Ladder Games Have Been Rated!

No, she wasn't at the chess club last night, but we had 10 club members to start the monthly swiss. Ernie, Johnny and Jerry all tied for 1st with 2.5! The first group of ladder games have now been rated and next week we start Round 2.

Sal Is Hospitalized

As those of you who attended last night's meeting are aware; Sal was admitted to Hardin Memorial yesterday. I have not been free to visit personally but have talked to him twice via cell phone and got an update from Rudy who was able to pay a visit today.

Sal is still in Room # 4-11; there is no definitive diagnoses at this time. Presently Sal is unable to move one leg and the other is in excruciating pain. The doctors are keeping him pretty well medicated; so Rudy advises that visitors call before they go. He got a shot just before I called him this afternoon and he had to terminate the call because he was "in La La land".

The Club sends it's get well wishes to Sal and his family I'm sure Sal will be his "feisty old self" in no time.

Louis De Fiore Member Profile

That's Louis on the right. Louis current floor is 1700; don't let the white beard fool you! Click here to see Louis's MSA page.

Three Out Of Four

A Ladder Rule weakness was revealed last night as three out of the four Ladder Games played had to wait until after 7:30pm to start.

Gelvic Cubar (#8), challenged Johnny Owens (#5) and their game began at 7pm. At 7:30 the remaining six players reshuffled challenges as potential opponents failed to appear on the battle field. When the dust had settled the following games were contested: Cubar (#8) rooked Owens (#5), Fatula (#11) stopped Brock (#19), Weldin (#3) held off Lee (#12), and Weaver (#15) vanquished Parsons (#2). With the exception of Weaver vs Parsons, all the games were rated.

Sal called me from Hardin Memorial Hospital to report that he was in room #11 on the fourth floor. All I know at this time is that Sal reported he could not use one of his legs and was in quite a bit of pain. I'll try to get an update on his situation today.

KCA Web Site Make Over Is First Class!

Let there be light! KCA's web site has made a marvelous transformation and all involved can be proud!

If you haven't visited the KCA web site lately you are in for a pleasant surprise. The old features have been brought into the 20th Century and new features have been added. Kudos to Ryan and his team. Check out the Blog and see who you recognize; the first person to comment with the name of one of our E-town members will win a chess score book.

I have added a link to the KCA site in the right margin for your convenience. KCA has a link to this (our) site similarly placed so you can "toggle" between sites if you desire. I highly recommend that you visit the site and become a member.

Blue Plate News Special

August closed out with a bang! Twelve members swarmed the boards to play Ladder games; with the following results. (R) indicates that the game was rated.

Farrell shocked Mancuso (R)
Folino creamed Fatula (R)
Mancuso mugged Clayton (R)
Weldin blanked Brock (R)
McKinney drew Craycroft (R)
Lee tricked Clayton
Cubar speared Kilmer

What's that you say? Craycroft.... yep John has returned!! Picture shows a dapper John battling "Doc" Mark Abramovich at the 2008 NCCC Championship; young Will Hahn appears in the background.

Dave Brock not only drove home from E-town to Munfordville after work; but drove back for the meeting after washing up and eating... and brought a check for $100 to become our 3rd "Life Member"!! That speaks volumes about our club and the people we call friends and members!

Andrew Lee returned from the Glenn Beck rally; and brought gifts! Sal, Kerry, and Jerry were the lucky recipients.

Stephanie Clayton is planning on resurrecting the Nelson County Chess Club (John Craycroft wore his "Blue Dragon" T last night) and is spearheading the organization of a Nelson County "Scholastic Chess League". Steff, we will help in anyway we can; wives and schedules permitting!

John Coffey has decided to start "blogging" check out his chess blog while you're surfing the net. John is a very strong player who puts a lot into chess.

We have added the Ladder to the headings at the top of the page. You will find the current Ladder standings and a copy of the ladder rules. Please allow a day or two after each meeting for the ladder to be updated; it will depend on Ernie's work/personal commitments. Thanks Ernie!!

Hopefully the "blue plate special" will wet your appetite for more chess; please dine with us again.

John Coffey says Hello

I will be in Indiana September 4th through September 11nth to visit family and play a little chess. Now that my mother lives near North Vernon, Elizabethtown might be too far to drive, but I will try to make the two Louisville Meijer tournaments. Hope I see some of you there.

Best wishes,

John Coffey

Club Ladder

Last night we started the Club Ladder; active members names were placed in a box and drawn alternately by Sal and Andrew Lee. For the record; initial placement was as follows:

1. Brad Clark
2. Jerry Weldin
3. Joe Farrell
4. Steve Parsons
5. Sal Mancuso
6. Claney Soileau
7. Johnny Owens
8. Bob Kilmer
9. Kerry Fatula
10. Steff Clayton
11. Andrew Lee
12. Nick Folino
13. Gelvic Cubar
14. Andrew Preston
15. Ernie Weaver

The following "Ladder Games" were played; (R) after a game indicates a rated game.
Parsons strangled Weldin (R)
Owens beat Mancuso (R)
Kilmer schooled Lee
Cubar outfoxed Fatula (R)

The current ladder is now:

1. Clark
2. Parsons
3. Weldin
4. Farrell
5. Owens
6. Mancuso
7. Soileau
8. Kilmer
9. Cubar
10. Fatula
11. Clayton
12. Lee
13. Folino
14. Preston
15. Weaver

Searching For Bob Lenning

At our last meeting Sal asked what had happened to Bob Lenning. Hold the presses on the milk cartons; Bob is alive and doing well. For those who enjoyed Bob's posts you can check him out at his new blog "The Pied Chessman". To speak to Bob in person you can try Panera Bread on Saturday mornings around 10am.

