Bluegrass X-table

The Bluegrass X-table has finally been published. I have added it to the original post, but give it here also for ease in finding. Bluegrass X-table .

We are still waiting for the results from the 3rd Bulldog Invitational..

Amy Nunn Ties For First

Last night in addition to James Ballard and Rob Dennis dropping by for skittles; we got the news that Amy had tied for 1st in the 3rd Bulldog Invitational at Dale Hollow State Park on Saturday. Way to go Amy!! Click here to view the X-table.                                           

from the Bluegrass State Games

My Easiest Game was against my highest rated opponent!!

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Farrell Mows The Blue Grass

Joe Farrell sweep the 2012 Bluegrass Tournament 4-0!! View the X-table by clicking here.

Draw

I did not play well in the E-town Summer Open. My best game was this draw against Johnny which contained trappy play from both sides. I decided to publish it as that seems to be the only way to generate comments on the web site.

Click on the double arrows, extreme left hand side to reset the board.

July Rating Tournament

Every dog has his day and I guess mine was last night. After Amy made me fight for a draw I probably didn't deserve (scaring me to within an inch of my life in the process), Sal gave me an easy point and Johnny either overlooked a hanging Knight or thought I had a swindle prepared. Anyone who doesn't think luck plays a part in chess is full of beans.

Johnny still holds the lead in the Championship qualification, I am 2 points behind, but 3.5 points ahead of Joe (who stayed home with Patty on their 30th anniversary - wise decision Joe)  while Amy and Ernie have moved into a tie for forth.

Stephanie got revenge for her loss to Sal at the E-town Summer Open. And both plan on renewing their fight for bragging rights at the Bastille Day En Passant Tournament.

Congrats to Amy, the big rating points winner, for moving back into the "C" category.

Click here to see the entire X-table.

The E-town Summer Open Drew 24 Players!

24 players decided to play an indoor sport yesterday and get out of the 100 degree plus temperature! In the end Expert Chris Bush won the open section with 3.5-0.5 and took home $100 for his effort. Randas Burns and Matthew McDonald shared 2nd and 3rd place and each took home $60. And, our very own Rayanne Chatrieux won the under 1700 prize of $45!

In the Reserve section, Austin Bridges went 4-0 and won $60.00 for his efforts. Our club secretary, Amy Nunn took home the prize for 2nd place! I want to Thank everyone for coming out and playing! The USCF rating report can be found here!

Hub City Summer Open

Just a reminder that Johnny's Hub City Chess Club is hosting a tournament this Saturday to close out June with a bang. Particulars are contained in the flier below.

Chess Problem

                                                                      HASEK 1951
                                                            White to move and draw

When I saw this problem it immediately reminded me of Kerry. I am putting the solution at comment number 1 below.

Chess Clocks

In the old days of mechanical chess clocks there were "buttons" with stems which were pushed to start your opponents clock. These buttons could be seen for some distance allowing one to walk about while keeping watch on their clock out of the corner of their eye.The Excaliber clock is an example of that feature being carried over to the new digital timers.Recently I have noticed several players at tournaments who turn off the move indicator lights on their chess clocks. Indeed I was even thanked by an elderly opponent in last years Louisville Open for having them turned on on my Chronos. I personally consider turning the lights off unsporting; therefore I decided to see if there were any rules regarding this. While USCF does not cover this in their rules, FIDE does. Reference FIDE Handbook 5.1.(d) covers clocks. Which states that you should be able to see who is on the move from a distance of 10 meters.But more specific is the testing requirements to get FIDE approval of a new clock:"Clocks must provide a clear visibility of which player is to move, from  all sides at a distance of 10 meters".

As USCF gradually gets more instep with FIDE, I predict that  "clock rules" will be upgraded to conform with FIDE standards. Something you should consider if in the market for a clock. Currently the DGT XL Digital Chess Clock is the only FIDE approved clock sold by USCF.

There is no need to panic and trash your old clock; any clock can be used in a non-FIDE sanctioned event. But if you use a Chronos, be a good sport and turn on the LED move indicators!

Nathaniel Emdee Found at KY Open

Above is a file photo of Nathaniel Emdee, Life Member of the E-town Chess Club who surfaced at the Kentucky Open last weekend. Click here to view the X-table and see how he did.

June Rating Tournament

The June Rating Tournament was one of our strongest ever thanks to guests Andy Porter and James Ballard who drove down from Louisville to join the fray. Congratulations to Andy who won with a perfect score.

Additionally Louis De Fiore returned to compete and Rayane Chatrieux  achieved his 25 game mark to escape his "provisional" status.Click here to review the X-table.

KY Open

Just a quick reminder that the KY Open is this week end. For details click on the KCA link (on the right hand side of your screen) then click on "Tournaments".

Schools Out Results

I tried to put a link to the X-table in a comment but it didn't work. You can view the X-table here.

Congratulations to Steve Parsons and Rayane Chatrieux both took home prize money! I was the "goat" this time, losing to Rayane in the first round. Rayane played well and I "forgot" that a Queen can move diagonally!

Johnny has posted pictures on the KCA Web site.

E-town Summer Open

Just a reminder that Johnny is hosting/directing another tournament this Saturday. See the flier below for details.

Click on flier to enlarge.

I just talked to Johnny and he told me that Mike Anders "The book guy" will be there! Mike takes trade-ins and buys books, clocks  and used chess sets!

Home Cooking

Jerry & I have played the Piano quite a few times. In fact, we both played the Piano Simultaneously against Chris Bush. One of the Joys and Dangers of playing against people you know is Home Cooking. On Tuesday Jerry whipped up some home cooking for me (with some attribution to a 1946 book called Winning Chess Traps).

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Game 75 Tourney To Resume On May 15th!

There seems to be enough interest in continuing our Game/75 tourney on Tuesday nights at the Family Buffet. So we will resume “Tuesday Knights” on May 15th!
We will play 5 rounds. They will be May 15, 22, 29 and June 5 and 19.
There will be a $1.00 charge to offset the rating fee and I hope that if you enter, that you will play in at least 4 of the 5 rounds so that rating norms can be achieved. Joe is very close to getting his Candidate Master norm!
Additionally, Jerry wants to start a monthly Saturday Game/75 tournament. Contact him for details or suggestions.

We Had A Visitor At Our 2nd Tuesday Tourney!

James Ballard came down from Louisville to play in our Second Tuesday tournament and ended up beating Steve Parsons in a nice endgame in the final round!
The event was strong with an expert, 2-Class A, 2-Class B, and 2 Class C players. I wish we could get more of the club membership to turn out for this monthly tourney! Joe Farrell won the event with a score of 3-0.
A thanks goes to Jerry for directing the tournament. The rated crosstable can be seen here!

Saturday Game 75

If you can't really break away during the week and have to get in your games on the back of a taxi; try playing in a New First Saturday Game 75 Tournament hosted by a new area affiliation. Entry fee would be $10 with a 75% payout in prize money.( Please comment on fees you would be willing to pay) In 2 or more sections if at least 4 players commit for each section. Please comment and give any suggestions you may have.

Elizabethtown Tornado Photos Posted On KCA Website!

Is Stephanie sleeping in this photo? If you want to see other photos, I just posted 17 photos from the Elizabethtown Tornado on the KCA website!