Johnny the Younger, rest in Peace

I can't say it any better than Amby, so go here first:
John J. Kelley, RIP, 1930-2011: 1957 Boston Marathon Winner; America's First Modern Road Runner, by Amby Burfoot, Runners World Editor-at-Large (thanks to Yankee Runner for pointing out the link)

Quote from my memoir, All Over the Board, Mile 5 - Embrace of a Lifetime:
"The runners spilled over into the gymnasium. Nobody wanted to go outside because of the cold and rain. The distinct wintergreen smell of Bengay permeated the room. In one corner, the two Johnny Kelleys (John A. Kelly the ‘elder’ and John J. Kelly the ‘younger’) held court and posed for photographs. I was impressed by the fact that Johnny Kelley the younger, who had won the race ten years earlier in 2 hours, 20 minutes and 5 seconds, sported the biggest bunions I had ever seen. When he stood, his feet looked like sailboats crossing on the gym floor."

My earlier blog on the marathon posted April 16, 2010 (repeated here in Johnny's honor):


It is hard to believe that it has been twenty years since I crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon for the last time, together with my friends Ruth Rothfarb and Marie Fitzherbert. The scan above is the mylar "blanket" that the race officials threw over my shoulders at the end of the race.



featuring: Albin Stenroos Paris 1924, Emil Zátopek Helsinki 1952, Alain Mimoun Melbourne 1956, Abebe Bikila Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mamo Wolde Mexico 1968, Josiah Thugwane Atlanta 1996, Abera Sydney 2000, Samuel Wanjiru Beijing 2008 (RIP), Montreal 1976 Waldemar Cierpinski, Moscow 1980, Los Angeles 1984 Carlos Lopez, Munich 1972 Frank Shorter, London 2012, Kitei Son Berlín 1936, Juan Zabala, Haile Gebrselassie, Paavo Nurmi. You can also catch a glimpse of USA's John J. Kelley if you look closely.

Added video of the 1959 Boston Marathon:


Also see Norwich Bulletin article by Marc Allard, 8/22/11

Rest in Peace, Johnny Kelley (Dec 24, 1930 - Aug 21, 2011)

One more game from PCC Centennial

A good time was had by all, including l. to r. GM Susan Polgar, Portland Chess Club Centennial TD Frank Niro and Natasha Niro. (photos courtesy of The Susan Polgar Foundation)

Recap of the extensive coverage of the 2011 Portland Chess Club Centennial:

View the summary of the Portland Chess Club Centennial, with a complete list of prize winners and links to each of my blogs during the tournament (sincere thanks to Jeff Roland and Idaho Chess Association for making this coverage possible).

And see the extensive coverage on the Northwest Chess web site (thank you to Eric Holcomb).

The USCF cross tables reflecting rating changes as a result of the PCC Centennial are located here.

The Portland Chess Club main page is here (thank you to Grisha Alpernas).

Photos of the clock simul are located here, courtesy of the Susan Polgar Foundation.

Susan Polgar's blog entries at Chess Daily News about the Portland Chess Centennial:
August 15, 2011
August 14, 2011
August 13, 2011 (1)
August 13, 2011 (2)
August 13, 2011 (3)
August 11, 2011
July 31, 2011 (1)
July 31, 2011 (2)
July 30, 2011

It is rare to find a score sheet from one of FIDE Master Nick Raptis' games. Following is his winning effort from Round 2. Thank you to Brian Esler for graciously sharing the results of what must have been a painful struggle against one of the Portland Chess Club's strongest members. Raptis finished at 5-1, tied for first with IM Georgi Orlov, Canadian Junior Champion Loren Laceste and FM Bindi Cheng, also of Canada. Incredibly, Brian could have won the game with if he had played 21.Kb1 with a forced mate for White!

The 16-round blitz side event was also won by Nick Raptis with 13 points, 1/2 point ahead of Bindi Cheng. John Donaldson was third in the 24-player side event. Click here to see the final blitz crosstable.

Brian Esler vs. Nick Raptis
2011 Portland Chess Club Centennial
Round 2, August 12, 2011
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Ne5 Be7 8. Bd3 Nd5 9. Be3 Bf6 10. Qf3 O-O 11. O-O-O c5 12. h4 Nb4 13. a3 Nxd3+ 14. Rxd3 Qd5 15. Qg3 c4 16. Bg5 Bxe5 17. dxe5 cxd3 18. Bf6 g6 19. Qe3 Qc4 20. c3 Qa4 21. Qxd3 Qf4+ 22. Kd1 b6 23. h5 g5 24. h6 Bb7 25. Rh5 Be4 26. Bxg5 Bxd3 27. Bxf4 Rad8 0-1

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Reigning Oregon co-champion Brian Esler vs. GM Susan Polgar in last Saturday's 10-board clock simul.

Note that my article for Northwest Chess will be added here as soon as it is available.

Susan Polgar with Steve Pettengill, maker of giant chess sets including a full 32-piece set made of Port Orford Cedar, a rare type of Cedar native to Japan and Southern Oregon.

These pieces were hand-carved from a stand of timber burned in a forest fire, so no trees were harmed to build this set! The king is over 4‘3” tall. The recycled metal set (pawn shown here) uses various types of metal for a lightweight, durable and attractive chess set.

Yes I said it, Yes I believed it, Yes I've changed my mind!

Marjorie Sheiman realizes she is facing the Noah's Ark Trap for the first time in her young career during round 5 at the Portland Chess Club Centennial. (photo by Andrei Botez)

In an interview with Ralph Ginzburg nearly 50 years ago, Bobby Fischer famously said, "They're all weak, all women...there isn't a woman player in the world I can't give knight-odds to and still beat." Bobby was 18 at the time. I have not seen or heard anything to indicate that he ever felt any differently...until this past weekend.

Grandmaster Susan Polgar entertained and enlightened a packed house at a breakfast meeting held before round 5 of the Portland Chess Club Centennial on Sunday morning. She shared previously untold stories about the eight years from 1993 to 2001 when Bobby Fischer lived in her home city of Budapest, Hungary. The title of her 30 minute lecture was The Bobby Fischer I Knew.

The former woman's world champion answered questions for an additional 30 minutes before analyzing the "most interesting game" from the 2011 Portland Closed Championship, a flashy encounter won by Steven Breckenridge when he mated his opponent in the middle of the board despite being three pieces down (see my blog dated 8/14/11).

The period after Bobby Fischer's 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia has been referred to as his "lost years". In the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, Josh Waitzin is heard lamenting that Bobby came out of retirement in 1992 and then disappeared again. In the recently released HBO documentary Bobby Fischer against the World, there is little mention of the gap between his rematch with Spassky and his unfortunate remarks following the 9-11-2001 terrorist attacks.

So, to the delight of the crowd assembled at the Doubletree Hotel in Lloyd Center this past weekend, Susan Polgar filled in some of that gap. Fischer crossed the Hungarian border with Yugoslavia in 1993 and moved to a neighborhood near Susan's family. Susan played chess frequently with Bobby until she relocated to the United States in 1994. Fischer remained in Budapest where he was apparently quite happy surrounded by his Yugoslavian bodyguard and his closest friends. These included Grandmasters Eugenio Torre (who was almost always with him), Pal Benko (he lived half the year in Budapest and the other half in New Jersey) and Lajos Portisch. In addition, Fischer saw his Hungarian girlfriend and, of course, the Polgar sisters and their parents. Spassky, who remained close friends with Fischer, visited from France from time to time.This photo of Bobby Fischer and Susan Polgar playing chess at her home in Budapest during 1993 is one of the few pictures of Bobby taken during his "lost years" after the 1992 rematch with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugolsavia. (photo courtesy of the Susan Polgar Foundation)

Susan and Bobby played dozens of Fischer Random chess games, a variant with 960 different starting positions (now referred to by FIDE and USCF as Fischer 960). When asked about her results, Susan said, "I won several games and he won several. I'd say we were fairly even." That prompted a question from the audience about his knight odds remark. Susan laughed and said, "I did ask him about it once. He told me 'yes I said it, yes I believed it, and yes I've changed my mind'. After that, we never discussed the issue again."

Besides studying and playing chess, Bobby kept busy in Hungary developing what tournament players now take for granted: digital clocks with time delays and increments. Fischer worked with a German company during this period. He spent many hours testing and making recommendations for improvements to these new devices. He gave one of his three clock prototypes to the Polgar family, a treasured gift that remains in their home in Budapest. In addition, Fischer spent much of his time maintaining his level of physical fitness by attending at least four different health spas around the city. It was later revealed that Paul Nemenyi, a Hungarian Jewish physicist, was Fischer's biological father. Although Susan didn't know it at the time, she speculates that Bobby was aware and spent some time in Hungary probing his own genealogical roots.

When Susan Polgar moved to the U.S., Fischer stayed in touch with the family, and also with her, via periodic phone calls to New York. But she never saw him again. When asked whether she thought the recent HBO documentary about Fischer was a fair reflection on his life, she said: "Yes, in general it was. However, they missed an opportunity to highlight his creative genius and not just his problems. They could have summarized his life in a more positive way at the end of the movie."

