Skip to main content
HomeBloomington News

 

Bloomington News

Bloomington Chess Newsletter
By Gerry Roberts
 
June 5, 2016. While many clubs are on hiatus for the summer months, resulting in fewer organized events, there are still some major opportunities to play tournament chess within an hour's drive during the "lull."  In this edition, we recap the ISCA Memorial Open, IU Blitz Tournament, and Ben Harris Open, in addition to providing details about the upcoming ISCA Class Championships and U.S. Open.

I. Tournament Recaps
ISCA Memorial Open - April 23
Held at the Church of the Nativity in Indianapolis, the second leg of this year's "Road to the U.S. Open" - which will award a free entry to the U.S. Open in Indianapolis this summer to each of the top finishers in the Master/Expert, Class A, Class B, and Class C/below groups - attracted a record attendance of 60 players.  The players were evenly split between the Open and U1800 sections, which both had four rounds of G/60 d10 games.  In the U1800 section, the crosstable was shaken from the very start, when both of the top seeds ceded draws to lower-rated opponents in the first round, while the third and fourth seeds both lost.  This allowed sixth-seeded Richard Arnold to quickly climb the leaderboard with win after win, finishing in sole first with 4/4 points.  Second place went to C. Melton Doxey with 3.5/4 points, playing in only his third rated event and earning more than 200 rating points in the process.  Local players in this section included Ben Foley and John Illg, both finishing with 2/4 points.  In the Open section, top-rated Chao Zhang finished in first place with a perfect 4/4 score, but the rest of the standings weren't as predictable.  Owing to the large number of entries, the tournament was run as an accelerated Swiss, meaning that the top players had tougher pairings in the first round than they might have anticipated.  Emerging nearly unscathed from all this carnage, with 3.5/4 points, was Andrew Pheasant of West Lafayette, gaining 46 rating points and breaking into the Expert ranks for his efforts.  Among those sharing third place honors were local players Gerry Roberts and Bobby Goddin (who won the U2000 prize).  The full crosstable can be found at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201604238982.0.  Current standings for the Road to the Open can be found at http://indianachess.clubexpress.com/docs.ashx?id=259476, but the current leaders are Gerry Roberts (Master/Expert), Andrew Pheasant (Class A), Bobby Goddin (Class B), and Ben Pitchkites (Class C/below).

Blitz Tournament - April 29
The Chess Club at IU held its second and final blitz event of the 2015-2016 academic year on the tables outside the IMU.  Attendance was down from the first event, with only eight players fighting in a round-robin event of G/5 d2 chess.  Top seeds Gavin McClanahan and Gerry Roberts lost in the second round to Tianjiao Luan and Bobby Goddin, respectively, leaving a six-way tie for 2nd place afterwards.  As the lone remaining perfect score, Bobby Goddin's reign alone at the top did not last long, however, when he suffered a defeat at the hands of Gavin in the very next round.  After the penultimate round, however, Bobby remained tied for first with yours truly with 5/6 points.  As fate would have it, both players found themselves in lost positions in the final round.  Facing off against Jimmy Brown, Bobby put up a strong fight, but eventually lost under time pressure.  At the same time, I found myself in a losing endgame with three pawns apiece, but down a knight.  However, under mutual time pressure, Tianjiao failed to find the best continuation, and all the pawns disappeared from the board, resulting in an instant draw by insufficient mating material.  As a result, I finished in sole first place with 5.5/7 points, with Bobby and Gavin right behind with 5 points each.  The full crosstable can be found here.

National Elementary (K-6) Championships - May 6-8
The National Elementary Championships returned to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee this year, attracting an incredible 2260 players across all sections. Bloomington was represented well in the K-3 Championship section by Marlin Elementary's Joe Luther, who scored 1/7 points against some of the best young players the country has to offer - including an upset victory over a 1050-rated player.  Full standings for all sections can be found at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201605087722.2

