Chess Castle of Minnesota
 6020 NICOLLET AVE. S., IN THE BRIDGE CENTER
 [ Schedule ] [ Clubs/Sites ] [ MSCA ] [Discussion]
http://chesscastleofminnesota.blogspot.com/
 

35W CLOSED THIS WEEKEND (7/17)
Which will make it a bit harder to get to the Bridge Center for the two tournaments this weekend. To help make it worth your while, Dan Voje will be playing Saturday, giving everyone a chance to fatten up their ratings off this broken down old man. It's easy and fun! Just ask Matt Dahl, who built his young expert rating doing just that. Dan promises to take 26 minutes for the first 16 moves, as usual.

ACTION QUADS DRAWING STRONG PLAYERS (7/10)
Our turnout is still on the light side, with only drawing four to six players every Monday night. But the turnout is strong, with many of the regulars being class A or above. We could use some lower rated types to even out the field. Please note that Ed Conway, the tournament director only plays if it makes us an even number, so no matter how low your rating is, you won't be stuck with a bye. Check out the competition at the USCF site. Just do a player rating search with "Chess Castle".

NORTHERN OPEN (7/10)
Note that the first prize of $300 is now guaranteed.

GOOD LOOKING SITE (7/2)
A few observations about the previous tournament announcement. I checked out the site with Bill Murray last week and liked what I saw. This hotel is right off the freeway, directly across from the Cathedral, and is very easy to reach by car or by bus. Plenty of parking outside, and a nice room inside. They have their own restaurant and bar, so you can built up your blood sugar before facing the chesspunks, and then drown your sorrow if the battle goes bad. Dan Voje will be directing. Bill is planning on six rounds, game in 90 minutes. We both like the length, as it gives you a chance to take a half point bye, or a setback in a game, and still be in the hunt. This will be an anti-Goichberg format. Instead of going a long distance to pay a large entry fee for a remote chance at a big prize, we will offer a short drive and low entry fee. Hope you'll write this on your calendar.

NORTHERN OPEN (7/2)
Mr. Bill is planning the Northern Open for Sept. 20-21, 2008 at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul at I-94 and Marion. Details can be found by clicking on headline.

FINDING ED'S BOOKS A NEW HOME (06/26)
I received the following notice from Bill Hempel...

"I thought the Chess Castle members may be interested in some chess books that were owned by my father, Ed Hempel. He had, I would guess, about 300 to 400 chess books that we are selling at a Garage Sale this weekend For about 1 – 2 dollars a book. The address is at 5631 Aldrich Ave North in Brooklyn Center. Garage Sale is on Friday and Saturday  the 27th and 28th. Thanks - Bill Hempel 

WE HAVE A SCHEDULE, SORT OF (06/19)
By which I mean that the NCN has finally hit my mailbox. I have yet to receive a digital copy of the upcoming events, and as I have little desire to play secretary and manually copy everything onto this site, you won't see full details here until I DO get the digital copy. For a quick summation: There will be a Tornado this weekend, and then a Think tournament on Fourth of July weekend. The Minnesota Blitz Championship will be held the Sunday in between, June 29th, at the Roseville Skating Center, and you can actually find the details for this at the MSCA site. The always popular Catfish Days will be held in friendly Franklin, Minnesota, on July 25th and 26th. And looking far towards fall, the guys up in Moorhead are doing another ChessNuts Challenge Open on October 17th through 19th. By the way, if you're playing this Saturday at the Bridge Center, please tell the TD to send Dan the much desired digital file.  On second thought - I'll probably be playing, so I'll just tell him myself.

PLAY ROUND ONE OF THE ROCHESTER TOURNAMENT AT THE CASTLE (06/03)

Click here for the tournament announcement for June 13th and 14th. This is their usual format, one game Friday night and four on Saturday. In addition, another option has been added for those who live in the Twin Cities area. If you don't want to stay overnight in Rochester, OR take a half point bye, OR play the first two rounds at accelerated time controls, you can play your first game at the Chess Castle instead. Just show up by 7:15 Thursday evening, June 12th, at the Bridge Center on 6020 Nicollet Ave. Dan Voje will be directing, with a time control of game in an hour. We guarantee an even field so lower rated players need not worry about getting stuck with a bye. Early entries should still be sent to Matt at the above address, but you can also register Thursday night with us. Scores are carried down to Rochester where we join the rest of the field Saturday morning for round two. NOTE: Due to construction on 35W, you should check the Castle website for updates on reaching our site. At the present time the 60th Street exit is closed, and one has to exit on Diamond Lake Road off 35W, or Portland Ave off Highway 62.

THIS IS A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TOURNAMENT!  Well worth the trip. Ideal playing conditions are not often found in Minnesota chess sites. Sometimes we have problems with crowding. And sometimes with noise, which can be annoying at the Bridge Center, and was certainly a problem at this year's Closed Championship. Not the case in Rochester, where they have found space in one of the Mayo Clinic buildings. Very spacious, quiet, comfortable and classy. And this is probably just a personal idiosyncrasy, but I like to be right downtown when I travel to play chess. I feel like I've actually been somewhere when I'm not ending up in just another suburban setting. Lots of street parking.

$1,000 Guaranteed Prize Fund!  And add to that all the extra goodies that Matt Jensen and Dennis Mays always seem to provide for their well run events. Drawings for four Internet Chess Club memberships, and a chess set. Upset prize for every round. They also let the masters play for free, to give the up-and-coming hotshots someone to gun for.

NO ACTION QUAD THIS MONDAY (05/25)
We will be off for Memorial Day

LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT ROCHESTER TOURNAMENT (05/16)
 Click here for details. June 13th and 14th. The same fine site with the same excellent crew that we always find down there. A one thousand dollar guaranteed prize fund!

MATT DAHL GETS HIS FACE ON THE USCF SITE (04/14)
For winning the K-8 Section of the Junior High Nationals! Held in Dallas the first weekend this month. He had the same score, six out of seven, as seven other guys, but I presume he had the best tiebreak and the big trophy 'cause his picture is featured at the top of the story. (Find it at www.uschess.org, number seven in the rotating top stories).  Also doing well was Kevin Ma, who was a half a point behind.

I pasted the photo to the top right. He is the club champion, after all.

EDWIN HEMPEL, RIP (03/24)
Today I was informed by the family of Ed Hempel, that he passed away at the age of 86. The funeral will be held next Saturday in Crystal, with details in Thursday's newspaper.

You can really tell the established players at a chess club when they enjoy reserved seating, when there is a chair at a table that no one else sits at, unless they are sure a certain regular is taking a day off. Ed Hempel was such a player at the old Castle site on Snelling Ave in St Paul. He had his acknowledged spot, which he shared with his large thermos and a very well worn BHG clock. Worn down by many games played at all kinds of time controls, in Ed's scrappy style. He played in about five hundred tournaments there throughout the nineties. I last saw him just before the turn of the century, at the Higher Ground Academy where we landed for about a year, and the poor guy was already looking thinner. He wasn't well enough to play tournament chess since. He was a great guy, a real character, and a very big part of our club for many, many years. Our condolences to his family.

SENIOR AND JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL LISTS ARE UP (03/12)
Click here to go to the FINAL lists of early entrants. Check for your name and information. If you think you should be on this list, but are not, you better show up at Eagan High School well before the round starts to discuss it. Please note that we have yet to verify that everyone who did not buy a state membership with their entry form is already a member. I suspect that is not the case with many of you, and if you are not sure your MSCA membership is current you can go here to double check. There are some nice door prizes being offered tomorrow, but all of your fees have to be paid to be in the drawing. And of course you'll have to settle up by Sunday morning to even play that day. So be on the safe side and bring an extra $5!
We have about 240 players right now. You can still be one of them. Don't worry if you're not on a team; many of our strongest players came solo (like last year's winner Kevin Wasiluk.) Details can be found here.
 

Please note: if you are trying to e-mail Dan Voje at this site, I have been experiencing some problems lately, but if you address your missive to danvoje@chesscastle.com it should get through to me. Other addresses have always worked before, but are now being bounced back.

Also note that you can still enter this event on site Saturday morning. This year we are offering awards for those who can play only the first four rounds, and not on Sunday. So if you can only play one day, come and join us. Details can be found here.


THINK NEXT WEEKEND (03/02)
The NCN said you could pay an early entry, but there was no information on who to send it to. Dan Voje will be directing, so send them to 2015 Central Ave NE, #411, Minneapolis MN 55418. You know I'm easy, so as long as I get them by Friday, that's fine. You can also enter at the club on both Monday and Thursday and save the $5, which is what Medhat Feshir and Dave Tykwinski have already done. Add the good doctor Gozum and three other experts/strong As who I hear plan to play, and the turnout looks OK.

MINNESOTA OPEN RESULTS (02/19)
Here are the standings. And go to http://pix.procolor.com/dz to see photos of this year's event, and past ones. Just enter the word "chess" in the fields for Username and Password.

