Category: Tournaments Page 1 of 8

Karpov to Attend 2021 US Open

We’re just a few weeks away from the start of the 2021 U.S. Open and US Chess has announced that legendary World Champion GM Anatoly Karpov will be in attendance on August 4th for a lecture, Q & A session, and book signing. Here is the official release info from the US Chess Federation:

Mr. Karpov will deliver a lecture, to be followed by a question-and-answer period.  Then, Mr. Karpov will appear at a book signing in the US Open bookstore.  He’ll be joined there by a former World Junior Champion, GM Maxim Dlugy!  This special event is happening thanks to the combined generosity of the New Jersey State Chess Federation, Chess Max Academy, and US Chess Sales.  US Chess thanks all of these partners for helping to provide our attendees with this great visit!

According to US Chess, the Crowne Plaza, which is hosting the event, is almost out of rooms but the federation has secured local hotels at the same discount rate. For details, visit the official website for the 2021 US Open.

Complete Chess Scholastic Tournament

Complete Chess in San Antonio is holding an online tournament for scholastic chess players (K-12) from any state on Friday, June 25th and Saturday, June 26th. Registration is limited to 50 people, so hurry now to register if you’re interested. See the release below from Complete Chess for details:

Complete Chess Scholastic Tournament – Saturday, June 26th

This is an unrated chess tournament open to all students(K-12) in San Antonio and nearby areas. We will play on Saturday at 10a.m. until finish (usually around 1p.m). Registration online only, no registration on site. Registration ends at 8:00pm on Friday.

FREE TOURNAMENT – LIMIT 50 PEOPLE FOR THIS EVENT.

Register Here

Complete Chess Grand Prix Tournament – Friday, June 25th

This is our weekly online rated Swiss Scholastic arena tournament on Lichess. The tournament will run on Friday, June 25th and the first round will start promptly at 5:15 pm CST. Any K-12 players from any state are allowed to participate in the tournament. By the end of the tournament, a running total of points will be collected, based on the number of wins/draws, and it will be recorded on the website. The 2021 Complete Chess Summer Season will continue to have weekly tournaments until the second week of August. By the end of the Season, the top 10 players with the most points will each receive an individual trophy.

Entry fee: $15 if received by June 24th, and $25 on tournament day.

Register Here

Mamedyarov Victorious In Romania

The Superbet Chess Classic came to a dramatic end earlier today with GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov claiming ultimate victory in this leg of the Grand Chess Tour. All games in the final round were drawn, but Mamedyarov finished the tournament a full point ahead of Levon Aronian after forcing a draw against Anish Giri.

#PlayerRtg12345678910Pts
1Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2770*1½½½½½11½6
2Aronian, Levon27810*½1½½1½½½5
3So, Wesley2770½½*½½½½1½½5
4Grischuk, Alexander2776½0½*½½1½1½5
5Giri, Anish2780½½½½*½½½014.5
6Radjabov, Teimour2765½½½½½*½½½½4.5
7Deac, Bogdan-Daniel2627½0½0½½*½½14
8Caruana, Fabiano28200½0½½½½*1½4
9Lupulescu, Constantin26560½½01½½0*½3.5
10Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime2760½½½½0½0½½*3.5

There will be very little rest for many of the players as they travel from Romania to Paris for the second event in the Grand Chess Tour, the 2021 Paris Rapid and Blitz tournament. Participants include Levon Aronian, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Peter Svidler. In the meantime, you can replay all of the games from the Superbet Chess Classic in Romania below.

Leader Standings Challenged in Superbet Round 5

GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan is quickly gaining ground on GMs Alexander Grischuk and Wesley So going into the fifth round of the Superbet Chess Classic in Bucharest with a score of 7.5 to So’s 8 and Grischuk’s 7.75.

#PlayerRtgPerf1234567890PtsSB
1Wesley So27702825½½½½13.0/58
2Alexander Grischuk27762808½½½1½3.0/57.75
3Shakhriyar Mamedyarov27702789½½½½13.0/57.5
4Teimour Radjabov27652781½½½½½2.5/56.25
5Bogdan-Daniel Deac26272771½0½½12.5/56
6Levon Aronian27812758½½½½½2.5/55.75
7Fabiano Caruana282027510½½½12.5/55.5
8Anish Giri27802660½½½½02.0/55
9Maxime Vachier-Lagrave27602651½½0½½2.0/55
10Constantin Lupulescu265627110½01½2.0/54.25

After getting off to a sleepy start, the games have started to get more interesting as well. It’s obvious that Anish Giri’s loss the other day affected him severely as he’s fallen to 8th place in the standings with a score of 5. Mamedyarov’s game and performance from Round 4 has certainly been of interest given his quick rise and challenge to the tournament’s current leaders.

