The Center Square

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Here is the graphical representation of my first round game against Jim Cole generated by Chess Publisher, with light notes below:




(1) Cole,Jim (1127) - Hart,Glen (1651) [A29]
Kenilworth Chess Club Championship USA (1), 17.01.2008
[Glen Hart]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Bc5 [5...a5; 5...e4; 5...Nxd5] 6.Bg2 0–0 [6...d6] 7.0–0 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Nd4 9.e3 [9.Ne1 d6 10.e3 Nf5 11.Nc2 Bd7 12.b3 "...with a minute advantage for White, Eingorn-Tseshkovsky, Moscow 1985," Carsten Hansen writing in The Gambit "Guide to the English Opening: 1...e5." (Gambit Publications Ltd. UK 1999)] 9...Nxf3+ 10.Bxf3 d6 11.e4 f5 12.d3 f4 13.Kh1 Qf6 14.a3 Bh3 15.Bg2 Qh6 16.Qf3 Bxg2+ 17.Kxg2 Rf6 18.Bd2 Raf8 19.Rae1 fxg3 20.Bxh6 Rxf3 21.Be3 gxf2 22.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 23.Bxf2 Rxf2+ 24.Kg3 Rxb2 25.Ra1 Bd4 26.Rc1 Bc5 27.a4 Rb3 0–1

Here is the PGN file for my first round game on January 17th in the 2008 Kenilworth Chess Club Championship (where I played Black against Jim Cole). Mostly to figure out how to attach files to posts (baby steps)!

OK...so I'll need to tap Mike and John's expertise to figure out how to attach or save the PGN file where it is accesible via an embedded link. (Looks like I'll need an account on an appropriate server such as Chess Games or the like.) Here is the text of the game:


(1) Cole,Jim (1127) - Hart,Glen (1651) [A29]
Kenilworth Chess Club Championship USA (1), 17.01.2008
[Glen Hart]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Nd5 Bc5 6.Bg2 0–0 [6...d6] 7.0–0 Nxd5 8.cxd5 Nd4 9.e3 [9.Ne1 d6 10.e3 Nf5 11.Nc2 Bd7 12.b3 "...with a minute advantage for White, Eingorn-Tseshkovsky, Moscow 1985," Carsten Hansen writing in The Gambit "Guide to the English Opening: 1...e5." (Gambit Publications Ltd. UK 1999)] 9...Nxf3+ 10.Bxf3 d6 11.e4 f5 12.d3 f4 13.Kh1 Qf6 14.a3 Bh3 15.Bg2 Qh6 16.Qf3 Bxg2+ 17.Kxg2 Rf6 18.Bd2 Raf8 19.Rae1 fxg3 20.Bxh6 Rxf3 21.Be3 gxf2 22.Rxf2 Rxf2+ 23.Bxf2 Rxf2+ 24.Kg3 Rxb2 25.Ra1 Bd4 26.Rc1 Bc5 27.a4 Rb3 0–1

Best regards...Glen

I want to thank John Moldovan for posting the information on the West Ornage Chess Club (WOCC) Championship tournament, which begins next week, at his Chess Coroner blog. I made an announcement about the Kenilworth Club championship event at last evening's WOCC annual business meeting and urged all to consider entering! I posted the information on the WOCC championship event at the WOCC blog site and I repeat it here with some minor corrections to John's post:

The USCF-rated 2008 West Orange CC Championship starts on January 22nd. It will be a five round Swiss format over eight weeks with the first time control period of 40 moves in 90 minutes, with each subsequent control at 30 moves in 60 minutes. Half point byes are available in any of the first four rounds. The entry fee is $15. The schedule is as follows:

January 22nd – Round 1

January 29th – Round 2

February 5th – First Postponements and Adjournments Session

February 12th – Round 3

February 19th – Second Postponements and Adjournments Session (Note: those playing in the USATE tournament on February 16th, 17th and 18th can reschedule)

February 26th – Round 4

March 4th – Third Postponements and Adjournments Session

March 11th – Round 5 (Final Round)

The West Orange Chess Club meets Tuesday evenings 7 p.m. - 12 midnight at the Toby Katz Community Center, Degnan Park, 650 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052

For entries contact club President and Tournament Director John Hagerty at 973-736-3433 (please call before 10 p.m.)

Assistant Tournament Directors are Victor Rosas (201.618.7248) and Glen Hart (glen.hart@skanska.com or 973.723.7250)

Thank you and good luck to all the entrants!

Glen Hart

Just a couple of quick notes. First, this past Sunday (November 11th) the Star-Ledger ran an interesting profile of the Verona, New Jersey author Kurt Landsberger (William Steinitz, Chess Champion. A Biography of the Bohemian Caesar.) The piece focused mainly on his new work about his experiences as a translator in the United States Army stationed at the German prisoner of war camp in Trinidad, Colorado, and only mentions his Steinitz work in passing. (It turns out that Steinitz is Landsberger's great-great uncle.) Like many men and women of his generation (he is 86 years old), having survived the Holocaust, ending up here in America, Landsberger has lead a rich and colorful life, and this piece gives the reader an intersting glimpse into his world.

