8th in the WORLD Chess Grandmaster coming to Memphis!

Will YOU be there?

THE “FEBRUARY FINALS” CHESS TOURNAMENTS
SUNDAY, February 20, 2011
University Center at the University of Memphis
Memphis, TN

with Special Guest

International Grandmaster
Hikaru Nakamura!

Come out and meet GM Nakamura . . .

Currently rated 8th in the World!

12 noon - 2 p.m.

Autograph Session
(bring your chess boards, books, or

whatever you would like for him to sign) and

Photograph Session
Bring your camera and have your picture taken with GM Nakamura!


THEN . . . JOIN IN OUR CHESS TOURNAMENTS . . .

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!

5SS, G/15 Quick Chess "Open"Tournament
(USCF quick chess rated)
&
4SS, G/30 Scholastic Tournament
(Rated & Unrated Sections Available)


SUNDAY, February 20, 2011

****************************

G/15 OPEN TOURNAMENT
(USCF Quick Chess Rated)


FORMAT
5SS, G/15


SECTIONS & PRIZES
OPEN
U1600/Unr.

60% of Entry Fees returned as prizes.

ENTRY FEE
$15 if received by midnight Thursday, Feb. 17th; $20 thereafter and at site.

ROUND TIMES
First round at 2:15 p.m.
Rounds 2 - 5 will be played as soon as possible

BYES (1/2-point)
Available for any round. Limit one bye per player. Must commit before Round 2.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION
(Major credit cards accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express)

ON-LINE - starting Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011


You may register with a credit card on-line at http://www.cajunchess.com/ -- click on the Feb. 20th February Finals OPEN G/15 Tournament, then on Secure On-line Entry for the Quick Chess Tournament.

BY PHONE

You may register with a credit card by phone
(901) 276-4663.

BY MAIL

If you wish to mail in your entry with a check (or with your credit card information), please be sure to include player's name, full address, phone, email, contact number, USCF I.D. number and section, and mail to

Shelby County Chess
1614 Vance Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104

ON-SITE REGISTRATION
You may register on-site between 1:30 - 2:00 p.m. the day of the tournament (Sunday, Feb. 20). The first round will start at 2:15 p.m.

G/30 SCHOLASTIC TEAM & INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT
(Rated & Unrated Sections Available)

FORMAT
4SS, G/30

SECTIONS
Two USCF-rated Sections (USCF membership required):

U1200
U600

Non-rated Section:

K-12 Reserve*

*NOTE: Reserve section is not rated; therefore, USCF membership is not required.

Each section must have at least 5 players or section will be combined. NO ELIMINATION . . . everyone will play all four rounds!

ON-SITE REGISTRATION &
ROUND TIMES

On-site registration will be held on Sunday (Feb. 20) from 12:30 noon - 1:15 p.m. First round will begin at promptly at 1:30 p.m.

PRIZES

Trophies awarded to the top 3 overall in each section.
Ribbons to all.

BYES (1/2-point)

Available for any Round. Limit one bye per player (must commit before Round 2).

TIEBREAKS

USCF-recommended computer tiebreaks will decide trophy placements for all
winners in scholastic sections.

ENTRY FEE
Entry fee is $15 per player if received by midnight, Thursday, February 17th; $20 per player thereafter and at site.

ADVANCED REGISTRATION
(Major credit cards accepted: Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express)

ON-LINE - starting Tuesday, Feb 15, 2011


You may register with a credit card on-line at http://www.cajunchess.com/ -- click on the Feb. 20th February Finals OPEN G/15 Tournament, then on Secure On-line Entry for the Scholastic Tournament.

BY PHONE
You may register with a credit card by phone (901) 276-4663.

