Russian Team Chess Championship 2010
participants and live games information

The Russian Team Chess Championship, one of the strongest national team events of the year, will have a detailed coverage on Chessdom.com. Our readers can enjoy daily photos, videos, reports, games, and details from Russia.

The games from RTCC will also be live at Chessdom / Chessbomb live games platform.

Round 1 is tomorrow at 15:00. Among the players featured are Alexander Morozevich, Wang Yue, Ni Hua, Pavel Eljanov, Evgeny Tomashevsky, Alexander Grischuk, Alexei Shirov, Emil Sutovsky, Evgeny Bareev, Boris Gelfand, Sergey Karjakin, Fabiano Caruana, Wang Hao, Boris Grachev, Boris Savchenko, Vassily Ivanchuk, Peter Svidler, Nikita Vitiugov, Sergei Movsesian, Dmitry Jakovenko, Vladimir Malakhov, Alexander Khalifman, Sergei Rublevsky, Sanan Sjugirov, Ruslan Ponomariov, Alexander Motylev, Ernesto Inarkiev, etc.

In the women league the top players are Antoaneta Stefanova, Anna Muzychuk, Natalia Pogonina, Maria Muzychuk, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, Valentina Gunina, Svetlana Matveeva, Zhao Xue, Elisabeth Paehtz, Anna Ushenina, Viktorija Cmilyte, etc.

Provisional lineups here

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

2,487.5 mpg! Catchy headline unneccessary
by Nik Bristow on Mar 29th 2010 at 6:01PM

For the second year in a row, the student team from Laval University in Quebec, Canada took home the $5,000 top prize in a worst-to-first finish at the Shell Eco-marathon Americas. In case you missed the headline, their winning entry in the “Prototype” category returned 2,487.5 miles per gallon. We find it incredibly thrilling to report mpg ratings that require a comma so we’re going to write it again: 2,487.5 mpg. Wow.

This year’s Eco-marathon Americas began Saturday, March 27th with 42 teams on the Houston, TX road course gunning for Team Laval University’s 2009 record of 2,757.1 mpg. The event has two entry categories: the “Prototype” category aims for maximum efficiency without regard to actual real-world driveability – and allows those amazing mpg resulte. The “UrbanConcept” category encourages entrants to construct vehicles that are closer to fulfilling the needs of an actual road-going consumer. This year’s UrbanConcept winner was Mater Dei High School in Evansville, IN. Team Mater Dei took the grand prize for the second year in a row by pulling down 437.2 mpg. The winning vehicles in both the Prototype and the UrbanConcept categories used combustion engines.

Here is the full article.

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Fischer’s remains to be exhumed
March 31, 2010, 4:29pm

In a bizarre twist to the battle for the estate left by the late chess legend Bobby Fischer, lawyer Sammy Estimo disclosed that the remains of the chess icon will have to be exhumed soon.

Estimo, lawyer of Fischer’s Filipino child, Jinky Young, said that Judge Sigrun Gudmundsdottir of the Icelandic probate court found no DNA samples of Fischer at the National Hospital in Iceland where the ex-world champion died on January 17, 2008 of renal failure.

Because of this development, Estimo and his collaborating Icelandic lawyer, Thordur Bogason, were left with no other recourse but to request the court to issue an order for the exhumation of Bobby’s remains for DNA samples to be tested with the blood samples extracted from Jinky when she went to Iceland in December last year.

Jinky, Fischer’s nephews and the Japanese Miyoko Watai, who claims to have married Fischer in 2004, are claimants to the estimated P140 million and gold deposits left by the chess genius at the Landsbanki in Reykjavik.

Fischer also purchased real estate properties in Iceland where he became a citizen after his release from a Japanese airport prison in 2005.

In a decision issued by the Supreme Court of Iceland in December last year, Watai’s marriage to Fischer was invalidated because of the failure of the Japanese to present the original of their alleged marriage certificate.

