UT at Dallas and UMBC – 1st Place…It’s a Tie!

GM Leonid Kritz (UMBC) won on first board against IM Jacek Stopa (UTD B) – Replay the Game. Click here for Scoresheet

UT at Dallas (Team B) and UMBC tied for First Place in the 2008 Pan American Intercollegiate Championships (Dec. 27-30, Dallas, Tx).

UT at Dallas won the trophy due to their stronger tiebreaks.   You can Click Here to Check Final Standings.

The Final Four…

UT at Dallas, University of Maryland Baltimore County, UT at Brownsville and Stanford University are going to the Final Four!

The Final Four of Chess is another annual college chess competition which will take place at the University of Texas at Dallas campus April 4-5, 2009.

In the past, only UTD and UMBC have won this event. We are looking forward to this competition! Check back for more.

2008 Pan American Championships – Live Games Blog

Round 5: GM Kritz, Leonid vs. GM Ramirez, Alejandro

We have selected this game to cover on our blog which is open for comments. This game was Live…you can still replay, and view the scoresheet.

Featured Game:  GM Kritz, Leonid (Germany) with a rating of 2664 from UMBC is facing GM Ramirez, Alejandro (Costa Rica) with a rating of 2590 who is representing UT Dallas. These two players are the top boards of UMBC and UTD teams which are usually in contention to win this event.

The match between UMBC and UT Dallas is a classic in college chess and this game shows how powerful these teams are.

Enjoy the game and feel free to make comments! It’s a very interesting and tactical game.

Click Here for Round 5 GM Kritz, Leonid vs. GM Ramirez, Alejandro Scoresheet

Additional Links:

• Click Here for Standings
• Click Here for Pairings

Pan American Championships (Dec. 27-30, 2008)

The Pan American Championships Start Today!

Check out the details below!

Chess Team Gearing Up for Key College Tournament
UT Dallas Looking for Third Straight Win When Pan Am Matches Come to Dallas

Dec. 19, 2008

UT Dallas is expecting a showdown with an old rival when the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship comes to Dallas later this month.

The tournament, known as the “World Series of College Chess,” will be held Dec. 27-30 at the Dallas Fort Worth Marriott Hotel. Hosts are the Dallas Chess Club and UT Dallas.

UT Dallas has ruled the tournament the previous two years but is gearing for tough competition from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Although as many as 30 teams will compete, history has tended to favor UT Dallas and UMBC. One or the other school has won the Pan Am every year for the last 10 years.

The two teams have also dominated another major annual college chess competition, the Final Four of Chess, which is held in the spring. No team other than UT Dallas or UMBC has won the event in that competition’s eight-year history.

“We always look forward to renewing our longstanding rivalry with UMBC,” said Jim Stallings, director of the UT Dallas chess program. “We have enjoyed two years at the top of college chess and know that a three-peat will be extremely difficult this year against the UMBC team.”

The UMBC team, which features an average rating of 2596, is the tournament’s top seed. UMBC has the tournament’s three highest-rated players, all of whom are grandmasters and rated over 2600.

UTD Chess Coach Rade Milovanovic says that challengers “should not underestimate the defending champions.”

UT Dallas will enter a record four teams – one grandmaster, seven international masters, and other national masters. The fourth team will be an all-woman team.

The rest of the field will include strong master-level teams from both Harvard and Stanford. Traditionally formidable Miami Dade College and Florida Atlantic University will have teams entered.

Other U.S. schools participating include Texas Tech, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and Yale University. Universities from Canada and one from Peru will round out the Pan-American Intercollegiate mix.

More details on the tournament schedule, location, and the scholastic scholarship to be offered can be found on the UT Dallas Chess Program’s for the 2008 Pan American games Web site.

The games themselves can be followed on the Internet Chess Club or monroi.com sites on the Internet.

Last Year….

The Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship was held from Dec. 27 through Dec. 30, 2007 at the Miami Dade College.

In 2007, UTD took 1st Place! Will they take 1st Place again this year? What do you think?  Stay tuned to find out….