"Bobby was a brilliant man," she said, "who discovered many new ideas over the board and created rules for a whole new way to play the game with Fischer Random so that future world championship matches might not be awarded to the player who best utilizes his computer in preparation of openings. Fischer developed a dramatic new way of keeping time for the game that is officially adopted by FIDE as a way of making the game more exciting and avoiding adjournments, and he increased the financial rewards available to chess players so that now many of them can make a good living. Bobby Fischer deserves credit for these things and the documentary missed the punch line that would have made it more complete. That said, I believe it was an accurate portrayal of his life."

Later, she founded the Susan Polgar Foundation with the expressed mission to promote chess, with all its educational, social, and competitive benefits throughout the United States, for young people of all ages, especially girls. In 2004, Susan came out of retirement to play for the U.S. in the Chess Olympiad where she and her teammates won the Silver Medal and became role models for young girls interested in chess. Shortly thereafter, she created the Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, now in its eighth year. It is significant to note that ALL of the U.S. Women's Chess Champions crowned since that time were members of the 2004 Olympiad Team.

All one had to do at the Portland Chess Club Centennial tournament was look around the room where Susan Polgar's impact on girls in chess was clearly in evidence. Not only did Susan play dozens of smiling children in two simultaneous exhibitions sponsored by Chess for Success, but many of the competitors in both the Championship and Amateur sections were young ladies.

In today's blog I am pleased to celebrate the young women involved in chess in the Portland area. Many thanks to Andrei Botez, proud father of two such stars: Alexandra and Andrea, for taking these beautiful photos.


Megan Lee, rated 2059, earned two victories over USCF rated national masters in this event.


Alexandra Botez, rated 2035, recently earned a scholarship to University of Texas at Dallas for her chess prowess. After a slow start, she finished with three straight victories.


Alathea Lataw, playing in her first rated tournament notched victory #1 in round 3.


Sarah May did not lose a single game and finished with 4 points in 6 rounds in the Amateur section.


Sangeeta Dhingra scored 3 1/2 points to boost her 1541 rating and collect $66.67 in prize money.


Olga Cherapakhin scored two points in the Amateur section.


Menaka Nararanyan had an even score after a half point first round bye.


Hazel Malone loves to play chess, but gave up her time this weekend to volunteer as an important member of the tournament staff.


I know Becca Lampman is tough from personal experience. She already has two notches in her belt from victories against me.

Another good player frequently seen on the tournament trail is Susan Koenig. She was visible all weekend staffing the bookstore and the room used for side events like the Susan Polgar clock simul and the breakfast. Unfortunately, she was busy with her duties when these photos were taken. So we missed her, but her presence at the Centennial celebration was surely felt.

Below are most of the game scores from GM Susan Polgar's 10-board clock simul. She scored a perfect 10-0-0.

1) Polgar,Susan - Schoffstall,Karl [D09]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7 Morozevich's move, which led to a small comeback for this opening. 6.Bg2 Ng6 7.Bf4 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Qd7 9.Qb3 Bb4 10.0-0 a5 11.c5 a4 12.Qc2 h5 13.Ne4 a3 14.Rad1 Bf5 15.bxa3 Rxa3 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Qc4 Nxf4 18.gxf4 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Qa4 20.Rd4 Rxa2 21.Rxb4 Qxb4 22.Qxa2 0-0 23.Qb1 1-0

(2) Polgar,Susan - Breckenridge,Steven [E14]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.c4 c5 6.0-0 Be7 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.exd4 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Ne5 0-0 Rather bad luck, or just lack of knowledge of his opponent, led Steven to this position. Susan has played it at least 5 times in tournaments, including a win against Karpov in the Amber blindfold event, and a draw with Jan Timman. No wonder she makes this game look easy, despite facing a strong young master in a simul! 11.Qg4 f5 12.Qe2 Bf6 13.Bd2 a6 14.Rac1 Re8 15.Bc4 Nd7 16.f4 Nb8 17.Be3 Qd6 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxd5 Qxd5 20.Rc7 Bd8 21.Qh5 Rf8 22.Rf7 Qd6 23.Rc1 Bf6 24.Rcc7 Qd8 25.Rxf8+ Qxf8 26.Qf3 1-0

(3) Polgar,Susan - Sun,Maxwell [C45]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 Qxf3 7.gxf3 bxc6 8.Bd2 Bd4 9.c3 Bf6 10.Na3 Rb8 11.0-0-0 Ne7 12.f4 d6 13.Re1 0-0 14.h4 g6 15.h5 gxh5 16.Rxh5 Bg7 17.Bd3 Ng6 18.Reh1 Bg4 19.Rxh7 Bf3 20.R1h2 Bg4 21.Nc4 f5 22.Na5 Rb6 23.Bc4+ d5 24.exd5 Kf7 25.dxc6+ Kf6 26.Be3 Rd8 27.Bd4+ Rxd4 28.cxd4 Nf8 29.Rh8 Bxh8 30.Rxh8 Ng6 31.Rh7 Nxf4 32.Rxc7 Ne2+ 33.Bxe2 Bxe2 34.Rxa7 Ra6 35.Rxa6 Bxa6 36.Nb3 Ke7 37.Nc5 Bc8 38.b4 Kd6 39.b5 Kc7 40.a4 Kb6 41.Kb2 f4 42.Kb3 Kc7 43.a5 1-0

(4) Polgar,S - Esler,B [E60]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.g3 0-0 5.Bg2 d6 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Be3 e5 8.dxe5 Ng4 9.Bg5 Qd7 10.Nc3 h6 11.Bd2 Ngxe5 12.b3 Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Ne5 14.Bg2 c6 15.Qc1 Kh7 16.Qc2 Qe7 17.Rad1 f5 18.Bc1 Be6 19.Ba3 Rad8 20.e3 Rf7 21.h3 Qf6 22.Ne2 Rfd7 23.Rd2 d5 24.c5 Nf7 25.Bb2 Qxb2 26.Qxb2 Bxb2 27.Rxb2 Ne5 28.Rd1 Re7 29.Nd4 Bf7 30.Kf1 Nd7 31.Rc1 Kg7 32.Ke2 Kf6 33.Kd2 Ne5 34.Bf1 g5 35.Be2 Rde8 36.Rc3 f4 37.gxf4 gxf4 38.exf4 Ng6 39.Bg4 Nxf4 40.Re3 Re4 41.Ne2 h5 42.Rxe4 Rxe4 43.Bf3 Re5 44.Nxf4 Rf5 45.Ke3 Re5+ 46.Kd3 Rf5 47.Nxd5+ Bxd5 48.Bxd5 Rxd5+ 49.Ke4 Rxc5 50.f4 Rc3 51.h4 Rh3 52.Rd2 Ke7 53.Ke5 Rxh4 54.f5 Rh1 55.f6+ Kf7 56.Rd7+ Kg6 57.Rg7+ Kh6 58.Rg8 Re1+ 59.Kf5 Rf1+ 60.Ke6 Re1+ 61.Kf7 h4 62.Rh8+ Kg5 63.Kg7 Rf1 64.f7 Kg4 65.f8Q Rxf8 66.Kxf8 h3 67.Ke7 Kg3 68.Kd6 Kg2 69.Kc7 1-0

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(5) Polgar,S - Doddapaneni,V [B23]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.f4 e6 4.Nf3 d5 5.exd5 exd5 6.Bb5 Nge7 7.0-0 a6 8.Bxc6+ Nxc6 9.Re1+ Be7 10.d4 cxd4 11.Nxd4 0-0 12.Be3 Bf6 13.Qd2 Re8 14.Bf2 Be6 15.Rad1 Qd7 16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Na4 Bd8 18.Nc5 Qc7 19.Bd4 Be7 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Rxe6 Bd6 22.Qe2 Qf7 23.Re1 Rxe6 24.Qxe6 Rd8 25.f5 Rd7 26.g4 c5 27.Bf2 Kf8 28.Qxf7+ Kxf7 29.Kg2 c4 30.Bd4 Re7 31.Rxe7+ Bxe7 32.Kf3 Bf6 33.Bxf6 Kxf6 34.Kf4 g5+ 35.fxg6 hxg6 36.h4 a5 37.c3 a4 38.a3 Ke6 39.h5 1-0

(6) Polgar,S - Murray,D [D46]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.e3 Bd6 6.Bd3 0-0 7.0-0 Nbd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 Nf6 11.Bc2 b6 12.Bg5 Be7 13.Qd3 g6 14.Rad1 Bb7 15.Qe3 Ng4 16.Qf4 Bxg5 17.Nxg5 Nf6 18.Rd3 Nh5 19.Qd2 Qc7 20.Rh3 Rad8 21.Rxh5 gxh5 22.Qd3 f5 23.Nxe6 Qe7 24.Qg3+ Kh8 25.Nxf8 Rxf8 26.Qf4 Qg7 27.Qe5 Qxe5 28.dxe5 f4 29.Rd1 Re8 30.h4 Re7 31.b3 c5 32.a3 Rg7 33.Rd8+ 1-0

(7) Polgar,S - Lundy,G [D06]
Portland Centennial SImul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.cxd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 Qd8 5.e4 e6 6.Nf3 Bb4 7.Bd3 0-0 8.Bg5 Be7 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Qe2 h6 11.Bh4 Be8 12.e5 Nd5 13.Qe4 g6 14.Bxe7 Nxe7 15.Qf4 Kh7 16.Ne4 Ng8 17.h4 Nd7 18.h5 Qe7 19.Qg4 f5 20.exf6 Ndxf6 21.Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Ne5 Qg7 23.hxg6+ Kh8 24.Rae1 Ne7 25.Re3 Nxg6 26.Rg3 Kh7 27.Re1 Rd8 28.Ree3 Bf7 29.Ref3 Rc8 30.Rxf6 Qxf6 31.Rf3 1-0

