Monday, September 18, 2006

First ever SP All-Star Girl's Chess Team!!


* Qualified through peak rating - Others qualified based on October list

Those who met the criteria will receive the prizes and invitations to SPECIAL All-Star Training sessions.

Those who reached within 100 points will not receive the prizes but will receive invitations to SPECIAL All-Star Training sessions.

Age - Minimum Peak Rating

Age 6 & Under - 1300: None

Age 7 - 1400:
Xiang, Evan 7 TX USA 1330 (within 100 pts)

Age 8 - 1500:
*Xiang, Ellen 9 TX USA 1553

Age 9 - 1600:
Zhu, Caroline 9 TX USA 1637
Chen, Michelle 9 MA USA 1611
*Chiang, Sarah 9 TX USA 1584


Age 10 - 1700:
Yang, Sylvia 10 TX USA 1806
Zhurbinskiy, Eve 10 NJ USA 1599 (within 100 pts)

Age 11 - 1800:
Kuzniatsova, Alena 11 NY USA 1776 (within 100 pts)
Qiu, Katherine 11 TX USA 1719 (within 100 pts)
Robinson, Darrian 11 NY USA 1711 (within 100 pts)

Age 12 - 1900:
Dai, Yang 12 VA USA 1942
Liu, Jennie S 12 NJ USA 1836 (within 100 pts)

Age 13 - 2000: None

Age 14 - 2100:
Jamison, Courtney 14 TX USA 2002 (within 100 pts)

Age 15 - 2150:
Melekhina, Alisa 15 PA USA 2182
Marshall, Abby 15 VA USA 2048 (within 100 pts)

Age 16 - 2200: None

Age 17 - 2250:
*Ross, Laura 18 NY USA 2252

Age 18 - 2300:
*Abrahamyan, Tatev 18 CA USA 2293

Congrats to all who qualified!
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Sunday, September 10, 2006

Proud moment for the Polgar Girls


Ettie Nikolova and Abby Marshall faced each other on board 1 in round 4 at the 2006 Virginia Closed State Championship!

In the black shirt is Ettie, VA rep for the 2004 SP National Invitational. Ettie actually finished as the top female player at the 2004 US Open. Unfortunately, Ettie did not pay the $75 fee to the AF4C and that's why she did not receive a spot in the US Championship.

Abby of course won the SP National Invitational in 2005 and 2006.

Both Abby and Ettie ended up in a tie for second and both broke the 2000 rating mark! Congratulations to both Abby and Ettie!
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Chess Blog from Emily


Yesterday, I received a post from Emily Liu, a young female chess player from Katy, Texas. Emily is not even 10 yet and she has her own cool chess blog. This is Emily's blog. I am amazed of the technical knowledge of the youngsters today. This is so wonderful!

Blogging is a great way for your voice to be heard! Use it wisely! Use it positively! Posted by Picasa

Friday, September 08, 2006

Texas Tech Attracts International Slate of Chess Stars


LUBBOCK – Three internationally known female chess players and a fourth student recruited from Texas have received chess scholarships from Texas Tech University.

The students received a $1,000 scholarship for their first year. Funds for the scholarships were provided by the Office of the President and the W. H. Freeman Publishing Company. One of the scholarship winners will be designated as the university’s W. H. Freeman Chess Scholar.

Texas Tech Receives Top Honor

As a result of this activity, Texas Tech received the highest award given to colleges by the U. S. Chess Federation. Texas Tech and University of Connecticut School of Engineering both received the 2006 Chess College of the Year Award. Texas Tech joins the ranks of such colleges as Stanford University, the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Maryland, St. John’s University and Rhode Island University.

Dr. Hal Karlsson, faculty advisor to the Knight Raiders chess club at Texas Tech, awarded three of the scholarships after attending the first Susan Polgar World Open Chess Championship for Girls – a tournament held June 16-18 in Las Vegas for females younger than 21.

Best in the World

Karlsson selected three tournament participants as scholarship recipients. The students, chosen for their tournament performance and on their academic potential, are: Laura Morales Mendoza of Mexico, Luciana Morales of Peru and Magdalena Matyszewska of Poland.