The final results of the 2007 event:

TEAMS

1st Place: University of Texas at Dallas
2nd Place: University of Maryland Baltimore County
3rd Place: University of Texas At Dallas – B
4th Place: New York University
5th Place: Miami Dade College – A
6th Place: University of Texas At Brownsville-A
7th Place: Duke University
8th Place: Yale University – A
9th Place: University of Maryland,Baltimore County -B

Happy Holidays from the U.S. Chess Trust!

Wishing You the Very Best – Happy Holidays and Warm Wishes to All This Holiday Season!

“The Wonder Match” NY Times Article

By MICHAEL PATERNITI
Published: December 23, 2008

“Before he was secretly buried on a dark winter morning in a lonely Icelandic churchyard at the age of 64 (there were only four people in attendance at the hastily arranged funeral) . . .”

“…on an October day in 1956, Bobby Fischer eagerly took his seat at the Marshall Chess Club in the West Village. All gangly arms and legs, he’d been invited to compete with the country’s 11 best players in the Rosenwald Memorial. In a way, it was his coming-out party. With his supposedly preternaturally high I.Q. (181, higher than Einstein’s) and capacious memory (where he stored the positions, annotations and analysis of a century’s worth of games, many played out while sitting at school), it was said that the child prodigy loathed losing and had just learned to do so without crying. Among the erudite, gentleman competitors in dapper suits and thin ties, he wore a striped, collarless, short-sleeve shirt, hair cut short and neat, a true boy among men. He looked as if he had a stickball game to get to.”

Click Here to Read the Entire NY Times Article

Question of the Month by Jim Eade

Do You Consider the Game of Chess To Be More of A Science or An Art?

Audience participation is encouraged and responses will be posted on our website and in our next newsletter!

2 Ways to Post Your Comments:

1. Post your comments/responses on our site by clicking the comments area on the top right corner of the blog post, type in your response and submit !  It’s that simple!
2. Or, email them to info@uschesstrust.org.

Interesting Related Reading:

• The Chess Player As An Artist: Marcel Duchamp
• Multiple Intelligences
• Sun Tzu’s – The Art of War
• Chess Playing Helps Reveal How Brain Works

2009 All-Girls National Chess Championships

Kasparov Chess Foundation Presents 2009 All-Girls National Chess Championships

By Richard Krueger
December 16, 2008

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, 2009.

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.

“This is the second consecutive year that we’re supporting the Kasparov Chess Foundation’s All Girls Nationals with a full scholarship,” explained Dr. J. Michael Coleman, Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Texas at Dallas. “Recruiting top women chess players is very supportive of university goals for innovative, transdisciplinary research and education in emerging areas of technology, science, math and engineering,” he added.

All events will be hosted at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd.;  300 Reunion Blvd., Dallas, TX 75207; Phone: (800) 233-1234.

The tournament schedule follows:

Main Event, Six Round Swiss System, G/60:
Sat., April 25: Opening Ceremony: 9:00 AM
Sat., April 25: Rounds 1 – 4; 9:30-11:30 AM; 12:00-2:00 PM; 3:00-5:00 PM; 5:30-7:30 PM
Sun., April 26: Rounds 5 – 6; 9:00-11:00 AM; 11:30 AM-1:30 PM
Sun., April 26: Awards Ceremony: 2:30 PM

Trophies will be awarded to the top 15 individual players and top three teams in each section. Three or more players from the same school make up a team (team scores will be calculated based on the top 3 scores to give teams their final standings). All players will receive a souvenir medal to honor their participation.

Special Appearances by Anna Zatonskih

Two-Time US Women’s Champion, 2004 and 2008 US Olympian medalist, WGM Anna Zatonskih, will perform a simultaneous exhibition against participants of the All Girls Nationals. The simultaneous exhibition will be held on Fri., April 24 at 7:00 P.M. at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd. Anna will also be on hand throughout the tournament and at the awards ceremony.

As a special offer to all competitors and their guests, the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion Blvd. will offer a guaranteed Chess rate of $109 if reservations are made by April 1, 2009. For reservations, call (800) 233-1234 or (214) 651-1234.

