Summer Chess Academy - Blitz Tournaments

We had two blitz tournaments today, one for Blue, Red, and Green and one for Gold A, Gold B, and Orange.

Here are the final standings:

Blue, Red, and Green

#	Name	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot
1	Brian	$24	$8	$4	$3	$7	10.0
2	Kevin	$16	$35	L3	$12	#11	7.5
3	Alex	$34	$14	$2	L1	W4	7.0
4	Charvic	$18	$19	L1	$6	W3	7.0
5	Zach	$27	W6	W12	$14	W8	7.0
6	Jacob C	$30	W5	$13	L4	$15	7.0
7	Miles	$28	W12	$25	$15	L1	7.0
8	Rahul	$36	L1	$27	$26	W5	7.0
9	Mia	$10	W13	L11	$19	$25	7.0
10	Liam	L9	W11	$20	$18	$17	7.0
11	Josh	W20	W10	$9	$16	D2	6.5
12	Cory	$29	W7	W5	L2	$24	6.0
13	Andrew	$31	W9	L6	W24	$26	6.0
14	Sacha	$38	L3	$34	L5	$28	6.0
15	Adam Martin	$22	$23	#17	L7	L6	5.5
16	Capri	L2	$32	$29	L11	#22	5.5
17	Garrison	$26	W25	D15	$22	L10	5.5
18	Nikki	L4	$20	W21	L10	$36	5.0
19	Angelique	$21	L4	W24	L9	$34	5.0
20	Anthony	W11	L18	L10	$39	$35	5.0
21	Alexa	L19	$31	W18	W25	W23	5.0
22	Dhetti	L15	$37	$23	L17	D16	4.5
23	Angel	$37	L15	L22	#33	W21	4.5
24	David	L1	$36	W19	W13	L12	4.0
25	Max	$33	W17	L7	W21	L9	4.0
26	Ally	L17	$33	$35	L8	L13	4.0
27	Chris	L5	$30	L8	W29	W31	4.0
28	Jordan	L7	L29	$39	$30	L14	4.0
29	Terrell	L12	$28	L16	W27	W33	4.0
30	Clifford	L6	L27	$32	L28	$39	4.0
31	Gage	L13	L21	B---	W34	W27	4.0
32	Adam Muth	L35	L16	L30	$38	$37	4.0
33	Christian	L25	L26	$37	D23	W29	3.5
34	Samihan	L3	$38	L14	W31	L19	3.0
35	Paul	$32	L2	L26	W36	L20	3.0
36	Caleb	L8	L24	$38	W35	L18	3.0
37	Jacob A	L23	L22	L33	B---	L32	2.0
38	Rhaynnon	L14	L34	L36	L32	B---	2.0
39	Jessica	H---	H---	L28	L20	L30	1.0

Gold and Orange

#	Name	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Tot
1	Nick T	$26	$8	$6	D2	$9	$4	W3	$7	13.5
2	Dipro	$23	$21	$3	#1	W4	$6	W11	$10	13.5
3	Jacob M	$20	$7	L2	W10	$19	$8	W1	#6	11.5
4	John W	$17	W9	$10	#16	W2	L1	W5	$11	10.5
5	Soren	W14	$22	D9	$31	L6	$19	W4	$16	10.5
6	Eric Q	$12	$11	L1	#7	$5	L2	$13	D3	10.0
7	Kendrick	$24	L3	$25	D6	$15	W10	$9	L1	9.5
8	Richie B	$13	L1	W12	W11	$17	L3	#14	$21	9.5
9	Peter F	$18	W4	#5	W19	L1	$16	L7	$17	9.5
10	Fletcher	$27	$32	L4	W3	W16	W7	$12	L2	9.0
11	Alec	$25	L6	#15	W8	#13	$30	W2	L4	9.0
12	Tommy	L6	$33	W8	W30	W21	$27	L10	$22	9.0
13	Matthew	L8	$17	W21	$23	D11	$26	L6	W14	8.5
14	Richard Q	W5	L16	W27	W26	$23	$21	D8	W13	8.5
15	Zech	W16	W31	D11	$28	L7	W22	W19	$30	8.5
16	Luc L	W15	$14	#30	D4	W10	L9	$24	L5	8.0
17	Jake	L4	L13	$29	$22	L8	$25	$30	L9	8.0
18	Tania	L9	L23	W20	W32	B---	L24	$33	$31	8.0
19	Nick D	D22	$29	$28	W9	L3	L5	W15	W20	7.5
20	Sam B	L3	L25	W18	$33	D27	#32	#26	W19	7.5
21	Jeffery P	$33	L2	W13	W24	W12	L14	$28	L8	7.0
22	Zion	#19	L5	W26	L17	$33	W15	#31	L12	7.0
23	Varun	L2	$18	W24	L13	L14	L28	$38	$32	7.0
24	Thayer	L7	B---	W23	W21	L30	$18	L16	W26	7.0
25	Nathaniel	L11	$20	L7	W27	W32	L17	W29	$33	7.0
26	Andrei	L1	W27	W22	W14	$31	L13	D20	W24	6.5
27	Fernando	L10	W26	W14	W25	#20	L12	W32	W28	6.5
28	Nikolai	#31	W30	L19	L15	W29	$23	L21	W27	6.5
29	Dylan	D30	L19	L17	B---	W28	L31	W25	$41	6.5
30	Jeffery L	#29	W28	D16	W12	$24	L11	L17	L15	6.0
31	Daniel	D28	W15	$32	L5	L26	$29	D22	L18	6.0
32	Tre	B---	L10	L31	W18	W25	D20	W27	L23	5.5
33	Gabriel	L21	L12	B---	L20	L22	$42	L18	L25	4.0

