The NYC Scholastic Tournament Chess Newsletter
"The Chess Exchange"
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Fischer Random Chess:
How Bobby Changed the Game to Help Beginners
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DIFFERENT STARTING
POSITIONS FOR FISCHER RANDOM CHESS IS 960!
The game, created by Bobby Fischer, uses a special setup where both white and black pawns are setup like a regular
game but white's other pieces are randomly placed on rank 1 with the king placed somewhere between the rooks and
bishops are placed on opposite-colored squares. Black then imitates exactly where white's pieces were placed
and the game begins with normal chess rules and white's first move. A typical game setup is shown on the right in
Diagram 1. The "randomness" of setting the white pieces can be done with complex rolling of dice or with a high-end chess
clock. The clock, shown below, known as the DGT 960, is sold by Tri-State Chess at their concessions and store.
LOOKOUT!Possible Draw:
How to Avoid Stalemate When You
are Ahead in the Endgame
When you are "ahead" in a chess game, especially during a tournament, it is exciting to think you might win. But be careful! The challenge now is
to stay ahead and win the game by checkmating your opponent. Even if you work hard and come to the endgame with a queen and king and your opponent just
has a king WARNING!! the game is not over. If you are not careful, all your sweat and hard work spent creating an advantage in material could be
lost if you allow a stalemate to occur. A stalemate is a tie or a "draw," and is usually a mistake made by the player who is just about to
win! About 20%, yes 1 out of every five beginner section games played in our tournaments end this way. How can you avoid this from happening? Simple...
make sure there is a free square for your opponents king to move to each time you complete your move. Or... you can move your pieces closer and closer to the
enemy king each time being sure to give a check in the process. If the move you play is with check, it can never be a stalemate position. This
way you can guarantee a checkmate every time and make sure your hard work pays off by winning
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Chess & Celebrities:
Famous People Who Have Played Chess
Sometimes when we are playing a tough game we think only about how easy it would be for Kramnik or Kasparov or other world champions. We
study the great names of chess like Morphy, Alekhine, Lasker and Botvinnik and ask "What would Bobby Fischer do in this situation?" Yet chess
has also been played by people who are not chess pros. In fact, chess is enjoyed by many who are not great at chess at all!
It is played and enjoyed by people not famous for how they play chess but who were famous for other reasons. Many stars, celebrities, scientists, politicians
and athletes continue to become involved with chess.
On this page we put together some photos of chess players who are and were famous for other reasons. Try to match each name to a photo.
You will be amazed that so many famous stars, musicians, athletes, scientists, and politicians play or have played chess.
{LOOK for the Chess Players ID Challenge solutions on page 9}
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Tri-State Chess & Kasparov
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and had the highest rating in the world continuously from 1986 to 2005, over a nineteen year period. In the 1999-2000 FIDE
ratings lists he achieved the highest rating ever of 2851.Born in 1963 (he is still only 47!), his father was Jewish and his
mother Armenian. Gary's original name was Gary Weinstein butafter his father died when he was seven, he took on his mother's
last name Kasparyan and changed it to Kasparov.He was a true chess "prodigy" or child genius, training when he
was 7 at the Young Pioneer Palace in Baku and, at 10 at MikhailBotvinnik's chess school under the famous coach Vladimir
Makogonov. By the time he was 17 he became a Grandmaster,twice tied for first place at the USSR Chess championships and
when he was 21 became the highest rated player in the world(2710) the youngest ever to do that. At 22, he became the
youngest ever world champion after playing a famous matchm with Anatoly Karpov, also of the former USSR.
Kasparov at age 11
In 2005 after having coached Valdimir Kramnik who went on to become world champion and Magnus Carlsen, the
youngest number one ranked player, Kasparov retired from chess. Since then he has been active in Russian politics
and has been writing a series of books about great games of the past called "My Great Predecessors". This was the
book series he was signing at the NY Team & Individual championship as he just introduced his separate volume on
Bobby Fischer.
When asked about meeting with Kasparov, Mr. Kurtzman said: " It was very exciting being in the presence of such
an awesome chess legend! We look forward to more visits by Gary in the future...
The Fried Liver Attack
We all learn what not to do in the opening... Don't move the f pawn... Don't move your queen early, etc. But
what about something we can do, to start off with a quick attack? Well, there is no sure fire method of
destroying your opponent in just a few moves, but there is a highly successful attack that can be launched
early called the Fried Liver Attack! The attack is based upon sacrificing on the weak
point in black's position (the f7 square) early on to draw the black king into the center. It can only
work against the 2 knights defense. 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 Diagram 1 on the right the starting moves of the 2
knights defense:
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Playing Chess Your Whole Life
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and came to the US to play simultaneous exhibitions (him playing many adults all at the same time).
