The New World Champion

Vishy Anand of India has captured his second World Championship and is the undisputed World Chess Champion. Barring any further FIDE shenanigans he will defend his regained title in a head to head match with Vladimir Kramnik next year. The next challengers/candidate series will began next year and the winner of that is to face Topalov in a head to head match. The Topalov-Candidate Match winner will then face the Anand-Kramnik Winner. Sounds simple doesn't it?

12th Arkport Open-Marijan's Games

It was good to play in 12th Arkport this past Saturday, September 22. Thank you, Harish, for driving David and me. Final result for me was fine, although I hoped to play at least 2 games with higher rated players, but in order to do that you need to win each game.

The full cross table for the tournament is at http://main.uschess.org/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,201/ and then type in 12th Arkport

I managed to win first one. Play with pawns at the end was nice. Worl - Procyk

Second game was a draw against Shao, who is fast improving. He was pawn up, after inaccuracies in my opening play, but I fought hard to secure draw, which you can see from the following game. Wrong color Bishop and a-Pawn up is a theoretical draw. I was putting of to learn Nimzo-Indian (mainly I tried to avoid it), but now I need to do something about that. Procyk - Shao

Third game was a strange one. I played against 1200+, but I had feeling he was much stronger. He made big mistake in 10th move, loosing a piece, so all was over in 13. Zhow - Procyk The best game was my last game with Craig A La Salle (2141) who is a fine player from Rochester. I only used about half an hour in this game because I had played a similar game on line just a few days ago. By transposition we reached the same position after 17 moves as I had had in the on line game. It was pure chance that I got to play it again in Arkport. Although the 18th move went differently, it did not matter as white was in command by then anyways. We can first look at the on line game. Procyk - Ichibanov And now let us look at game from Arkport which brought me a share of 1st place. Procyk - La Salle If you have any question about some particular move in these games against La Salle or Ichibanov, I can probably provide an answer. La Salle asked me after the game where he went wrong, and Ichibanov wrote: "Did I miss any way out after 17 d6? I looked long and hard but failed to find a successful defense." Possibly it was all over at that point. What do you think?

My Games at Arkport Open

It was very nice tournament at Arkport with 35 players. Congrats to Marijan who won the tourney with 3.5/5 and to Bob Shao and Tom Warner who shared the U1800 class prize with 2.5/4. Also to David Biddle who tied first for U1600 class prize. It will be good to see their games as well. For me, although I only obtained only 2/4, I was glad I played 3 players who were atleast 200 above my rating and I managed to win one of them(although I was lucky after a piece blunder). The two games that I lost were very interesting games where I fought hard but did not manage to hold. According to my calculations my rating should go up a little. My first game was an easy win, nothing much interesting. I am posting my games from round 2,3 and 4. Round 2 Harish Srinivasan vs Robert Feldstein Round 3 Dygert vs Harish Srinivasan Round 4 Harish Srinivasan vs James Hiltunen

The Return of Tom Warner Tournament Director!

I just received the following from the much respected Mr. Thomas Warner:

QUICK CHESS TOURNAMENT Sat. October 6 at the Sardinia Community Center, 12320 Savage Rd, Sardinia,NY Must be a USCF member to play(can join at tournament) 2 Sections: Adults 3SS G 29, EF $20 RDS: 10,11,12 Prizes based on entries Scholastic- Round Robin- play as many games as possible in 3hrs! EF: $10 Games start at 10am All Scholastic players will receive a prize! For Info call Tom Warner 716-496-5230

The Coveted Arkport Open is this Saturday

The 12th Annual Arkport Open is this Saturday. It is a 6 point Grand Prix event and will be run by Rochester Chess Center's Ron Lohrman at The Arkport Village Hall, 6 Park Ave. Arkport, NY 14807. (Arkport is 5 miles north of Hornell, NY.)

It is a single section 4 round Swiss Event Games 1&2 are G/60 while 3&4 are G/90. Round Times are 10-12-215-530. Registration is from 9-945AM and costs $25 to enter. For more information call (607) 295-9858.