Ben Harris Spring Open - May 14
Attracting a record attendance of 41 entries across its four sections (Open, U6, U3, U1), this year's Ben Harris Spring Open featured plenty of excitement for the final scholastic tournament of the school year.  In the U1 section, the five registrants effectively played a round robin, with each pair of players meeting exactly once over the board.  After all the games had finished, two players remained in a tie atop the leaderboard with 3/4 points - Seth Goldstein (3 wins, 1 loss) and Jimmy Croll (2 wins, 2 draws).  Oddly, the players had exactly the same tiebreak scores, and so a coin toss was done to determine the order of trophies, with Seth being the beneficiary of the first place trophy.
While the top seeds in the U1 section finished roughly in order of rating, the U3 section's crosstable was not as predictable.  While top seed Yuxuan "Richard" Xun had a good day with 4/5 points, earning nine rating points in the process, the big story of the day was the performance of Gael Medina, whose perfect 5/5 score (including four wins over higher-rated players) earned him a hefty 307 points and first-place honors.  In the U6 section, top-rated Braydon Povinelli ceded a draw to Bloomington's Nate Abdullah in the third round, but otherwise ran the gauntlet on the way to a first-place, 4.5/5 performance.  Among his victims was Christopher Chow, who nonetheless impressed with his own 4/5 performance which was good enough for sole possession of second place.
Finally, the Open section featured players of all ages, including both scholastic and adult.  Despite the wide variance in ratings, all of the games were very competitive, as demonstrated by the high number of upset draws and wins.  Among these results were Daniel Rickert's (1619) draw of top-seeded Aaron Dean (2000) in the opening round, Roger Norris's (1571) win over Jason Wycoff (1901) a few minutes afterward, and Bingrui "Tutu" Wang's (1329) win over Steve Steppe (1818) in the penultimate round.  On the top boards, Evan Spiegel lost to Roman Ivanovitch in round 3 as the lone perfect scores going into the game, but Evan's final round victory combined with Daniel Rickert's upset over Roman resulted in a tie for 1st-2nd place between Evan and Roman with 3/4 poitns.  Thanks to all the competitors for making the trek to Bloomington and doing everything they could to make things run smoothly.  The crosstable for all sections can be found at http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?201605149592.0

II. Tournament Calendar
ISCA Class Championships (Indianapolis) - July 9-10
For those who regularly attend the Continental Chess Association's annual Indianapolis Open, this year's location of the ISCA Class Championships - the Crown Plaza at the airport - will be a familiar and welcome sight.  Serving as the third and final leg of the "Road to the U.S. Open", with DOUBLE POINTS awarded, the event will be a four-round affair, with all sections playing at G/120 d5.  As a class championship, there will be six sections (Master/Expert, A, B, C, D, E) in which you can only move up one section (e.g., a Class C player must play in either Class C or Class B). With the slower time controls, the tournament will be split between Saturday and Sunday (except for Class E, see below) with rounds at 10am, 3pm, 10am, and 2:30pm, respectively. Entry fees for the top five sections are $50 if received by July 5 or $65 on-site.  The Class  E tournament will be a little bit different, as its games will be G/60 d5 and all played on Saturday.  The entry fee for that section is $20.  Advanced registration for all sections can be completed online at http://www.indianachess.org

117th Annual US Open (Indianapolis) - July 30-August 7
One of the biggest chess events of the year is coming to Indianapolis this summer - the U.S. Open!  As an open event, everyone - from beginner to Grandmaster - plays in a single section.  The last time the event came to the Hoosier state, in 2009, a whopping 456 players vied for the top spot since the winner automatically qualifies for the prestigious U.S. Championships.  As such, more than 500 players are expected in the main event this year.  If massive Open sections aren't your proverbial cup of tea, fret not, as the U.S. Open has plenty of other options for participation, including: (1) bughouse, (2) blitz, (3) weekend Swiss, (4) quads, (4) scholastic-only tournament, (5) G/15 championships, (6) classes, and even a (7) golf tournament.  Full details for all of these events can be found at http://www.uschess.org/tournaments/2016/usopen/, but below are the pertinent details for the main event.
There are nine rounds, but you can pick how fast you want to play for the earlier rounds and how many days you want to play (options range from 3 days to 9 days), with all sections merging for the final rounds.  The entry fee for the main event is $145 if received by June 20, and then increases up to $185 for onsite registration.  The U.S. Open doubles as an annual membership meeting for the U.S. Chess Federation, so even if you don't come to play, you may want to come anyways to see old friends and new ones.  I am not involved in the organization of the event, but if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at gerry_roberts@ymail.com

III. USCF-Rated Online Chess
For the past year or so, the USCF has been running rated blitz and quick tournaments on the chess.com servers.  And best of all, it's free for USCF members to play.  Every Monday night at 6pm, verified members can play in a 5-round, G/10 Swiss system tournament for real rating points.  If that's too early for you, there's also a 7-round G/5 tournament at 11pm. The blitz continues on Wednesdays, where players can sign up for a 7-round 3/2 tournament beginning at 8pm.  For those preferring slightly longer time controls, you can catch the 15/10 tournament on Friday nights at 8pm.  To be eligible to play, just fill out the verification form located here.

