Next Tournament

Will you be representing the USA?

Unfortunately our beloved Buffalo Sabres did not beat Canada's Capital City team yesterday as we all had hoped. However, perhaps, you can get some measure of revenge by taking on our over the border rivals this weekend in chess! There will be once again an excellent event at the Niagara Falls Canada Shriner's Club this Saturday and Sunday. Last year John Dolan, Rev. Marijan Procyk, and I attended. I will once again be going. Who is with me? Who's got my back? Come On! USA! USA! USA! Details regarding the tournament were in this prior post on our blog: http://buffalochess.blogspot.com/2007/01/niagara-falls-ontario-canada-open-march.html

Buffalo Niagara Chess Corner gets national recognition!

Chess Live Wire, the official newsletter of Chess-Live, has picked our blog as the "hottest chess blog" in their Feb. 23rd newsletter. You can see it at the bottom of the following link: http://www.chess-live.com/cp/view.jsp?site=uscf&page=news (I had submitted it for consideration.)

The Results Are In! EKD Ratings

The recently completed Ellen Kennedy Day Tournamnet rating report is now available at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200702178931.0-12975121 Congratulations (once again) go out to FATHER MARIJAN PROCYK the winner of the Open (Antoine Thompson) section. Also to YAKUN HU and AUSTIN J KOSSOW the winners of the Grade 6 to 8 (Quadir Habeeb) and Grade 3-5 (Sherman Thomas) sections respectively. Look out for STEPHEN V DEMJANENKO the talented Canisius High School senior who raised his rating the most of non-provisional rated players. He is up 105 points to 1579 after scoring upsets over both the top rated 2170 player as well as a 1748 player. Also beware of GLENN P CONLIN who had the single highest upset of 758 rating points! Thanks again to Mr. Michael McDuffie who organized and directed the tournament, as well as to Assistant Tournament Director Mr. Thomas Warner who over saw the scholastic sections. Lastly a sincere appreciation to Mr. Jerry Nash of the USCF who came to our little corner of the world to further promote chess in the Buffalo-Niagara area. The deciding game in the final round of the open section between Demjanenko and Procyk can be replayed here: http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1171857026

Knight vs Two pawns

Position given to me by GM Kiriakov. White to move. Interestingly white has a win!! How?? I tried for long time before GM gave me the solution.

Buffalo News Article on this weekend's Chess Event

In case some of you missed it, here is the link for the article in this past Sunday's paper: http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20070218/1056309.asp

Center blockade - no access to his majesty.

The critical position in the final and deciding game of the tournament after 17...Nd6
Demjanenko - Procyk
Caro-Kann Panov-Botvinnik Attack with 5...e6
February 17, 2007 Buffalo, NY
Finals of the Ellen Kennedy Day Tournament
Early this morning, I thought I had posted my games in this tournament and was surprised that it was not recorded. Wonder why? Maybe I was too tired and did it incorrectly. So here it is again.
I am presenting two games that are similar. Look in particular for the well posted black knights (especially in 2nd game) and powerless white bishops. (Posted as .PGN . You can also click on the link.) 1. [Event "Ellen Kennedy"] [Date "2_17_07"] [Round "2"] [White "Davis James"] [Black "Marijan Procyk"] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O d5 5.d4 O-O 6.Nbd2 Ne4 7.e3 Bg4 8.h3 Bd7 9.Nxe4 dxe4 10.Ne5 f5 11.c4 Be6 12.b3 c6 13.Bb2 Qc7 14.Qc2 a5 15.Rac1 Na6 16.a3 Rad8 17.Rfd1 c5 18.Qb1 cxd4 19.exd4 Bxe5 20.dxe5 Nc5 21.Bd4 Nd3 22.Rxd3 exd3 23.Qb2 f4 24.Bd5 Qd7 25.Bb6 Bxd5 26.cxd5 Qxh3 27.gxf4 Qg4 28.Kf1 Qf3 29.Ke1 Rxd5 30.Be3 Rfd8 31.Kd2 Qe2 0-1 http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1171856218 2. [Event "Ellen Kennedy"] [Date "2_17_07"] [Round "4"] [White "Demjanenko Stephen"] [Black "Marijan Procyk"] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.a3 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Ne4 9.Bb2 O-O 10.Bd3 f5 11.O-O Nc6 12.cxd5 exd5 13.c4 Be6 14.Qc2 Rc8 15.Rac1 Kh8 16.Qe2 Re8 17.Rfe1 Nd6 18.Ne5 dxc4 19.Bxc4 Bxc4 20.Qxc4 Nxe5 21.Qa4 Rxc1 22.Rxc1 Nd3 0-1 http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1171857026
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As a bonus, I am adding my game from the 3rd round. That was the second time in tournament play, that I used a "mysterious" rook move (10.Rc1). The first time was in Niagara Falls, Canada. It is interesting how my King was never in danger. I am sure that David and I will play more of these same variations in the future. 3. [Event "Ellen Kennedy"] [Date "2_17_07"] [Round "3"] [White "Marijan Procyk"] [Black "Biddle David"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Be3 c5 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.Rc1 cxd4 11.cxd4 Qa5 12.Kf1 e6 13.h4 b6 14.g4 Bb7 15.h5 Rad8 16.hxg6 hxg6 17.f4 b5 18.Bb3 Qb6 19.Rc3 Na5 20.d5 Qd6 21.Bd4 Nxb3 22.axb3 exd5 23.e5 Qd7 24.Rch3 Qe6 25.Ng3 f5 26.gxf5 gxf5 27.Qh5 a5 28.Qh7 Kf7 29.Nxf5 Rg8 30.Rh6 Qc8 31.e6 1-0

