2011 Awards!!

It's time to give those who endured the whole year of tough "battles" and emerged victorious their awards and recognition. The trophies will be awarded Tuesday, January 3, 2012. Congratulations to the winners!!

Reflections on 2011

With the year drawing to a close I'd like to thank everyone who helped the Club stay viable as we prepare for 2012. A special thanks to Johnny Owens who met and exceeded all Tournament Director expectations; I'm sure that no other club in the USA had tournament results posted faster and more accurately than ours. Johnny also served as Vice President, thanks Johnny!

Kerry Fatula deserves recognition for always being at Club meetings, rain or shine, Kerry doesn't care about rating points he truly loves the game and plays win, lose, or draw. It should be noted that Kerry gained over 100 rating points this year!! Kerry has also accepted the position of Club Tournament Director for 2012.

Stephanie Clayton: with plate already filled with work, her kids chess club, and teaching at night; took on the responsibility of Treasurer when Steve Parsons had to relinquish the position due to extreme family circumstances. Stephanie took home prize money at the Kentucky Open again this year, organised and financed the Veteran's Appreciation Tournament, and gained 62 rating points this year.

Joe Farrell served as Club Secretary and has made a great personal effort to attend all business meetings and tournaments. Joe gets the "Hero Award" for fending off the "bee swarm" to get to the "honey" and become the Club's first "home grown" Expert!! Joe is the Club's new Vice President.

Amy Nunn has distinguished herself and brought glory to the Club by becoming the 2011 Kentucky Woman's Champion!! Amy not only raised her rating 44 points over the year, but has also "volunteered" to serve as Club Secretary.

Ernie Weaver serves as our "Liaison" to the College and schedules classrooms for our "Spring Tournament". Ernie also proof reads books for Dan Heisman and is the point of contact for the Club on the ECTC Web Site.

Rudy McKinney, Bob Kilmer, Nick Folino, Dave Brock, and Sal Mancuso always attend when they are able, in town and work permitting. This group along with Peston Andrew, provide the foundation on which the Club is built on.

Gelvic Cubar our new Club President is currently experiencing a time of personal turmoil from which I am sure he will emerge stronger than ever. The Bluegrass State Champion for 2011, Gelvic is a tough opponent across the board and a refreshingly genuine "good guy".

This year our Club gained 431 rating points; 1744 if you count Josh Jordan's initial rating of 1313. Josh e-mailed me that he will come by in January and pay his 2012 dues. We need to put a GPS tracking device on him so we can get him to show up more often!

Larry Davidson (Glasgow) deserves a special mention for supporting our Egg Salad Tournament by participation and donating enough books for each participant to receive one FREE! Larry also provided a book concession with very reasonable prices which I think "sold out" (James Whiddon was top purchaser). Thanks Larry for all your support and kind e-mails.

Nathanial Emdee, where are you? Your e-mail address is no longer valid.

Thanks to everyone who reads this far. Thanks to all for your support during my tenure as Club President. I eagerly await our next meeting over the board! Wishing everyone health, joy, and prosperity in 2012!

PS - Benny Wilson is back. Andrew Preston is recovering from his knee replacement surgery after a rough fight with infection. Joe thinks he has two new members lined up for 2012. The Club will host the inaugural "Kings Tournament". Life is good and Chess will be even better in 2012!!

Co-Champions For 2011!!

Joe Farrell and Jerry Weldin tied for first in this years Club Championship!!
Both finished with 4 points out of 5 with Joe scoring 3 wins and 2 draws (the only player not to lose a game.) to Jerry's 4 wins with 1 lose (to Joe). Jerry was declared winner on tie breaks. (The first tie break was number of blacks. Jerry had 3 to Joe's 2.) Gelvic Cubar placed 3rd with 2.5 points, Kerry Fatula ("The Spoiler") took 4th with 2 points, Johnny Owens and Ernie Weaver placed 5th and 6th respectively.
The official X-table will be added when available. Just in click here for X-table.

2011 Club Championship

X-table showing last nights results in the Championship. Also present were Amy, Bob, and Nick who played in the Welding Room.

"Ned" Rosenbaum Dead At 71

It is always sad to hear of someone passing; even more so if it is in an unexpected accident. Stan Mullins called me a few minutes ago to report the untimely death of "Ned" Rosenbaum a member of the old "Blue Dragon" Chess Club. I didn't know "Ned" very well, but I remember that he was one of my opponents at two of my "simul's" conducted at the old "Blue Dragon" (both a restaurant and the nick name for the Nelson County Chess Club) and was a strong player, very intense at the board.

"Ned" drowned when his car went off the shoulder in flood waters near his home. Click here to read the report in today's Kentucky Standard.