On April 16, Judge Gudmundsdottir will resolve the request of Jinky for the disinterment of her father’s remains in a cemetery in Selfoss town, south Iceland.

Estimo had predicted before that this saga would reach this far – for Bobby Fischer to rise again and provide the solution to this puzzle on his estate.

Source: http://www.mb.com.ph

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Chess sets and more

I’ve been an avid follower of chess, a player for more than 30 years, and a current member of the United States Chess Federation. I’ve played thousands of games. These games have consisted of tournament games, casual games, online games, computer games, and the study of master games. I am also an Affiliate member of ChessCentral.

I’ve taught all my children (Tina, Tashia, Michael, Jelani) to play the game at a very young age. My daughter Tina even competed in a Chess Tournament at our local YMCA when she was 13 and recieved the second place prize. I was very proud of her that day.

Jelani, my youngest, could name and place all the pieces on the board when he was two years old. Tashia and Michael could also play the game well. Sorry to say, my children’s enthusiasm for the game did not continue like their dad’s, but the knowledge of the game is still with them.

With the help of Site Build It, I am able to try and give something back to the game I love. In a way, I think my chess life is a bit like the great American chess master Frank Marshall because, “I don’t think there has been a day when I haven’t played at least one game of chess”. I love the game!

Enjoy the site, and thanks for visiting!
Kevin Penny
http://www.chess-sets-and-more.com/index.html

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

York man takes state chess title
Ties with five others for top spot
By Susan Morse
March 31, 2010 2:00 AM

YORK — York’s Richard Judy, 49, is the state’s newest chess champion.

Judy tied with five others at the Maine State Chess Championship held at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland on Sept. 19 and 20, 2009.

He just recently picked up his trophy.

“It looks like the Stanley Cup, it’s huge,” he said Thursday, March 25, referring to the annual National Hockey Leauge trophy.

Judy said he was surprised by the win. This was at least his sixth attempt at a championship title.

“Maine has a lot of strong players,” he said

Judy is ranked ninth in the state by the United States Chess Federation.

An estimated 60 chess players competed in the championship.

“It’s difficult to win,” he said. “It’s a five-round tournament. For the championship, I had three wins and two draws. I had to play my friend in the last round; that game went five hours.”

That friend, Alan Schalk of Berwick, is among the winners of the six-way tie for first place. They were the only two among the six from the Seacoast area, he said.

The event’s co-champions included David Plotkin, Roger Morin, Ruben Babayan and Andrey Savov, according to chessmaine.net. The Web site does not provide the players’ hometowns.

Judy has been playing chess since attending Goffstown High School in Goffstown, N.H. His father also played chess, Judy said, but never competed.

“My dad taught me, I used to play with him, then I joined the high school team,” said Judy. “It teaches you to plan ahead and keeps the mind sharp. It’s not as big in this country as it is in Europe and Russia. Studies show you do better in school if you play chess. There’s an old expression: ‘A minute to learn, a lifetime to master.’”

Judy has been living on Long Beach Avenue in York for about 20 years.

He works with developmentally disabled individuals through Affinity Inc. in Portland, and also tutors students in chess.

For the last five years, he has headed up a chess camp at the Grant House held each July by the York Parks and Recreation Department.

There’s usually an estimated 20 students who give up five summer afternoons to play chess.

“I like to teach the younger players,” Judy said. “It keeps them away from video games.”

Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

White to move and checkmate in 5. No computer lines please.

8/8/6b1/1N6/1n5p/5P1k/2P4P/6K1 w – - 0 1

Troitzky, 1792

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Dubai Open Chess Championship
4th to 14th April 2010 at the Dubai Chess and Culture Club
Presented by Chessdom.com

The Dubai Chess & Culture Club has the pleasure to invite players of your federation to participate in the 12th Dubai Open Chess Championship to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 4th to 14th April 2010. The tournament will be played in 9 rounds according to the Swiss System, with time control of 1 hour 30 minutes for the whole game with an incremental time of 30 seconds per move.