Today was a rest day for the players, but tomorrow we get back to business as So and Grischuk work to maintain their leads. But…in chess, like life, anything can happen. You can read more in-depth analysis on Chess.com or The Week in Chess.

Giri Smoked in Superbet Day #3

I spent a good portion of this morning with the boards from the Superbet Chess Classic up while I worked my day job. I watched the full game between Fabiano Caruana and Levon Aronian. It had a few good moments, but was mostly a sleeper that ended in a draw. It wasn’t until I switched to Anish Giri’s game that things got very interesting.

In this position, Giri blundered with 31…Qc5, which allowed White a win with 32.Re7. I missed the move when it was originally made, but it was apparent when the inline analysis tool on Chess.com’s events viewer went from balanced to completely White. It was obvious that the game was over with no real way for Giri to escape. This is an interesting win, especially given that Constantin Lupulescu, the GM who beat him, was chosen to participate as part of the tournament’s local talent pool.

Obviously, Giri is human and nobody’s perfect. He’ll certainly shrug off the blunder and move on to the next drawn game… See the game itself on Chess.com or more commentary on today’s round from The Week in Chess.

The Grand Chess Tour 2021

June 3rd marks the beginning of the 2021 Grand Chess Tour, which is a collection of the highest rated tournaments in the world forming a pathway leading up to this year’s World Chess Championship. The upcoming events are:

  • June 3-15: Superbet Chess Classic Romania in Bucharest, Romania
  • June 16-23: Paris Rapid and Blitz in Paris, France
  • July 5-12: Croatia Rapid and Blitz in Zagreb, Croatia
  • August 9-16: Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz in Saint Louis, Missouri
  • August 16-28: Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis, Missoui

This year, the total prize fund is approximately $1.25 million US dollars with a chance for the top three tour finishers to earn a share of an additional $175,000! Live coverage of the games will be provided by Chess.com, Chess24, and by a variety of chess streamers on Twitch.

Carlsen Wins the FTX Crypto Cup

After struggling a bit in the early rounds, Magnus Carlsen has emerged victorious in the FTX Crypto Cup online tournament. Overall, it was an exciting tournament to follow with many twists and turns. The initial round was filled with close scores and a large number of ties among the players. This eventually whittled down to four players who faced each other over the last two days for a share of the tournament prize. Wesley So battled it out against Magnus in a series of rapid events which ended in a tie between the players. This prompted a blitz playoff that was filled with some interesting and nail biting moments.

Throughout the past couple of days it was apparent that Magnus was struggling with a lack of motivation or from an illness that kept his performance below what we’ve come to expect from the world champion. He even went as far as to mention that he felt like shit during a postgame interview with Chess24 yesterday, which contributed to some of his mistakes on the board. In any case, Carlsen took the crown for this event and took home a $60,000 chunk of the prize fund and 0.6 bitcoin (about $22,000 as of this posting).

For an exceptional analysis of the games in the final matchups, check out this video from Gotham Chess:

Carlsen and many of the familiar GMs on this circuit will reunite on June 26th for the 2021 Grand Prix.

FTX Crypto Cup Semis Start Today

In trying to get back into chess regularly, I’ve spent my days at work with the Chess.com streaming broadcast of the FTX Crypto Cup. The games in this tournament so far have ranged from inspiring to head scratching. The roster itself is a who’s who of the best in chess from around the world. Carlsen, Nakamura, So, Giri, and Caruana are just some of the big names rounding out this Champions Chess Tour event. Each player is competing for a chance to participate in the tour’s finale starting on September 25th.

The preliminary round of the FTX Crypto Cup was quite an experience. Magnus Carlsen struggled through much of the round while Fabiano Caruana, who made it a point to tell everyone that he hadn’t played a game of online chess all year, absolutely dominated with a score of 10/15! Carlsen eventually managed to squeak by with a score of 8.5.

The projected Semifinals pairings are Carlsen-Radjabov and Nepomniachtchi-So. I was originally cheering for Nakamura or Caruana but since they’ve been eliminated from the tournament, my money’s on Carlsen.

The Quarter Finals began on May 26th and lasted for two days. Carlsen and Nakamura traded blows back and forth but it was ultimately Magnus that will advance to the Semifinals, which begin later today.

You can watch the games with commentary on ChessTV or the official broadcast on Chess24.

