Hamilton Chess Club

Gary has sent us some photos from his recent trip to Tromso Norway to watch the chess olympiad. He was there from the 11^th to the 14^th of August leaving on the last day of play. On the left is a selfie of Gary and Fabiano Carauna. For those of you that havent caught up Fabiano has had a recent meteoric rise and is now the No. 2 ranked player in the world. This month he achieved an Elo rating of 2844, becoming the third highest rated player in history. During August – September he won the 2014 Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis, Missouri, one of the strongest tournaments ever held, featuring six of the world’s top ten players, including the world champion Magnus Carlsen. With 7 wins, 3 draws and 0 losses, Caruana achieved a 3100 plus performance rating, possibly the best tournament result in history. As much as we like Magnus, Gary might very well be standing next to a future worlds champion. The next photo is of Gary with Judit Polgar and two members of the Hungarian team. The fourth member had arrived late and Gary offered to sub in on the team if they were short, but in the end his services werent needed. Further photos from the trip can be found here in the library (About > Library > Contributions)

We have two rounds to go on the club rapid which resumes next week. For those of you that have forgotten your current standings in the tournament the crosstable to date can be found here. Games kick off 7:30 so dont be late.

Well done to Nithin for managing a back rank mate on Ian in the final round of last nights blitz tournament. After leaving his queen exposed in the middle of the game Ian was always going to be in trouble, with Nithin eventually managing to trap Ians king in the corner and picking up some valuable club rating points.

Once again Richard blitzed the field scoring 7.5 out of a possible 8, with the nearest rivals being Sivaram and Daniel on 5.5. Continuing a now well established theme Richards’s club rating continues to rise, now 1668 after 109 games. The good news is that at these lofty heights, he can only gain a very few club rating points for every win, while a loss costs him dearly. The cumulative points table across the two weeks of lightning and this week’s crosstable are below. Club rating points have been updated.

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If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then the next  7/10/14 at 7pm area good place to start. We will be playing 8 blitz games at short time control of three minutes per game plus 2 seconds per move. New members are always welcome. Come along and join in the fun.

Club members Joel Sean Calib and Elijah were in Auckland last weekend representing the Waikato in the annual National School Pupils’ tournament. On the left is a picture taken as they were just about to start their match against Hillsbrough – who eventually went on to win the tournament. Joel and Sean had good positions against their respective opponents in this round.  Unfortunately Joel lost on a technicality when he inadvertently  played an illegal move just as he was about to deliver mate.

We had 19 for “Super Blitz” last night at time control 3 minutes, plus 2 seconds per move. Richard and Graham top scored on 6.5 each, while Eddie third (6) and Stefan fourth (5.5). The full crosstable is below. With such a big number of games there has been a bit of movement in club ratings (four members achieving new personal bests, including Dhusar and Craig) which have been updated. We will accumulate points across two nights; there is still a chance to polish up your super blitz score next week. Don’t be late as we have eight games to get through.

Those club members that played in the A division of the recent club round robin better take note!!

MOSCOW — Doctors are blaming a rare electrical imbalance in the brain for the bizarre death of a chess player whose head literally exploded in the middle of a championship game!

No one else was hurt in the fatal explosion but four players and three officials at the Moscow Candidate Masters’ Chess Championships were sprayed with blood and brain matter when Nikolai Titov’s head suddenly blew apart. Experts say he suffered from a condition called Hyper-Cerebral Electrosis or HCE.

“He was deep in concentration with his eyes focused on the board,” says Titov’s opponent, Vladimir Dobrynin. “All of a sudden his hands flew to his temples and he screamed in pain. Everyone looked up from their games, startled by the noise. Then, as if someone had put a bomb in his cranium, his head popped like a firecracker.”

Incredibly, Titov’s is not the first case in which a person’s head has spontaneously exploded. Five people are known to have died of HCE in the last 25 years. The most recent death occurred just three years ago in 2011, when European psychic Barbara Nicole’s skull burst. Miss Nicole’s story was reported by newspapers worldwide, including WWN. “HCE is an extremely rare physical imbalance,” said Dr. Anatoly Martinenko, famed neurologist and expert on the human brain who did the autopsy on the brilliant chess expert. “It is a condition in which the circuits of the brain become overloaded by the body’s own electricity. The explosions happen during periods of intense mental activity when lots of current is surging through the brain. Victims are highly intelligent people with great powers of concentration. Both Miss Nicole and Mr. Titov were intense people who tended to keep those cerebral circuits overloaded. In a way it could be said they were literally too smart for their own good.”

Although Dr. Martinenko says there are probably many undiagnosed cases, he hastens to add that very few people will die from HCE. “Most people who have it will never know. At this point, medical science still doesn’t know much about HCE. And since fatalities are so rare it will probably be years before research money becomes available.”

In the meantime, the doctor urges people to take it easy and not think too hard for long periods of time. “Take frequent relaxation breaks when you’re doing things that take lots of mental focus,” he recommends.

