Knight Times June 2009 Page 1 Message from the Guru, Chess for Success! Colleges in the United States offer chess scholarships of US$200,000 each year in the form of tuition, plus up to $15,000 stipend. University of Maryland, Baltimore County president Freeman Hrabowski was quoted as saying “I think it’s one of the best business decisions I’ve made as president here. We’ve always worked to attract high achieving students, and the chess players helped create a climate that celebrated smart people. Chess was a perfect fit as a symbol for the life of the mind.” New Zealand's top junior Puchen Wang (now 19 years old) moved to the US in 2008, taking up a scholarship to the University of Texas - Dallas. He now studies Business Administration while playing on the college chess team. Here in Australia it is Monash University that leads the way in recognising the value of chess in education with their sponsorship of the National Interschool Chess Championships (details from www.interschool.com.au/nationals/). We tried to find out if any private schools in Australia offered Chess Scholarships. While a very high number of top chess players received scholarships (in all states), schools are not calling them "Chess Scholarships". They are always awarded after students had achieved the necessary academic level. The fact that students were good at chess became useful at the interview stage. Many of the chess players at Scotch College (National Champions) are on scholarships....are they chess scholarships? Or just that those who gain scholarships happen to excel at chess? In either case it seems that if you play chess well you are giving yourself a better chance to win a scholarship at any level. DavidCordover, Managing Director, Chess Group of Companies Knight Times Chess World Australia Pty. Ltd. ABN 41 118 087 862 Chess Kids Contacts: www.chesskids.com.au Coaching: [email protected]Retail: [email protected]Interschool: [email protected]Newsletter: [email protected]1300-424-377 Frank Lekkas is presented with the RJ Shield by IM Robert Jamieson at the May RJ Shield Tournament held at Doncaster Gardens Primary School.
Transcript
Knight Times June 2009
Page 1
Message from the Guru,Chess for Success!
Colleges in the United States offer chess scholarships of US$200,000 each year in the form of tuition, plus up to $15,000 stipend.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County president Freeman Hrabowski was quoted as saying “I think it’s one of the best business decisions I’ve made as president here. We’ve always worked to attract high achieving students, and the chess players helped create a climate that celebrated smart people. Chess was a perfect fit as a symbol for the life of the mind.”
New Zealand's top junior Puchen Wang (now 19 years old) moved to the US in 2008, taking up a scholarship to the University of Texas - Dallas. He now studies Business Administration while playing on the college chess team.
Here in Australia it is Monash University that leads the way in recognising the value of chess in education with their sponsorship of the National Interschool Chess Championships (details from www.interschool.com.au/nationals/).
We tried to find out if any private schools in Australia offered Chess Scholarships. While a very high number of top chess players received scholarships (in all states), schools are not calling them "Chess Scholarships". They are always awarded after students had achieved the necessary academic level. The fact that students were good at chess became useful at the interview stage.
Many of the chess players at Scotch College (National Champions) are on scholarships....are they chess scholarships? Or just that
those who gain scholarships happen to excel at chess? In either case it seems that if you play chess well you are giving yourself a better chance to win a scholarship at any level.
DavidCordover,Managing Director, Chess Group of Companies
Knight TimesChess World Australia Pty. Ltd. ABN 41 118 087 862
The third RJ Shield tournament for 2009 was held on 31st May at Doncaster Gardens Primary School.
The winner was Frank Lekkas who scored 7/7. He was lucky to score a mate in one with 8 seconds left against William Lai, but otherwise comfortably won his games.
Knight Times June 2009
Page 2
Coming Up ...RJ Shield
Chess Tournament
Sunday 28th JuneTucker Road Primary School16 Tucker Road, Bentleigh1.00 pm to 5.00 pm$20 per player.Enrol at www.chesskids.com.au
Isaac Zhao, aged 7 and rated at 964, takes on the big boys at the May RJ Shield.
Home RJ Shield, 31st May 2009
Team Standings
Place Name Score Players
Player Standings
Place Name Rating Score Bonus ?
