Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Open March 3 &4

I have just received word that the annual Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Open will once again be at the Shriner's Club the weekend of March 3 and 4th. There is an entry fee ($40 Canadian) and you must become a member of the Canadian Chess Federation (presently $36 Canadian/year) to participate, but it is a well run event and worth the trip and expense. Three of us from this side of the border went last year. I can strongly recommend participating, especially for our better players as the competitors there are quite strong.

As this event begins on the first Saturday of March and since there was no available venue for the Free first Saturday event for March, I will not hold a first Saturday event on our side of the border.

More information is below:

Niagara Falls Open Date: March 3 - 4, 2007Place:Niagara Shrine Club; 5621 North Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario(Next to Greater Niagara General Hospital)Rounds: 5Type: SwissTimes: (9:00am, 12:30pm, 6:00pm on Saturday)(10:00am and ASAP on Sunday)Time Control: Round 1 = SD/90, Round 2 - 5 = 30/90 + SD/60Entry Fee: $40 per player, $35 per player Seniors (65+) and Juniors (less then 18)Prizes: $$Based on Entries, Unrated participants only eligible for unrated prize, if applicableRegistration:Send entries to John Erickson, 4-6453 Colborne Street, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2J 1E7. Regular mail entries to be received by February 28th. Email entries accepted up to March 1st. On site registration between 8:00-8:45 AM on March 3rd. Cash only at site. Late Fee $5.00E-mail: mailto:jeswifty@hotmail.comMiscellaneous: Bring Chess sets and clocks. Refreshments available on site. Site is non-smoking. CFC Membership required and can be purchased on site. For Junior memberships, bring proof of age. Half point byes available for rounds 1 - 3. Any additional information can be obtained by emailing jeswifty@hotmail.comA SWOCL Grand Prix event.

Sign-up for the Buffalo "Blitz-zard"

Please comment below if you plan to participate in this Wednesday's Free Blitz Rated Tournament. Further details are available at http://www.uschess.org/directories/tnmtsearch/tlaweb.php?tla_seq=475&tla_id=Blitzzard

Importance of evaluating position! Quiz for 1/28

The first position was reached in my online game on ICC after a closely fought middle game. In this position, I am white and I am on the move. Without thinking much, I continued 20.Qxc3 dxc3 21.Nb3 c2. To my horror I now realized that black is threatening ...Bb2 after which I have to sacrifice my knight for the pawn. I almost was about to hit the resign button, when I thought about evaluating concrete variations. Only later, did I realize that I was never lost in any position of the game. After thinking for a long time, the game continued 33.f5 g5 34.h4 Bf5+ 35.Kg4 Bf4 36.hxg5 hxg5 37.a4 c1=Q 38.Nxc1 Bxc1 39.a5 Kg7 40.Kf3 and we reach position number 2 as shown below. White controls the e3 square with hopes to be able to push the a pawn forward. It so happens, however, that in this position, there still are two moves for black (neither one obvious) that allow black to secure a draw! What are these moves?

Save the dates. Upcoming Rated Tournaments in WNY

Get out your pens and pencils, your calender, day planners, and/or PDAs and write these down and save these dates. Wednesday January 31 "Buffalo Blitzzard" 7/SS, Game/10, 630-1030PM @NCCC for FREE! Saturday February 3 Free February Event, 4 perhaps 5/SS, Game/30, 4-10PM @ UB for FREE! (Will also include an unrated section for non-USCF players or those who wish to not play rated games.) Saturday February 10 Rochester Grand Prix 4/SS,RDS 1&2 G/60 RDS 3&4 G/90 @RCC EF $30 Prizes: $150-90-60 Class $80 Reg 8:30-9:15 RDS 9:30-12-2:15-5:30 Adv Ent/Info: Rochester Chess Center 221 Norris Drive, Rochester NY 14610 (585)442-2430 Saturday February 17 ELLEN KENNEDY DAY CHESS TOURNAMENT 4/SS, Game/45 for Open, Game/30 for Scholastic @ Main Place Mall, EF $20 for Open, $15 for Scholastic, Prizes $100-$60-$40 Class $50 in Open, Trophies for Scholastic. Saturday and Sunday March 3&4

Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Open Saturday March 10 AQE/ArchAngel Event 4/SS, Game/45 for Open, Game/30 for Scholastic @ Main Place Mall, EF $20 for Open, $15 for Scholastic, Prizes $100-$60-$40 Class $50 in Open, Trophies for Scholastic.

or

Rochester Grand Prix 4/SS,RDS 1&2 G/60 RDS 3&4 G/90 @RCC EF $30 Prizes: $150-90-60 Class $80 Reg 8:30-9:15 RDS 9:30-12-2:15-5:30 Adv Ent/Info: Rochester Chess Center 221 Norris Drive, Rochester NY 14610 (585)442-2430 Saturday March 31 and Sunday April 1 2007 MARCHAND OPEN (29th ANNUAL) GPP: 50 Enhanced New York Dr. Erich Marchand “requested that his friends play chess in his memory.” 5SS, 30/60, SD/60. St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Ave, Rochester, NY. $$5375 Gtd. Open: (all) $1000-550-300-175, U2200 & U2000 each $300-175. EF: $55. Under 1800: $350-240-130, U1600 $230-150. EF: $50. Under 1400: $240-160-100, U1200 $150-100. EF: $45. U1000: $150-110-75-40, U800 $85-55-35. EF: $43. Unrated players in the U1800 section can only win $125, in U1400 & U1000 $55. All EF: $5 less HS, $10 less pre-HS, $5 less if rec’d by 3/15. IM and GM’s free is registered by 3/20. Great food available at site. Reg: 8-9:15 am. Rds: 10-2:15-6:30, 10-2:15. One ½ point bye available in rd. 3 or 4 if requested at entry. Info: 585-442-2430. Ent: Rochester Chess Center, 221 Norris Drive, Rochester, NY 14610. W. Saturday April 7 Free April Event, 4 perhaps 5/SS, Game/30, 4-10PM @ UB for FREE! (Will also include an unrated section for non-USCF players or those who wish to not play rated games.) Saturday April 14 Saturday April 14, AQE/ArchAngel Event 4/SS, Game/45 for Open Game/30 for Scholastic @ Main Place Mall, EF $20 for Open, $15 for Scholastic, Prizes $100-$60-$40 Class $50 in Open, Trophies for Scholastic.

or

Rochester Grand Prix 4/SS,RDS 1&2 G/60 RDS 3&4 G/90 @RCC EF $30 Prizes: $150-90-60 Class $80 Reg 8:30-9:15 RDS 9:30-12-2:15-5:30 Adv Ent/Info: Rochester Chess Center 221 Norris Drive, Rochester NY 14610 (585)442-2430

Saturday April 21 3rd ANNUAL EXCELSIOR-STELLA NIAGARA SCHOLASTIC, 4/SS, Game/30, 9AM to 4PM @ Stella Niagara Education Park, EF $15, Free Lunch/Prizes/Trophies. (There probably will be again a Quick Open section as a side event as well.) Saturday May 5 Free May Event, 4 perhaps 5/SS, Game/30, 4-10PM @ UB for FREE! (Will also include an unrated section for non-USCF players or those who wish to not play rated games.) Saturday May 12 Rochester Grand Prix 4/SS,RDS 1&2 G/60 RDS 3&4 G/90 @RCC EF $30 Prizes: $150-90-60 Class $80 Reg 8:30-9:15 RDS 9:30-12-2:15-5:30 Adv Ent/Info: Rochester Chess Center 221 Norris Drive, Rochester NY 14610 (585)442-2430

Light squared Bishop Hero & loyal f,e,d soldiers.

the critical position after the 24th moves.