Vendor on ICC

Ben has officially become a "vendor" on the Internet Chess Club. He will give lessons online using ICC and phone and such. He is looking for more students.

For more information, see http://www.chessclub.com/help/vendors and http://www.chessclub.com/help/Services

PBS Visiting Tomorrow

The PBS public affairs program "Horizon" is going to visit the Summer Chess Academy tomorrow starting at 7 a.m.

Summer Chess Academy - Blindfold Game

The camp today was fun. I played a blindfold blitz game against Varun in the Gold B group. Here is the game!

Ben

[Event "Blindfold 5 minute game"]
[Site "Tempe, AZ"]
[Date "2009.07.09"]
[White "Varun"]
[Black "Ben"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C21"]

1. e4 e5 2. d4 exd4 3. c3 Nf6 4. e5 Nd5 5. cxd4 d6 6. Qe2 Be7 7. exd6 Qxd6 8. Bg5 Nc6 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Qxe7+ Kxe7 11. Nf3 Bg4 12. Bb5 Bxf3 13. gxf3 Nxd4 14. Bc4 Rhd8 15. O-O Nc2 16. Bxd5 Rxd5 17. Nc3 Rg5+ 18. Kh1 Nxa1 19. Rxa1 Rd8 20. Re1+ Kf8 21. Ne4 Re5 22. Rc1 c6 23. b4 f5 24. Nd2 Rxd2 25. Rc5 Rxc5 26. bxc5 Rxf2 27. Kg1 Rb2 28. Kf1 Ke7 29. Ke1 Ke6 30. Kd1 Kd5 31. Kc1 Rxh2 32. Kd1 Kd4 33. f4 Ke3 34. a4 a5 35. Kc1 Kd3 36. Kb1 Kc3 0-1

Mesa Chess Club

Tonight Ben and Spencer attended the Mesa Chess Club at the Borders bookstore in Mesa Fiesta Shopping Center.

A view of the playing area. 

Ben gives 3 minute to 1 minute time odds. Ben plays the French Defense.

Ben plays an untimed game. If you look closely, you can see Spencer in the background.

-----

Mesa Chess Club meets every Wednesday night for a 4-round swiss tournament. Time control is G/20 and is USCF-rated (quick). Registration is 6:00-6:30 pm. Round 1 starts at 6:45 pm. Entry fee is $1.25 per week. For more information, contact Rick Smouse (480) 390-9528 or email rick_smouse (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Summer Chess Academy - Day Two

Day two is over. We got a few more campers today, so the total is now 77 overall!

I gave another clock simul, this time to the TOP Gold group. The opponents were all 1700-2100, and there were 9 games altogether. Time control g/60. Once again I scored 100%. Here is one of my better games.

[Event "Chess Camp Simul"]
[Site "Tempe, AZ"]
[Date "2009.07.07"]
[White "Ben Finegold"]
[Black "Eric Qi"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. Nf3 O-O 5. Bf4 d6 6. e3 c5 7. Be2 a6 8. O-O Nbd7 9. h3 b6 10. Bh2 Qc7 11. d5 Rb8 12. a4 Re8 13. e4 Nf8 14. Re1 Rd8 15. e5 N6d7 16. e6 fxe6 17. dxe6 Nf6 18. Nd5 Qa7 19. Ng5 Nxe6 20. Nxe6 Bxe6 21. Bf3 Nxd5 22. Rxe6 Nf6 23. Qe2 Kf7 24. Re1 Bf8 25. Bf4 Qd7 26. g4 Kg7 27. g5 Ng8 28. Bd5 Kh8 29. h4 Qxa4 30. h5 gxh5 31. Qxh5 Qd7



32. Be4 Bh6 33. Qf7 Bg7 34. Qf5 Nf6 35. gxf6 Kg8 36. Qxh7+ Kf7 37. Bg6+ 1-0

Here is another Simul game from today. It was very well played (for a simul). I do not remember the kid's name, but I can find out tomorrow. He was 1800-2000 I guess.

