NM Scott Massey Lecture on Paul Keres

Scott Massey Lectures on Paul Keres

Scott Massey gave an interesting lecture on the life and games of Paul Keres. I have put together notes on the four games he discussed, all of which are great games and worth a look.

Bobby Fischer Video

Fischer Works Out with Jack LaLanne

If you have not already seen it, there is an excellent British documentary about Bobby Fischer and the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match available for free viewing at both Google Video and You Tube (in four parts, most suitable for those with slow connections: one, two, three, and four). It features an interesting discussion of Soviet chess, with interviews of major Soviet figures, including Boris Spassky himself reflecting on the 1972 match. It also has some excellent interviews with the Americans, including Larry Evans and Robert Byrne. But what struck me as most unique about it were the images of Bobby's "match preparation" -- bowling to rock tunes on the juke box, taking a break at the soda fountain, and working out with Jack LaLanne on TV (see above). Very amusing and nostalgic (for those who lived through the 70s). You Tube also has some other good Fischer video clips worth a look.

Annual NM Scott Massey Lecture This Thursday

The annual lecture by NM Scott Massey will take place at the Kenilworth Chess Club this Thursday night, October 26, starting shortly after 8:00 p.m. His theme this year is the life and games of Paul Keres, one of the great "uncrowned kings" of chess. Here are some links for those interested in learning more about Keres either before or after Scott's talk:

Remembering Paul Keres from ChessBase
The chess games of Paul Keres from ChessGames
Paul Keres from Wikipedia

Previous lectures by NM Massey (club champion 1991-2004) have covered Moscow 1925 and the Origins of Soviet Chess, King and Pawn Endings, How to Analyze, and The Theories of Wilhelm Steinitz. I have been absent from the club of late but I would never miss Scott's annual lecture, and I urge everyone to attend. The fee is a modest $5.

Amusing Search Terms

Though I haven't been posting this month, I have checked in occasionally on my page stats (which actually rose during the World Championship, only to fall back down to about half of what I was getting when the blog was active). It was interesting to learn that practically all of my traffic now comes from search engines, and almost all of that from Google. Here are some of the more amusing search strings people have used this month to find my site:

is sicilians part black?
kenilworth castle keep annotation main defensive features
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where is dracula set?
sexy chess
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hiatus from chess

New Jersey's Youngest Master to Compete in World Youth Championship

NM Scott Massey sent me the following information:

The U.S. is sending 24 of their finest young chess players to the World Youth Championship 2006 to take place in the former Soviet republic of Georgia from October 18-29. Among those selected for Boys U-14 is Victor Shen, 13, of Edison, New Jersey.

Victor achieved a 2200 master rating on July 16 at the Westfield Quads. He came close to the master rating two weeks earlier by scoring 3 1/2 out of 8 at the World Open in Philadelphia where he was paired with several international players. At the Westfield Quad, Victor played three N.J. masters. In the first round, Victor lost a close game to the then current N.J. state champion, Thomas Bartell. Victor then rebounded with wins over life masters Peter Radomskyj and Mark Kernighan to achieve a master rating at 13 years, 3 months and 7 days.

Although a number of players have reached master at a younger age, Victor's achievement puts him ahead of Bobby Fischer, who broke 2200 at age 14. But unlike Fischer, Victor is a well rounded young man. An eighth grader at John Adams Middle School, his favorite subject is English writing, he runs track and plays basketball, he plays the piano, and he studies Chinese. In his spare time, he occasionally gives chess lessons over the internet.

Victor learned to play chess at age 7. His father, Dong Ming, taught him through his early tournaments and by the age of nine Victor had made the U.S. Top 50 list for his age group. At that point, Kenilworth Chess Club regular and life master Scott Massey started to tutor him. Victor climbed up to third among 13-year-olds and made the All-American team three times.

Victor's nine-year-old brother, Arthur, is expected to make the All-American team for his first time with his 1600 rating. Arthur is currently 19th among nine-year-olds nationally.

Two years ago, Evan Ju of New Jersey represented the U.S. at the World Youth Championships and recently won the New Jersey title. Maybe Victor might follow in Evan's footsteps. But one thing is sure, New Jersey chess is being represented in a big way.