Archive for the ‘Chess and Sports’ Category
Team Chess!
Right around the corner lies some of the most fun and competitive chess events in the nation, the United States Amateur Team chess tournaments. But, what exactly IS Team chess? Although it may sound intimidating, it is a favorite of both amateurs and grandmasters alike.
United States Chess Team (right) playing in 2012 Olympiad in Istanbul
In team chess, each team normally has 4 players, possibly 5 if the team wants to have an alternate player. Each player is arranged from highest rating to lowest rating, and competes against other teams with that same order. If your first board plays white, than board 2 and 4 play black, and board 3 will get white. All the players play on the same side of the board, however. Each player on the team plays their own individual game, but the result of your and all the rest of your team members points get added up. If your team scores 2.5 against 1.5, you win the round and get a (1) on the wall chart. If your team ends up with 2 -2, then the team draws the match: (.5), and 0 – 4 would result in (0).
From my perspective, team chess is more fun that standard chess, mainly because it increases the competition, and adds the element of observing others chess games. It also takes the sting out of losing, and sometimes if the rest of your team gets whipped out, it can be even more rewarding to win a game for the entire team. Most team tournament also gives prizes for best – and usually funny – team names. Here is a link to some classic funny chess team names. My personal favorites are: My last year’s team name was “Leftover Salmon”.
A shot of my team (me in front playing chess as white) in last years United States Amateur Team North Chess Event
The United States Armature Team Chess Tournament is divided up into four sections ( also known as chess regions) based on geographic location: north, east, south, and west. This year, the USATN chess tournament will be held in Schaumburg, IL. Each team must collectively have an average team rating of under 2200, which means that there is fair game for all teams! More information can be found at the official website: Here
Good Chess,
NM Nolan Hendrickson
Chess Engines & When should kids use it
In modern life there are a lot of computer chess engines which help chess players to prepare their games in advance, and also to avoid inaccuracies. Chess engines are much strong then humans and nowadays it is impossible to defeat them. The average rating of the modern chess engine is about 3200 meanwhile number one chess player in the world Magnus Carlsen has 2872 according to February 2013 fide chess rankings.
Yet even tho chess engines help chess players to improve their chess, it also makes them lazy and dependent on it. Young kids try to use chess engines to analyze their games, while analyzing on the board helps them to develop chess skills and improve. Top Grand Masters and the majority of coaches suggest young players to use chess engines after they go over their games. There are some positions in chess in which it is really hard to understand what is going on on the board and it takes a lot of time to find the best solution. That’s where chess engines are necessary and useful. here you can find the latest chess engines released such as: Houdini 3, Rybka 4 and variety of engines.
Back to the days chess engines were not strong enough to outplay top players. The first match between a human and computer was held in February 1996 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Garry Kasparov vs Deep Blue. The match finished with Kasparov’s victory 4-2 losing only one game. You can find detailed information about the match here
Teen Chess Prodigy from Kampala- Phiona Mutesi
Phiona Mutesi was hungry one day when she went to a mission for food. She learned how to play chess there is not an international chess champion. Its really one of the amazing things about chess, it has no geographic or economic borders. It doesn’t require a large budget or fancy equipment, but merely the will to study, practice, and get better.
At nine she stepped foot into the US-based Sports Outreach ministry to get some free porridge and began her journey to chess stardom. At this point she had dropped out of school and was selling corn on the streets.
“We were evicted out of our house because we couldn’t afford that money. So when I heard that, I was like, ‘maybe I can also get there to know about chess and then I get a cup of porridge’, because I was hungry [at] that time,” she explained.
Many people in Uganda have the impression that chess is a man’s sport. Phiona Mutesi proved them wrong, showing from the beginning that she is a chess prodigy. She talks about how growing up in the slums has had a unique and positive effect on her chess game.
“I very much believe that having gone through all they go through right from childhood, figuring out how to survive on a daily basis, they do easily identify themselves with the board because when they come to play, they have still to face challenges,” Katende noted. “Devise moves, think what will be the next step, what will come after that. Which I think somehow makes them understand it better.”
