University Golf Club Chess Challenge Results

This weekend was the first of what we hope to be start of a monthly chess event at the University Golf Club. As usual it had its first tournament issues, late start on the second round, forgotten powercord, confusion on the food and such but overall it went pretty smooth. Some of the things that went right were the pairings up on a big screen so that they were easy to see. In the future board one games and results will be broadcast live on the internet. The food was ordered after round one and was ready on time after round two. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and beverages. I know that my Shrimp Po-Boy was fantastic!

Once we got underway everything settled down and the match ended up with Douglas Middleton with a score of 3.0 and a four-way tie for 2nd with Cima, Reed, Jackson and Armistead all having 2 points each.

We decided to have a sudden death G/5 match to decide the match. Joe Cima played Will Jackson and Joe came out on top, then Angelo Armistead played Lawrence Reed (Quincy) with Angelo winning that match. Just like the World Cup we had semi-finals and finals with Cima vs Armistead playing for 2nd and 3rd place, while Reed and Jackson vied for 4th. When the pawns settled we had the following results.

1st Place and winner of the $180 value Round of Golf was Douglas Middleton with a perfect 3.0 score.

2nd Place and winner of a $50 gift certificate for gourmet food at the Club was Joe Cima

3rd Place and winner of a $35 golf shirt from University Golf Club was Angelo Armistead

4th Place and winner of a $15 2010 Chess Calendar was William Jackson.

The biggest upset of the match was William Jackson over Joe Cima an excellent match played by Jackson against an opponent 600+ points higher. Congratulations to Mr. Jackson for his great effort.

Not to forget the last place contestant George Polovich he was awarded a book to help improve his game. Mr. Polovich returned to chess just last Sunday after a nearly 50 year layoff. Great to have you back in the game and I am sure his form will improve.

We would also like to thank Greg Evans, Restaurant and Events Manager, of University Golf Club for hosting this event and providing the prizes and helping clean up.

----------Full Results below----------------

No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 Score

1. Middleton, Douglas (1)........ IL 1971 W10 W6 W3 3.0

2. Cima, Joe (2)................. IL 1906 L5 W4 W6 2.0
3. Armistead, Angelo (3)......... IL 1820 W7 W5 L1 2.0
4. Reed, lawrence Qui (5)........ IL 1321 W11 L2 W7 2.0
5. Jackson, William (7).......... IL 1272 W2 L3 W10 2.0

6. lewis, richard (4)............ IL 1322 W9 L1 L2 1.0
7. russo, Steve Antho (8)........ IL 1090 L3 W11 L4 1.0
8. shehaniv, William (9)......... IL 942 -N- W10 -N- 1.0
9. pillarella, Mia An (10)....... IL 437 L6 -N- W11 1.0

10. raimonde, Angelo (6).......... IL 1277 L1 L8 L5 0.0
11. Polovich, George (11)......... IL nnnn L4 L7 L9 0.0

University Golf Club Chess Challenge

UNIVERSITY GOLF CLUB CHALLENGE
July 25, 2010
UNIVERSITY GOLF CLUB
AND CONFERENCE CENTER
23520 CRAWFORD AVE
UNIVERSITY PARK, IL 60484

Note 3 round swiss. Game 30, with 5 second delay


PRIZES: First Prize is a round of Golf for four worth $180.00 Second Prize is a dinner for two. Third Prize is a Golf Shirt. Also Plaque for biggest upset.
FORMAT: 3 Round Swiss, G/30 5 sec delay, Affects both Quick and Regular rating.

On-site Reg: 3:30 pm
Round Times: 4:00, 5:30, 7:30

Byes: Byes for first two rounds only.

ENTRY FEES: Entry Fee $18. USCF Membership needed,

ENTRIES TO:
entries@midwaychessclub.org Telephone: 773-980-9212 Online entries at Contact_Us

Chicago Industrial Chess League

Enjoy Team Chess Around Chicago!

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN IN THE FUN OF PLAYING TEAM CHESS

The CICL organizes team-chess matches through out the greater
Chicago-area, in both the suburbs and downtown.

We have 52 years of experience, 300 players on 26 teams
(and growing), multiple geographic divisions to minimize travel,
and a spot for you.

CICL teams represent companies, government agencies, colleges, chess clubs, and other organizations.