V. Woodward (1943) - M. Procyk (2039)

Finals Match of the AQE Excellence Tournament- Main Place Mall Buffalo, NY 1/20/07

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 c5 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 f6 5.e3 Bg4 6.Bb5 Rc8 7.0-0 e6 8.Qe1 Bh5 9.Nc3 a6 10.Be2 Bf7 11.Qh4 g6 12.Rad1 Bg7 13.d4 c:d 14.e:d Nge7 15.g4 h5 16.g5 Nf5 17.Qf2 f:g 18.f:g b5 19.Kh1 0-0 20.Nb1 Nb4 21.c3 Nc2 22.Bc1 Qb6 23.Bd3 Nc:d4 24.B:f5 g:f 25.N:d4 Bg6 26.Be3 Qd6 27.Rc1 e5 28.Nf3 f4 29.Bd2 Be4 30.c4 b:c 31.b:c d4 32.a3 Rf5 33.Bb4 Qg6 34.Nbd2 Bc6 35.Rce1 R:g5 36.Rg1 Rg4 37.Rg2 e4 38.Nh4 e3 39.N:g6 e:f 40.Ne7+ Kh8 41.R1g1 f:gQ+ 42.K:g1 B:g2 43.N:c8 d3 44.Kf2 Bd4+ 45.Ke1 Bb7 46.Nb3 Be3 47.Bc3 Kh7 0:1

Opening so passive and then game became so agressive. For a long time, the spectators thought black is losing. Hard game. At the end I had only 45 seconds to spare.

Congratulations to All!

It was a fine showing by all those who attended and also by all those who made possible the just completed Alliance for Quality Education Scholastic and Open Chess Tournament at the Main Place Mall on Saturday January 20, 2007.

The Open section was won by Rev. Marijan Procyk with a perfect 4/4, while second was shared by John Dolan, Mark Johnson, Pashawn Romer, and Harish Srinivasan all with 3/4. Biggest upset honors goes to Benjamin Walker Havey with a 542 point kill!

In the Grade 3-5 Section, Randall Beach was clear first with a perfect 4/4 and finishing second with 3/4 were Walker Darling and Timothy Banks (Darling was declared second by virtue of better tie-breaks).

The 4 way tie atop of the Grade 6-8 section of Marcus Nelson, Morgan Beach, Partho Bhattacharya, and Tyler Smith was decided by the ever exciting 5 minute blitz tie breaks. Bhattacharya came out victorious with Beach finishing second.

Thank you Mr. Michael McDuffie for running another fine event.

Tournament this Saturday!

ARCHANGEL CHESS SCHOLASTIC & OPEN

Buffalo, NY Saturday, January 20, 2007; Main Place Mall 2nd floor Community Room,

3SS Game/45, Two sections Open and Scholastic, Reg 8-915, Rounds 10 12 2, EF $20/Open $15/scholastic (free lunch for scholastic players). Trophies for 1st and 2nd Scholastic, Prize fund for Open (based on 20 paid entries) $100 $60 $40, class prize of $50 For more information contact Mr. Michael McDuffie at arcangel8chess@yahoo.com or ARCHANGEL 8 CHESS ACADEMY, 60F GUILFORD LANE, BUFFALO, NY 14221

Please comment on this post if you plan on playing!

KID 4 pawns

position after 28...Ne5

Here is a King's Indian Defense (KID) game that I played recently. Since we often play this opening, I thought it might be interesting to replay. I guess during such sharp games, often I think that I stood better, but I also was always afraid that that might be true for my opponent at some point too. Are there any questions at any move? In order to make it easier go to: http://www.redhotpawn.com/gameanalysis/boardhistory.php?gameid=2911865 It should work fine. After you see it just click back arrow on uper left corner. Marijan [Event "Clan challenge"] [Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"] [Date "2006.12.19"] [Round "?"] [White "procyk"] [Black "rotk"] [WhiteRating "1859"] [BlackRating "1784"] [Result "1-0"] [GameId "2911865"] 1. d4 Ng8f6 2. c4 g6 3. Nb1c3 Bf8g7 4. e4 O-O 5. f4 d6 6. Ng1f3 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Bf1e2 exd5 9. cxd5 Rf8e8 10. e5 dxe5 11. fxe5 Nf6g4 12. Bc1g5 Qd8b6 13. O-O Ng4xe5 14. Nf3xe5 Bg7xe5 15. Be2c4 Qb6xb2 16. d6 Re8f8 17. Bc4xf7 Kg8g7 18. Bf7d5 Qb2xc3 19. Rf1xf8 Kg7xf8 20. Qd1f1 Bc8f5 21. Ra1d1 Nb8d7 22. g4 Kf8g7 23. gxf5 h6 24. Bg5e7 Qc3b2 25. Qf1f3 Qb2xh2 26. Kg1f1 Be5f6 27. fxg6 Qh2h4 28. Rd1e1 Nd7e5 29. Re1xe5 1-0

