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Austin Wins Annual Shootout

Each year the cities of Austin and San Antonio send their best and brightest chess players to compete in an annual shootout to determine which city is the best of South Texas. As with everything else in Texas, this shootout is quite a big deal. Preparations begin early each year and culminate with the penultimate event in August. This year, San Antonio lost to Austin 26-24 points, which means that San Antonio only lost by a one-game outcome!

After the first round, San Antonio faced an incredible 7.5-17.5 point standing with three draws and two losses on the top five boards. However, the lopsided round results were not enough to keep the San Antonio team from bowing out early. The Alamo City came roaring back in the second round to bring itself within 2 points of its northern neighbor, but it was not enough to overcome the earlier deficit and bring the victory home.

Maybe next year…

Some noteworthy moments:

  • Jose Silva (SA) went 2-0 through the match.
  • The highest rated player was IM Miguel Paz (2465).

2016 Sinquefield Cup: So Wins It All 

The Sinquefield Cup is always an amazing event and has come to solidify its place as one of the most prestigious chess tournaments in the world. Every year, the best chess players from around the world converge on the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis to compete in the round robin tournament. The Sinquefield Cup is also memorable for Fabiano Caruana’s incredible run in 2014, which I built a commemorative wall piece to celebrate the tournament. After some scheduling changes due to the upcoming Baku Olympian, this year’s event included Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Veselin Topalov, Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, Vishy Anand, Peter Svidler, and wildcard Ding Liren.

World Champion Magnus Carlsen opted out of this year’s event so that he could focus on the upcoming World Chess Championship in New York.

After some thrilling games between the world’s elite players it was Wesley So, the former Webster University prodigy, who took a commanding lead early in the tournament and cruised to a solid victory with 5.5/9 pts. The Sinquefield Cup is part of the second Grand Chess Tour, which aims to promote professional chess around the world. The Grandmasters featured in the Sinquefield Cup are regular participants in the tour. For details and photos from the Sinquefield Cup, check out the detailed analysis on Chessbase.

Jesse James is 3-time San Antonio Champion 

Chess players from around the San Antonio area converged on Methodist Hospital this past weekend to see who would earn the distinction of San Antonio City Chess Champion. Approximately 82 players registered for the 5-round event which saw participation from players in the 900 ELO to 2263 ELO range! NM Jesse James Lozano quickly emerged as the man to beat as he sought to defend his championship title and earn the distinction of being the 3-time city champion.

Entering into the 4th round of the event on Sunday Lozano led the tournament with a score of 3-0, although Alexander Wlezien, who commanded a 2206 ELO prior to the event remained neck-in-neck with him. The final standings had both Lozano and Wlezien earning no losses across all five rounds. In the end, Jesse James claimed his third title and walked away with an impressive 2267 ELO. Congratulations to Jesse on his win!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Pair | Player Name                     |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round| 
 Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)       | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  | 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1 | JESSE JAMES LOZANO              |4.5  |X  34|W  47|W  51|W   7|D   3|
   TX |          / R: 2263   ->2267     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |B    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2 | ALEXANDER WLEZIEN               |4.5  |W  49|W  13|D   9|W   6|W  15|
   TX |          / R: 2206   ->2209     |     |W    |B    |W    |B    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3 | GREGG STANLEY                   |4.0  |W  26|W   8|W  52|D  15|D   1|
   TX |          / R: 2189   ->2190     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    4 | ERNESTO L MALAZARTE             |4.0  |W  50|L   7|W  20|W  35|W  21|
   TX |          / R: 2166   ->2161     |     |W    |B    |W    |B    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    5 | DUY MINH NGUYEN                 |4.0  |H    |W  48|W  56|W  10|D   9|
   TX |          / R: 2095   ->2102     |     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    6 | DANG MINH NGUYEN                |4.0  |W  62|W  24|W  38|L   2|W  25|
   TX |          / R: 1970   ->1984     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |B    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    7 | ROHIT CHOUDARY BANDI            |4.0  |W  27|W   4|W  28|L   1|W  32|
   TX |          / R: 1916   ->1954     |     |B    |W    |W    |B    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    8 | DONALD W FLOURNOY               |4.0  |W  35|L   3|W  39|W  52|W  24|
   TX |          / R: 1919   ->1936     |     |W    |B    |W    |B    |W    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    9 | SREENEVASH RAMESH               |4.0  |W  44|W  33|D   2|W  16|D   5|
   TX |          / R: 1652   ->1768     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |B    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   10 | JAMES DOUGLAS HUDDLESTON        |3.5  |W  25|D  16|W  23|L   5|W  28|
   TX |          / R: 2112   ->2104     |     |B    |W    |B    |W    |B    |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Table data courtesy of US Chess.