My condolences to the Rosenbaum family.

Added 1 Dec by author. Here is a link to Ned's obituary in the Nelson County Gazette.

2012 Club Championship!

Don't forget that we vote the first Tuesday in December on the 2012 Club Championship Format and on the topic of having a Reserve Champion in order to maximize participation and competition in the monthly tourneys.

The two choices on the ballot are . . .
Add up the scores from the 12 monthly tournaments
OR
Sum up the Jan - Nov Tourneys and Take the top 4 into a December Tourney

If you can't make it that Tuesday, send your vote to a club officer before that meeting.

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone!!

I want to wish all the club members, friends and families a Happy Thanksgiving!

Stay safe, if you are traveling and let's finish the year off with some exciting chess!!

God Bless and Good Chess!!
Johnny O.

What Was Your Excuse??

There were only two of us tonight for chess. Sal gave up watching the Republican Debate, I missed the X-Factor, what was your excuse?

So far Gelvic has come up with the most valid excuse which puts all others to shame.
The picture above is of Gelvic's car after he flipped it while in route to work after being called in unexpectedly.

Fortunately Gelvic emerged unscratched and took the picture with his phone!! I'm glad Gelvic survived unharmed; hopefully he has good insurance!! I'm glad to know that a Honda is up to the challenge as many of our members drive one.

Owens Brings Back 37 Rating Points From Alabama!

Johnny Owens played in the Huntsville Open on Saturday and scored 2.5-1.5 with his only loss to Expert Jerry Spinrad of Tennessee. Jerry went on to win the event with a perfect 4-0 score. Johnny also drew his game with Antonio Gellineau rated 1962. Johnny's performance rating for the tournament was 1951!

This was a 4-round swiss tournament at Game/75!

The crosstable can be found here!

College Street Now Open

According to this mornings News Enterprise the bridge has been completed and College Street is accessible from the By Pass again.

2011 Club Championship Pairings Are Set!!

Per page 295, Table B, of the USCF Rule Book, the pairings for this year's club championship are now set!

Name listed first will have the white pieces!
December 6, 2011
Round 1:
Weaver-Fatula
Owens-Weldin
Farrell-Cubar

Round 2:
Cubar-Fatula
Weldin-Farrell
Weaver-Owens

Round 3:
Fatula-Owens
Farrell-Weaver
Weldin-Cubar

December 13, 2011

Round 4:
Fatula-Weldin
Owens-Farrell
Cubar-Weaver

Round 5:
Farrell-Fatula
Cubar-Owens
Weaver-Weldin

Still Tied After 30 Games!

Johnny Owens and Jerry Weldin both scored 2.5-0.5 in tonight's tournament to tie for 1st place!

We are both tied for (adjusted score) fourth place in the Club Champion qualification!

The tournament crosstable can be found here!

Taking the Cake

In case you have not seen it; here is a pic of the cake along with other shots of players.

Veterans Appreciation Chess Tournament 2011 Results

Yesterday proved to be a great day for chess in Cox's Creek, Kentucky with 24 players and about 10 spectators attending to say "THANK YOU" to our Military Veterans. The tournament was a huge success due to the many who volunteered their time, money, food, prizes, and labor. First of all, I would like to thank Steve Parsons for agreeing to be the Tournament Director and Johnny Owens for being the Asst. TD. You guys were great!! That tournament was full of "firsts" for many of our kids and we needed someone with patience and grace. THANKS!
Club member, Amy Nunn, provided a fun and educational dessert by creating chocolate chess pieces and placing them on a huge cake imitating a chess board. The "White Mates in Four" puzzle was beautiful and thought provoking. So much so that attendees could write their names and solutions on paper and put them in a basket for a drawing at midday. Puzzle solver champions were Johnny Owens and Nathan Kaissieh! PHOTOS OF THE CAKE AND CHOCOLATE TO COME in a later post.
The local Girl Scout Troop 1260 decorated the cafeteria. Jerry Weldin donated many items for the raffle while other club members and guests generously donated money for Support the Troops. (We raised $75 for that group.) Bonnie Hall and Kelley Mehl, both collegues of mine at Cox's Creek School, cooked and served all who were hungry. These girls also provided hospitality to folks with conversation, supervision of the cafeteria, and service.