Minnesota Open 2008

SwissSys Standings. Minnesota Open 2008: Premier_

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot
1 SEAN M NAGLE 2427 W5 W9 D4 D2 W8 4.0
2 ALEX BALANDIN 2471 W37 W15 W10 D1 D6 4.0
3 TIMOT RADERMACHER 2245 W14 W28 D19 W11 D4 4.0
4 EDUARD ZELKIND 2202 W32 W24 D1 W19 D3 4.0
5 MEDHAT FESHIR 2036 L1 W36 W25 W13 W19 4.0
6 JASON M DRAKE 2161 D35 W29 W16 W23 D2 4.0
7 MATTHEW D DAHL 2028 W13 L19 D28 W21 W20 3.5
8 FRANK B JOHNSON 2169 D12 W35 D11 W17 L1 3.0
9 MIKE J FELLMAN 1970 W36 L1 W18 D16 D11 3.0
10 MATTHEW R JENSEN 2124 W27 W33 L2 D12 D14 3.0
11 JIMMY SIMONSE 2141 W21 W25 D8 L3 D9 3.0
12 KEVIN BU 1931 D8 D17 W26 D10 D15 3.0
13 MICHAEL YANG 2160 L7 W30 W24 L5 W26 3.0
14 WILLIAM J MURRAY 2020 L3 D22 W30 W31 D10 3.0
15 DANE M MATTSON 2030 W39 L2 D21 W28 D12 3.0
16 ARKADY SHEMYAKIN 2149 W20 H--- L6 D9 W27 3.0
17 VLAD DIMA 2088 D29 D12 W27 L8 W25 3.0
18 OKECHUKWU ANE IWU 2190 L24 W32 L9 W29 W23 3.0
19 TODD A PARTINGTON 2152 W38 W7 D3 L4 L5 2.5
20 DANIEL PEPLINSKI 1917 L16 W37 D31 W22 L7 2.5
21 SHAWN C MIZE 1914 L11 B--- D15 L7 W28 2.5
22 ROBERT K JOHNSON 2103 L28 D14 W35 L20 W30 2.5
23 RONEN AGAM 1491 B--- D26 X33 L6 L18 2.5
24 DANIEL W VOJE 1950 W18 L4 L13 L26 W29 2.0
25 HARV ERLICH 1504 W40 L11 L5 W36 L17 2.0
26 ROBERT J DONAHUE 2056 D30 D23 L12 W24 L13 2.0
27 CHARLES ROBE WYNN 1852 L10 B--- L17 W32 L16 2.0
28 JOHNNY D LEIGHTON 1791 W22 L3 D7 L15 L21 1.5
29 DAVID HENDERSHOT 1727 D17 L6 W36 L18 L24 1.5
30 PIYUSH MUKHERJEE 1815 D26 L13 L14 B--- L22 1.5
31 ALLEN STORBAKKEN 2036 L33 W38 D20 L14 U--- 1.5
32 DAVID J RATLIFF 2000 L4 L18 B--- L27 U--- 1.0
33 KHALE* SHARAFUDDIN 2286 W31 L10 F23 U--- U--- 1.0
34 MATTHEW MAHOWALD 2141 U--- U--- U--- U--- W36 1.0
35 DON ALDRICH 1926 D6 L8 L22 U--- U--- 0.5
36 CURT JUST BRASKET 2200 L9 L5 L29 L25 L34 0.0
37 ROGER R RUDOLPH 2076 L2 L20 U--- U--- U--- 0.0
38 VINCENT RANCOUR 2000 L19 L31 U--- U--- U--- 0.0
39 KHALE SHARAFUDDIN 2286 L15 U--- U--- U--- U--- 0.0
40 ANTHONY C GASUNAS 1319 L25 U--- U--- U--- U--- 0.0
Minnesota Open 2008

SwissSys Standings. Minnesota Open 2008: amateur_

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot
1 PHILIP STEVENSON 1883 W17 W26 W21 W3 L2 4.0
2 MATTHEW J CARLSON 1879 D18 W27 D4 W13 W1 4.0
3 DAN J SERIE 1811 W30 W16 W7 L1 W13 4.0
4 ZACHARY ADAMS 1850 W25 H--- D2 W14 W9 4.0
5 E MARQUINA-LOZANO 1784 W8 W24 L13 W15 W7 4.0
6 KEVIN L AHTOU 1796 L26 W17 W24 D8 W22 3.5
7 DOUGLAS WAY OLSON 1861 W14 W12 L3 W18 L5 3.0
8 LONNY ARVIDSON 1615 L5 B--- W12 D6 D11 3.0
9 DANIEL T DILLON 1862 D11 W20 D19 W10 L4 3.0
10 SEAN A EATON 1632 L21 W28 W16 L9 W18 3.0
11 ALEXANDER POWELL 1714 D9 L13 W27 W19 D8 3.0
12 PAUL T KRAVIK 1802 W15 L7 L8 W25 W19 3.0
13 A SHAPIRO-ERCIYAS 1989 H--- W11 W5 L2 L3 2.5
14 JAMES VALLEZ 1706 L7 W25 W22 L4 D15 2.5
15 JUSTIN T LEIGHTON 1477 L12 B--- W29 L5 D14 2.5
16 REED A RUSSELL 1946 W28 L3 L10 D24 W26 2.5
17 CHRISTOPHER GILL 1719 L1 L6 L25 W20 W24 2.0
18 VINCEN WISNIEWSKI 1717 D2 H--- W23 L7 L10 2.0
19 KEVIN Z LU 1429 H--- W29 D9 L11 L12 2.0
20 DAVID H TRAN 1467 D27 L9 D28 L17 B--- 2.0
21 CHARLES H SHAW 1833 W10 W23 L1 U--- U--- 2.0
22 SHUMAN L LEE 1986 H--- H--- L14 W26 L6 2.0
23 ANTHONY C GASUNAS 1319 B--- L21 L18 H--- D25 2.0
24 EDWARD J CONWAY 1604 W31 L5 L6 D16 L17 1.5
25 DANE B ZAGAR 1697 L4 L14 W17 L12 D23 1.5
26 DON EVANS 1624 W6 L1 H--- L22 L16 1.5
27 ROGER W REDMOND 1756 D20 L2 L11 D28 U--- 1.0
28 MARVIN N MATTSON 1730 L16 L10 D20 D27 U--- 1.0
29 EKREM GOZUM 1800 H--- L19 L15 U--- U--- 0.5
30 ERIC WEINER 1495 L3 U--- U--- U--- U--- 0.0
31 JAMES S CLACK 1292 L24 U--- U--- U--- U--- 0.0
Minnesota Open 2008

SwissSys Standings. Minnesota Open 2008: Reserve_

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Tot
1 MATT ASHLEY 1465 D56 W41 W15 W17 W12 W5 5.5
2 NICK GRAVES 1635 W16 W19 W42 W3 L5 W6 5.0
3 DUANE PETERSEN 1470 W31 W8 W48 L2 W11 W14 5.0
4 EUGENE J SIGAL 1513 W47 L43 W13 W42 W28 W8 5.0
5 JAMES E HOLT 1607 D6 W45 W22 W28 W2 L1 4.5
6 KEVIN ZANG 1415 D5 W34 W36 W21 W9 L2 4.5
7 ADAM C BISSONETTE 1470 W13 L27 D30 W46 W36 W12 4.5
8 TOM R VANDENBOOM 1592 W20 L3 W39 W16 W19 L4 4.0
9 LUKE JUNG ROBSON 1419 W29 W14 D12 W18 L6 D13 4.0
10 MA VAN BENSCHOTEN 1323 D15 L18 W32 W22 H--- W33 4.0
11 MICHAEL HEINISCH 1536 W55 L42 W53 W43 L3 W27 4.0
12 RACHABATTUNI CHAITANYA unr. W23 W25 D9 W27 L1 L7 3.5
13 MARK DERBY 1622 L7 W26 L4 W37 W39 D9 3.5
14 SOARIYANT PHOMMA 1588 W50 L9 W25 D23 W24 L3 3.5
15 KEVIN R LANDMAN 1529 D10 W38 L1 W49 D27 D23 3.5
16 BRETT B SULLIVAN 1446 L2 W31 W35 L8 W44 D18 3.5
17 WEBSTER AN-HO 1237 W33 W56 D27 L1 D21 D34 3.5
18 GARY A NELSON 1543 D38 W10 W46 L9 D23 D16 3.5
19 MICHAEL HERMANSON 1495 W52 L2 W29 W48 L8 D24 3.5
20 BEN CHERNER 1413 L8 L29 W31 W35 W30 D21 3.5
21 KELLY G PERLEBERG 1517 D37 W40 W49 L6 D17 D20 3.5
22 RUSS A SWANSON 1512 D40 W37 L5 L10 W49 W36 3.5
23 LEON DING 1479 L12 W47 W44 D14 D18 D15 3.5
24 EMMA REUDER 1285 L36 W33 W56 W34 L14 D19 3.5
25 ERIC WEINER 1495 X--- L12 L14 W41 W43 D26 3.5
26 JACOB KAGANOVICH 1533 L27 L13 W55 W53 W42 D25 3.5
27 BRENT T GUDOWSKI 1427 W26 W7 D17 L12 D15 L11 3.0
28 LAURENCE DA STONE 1402 W32 W30 W43 L5 L4 U--- 3.0
29 MICHAEL L TRETTEL 1619 L9 W20 L19 L39 W51 W45 3.0
30 DONALD J DIESEN 1542 W51 L28 D7 D45 L20 W43 3.0
31 JOHN M BAKER 1668 L3 L16 L20 W52 W50 W37 3.0
32 RICHARD DUROCHER 1563 L28 D50 L10 W40 D38 W42 3.0
33 JOSHUA J FRANZ 1510 L17 L24 W51 W47 W48 L10 3.0
34 CHRISTOPHE SAWYER 1593 H--- L6 W52 L24 W54 D17 3.0
35 JUSTIN R BUHL 1539 L49 W55 L16 L20 W47 W44 3.0
36 MICHAEL K DOKKEN 1524 W24 D49 L6 W38 L7 L22 2.5
37 BEN A ISBELL 1275 D21 L22 W54 L13 W46 L31 2.5
38 MATT TINDER 1375 D18 L15 W57 L36 D32 D41 2.5
39 GAYLORD KORHONEN 1481 W53 L48 L8 W29 L13 D46 2.5
40 KEVIN BERGE 1238 D22 L21 L45 L32 W52 W54 2.5
41 TOM P TRI 1635 D45 L1 D50 L25 W53 D38 2.5
42 THOMAS G BURNS 1382 W44 W11 L2 L4 L26 L32 2.0
43 ZOLTAN AL KISS JR unr. W54 W4 L28 L11 L25 L30 2.0
44 STAN H KEGEL 1554 L42 W51 L23 W50 L16 L35 2.0
45 LARRY A TORDSEN 1438 D41 L5 W40 D30 U--- L29 2.0
46 RALPH OLSON 1495 H--- W57 L18 L7 L37 D39 2.0
47 ARLEN OVERVIG 1248 L4 L23 B--- L33 L35 X56 2.0
48 JAMES S CLACK 1292 B--- W39 L3 L19 L33 U--- 2.0
49 JOE F ERJAVEC 1352 W35 D36 L21 L15 L22 U--- 1.5
50 GARY J KATZMAREK 1403 L14 D32 D41 L44 L31 D51 1.5
51 JITEN JAGDI PATEL 1371 L30 L44 L33 W55 L29 D50 1.5
52 ROGER L HALE 1169 L19 D54 L34 L31 L40 B--- 1.5
53 STEVE HELMUELLER 1398 L39 B--- L11 L26 L41 D55 1.5
54 ALLISUN J ZAGAR 1473 L43 D52 L37 W56 L34 L40 1.5
55 JUSTIN BACKES 1328 L11 L35 L26 L51 B--- D53 1.5
56 KEVIN A HUMBERT 1643 D1 L17 L24 L54 U--- F47 0.5
57 DENNIS J MCGRATH 1642 H--- L46 L38 U--- U--- U--- 0.5
Minnesota Open 2008