(8) Polgar,S - Allison,E [A94]
Portland Centennial SImul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.d4 f5 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.0-0 Bd6 6.b3 0-0 7.c4 c6 8.Ba3 Bxa3 9.Nxa3 Qe7 10.Nc2 Nbd7 11.Nce1 Ne4 12.Nd3 Ndf6 13.Nfe5 Bd7 14.e3 g6 15.Qc2 Kh8 16.Rae1 Qg7 17.Nc5 Rab8 18.f3 Ng5 19.h4 Nxf3+ 20.Bxf3 Qe7 21.b4 a6 22.a4 b5 23.axb5 axb5 24.cxd5 exd5 25.Ncxd7 Nxd7 26.Nxc6 Qd6 27.Nxb8 Qxg3+ 28.Qg2 Qxb8 29.Bxd5 Qd6 30.Bf3 Qxb4 31.Rb1 Qe7 32.Qf2 Rb8 33.Rb3 b4 34.Rfb1 Kg7 35.Qe1 Kf6 36.Rxb4 Rc8 37.e4 fxe4 38.Qxe4 Qd6 39.R4b2 Kf7 40.Rf1 Kg7 41.Bg2 Rf8 42.Rxf8 Nxf8 43.Qe5+ Qxe5 44.dxe5 Ne6 45.Rb7+ Kh6 46.Bd5 Nd4 47.e6 Nf5 48.e7 Nxe7 49.Rxe7 Kh5 50.Rxh7+ Kg4 51.Be4 g5 52.hxg5 Kxg5 53.Rf7 Kg4 54.Kg2 Kg5 55.Kg3 Kh6 56.Kf4 Kh5 57.Rh7# 1-0

(9) Polgar,S - Burris,C [E06]
Portland Centennial Simul, 13.08.2011
[Niro,Frank]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3.c4 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 d5 6.Nc3 Be7 7.0-0 0-0 8.Ne5 c6 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Bf4 Nh5 11.Be3 Nf6 12.Qa4 a6 13.Qb3 Nbd7 14.Nd3 Rc8 15.a4 a5 16.Nb5 Ba6 17.Rac1 Bxb5 18.Qxb5 Bd6 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.dxe5 Bxe5 21.Bxb6 Bc7 22.Bxa5 Bxa5 23.Rxc8 Qxc8 24.Qxa5 Qc6 25.Qb4 Qc2 26.e3 Nd7 27.a5 Nc5 28.Qa3 Qc4 29.b4 Na6 30.Rb1 Qc7 31.b5 Qb7 32.Qd6 Nc7 33.a6 1-0

Photos of the clock simul are located here.

View the summary of the Portland Chess Club Centennial, with links to each of my blogs during the tournament (sincere thanks to Jeff Roland and Idaho Chess Association for making this coverage possible). And see the extensive coverage on the Northwest Chess web site (hank you to Eric Holcomb). The USCF cross tables reflecting rating changes as a result of the PCC Centennial are located here.

The Portland Chess Club main page is here (thank you to Grisha Alpernas).

More games from Portland Centennial

The official TD Staff. Jeff Roland (left-back), Frank Niro (right-back), Neil Dale (left-front), and Mike Morris (right-front). Photo by Andrei Botez.

View the summary of the Portland Chess Club Centennial, with links to each of my blogs during the tournament (sincere thanks to Jeff Roland and Idaho Chess Association for making this coverage possible)

Ummel,I (2097) - Roua,R (2269) [C25]
Portland Centennial (6), 14.08.2011
1.e4 Nc6 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4 exf4 4.Nf3 g5 5.h4 g4 6.Ng5 h5 7.Bc4 Ne5 8.Bb3 Be7 9.d4 Bxg5 10.hxg5 Ng6 11.Nd5 d6 12.Nxf4 Nxf4 13.Bxf4 Ne7 14.Qe2 Ng6 15.Bd2 c6 16.Rf1 Rh7 17.Rf6 a5 18.0-0-0 Nh8 19.Rdf1 Qe7 20.Bf4 Be6 21.d5 cxd5 22.exd5 Bd7 23.Qd3 1-0

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Lee,M (2059) - Haessler,C (2200) [C40]
Portland Centennial (6), 14.08.2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 e4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.d3 c5 6.Nb3 exd3 7.Bxd3 d5 8.Bb5+ Nc6 9.g4 Qe7+ 10.Kf1 Bd7 11.Kg2 0-0-0 12.c3 h5 13.g5 Bxf5 14.gxf6 Qxf6 15.h4 Bd6 16.Bg5 Be4+ 17.Kg1 Qf5 18.Bf1 Ne5 19.Bg2? Nf3+ 0-1

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Buck,S (1728) - Hendricks,D (1548) [A38]
Portland Centennial (6), 14.08.2011
1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.0-0 c5 7.d3 Nc6 8.Rb1 Rb8 9.a3 Nd7 10.Nd5 e6 11.Ne3 a5 12.Bd2 b6 13.b4 axb4 14.axb4 Bb7 15.b5 Nd4 16.Nxd4 Bxg2 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Nxg2 Ra8 19.Qb3 Ra7 20.Bc3 Bxc3 21.Qxc3 Qf6 22.Qxf6 Nxf6 23.Ra1 Rfa8 24.Rxa7 Rxa7 25.h3 Ra2 26.Re1 d5 27.Kf1 dxc4 28.dxc4 Kf7 29.Ne3 Ke7 30.Rc1 Ne4 31.Ke1 Nd2 32.Nf1 Nb3 33.Rd1 Nd4 34.Nd2 Nc2+ 35.Kf1 Na3 36.e3 Rc2 37.Ke1 Nxc4 38.Nxc4 Rxc4 39.Rb1 Rc2 40.Kf1 c4 41.Kg2 c3 42.Kf3 Kd6 43.e4 Kc5 44.Ke3 Kc4 45.f4 Rb2 0-1

Niro,F - Spink,W [C68]
Portland Centennial (6), 14.08.2011
We had a last minute withdrawal from the Amateur section. I offered Walter a full point bye or a game with me. He took the latter. Obviously, we were both pretty tired by round 6. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 5.d4 exd4 6.Qxd4 d6 7.0-0 Be7 8.Qxg7 Black resigned (the best way to go was 8...Bf6 9.Qg3 Ne7 10.Qf4± and it would still be a game) 1-0

Breckenridge,S (2267) - May,A (2129) [B22]
Portland Centennial (5), 14.08.2011
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0-0 Be6 10.Na3 dxc3 11.Qe2 Bxb3 12.Nb5 Qb8 13.axb3 e5 14.Nbd4 f6 15.bxc3 Kf7 16.Nb5 a6 17.Be3 Nd5 18.Qa2 Be7 19.b4 Rd8 20.Na3 Qc8 21.Bb6 Qe6 22.Bxd8 Rxd8 23.b5 axb5 24.Nxb5 Bc5 25.Rad1 g6 26.Rd2 Nce7 27.Rfd1 Qc6 28.Qb3 Kg7 29.c4 Nf4 30.Rxd8 Qe6 31.Ne1 Qg4 32.Qf3 Qg5 33.Nc7 Qf5 34.g4 Qg5 35.Qxf4 Qxf4 36.Ne6+ Kh6 37.Nxf4 exf4 38.Nf3 f5 39.g5+ Kh5 40.Rh8 Kg4 41.Kg2 h5 42.h3# 1-0

Cohen,D (1297) - Varner,M (1537) [C02]
Portland Centennial (5), 14.08.2011
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Nc6 4.c3 f6 5.f4 fxe5 6.g3 exd4 7.cxd4 Nf6 8.Nc3 Bb4 9.Nge2 0-0 10.Bg2 Bd7 11.0-0 a6 12.a3 Ba5 13.b4 Bb6 14.Kh1 Qe8 15.Bf3 Qg6 16.Be3 Ne7 17.Bg1 Nf5 18.Qe1 Nd6 19.Nc1 Rae8 20.Nb3 Nb5 21.Ne2 Nd6 22.Nc3 Bb5 23.Nxb5 Nxb5 24.a4 Nd6 25.Rc1 c6 26.Rf2 Nfe4 27.Re2 Rf6 28.Nc5 Re7 29.Nxe4 dxe4 30.Bxe4 Qh5 31.Rg2 Kf7 32.Bd3 Qd5 33.Qe5 Bc7 34.Rc5 Qf3 35.Be2 Qb3 36.Qh5+ Kg8 37.Bd1 Qxb4 38.Bc2 Rh6 39.Qd1 Bb6 40.Re5 Nf7 41.Re4 Qd6 42.Rge2 Bc7 43.Bb3 Rf6 44.Qe1 Nd8 45.Be3 Kf8 46.Bd2 Qd7 47.Bb4 Bd6 48.Ba5 Bc7 49.Bb4 Bd6 50.Ba5 Bc7 51.Bb4 ½-½