Sal, I hope this answers your question.

Club Ladder

17 August the Club; with 11 Active Members present; voted in a "Club Ladder" after 45minutes of discussion.

Initial placement on the ladder will be by drawing Active Member names from a hat at the meeting of 24 August.

A copy of the approved "Ladder Rules" will be sent to all members via e-mail.

If you are not an member and would like to receive a copy of our "Ladder Rules" please leave your e-mail address in a comment and I will forward you a copy.

Ladder games may be rated if both players agree. The Club just keeps getting better; if you have been away for a while stop in and check us out!

Second Life Member

Stephanie Clayton became our second "Life Member" Saturday; Steff is the one in the middle of the photo on the left.

Being the only female in a Chess Club full of men is not as appealing as it might seem; it requires a good sense of humor, the ability to defend ones self, and apparently a pink chess board which Steff likes to play on occasionally.

Steff biggest chess accomplishment to date is winning $100 after finishing first in her class at this years Kentucky Open. Steff enjoys spending time with her grand kids, riding horses, and drinking bourbon; usually, but not always in that order. Steff also enjoys music and working with children.

Steff is currently spearheading an effort to establish a Scholastic Chess League in the Nelson County area; I'm sure it will be a huge success.

Steff, congratulations and thanks for the vote of confidence in the Club.

Clean The Chalk Board And Dust The Erasers

The "Back To School Tournament" was as cool as a varsity football jacket and as hard as an "open book" test. Seventeen players turned out to joust on the square field with Randas Burns going undefeated in the Open with 3.5 out of 4; while Juan Carlos Andino scored a perfect 4 points to take home the money in the "Under 1200" section.

Here is a full list of the prize winners:
Open
1st - $50 - Randas Burns
2nd - $15 - Chris Bush
"B" - $15 - Glen O'Banion
C/D - $15 - Clany Soileau
Under 1200
1st - $40 - Juan Carlos Andino
"F" - $15 - Sal Mancuso
"G" - $15 - Brianna Barker

Top photo - Glen O'Banion*, Andrew Lee, Mike Thomas, and "Teacher" Randas Burns*
2nd photo - Katie Thomas and Brianna Barker*
3rd photo - Juan Carlos Andino*
4th photo - Back of Glen O'Banion*, Mike Thomas, Randas "Teacher" Burns*, and Gelvic Cubar
Asterisk indicates a prize winner.

Time is Running Out to Advance Register

We now have 14 players that have advanced registered for "The Back To School Open."

Today is the last day to register in advance and save $5.00!

Those that I have registered are:

Mike Thomas 1987
Randas Burns 1892
Johnny Owens 1794
Glen O'Banion 1746
Gerald Weldin 1726
Andrew Lee 1452
Kate Thomas 1330
Clany Soileau 1319
Stephanie Clayton 1024
Sal Mancuso 954
Brian T. Barker 868
Andrew Preston 798
Brianna Barker 623
Brad Clark Unrated

* Looks like we may have an under 1400 section.

If your name is not listed and you thought you had registered, contact
me ASAP.

Tuesday Night

Dues were collected for the remainder of 2010 at the "pro-rated" sum of $5.00. Sal Mancuso, pictured on the left, became our first "Life Time Member"; presenting Steve with a check for $100.00. I am sincerely hopeful that Sal gets his moneys worth!

New member Brad Clark paid up for 2010 and generously told Johnny to donate his entry fee for the Back To School Tournament to a scholastic player in the event he can't get away Saturday.

Joe Farrell retook the lead in the 2010 Championship by half a point as he and Johnny Owens tied for first with 2.5 points while Ernie suffered one of those bad outings we all have on occasion.

All in all a good turn out with 10 players. The Championship should be updated by tomorrow.

Reminder; we will vote on the Ladder next week, if you have any ideas be ready put them up for consideration.

Entertainment Journey

John Coffey our member in Utah is in frequent contact and recently sent me the above mate in two problem. The first to comment with a correct solution will win a chess score book; NO COMPUTERS!

John's web site, Entertainment Journey has a lot to offer in the way of chess instructions. One of it's features is problem solving featuring 1, 2, and 3 move problems; both with white to move and black to move.

John recommends solving the problems on a regular basis with the goal of beating your previous time by 1 minute. This will help improve your tactics and build up your pattern recognition. You may want to stick to the 1 and 2 movers for a start as John has found a few notation errors and other problems with the 3 movers that he is fixing as time permits.

Dues Voted In And Other News

Club dues were voted in at last nights meeting. Dues were established at a rate of $12 per year with Life Memberships available for $100. Sal lobbied for a reduced Life Membership rate; but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

A paid up membership entitles the "Active Member" free entry to the "Second Tuesday" tournaments and a $5 discount off the entry fee for our annual "Spring Tornado".

Dues will be used primarily to pay rating fees, USCF Affiliation fees, and tournament announcements in Chess Life. All other expenditures must be approved by a majority vote of the "Active Members".

Dues will be collected at the 10 August meeting and pro-rated for the rest of 2010; so bring $5 to the 10 August meeting. Those who have paid their "Second Tuesday" rating fees thru the end of 2010 earlier are paid up and are "Active Members" in good standing.