CHAMPIONS OF CHESS
Winners of the Open Division, split the $150 prize three ways: James Lawson, Larry Bell (Veteran), Lexington, and Eddie Barber, Bowling Green, each won first place. In the Under 1000 division, 14 players vied for the prizes and there were several ties, however, the $100 first prize was clearly won by Nathan Kaissieh, Nelson Co. High School. Second place- Branden Darby, Nelson Co. High; Brayden O'Banion,Cox's Creek Ele.School; and Sal Mancuso (Army Veteran) of Radcliff.
This year there was a prize for the top unrated player as this was the first U.S.C.F. chess game for 9 players. The $20 prize for top Unrated Player was won by Brayden O'Banion. Second place unrated players were Ben Risner, Bryce Reiter, Carson Mouser, Alex Hagan, and Elliott Reiter. Third place unrated players were Keeton Fell and Emily Nalley. Fourth Place unrated players were Benji Rice and Josh Thompson All unrated player winners were awarded medals.

Click here for X-table.

KCA Awards and Recognition!!

After my last game in the Veteran's Appreciation Tournament, my opponent, Larry Bell asked me if I was the new expert from etown chess club that Steve Dillard wrote an article about at the KCA website and I told him that it was Joe. With much curiosity, I looked at the KCA website and found out that our club and some of our club members were mentioned in the article. Congratulations and thank you Joe for giving our chess club an exposure to the Kentucky chess community!! We are proud of you!

3rd Annual Veteran's Tournament

The picture above is the edible cake with chocolate pieces from last years tournament. I've been told that Amy Nunn, the current Kentucky Woman's Champion has volunteered to make this years cake.

There will be a raffle again this year and no one will go home empty handed! You will want to buy as many tickets as you can afford as I have seen some of the prizes!

The same lady who cooked last year will be cooking again... sorry my mouth was watering at the thought and I needed a Kleenex.

Donations for the raffle will be accepted up to the morning of the tournament.

Per request; here are the particulars on the Veterans Tournament.

Nov. 5 Veteran's Appreciation Chess Tournament
4SS, G/45. Cox's Creek Elementary School; 5635 Louisville Rd., Cox's Creek, KY. EF: Free to Veterans. All others: $20 by Nov 1, $25 at site (Cash Only). $$/Guaranteed, 1st Open $150, 1st Under 1000 $100, other prizes based on entries. REG.: 9:00-9:45 am. RDS.: First round 10 am, others ASAP. ENT: Elizabethtown Chess Club; PO Box 266; Elizabethtown, KY 42702-0266, (270) 872-5078, Steve Parsons. INFO: http//etownchess.blogspot.com.

The prize money is guaranteed and may be augmented depending on entry's.

Directions to playing site from E-town:
1. Start out going northeast on N Mulberry St/US-62 E/KY-61 N toward Plum Aly. 2.1 mi
2. Merge onto I-65 S toward Nashville.
If you reach Howell Dr you've gone about 0.3 miles too far
0.8 mi
3. Take the Martha Layne Collins Bluegrass Parkway exit, EXIT 93, toward Bardstown/Lexington. 0.9 mi
4. Merge onto Martha Layne Collins Blue Grass Pky E. 19.6 mi
5. Take the US-31E exit, EXIT 21, toward Bardstown/Hodgenville. 0.4 mi
6. Turn left onto US-31E/New Haven Rd. Continue to follow US-31E. 2.1 mi
7. Turn slight right onto W Stephen Foster Ave/US-31E.
W Stephen Foster Ave is 0.1 miles past Muir Ave
0.3 mi
8. Enter next roundabout and take the 3rd exit onto US-31E. 5.8 mi
9. [5716-5765] LOUISVILLE RD.
Your destination is 0.1 miles past Wheeler Wright Ln
If you reach Creek Pointe Dr you've gone a little too far

[5716-5765] Louisville RdCoxs Creek, KY 40013

**Moved to the top of the page by author to facilitate finding the tournament info for tomorrow.

Thank You!!

Thank you for electing me as the President of our club! I appreciate your confidence in me and I hope to meet and even exceed your expectations. Joe, Amy, Stephanie and I would do the best we could to reach our goals and we need every help from all the club members to reach them. I have a simple goal in mind to attract more players to join our club and would like to discuss it with you all in our next meeting.

Gelvic

p.s. This is one of the icons from where I came from (Cebu City) in addition to what Jerry already posted. Inside is Magellan's cross.

New Club Officers

Great attendance last night for the "1st Tuesday business meeting"; Bob Kilmer, Rudy, Sal, Dave, Amy, Nick, Kerry, Jerry, Joe, and Joe's son Stephen.

The names of the "volunteers" for office were read and the floor was opened for any other nominee's or volunteers. After receiving no additional candidates for office Bob Kilmer moved that the candidates be approved by acclimation; the motion was seconded by everyone present and the candidates were voted into office.

The format for the 2012 Club Championship was discussed and two proposals were submitted: 1. The highest cumulative total over the twelve month period. 2. The sum of the Jan-Nov monthly tournaments with a top 4 quad to decide the winner. Having a "Booster" section for those under 1400 was also discussed and it was decided to give everyone a chance to mull over the ideas and bring the subject up for a vote at the 1st Tuesday in December meeting.

