Chess, Chess Everywhere

Herewith scenes from recent Chicago chess touraments, starting with some spirited bughouse at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club today, in the latest tournament by Chess Education Partners:

In other Hyde Park chess action, 59 players descended on the University of Chicago’s Quadrangle Club on January 20 for the latest Third Coast Challenge chess tournament was held by the Renaissance Knights. Among those in attendance were several members of the U of C Chess Club, whose top board, Jeremy Kane, tied with Isaac Hagerling for first place in the tournaments open with 3.5/4. More photos here.

Jeremy Kane and Gene Scott (I think)

In another Renaissance Knights event that did not take place in Hyde Park, IM Stan Smiatankin, scourge of the suburbs, once again left destruction in his wake, this time by playing three consecutive simuls against 6th, 7th & 8th graders in January.

Stan the Man

You may recall that last summer Stan summarily dispatched the mayors of Forest Park and Oak Park at one time, in a game that evoked Morphy at the Opera House. This time Northbrook Junior High School was the scene of his triumph.

Holiday Chess II

Play at McCormick Place next weekend

The very first post on this blog was about several Ray School kids who became Chicago Public School Chess All Stars by playing at the Mayor’s 2006 Holiday Sports Festival, held last year between Christmas and New Year’s. Well, here we are a year and 135 blog posts later, and whatayaknow it’s time for that blessed event again.

This year’s festival will again be held at McCormick Place, next weekend, December 28-30, from 10 AM to 4 PM.

If you’re one of those people who’s interested in things besides chess, you’ll find plenty to do. I couldn’t make it last year, and alas will have to miss it again this year, but I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun for both kids and adults, so if you’re looking for something fun to do next weekend, I encourage you to check it out. It’s free.

Details on the festival here; details on the chess tournament here. Call Renaissance Knights, organizers of the chess events, if you have any questions.

Tournament at Quad Club Saturday

I just noticed that Renaissance Knights is holding a chess tournament this Saturday at the University of Chicago’s Quadrangle Club, at 57th Street & University Ave. Alas, the early-bird registration deadline has passed, but you can still sign up for $30 if you’re interested. It’s an “open” tournament, which means there are no special sections for kids or lower-rated players, so I’d recommend this tournament mainly for the stronger Ray players. You can’t beat the location, though.

If you’re looking for a scholastic tournament this weekend, you can go out to Oakton Community College in Des Plaines for a Saturday match by North Shore Scholastic Chess.

The next tournament in Hyde Park will be on Sunday, November 4, at the Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, sponsored by Chess Education Partners. Our friends at the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago, which sponsors free tournaments, should also have an announcement soon about a November tournament, and I’ll let you know about that as soon as I do.

Reunited

A current and former Ray School chess star were reunited last Sunday in Northbrook, Ill., after a two-year separation, and the magic was still there from the days they both competed for dear old Ray.

Ray fifth-grader-to-be Phillip Parker-Turner, a leader on the local scholastic chess circuit, found himself in the same tournament with his old teammate Marco Codenotti, who, in the two years he’s been back in his native Italy, has made a name for himself in chess tournaments all over the Continent and even Dubai. Marco is spending the summer in Chicago.

Phillip and Marco with the tokens of victory

Both kids added to their formidable reputations on Sunday by finishing second in their respective divisions in the Knights Quest Tournament sponsored by the Renaissance Knights Foundation. Marco got a trophy as the runner up in the Open division, while Phillip did the same in the U1200 group.

Photo: Phillip Turner

Marco Sighted in ChiTown

Sightings of Elvis have doubtless been on the rise this week, it being the thirtieth anniversary of his putative death, but The King isn’t the only one being spotted in unexpected places. Marco Codenotti, the former Ray School chess star who returned to his native Italy two years ago, has been seen in Chicago, where he is spending the summer. He is of course active in chess, training with local GM Dmitry Gurevich and playing in the odd tournament, most recently the August 12 Third Coast Challenge by Renaissance Knights in Northbrook.

Marco with his co-winners in Dubai

Marco, you may recall, made headlines in the chess world a few months ago when he beat an International Master in a tournament on the island of Elba. Since then he’s been quite the globetrotter. His father reports that he played in a major international youth tournament in Dubai, finishing first in the U10 division and second in the tournament overall. He finished right behind FM (FIDE Master) Srinath Narayanan of India and ahead of another FM, Ulvi Bajarani of Azerbajian, who came in third. Meanwhile, the Italian blogger Mida, himself a FIDE Master, spotted Marco playing in a major tournament in Bergamo. Marco’s World Chess Federation rating is now 1969. Not bad for a ten-year-old.

Speaking of last Sunday’s Third Coast tournament, congratulations to Chicago FM Aleksandar Stamnov for winning it, which he did against stiff competition, including the remarkable Brian Luo of Wisconsin, who’s about Marco’s age and rated over 2000 USCF; and Indiana IM Emory Tate, about whom we have discoursed before.