Report of the September Buffalo Grand Prix

1st grader Samantha Rodriguez receiving her ‘Buffalo Bank’

fromArchangel 8 Chess director Michael McDuffie.

Greater Buffalo Saving Bank provided the banks for kids.

Dakaylah Winfield, Bethany Cates and Najalah Habeeb awarded trophies from

Archangel 8 Chess Academy director Michael McDuffie, ‘the Chess Ambassador’.

Pawnmaster’s Chess Notes 9/17/07 By David “Pawnmaster” McDuffie Players from places far and wide like Thorold, Ontario, Erie, PA, Niagara Falls, Rochester as well as Buffalo area players gathered at the Main Place Mall this past Saturday, Sept 15th for the Alliance for Quality in Educations’ September Buffalo Open. Close to 100 people, including on-lookers and family members gathered to participate in this 10 point(enhanced) USCF Grand Prix event. Winning the 1st place trophy and $250 in the ‘Open Section’ was Buffalo’s NM Lionel Davis, who as a youth learned chess at the fabled Inner City Chess Club on Fillmore & Ferry. Sharing the $150 second place prize was Luka Glinsky, an 11th grader from Erie, Pa and Tony Kimbrough, a local adult player who frequents places like ‘Spot Coffee’ in downtown Buffalo. In the ‘Reserve Section’ two area youth players Evan Ashton, from Clarence High, and Yakun Hu, from Amherst Central, tied for 1st place . John Johnson, of Rochester, and David Biddle, from Tonawanda tied for 3rd. The Beginners’ Section saw 5th grader Julius Spencer edge out Miles James, a 1st grade student who learns chess at the Jefferson Avenue Library on Wednesday evenings from 6-8pm. Virgina McArthur a 5th grader from Ontario, Canada finished 3rd. Buffalo’s School Board President Mary Ruth Kapsiak, sponsored the Scholastic Tournament in which all players received a "Buffalo Bank" (a coin bank shaped as a buffalo which were donated by the Greater Buffalo Savings Bank). Reciving trophies were Ryan Madden, Aaron McDuffie, and Adam Schunk who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively. Trophies for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place Girls were won by Bethany Cates, Najalah Habeeb and Dakaylah Winfield.

Here’s a couple of games from the Scholastic Tournament:

Austin Kossow vs. Garrett Fryer

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Bc6 dc6 5. Ne5 Ne4 6. Qe2 Bc5 7. Qe4 f6 8. Nc6 1-0 (Black resigns because of the forced loss of his queen.) For the interactive viewer click below: http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1190069032

Bethany Cates vs. Najalah Habeeb

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Ng5 Nf6 5. Nf7 Qe7 6. Nh8 Qd6 7. Nf7 Qd4 8. d3 Qf2# (Black wins by focusing on her goal despite her rough start!!) For the interactive viewer click: http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1190069336

Report of 9/8 Rochester Grand Prix and Announcements

Pawnmaster’s Chess Notes By David “Pawnmaster” McDuffie

19 players including 4 ‘chess masters’ and 2 ‘experts’ competed at the Rochester Chess Center, this past Saturday, Sept 8th, in the Jenifer Woods Memorial Grand Prix Chess Tournament.

The tournament was won by NM Matt Parry with a perfect 4/4. He collected $150 for his efforts. Tied for 2nd-4th and sharing the 2nd & 3rd place prizes totaling $150 were FM Igor Nikolayev, FM Isay Golyak, and expert Luka Glinski. They each scored 3 wins and 1 loss. Buffalo’s David “Pawnmaster” McDuffie, won the class prize of $80 and finished tied for 5th place overall with 2 wins, 1 draw & 1 loss. Other Buffalo chess players competing were NM Lionel Davis who scored 1 win, 2 draws & 1 loss and Michael McDuffie, ‘Buffalo’s Chess Ambassador’, who finished with 1 win & 3 losses.