In other news; Andrew Lee has returned from his visit to North Carolina and has pictures of the enormous fish he caught while fishing off the coast. Andrew must have grown 6-8 inches over the summer and is sporting a new hairdo.

Johnny Owens volunteered to fill in as Club Vice President until the elections in November. I have accepted his offer and in the absence of a volunteer I will take on the secretarial duties myself; until then. Welcome aboard Johnny!

Next up - A Club Ladder!! We'll take a vote next week between rounds.

Last but not least; we have 6 players registered so far for the "Back to School" Tournament on the 14th; entry is only $10, see Johnny or check out a previous post for the details.

Back to School Open - August 14

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Occupational Technical Building, Room 108A
Elizabethtown, KY 42701

Prizes: CASH, based on entries!

Format: 4 round Swiss system, G/45

Registration: Saturday, 9:00am - 9:45am EDT

Round Times: First round at 10:00am, future rounds ASAP

Entry Fee: $10 if received by August 12; $15 at site (CASH ONLY AT SITE). USCF membership required.

Send entries to: Johnny Owens; P.O. Box 266, Elizabethtown, KY 42702-0266

Contact: Johnny Owens (270)272-3061 or email chessnut@insightbb.com

Club Constitution And Related News

The proposed Club Constitution has been approved by a vote of 12 for, with none opposed; a copy will be e-mailed to all members.

The Club bank account has been opened with the $100 donation from Doug Goodman and J.J.Duvall; received at the Bluegrass State Games.

The next order of business is to fill the offices of Vice-president and Secretary; volunteers are preferred. Remember we will have elections in November so you would only need to serve until then.

We also need librarians; Ernie has completed the inventory and the library will be open for business at the 3 August meeting.

Lastly, the issue of dues. I propose that the Club initiate the collection of dues at the rate of $12.00 per year with a "Life Time" membership set at $100. Aforementioned dues would intital the member to "free entry" in all "Second Tuesday" USCF rated tournaments. Life Members would be "paid up" for all "Second Tuesday" tournaments and receive an additional $5.00 off the entry fee in our annual Spring tournaments. As Dave Brock requested this membership option; if approved, his card will be numbered 0001.

It was good to see Dave back at a meeting; he committed to attending even after his move to Cave City.

Kerry and Nick have returned from vacation and were hungry for chess; Dave and I tried our best to oblique them with Bob K. jumping in after Nick left. There was lengthy analysis of two games which seemed to bring as much enjoyment to the players as the actual games.

Score Sheets

Every tournament night there is a stampede to the TD table to get score sheets. Click on one of the links here and down load your free score sheets.

PS - Put some score sheets in your chess bag with a couple of pens and pencils and don't forget that you can print both sides of the paper.

Randas Burns Up The Boards

Randas Burns (in the white shirt in photo) won the Bluegrass State Games Chess Open with a perfect four out of four! Our own Steve Parsons was also undefeated with a score of 3.5; for 2nd place. Johnny Owens and Ernie Weaver shared 3rd place with Glen O'Banion by scoring 3 wins out of 4.

Bobby Amback, past Tuesday night visitor and recent blog commentator tied for First in the Quick Tournament with Raysean Whitney with a score of 7 out of 8.

Congratulations to all!

The Games have been posted by USCF.

A Tactical Win From The Bluegrass

The position above is from Hunt Vs Weldin, round #2 of the Open Section 2010 Bluegrass Games. It is Black to make his 20th move; find the move I had forseen on move 17. You shouldn't need more than 30 seconds; take a hard look before checking out the game score below.

S. Hunt vs G. Weldin , Bluegrass State Games Open Section 10 July 2010

1.c3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.Qc2 b6 4.e4 Bb7 5.Bd3 c5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nd2 d6 8.Ngf3 Nbd7 9.Rc1 a6 10.0-0 Rc8 11.Qb1 b5 12.e5 dxe5 13.dxe5 Nd5 14.Bxe7 Nxe7 15.Bxh7 g6 16.Bxg6 Nxg6
17.Ne4 Ngxe5 18.Nd6+ Kf8 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.Nxb7 Nf3+ 21.gxf3 Qh4 And White Resigned.

Three For Three In Bluegrass Quick

All three Club members entering the Quick Tournament finished with metals. Gelvic Cubar (on the right in photo) went 5 out of 8 to take home the Gold in the Young Adult Category, Jerry Weldin scored 5.5 out of 8 to take Gold in the Senior Division, and Steve Parsons scored 4 points in route to collecting the Bronze in the Adult Category. Jerry, who we all know hates draws had the distinction of being 1/2 of the only draw in the entire Quick Tournament!

Sexagenarians Strikes Gold At Bluegrass

Clany Soileau (top photo) and Andrew Preston (bottom photo) proved that chess players like good wine improve with age. Clany took the Overall Gold Metal in the Beginner Section; while Andrew won the Senior Gold Metal. Forget pacemakers and hernias; let's get it on! Way to go guys Springfield and Bardstown should be proud.

Sign Of The Day

Going "by the book" does not always work. If it did we wouldn't need a Supreme Court to interpret the rules/laws of our land. Sometimes you need to apply "common sense" to a situation...so what do you do when you have a house full of kids playing chess and the Ice Cream Truck arrives...?

It may not be in the Rule Book; but it should be...at least now we have a precedent for future situations on a hot, humid day. A big "tip of the hat" to Mr. Dillard!