http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1171857447

All games look easy when I look at them right now, but it was very hard to play them.
Any comments?

Tim will be there this Saturday! Will You?

There is another Open and Scholastic Tournament this Saturday at the Main Place Mall. Tim Rivers will be there and will be the last chance to see and play him before he leaves to Texas. For more details on the tournament see
Please comment to this post if you plan on participating.

Happy Valentine's Day! Quiz for 2/14

White to move.
Remember chess can be romantic too.

No Chess Club Meeting Tonight 2/14

There is no chess club meeting tonight 2/14 because NCCC is closed due to inclement weather. Unfortunately, this was to be Tim Rivers last meeting before he leaves for Texas, so I would like to wish him well, and good chess, in Texas.

Stop your KIDding Around? Quiz for 2/12

After 13.b4
internet player vs. chessdoctor
In our continued look at King's Indian Defense (KID) Positions, here's one from a recent online game of mine. It is black to move. What should I've done?
To see the complete game on an interactive viewer click below:

Quiz for 2/10

Here is another interesting position that was played by novice chess players at the Stella Niagara school chess club. They are not taught openings so this is not a typical Sicilian sequence. Black thought he was clever attacking the pinned knight twice.
The moves were 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3. d4 Bg4 4. d5 Nd7 5. d6 Ne5
White to move.

Was this a proper sacrifice? Quiz for 2/8

Black had previously sacrificed a rook to open up the white king side. Black to move. What now?

USCF Scholastic and FIDE Director to Visit WNY

Mr. Jerry Nash, the USCF Scholastic and FIDE Director will be in the area next week at the behest of Mr. Michael McDuffie. Here is the recent email Michael sent out.

For Immediate Release For more information: Michael A. Mc Duffie, 739 Main Street,Buffalo, New York Chess Ambassador of Buffalo Fabiola Friot 716-855-1522 ext 2 716-481-4789

February 5, 2007Buffalo, New York—Jerry Nash, Scholastic and FIDE Director, United States Chess Federation, will be visiting Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York area schools, and a chess club to promote scholastic chess.

On Friday, February 16, 2007, he will be speaking to Math teachers, School Board members, Educators, Principals, Chess Coaches and parents on using chess to teach math skills, critical thinking skills, and character development. A brief press conference will take place at 3:45pm at the Frank E Merriweather Jr Branch Library, 1324 Jefferson Avenue and East Utica, Buffalo. The teaching session will start at 4pm for Math teachers, Educators, School Board members and parents. This is a free event. Advance registration can be completed by emailing your name, title, school, and phone to arcangel8chess@yahoo.com.

The local host chess club, Archangel 8 Chess Academy is an affiliate with the United States Chess Federation, a national organization that governs over the chess community in the United States. The Urban Knights Chess Club will have Jerry Nash at their weekly chess class held at 6pm on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 to introduce to the club, middle game chess tactics and strategies.

