GM Ashley treks to South Africa!
Mar 29th, 2009 by Daaim Shabazz

The full article about Maurice in South Africa is available here.

Chess news from Susan Polgar

Students vie for chance to represent province at national tournament in Toronto
Times & Transcript Staff
Times and Transcript – Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

You have to see it to believe it, says Ghislaine Johnson, head of the N.B. Chess’n'Math Association.

Roughly 1,000 people are expected to pack Riverview High School this Saturday for the New Brunswick Provincial Chess Challenge.

About 350 of those people are students participating in the event; the rest are family, friends and interested spectators who gather in support of the players from Grades 1-12.

The best young chess players from across the province are gathering to determine the winners who will head off to the national championship, the Canadian Scholastic Chess Challenge, May 17 and 18 in Toronto.

Qualifying events were held in schools across the province earlier this year.

This weekend’s tournament is organized by the N.B. Chess’n'Math Association, with Riverview High acting as host.

“We believe that chess is a tool that enables somebody to enhance their math skills, even if it’s not part of the school curriculum,” says Johnson.

She says chess also teaches youngsters skills such as patience and planning that will come in handy in other segments of life.

At the Canadian Scholastic Chess Challenge, students from Grades 1 to 12 will confront each other in a game where strategy and logic dominate. The participants, divided according to their school year, will take part in a round-robin tournament in order to determine the three winners of each category.

The delegation representing New Brunswick will be composed of a student from each grade determined during this weekend’s provincial championship.

Spectators are welcome to the weekend tournament. There is no admission fee.

Registration for students takes place from 8:45 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Saturday. Opening ceremonies will be held at 9:30 a.m. and the tournament starts at 9:45 a.m. It is expected to take most of the day.

Source: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com

Chess news from Susan Polgar

This is a full length (47 minutes) National Geographic Documentary. It has been shown worldwide (I was told over 100 countries). The crew spent nearly one year to film this documentary in New York, Budapest, London, etc. Click here to see it.

Chess news from Susan Polgar

White to move. How can White save this game? No computer analysis please.

6rk/1R3Qpp/5b2/n2p1N2/3P3P/p1p2qP1/P4P2/6K1 w – - 0 1

Chess news from Susan Polgar

Battle of Grandmasters: Wesley virtual champ
By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:06:00 03/31/2009

Standings after 10 rounds:MEN: 16.0 points—W. So; 13.0—R. Antonio; 12.0—E. Torre; 11.5—D. Laylo; 11.0—J. Gomez, J. Sadorra; 10.0—M. Paragua, R. Bitoon; 8.0—R. Nolte; 7.0—J. Gonzales; 5.5—B. Villamayor; 5.0—R. Dableo

WOMEN: 15.0—Shercila Cua; 14.5—B. Mendoza; 13.0—Sherily Cua; 12.0—D. Rivera, C. Bernales, J. Fronda; 9.0—L. Cuizon, K. Cunanan; 6.5—R. Jose; 5.0—J. Docena; 4.0—R. Young

DAPITAN CITY, Zamboanga Del Norte —It’s in the bag for defending champion Grandmaster Wesley So.

So settled for back-to-back draws with GM-candidates Julio Catalino Sadorra and Richard Bitoon to virtually capture his second straight title and the top purse of P200,000 with only one round left in the 2009 Phoenix Petroleum-Dapitan City “Battle of GMs” chess championship at the Dapitan City Resort Hotel here late Sunday.

The 15-year-old high school student from St. Francis-Cavite halved the point with Sadorra in 36 moves of the French and with Bitoon in only 30 of the Sicilian Pelican to raise his score to 15 points in this 11-round tournament hosted by the Dapitan City government headed by Mayor Dominador Jalosjos.

Counting his six victories in the first seven rounds, So totes an insurmountable three-point lead over GM Rogelio Antonio Jr.

(So later drew his un-played sixth-round game with Antonio in 31 moves of a Sicilian.)

GM Eugene Torre, who showed vintage form in winning the third President Macapagal-Arroyo Cup late last year, made the biggest gain with consecutive wins.

Torre outduelled GM Bong Villamayor in 39 moves of the London Opening in the ninth round and GM John Paul Gomez in 46 of the Bogo-Indian in the 10th to bounce back into contention with 12 points, good for third spot.

