Endgame Challenge Review

White to move. How should White proceed?

8/p2np2p/2PPk2p/1P6/8/1N4K1/8/8 w - - 0 1

Happy (almost) New Year from OnlineChessLessons.NET

Chess Special – 5 Classes for only $20 each. EXTENDED till New Years!
Posted on December 4, 2011 by William in Non-Chess related
The holidays are around the corner and I wanted to make an exciting announcement that from now until Christmas New Years I’m offering a huge discount on my classes. You can buy a package of 5 classes for only $25 per class $20 per class. This means I’m taking a whopping 30% off 40% off my regular $36 class-to-class rate. I will be making these classes transferable so you can use them for yourself or [...]

Chess Mistakes: Not Winning Won Positions?

Posted on December 30, 2011 by William in Beginner's Corner, General Chess Articles

This is a common problem that has plagued chess players since the game was invented. There is nothing more frustrating than playing the opening very well, continuing to press in the middlegame, and watching the win slip through your fingers. After you shake hands with your weasel opponent who got “lucky” enough to slip away with a draw from such a terrible position, you can’t stop beating yourself up for not finishing the drill. Many [...]

ICC Blitz Chess – Benoni Defense
Posted on December 28, 2011 by William in All Articles w/ Videos, Blitz/Bullet Chess
White opens with d4 and I decided to respond with the Benoni Defense. This game exemplifies many of the most important concepts in the Benoni Defense, as white gains a slight space and positional advantage in the opening and black must rapidly fight hard for activity. I decided to employ a plan that I had seen in a few of Bobby Fischer’s games, involving 13. …g5!? and 14. …Ne5 – trying to establish a bind [...]

Beating The Scandinavian Defense – Beginner Chess Openings
Posted on December 28, 2011 by William in Beginner's Corner, Chess Openings, Strategy & Game Review
The Scandinavian Defense is a common beginner chess opening, allowing black to immediately challenge white’s center and activate his queen. However, I believe white is able to generate very dangerous threats very early in the opening if he plays very actively and with a clear plan. In this article I will be examining the main line of the Scandinavian Defense with 1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5. There are other principal continuations [...]

Reggio Emilia 2011/12: Star-Studded Super-Tournament
Posted on December 27, 2011 by William in Tournament Updates
The 54th “Torneo di Capodanno” chess tournament is being held in Reggio Emilia, Italy and starts on December 27th 2011, ending on January 6, 2012. The organizers of the Reggio Emilia 2011 chess tournament have done an incredible job of putting together an all-star line up of 2700+ FIDE players: Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Morozevich, Hikaru Nakamura, Nikita Vitiugov, Fabiano Caruana, and Anish Giri. Just one week before the tournament began, last year’s winner Vugar Gashimov [...]

ChessAnyTime.com – Chess Videos, News, and more!
Posted on December 26, 2011 by William in General Chess Articles
ChessAnyTime.com is one of the few chess websites that does just about everything: chess videos, news, analysis, and a popular chess playing server. GM Simon Williams handles the majority of content production at ChessAnyTime.com, and has a true knack for publishing clear and engaging videos on extremely complicated openings. I particularly enjoyed Williams’ series on the Dragon, the Dutch, and the Dragadorf (an interesting hybrid system that combines ideas from the Dragon and the Najdorf). [...]

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William Stewart is a National Master. He specializes in Chess Coaching Online and maintains a daily updated Chess Blog

Nakamura beats Ivanchuk, earns clear lead at the half

Round 5 results

Nakamura, Hikaru	- Ivanchuk, Vassily	1-0
Morozevich, Alexander	- Vitiugov, Nikita	1-0
Caruana, Fabiano	- Giri, Anish	0-1

Standings after 5 rounds

1.	Nakamura, Hikaru	g	USA	2758	11
2.	Morozevich, Alexander	g	RUS	2762	10
3.	Ivanchuk, Vassily	g	UKR	2775	8
4.	Giri, Anish	g	NED	2714	5
5.	Caruana, Fabiano	g	ITA	2727	4
6.	Vitiugov, Nikita	g	RUS	2729	2

Official website: http://www.ippogrifoscacchi.it

'Korean Adele' Blows Away Judges

Looks can be deceiving ... especially in the case of Park Ji Min, the 15-year-old Korean teen who left judges on the talent show 'K-Pop Star' speechless with her powerful rendition of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep.'