Side Events

In addition to the main competition, several side events will be taking place. Following is the schedule of side events:

Blitz Tournament G/5

Friday April April 24, 3:00 PM
Entry fee: $15 if p/m by March 26, $25 on site

Bughouse Tournament

Friday April April 24, 5:00 PM
Entry fee: $25 per team

Enter Early and Save

The competition is now accepting entry applications for participants.

Entry fee: $45 through March 25th, and $70 on-site. All participants are required to be members of the US Chess Federation (USCF), www.uschess.org. Applicants can either register online by visiting www.dallaschess.com/2009natgirls or www.kasparovchessfoundation.org, or via mail.

Make checks payable to Dallas Chess Club:
Attn: Barbara Swafford
2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley TX 76036;
Tel. (214) 632-9000; info@dallaschess.com

About Kasparov Chess Foundation

Founded by World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, KCF’s mission is to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children throughout the United States by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs. The Foundation promotes the study of chess as a cognitive learning tool in curricular classes and after-school programs for elementary, middle and high schools, both in the public and private school sectors. The not-for-profit educational organization also organizes tournaments and competitions on a local and national basis. For more information, please visit http://www.kasparovchessfoundation.org.

About Dallas Chess Club

The Dallas Chess Club is one of the most active chess clubs in the United States and maintains an excellent dedicated facility in North Dallas. Within the club we have a number of educational resources, including a chess library and a club computer that contains all the latest chess software for members’ use. We feature USCF-rated tournaments Wednesday and Friday nights and usually on weekends. We also have regular lectures and lessons by National Masters and FIDE Masters. For more information, please see www.dallaschess.com.

About UT Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. With an enrollment of approximately 15,000, UT Dallas has built a national reputation as a dynamic research institution on the cutting edge of science, technology, medicine, business, policy sciences and the arts. The University offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the University’s website at http://www.utdallas.edu.

About The USCF

The United States Chess Federation, founded in 1939, serves as the governing body for chess in the United States and is devoted to extending the role of chess in American society. It promotes the study and knowledge of the game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, and as a means for the improvement of society. The USCF is a not-for-profit membership organization with more than 90,000 members. For more information, please see http://www.uschess.org.

Richard Krueger
Chess Foundation
(212) 784-9273
info@kasparovchessfoundation.org

James Stallings
University of Texas at Dallas
(972) 883-2898
james.stallings@utdallas.edu

Luis Salinas
Dallas Chess Club
972-231-2065
pres@dallaschess.com

ChEssays: From Pawn to Power by Matthew Anderson

From Pawn to Power by Matthew Anderson

(Age 18, Ryan Academy High School, Norfolk, Virginia)

I am a pawn in the board of life. My power is limited. A lot of times people see me as the weakest piece, but what they don’t know is someday I will be the strongest. Pieces, known as my family and friends, fall around me but the only thing I can do is move forward and focus on getting to the end and reach my full potential.

But like a Raisin in the sun, my dream was deferred. My King had fallen. It felt like the game was over. It wasn’t though. A person who I thought was my opponent told me when you are out of moves you may lose, but you don’t give up. So I reset the game and everything seemed to be going better, but things were getting worse, consistently in confrontations with my Queen, making moves without thinking, trying to run and get to a goal I could not see anymore with all the different opponents in my way.

Yet still, I am moving, trying to take the pieces that I can’t take. I become boxed in by the King and Queen and at this point all I can see is another defeat.

Then, something finally happens to me. I have been holding on to the fact that I lost my King before and I don’t want to lose no one else, so I try never to get close. At this time I decide to let it go. I realize it wasn’t my fault he fell. I finally come back to the reality of the game and I realize I was never in danger. Finally I move smarter, wiser. I make it to the other side of the board. Now I have all the power, but the game is not over yet.

My eyes open. I am drenched in sweat and al you can hear is the pulse of the crowd. I look around and I see millions of people wearing 76ers jerseys. About half of them have “Anderson” on the back. The clock winds down “10,9,8,7…” I run up. I get the ball at the three point line. I look at the scoreboard 102-104. “4,3…” I shoot. The ball is in the air, but I turn around, not worried if I win or lose because in my head all I could think of was the simple fact that I have my life in checkmate even in my dreams.