SwissSys Standings. Minnesota Open 2008: Sophomore_

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Tot
1 DANESH BANKWALA 1044 W8 D3 W19 W16 W2 W4 5.5
2 MARSHALL HEITKAMP 1358 W32 W27 W10 D4 L1 W9 4.5
3 TRENTON BOUSU 1330 W34 D1 D6 D22 W7 W10 4.5
4 TREMAYNE M TALBOT 1347 W24 W28 W9 D2 W16 L1 4.5
5 DANNY REZEKULOV 1322 W33 L6 W15 W12 D10 W11 4.5
6 NICK STONER 1071 W25 W5 D3 L11 W14 D13 4.0
7 ANARAE SCHUNK 1239 L9 W35 W36 W31 L3 W16 4.0
8 DAVID N SCHWALLER 1307 L1 D34 W33 D9 W28 W19 4.0
9 ZACHARY HEINZEN 1000 W7 W20 L4 D8 W22 L2 3.5
10 ROBERT PHENICIE 1275 W29 W31 L2 W28 D5 L3 3.5
11 MICHAEL R VELLA 1395 W22 L12 W17 W6 H--- L5 3.5
12 THOMAS L SANNY 1108 W18 W11 L16 L5 H--- W23 3.5
13 TRAVIS DICKINSON 1226 W14 L16 D26 H--- W29 D6 3.5
14 PAUL E EVENSON 1231 L13 W21 W30 H--- L6 W22 3.5
15 GRANT C HOPKINS 1157 H--- D26 L5 W36 W17 D18 3.5
16 KELVIN L GU 1350 W21 W13 W12 L1 L4 L7 3.0
17 MARK ST BURKHARDT 1163 L31 W29 L11 W20 L15 W30 3.0
18 JUSTIN D TRAN 1327 L12 L22 D24 W30 W25 D15 3.0
19 DAVID C DAHL 1200 H--- W30 L1 W25 D23 L8 3.0
20 JOSHUA YLINEN 1283 W35 L9 L28 L17 W26 W24 3.0
21 ILYA KAGANOVICH 1231 L16 L14 L29 W33 W36 W28 3.0
22 CHRISTOP PHENICIE 1152 L11 W18 W23 D3 L9 L14 2.5
23 JOEL D HJELMELAND 1321 L28 W24 L22 W26 D19 L12 2.5
24 GREGORY T LEDRAY 1138 L4 L23 D18 W34 W35 L20 2.5
25 KURT B WAITE 1215 L6 D33 W34 L19 L18 W29 2.5
26 ALAN Z LU 859 H--- D15 D13 L23 L20 W36 2.5
27 ALEXANDER PEICHEL 1182 W36 L2 L31 L29 H--- W35 2.5
28 CHRIS DOFFING 1084 W23 L4 W20 L10 L8 L21 2.0
29 JOHN H LARSON 1004 L10 L17 W21 W27 L13 L25 2.0
30 THOMAS JONES III 957 B--- L19 L14 L18 W32 L17 2.0
31 WADE A OLIVER unr. W17 L10 W27 L7 U--- U--- 2.0
32 BILLY WEIDA 1140 L2 L36 L35 B--- L30 W33 2.0
33 DAVID WEIDA 1096 L5 D25 L8 L21 W34 L32 1.5
34 MIKE SENN 1113 L3 D8 L25 L24 L33 B--- 1.5
35 MARK D NARUM 1011 L20 L7 W32 H--- L24 L27 1.5
36 MAX J SIGAL 969 L27 W32 L7 L15 L21 L26 1.0
Minnesota Open 2008

SwissSys Standings. Minnesota Open 2008: Bantam_

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Tot
1 MARISSA ASHENFARB 920 W16 W20 W15 W5 W3 D4 5.5
2 NATHAN SCHMID 713 W4 L10 W12 W18 W15 W9 5.0
3 ERICK STRAIN 744 W31 W24 W10 W13 L1 W5 5.0
4 ERIC J DOKKEN 1048 L2 W26 W19 W24 W16 D1 4.5
5 TYLER SCHMID 732 W28 W9 W14 L1 W13 L3 4.0
6 ADAM LICHTY 863 L9 H--- W27 W21 D14 W13 4.0
7 RICO OLSON unr. L13 W30 L24 W25 W18 W15 4.0
8 TATE JAME SIMMONS 995 L25 W31 L9 W27 W24 W14 4.0
9 NICK REDMAN 635 W6 L5 W8 D14 W11 L2 3.5
10 JESSE ALEXANDER 918 W23 W2 L3 L16 D17 W21 3.5
11 SEAN BURNS 761 D21 W32 L13 W19 L9 W16 3.5
12 JOSH MELICHAR 364 L20 W23 L2 H--- W25 W22 3.5
13 TREVOR AUST SEETS 714 W7 W22 W11 L3 L5 L6 3.0
14 CHARLOTTE GILL 771 W29 W17 L5 D9 D6 L8 3.0
15 LUKE R SMITH 760 W26 W25 L1 W17 L2 L7 3.0
16 RODERICK J OLSON 679 L1 W28 W22 W10 L4 L11 3.0
17 ALEX LUNKENHEIMER 563 W18 L14 W20 L15 D10 D19 3.0
18 ROBERT NICHOLSON 860 L17 W29 W25 L2 L7 W24 3.0
19 ELI ROGERS 753 H--- W21 L4 L11 W30 D17 3.0
20 DOMINIC D PEICHEL 726 W12 L1 L17 D30 H--- W26 3.0
21 PATRICK LEDRAY 570 D11 L19 W32 L6 W23 L10 2.5
22 LEONARDO SEGAL 904 W30 L13 L16 D23 W26 L12 2.5
23 JUSTYN KEI FINE 654 L10 L12 W31 D22 L21 W27 2.5
24 RAINA DAVISON 696 W--- L3 W7 L4 L8 L18 2.0
25 EVAN VOXLAND 681 W8 L15 L18 L7 L12 W31 2.0
26 DYLAN M WILDER 503 L15 L4 W29 W32 L22 L20 2.0
27 ANDREW ZANDER 156 L24 B--- L6 L8 W28 L23 2.0
28 ERIC BENCH 378 L5 L16 L30 W31 L27 W32 2.0
29 AAR PONCE DE LEON 1023 L14 L18 L26 U--- W32 W30 2.0
30 ALEX WINDER 643 L22 L7 W28 D20 L19 L29 1.5
31 JAMES LEVER ORNER 479 L3 L8 L23 L28 B--- L25 1.0
32 JOHN KUZIEJ 433 H--- L11 L21 L26 L29 L28 0.5

 

SOME POINTERS ON THIS WEEKEND'S MINNESOTA OPEN (02/11)

First - Note that this year a two day option is being offered, which simply means instead of playing Friday night, you can come in a little earlier on Saturday morning and play the first two rounds at a faster time control. You join the rest of the field at round three. This is a practical option for those who cannot play Friday evening, and who would rather play a couple of faster games than take a half point bye. Details on the right. (It is not clear whether one can, upon suffering a disaster Friday night, just withdraw and re-enter in the two day at a discounted rate, such as is seen at the bigger Goichberg events.)

Second -Do everyone a favor, and speed up the Friday night registration process by checking the status of your national and state memberships. I'm sure you have all looked up yourselves on the USCF site to follow the ups and downs of your ratings. Well, take a moment to go there an verify that your membership is current. You can also go here to confirm the status of your Minnesota membership. Don't be one of those doofuses who hold up the line, scratching their head and saying "Gee, I'm pretty sure my membership is current! Lets see, I could of swore I renewed last April, or was it August?.."

BOBBY FISCHER DEAD AT 64 (01/18)
Just saw this news flash at www.chessbase.com .

