In the Shadow of the Arch: The 2010 US Championship

St. Louis has always been the gateway for those seeking their fame and fortune by going west. Now the city is leading a revival of one of the oldest competitions known to man. For a fortnight in May, twenty-four of the best American CEO’s (Chess-playing Executive Officers) competed against each other to determine a champion. The CEO’s implemented their strategies with astute planning and ruthless tactics. They rallied their employees (pieces), evaluated and undertook projects, attacked the competition, defended their enterprises, engineered fortresses and even invested when necessary with timely sacrifices, all in the pursuit of the championship.

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Blaze Win Season Opener

left to right, Blaze assistant publicity honcho Brad Rosen; GM Dmitry Gurevich, IM Florin Felecan; Blaze celebrity guest TD Betsy Dynako; IM Angelo Young, NM Eric Rosen; Blaze manager Daniel ParmetThe Blaze, Chicago's chess team, won its season opener Monday night against the Seattle Sluggers.  This is the team's third season playing in the U.S. Chess League, which has teams in 16 cities across the country, and is the first time it won its opening week match.  GM Dmitry Gurevich made his team debut at Board 1, coming up with a clutch win to put the Blaze on top, with 2.5 points to 1.5 points.  Go to the Blaze blog to read more about the match.  Regular season play will continue for the next 9 weeks at the brand new North American Chess Association North Shore Chess Center, at 5500 W. Touhy, Suite A, Skokie.  Spectators are welcome to come watch, or better yet, to participate in a G15 fundraising tournament held in conjunction with every Blaze match.  Go the the official Blaze website for more information.

2010 World Amateur Chess Championship

Around 120 chess players gathered in the Holiday Inn Skokie for the 2010 World Amateur Chess Championship. As indicated by the name, only amateurs were eligible to participate--players with no FIDE rating (the great majority of the contestants) or a FIDE rating below 2000. A player's national rating also had to be commensurate with his/her amateur status.

Not surprisingly, most of the contestants were from the US, but the event had an international flair nonetheless, with countries from Canada and Colombia to Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia represented, among others. A number of languages could be heard, and some international players handed tiny replicas of their country's flags to their opponents.

Crosstable

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25 Years Ago Today ...

Check out this article in the New York Times, published April 8, 1985, about a hard-fought game played by Chicago GM Dmitry Gurevich (then a resident of Brooklyn) against an up-and-coming 15-year-old girl.

Jon Burgess wins Greater Peoria Open

Wayne Zimmerle, Charles Coffman, Mike Butzirus.Over the weekend of 3/26 - 3/27 the Greater Peoria Open was held over 2 days. The tournament was attended by 32 players of all different ages and strengths. 1 Master myself and 2 Experts took part. The time control was Game in 2 hours with a 5 second delay which was interesting and produced many high quality games.

The tournament was 5 rounds and everyone played in one section. The organizer Wayne informed me that this was the 46th year the tournament had been run which is an amazing achievement in itself.

The tournament was held as usual at the Lakeview Museum in Peoria. The playing site is very nice and everyone is very friendly. I met many players down there who knew me. Peoria is also a nice place to stay at for the weekend.

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