IV. Chess Clubs
Chess Club at IU On break for the summer.  Check back in August for meeting times and locations.

BISCC Library Chapter – alternating Sundays at 1:30pm
The next meeting of the Bloomington Indiana Scholastic Chess Club’s library chapter will be Sunday, June 12th from 1:30pm-3:30pm in rooms 1B/1C of the Monroe County Public Library. Several of the area's top scholastic players are regular attendees, but each session includes a lesson for beginners as well as a weekly activity.  Your first meeting is free to attend, so stop by to see if it would be a good fit for you and your child.  The next meeting will feature new coach John Illg, but I will return for a final lesson on July 10th.  For more details about the club, contact me or visit BISCC's website at http://www.biscc.org.

Bloomington Chess Club – Tuesdays at 7:00pm
The Bloomington Chess Club meets every Tuesday from 7:00pm-10:00pm at Buffa Louie's.  Come play in a relaxed environment while enjoying great food.  Games are frequently played at rapid time controls (G/20 or G/15), blitz (G/5), as well as un-timed, so there's a little bit of something for everybody.

Regards,
Gerry Roberts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May 11, 2016. The registration deadline for this Saturday's Ben Harris Spring Open has been extended until tomorrow night, May 12th, at midnight.  With 37 entries so far, this is already shaping up to be the best-attended edition of this event ever. Send your last-minute entry details to me at gerry_roberts@ymail.com, and for the scholastic sections, bring your entry fee to the tournament site on Saturday morning.  Full details can be found below.  I look forward to seeing everyone there!

Ben Harris Spring Open - May 14
The 2016 Ben Harris Spring Open will again be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 100 N. State Road 46 in Bloomington on Saturday, May 14.  The event will have four sections (Open, U6, U3, U1), using a time control of G/30 d5 for the scholastic sections (5 rounds) and G/40 d5 for the Open section (4 rounds).  Check-in will go from 8:00-8:30am, with the first round beginning promptly at 9:00am.  Trophies will be awarded in the scholastic sections to the top five individual finishers in each.  Entry fees for the scholastic sections are $25. The Open section will have neither entry fees nor prizes.  Regardless of the section, there will be no onsite registration available.  Registration information can be sent to gerry_roberts@ymail.com, but payment should be sent to BISCC, ATTN: Neal Abdullah, PO Box 8422, Bloomington, IN 47407 with checks made payable to Bloomington Indiana Scholastic Chess Club.  USCF membership is required, so be sure to include USCF information and membership fee if you are a new or inactive member.  If you have questions, you can download the official flyer here, or contact me at gerry_roberts@ymail.com. The list of advanced entries can be found here, and will be updated more frequently as the event nears.

 

 

Apr. 21, 2016.
As the nation's best chess players are gathered in St. Louis for the U.S. Championships, many local players have been busy playing and/or preparing for tournaments of their own. From last weekend's National Junior High Championships in Indianapolis to this weekend's ISCA Memorial Open in the same city, there's been plenty of action for local chess enthusiasts lately and lots to still look forward to.

I. Tournament Recaps
Blitz Tournament - March 24
The Chess Club at IU hosted an unrated blitz tournament at the IMU last month, attracting 13 of the city's strongest players.  Top-rated Hall Bjornstad overcame a first round loss to Roy "Jimmy" Brown to go undefeated thereafter, finishing with 4.5 points in 6 games.  However, he was not alone atop the leaderboard, as Jimmy also finished with 4.5 points following a loss to Matt Kubisch.  For their efforts, the winners earned $20 apiece.  The full crosstable can be viewed here.

National Junior High (K-9) Championship - April 15-17
For the first time ever, the National Junior High Championships were held in Indianapolis, attracting an impressive 1138 players from all corners of the nation.  Festivities began Thursday afternoon with a bughouse tournament.  Teaming up for the event were 7th graders Andrew Pilat of Martinsville and Thaddeus Cole of Bloomington.  Losing only a single round, they impressed by finishing in a tie for fifth place (see the results here).  Seeking to continue the momentum, they both also signed up for the blitz tournament that evening with some of the top junior players in the country.  Thaddeus finished the event with 5/12 points while Drew managed to score 3.5 points (full USCF crosstable here).