MATTHEW DAHL IS OUR NEW CLUB CHAMPION (01/13)
He raises two questions...  Is he the youngest person ever to win the annual club championship? And has anyone else done so with a perfect score of seven wins? That put him a full two points ahead of second place Michael Yang, with Jeff Chandler (the tournament director) and Johnny Leighton tie for third with 4.5. Congratulations to this fine young fellow. He, and his father Dave, have been among the most active players at our club over the last few years. And they prove that nice guys can finish first, as they also hold the record for having bought the most trays of cookies and brownies with them when coming to play. We had 18 players at this event, and it has been submitted to USCF, so you should find it rated there tomorrow.

REACHING THE CLUB? (01/08)
By which I don't mean road directions to the Bridge Center. No, this post is about the change in contact information for the Chess Castle. For many years this has been the phone number and e-mail address for Dan Voje, who managed the club since just before we lost our long standing lease in the Midway area of Saint Paul. But starting now, my personal information has been removed from the website as I am no longer willing or able to answer questions about the Castle. I no longer direct the vast majority of our tournaments (and may not be running any more in the future), and am often up in the air as to who IS suppose to be covering a particular event. This can be a real problem, such as last week when I talked to a stranger about our club, and the scheduled Sunday Quad tournament. A couple of other guys and him waited a half hour for the event to start, but a TD never showed. The club has suffered over the last year from a lack of dependable volunteers to run events and cover other tasks. Such as the one in question: being the person someone can call if they have questions about the club, or even just chess in general. I have gotten many of the latter as people would find our site while doing web searches for chess information in Minnesota. So until we get a new contact person, if you cannot find what you need to know right here, you'll have to stop by the club during a tournament and talk to the director. Added note: Bill Murray (Mr. Bill) has no connection with the club and will not be keeping up the website.

THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP IS OPEN (01/03)
I have had a few queries about this year's Club Championship, which will be held next weekend (Jan 12th & 13th). People remember it being an invitational event before, but the tournament announcement looks like a regular Think event, where anyone with $35 and a USCF membership can play. I had wanted to run it as usual, with low entry fees and restricted to club regulars, and thought there was agreement on that format. But it was published otherwise, and so that is how it will be run, open to everyone. 

GATA KAMSKY WINS THE WORLD CUP (12/17)
It is a strange experience to find myself pulling for a competitor, and then actually see him win! Kamsky and Svilder were my favorites out of the original field of 126 in this knock out format. I guess the American is destined to play a match with Topalov and to grace the next cover of New In Chess. A good place for details is www.chessbase.com .

GLENN PROECHEL IS THE SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (12/17)
Glenn finished in clear first over a field of thirteen players, which included the likes of Roger Rudolph, Andrey Chernov and Medhat Feshir. Congratulations to him. An especially worthy Senior Champion, as he spotted some of his competitors a couple of extra decades! Medhat started out with three straight wins, and so Glenn had to defeat him in the final round to win the title. Thanks to Ed Conway for directing, with an assist from Tom Burns.

JOHN IN TEXAS(12/09)
We do not hear much from John B. but one can catch up on his progress at the following website. Each year UTD holds an invitational. Games at Monroi too.     http://www.monroi.com/wdc/tournament.php?tnm_id=436    http://www.utdallas.edu/orgs/chess/grandmasterinv2007.html
JOHN GIVES ROOK AND PAWN LESSONS IN ROUNDS 4-5!!!

Six players showed for the Monday night action event. Mr. Bill is donating rating points. This will not continue. You have been warned.

BILL HARRISON OFFERS ANOTHER EVENT IN THE WEST METRO (12/05)
For Saturday, December 15th. Find the details by clicking on the above schedule button.

A PLUG FOR THE MONDAY NIGHT ACTION QUADS (12/01)
I was disappointed to hear that last week's Action Quad drew only three players. I know there will be more this Monday, as Jeff Chandler, Carl Benson, Phil Stevenson and Dan Voje all plan to attend. The long running weekly club event has been restarted after a fallow period in the middle of this year, and has had enough for at least one quad just about every week. And often the majority of players have been class A players, which means you can find good competition here if you are not intimidated by faster time controls. And lower rated players need not worry about being stuck with byes as the field is always evened out. We used to get a good three quad sections at the old club last year, and if would be nice to build this back up to that level.

MATT DAHL LEADS THE TOP CLASS WITH TWO GAMES TO GO (11/24)
 Click here to go to the Minnesota State Chess Association webpage that has the standings for the first four rounds in the Class Championship. Or stop by Plymouth tomorrow to see that action first hand. They have around fifty players. Sunday's action should include a big battle between the two top Minnesota chesspunks, Matt Dahl, at 4 and 0, and the scary Michael Yang.

POINTERS FOR THE WHIPPED AND LAZY (11/21)
This posting is just to alert chess warriors to the possibilities for taking a few byes this weekend. The TD is willing to give out two byes in any of the first five rounds. This should make this event very doable, even for the pathetic sad sacks amongst us who must spend Friday trailing behind their wives through the Mall of America, slowing being transformed into a beast of burden. I would of thought most of your wives would of been happy to ditch you on the busiest of all shopping days. Heck, given the general ugliness of the typical tournament chess player, I'm surprise she'll even be seen in public with most of you! Well, I don't know what the problem is, but I have heard complaints about the timing and length of this event. So here is the solution: don't play at all on Friday! Go ahead and make your boss happy, and just show up Saturday, and we'll give you a free point.

What makes this so practical is the class nature of this event. You'll be playing against only your peers, and so you can afford to spot those schmoes a point. The field will be too evenly matched for anyone to run away with it, especially with six games to play. You can show up well rested and well loved and easily make up the difference. This also applies to guys who may have to see more family Saturday night. Shucks, we'll get you home by four in the afternoon.

Trust me: no matter what your family says, after spending two days of a four day weekend with you, they are ready for a break. They're only saying "it's not so" just to spare your feelings. Well, spare theirs, and come and play chess with your fellow nerds!

ROCHESTER GRAND WINTER OPEN(11/18)
Matt Jensen has another tournament planned for Feb. 1-2, 2008. Details on the ROCHESTER link above. The last ones have been strong and well run. A very nice site and a big prize fund. Please support our friends down South. Always good to know where the Mayo clinic is located.

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (11/14)
Check schedule for date and location.

ADLER AND BALANDIN ARE THE CITY CHAMPIONS (11/12)
They took a grandmaster draw between one another before Sunday noon, trusting they could win their last round games. And they were big enough to do so. More details later.

# Name Rtng Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Tot
1 Balandin, Alex 2469 W13 W11 W4 D2 W10 4˝
2 Adler, Victor-Edv 2399 W9 W8 W24 D1 W3 4˝
3 Yang, Michael 2152 W19 W12 W26 W7 L2 4
4 Bu, Kevin 1911 W17 W10 L1 W28 W15 4
5 Marquina-Lozano, 1799 L10 W31 W32 W29 W18 4
6 Hermanson, Michae 1287 W41 W16 L7 W21 W12 4
7 Voje, Daniel W 1975 H--- W21 W6 L3 W24 3˝
8 Maltsev, Dmitry 1956 W16 L2 H--- W22 W19 3˝
9 Adams, Zachary 1833 L2 W29 H--- W23 W26 3˝
10 Donahue, Robert J 2075 W5 L4 W30 W14 L1 3
11 Dahl, Matthew D 2027 W14 L1 W25 L15 W28 3
12 Wynn, Charles Rob 1866 W23 L3 W31 W17 L6 3
13 Gisselquist, Pete 1859 L1 W22 H--- D26 W29 3
14 Oyekan, Olufemi A 1758 L11 W27 W37 L10 W31 3
15 Graves, Nick 1644 L21 W32 W36 W11 L4 3
16 Arvidson, Lonny 1630 L8 L6 W38 W34 W32 3
17 Adams, Lynn P 1620 L4 W33 W40 L12 W35 3
18 Conway, Edward J 1616 W48 H--- W34 H--- L5 3
19 Tykwinski, David 1801 L3 W30 W33 D24 L8 2˝
20 Ahtou, Kevin L 1791 H--- H--- H--- W27 U--- 2˝
21 Bidwell, James 1765 W15 L7 W35 L6 D25 2˝
22 Wisniewski, Vince 1689 H--- L13 W45 L8 W33 2˝
23 Kegel, Stan H 1543 L12 D34 W43 L9 W39 2˝
24 Trettel, Michael 1539 W28 W37 L2 D19 L7 2˝
25 Ding, Leon 1497 L37 W43 L11 W36 D21 2˝
26 Weiner, Eric 1441 W42 W48 L3 D13 L9 2˝
27 Maltsev, Vladimir 1393 W44 L14 H--- L20 W40 2˝
28 Diesen, Donald J 1540 L24 W35 W44 L4 L11 2
29 Swanson, Russ A 1524 W39 L9 W41 L5 L13 2
30 Heinisch, Michael 1500 W36 L19 L10 D39 D34 2
31 Lu, Kevin Z 1413 W40 L5 L12 W42 L14 2
32 Burns, Thomas G 1344 W38 L15 L5 W37 L16 2
33 Heitkamp, Marshal 1344 W45 L17 L19 W41 L22 2
34 Dahl, David C 1259 W47 D23 L18 L16 D30 2
35 An-Ho, Webster 1242 W46 L28 L21 W45 L17 2
36 Talbot, Tremayne 1162 L30 W38 L15 L25 W45 2
37 Peichel, Alexande 1079 W25 L24 L14 L32 W46 2
38 Simmons, Tate Jam 909 L32 L36 L16 W43 W42 2
39 Ledray,Gregory T 1166 L29 L45 W47 D30 L23 1˝
40 Marckel, Otto 1063 L31 W47 L17 H--- L27 1˝
41 Lu, Alan Z 860 L6 W42 L29 L33 D43 1˝
42 Larson, John H 1065 L26 L41 W46 L31 L38 1
43 Jones III, Thomas P 981 H--- L25 L23 L38 D41 1
44 Isbell, Mark 962 L27 W46 L28 U--- U--- 1
45 Segal, Leonardo 891 L33 W39 L22 L35 L36 1
46 Ledray, Patrick unr. L35 L44 L42 W47 L37 1
47 Zander, Andrew 170 L34 L40 L39 L46 H--- ˝
48 Gozum, Ekrem 1800 L18 L26 U--- U--- U--- 0

EXCELLENT TURNOUT FOR THE MINNEAPOLIS OPEN (11/11)
We have 46 players, led by Victor Adler, Alex Balandin and Michael Yang, all with three wins. This is a surprising larger field, given that we only drew four players for last weekend's one day Whiz Blitz. The revived Monday Night Action Quads have also been just one Quad in the last three weeks. So stop in today to check out the city championship or tomorrow night to play chess yourself. Also a reminder that the Tuesday night location for casual chess is still going on and looking for more players. You'll find the details below at the posting of 9/13.