When Park first walks on stage in the video below, the soft-spoken teen giggles and sweetly introduces herself to the judges. But as soon as Park opens her mouth ... BAM ... it's like a whole different person's voice comes out.

Watch the sure-to-be viral video after the jump -- it's going to be the only live performance of 'Rolling in the Deep' we've got until Adele bounces back from her throat surgery!

Source: AOL News

Is struggling Anand looking ahead?

On Chess: Is struggling Anand looking ahead?
Saturday December 31, 2011 5:46 AM
Shelby Lyman is a Basic Chess Features columnist.

Recent months haven’t been kind to reigning world chess champion Viswanathan Anand, who posted mediocre results in three consecutive tournaments.

His last effort — the London Chess Classic, in which he scored six draws, one loss and just one win — was, in his words and by his standards, “a disaster” not befitting the status of world champion.

No doubt he was distracted, in part, by preparations for an upcoming May title defense against Boris Gelfand in Moscow’s renowned Tretyakov art gallery — a venue that Anand hopes will inspire “ beautiful and artistic chess.”

Based on their past performances in hundreds of games, Anand is an almost a 3-to-2 favorite to win the 12-game match. He also has the advantage over Gelfand of extensive experience in previous world title matches. This will be Gelfand’s first opportunity to play at that level.

But the challenger is a wily and talented veteran who usually finishes first or near first in any tournament he enters.

Both players are steeped in theory and exemplify dynamic and fearless play.

And both are older than 40 — the first pairing of two players that age in a chess title match.

Source: http://www.dispatch.com

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Interview with Morozevich in Reggio Emilia ! Part 1

INTERVIEW with ALEXANDER MOROZEVICH - PART 1
http://www.scacchierando.net/dblog/default.asp

Dario: Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me and our blog Scacchierando, an Italian chess blog run by amateurs, and it is a real honour to be able to interview you, as we consider you to be not only one of the best players in the world in the last decade, but also a true artist. Last year I I expressed the great esteem I had for you with the organisers, and told them that your presence here would have been great value for the tournament and its history. But enough praising, and let’s get down to the interview. How many times have you been able to visit our country during your career ?

Morozevich Alexander: This is not the first time I come to Italy, as, apart from being here in Reggio Emilia for the second year running, I came here during the nineties for a few days, I think four if I remember correctly, for some Military Championships.

D: In an interview you did a few months ago you said, in a slightly deceived tone, that you were amazed that none of your games had been included in best games collections, like, for example, John Nunn’s 125 . How do you explain this ?

M: Actually, I was joking during that interview. What I can say is that reality is in stark contrast with what I hear; if you take any book on tactics , collections of games, diagrams or studies, my name is never mentioned, even if I’m considered to be one of the strongest attacking players of the last 15 years, and I have to ask myself how that is possible ! ( Moro seems to consider this quite seriously, in spite of the joke

D: In that same interview you said that in 2010, during a period when you had stopped playing for a few months, you were asking yourself if your career was maybe ending, I’d like to state emphatically that if someone like Korchnoi still plays as an 80 year old and can beat champions like Caruana, maybe it would be wise to carry on, for the sake of your fans !

M: I can’t really say in what stage of my career I am presently. Korchnoi is playing as an octogenarian but he can’t be held up as a reference, as the standard is to be at one’s peak up until 40-45 years, as in the case of Kasparov and Anand. I guess we can say that I am halfway through my career and going on to the second part and its conclusion. Furthermore my playing style is quite quite taxing and requires great energy therefore I will carry on playing for as long as I’m strong enough to do so.