Lang,J - Letaw,A [C68]
Portland Centennial (5), 14.08.2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nc3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 Nf6 8.d3 h6 9.Bd2 Bc5 10.Qg3 g5 11.Qxe5+ Qe7 12.Qf5 Bd6 13.d4 Bb4 14.e5 Bxc3 15.Bxc3 Nd5 16.Bd2 Rf8 17.c4 Nb6 18.b3 Nd7 19.0-0 0-0-0 20.f4 Qe6 21.fxg5 Qxf5 22.Rxf5 hxg5 23.Bxg5 Rde8 24.Raf1 c5 25.Rxf7 cxd4 26.e6 Rxf7 27.exf7 Rh8 28.Bf6 Nxf6 29.Rxf6 Rf8 30.g4 c5 31.g5 d3 32.g6 d2 33.Rd6 1-0

Allison,R - Lang,J [D00]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e3 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.h3 c5 6.Ne5 c4 7.a3 Bd6 8.Nb5 Qa5+ 9.Nc3 Bxe5 10.dxe5 Ne4 11.Bd2 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 Nc6 13.f4 b5 14.a4 Nb4 15.0-0-0 Bxc2 16.Re1 bxa4 17.Na2 Nxa2+ 18.Kxc2 Nb4+ 19.Kd1 a3 20.bxa3 Qxa3 21.e4 0-0 22.exd5 exd5 23.Re3 Qa4+ 24.Ke2 Rfd8 25.Kf2 d4 26.Rg3 c3 27.Qe2 d3 28.Qe4 Qc2+ 29.Kf3 d2 30.Bd3 Qxd3+ 31.Qxd3 Rxd3+ 32.Kf2 Rxg3 33.Kxg3 c2 0-1

Bugaoan,J - Higbie,G [B12]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 Ne7 6.Nh4 c5 7.Bb5+ Nbc6 8.dxc5 Qc7 9.f4 Qa5+ 10.Nc3 0-0-0 11.Bxc6 Nxc6 12.Nxf5 exf5 13.0-0 Bxc5+ 14.Kh1 d4 15.Ne2 Rd7 16.a3 a6 17.Qd3 g6 18.Bd2 Qc7 19.b4 Ba7 20.b5 Nb8 21.a4 a5 22.Rac1 Bc5 23.Rf3 b6 24.Qc4 Rhd8 25.Rh3 h5 26.Rd3 Kb7 27.Be1 g5 28.g3 h4 29.Rcd1 hxg3 30.Bxg3 g4 31.Bh4 Rh8 32.Bf6 Rh6 33.Ng3 Bb4 34.Qxc7+ Rxc7 35.Nxf5 Rh3 36.Nxd4 Nd7 37.Rxh3 gxh3 38.Nc6 Nc5 39.Kg1 Nxa4 40.Bd8 Rxc6 41.Rd7+ Kc8 42.bxc6 Nc3 43.Bxb6 1-0

Cigan,J (1880) - Sinanan,J (2288) [B48]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Qc7 6.Be3 a6 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.f3 Be7 9.0-0-0 0-0 10.g4 b5 11.g5 Ne8 12.Kb1 Bb7 13.h4 Ne5 14.Qf2 b4 15.Na4 f6 16.Bh3 Nd6 17.Bxe6+ dxe6 18.Nxe6 Qc6 19.Nb6 [19.Nxf8!] 19...Nxe4 20.fxe4 Qxe6 21.Nxa8 Bxa8 0-1

Letaw,A - Hendricks,D [A69]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 0-0 6.Nf3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Be2 exd5 9.cxd5 Re8 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 Ng4 12.Bg5 Qa5 13.Bf4 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Bxe5 Rxe5 16.0-0 Bf5 17.Qd2 Nd7 18.Rad1 Rae8 19.Bb5 Qd8 20.Bxd7 Qxd7 21.Qg5 Bd3 22.Qf6 Bxf1 23.Qxf1 a6 24.Qc4 Re1+ 25.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 26.Kf2 Qe7 27.Ne2 Rd1 28.b3 Qf6+ 29.Qf4 Qxf4+ 30.Nxf4 g5 31.Ke2 Rd4 0-1

Rana,D (1912) - Chi,Q (1719) [B23]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.f4 Ne7 4.Nf3 g6 5.Be2 Bg7 6.d3 0-0 7.0-0 d5 8.e5 Qb6 9.Qe1 Nbc6 10.Kh1 Nd4 11.Nxd4 cxd4 12.Nd1 Nc6 13.c3 dxc3 14.bxc3 d4 15.Ba3 Rd8 16.c4 Bf8 17.Bxf8 Kxf8 18.Qh4 Kg8 19.Rf3 Kg7 20.Qf6+ Kg8 21.Rh3 Qb4 22.Nf2 Qb2 23.Rg1 Qxe2 24.Ne4 Rf8 25.Qg5 f5 26.Qh6 Rf7 27.Nf6+ Rxf6 28.Qxh7+ Kf8 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Rh7+ Rf7 31.Qf6+ Kd7 32.Rxf7+ Ke8 33.Qg7 1-0

Smith,P (1590) - Cohen,D (1297) [A34]
Portland Centennial (4), 13.08.2011
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 e6 4.e4 d6 5.d3 Nc6 6.g3 b6 7.Bg2 Bb7 8.0-0 Be7 9.Re1 0-0 10.a3 a6 11.Rb1 Rb8 12.Be3 Qc7 13.Bf4 Nh5 14.Bg5 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 Nf6 16.Bh3 Bc8 17.Nf3 Bd7 18.Qd2 Nd4 19.Nxd4 cxd4 20.Ne2 e5 21.Bxd7 Qxd7 22.Kg2 h6 23.f4 Ng4 24.f5 Ne3+ 25.Kh1 g6 26.Rf1 Kh7 27.g4 Nxg4 28.Ng3 Ne3 29.Rf3 g5 30.h3 g4 31.hxg4 Nxg4 32.Rg1 Qe7 33.f6 Nxf6 34.Nf5 1-0

Addis,E (1849) - Robson,L [B01]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
Luke graciously played the game after Ed had forfeited, and ended up with a draw. Sportsmanship was served. 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4 c6 6.Bd2 Qb6 7.Nf3 Bf5 8.Bb3 e6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Be3 Qc7 11.Qe2 Bd6 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nbd7 14.Rfe1 0-0 15.Ne4 Nxe4 16.Qxe4 Nf6 17.Qh4 Nd5 18.Bd2 Bf4 19.Rad1 Bxd2 20.Rxd2 Qf4 21.Qxf4 Nxf4 22.Re4 Ng6 23.Rde2 a5 24.c3 Rfe8 25.g3 a4 26.Bc2 b5 27.f4 Ne7 28.Re5 a3 29.Rc5 axb2 30.Bb1 Red8 31.Rxb2 Rd5 32.Rxd5 Nxd5 33.Be4 g6 34.Bxd5 cxd5 35.Kf1 Ra3 36.Rc2 Kg7 37.Ke1 Kf6 38.g4 g5 39.fxg5+ Kxg5 40.Kf1 Kh4 41.Kg2 f5 42.gxf5 exf5 43.Kf3 b4 [43...Kg5 player note. Clearly Black missed the best chances in this ending.] 44.Kf4 Rxc3 45.Rb2 Kxh3 46.Rxb4 h5 47.Kxf5 Kg3 48.Ke5 Ra3 49.Kxd5 Rxa2 50.Ke6 h4 51.d5 h3 52.Rb3+ Kg2 53.Rxh3 Kxh3 54.d6 ½-½

Hendricks,D (1548) - Bannon,D (1892) [A40]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.d4 e6 2.Bf4 f5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 Be7 5.h3 b6 6.c4 Bb7 7.Nc3 d6 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.0-0 Nf8 10.Qb3 Ng6 11.Bh2 Ne4 12.Rad1 Nxc3 13.bxc3 0-0 14.c5 Qc8 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Bc4 d5 17.Be2 Ba6 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Rac8 21.Rc1 Rc4 22.Rc2 Rfc8 23.Rfc1 Qa5 24.Kf1 Ba3 25.Rb1 Rxc3 26.Rxc3 Rxc3 27.Qd1 Qa6+ 28.Ke1 Qc4 29.Bb8 Rc2 30.Bxa7 Bb4+ 31.Rxb4 Qxb4+ 32.Kf1 Qc4+ 0-1

Janniro,M (2071) - Sinanan,J (2288) [A22]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 Bb4 4.Bg2 0-0 5.d3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c6 7.Nf3 Re8 8.0-0 d5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.Qb3 h6 11.c4 Nc6 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Ba3 Nb6 14.Rfe1 Bg4 15.Qb2 Qd7 16.Rac1 f6 17.Qb5 Qf7 18.Bc5 Qxa2 19.Bxb6 axb6 20.Qxb6 Qf7 21.Rb1 Re7 22.h3 Be6 23.Rb2 Ra6 24.Qc5 Ra5 25.Qc3 Ra2 26.Reb1 Rxb2 27.Rxb2 Rc7 28.Qa3 Qd7 29.h4 Kh7 30.Rc2 Ne7 31.Qc1 Rxc2 32.Qxc2 Kh8 33.Nd2 b5 34.Qc5 Bd5 35.Bxd5 Nxd5 36.Nb3 Kg8 37.e4 Nc7 38.d4 Ne6 39.Qb6 Nxd4 40.Nxd4 exd4 41.Kf1 Kf7 42.Ke2 Qg4+ 43.Kd2 Qxe4 44.Qxb5 f5 45.h5 Kg8 46.Qb8+ Kh7 47.Qd6 Qg4 48.Qe5 Qxh5 49.Qxd4 Qf3 50.Qc5 Kg6 51.Ke1 Kh5 52.Qf8 g5 53.Qg7 Qh1+ 54.Ke2 Kg4 55.Qg6 Qe4+ 56.Kd2 h5 57.f4 Qg2+ 58.Kd1 Qd5+ 59.Ke2 Qa2+ 60.Kd1 Qb1+ 61.Kd2 Qb4+ 62.Kd1 Qd4+ 63.Ke2 Qb2+ 1-0 (time)