Bluegrass Blue Plate Special

Here's a quick overview of the 2010 Bluegrass Games; I'll try to touch all the basis here then follow up with specifics later.

Attending Regular Club Members were: Andrew P, Gelvic, Clany, James W, Johnny, Steve P, Emdee, Ernie, Bob K, and Jerry. "Associate Club Members" Mike and Katie Thomas and the entire Emberton Family; Mom & Dad, Natalee, Luke, and Jacob.

There were over 60 players in all in addition to the Junior KY Championship combatants.

I don't know everyone who won metals because the majority of the awards ceremony's were conducted next door at the Ladies Ministries Canteen as sections finished. I do know that overall the Club took home some top prizes to include at least 3 Golds.

Prior to the actual start the Club received a donation of $50 each from Doug Goodman and J.J. Duvall who are running for office this year. J.J. is a candidate for Mayor of Radcliff and Doug is running for Magistrate of the 2nd Hardin County District.

Thanks to all the Club members who turned out in support of this Club hosted event.
Additionally as President I'd like to thank the following folks in no particular order:
Barry Saylor, owner of the Radcliff Subways, for generously donating 12 free 6 inch sandwiches and 20 drink coupons which were given to the folks who did the "heavy lifting".

Johnny Owens and Steve Parsons who provided the "heavy lifting" Friday for set-up.

Denise Emberton who was our "Gal Friday" overseeing the Scholastic events, posting pairings, recording results, while being mother to three of the participants. Someone like her undoubtedly inspired that song about "winning the bacon and frying it in the pan".

Debbie Owens and her ladies who ran the "Canteen" next door for the tremendous amount of work in setting up and keeping the players supplied with food and beverages throughout the day. You had to be there for set up and tear down to really appreciate their efforts.

Steve Dillard for being the Tournament Director and Ice Cream Truck Coordinator; the kids loved it. (Story later)

Steve Parsons for volunteering as Assistant Tournament Director.

Bob Kilmer, Gelvic Cubar, Johnny & Debbie Owens, and Steve Parsons for staying and helping break down and clean up. (Bob I have your Free Subway Coupons-see me next meeting) Also several out of town players lent a helping hand and regrettably I didn't get their names.

Katie Thomas repeated as Kentucky Women's Chess Champion; way to go Katie!

The KY Junior Championship is still in progress; they were playing "Game 90/5" and only got in a couple of rounds; watch the KCA web site for results when they are finished.

Show Me The Money!

Steve Parsons has offered his services as Club Treasurer and I have taken him up on his offer! A former math teacher who is currently employed by a credit union is all the credentials he should need; but I know him to be honest, straight forward, and a compassionate family man. You learn a lot about a person if you share a ride to Winchester and back.

Steve's first official act was to receive a check in the amount of $100 from Doug Goodman and JJ Duvual candidates for Magistrate of the 2nd District and Radcliff Mayor respectively.

Club Meeting 7 July 2010

Darren left his cat's to play alone as he took time from his vacation to renew old acquaintances at the Club last night. Steve P., Johnny, Gelvic, Nick, Ernie, Kerry, Sal, Rudy, Dave, and Jerry were also in attendance.

It was good to see Dave back again; Dave is planning on a move to Cave City in the near future but says it won't stop him from supporting the Club.

Kerry took me to task for not reporting that he had held Johnny to two draws prior to playing Steff last week. Kerry and Nick will be on vacation next week and may run into each other as they are both from the same county in Pennsylvania.

Again, it was great to see Darren and Dave again; both plan on playing in the Bluegrass this weekend if you missed them last night.

2010 Bluegrass State Games

I can guarantee that Kramnik will not be at the Bluegrass Games; so now what is your excuse?

Reminder:

Bluegrass State Games - Saturday 10 July - all times are Eastern Standard Time

Where: Mill Creek Baptist Church - Family Life Center
1182 Jones St, Radcliff

Registration: 9:00am EST

4 Rd Swiss, Game 45/5



1st Round - 10:00am EST; Rd's 2 - 4 ASAP after completion of previous round.

Quick Chess Tournament follows at approximately 5:00pm

4 Rd's @ 10 minutes/game

Click on Bluegrass Games on the calendar to your right for complete info and map.

The Devil Felt A Chill

The 29 June meeting closed out the month with chess that measured a 7.5 on the rector scale. Nick, Ernie, Johnny, Kerry, James W., Gelvic, Larry, Stephanie,and Jerry fought relentlessly over the 64 square battlefield. Stephanie caused the Devil to reach for his sweater with a win over Kerry and Jerry defended a tough 5 pawns vs knight and 2 pawns end game against Gelvic which ended in a draw.

Other news: the library is now in residence at ECTC and should be operational again after the Bluegrass State Games.

Johnny announced a Saturday Tournament to be held 14 August in our normal meeting room at the College; watch for detail which will be posted soon.

PS-The pictures of Kasparov are for Steff; she thinks he's all that and plays chess too!

June 22nd Meeting

The tigers were unleashed Tuesday night as Rudy and Steff went head to head with such intensity that Ernie and Kerry broke off their own battle to watch. Jerry and Larry played several 10 minute games and Steve Nutt made a cameo appearance to show off his new red hair.

Nick missed out on some serious garden produce by having to work or something; thanks again Nick!

It's time to gear up for the Bluegrass Games; bring the kids and relatives. Circle July 10Th on your calendar right now!