Your new Club officers are Gelvic Cubar President, Joe Farrell Vice President, Amy Nunn Secretary, and Stephanie Clayton Treasurer. Go to the home page and click on members then the individual name if you desire to see a picture of the new officers or check out their current rating.

Everyone played at least one game with Dave beating Sal in the only rated game of the night.

For The Record

While setting here wondering what happened to James Whiddon and Mike Leito I thought I'd bring you "the rest of the story".

Prior to the last round of the Game 75 Tournament a short meeting was held to vote on Stephanie's request for the Club to fund any shortfall in money for the guaranteed prize fund for the upcoming Veteran's Tournament. After a brief discussion a vote was taken and the request was denied. Immediately several Club members volunteered to pitch in out of pocket to cover any short fall. Stephanie, we support you and have your back, erase that worry from your mind!!

Joe suggested that we allow the first 30 minutes of one meeting a month to conduct Club business and provide a forum for any Club member to bring up issues or ideas. A vote was taken and it was decided that our business meeting would take place on the first Tuesday of each month.

Kerry Fatula missed the meeting due to the hospitalization of his wife, I don't have any details. Kerry your wife and family will be in the thoughts and prayers of all of us; don't hesitate to call if you need anything.

Andrew Preston "wore out" his artificial knee and will have it replaced 1 November;
Andrew may still be able to make the Veteran's Tournament to defend his title from last year. If not.. he may play by phone!! You can't keep a Cav Man down for long!
"High diddle diddle file from the middle, column left with a half step damned near a whole step .. march!"

And finally...I saved the best for last; we gained two new Club members last night!!

Kenneth Taylor; not a USCF member yet but a strong player who is destined to win the unrated prize in his first tournament.

Louis De Fiore; a USCF Life Member with a floor of 1700! Louis had a won game against Joe when his time ran out last night. (They were playing 5 minute games with no time delay!) Danger Will Robinson!

I guess that about wraps it up, don't miss the Veteran's Tournament; the raffle alone will be more than worth the trip.

Johnny Owens Wins "Tuesday Knights #1"

Round 5 of our Game/75 tournament was completed last evening and Johnny won against Amy to finish with 3.5 out of 5.

In the other games Gelvic won vs. Rudy and Ernie won vs. Sal.

The crosstable is located here:

Everyone that played, enjoyed the longer time control and I hope we can try
this again soon.

Sal Upsets Rudy In Game/75 Tourney!!

Tonight Gelvic was a no-show, so Rudy stepped-in to ensure we didn't have someone with a bye. Sal went on to upset him and win his first game in the tourney.

In the other games, Kerry beat Amy and Johnny and Ernie's game ended in a draw.

After 4 rounds:
Johnny has 2.5-1.5
Gelvic has 1.5-1.5
Ernie has 1.5-1.5
Kerry has 1.5-2.5
Mark A. has 1.0-0.0
Amy has 1.0-1.0
Sal has 1.0-1.0
Rudy has 0.0-1.0

The last round will be held next Tuesday!

Elections

While the chess board is a monarchy, the Club is not. November is nearly here and it is time to elect new Club Officers. Offices up for election are: president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. We also need librarians. If no one will volunteer for these positions we will have to draft/nominate folks to fill these positions. The college may take away our privileges if they find out we have a sexagenarian as president!

Please send all nominations to the Secretary or post a comment below.

Farrell vs Weaver 10-11-11

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I haven't fed this game to Fritz yet, but we need some comments.
Johnny, you certainly know the opening better than we played it.
Jerry, you're just the man to review the tactics.
my quick comments. I think that Ernie should have played c5 earlier and also needed to take the Knight as soon as it got to e5.
I looked at other moves besides 11Nxf7 but I thought the sac wouldn't be there again.
I calculated as far as my playing 14 Re1 and then looked at Ernie playing Bd8 and Bd5. I was confident that white wins against both, but I did not consider 14 Be4 until he played it.

Joe Farrell First Club Expert!!

Joe Farrell went 3 for 3 and won the October Rating Tournament breaking the 2000 barrier and becoming the first Club Expert!! Click here to see the X-table.