The kids in Uganda don’t have chess computers and books to study from. They learn from playing each other and trying to find the best moves in any given position. They play on used chess sets and the rest of their chess equipment is far from new. This makes their style of chess playing very unique. She talks about it when she says:
“No combinations, no memorizing lines, nothing whatsoever. It’s always, think at the situation and devise the best move. Many people actually lose games to these children, simply because of that, I believe,” said Katende. “Because they expect them to play certain lines, and they don’t. They end up playing their own game.”
This is very different than how most other chess players achieve such great heights in the game. They use a lot of help from their predecessors. They study books that other chess players have written and use computers that chess players and programmers have designed to analyze their games.
Best of luck to you Phiona, I look forward to seeing your further success! ESPN also did a special on her!
Wijk aan Zee Chess Tournament 2013
Magnus Carlsen at the Tata Steel Tournament
A week ago one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world “Wijk ann Zee” finished with Magnus Carlsen’s victory in Netherland. All the top Grandmasters played in the tournament, but Magnus Carlsen seemed to be unstoppable and he ended up with 10 points out of 13 which guaranteed him the first place. Here is a video of the closing ceremony of the top chess tournament called “Wijk aan Zee“.
Magnus Carlsen is a 22 years old chess prodigy and the number one chess player in the world. He broke all previous chess rating records and his chess rating now is 2872 according to the World Chess Federation. Garry Kasparov’s was previously the world’s highest rated chess player with a chess rating of 2851.
In the 12th round of the chess tournament “Wijk ann Zee” (which is also called the Tata Steel chess tournament) Carlsen defeated #1 chess player of the US Hikaru Nakamura. The game seemed to be complicated in the beginning, but after several inaccuracies Hikaru lost the game pretty fast. Here is the link of the game
Nakamura trained in St. Louis and he also played for St. Louis’ competitive chess team in the United States Chess League, the Saint Louis Arch Bishops.
Standings of grandmaster group A
| Score | Rating | TPR | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||
| 1 | Carlsen, M. | 10.0 / 13 | 2861 | 2933 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Aronian, L. | 8.5 / 13 | 2802 | 2837 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 3 | Anand, V. | 8.0 / 13 | 2772 | 2816 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Karjakin, S. | 8.0 / 13 | 2780 | 2816 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Leko, P. | 7.5 / 13 | 2735 | 2789 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 6 | Nakamura, H. | 7.0 / 13 | 2769 | 2758 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 7 | Harikrishna, P. | 6.5 / 13 | 2698 | 2735 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Giri, A. | 6.0 / 13 | 2726 | 2704 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Wang, H. | 6.0 / 13 | 2752 | 2702 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 10 | van Wely, L. | 6.0 / 13 | 2679 | 2707 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Hou, Y. | 5.5 / 13 | 2603 | 2685 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Caruana, F. | 5.0 / 13 | 2781 | 2642 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 13 | L’Ami, E. | 4.0 / 13 | 2627 | 2599 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 14 | Sokolov, I. | 3.0 / 13 | 2667 | 2526 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ |
Carla Heredia Serrano from Ecuador win the PanAmerican Women’s Chess Championship -
My good friend Carla Heredia Serrano won the Panamerican Women’s Chess Championship which took place at the end of November in 2012. She played a dominating performance, going undefeated!
This is really cool for a few reasons. Carla now becomes a Women’s Grandmaster! This is the highest rank that a female chess player can achieve and she’s only 21! A full time student at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, she found time to study chess while keeping up great grades.
Carla is an inspiration to girls everywhere! She speaks three languages (Spanish, English, and German) and is studying to be a sports psychologist while traveling the world playing chess. She is from Ecuador and has traveled to over thirty countries including India, Hungary, Poland, Cuba, and Turkey.
I got to ask Carla a few questions about chess:
George: What is your favorite part of traveling for chess?
Carla: I love to get to know other cultures.I had the amazing opportunity to go sightseeing in so many countries. Chess has in life for 14 years and is more than a competitive sport to me. It has taught me to overcome barriers and perseverance in the face of many challenges.
Lindenwood Defeats Yale in Chess!