Josh Cook Takes A Queen

While reading my Sunday paper a familiar face caught my eye; Josh Cook an original Elizabethtown Chess Club member is getting married!

According to the News-Enterprise; Joshua Cook and Brandi Cornett will tie the knot June 27Th, at Blue Ball Baptist Church.

Congratulations to Josh and Brandi from all of us at the Chess Club!

2nd Bardstown Chessathon

Steff Clayton hosted her 2ND Bardstown Chessathon with a European flair at Cafe Mozart on Thursday,17 June. When I arrived the cafe was packed and the usual table settings had been replaced with chess boards. As I waited for a game, the moans and cries for relief reminded me of a combat aid station; there was no quarter asked and none given. The Kaissiah family turned out in force with Rana, the Mom, leading a team consisting of Nada, the pretty daughter and twin sons Nathan and Timothy. I think I played Nathan, but I'm not sure; all I remember was that he asked me if I was as good as Mrs. Clayton; which caused me to break my "chess meter" momentarily. Andrew Preston, James Biggs, Clany Soileau, and Gelvic Cubar rounded out the combatants list and all left smiling.

The company was top drawer, the chess was challenging, the ambiance was excellent, and the Sam Adams was chilled; that Clayton gal sure knows how to organize a good time!

Survey Results

The results of the recent survey are in; 16 members responded.

1. I would play in an additional Tuesday Night Rated Tournament. Yes = 7 No = 9
2. I would be willing to pay dues. Yes = 11 No = 5
3. Should membership be based on attendance or dues. Attendance = 6 Dues = 9
One member suggested a combination of the two.
4. Should the Club provide instructions to players who ask. Yes = 14 No = 2
5. Support for both assisted living residents and scholastic chess was: Yes=13 No=3
6. Would support additional Saturday Tournaments. Yes = 12 No =4

Several comments were received; here is a summary:

1. Challenge other clubs to matches.
2. Provide organized study with a demo board.
3. Have the higher rated players analysis games submitted by the membership.
4. Hold more local rated tournaments, to include quick chess events.
5. Start a club ladder.
6. Have a rated tournament every other week.
7. Reestablish the Club Library. (note: Bob is currently out of town.)
8. Recruit more members thru advertising, etc.
9. Concentrate on 1-2 new goals at a time; moving on to others as they are met.
10.Change Club meetings to Fridays.
11.Bring in local Masters for instruction/demo's.

Emory Tate Jr Wins 2010 KY Open

Life Senior Master and International Master Emory Tate Jr won the recent KY Open on tie breaks over Chis Bush.

IM Tate is a 5 time Armed Forces Champion with a current USCF rating of 2401. Jennifer Shahada gives a word portrait of Tate on page 11 of her book, Chess Bitch, and indicates that Tate inspired the book's title.

White Rabbit

Darren dropped by El Tapatio's this morning and revealed that Ron Burnett was not the only KY Open entrant to forget which time zone he was in. Apparently Darren made the same error last Sunday and did not purposely withdraw; rather he returned home when he realized he was running an hour behind. I can see how that can happen when you work in one time zone and live in another; I guess that's why Dave Brock refers to Eastern Standard Time as "fast time".

Also playing to Mariachi Music this morning was James Whiddon, Steff Clayton, Jerry Weldin, and Angel Reyes. Angel came anxious to play and had at least one game with everyone present except me. Get your games in with Angel while you can; he will be going to the field soon for training.

If we can get a minimum of 4 players to commit to play rated games we can play in our regular Tuesday Night meeting room at ECTC.

Owens Perfect After Three

Johnny Owens went three for three at the June 2010 Rating Tournament besting a field of 12 players. Johnny finished a full point ahead of the the group of players with 2 points. The tournament has been posted.

3 Squared - or- For Real, You're Not On Central Time?

Nine Club members showed up for the KY Open; Andrew Preston, Bob Lenning, and Stephanie Clayton played in the Under 1400 Section; Bob Kilmer, Gelvic Cubar, and Johnny Owens took on the Under 1800 crowd; while Darren Radford, James Whiddon, and Jerry Weldin went for the brass ring in the Open. Larry Davidson of our Glasgow Branch was also in attendance; which actually gave the Tournament a decidedly E-town flavor.

Darren withdrew after a bad first day start; Stephanie Clayton kicked some serious under 1400 butt to bring home the glory for the Club. Not only the glory but when she said "show me the money" they wrote her a $100 check for the top Under 1000 prize! I hereby proclaim Steff the Club Hero of the week and an "Official Chess Diva".

IM Emory Tate was the winner in the Open Section despite showing up over 45 minutes late for the beginning of the 4th round (there by "spotting" his 2300+ rated opponent over half of the time allotted for the game). Not so fortunate was Ron Burnett (from Tennessee) who was rated 5 points higher than Tate at the start of the Tournament. Ron "forgot" he was no longer in the Central Time Zone and showed up over an hour late for the 4th round; giving Chris Bush a "gift point" and spoiling his chances for any prize money. Ron is in the red shirt in the picture Emory Tate is to his left in the photo.

The Tournament results have been posted on the USCF web site. Five of our contingent picked up rating points with Steff picking up the highest total, 84 points!

1 June Meeting Report

Eight players reported for chess as Nick, Kerry, Rudy, Sal, James W, Ernie, Mickey, and Jerry raised the temperature in room 108A tonight.

