Sunday, April 22, 2007

Weekend Roundup

Girls State Championship Next Weekend

Lots of chess news this week, so let’s dispense with the superfluous salutations, shall we, and get right to the nitty-gritty. Though I’d hoped to get out the word about this sooner, it’s not too late to play in next Saturday’s K-8 Illinois State Girls Chess Championship in Joliet. If you’re a girl, that is. Details here, here (scroll down to “State Events”), and here. . . . Phillip Parker-Turner ran the table at the Hyde Park Borders last night, and Lamarr Wilson was there not only to witness the carnage, but to be part of it. Ouch! . . . Ray first grader Allen Dai was one of the big winners at the recent MVP tournament. His Quick Rating is now over 900, his Regular Rating not far behind, and he’s one game away from having an “established” as opposed to a “provisional” rating. Crosstables from the tournament are now up, and they reveal ratings increases for some other Ray kids as well. . . . Congratulations to Eric Rosen, son of Chessdad64, who beat National Master Eric Rodriguez at last weekend’s national scholastic chess championship tournament in Kansas City. It was, I believe, Eric’s first victory over a Master, though, since he’s only 13, you can imagine how many more notches he will chisel into his belt before earning the Master’s title himself. . . . Whitney Young High School chess star Kayin Barclay, a chess Expert and himself a future Master, has expressed an interest in offering a chess clinic for Ray kids sometime this summer, probably in late June or August. I’ll send out an e-mail about this to parents, but please let me know if you’re interested. I think it would be cool for our kids to learn from the state’s top high school chess player. . . . We have finally brought the schedule of upcoming events on our home page up to date, so please have a look. . . . Like playing chess in the middle of the night? You'll have your chance at Looptopia.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tom--

Thanks for the nice words about Eric.

Actually, Eric beat Chris Williams, a Master, at last years National High School tourney in Milwaukee. It was a wild game and you can see it here at http://www.monroi.com/wdc/flashviewer/watch1.php?round_id=487&game_id=3360&s_id=QWER8U6T

There were actually 3 queens on the board and that's something you don't see to often.

Eric also has a number of draws with Masters -- maybe 3.

KC was a lot of fun and we got to spend some time with many of the top IL chess kids and their parents.

best regards,
Brad

Tom Panelas said...

Thanks, Brad; I stand corrected.

The Chris Williams game was a wild one, indeed, and a good lesson in Black's chances with the Ruy Lopez. (Listen to me, like I know what I'm talking about here.) Eric got great pressure on the queenside, and his pawn promotion turned it into real rumble.

Here's a hot link to the game, for the convenience of our viewing audience at home.