The schedule page has been updated with the Spring schedule. Quads! Swisses! Analysis! It has something for everyone. Including the first appearance of 10 second delay – thrilling! Why are you still here reading this, just click on the schedule already!
Once the tournament is over I’ll be posting the games I’ve collected, including round 4’s board one match between Chester Bean and Chris Brooks. It’s an interesting game (who knew the Nimzowitsch defense was something to fear?), with Brooks coming out on top. And with the win, he takes a commanding full point lead going into the final round. The only ones with any hope of catching him (although perhaps that won’t be good enough, given the tiebreaks), sit at 3 points:
Chester Bean
Ken Evans
David Antonucci (unfortunately, he has withdrawn)
Leonid Freyvert
Ernie Johnson
But even if first place is out of reach, there’s still reason to play – remember that there will be class trophies (for any class with at least 4 eligible participants).
Get ready sports fans, the premier event of the Vassar-Chadwick tournament schedule is upon us. On Monday we begin the battle to determine the 2014 Dutchess County Chess Champion. Oh the riches that await he (or she) who is crowned champ, the glory, the groupies – the world will be your oyster, but only if you are the last one standing (have the highest score and best tiebreaks, if needed).
To reflect the special nature of the DCC, I will be assigning pairings by board number, and will mark the board numbers in the room. The first board will have the table in the front (normally where the TD sits). The TD area will be stationed in the other room, which will also hold the lower boards if we run out of room in the main playing area. If we can fit all the games in one room, then the second room will be available as a skittles area; if that is also occupied by games, there is usually a free room down the end of the hall.
As a reminder, a maximum of two 1/2 point byes will be available per player, for any round except the last. Trophies will be given out to first and second place, and then to the top score in each class (A, B, C, D, E/Unrated), provided there are at least 4 participants in that class.
The time control is longer than our standard; G/90 with a 5 second delay. We need to start as close to on time as possible, as games can last over 3 hours. This means – show up early enough to get added to the pairings. If you arrive at 7:31, you may be too late. Give yourself enough time to handle traffic and weather.
Finally, a $1 refund to the entry fee will be given at the end of the tournament to any player who submits at least three legible scoresheets to the TD (games from this tournament only, of course).
On Saturday, October 26th, 21 players from both sides of the Hudson River met to determine which chess club could claim to be the best of the Mid-Hudson Valley – or at least keep the traveling trophy until next year.
In the blue corner we have the Middletown club, featuring two Masters (Lonnie Kwartler and Sergio Almeida). And in the red corner, our very own Vassar-Chadwick contingent, headed by two Experts (Chris Brooks and Alan Lasser). While Middletown was the favorite on the top boards, we had an advantage on the lower boards – a tough struggle in any case.
When the dust had settled, Vassar-Chadwick took the trophy with an 11-9 score; the result was close, reflecting the difficult contest that could have gone either way.
All participants seemed to enjoy the match, and we look forward to doing this again next year. Will you join us?
This past weekend Tarrytown, NY hosted the 2013 US Junior Open. Vassar-Chadwick tournament veteran Brandon Wang participated in the Under 11 section, and finished with an impressive 4 out of 6. One of his losses was to the section winner, Daniel Levkov. Daniel had a 400 point rating advantage, but Brandon held his own and did not give up the fight until move 50. Here’s the game.
Justus Williams won the top section (Under 21), while the Under 1600 prize in that section went to Brittany Denniston, who participated in the 2011 Dutchess County Championship. Update: I can’t believe I didn’t notice Colin Denniston (another 2011 DCC player), who played in the Under 15 section, scored 4.5 out of 6, and is now sporting a very impressive 1844 rating. Strong juniors in our area. Could be an interesting 2014 Dutchess County Championship!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In a festive mood, I am posting 17 games from last month’s team tournament, the US Amateur Team East. You will be able to replay games from Darius Jafary, Dr. Craig Fisher, and Scott Strattner. The latter inexplicably lost the scoresheet for his 4th round game; it was a loss, which means it is quite possible I tore up the sheet in rage and threw it out the hotel window…but it is still a shame to not have a record for it anymore. In any case, there are some interesting games to be found, and as always the computer found some fascinating variations (either to save a game, or win it earlier).