Lang,J (1321) - Goldman,C (1805) [B34]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 0-0 8.Bh6 Bxh6 0-1

Levin,S (1795) - Kiiru,J (1872) [B14]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Nf3 Be7 8.c5 0-0 9.Bb5 Ne4 10.Bxe7 Nxe7 11.0-0 Ng6 12.Re1 f5 13.Bf1 Bd7 14.Nd2 b6 15.Ndxe4 fxe4 16.b4 bxc5 17.bxc5 Qg5 18.Re3 Rxf2 19.Kxf2 Rf8+ 20.Ke2 Nf4+ 21.Kd2 Nxg2 22.Bxg2 Rf2+ 23.Ne2 Rxg2 24.Qb3 Rxe2+ 25.Kxe2 Qg2+ 26.Kd1 Qg1+ 27.Re1 Qxd4+ 28.Ke2 Qxc5 29.Qb8+ Kf7 30.Rf1+ Kg6 31.Rg1+ Kh5 32.Qe5+ 1-0

Orlov,G (2541) - Haessler,C (2200) [C41]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Qd2 0-0 8.0-0-0 a6 9.f3 b5 10.h4 Bd7 11.Bh6 Nc6 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.h5 Qe7 14.hxg6 fxg6 15.Nd5 Nxd5 16.Nxc6 Bxc6 17.exd5 Bd7 18.Bd3 Kg8 19.Rde1 Qg7 20.Be4 Bf5 21.Bxf5 Rxf5 22.Re6 Raf8 23.Rhe1 h6 24.Re7 R5f7 25.R7e6 Rf5 26.R1e4 Kh7 27.Re7 R8f7 28.Re8 Rf8 29.Rxf8 Qxf8 30.Qe3 h5 31.Re7+ Rf7 32.Re8 Qg7 33.c3 Rf8 34.Re6 Rf7 35.Re8 Rf8 36.Kc2 Qf6 37.Kb3 Rxe8 38.Qxe8 Kh6 39.Qe4 g5 40.a4 h4 41.axb5 axb5 42.Qe6 Kg6 43.Kb4 Qxe6 44.dxe6 c6 45.Ka5 Kf6 46.Kb6 c5 47.Kxb5 Kxe6 48.Kc4 Ke5 49.b4 cxb4 50.cxb4 Kf4 51.b5 Kg3 52.b6 Kxg2 53.b7 h3 54.b8Q h2 55.Qb2+ Kg3 56.Qc1 Kxf3 57.Qh1+ Kg3 58.Kd5 g4 59.Kxd6 Kh3 60.Qf1+ 1-0

Roback,J (1960) - Ummel,I (2097) [B19]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.Nf3 Nd7 7.h4 h6 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 e6 11.Bd2 Ngf6 12.0-0-0 Bd6 13.Ne4 Nxe4 14.Qxe4 Qc7 15.Kb1 0-0-0 16.c4 c5 17.Bc3 Nf6 18.Qe2 cxd4 19.Nxd4 a6 20.Nb3 Be7 21.Ba5 b6 22.Bc3 Qb7 23.Bd4 Rd7 24.f3 Rhd8 25.Bxf6 Bxf6 26.Rxd7 Rxd7 27.Rd1 Rxd1+ 28.Qxd1 Qc7 29.Qc2 Qe5 30.g4 Qe1+ 31.Nc1 Bg5 32.b3 Kc7 33.Qh2+ e5 34.Qc2 Kc6 35.a3 Qxc1+ 36.Qxc1 Bxc1 37.Kxc1 Kc5 38.Kc2 Kd4 39.Kd2 a5 40.Kc2 a4 41.Kb2 Kd3 42.c5 bxc5 ½-½

Roua,R - Leceste,L [D40]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 Be7 5.e3 c5 6.dxc5 Bxc5 7.a3 a5 8.cxd5 exd5 9.Bb5+ Bd7 10.0-0 0-0 11.h3 Bf5 12.Nd4 Bg6 13.f4 Be4 14.b3 Na6 15.Na4 Be7 16.Bb2 Nc5 17.Nc3 Qb6 18.Rc1 Rfc8 19.Re1 Bf8 20.Qe2 g6 21.Na4 Nxa4 22.Bxa4 Nh5 23.g4 Ng7 24.Qb5 Qd8 25.g5 h6 26.h4 Qe7 27.Qd7 Qxd7 28.Bxd7 Rd8 29.Rc7 Rab8 30.Bh3 Ne8 31.Rcc1 Bg7 32.Bc3 hxg5 33.hxg5 Ra8 34.Nb5 Bxc3 35.Rxc3 Kf8 36.Rd1 Ra6 37.Rdc1 Nd6 38.Nd4 a4 39.b4 Raa8 40.Bf1 Kg7 41.Rc7 Rh8 42.Ne6+ Kg8 43.Nc5 Rh1+ 44.Kf2 Rh2+ 45.Ke1 Bf5 46.Nd7 Bxd7 47.Rxd7 Nf5 48.Rxd5? Nxe3 49.Re5 Nxf1 [49...Nxf1 50.Kxf1 Rh1+] 0-1

Sen,S (2052) - Lee,A (2267) [E14]
Portland Centennial (3), 13.08.2011
1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.0-0 c5 6.c4 d6 7.Nc3 g6 8.d5 exd5 9.cxd5 Bg7 10.e4 0-0 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bd2 Ba6 13.Qe2 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 a6 15.a4 Nbd7 16.h3 Ne8 17.Rae1 Nc7 18.Bf4 Nf6 19.Nd2 Nfe8 20.e5 dxe5 21.Bxe5 Nf6 22.d6 Ne6 23.Nde4 Nxe4 24.Qxe4 Bxe5 25.Qxe5 Qg5 26.f4 Qxe5 27.fxe5 Nd4 28.Re3 Kg7 29.Ne2 Nxe2+ 30.Rxe2 Rad8 31.Rd1 Rfe8 32.Kf2 Re6 33.Kf3 f6 34.Kf4 fxe5+ 35.Rxe5 Rexd6 36.Rxd6 Rxd6 37.a5 Rd4+ 38.Ke3 Kf6 39.Re4 Rxe4+ 40.Kxe4 b5 41.Kd5 c4 42.Kc5 Ke5 43.Kb6 Kd6 44.Kxa6 Kc6 45.Ka7 Kc7 46.a6 b4 47.Ka8 c3 48.a7 c2 0-1

4-way tie at Portland Centennial

FIDE Master Bindi Cheng, co-winner (photo: Andrei Botez)

Georgi Orlov, Nick Raptis, Bindi Cheng and Loren Laceste each scored five points in six rounds to finish deadlocked atop the 54-player Championship section of Portland Chess Club Centennial. Robert Herrara won the Amateur section with a perfect 6-0 score.

"A" for effort, A+ for results. Robert Herrara swept the Amatuer section prize with a perfect 6-0 score.

Click link for final results in the Championship section.

Click link for final results in the Amateur section.

View combined cross tables and links to my previous blogs covering this event (sincere thanks to Jeff Roland and the Idaho Chess Association for their help in making this coverage possible).

Here is one of the decisive round 6 games:

Andy Lee vs. Bindi Cheng
2011 Portland Centennial Open, Round 6
August 14, 2011
1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. f4 g6 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bb5+ Bd7 6. Bxd7+ Qxd7 7. O-O Nc6 8. d3 Rc8 9. Kh1 Nf6 10. f5 gxf5 11. Nh4 fxe4 12. Nf5 Rg8 13. Bg5 Bh8 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Nxe4 Bxb2 16. Rb1 Be5 17. c3 b6 18. d4 cxd4 19. cxd4 Nxd4 20. Nxd4 Rc4 21. Qf3 Qg4 22. Nxd6+ Bxd6 23. Qa8+ Kd7 24. Qb7+ Rc7 25. Qd5 Rg5 26. Rf5 Rxf5 27. Nxf5 Qf4 28. g3 Rc1+ 29. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 30. Kg2 Qc6 (0-1)

Play chess online

Co-champion IM Georgi Orlov of WA (photo credit: A. Botez)

Here's another last round game score for one of the co-winners (provided by Mike Morris):


Championship Section summary

5 points:
1 Georgi Orlov 2541 X- W16 W11 D7 W6 D3
2 Bindi Cheng 2386 W29 W14 W28 D3 D7 W10
3 Nick Raptis 2261 W31 W32 W33 D2 W8 D1
4 Loren Laceste 0 D27 W24 W22 D8 W11 W9 (pictured below)

4.5 points:
5 Daniel Gay 2120 W37 D6 D41 D26 W27 W15
6 Michael Lee 2437 X-- D5 W19 W27 L1 D14