The Organizing Committee grants the prize fund of US $45000 and the winner will be awarded the custody of Sheikh Rashed Bin Hamdan Al Mactoum Cup. If two or more players share the same place, the money will be equally shared. In case of shared first place, the Cup will be awarded by the average rating of 8 strongest opponents of the each involved player.

Top ten prizes are: 1st place – $8000, 2nd – $5000, 3rd – $4000, 4th – $3500, 5th – $2500, 6th – $2200, 7th – $2000, 8th – $1700, 9th – $1500, 10th – $1300. Special prizes for ladies – $2300, special prizes for local players – $6000.

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Chess provides link between police, kids in Norfolk
by 13News
Posted on March 30, 2010 at 5:40 PM******

NORFOLK — The Norfolk Police Department Crime Prevention Unit has introduced the Norfolk Police Chess Initiative.

The initiative was designed to encourage and improve critical thinking among youth and develop one on one mentoring relationships between youth and police.

The Crime Prevention Unit created the initiative with the assistance of Chess Consultant Lisa Suhay. Suhay is a sponsor of the Norfolk Chess Federation, local branch of the Hip-Hop Chess Federation (HHCF) an organization that encourages public service employees to interact with local teenagers.

“I started doing research and I found that kids who have played chess once a week for one school year have almost doubled their SOL scores,” she said.

Aneja Kemp likes the program.

“Like they know me, I know them and recommendations and they help me become a better person and stuff like that in the future and they help me stay straight,” Kemp stated.

The inaugural site for the NPD Chess Initiative is Lake Taylor High School. The 4-6 week program will be held year round at a variety of venues across the City of Norfolk, primarily during after school hours.

Source: http://www.wvec.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Convicted sex offender sentenced for fleeing

The Associated Press Tuesday, March 30, 2010; 4:41 PM

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — A youth chess teacher who moved to Belize when he was supposed to be serving probation in Colorado as a convicted sex offender has been sentenced to 12 years to life in prison.

Robert Snyder was sentenced Tuesday in Fort Collins.

Snyder spent two years in jail in a pedophilia case and was supposed to register for special sex-offender supervision after he was released in August 2008. Instead, authorities say, he fled the country.

Authorities tracked him down last year in Belize after he was featured on the television show “America’s Most Wanted.”

Larimer County District Judge Dave Williams says Snyder used his expertise at chess to lure boys and their families into his confidence.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Pair | Player Name                    |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)      | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  |  9  |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   1 | JULIO J BECERRA                |6.5  |W   6|D   2|D   4|W   9|W   7|W   8|D   3|L   5|W  10|  FL | 12778049 / R: 2610   ->2624    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   2 | BENJAMIN P FINEGOLD            |5.5  |D   8|D   1|D   3|D   4|D   5|D   9|W  10|W   7|D   6|  MO | 11264417 / R: 2621   ->2619    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   3 | GERGELY ANTAL                  |5.5  |D   7|L   8|D   2|W   5|W  10|D   6|D   1|W   4|D   9|  TX | 13714777 / R: 2557   ->2568    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   4 | DEAN J IPPOLITO                |5.0  |W  10|D   6|D   1|D   2|D   9|W   7|D   8|L   3|D   5|  NJ | 12445752 / R: 2548   ->2554    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   5 | DAVORIN KULJASEVIC             |4.5  |D   9|L   7|W   8|L   3|D   2|L  10|W   6|W   1|D   4|  TX | 13218291 / R: 2585   ->2576    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   6 | GABOR PAPP                     |4.5  |L   1|D   4|W   9|D   7|W   8|D   3|L   5|D  10|D   2|  TX | 14244681 / R: 2578   ->2569    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   7 | DARWIN YANG                    |4.0  |D   3|W   5|W  10|D   6|L   1|L   4|W   9|L   2|L   8|  TX | 12945617 / R: 2413   ->2429    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   8 | IRINA KRUSH                    |3.5  |D   2|W   3|L   5|L  10|L   6|L   1|D   4|D   9|W   7|  NY | 12543137 / R: 2500   ->2494    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   9 | JESSE KRAAI                    |3.0  |D   5|D  10|L   6|L   1|D   4|D   2|L   7|D   8|D   3|  CA | 12442362 / R: 2550   ->2528    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  10 | ERIC HANSEN                    |3.0  |L   4|D   9|L   7|W   8|L   3|W   5|L   2|D   6|L   1|  AB | 13264840 / R: 2438   ->2436    |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |     |