A Discussion About Electronic Notation Devices

Strange things are afoot in the chess world…

In March of this year, I had an opportunity to test and review the ChessNoteR, an electronic notation device (END) for chess tournaments created by independent developer Black Mirror Studio. I really liked the device and I have used it in several games. However, ChessNoteR is at the heart of a growing discussion in the chess world about the future of the game and how ENDs fit into the equation.

The Churning Volcano

The US Chess Federation published its reviewed electronic device policy on their website back in September with little deviation from previously understood policies. In general, electronic devices are forbidden from use in tournaments to include music players, cell phones, computers, and others. Only certified devices are authorized. However, the policy grants wide freedom to individual tournament organizers to set additional rules for END use.

ChessNoteR

The ChessNoteR electronic notation device.

On November 1st of this year, the Continental Chess Association elected to modify their tournament rules and outright ban use of the ChessNoteR device in its tournaments.

> Electronic Scoresheets are usually permitted if approved by USCF or FIDE. However, effective 12/26/19, use of the device ChessNoteR is not allowed. Any player using this device must discontinue use upon request, in which case, assuming no evidence of cheating, there is no penalty.

I have looked and there does not seem to be any specific incident mentioned in forums and in the official USCF groups that explains why this decision was made by CCA other than an arbitrary desire to eliminate ChessNoteR use from their tournaments. As I previously mentioned, this is in line with the revised US Chess END policy. Unfortunately, there is no need for TDs to explain why they enacted a restriction.

My biggest issue with the ban is the arbitrary decision to ban only the ChessNoteR device. I believe that US Chess should clarify in its ruleset that TDs can authorize or forbid use of any END in a tournament. In my opinion, the banning of specific devices and manufacturers sounds suspect.

The Heated Argument

In my opinion, the growing discussion goes much deeper than the perception of security vulnerabilities in ChessNoteR. Instead, I think that this speaks to a larger challenge within the chess community. It is a discussion that has brought strife to nearly every sport, hobby, and human activity throughout history: the old vs. the new.

Plycounter - No longer available

The Plycounter – a discontinued electronic notation device.

There are many people out there with exaggerated perceptions of the dangers of using electronic devices. In chess, using almost any type of electronic device during a game, whether its approved or not, is bound to raise a few eyebrows. That is because the only time these devices are mentioned by chess media is when they are used for nefarious purposes. Whether it is the GM in the bathroom using Stockfish or the absurd accusations of a playing hiding a chess engine in her lipstick, the general (and older) chess population appear to be hesitant on allowing technology to replace traditional pen and paper.

ChessNoteR remains certified by US Chess, and I do not see that changing anytime soon. Not all TDs may agree with the use of ENDs, but US Chess is right in certifying and promoting these devices. Players and TDs should be given a choice over the use of these devices. Restriction at a national level would be an arbitrary rejection of progress for the game as a whole. While the process remains somewhat clunky, I believe that technology will eventually evolve to where use of ENDs is more convenient and encouraged than traditional methods, but that is just my personal opinion.

A Compromise Solution?

Regardless of the way forward, I believe that US Chess must approach future END endeavors thoughtfully and strategically. I support the right of individual tournaments to ban the use of these devices, but I believe that US Chess should consider:

  • Promoting and encouraging the use of these devices where appropriate. ENDs can be very beneficial for people with disabilities.
  • Forbidding the arbitrary ban of specific devices and manufacturers. TDs should be restricted to authorizing or forbidding all ENDs from their tournaments.

I am saddened by the ChessNoteR ban from CCA events, but I understand it. At the end of the day, CCA is following the rules set out by US Chess, which I believe are fair and broad enough to allow TDs to effectively manage the use of these devices. However, as I said before, I believe that these bans should not target specific devices or manufacturers as it sets a bad precedent.

Nakamura and Yu are US Champions!

Another US Chess Championship has come and gone with GM Hikaru Nakamura claiming his 5th national championship title! There was a last minute push by former champion GM Fabiano Caruana, but he was unable to hold off a draw with GM Sam Shankland. Going into the tournament final, Nakamura and Caruana were tied with Leinier Dominguez for first place, but Nakamura was able to pound out a fine win to reclaim the title.

I was impressed with Nakamura’s performance considering that he also streamed regularly on his Twitch channel during the competition!

Just two days prior, 17-year old Jennifer Yu improved over her 2018 6.5/11 result to claim the title of 2019 US Women’s Chess Champion. Yu’s play was as solid as anything we’ve ever seen from her; solidifying her place among the great modern female chess players.

Congratulations to both players for a job well done! Read more on the official press releases (Nakamura)(Yu) on the official US Chess website.

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