Joe joined the Club in 2008 and played in his first event in March of that year. While rusty from a long lay off, Joe found that his rating of 1970 didn't intimidate the patzers he would have to face at this new time control of game 30. It took Joe 42 events to gain 36 points! Along the way Joe suffered 15 loses and 25 draws (10 draws against Johnny Owens alone). A win against Joe was hard to come by; those who did win did not do so on a regular basis. Earnie Weaver tops the list with 6 wins out of 19 games followed by: Jerry Weldin with 4 wins out of 24 games, Steve Parsons with 2 wins out of 11 games (but with 7 draws Steve had the best percentage against Joe - 50%!!), Kerry Fatulla (always dangerous!!) 1 win out of 12 games, Nick Folino 1 win out of 5 games, and lastly my chess buddy Bob Kilmer ( who I have fought with over the board since the 1980's) - 1 win out of 4 games.

Joe, it was a long time coming , but richly deserved. We were all pulling for you while at the same time not wanting to be added to your "list of victums". Thanks for bringing your talent to our club.

Weaver vs. Fatula, G/75 Tournament

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Two More Join In For Tuesday Knights #1

Amy and Sal joined in tonight and played in round 3 of our Game/75 tournament! Johnny beat Gelvic and Amy beat Sal. Ernie and Kerry's game ended in a draw. The tournament will resume in 2 weeks as next week we will have our regular monthly tournament.

Standings after 3 rounds:
Johnny 2, Gelvic 1.5, Ernie & Amy 1, Kerry 0.5 and Sal 0.

Round 2 Of Tuesday Knights #1!

Tonight was round 2 of our Game/75 tourney. Mark Ayers left the area but, Ernie Weaver stepped in and joined the fun! Gelvic said that he plans on playing in the November "King's Island Open" in Cincinnati, so he's happy to be playing in this longer time control tournament.

Johnny won against Kerry in a game that went over 60 moves! Ernie, with only a second to go, managed to force a draw against Gelvic!

Round 3 will be held next week! It's not too late to join in!

Tuesday Knights #1 Is Underway!

Round one of our Game/75 tournament began today. We had three club members that decided to play and Mark Ayers of California dropped by the club and set in so we didn't have a bye! He is currently rated 1835 and went on the beat Johnny in round one! In our other game Gelvic, fresh from his outstanding performance at the Louisville Open went on to win against Kerry!

Amy Nunn will join us during round 3. Remember this will be a five round event and I hope we can get others to particapate. We really need 6 plaers to play, in order to ensure that nobody has to play the same opponent twice.

Another Lost Game

Since Joe pointed out that my opponent was the Indiana State Champion in a comment (the post with the X-table link); I thought I'd post another one of my loses. My opponent turns the tables on the "Fried Liver".

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Another Game From The Louisville Open

As everyone should know by now; I always play in the Open Section. Why pay $100 to play Gelvic and Johnny when I can play them at home for free? Additionally I receive free chess lessons by going over my games with stronger opponents. If you're in chess for the money you may need a new hobby. I guess I am lucky in that I enjoy chess win, lose, or draw; winning is better of course. Here is a game with multiple mistakes which I haven't analized deeply yet. Some may even think my choice of opening was a mistake, but I decided to "dance with the one who brought me".
My opponent was also a "senior citizen". I'm sure it will be entertaining and anxious to see Ernie's comments.

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A Game From The Louisville Open

Here is one of my loses from the Louisville Open. I was totally crushed by my opponent after move #7!!

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Louisville Open

Gelvic shines at the Louisville Open finishing with 3.5 in the gruelling 3 day event and enjoyed the thrill of victory! Johnny and Jerry played in the 2 day schedule and suffered the agony of defeat. Click here to see the X-table; I will post a couple of games after I recover.

See A Grandmaster In Action

See GM Goldin in action at the Louisville Open. 4th rd starts at 10 AM, 5th rd starts @ 4:15 PM. Sunday, 18 September.

Holiday Inn Southwest 4110 Dixie Hwy, Louisville @ I-264 exit 8B.

You can also watch Gelvic, Johnny, and Jerry lose rating points!!

Joe Farrell Wins The September Swiss 3-0!

Joe won last night's club tourney with a score of 3-0 and Ernie Weaver finished 2nd with a score of 2-1.

Six players played in the tourney and the rated crosstable appears here.

Section 2 on the crosstable is the rated ladder games since our August monthly tourney.

Remember that starting next week we begin our Game/75 tourney. Gelvic was the first to pay his entry fee into this event!

Swindle Of The Week

Rudy had me dead to rights in the position above. I had let myself get into time trouble (I had about 4 minutes to Rudy's 12) and found myself a rook down. Rudy had started to fall into the trap of trying to play as fast as I and played 1.Rxg7 to which I responded 1. ...Rc2+! 2.Kh3 Rh2+!! Stalemate! It was worth the 15 rating points I lost, by drawing, to see the look on Rudy's face.

After the game Kerry thought that moving the King back to the 1st rank would have held the win for white; a short demonstration soon convinced him that he was wrong.