A few observations on using the MonRoi Personal Chess Manager. I am not sure that purchasing this device was a very wise idea - especially given that it has little or no means of really improving my game (except, perhaps, that uploading my games to the computer is easier, so I have no excuse now for not cataloging these games for quick and easy study). But, I don't play golf and I don't have a penchant for fancy cars, so I purchased a personal chess manager. (I did manage to get a reasonable discount on site at the U.S. Open as an end-of-tournament incentive.) Anyway...the device is quite simple to use. With the stylus the user can simply touch the piece he or she wants to move and then simply touches the destination square to complete the transaction. Quite simple. It is a little unwieldy when it comes to entering the setup information at the beginning of each game using the stylus (it doesn't have a keyboard), but this is not a major drawback. I was a bit disappointed too that the device doesn't cable directly to the computer for uploading. You first upload the games to the tiny chiplike SunDisk - the type used in digital cameras - then remove this disk and read from it in order to upload to your computer. You'll need a reader for the SunDisk if your computer doesn't have one (about $20), which connects to your computer through a standard USB cable. Once you get used to the device it is quite easy to use. Beware, those of you who simply must record your moves before making them over-the-board. It is against the current USCF rules for the use of this device to do so, for the obvious reason that it would allow you to visualize the board position (albeit one ply!) before you commit it on the board. Finally, if you do use the device remember to keep it charged! It was a bit of a problem when my device ran out of power when I was playing in the final round of the recent New Jersey Open and - struggling as I generally do with the clock - I had the distraction of having to scramble to find a scoresheet and a writing utensil! If anyone is interested in a demonstration please let me know.

I want to thank Mike for helping me revive this blog. When I first agreed to begin the weblog last year I thought that I was at a point where I could really contribute some interesting writings and that I might actually have something interesting to say. This may still be the case! However, shortly after my dubious blog beginnings work called me on an extended trip up and down the Pacific coast, starting in Los Angeles (about six months), then Seattle (three months), and finally working outside of San Francisco, near Palo Alto, CA, for about four months.

I was in the Los Angeles area, staying in Westlake Village and working in Thousand Oaks (minutes from Agoura Hills where there is a sizable Western States tournament held each year - I can track down the details for anyone that might be interested), and had decided that I should try to find some outlets where I might exercise my meager chess abilities. I called Fred Wilson in New York and asked him if he would be kind enough to send a quick e-mail to Los Angeles Times chess correspondent Jack Peters to ask his advice on places to play chess in the greater Los Angeles area. He was gracious enough to help me compile the following list, which could be useful for those of you who might find yourselves in the Los Angeles area looking for a game. Alas, with the project responsibilities and limitations on my free time, I never got to any of these places to play. (I did get by the chess tables on the beach in Santa Monica, which is a quite pleasant west coast version of the Washington Square Park chess scene. There were ongoing, quite compatibly I might add, in a very peaceful cooexistence - a rated chess tournament, a heated discussion of Texas Hold'em strategy, several blitz and skittles games, several curious onlookers - including myself, a couple of on-line fantasy stalwarts carrying on a lively conversation, as well as other board games playing out simultaneously on the 24 or so boards there on the beach just south of the main pier! I really enjoyed the experience.)

AAA Chess - look at the aaachessclub.com website

westernchess.com

Pasadena Chess Club (no further information)

Santa Monica Bay Chess Club - Mondays at Joslyn Park, 633 Kensington Road, Santa Monica

Costa Mesa (Octos Chess); I have the contact takashi@cox.net; contact Takashi Iwamoto at 949.689.3511

La Habra Community Center 101 W. La Habra Blvd., La Habra; contact Jerry Schein at 562.691.2393

Exposition Park Chess Club, Public Library, 3665 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA chess.expoparkla.com

Joshua Tree Chess Club (Friday Evenings), Faith Lutheran Church, 6336 Hallee Rd., Joshua Tree, CA

This information should be fresh. Good luck if you find yourself in Los Angeles!

Oh, and by the way, I did happen to get the famous Mechanics Chess Club on several occasions located at the wonderful Mechanics Institute Library in San Francisco (look for their website), where I attended several wonderful lectures given by Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky, who allowed me to sit in as a guest when I told him that I was visiting from out of town on business. (I also ran into one of the few avid women chess players that I am acquainted with, who had recently relocated from the east coast for her Federal government career post!) Finally, I just wanted to mention too that I had looked briefly into tracking down the location for the Microsoft Chess Club near Seattle, which apparently meets on Friday nights at or near the Microsoft site in Redmond, WA, which a member had briefly described for me when we crossed paths in Minnesota at the big HB Classic in 2005.)