Below is the exciting 3rd round game featuring ‘the Pawnmaster, playing the white pieces vs. Frederic Harris., playing black. 1.e4 c5, 2.Nf3 Nc6, 3.d4 cd4, 4.Nd4 Nf6, 5.Nc3 e5, 6.Ndb5 d6, 7.Bg5 a6, 8.Na3 b5, 9.Nd5 Be7, 10.Ne7 Ne7, 11.Bf6 gf6 (white created a weakness in black’s position, now where will black’s king hide?), 12.c3 f5, 13.Bd3 fe4, 14.Be4 d5, 15.Bf3 Be6, 16.Nc2 Qc7, 17.g3 Rd8, 18.00 Rg8, 19.Re1 Ng6, 20.Kh1 e4, 21.Bg2 Ne5, 22.Nd4 Bc8, 23.a4 Qb6 (white is looking to stretch blacks defensive forces by attacking in the center and now on the side). 24.ab5 ab5 25.Qh5 Nd3, 26.Re2 Rg7, 27.f3 Kf8, 28.Qh4Re8, 29.fe4 b4, 30.Rf1 bc3, 31.bc3 Ne5 32.Nf5 Bf5, 33.ef5 Qa6, 34.Ref2 Ng4, 35.Rf4 Ne3 (black falls for the bait, Nf6 is recommended instead), 36.f6 Nf1, 37. Qh6 Ng3, 38.hg3 Re1, 39. Kh2 Ke8, 40.Qg7 Qe6, 41. Qg8 Kd7, 42.Rb4 Qf5, 43.Rb7 Kc6, 44.Bd5 black resigns due to the forced loss of his Queen. To replay the game click on the link below:

http://chess.maribelajar.com/chesspublisher/viewgame.php?id=1189550589

The Archangel Chess Academy, headed by Mr. McDuffie will be sponsoring a chess tournament for youth this Friday, September 14th, from 3-6pm at the Main Place Mall. There will also be a US Chess Federation Grand Prix Event - ‘The Alliance for Quality in Education’s September Buffalo Open Chess Tournament, held this Saturday, September 15th, starting at 9am on the 2nd floor of the Main Place Mall.

To contact David “Pawnmaster” McDuffie, for questions or more chess information email http://www.blogger.com/pawn.master@hotmail.com

AQE BUFFALO OPEN SEPT. GRAND PRIX

MAIN PLACE MALL 390 MAIN STREET BUFFALO, NY 14202 GUARANTEED 10 ENHANCED GRAND PRIX POINTS as per Chess Cafe, check your Chess Life magazine or Chess Cafe Grand Prix Listings. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, 2007, Next Grand Prix Tournament October 20th, 2007. REGISTRATION/CHECK IN NO LATER THAN 9AM. 4 Rounds, Swiss Format, Rounds 1&2 Game 45, Rounds 3&4 Game 60. Rounds start at 9:30am, 11:20am, 1:1-pm and 3:30pm. Late entries will be forced to take a 1/2 point bye. Byes are available prior to each round. GUARANTEED 1ST $250 & 2ND PLACE $150 FOR MASTERS OPEN SECTION, ALL OTHER PRIZES BASED UPON 20 ENTRIES. ie. 3rd place $100, U1900 & U1750 Class prize $75 each. U1600 Section Cash prizes based upon 20 entries, 1st Place Trophy and $150, 2nd Place $90, 3rd Place $60. SCHOLASTIC SECTION: Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place winners. Masters Open Entry Fee $50, CASH ONLY AT SITE! U1600 Entry Fee $35, CASH ONLY AT SITE! Scholastic Entry Fee $15, CASH ONLY AT SITE! Advanced registrations are greatly appreciated no later than monday, Sept 10th, 2007. Mail checks to ARCHANGEL 8 CHESS ACADEMY, 60F Guilford Lane, Buffalo, NY 14221. Register with full name, USCF ID number, USCF current rating, Section participating, along with check for confirmed participating. Home schoolers, and females are strongly encouraged to participate.