Monday, March 28, 2016

Grunfeld Early Registration Deadline Extended

Partial List of Registrations (38) as of 3/31: 

Open:
V. Do (2084), A. Carey (1856), J. Winick (1827), S. Rajamani (1786), A. Raje (1727), S. Henderson (1701), J. Willett (1634), et al...
Reserve: J. Gaenzle (1563), E. Patterson (1559), S. Lauger (1503), R. Padilla (1500), A. Emrikian (1408), S. Insley (1377), J. Zarris (1363), A. Insley (1325), T. Segreto (1315), D. Bell (1309), J. Davis (1292) et al...
Booster: A. Ramirez (1249)*, D. Reyes (1247), W. Cahill (1231)*, S Mamidi (1200), D. Chen (1193), J. Marchert, Jr. (1083), M. Chen (1059)*, and others...
Super-Booster: K. Sureshkumar (966), P. Cappaert (963), J. Marchert, Sr. (916), J. Wilde (872), T. Verden, D. Henderson, J. Marchert III and others...

* Have requested to play up

Date: Saturday, April 2, 2016

Tournament Name: Ernst Grunfeld Memorial Class

Recognizing what would have been 54th anniversary of the passing of Ernst Franz Grunfeld in early April of 1962 (see below).

4 rounds, G/60 with no delay, Regular-rated. 

Sections expected as Open, Reserve - Under 1600, Booster – Under 1250 and Super-Booster – Under 1000. Requests to play up considered at TD discretion and TD reserves the right to combine or split sections depending upon registrations.

Prize Fund: Cash Prizes at TD discretion (calculated and posted during second round). Guaranteed 67% of entry funds received, generally 80%. At least $100 guaranteed to clear first place in the Open.

Additional “Under” prizes within sections and upset prizes too. For example, Under 1800 in the Open Section, Under 1400 in the Reserve, Under 800 in the Super-Booster. Must have at least three eligible players for a prize to be created. Unrated players are eligible for Section prizes only.

Where: First Congregational Church, 615 N First Street, DeKalb, IL

On-site Registration: 8:15am - 8:50am (after which ½ bye available for round one ONLY)

Rounds: 9:00am, 11:10am, (Lunch), 1:50pm, 4:00pm, with conclusion anticipated by 6:00pm.

Vincent Do Wins March 26 Alekhine Memorial

Rockford phenom Vincent Do swept all four of his opponents to claim top honors at the 2nd Alekhine Memorial Open March 26.

The event honored the 70th anniversary of the passing of World Champion Alexander Alekhine whose time expired 3/24/46 at the age of 53.

Vincent sealed the tournament with a rapid dispatch of Jonathan Gaenzle.

Do, now rated 2084, joined several of his Thurgood Marshall teammates in preparing for the US Chess Junior High Nationals in Indianapolis in April.

Finishing tied for second with 3.0/4 were Sureshkumar Rajamani and Ashwin Raje.

DeKalb's Chris Sheehan-Jago raised his rating 132 points while his teammate Paul Cappaert added 39 points to the rating, now at the cusp of 1000. Chris and Paul tied for top score among players rated Under 1000.

Sycamore's Don Reyes enhanced his rating 42 points, earning the top score among players rated Under 1400 with 2.5/4.

Alexander Alekhine was World Champion from 1927 until his death in 1946, with the exception of a relinquishment to Max Euwe from 1935-1937.

In July of 1933 he conducted a blindfold simultaneous exhibition in Chicago with 32 people, at the time, a new world record. He won 19, lost four and drew nine games.

The next DeKalb Chess Club event will be the April 2 Grunfeld Memorial with four rounds of Game/60 play.

The club will also host a three-pack of events on April 16 with Game/90, Game/40 and a scholastic event with Game/30 time controls. Please address questions to info@dekalbchess.com.

Friday, March 25, 2016

Alekhine Memorial Features Four Rounds: G/40; 5-second delay

The DeKalb Chess Club will sponsor the Alekhine Memorial Open on Saturday, March 26. Note: this event is open to all-ages and will most likely be conducted in one section although the TD reserves the right to split sections.

By popular demand, the time control will be Game/40 with a 5-second delay.

All equipment will be provided. There will be a $6 entry fee with certificates as prizes. All juniors will receive awards.

Registration will conclude at 9:00 am with the first round starting shortly thereafter. The second round will begin at 11:00 am -- and folks are welcome to take a 1/2-point first round bye. A brief lunch will be available before round three which will kick off at 1:15pm. The fourth and final round will begin at 3:00pm with conclusion of play by 4:30pm.

Grandmaster Alekhine passed away March 24, 1946 making this the 70th anniversary of his death.

This is a perfect warm up for the scholastic nationals coming up: High School, April 1-3 in Atlanta; Jr. High, April 15-17 in Indianapolis; and Elementary, May 6-8 in Nashville.