The Christmas Open II Is Scheduled For December 28th!

 

I'm already getting pre-registrations for this event so I thought I'd send out a reminder!

 

December 28th will be "The Christmas Open II" held at the Family Buffet in Elizabethtown.

A copy of the flyer can be viewed here:

Last year the tournament was won by John M. Marcsik with a 3-way tie for 2nd place. Joe Farrell, Mike Thomas and Larry Bell were those that finished 2nd.

                                                        MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Happy Thanksgiving To All Chess Players!

I want to wish everyone out there a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Remember that our 2nd Tuesday Tournament on December 10th is our last tournament that will be a qualifier for our 2013 Club Championship. I've noticed that our Club Championship hasn't been updated for several months on our web link, but we will come up with the qualifiers after the 10th of December!

Again, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Michael Thomas Wins The Thanksgivivng Open!

                 Chris Bush (left) and Michael Thomas playing for 1st place in the 4th round!
                                                                   It ended in a draw!


Michael Thomas scored 3.5-0.5 to win 1^st Place at today’s “Thanksgiving Open”!  Taylor Bagley and Chris Bush tied for 2^nd place with 3-1.  Michael Williams and Dan Franklin tied for the Under 1800 prize and Michael picked up 59 rating points! Jacob Williams won the Under 1400 prize and picked up 91 rating points along the way!

The rating cross-table can be viewed here:

Chess players have a lot to be thankful for in Elizabethtown!  I’ve directed 12 Saturday tournaments in Elizabethtown this past year and we’ve had 56 different players to play from 6 different states with ratings from unrated to 2300+. We have had 7 different USCF Experts to play with us! I have one more tournament scheduled for 2013 and hope it’s another great one!

Thanksgiving Open Set For Saturday, November 23rd!

                 This is a reminder that the "Thanksgiving Open" is scheduled for this Saturday.

                                                 A copy of the flyer can be viewed here:

Owens Wins The November Monthly Swiss!

          Rudy McKinney (left) playing Bob Kilmer in the 1st Round of the Club Monthly Swiss

Bob Kilmer won his first round game when Rudy's flag fell! Bob had 1 second left on his clock!

Johnny Owens won the tournament with a score of 3-0.  The crosstable can be viewed here:

Master Davis Whaley Wins The Halloween Open!

Davis Whaley (Left) beat Chris Bush in Round Two!

 

Davis Whaley won first place in The Halloween Open with a score of 4-0!

 

Chris Bush and Johnny Owens tied for 2nd with 2.5-1.5 and new-comer Richard Williams won the Under 1400/ Unrated prize money!!

 

The rated crosstable can be viewed here:



The Halloween Chess Open Is Set For Next Saturday!!

The Halloween Chess Open will be held on October 26th at the Family Buffet in Elizabethtown!
A copy of the flyer can be viewed here:

Last year we held the Harvest Festival in October which was won by Chris Bush with a score of 4-0 and John M. Marcsik was second with a score of 3-1.

Johnny Owens Wins The ECC October Monthly Swiss!

Bob Kilmer, Rudy McKinney and Johnny Owens did battle tonight at the Elizabethtown Chess Club Monthly Swiss.  Last month only Johnny and Sal played in the monthly swiss. Sal recently had a fall and was too sore to make it this month. In the end, Johnny came out the victor.

The crosstable of the rated event can be found here:

Death of a Chess Club

I It would appear that the Club has finally ran it's course and has died a slow and agonizing death. Acute apathy and natural causes should be listed as the cause of death. Acute apathy - We just couldn't sustain a nuclius of "hard core" chess players. Players who want to play chess more than anything else. Slowly but surely our ranks dwindled without a stream of new players to breach the gap. Natural causes - Manditory overtime, illness, moving away from the area, family commitments, marriage, and simular valid reasons has depleted the ranks. I have recently fallen into the ranks of those with family problems; my wife was hospitalized for 3 days in August, 17 days in September, and 4 days (so far) in October. I am now a full time care giver. Fortunately for me I have found a way to get my "chess fix" until I am able to attend meetings again. For those who want to play, I recommend contacting "members" on the Club Contact List. Call me, text, or e-mail me if you need a Contact List.