Who would you want to be? Quiz for 1/16/07

Which side would you prefer to play? What if you were white here and you were playing someone 400 points higher? White to move. What is the move to make?

A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!

OK, so I don't have a kingdom to give back to you, but I will give you my undying gratitude, if you give me back my missing knight. It was probably picked up by one of the players at the January event at my office on Saturday 1/6. Please check your set, to see if you have an extra black knight with a MM written in black marker on the bottom of it. If you find it, please let me know.

How do I do this?

One of our active members was having some difficulty in responding to these posts. So I thought I might try to give a quick tutorial:

1)After accessing www.buffalochess.blogspot.com put your cursor over one of the post's comments and click on it.

2)This will bring you to the "post a comment" screen.

2b)Now, for those of you who do not yet have a Goggle account, select the "sign up here" in the lower right hand corner. (You can skip creating a Goggle account, and still post comments by signing in as anonymous. See Step 5 below. (I suggest you just put your name or initials at the end of your comment, though, if you wish those to know who authored the comment.)

2c)You will be directed to a new screen where you will fill out a short form. All you need is an already exsiting email address, make up a password, and make up a "blog handle" if you like (ie I choose "the chessdoctor"). Once you sign up with a Goggle account you will be able to skip Steps 2b&c in the future.

3. Write your comment in the leave a comment box.

4. Fill in the word identification box.

5. Choose an identity. [If you created a Goggle account, you fill in your email address in the user section not your "blog handle". Then type in your password.] (If you wish to be anonymous, then just select that option. )

6. Select publish your comment and you might be done. If it gives you back the same screen but an error message it may be that you typed the word verification incorrectly, (often the u and v are hard to discern), just retype the new word verification and hit publish again. Now you are done.

In the future, if you have a Goggle account, you can even add a picture to go with your comments, by going to the blogsite and just selecting "sign in" in the upper right hand corner. Just sign into your Goggle account under the new blogger area with your email address and your password. This will then take you to your "dashboard" where you can then edit your profile including adding your picture.

I hope this helps.

Don't Forget The Grand Prix in Rochester This Saturday

January 13, 2007 Rochester Monthly Grand Prix GPP: 10 Enhanced Rochester, New York 4SS, RDS 1&2 G/60, RDS 3&4 G/90 @RCC. $150-90-60, Class $80. Reg 8:30-9:15, RDS 9:30-12-2:15-5:30. EF $30. Adv Ent/Info: Rochester Chess Center, 221 Norris Drive, Rochester, NY 14610. (585)442-2430.

Missed mate!!

The first position was reached in my game against Roy Hamann over the board in a Petroff defense. Quite surprising in itself. White to move. Black(Roy) is threatening in his next move ...Bc6 skewering my queen. I played 24.fxg6!? and the game continued 24...Bc6 25.gxh7+ Kg7? and we reached the second diagram position. This position is already won for White!(+12.55) and I played the winning(but not the best) continuation 26.Rxc6! and black replied with 26...bxc6??. Unfortunately I missed mate in 3 after this and ended up losing the game!!. Can you find the mate in 3 for white starting at move 27.

