Chess Chatter
This page is for news and recent results of the local chess community.
If you have news send it to, Bill at feellikeapawn@comcast.net
March 22 MSCA has had a busy month. The Closed Playoffs are this weekend at the Crowne Plaza Plymouth. Tim Radermacher has been planning a Grand Prix circuit for Minnesota. The details of the Grand Prix are posted with new tournaments in St. Cloud and Superior. Rochester, Franklin and the Northern Open round off the list. There are prizes for classes too. The other big change is the winners will qualify for the Closed. The year's schedule is posted on a Spreadsheet . More information will come as we get near the first event.
Alice Lee and Irina Krush | Photo: Saint Louis Chess Club / Lennart Ootes
FM Alice Lee's win over a GM in the Pro Chess League got a YouTube video on a site I watch on the treadmill. VIDEO The site is Agadmator's Chess Channel. She is playing in The American Cup 2023 in St. Louis this weekend.
March 6 The results of some of the scholastics are posted. Link above. More details are on the MSCA webpage.
March 3 Alice Lee is playing for, and carrying, the St. Louis Arch Bishops in the Pro Chess League. Beating a GM and drawing another. Online go to 3:24:33 in the video.
February 28 Vaibhav Kalpaka is Minnesota's newest Master scoring three wins on Monday night.
February 25 Tim Radermacher has posted some fun facts on the MSCA news site. Only one week to the State Scholastic Tournamment.
February 15 The MN. Open was a huge success. With 200 players, it was not the biggest, but it seemed to run smoothly. Thanks to Chief TD Sarah Emmons, assistants Jackson Wahl and Jenny Bourne. Tim Radermacher did the organizing, starting months in advance to ensure a smooth weekend. He also ran the membership meeting that had important information about the health of our organization. Details of this wil be posted soon. Tim along with Nels Truelson and Joe Longen presented Hall of Fame induction awards to Leonard Johnson, Joe Longen and Warren Stenberg. Their details are on the MSCA site.
A three way tie for first at 4/5 : Joseph Wan, Leonard Johnson and Vaibhav Kalpka. In the Amateur Michael Perry was sole leader with a perfect 5/5. Eric Jensen was clear first in the Reserve with 4.5/5. Kavish Kishore was clear first with 5/5 in the Sophomore. Not sure who made the playoffs but will update when information is available. The next MCJ should have games and more details. RESULTS
Catfish Days is set for July 21st-23rd. Again 7 rounds over three days. Come for the chess, stay for the parade. Sioux Falls is holding the Paul Salem Open April 22nd-23rd. LINK
January 31 Alice Lee crushed it in another Norm tournament. She achieved another IM norm, her second. Her rating should be 2365 according to my sources. ( Another said 2359). She scored 7.5/9 in St. Louis. She needs one more norm and about 40 points to get the title. Congratulations to Team Alice.
The Scholastic registration information is available. See link above.
January 29 Katie Lu gained 231 points playing in the Thursday Knighter in January. A new tournament starts this week. Nate Hoover won the premier section.
January 24 The Winter Open was a huge success. 156 players in several sections braved the cold for the annual event. I remember playing in it back in the 80's. Okey Iwu and David Schabert tied for 1st with 4.5/5. The good doctor is no surprise to be at the top but David is almost an exclusive online player. Hopefully he will enjoy the face to face battle and we can see him at the MN. Open next month. Nastassja Matus and Joel Nathe were next in line with 4/5. Nastassja drawing Iwu in the last round. Joel beat Nels Truelson in the last round.
In the U1800 Michael Haynes, a new player, was clear first with 4.5/5. In the U1300 Jaryd Traahold, another new player, was perfect with 5/5. Thanks to Dane Zagar for directing and MSCA for putting on another great tournament.
January 25 If you are looking for chess instruction to take you to the next level or prepare for over the board battles lessons are available. A very impressive staff of experienced coaches.
