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.

We will have a one night blitz tournament next week with a novel format. Come along and find out. All welcome, and visitors especially welcome. Dont be late as the first game kicks off at 7:20 pm

In the A division of the club rapid tonight we played round 7, and catch up games left over from earlier rounds. Asheesh improved his score by 1.5, managing a draw with Eddie and a win against Graham. Eddie took his split the point with Asheesh, and then in the last game of the tournament managed another draw against Hilton. Final standings were First: Eddie 5, Second: Hilton 4.5, and Third: Asheesh 3.5. In the B division the final standings were Daniel on 6, Richard on 5, and Ian on 4. Crosstables and club ratings have been updated, as has the role of honour.

We will have a brief AGM after the games next week. Basically we need to present a financial report, elect office bearers, and examine any motions from the floor. In addition there will be a presentation of awards. The encumbent elected officers have indicated a willingness to retain their current roles for a further 12 months if endorsed by the membership.

We had round 6 last night. In the A division Eddie and Hilton are tied on 4 points each. We have some catch up games to play however, which means that the ultimate winner is as yet far from clear. Hilton and Eddie have a catch up game left over from round 2, with Asheesh and Graham needing to make up their missed game from round 6. In order to accommodate the round 7 games, and the catch up games, the time control will be 20 + 0 with a prompt start at 7:15. So the draw for the A division next week looks like this (note that Michael has said he can not make it next week, so Sivoram will take a point for the bye).

In the B division Daniel goes in to round 7 with a 1 point lead and looks likely to take out first place.

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then September 3 at 7pm is your best bet. August 27 is the last night for the serious chess of the club rapid champs. After that we will revert back to something a little less formal with a series of quick fire games. Games will kick off shortly after 7, so dont be late if you want to take part in the mini tournament. New members are always welcome.

“…whenever you have to make a rook move and both rooks are available for said move – you should evaluate which rook to move and, once you have made up your mind… MOVE THE OTHER ONE!!!”

-Anon

The World Chess Championship 2013 will be 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 from 6 to 26 November 2013 in Chennai, India. Prior to the match, from 2005 to  June 2013, Anand and Carlsen played 29 games against each other at classical time controls, out of which Anand won six, Carlsen won three, and twenty were drawn. Hopefully the increased chess exposure that the match will bring will mean more members for the club.

Only 2 rounds to go. The A division is a three way tie between Eddie Hilton and Michael. Eddie and Hilton have yet to go head to head so we await that game with interest. Daniel leads the B division with Benjamin one half point behind. Crosstables and statistics have been updated. Dont miss out on round six next week.

The final standings are posted here, and full crosstables are available here

We had 100 pupils competing in the Waikato School Pupils Chess Tournament held at Southwell School today, as well as high drama with the Secondary division going “down to the wire”.

Schools played in teams of four vying for the privilege of representing the Waikato region at the National School’s competition to be held in Tauranga later in the year. There were 8 teams in the Primary division, 10 in the Intermediate, and 7 in the Secondary. The Primary and Secondary competitions were run as all-play-all round robins, while the Intermediate pupils took part in a seven round Swiss style tournament. Secondary pupils played with clocks (15 minutes for the game, plus a 5 second increment from round 1).

Honours in the Primary division went to Hukanui(1), first on 21.5 points, followed by Hukanui(2), second on 21. Southwell(1) took third place with a score of 18.5.

In the Intermediate division first was Fairfield(1) on 21, followed by Peachgrove(1) on 17, and third Maeroa(1) on 15 points.

In a repeat of last years Secondary division tournament, St Pauls(1) and Hamilton Boys High School(1) were tied first equal after 7 rounds on 25 points each. Third place went to St John’s on 18.5. A tiebreak round was played between St Pauls and HBHS(1), but the score remained locked with each side getting two further wins. A second tiebreak was held but again each team managed two wins and the scores remained deadlocked. A third tiebreak round was held at the shorter time control of 10 minutes for the game with no increment. Boards 3 and 4 were the first decided, both going the way of HBHS(1). Board two then went to St Pauls(1), leaving Board 1 to either clinch it for HBHS(1) or force a further tiebreak. In the end Christopher Symon took the point off Daniel Davis, securing the win for HBHS(1).

Congratulations to all competitors, and thank you to the parents for supporting the day. Thanks also to Gary and Gerri Judkins for organizing, Hilton for running the pairings smoothly, Ian and Graham for arbiting, and Southwell School for the venue. We wish the Waikato representatives every success at the forthcoming national tournament, and look forward to seeing you all back to compete in next years events.

Some photos from the day are here

If you have been thinking about coming along for a look then September 3 at 7pm is your best bet. August 27 is the last night for the serious chess of the club rapid champs. After that we will revert back to something a little less formal with a series of quick fire games. Games will kick off shortly after 7, so dont be late if you want to take part in the mini tournament. New members are always welcome.

Club ratings now reflect 1003 rated games since the rating system was first introduced earlier this year. Record for the most rated games goes to Ian on 98, followed by Daniel on 88 and Gary on 87