Who Would Have Thunk It

As I was going into the building this evening I spied a strange object in the sky and snapped this picture when it landed briefly. Later Ernie Weaver actually showed up for the meeting.

Ernie and Kerry played a non-rated game which Ernie won. Rudy and Jerry played 2 rated games with Jerry winning the first and drawing the second by swindle.

That's it, Tournament next week.

Longer Time-Control Tournament!

I will be directing a new tournament at the club!

It will be 1 round per night/week at Game/75 with the usual 5 second
delay.

It will be 5 rounds and begin at 7:00 pm on the following evenings:
Sept. 20, 27 Oct. 4, 18, & 25. Check-in with TD (each round) prior
to 6:55 pm to be paired. Phone calls welcomed or emails prior to the day
of the game as I may not be able to check my email just prior to the round.

Entry fee is $3.00 for the entire tourney. You must be both a club and
USCF member to enter. This will be USCF rated with a chance to receive
a norm,

A Trophy or Trophies (depending on entries) will be awarded.

This will allow for a more serious game of chess and time to discuss the
game afterwards. Give me a call if you have questions!

Three In A Row!

Bob Kilmer showed up for the third consecutive meeting and played Amy. Unfortuneately for Bob that "weaker sex" thing is just a myth. But there is no shame in losing to the Kentucky Women's Champion.

Gelvic was present and accounted for, ready to defend his #1 spot on the ladder; unfortunately he received no challenges. I guess that casts a dim light on Kerry and Jerry who failed to knock off their 10 minute games and step up to the plate.

No rated games were played tonight.

Rudy was attending a funeral in Tennessee; consequently Sal didn't have a ride.

Lucky Seven

Attendance explosion brings seven combatants out for chess. Kerry, Gelvic, Rudy, and Johnny stayed in the "loud" room for their games while Bob, Sal, and Jerry adjourned to the "quiet" room. Johnny reported that there were 3 rated ladder games played in his room: Gelvic beat Rudy (rated) and is now on top of the ladder.
Johnny swindled Kerry and Rudy (both rated)
In the "quite" room Bob beat Sal in a rated game followed by a skittles game between Bob and Jerry which was not rated.

Reminder: Thursday 25 August - Chess in Bardstown.

Thursday Night Chess at Kreso's Restaurant

Nine people came for chess, drink, and good food in Bardstown last Thursday night and with the owner of the restaurant as one of the nine, we were able to close the place down. It was a great night for chess AND a reunion. James Biggs came back after a long break from live chess, graduating from U of L, and playing better than ever! (The only reason he came was to beat Stephanie.) Raina K. and her three chess playing children came. Nada watched her mom (Raina) win her game against Stephanie, Tim lost against Stephanie, Amy won a game against Nathan only to lose to him in another game. Clany played several games and won most of them, if not all. I didn't get his score. Dzevad, owner of Kreso's Family Restaurant, won against Amy but those two are always going back and forth on wins when Dzevad can escape from the kitchen. Dzevad took some photos and if he will give one to me, I'll post it later. Did I mention the food? It was great!! They have a wide variety of beer and wine and I highly recommend the wiener schnitzel. Join us Thursdays from 6:30-9:00 at Kreso's on North Third St. in Bardstown. We play skittles; not tournament games so if you are new to the game or a GM, you will get a good game from someone.
HEY ANDREW!! GELVIC!!! WE MISSED YOU!!!

Improved Attendance

Five players supported the Club tonight. Kerry, Jerry, and Rudy played 10 minute "loser gets up" games while Bob and Sal played a rated ladder game which Bob won.

Every Dog Has It's Day

Checking out the Championship X-Table, the other day, a couple of things jumped out at me. The first and probably most obvious was that there was a clear #1 and #2 with three tied in a log jam for the #3 & #4 positions. The second and most telling was the fact that all 5 of the top players had scored a perfect 3 out of 3 in one of the last 5 monthly tournaments. It will be interesting to see how things play out the last three months. It says a lot for the strength of our Club.

President Of Estonian Chess Federation Resigns

Carmen Kass, "super model" and President of the Estonian Chess Federation resigned last week. Seen in the photo below playing World Champion Anand (who was reportedly distracted and offered a draw) you may recognize her better from the second photo!




Just goes to show that you should never judge a girl by her clothes; or lack of them!

Gelvic Continues His Roll As He Goes 3-0 In Monthly Swiss!

Gelvic Cubar won last night's tourney with a score of 3-0! Joe Farrell finished 2nd with 2.5-0.5. It was a strong event last night with 8 players! The crosstable can be found here:

Additionally, the ladder games since the July Monthly Swiss have been rated.