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Using chess to teach classroom, life lessons
by Morgan Wall

More than 20 students were seated and deep in thought in the Flat Rock Elementary School media center Monday afternoon.

They were not testing nor were they in trouble. They are members of the school’s chess club and they were using their monthly meeting as a time to showcase what they do to other educators.

Last summer, Melissa Sanders, the school’s academically and intellectually gifted teacher, wanted to come up with an activity to challenge students. Drawing inspiration from her own son, who is in middle school, she started a chess club.

The students met once a week starting in July for two hours at a time. She used a SmartBoard to show them each piece in chess as well as what types of moves it could make. Then, she allowed students to come up to the board and try their hand at a match.

Once school started, the interest continued and the Flat Rock Chess Club was born. The club meets once a month from 2:45 to 4 p.m. and has around 22 regular participants.

“It was evident to me early on that the students I serve at Flat Rock were craving something more and I wanted to get them involved in a fun and challenging activity that would build on their intellectual curiosity and also help them to become life-long learners,” said Sanders.

“I enjoy chess because checkers is easy. Chess challenges me and that is why I like it,” said Grant Whittington, third grader.

“I think chess is a brilliant game. You really have to think hard. I find new skills every time I play,” said Breanna Goins, fifth grader.

Sanders has found a way to incorporate chess into the standard course of study as well with the help of Championship Chess. Chess can teach students skills that relate to language arts, math, social studies and 21st century skills. Students learn about cause and effect and the value of good communication and comprehension, all skills relating to language arts.

In math, students use an algebraic grid in the form of the chess board and algebraic notations to formulate and answer questions. They are asked to solve problems in order to make moves and analyze patterns to read the opposing player.

“The game of chess is a wonderful learning tool to help engage students in critical thinking and problem solving,” said Sanders. “Chess forces the students to face immediate consequences in response to their actions. They learn to strategically plan their moves in a way that will protect themselves but also will enable them to win or succeed in the game.”

Playing chess provides a mental challenge for students and helps them maintain focus.

“Chess means a lot to me. I like the way it causes you to think ahead. I also like how it challenges your brain,” said Shelby Taylor, fifth grader.

“I like chess club because it helps you focus. Chess club also helps you mentally. It is a fun way to exercise your brain,” said Grace Stanley, fifth grader.

“Chess club is very helpful in many ways. Chess is a game of thinking and strategy. Chess club helps with thinking through things and it helps with planning moves. Chess club makes it easy and fun to learn how to play chess,” said Aashton Day, fifth grader.

Source: http://www.mtairynews.com

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Women’s Grand Prix in Nalchik
25 Apr – 8 May 2010

Women’s Grand Prix is due on from April 25 to May 8 in Nalchik. Chess players from India, China, Armenia, Georgia, Sweden, Mongolia, Turkey, Russia and Qatar are supposed to attend the tournament. The total number of the chess players is 12.

Russian representatives to the tournament are Kosintseva Tatiana (IM), Kovanova Baira (WGM), Armenian representatives are Danielian Elina (IM), Mrktchian Lilit (IM), India – Koneru Humpy (GM), China – Yifan Hou (GM), Xue Zhao (GM), Georgia – Dzagnidze Nana (GM), Sweden – Cramling Pia (GM), Qatar – Chen Zhu (GM), Mongolia – Batkhuyag Munguntuul (WGM), Turkey – Yildiz Betul (WIM).

