PanAm update: Five teams fighting for 3 remaining spots...

Webster University defeated University of Texas at Dallas at the 2013 Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Championship with three wins and a draw in their round five match to clinch a spot in the Final Four of College chess. Five other schools (all tied with 4 match points) are still in the running for the remaining three spots: University of Texas at Brownsville, Texas Tech University, University of Maryland - Baltimore County, University of Texas at Dallas and University of Illinois. In order to advance, Texas Tech must defeat the Webster University B-team, which also has 4 points through the first five rounds.

Webster has clinched clear first because even if the A-team loses in the final round to University of Texas at Brownsville, creating a possible multi-way a tie at the top in match points, none of the other teams can catch them in tiebreak points. The sixth and final round is scheduled for today (Sunday) at 9 AM central time.

Round 5

UTD A vs Webster University A
GM Leonid Kritz (2676) W - GM Quang Liem Le (2786)
GM George Margvelashvili (2626) B - GM Georg Meier (2700)
GM Conrad Holt (2613) W - GM Wesley So (2743)
GM Ioan Cristian Chirila (2621) B - GM Ray Robson (2693)

Game scores from the top match:

Kritz (UTD-A),L (2676) - Le (Webs-A),Q (2786) [B23]
2013 Pan Am Intercollegiate (5), 29.12.2013
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.Nge2 Nf6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 g6 6.d3 Bg7 7.0-0 0-0 8.h3 Nd7 9.f4 b6 10.g4 Bb7 11.Ng3 e6 12.Nce2 Qc7 13.c3 f5 14.Be3 Rae8 15.Qd2 Ne7 16.Rad1 b5 17.Kh1 Nb6 18.Bg1 Kh8 19.Rde1 Rd8 20.Qc2 Qc8 21.Be3 Rde8 22.Bc1 e5 23.gxf5 gxf5 24.Nh5 Rf7 25.Neg3 Rg8 26.Kh2 Qf8 27.Re2 Bh6 28.Ref2 Nd7 29.fxe5 Nxe5 30.Bxh6 Qxh6 31.exf5 Bxg2 32.Rxg2 Nd5 33.Qd2 Ne3 34.Rff2 Qg5 35.Rg1 Nf3+ 36.Rxf3 Nf1+ 37.Rgxf1 Qxd2+ 38.R1f2 Qc1 39.Re2 Qg5 40.f6 Qd5 41.Rfe3 Qxa2 42.Re8 Qd5 43.Nf4 Qf3 0-1

Holt (UTD-A),C (2613) - So (Webs-A),W (2743) [D43]
2013 Pan Am Intercollegiate (5), 29.12.2013
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bxf6 Qxf6 7.e3 Nd7 8.Bd3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 g6 10.0-0 Bg7 11.Rc1 0-0 12.e4 Rd8 13.e5 Qe7 14.Re1 b5 15.Bd3 Bb7 16.Ne4 c5 17.Nxc5 Nxc5 18.dxc5 Qc7 19.Re3 Bxf3 20.Qxf3 Bxe5 21.Rc2 Bxh2+ 22.Kf1 Be5 23.Bxb5 Rab8 24.Qe2 Rd5 25.b4 Qd8 26.Ke1 Qh4 27.Re4 Qh1+ 28.Qf1 Qh5 29.g4 Qg5 30.Qe2 Qh4 31.Bd3 Rbd8 32.g5 Bf4 33.Qf3 Rxd3 34.Rxf4 Qh2 0-1

Meier (Webs-A),G (2700) - Margvelashvili (UTD-A),G (2626) [E11]
2013 Pan Am Intercollegiate (5), 29.12.2013
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Nbxd2 0-0 7.Bg2 c6 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.0-0 b6 10.e4 Bb7 11.e5 Ne8 12.c5 bxc5 13.dxc5 a5 14.Rfe1 Nc7 15.Bf1 Ba6 16.Nd4 Nb8 17.f4 Bxf1 18.Rxf1 Nb5 19.N4f3 a4 20.Ng5 g6 21.h4 Nd7 22.Rac1 Qe7 23.Ngf3 Qd8 ½-½

Robson (Webs-A),R (2693) - Chirila (UTD-A),I (2621) [C92]
2013 Pan Am Intercollegiate (5), 29.12.2013
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Nd7 11.Nbd2 exd4 12.cxd4 Bf6 13.Nf1 Na5 14.Bc2 Re8 15.Bf4 c5 16.e5 dxe5 17.dxe5 Bxf3