Chris Bush Wins The E-Town Senior Open!

We had four players participate in this year's Senior Open. Chris Bush won the event with a perfect score of 3-0! David Nunn took second place with a score of 2-1.

The crosstable can be viewed here:

Elizabethtown Senior Open Set For This Saturday!

If you will be 50 years old or older on September 28, 2013, I'd like to invite you to play in the 2nd Annual Elizabethtown Senior Open Chess Tournament.  The details and location can be viewed here:

Last year the event was won by Joe Farrell with Johnny Owens and Romallis St Cyr tieing for second place!

Guest Bearing Gifts

Frank Niro, shown above with two chess legends; drove from Lexington to meet an old correspondence buddy (Johnny Owens) and play chess at our 6 August meeting. Frank recently relocated to Lexington to be with his wife while she pursues her doctorate. Frank brought gifts from the Susan Polgar Foundation of which he is a Founding Board Member.

Check the link below to view Frank's impressive chess credentials. We look forward to seeing Frank at our local tournaments.

http://www.chess.com/chessopedia/view/niro-frank

Catch Franks Blog here.

Randas Burns And John M. Marcsik Tied For 1st In The 2nd Annual "Dog Days Of Summer Open"

Randas Burns and John M. Marcsik both scored 3.5-0.5 to tie for 1st place in the tournament.
John D. Marcsik scored 3-1 and took home the Under 1800 prize. Tyler Gob won the Under 1400 prize and Sal Mancuso won the Under 1000/unrated prize money!

Of special note, Josiah Hereford gained 117 rating points for his outstanding performance!

The tournament crosstable may be viewed here:

2nd Annual Dog Days Of Summer Open Set For August 24th!

The Family Buffet in Elizabethtown will host the 2^nd Annual Dog Days of Summer Open on Saturday, August 24^th! The Tournament flyer can be viewed here:

Last year Taylor Bagley of Lexington won the “Dog Days of Summer Open,” with Chris Bush, Randus Burns and Larry Bell all tying for second place. We had 21 players in two sections. Please register in advance if possible!

Owens Wins The August Monthly Swiss

There was again only 3 members that showed up for the Second Tuesday Monthly Tournament!
Johnny Owens won with a score of 2.5-0.5. Rudy McKinney came in second with a score of 2-1 and Sal Mancuso finished third with a score of 1.5-1.5.

The rated crosstable can be viewed here:

We only have 4 more monthly tournaments left and you must have played in 5 monthly events to be in the club championship playoffs. Mancuso, Nunn and Owens have met this requirement!

Reminder

                              The second Tuesday Tournament will be held at the college 13 August.

Odds And Ends

Sam Hunt, winner of the biggest upset in the Mike Anders Memorial.



                                         Gelvic is back! And played in the Mike Anders Memorial.

                  Davis Whaley, winner of the Mike Anders Memorial, playing Randas Burns.

There are only 5 "Second Tuesday Tournaments" left this year. Just a reminder that Johnny added the requirement to play in at least 5 tournaments to qualify for the 2013 Club Championship. So far only Amy, Sal, and Johnny have met that requirement.

USCF Master Davis Whaley Wins "The Mike Anders Memorial Open!"

            Mike Anders (left) plays Louis DeFiore at the "School's Out Classic" in May 2012!

One Master and four Experts play in the 1st Annual Mike Anders Memorial Open in Elizabethtown!
Twenty-two players played in the tournament to honor Mike Anders!

Master Davis Whaley of Lexington, KY won the tournament with a score of 4-0! Michael Thomas and Stephen Dillard both scored 3-1 to share 2nd place. The Class B prize went to Jennifer Ishee, Louis DeFiore and Samuel Hunt who all scored 2.5-1-5! Dan Franklin and Michael Williams shared the Class C prize. The Class D and Under prize was spilt by Stuart Kernohan and Jacob Williams.

Jerry Weldin donated a leather chess wallet for the biggest upst prize which was won by Samuel Hunt for his victory over Expert Chris Bush! Way to go Sam!

The crosstable can be viewed here:

Mike Anders Memorial Tournament This Saturday!