The results are in! Decemeber Main Place Mall Event

The Alliance for Quality Education Tournament at the Main Place Mall has been rated and the results are available at the following link: http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200612021891.0-13178931 Congratulations to Mark Johnson, Evan Ashton, and Rael Dolan the winners of the Open, Grades 6-9, and Grades 3-5 sections respectively. Watch out, however, for Malcolm Nelson, he certainly is a way better player than his current rating. I predict he will be doing much better in scholastic events and adult opens in the future and this will be no surprise to me. Thanks to Mr. Michael Mc Duffie for running a fine event. Remember he will be having a tournament at the Main Place Mall on the third Saturday of each month starting next weekend throgh May. See prior post under Arch Angel Chess for more information.

Where to Begin?

This may seem to be an age old question, but I invite our audience to answer the recent questions I have been posed:

What are your guiding principles for a good chess opening?

Should a beginner stick to following the general accepted opening moves in common openings like the Ruy Lopez or Sicilian for example?

What do you think? Quiz for 1/7/07

This may be more of an essay question. Which side would you prefer to be? What do you think should be done? White to move.

Results of the It's January And No Snow in Buffalo Free Rated Tournament

Congratulations to Roy Hamann who finished clear first and undefeated with a 4.5/5. Congrats go out to all, however, for supporting local chess-especilly the young players from Clarence and Rochester! 1 Roy Hamann B6 W4 B3 W2 B5 1743 12469067 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.5 4.5 3 David Biddle B 8 W 2 W 1 B 4 W 6 1515 12560878 1.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 2 Harish Srinvasan W 7 B 3 W 6 B 1 B 9 1666 13247130 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.5 3.5 4 William Storr W9 B 1 W 7 W 3 B10 1475 10134391 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 5 Evan Ashton B10 W 6 B 8 W 7 W 1 1250 12935206 1.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 6 Mark Mieth W1 B 5 B 2 W9 B3 1152 12975121 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 7 Brady Shannon B2 W10 B4 B5 W8 1125 12911554 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 8 Siddhartha Nutulapati W3 B9 W5 B10 B7 661 13416991 0.0 1.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 10 Adam Schunk W5 B7 W9 W8 W4 unr. 12939429 0.0 0.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 9 Louis Williams B4 W8 B10 B6 W2 unr. 12683745 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Faster or Better than a Super GM? Quiz for 1/5/07

Hard to believe but our nation's very own Super GM blundered in this recent game and was knocked out of the ongoing ACP Rapid World Cup Tournament. Can you find the better move for Nakamura (white) vs. Gelfand? White to move.

EVEN MORE LOCAL RATED TOURNAMENTS!

I just received the following information via email from Mr. Michael McDuffie of Arch Angel Chess. This is great news, now 3 out of every 4 weekends for the next 5 months, there will be rated chess tournaments in Western New York! Let's support local chess. "I have made arrangements to host a monthly chess tournament on the second floor of the Main Place Mall, 390 Main Street, Buffalo, New York for the following dates.SCHOLASTIC PLAYERS WILL RECEIVE A FREE LUNCH!Three Round Swiss, January 20th, 2007. Entry Fee for the Scholastic Section will be $10 in advance or $15 CASH at the door. Open Section will be $15 in advance and $20 CASH at the door.Three Round Swiss, February 17th, 2007.Four Round Swiss, March 10th, 2007.Four Round Swiss, April 14th, 2007. If you are interested in playing please send me your entry along with your check or money order made payable to ARCHANGEL 8 CHESS ACADEMY, 60F GUILFORD LANE, BUFFALO, NY 14221FOR MORE INFORMATION EMAIL ME AT THIS ADDRESS.THANKS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

"In order to have chess clocks, notation pads, demonstration board and other chess equipment, I would like to invite you to the ARCHANGEL 8 SOCIAL GET TOGETHER, FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2007, 5PM TILL 9PM AT BIRCHFIELDS RESTAURANT, FREE BUFFET AND CASH BAR, ADULTS ONLY, 1435 MAIN STREET, BUFFALO, NY, DONATIONS ARE ONLY $5.00, TICKETS CAN BE PURCHASED IN ADVANCE BY CALLING ME AT 481-4789.Its a start for us to socialize and have some fun for the new year.So bring a friend and come out to support the scholastic chess program."