Lastly, you can meet Jerry Nash on Saturday, February 17, 2007 at 9am, on the second floor of the Main Place Mall, downtown Buffalo. The Archangel 8 Chess Academy and Alliance for Quality Education will host The Ellen Kennedy Day Open Chess Tournament. An open Swiss tournament for USCF members where they will play 4 Rounds of chess. First games start at 10am. The tournament will have the Antoine M Thompson Section (Open Players), the Quadir Habeeb section (3-5 grades students), Bill Zachery section (6-8 grade students), the Sherman Thomas section (9-12 grades) and the Paul B. Turecki (Seniors 65+). Prizes are 1st and 2nd Place Trophies in each section. Open section prizes will $100 for 1st place, $60 for 2nd, $40 for 3rd and Class Prize $50. Highest new unrated player will win Trophy. Entry fee is $20.00 and you can register at arcangel8chess@yahoo.com

Czech Benoni - I prefer modern Benoni

Position after 17.Bd3?
Marijan Procyk (2050) - Alanna Katz (1853)
Final Round, Free February Tournament, Buffalo, NY Feb. 03, 2007
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5 4.Nc3 d6 5.e4 Be7 6.f4 e:f 7.B:f4 0-0 8. Nf3 Nbd7 9.Be2 Ne8 10.0-0 g6 11.e5 d:e5 12.N:e5 Bf6 13.Ng4 Bd4+ 14.Kh1 Ndf6 15.N:f6 N:f6 16.Bg5 Bf5 17.Bd3 B:d3 18.Q:d3 Qb6 19.Nb5 Nh5 20.N:d4 c:d4 21.b3 Ng7 22.Bf6 Qd6 23.Q:d4 Nf5 24.R:f5 g:f5 25.Qh4 1:0
It was good to play in Free February Chess Tournament this Saturday at UB. Even though my rating went up alittle, the games that I played were not without my share of mistakes. This was my first time using the MonRoi electronic scoresheet in a tournament, and I still need to get used to it. This is my last game. The knowledge of the King's Indian Defense (KID) four pawns attack helped me a lot here. Alanna mentioned that 15. Nxf6 was a mistake and better would be Bxf6. I would appreciate any comments you may have. I still need to learn how to use my Fritz- a generous gift I received from our good chessdoctor. (Can I have free ticket to Australia?)
To replay the game with an interactive chess board player click the link below:

I'll only play if someone else will pay for my rating points!?

There was an interesting thread that was started commenting on our tournament calender. I was asked to bring more attention to it. It would be enlightening to find out what each of our member's view is on this matter.
The thread begins at:

Results of the Free February Event

Congratulations (again) go to the winner FATHER MARIJAN PROCYK as he was a perfect 4/4. We expect to see this kind of performance when/if he uses his prize of a free entry into this month's Rochester Grand Prix tournament this upcoming Saturday.
Biggest upset honors go to MICHAEL A MC DUFFIE with a 468 point victory, while the greatest post tournament ratings increase goes to JONATHAN D KESSLER. My thanks also go out to the above two players, as Jonathan secured, set up and cleaned up our playing hall, while Mr. Mc Duffie assisted in the tournament directing. Well deserving rewards for their efforts.
The winner of the unrated section and free one year membership to the USCF went to ZHAO, YANFENG "CRILLEN" .
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My thanks also go out to all participants and especially the parents of our junior members. Your involvement keeps over the board tournament chess alive and thriving in our area. Please encourage everyone you know who plays chess to come out to future events in our region. Remember some tournaments, like this one are free and open to all whether USCF members or not.
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The full cross table and pre and post ratings for all players can be found at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200702034631-12808748

Buffalo "Blitz-zard" Results are In!

Fun in the "snow", was had by all yesterday evening. Congratulations: to the winner FATHER MARIJAN PROCYK who won with an undefeated 6.5/7 (No surprise.) to PAUL "DOUGLAS" TROY who increased the most rating points 137! Well done. and to new comer and hopefully one who will not be a stranger SARADHA "Sara" SUKAVANAM who debuted with a rating of 1098 in a strong field. The ratings report is up on the USCF site at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200701313591-12975121