KCC Summer Tourney, Round One

White to play and win.

It was a dark and very stormy night... and so only nine players signed up on the first day of the annual Kenilworth Chess Club Summer Tournament.  However, there is still plenty of time to join, and until we break 20 there will be open enrollment.  I played a quick game with Greg Tomkovich, who usually beats me on the clock with his speedy play.  I kept good pace with him, but in doing so ended up flirting too much with danger and granted him a nice shot (see diagram above and notes below).  Fortunately, still playing quickly, he missed it...  A fun game.

KCC Summer Tournament Starts Thursday

The Kenilworth Chess Club's annual Summer Tournament starts tomorrow.  It is definitely one of the most fun events in the calendar, with lots of opportunities to meet and play the other members of the club.  The tournament was a big success last year with 22 participants.  I expect to play.  Here are the details:

• Not rated
• Entry Fee is $5.00.
• The tournament will run from June 13 through August 29.
• The time control is G/60. G/55;d5 is allowed if both players agree.
• You may play anyone in the tournament. The first time you play an opponent, the lower rated player has white, in subsequent games against the same opponent you alternate colors.
• You may not play the same opponent more than four times in the tournament.
• You get one point for a win, one half point for a draw, and zero for a loss.
• You may play as many or as few games as you like, but no more than two in one night. The more you play the more points you can win.
• All games are to be played at the Kenilworth Chess Club during normal operating hours.
• The winner is the person who has the most points at the end of the tournament.
• The prizes are 60% for first place, 30% for second, and 10% for third.

"The Machine" Coming to New York

Matt Charman's new play "The Machine" comes to New York's Park Avenue Armory, September 4-18, after its opening at the Manchester Festival on July 10th.  The play revisits the infamous 1997 Kasparov v. Deep Blue chess match (immortalized in the excellent documentary Game Over), which it depicts as a battle between the former world champion and IBM's Feng-Hsiung Hsu. The BBC's Tim Masters offers a useful preview in "The Machine: Stage Set for Kasparov v Deep Blue Chess Thriller."

Norowitz Finishes in the Middle of the Field at the U.S. Chess Championship

IM-elect Yaacov Norowitz finished the U.S. Championship on Sunday with an even score of 4.5/9, placing him in the exact middle of the 24-man field.  Quite an accomplishment for his first U.S. Championship.  I have annotated his last two games of the tournament below, or you can download the PGN.  

GM Gata Kamsky won his tiebreak match with GM Alejandro Ramirez to take the Men's title, and IM Irina Krush took the Women's title by accepting a draw a pawn up in her last game.  There is good coverage at ChessBase with a report by FM Mike Klein, who also wrote articles at the USCF website on the Men's final and Women's final  Dana Mackenzie comments on the remarkable number of young players at the tournament in "Huge youth movement at the US Championship."

Norowitz Batting .438 Heading into Final Round

Former Kenilworth Chess Club champion and IM-elect Yaacov Norowitz continued his solid play at the U.S. Chess Championship, drawing in the penultimate round against the young IM-elect Sam Sevian after holding a clear edge through much of the ending.  He stands at 3.5/8 going into the final round.  In Round 6, Yaacov had clear winning chances after gaining the Exchange against Varuzhan Akobian, but he had to settle for a draw after giving Black too much counter-play, which required him to give back the Exchange to gain a drawn Queen ending.  In Round 7, Yaacov got in trouble with his Larsen Caro-Kann (1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6 gxf6) against GM Sam Shankland.  That opening has accounted for both of his losses in the tournament.  Interestingly, he made no obvious errors after the opening.  So you have to wonder if he just needs a more solid main line as Black if he is going to succeed at this level.  I have annotated his games from Rounds 6 & 7 below, or you can download the PGN.

During the coverage today, we got a better view of just how Yaacov's "stickers" work (see photos below).  As discussed previously, the rules for observant Jews require no writing on the Sabbath, so the stickers (which Doc Lewis invented) are a rather original solution to the problem this presents.  I wonder if the late GM Sammy Reshevsky would have considered this possibility? Besides solving the problem faced by Orthodox Jews, the stickers might find other uses: Jen Shahade has suggested they would make for a fun way to teach youngsters how to record their games.

A close-up on Yaacov's stickers.

Yaacov's stickers to the left of him, scoresheet to the right.

In other news, GM Gata Kamsky only managed a draw against GM Timur Gareev, which means that everything will depend on the final round tomorrow.  Among those with a chance to win the tournament is GM Conrad Holt, a young college student playing in his first U.S. Championship.  In the Women's event, IM Irina Krush won against WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, her closest rival, and is guaranteed at least a part of first place even if she loses on Sunday.  During the live coverage, GM Yasser Seirawan pointed out that Abrahamyan missed a surprising resource late in the game when it looked like Krush was easily winning due to her powerful passed pawn at g2.  Can you find the move that both players missed?

Krush - Abrahamyan
White to play after 43...g2