From the TD, Michael O’Connor:
Thank you to all of you who participated in the 2013 Dutchess County Championship. A special congratulations to the trophy winners:
Ernie Johnson First Place
Ayman Haoula Second Place
Bob Simmons Class A
Mike O’Connor Class B
Al Musumeci Class C
[Editor’s note and interesting statistic: Class winners Bob Simmons (A), Michael O’Connor (B), and Al Musumeci (C) all ended up with 3.5 points, showing the strong parity among club members, regardless of USCF rating]
Here are the final standings:
Standings. DCC_2013
# Name Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot TBrk[M] TBrk[S] TBrk[C] TBrk[O]
# Name Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot TBrk[M] TBrk[S] TBrk[C] TBrk[O]
1 Ernie Johnson W3 W11 H— W2 W7 4.5 13 13 13 41.5
2 Ayman Haoula W14 W6 W17 L1 W9 4.0 12 13.5 13 44
3 Michael O’Connor L1 W19 H— W17 W10 3.5 10 10 8 33
4 Bob Simmons W18 D9 H— D10 W13 3.5 9 9 10 30.5
5 Al Musumeci L10 H— W26 W14 W11 3.5 8 8 7.5 25
6 George Oliveras W16 L2 W21 L13 W15 3.0 11 13 9 38
7 Darius Jafary W26 W15 H— D9 L1 3.0 10.5 10.5 11 33
8 Jay Mayur W27 H— H— U— W18 3.0 3.5 3.5 8.5 5.5
9 Scott Strattner W12 D4 H— D7 L2 2.5 9 13 9 41.5
10 Craig Fisher W5 D17 H— D4 L3 2.5 8.5 12 9 34
11 Ken Evans W19 L1 H— W12 L5 2.5 7.5 12 8 31
12 Daniel Rosa L9 W18 H— L11 W17 2.5 5.5 8 6 28.5
13 David Antonucci H— H— H— W6 L4 2.5 3 6.5 6.5 19.5
14 Michael Mendez L2 W16 L15 L5 W22 2.0 10 14 5 37
15 Noah Kulick W28 L7 W14 U— L6 2.0 7 10 8 27.5
16 Mark Webb L6 L14 D18 D19 W26 2.0 6 9 3.5 22.5
17 Naor Isak W29 D10 L2 L3 L12 1.5 10.5 14.5 7 39.5
18 Andrew Schmidt L4 L12 D16 W20 L8 1.5 10 13.5 3.5 35
19 Richard Whearty L11 L3 H— D16 D20 1.5 6.5 10 2.5 25.5
20 Muhil Arumugam H— H— U— L18 D19 1.5 1.5 3 4 6.5
21 Bill McGreevy H— H— L6 H— U— 1.5 0 3 4 9
22 Alex Xin H— H— U— U— L14 1.0 0 2 3.5 5
23 Angelo Limardo H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
24 Dharshan Ram H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
25 Krishnan Ram H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
26 Sanjay Natesan L7 H— L5 U— L16 0.5 5 8.5 1.5 23
27 Jeff Messerich L8 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 3.5 1.5 9.5
28 James Lynch L15 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 2.5 1.5 8
29 Garrett Deutermann L17 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 1.5 1.5 7
2 Ayman Haoula W14 W6 W17 L1 W9 4.0 12 13.5 13 44
3 Michael O’Connor L1 W19 H— W17 W10 3.5 10 10 8 33
4 Bob Simmons W18 D9 H— D10 W13 3.5 9 9 10 30.5
5 Al Musumeci L10 H— W26 W14 W11 3.5 8 8 7.5 25
6 George Oliveras W16 L2 W21 L13 W15 3.0 11 13 9 38