D: We mentioned before that your games don’t seem to find their way in best games collections. You have published a book on the Chigorin Defence. Would you like to write again in the future ?

M: Yes, I did write a book on the Chigorin, but it was a joint effort with an International Master. In the future I would like to write a book on my best games, that will require time therefore I don’t know when I’ll be able to actually do it as I’m going to have to devote a great effort and attention, maybe in 10 years or so.

D: You have recently concluded your experience as a trainer with Quatar, and especially with Zhu Chen. You’ve said that in these years you have understood how the Chinese play chess and how they approach the game. What do you mean by that, exactly ?

M: My experience with Zhu Chen has been very instructive for me. The Chinese play and learn chess in a different way for a very simple reason : they have a different culture, which makes them unique. Every culture has a different approach. Working with the Chinese I can say that in the end I haven’t modified my style, which is what it’s always been, by I think that I have come out of the experience quite enriched.

My Texas Adventures

My Texas Adventures
by FM Hans Jun

I have been following Susan Polgar's Daily News blog with interest for quite some time and have been intensely curious as to what has been going on at Texas Tech (specifically SPICE or Susan Polgars Institute for Chess Excellence) in Lubbock, Texas. In her current SPICE tournament (she has been running high quality international tournaments since 2007) she added a new section - FIDE Open Rated - and I decided it was time for me to travel down and see things first-hand.

Shopping around online I discovered that Greyhound had a 15 day Discovery pass (travel anywhere unlimited in North America during 15 days) for about $350. and as I had planned to go to Lubbock, Texas and after to the Grand Canyon and total flights would cost me over $1000 I decided on the bus deal without considering repercussions. The bus trip took me thru Detroit, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Memphis and on to Dallas and finally an all night run across Texas from Dallas to Lubbock, more than 52 hours in total.

The difference between Canadian Greyhound and American Greyhound is ominous. On boarding in Detroit the driver made a short speech: Besides alcohol, drugs, profane language, and smoking being prohibited - loud conversations both on and off cellphones were prohibited. The driver would give one warning then on next offense he would pull the bus over and the offender would be escorted off the bus by the state troopers. I actually saw a graphic example of that in Arkansas and my exposure to the grass roots of America (its average Greyhound travelers) thru those cities was to say the least not pleasant.

One eye opening adventure occurred on the all nighter out of Dallas. Shortly before the bus pulled out a real character got on the bus. Dressed in a classy white leather Stetson and with a form fitting Levi shirt and jeans and alligator boots, he was a "real" Texan cowboy. A little worse for drink he still managed an incredible amount of charm and tipping his hat and murmuring compliments to every lady on the bus he swaggered to the rear.

I managed a short nap and awoke later to a curious sight. At the rear of the bus a group of five interesting characters had managed to find their own entertainment. They had upended what looked like an old metal ashtray and placed a cafeteria style plastic tray on top. The cards were flying and a poker game was in progress. The cowboy, an older gentleman in a much worn suit who looked like a used car saleman, an aging hippy with a beard, a young gangly student, and a really old gentleman with very few teeth in his smile were what I saw when I went back for a closer look - and all 5 were smoking! (one of them a cigar).

The cowboy invited me to join them - said he liked my flavor (whatever that means). I went back to my seat to get my camera and when I came back the cowboy said "you can take a picture but then I'll have to kill you". The things that go on thru a Texan night. They played until about an hour before the bus arrived in Lubbock.

My first sight of Lubbock was pleasantly interesting - the bus terminal was a modern terminal designed with wings in four directions and made from beautiful brownish pink brick in the Spanish style. Although it was only 6:30am and still quite dark I new the mood of my journey had changed when I was greeted by Cat Stevens "Its a wide World" followed by two Stevie Nicks classics and two Buddy Holly tunes on the PA system. - To be continued

Part 2. Lubbock is an interesting, divided city. Several years ago a tornado wiped out the entire north east end of the city. After the rubble was eventually cleared what ended up being rebuilt on the land was city, state, federal, and educational buildings only so the result was the odd building as well as very large parking lots and many empty lots spread over a section of at least two square miles.