MSCA NEWS (11/5)
The Minnesota Chess Journal has been mailed. A very thick magazine with a colorful cover arrived in the mail today. If you did not get yours contact the MSCA. It is a 92 page catch up issue that is all games and annotations. A very impressive production. Also the details for the Winter Open and Minnesota Open are listed on the schedule page. Special thanks to John Flores and Shu Lee.

CHESSNUTS RESULTS (10/21)
The mighty Victor took clear first at the first chessnuts challenge with 4.5/5. Our own Dan Voje tied for second with six others. No word yet on the Minnesota-Manitoba trophy. Crosstable:   http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200710214381-10318637 54 total players.

IMPRESSIVE EARLY REGISTRATION LIST FOR CHESSNUTS!  (10/18)
Click Here Wow,51 players as of Thursday noon, lead off by a 2400+ player.
ARE YOU TIRED OF PLAYING THE SAME OLD SCHMOES?  Well, please note that of the top 15 players pre-registered for this event, only four are from Minnesota! Except for the two US Opens that we hosted, when has anything like that been true of any event held in Minnesota? The Mighty Victor Adler and I are also driving up, which will add to the Minnesota contingent. The trophy will be traveling with us. Dare I say both ways!
 

SEE YOU IN MOORHEAD  (10/15)
We should all be thankful that yet another nearby, smaller city has managed to do what we seemingly cannot... To offer a weekend chess tournament that is inexpensive for the masses, yet has a prize fund capable of drawing titled players. For years this was accomplished by the fine folks in Sioux Falls. Sadly, that long running event seems to have evaporated, and there is no Governors Cup this year. Add to that, on a much smaller scale, our own Northern Open is also skipping a beat, and will not happen this year. So we should make an effort to support this new effort being put on to our northwest. The details are directly below, in red. Also, do not be intimidated by the thought of trying to find an address in a strange city. This is very easy to locate. Eighth Street is simply the last exit on I-94 before you cross into North Dakota, and the address is eight blocks north.
NOTE: what with the proximity to Winnipeg and the more favorable exchange rates, the good people of North Dakota are drawing players from Canada to this tournament. And so we are taking this chance to get in another edition of the Minnesota - Manitoba match. Just like the last two times we contested this up in Winnipeg, the match will be embedded in the tournament. So every Canadian you play in the last three rounds will count towards the match score. We currently hold the trophy, and trust you'll help keep it that way. We just want to take it on a little road trip. We don't want to lose custody!
ALSO: For some lame reason, this event did not get mentioned in the last, late issue of the Northern Chess News. Not a good job of assisting our nearby colleagues. So help out by calling this to the attention of any of your chess playing friends.

SET ASIDE THIS WEEKEND IN OCTOBER! (9/24)
From our friend on the cold prairie, Mike Sailor, here is are the details for a new and very impressive event in Moorhead.

October 20-21, 1ST ANNUAL CHESSNUTS CHALLENGE OPEN
 Five rounds, regular swiss pairings. Time controls are; round 1, game in 90 minutes, round two, game in 120 minutes, and the last three rounds, 30 moves in 90 minutes, and then sudden death in an hour. The site is Concordia College, 901 8th Street S, Moorhead MN 56560. Entry fee is an inexpensive $40.00 if paid by 10/18 on-line, $50 on site. The generous prize fund is (based on 60 participants): $1000-400-200. U2000-100/50; U1800-100/50; U1600-100; U1400-100; U1200/unr-100. Registration is from 8am - 8:30am before round one (10/20/2007). Online registration thru 10/18/2007 at www.ndchessnut.com. Round times are: Sat: 9am/1pm/6pm; Sun: 8am/2pm.  Entries to: ChessNuts Chess Club, 773 15th Avenue E, West Fargo, ND 58078 ndchessnut@yahoo.com. Information at: Brian Thompson. HR: $79.90 QQ/K 877-234-9976 AmericInn Fargo. www.ndchessnut.com. NS NC W.

CHESS LEAGUE AND SCHOLASTIC (9/17)
MSCA reports on the results of round one of the chess league. Also the scholastic link above has been updated.
http://minnesotachess.org/tmts/tccl/07-08.htm  

NEW VENUE FOR CASUAL CHESS (9/13)
Starting September 18th, there will be a new location in Minneapolis where you can drop in to play chess on Tuesday nights. Whether you want a slow game, some blitz chess, or just finding someone to analysis your games with, stop in. All skill levels welcomed. The pastors of the Redeemer Lutheran Church on 1800 Glenwood Ave, and Jack Mangan, a scholastic chess organizer, have set this up. There is no charge and no memberships are required. It will run from six to nine in the evening. You can park for free behind Milda’s Restaurant at Logan and Glewood, and just cross Logan and enter the church through the front door. The #9 bus goes by every thirty minutes.
I am very happy to see this, as a casual chess night was one of the services offered at our old site in the Nordeast. That always gave me someplace to send beginners, who would contact me looking for places to explore chess, without making the large jump to rated tournament chess immediately. If you yourself know such people, point out this new opportunity. (Also along those lines, the chess league is another excellent starting point.)

MONDAY ACTION QUADS RESTARTED (9/13)
 Register at the Bridge Center from 6:30 to 7:00. Games start at 7:15. Entry fee is $12.

TWIN CITIES CHESS LEAGUE (9/9)
Time to get your team ready for another year. Seven Fridays at the Roseville Oval. First round on Sept. 14. If you do not have a team show up and form one on the spot. Unrated chess brings out all the old guys afraid to lose rating points to punks. Post mortems take place at a local Bar and Grille.

WILSON GIBBINS WINS THE REVIVED REGION SIX (9/4)
He had to overcome a first round lost to Kevin Bu, but the top rated player in last weekend's tournament did just that by winning the next five games. Frank Johnson was second at 4.5, with Kevin Wasiluk and Eduard Zelkind sharing third in the field of 18. The Reserve section had the same number of players, and was won by Leon Ding, Dane Zagar and Gary Nelson. Leon was leading the field by a full point before the last game, where he was tripped up by Allisun Zagar. I would venture a guess that this is the first time in Minnesota chess history that someone needed his sister to win her game in order to have a chance at first place. None of my six sisters ever did that for me! There was a large turnout of 19 players for the Sunday Tornado, and Zachary Adams can expect a big jump in his rating when this gets processed. The Plymouth Radisson is a fine site, with another good job by TD David Kuhns. Having a three day weekend meant getting in six serious games of chess in a relaxed schedule. A welcome addition to our chess calendar.
http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200709032641-10318637   Link for crosstables.

TWO EVENTS THIS WEEKEND (9/4)
The castle is hosting two events this weekend. See schedule page for details. Also  the CHESS LEAGUE starts on the 14th.

REGION VI (8/24)
Next weekend the return of the Region VI tournament. The U.S. is divided into regions and MN., SD., ND., and IA. are the Region VI. This event has been held on and off through the years in various formats. This could develop into one of our major tournaments and fill a hole in the yearly schedule. Many complain about the lack of slow time control events. If so show your support.
   The Professor is writing an article on the Catfish Days' tournament. Send him a game and  see what a professional author can do. Also if you have any amusing anecdotes about Milton pass those along. durocher@stolaf.edu

MR. BILL'S NEW PETS

THINK RESULTS (8/20)
Jimmy Simonse took clear first with a perfect 7/7. Robert Donahue and Kevin Bu tied for second. Thanks to the Simonses for the fine lunch spread.  Next up is the Region VI . Details on the schedule page.

THURSDAY KNIGHTER  AND AUGUST THINK (8/19)
Twenty players competed in the July Thursday night event. One game each Thursday for a month. Details on the bottom of the schedule page. It seems players drop off as the month progresses. 8 players took byes in round 3 and 10 games were unplayed in round 4. Anyone with details let Mr. Bill know.
The Think is going well with 20 players at the break. A fair number of low rated players along with Jimmy Simonse and Robert Donahue.

THINK THIS WEEKEND (7/17)
Doctor Gozum and Professor Durocher are going to play, but don't feel YOU need a professional title to show up and play. Regular guys welcomed. Details on the right.

POTS THIS SUNDAY - VERY CHEAP EVENT - NO MEMBERSHIPS REQUIRED (7/10)
I see this tournament has failed to reach our front page, yet another indication of how the managing of this club is headed south. At least it made the NCN, but not with a lot of details. So here they are...