The championships proper began the next morning across six sections (K-9 Championships, K-8 Championships, K-9 U1250, K-9 U1000, K-9 U750, K-9 unrated).  Thaddeus, participating in the K-9 U1250 section, went 3-1 from his first four games.  Meanwhile, his coach (yours truly) went 3-1 in the side event for "Family and Friends."  Combining the scores for the four rounds, he and I won the first place trophy for top coach/student.  Thaddeus finished his section with 4/7 points, earning a handful of rating points in the process.  Meanwhile, other local participants included Bingrui "Tutu" Wang in the K-8 Championship section. Playing in only four of the seven rounds, he managed to win half of his games in a grueling section.  Notably, Maggie Feng of Ohio went 6.5/7.0 in the K-9 Championship section, becoming the first ever female national junior high champion!  To see all of the results, view the crosstable here.

II. Tournament Calendar
ISCA Memorial Open - April 23
In the second leg of this year's "Road to the Open," which will award a free entry to the highest finisher in each of the Master/Expert, Class A, Class B, and Class C/below sections across four ISCA events, the Memorial Open will be held this Saturday at the Church of the Nativity in Indianapolis.  Held in two sections (Open, U1800), the tournament will be a 4-round Swiss event with a time control of G/60 d10.  Cash prizes will be awarded to the top overall and class finishers in each section.  Other than the State Championships, this is typically the strongest and best attended ISCA event on the calendar each year, so don't miss the opportunity to test your skills against the best the state has to offer.  So far, there are nearly 50 advanced entries.  Check out the full list here.  If you want to sign up, on-site registration will be available from 8:15-9:00am for $55.  I'll see you all bright and early Saturday morning for the first round at 9:30am!

All-Girls National Championships - April 22-24
Hosted at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago, this year's All-Girls National Championships will be held this weekend. The event, a 6-round Swiss system using a time control of G/90 d5, will have six sections according to age group as of January 1st (U18, U16, U14, U12, U10, and U8).  The first place finisher in each section will qualify to represent the USA at the 2016 World Youth/Cadets Championships. Entry fees are $55 if received by 3/28, $75 by 4/11, or $95 after. To register, or for additional information, visit http://rknights.org/registration/tournaments/all-girls-nationals/

Blitz Tournament - April 29
The Chess Club at IU will be holding another unrated blitz tournament next Friday at 7pm-10pm at the IMU in the area behind Baja Fresh near the ATMs.  The tournament will be identical to the previous one (see tournament recap above), with 6 rounds of G/5 with a 2-second delay per move.  The entry fee will be $8, pizza and drinks will be provided, and there will be cash prizes for winners.  All ages and skill levels are welcome to attend.  If you have any questions, you can contact club president Evan Spiegel at evdspieg@umail.iu.edu.

National Elementary (K-6) Championships - May 6-8
The National Elementary Championships are returning to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee this year.  This is the same facility that hosts the SuperNationals every four years, and promises to be a fantastic venue for chess players and their families.  The tournament is 7SS, G/120 d5 except for the K-1 sections, which play at a slightly faster G/90 d5. There are 9 sections, sorted by age group and strength, so if you're willing to travel the four hours from Bloomington, there is a spot for everybody. Entry fees are $50 in advance before 4/4, $70 by 4/25, $85 by 5/4, or $90 onsite.  For more information or to register, visit www.uschess.org/tournaments/2016/elem/ or contact Susan Kantor at skantor@uschess.org

Ben Harris Spring Open - May 14
The 2016 Ben Harris Spring Open will again be held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 100 N. State Road 46 in Bloomington on Saturday, May 14.  The event will have four sections (Open, U6, U3, U1), using a time control of G/30 d5 for the scholastic sections (5 rounds) and G/40 d5 for the Open section (4 rounds).  Check-in will go from 8:00-8:30am, with the first round beginning promptly at 9:00am.  Trophies will be awarded in the scholastic sections to the top five individual finishers in each.  Entry fees for the scholastic sections are $15 before April 30, or $25 by May 4. The Open section will have neither entry fees nor prizes.  Regardless of the section, there will be no onsite registration available.  Registration information can be sent to gerry_roberts@ymail.com, but payment should be sent to BISCC, ATTN: Neal Abdullah, PO Box 8422, Bloomington, IN 47407 with checks made payable to Bloomington Indiana Scholastic Chess Club.  USCF membership is required, so be sure to include USCF information and membership fee if you are a new or inactive member.  If you have questions, you can download the official flyer here, or contact me at gerry_roberts@ymail.com. The list of advanced entries can be found here, and will be updated more frequently as the event nears.