James W agreed to drive Sal's van this weekend; and is hereby proclaimed a Club Hero!

Mickey donated a 5 drawer filing cabinet to the Club to house the library. It has been a while since Mickey joined us for a game; and bearing gifts to boot!

Drive safely; I hope to see you all in Louisville for the KY Open this weekend.

New USCF Rating Floors Implemented

The May issue of Chess Life contained the following announcement: "Peak rating floors at 1200 and 1300 have been implemented. This applies only to events that end on or after 4/1/2010. To earn a 1200 floor a player needs to have a post-event established rating of at least 1400, to earn a 1300 floor a player needs to have a post-event established rating of at least 1500."

Previously floors started at 1400.

Sal Needs A Ride To KY Open

Sal would be most appreciative if someone would be willing to park their vehicle at his house and drive his van to the KY Open.

If you are able to help Sal out feel free to contact him directly or leave a comment below and I'll see that he gets the message.

Panera Chess On Hold Next Two Weeks

Due to Memorial Day and the Kentucky Open; Panera Chess will be on hold until 12 June.

If you want to play chess at Panera on 29 May or 5 June be sure to line up an opponent before you go.

Eight Is Enough

We had eight players tonight; Nick Folino, Bob Kilmer, James Whiddon, Kerry Fatula, Gelvic Cubar, Andrew Lee, Steve Parsons, and Jerry Weldin.

More than chess lessons were discussed as Nick explained what turntables were to Andrew and why Nick has four of them.

Everybody learned a lesson in rook and pawn endings as Steve and Gelvic conducted a postmortem of their game after Steve's time ran out. I believe everyone except Nick (who had left), was crowded around the board. Warning to all; Gelvic carries "power bars" in his chess bag!

Bob, Kerry, and Jerry shut the place down after swapping stories from their Army days.

Reminder, next week is Club Election Night.

The Hand Is Quicker Than The Eye

Ernie Weaver defended an inferior position to beat Jerry Weldin on time with one second left on his clock on the way to scoring a perfect three for three to win the May Rating Tournament.
Johnny Owens was the only other player to go undefeated; scoring 2.5 points for second place, only yeilding a draw to Joe Farrell.
New member Gelvic Cubar took clear third with 2 points after falling into a trap in the Budepest against Jerry in the first round.
Ten players showed up to do battle to include James Lawson who drove down from Louisville. We all met James at our Egg salad Tournament.
Ming Loi broke out of his "provisional rating status" and now owns an official rating of 1142.
For the rest of the cross table check out the MSA Section of the USCF web site.
Picking up two new players made everything worthwhile tonight; but they are tough so consider yourselves warned!

It's Over!

Game 12 is over and Anand has won with a final count of 6.5-5.5, retaining his world championship title! Notable is that this was the first win by either player with the black pieces! Topalov opened with 1.d4 and the game entered the Lasker Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined. For pgn files of all the game scores, check out the official match site.

Learning the Tabiyas

OK, you've reached that point. You know how to play, you've been studying your tactics and made great improvements in your performance, and you've settled in on an opening repertoire that you feel comfortable with. You're ready to start with some opening studies beyond just the general principles. So what do you do now?

Searching for Capablanca

This is a position I found at W.T. Harvey's great tactics puzzle website from the game R. Raubitschek vs. Capablanca, New York 1906. Capa has the black pieces and presses for the win. Do you see the best move?

Many chess coaches and authors have recommended the aspiring player to choose a chess hero to make a study of. Perhaps you'll choose one with a style like you see as your own, or maybe a style that you wish you could engender in yourself. I'm starting my search for my chess hero with J.R. Capablanca, the third official world chess champion.

See the solution to the puzzle and more about Capablanca after the fold:

White to Move

This position is from a recent club skittles game. Black has just blundered with 18... Qd7 thinking that he is offering a trade to reduce the pressure. In the actual game White quickly played 19. Qxc7. Can you spot a better move for White? See the solution after the fold:

Politics As Unusual

Due to the request of several members I hereby announce my candidacy for Club President.

I believe my past contributions to the Club and area chess speaks for it's self.

My ideas for the future are:

1. Look into becoming affiliated with ECTC; with the possibility of getting monetary support from the College.

2. Have an optional rated tournament on the 4th Tuesday of each month; those who prefer to study can do so in the Welding Room. Details will follow in an e-mail.

3. Charge dues at the rate of $2 per month or $20 for an entire year. This will solve the "who is a member" question that has arisen as a result of the elections.

4. Make our weekend tournaments more attractive to area Masters and arrange simul's like we did in the past.

5. I've asked Ernie to look into the possibility of having "A Night With Dan" on a quarterly basis. We would set up a computer and allow 6 or more members to ask Dan Heisman a chess question.

6. Actively pursue sponsors to help pay for the above programs. I have a local politician (not me!) ready to write a check for $100 right now.

I believe that Ernie is going to announce that the Club elections will be pushed back to the 25th due to conflicts with local elections on the 18th.

I will work up a constitution or set of by laws for viewing prior to the election.

All the News That's Fit to Print

Topalov won game 8 yesterday to even the match score at 4-4. He'll face off against the champion Anand again on Thursday. Download the games and see live match video at the official site.

Eleven players got in some serious practice at the club last night. The library was busy and the boards were blazing.

Play online at FICS tonight at 8pm. Learn how here.

Get more practice at Panera on Saturday.