As a result of the tornado almost the entire residential and business district was relocated to the west end past the area where Texas Tech University is. In effect you have a divided city - the east end shuts down after 5pm and in effect becomes a ghost town and the vibrant west end.

My lucky booking on the internet was a very cheap motel on Avenue Q which is the divider of the east and west end. It turned out to entirely suit my purposes as it had a Wal-Mart 100 yards away and a Denny's across the street. My initial walk from the bus station (about one mile) was thru the ghost town as it was before anything opened at 8 am.

The walk to Texas Tech (where the SPICE tournament was being held) westwards was much more pleasant. It was a little over a mile thru student housing and then the university grounds.

The FIDE Open which I was playing in started at 5pm that day first round, with 3 rounds the next day and 2 on the following. The only grandmaster tournament in progress when I arrived was the SPICE A section with GMs Dominguez, Le Quang Liem, Feller, Shulman, Meier, and Robson - a double round robin of 2600 and 2700 GMs. (two other sections of mainly GMs and IMs had already finished).

I tried to ask for a first round bye due to tiredness but Susan Polgar herself with great charm and persuasiveness talked me out of it. Meeting Paul Truong and Dr. Hal Karlsson for the first time gave me a burst of energy as they are excellent hosts, great conversationalists, and lots of fun to be around. (Paul is Susan's "silent"partner and husband and website guru and Dr. Karlsson is the originator of SPICE).

However, as Murphys Law would have it my first round game turned into a marathon where I absolutely refused to win (the longest game of the round), ran out of energy, and somehow swindled a miraculous draw. To be continued

Part 3 All of the GM's were friendly, although to me the most so was Sebastian Feller and he and Le Quang Liem were the only ones to discuss positions with me blindfold although I must admit they lost me in their analysis. I sat in on quite a few analysis sessions and every question that I ventured was answered, some to my chagrin.

I thought Lenier Dominguez was going to win the tournament but as fate had it he and Le Quang Liem had to play each other in the last round and Liem won the game and the tournament with a nice tactical finish (Q and B on the long diagonal lined up against the black king - but you'll have to look it up because I dont have the game handy)

Le Quang Liem was there with his mother and she was very nervous about his games to the point where when I went up to look at the position the first few times she would follow me up and stare at me but after talking to her I found out she was a very nice lady.

Georg Meier is a very interesting young grandmaster from Germany. Turns out he is studying at Texas Tech. When I tried to find out his background I was amazed to discover he is from the same region as my grandmother - a small town in Germany - but even small towns there seem to have at least one strong ex-Soviet trainer and a good chess club and also amazing is that he had never played in a German Championship.

Sebastien Feller would go around at the beginning of the day and shake everybody's hands. At first I thought he was campaigning for a FIDE position but it quickly became apparent that he was just a very nice outgoing young guy.

Yury Shulman was very modest and down to earth. When I asked him during the analysis of the last round game what went wrong he said it started in round two and had continued ever since.

Ray Robson was very serious about his games but whenever he got the chance he liked to have fun and his favorite person to have fun with was Tommy Polgar. I managed a few leads about blindfold chess and it resulted in him playing a member of the Texas Tech Knight Raiders a blindfold 3 minute game. Several things about that wowed me! First of all he rattled moves off in the opening past move 15 and at move 25 according to him he was still in theory. He found the crispest moves to finish and used less than a minute 30 for the whole game. The game can be found on youtube.

Andre Diamant had played in another section (C) but showed up with his young son for the birthday party (also farewell party) They were a hit. Andre forever with the jokes and witty anecdotes.