Mendoza, of Mexico City, Mexico, is a FIDE Master – a title awarded by the World Chess Federation. She won the chess puzzle contest portion of the Polgar championship and placed 5th in the slow-control tournament. Mendoza has won numerous girls’ tournaments in Mexico City and she was member of Mexican Women Team in the Chess Olympiads.

Morales is a Women’s International Master from Lima, Peru. She ranked 3rd in the regular Las Vegas tournament and won the blitz tournament, which consists of speed chess. Morales was named Peruvian National Chess Champion 18 times in various age categories and also was the 2006 Peruvian Women’s Olympiad team captain. She tied for third place in the Continental Championships of the Americas in 2005. She is the first Peruvian chess player to qualify for World Championship playoffs.

Matyszewska was born in Poland, but lives in Wyandotte, Mich. Matyszewska placed 4th in the regular portion of the Polgar tournament.

Freshman is National Champ

A chess scholarship also was awarded to freshman Bryan Pernes, who has played in nearly 180 rated tournaments nationwide. He won the amateur section of the 2004 Texas State and Amateur Championships, the 2004 Texas High School Scholastic Championship and placed 3rd in the 2004 National High School Championship.

The Office of the Provost provided funds for Pernes’ scholarship.

Program Contacts:

Dr. Hal Karlsson
, associate professor of geosciences, Texas Tech University, at (806) 742-3130. Posted by Picasa

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Polgar Chess Center last summer camp session


Among the participants are the reigning Japanese Overall Elementary School Chess Champion (her name is Natsumi - she's in the blue shirt in the back row) and one of the top third grader in the state of New York. Posted by Picasa

Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls


Susan Polgar National Open Championship for Girls
President’s Day Weekend
February 16-18, 2007 Corpus Christi, Texas

K-2, 3rd-5th, 6th-9th, Open Section


The winner of each section (must meet age and residency requirements) will automatically qualify to the 2007 Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls in New Jersey!

TIME CONTROL: G/45 or G/40 with 5 seconds delay

Prizes: Trophies to top 12 individuals and top 3 teams in each section. Special medals to 13th – 20th place individuals and 4th – 6th teams. 3 or more from the same school and section or same chess club and section (top 3 scores added to give team final standings). Trophies to top 3 two–person family (siblings - parent/child) team

Additional Individual Prizes to each section: Special Grand Prize to 1st!! $200 in prizes to 2nd $150 in prizes to 3rd $100 in prizes to 4th $50 in prizes to 5th! Any player with 6-0 score in the main event will also receive a digital chess clock!!

Prizes for Blitz / Puzzle Solving Championships: Trophies to top 3 players in each section. Special medals to 4th – 10th place. Blitz and Puzzle Solving Championships will be only one section but trophies will be given out to separate categories.

Special Prizes: Any school with 20 or more participants will receive a set of 6 Winning Chess the Easy Way Training DVDs by Susan Polgar ($175 retail value). In addition, there will be 2 beautiful trophies for the schools with the most students competing in the championship (Top from Texas and top outside of Texas).

Schedule:

Friday, February 16:
3:30 PM Lecture for players / parents / coaches by Susan
5:00 PM Puzzle Solving Championships
6:15 PM Tandem Simul (Maximum 70 players)

Saturday, February 17:
10:00 AM Opening Ceremony
Rounds: 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM
6:15 PM Blitz Championships (G/5 - 6 SS)
8:00 PM Dance Party

Sunday, February 18:
Rounds: 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM
4:00 PM Closing Ceremony

Monday, February 19:
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM Susan Polgar Mini Chess Camp

Entry Fees: $30 if received by December 15, 2006; $45 if received by February 1, 2007; $60 on site - On site registration: 2:00 PM - 9:00 PM Friday and up to 9:30 AM on Saturday. Blitz EF: $12 - Puzzle Solving EF: $12 - Simul: $20 Special $30 entry fees for all 3 events (Blitz, Puzzle and Simul) - Mini Chess Camp: $25

Make checks payable to Susan Polgar Foundation 103-10 Queens Boulevard (Suite 1C) Forest Hills, NY 11375 www.SusanPolgarFoundation.org

Bayfront Plaza Hotel 601 N. Water Street Corpus Christi, TX 78401 Phone: (361) 882-8100 or 1-800-688-0334 or www.bayfrontplazahotelcc.com. For chess rate, please mention Chess Tournament & Code Word "Chess" beginning now. Hotel rate cutoff date: January 27, 2007.