Don't forget rated play at the 2nd Tuesday of the Month meeting next week. Pre-register with Johnny or be there early.

Check Out Rated Correspondence-Style Play

Chess.com has announced the 11th Chess.com tournament. These are large affairs with sometimes more than 1,000 players in a single 200 point rating class. The tournament is organized like a huge group of 6 player round robins, with the winner of each mini-tournament moving on to the next round. You play one game each as Black and White against each opponent, up to 10 games simultaneously with a 3 day per move time control. The tournament is divided into sections by rating, eg. 1401-1600 and 1601-1800. You are automatically assigned a class according to your rating on the day the tournament starts, Tuesday June 1, 2010 at 9pm PDT. A large number of players are from other countries, adding another layer of interest. If you are one of our Chess.com players, or even if you aren't yet, these are great tournaments. Sign up to play now!

100% Chance of Chess Tomorrow

In its Hardin county report, the national weather service is calling the chance of flash floods "highly likely" (according to the flash flood watch issued 4:20 am EDT, Fri., Apr. 30, 2010). In the event that weather makes travel to Panera Bread questionable for play tomorrow, online play is possible on FICS by meeting on channel 150 beginning at 10am as described in this post for the regular Wednesday night meetup. Players making their way to Panera may also play online in the same way.

Drawn to Repetitions

Viswanathan Anand earned a draw with the Black pieces in game 5 of the 2010 world championship match against challenger Veselin Topalov, moving the score to 3:2 and retaining the champion's one point lead. Topalov opened with 1.d4 and the game progressed into a Slav a la game 3, not deviating until the move 11... Nbd7. Once again both sides elected not to castle and prepared for the endgame. A draw was agreed through the arbiter after 44.Rc3 foretold another looming repetition of position. Get the complete game score at the official match site.

Online Tonight

Don't forget online chess with the Elizabethtown Chess Club on FICS tonight at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT. For help, see this post.

Puzzling Pastime

Think that you're good at chess puzzles? Try this one! Just download, unzip, and run.

(Please note that this is a first attempt at direct downloads from the club web page. Some issues are still being addressed. In the future we may be able to download PGN files in the same way. Clicking on the link will direct you to a page at Google where another click will allow you to download the file.)

White Piece Advantage

The champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov will get a rest today after matching wins with the white pieces. The contest will resume tomorrow at 8:00 am EDT. You can see video and download game scores at the official site. Live video of grandmaster analysis of the games in progress can be seen on Chess.com TV.

Above is the position after 23. Rf3 in the first game Anand vs. Topalov. Vishy played 23... Kf7, but 23... Bb7 looks more promising for Black.

Southern Class

Though no active club members were playing, you might recognize a name or two from the cross tables at the recently completed 9th Southern Class Championships in Nashville. Grandmaster Jaan Ehlvest of New York topped the charts with 4.5 out of 5, yielding only a draw to Tennessee's FIDE Master Peter Bereolos in the last round. In Class A, James Pollitt from Indiana matched that score. Kentucky player Taylor Micajah Bagley scored 3 points in the section. Ali Hamdan Alataiwi of Tennessee stunned Class B with a perfect score of 5! Michael Robertson, also of Tennessee, led Class C with 4.5. Chris Prosser, known as a scholastic coach and tournament director, was near home when he turned in a very respectable 3.0 and pushed his rating to 1524. Modesto Garcia and Scott McCormick also represented the host state by sharing scores of 4.5 to crown Class D. A provisionally rated Schuyler Matthew Read of Kentucky raided the Class E and under with a perfect score of 5.0! Ariel Torres and Ronit Vikram Patel also represented Kentucky with Class E scores of 2.5 and 1.0.

Constant Comment?

Tired of scrolling up and down our blog looking to see if anybody posted a new comment to your favorite posts? Well scroll no more! Blogger has brewed up a new feature that solves the problem. Look to the right underneath our Quick Calendar and you'll see a new box for Recent Comments. Here you'll find the latest added by members with a chance to click through to the whole post and comments.

Please note that this new feature is apparently in beta and still contains a few bugs. Spam comments which have already been deleted may appear in the list, but will yield an error if you try to click them. Also certain special characters such as quotation marks are not rendered correctly.

E-Town FICS

Organized live online chess got it's start for the club last night as four players made a go of it. Stephanie Clayton, Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, and Bob Lenning met on channel 150 at the Free Internet Chess Server to share a few games. Want to see what it's about? Join us next time for some online chess fun along with any cool beverage that you happen to have in your fridge.

Chess Erupts in Bulgaria

After a one day delay due to the volcanic ash over Europe, the world championship match between the current champion Viswanathan Anand and the challenger Veselin Topalov is scheduled to start on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Check on live coverage and find game downloads at the official website.

Brian is Back!

Past club president and webmaster Brian Lucas was in the house last night with the promise that we'll be seeing him more in the future for a few quick games. Welcome back Brian! Also in attendance last night were Kerry Fatula, Nick Folino, Andrew Lee, Bob Lenning, Ming Loi, Sal Mancuso, Rudy McKinney, Stan Mullins, Johnny Owens, Steve Parsons, Ernie Weaver, Jerry Weldin, and James Whiddon. Fourteen players was the best attendance the club has had since the December 15 meeting last year.

Gimme More Chess!

Can't get enough chess? Don't want to have to drive to get a game? We've got the solution ... Wednesday night chess online with the club!