Big Chess at Potter Fest

Ever since Ron Weasley’s self-propelled queen clobbered Harry’s knight in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the bond between chess and J.K. Rowling’s epic series has been unbreakable. After all, was it not their chess skills, in the end, that enabled Harry, Hermione, and Ron to reach the Stone and save the day?



Given the connection, then, it was natural for chess to be included in last Friday’s Harry Potter festival in Oak Park, a celebration of the seventh and final volume in the series. Included it was, and in a big way: a live chess game in which the pieces were played by real people who moved around the board at the direction of the players.

The players in this case were Forest Park Mayor Anthony Calderone and Oak Park Village President David Pope, who joined forces in a friendly exhibition game against International Master Stan Smiatankin. As they played, the costumed kids and adults acted out the moves for the assembled crowd on a big board stenciled onto the grass. In pooling their chess talents against the formidable IM, our West Suburban noblemen were as the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard to Stan’s Paul Morphy. It was a courageous act for the mayors to take him on, but alas, like that famous game in Paris almost 150 years ago, victory again went to the lone master.

Oak Park's Village President David Pope (left) and Forest ParkMayor Anthony Calderone play against IM Stan Smiatankin

Fortunately, the politicians were politic about the results. “They were good sports,” said National Master William Aramil, who served as commentator for the event. “Neither used their influence with the local police to have Stan removed from park.” Nor did the Duke and the Count have Morphy clapped in irons and dragged off to the Bastille. Chess people are civilized, right? “Win with grace, lose with dignity,” as Susan is always reminding us.

And speaking of Susan Polgar, her chess über-blog covered the event, giving it national exposure. (Not that our humble weblog is chopped liver, mind you.) Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg was on hand as well.

Normal-size chess was available at a nearby tent for those not playing pieces in the main event. The whole thing was organized by the Renaissance Knights Foundation. More photos here.

Chess for Lunch

As someone who works in the Loop and believes that chess should be played on more occasions and in more settings than it normally is, I wasn’t about to miss the June 20 Chess Lunch Break put on by Renaissance Knights at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Coach Rob (with hat) gives a chess lesson

That Wednesday afternoon, from 12:00 to 2:00, anyone could just walk into the center’s games annex, at 72 East Randolph, and play a game of chess or get a lesson from one of several teachers on hand: master William Aramil, expert Eric Heiser, and coach Rob Krauss of Stevenson High School.

Chess master William Aramil (right) instructs a player on the fine points

Here’s the game I lost to Eric. Anyone familiar with the Sicilian Defense will recognize quickly that I’m not (7. e5??).

Here also are some photos from another fun chess event by Renaissance Knights at the cultural center on June 9.

Be a Chess Piece

Part of the hoopla surrounding publication of the new Harry Potter novel will be a tournament of life-size chess games on July 20, hosted by the Renaissance Knights Foundation, at Oak Park's Harry Potter festival.

Games will be played on a huge chess board, with kids and adults acting as chess pieces while “special guests” call the moves from the stage.

It should be a lot of fun to watch—and to participate. If your child would like to play a chess piece in this event, get in touch with Renaissance Knights right away: RKNIGHTSCCC@aol.com.

More information here. And keep an eye out for a forthcoming e-mail about another event from Renaissance Knights that will interest Ray chess players.

Looptopia!

Chess at Chicago’s all-night party

Some people, I'm sure you realize, think chess players are generally nuts. So what would they say about the folks who showed up at the Chicago Cultural Center in the middle of the night a week ago to push the pieces around while the rest of the world was asleep?

Well, for starters, let’s be honest: not everyone was at home in bed on the night of May 11-12. In fact, thousands roamed the streets of downtown Chicago that evening in search of fun, during Looptopia, “America’s first dusk-to-dawn cultural and artistic spectacle showcasing the vibrancy and excitement of Chicago’s historic Loop neighborhood through musical and theatrical performances . . .” etc., etc.

Isaac with his prize

I’ll spare you the rest of the ad copy so we can get to the point, which is that unbeknownst to many, chess was actually a big part of the highly publicized all-night soiree. Scores of chess players came through the Cultural Center over the course of the night, either to join the 2:00 AM blitz tournament or just play a friendly game.

“Everyone had a great time,” reports Sheila Heiser of Renaissance Knights, authors of the midnight madness. “We had 40 boards out and we were packed all night! When we had to pack up to go some players could have played on for many more hours.” Sheila’s group works frequently with the City to incorporate chess into special events and was tapped to organize play for Looptopia.

Thirty-one players took part in the five-round blitz tournament. The winner was Chicago chess veteran Isaac Braswell, who recently earned an Expert rating. The final standings:

Isaac Braswell 4.5
Mslalm Campbell 4.0
Claude Barnes 3.5
Gabriel Gaster 3.5
Ramon Jones 3.5

The first three winners won a Saitek computer and clock. The others got chess books, and a number of medals were awarded as well. The tournament was free to enter.

“The only entry fee was to set up the chess pieces when done playing,” said Sheila.

Of course, even that can be a challenge at four in the morning.

(More photos here.)

All photos courtesy of Renaissance Knights