18.Qd3 Nxe5 19.Qxh7+ Kf8 20.Ng3 Ng6 21.Nf5 Re2 22.Rxe2 Bxe2 23.Re1 Bd3 24.Nh6 Ne5 25.Qg8+ Ke7 26.Qxf7+ Kd6 27.Bxd3 gxh6 28.Be4 Nac6 29.Rd1+ Nd4 30.Bxa8 1-0

Standings after round 5:
{click on image to enlarge}

Individual cross table after round 5:

Competing coaches Rade Milovanovic of UT-Dallas (standing on left) and Susan Polgar of Webster University (standing on right) watch their teams (UTD in green, Webster in blue) as they clash in round 5 of the 2013 Pan American Intercollegiate chess championship. Webster won the match to clinch a spot in the Final Four of College chess. The remaining three teams will be determined by today's matches. Photo courtesy of the Texas Tech chess program.

Round 6 pairings:

Related Links:
Official pairings and results, including wall charts
TTU tournament web site
Round 1 Games
Round 2 Games
Round 3 Games
Round 4 Games
Round 5 Games
Round 6 Games - watch live beginning at 9 AM today!!
Round 6 - games will be located here after the round is completed
Program booklet
Susan Polgar Daily News and Information
US Chess Federation coverage by Al Lawrence
Additional USCF Coverage (FSU)

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).

All Over the Board

Susan Polgar presented me with this chess board signed by all of the young ladies who played in the 2011 Susan Polgar Girls' Invitational Tournament July 27-29, 2011, in Lubbock, TX. This will be the first item I hang in my new office at Cornell University!

2011 Susan Polgar Girls Invitational

I was given the privilege of directing the 2011 Susan Polgar Girls' Invitational Chess Tournament in Lubbock, Texas, from July 24-29, 2011. I am pictured above with Susan Polgar, Heather Young of Vancouver, WA, and her parents, Ron & Peggy Young.

The winner was the highest rated player, Apurva Virkud, from Michigan with a perfect 6-0 score. Mandy Lu, also of Michigan, and Chenyi Zhao of California each were presented with netbook computers for winning the under age 13 and under age 10 prizes respectively. Mandy also won the blitz tournament in a playoff over Evelyn Chen of Georgia.

There were four scholarships given to players entering the 11th or 12th grade. They went to Vanita Young of Pennsylvania, Cheryl Liu of Illinois, Sneha Chikkila of Arkansas and Dyhemia Young of California. Each scholarship is valued at approximately $40,000 for out-of-state students who will utilize the award for their full four years in college.

As a current resident of the Great Northwest, I was very interested in the results of the girls from my area. Heather Young of Vancouver, WA, who is home schooled and will be entering 10th grade in September, finished 18th out of 46 players. Most of the entrants were champions or co-champions of their respective states.

The Idaho representative was Savanah Naccarato of Sandpoint, who plays mostly in the Spokane scholastic events. Savanah finished in 9th place with a 4-2 score. She will be entering 9th grade in the fall and has begun study in recent months with Seattle chess coach John Graves. Unfortunately there was no Oregon participant this year.

Susan provided three days of intensive training for all of the participants. I was allowed to sit in on the sessions and am very impressed with the quality of play of the girls as well as the depth of learning that is available to them as part of the event.

Many thanks to Jeff Roland of Idaho who reformatted the cross table for the 2011 SPGI event to make it easier to read. It is located here.

Here is the ICA link for the 2011 SPGI story about Savanah Naccarato.

Here is the link for the Bonner Bee article about Savanah Naccarato

And, the follow-up story after the tournament.

Thanks to the interest and energy of Rusty Miller there should be some coverage soon in the Vancouver press concerning Heather Young.

An annual fund is in the process of being established, perhaps through Northwest Chess, to support travel expenses for each year's Northwest nominees (Washington, Oregon & Idaho). My suggestion is to call it the Dr. Ralph L. Hall memorial travel fund after one of the pioneers of scholastic chess excellence in the Northwest. Dr. Hall wrote position papers on the benefits of chess for children years before anyone else even thought about it.

More details of the event can be found on Susan’s blog

I will be tournament director for the Open Section (FIDE Rated) of the Portland Chess Club Centennial Open in August. Please stop by and say “hello” if you play in or visit the event. The tournament flyer is located here.

The Other Side of the Story

GM Susan Polgar, former Women's World Chess Champion

As the US Chess Federation annual election approaches, petty politics dominate the scene once again. There have been mailings and Internet posts galore advocating one stance or another. I purposely distanced myself from USCF politics long ago and am content to be "an ordinary chess player" again. It's what's best for my stress level.