7 Darius Jafary W26 W15 H— D9 L1 3.0 10.5 10.5 11 33
8 Jay Mayur W27 H— H— U— W18 3.0 3.5 3.5 8.5 5.5
9 Scott Strattner W12 D4 H— D7 L2 2.5 9 13 9 41.5
10 Craig Fisher W5 D17 H— D4 L3 2.5 8.5 12 9 34
11 Ken Evans W19 L1 H— W12 L5 2.5 7.5 12 8 31
12 Daniel Rosa L9 W18 H— L11 W17 2.5 5.5 8 6 28.5
13 David Antonucci H— H— H— W6 L4 2.5 3 6.5 6.5 19.5
14 Michael Mendez L2 W16 L15 L5 W22 2.0 10 14 5 37
15 Noah Kulick W28 L7 W14 U— L6 2.0 7 10 8 27.5
16 Mark Webb L6 L14 D18 D19 W26 2.0 6 9 3.5 22.5
17 Naor Isak W29 D10 L2 L3 L12 1.5 10.5 14.5 7 39.5
18 Andrew Schmidt L4 L12 D16 W20 L8 1.5 10 13.5 3.5 35
19 Richard Whearty L11 L3 H— D16 D20 1.5 6.5 10 2.5 25.5
20 Muhil Arumugam H— H— U— L18 D19 1.5 1.5 3 4 6.5
21 Bill McGreevy H— H— L6 H— U— 1.5 0 3 4 9
22 Alex Xin H— H— U— U— L14 1.0 0 2 3.5 5
23 Angelo Limardo H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
24 Dharshan Ram H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
25 Krishnan Ram H— H— U— U— U— 1.0 0 0 3.5 0
26 Sanjay Natesan L7 H— L5 U— L16 0.5 5 8.5 1.5 23
27 Jeff Messerich L8 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 3.5 1.5 9.5
28 James Lynch L15 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 2.5 1.5 8
29 Garrett Deutermann L17 H— U— U— U— 0.5 0 1.5 1.5 7
(names in italics did not actually show up to play, but were assigned byes in case they did)
See the USCF for full crosstable.
Also check out our Gallery for pictures from the tournament.
Going into the last round, Ernie Johnson leads with 3.5 points (he has won all his games, taking a draw in the 3rd round in order to play in the USATE). Ayman and Darius have 3 points each, followed by a large number of players with 2.5 points.
Monday March 4th is the last round of the 2013 DCC tournament. Hope to see you there.
Standings. DCC_2013
# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot
# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Tot
1 Ernie Johnson 10089115 1995 W8 W7 H— W2 3.5
2 Ayman Haoula 14624013 1936 W18 W11 W14 L1 3.0
3 Darius Jafary 14321073 1756 W25 W12 H— D4 3.0
4 Scott Strattner 12524932 1951 W15 D6 H— D3 2.5
5 Craig Fisher 10124743 1820 W9 D14 H— D6 2.5
6 Bob Simmons 10104424 1800 W16 D4 H— D5 2.5
7 Ken Evans 10122627 1814 W19 L1 H— W15 2.5
8 Michael O’Connor 12592786 1688 L1 W19 H— W14 2.5
9 Al Musumeci 12355500 1500 L5 H— W25 W18 2.5
10 David Antonucci 12902559 1845 H— H— H— W11 2.5
11 George Oliveras 12520533 1771 W20 L2 W17 L10 2.0
12 Noah Kulick 12854987 1900 W27 L3 W18 U— 2.0
13 Jay Mayur 12799903 1766 W26 H— H— U— 2.0
14 Naor Isak 13984194 1757 W28 D5 L2 L8 1.5
15 Daniel Rosa 12799045 1673 L4 W16 H — L7 1.5