4 points:
7 Howard Chen 2362 X-- W12 W40 D1 D2 U--
8 David Roper 2334 W30 W13 D20 D4 L3 W31
9 S Breckenridge 2267 D42 D36 W39 W20 W18 L4
10 Andy Lee 2267 W43 L28 W29 W41 W16 L2
11 Carl Haessler 2200 X-- W47 L1 W40 L4 W28
12 Peter Lessler 2114 W45 L7 W47 L16 W41 W33
13 Igor Ummel 2097 W50 L8 D48 W38 D21 W22
14 Nathan Lee 2085 W52 L2 D38 W48 W17 D6

3.5 points:
15 Joshua Sinanan2 288 D34 W48 L27 W33 W28 L5
16 Corbin Yu 2162 W44 L1 W36 W12 L10 D20
17 John Williams 2146 L33 D21 W54 W37 L14 W34
18 Andy May 2129 L47 W44 W50 W34 L9 D21
19 Paul Bartron 2104 D49 W42 L6 L21 W45 W36
20 James Chan 1938 W25 W23 D8 L9 D26 D16
21 Alexandru Florea 1930 L26 D17 W49 W19 D13 D18

3 points:
22 Radu Roua 2269 X--- L40 L4 W32 W42 L13
23 David Bragg 2212 W35 L20 W31 L28 D34 H-
24 David Golub 2188 L32 L4 D51 W54 W37 D27
25 Roger Patterson 2179 L20 D35 H- D44 W38 D29
26 Michael Pendergast 2177 W21 L33 W32 D5 D20 U-
27 Mike Janniro 2071 D4 W54 W15 L6 L5 D24
28 Megan Lee 2059 W38 W10 L2 W23 L15 L11
29 Samir Sen 2052 L2 W52 L10 D36 W48 D25
30 Alexandra Botez 2035 L8 L50 L44 W49 W47 W42
31 Bill Heywood 2000 L3 W46 L23 W52 W39 L8
32 Brian Esler 1984 W24 L3 L26 L22 W50 W41
33 Jason Cigan 1880 W17 W26 L3 L15 W40 L12

2.5 points:
34 Carl Koontz 2027 D15 W51 H--- L18 D23 L17
35 Roberto Aiello 1992 L23 D25 L37 L45 W52 W48
36 David Inglis 1937 H-- D9 L16 D29 W44 L19
37 H G Pitre 1839 L5 D53 W35 L17 L24 W52
38 Ryan Lo unr. L28 W43 D14 L13 L25 W46

2 points:
39 Roland Feng 2074 L48 W45 L9 W47 L31 U--
40 Richard Gutman 2068 W46 W22 L7 L11 L33 U-
41 Steven Deeth 2062 H--- W49 D5 L10 L12 L32
42 Mikeal Davis 2015 D9 L19 H--- W50 L22 L30
43 Preston Polasek 2007 L10 L38 H- W46 U- D44
44 Mark Havrilla 1923 L16 L18 W30 D25 L36 D43
45 Ben Chu Kung 1817 L12 L39 D46 W35 L19 H--

1.5 points:
46 John Doknjas 1931 L40 L31 D45 L43 W54 L38
47 Todd Imada 1875 W18 L11 L12 L39 L30 H--
48 Joe Roback 1960 W39 L15 D13 L14 L29 L35

1 point:
49 Dan Mathews 1800 D19 L41 L21 L30 H-- U--
50 Calvin Parnon 1753 L13 W30 L18 L42 L32 U-
51 Jonathan Fortune 1616 H- L34 D24 U- U- U-
52 George Lundy 1440 L14 L29 B- L31 L35 L37

0.5:
53 Michael Morris 2052 U- D37 U- U- U-- U--
54 Allen Chalfen 1853 H- L27 L17 L24 L46 U-

Amateur section summary - 3 or more points:

6 points:
1 Robert Herrera 1985 W97 W37 W22 W5 W25 W6

5.5 points:
2 Robert Fisette 1860 W79 W43 D53 W41 W14 W8
3 Kun Jack Cheng 1767 W115 W91 W19 W11 D6 W16

5 points:
4 Vlajko Lakic 1909 W112 W54 L5 W27 W23 W21
5 Micah A Smith 1806 W84 W80 W4 L1 W18 W20

4.5 points:
6 Doug Sterclik 1976 W60 W39 W23 W38 D3 L1
7 Larry Ball1955 D15 W58 L42 W111 W28 W25
8 Jerry Sherrard 1933 W30 W40 D35 W53 W12 L2
9 Ethan J Peake 1907 L76 W63 W74 W57 W51 D11
10 Joseph Kiiru 1872 W78 W71 L38 W59 D44 W39
11 Marcus Robinson 1843 W81 W29 W59 L3 W38 D9
12 Jofrel Landingin H--- W46 W85 W42 L8 W44
13 Evan Whipple 1800 L114 D48 W124 W79 W85 W33
14 Matt Dalthorp 1698 D68 W116 W50 W35 L2 W34
15 Nick Figone 1583 D7 L92 W66 W54 W41 W49

Pictured above is Matt Dalthorp, one of the Amateur Section prize winners in the under-1800 category.

4 points:
16 Diwakar Rana 1912 D46 W111 D44 W43 W22 L3
17 David Bannon 1892 L113 W82 W30 D29 W42 H-
18 Pete Pritchett 1872 W77 L26 W75 W73 L5 W56
19 Paul Leblanc 1854 W100 W27 L3 W45 D26 D29
20 Edward Addis 1849 W47 W73 D26 D24 W31 L5
21 Michael Goffe 1836 W62 W45 H-- D26 W32 L4
22 Jeremy Krasin 1830 W48 W96 L1 W80 L16 W57
23 LD VanWeerdhuizen W82 W113 L6 W107 L4 W58
25 Jason Ellis 1800 W102 W31 W32 W69 L1 L7
26 Luke Robson 1763 W126 W18 D20 D21 D19 D24
27 Maxwell Sun 1702 W122 L19 W87 L4 W67 W50
28 Robert Allen 1700 D67 W117 W92 D34 L7 W51
29 Steven Witt 1697 W89 L11 W90 D17 W35 D19
30 David Hendricks 1548 L8 W120 L17 W122 W93 W55
31 Jenesis Bugaoan W57 L25 W96 W52 L20 W53

3.5 points:
32 Peter Watts 1934 W74 W70 L25 W37 L21 D43
33 Dan Copeland 1931 W75 L53 W60 W71 D34 L13
34 Severo Caluza 1829 H- W124 W88 D28 D33 L14
35 Noah Fields 1825 W65 W76 D8 L14 L29 W74
36 Collin Goldman L85 L83 W102 W100 D46 W75
37 Robert Malone 1795 W87 L1 W77 L32 D76 W84
38 Scott Levin 1795 W103 W110 W10 L6 L11 D45
39 Ted Lundin 1789 W104 L6 W61 H--- W89 L10
40 Kyle Haining 1786 W66 L8 L80 W62 W99 D47
41 Becca Lampman 1782 H- W125 W67 L2 L15 W76
42 Jim McAleer 1766 D107 W119 W7 L12 L17 W90
43 Quentin Chi 1719 W108 L2 W84 L16 W80 D32
44 Nathan Armstrong W118 D50 D16 W91 D10 L12
45 Bryan Shapiro 1631 W123 L21 W64 L19 W92 D38
46 Sangeeta Dhingra 1541 D16 L12 W117 D92 D36 W70
47 Frederick Davis 1455 L20 W123 D54 W72 D53 D40
48 Dhruva Chatterjee 1408 L22 D13 L55 W116 W95 W73

3 points:
49 Roland Eagles 1983 L59 L84 W101 W88 W96 L15
50 William Karr 1863 W61 D44 L14 H--- W59 L27
51 David Wen 1828 W63 L59 W112 W86 L9 L28
52 Gordon Higbie 1805 W101 L86 W113 L31 W98 U-
53 Aaron Nicoski 1771 W106 W33 D2 L8 D47 L31
54 Casy Bush 1764 W120 L4 D47 L15 D81 W85
55 Stephen Buck 1728 D116 L88 W48 D68 W86 L30
56 Siva Narayanan 1727 H- L107 D104 W63 W77 L18
57 David Yoshinaga 1700 L31 W101 W114 L9 W106 L22
58 Dan Kramlich 1640 H-- L7 W65 D67 W91 L23
59 Alan Walk 1623 W49 W51 L11 L10 L50 W103
60 William Gagnon 1600 L6 W115 L33 D81 W87 D68
61 Arliss Dietz 1500 L50 W118 L39 D90 D109 W102
62 Austin Nguyen 1424 L21 L64 W126 L40 W119 W106
63 Dillon Murray 1407 L51 L9 W108 L56 W104 W96
64 James Wang 1396 L73 W62 L45 L77 W108 W99
65 Mark S Hanna 1376 L35 D93 L58 W115 W72 H--
66 Nathan Jewell 1146 L40 H-- L15 W78 D97 W98
67 Sadrac Chery D28 W72 L41 D58 L27 W97
68 Joshua Doknjas D14 W95 L24 D55 D73 D60

Pictured above is FM Nick Raptis, winner of the blitz side event and co-champion of the Championship section.

Portland Chess Club Centennial ends today

On Board 1, Howard Chen and Georgi Orlov wish each other good luck to start round 4 of the Portland CC Centennial

Round 6 starts at 5 p.m. today.

Click here for results in the Championship section through round 5.