III. USCF-Rated Online Chess
For the past year or so, the USCF has been running rated blitz and quick tournaments on the chess.com servers.  And best of all, it's free for USCF members to play.  Every Monday night at 6pm, verified members can play in a 5-round, G/10 Swiss system tournament for real rating points.  If that's too early for you, there's also a 7-round G/5 tournament at 11pm. The blitz continues on Wednesdays, where players can sign up for a 7-round 3/2 tournament beginning at 8pm.  For those preferring slightly longer time controls, you can catch the 15/10 tournament on Friday nights at 8pm.  To be eligible to play, just fill out the verification form located here.

IV. Chess Clubs
Chess Club at IU – Wednesdays at 7:00pm
The IU Chess Club meets on Wednesdays from 7:00pm-9:00pm by the Burger King in the Indiana Memorial Union.  Players of all strengths and ages, regardless of university affiliation, are welcome to attend.  Questions can be forwarded through the group's Facebook page, or by contacting president Evan Spiegel at evdspieg@umail.iu.edu.

BISCC Library Chapter – alternating Sundays at 1:30pm
The next meeting of the Bloomington Indiana Scholastic Chess Club’s library chapter will be Sunday, April 10 from 1:30pm-3:30pm at the First United Methodist Church, one block south of the Monroe County Public Library. Several of the area's top scholastic players are regular attendees, but each session includes a lesson for beginners as well as a weekly activity.  Your first meeting is free to attend, so stop by to see if it would be a good fit for you and your child.  For more details about the club, contact me or visit BISCC's website at http://www.biscc.org.

Crestmont Castles Chess Club – Sundays at 3:00pm
Sponsored by Bloomington Parks & Recreation, this group meets from 3:00pm-4:30pm at the Crestmont Community Center (1002 Summit Street).  It is free to attend and welcome to all ages and playing strengths.  Players both young and old have been frequenting the club, so stop by on your next lazy Sunday and discover what the hype is all about.  For more information, download the flyer, or feel free to contact Michael May at (812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152, michael@interiormythos.com.

Bloomington Chess Club – Tuesdays at 7:00pm
The Bloomington Chess Club meets every Tuesday from 7:00pm-10:00pm at Buffa Louie's.  Come play in a relaxed environment while enjoying great food.  Games are frequently played at rapid time controls (G/20 or G/15), blitz (G/5), as well as un-timed, so there's a little bit of something for everybody.

V. Save the Dates
July 9-10: ISCA Class Championships (Indianapolis, IN)
July 30-August 7: 117th Annual US Open (Indianapolis, IN)

 
[June 26, 2015]

The throes of summer, with its lack of nearby chess tournaments, is upon us. But fear not, there is hope on the horizon. In less than a month's time, local chess will be back in full swing, beginning with the 2nd Annual Bloomington Summer Blitz on July 25. Full details, registration link, and flyer are below. Also, beginning with this edition of the newsletter, there is a featured game at the end of the e-mail.

I. Tournament Recaps 3rd Annual Bloomington Spring Tournament On Saturday, May 2nd, 22 players of all ages gathered at the Monroe County Public Library for this event. In the Open section, incredible upsets abounded. In round 1, Jackson Creek Middle School student Tony Yu managed to beat Kevin Clark, despite being rated nearly 700 points lower than his esteemed opponent. Not to be outdone, Daniel Rickert nicked expert-rated Joshua Bousum for a draw in round 3 despite being 830 points lower rated. This game is featured at the bottom of the newsletter. Daniel then followed up his impressive performance in round 4 with a victory over the aforementioned Kevin Clark. Both Tony and Daniel had performance ratings so high for the event that the USCF required me to verify that I actually had the right names. As impressive as these results were, none was more so than Matt Kubisch's day, as he managed to go undefeated against stiff opposition and winning the tournament with 3.5/4.0. For his efforts, Matt was rewarded with his first rating over 1900 (to be precise, 1903).