Denes Boros played in the B section but also showed up for the farewell party. He is Hungarian, a real character, and studies at Texas Tech. I first met him when he was playing speed chess with Ray Robson. To me Ray is an awesome speed player but Denes demolished him in more than one game I was watching but to be fair to Ray the overall score was apparently equal. I had a chance for an in depth conversation with him - somehow the conversation turned to music and we compared notes on Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, and the Doors - it was surreal. (he's about 20 - I'm in my 50's) To be continued

The weather in Lubbock kept getting better each day - warmer by 5 degrees at least - the last day it went over 90 (almost 35 C) and dry heat - the best kind -none of our summer humidity.

It was a real pleasure to walk back and forth to campus.

I discovered the outdoor chess tables on my third day.

In terms of location, design, looks, and even cleanliness they are far superior to the ones here at Kitchener City Hall. They are located right beside the university library and strategically set so that they are in the shade by mid afternoon.

The tables themselves are together by twos with benches (so bughouse can be played) which is far better for social chess and communication. One table at the end has no benches - the wheelchair designate. Altogether there are seven.

Each bench has a gold plated plaque with famous chess sayings - example: Bobby Fischer "chess is life", Johann Goethe "chess is the touchstone of the intellect", Susan Polgar " win with grace, lose with dignity" etc. Only thing is they were underutilized.

The entire time I was there no one played on them with the exception when I talked a passerby into playing there. I mentioned that they needed a chess coordinator and I hope they realize and follow thru.

On the second day of play in my tournament I blundered away two out of three of my games (although in one my opponent returned the favor) so I finally could fully relax and enjoy more of my surroundings.

On the Sunday morning after a glorious walk to the tournament I discovered that there was no coffee on site -trauma. Nothing was open and the coffee on site was just in the process of being set up.

I sat down to play and Susan Polgar noticed something was wrong (although I hadn't said anything). She came up to me and asked me if she could get me coffee and then went on a coffee run. She came back with the best coffee I had on my entire trip - where else would a world champion get coffee for an ordinary joe?? -wow - to say the least that floored me.

In the tournament itself I played the 3 best youth stars.

Jeffrey Xiong is the top 10 yr old in the US. The last published rating I could find was 2288 but by the time we played it was going north of 2350.

In the analysis room on the second day I saw him on a laptop. When I went over to look he was whipping thru database games at about 4 or 5 moves per second.

I asked him what he was looking for. After a few more questions it became clear that not only was he identifying opening ideas but also tactical keys and positional technique during the course of each game.

In my game he saw a lot more than I did.

His father was also very friendly. He mentioned that he would be happy to bring Jeffery to a tournament in Canada.

I am sure I can work something out.

I really enjoyed spending a lot of time in conversation with Dr. Hal Karlsson and Paul Truong.
With Dr. Karlsson there was a new idea(s) with every conversation. He was always looking to fine tune or add to the chess tournaments or the chess program.

Paul was a virtual fountain of information on the international chess scene and because he was basically tied to the computer and his cameras I got to pump him with at least a thousand questions. Paul was always happy to answer and I got him excited on more than one occasion on past events or current situations.

A couple of times he gave me a ride back to my motel and it was thanks to him that I received a gift basket and many other souvenirs of my stay in Lubbock and Texas Tech.

I even stayed an extra day for more conversation and to see the end of the Spice Cup A tournament (with the thrilling finale between Le Quang Liem and Lenier Dominguez) and Susan personally invited me to the farewell dinner (and birthday party of Ray Robson) at the Texas Land and Cattle Roadhouse.

The bacon wrapped sirloin was Texas sized and sitting across from Le Quang Liem and his mother and beside Jerry (an employee of Texas Tech and a 500 pound ex football Hispanic American with a razor wit and constantly telling stories of his youth growing up in Munich in southern Germany, interspersed with witticisms form Paul Truong) was memorable.

Also on the final day in the morning I went to see the Buddy Holly museum. Definitely not to be missed. Every little detail of his life is there.

Even tho he died at 21, not only was he a music legend but a great improviser who invented or perfected many musical ideas.