This is an unrated speed event, with a format that we tried last year, that was well received. The charge is a measly three dollars, which is just enough to cover our rental charges, so there is a prize fund of zero. Er, ah, I mean, a prize fund rich in glory and the esteem of your noble colleagues. We'll open at six, and start playing at six-thirty. Absolutely no memberships of any kind needed. Time control is three minutes + a three second delay. For your three dollars, you get a pile of poker chips. Pots is simply where two guys sit down to play, and the loser leaves behind a chip as he gets up to make room for the next challenger. If you win two games in a row, you collect the pot. We'll run enough tables to keep everyone busy. Like with poker tournaments, after awhile (an hour?) the stakes go up. We let people buy back in if they get swept too quickly. We'll shoot to be done before ten. I believe the winner of the first edition of this tournament was Zach Tverstol. If you know any coffee house schmoes who think they're hot stuff, yet never play rated chess 'cause they hardly have scratch for the cup of coffee let alone a real entry fee, please call them up, call them out, and give 'em a ride down to the Bridge Center, as this is their chance! Yes, help us spread the word to help make up for the weak publicity. Will trash talk be allowed? I dunno, it hardly seems like pots without it. We may leave this, and other details up to the vote of the players! Wow, democracy. In the old days it would of been a refreshing change from tyranny; now it's just a break from anarchy.

FALL SCHEDULE (7/4)
Terry Likens from South Dakota reports that a suitable site could not be found for the Gov.'s Cup. If this changes we will report the news. MSCA is holding a three day tournament on Labor Day weekend. Two games a day at G/120. At the Radisson Plymouth. Our schedule is posted at the link above. The NCN is at the MSCA link. Check out the Labor Day MSCA event and the MidAugust Think. 

DENKER HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP (7/4)
Kevin Wasiluk finished tied at 4-5th at the Denker. Laura Howard finished at 21-32 in the Polgar. Very respectable. Standings for the US Open can be found here.
  http://www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/07USOpen/    

JOHN PAUL DONAHUE WINS THE LARGEST EVER CATFISH (7/29)
A draw in round five with Dan Peplinski was the only bump in the road for the elder Donahue brother in the just finished 2007 Catfish Days chess tournament in Franklin, Minnesota. James Kanne drew over 60 players to his small Minnesota River valley town for this year's edition on his long-running tournament. The cross table is posted at:
http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200707283961-10318637 

USCF ELECTION RESULTS (7/29)

1 Polgar 3004  2 Bauer 2325  3.Truong 2056  4.Berry 2026

MONDAY ACTION QUADS TO BE RESUMED IN SEPTEMBER (7/18)
A reminder that they are suspended at this time. Wanted to make that clear, as I received a phone call from someone who went down to the Bridge Center last Monday. The plan is to bring them back at the start of September under new management. This long running event evaporated once we moved from the Nordeast, due to part to changes in format and times. That was in sharp contrast to the Thursday Knighters, which are doing much better, including drawing more higher rated players.

DANE MATTSON (7/15)
Dane had an interesting Canadian Open. +2-1=7. Yes the aggressive Dane had 7 draws. Against tough competition though.

ST. OLAF CHESS CAMP (7/9)
Our friends in Northfield want to remind you about their chess camp coming up soon. Find details in the column on the right, beneath the Catfish announcement. Check out the impressive list of teachers.

RESULTS (7/7)
Matt Dahl and Michael Yang tied for first in the Midsummer Think. Twenty players participated. John B. scored 5/9 at the World Open losing to GM Yury Shulman and GM Milos Pavlovic.
Early entry to the Catfish Days is only $20/23. Please support this fun tournament.

WORLD OPEN (7/2)
Not many of us make it to the World Open Chess Lottery. This year with more sections and gyrations due to the holiday being a Wednesday. IM John B. is off to a good start with two draws against GMs. (Eugene Perelshteyn and Alexander Shabalov.) Iwu and Chikwere traveled that far to play each other. Live games and standings are on the Monroi site. http://www.monroi.com/tournamentgate/WorldOpen07/index.html

USCF ELECTION (6/24)
A reminder to vote in the upcoming USCF election. Conflicting opinions can be found at http://www.checkmate.us/ and http://www.susanpolgar.com/The2007USExecutiveBoardElection.pdf

BLITZ RESULTS (6/24)
Sixteen players, mostly youngsters, competed in the annual Blitz Championship. They were held at bay by some mature speedsters. David Heurung took first with 15.5/18. The mighty Victor close behind at 15/18. Robert Donahue was in third.

BLITZ AND THINK (6/22)
The Blitz and Think information is posted on the schedule link above. For a copy of the Jun-Jul  NCN click on MSCA.

ROCHESTER  RESULTS (6/19)
Victor Adler and Matt Dahl tied for first in Rochester. 58 players took part. For all results click on ROCHESTER above or go to  http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200706163791.0

SUMMER 2007 (6/17)
A Think is planned for June 30- July 1st. Usual format. 7ss G/60. The annual MN. Blitz Championship is on for June 24 at the Roseville Oval. Entry is $30 at site 10-11am. 18ss. $500 prizes based on 40.
Click on National Open for pictures from Vegas.
CATFISH DAYS JULY 27-28th.
More details when I get an electronic copy.

ROCHESTER $1000  SUMMER OPEN (6/3)
The fine folks in Rochester are inviting all to come down for a very fine event. The site is very nice with free parking and some strong players. There are three sections and free play for Masters. Please support our outstate friends. Details: click on Schedule above.
A few lucky people will be in Vegas next weekend for the National Open:OKECHUKWU N IWU ,SENTHIL K SUNDARAM,DANE B ZAGAR ,BROCK ROMERO ,JOEL D HJELMELAND ,ROGER L HALE,LEON C DING ,DANE M MATTSON ,The Canadian Master and Mr. Bill. For results click:  http://lvchessfestival.com/

THINK RESULTS (5/21)
Andrey Chernov took first with 5 wins and two draws. Bryan Lange and Mr. Bill tied for 2nd-3rd. Arkady Shemyakin would have been in contention if not for the two byes taken. Something about a graduation ceremony. Feshir, Chandler and Voje made for a strong tournament. The Professor drove up from Northfield to make coffee and play. Next is Chicago and Rochester. And Vegas for Mr. Bill and his sweetheart.
Thursday Knighters have been drawing quite a crowd. If you like one slow game a week check it out. 

MAY THINK (5/13)
The popular format is set for next weekend. We usually have about 25 players and it will be a good warmup for those going to Chicago or Rochester. EF: $35. REG: 9-9:50 am. RDS: 10-1-3:30 6:30,12:30-3-5:30. NS USCF/MSCA. At the Bridge Center. 6020 Nicollet Avenue South, Minneapolis

VICTOR ADLER-STATE CHAMPION (5/6)
The mighty Victor cruised through the playoffs to once again become the MN. State Champion. Games and details are on the new and improved MSCA site. http://minnesotachess.org./news.php John Flores and Dan Peplinski combined to bring us the games.

UPDATE TO THE FOLLOWING POST (4/27)
We have picked up a couple of more players, and are still looking for another, or possibly three more. The field now has Curt the 16th, Medhat Feshir, Dan Voje, Matthew Dahl, Phil Stevenson, Mike Dokken and Larry Tordsen. A broad range of ages and ratings. You should be able to catch me at home after eight tonight, at 612.706.2865. If you do decide to e-mail me at voje@chesscastle.com , it is a very good idea to put the word "CHESS" in the subject line. Being I get my e-mails through this website, which cannot afford spam filters, I am bombarded with over 800 messages a day. Something to keep in mind if I ever ignore a message from you; it just could be it was accidentally deleted amid all of the drug and porn ads I have to plow through. Be sure to call first if you want to play - no same day registration, of course.

SEEKING SOME PLAYERS FOR A PRIVATE SATURDAY EVENT (4/24)
Curt and Rita Brasket are planning to hold a small, rated chess tournament at their Bloomington home this coming Saturday, April 28th. We have five players already, and are looking to find from three to five more. It's a Whiz Blitz format, which means six rounds played at Game in an half hour. A nominal fee of $5. Start time is ten in the morning. If you would like to join us, call Dan at 612.706.2865 or e-mail him at voje@chesscastle.com .

WEB SITE UPDATE FOR MSCA (4/23)
John Flores has rebuilt the MSCA web site. He is still working on it. Take a look at: http://minnesotachess.org.

USCF ELECTION (4/15)
This summer an important election is taking place. The USCF board will elect four new members. We all know  problems have plagued our organization for years. Dan and Bill are encouraging all of you to vote. The turnout is  small and every vote does count. We have a chance this time to elect some great people. Susan Polgar, Randy Bauer, Paul Truong and Mikhail Korenman are running as a slate. They have our endorsement. Checkout Susan's Blog: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/ . Become informed and vote.

ST. OLAF OPEN (4/17)
The mighty Victor won the Open giving up a draw to Nathan Gilbert. Nathan gained 90 rating points for his fine performance. Chris Gill gained over 100 points in this event. About time these kids ratings caught up with them. Lynn Adams went undefeated in in the reserve section gaining only 60 points. 35 players took part. A very nice event and a great location. James Kanne directed and Prof. Durocher organized, with help.

NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS (4/17)
Results at http://www.uschess.org/msa/ . Click on Scholastic above to check MN. players.

NEW EVENT NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT (4/10)
Of course on Saturday we'll all be heading to Northfield for the St. Olaf tournament. But the day after, there is another one day event, at the Bridge Center. Dan Voje will be running a quad tournament in the evening. Registration opens at 4:30 pm, so we will miss the disturbance from the bridge lessons. This was listed as an X-Quad in the NCN, but I think that is misleading, as that nomenclature use to refer to events where the time delay was 15 seconds or more, and this is just the standard 5 second delay. This is just like an Action Quad, except the time control is G/40 instead of G/30, as a weekend night gives us a little more time to work with. Now that the long-running Monday Action Quads have evaporated, and are now blitz tournaments, we thought it would be nice to have another regular rated format available now and then. There was also some confusion as to the cost, as $20 seems like too high a entry fee for a four hour event. We could call it $12, but none of you bozos would have enough ones and we would run out of change. Well, lets see. Somewhere from 15 to 10 dollars, with a first prize of twice that.  Please note the TD reserves the right to divide the fields into sections of six where that gives a better division of the ratings. For six man sections, there is as usual an addition of one lower half prize.