He also wishes to get some scholastic players to the following two scholastic events:

CARMELLO ANTHONY YOUTH DEVELOPMENT CENTER WILL BE HOSTING A SCHOLASTIC CHESS TOURNAMENT, SATURDAY, MAY 12, 2007, IN BALTIMORE, MD.

NEW YORK STATE SCHOLASTIC in Saratoga NY on Saturday March 3 and Sunday March 4th, 2007.If there is enough interest we can charter a bus and stay overnight in Saratoga, NY. (Near Albany, NY)Details to follow as we get more interest.Any Ideas for a good fundraiser or grant money?"

Bradford, PA Chess Center

I just received the following email that my interest our members especially those living in the Southern Tier:

Based upon our survey results, we have decided to establish the following temporary hours for the Bradford Chess Center: Saturday starting January 6 Sunday starting January 7 Wednesday starting March 21 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM We will re-evaluate our hours based upon the number of participants. If you would like to see the club open different days or hours, please e-mail us your preferences. If you have questions or want to confirm who is playing at the club, please call Todd Hennard at 814-598-1698. Please forward this message to other chess players who might be interested. The Bradford Chess Center is located at 78 Main Street, Bradford, PA 16701.

COME GET YOUR FREE RATINGS POINTS!

Don't worry SpongeBob and others, NO MONEY IS NEEDED! There will be no entry fee for these tournaments. You just need to have your USCF membership up to date.

As promised here is the schedule for the upcoming free USCF rated tournaments in our area: This Saturday January 6 from 10AM to 4PM @ Excelsior Orthopaedics Niagara Falls Office Game/30 4 games (format to be determined by number of participants). Rated both quick and regular. Directions can be had at map link

(Please comment below if you are coming, to this Saturday's event.) Wednesday January 31 630-1030PM- The First Annual Buffalo "Blitzzard" Tournament @ Niagara County Community College Room G244 Game/10 7/SS Saturday February 3 from 4-10 PM @ University of Buffalo Student Union Room 210 Game/30 4/SS Rated both quick and regular. Saturday March 3rd Date/time and format to be determined. Saturday April 7 from 4-10 PM @ University of Buffalo Student Union Room 210 Game/30 4/SS Rated both quick and regular. Saturday May 5 from 4-10 PM @ University of Buffalo Student Union Room 210 Game/30 4/SS Rated both quick and regular.

The following is the USCF rating list for active adult Buffalo-Niagara tournament chess players as of 1/1/2007

1. IM Ken Regan 2436
2. Davis, Lionel 2271
3. Procyk, Marijan 2039
4. DuBose, Douglas 2021
5. Katz, Alana 1877
6. Hoak, Donald 1757
7. Hamann, Roy 1743
8. Clause, Norman 1721
9. Warner, Tom 1716
10. Srinivasan, Harish 1666 (P21)
11. Westcott, Glenn 1660
12. Matuch, Greg 1641
13. Borgioli, Mark 1639 (P10)
14. Miller, David 1584
15. Poderbyi, Olexa 1562
16. Fling, Todd 1557
17. Gillmeister, Paul 1545
18. Biddle, David 1515 (P19)
19. Storr, William 1475 (P4)
20. Ken Winfield 1426 (P25)
21. Mark Johnson 1387
22. Rich, William 1333
23. Voisin, Robert 1326
24. Davis, James 1303
25. Dolan, John 1289
26. Nilsson, Lars 1242
27. Skok, Michael 1171
28. Falsone, Carl 1165
29. Mieth, Mark 1152
30. Shannon, Brady 1125
31. Kessler, Jonathan 1087 (P4)
32. Buennagel, Francis 1060 (P5)
33. Procyk, Stephen 949 (P11)
34. Piza, Rich 881 (P5)
35. Barton, Greg 847
36. McDuffie, Michael 520 (P10) Provisional Unrated Stayner, Dan 1798* (P3) Carroll, Matthew 1481* (P3) Rivers, Tim 1116* (P3) Troy, Paul 749* (P3)