The Mike Anders Memorial Chess Tournament will be held at the Family Buffet this Saturday, July 27th, 2013!

The tournament flyer can be viewed here:

Rudy Wins The "July Monthly Swiss" With A Score Of 3-0!

                Sal Mancuso (left) makes a move vs. Rudy McKinney in the July Monthly Swiss!

Only 3 members showed up and Rudy McKinney won the club's July Monthly Swiss!
Johnny went pawn grabbing and overlooked a mate in one vs. Rudy in their Round 2 game!

The crosstable can be viewed here!

Chris Bush Returns And Places 1st in "The Battle of Elizabethtown!"

                       Chris Bush (left) is playing Steve Dillard at "The Battle Of Elizabethtown!"
                                                       Yes. Steve does still play chess!!

Chris Bush went 4-0 to win "The Battle of Elizabethtown!" Mike Thomas, Steve Dillard and Jennifer Ishee all scored 3-1 for 2nd Place!  Jennifer took home the Under 1800 prize as it was higher than her share of 2nd place. Jennifer played 3 Experts - Beating 2 of them!! She won't be under 1800 for long!

Dave Brock was 1st Under 1400 and Sal Mancuso was 1st Under 1000.

The complete crosstable can be seen here:

Attendance

                                                     Attendance was up by 50% tonight!

The Battle of Elizabethtown Chess Tourney This Saturday!

This Saturday, June 29th we will be having a chess tourney at Elizabethtown!

A copy of the flyer can be veiwed here:

We hope to see you there!!

Attendance

Hopefully attendance will bounce back soon. Sal reported that he and Phillip were the only players to show up Tuesday night.

Reminder

                            Reminder; we will be playing at the Family Buffet on Tuesday 18 June.

Owens Is Perfect At The June Monthly Swiss!

 

Johnny Owens went 3-0 in the Elizabethtown Chess Club Monthly Swiss. Again it turned out to be a Quad, but those that played, had a great time!

It was good the see Kerry Fatula join the mix! The crosstable can be veiwed here:

Reminder

The 2nd Tuesday Tournament will be held 11 June in room #108A, the Carpentry Shop, of the Occupational & Technical building at ECTC.

Remember, you must be a paid club member to play! It was decided that if you will be playing in the 2nd Tuesday tournament you need to place a comment on the "reminder post" (this post!) NLT noon the day of the tournament. Remember the top two finishers are seeded into the 2013 Club Championship.

Club meeting starts at 6:30 pm and the tournament will start at 7:00.

Thomas Is Perfect At The 2nd School's Out Classic!

             Rodney Woolson (left) playing Michael Thomas in the 1st Round of the tournament!

USCF Expert Michael Thomas went 4-0 in this year's "School's Out Classic" to win 1st Prize! Sai Ravi Munagala and Michael Williams both scored 3-1 to tie for 2nd place and the Under 1800 prize. Philip Laws took home the Under 1400 prize and Jacob Williams went home with the Under 1000 prize!

It was a good showing considering it was a holiday weekend and several big tournaments within easy driving distance! The complete crosstable chart can be viewed here:

Thanks to all those that played and I hope to see you at the Kentucky Open!

One Of My Games From Saturday

Play chess online

Click on the double arrows at the extreme left to reset to the starting position then click on the single arrow pointing to the right to replay the game move by move.

2nd Annual School's Out Classic

This Saturday, May 25th, I will hosting the 2nd Annual School's Out Classic at the Family Buffet!

To look at the tournament flyer, click here:

Owens Is Perfect In May Monthly Swiss!

Amy Nunn playing Bob Kilmer in their 3rd Round game!

 

    Johnny Owens won his three games in this month's club "2nd Tuesday Tournament" to take

1st Place! Robert Kilmer, Amy Nunn and Sal Mancuso also played in the tournament.     

 

The rated crosstable can be viewed here:       

Look Like A Lady----Play Like A Lion!

