Hamilton Chess Club

Joel Crombie and his dad turned up last night: seems Josh has been hanging our for his tenth birthday so that he can join the chess club. Joel was part of the Hukanui Primary School team that represented the Waikato at the recently held National Schools’ Championship. Club member William Lynn has been tutoring Joel and his teammates. Joel made an important contribution to his teams overall score of 13.5 out of 28, which placed them in  the middle of the pack as far as rankings go. Given Joels considerable enthusiasm there is no doubt that his chess prowess is going to come ahead in leaps and bounds over the next few years. Welcome Joel.

A good turnout last night despite the stormy weather, with fourteen competing in the second half of the Fischer Random Tournament. In the end Michael once again on top with 6 points. Gary and Hilton tied for second equal on 4 points. The starting positions for games 4 5 and 6 are at right, and the final crosstable is below. We will have casual chess next week, or perhaps a mini tournament, depending on the mood of the troops.

Opening preparation went out the window with a  little light hearted fun last night in the form of  Fischer Random minitournament.  The games were played at 15 + 0. An excellent turnout with 17 players present. After the first three rounds of Michael is in the lead,  with Ian and Richard tied on second equal. The starting positions for games 1, 2, 3 are shown in the graphic at left, and the cross table so far is below. Three more rounds of diabolical starting positions next week. Fischer random games are not eligible for club ratings

Something different for the next two weeks! We will play a six round swiss tournament over 2 nights using Chess960 (or Fischer Random Chess). Chess 960 is a chess variant invented and advocated by former World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer, publicly announced on June 19, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It employs the same board and pieces as standard chess; however, the starting position of the pieces on the players’ home ranks is randomized. The random setup renders the prospect of obtaining an advantage through the memorization of opening lines impracticable, compelling players to rely on their talent and creativity. The time control will be 15 + 0, 3 games per night over the six nights. Games wont be used for club rating purposes. These are some quotes about Chess960:

• “If accepted on a professional level, this innovation would mean a return to the golden age of chess: the age of innocence and creativity will return, without us losing any of the essential attractions of the game we love.” – Valery Salov
• “No more theory means more creativity.” – Artur Yusupov
• “The play is much improved over traditional chess because you don’t need to analyze or memorize any book openings. Therefore, your play becomes truly creative and real.” – Svetozar Gligorić
• “Finally, one is no longer obliged to spend the whole night long troubling oneself with the next opponent’s opening moves. The best preparation consists just of sleeping well!” – Péter Lékó

We had 16 last night for an eight round blitz. The first four rounds were 3 + 2, and the last four were played at 5 + 3. Graham and Michael shared the honours, having drawn their individual game. Graham polished up his club rating achieving his all time personal best of 1589, and now ranks as the fourth strongest player in the club. Welcome to a couple of prospective new members Mike, and Cullen, last night as well. The crosstable is below, and club stats and rankings have been updated.

It is now less than one month until the  World Chess Championship 2013, a match between the World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand (winner of the World Chess Championship 2012) and Magnus Carlsen, to determine the 2013 World Chess Champion. It will be held under the auspices of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 6 to 26 November 2013 in Chennai, India. We look forward to the increased public exposure of chess as a consequence and the potential new members that it might bring to the club.

The Fairfield School team features in this week’s edition of the Hamilton Press following their recent win in the Intermediate division of the Waikato School Pupil’s regional final. Club junior members Samuel Eddy and Brandon Cuellar, along with their coach, club member William Lynn, are shown alongside the other two members of the team Maxim Stephens and Jayden Randall. The full article can be accessed here. The National School’s Championship is being held in two weeks at Mount Maunganui. We wish all the Waikato teams every success.

A 3+2 blitz night on Tuesday. In the absence of most of the clubs strongest players it was left to Gary and Richard to take out the honours for the evening. Both scoring a credible 6/7. A pleasing aspect of the night was the number of younger players who took part. A special mention goes to newcomer Sean 2.5/7 and returning member Maxim 3/7. The crosstable is below, and player ratings and statistics have been updated. We will have another blitz next week, and then maybe a themed tournament starting the following week.