In the Reserve section, John Illg won his first rated event with a convincing four wins out of four games. Rena Cohen finished close behind with 3.0/4.0 points to take the second-place trophy. A clear winner, however, did not emerge from the Unrated section, where three of the four players finished in a logjam with 2.0/3.0 points. Annie Tran walked away with the first-place trophy on tiebreaks over Wayne Young and Sean Borneman. Congratulations to all of the competitors, and thanks for making the event a smooth one.

Results for the rated sections can be found here.

National Elementary Championships

Held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee from May 8-10, the National Elementary Championship attracted more than 2200 players from across the country, including local scholastic standout Thaddeus Cole. Playing in event's top section, Thaddeus was up against players rated more than 1400 for most of the rounds. Nonetheless, he scored 2.5 points over the 7 rounds, drawing one of the 1400 players in the process by having a better understanding of the three-move repetition rule. Congratulations on representing Bloomington scholastic chess so well, and holding your own against the nation's best.


Indiana Memorial

The Indiana State Chess Association held a one-day, 4-round, G/60 d10 event in Indianapolis on May 9. In the Open section, Master James Mills topped a field of several experts and Class A players with 3.5/4.0 points. Recent Bloomington High School North graduate Bobby Goddin also played in this section, losing all of his games against higher rated opponents, and winning his game against a lower rated opponent. In the Reserve section, Steve Steppe and Larry Boswell drew in the last round after winning each of their previous games, splitting first place in the process. Tony Yu continued his string of impressive upsets with a draw against second-seeded Terry Lemaster. This capped off an incredible 14-day run in which Tony gained more than 250 rating points! Full crosstable can be found here.


II. 2nd Annual Bloomington Summer Blitz – Saturday, July 25

Come join the fun in Meeting Rooms 1B/1C of the Monroe County Public Library in Bloomington as players exhaust themselves with 18 consecutive blitz games. The tournament will be a 9 round Swiss system with double rounds, meaning you play both white and black against the same opponent. The time control will be G/5 with no delay, meaning the whole affair shouldn't take more than a few hours. There will be separate sections for U1000 and Open. This will be a USCF-rated event, so you must have an active membership to play. Guaranteed trophies awarded to top 3 players in each section. To register in advance, go to http://chess.filetap.com. All advanced entries will be listed on that site, as well. Or, register on-site from 10:30am-11:00am. Rounds begin promptly at 11:00am. More information is included on the official flyer. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at gerry_roberts@ymail.com.


If you have never been a USCF member and want to give rated chess a try, the USCF is allowing certain affiliates to collect a $6 fee for your first tournament in lieu of obtaining a full membership. I need to submit special paperwork for that option, so please let me know if you are interested.


III. USCF-Rated Online Chess

For the past few months, the USCF has been running rated blitz and quick tournaments on the chess.com servers. And best of all, it's free for USCF members to play. Every Monday night at 6pm, verified members can play in a 5-round, G/10 Swiss system tournament for real rating points. If that's too early for you, there's also a 7-round G/5 tournament at 11pm. The blitz continues on Wednesdays, where players can sign up for a 7-round 3/2 tournament beginning at 8pm. For those preferring slightly longer time controls, you can catch the 15/10 tournament on Friday nights at 8pm. To be eligible to play, just fill out the verification form located here.


IV. Indiana Class Championships – August 1-2

On the southwest side of Indianapolis, no more than an hour away from Bloomington, the Indiana Class Championships will be held the first weekend of August. This is the same event that came to the Holiday Inn in Bloomington last August, and the structure this year is nearly identical. Players play only those players in their rating class, unless you voluntarily want to move up one section. Everybody rated higher than 1200 will be playing a 4 round tournament with a time control of G/120 d5 over two days. Advanced entry for these sections is $40, or $50 on-site, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top finishers. For players rated below 1200, the tournament is a one day affair, with the time control split in half (G/60 d5). Entry fee for this section is a modest $20, with trophies being awarded to the top 10 finishers. For more information, see the complete TLA below. Let me know if you need help deciphering this or other TLAs. 4SS, G/120 d5. Clarion Hotel, 2930 Waterfront Pkwy., West Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46214. Ph: 317-299-8400317-299-8400. HR:$82 (book by July 1). In 6 Sections: Master/Expert, A, B, C, D (See Class E below). May play up one class. Sections combined if necessary. Prizes (50% gtd): $$1700, b/50 paid entries, M/X $250, $150, A,B,C,D $200, $125. Reg.: 8:30-9:45. Rds.: Sat 10-3 & Sun 10-2:30. EF: $40 if rec’d by 7/28, $50 on-site. ISCA Memb. req’d, OSA. 1 bye if before RD.2, NO LAST RD. BYES. Ent: On-line, indianachess.org or mail to: Craig Hines, 613 North Park Dr., Evansville, IN 47710, 812-423-2996812-423-2996, (cell)812-618-8700812-618-8700, July ratings used. Class E: August 1st only. 4SS, G/60 d5. Rds.: 10, 12:30, 3, 5. EF: $20.Trophies 1-10 places.