BY MAIL
If you wish to mail in your entry with a check (or with your credit card information), please be sure to include player's name, full address, phone, email, contact number and USCF I.D. number (if playing in a rated section) and section, and mail to

Shelby County Chess
1614 Vance Ave.
Memphis, TN 38104

MISCELLANEOUS

Please bring boards, sets & clocks, if possible--none will be provided - Lunch and snacks will also be available for purchase on site.
Tournament rules (i.e., touch-move rule) will be enforced for all sections.

INFORMATION

For additional information, please call (901) 276-4663 or emailmidsouthchess@hotmail.com




The University of Memphis Chess Club

has been officially opened and in progress!!

We will meet again this Friday the 11th!

• Please come support the club and help it grow.

• It meets on Friday nights from 7 to 11 pm
• Shelby Room in the University Center(UC 342)

at the University of Memphis.

Please come by for some fun games of chess and bring friends!!

Community members are also welcome!

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

This week we are planning to have free play and

possibly a tournament if requested so please join us!!

Woe Is Me – what do YOU consider fair?

♥ Money Saving Tips For You ♥

My Valentine’s Money Saving Tips For You, just in time for the February 12th, Valentine’s Tournament at the Greater Memphis Chess Center.

Do you consider it fair to expect families, like yours, to pay a family membership of $75.00 to the “Greater Memphis Chess Center (GMCC)”, while operating under the same roof with the same discounts on tournament entry fees as the family memberships to the “Memphis Chess Club (MCC)”, yet “The Memphis Chess Club’s” family membership is only $50.00?

For the same discounts you will pay more if you join directly to the “Greater Memphis Chess Center”, than if you join directly to “The Memphis Chess Club".

Also, why are families with ONE child (under 19) playing chess, advised to (code for INSTRUCTED TO), buy a family membership for $75.00 (GMCC rate) or $50.00 (MCC rate), while they could have purchased an individual membership for $50.00 (GMCC rate) or just $20.00 (MCC rate).

Folks let’s be honest here, why would you pay for one child (under 19) to play chess for a $75.00 (GMCC family) fee vs. a $20.00 (MCC individual) fee? Do you just have $55.00 to throw away?

And, what kind of coach would expect that from parents of the children that they “coach”, (and I use the word “coach” loosely in this scenario) through the Memphis City Schools.

Let me ask you this: When you were told about the membership dues to the “Greater Memphis Chess Center (GMCC)”, were you also informed that you could have joined one child under 19 for just $20.00 with The Memphis Chess Club (MCC)?

If your answer is no, then you should be wondering about why not, and whether this is the right coach for your child.

One more thought: where does that leave the Memphis Scholastic chess players? Which dues are you paying and do you get discounts on tournament entry fees as do the MCC and GMCC players?

FROM THE GREATER MEMPHIS CHESS CENTER WEBSITE:

The Open section is played with a time control of G/60, with four rounds; entry is $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

There will be a U1200 section with five rounds of G/45; entry is $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

CLICK HERE


FROM THE MEMPHIS CHESS CLUB WEBSITE:

Club Dues
Club dues are $30, $20 (under 19) per year. Family memberships are $50 per year. Members enjoy reduced entry fees into all weekly club events and discounts on club weekend tournament

Adult Annual Club Dues: $30

Youth Annual Club Dues: $20 under 20 years old

Family Annual Club Dues: $50


4SS, G/60 (4 round Swiss, game in 60 minutes), EF: $4 for MCC members, $8 for all others. Registration: 02/11: 6:30-7:15pm. Rounds: 7:30pm and 9:30pm each Friday. Site: Greater Memphis Chess Center, 5796 Shelby Oaks Drive Suite 11, Memphis, TN 38134.


Open 4SS G/60.
EF Pre- registration $20 ($15 for MCC and GMCC members)Onsite $25 for all

U1200 5SS G/45
EF Pre-registration $15 ($10 for MCC and GMCC members)onsite $15 for all


CLICK HERE


The investigative insider report of possibilities and scenarios.

Woe is me - Bad news in chess express.