Space vs. Earth: Taking a Break

“The game has been paused while Space Shuttle Endeavour visits ISS and construction fully occupies their crews. Greg will then return to Earth, and resume play in early December.”

Remember, key players in the game are the kindergarten through third grade U.S. Chess Championship Team and its chess club teammates from Stevenson Elementary School in Bellevue, Wash.

The Hosts: NASA and the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF)

Check Out the Details !

The K-3 champions will select up to four possible moves on Earth’s turn. The public then will vote on the move transmitted to orbit.

The game against the public will move at a pace of one move per day on weekdays only. Play may be slower, however, because Chamitoff only makes moves when his workload permits.

The USCF will facilitate the match on its Web site at: http://www.uschess.org/nasa2008

“For the past 10 years, the International Space Station has been an important platform to learn about living in space. We’re excited to have the opportunity to engage not only young students, but the public at large in this unique chess match,” said Heather Rarick, lead flight director for the current space station mission at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“We hope the excitement and interest this game generates will inspire students to become interested in chess,” said USCF Executive Director Bill Hall. “Chess is a valuable tool to lead students to become interested in math and to develop critical thinking skills, objectives we focus on in our work with schools nationwide.”

National K-12 Scholastic Championship (Dec. 12-14)

National K-12 Scholastic Championship

The National K-12 Scholastic Championship is coming up! Check out the details below!

December 12-14, 2008 · Lake Buena Vista, Florida

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort · 1000 W. Buena Vista Drive · Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 · 407-939-1020 or 407-939-1000 · Chess Rate $120 · Click Here for Web Site

13 Sections: (No collegiate section) Play only in your Grade.
December rating supplement will be used.
1/2 point bye available any round except 7 if requested before round 1.
Players registering late (after 10 AM Friday) may not be paired for round 1, will receive a 1/2 bye, and will begin play with round 2.
Team score is total of top three (minimum two) finishers from each school per grade.
First place individual and team, including ties, will be National Champion for their grade.

Time Control: Game/90.

Entry Fee: $40 by Nov. 14, $60 by Nov. 28, $75 later, $80 on site.
$5.00 extra for all phone registrations.
$20 change fee for roster or section changes after Nov. 14 or on site.

Schedule:
Opening ceremony Fri. 12:30 pm.
Rounds: Fri. 1 pm-6 pm, Sat. 10 am-2 pm-6 pm, Sun. 9 am-1 pm.
Awards Ceremony: Sunday 5 pm (approximately)
Special round times for K-1 sections:
Fri. 1:30 pm-5:30 pm, Sat. 9:30 am-1:30 pm-5:30 pm, Sun. 9:30 am-1:30 pm.
K-1 Awards Ceremony 4:30 pm (approximately)

Trophies:
Top 10 individuals & top five teams (minimum) in each grade.
Class Awards: 1st-3rd place
K-3: 800-999, 600-799, U600, Unr.
4-6: 1000-1199, 800-999, 600-799, U600, Unr.
7-9: 1200-1399, 1000-1199, 800-999, U800, Unr.
9-12: 1400-1599, 1200-1399, 1000-1199, U1000, Unr.
Every player receives a commemorative item!

Blitz Tournament: Thursday 5 pm, entry fee $15 by 11/28, $20 after 11/28 or on site. Registration closes at 4 pm. Trophies in K-6 and K-12 sections. Individual: TBA, Team: TBA. K-6 Class: 1000-1199, 800-999, 600-799, U600, Unr.; K-12 Class: 1400-1599, 1200-1399, 1000-1199, U1000, Unr.

Click Here for Blitz Rules

Bughouse Tournament: Thursday 11 am, $25 per 2-player team on site only. Registration 9-10 am.
Trophies: TBA. One section K-12.

Click Here for Bughouse Rules

Contact: Cheryle Bruce 931-787-1234 ext.147 cbruce@uschess.org

If you are interested in volunteering for this event take a look at the information on our Volunteer Page – Click Here.

Mail your entries to: US Chess, Attn: 2008 K12, PO Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557 or fax to: 931-787-1200.

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