Especially the video has to be seen. It is a mini documentary (about half an hour) very tightly scripted.

About 5 minutes in you see Paul McCartney sitting in a chair with a guitar. Paul is very down to earth and leads with: "I guess I was about 16 and me and John sagged off from school one day to go to the Paladium to see Buddy. We sat up front to watch his chord work and we couldnt get over it. How does he do it? How does he do it?" - then Paul on the guitar breaks into Peggy Sue and then in the exact same rhythm Twist and Shout - and then typical Paul - but of course Buddy did it much better.

Also seeing the Stones tell about their first song in public being a Buddy Holly tune and Elton John's famous glasses -an idea he got from Buddy.

In the museum showcases endless examples of Buddy's creativity and highlights of his career. Buddy, on top of his musical prowess, was an expert craftsman and wood and leather carver, carving his own belts and guitar straps and even making his own furniture.

Every Buddy Holly song ever recorded is there and is played non stop around the clock, as well as other hits of other stars at the time.

Definitely not to be missed the day the music died.

More to come later...

Reggio Emilia videos: Interview with Sopiko Guramishvili

Interview with Sopiko Guramishvili

Marc Lang catches the eye by breaking world blindfold record

Marc Lang catches the eye by breaking world blindfold record
Leonard Barden
Friday 30 December 2011 08.24 EST

When Miguel Najdorf played 45 chess games simultaneously blindfold in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1947 the exhibition took over 23 hours, including an interval for Najdorf to change his perspiration-soaked shirt and rest his eyes. Later the Hungarian Janos Flesch played 52 games without sight of the board, but his claim unravelled because many opponents resigned after a few moves, and it seemed that Najdorf's performance would never be approached.

But last month a little-known 41-year-old 2300-rated German master, Marc Lang, toppled the record with 46 games in 21 hours. In previous years Lang set a German record, then broke George Koltanowski's historic European mark 0f 34 games played at Edinburgh in 1937. Lang spent several months preparing for the world attempt, taking time off from his computer business and seeing little of his family.

During the 21 hours at Sontheim in south Germany Lang sat in the same room as his opponents with a barrier which stopped him seeing his opponents' boards. He typed his moves on to a computer screen which showed only the latest move played, and at the end scored 75 per cent. Most of his opponents were rated under 1700, weak club standard, but they could all see the board.

All blindfold specialists use techniques to aid memory. Lang divided the games into groups of five, taking the black pieces on every fifth board. He gave each group a theme such as 1 Nc3 or 1 e4 and opened with the theme move in the first and last games of each group.

Past blindfold experts were mostly also great players in normal chess like Alexander Alekhine, Harry Pillsbury and Najdorf, so the question is how a journeyman master could surpass them. Lang may have been helped by typing his moves rather than announcing them verbally, he had 19 draws, while some opponents played feebly as in the two games below. Allowing for this, Najdorf and Alekhine gave more impressive performances – but in world records it is the total number of games that counts. The fact that Najdorf's landmark could be broken at Lang's first attempt suggests that the potential human level is higher still, perhaps now sparking interest from other contenders as occurred in the 1920s and 1930s.

More here.

Vietnam wins two bronzes at world chess tournament

Vietnam wins two bronzes at world chess tournament
Last updated: 12/29/2011 16:40

Vietnamese female chess players won two individual bronze medals at the FIDE Women’s World Team Championship 2011 that took place in Mardin, Turkey, from December 17-28.

At table No.2, GM Hoang Thi Bao Tram finished third behind Ju Wenju from China and Harika from India. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Nguyen Thi Mai Hung came in third behind Chinese player Zhao Xue and Bela from Gruzia.

Also, the Vietnamese team consisting of five female players Bao Tram, Thao Nguyen, Thanh An, Nhu Y and Mai Hung finished in the seventh position out of 10 international teams at the contest this year.

The winnings are a significant improvement of Vietnamese chess on the international stage. Vietnam finished in the 10th spot out of 10 teams two years ago.