BANQUET IS THIS THURSDAY! (4/9)
The TCCL Banquet is this Thursday, April 12th, at the Olive Garden in Roseville. This is at 1525 County Road C, on the same street as the Skating Oval, the same location as last year. Plan to arrive by six pm for dinner, which will be a la carte. Let Shu Lee know you are coming by RSVPing him at 612.598.7213 or shu@scjma.com by Wednesday. No pre-pay necessary, each table will order separately. There will be a short awards ceremony afterwards, whereby the Oldies But Goodies will get the team trophy, which they pried away from the perennial championships, Eight Feet, on tie-break last season. There is no trophy for third place, so our own heroes, the Chess Castle team, will be off in a corner, in a snit, and muttering under their breaths our plans for sweet revenge.
This is your chance to demonstrate that, yes, chessplayers CAN be social able. You could even bring your significant other (what is that to a serious chessplayer, you're thinking? His cat? His ageing mother?)

ST OLAF (4/5)
The good professor has sent in a list of the pre-entries for the ST. Olaf Open:  Lonny Arvidson, Ekrem Gozum, Don Evans, Roger Hale, John Larson, Kelly Perleberg, Russ Swanson,Tom Burns, Joe Erjavec, Steve Helmueller, Al Johnson, John Flores, Mike Heinisch, Mike Trettel and Mr. Bill. Click on Schedule for details and directions.

COMING EVENTS (3/30)
The Northern Chess News is posted on the link above. The schedule has been updated with a good mix of events. Show your support for MN. Chess by playing in one of them. The St. Olaf Open was amazingly strong last year. A good warm-up for the closed playoffs. Send in entry by April 7th for only $25. Click on schedule for all details.

PLAYOFF DETAILS (3/26)
The details for the playoffs are posted at the link above and at the MSCA site. Also John B. had a big weekend. Check it out on his blog above.

SCHOLASTIC RESULTS  (3/19)
Castle regulars win scholastic honors. Click on link above or go to
   http://www.minnesotachess.org/materials/07scholasticreport.htm
 

LAWRENCE (LARRY) LAMPERT
Larry passed away on Thursday 3/15/2007. He was the founder and president of the School Chess Association. His devotion to scholastic chess introduced thousands of school children to the joy of chess. http://www.legacy.com/startribune/obituaries.asp?  His full obituary can be found at the link above.

MICHAEL YANG TAKES FIRST +7-0 =O
Michael did not give up even a draw as he cruised to an undefeated first at the Late Winter Think. In the last round, with first assured, he ground down Mr. Bill not even thinking of a draw. Dan and Medhat tied for second. 24 players competed. The site includes free parking, food nearby, good lighting and comfy chairs. A little noisy but not bad. Thanks to Dan and Jeff for directing.

HALF TIME AT THE THINK - MICHAEL YANG IN CLEAR FIRST (3/10)
In a field of 24 players, Michael Yang is the only one with a perfect score. Feel free to drop in tomorrow afternoon to watch fine fighting chess. Now that Linares is finished, where else is a chess tourist to go?

OUR FIRST TWO-DAY EVENT AT THE NEW SITE (3/8) updated
Add on Dr. Ekrem Gozum and Phil Stevenson. This is getting to be a goodly amount of people, considering that there was no early entry discount, which is how we usually learn who plans on playing.
 The Late Winter Think is coming up this weekend. Medhat Feshir, Dan Voje, and "Mr.Bill" Murray will be playing, and we hope to see you there too. Looking ahead, Professor Durocher is hosting another fine tournament at St. Olaf college on April 14th. A nice spring drive to a picturesque campus. I was amazed at the number of strong players he drew at his last event 16 months ago: three masters and four 2100+ experts! Click here for details.
Also a reminder: this Friday is last round of the Twin Cities Chess League for this year!

MSCA INFO ON LINK ABOVE

SCHOLASTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS CLICK ON SCHOLASTIC 2007  LINK ABOVE

 
VICTOR WINS MN. OPEN   
 
 ED TIES FOR SECOND
 

MN OPEN RESULTS (2/19)

CROSSTABLES:
http://www.uschess.org/msa/TnmtLst.php  
 Type in:     MNOPEN2007

QUALIFIERS FOR THE CLOSED:
TO BE HELD MAY 4-6,2007
PREMIER SECTION: Victor Adler (champ and MN Open 1st place) Eduard Zelkind, Vlad Dima, Wilson Gibbons,Kevin Wasiluk Todd Partington

AMATEUR: Ahmet Shapiro-Ercayas (2006 champ)Don Hooker (MN Open Amateur champ) Matt Carlson, Phillip Stevenson,Steve Lockhart,Kevin Bu

RESERVE: Christopher Gill (MN Open Reserve champ),
Alexander Powell,Brett Sullivan,Michael Trettel, Tom Tri, Matt Tinder (MN Open Sophomore Champ)
MN OPEN (2/18)
Victor Adler played a nice attacking game to defeat Ed Zelkind and take first place. Victor, Ed and Vlad Dima are in the closed along with 3 of possible 7 players at 3.5 points. One critical game still in progress at 10:00, my bed time. Many games will be posted in a .pgn file when I can decipher them. Thanks to MSCA and Dave Kuhns for a well run event!

MN OPEN (2/18)
Ed Zelkind reminded Sean Nagle who the teacher was and still is. A nice attacking win puts him first place. Victor Adler and Kevin Wasiluk drew putting them at 2 1/2. Jason Drake beat Michael Yang in a real slug fest. A few pictures in the link above. More later.

MN. OPEN (2/17)
MN. Open off to a good start. Top boards occupied by Nagle, Adler,Onyekwere,Brasket, Zelkind,Todd Miller, Iwu, Partington, Shemyakin,Yang, Jensen,Rudolph, Wasilik, Gibbins, Drake, and others. Great site. Sunday Tornado remember.  I will try to get mid point results up later today.
ROCHESTER OPEN RESULTS (2/13)
Thanks to everyone who played in the Rochester Grand Winter Open 2007, to those who helped keep the tournament running smoothly, and also for all of the help promoting the event via websites and word of mouth. These events would not be nearly as successful without the participation of chess players from the Twin cities area, Wisconsin, and also Iowa. There were 18 players in the Premier section, won by National Master Todd Miller who scored 4.5/5, only allowing a draw to the second place finisher, NM Alex Betaneli.   The Amateur section included 15 rated players, won by Michael Lust with a very impressive performance, scoring of 4.5/5.   It was very exciting to see so many kids sign up to play in he Reserve section (37!) and we were forced to split them up into two groups.  Matt Painter and Charlotte Gill won the two sections with perfect scores 4/4.  Hope to see you all in June for the Rochester Grand Summer Open 2007! Report by Matt.
http://chessandphotographs.net/RochesterChessClub/ - Tournament Results and Photos
 

WINTER OPEN RESULTS (1/29)
Michael Yang took clear first at the Winter Open with a score of 4.5.  Only Ed Zelkind could slow him down with a draw. Victor Adler, losing a rare game to Medhat Feshir, and Kevin Wasiluk, with two draws, tied for second. Almost 100 players showed up at the Oval for the continued success of this event. Less than three weeks until the MN. Open.  Cross tables at
  www.uschess.org/msa type in "MN WINTER 2007"

ROCHESTER GRAND WINTER OPEN $1000 GUARANTEED (1/20)
Rochester is holding another one of it's fine events: Optional round 1 on Jan 31 at the U of M. Optional round 1 on Feb 2 in Rochester. $1000 guaranteed prize fund.. You can play round one here in the city or in Rochester or take a half point bye. Details are on their site. I bet they will have more information at the Winter Open.  They have had good turnouts in the past and Masters play free.
http://chessandphotographs.net/RochesterChessClub/

SOME UPCOMING EVENTS DETAILS TO FOLLOW (1/26)
4 FEBRUARY MIDWINTER X QUADS (Sunday)
10 FEBRUARY BLIZZARD EXERCISE QUADS (Saturday)
25 FEBRUARY SUNDAY SPEEDO Unrated ( Sunday)
3 MARCH BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH QUADS (Saturday)
10 MARCH LATE WINTER THINK (Sat-Sun )
25 MARCH SUNDAY SPEEDO Unrated (Sunday) 

NEW NEWS (01/12)
The club is up and running, or should we say playing at the new site. The Bridge Center at 60th and Nicollet So. There is a blog site too: http://chesscastleofminnesota.blogspot.com/
The Monday and Thursday ( now $15 )  events have survived, but Mr. Bill does not have a crosstable or results. This Sat. 1/13/07  a Speed Demons is scheduled.
The Winter Open details are on the right. You can check your MSCA membership on the the MSCA site: http://www.minnesotachess.org/membership.jsp
 

SATURDAY IS MOVING DAY (12/27)
We will start at 12:30 pm. A few items are going to the Bridge Center, some tables and chairs are going into storage, and a lot of stuff is going into the dumpster. We have a commitment for one pick-up truck, and could use some more.

KEVIN WASILUK GETS HIS SECOND PLATE (12/18)
Congratulations to the young man from North St. Paul, who has now won the club championship for the second time in three years. He only gave up one draw to last year's champion, Arkady Shemyakin. He was followed by the top two members of our Chess Castle TCCL team, and Michael Yang. Thanks to Kevin Ahtou for helping out with the organizing of this event. Thanks to the Dahl's for the Krisy Kreme donuts and to the Dokkens for bringing back the chess Christmas Tree.

