Thoughts from our 2009 U.S. Chess Champion
While waiting for the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship to begin, I found myself thinking about this youtube favorite. I hope you enjoy.
High School Senior earns 3rd GM Norm at Foxwoods!
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.
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GM Susan Polgar inks deal with the Internet Chess Club
GM Susan Polgar announced today that she will be working with ICC’s World Chess Live to provide video chess instruction for players under 2200. There will be beginner, intermediate and advanced lessons once a week.
She will also provide important information for chess coaches, parents and teachers on how to introduce chess to students and new programs.
GM Polgar confirms the rumor of a global chess tv channel in the works. We are following that idea closely.
Source: Chessvine.com Polgar Blog
Kamsky Falls to Aggressive Play
Photo by Susan Polgar
Just when it looked like the U.S. Team was picking up some speed, they suffered a horrific defeat to Azerbaijan. The U.S. could only muster two draws against the European match-up. With so much at stake its no wonder why GM Gata Kamsky played cautiously and defensively out of the opening. However, with these results can the Americans continue down this path? Below is the Round 4 match up with Azerbaijan GM Teimour Radjabov.
Round 5 will see the U.S. Team paired against Hong Kong. (more…)
Chess Definitions – “Chess Opening”
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as intiated by white or defenses, as created on reply to black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants.