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December 12, 2009

Jim Hanlen - 2010 Alaska State Champion

The 2009 tournament was a lot of fun!  Held at the luxurious Title Wave Book Store in beautiful downtown Anchorage, we had 16 entrants.  Jim Hanlen went wire to wire from board number one and won with a perfect 4-0 score.  There was a three-way tie for second between Jesse Holganza, Dick Clendaniel, and Harry Karmun who came all the way down from Fairbanks, scoring 3-1.  The top prize in the bottom half was won by Jerod Redwine with 2.5-1.5.  Nathan Bordewick took the top upset prize rated 775 with a win over a player rated 1120.  The next tournament should be the Rondy sometime in February. 

This was the last tournament John Peters would help with as he is retiring.  Thank you John for over 25 years of service to chess in Alaska.  We are always looking for new tournament directors if anyone is interested! cross-table

Mike Stabenow

 

Until next time ...

 

November 23, 2009

Alaska State Championship - December 4th & 5th - Title Wave Books
4 round Swiss, G/90, current USCF membership required. Half-point bye available for any round, must notify TD before beginning of 2nd round

Title Wave Books
1360 West Northern Lights Blvd
Anchorage, AK

Entry Fees:
Adult $20, 15/under $10

Dates and Game Schedule:
Friday, December 4th
Registration: 3:30 pm
Round 1, 5:00 pm

Saturday, December 5th
Round 2, 10:00 am
Round 3, 1:00 pm
Round 4, 4:00 pm

Prizes:
$$ based on entries

Let me know if the early time on Friday doesn't work and I will try to make accommodations. Also let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see you there!

Mike Stabenow
229-8189

 

Until next time ...

 

September 28, 2009

We had 17 entrants. The event was won by Jim Hanlen and Matt Parshall who drew in the fourth and final round for a score of 3.5 each. The bottom section (U1400) was split by Bill Anderson, Jerod Redwine, Allison Parshall, and Dennis Emery all with two points. Title Wave was a great host as usual. cross-table

Mike Stabenow

 

Title Wave Action Chess

Title Wave Book Store
1360 West Northern Lights Blvd
Anchorage

Every last Saturday of the month
Round Robin Tournament, game/30
Next Tournament October 31

Entry Fee $20

Contact
Jerod Redwine
907-310-2391 if anyone has any questions!

 

Until next time ...

 

August 5, 2009 *

The 8th Annual Kenai Chess Challenge was held the weekend of July 17-19, 2009 at Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna.

Three players from Fairbanks, four from Anchorage and three local players competed in the event. Artem Ruppert, a master from Fairbanks, won the event with a perfect 4-0. Local player Matthew Parshall finished 2nd with a 3-1 score. George Lombardi was 1st U1500 with 2.5 while 4 players, Randy Parshall, Dennis Emery, Jerod Redwine and James Perrin tied for 2nd U1500. So 7 out of 10 players got at least part of their entry fee back.

I'd like to thank Randy Parshall for once again providing us with the playing site. It makes my job as an organizer a whole lot easier when I don't have to procure a site.

George Lombardi

Congratulations to Artem for winning the tournament and Thanks to all of the participants for keeping the tradition of the Kenai Chess Challenge alive and well! cross-table
Matthew Parshall also deserves a very special mention for placing 2nd in the KCC and for representing Alaska at the 2009 Denker Tournament of High School Champions! Mathew placed well in the DTHSC, especially considering the shark infested waters he swam in during the event.

Although I've enquired, I haven't heard a word about this year's Labor Day Tournament. I'll post the announcement if and when I receive it.

August 9, 2009 *

Labor Day Open - September 4th & 5th - Title Wave Books
4 round Swiss, G/60 - G/90 (see below), current USCF membership required

Title Wave Books
1360 West Northern Lights Blvd
Anchorage, AK

Entry Fees:
Adult $20, 15/under $10

Dates and Game Schedule:
Friday, September 4
Registration: 5:30 on Friday evening
Round 1, 7:00 pm G/60

Saturday, September 5
Round 2, 10:00 am G/90
Round 3, 1:00 pm G/90
Round 4, 4:00 pm G/90

Prizes:
Cash Only Prize Fund ($$ based on entries)

Hope to see you there!
Mike Stabenow
229-8189

Until next time ...

 

May 20, 2009

The Kenai Chess Challenge will be a 4 round, USCF rated, Swiss event. All games are played at game in 90 minutes per player. USCF membership required and available on site.

Entry Fees:

Adult $25, Junior, Senior, Military $15
One 1/2 point bye per player per tournament, must be requested prior to start of first round. For further information please contact: George Lombardi (907)776-5365, poisonpawn@aol.com

Dates and Game Schedule:

Friday, July 17
Registration: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Round 1, 7:30 pm

Saturday, July 18
Round 2, 10:00 am
Round 3, 2:00 pm

Sunday, July 19
Round 4, 2:00 pm

Prizes:

Cash Only Prize Fund ($$ based on entries)

this is the final announcement, conditions subject to change

 

April Fools Tournament Report

It was a hard fought tournament that needed to be two rounds longer. Jim Hanlen, Jesse Holganza, Matt Parshall, and Mike Stabenow all tied with 3.5 out of a possible 4. Matt and Mike drew each other in the third round, while Jim and Jesse drew each other in the final round. 

Mike Stabenow

 

June 7, 2009 *
Australian Chess Brilliancies

Hi  - Just a quick note to let you know that an exciting new chess book has just been published by Kevin Casey (that's me), former Alaska State Champion (1980 and joint champ in '81), now living in Australia.  It's called 'Australian Chess Brilliancies'. 

From the back cover:  “Australian Chess Brilliancies showcases the finest in attacking play by Australia’s most imaginative chess players.  Unbelievable sacrifices, stunning quiet moves, deep combinations and profound calculation – it’s all here in this sparkling collection of the most amazing Australian chess games ever played.  Deeply annotated by one of Australia’s top chess tacticians, Australian Chess Brilliancies features classic tactical masterpieces and some never-before-published chess gems.  It also includes biographical information on key players and historical insights into the Australian chess scene.”

The publisher is Kimberley Publications in Australia, and the author is Kevin Casey (a former Alaska State chess champ now living Down Under).  The book contains 29 brilliancies in the main games section, plus about two dozen more brilliant supplementary games and positions scattered throughout the book. The price in Aussie money is $19.95, plus $7.90 postage and handling.  With a really good exchange rate happening at the moment, this works out to be about 15 US dollars and another 5 or so to get it mailed to the US.  This book is a bargain and a half!

If you're interested in getting a copy (and the author will sign it for you too), you can contact Kimberley Publications at kimpub@bigpond.net.au  There should be a review on Jeremy Silman's website, also in New in Chess, Seagaard’s Chess Book Reviews, as well as a few other sites in the coming weeks.  If you happen to subscribe to British Chess magazine, they're reviewing it too.  There are some really unique games in this thing - it's pretty impressive.  It's only 96 pages, but packed full of cool sacs and combinations...

 

An Interview with Kevin Casey, author of Australian Chess Brilliancies: Creative Attacking Chess from Down Under

Q:  Firstly, let me say how exciting it is to have a new Aussie chess book out there!  How long has the idea for this book been rattling around in your head?

A:  At least ten years.  I wanted to showcase a collection of games that not only celebrates the formidable achievements of Australian players in the field of attacking chess, but also introduces overseas chess enthusiasts to some amazing Australian games they may not be aware of.  I believe many of these games deserve to be much better known internationally – there are some absolute jewels in there.

Q:  For those who are not familiar with your history, could you tell us a little about yourself?

A:  I was born in California and emigrated to Australia permanently in 1991.  I started playing chess tournaments in the US when I was 15.  My USCF rating peaked at 2335.  I was the Alaska State Chess Champion in 1980 and joint champion in 1981.  I have had the privilege of playing some fine players, including GM Yasser Seirawan (though in the first game he crushed me like a bug, and the second I had to forfeit as the car I was driving to the tournament hall on a cold Seattle morning had no anti-freeze in it, and self-destructed on the way to the venue)!  I’ve also played GM Pal Benko (a draw in the 1985 Australian Open), which was fun.  Here in Australia I’ve been crunched by GM Rogers two or three times, but did score a win against him at the 1994 Noosa Open. I actually defeated IMs Aleks Wohl, IM Greg Hjorth and IM David Smerdon the very first times I ever played them – since then of course, Smerdon and Wohl have redressed the balance, and I’m definitely planning on hiding out from Greg Hjorth to maintain my 1-0 record!

I would classify myself as a dangerous player rather than a strong one.  Certainly my comfort zone is tactically rich positions.  A player in the States who knew my style pretty well once told me “Kevin, you play sacrificial attacks and obscure combinations like a 2600-rated player, openings like a 2200-rated player, quiet positional chess like a 1900-rated player, endgames (in general) like a 1700-rated player and rook-and-pawn endgames like a 1400-rated player!  I think he probably wasn’t too far off the mark with that assessment.