What is the CICL? The Chicago Industrial Chess League organizes team-chess
matches between downtown Chicago and suburban companies, government agencies, colleges, chess clubs, and other organizations. The League has been in continual existence since 1957, with over 300 players playing on 26 teams -- and is growing. Team size is six players, but eight or more members per team is recommended to assure that a 6 person lineup is fielded for each match. We have multiple geographic divisions, and teams compete only within their division during the regular season. So long distance travel to matches is NOT required. The season begins in September and runs through April, and then the League Championship Playoffs are held in May. Also, we offer some individual tournaments each year, an outstanding monthly newsletter, website, and an awards banquet with GM lecture and blitz tournament.

Prizes and money? The CICL awards trophies (or gift certificates) to the top two
teams of each division, and to the top two teams competing in the Championship Playoffs. Outstanding individual players are also recognized. Each team pays dues each season which the League uses to buy trophies and to cover minimal operating expenses. There are no paid positions, the League's officers are strictly voluntary.

USCF membership and ratings? Individuals receive a CICL rating based on their
results in CICL matches. The CICL ratings system uses a formula that is very similar to the USCF ratings system. We are proud to be a USCF and ICA affiliate, but neither USCF nor ICA membership is required for members to play in the CICL.

More about the matches: A schedule is developed for each division at the beginning of the season that typically includes 9 to 12 matches, followed by Championship Playoff matches for qualifying teams. Half the matches occur at a team's home site. Players are ordered by rating, so each team's best player is pitted against the opposing team's best player, second best against second best, etc. The time control is 45/90 then 30/60, one competitive match game is played per evening.

Will this interfere with usual chess club activities? No. CICL matches can be on a different night or even at a different playing site than normal club activities. Club organizers -- CICL team play is an additional offering to attract new members to your club.

Can I join the CICL? All chess-players are welcome. Each team has beginning chessplayers and many have masters. Members of a CICL team usually are members of the same organization. As half of the team's matches are "home", it is best to have a site to host the games. Contact us for ideas on how to find or form a team.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Visit Our Website: www.chicagochessleague.org
Contact: Matt Vail at (630) 505-6557
email: Publicity@ChicagoChessLeague.org

Chess Rock Opera Review

"CHESS The Musical" Review

On April 1st I was invited to come and see Theo Ubique's production of "Chess the Musical." I was also asked to do a Q&A session afterwards with the audience and cast, we will come to that in next blog.

The musical is being put on at the "No Exit Cafe" and has an optional dinner that is served by some of the cast. Ava, my six year old daughter, and myself enjoyed the food. My favorite item was the Borscht soup, which I thought a nice touch of "Red" to the dinner; I think that Ava liked the homemade Apple Strudel best.

I am a fan of this musical and have concept album, the release of the musical recording and the recent DVD of "Chess The Musical in Concert" from 2008. On the way we listened to the album singing along with "The Arbiter", "Embassy Lament" and of course "On Night in Bangkok." Needless to say, we were a little worried about how the cast would do on this version but they pulled it off.

The show starts by developing "Florence's" character in a scene showing little Florence with her father trying to escape from the Russians. They stop for a moment and set up a little chess board. Florence's father gives her advice about life and then they have to separate, each of them taking a piece off the board. It looked to me that Florence takes the Black Queen. (next blog will discuss this more)

The next scene takes place when Florence is grown up and she is the second for "Freddy Trumper" at the World Chess Championship against Anatoly, the Russian Champion. This match is loosely based on the Fischer vs Spassky that took place in 1972. The character Freddy certainly behaves much like Fischer with his tantrums and paranoia.

Well the match takes place and ....

I am not going to ruin the story for you here I suggest you see the show and enjoy the great singing by the cast and interesting choreography by Brenda Dider.

For me and Ava our favorite parts were: the Flute Solo by Chris Skrable during "One Night in Bangkok", The Duet between Florence and Svetlana when they sang "I know him so well", and of course the Arbiter song, sang wonderfully, by John Taflan.

A couple of technical "Chess" issues I noted were: In the first move of the first match Freddie moves his e pawn to e4, does not let go, moves it back and then moves his d pawn to d4. This violates the "Touch-Move rule" which has been in existence since the pre 1500's. Fischer himself made this error at least two times and abided by the rule, once against Wolfgang Unizicker in 1960 and again against Jan Hein Donner in 1968. The first one was his shortest loss in serious tournment play, the second ended in a draw but I digress.

Another technical issue I saw was the odd moves that were played on the board. One time Freddy makes an opening move of Nh3 which in serious play has never, in my dbase, ever been played. Also some of the other moves are questionable and yes I realize this is a musical not a real match but I think that a chess advisor might have been in order.