A small sample…

The annual city championship is a small sample of the larger San Antonio chess community that thrives throughout the year. The San Antonio Chess Club meets every Thursday night at the Lions Field Center on Broadway St for blitz and a subset of the club meets each Wednesday at Methodist Hospital for a monthly rapid tournament (G 90|5). Many of these events include highly skilled club players in the 1600+ ELO range, but Jesse Lozano offers opportunities for kids and lower rated players in scholastic play throughout the region on his website, www.sascholastic.com.

St Louis, MO… Chess Capital of the World

Saint Louis, Missouri has hosted some of the strongest chess tournaments in United States history over the past few years. When GM Susan Polgar moved her SPICE program to Webster University, a plethora of chess talent migrated from Lubbock’s Texas Tech University to her new home at Webster. Now, St Louis continues to gain attention and prestige as it is increasingly looked at as the new chess capital of America.

Chess is a global game, enjoyed by millions around the world. For much of the 20th Century the nucleus of chess was the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. But now a new chess capital of the world is emerging – the American Midwest city of St Louis.

It’s a beautiful spring evening and Chuck is sitting opposite me, outside the St Louis chess club. He’s an African-American in late middle age who, during the day, runs a business selling meat. But this is where he comes after work. Between us is a beautiful inlaid chess board, on which stand elegant wood-carved pieces.

Is St Louis on track to becoming the chess capital of the world? Perhaps, because this is America and anything is possible.

Read more: BBC.com

Chess, Chess Everywhere in San Antonio!

For chess players and fans across South Texas, San Antonio is the place to be this weekend and throughout the next few weeks. Aw, who am I kidding? San Antonio is the place to be, period. This weekend, Trinity University and the Jesse James Chess Academy is hosting a tournament at their main campus in downtown. You can read more about that tournament here on Campfire Chess or visit the official website to register. Yours truly is registered and will be playing in the rated section.

sanantoniochamps

Rackspace, the cloud company that converted the abandoned Westgate Mall into their technological metropolis, is hosting its annual Rackspace Chess Scholastic Tournament on April 30 (tomorrow) beginning at 0730 CST. There is no entry fee and the tournament is open for K-1 through High School Seniors. Visit the Rackspace website to see more about the tournament. Note that all participants must have a parent with them.

sachesslogoAs if that was not enough, the 2016 San Antonio Chess Club Championship begins this coming Thursday, May 5 at 7pm. The tournament is played at the Lions Field Center, which is the same location that my church, Mission Vineyard Church, meets on Sunday mornings at 10am (hint hint). Entry is free, but is closed to members of the SA Chess Club. Club officers will be on hand at Lions Field before the tournament to start a new membership or renew an existing membership. First place is a championship trophy and free entry into the upcoming San Antonio City Championship. Time controls are G75+5, but are subject to change based on availability of the Lions Field Center for late night play. Visit the club on Facebook and RSVP if you would like to participate.

Finally, the San Antonio City Chess Championship is also fast approaching and will be held from July 30-31. Exact times, location, and other details are forthcoming. I will post more details on that tournament when I know they have been solidified. I am also examining the possibility of conducting some live commentary for that tournament. At the very least, I intend to offer a daily tournament report, photos, and possibly some interviews. More to come.