Team Huddle
On November 11th the Lindenwood and Yale Chess Teams met to find out who is the better chess team. The chances did not look great for Lindenwood, according to the ratings, but chess ratings do not calculate heart!
The Lions showed their pride by pulling off an upset against the prestigious Yale Team, often referred to as the best of all the Ivy League Chess Teams. The Lindenwood Lions Chess Team previously defeated Washington University, and is still undefeated!
All the players did exceptionally well with victories for Levan Begadze, Nolan Hendrickson, Carla Heredia, and Zach Stuart! This is the first year for the Lindenwood Chess Team and they are shocking the college chess world with their performance!
The Lindenwood College Chess Team
Lindenwood Lions Chess Team
Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri has started a College Chess Team as part of their Student-Life Sports Program! What does this mean for all you chess players who want to go to college? Scholarships! Lindenwood University is building a World-Class Chess Team and recruiting players from all across the world. Whether you live in Illinois, Wisconsin, New York, California, Texas, Russia, Georgia, Costa Rica, Norway, or somewhere else, you should check out this great University to play chess for.
With personal coaching from Chess Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan and a partnership with the St.Louis Chess Club, the Lindenwood College Chess Team is ready to make their presence felt in the world of college chess this year. With chess scholarships being offered to players of all levels, The Lindenwood College Chess Team has a great college chess team lined up for this year.
Chess Scholarships were offered to international masters from across the world. Chess Masters from India, Georgia, Ecuador, and Belarus have all earned chess scholarships and are earning an education, as well as playing competitive college chess. Lindenwood is one of the fastest growing universities and you can expect them to be a powerhouse of chess for years to come.
Viswanathan Anand is still the Champ!
Congratulations to Viswanathan Anand, the current world champion at Chess! He beat Boris Gelfand to defend his world title but it as not easy. Viswanathan Anand says that this was his toughest world chess title defense of his 5 and still has no plans to retire. Read more about the match here.
Teaching Kids How to Lose
At the end of each session in Chess Classes we have a friendly kids tournament; its the time for the kids to play serious chess and really show their me or their teacher what they have learned. It is a no elimination tournament with no time limits and prizes dont just go to the winners, but to everyone that has shown that they have imporved over the course of the last session of chess club.
When I look for improvement, it isn’t just in their chess games. One of the most important things that kids in our classes are taught is how to have the right attitude in competition…for many kids this means that they need to know how to lose.
Chess is a competition, and in most games there will be a winner and loser. For most kids they correlate winning to good and losing to bad. They leave a lost game or sometimes even a losing position feeling bad, upset, and negative in general. We teach the kids a much more positive approach to losing and not only makes them feel good but is also much more productive.
First of all, whether they won or lost, I want my students to be proud of the games they played. Many kids and even adults shy way from chess so the fact that they are willing to play and make tough decisions on the board that stress their brain is commendable enough. Secondly, a loss is just a chance to improve. Often times when you lose you know your mistakes, and in this case it is importantly to consciously look over them to make sure you don’t repeat them…just like in real life. If you do not know you mistakes, you can always ask your opponent. Chess players will often chat about their games afterwards and talk about different ways the game could have done depending on variations( routes that could have been taken). Over and over I see kids change their attitude to not fear losing and improve their chess skills and general attitude drastically.
All of us have dealt with losing at one point or another, and I never shy my students away from the experience. It is much easier to learn to lose over the chess board than anything else, and I make sure to mention to my students that the same approach can be used in all aspects of their lives, and hope they do. Winning gracefully is a whole another skill for another post!
World Chess Championship: Anand vs. Gelfand
The world chess championships are currently going on in Moscow. World champion Viswanthan Anand is battling with Israeli Chess Star Boris Gelfand. This is an intense battle over the chess board as these are the top two players in the world! If you want to take a look at their game, here is it.
A Russian Online Newspaper writes:
“Playing black for the second time in the match, Anand continued his faith in the Slav defense and yet again did not have much difficulty equalising.
It was a continuation of discussion in the second game of the match wherein Anand had gone for a fifth move surprise and yet again the World champion went for it, emphasising that it was not an opening gamble he had gone for in his first game as…”
Find more of this story here.
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