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Although HCE is very rare, it can kill. Dr. Martinenko says knowing you have the condition can greatly improve your odds of surviving it. A “yes” answer to any three of the following seven questions could mean that you have HCE:

1. Does your head sometimes ache when you think too hard? (Head pain can indicate overloaded brain circuits.)
2. Do you ever hear a faint ringing or humming sound in your ears? (It could be the sound of electricity in the skull cavity.)
3. Do you sometimes find yourself unable to get a thought out of your head? (This is a possible sign of too much electrical activity in the cerebral cortex.)
4. Do you spend more than five hours a day analysing chess, reading, balancing your checkbook, or other thoughtful activity? (A common symptom of HCE is a tendency to over-use the brain.)
5. When you get angry or frustrated do you feel pressure in your temples? (Friends of people who died of HCE say the victims often complained of head pressure in times of strong emotion.)
6. Do you ever overeat on ice cream, doughnuts and other sweets? (A craving for sugar is typical of people with too much electrical pressure in the cranium.)
7. Do you tend to analyze your games too much? (HCE sufferers are often introspective, “over-thinking” their lives.)

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then the next  2 weeks  30/09/14 and 7/10/14  at 7pm area good place to start. We will be playing 8 blitz games at short time control of three minutes per game plus 2 seconds per move. New members are always welcome. Come along and join in the fun.

The results are in for the graded round robin.

Richard managed 5 out of 5 in division A, well clear of Fuatai in second place. His club rating is currently 1659 and he has now surpassed Michael in terms fo the highest club rating achieved by any player – although it is a close race at the top with only 2 points seperating Richard (1659) Michael (1658) and Fuatai (1657) in the all time ratings. Next years club championship is going to be a real battle for supremacy.

In the B divison Dave came out on top with 4 out of 5, dropping a game to Sivoram. He achieves a personal best club rating of 1586. Gary came second with a respectable 3.5 out of 5.

In the C division Matt top scored on 4 points with a 5 way tie for second between Joel, Dhusar, Craig, Nick and Suriya. The crosstables can be found here, and player ratings have been updated.

We will have blitz chess for the next two weeks, eight games per week, so there will be plenty of movement in club ratings.

We will have eight rounds of rapid chess at 3 + 2 time control for the next two weeks. Anyone can play so this is a good opportunity to come along for a look if you are thinking of joining the club. Ganes will kick off around 7:20 so dont be late.

Congratulations to Calib Wilson on joining the club as its 39th member. Calib is playing in the Schools’ National Tournament this weekend in Aucland, along with the other club members from Hukanui school. We wish the team every success. Welcome Calib.

In the A division Richard has an unassailable lead on 4 points – only Stefan stands between him and a clean sweep score of 5 from 5. Stefan can potentially come second if he beats Richard and Graham beats Fuatai. In the B division Gary leads on 3.5 points. In round 5 he gets to play Dave on 3 points, so a draw will be good enough to take out the title, whilst Dave needs to play for a win. Sivoram could tie for second if he beats Ian, and Dave loses to Gary. Dave has lifted his rating to a new personal best. In the C division Dhusar Matt and Nick are tied on 3 points each. The crosstables can be found here, and player ratings have been updated.

We had a great turnout lastnight with 26 players entering the graded round robin.

Richard Dare, Fuatai Fuatai, Stefan Wagner, Hilton Bennett, Graham Nolan, Daniel Davis comprise the A division. Currently Richard is the only player with 2 points. In the B division (Gary Judkins, Ian Kennedy, Murray Tuatini, Sivaram Manoharan, David Whiting, Richard Jackson) Gary currentl y leads on 1.5 points. The C division has 14 contestants, and is running as a Swiss tournament. There are currently 4 players tied on 2 points each. The crosstables can be found here, and player ratings have been updated.

The club is pleased to welcome Fuatai Fuatai and Thyx Joubert as new club members. Fuatai is a strong player with a national rapid rating of over 2000 and several games listed on chessgames.com. He is so strong in fact that after only 3 weeks he has managed to be placed second only to Richard who still scrapes in at top space on the club rating board. Thys is a keen internet chess player, and is looking forward to getting some more over the board competition.

Remember this week we will start a members only graded tournament with divisions based on your current club rating. Providing we have enough players turn up we will run this as A B and C grades. Ideally 6 players each in A and B divisions, and the remainder in group C. A and B grades will be round-robin, so please commit to turning up on all 3 nights (9, 16, 23 September – or borrowing a club set and clock to play a catch up game on a weekend). The C grade will be run as a Swiss tournament so players can miss out night(s) if they wish

With two more rounds to go in the club rapid champs Richard is leading on five points following last nights games. The crosstable and club ratings pages have been updated.

We had a record join-up tonight with four new members signing on. The club welcomes brothers Jeff and Jarvis Xiang. Jeff and Jarvis join the growing contingent of lads from Hukanui School that are regulars at the club. Jarvis has the distinction of being the clubs youngest member at 6 years of age. Also joining up Joel Kaumoana. Joel is 10 years old and goes to Norton School. Suriya Srinivasan completes the quartet of new members. Welcome

Club nights will be restricted to members only for the next 4 weeks. You can pay a sub online, or on the night ($40 adults, $20 under 18) and join in the fun. By becoming a member you support chess in the Waikato, get a discount on entry for club weekend tournaments, and acquire a club rating. Non members are allowed three free nights attendance before deciding to commit to full membership.

On September 9 we will start a graded round robin tournament. There will be three divisons: An A and B grade (based on club ratings) consisting on groups of six players based on club ranking. There will also be a C grade that will be a five round Swiss style tournaments. There will be two rounds on 9/9/14 and again on 16/9/14, with the final round 23/9/14 followed by a very brief AGM. I think this will be a very popular tournament. Please players will need to commit to being there on each of the three nights to take part as we don’t want any no-shows signing on.