In the meantime, enjoy the amazing amount of chess on the horizon in the Alamo City!

Caruana and Paikidze are 2016 US Chess Champions!

GM Hikaru Nakmura and GM Irina Krush entered into the 2016 US Chess Championship carrying the same hopes and dreams of their competition but with much more at stake: the defense of their 2015 championship titles. Nakamura, who is a mainstay on my beloved Chess.com, has won the US Chess Championship in 2005, 2009, 2012 and in 2015. Krush began the 2016 event looking for her fifth consecutive win, but was stopped short by US #2, GM Nazi Paikidze.

Coming Back to America

Just a few short years ago, I would have considered it insanity to believe that GM Fabiano Caruana would be a member of the US Chess Federation and go from playing for the Italian Chess Federation to winning the 2016 US Chess Championship. Yet, that very thing happened yesterday when Caruana edged out his opponents with a win against IM Akshat Chandra, who is widely known for his monumental propulsion into the stratosphere of chess ability. Chandra, who is considered to be one of the brightest rising stars in chess, finished the tournament in last place with 1.5/11, scoring draws against Jeffery Xiong, Alexander Shabalov, and Nakamura.

gmfabiano

Caruana owned a slight edge over his opponents entering in to the final round, but showed impeccable drive and determination to win the final round despite being given the black pieces. After his victory, GM Wesley So drew against GM Aleksandr Lenderman and Nakamura drew against GM Ray Robson, earning them the second and third finishing positions respectively.

A New Face for United States Women’s Chess

I like to think that GM Nazi Paikidze, the new US Women’s Chess Champion is representative of the new wave of chess champions that are set to emerge in the next few years. Although her name might be new to some people, she has an extensive social media presence where she has advocated for chess, health, and fitness for quite some time. Paikidze’s Instagram and Twitter accounts are regularly updated, which shows that she has found a way to balance the demands of professional chess, staying healthy, and maintaining connection to family, friends, and her fans.

As the final round of the women’s section was about to begin, it looked as though WGM Tatev Abrahamyan was set to win, but her 16-year old opponent WIM Ashritha Eswaran shocked everyone by outplaying her opponent and scoring a devastating win.

gmnazi

Paikidze played exceptional chess throughout the event with five draws and six wins. In what could be considered a Cinderella event, Paikidze’s final victory coming against last year’s champion, Irina Krush.

Congratulations to GM’s Fabiano Caruana and Nazi Paikidze for their victory in this year’s United States Chess Championship!

Trinity University Chess Tournament on May 1

Attention, South Texas chess players! Trinity University in San Antonio is preparing to host its first chess tournament on May 1st at 1300 CST. This tournament is the first in what Tournament Directors Bob Le and Jesse Lozano hope will become a regular event hosted at the university to unite students, faculty, staff, and chess players from around the city to play our game.

trinity

An unrated section will be free for all students, faculty, and staff at Trinity or other colleges across the San Antonio area.

A rated section will be open to US Chess Federation members for $25 with guaranteed cash prizes. Both sections consist of 15-minute games with a 5-second delayed time control.

For more information, visit http://www.sascholastic.com/ or contact the TD’s listed on the leaflet above.

Yet Another Loss

Evaluating My First Over-the-Board Tournament Game

Kirsan Illyumzhinov Sanctioned by the United States

You might have already read this story making waves across the online chess community, but its potential effects on international chess warrant another mention. The United States Department of the Treasury has slapped sanctions on Kirsan Illyumzhinov because of his continued support of oppressive regimes like those in Syria and the former governments of Iraq and Libya. Kirsan’s eccentric political connections are well known and often despised within the chess community, but these sanctions come primarily because of his connections to the government of Syria. American intelligence has linked Syrian government assets to support of the terrorist group known as ISIS. These sanctions come at a difficult time for Illyumzhinov and the World Chess Federation as the organization is actively searching for a US-based venue for the 2016 World Chess Championship.

For an in-depth exposé into the developing story along with the official response from Kirsan himself, check out this article on Chessbase.

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