One more thing that was just pointed out to me, by Tony Friske of the Chicago Industrial Chess League, that the board in the picture below is setup incorrectly. The square on the bottom right should be white, as h1 is a white square.

Those few errors aside I highly recommend this to any fan of the game or of musicals in general. Get there early and have the dinner relax and enjoy the evening, I know we certainly did.

This production is co-directed by Fred Anzevino, founder and artistic director of Theo Ubique, and Brenda Didier. Choreography by Ms. Didier as well. The music director is Ryan Brewester.

Maggie Portman: Florence
Courtney Crouse: Freddie
Jeremey Trager: Anatoly
Stephanie Herman: Svetlana
John B. Leen: Molokov
John Taflan: Arbiter
Anthony Apodoca: Walter
Jenny Guse, Jenny Lamb, Ben Mason and Travis Walker: Ensemble

Band
Ryan Breweter (Keys)
Shawn Davis (Drums)
David Saenger (Guitar)
Julia Macholl (Violin)
Chris Skrable (Flute)

Music by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus (formerly of ABBA)
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Book by Richard Nelson
Produced by Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre in association with Michael James

Chess, A Cold War Rock Musical, will continue through April 25, 2010 at The No Exit Cafe located at 6970 N. Glenwood Avenue in Rogers Park. The performance schedule is Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$30 and a dinner package can be purchased for $25 more. To reserve your spot call 800-596-4849 or online at www.theoubique.org. The Redlines Morse stop is across the street.

Well last week the Midway Chess Club ladder went pretty well and is off and running. If you want to join in you start at the bottom and have to fight your way up. For rules and more visit the Blog at http://midwaychessclub.blogspot.com/2009/12/midway-chess-club-ladder-tournament.html

1. Weber, Len

2. Morrison, Mike

3. Adams, William

4. Adams, Larry

5. Shehan, William

6. Barajas, Tom

7. Spitzig, Mark

8. Ramos, Fabian

9. Ohlson, Eric

10. Russo, Steven

11. Zack,Katherine

12. Pillarella, Mia

New Year’s Chess Resolution

New Year’s Chess Resolution

In following my friend, Farbror The Guru, I too hereby invites all fellow chess improvers to join the New Years Chess Resolution Movement! I also strongly believe in simplicity, goals and peer pressure. I kindly invite blogging chess improvers to do the following:

1. State a Long Term Chess Goal (possibly linked to a suitable number of short term goals)
2. State a Chess Promise
3. Defining a penalty for failing the chess promise

Hopefully the members of the movement will blog about their efforts and support fellow improvers with feedback on their blogs and or Tweets. Hope to hear from you.

My Chess Goals for 2010: Goal:
Seriously study endgame and win at least one CICL match this year.

Promise: Five times per week: -
Study: 30 minutes daily -
Play: 40 minutes daily
Keep Public Study/Play Log
Play 3 Standard Time Control games per week minimum

Penalty: Give away one of my favorite chess sets.

Midway Chess Club G/5 Tournament results

Hello Chess fans,

Last night we had a good turnout and had fast action. NM Len Weber of course won all his games but was gracious to bow out of the prize money. The Split was not much but for the $1 entry it was worth every penny. We plan on doing this again next month and hope to see more people next time.

The ratings are Club ratings created using the software ELO Rater.

Midway Dec 30 G/5 -- G/5

No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 5 Score

1. Weber, Len (11)............... 2009 -B- W5 W10 W6 W2 5.0

2. Arvanitakis, Dennis (4)....... 1878 W5 W10 W4 W8 L1 4.0
3. Adams, William (2)............ 1779 L8 -B- W13 W4 W6 4.0

4. Spitzig, Mark (10)............ 1547 W9 W13 L2 L3 W11 3.0
5. Shehan, William (9)........... 1604 L2 L1 W12 W11 W8 3.0
6. Wilson, Tony (12)............. 1618 W13 W9 W11 L1 L3 3.0
7. Russo, Steve (8).............. 1491 L11 W12 L8 W13 W9 3.0

8. Adams, Larry (1).............. 1585 W3 D11 W7 L2 L5 2.5

9. Ramirez, Juan (7)............. 1441 L4 L6 -B- W10 L7 2.0
10. Barajas, Tom (5).............. 1183 W12 L2 L1 L9 -B- 2.0

11. Archer, William (3)........... 1339 W7 D8 L6 L5 L4 1.5

12. Zack,Katherine (13)........... 0960 L10 L7 L5 -B- L13 1.0
13. Lillian, Darren (6)........... 1199 L6 L4 L3 L7 W12 1.0