As an author and publisher, I started up Kimberley Publications in 1997 and have written three books previously, all of which have done quite well. This is my only chess book.   I also published Queensland Chess magazine in 1998.  Away from chess, I am an experienced solo wilderness explorer and budding documentary film-maker - I actually just got back from a solitary kayaking expedition down a remote river in British Columbia late last year, filming bears and tracking wolves.  I also spent a couple months this time last year in Paraguay and Argentina, exploring some very remote wilderness.  So I do have a few unusual interests away from chess.

Q:  In the book you say that your main requirements for a chess brilliancy are that it be ‘original, beautiful and perhaps even shocking’.  How did you go about the difficult process of selecting the games for Australian Chess Brilliancies?

A:  I was really quite brutal in the culling process.  I waded through an absolute ton of games, many virtually unknown (even to Australians), and extracted a scant few of the very best.  From the beginning my aim was quality, not quantity.  I place a high value on soundness, stalwart defense, sheer ingenuity and originality in the attacking concepts.  And yes, a stunning and totally unexpected move that rocks you back in your seat while you’re playing over the game certainly has its place too...

Q:  Those who have already seen the book have really been blown away by the quality and depth of the annotations.  How did you approach creating the game notes?

A:  I was at all times very conscious of my responsibility as a conduit between those who created these games and the reader who wants to enjoy and perhaps learn from them.  Only the participants themselves can know what goes on inside their brains during a game, so I believe an annotator needs to be accurate, objective, fair, as thorough as is humanly possible without bogging down the flow of things, and above all respectful to the efforts of both players.  The annotator’s goal should ultimately be to extract the real (and often well hidden) truth from a position, and to explain that truth in a manner which the reader can understand clearly, and which conveys the sense of excitement that a truly brilliant game of chess can create.

Q:  No doubt you’ll get asked this one a lot.  Do you have a favourite game from the book?

A:  Not one absolute favourite, no. I am a fan of different games in the book for different reasons.  For sheer audacity it’s hard to beat Ian Roger’s effort in Game 28 (“Dutch Treat”) - with a rook hanging on the kingside and his queen en prise on the queenside, his response is to nonchalantly move a bishop from c8 to d7 and calmly prepare for queenside castling, thereby leading to his opponent’s resignation in five more moves!  Incidentally, this is a Rogers game that even most Aussies have never seen.  The prize winner in the ‘epic battle’ department is definitely Game 24 (“David and Goliath”), which involves an amazing queen sac straight out of the opening (by a fifteen-year-old!) followed by a middlegame so complex you will have no idea who is actually winning until the very last moves – a tremendously courageous effort from both players.  If I had to pick one game that stands out for its originality, sheer genius and the unexpectedness of the combination, it might be IM Hjorth’s superb creative achievement in Game 14 (“Diagonal Damage”).  It’s one of those games where you see a move, and go “No way – he can’t play that”.  Then the next move is even more amazing, and you say “No way. He can’t play that”.  And on and on it goes. 

I think there is something for everyone in this book: a classic double-rook sacrifice (Game 27 – “Take my rooks, please”), a speculative sacrifice of a queen for just two pieces that, after all the smoke has cleared, leads to an endgame Zugzwang (Game 8 – “Sacrifice to the Max”) and even a ‘blast from the past’ game that has the late, great CJS Purdy’s king being hounded right across the board.

Q: What level of player is the book aimed at, and what can chess players learn from it?

A:  This is a games collection rather than an instructive chess manual, so its primary role is entertainment and as an historical record of great Australian chess games.  Having said that, I don’t know that there is any better way to learn chess tactics than from real games which are saturated with spectacular tactical concepts.  I think players of every level can appreciate and enjoy Australian Chess Brilliancies – great attacks are universally appealing and inspiring to all who play the game.

Q:  Tell us about your marketing of the book.  This must be a little bit different, since you’re the author, publisher and distributor all rolled into one.

A:  Sure.  I’m a big fan of selling books direct to readers, wherever I can.  This way they can get it signed if they want, and the process is all just a bit more personal. As demand builds up, one can increase the size of future print runs and then expand the book’s availability to a range of major chess book sellers worldwide.  I have purposefully made the book quite inexpensive in order to make it accessible to more readers both here in Australia and abroad.  Fortunately in the internet era, it’s now a lot easier to reach distant markets and find potential book buyers right across the globe.  In this day and age there is no reason why chess enthusiasts from the Bahamas to Burundi should miss out on a copy of Australian Chess Brilliancies!

Q:  So how do readers get a copy?

A: It’s easy.  If you live in Australia, send cheque or Australia Post money order for $19.95 plus $3.00 postage and handling ($22.95 total) to Kimberley Publications, P.O. Box 6095, Upper Mount Gravatt QLD 4122.

Readers in New Zealand:  $19.95 AUD plus $5.90 AUD  postage and handling.  Payment by PayPal or Direct Bank Deposit.

Readers in all countries outside Australia or New Zealand:  $19.95 AUD plus $7.90  AUD  postage and handling.  Payment by PayPal or Direct Bank Deposit. 

Credit card payments are accepted, but only through PayPal (what all the Ebay folks use to buy and sell things).  If you’re not registered with PayPal, it’s easy to do – just go to their website - all you need is an email address and a bank account.  It’s a quick, safe and secure way to pay by credit card. Readers can choose direct Bank Deposit too if they like.  If anyone has any payment questions at all, they can contact me at kimpub@bigpond.net.au

I do my best to post the books out the very same day payment is received, so you don’t have to wait long.  If you want an autograph in the front of the book, please just let me know what to write when you send in payment and I’ll be happy to put a personalized scribble in it for you. 

Enjoy the book, everyone.  I’d love to hear your feedback!

 

Until next time ...

 

March 7, 2009

2009 Fur Rondezvous Tournament Report

First off, Congratulations to Marven Breis!
He won the Rondezvous tournament with 4.5 out of 5 points. Matthew Parshall took second and was the only one to nick Marven with a draw in the final round. Rondy was small this year with only 22 entrants, all adults.  No fights, thrown pieces or torn boards this year.  Well, we can always hope for next year! 

Next chess tournament - April Fools! (There really is a tournament, that's just what I'm calling it...)

Friday April 3rd, and Saturday April 4th.

Title Wave Books.

Entry Fee: $20 for adults, $10 age 15 and under.

1st Round Friday night at 7PM.

2nd Round Saturday 10AM.

3rd Round Saturday 1PM.

4th Round Saturday 4PM.

First round is Game/60, Game/90 for the rest. And for those of you who are curious, NO!!!! WE WILL NOT BE USING DELAY CLOCKS!!!

This will be the last tournament I run until Labor Day, so I hope to see you there. Let me know if you are going to miss any of the rounds, a 1/2 pt bye is available upon request if made before the end of the first round.

Mike Stabenow 229-8189Cell

*This is the final announcement, conditions subject to change

 

Congratulations Marven Breis
The 2 biggest Tournaments of the year and Marven wins them both back to back without a loss! Tremendous Chess, Marvin!!

I took he time to copy the USCF cross-tables to our site. They don't show tie-break order. Sorry, that's all I have to work with.
2009 Fur Rondezvous
2009 Alaska State Championship

 

Until next time ...

 

February 7, 2009

Hosted by:
Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust!

The Tournament will be a 5 round, USCF rated Open Swiss event. A half-point bye is available for any round. 
USCF membership is required.  You can accomplish this online at www.uschess.org, or by calling the USCF at 1-800-388-KING (5464).  Please do this in advance as it is very time consuming to do at the tournament site.  If you have any questions or need any assistance, please contact me.  I look forward to seeing you at the tournament!

Mike Stabenow
dfensman@gmail
(907)229-8189(C)
(907)770-6518(H)

When:
February 20 - 22, 2009

Location:
NECA/IBEW Training Center
5800 B St
Anchorage, Alaska
For directions click HERE

Registration:
Friday - 5:00PM - 6:45PM

Entry Fees:
Adult $30
Age 15 and under $15
advanced entry form

Game times:
Friday - Round 1: 7:00 PM, Game/90 minutes
Saturday - Round 2: 10:00 AM, Round 3: 3:00 PM, Game/2 Hours
Sunday - Round 4: 10:00 AM, Round 5: 3:00 PM, Game/2 Hours

*This is the final announcement, conditions subject to change

 

* February 9, 2009

Some of you"Old Timers" may remember a guy named Bob Jolicoeur that played a lot of Chess in Alaska . Guess what? He sent in some Chess games from a time that seems so long ago. When it took an Expert rating to even get into the State Championship (top 10 rated). His correspondence reminded me that in those glorious days winning the concurrent tournament the Alaska Open (everyone below the top 10) was indeed not meant for "normal" men! Look at the ratings for the 1979 Alaska Open in this game collection. It was great to hear from Bobby again and we wish him the best of luck in the future. By the way Bobby: You owe me $6.5 million for posting your games on the Site!! Feel free to pay me from your "bail-out" money.

Until next time ...

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