Antonio trounced Gomez in 41 moves of the Benoni but drew with GM Mark Paragua.

Dresden Olympiad veteran GM Darwin Laylo drew with IM Rolando Nolte in 30 moves of the Center Counter and subdued GM Jayson Gonzales in 33 of the Slav to climb to solo fourth place with 11.5 points.

Source: http://sports.inquirer.net

Standings after 10 rounds:

Chess news from Susan Polgar

March 30, 2009
SPICE Hosts 2nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) will kick off the 2nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship at 11 a.m. April 18 at Monterey High School.

Written by Jessica Benham

Texas Tech University’s Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE) will kick off the 2nd Annual Lubbock Open Scholastic Chess Championship at 11 a.m. April 18 at Monterey High School.

The championship is a four-round Swiss System Tournament and will be rated by the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

Games are played in four sections including primary (K-2), elementary (K-5), middle school (K-8) and high school (K-12).

Paul Truong, director of marketing for SPICE, said the tournament is the flagship open chess tournament for the city of Lubbock.

“In its first year, the Lubbock Open drew 109 players,” Truong said. “We aim to consistently increase the number of participants each year. Our goal is to reach 500 players for this championship within the next five years and eventually reach the 1,000 player mark.”

Trophies will be awarded to the top 10 individuals and top three teams in each section. Special chess prizes also will be awarded to the top three finishers and top female in each section.

Awards will be handed out at the end of the last game around 4:30 p.m.

On-site registration and check in will take place from 9 -10:30 a.m. Registration is $10 before April 1, and $20 after. A valid USCF membership is required for registration and can be obtained at www.uschess.org or on the day of the tournament before 10 a.m.

Source: http://today.ttu.edu

Chess news from Susan Polgar

Rochester chess player wins state junior championship
3/30/2009 8:20:02 AM
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN

Alex Cheng, an eighth-grader at John Adams Middle School in Rochester, was crowned champion on Sunday in the junior high school division of the Minnesota State Chess Association state tournament.

Cheng went undefeated in the first five rounds and played to a draw in the championship. It was a showdown with Wes Cannon, a Lake Harriet ninth-grader, who also was undefeated. After two hours, neither player was able to establish dominance on the board so they agreed to a draw. The two were declared co-champions, but Alex was designated the top player on tie-breakers.

Players in senior and junior high school divisions participated in the weekend tournament at Robbinsdale Cooper High School. There were about 140 players in the junior high school division, and about 25 schools fielded teams.

John Adams middle school chess club members were novices in the state tournament last year and placed seventh. The team finished fourth this year.

Rochester high school players also participated, and the Lourdes team finished ninth and Century 11th in a field of 26 teams. Century junior Michael Lust placed 23rd out of 157 players and received a trophy for being the top high school junior.

Source: http://news.postbulletin.com

Chess news from Susan Polgar

Rapid City players sweep state chess championships
By Journal staff
Sunday, March 29, 2009

Rapid City chess players swept the four individual state championship titles at the recent 2009 South Dakota Scholastic Chess Championships at Garretson.

Fourth-grader Michael Knudson of the Rapid City Home School Association won his fifth consecutive state title. Meanwhile, Rapid City Stevens High School student Kyle Jensen won his fourth straight title.

Noah Johnson and Matt Wingert, both of the Rapid City Home School Association, won the K-3 and K-8 divisions, respectively. Jerry John Casteel of Rapid City South Middle School, won third place in the middle school section.

Knudson won the K-5 division this year, adding to his four K-3 division titles.

Jensen’s K-12 title follows his previous three titles in the K-8 division. He is now eligible to represent the South Dakota Chess Association at the annual Arnold Denker Tournament of High School Champions, sponsored by the U.S. Chess Federation, during the Aug. 1-8 U.S. Chess Open in Indianapolis.

The state chess championships drew 87 students from throughout the state to compete in four sections according to school grade level.

The Pierre Indian Learning Center in Pierre took the state title in the K-8 section, with the Greater Sioux Falls Home School Association winning the K-12 section.

Source: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com

Chess news from Susan Polgar

White to move. How should White proceed?

Source: ChessToday.net

Chess news from Susan Polgar