I don't have an opinion on any of the candidates running for election. But I DO have an opinion about one of the existing board members who has been subject to relentless political attacks in recent months: Susan Polgar. I have come to know her as a person of integrity that has always put the best interests of the game of chess and its advancement in society at the top of her agenda. As a result, I feel compelled to do my part in telling the other side of the story.

The following is reprinted from a June article on ChessCafe.com courtesy of Susan Polar's chess blog entitled "The Dirty Hidden Truth":

"How could a national organization, an organization which claims that it has no money to do many things for the benefit of chess and its members, afford to spend $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 or perhaps even more than $1,000,000 in legal fees for political purposes? How could a national organization, an organization which at one time had annual revenues over $6 million, sink this low? Finally, how can we fix the problems, to make things better, when the problems are being hidden and kept secret from the membership at large?

One of the key problems is the structure of the organization itself. It is very difficult to implement sound changes when the leadership is so far behind understanding the rapidly changing business world. If we do not understand our customers and do not offer what they want, we are doomed to fail. So many chess politicians have hung around for decades doing everything imaginable to grab and hold on to their power. Some have done this for three, four or even five decades.

Why? For some, it is very lucrative. For others, they are addicted to power. Many care more about their personal, financial and political agenda than the welfare of chess, the USCF and its members.

Many of my friends, including 3-time U.S. Champion Grandmaster Lev Alburt, have warned me about the dirty and vicious chess politics. I know that it is not easy to make positive changes. However, if no one is willing to step up to the plate and go to bat for the members, how can things get better?

... My experience on the USCF Executive Board in the past two years is like a mirror image of what GM Alburt said, except a lot worse. I am not a chess politician and I have no desire to get involved in the filthy disgusting world of chess politics. I did not want the failed status quo to continue. My sole intention was and is to help chess and the USCF.

In the past two years, instead of working with me and helping me promote chess to benefit our entire sport, some of these chess politicians have spread the most outrageous and vicious rumors and lies, trying to destroy my reputation, my employment at Texas Tech University, and my family. They even stooped so low as to use my children (who are only 8 and 10) as one of their targets.

Knowing that I am a one of the biggest advocates for scholastic chess in this country, especially for girls, some of these people spewed out the disgustingly offensive rumor that my husband and I were child abusers. They claimed that we abused my children and we even forced them to consume hot sauce. This sort of despicable thing made its way to the internet and even made its way to my employer Texas Tech University as well as to sponsors and potential sponsors. This outrageous lie was even tossed around within the USCF leadership as a way to pressure my husband and me to resign from the board even though they knew that it was false.

There were countless remarks and postings telling my husband and me to go “back to where we came from.” Some said this is the United States Chess Federation and not the United Nations Chess Federation, and a foreigner had no business running the USCF, while others were openly discussed ways to deport me back to my native Hungary although I have been an American citizen for a number of years and both my children were born in the U.S.

Ironically, the USCF and some board members have continued to deny that they have had anything to do with this despicable conduct, but their own attorney made sure to demand that I show proof that I am in the U.S. legally and if I “hot-sauced” my children in the past!? Outrageous, but true! Coincidence? You decide.

Some called me a “whore,” “bitch” and worse, with words that are not appropriate to print. They even created a public website about this. I informed the USCF and its board members, but they chose to ignore this and do nothing. Instead of investigating such vile and despicable conduct, the USCF and the board majority spent hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating us!

To support their agenda, misleading and one-sided information was published in Chess Life, the USCF website, in mailings and to the email list so I would have no opportunity to respond or correct the record...

It is a tough battle fighting "the system". But it is a fight that all USCF members must take on to save what's left of this federation. Some of the same people have chased away so many good sponsors, volunteers and even members for years by attacking and destroying them so they can keep control of this federation.

If they can do this to me and my family, they will not spare anyone standing in their way. The USCF will not survive financially much longer if this trend of destruction continues. They have damaged the USCF enough. It is time to bring in professionals to fix and rebuild this federation. Please help me get the word out. Thank you!

Susan Polgar"

In the 38 years that I have been a life member of the USCF, I have never been more appalled as to the lack of knowledge of the USCF leadership concerning the meaning of "fiduciary responsibility." I echo Susan's sentiments as expressed on ChessCafe.com and reprinted above. I have personally felt the effects of the USCF negative politics, but this is not about me. I recommend that you look to Susan's blog and web site for her recommendations on the coming USCF Executive Board elections.

Congratulations Susan & Tommy

Quote of the day: "I like blogs. I like that the best ones are written in a voice I recognize, the voice my friends and I use when we're sitting around watching a game. Newspapers, magazines, they're in a different voice. There is nothing wrong with them either, and there is no reason they can't co-exist." -- Ryan White, The Oregonian. Congratulations to Women's World Chess Champian Susan Polgar (pictured above) on her 10,000th (!) blog entry. Susan started her blog on May 23, 2005 and has had multiple entries nearly every day since. Her blog was, in part, the inspiration for mine. I am in awe with how much material that she and her husband, Paul Truong, are able to share with chess fans all over the world. In many cases, she has the hot news before anyone else and is the source for media outlets everywhere.

Congrats also to Susan's son, Tommy, for finishing in a tie for first place in the K-3 section at the 2008 National Elementary Chess Championships with a score of 6.5 out of 7. This is already Tommy's second national championship. The more he wins, the less badly I feel about losing to him when he was 5.

To all the moms out there, belated Happy Mother's Day!
Susan & Tommy Polgar-Shutzman. Click here for results. Then click on "K-3 Championship" to see the crosstable for Tommy's section.

Speaking of moms, here's a photo of Susan's mom, Klara Polgar, with Boston Globe chess columnist Harold Dondis, taken in 1985 at the Boylston Chess Club in Boston, where Susan gave a simul on a visit from her native Hungary. The photo was taken by Stephen Stepak and originally appeared in Chess Horizons.Harold B. Dondis and Mrs. Klara Polgar, Boston MA, 1985

He's never coming home

Bobby Fischer and Susan Polgar, playing "fischerandom" chess in Budapest, Hungary, circa 1990.

When I was Executive Director of the United States Chess Federation, I had this crazy fantasy that I could coax Bobby Fischer into coming back to the U.S., apologize to everyone he had offended, make amends with the I.R.S. and the State Department, and play chess again. It went along with the fantasy that I could persuade Susan Polgar to come out of retirement, change her FIDE citizenship, and play for the U.S. in the chess Olympiad. They were both former World Champions and could serve as role models to promote chess, I reasoned. The difference was that Susan Polgar is rational, pragmatic and gracious. Bobby Fischer, however, was a crazy man. Today we learned, for certain, what many observers already knew: Bobby Fischer is never coming home.

Read more about his death here, and here.

Bobby Fischer won the World Championship of chess in a match against Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972. He forfeited his crown three years later when he refused to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov. On Thursday, January 17, 2008, he passed away at the age of 64 in Reykjavik, where he lived in relative seclusion since 2005.

How about some chess?

Note: I have been asked many times why my blog has chess in the title but not much content about chess. Good question...

I'll try to include a couple of chess positions each month. Here's a king + pawn endgame from my friend Susan Polgar's blog. It is Grandmaster Boris Gulko's turn to move (he is playing with the white pieces). Can you determine the winning move(s) from this position? I'll add the details next week.


What's the best move? Your choices are...
A. Kc3
B. Ke3
C. f3

If you are a student of the game and would like a free chess book, e-mail me the correct answer by Thanksgiving (and try to resist the temptation to use a computer). My e-mail address is ChessSafari@yahoo.com. Don't send me your mailing address unless I send you a response and tell you that you won. I am also willing to send your prize directly to your chess coach, if you prefer, so that he or she can present the book to you. If I get multiple correct answers, I will choose the best analysis (with Susan Polgar's input, if necessary) Then I will post your winning reply here. Good Luck!!

Hint #1: (11/17) Sometimes there is more than one "correct" move in a position. The important thing is to choose a PLAN that will lead to your GOAL. In this particular case, you are a pawn ahead. So the goal is to reach a WINNING POSITION. If you can envision a position that is clearly winning for you, and identify a series of moves that will lead you to that position, then go ahead and choose the move that initiates the series. Remember as the implementation of your plan proceeds to take the time to update your evaluation each time your opponent moves.

Hint #2: (11/18) The tools commonly available as you try to win King + Pawn endgames are OPPOSITION, TRIANGULATION, OUTFLANKING & ELBOWING, PAWN RACE, PAWN PROMOTION, ZUGZWANG and SIMPLIFICATION. You also need to be alert for additional tools at the disposal of your opponent: DRAW BY REPITITION and STALEMATE. Try to identify each of these tools as they come into play in this endgame.