16 Andrew Schmidt 12432863 1477 L6 L15 D20 W21 1.5
17 Bill McGreevy 12321140 1504 H— H— L11 H— 1.5
18 Michael Mendez 12495089 1638 L2 W20 L12 L9 1.0
19 Richard Whearty 13468991 1489 L7 L8 H— D20 1.0
20 Mark Webb 12840342 1444 L11 L18 D16 D19 1.0
21 Muhil Arumugam 14630661 807 H— H— U— L16 1.0
22 Angelo Limardo 12547105 1500 H— H— U— U— 1.0
23 Dharshan Ram 13657630 1358 H— H— U— U— 1.0
24 Krishnan Ram 14242030 754 H— H— U— U— 1.0
25 Sanjay Natesan 15060528 unr. L3 H— L9 U— 0.5
26 Jeff Messerich 13821971 295 L13 H— U— U— 0.5
27 James Lynch 12088510 1506 L12 H— U— U— 0.5
28 Garrett Deutermann 12719411 unr. L14 H— U— U— 0.5
2 Ayman Haoula 14624013 1936 W18 W11 W14 L1 3.0
3 Darius Jafary 14321073 1756 W25 W12 H— D4 3.0
4 Scott Strattner 12524932 1951 W15 D6 H— D3 2.5
5 Craig Fisher 10124743 1820 W9 D14 H— D6 2.5
6 Bob Simmons 10104424 1800 W16 D4 H— D5 2.5
7 Ken Evans 10122627 1814 W19 L1 H— W15 2.5
8 Michael O’Connor 12592786 1688 L1 W19 H— W14 2.5
9 Al Musumeci 12355500 1500 L5 H— W25 W18 2.5
10 David Antonucci 12902559 1845 H— H— H— W11 2.5
11 George Oliveras 12520533 1771 W20 L2 W17 L10 2.0
12 Noah Kulick 12854987 1900 W27 L3 W18 U— 2.0
13 Jay Mayur 12799903 1766 W26 H— H— U— 2.0
14 Naor Isak 13984194 1757 W28 D5 L2 L8 1.5
15 Daniel Rosa 12799045 1673 L4 W16 H — L7 1.5
16 Andrew Schmidt 12432863 1477 L6 L15 D20 W21 1.5
17 Bill McGreevy 12321140 1504 H— H— L11 H— 1.5
18 Michael Mendez 12495089 1638 L2 W20 L12 L9 1.0
19 Richard Whearty 13468991 1489 L7 L8 H— D20 1.0
20 Mark Webb 12840342 1444 L11 L18 D16 D19 1.0
21 Muhil Arumugam 14630661 807 H— H— U— L16 1.0
22 Angelo Limardo 12547105 1500 H— H— U— U— 1.0
23 Dharshan Ram 13657630 1358 H— H— U— U— 1.0
24 Krishnan Ram 14242030 754 H— H— U— U— 1.0
25 Sanjay Natesan 15060528 unr. L3 H— L9 U— 0.5
26 Jeff Messerich 13821971 295 L13 H— U— U— 0.5
27 James Lynch 12088510 1506 L12 H— U— U— 0.5
28 Garrett Deutermann 12719411 unr. L14 H— U— U— 0.5
The USCF is planning to roll out another rating system, for Blitz events, starting March 1st. The rule update document (link to PDF) outlines the new rating:
Blitz rating system:
Blitz has its own rating system. To be rated, the time controls require from 5 to 10 minutes total playing time. See also 5C. Ratable time controls, and have a minimum primary time control of 3 minutes. All rounds must use the same time control. Hence G/3 inc/2 is rated under the Blitz system. Currently Lightning and Bullet are not included in any rating system.
The following (also found in the rules update) is a useful overview of the various time controls and which rating system they fall under.