Welcome and hello to all,

Just a heads up here. There is so much going on at this end of the state in chess news. It's a wonder we aren't all just rattling and rolling. Can someone say earthquake, thunder and lightning happenings. Be sure to keep checking back for the latest in the "Woe Is Me" chess news column. There will be coverage of the good and bad in local chess news. Some say (and you know who you are) "the dark side" of chess. Yes, I will continue to cover the dark side also.

1) Much news to come

2) Earth shattering announcements to come (research happening as I type - spies in place, report on new carpeting, $75.00 was more than worth it).

3) Many events planned to come - some far out reaching the area.

4) More chess super stars to visit the area.

5) If you need chess coaching, I have plenty of ideas and contacts for you, all ages and levels.

Don't miss the latest breaking updates. For specifics feel free to leave questions in the comments or just send in an email.

HIKARU NAKAMURA wins Tata Steel Tournament

What a great display by USA's GM Nakamura, special guest

of last year's Mid-South Chess Camp.

Congratulations on your

phenomenal and prestigious win!

General information on the grandmaster groups

Schedule
The Tata Steel Chess
Tournament has three main tournaments. They are played according to the 'round robin' system, whereby each competitor plays in turn against every other during the tournament. All three Grandmaster groups have 14 players and start on January 14th. All rounds begin at 13.30 hours, except for the last round on January 30th, which begins at 12.00 hours. There are rest days: on January 19th, 24th, and 27th.

Time control
The time control is: 100 minutes for 40 moves, followed by 50 minutes for 20 moves, then 15 minutes for the remaining moves with 30 seconds cumulative increment for each move starting from the first move.

Report of round 13
Hikaru Nakamura of the United States took the 10,000-euro first prize in the 73rd Tata Steel Tournament after an exciting scramble for the top spot in the final round of the annual Wijk-aan-Zee chess spectacular Sunday. World champion Viswanathan Anand of India finished second, half a point behind Nakamura, to earn 7,000 euros.

Nakamura, going into the final round with the smallest possible lead on Anand, was pitted with black in a Ben Oni against China’s Wang Hao, who handled the opening in an unusual way to obtain a slight edge. The advantage didn’t last for long, however. Fifteen moves into the game, Nakamura evened out and seven moves later, a draw was agreed.
Games of completed rounds click here

UPDATE from USCF:

US #1 rated player GM Hikaru Nakamura is the new champion of Tata Steel Chess (January 14-30, Wijk Aan Zee)! Nakamura scored nine points, half a point more than his closest rival, World Champion Anand. This moves Nakamura up to #7 in the World Live rankings! This is two-time US Champion Hikaru Nakamura's best performance ever. On twitter, GMHikaru just had this to say: YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also check out GM NAKAMURA'S blog, click here.

How old the game?

Have you ever heard of the Isle of Lewis Chess Pieces?

Picture credits click here: Andrew Dunn



Amazing part of history and tied to knitting by Alice Starmore designs - the Lewis Chessmen slipover from the 1982 book Knitting from the British Islands..

The Lewis Chessmen
Probably made in Norway, about AD 1150-1200 Found on the
Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, Scotland


The chess pieces consist of elaborately worked walrus ivory and whales' teeth in the forms of seated kings and queens, mitred bishops, knights on their mounts, standing warders and pawns in the shape of obelisks.

They were found in the vicinity of Uig on the Isle of Lewis in mysterious circumstances. Various stories have evolved to explain why they were concealed there, and how they were discovered. All that is certain is that they were found some time before 11 April 1831, when they were exhibited at the Society of Antiquaries at Scotland. The precise findspot seems to have been a sand dune where they may have been placed in a small, drystone chamber.
For complete article click here.


More information here: The Lewis Chessmen Collection, The British Museum

2011 U.S. Women's Championship

Ladies are you ready?
Per the USCF:

The 2011 U.S. Championship and 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship have been set to take place April 13-28 at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (CCSCSL).