The photo above shows Vera Menchik the first Woman World Chess Champion at the board. Menchik won the World Championship 8 times! With a phenomenal score of 78 wins, 4 draws, and only 1 loss! Not only did Vera play in women's events she also participated in men's events and played matches against men. Before the 1929 Carlsbad Tournament Viennese master Albert Becker remarked sarcastically that anyone losing to her should be put in the Vera Menchik Club . You guessed it, he became the first member!

In the Elizabethtown Chess Club there is a similar club: the Amy Nunn Club! Amy has taken more than a few scalps in tournament play, click here to view her record and once you get the link opened click on "Top 30 opponents" then click search for a by name list of her victims. Unbeknown to me Amy even keeps track of skittles games and informed me that I had just lost my first game (G/10;d5) against her at a recent Club meeting. Once Amy improves her end game play (we all need to do that!) she will become a force to be reckoned with as she has already almost eliminated her old time control problems.

Michael Thomas Takes 1st Place In The Elizabethtown Tornado!

          Michael Thomas (Right) wins his 4th round game vs. Randas Burns to take 1st Place!

Michael Thomas scored 4-0 to take first place and $150 cash!  Chris Bush and Matthew McDonald both scored 3 ½ , which netted them second place.  Tod Head won first place in Class C and Robert Cheng and Sal Mancuso split the first place prize for Class E and below.

The cross table can be viewed here:

Congratulations to Matthew McDonald for gaining 106 rating points and to Tod Head for picking up 64 rating points.

Twenty-three players participated in the tournament, but where were all our club members?  We had players from Illinois and Tennessee, but only 4 club members played in our annual club event!

Elizabethtown Tornado This Saturday!

Rememebr that our Annual Club tournament is this Saturday! I hope we can get a large turn-out
from our club membership!

A link to the flyer can be found here:

Match With New Albany

Johnny's post on the match was pretty brief and the "Anonymous" comment was pretty provocative. So I thought I'd present a more detailed account.

The E-town Chess Club is a "USCF Affiliate" which holds regular USCF rated events; all our current members are USCF members with current USCF ratings. The New Albany Club has three current USCF members. E-town selects their board players by current rating; New Albany has shuffled their line up at every meeting (three to date) to include playing folks who had never visited their Club before the night of the match (Phil Bond - second match).

The first match was won by E-town with a score of 3 wins and 2 draws. The second match was won by E-town with 4 wins and 3 draws.

Match #3 was a different story; as it was drawn with 3 wins and 1 draw each. Miami Fugate, KY's newest expert and representative of the Highland Chess Club majically appeared on 1st board!

Board 1 - Joe Farrell (2051)        -0           Miami Fugate  (2001)     - 1
Board 2 - John Coghill *              -1/2        Jerry Weldin (1820)      - 1/2
Board 3 - Loius DeFiore (1700)  -0           Mel Person (1850)        - 1
Board 4 - John Warth **             -0          Johnny Owens (1694)    - 1
Board 5 - Kerry Fatula (1640)     -1          Bryan Rayzor  ***         - 0
Board 6 - Andrew Comeau          -1          Amy Nunn (1511)         - 0
Board 7 - Bob Kilmer (1497)       -1          Bill Cornell                    - 0
E-town had white on odd numbered boards after coin toss.

*     John Coghill's USCF membership expired 2000-07-31 at that time he had a rating of 1451.
**   John Warth's USCF membership expired 2006-11-31 and is considered Unrated by USCF.
*** Bryon Rayzor's USCF membership expired 2011-06-30 at that time he was rated 1135.
Dan Bulleit with a USCF rating of 1368 was present for New Albany but did not play.

I'd like to see New Albany bring "over the board" USCF rated players to the next match so we can compare "apples to apples" instead trying to stack the deck with "correspondence masters" and others who don't play regularly for their Club. But I think I speak for all of us when I say "we just love to play chess"; bring on the strongest team you can muster and let's make the chess boards rumble!

Match With The Chess Club of Southern Indiana Ends In A Tie!

                                     John Warth playing the white pieces vs. Johnny Owens

Our match vs The Chess Club of Southern Indiana ended in a tie!  3.5 - 3.5!

Johnny Owens, Kerry Fatula and Bob Kilmer all scored victories and Jerry Weldin drew
as we ended with 3.5 points on the seven boards played at the Family Buffet.