I Googled Myself And Found This

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I decided to "google" myself last week and found this game from Vol 9, No 5 of the Sept 1967 issue of the Tennessee Chess News. It contains mistakes on both sides but has my usual "entertaining sacrifices". To see the original page with my comments at the time click on Tennessee Chess News. 44 years later and I still haven't made a significant improvement in my game.

Quiet Night At The Club Tonight!

Dave was back tonight and played an unrated game with Kerry.

The only rated games was Johnny's win against Kerry.

There was only 3 of us there tonight. Let's hope for a better turn out next week as it is tournament night!

Bardstown Blitz

Thursday night chess in Bardstown is back on the calendar. Last night's meeting at Kreso's Family Restaurant had 6 players in attendance. One was a cameo appearance by Gelvic who came by on his break to play a blitz with Clany before returning to work. Also in attendance were Jacob Lemieux, soon to be freshman at U of K, Amy, Andrew P., and a long time chess aficionado, Mark Abram. The wine, food, and company was great!! Burgers are about $8-$9 w/ fries. The large pizza was $10 (only size available). If you want a full meal, the price goes up a few bucks. Weiner Schnitzel is a favorite there.
No surprises in the games. I got trounced by Amy and Mark. We aren't keeping score or record of wins; just having fun. The Kresos gave us our own room and the service was really great too. Dzevad Kreso wants to join us but he was not working that evening.
We will be on the calendar for Thursday nights beginning at 6:30. Kreso's opens at 5:00 so if you want to meet earlier than 6:30, communicate w/ others and make that happen. The place will be available to 1 or more chess players on Thurs. nights so show up and see who else shows up. If you are driving a long distance, call around the group before driving or call Kreso's (348-9594) by 6:30 and see if any chess players are there before coming. I'm sure a few phone calls would be welcomed but I don't think the restaurant folks have time to be our contact headquarters so make every effort to call, email, text chess players if you need to do so before coming. If we have 2 players each week, it will be worth it. Come and join us next Thursday!

Gelvic On A Roll

Gelvic continued his winning streak mugging Jerry in a rated Ladder game last night. Pictured above is Gelvic's new clock. For those who don't know; Gelvic was holding off buying a clock until he broke the 1800 barrier. Be aware that his new clock works off "body conductance", you must actually touch the button, using a captured piece will not work.

The only other rated game played was Kerry's win over Stephanie.

We had two visitors last night. Josh (I didn't get a last name) came as a result of seeing James at the Flea Market. And someone who bore a striking resemblance to Nick Folino got a phone call just like Nick used to and had to rush off...wait that was Nick!

Johnny and Amy rounded out the field. Johnny drew a game with Nick and Amy played Stephanie but they didn't record a result.

Rudy and Sal were supposed to be there but didn't make it.

Gelvic Comes In First At Bluegrass Games!!

Gelvic is on the right in the above photo.

Gelvic Cubar goes undefeated at the 2011 Bluegrass Games defeating two Class A players (1868 & 1931) in route to picking up 76 rating points and reaching Class A himself! I can't wait to see his new clock. Way to go Gelvic! It's no wonder that Steve Dillard tried to claim you for Louisville.

As previously reported Amy also won all her games and has broken the 1500 barrier.

Gelvic, Amy, and Clany should all get new floors (it takes about 2 weeks to get posted).

Click here to view the X-table.

Eliminate Draws

Click here to go to GM Kosteniuk's blog for the full story.

Allen Priest Makes Kentucky Chess History

For the record I received an e-mail from Steve Dillard today giving me the "heads up" that Allen Priest has been elected to the USCF Policy Board. Allen is the first Kentuckian ever elected to National Office in Chess.

Allen started off as a volunteer when his son began playing chess and has served in many capacities to include Scholastic Coordinator not to mention TDing several KY Open's, most recently in 2010.

At the "Annual Meeting" this year Allen urged everyone to become tournament directors and volunteer to serve in the Kentucky Chess Community.

Congratulations Allen! I'm sure USCF will make good use of your personal and professional talents (Allen is a CPA).

See vote totals and USCF write up by clicking here.

Rudy Beats Jerry to Move Back To The Top Of The Ladder!!

Rudy McKinney is back on top of the ladder! He won it back from the man who took it away from him. Jerry sac'ed a rook, but wasn't able to win. The game was rated.

Amy beat Gelvic in a unrated ladder game to move up, but lost to Johnny in a rated ladder game and is now 4th on the ladder.

Other rated games were: Clayton 1 - Mancuso 0 and Owens 1 - Brock 0.

There were several other games played at the club!

Our Amy Is New Kentucky Women's Champion!!

