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GM Kosteniuk turns 25 today.

President of Bolivia Chess Federation praised the high level of chess players in Cuba

CAMAGÜEY, Cuba, April 20 (Cuban News Agency) – Bolivia’s Chess Federation president Alfonso Ferrufino Hurtado, praised the high level of chess players in Cuba, and noted he hopes the island contributes to the development of this sport in his country.

Our young players have never faced such strong counterparts and they are learning a lot, said the official in relation to the performance of Bolivian players in the third ALBA Games, underway in this central province of Cuba.

Ferrufino, who is heading his country’s women’s and men’s chess teams to the tournament, told the press Cuban chess trainers are expected to travel to Bolivia for a cooperation project.

The Bolivian official said the Cuban chess trainers’ quality is very high, and that they have a different preparation and very efficient teaching methods.

The Bolivian teams which have made a modest performance so far in matches against Cuba and Venezuela, as well as against Camagüey, which participated as a guest in the classifying round of the tournament.

Ferrufino announced that Bolivian players will take part in coming events in Cuba like the Moncada chess tournament, in Santiago de Cuba, the Guillermo Garcia In Memoriam, in Santa Clara, and the Capablanca In Memoriam, in Havana.

He also said that his government is working on a project to expand the practice of this discipline in all the country, just as was done in Venezuela.

We have talked briefly about the “draw” skill.  It is certainly one of those skills that most GM/IM/SM possess.

The next skill we will talk about is the skill of “tactics.”  This is an easy skill to talk about since it is the one that gets most male chess players interested in the game.

First let’s discuss the bad side of tactics. Chess is not all grenades and fireworks, but some people just can’t get away from the noise makers.  Players who play just for tactics tend to be impatient players.  They will make mistakes trying to create sensationalism in closed positions.

I confess to learning chess this way. I grew up in chess looking for sacrifices and for ways to give my queen away for exciting positions.

The good side of the tactical tool is that it can save you often.  I read somewhere that the amateur player can make it to the master level just on tactics alone.

Tactics go hand in hand with opening preparation.  However, you can play one without the other, but not with the optimum success rate.  Tactics will help you recover from bad openings and also help you punish your opponent when they make mistakes in the opening.

Tactics are also prevalent in the end game.  When things seem to calm down and you have just pawns and maybe a minor piece, tactics can still occur.

Every player should make tactics training a part of their regular preparation.  The tactics trainer here on chess.com as well as trainers on other website are a must for the serious player.  One trick for finding tactics in a position is by looking for unusual responses to your opponents moves.

For those players who prefer the old fashioned books, I recommend two.  One is called 300 Essential Positions by Lev Alburt. I believe this book is now in its 2nd edition.  The other book for advance players is the Anthology of Chess Combinations.  I know several International Masters who train with this book on a regular basis.

Tactical training might be the magic bullet of chess for the lazy player.  Tactics will probably get you past most of your neighborhood players, school peers and local club players. However, tactics alone will not make you a national competitor.

There have been more books written on tactical play than any other subject within chess.  Minatures, swindles, traps and pitfalls all have been well talked about.  Tactics are the glue of chess.

In Part III we will talk about “tactics’” little brother.   Take a look a the tactics trainer here and see if you can advance your rating about 1800.

Every chess player whether they are beginner or master can do at least one thing in the game of chess. The stronger you get the more things or skills you develop.

Beginners learn how to move the pawns first. The next two pieces are probably the King and Queen. They might not learn how to en passant or how to capture on diagonals, but they will know how to move one square at a time.

As your skills develop, you should be aware of what you can do without effort. Some players are tactical, while others are positional. Some players learn openings very quickly while still others master the endgame first.

Whatever your area of competency is, nurture it.

Today I would like to talk about the skill of “drawing a game.” This is one of those skills that gets no spotlight shined on it. No horns or balloons for this skill. No key to the city or parades down main street. However, it is still a very important skill. A skill that can gain you a lot of rating points.

Technically it is easier to draw a game then to win a game at the upper levels. Both sides being well versed in the theory of the day and preparation that includes countless hours over their opponents games.

But how easy is it to draw a total stranger? I challenge you to play some games via live chess or elsewhere and play for the draw. Can you draw at will? Do you have openings that you can draw with confidence? Do you know how to transpose your opening into a draw line?

Some players can do these things and others have never thought about it. If you are one of the players that haven’t spent the time to learn how to draw… Here are some things to think about.

1. Are you comfortable at assessing the position of any game?

2. Can you accurately assess what strengths exist in the position for you? or your opponent?

3. Can you control squares in the endgame?

4. Can you find threefold repetition lines?

5. Do you understand the theory of opposite color bishops?

Having the “draw” skill in the bag is important for tournament players. Knowing when you have an equal position can actually help you in turning the game into a win.