The 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship will see eight players facing off in a preliminary round robin, with the top four players also advancing to a four-player knockout finale. All players will be hosted at the historic and luxurious Chase Hotel, a short walk from the Chess Club.

The breakdown of the eight invitations for the 2011 U.S. Women’s Championship is as follows:

* (1) The 2010 U.S. Women’s Champion
* (6) The top six female U.S. players by rating (by the January rating supplement)
* (1) One wildcard spot

Place Prize
1st $18,000
2nd $12,000
3rd $9,500
4th $7,000
5th $4,000
6th $3,000
7th $2,500
8th $2,000

Players

1. IM Anna Zatonskih
2. IM Irina Krush
3. IM Rusadan Goletiani
4. WGM Camilla Baginskaite
5. WIM Tatev Abrahamyan
6. WIM Sabina Foisor
7. WIM Alisa Melekhina
8. WIM Iryna Zenyuk


Commentators
GM Maurice Ashley
WGM Jennifer Shahade


Time Control
The time control used will be the FIDE standard of 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by the rest of the game in 30 minutes with a 30-second increment from move one.

MY NOTES:
It is a definate fact, that TN needs more ladies in serious chess play. This brings to mind another fact about Mid-South Chess Camp. Did you realize that they bring in high rated women chess players.

GM Susan Polgar
WGM Jennifer Shahade
WGM Martica Fierro
WIM Alisa Melekhina
WIM Iryna Zenyuk
Eve Kutvak
IM Irina Krush

Three of the eight players in this years 2011 U. S. Women's Championship have been instructors at the Mid-South chess camp. This year returns WGM Alisa Melekhina. Along with these three, WGM Jennifer Shahade one of the commentators has also been an instructor here at the camp.

Chess news for today.

Have you ever met higher rated chess players?

It may seem like they are only interested in the game and less interested in a conversation. However, maybe they just have more going on inside their minds. It seems studies are showing more brain usage by Chess Grandmasters. Proof for schools and parents in seeking the most professional training/coaching for their children.

More reason to appreciate and be thankful for Mid-South Chess Camps ability to bring to Memphis active Chess Grandmasters . Giving you and your children the opportunity to work with the best.

Did you realize that they have had the following Grand Masters to their camp here in Memphis, now in it's tenth year:

GM Alex Stripunsky ( 2681)
GM Susan Polgar (2598)

GM Hikaru Nakamura (2822)
GM Igor Novikov (2632)
GM Ildar Ibragimov (2591)
GM Zviad Izoria (2635)

GM Alexander Onischuk (2764)
GM Alex Yermolinsky (2571)
GM Josh Friedel (2580)
GM Leonid Yudasin (2609)
WGM Jennifer Shahade (2301)
WGM Martica Fierro (2342)

Expert chess players use twice the brain: Study

A new study has revealed that expert chess players engage both
sides of their brains when plotting their next move.

To evaluate the brain activity in players of differing ability, Merim Bilalic at the University of Tubingen in Germany studied the brains of eight international chess players and eight amateurs.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, he found that highly skilled chess players brought both sides of their brains into play — a kind of ‘parallel processing’, reports New Scientist.

Article click here for DNA

Memphis, the recognition and the

thank yous are long overdue!

UPDATE:
I have been contacted by someone about my misuse of English grammar. Whoopee, I didn't do a spell check! To clarify for all.

As you stated you may have, and I quote, "stayed in a Holiday Inn last night" but as usual the whole contexts of the above post was lost on you. If, you come away with the significance of the above information and boil it down to my misuse of some grammar.

Let us see here, exactly how many active playing chess Grandmasters or even International Masters has the greatly over stated Memphis Chess Club brought to Memphis in the past 10 years, not to mention the almost 100 years you state as your length of existence? Or, any other chess faction in the entire Memphis area, for that matter?

NO WONDER MEMPHIS HAS BEEN LACKING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUND CHESS PLAY PRIOR TO 2001.

Update 2: Bwah ha ha ha ha ha