05-02T16:29:00.000-04:00

FIDE Master and two-time New Jersey State Champion Tommy Bartell will give a simul at the Kenilworth Chess Club on Thursday, May 15th. Here are the details from John Moldovan's e-mail...hope you can make it!

The Kenilworth Chess Club is very pleased to announce that FIDE Master Thomas Bartell will be giving a simultaneous exhibition on May 15th.
Tom, who won the N.J. State Championship in 2004 (= 1st) & 2005, will take Black on half the boards.

Here are the full details :

Simultaneous Exhibition
by FM Thomas Bartell
May 15th, 2008
8:30 p.m.

Kenilworth Community Center
575 Boulevard
Kenilworth, NJ 07033

$10 entry fee
If you beat Tom, you'll get your money back!

Non-members welcome!

Please arrive early (the club opens at 8 p.m.) so we can have everyone seated and ready to go at starting time.