1 Frank Lekkas 1275 7 31
2 Daniel Sheen 882 5! 25!
3 Adolph Lekkas 1040 5 33
4 Thomas Venville 839 53 5 32!
5 Harry Dempsey 928 5 31
6 Jonathan Tissa 1011 14 5 30!
7 Isaac Zhao 964 6 5 27!
8 Lachlan Semple 983 5 27!
9 Joanna Tissa 936 4! 30
10 William Lai 922 3 4 30!
11 Maiyurentheran Srikumar 854 4 29!
12 Jason Chew 900 4 28!
13 Alex Van Zyl Smit 821 4 27!
14 Brandon Venville 804 8 4 27!
15 Jun Phua 837 10 4 23!
16 Michael Van Zyl Smit 821 4 23!
17 Shankar Seevanayagam 925 31 4 23
18 Max Ruan 770 3! 26!
19 Andreas Belbasis 690 3! 24
20 Aaron Gill 704 3 3! 22!
21 Jeremy Emrose 863 31 3! 21!
22 Isobel Nixon 720 3 26
23 William Exon 648 3 26
24 Henry Lai 770 13 3 25!
25 Christian Callick 383 3 24!
26 Karu Handoyo 758 3 21!
27 Oliver Daly 333 3 21!
28 Bowen Hafey 597 3 20!
29 Tylah Parnis 624 3 19
30 Sophie Paul 482 2! 15
31 Joshua Synan 495 2 22!
32 Malavan Srikumar 575 2 22!
33 Grishm Ganatra 444 2 19!
34 Sara Janev 484 2 17
35 Liam Synan 430 2 16!
36 Joanna Gray 424 2 16
37 Tom Eady-Jennings 527 1! 22
Prize-winners were:1st: Frank Lekkas2nd: Daniel Sheen3rd: Adolph Lekkas1st U/12 Thomas Venville1st U/10 Jonathan Tissa1st U/8 Isaac ZhaoTop Girl Isobel NixonEncouragement Award Lachlan Semple
Players won lucky board prizes during the tournament and received advice on their games from a panel of coaches who were at the tournament. Our thanks to Daniel for directing the event and to Doncaster Gardens Primary School for supplying the venue.
Many chess players, when confronted with a chess position, just launch straight into the fray and start analysing moves until they find something they like.
These players could make their lives a lot easier if instead they took a moment to look at the position to see what is actually going on.How do we find the best move in a position? Regular readers of this newsletter will know that I’ve suggested that we “examine all checks and captures”. This may turn up something unexpected. It may not.
Another technique used by strong players is to ask themselves “what would I like to do” in the position. Perhaps you are trying to create a passed pawn that can go through to queen or perhaps you would like to open up a line of attack to the opponent’s King.
Once you have established the aim, you then look for ways of achieving that aim. Even moves that may, at first glance, look “silly”.
Have a look at the position below.
White to move.
Clearly White’s big advantage is his passed pawn on a7 which is nearly through to becoming a new queen.
What would White like to do? Queen the pawn!
What’s stopping him? The Black Queen on d5 is covering the queening square and holding Black’s game together.
Can we get rid of this pesky Queen?
What are our options?
Have a look yourself before reading further.
1.Qf3 - He just swaps Queens and plays Kb7.
1.Qxe6+ - He plays 1...Qxe6 2.a8=Q+ Kc7 and he’s OK.
1.Qh5 - He just takes 1...Qxh5 and he’s threatening Qd1+.
1.c4 - He just takes the pawn en passant.
1.Qf5 - 1...exf5 0-1
1.Rf5 - now if he plays 1...Qxf5 2.a8=Q is mate and after 1...exf5 2.Qxd5 Rxd5 3.a8=Q+ White wins! Can he move his Queen instead?
If 1...Qc6 or Qe4 or Qb7 2.Rxc5+ wins.
So we have found our brilliancy 1.Rf5!! 1-0.
We did it merely by thinking logically about the position and asking the question
“What would I like to do”?
By training your brain to think logically and examine the options in a systematic fashion you will not only have improved your chess ability, you will have gained a valuable life skill!
Knight Times June 2009
Page 3
PRACTICAL ADVICE ..... From IM Robert Jamieson
Book Review
Australian Chess Brilliancies : Creative Attacking Chess from Down Under.by Kevin Casey $19.95
It’s always good to see another chess book published by an Australian author, so I welcome the publication of “Australian Chess Brilliancies” by Queensland player Kevin Casey.
The book starts off defining what is a brilliancy including several examples from the author’s own games which indicate that he is no stranger when it comes to tactics on the chess board.
I searched in vain for one of my own games in the book, but then again I was never a brilliant player, but there are plenty of examples from Rogers, Solomon, Smerdon and Johnansen plus lesser lights like Goldsmith and Levi who are renown for their attacking style.
The book includes an appendix of various Australian Title holders which to me seems a little irrelevant to the subject of the book. If I wish to be pedantic, I noted a number of errors in these lists which perhaps the author has copied from the ACF’s website. I must write to them one day to have them corrected.
Meanwhile, here is an example of an exciting finish from one of the games in the book.
G.West v D.Hacche - Ballarat 1995
White to move.
Play continued:1.Ng5! fxg5 2.hxg5 h6 3.Qxh6+! 1-0 as 3...gxh6 4.Rxh6+ Kg7 5.Nh5+ is mate.
At a cost of only $19.95 this book is great value and I recommend it to you. - Robert Jamieson
Knight Times June 2009
Page 4
Most people reading this newsletter will never have heard of John Hanks. Our little world of chess however is filled with colourful and interesting personalities for those who care to look.
Australia has just lost one such player in John Hanks who passed away on 29th May aged 83 years. Hanks was an Australian Master and one of our leading players from the late 1940s to the 1970s. He was runner-up in the 1949 Australian Championship and played board 2 in the Australian Team at the 1964 Havana Chess Olympiad, but he never quite made it to the top of the tree.
Here is his last round victory against Cecil Purdy from the 1961 Australian Championships which stopped Purdy from winning the title.
J.N.Hanks C.J.S.Purdy Aust. Championship, Adelaide 1961 D43 - Queen's Gambit/Semi-Slav/Botvinnik Variation1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.Nc3 c6 7.Qb3 Nd7 8.e4 dxe4 9.Nxe4 Qf4 10.Bd3 Nf6 11.Ng3 Be7 12.O-O O-O 13.Rfe1 Qc7 14.Rad1 Rd8 15.Bb1 b6 16.Qc2 Kf8 17.Re2 c5 18.d5! A brilliant idea to open the “e” file and start an attack on Black’s poorly defended King.18...exd5 19.Rde1 Bd6
White to Play
20.Nh5! Luring the N away so that the Queen can join in the attack.Nxh5 21.Qh7 f5 22.Re8+! Kf7 23.Bxf5 Bxf5 24.Qxf5+ Nf6 25.Qe6+ Kg6 26.Nh4+ Kh5 27.Qf5+ g5 28.Qf3+ Ng4 29.h3 Bh2+ 30.Kh1 Qf4 31.hxg4+ Qxg4 32.Qf7+ Kxh4 33.R1e6 h5 34.Kxh2 Qf4+ 35.g3+ 1-0
Knight Times June 2009
Page 5
John Hanks
7/2/1926 - 29/5/2009
Hanks for the Memories - by IM Robert Jamieson
Chess Quotes:“"I keep on fighting as long as my opponent can make a mistake."
(Emanuel Lasker)
Chess Quotes:"That's what Chess is all about.
One day you give youropponent a lesson, the next day
he gives you one."
(Bobby Fischer)
Time Management
Time management is an essential skill for all students particularly when they are in their later years at school.
I have a friend who is a University student and he is constantly telling me the problems he has trying to balance his studies, his sporting activities and his social life. When he sits an examination he often gets bogged down on a hard question and ends up without enough time to finish the exam. Clearly he is struggling when it comes to time management, but then HE IS NOT A CHESS PLAYER!
Experienced chess players should be experts in time management. When we play in tournaments using chess clocks we constantly have to balance what is happening on the board with what is happening on the clock so as to ensure that we do not lose on time or on position.
I was at a recent Chess Kids Lightning Tournament (where both players have just 5 minutes each for the game) and was talking to one of the parents. He told me that his son was 7 years of age and had only been playing for two months. I watched one of his games and he seemed to have an excellent grasp of chess. He had castled his King to safety, his pieces were developed and co-ordinated, and he was playing carefully so as not to make a mistake. He won the game convincingly.
I had to leave the tournament early, but later that night keenly looked up the final scores on the internet to see if this boy had finished in the top few places. He came last with just one win! I was amazed. I emailed his father to ask what had happened and he explained that his son was playing with a chess clock for the first time and had lost many of his games on time.
Contrast this with another game I was watching at the tournament where a player had only 5 seconds left to his opponent’s 10 seconds and they had an even position on the board. The
boy with 5 seconds must have been an experienced lightning player with good hand eye co-ordination as he ripped out the next few moves in four seconds. His poor opponent was still trying to play good moves on the board (as opposed to fast moves as required by the situation) and he used 10 seconds and so lost
the game on time by one second!
It is clear that playing chess under the constraint of a time control teaches players a valuable life skill.
Chess players must learn to manage their time efficiently, just as they would in an exam, by moving neither too quickly nor too slowly. At the RJ Shield in May David
Cordover explained to the players that they had 15 minutes for each game and that they should ensure that they used this time wisely by not rushing out with the first move that comes to mind.
I suggest to players that it is a good tactic to always try to be a little bit ahead of your opponent on the clock so if you have a long game, or get down to an even position, it will be your opponent who is is danger of losing on time and not you.
I know many players who see themselves as perfectionists and try to find the best move in every position. They spend too much time trying to find a great move and end up having to rush their moves at the finish of the game.
Better to play a good move quickly than a great move slowly!
The discipline of balancing what is happening on the board with what is happening on the clock also teaches players how to balance conflicting factors to achieve the desired result.
So next time you are playing in the RJ Shield just remember that you are not just having fun playing chess, you are improving your time management skills.
Knight Times June 2009
Page 6
Chess Kids Ratings
Here are the latest Ratings Lists.
Check the Chess Kids website for more details and be sure to check/update your own player details. We still have a few duplicate players or players who need to update to their new school.
Knight Times June 2009
Page 7
http://chesskids.com.au/interschool/results/
Forks!by IM Robert Jamieson
In chess a fork is a tactic that uses one piece to attack two or more of the opponent's pieces at the same time, hoping to achieve material gain (by capturing one of the opponent's pieces) because the opponent can only counter one of the two (or more) threats. The piece moving to make the multiple attack on the opponent's pieces is the forking piece. The opponent's pieces which are attacked by the forking piece are ones which are forked.
In this position for instance White’s rooks are forked by the black pawn and the black King and Rook are forked by the white Knight.
See if you can find a winning fork in the following two positions.
White to play.
White to play.
To spot potential forks look for unprotected pieces that could be open to a double attack and examine all checks. Knights are especially good at forking so pay special attention to attacking moves with your Knights.
We are told that an active lifestyle is good for us and I certainly do my bit by playing tennis ... but CHESS? Doesn’t sound very active to me.
On the chess board however it is a different matter. Take rook endgames for example. The most important thing in many rook endgames is to have the active rook. An active rook is like a tank on open ground behind enemy lines inflicting devastation on everything in sight. Even an active King can create unexpected threats in the endgame.
Have a look at the position below for example.
This position looks desperate for Black. He is material down, has weak pawns and is about to lose another pawn. The only saving factor is that Black's King is far more active than White's.
The title “Grandmaster” is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from "World Champion", Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain.
It is a lifetime title, in chess literature usually abbreviated as GM (this is in contrast to FM for FIDE Master and IM for International Master).
GM, IM, and FM are open to both men and women. A separate gender-segregated title, WGM for Woman Grandmaster, is also available, but is something of a misnomer. It is awarded for a level of skill between that of a FIDE Master and an International Master. In 1991 Susan Polgar became the first woman to earn the GM title under the same conditions as the men and these days most of the top 10 women hold the GM title.
Current RegulationsThe requirements for becoming a Grandmaster are somewhat complex. A player must have a chess rating of at least 2500 at one time (although they need not maintain this level to keep the title). A rating of 2400 or higher is required to become an International Master. In addition, three favorable results (called norms) in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, (including some from countries other than the applicant's), are usually required before FIDE will confer the title on a player. There are other milestones a player can achieve to get the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
Origin and Current StatisticsThe title "Grandmaster" was first formally conferred by Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who in 1914 awarded it to five players (Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Marshall), who were finalists of a tournament in Saint Petersburg which he had partially funded. The tournament was won by Lasker ahead of Capablanca.
FIDE first awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1950 to 27 players. In 1972 there were only 88 GM's with 33 being Russian. In July 2005, the FIDE ratings list included over 900 grandmasters. The increase is at least partly due to the greater ease of travel, which makes it simpler to organize the international tournaments required to provide norm opportunities.
The Grandmaster title retains its prestige because it represents a very high level of chess performance against other titled players. A chess master is typically in the top 2% of all tournament players. A Grandmaster is typically in the top 0.02% percent at the time he or she earns the title.
Title InflationSome people have argued that the players currently awarded the title of Grandmaster are not as dominant as those five original Grandmasters were in their day. Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine were all World Champions, and both Tarrasch and Marshall were strong enough to play world title matches (both losing against Lasker).
This argument says that the title of Grandmaster ought to be reserved for those who, at some time in their lives, become serious contenders for the World Championship, or who have actually held that title. Otherwise, a "super-GM" designation becomes necessary in order to refer to that group, leading to an accumulation of superlatives.
451 North Rd, Ormond www.chessworld.com.au Ph. 1300 424 377
Interschool CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2009 Interschool Championships are now well underway. If your school hasn’t entered a team yet, or would like another chance to make the finals, just log onto interschool.com.au and choose an up-coming event to play in.
On 15th June I dropped in to watch the finish of the Bayside Zone of the Interschool Championships which was won by Brighton Grammar Secondary Junior School.
There was a high standard of play on show with many of the younger Brighton players, such as Alex Gruen and Joshua & Isaac Ng, showing a great deal of promise.
Watch out Scotch College in the finals!
On 18th June I went down to Frankston to see a Primary School Zone at Kingsley Park Primary School.
There were 95 players from 9 schools competing for top honours, which went to the Patterson Lakes Primary School Team.
Patterson Lakes’ players also finished in the top 3 places in the tournament with Luke Bailey being undefeated on 7/7.
Thanks to all those schools which are hosting venues in this year’s competition. The kids certainly seem to have a good time and every player receives a certificate.
Home Frankston, 18th Jun 2009
Team Standings
Place Name Score Players
1 Patterson Lakes Primary 24! 14
2 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 22! 8
3 Kingsley Park Primary - A 19 15
4 Seaford Primary 19 9
5 The Peninsula School 18! 5
6 Mt Eliza North Primary 15! 10
7 Kingsley Park Primary - B 14! 15
8 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - B 14 7
9 Tyabb Primary 13 12
Player Standings
Place Name Rating Team Score Bonus ?
1 Luke Bailey 975 25 Patterson Lakes Primary 7 28
2 Mae Salazar 1047 Patterson Lakes Primary 6! 29
3 Dean Martini 1026 14 Patterson Lakes Primary 6 31!
4 Lachlan Muirden 983 20 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 6 31!
5 Nicholas Muirden 808 36 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 6 30!
6 Patrick Hodgkins 764 45 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 5! 34
7 Oscar Cooke-Abbott 886 19 Kingsley Park Primary - A 5 34
8 Oliver May 858 22 The Peninsula School 5 34
9 Derek Xiao 891 Mt Eliza North Primary 5 31!
10 Harrison Morgan 816 Kingsley Park Primary - A 5 29!
11 Evan Inavolu 920 Patterson Lakes Primary 5 29
12 Antonius Bennett 850 3 Patterson Lakes Primary 5 29
13 Matt Blair 852 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 5 27!
14 Jordan Taskovski 809 19 Woodleigh - Minimbah Juni - A 5 27
15 Nick Lesjak 825 Patterson Lakes Primary 5 24!
16 Indiana Jennings 770 Seaford Primary 5 24
17 Xavier Gibbon 828 10 Seaford Primary 5 22!
18 Charles Hura 964 11 Kingsley Park Primary - A 4! 31!
19 Jordan Fuhrmann 920 1 The Peninsula School 4! 31!
20 Aaron Paratene 846 1 Seaford Primary 4! 30!
21 Shaun Monk 675 19 Kingsley Park Primary - A 4! 28
22 Tyler Neal 927 13 Kingsley Park Primary - A 4! 27