When he was 9 he traveled across the US playing more than over 1,500 games and only lost 8 games.
Reshevsky continued to play till he passed away in 1992 at he age of 80 having played chess for 76 years!
Music and even playing an instrument also are things that one can do for a very long time. Music and chess seem to
fit together well and are often enjoyed by the same person. Maybe the best case of this combined interest is
Grandmaster Mark Taimanov who managed to make a career out of both. He has 1997 games listed in
chessgames.com from 1938-2007 and several variations are named after him including the well known Sicilian
Taimanov variation. As a piano player he is part of the Philips compilation Great Pianists of the 20th Century. He is
shown below giving a simultaneous exhibition in St. Petersberg. At age 84 he continues to play chess and the piano.
So, if you are at the ripe old age of 10 playing a high-level first grader and complaining how these young
kids are getting so good at chess, don't forget-you have a long way to go. Play at home a game with
Mom or even better your grandfather. Chess can be enjoyed by anyone young or old
Fischer Random Chess
(----Continued From Page 1----)
Another version of Fischer Random Chess involves players taking turns placing pieces on the back rank! The
board is set with pawns in their usual place (ranks 2 and 7). White then places "non-pawn" pieces one by one on
the 1st rank using their own strategy.
Black moves by dropping a piece on his 1st rank hoping to counter white's last move.
When all moves are over and the final setup is done, the two sides have completely different setups!
Game play begins and the pieces are moved as in regular chess.
Whether you use a clock as a setup tool or not, Fischer random chess does satisfy its creator's goal. You cannot
use the four knights, or Guioco Piano, or Ruy Lopez openings when playing this type of game. Most of the
knowledge about the openings that you might have even acquired from chess club cannot be used against your
opponent. The game is a true equalizer and strips out the advantage of opening preparation
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PS 116
January 18, 2010
158 players
K-1
ELAN JUSTIN AGUS 4.0
Primary
ELIE FARAH 4.0
KYLE MILLER 4.0
Reserve
LUCA NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA-STERN 4.0
CHRISTOPHER CHAN 4.0
Classic
BEN COHEN 4.0
ROMY VASSILEV 4.0
Open
MATTHEW ZAFRA 3.5
SPENCER GORDON-SAND 3.5
Championship
NITAI D LEVE 3.0
RICHARD JACOB TUHRIM 3.0
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P.S. 6
January 24, 2010
89 players
K-2 Rate â
SAM POZNER 4.0
BLAKE AVIV 4.0
3-8 Rated
THOMAS JOHNSON 4.0
Open 1
TIBOR JOSEPH ROTHSCHILD 3.5
Open 2
ARJUN GARG 4.0
Open 3
KAI KRONBERG 3.0
Open 4
THOMAS KNOFF 3.0
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SAR Academy Chess
Championship VIII
January 24, 2010
116 players
Championship
SEAN SOOKRAM 4.0
Reserve
EFRAIM HERSTIC 4.0
ALIYA LIPTON 4.0
Primary
JAMARI LEE 4.0
Novice
MEYER LEVINSON-BLOUNT 4.0
Beginner
BENJAMIN COLE 4.0
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Lower Lab Tournament
February 7, 2010
64 players
K-1
BOAZ POSNER 3.5
Primary
KAELYN HA 4.0
Reserve
EITAN GENGER 3.0
JONATHAN WONG 3.0
MATTHEW ABRONS 3.0
PATRICK FLOOD 3.0
DANIEL AARON KNOPF3.0
Classic
ESZTER MORVAY 3.0
ALISA KIKUCHI 3.0
Open
KEVIN K YAN 4.0
Championship
KADHIR ANDRES PILLAI 2.5
KYLE MILLER 4.0
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Rodeph Sholom Chess
Championship III
March 7, 2010
132 players
Championship
ERICBERNE MARTINEZ 4.0
Reserve
MICHAEL WYSOKOWSKI 4.0
DANIEL KOGAN 4.0
Primary
ZACHARY LIEB 4.0
FRANCISCO RAMOS 4.0
Novice
ADAM CROMAN 4.0
Beginner
JACOB KADOE 4.0
BENJAMIN COLE 4.0
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Browning