Some players dislike draws so much that they will play inferior moves to avoid a draw. Strong players do not like to draw weaker players. So if you are 1200-1600 and you can draw say a 1800-2200 player at will you are on your way to seeing a rating improvement.

I have even seen players turn down draws only to go on and lose the game, because they were emotionally attached to the idea of not drawing.

Your ability to determine whether the position is equal is a critical skill. This skill can be developed into other skills that will help you know when to trade or simplify into winning positions.

I challenge you to test the theory and play for a draw for in at least ten games. Feel free to report your results back here.

FISCHER MEMORIAL PRIZE, JACKPOT BONUS ADDED TO PRIZES

FOR 2009 U.S. CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP BEING HELD IN ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS, February 19, 2009 — A $64,000 bonus in memory of late chess champion Bobby Fischer and a jackpot bonus for a “clear” first-place winner have been added to the prizes being awarded at the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship. The tournament, which will be held May 7-17, 2009 at the new Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, will offer a purse of more than $130,000 in prize money.

Any player who scores a 9-0 sweep will be awarded the Fischer Memorial Prize, a $64,000 bonus in addition to the first-place award. The prize is in remembrance of the late American world champion Bobby Fischer, who died in 2008 at age 64. Fischer scored an 11-0 victory in the 1963-64 U.S. championship, the only perfect score in the event’s history.

Additionally, a jackpot bonus of $5,000 will be awarded to the first-place winner. If there is a tie for first, the jackpot will be awarded in a playoff for the title of U.S. champion, to be contested on May 17, after the final round and before the closing ceremony. Up to four players will contest a series of one-game rapid matches designed to guarantee a decisive result (“draw odds games”).
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GM-Elect was a treat to watch at Foxwoods. The young man showed a lot of discipline and even beat one of my favorite players GM Hikaru Nakamura. Here is an interview that speaks to how he did it and includes some interesting details about his chess coach.

Source:USChess

Robert Hess’s Spring 2009 streak began with the SPICE Spring Invitational (March 16-22, Lubbock, Texas), where Robert scored his second GM norm. A week later in Nashville, Robert swept the High School Nationals 7-0, leading his team, Stuyvesant to a National title. A couple days after that, Robert was off to Foxwoods where he defeated GMs Ehlvest and Nakamura on his way to norm #3. Between catching up on schoolwork and preparing for the 2009 U.S. Championship (May 7-17, Saint Louis), GM-elect Robert Hess talked to CLO about his philosophy on chess openings, confidence and his relationship with coach GM Miron Sher.

Jennifer Shahade (JS): Triple Congratulations on behalf of CLO and USCF for your earning your two norms and a National Championship title in just 3 weeks. Did the High School Nationals prepare you for your fantastic result in Foxwoods?

Robert Hess (RH): Not really – at the Nationals I did not play my best chess. I believe it was the SPICE tournament that brought up my Foxwoods result. (My coach) Miron Sher always told me that if I played in successive tournaments, I would achieve a great result.

JS:What was your best game from Foxwoods?
RH:My game with Black against Nakamura was a very clean game.

Kasparov Chess Foundation Presents
2009 All-Girls National Chess Championships

University of Texas at Dallas Established Academic Distinction Scholarship Valued at $80,000. US Women’s Champion, WGM Anna Zatonskih, to Make Special Appearance.

Dallas, TX, Dec. 16, 2008 — Kasparov Chess Foundation announced the Sixth Annual National All-Girls Chess Championships, to be in Dallas, TX, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd., April 24 – 26, 2008. The non-profit chess educational organization, founded by world chess champion Garry Kasparov, is hosting this year’s tournament in association with the Dallas Chess Club (DCC), University of Texas at Dallas, and the United States Chess Federation (USCF).

This year, as in previous years, the tournament welcomes girls from public, private and home-schools. Teams will compete within the following age categories: 8 years old and younger; 10 years old and younger; 12 years old and younger; 14 years old and younger; 16 years old and younger; 18 years old and younger.

As a special award, The University of Texas at Dallas, http://www.utdallas.edu, has established an Academic Distinction Scholarship for the winner of the 18 years old and younger section. The scholarship is valued at $80,000 for an out-of-state student. More information on the scholarship can be found at http://www.chess.utdallas.edu.

I have spent better than a week researching all I could on the Scotch Game. There is too much theory to cover in one post. So I will start with some of the simpler ideas in the Scotch Game. If the interest continues we can explore some of the other lines.