Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Asa Hoffman Lecture Tonight!




The Marshall Chess Club



MARSHALL CHESS
CLUB


Presents



FM ASA HOFFMANN


FIDE MASTER, DISTINGUISHED
AUTHOR, NOTED LECTURER,


PROMINENT TEACHER,
SPARRING PARTNER OF CHAMPIONS



FM Asa Hoffman


FM Asa Hoffmann


Photo Courtesy NY
Masters



Tuesday, September
30, 2008 7:30 PM


“Chess Potpourri”


Followed by


15 Minute “Ask
the Wizard” Forum


Refreshments


Lectures free to
Marshall Chess Club members, $20 for non-members.


Marshall Chess Club



23 West 10th
Street


New York, NY 10011


Phone 212-477-3716
Fax 212-995-9281


www.marshallchessclub.org




Kelly and Black lead Monday Under-1600

Renata Kelly and James Black have the only remaining perfect scores after two rounds of the Monday Night Under-1600. Five others have 1 1/2. There are twenty players in the field, and there's still time to enter. Rounds are on Monday at 7 PM, and entry is open to all players rated below 1600.

Click to show the crosstable

Monday, September 29, 2008

Lenderman and Yagiz Close Out A Winning Weekend

Sunday night at the Marshall ended with victories by IM Alex Lenderman and Bora Yagiz in the two sections of the Sliding Scale Quads. Each scored 3-0; Lenderman won $90 in the top quad and Yagiz $60 for the second quad. Steve Immitt directed for the Chess Center of New York, and the crosstable is available from the USCF website.

Bodek Wins Indian Summer Under-1800

Michael Bodek won the New York Indian Summer Under-1800 on Sunday September 28. He scored 3 1/2 to take the $90 first prize in this 4-round G/50 event.

Tied for second with 3 points were Kenneth Cruz, Kadhir Pillai, and Max Steinberg, who won $30 apiece.

Tae Kim, rated only 1173 on the wallchart, took home the $57 Under-1600 prize with 2 1/2 points. Alexander Reis and Abraham Kunin split the Under-1400 money ($25 each) with 2.

Steve Immitt directed the 19-player Chess Center of New York event; the crosstable is available from the USCF website.

Five-Way Tie in Indian Summer Game/45

Five players tied for first in the New York Indian Summer Game/45 Grand Prix at the Marshall Chess Club on Saturday September 27.

IMs Alex Lenderman, Justin Sarkar, and Jay Bonin, and FMs Asa Hoffmann and lye Figler each scored 4 out of 5 and won $119.

Henry Sobo and Christopher Wu scored 3 1/2 and shared the Under-2200 and Under-2000 money ($111 each).

Steve Immitt of the Chess Center of New York directed the 41 competitors. (Or 42, counting an extra added Oliver Chernin; ah, re-entries!) The crosstable is available from the USCF website.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Zhe Quan Sweeps Rapids

FM Zhe Quan swept the Friday night rapids on September 26 with a 8-0 score. Nine players participated.

Click to show the crosstable

Friday, September 26, 2008

Stripunsky and Pressman Win "10 Grand Prix Points Tonight"

NM Leif Pressman turned in a remarkable performance to tie for first with GM Alex Stripunsky in September 25th's "10 Grand Prix Points Tonight" G/30 event. Pressman defeated IM Jay Bonin in the third round and GM Michael Rohde in the final round to go 4-0. Pressman and Stripunsky each won $155 for the victory.

Tied for third with 3 points were FM Asa Hoffmann, NM Oliver Chernin, Josue Castillo, Evan Rabin and Moshe Uminer. Hoffman and Chernin on $25 each; Castillo and Rabin picked up $53 each for the under-2200 prize, and Uminer gathered in the $95 under-2000 money.

Steve Immitt directed 33 players (or 34 entries, adding a bonus Kopiecki) for the Chess Center of New York. The complete results areavailable from the USCF website.

Hellenschmidt and Berg Lead Thursday Members' Open

Experts Andrew Hellenschmidt and George Berg have moved into the lead after three rounds of the Marshall Thursday Night Members' Swiss with 2 1/2 points. Half a point behind are IM Renato Naranja dn NMs Brian Hulse and Ed Frumkin.

The next round is on October 2 at 7 PM.

Click to show the crosstable

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Wednesday Night Under-2000 Field Grows To 25

Three late entries pumped the field for the Wednesday Night Under-2000 Swiss up to 265 players. Four perfect scores remain after round 2 (Bora Yagiz, Anatoly Treger, Paul Rachlin, and Mark Sinz), while five others are still undefeated at 1 1/2.

Rounds are every Wednesday at 7 PM, and the tournament--which is still accepting entries--is open to all players rated under 2000. Come join the fun!

Click to show the crosstable

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Marshall September Open Full Results

GM MIchael Rohde, IM Alex Lenderman, and IM Jay Bonin each scored 3 1/2 to share first place in the Marshall Chess Club September Open on September 20-21. Each won $113.33.

Macauley Peterson took the Under-2000 prize ($92) with 3 points. There was a three-way split of the Under-1800 money: Jerry Monaco, Davi Antonucci Jr, and Reva Shree Singh scored 2 points and took home $26 apiece.

Leif Pressman directed the 34-player event.

Click to show the complete standings

Under-1600 Gets Started

The latest Marshall Monday Under-1600 got underway on September 22. There were no decisive upsets in the first round, though the only draw (between Joseph Fortunato and Ean Fonesca) featured a 432-point difference in ratings.

There are 17 players in the tournament. There's plenty of room for more, and plenty of time to join. The tournament is open to all players rated below 1600 or unrated, and features one game every Monday night at 7 PM. Show up a little early if you're registering for the tournament.

Click to show the crosstable

Monday, September 22, 2008

Rohde, Bonin, Lenderman win Marshall September Open

GM Michael Rohde, IM Jay Bonin, and IM Alex Lenderman shared first place with 3 1/2 out of 4 in the Marshall September Open held on September 20-21.

More details will be posted when I have them. No crosstable is currently available, since the TD didn't send it to me. *Ahem*.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Hoffman, Privman Win "Four Rated Games Tonight"

FMs Asa Hoffman and Boris Privman scored 3 1/2 to tie for first in Sepetember 18's "Four Rated Games Tonight". They each earned $102 for the victory. Tied for second a half-pont behind were GM Michael Rohde, NM Yevgeni Margulis, NM Vladimir Polyakin (who each won $39), and Aigboje Aregbeyen (who, rated 1758, beat three Experts on the way to the $69 Under-1800 prize).

Steve Immitt directed the 28-player Game/30 event for the Chess Center of New York. The crosstable is available on the USCF website.

Plague Of Draws StrikesThursday Night Members' Open

More draws than decisive games in the second round left the Thursday Night Members' Open bereft of perfect scores.

Six players are tied for the lead 1 1/2 points. The next round is on Thursday September 25, and any Marshall member can still enter. Two byes will put you only a half-pont behind the leaders.

Rounds are at 7 PM every Thursday (except October 9). If you're entering, show up early to register. See you there!

Click to show the crosstable

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Wednesday Under-2000 Under Way

The Marshall Wednesday Night Under-2000 got underway on September 17 with a 22-player field. The first round featured one major upset: 1466-rated Joel Sneed won against 1802-rated William Dubinsky, a 336-point upset.

You can still join the tournament: the next round is next Wednesday, September 24, at 7 PM.

Click to show the crosstable

Games from the St. John's Masters

Steve Immitt was able to record a couple of the games of tournament victor GM Alex Stripunsky in the September 16 St. John's Masters, and you, dear readers, are the beneficiaries. Thanks, Steve!

Here's a crucial position for Stripunsky's third-round victory against GM Sergey Kudrin:

Kudrin-Stripunsky after 37. Bxa5

Alex lowers the boom

Stripunsky's last-round game against GM Leonid Yudasin seems to have been anything but a Grandmaster draw, as they discussed the extremely sharp Najdorf Poisoned Pawn:

Stripunsky-Yudasin after 16...h4

still theory

The above is the last position in my database, but maybe you can tell me how deep into theory they actually went.

Here's the games in a pop-up javascript viewer.

Stripunsky Wins St. John's Masters

How strong was the September St. John's Masters? It was so strong that a Grandmaster won the upset prize! GM Mike Rohde's third-round opponent, GM Zviad Izoria, out-rated him by 224 points--before he turned down his King. Rohde noted that that was the first time he had ever been the beneficiary of an upset prize.

GM Alexander Stripunsky scored 3 1/2 out of 4 to take clear first prize in the Tuesday night event. Stripunsky earned $300 for the victory. GM Michael Rohde and GM Leonid Yudasin split second and third with 3 points, taking home $150 each. Rohde was also rewarded with the $30 upset prize. IM Jay Bonin, NM Oliver Chernin and FM Boris Privman divvied up the $90 in Under 2400 and Under 2300 prizes three ways.

The sixteen-player field included five GMs, one IM, two FMs, and four NMs, and was directed by Steve Immitt. The next St. John's Masters is on Tuesday October 21st at 7:00 pm.