Click here for results in the Amateur section through round 5.

The Championship pairings for round 6 are here

The Amateur pairings for round 6 are here

Round 5 started at 10 a.m. today.

The Championship pairings for round 5 are here.

The Amateur pairings for round 5 are here.

USCF Master Steven Breckenridge ponders his next move during round 3 of the Portland Chess Club Centennial

Oregon co-champion Steven Breckenridge received the $100 "most interesting game" prize for his effort against Steven Deeth at the 2011 Oregon Closed Championship which was held at the Portland Chess Club this past February. The game was selected by GM Susan Polgar from among the six best games nominated by the players themselves. Susan analyzed the game on a demonstration board during her well attended breakfast meeting held this morning before the start of round 5.

Breckenridge,S (2211) - Deeth,S (2086) [B22]
Oregon Closed Portland OR (6)
February 20,2011
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 e6 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d6 8.exd6 Nc6 9.cxd4 Qxd6 10.0-0 Nb4 11.Nc3 Bd7 12.Ne4 Qc7 13.Bg5 Bc6 14.Rc1 Be7 15.Ne5 Rd8 16.Qg4 Bxg5 17.Nxg5 Rd7 18.Bxe6 fxe6 19.Qh5+ Ke7 20.Nxe6 Kxe6 21.Rfe1 Kd6 22.Nc4+ Nxc4 23.Qc5# 1-0

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Here are three game scores from GM Susan Polgar's 10-board clock simul. She scored a perfect 10-0-0. Many thanks to Chuck Schulien for taking the time to go over these games.

1) Polgar,Susan - Schoffstall,Karl [D09]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Nge7 Morozevich's move, which led to a small comeback for this opening. 6.Bg2 Ng6 7.Bf4 Bg4 8.Nbd2 Qd7 9.Qb3 Bb4 10.0-0 a5 11.c5 a4 12.Qc2 h5 13.Ne4 a3 14.Rad1 Bf5 15.bxa3 Rxa3 16.Nxd4 Nxd4 17.Qc4 Nxf4 18.gxf4 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Qa4 20.Rd4 Rxa2 21.Rxb4 Qxb4 22.Qxa2 0-0 23.Qb1 1-0

(2) Polgar,Susan - Breckenridge,Steven [E14]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.c4 c5 6.0-0 Be7 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.exd4 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.Ne5 0-0 Rather bad luck, or just lack of knowledge of his opponent, led Steven to this position. Susan has played it at least 5 times in tournaments, including a win against Karpov in the Amber blindfold event, and a draw with Jan Timman. No wonder she makes this game look easy, despite facing a strong young master in a simul! 11.Qg4 f5 12.Qe2 Bf6 13.Bd2 a6 14.Rac1 Re8 15.Bc4 Nd7 16.f4 Nb8 17.Be3 Qd6 18.Nxd5 Bxd5 19.Bxd5 Qxd5 20.Rc7 Bd8 21.Qh5 Rf8 22.Rf7 Qd6 23.Rc1 Bf6 24.Rcc7 Qd8 25.Rxf8+ Qxf8 26.Qf3 1-0

(3) Polgar,Susan - Sun,Maxwell [C45]
simul, 13.08.2011
[Schulien,Charles]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3 Qxf3 7.gxf3 bxc6 8.Bd2 Bd4 9.c3 Bf6 10.Na3 Rb8 11.0-0-0 Ne7 12.f4 d6 13.Re1 0-0 14.h4 g6 15.h5 gxh5 16.Rxh5 Bg7 17.Bd3 Ng6 18.Reh1 Bg4 19.Rxh7 Bf3 20.R1h2 Bg4 21.Nc4 f5 22.Na5 Rb6 23.Bc4+ d5 24.exd5 Kf7 25.dxc6+ Kf6 26.Be3 Rd8 27.Bd4+ Rxd4 28.cxd4 Nf8 29.Rh8 Bxh8 30.Rxh8 Ng6 31.Rh7 Nxf4 32.Rxc7 Ne2+ 33.Bxe2 Bxe2 34.Rxa7 Ra6 35.Rxa6 Bxa6 36.Nb3 Ke7 37.Nc5 Bc8 38.b4 Kd6 39.b5 Kc7 40.a4 Kb6 41.Kb2 f4 42.Kb3 Kc7 43.a5 1-0

2011 Portland Chess Club Centennial (5)
David Hendricks (1548) vs. Randall Smolensky (1859)
August 14, 2011
1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 e6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bd3 Nbd7 5. Nf3 c5 6. c3 c4 7. Bc2 Be7 8. Nbd2 O-O 9. Ne5 g6 10. h4 h5 11. Qf3 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng4 13. Qg3 Qb6 14. Rb1 Kg7 15. Ke2 Bc5 16. Nf3 Be7 17. Nd4 Bd7 18.f3 Nh6 19. Qh3 Rh8 20. g4 hxg4 21. fxg4 Qd8 22. Rbg1 Qb6 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. hxg5 Nf5 25. Qf3 Qxb2 26. gxf5 exf5 27. Kd2 b5 28. Qxd5 b4 29.Qxd7 Qxc3+ 30. Ke2 Rae8 31. Rxh8 Rxe5 32.Rh7+ 1-0

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Blitz Tournament Coverage:
Saturday's 16-round blitz tournament was won by Nick Raptis with 13 points, 1/2 point ahead of Bindi Cheng. John Donaldson was third in the 24-player side event. Click here to see the final crosstable.

A special ceremony was held prior to round four to present 2011 Orgeon Senior co-champions, Mike Janniro and Steven Deeth, with their trophies. Mrs. Irene Hall, widow of Dr. Ralph L. Hall, who died earlier this year, made the presentations.
Left to right are Steven Deeth, Mrs. Irene Hall (widow of Dr. Ralph Hall) and Mike Janniro. Deeth and Janniro are 2011 Oregon Senior co-champions.

Thanks to Andrei Botez for taking the photos in today's blog update.

There's more to life than chess

Among the players visiting Portland to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Portland chess club is FIDE rated player Joe Roback of Canada, who lives with Bipolar Disorder. Joe has had a strong recovery and attends Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, Canada. He is an avid chess player and musician. Joe also volunteers with many mental health organizations. He is playing in the Championship section of the Portland Chess Centennial, August 12-14, 2011.



Round 3 pairings for the Championship section can be found here.

Round 3 pairings for the Amateur section can be found here.

The last game in each second round section ended after 1 a.m. Pacific Time.

Standings for the Championship section after Round 2:

2 points: Georgi Orlov, Bindi Cheng, Howard Chen, David Roper, Nick Raptis, Carl Haessler, Richard Gutman, Megan Lee, James Chan, Jason Cigan

1.5 points: Michael Lee, Joshua Sinanan, Daniel Gay, Paul Bartron, Mike Janniro, Steven Deeth, Carl Koontz, Lauren Laceste

1 point: Radu Roua, Steven Breckenridge, Andy Lee, David Bragg, Michael Pendergast, Corbin Yu, Andy May, Peter Lessler, Igor Ummel, Nathan Lee, Roland Feng, Samir Sen, Bill Heywood, Brian Esler, David Inglis, Todd Imada, Calvin Parnon, Joe Roback, Ryan Lo

0.5: Roger Patterson, John Williams, Michel Morris, Mikeal Davis, Robert Aiello, Alexandru Florea, Allen Chalfen, H G Pitre, Daniel Mathews, Jonathan Fortune

0: David Golub, Alexandra Botez, Preston Polasek, John Doknjas, Mark Havrilla, Ben Chu Kung, George Lundy

Click here for detailed Championship section results as of round 2


Leading scorers in the Amateur section after Round 2:

2 points: Robert Herrera, Doug Sterclick, Peter Watts, Jerry Sherrard, Vlajko Lakic, Joseph, Kiiru, Robert Fisette, Paul Leblanc, Ed Addis, Marcus Robinson, Michael Goffe, Jeremy Krasin, Lane Van Weerdhuizen, Noah Fields, Micah Smith, Jason Ellis, Scott Levin, Aaron Nicoski, Jack Cheng, Luke Robson, Alan Walk, Gabriel Skoro

1.5 points: Blake Salisbury, Larry Ball, Diwakar Rana, Ryan Ackerman, William Karr, Jofrel Landingan, Severo Caluza, Sarah May, Becca Lampman, James McAleer, Nathan Armstrong, Robert Allen, Matt Dalthorp, Matthew Stevens, Menaka Narayanan, Alexander Barrett, Sadrac Chery, Joshua Donknjas

Click here for detailed Amateur section results as of round 2

Pairings for Round 4 Amateur section are here

Pairings for Round 4 Championship section are here

Click here for detailed Championship section results as of round 3

Click here for detailed Amateur section results as of round 3

2011 Portland Chess Centennial
Round 2, August 12, 2011
Carl Haessler (2200) vs. Todd Imanda (1875)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 g6 4. O-O Bg7 5. Na3 e5 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. d3 Qe7 8. Nc4 f6 9. c3 Bg4 10. d4 Nh6 11. dxc5 O-O 12. b4 Rad8 13. Qe2 Nf7 14. Ne3 Bxf3 15. Qxf3 Ng5 16. Qg4 Rd3 17. Bb2 h5 18. Qe2 Rfd8 19. Nc4 Ne6 20. g3 Ng5 21. Nd6 Rd2 22. Qc4+ Kh7 23. Bc1 b5 24. Qb3 Qd7 25. Bxd2 Nf3+ 26. Kg2 Nxd2 27. Qc2 Nxf1 28. Rxf1 Bf8 29. Rd1 Qe6 30. Qb3 Qd7 31. c4 Qg4 32. f3 Qg5 33. Nf7 Rd2+ 34. Kh3 (1-0)

