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There are still spots left in Women’s World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk 50-board simultaneous exhibition at the Burt Lerner National Elementary Championships (Atlanta, GA, May 7-9).

The Kosteniuk simul begins at 9 AM EST on Friday, May 7th and the Entry Fee is $40. You can sign up at the USCF store now for the event and the simul. The National K-12 Championships Kosteniuk simul sold out quickly, so don’t wait! Kosteniuk will also sign her books at the event including her latest, “Diary of a Chess Queen” which you can pick up at USCF Sales. Or go to chessqueen.com for an autographed copy.

The Elementary Nationals will also host a FIDE Trainers Seminar for Women , which you can read more about on Kosteniuk’s blog.

Kosteniuk is getting busy with simuls. See a PR on another simul by Kosteniuk in conjunction with the Space Coast Open (April 23-25, Indialantic, FL.) The simul will be held on Alexandra’s 26th birthday, April 24. See the full announcement on the press section of uschess.org.

Over 150 enthusiastic young chess players came to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Northbrook the weekend of February 27-28 to play in the Greater Chicago Scholastic Chess Championships. The kids and their families came from Chicago, the suburbs and all over Illinois, neighboring Wisconsin and Indiana, and even as far as Colorado and Maryland to compete for the beautiful and gigantic trophies for the top teams and individuals. Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation and the Kasparov Chess Foundation sponsored the event, modeled after the long-running successful New York tournament with the same format. This is the first time the event has been held in the Chicago area. (more…)

9^th Annual Martin Luther King Holiday Tournament

When:              Saturday, January 16, 2010.

Where:             Early College High School at Carver – 55 McDonough Blvd SE, Atlanta Ga 30315

Open to:          All scholastic players in grades K-12

Format:            Five rounds. 30 minutes per player per game. Individual/Team Swiss System pairings.

Sections:          USCF rated Primary (K-3), Elementary (K-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12);

Non-rated Elementary (K-5), Non-rated Middle School-High School (6-12).

USCF rated players must play in a USCF rated section.

Entry Fee:       $20 per player for rated sections. $10 for non-rated sections.

Registration:    Mailed registration: make check payable to GCA. Mail to: GCA, PO Box 91, Tucker GA

30085-0091. Must be received by Wednesday, January 13, 2010.

Rounds:           10:00am – 11:30am – 1:00pm – 2:30pm – 4:00pm. Awards ceremony ASAP after round 5.

Byes:               Max. two half-point byes allowed. Must request when registering.

Prizes:              USCF rated sections: trophies to top 10 individuals and top 3 teams each section.

Non-rated sections: USCF memberships to all who score 3.5 or better.

All sections: participation medals to all players. Chess gift certificates in the amount of

$100 to first, $60 to second, and $40 to third in each section.

Please note:     Sets and Boards provided. Please bring clocks.

More Info:       Frequently Asked Questions sheet at: www.georgiachess.org/downloads/MLK2010FAQ.pdf

Further questions? –  Scott Parker (770-939-5030), MLK2010@georgiachess.org

Hikaru Nakamura is leading the US Delegation in the World Team Championships.  He has been building up his internation activity and this time has beaten the World’s number 6 player Grandmaster Boris Gelfand.

US Champion Hikaru Nakamura’s incredible round five win in the World Team Championship over World Cup Champion Boris Gelfand was featured on venues such as chessbase.com, Ben Finegold’s Blog , chessninja , The Week in Chess and IM Ginsburg’s blog. Now CLO readers are treated to GM Hikaru Nakamura’s own analysis. At the time of writing, the US team is tied for the lead with Russia after six rounds.

To replay the game and others from this event click here.

Did you expect such an epic tie break and that you would have a hockey score at the end?

•  How could one expect this? Of course, the tie breaks were very tough for me, as well as for my opponent. In classical round I won one game, and easily. The second game was also not bad. Well, I got worse end game, but I was sure I could manage a draw. But I blundered at one point and the tie break history began. I had to balance and catch up all four games, two times with black. But what is strange: I always knew that all will be alright. I think by the end of the day I was luckier because of my physical shape. I do a lot of physical trainings lately. Even here, in Khanty, I don’t miss my trainings, I work out, I swim, I go to sauna and only then I come to play. Obviously I was in a bit better sporty shape.

•  As famous proverb says Mens Sana in Corpora Sano?

•  Exactly. In principle, an answer to a question if chess is sport is very clear for me. Of course yes! Professional chess players are always under stress. Without good sporty shape you will not survive.

Where: Greater Atlanta Christian School, 1575 Indian Trail Rd, Norcross GA 30093
(please use entrance farthest from I-85)

Format: 5-round, unrated, Swiss-style tournament; open to all Georgia students in grades K-12;
In 13 sections, one for each grade, with 30 minutes per player as the time control.

Prizes: Trophies to all who score 3.5 or better, minimum 3 trophies per section. Participation awards to all players.

Entry Fee: $20; but $10 if attending a title 1 school.
Entry must be received by Tuesday, October 13. Make check payable to: GCA. There is no on-site registration.
Late payments and registrations not accepted.

Registration: Please mail payment and registration form to:  GCA, P.O. Box 91, Tucker, GA 30085-0091

Schedule: Rounds: 10-11:30-1-2:30-4. Award ceremony ASAP after last round ends.
Registration list will be posted by 9:00am. It is the parent’s responsibility to arrive early
enough to verify that the information is correct or to have errors fixed before round 1 begins.

Byes: A student may miss one or two rounds if arranged in advance with their registration. All byes
will be zero-point byes. Players must commit to play at least three rounds.

Information: GA Chess Assn President Scott Parker, 770-939-5030, gradelevels@georgiachess.org, www.georgiachess.org

Sets and Board supplied only for tournament play. Chess clocks not supplied. Please bring one if you have one. Bring your own set and board for use between rounds for game review and play. We suggest you bring your own lunch and snacks.
We strongly encourage everyone, especially first-timers, to read the attached frequently asked questions <http://www.georgiachess.org/downloads/FAQ_Grade-levels_2009.pdf> .

In the 23rd FIDE Invitational (click here for photos and analysis from earlier today) IM Ray Robson won consecutive games in rounds 7 and 8 against two of the top IMs in the country, Sam Shankland and Ben Finegold. Robson now stands as the sole leader with 6.5/8 and (Update, 8/26/09) clinched his second norm with a round to go! He earned his first earlier this month in Norway. Mackenzie Molner also secured an IM norm after eight rounds, and will play Robson on board one. Michael Thaler needs a win over FM Jake Kleiman for his IM norm. Good luck to all our young talents and keep checking CLO for more in-depth analysis of the critical games.

IM Ben Finegold told CLO about his game with Robson: “I was sure I was winning, but, maybe I was ONLY clearly better   ….When we got down to less than 5 minutes each, I simply made too many errors. It was VERY complicated– The spectators and other players were enthralled. ”

Read the entire story at the USCF Website.