Click to show the crosstable

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Justus Williams Prevails in Under-1600

Justus Williams won his last-round game on Monday September 15 to take first place in the Marshall Monday Night Under-1600. Williams scored 4 1/2 out of 5, winning $168. Second and third was shared by Tyson Francis Mao and Douglas Hare, both with 4 points, winning $84 each. The Under 1300 prize was won by Alexander Kamen with 4 1/2 points, also winning $84.

The next Under-1600 starts on September 22 at 7 PM (please arrive early to register). It's open to all rated under 1600, and it's one game each Monday at a time limit or 30/90, SD/60.

Click to show the crosstable

Monday, September 15, 2008

Yudasin, Margulis Win NY September Open

GM Leonid Yudasin and NM Yevgeni Margulis tied for first place in the NY September Open at the Marshall Chess Club on September 13-14. Yudasin and MArguklis, who drew their individual game in round 3, scored 3 1/2 out of 4 and earned $250 each.

Tied for third with 3 points were IM Alex Lenderman, Alena Kats, and Nelson Farber; they collected $55 each.

In the Under-2000 section, Richard Hallenbeck scored 3 1/2 to win the $167 first prize. Tied for second place ($28 each) with 3 were Shirley Ben-Dak, Edward Kopiecki, and David Collins, along with Justus Williams (who collected the $83 Under-1800 prize.

Steve Immitt directed 53 players (28 in the Open and 25 in the Under-2000) in this Chess Center of New York event.
The crosstables are available from the USCF website.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Lenderman Proves His Point

IM Alex Lenderman won the "Prove Your Point" action event on Saturday night (September 13), which will come as no surprise if you look at the ratings on the official USCF crosstable of the tournament. Lenderman scored 3-0 to pick up $40. The $10 reward for scoring 2 points went to Evan Rabin, Nitai Leve, Aaron Landesman, Eric Bobrow, and John Garcia. Seven others also ran.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Rohde, Bonin Tie in "Four Rated Games Tonight"

GM Michael Rohde and IM Jay Bonin scored 3 1/2 points each to tie for first prize in the September 11 running of the Chess Center Of New York's famous "Four Rated Games Tonight" action event. They earned $65 apiece.

NMs Yefim Treger and Oliver Chernin tied for third prize with 3-1 scores, worth $13 each. Evan Rabin also scored 3, collecting the Under-2200 prize of $48. Moshe Uminer and Bora Yagiz split the Under-2000 money ($22 each) with 2-2 records.

18 players competed under the direction of Steve Immitt. The crosstable is available from the USCF website.

Marshall Thursday Night Members' Swiss Begins

The September-October run of the Marshall Thursday Night Members' Open kicked off on Septemer 11 with 13 players. There were no decisive upsets in the first round, although Jerry Monaco (1670) held NM Ed Gaillard (2173) to a draw, and IM Renato Naranja was nicked for a half-point by some guy named "Bye".

Click to show the crosstable


If you're a Marshall member, it's not too late to enter! The tournament is one game each Thursday at 7 PM (arrive early if you're registering, which you are, right?), exceptthere will be no round on October 9. The time timit is 30/90, SD/60.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Treger, Aregbeyen, Molina Win Wednesday Under-2000

Anatoly Treger and Aigboje Aregbeyen made a peaceful last-round draw and were joined at the top of the Marshall's Wednesday Night Under-2000 Swiss by Turpana Molina, who scored a 782 point upset victory. Molina came into the tournament with a rating of just 923--that's not a typo--but won four games against players more than 700 points higher rated, losing only to Aregbeyen in round 4.


Click to show the final standings


The next Wednesday Under-2000 starts next week (September 17). It's one game a week at 30 moves in 90 minutes followed by one hour sudden death. The tournament is open to all rated under 2000. Rounds start at 7 PM; please arrive a little early to register.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

WIlliams Leads Monday Under-1600

Justus Williams moved into first place in the Marshall's Monday Night Under-1600 by defeating Joseph Fortunato (who had the last remaining perfect score) in round 4, Williams' 3; 1/2 points puts him ahead of six players with 3-1 scores going into the final round next Monday.

Click to show the crosstable

More Weekend Action at the Marshall

Three other events were held at the Club last weekend. GM Fabiano Caruana, the 16-year old champion of Italy paid us a flying visit and won the Sunday night "Sliding Scale Quad" with a 3-0 score. IM Jay Bonin and Gabor Schnitzler tied for second with 2 points in what was actually a 6-player Swiss. (Crosstable is available on the USCF website.)