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2011 Portland Chess Centennial
Round 2, August 12, 2011
Josh Sinanan (2288) vs. Joe Roback (1916)1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 5. Bg2 c6 6. Nbd2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 Nb6 9. b3 Re8 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nbd7 12. Rd1 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Bf6 14. Bf4 Qa5 15. Bd6 c5 16. a3 Qb6 17. dxc5 Nxc5 18. Qe3 Nd7 19. c5 Qa6 20. Nd4 Nb8 21. Bf1 Qa5 22. b4 Qd8 23. Be5 Qe7 24. Nb5 Bxe5 25. Qxe5 Nc6 26. Qd6 Qxd6 27. Nxd6 Rd8 28. Bg2 Rb8 29. f4 a6 30. Kf2 Bd7 31. Nxb7 Rxb7 32. Bxc6 Rc7 33. Ba4 (1-0)

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2011 Portland Chess Centennial
Round 2, August 12, 2011
Collin Goldman (1805) vs. John Gamble (1344)1. e4 d6 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. d4 b5 5. Bd3 g6 6. Bg5 Bg7 7. d5 b4 8. Nce2 cxd5 9. exd5 O-O 10. Nf3 Qc7 11. Rc1 Nxd5 12. Be4 e6 13. Bxd5 exd5 14. Qxd5 Bb7 15. Qb3 Qc5 16. Be3 Qa5 17. Bd4 Re8 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Rd1 Bxf3 20. Qxf3 b3+ 21. Kf1 bxc2 22. Rxd6 c1=Q+ 23. Nxc1 Qe1#

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Centennial tourney is underway!

Rusty Miller of Vancouver, WA, is among the players in the Amateur section of the 2011 Portland Centennial Open

More than 180 chess players descended on Portland, Oregon, for the weekend to help members of the Portland Chess Club celebrate the club's 100th anniversary.

Round 1 pairings for the Championship section can be found here.
Round 1 pairings for the Amateur section can be found here.

Round 2 pairings for the Championship section can be found here.
Round 2 pairings for the Amateur section can be found here.

Nathan Lee vs. George Lundy
Portland Centennial Open(1)
August 12, 2011
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. c3 d6 5. Bb3 Bg4 6. d3 h6 7. Nbd2 Nf6 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nf1 Qd7 10. Bd2 O-O-O 11. Ng3 Bg6 12. O-O Nh5 13. Bd5 Nxg3 14. fxg3 f5 15. Qb3 Kb8 16. Be6 Qe8 17. exf5 Bh7 18. Rfe1 Bg8 19. Bxg8 Qxg8 20. Qxg8 Rhxg8 21. d4 Bf6 22. dxe5 Nxe5 23. Nxe5 dxe5 24. Be3 Rd3 25. Kf2 Rgd8 26. Ke2 Kc8 27. Rad1 Rd3xd1 28. Rxd1 Rxd1 29. Kxd1 a6 30. g4 Kd7 31. g3 Ke8 32. h4 Be7 33. Ke2 Kf7 34. g5 h5 35. Kf3 Bd6 36. g6+ Kg8 37. Ke4 c6 38. Bb6 Bb8 39. c4 Bd6 40.Ba5 (1-0)

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Jamie Lang vs. Jason Ellis
Portland Centennial Open(1)
August 12, 2011
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Bb5+ Bd7 5. Nc3 cxd4 6. Qxd4 a6 7. Bxd7+ Nxd7 8. Nf3 Ne7 9. Bg5 Qc7 10. Bxe7 Bxe7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfe1 Rac8 13. Re2 f6 14. Rae1 Bc5 15. Qg4 f5 16. Qh5 h6 17. Qg6 Rfe8 18. Rd1 Nb6 19. Nd4 Qf7 20. Qg3 Nc4 0-1 (time)

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Subsequent note: The winner was kind enough to supply some additional notes. I will include these in my Northwest Chess article.(notes by Jason Ellis)
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Bb5+?!
The usual response for the French Advance variation is 4. c3 followed by Nf3, in order to maintain the central pawn structure. The early Bb5+ gave the initiative to black, and I was unfamiliar with variation.

4... Bd7 5. Nc3??
The bishop needed to retreat or take on e7, due to the threat of 5...Bxb4 6. Nxb4 Qa4+ 7. Nc3 cxd4 8. Qxd4 Nc6!! And white has to either give up the e pawn, or risk d4, winning the pinned knight. Unfortunately I failed to calculate this at the time.

5... cxd4 6. Qxd4?? a6?
Again, 6... Bxb4 7. Nxb4 Qa4+ could have won a pawn, but I was too focused on developing my pieces quickly, rather than looking for material gains.

7. Bxd7+ Nxd7 8. Nf3 Ne7 9. Bg5!?
Pinning the knight only allows the queen to develop to a good square, 9... Qc7, and 10. Bxe7 Bxe7 only gives black an extra tempo.

9...Qc7 10. Bxe7 Bxe7 11. O-O O-O 12. Rfe1 Rac8 13. Re2
White is trying to prepare for the inevitable f6 by doubling his rooks, and black is looking for action on the c file. 13. ...f6 was premature, but still not bad. Perhaps the knight hop to b6-c4 first would have been the right idea.

13...f6!? 14 Rae1?!
Better would have been 14. exf6 Bxf6 then 15. Qg4. Instead, by moving the rook, play could have gone 14...Nxe5 15. Nxe5 fxe5 16 Qxe5 Qxe5 17. Rxe5 d4! forcing the knight to a bad square and allowing Rxc2. I didn't see this until later, thought I could pressure the f2 pawn instead. As we'll see, I missed one key in-between move preventing this.

14...Bc5 15. Qg4
Threatening Qxe6+. Had the queen gone anywhere else, 15...fxe5 16 Nxe5 Nxe5 16 Rxe5 Bxf2+!! was my idea, probably winning the exchange. But Qg4 had the advantage of allowing me to stabilize the central pawns and allowed good queenside play.

15...f5 16. Qh5 h6 17. Qg6 Rfe8 18. Rd1 Nb6 19. Nd4? Qf7!?
19... Bxd4 would have been slightly better, but I didn't mind taking the queens off the board with such nice possibilities on the C file. Fortunately, he did not trade queens, with 20 Qg3 Nc4, and 21 b3 Nb2!! would have won material, and probably been decisive. Unfortunately for my opponent, he ran out of time.

Championship section Tournament Director Frank Niro (left) and Amateur Section TD Neil Dale (right) compare notes at the 2011 Portland Chess Centennial, 8/12/11
(photo credit: Jeff Roland)

For more coverage, please go to the Idaho Chess Association web site. Many thanks to Assistant TD Jeff Roland, webmaster for the Idaho Chess Association, for facilitating the links to the tournament pairings. Please come back for continuous updates throughout the weekend.

115 entries and counting...

115 players have entered the Portland Chess Club Centennial tournament with one day remaining until the start. This amount exceeds expectations but is only about 60% of capacity. So there is still time to enter. Door entries will be accepted. $12 tournament memberships are available for Canadians and others who are not current US Chess Federation members.

Mike Morris and I will be entering the data into the SwissSys pairing program tonight. Just heard from GM Susan Polgar who is en route to Portland from San Francisco to participate in the celebration. See her comments earlier today in her blog.

Top 25 players in each section right now:

Championship Section

1 Georgi Orlov 2541
2 Michael Lee 2438
3 John Donaldson 2402
4 Bindi Cheng 2386
5 Howard Chen 2359
6 Josh Sinanan 2288
7 Steven Breckenridge 2267
8 Nick Raptis 2261
9 David Bragg 2212
10 Carl Haessler 2200
11 Roger Patterson 2179
12 Corbin Yu 2162
13 Andy May 2129
14 Daniel Gay 2120
15 Samir Sen 2115
16 Mike Janniro 2098
17 Igor Ummel 2097
18 Nathan Lee 2085
19 Rich Gutman 2070
20 Steven Deeth 2062
21 Megan Lee 2059
22 Paul Bartron 2050
23 Alexandra Botez 2036
24 Carl Koontz 2027
25 Preston Polasek 2019

Amateur Section
1 Blake Salisbury 1993
2 Doug Sterclick 1976
3 Larry Ball 1955
4 Jerry Sherrard 1937
5 Ethan Peake 1907
6 Vlajko Lakic 1902
7 David Bannon 1892
8 Fisette Robert 1860
9 Randy Smolensky 1859
10 Paul Leblanc 1854
11 Lane Van Weerdhuizen 1854
12 Jofrel Landingin 1838
13 Michael Goffe 1836
14 Severo Caluza 1829
15 Noah Fields 1825
16 Sarah May 1807
17 Micah Smith 1806
18 Gordon Higbie 1805
19 Evan Whipple 1800
20 Scott Levin 1795
21 Bob Malone 1795
22 Ted Lundin 1789
23 Kyle Haining 1786
24 Chris Burris 1783
25 Aaron Nicoski 1771

The complete list of entries as of last night can be viewed here.