US Amateur East

Max Sherer plays Anna Matlin in Round One

Yesterday I dropped by the US Amateur East tournament at the Somerset Ramada, mostly to visit with my chess friends and to see what Fred Wilson had on offer. I was pleased to see that the event has gotten some good coverage at the USCF site, with an article and photos by Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero. I tell myself every year that I should be playing in the Amateur, and I think I'll make the commitment to play next year. But I have been quite busy of late and so had promised the wife and kids to take off some days around the Memorial Day holiday.

I picked up a couple interesting books from Fred, including a surprising little pamphlet in the "Grandmaster Profiles" series offering 64 games of Joel Benjamin. It seemed like a bargain at $3, but it's a typically slap-dash Eric Schiller production, so Fred had priced it right. Fred's table will be set up for the entire event, so you have through Memorial Day to drop by.

Fred shows off his excellent book for kids.

As always, a great selection from Fred.