Amy Nunn (3rd from left) did herself and E-town Chess Club proud today; winning the Kentucky Women's Chess Championship! Congratulations Amy!
The others in the photo with the new Kentucky Chess Queen didn't do too shabby either. Gelvic (far left) took home Gold in his section, Clany won two Bronze medals, Stephanie grabbed Silver in the Women's, and Amy won Silver in her section in addition to her Gold in the Women's.
Great job everyone! And a big thanks to Stephanie for the report and the picture!
I can't wait to hear the details Tuesday.

Expanded Comment

I decided to do an "expanded comment" in response to Joe's comment concerning the July Rating Tournament.I will use my usual "shotgun" approach and address all the topics brought up in the 4 original comments and some which weren't!

The electricity was restored about 20 minutes after I got home.There goes one of my "throw away scores".

The lights were off at Johnny's house too. I think Debbie just went to Wal-Mart to ride it out; my wife's car was "trapped" in the garage. Still it must have caused Johnny some anxiety as he continued to play and carry out his TD duties. Thanks Johnny!

Congratulations to Joe for his second "Trifecta" of the year! Joe also went 3-0 in January before the "Championship Series" began.

Amy!! You have played great chess the last two weeks; you are peaking at just the right time to win the KY Women's Championship this weekend! I talked with Dave Brock today and he asked how you were doing as he was still smarting from his loss to you in the April Fool's Tournament! Good luck in Winchester Saturday.

Joe, you mentioned creating an imbalance in your game with Gelvic. I have learned this past year that that is the way to win games! I may have known it for a while but have only "formulated" it into my chess vocabulary this past year.

Joe, you have taught me not to offer a draw to higher rated opponents. You have to believe in your ability to win in a better position even if you are playing Bobby Fischer!

I must concentrate on playing better without getting into time trouble, while I can usually do well... old age and rough living are beginning to take their toll. Getting into time trouble and not keeping score throws away the ability to claim a draw by repetition among other things. Alas that is now "part of the game" and I make no excuses. That said... I intend to "draft" behind you as you become an "Expert" and join you in that Rating Class by the end of 2012!

Here is the game I lost to Joe Tuesday night. Comments are mine, caution you are entering a "Fritz Free Zone"!

Play online chess

Joe Farrell Swepts The Field, 3-0 At The Monthly Swiss!

Joe Farrell won all 3 games from the July Monthly Swiss to pick-up 23 rating points! Amy Nunn made the biggest rating jump, picking up 83 points.

We had 9 club members to turn out for the July Monthly Swiss but, Jerry Weldin withdrew after the 1st round, due to a family emergency.

The USCF has rated the event and it can be located here!

Summer Events Are Approaching Fast - Bluegrass Games

I moved this post to the top as a reminder of the Bluegrass Games this Saturday the 16th. Click on the link for more info. -- Jerry
With the recent national events in St Louis and the Candidates Matches absorbing so much attention; some of you may need reminding that there are events pending right here in good ole Kentucky. The Kentucky Open (June 11th & 12th)is almost on top of us; tell your spouses now! The Bluegrass State Games are in July and the WKU Chess Club will be having a "Chess Camp". I have inserted links to help you go right to the necessary information of these events. I am still waiting for Johnny to post information on his "Senior Open" and I'm sure we will be planing the 3rd Annual Veteran's Day Tournament soon. Chess, chess, and more chess - life doesn't get any better than this!

Gelvic And Sal Played 7 Rated Games Each!!

The above photo shows Stephanie and Gelvic doing battle at the club!

Gelvic and Sal each played 7 rated games at the club since our last monthly club tourney!

Ten club members took advantage of the opportunity to get some additiional rated games in between tournaments. 17 games were rated!!

The event has been rated by USCF and the updated ratings can be found here!

Amy Beats Rudy To Move Up On The Ladder!

Amy beat Rudy in an unrated ladder game tonight to take his spot on the ladder! There were also 7 rated games and several blitz games and casual games played at the club tonight. The following rated/ladder games were played:

Gelvic 1 - Sal 0
Gelvic 1 - Sal 0
Kerry 1 - Stephanie 0
Ernie 1/2 - Johnny 1/2
Johnny 1 - Rudy 0
Gelvic 1 - Sal 0
Stephanie 1 - Sal

Since we had 17 rated games since our last monthly swiss, I'll get these
games submitted for rating tomorrow or the next day!

Sal Wins

The 28 June meeting brought out 7 players and produced 7 rated games as well as several 10 minute games. All the games listed below were rated.
Sal snookered Stephanie
Amy over powered Sal
Amy subdued Stephanie
Kerry hoodwinked Sal
Jerry out lasted Stephanie
Gelvic mugged Rudy
Jerry tripped up Gelvic

Everyone had a great time. And the Veteran's Tournament was discussed.