5C. Ratable time controls. There are three rating systems. Regular (slow), Quick (fast) and Blitz. For the purposes of rating G/minutes and inc/seconds (or d/seconds), add minutes (mm) and seconds (ss) for total playing time for each player. (i.e. total time equals minutes plus (seconds times 60)) or mm+ss; e.g.: G/60 d/5 = 60+5 = 65 minutes total playing time for each player. Multiple time controls add all mm for each control: mm = mm(1) + mm(2) + …
Regular only: total playing time for each player is greater than 65 minutes. mm+ss > 65
Dual (both regular and quick): total playing time for each player is from 30 to 65 minutes. 30 < mm + ss < 65
Quick only: total playing time for each player is more than 10 and less than 30 minutes. 10 < mm+ss < 30
For Regular, Dual and Quick the primary time (mm in minutes) must be at least 5 minutes.Blitz: total playing time for each player is from 5 to 10 minutes inclusive and the primary time control must be at least 3 minutes. 5 < mm+ss < 10 All rounds must use the same time control.
Below are the standings after three rounds of the 2013 Dutchess County Championship. Ayman Haoula tops the list with the only perfect score, followed by Ernie and Darius (who is riding a hot streak), with 2.5 points each.
The penultimate round starts at 7;30pm Monday 2/25 – about 70 hours away, as of this update. Hope to see you there.
SwissSys Standings. DCC_2013
# Name ID Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Tot TBrk[M] TBrk[S] TBrk[C] TBrk[O] Prize
1 Ayman Haoula 14624013 1936 W15 W4 W10 3.0 3.5 4.5 6 10
2 Ernie Johnson 10089115 1995 W12 W11 H--- 2.5 3 3 5 6
3 Darius Jafary 14321073 1756 W21 W5 H--- 2.5 2.5 2.5 5 5
4 George Oliveras 12520533 1771 W22 L1 W16 2.0 4 4.5 4 9
5 Noah Kulick 12854987 1900 W25 L3 W15 2.0 3.5 4.5 4 8.5
6 Scott Strattner 12524932 1951 W13 D8 H--- 2.0 3.5 3.5 4 7
7 Craig Fisher 10124743 1820 W14 D10 H--- 2.0 3 3 4 6
8 Bob Simmons 10104424 1800 W20 D6 H--- 2.0 2.5 2.5 4 5
9 Jay Mayur 12799903 1766 W24 H--- H--- 2.0 1 1 3.5 1
10 Naor Isak 13984194 1757 W26 D7 L1 1.5 2 6 4 11.5
11 Ken Evans 10122627 1814 W23 L2 H--- 1.5 0.5 3 3 6
12 Mike O'Connor 12592786 1688 L2 W23 H--- 1.5 0.5 3 2 6
13 Daniel Rosa 12799045 1673 L6 W20 H--- 1.5 0.5 2.5 2 5
14 Al Musumeci 12355500 1500 L7 H--- W21 1.5 0.5 2.5 1.5 5.5
15 Michael Mendez 12495089 1638 L1 W22 L5 1.0 2.5 5.5 2 10.5
16 Bill McGreevy 12321140 1504 H--- H--- L4 1.0 0 2 1.5 4
17 Angelo Limardo 12547105 1500 H--- H--- U--- 1.0 0 0 1.5 0
18 Dharshan Ram 13657630 1358 H--- H--- U--- 1.0 0 0 1.5 0
19 Krishnan Ram 14242030 754 H--- H--- U--- 1.0 0 0 1.5 0
20 Andrew Schmidt 12432863 1477 L8 L13 D22 0.5 2 4 0.5 7.5
21 Sanjay Natesan 15060528 unr. L3 H--- L14 0.5 1.5 4 0.5 7.5
22 Mark Webb 12840342 1444 L4 L15 D20 0.5 1.5 3.5 0.5 6.5
23 Richard Whearty 13468991 1489 L11 L12 H--- 0.5 1.5 3 0 6
24 Jeff Messerich 13821971 295 L9 H--- U--- 0.5 0 2 0.5 4.5
25 James Lynch 12088510 1506 L5 H--- U--- 0.5 0 2 0.5 4
26 G. Deutermann 12719411 unr. L10 H--- U--- 0.5 0 1.5 0.5 4