Incredible Hotel Rates: $59.00 up to 3 people $69.00 up to 4 people $89.00 suite –

FREE Wireless Internet – FREE hot breakfast buffet - FREE appetizers nightly & live music on Friday and Saturday night at the hotel Atrium.
 Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Puzzle by 10 year old Eve Zhurbinskiy


White to move and mate in 4
 Posted by Picasa

The state of chess


Cities are even using chess to boost their image and tourism. Many US cities are putting chess tables in public parks and organize local chess events. Professor David Robertson of John Moores University and chairman of the Liverpool Chess Foundation said:

A year ago we had the idea to broaden the basis of the 2008 Capital of Culture year by staging a number of international chess tournaments to put Liverpool on a par with other European chess cities, such as Turin, Dresden, Zurich and Budapest ... Other European cities have found chess to be a relatively cheap and extremely helpful way of boosting their image around the world ... With the exception of football (soccer), chess is the only game with a global reach. It is a completely inclusive game, neutral to gender, class and ethnicity. We want to use it to create a new image alongside the familiar images of Liverpool, selling the finer qualities of the city.

Moreover, there are countless commercials, TV shows and movies that include chess scenes. There is even a book devoted to the latter. Many celebrities and athletes love chess and publicly talk about its wonderful benefits. It is an amazing phenomenon!

The rest of my column can be read herePosted by Picasa

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

SPF Tri-State Scholastic Chess Challenge


Tri-State Scholastic Chess Challenge
(Hosted by NY Athletic Club and Sponsored by the Susan Polgar Foundation)
October 7 - 8, 2006

Open to all USCF members grade K-12
3 Sections: K-3rd 4th-6th 7th-12th grade

Location: NY Athletic Club - 180 Central Park South - New York, NY 10019

Time Control: G/60
Onsite Registration: October 7 from 10am - 11:45am
Format: 5 rounds – Swiss system

Schedule: October 7: 12pm - 2:30pm
October 8: 10am - 1pm - 2:30pm

Entry fee: $12 by 9/20 On site: $20

Prizes: Trophies to top 6 in each section
Top three finishers in each section $100-$50-$25 in chess prizes.
In addition, the overall winner and the top girl of each section receive a free one year
Gold membership at the Polgar Chess Center ($300 value each)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Entry Form: Please PRINT all info and make check payable to: Susan Polgar Foundation

Name: ______________________________ Phone: (_____) _________________

Email: _______________________________ Age: ____ Section______________

USCF Rating (if any) ______________USCF ID#:___________________________ Posted by Picasa

Monday, September 04, 2006

Girl Power!


Susan,

I thought you would get a kick out of hearing how a couple of Polgar girls have performed so far at the Virginia State Closed Championship, a three-day, six-round event that determines who will be crowned the 2006 Virginia champion. In a field that includes 1 FM, 3 national masters, and 3 experts, Ettie Nikolova and Abby Marshall were tied for first at the half-way point with perfect 3.0 scores.

Ettie, the 2004 Polgar rep from VA, defeated 2 experts in the first three rounds. Meanwhile, Abby knocked off FM and 2002 VA state champ Macon Shibut (rated 2323) in round two. In round three, she faced defending state champ Daniel Miller (rated 2339), who was going for a record four consecutive state titles. She beat Daniel in 21 moves.

The fourth round witnessed a first in the history of the event: two girls playing one another on the top board. For some of the younger girls who were playing in the reserve section, the match presented something of a quandary because they had been rooting for both Abby and Ettie throughout the tournament and now they did not know who they wanted to win. The game ended in a draw, so I suppose none of their fans were disappointed.

The tournament is still underway, with two rounds to go. Abby and Ettie are still tied for first place along with one other player. Several more are lapping at their heals with 3 out of 4 points. The tournament directors took some digital pictures of Abby and Ettie playing on board one. I'll tell them to send you some. It really was quite a spectacle and a great advertisement for women in chess.

Jeff

Thank you Jeff for the report! Posted by Picasa