V. Indiananapolis Open – August 29-30

The Continental Chess Association, which organizes nearly all of the largest open tournaments across the country, is coming back to Indiana for the 10th consecutive year. Last year's edition featured nearly 200 players, including three Grandmasters, across the five rating sections. The structure this year has been slimmed just slightly to be a double-class tournament (Open, U2000, U1600, U1200). The top three sections cost $99 to register in advance at chessaction.com, with cash prizes in each section as high as $2000. Meanwhile the U1200 section will cost $59 to register in advance, and cash prizes going as high as $600 for the winner. Regardless of the section you enter, the tournament will be a 5-round Swiss system tournament. If you want to play the full weekend (including Friday), each round will be 40/110, SD 30 d10 (each player has 110 minutes to make their first forty moves, but are awarded an additional 30 minutes after reaching move forty; there is a 10 second delay for all moves). Otherwise, if you choose to only play on Saturday and Sunday, your first two rounds will be G/60 d10. Full details can be found here.

VI. Crestmont Castles Chess Club – Sundays at 3:00pm

Sponsored by Bloomington Parks & Recreation, this group meets from 3:00pm-5:00pm at the Crestmont Community Center (1002 Summit Street). It is free to attend and welcome to all ages and playing strengths. Players both young and old have been frequenting the club, so stop by on your next lazy Sunday and discover what the hype is all about. For more information, download the flyer, or feel free to contact Michael May at (812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152(812) 606-7152, michael@storywarrior.net.



VII. Bloomington Chess Club – Tuesdays at 7:00pm

The Bloomington Chess Club meets every Tuesday from 7:00pm-10:00pm at Buffa Louie's. Come play in a relaxed environment while enjoying great food. Games are frequently played at rapid time controls (G/20 or G/15), blitz (G/5), as well as un-timed, so there's a little bit of something for everybody.

VIII. BISCC Library Chapter – alternating Sundays at 1:30pm

The next meeting of the Bloomington Indiana Scholastic Chess Club’s library chapter will be Sunday, July 12 from 1:30pm-3:30pm in Meeting Rooms 1B & 1C of the Monroe County Public Library. Several of the area's top scholastic players are regular attendees, but each session includes a lesson for beginners as well as a weekly activity. This next meeting is free for everyone to attend, so stop by to see if it would be a good fit for you and your child. For more details about the club, contact me or visit BISCC's website at http://www.biscc.org.



      
  IX. Featured Game
  [Event "3rd Bloomington Spring"]
  [Round "3"]
  [White "Bousum, Josh"]
  [White Elo "2020"]
  [Black "Rickert, Daniel"]
  [Black Elo "1190"]
  [Result "1/2-1/2"]
  [ECO "D06"]
    
  1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. e3 c5 6. Qb3 Qb6
  7. cxd5 Qxb3 8. axb3 exd5 9. Nb5 Kd8 10. Ne5 Be6 11. Nxa7
  Na6 12. Bxa6? Rxa7 13. Nc6+ bxc6 14. Bd2 Bd6 15. O-O Ke7
  16. dxc5 Bxc5 17. b4 Bb6 18. b5 Rha8 19. Rac1 c5 20. b4 c4
  21. Bc3 Bc8 22. Rfd1 Ke6 23. Bxf6 gxf6 24. e4 Rd7 25. exd5+
  Rxd5 26. Re1+ Kd7 27. Rxc4 Bxa6 28. bxa6 Rxa6 29. g3 Bd4
  30. Kg2 Ra2 31. Kf3  Bxf2 32. Rec1 Bb6  33. Rc6 Bd8 34. Ke4
  Rad2 35. R1c4 R2d4+ 36. Kf3 Rd3+ 37. Ke4 R3d4+ {Daniel had
  less than a minute remaining on his clock}
    1/2-1/2

If you would like one of your games featured in the next newsletter, please send your notation and/or annotations to gerry_roberts@ymail.com. The best game I receive will be selected for publication.