On Saturday night, Raven Sturt won the "Prove Your Point" action event with 3-0. Lief Pressman finished a half-point behind. Also on Saturday, Justus Williams swept the New York September Under-1600 (4-0). Joel Sneed had sole possession of second a hlf-point back; and Lenn Uchima, Brandon Borden, and Harrison Termotto tied for third with 3-1. The Under-1300 prize was shared by Max Eberstadt-Beattie, Derek Kleinbaum, Alexander Crump, Reva Singh, and Jacqueline Kuo, all with 2 points.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Marshall Chess Club Now Open During the Day

For the first time in many years, the Marshall Chess Club will be open every day from Monday to Friday, from 1PM, starting immediately. Members may come in the afternoons, starting at 1PM, to play, study or teach.

These new, expanded hours, coincide with the new hours of our office: 10AM to 6PM, also from Monday to Friday. Should you want to renew your membership, register in advance for a tournament, or have other Club business, you may come to the office from 10AM on. Our new Office Manager is Ms. Inez Cintron, and the Club’s number is 212-477-3716.

Hoffman Wins Under-2300

Veteran FM Asa Hoffman won the New York September Under-2300 held on September 6 and 7. Hoffman scored 3 1/2 to top the 30-player field and win $131. FM Boris Privman; NMs Yefim Treger, Yevgeni Margulis, and George Berg; and expert Nitai Leve followed a half-point behind, collecting $26 apiece.

Karsten McVay won the $83 Under-2000 prize with 2 1/2, and Joshua Ochse, Ian Fleischman, and Theodore Coyne shared top Under-1800 honors ($25 each) with 2 points.

Steve Immitt directed for the Chess Center of New York, and the crosstable is available from the USCF website.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Naranja Wins Thursday Night Members' Swiss

IM Renato Naranja defeated expert Andrew Hellenschmidtin the last round to take clear first in the Marshall's Thursday Night Members' Swiss. Naranja scored 4-1 and won $108. A half-point behind, NMs Brian Hulse, Ed Gaillard, and George Berg tied for second and third prizes (worth $36 each).

In the final round Linda Diaz upset NM Ed Frumkin and Ken Cohen scored a 269-rating-point upset as well. They joined Edward Scher--who had a exceptionally solid tournament, winning one game and drawing four masters and experts--in sharing the under-2000 prize with 3 points (worth $18 apiece).

The next Members' Swiss starts Thursday September 11. The tournament is open to all Marshall members. Rounds are Thursdays at 7 PM (please come a little early to register), and the time limit is 30 moves in 90 minutes followed by one hour sudden death.

Click to show the crosstable

Rohde, Bonin, Figler, Korley Top "Four Rated Games Tonight"

GM Michael Rohde, IM Jay Bonin, FM Ilye Figler, and NM Kassa Korley tied for first in the September 4 instance of the Chess Center of New York's "Four Rated Games Tonight" action tournament.

All four scored 3 1/2 and took home $65. Korley nicked Rohde for a draw in round 2, and Bonin and Fiogler drew in the last round.

The under-2000 prize was shared by Natanael Moraes and Polly Wright with 2 points. That was worth $28 each.

The complete results are available from the USCF website.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Molina's Upset Streak Ends in Under-2000

Turpana Molina's remarkable string of upsets came to an end on September 3. Molina, who had been in sole possession of first place in the Marshall's Wednesday Night Under-2000 toiurnament, lost to Anatoly Treger, who now shares first with Aigboje Aregbeyen with 3 1/2 points. Molina and Daniel Pi (3-1) follow close behind with one round to go.

The next Marshall Wednesday Under-2000 begins on September 17 at 7 PM. It's open to all USCF members rated under 2000. Please arrive early to register.

Click to show the crosstable

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Pressman Wins NY Experts

Leif Pressman won September's instance of the New York Experts on Tuesday September 2 with 3 1/2 out of 4. Kassa Korley finised second with 3 points, and Evan Rabin was third with 2.

Click to show the crosstable

Monday, September 1, 2008

MARGULIS DOMINATES SUNDAY ACTION

The August 31 Sunday Action was a triumph for Yevgeniy Margulis. The veteran master easily won his first four games and drew comfortably with Expert Robert Cousins to capture the first prize of $110, a point ahead of a strong field.

Margulis benefited from the poor starts of two higher-rated rivals. IM-elect Marc Tyler Arnold drew with fellow juniors Raven Sturt and Harry Wheeler in the second and third rounds and, seemingly disenchanted with his form, withdrew. FM Asa Hoffmann fared even worse, scoring a fortunate win against Nelson Farber at the start, then drawing with Wheeler and losing to Sturt! But Hoffmann recovered to win his last two games and divide the remaining prizes with Cousins, Sturt and Farber. The fearsome foursome took home $55 apiece for their 3.5 scores.

22 entries did battle the day before Labor Day. The next Sunday Action will not take place until November 2.

(report by Nick Conticello
Chief TD, Marshall Chess Club)



Click to show the crosstable

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