I was white.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 g6 6. e4 d6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. h3 O-O 9. Bd3 Na6 10. O-O Nc7 11. Re1 Rb8 12. a4 b6 13. Bf4 a6 14. Bc2 Bb7 15. Bh2 b5 16. axb5 axb5 17. e5 dxe5 18. d6 Nce8 19. Bxe5 Nd7 20. Bxg7 Nxg7 21. Nd5 Bxd5 22. Qxd5 Ne6



23. Rxe6 fxe6 24. Qxe6+ Kg7 25. Ra7 Rf7 26. Be4 Qf6 27. Bd5 Rd8 28. Rc7 Kf8 29. Qxf7+ Qxf7 30. Bxf7 Kxf7 31. Ne5+ Ke6 32. Nxd7 Rxd7 33. Rxc5 Rxd6 34. Rxb5 h5 35. h4 Rd2 36. g3 Kf6 37. Rb3 Kf5 38. Kf1 Rc2 39. Rf3+ Ke5 40. b4 Rb2 41. Rf4 Ke6 42. Ke1 Kd5 43. Rf6 Rxb4 44. Rxg6 Ke4 45. Kf1 Kf3 46. Rf6+ Kg4 47. Kg2 1-0

Here is another simul game:

Ben Finegold - Dipro Chakraborty
1. d4 h5 2. e4 c5 3. Nf3 cxd4 4. Nxd4 d6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. e5 Ng4 9. Bf4 d5



10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Qxd5 Qxd5 12. Bxd5 Rb8 13. Bc6+ 1-0

Summer Chess Academy - First Day

Today was the first day of the Summer Chess Academy in Tempe, AZ.

2009 Summer Chess Academy: July 6 - July 17, 2009
Tri-City Christian Academy
2150 E. Southern Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85282

http://www.americanchess.net/newsletters/summerChessAcademy.asp

Registration:

Contact Alan Anderson
Phone: (480) 966-9542
Email: Checkm8chess@aol.com

The great organizer, Alan Anderson, has made the camp simply perfect, as usual, and we have more than 65 kids as a result!

The staff includes GM Kaidanov, GM Shulman, IM Finegold, IM Andrianov, FM Wharton, and my son Spencer!

Today, I gave a clock simul (g/60) to the 12 kids in my group (all rated 1200-1700) and was fortunate to win them all.

Here is my favorite game, due to its nice finish.

[Event "Chess Camp Simul"]
[Site "Tempe, AZ"]
[Date "2009.06.07"]
[White "Ben Finegold"]
[Black "Tommy"]
[Result "1-0"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. h3 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. Bd3 b6 10. O-O Ba6 11. Bf4 Bxd3 12. Qxd3 a6 13. Rad1 Re8 14. a4 Qc7 15. e5 dxe5 16. d6 Qd7 17. Nxe5 Qd8 18. Qc4 Re6 19. Rfe1 Nbd7 



20. Nxf7! Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Qc8 22. Nd8+ Kh8 23. Re8+ Nf8 24. Nf7+ Kg8 25. Nh6+ Kh8 26. Qg8+ Nxg8 27. Nf7#

Ben

Pictures from the Chicago Open

Courtesy of Rose Homa.

Can you identify the other players?

Blindfold Mastery

Yesterday Ben was playing blindfold blitz against some kids. During one of the games, Ben said, "Hey, shouldn't you be out of time by now?", and right after he said that, the clock beeped.

In Arizona

Today Ben and Spencer arrived in Phoenix, Arizona for a two-week chess camp, the Summer Chess Academy.

Commentator for U.S. Women's Championship

Ben has just been hired to be the Live Commentator for the 2009 US Women's Chess Championship in St. Louis, MO. Oct 2-12, 2009. The other commentator will be Jennifer Shahade, assuming that she does not play in the Women's Championship.  The commentary will be heard by ICC / Chess.FM.  Congratulations to Ben!

Ben Forgoes the Bottom Half Class

I am too exhausted to play in BHC this weekend. Good luck to all the participants!

BPF