Name/Rtng/ID Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Tot
2 Wasiluk,Kevin M W 14 B 8 W 3 B 1 W 4 B 5 W 9
2157 12870920 1 2 3 3˝ 4˝ 5˝ 6˝ 6˝
3 Chernov, Andrey B 15 W 9 B 2 W 11 B 7 B 1 W 4
2122 12920656 1 2 2 3 4 5 5˝ 5˝
1 Shemyakin, Arkady B 13 W 7 B 4 W 2 B 9 W 3 B 11
2160 12810008 1 2 2˝ 3 4 4 5 5
4 Yang, Michael W 18 B 11 W 1 B 5 B 2 W 7 B 3
2103 12895744 1 2 2˝ 3˝ 3˝ 4˝ 5 5
5 Feshir, Medhat bye W 21 B 10 W 4 B 12 W 2 W 14
2055 12675809 ˝ 1˝ 2˝ 2˝ 3˝ 3˝ 4˝ 4˝
7 Chandler, Jeff A W 20 B 1 W 14 B 13 W 3 B 4 W 15
1984 12521977 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4
8 Dahl, Matthew D B 22 W 2 B 13 W 15 B 17 W 9 B 24
1941 12907857 1 1 1 2 3 3 4 4
9 Voje, Daniel W W 23 B 3 B 25 W 6 W 1 B 8 B 2
1934 10318637 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 4
11 Stevenson, Philip W 25 W 4 B 15 B 3 W 27 B 13 W 1
1816 12647920 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 4
13 Johnson, Darek L W 1 B 20 W 8 W 7 B 24 W 11 B 25
1757 12861991 0 1 2 2 3 3 4 4
12 Dobbs, William H B 27 W 24 B 6 W 17 W 5 B 14 B 21
1811 12655705 ˝ 1˝ 1˝ 2˝ 2˝ 2˝ 3˝ 3˝
14 Tykwinski, David B 2 W 22 B 7 W 20 W 25 W 12 B 5
1756 10321387 0 1 1 1˝ 2˝ 3˝ 3˝ 3˝
15 Rao, Eshaan R W 3 B 23 W 11 B 8 W 19 B 22 B 7
1736 12905930 0 1 1 1 2 3 3 3
18 Heinisch, Michael B 4 W 25 B 22 W 23 B 21 B 27 W 17
1563 12139920 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 3
20 Wisniewski, Vince B 7 W 13 B 23 B 14 bye W 24 B 26
1545 12507250 0 0 1 1˝ 2 2 3 3
24 Franz, Joshua J W 10 B 12 W 26 B 27 W 13 B 20 W 8
1469 12741524 ˝ ˝ 1˝ 2 2 3 3 3
25 Leighton, Justin B 11 B 18 W 9 W 21 B 14 W 17 W 13
1354 12932271 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 3
21 Dokken, Michael K bye B 5 W 27 B 25 W 18 B 23 W 12
1534 12916851 ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ 1˝ 2˝ 2˝ 2˝
6 Murray, William J B 17 W 27 W 12 B 9 ---- ---- ----
2049 12288810 0 1 2 2 2 2 2 2
17 Yang, Junqi W 6 bye bye B 12 W 8 B 25 B 18
1571 12907103 1 1˝ 2 2 2 2 2 2
22 Tenney, Robert J W 8 B 14 W 18 bye bye W 15 B 23
1532 12407586 0 0 1 1˝ 2 2 2 2
23 Sullivan, Brett B B 9 W 15 W 20 B 18 B 26 W 21 W 22
1523 12939340 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2
27 Dahl, David C W 12 B 6 B 21 W 24 B 11 W 18 ----
1145 12933356 ˝ ˝ 1˝ 2 2 2 2 2
10 Leighton, Johnny B 24 W 26 W 5 B 16 ---- ---- ----
1839 12932283 ˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝
26 Dokken, Eric J bye B 10 B 24 ---- W 23 bye W 20
1145 12939589 ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ 1˝ 1˝ 1˝
16 Myrin, Norman A ---- ---- ---- W 10 ---- ---- ----
1600 12416042 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
19 Durocher, Richard ---- ---- ---- ---- B 15 ---- ----
1549 12762505 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

WHERE IS THE LIST OF QUALIFIERS FOR THE CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP? (12/08)
    Good question. In keeping with the theme of the lame-duck cutting back, I am going to make you qualify your own self. The rules have been the same for several years: this is an event for those who have supported the club throughout the year by playing in our events so we could pay our rent. Basically, this means someone who has played in at least six regular-rated Saturday events throughout 2006. Thursday Knighters can also be included in this total. You can count it twice if you were the clear winner of the tournament (quads wins don't apply for this). You can also give yourself a half point for each quick chess event you played in, and a third of a point for each Monday Night Action Quad. Given the rating vanity of all chess players, I am positive that anyone reading this on the web has already been to the USCF site and tracked their list of tournaments played. Just go there and count up your total Chess Castle activity for this year.
    I have always granted other bonus points. We give two points for any previous champion, and qualify anyone who has actually done some work for our club, and also qualify all members of the TCCL Chess Castle team. But most of these guys are already regulars, and don't need the boost. There are two groups that get special consideration that they may need. The first is the out-of-town players. We appreciate those who were willing to drive long distances to play in our events, especially considering all the metro players who never bother. In the past I have included a couple of such guys who played a few times despite the drive. Nick Lawrence of Rochester, or Prof. Durocher from Northfield, come to mind. Also included are those who have the best excuse of all for not having the time to play in six events at the club, and that's the people who have put in a great deal of hours towards keeping chess alive in our state. By which I mean MSCA presidents and the active tournament directors; for example Shu Lee, Doug Olson, The Big Fish, Ed Conway, Dave Kuhns etc.
    If you have any questions about your status, or your on the bubble for qualifying, you should call Dan at 612.706.2865 and discuss it with me. Big Warning: if some annoying person decides not to plead his questionable status with the president, but just shows up a week from Saturday and pretends to belong in the tournament field, well, I know very well who the regulars are, and if I check on your numbers Saturday night (I can't do it at the club as we no longer have a line out) and find you short, you won't be paired come Sunday morning.
    I'll try to get the actual tournament details up in a few days. But all the club regulars know we use the Think format, and what that is. And I am still debating whether to us a 15 or a 30 second delay. The charge for the event will be $15, and in recognition of the many father-and-son pairs that have been so active at the Castle recently, these guys will get in at two for $20. I had thought earlier of opening up the field and trying to raise some funds with this event, but no longer. The space echoes too much, and given that the club is going to the Bridge Center, where the expenses will be a lot less, we don't need the cash.
    More important points: the meeting listed in the last NCN for Sunday after noon, concerning the future of the club, will be held a different time, perhaps just earlier in the morning, as our first Sunday round usually starts at noon.  Also, if you are a kid, be warned that the TD will not be tolerating any disruptive behavior at all. Again, the main floor echoes too much, along with the stairs running up to the bathroom, for horseplay. Any of that, and your parents will be picking you up early.

DAVID BRONSTEIN DEAD AT 82 (12/07)
Another legend is gone. The great chess player passed away yesterday. Go to www.chessbase.com for details.

THREE EVENTS FOR DECEMBER (12/05)
Find on the right details for this Saturdays Speed Demon. The week after that will be the Club Championship. And the Saturday before Christmas Eve will be a tornado (five games, game in 45). I don't think we can hold an event on December 30th, as we will have to vacate the space by the end of the month. There will still be Action Quads through the 18th, and also this month's Thursday Knighter. Don't forget TCCL this Friday.

http://chesscastleofminnesota.blogspot.com/ 
Link to info on the new site.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP LOOKS LIKE DECEMBER 16TH AND 17TH (11/09)
 Our downstairs space is not the best. It's warm enough, but the heater is loud, so we'll have to try to work it before and between rounds. The floor is pretty crummy in spots, but thanks to Jeff Chandler, who spent a lot of last Sunday spreading and collecting sweeping compound, we have the dust cut down greatly. The one thing that is better is the large amount of space. Which means we can be very liberal on who we invite to the club championship. Because this is such a popular event, I always had to worry about running out of room before. Like the last several years, it will be a Think format. And like last one, there will be a modest entry fee to help us raise some funds. Might as well get it in before the New Year.

YOU CAN'T CALL IN, SO JUST WALK IN (11/09)
 One of the differences in being on the ground floor is that we have no access to telephone lines. And for a two month stay, it would certainly not be worthwhile to have one put in. I am debating on whether to get a cell phone to cover this, but that wouldn't have until next week at the earliest. And frankly, I may not bother. As useful as a phone is in general, it mostly just seems to be used by the same people for the same lame reasons. There are those who call up Saturday morning to find out what the tournament is. It's work putting out this information on the web, and formatting it for the NCN, but that is not enough for some. They need the personal touch. And then there's those who are always late for a tournament, and always calling you to say so. Now I guess their just going to have to make the effort to be on time, to arrive  before the cut-off. It is unfortunate for the chesspunks who need to call their folks, but we'll see what we can do.

MAIN FLOOR CHESS(11/5)
 Everything, even the stuff nailed down, was moved to the first floor late on Saturday. Special thanks to Carl Benson who showed up just to help move and carried lots of the heavy stuff. We will be here for the months of Nov. and Dec. It is not ideal but the free rent will help the club's finances when it is relocated. A meeting went late to try and decide on the club's new direction. Stay tuned for details.

UPDATE ON OUR EVICTION (11/02)
 We are moving this Saturday night to the old bank space on the first floor. The lighting might be a bit weak, but the landlord said he would work on it with us if need be. We do have the space free for the next two months, right up to the new year (do I see a party?)