Joe Farrell, Louie De Fiore and Amy Nunn also represented our club.

Next time we travel to New Albany!

Save Your Mechanical Clocks!

After writing an article about the "death" of mechanical clocks, I thought it only appropriate to announce their continued longevity. Now that USCF has added the "Blitz Rating" there will be time controls that use no delay. In fact the longest time control will be G/10;d0 (10 minutes - no delay). The shortest time control is G3;d2 and any combination of minutes plus delay that does not exceed 10 is permissible. Examples: G5;d5, G7;d3, G5;d0, and so on.
While mechanical clocks may be passe, watching a flag fall will still stir the passion in the hearts of old timers.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that your mechanical clocks can be used in cooking. Set the clock for how long you like your steaks grilled per side and punch the clock when you flip it over! Or - boil for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer for two minutes.

Match With The New Albany Club Set For April 18th!

We have a 7 board match set with the "Chess Club of Southern Indiana" for Thursday, April 18th!

They are bringing in some ringers this time, so I'm asking the club to come out and support this match.  We have 3 players confirmed for this, so if you want to play, give me a call or send me an email as soon as possible.

The match will start at 7:45 pm at the Family Buffet in Elizabethtown. We need 4 more players to commit to this match!

The April Monthly Swiss Was Another Quad!

Joe Farrell, Johnny Owens, Amy Nunn and Sal Mancuso played in this month's Monthly Swiss!

The crosstable can be view here:

It's time to register for the club's annual tournament - The Elizabethtown Tornado!

King of Kings Results

Whaley wins King of Kings with a perfect score in a 4 man shootout! Elizabethtown was not represented.
Read the KCA report here, to include the winners games.

Here Is A Post From The Past - Jackson Whipps Showalter

If you thought the title was a typo and were looking for a game between two new members; it was an intentional "curve ball" thrown to get your attention.

Showalter who was known as "The Kentucky Lion" for his huge mane of hair in addition to his ferocity at the chess board; was the 5th US Chess Champion. Also the 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th!!
Showalter was held in such high regard by his peers that both Pillsbury (after his triumph at Hastings-1895) and Marshall (after winning in Paris -1909) refused to accept the title of United States Chess Champion; which their fans tried to thrust upon them; until they could arrange (and win) a match against Showalter!

If you think Showalter was a backwoods push over; think again, the list of players he beat is a "who's who" list of his era including two World Champions: Bird, Blackburne, Burn, Chigorin, Albin, Alapin, Janowski, Lasker (Emanuel), Maroczy, Marshall, Mieses, Pillsbury, Steinitz, and Von Bardeleben.

Showalter had to satisfy his chess appetite through correspondence chess for most of his early years due to work/family responsibilities and the transportation limitations of his day or his chess accomplishments might have even been greater.

Oh yeah; that curve ball thing. Showalter was an avid baseball player in his youth and is credited with inventing the curve ball by some sources. He was probably the first to throw a curve ball in Kentucky; it is doubtful if anyone can prove who among the 7-9 claimants really deserves the honor of "discovering" the curve ball and in all likelihood it was discovered by several players independent of each other.

I could go on; but then I'd rob my readers of the joy derived from investigating for his/her self; was his wife Nellie a knock out in both beauty and chess; why did he go to Texas, and who was William "Candy" Cummings?

For more explorations try:
http://www.correspondencechess.com/campbell/articles/a060615.htm
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=10532
http://1heckofaguy.com/2009/03/11/jackson-whipps-showalter-chess-champion-curve-ball-proponent-cigar-aficionado/
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9405E0D81039E433A25756C2A9679C94699ED7CF
http://www.wtharvey.com/show.html
http://www.chessclub.org/news.php?n=447
http://www.georgetownky.gov/content/view/22/44/
http://www.rookhouse.com/blog/?p=325
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=712

Note: While I researched and wrote this article in 2009; Bob Lenning added the links and "more explorations" which made it one of the best Blog posts ever (in my opinion) - Jerry

Latest News / Reminder

Tuesday saw a weak turnout as many of our members either had family/personal obligations, were enjoying other pursuits, or weren't able to overcome their Chinese Restaurant phobia. We ended up with 4 players to include "first timer" Frank Little who is enrolled in the "Wounded Warrior" program at Fort Knox. Frank was very eager to expand his chess experience and stayed until the restaurant was closing. Frank intends to join USCF and play in next weeks tournament!