February 20, 2010
44 Players
Swiss A
TAKAYUKI ISHIKAWA 3.5
Swiss B
ANTOINE LEONELLI 4.0
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Browning
March 7, 2010
35 Players
Swiss A
BENJAMIN J ALTMAN-DESOLE 3.5
Swiss B
MAXWELL MENIN 4.0
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Hunter Tournament
March 7, 2010
101 Players
QUAD
LIAM GLASS 2.5
FM
WARREN WANG 3.0
ROBERT FRANTS 3.0
CHAMPIONSHIP
KYLER JAMES CHASE 4.0
RESERVE
EITAN GENGER 4.0
PRIMARY
COLE FRENCH 4.0
BOOSTER
KUWAR CHOPRA 4.0
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PS 116
February 21, 2010
144 players
K-1
CALDER WILSON 4.0
Primary
ATTICUS YOUNG-CHANG LEE 4.0
CARLO BERNSTEIN 4.0
Reserve
ETHAN KWOK 4.0
Classic
AUSTEN MODICA RATTRAY 4.0
Open
KAI KRONBERG 3.5
Championship
KADHIR ANDRES PILLAI 2.5
ALEXANDER TROY SPINNELL 2.5
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PS 116
March 21, 2010
121 players
K-1
ALEX PAIVA 4.0
Primary
MICHAEL Y ACKERMAN 4.0
Reserve
GABRIEL JOSEPH 4.0
Classic
ESZTER MORVAY 4.0
Open
BENJAMIN KATZ 3.5
Championship
KASSA KORLEY 2.5
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P.S. 6
February 28, 2010
69 players
K-2 Rated
ERIC ZHANG 4.0
3-8 Rated
HENRY SHUSTER 3.0
PAUL LEDONq 3.0
RYAN SHEEHAN 3.0
ALEXANDER MILLER 3.0
Open 1
ARTHUR ELGHOUAYEL 3.5
Open 2
CATHERINE YE 4.0
Open 3
ARJUN GARG 3.0
Open 4
ANDREW D BERGER 2.5
JACK SPRINGER FARLEY 2.5
Open 3
KAI KRONBERG 3.0
Open 4
THOMAS KNOFF 3.0
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Columbia Grammar
March 19, 2010
117 players
Carlsen Quad
HARRISON MATTHEW SMART 2.5
Nepomniach Quad
PETER MASON 2.5
Premiere Section
ELLA PAPANEK 3.0
Classic Section
vCLAY PAPANEK
Reserve Section
SOREN ALEXANDER DUHOFFMANN 4.0
3rd Grade
JEFFREY FRADKIN 3.0
JAKE KALIMIAN 3.0
ADAM CROMAN 3.0
2nd Grade
NOAH FAWER 3.5
1st Grade
BLAKE AVIV 4.0
Kindergarten
BLAKE MARGOLIS 3.5
BOAZ POSNER 3.5
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44th Greater NY
Scholastics
AKA The NYC
Championships
January 30-31, 2010
850 Players
High School Varsity
MARC TYLER ARNOLD 4.5
High School Junior Varsity
JOHN J KENNEDY 5.0
High School Novice
EUGENE YE 5.0
ARVIS CHEN 5.0
Junior High Varsity
ALEKSANDR OSTROVSKY 4.5
JOSHUA COLAS 4.5
NIGEL BRYANT 4.5
JEHRON BRYANT 4.5
Junior High Junior Varsity
ZACHARY REIG FILLER 5.0
Junior High Novice
CARLOS RONQUILLO 5.0
Elementary Varsity
ISAAC BARAYEV 5.0
ALEXANDER TROY SPINNELL5.0
Elementary Junior Varsity
KIRKLAND JOBE 5.0
Elementary Novice
DASHAWN CLARK 5.0
JADEN CARNEY 5.0
ALEXANDRA MANN 5.0
Primary Varsity
RISHI RAJENDRAN 5.0
Primary Novice
ALEXANDER EGOL 5.0
SAMUEL BERNARDI 5.0
Primary K-1
KYLE MILLER 5.0
GABRIEL RISKEVICH 5.0
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©Tri State Chess, All Rights Reserved
It isn't every day that you get to hang out with one of the greatest chess players of all time. But that's exactly what Tri-State Chess Prez Mark
Kurtzman was doing at the The 44th Annual Greater New York Team and Individual Chess Championship two months ago. Tri-State Chess joined
forces with the Kasparov Chess Foundation to provide Kasparov's latest books which he signed at our country's oldest USCF rated scholastic chess
tournament held at the New Yorker Hotel.
Kasparov is not just a former world champion but is regarded by many as the greatest chess player OF ALL TIME.
Part of the reason was his exceptional rise to the top of the chess world at such a young age and his keeping of the world
championship title and highest chess ranking for so many years.
Chess players that play in United States Chess Federation and FIDE (the worldwide chess association) are rated on a scale of 0 to about
2900 with higher numbers assigned to better players.
Kasparov has had the #1 rating in the world longer than any other player