Starting Wednesday night at 8pm EDT / 7pm CDT, members of the club will gather online to test the idea of meeting weekly on the FICS site. If you don't yet have an account or client software, most of us use BabasChess. We'll organize by meeting on channel 150.

To get set up you'll want to type these commands in the console window:

+ channel 150
set chanoff 0
set echo 0

Then check out your channels tab and try channel 150. We'll use the chat feature in this channel to get organized, match up for games, and arrange to examine and observe games. Games will be played just as live games are played. Your play may be FICS rated if you want.

Want help getting set up? I'll have my netbook at the regular club meeting on Tuesday night to show how it's done; or this Wednesday night at 7pm I will be at Panera Bread with my netbook to help anybody that would like to play. I'll be playing live on FICS from Panera. Bring your laptop with you and I'll see that you get set up. Then you'll be all ready to play on your laptop from home next time. Don't have a laptop or aren't sure about playing online? Just come on down, have a coffee, and see what it's about. Not available to play on Wednesdays? Join in the discussion and help us select new or additional times.

Hope you'll like this new way to enjoy chess with the club. Don't forget our other club opportunities: regular club meetings on Tuesday nights, 2nd Tuesday of the month ratings tournaments, online chess on Chess.com, casual chess and coffee at Panera Bread on Saturday mornings, rated games on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month at El Tapatio, other scheduled tournaments, and now online play on FICS on Wednesday nights. Check out our calendar for the latest. And don't forget to take advantage of the club library too!

Newly Minted

Darren Radford reached 1834 to reclaim his status as A-player. Ernie Weaver (not pictured) held on to his newly earned spot on the A-player list with an 1801 rating.

Andrew Lee earned a 1424 rating to gain the title of C-player.

Egg Salad for 17 Please

TD Jerry Weldin, Sponsor Specialist Reyes, and winners Kerry Fatula, Sal Mancuso, Glen O'Banion, Steve Parsons, Randas Burns, Johnny Owens, Nathaniel Emdee, Katy Margaret Thomas, James Lawson, Darren Radford, Larry Davidson, Andrew Lee, and Stephanie Clayton.

It was a beautiful Saturday and a great day for chess as seventeen players gathered for the club's annual spring tournament, the 2010 Egg Salad Open. Thirteen players shared the honors. Steve Parsons, Randas Burns, Glen O'Banion, James Lawson, Darren Radford, and Johnny Owens split the 1st place, 2nd place, Class A, and Class B prizes as shared winners of the tournament with 3 points each. Kerry Fatula and Larry Davidson came up winners in Class C with 2 points. Andrew Lee and Katy Thomas were tops in Class D with 2 points. And Sal Mancuso, Stephanie Clayton, and Nathaniel Emdee divvied up Class E with 1 point each.

See more after the fold:

White to Move

Finlayson

1901

from The Great ABC of Tactics by Renko

See the solution after the fold:

White to Move

Hillarp Person - Grosse Frintrop

Recklinghausen 2001

from Gary Lane's Find the Winning Move

See the solution after the fold:

Baker's Dozen

Thirteen players were on hand for April's 2nd Tuesday Tourney. Ernie Weaver was at the top of the heap with 3 full points when all was said and done, earning himself an A-player rating of 1814 and moving him into 3rd position in the club championship standings. Andrew Lee scored 1.5 points plus took a full point bye for clear 2nd in the Open section on his way to an estimated gain of 58 rating points and a new spot at 5th in the standings. Joe Farrell and Jerry Weldin came into the clubhouse with a plus score of 2. Adding to his total from the El Tapatio contests, Jerry ended with a rating of 1691, more than 100 points over his rating after last months tourney! Steve Parsons finished at 1.5, but retains his first place position in the overall standings. Johnny Owens and Kerry Fatula each took a win, while James Whiddon and Rudy McKinney rounded out the field.

In the under-1400 section, it was returning member Ming Loi that blanked the field to score 3 points, raising his provisional rating an incredible 151 points! Dave Brock, Sal Mancuso, and Stephanie Clayton took 1.5, 1.0 and 0.5 points respectively.

Check out the tournament crosstables here or the championship standings here.

Chess, Chips & Salsa, Corona & Lime, Chile Colorado, Chess, Coffee, Chess, Rinse, Repeat

Four players faced off for an afternoon of chess today at the Nelson County Public Library in Bardstown. Stephanie Clayton, James Biggs, Andrew Preston, and Bob Lenning tried their best to wear out the pieces. Afterwards came a good meal (and a couple of beers for Bob) at the Rincon Mexican Restaurant just a block off the rotary. Thanks to Stephanie for organizing today's chess!

Casual chess and coffee will begin at 10am at Panera Bread tomorrow.

Authentic Certificate

Now there's no question about it! James Whiddon does indeed have an official Certificate of Authenticity. The pedigreed pieces are featured below. Look below the fold for more about tonight's meeting:

Bluegrass State Games - 2010

We will be hosting the Bluegrass State Games again this year!!

July 10, 2010

Time: 9AM-registration ; 1st Round @ 10AM

Place: Mill Creek Baptist Church - Family Life Center
1182 Jones St., Radcliff

For more info go to the official website or check the club calendar.

Boden's Mate

White to Play and Mate in 2.

From The Art of the Checkmate
by Renaud and Kahn.

See the solution after the fold:

White to Move

Cardoso - Torre
Manila 1973

from John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book


see the solution below the fold: