Hickory Chess Bulletin -Issue Six- May, 2007

*For a superior formated version of this issue looking as it was intended (especially the annotation in the FigurineCB Aries SP font), download the .jpg, or better, the .pdf version on the home page.*
Hickory Chess Bulletin -Issue Six- May, 2007

IM Mikhail Nepomnyashchiy wowed a crowd of chess enthusiasts May 5th with 36 wins in 38 simultaneous games.

Hosted May 5th by the Hickory Chess Club at their Tuesday meeting place in the Foundation YMCA Miller Teen Center, meeting room A, 701 1st St. NW, Hickory, the simultaneous exhibition was proceeded by a lecture on chess tactics by Nepomnyashchiy. In addition to 38 players, the event was enjoyed by 10 spectators.

The senior player in the simul was Hickory’s Larry Robinson, 78, who founded the club in 2000, was president for six years, and organized the event. The youngest player was William Campbell, age 8, who took on the Master flanked by his father, Dalton, and 13 year-old sister Grace

The Campbell siblings are considered chess prodigies, frequently beating adults. Some call Will "Young Fischer" after former child prodigy, World Chess Champion and American, Bobby Fischer.

IM Nepomnyashchiy better watch these two....
l-r: Nepomnyashchiy, Gragg, Thomas.

Winning their games side by side against the 2442-rated Nepomnyashchiy were John Thomas of Boomer and Mark Gragg of Lenoir. Thomas is rated 1530, over 900 points lower than the master, while Gragg is rated 1782, giving up almost 700 points.

Thomas has been teaching chess in Caldwell County schools for over 25 years and organizes several tournaments a year. Gragg was one of Thomas' Hibriten High chess club students 1991-1994.

Both men said they were surprised to win. "I feel very fortunate," Thomas said.

The master played all 38 games in about three hours, concluding to wide applause.

”39 men and women of varied ethnicities from four countries and around the US, ages eight to 78, came together to play chess today. It was a wholesome, harmonious family event in a world that can use both," said club secretary Jack Shaver.

"Chess is good for you," Shaver added.

(Gragg & Thomas’ games p. 2 [All page numbers refer to the formated version] See the Pictures page for more phots of the simul.)

Weeeee are the champions, my friend....
l-r: The Hickory Chess Club’s (front row) Grace Campbell, Will Campbell. (back row) Randy Lovelace, Jack Shaver, Alex Cibotarica, Tom Bell.

The Hickory Chess Club won The 2007 Winter Foothills Tournament as a team with all six members present placing individually.

Sixteen chess players came together in the Hibriten High School library on February 17 in Lenoir for a swiss-format tournament- plus good company, free drinks and pizza. A four-round struggle saw Hickory emerge triumphant over three other teams.

HCC member Randy Lovelace won four to claim 1st in the Top Section over member Alex Cibotarica, who was 2nd at 3-1.

Tyler Austin of Caldwell Community College was 2-2 to win the 1500 to 1799 section. CCC's Brad Reese was first in the 1200-1499 section with 2.5. With only two players, CCC was fourth as a team.

l-r: CCC’s Brad Reese and Tyler Austin.

Starring THE Jayson Miller...
above, l-r: Hibriten’s Jayson Miller, Kevin Chuang, Robbie Earp and Kyle Mayer.

Jayson Miller led a second-place Hibriten squad with a 3-1 result to take first in the 900 to 1199 section. Matt Embler represented a third-place West Caldwell team with 2.5 for second, and member Jack Shaver was third at 1-3.

Louis, you dropped a quarter...
l-r: West Caldwell’s Dorian Phasoulas, Louis Bullock, coach John Thomas, Tim Ballas and Matt Embler.

In the 600 to 899 section, Hibriten's Kevin Chuang placed first with 2.5, and Robbie Earp was second with 1.5. Tim Ballas of West Caldwell scored .5 to take third.

Louis Bullock and Dorian Plasoulas of West Caldwell tied for first in the 300 to 599 section, both with 1-3 results.

Members Tom Bell and Grace Campbell enjoyed their first tournament, tying for first with two wins in the 0-299 (unrated) section. Member William Campbell tied for third with Kyle Mayer of West Caldwell in the 0-299 section, with 1.5 each.

On Tuesday afternoons at 5, the Campbells, pre-teen home-school chess prodigies from Statesville, commute to Hickory looking for a challenge. They say the kids back home are too easy.

Online Crosstable:
http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200702170581-12460063.com

(Games p. 3.)

6-10.jpg (39593 bytes)

46 young people turned out for the 2007 North Carolina High School Scholastic Chess Championship in Newton May 12th, with top overall team honors a tie between Hibriten and Newton-Conover and the individual win a tie between Amelia Wheeless, Jordan Joseph and Kevin Chuang, who each won all their games.

The combined score of the top four players on Hibriten's team was 12 games won to conquer the 2AA division, with West Caldwell (9.5) coming in second, and third overall. Newton-Conover (12) took top honors in 2A followed by Maiden (6.0), which was seventh overall.

Hunter Huss (9.0) topped 3A, coming in fourth overall, ahead of T.W. Andrews (7.0), second in the division and fifth overall.

Harnett Central (6.5) won in 3AA, and 6th overall, while their rivals, Triton (4), took second, and 10th overall. Both teams drove five hours to attend, and Triton's young team, all attending their first tournament, sported the best team t-shirts at the event.

The winning team in the at-large division (5.5) was composed of home-schooled siblings Grace and William Campbell of Statesville, representing the Hickory Chess Club. They were also respectively second and third in the section.

13 year-old Grace won three games in the four round swiss-format tournament, while eight year-old Will won two and drew another, both against a field of high school students. It was their third tournament and third time placing in their sections.

The team was 8th overall, followed by the Charlotte Home-Schoolers, also two siblings, Amelia and Kent Wheeless, who were 2nd in the division and 9th overall.

Amelia and Kent are the children of North Carolina Chess Association President Randy Wheeless, who presented trophies to all the winners. Amelia, the highest-rated player at the tournament and one of the strongest high school girls in the state, also won individual first in the at-large division.

Alone in the 4A division was South Caldwell's Bobby Stroud (2.5). Unfor�tunately minimum team size was two people, though he earned individual first in the uncontested section.

At the top of the 3A division with three games won were Marshall Farady and Rameez Raja. Following were Corey Mills, Joshua Chan, Gwen Faraday, and Jeremy Glenn, all with two wins.

Richard O'Briant (2.5) led 3AA; Pratik Patel and David Kilnger won twice.

Following winner Jordan Joseph (4) in 2A with three wins were Clinton Benton, Tim Heaton, Antonio Domingez, and Justin Benton. Oscar Luis, Scotty Hazveil and Gabe Crider won two.

2AA saw Kevin Chuang (4) followed by Jayson Miller, Matt Embler and Zack Gootman, all with three. Josh Rich had two wins and a draw, while Tim Ballas, Will Wilson, Kyle Mayer, Malcolm Cosh and Dorian Phasoulas all won twice.

All students winning at least two games also earned a medal.

"Chess has shown by many studies to increase performance in school by students who are involved," said tournament organizer and director John Thomas.

Directing at the tournament was Randy Lovelace of Taylorsville, the 30th highest-rated active player in North Carolina. It was his first time directing in a full tournament in years after a health-related layoff.

Lovelace recently qualified as a club-level tournament director, and has been holding rated games at club meetings. On Saturday May 26th, the club and Lovelace will hold their first tournament, Groundhog Swiss I.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200705124411-12806981

Farley 1st at First Tourney

A total of 24 players competed in the Reverse Angle 2 April 7 at UNC Charlotte. In the Top Section, Chris Mabe reeled off three wins to grab sole first place and pocket $100. Todd Trower took clear second at 2.5/3.0. In the Lower Section, Allen Mullins and Samuel Xin both went 3-0 to claim the top spot. Derek Zhang and Bruce Farley took the Under 1500 prize.

Randy Lovelace competed against a strong field in the top section. “I had master Chris Mabe on the ropes for most of the game but lost. I had an uneventful draw with Dan Lui. In the last round I won a Bishop of opposite colour ending,” he said.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200704074671.0-12459327
(Games p 3)

Campbell Kids Place at Spring 5

57 players competed in the WSSCA’s Spring 5 April 28 in Winston-Salem. In the K-12 Section, David Stamper and Michael Gmeiner tied at 3.0/4.0. Stamper got the nod on tiebreaks. In the K-8 Section, Brett Sneed went a perfect 4-0 for the top spot, and. Grace Campbell was third. In the combined K-5/K-3 Section Karen Riedel and William Campbell shared first place at 3.5/4.0. Riedel won on tiebreaks.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200704281301.0-12882793

Lovelace Faces Down Tough Crowd

74 players invaded Hendersonville for the Immaculata Swiss April 28. Players were sorted into 8-player sections for three rounds of G/75. Winners in their respective sections: Matthew Noble, Joshua Mu, Vlad Besirovic, Victor Suich, Adams Nager, Reid Motter, Chris Borges, Bradley Caswell, Walker Mims and Felipe Seivert.

Randy Lovelace beat the odds in the top section, narrowly missing second or third on tiebreaks. “In my section were 6 masters, me, and another expert. I drew with Klaus Pohl 13-time South Carolina champion. I also drew with Neal Harris. In the last round I defeated Gary Newsom,” he said.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200704282041.0-12829469
(Games p. 3-4.)

Lovelace ties for Second

NM Chris Mabe went a perfect 3-0 to take the Top Section of the Reverse Angle 3 May 5 at UNC Charlotte. Randy Lovelace tied for second. In the Lower Section, Mike Eberhardinger also went 3-0 to take the top spot. Twenty-three players participated.

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200705054061.0
(Games p. 4.)

-Reports by Randy Wheeless, supplemented by member accounts. See http://www.ncchess.org for state-wide tournament coverage.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Bf5 4. cxd5 Bxb1 5. Rxb1 Qxd5 6. a3 Nf6 7. e3 Nbd7 8. Bd3 e5 9. dxe5 Nxe5 10. Nxe5 Qxe5 11. O-O O-O-O 12. Qc2 Qc5 13. b4 Qxc2 14. Bxc2 Bd6 15. a4 Rhe8 16. b5 cxb5 17. axb5 Bc5 18. Bb2 Bb6 19. Rfd1 h6 20. Bb3 Re7 21. g3 Red7 22. Rbc1+ Bc7 23. Rd4 Ne8 24. Kg2 Kb8 25. h4 Bb6 26. Rf4 f6 27. h5 Nc7 28. Bc4 Bxe3 29. fxe3 Rd2+ 30. Kh3 Rxb2 31. Rg4 Rd7 32. Bf1 Ne6 33. Rgc4 Rc7 34. Kg4 Rxb5 35. Rxc7 Rg5+ 36. Kh4 Nxc7 37. Rd1 Rd5 0-1

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 dxc4 4. e4 Bb4 5. Bxc4 b6 6. Nf3 Nf6 7. Qc2 Bxc3+ 8. bxc3 Bd7 9. O-O Nc6 10. e5 Ng8 11. Re1 a5 12. Bf4 Nb8 13. d5 exd5 14. Bxd5 Nc6 15. Ng5 Ra7 16. Bxf7+ Kf8 17. e6 Bxe6 18. Rxe6 g6 19. Rxc6 a4 20. Ne6+ Ke7 21. Nxd8 Kxd8 22. Rd1+ Kc8 23. Be5 Nf6 24. Bxf6 Rf8 25. Be6+ Kb8 26. Rd8+ Rxd8 27. Bxd8 Kb7 28. Qe4 Ka8 29. Rxc7+ Kb8 30. Rxa7 Kxa7 31. Bc4 Kb8 32. Qc6 Ka7 33. Qxb6+ Ka8 34. Bd5# 1-0

Klaus Pohl/Randy Lovelace
Immaculata Swiss
Hendersonville, NC round 1 (4/28/07)

Randy Lovelace/Garry Newsom
Immaculata Swiss r3
Annotations by Deep Fritz 10 [10s]

D03: 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 Bg5, including Torre Attack with early ...d5 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 Be7 4.e3 b6 5.Nbd2 Bb7 6.c3 c5 7.Bd3 d5 8.Ne5 0–0 9.f4 Nbd7 [9...Ne4 10.Bxe7 Qxe7 11.0–0 f6 12.Nef3 Nd7 13.Qc2 f5 14.Bb5 Ndf6 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Ne5 a6 17.Be2 Nd5 18.Qd2 cxd4 19.cxd4 Rac8 20.a3 g5 21.Bc4 Rxc4 22.Nxc4 b5 23.Ne5 gxf4 24.Rxf4 Petrosian,T (2580)-Gligoric,S (2505)/Niksic 1983/MCD/1/2–1/2 (44)] 10.Qf3 g6N Controls f5 [10...Nxe5 11.dxe5 Nd7 12.Qh3 g6 13.Nf3 d4 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Ng5 h5 16.cxd4 cxd4 17.0–0 Nxe5 18.exd4 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 Rad8 20.Rfe1 Qf6 21.Rad1 Qxf4 22.h4 Qxh4 23.Nf3 Bxf3 24.gxf3 Rd5 25.Re2 Ramaswamy,K-Raheb,D (2143)/ Montreal 2001/CBM 080 ext/0–1 (41); �10...Nxe5!? has some apparent merit 11.dxe5 Ne4 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Nxe4 dxe4 14.Bxe4 Bxe4 15.Qxe4 Qh4+ 16.g3�] 11.Bh6� Re8 12.Qh3 [12.h4 Bf8 13.h5 Nxh5 14.Rxh5 c4+-] 12...Bf8 [12...Qc7 13.0–0�] 13.Ndf3 Bxh6 14.Qxh6 Nxe5?? the position is going down the drain [�14...Rc8�] 15.fxe5+- [15.dxe5?! Ng4 16.Qh3 h5�; 15.Nxe5?! Qe7�] 15...Ng4 16.Qf4 f5 17.h3 g5 [17...Nxe3 does not solve anything 18.Qxe3 Rc8 19.g4+-] 18.Nxg5 Nh6 [18...Nxe5 doesn't get the bull off the ice 19.dxe5 (19.Qxe5?! Qxg5 20.g4 Qg7�) 19...Qd7 20.g4+-] 19.g4 [�19.Qh4 might be the shorter path 19...Kg7 20.g4 f4+-] 19...Qe7 [19...c4 no good, but what else? 20.gxf5 cxd3 21.Nxe6 Rxe6 22.fxe6 Qf8+-] 20.gxf5 exf5 21.Rg1 Kh8 22.Qh4 Ng8 [22...Rg8 is not much help 23.Qxh6 Rg6 24.Qh5+-] 23.Bxf5 h6 24.Be6 Rf8 [24...Qxe6 does not improve anything 25.Qh5 Bc6 26.0–0–0+-] 25.Bxg8 Kxg8 26.Qxh6 [26.Ne6+ Qg5 27.Nxg5 hxg5 28.Qxg5+ Kf7 29.Qg6+ Ke7 30.Qd6+ Ke8 31.Rg7 Rf1+ 32.Kxf1 Ba6+ 33.Kf2 cxd4 34.Qe7#] 26...Rf5 27.Nh7+ Kh8 [27...Qg5 cannot change what is in store for ? 28.Nxg5 cxd4 29.e6 Rf1+ 30.Rxf1 Re8 31.Qh7#] 28.Nf8+ Qh7 29.Qxh7# 1–0

Thanks to the generosity of Randy Lovelace, the Hickory Chess Club is now an affiliate of the national federation. Several club members have joined the USCF to be able to participate in the rated games during club meetings.

The first round was submitted for rating as HCC1. Winning their games were club TD Randy Lovelace, club Vice-President John Shaw and Bruce Farley.

The next series of games commenced a new round-a-week swiss-format tournament the following Tuesday. Running May 1, 8, and 14th, the tournament ran three rounds.

Randy Lovelace won all of his games. Winning two out of three for a three-way tie for second was John Shaw, club President Vaughn Dagenhart, and Will Campbell.

Participation in the Tuesday rated games is open to all members of the USCF who show up at meetings before 6 with a set, preferably a clock, their USCF ID number, and the 25-cent-a-game entry fee.