Source: http://www.thanhniennews.com

Find the best continuation

White to move. How should White proceed?

1kr5/2p5/1pQp3p/r2P2p1/2R2p2/1KR4P/1PP3P1/4qn2 w - - 0 1

Reggio Emilia video: Interviews with Nakamura

Interview with Nakamura

Heart Breaking Loss for UTB

Players won't compete at 'final four'
December 30, 2011 9:49 PM
By JACQUELINE ARMENDARIZ/ The Brownsville Herald

The UTB-TSC chess team went all out to win the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championships in Fort Worth this week, and the strategy may have cost them a top-four finish and a trip to the “final four” of college chess in late March.

Still, they have few regrets.

In their sixth year competing in the Pan American championship, the “A” team from Brownsville came in fifth, a lower finish than last year.

Both the “A” team and the “B” team from the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College finished with four out of six possible points.

Program director Rusty Harwood said because the team figured it was their last year to win together, they refused to offer draws in their matches, though that likely would have at least qualified them for the next tournament.

“They’re disappointed,” he said of the players. “They definitely wanted to go to the Final Four. ... They sort of thought that this was their last shot as a group. They played not to qualify but to win.”

Harwood said that after the tournament, the team immediately boarded a flight, so he was not certain of the results for the “B” team. He estimated they had placed seventh or eighth.

Twenty-eight teams competed.

Harwood said UTB-TSC’s top player, Timur Gareyev, who is ranked around fourth in the nation, is graduating this year.

Up next for the team is continuing to practice and recruit, though there are some budget uncertainties because of the split between UTB and TSC, Harwood said.

He said luck in pairings played a role in the UTB-TSC performance at the Pan Ams. Team member Mauricio Flores agreed, adding that the competition is exhausting and there was significant psychological pressure because of the team’s goal to win the top spot.

The UTB-TSC team played the top-ranked university in the last round.

“I think we deserved to be (in the) top four,” Flores said, but he acknowledged that “it was not our greatest performance.”

“We made some unnecessary mistakes, but I’m happy we tried to win against Dallas instead of taking a draw,” he said.

Harwood had said before the tournament that competition would be stiff.

“It looks like the field is going to be extremely strong this year,” he said last week. “In addition to UT Dallas, Texas Tech and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, all who have been very strong in the past couple of years, I expect several other universities to field very strong teams, including Columbia, Stanford and New York University.”

The results of the Pan American tournament determine the collegiate championship for the Western Hemisphere. It is also a qualifying tournament for the President’s Cup, known as the Final Four of College Chess.

UTB-TSC’s ‘A’ team lost to the University of Texas at Dallas 3-1 in Round 6 on Friday and to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in Round 4 on Thursday.

The ‘B’ team swept Miami-Dade Community College 4-0 on Thursday and on Friday they defeated the University of New Mexico 3.5 to .5 in Round 6.

UTB-TSC began competing in chess a decade ago, seeing success throughout the years.

Last year the team tied for second place at the 2010 Pan Ams in Milwaukee to move on to the April 2011 President’s Cup. UTB finished third in the Final Four, one point away from first place.

Besides winning other titles, in October the team became Texas State College Chess Champions.

The “A” team had four members competing, while the “B” team had five members. The chess team’s roster is international. On the “A” team are Timur Gareyev from Uzbekistan; Mauricio Flores, a junior from Chile; Axel Bachmann, a junior from Paraguay; and Max Cornejo, a senior from Peru.

On the “B” team are Alfonso Almeida, a graduate student from McAllen; Katerina Nemcova, a freshman from Czech Republic; Nadya Ortiz, a senior from Colombia; Luciana Morales, a graduate student from Peru; and Daniela De la Parra, a freshman from Durango, Mexico.

The University of Texas at Dallas, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Texas Tech University and New York University were the top four finishers at the Pan Ams who qualified for the 2012 President’s Cup, to be held in suburban Washington starting March 31.

Source: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com