Kerry Fatula dropped by and announced that he and his wife have made an offer on a house in Pennsylvania. Stay in touch Kerry and show those boys in Allentown,PA how the game is played!

Amy and I rounded out the meeting.

Johnny left for Nashville and the Super Nationals today.

Joe got delayed in Colorado, where Steven receives medical treatment from time to time, and will not be able to play in the "Kings" tournament this weekend. His post on KCA (1 April) was not an April Fools hoax. We all wish Steven a speedy recovery and a safe trip home. Joe has passed the baton to Ernie Weaver. Good luck Ernie!

Again, this serves as a reminder that we will meet at the College next Tuesday.

Club Welcomes New Members

Tuesday saw two new additions to the Club!! Mike Jocko recently relocated from Buffalo, NY and Phillip Laws who has migrated from Texas. Both men found us on line and Mike played in last weeks "Half Off" Tournament. Welcome to the Club guys!
With 6 regular players showing up the count was 8 for chess.

Half Off Open

I don't have a good file photo of Chris Bush; who won going away with a perfect score of 4 points. So for all you basket ball fans enjoying your "March Madness"; here is a picture of 3 famous professionals playing our game. Hint = "Boston". If you give up or just want to verify your guess click here for the "rest of the story" to include game scores.

10 players did battle with no quarter asked and none given. A special thanks to Sal for representing the Club! Click here to view the X-table.

"Half Off" Tournament This Saturday

Just a reminder that the "Half Off" Tournament is this Saturday, 23 March. Click on "Tournaments" at the green menu bar above to view particulars.

So far there are 1 "F" player, 1 "B" player, and 2 "C" players registered.

Farrell wins Club Championship

Joe & Ernie played game #2 of their match last night with four other club members in attendance. Ernie varied first in the Grunfeld with 5 e3. Joe wins the match 2-0 after a long end game involving all four bishops and six pawns each. I enjoyed playing a single serious game at a slower time control and would like to continue that in the coming weeks. I think was good preparation. Joe

Games Must Go on!

                                                Sal Mancuso - 1 vs. Rudy McKinney - 0


The 2nd Tuesday had only three participants, but we still had some interesting games!

The cross table can be view here!

Another Strong Showing At The Shamrock Open!

                                               Arvind Prasad vs. Louis De Fiore (1/2-1/2)
                                          Is this the youngest competitor playing the oldest?


Two Experts and two 1900+ rated Class A players came to Elizabethtown to play in the Shamrock Open! Top seeded, Expert John M. Marcsik was held to only one draw on his way to sole first place! Mike Thomas and Samuel Hunt each scored 3 points to share the 2nd place and Under 1800 prize. The Under 1400 prize went to 9-year-old Arvind Prasad.

We had three Elizabethtown Chess Club members to represent our club. They were Louis De Fiore, Kerry Fatula and Johnny Owens.

I want to thank two new-comers to our chess events in Elizabethtown, Arvind Prasad, from the Cincinnati, OH area and Tim Sawyer from Erlanger, KY. Thanks to all the others that played and made this an enjoyable event to direct and play in!

The complete cross table can be viewed here!

News From John Coffey

John Coffey has sent us some games which you can access through his blog by clicking here. Thanks John!

"Shamrock Open" - March 9th, 2013

Please view the flyer for the "Shamrock Open" chess tournament here:

2013 Club Championship Revised!

Some members are upset that players can be seeded into the club championship without even playing in a 2d Tuesday tournament!
The club champion should be someone that participates in the club and helps to represent our membership. So I'm revising the rules! You must play in at least 5 club monthly tournaments and be among the top 4 USCF rated club members to be seeded into the 2013 Elizabethtown Chess Club Championship event. Additionally, the 2 members, not among the top 4 rated, that score the most points in our 2d Tuesday tournaments, will be added to the match play. Again, this is to promote and reward participation in our club.</>