Source: http://www.panorama.am

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

White to move. How should White proceed? Is this a win or draw for White?

8/6kP/5p2/8/5PP1/7r/3K4/4R3 w – - 0 1

Mozes, 1963

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

In physics, momentum is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. At Texas Tech University, momentum results from talented faculty working with some of the nation’s top students. It results from outreach programs to attract a new generation of students to college and research to answer some of the world’s most pressing needs.

When an object is in motion, it stays in motion. Our accomplishments in 2009 show that Texas Tech is making quantum leaps in pursuit of Tier One research status: our record-breaking enrollment, strategic leadership and unprecedented fundraising.

• The Knight Raiders chess team raked in national and state honors, ultimately qualifying for the President’s Cup to determine the U.S. college chess team champion. They also won the Texas Chess Association’s Texas Collegiate Championship, and International Master (IM) Gergely Antal, an economics major, won the 2009 U.S. Tournament of College Champions.

http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2010/03/incredible-growth-in-college-chess.html

Welcome

Texas Tech University is moving into the most exciting era in our history, and 2009 proved to be a catalyst for the journey that will take us to the next level.

Thanks to the foresight of the Texas Legislature, Texas Tech began this journey to National Research University status with seven other state universities. Our team of alumni and supporters – among the most generous in the nation – responded by helping us raise more private research donations than all six other universities combined.

Fall enrollment numbers put us over the 30,000 mark for the first time in the university’s history. And, while quality undergraduate enrollment growth is essential, we are also developing new programs to attract the best and brightest graduate students. We’ve dedicated $2 million to a new Doctoral Fellowship Initiative to increase our doctoral student enrollment.

We are in the enviable position of having several well-funded endowed chairs and professorships open at this time, including two $7.5 million chairs in energy-related fields and another $1.5 million chair in nuclear engineering, and our state-of-the-art Experimental Sciences Building has space we can configure to suit specific needs as we recruit new research faculty.

Our research activities continued to flourish in 2009 as we expanded work in wind engineering research, contributed to the world’s largest particle collider project in Switzerland, and discovered the meteorite strike that may have wiped out the dinosaurs. Our acquisition of a high-performance computing cluster places us among the top 28 U.S. academic institutions for computer power.

The road to National Research University status is not a short one. Yet our objectives are clear and our focus is sharp. We will get there, sooner rather than later, I believe. Read on. Discover for yourself why we say, “From here, it’s possible.”

Guy Bailey
President
Texas Tech University

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Round 2 top board results:

Leaders after 2 rounds:

Official website: http://www.fgajedrez.org

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar

Inspection for the World Youth 2011 and Meeting of Continental Board of the Americas
Thursday, 25 March 2010 12:41
FIDE news

The FIDE Treasurer, Nigel Freeman, and FIDE Executive Director, David Jarrett, were hosted by GM Darcy Lima during the Continental Board Meeting of the Americas held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from March 18-22. They briefed the Board on recent happenings in FIDE including the 2010 Olympiad, ongoing negotiations with Chess Lane for the chess news project and aid for Haiti. The Continental President, Jorge Vega, informed FIDE that the Americas have a full programme of events for 2010. The 2009 programme was successfully completed with increased numbers of participants.

The FIDE representatives inspected the facilities that are proposed for the 2011 World Youth Championships in Rio de Janeiro. Negotiations with a major hotel chain in Rio de Janeiro are proceeding. The probable venue will be adjacent to the world famous Copacabana beach although other hotels at Barra de Tijuca beach are also being considered. The hotel that is most likely to be chosen is undergoing a major refit and will be ready by the end of 2010.

Chess daily news from Susan Polgar