Overview Beginner Advanced Intermediate
January 20 The Winter Open has 140 players signed up. Come early as the action starts at 10:00 am. James Neal from Iowa will be on top board as of Friday.
January 16 Tim Radermacher and team have produced another MCJ. It can be found here. Tim would love to hear some feedback on the publication in hopes of improving it. Over 100 entered in the Winter Open. MSCA is doing great work. Early deadline for entry into the MN Open is January 25th.
Andy Grube had a good turnout for the MLK tournament at 26. Won by Vaibhav Kalpaka with 4.5/5.
January 11 The Castle Championship was a very strong event. The first in our new location, 29 players hoped to see their name on the coveted trophy. Jackson Wahl was clear first with 5.5/7 losing to Kyler Weatherspoon and drawing Vaibhav Kalpaka.
December 31 Tim Radermacher will be the Senior candidate in August for the US Senior Championships. He defeated Andre Hortillosa in a playoff.
Alice Lee scored 6/9 in the North American Open in Las Vegas cashing $333. She drew a GM and lost to one. She got the thrill of playing her brother, they drew. Also Joe Truelson whom she beat. Linden score 5.5/9. Ashton Jin also scored 5.5/9. Joe finished with 5/9. Roger Hale finished with 3.5/7 in the U1500.
Eddie Wasserman won the Thursday Knight Premier and Sergei Rakhmanov the open.
December 27 The States big tournaments are coming up. The Club Championship is now again very prestigious. I am confident the trophy will be updated now that it is out of storage and the club is back. Early entry for the MN Open ends on the 25th of January. There are playoffs for the Amateur and Reserve though not listed. There should be an Expert invitational as well.
Some of our friends are in Las Vegas for the holiday week. Chess Results .
December 18 The Hall of Fame Classic drew 63 players in 3 sections. Dane Zagar took clear first with 4/5. There were 5 at 3.5/5. The quicker time control of 60+30 led to many upsets but allowed players to get home at a decent hour. In the U1900 Mohamed Mohamed and Joshua French were tied with 4/5. In the U1400 Aariv Salil was clear first with 4.5/5. Thanks to Tim Radermacher for organizing and Jack Bellinger for directing.
December 10 Linden Lee and Andrew Titus are still playing chess while getting an education. They recently scored well in the Collegiate Chess League. Maybe we will see them between semester breaks. You have been warned.
December 7 Dan Voje lost his 3000 game this weekend. He once again beat me but Arvind Thiagarajan dealt Dan the painful blow. Dan will now start to work on getting his 4,000th win.
This design was painted on our wall at Southdale just outside the club for all to see. Thanks to Dane and Brandon for getting the job done. It looks amazing.
The club championship will be held on Jan. 7-8th. As usual a Think format. The details are on the home page.
November 27 There are 63 entered in the Hall of Fame Classic next week. Remember the limit is for 80 players. Early entry discount until Dec.10th.
Our beloved TD Dan Voje currently has 2,999 USCF losses! He will be playing in this weekend's FIDE event and is offering a special award for the person who gets number 3,000. So if you want a chance to be the one to give him his 3,000th loss, be sure to sign up!
November 25 This coming Tuesday, Nov. 28th, we debut the new Speedy Tuesday tournament. Game 15+3sec. inc. 4 rounds. Opening night will be free entry. Details on the home page. This will not count on your regular rating.
November 21 Only 12 showed for the Think this past weekend. Vaibhav Kalpaka and Medhat Feshir tied for first.
November 14 The Class Championships was a huge success. With 80 players the advertised max competing for not only money but a spot in the Closed. Sammy Narayanan took time out from his norm hunt to once again qualify for the coveted spot. Tim Radermacher made it a little easier after an upset win against Alice Lee. Needing only a draw when playing Alice in the last round. Alice is now off to continue her norm hunt. Thanks to both of them for playing.
The U2000 spot in the section A playoffs was won by Daniel Garrett. He should soon cross the 2000 barrier. I (Bill) was held back by a draw in the first round and had to only hope there would be some draws. No such luck. There is always the MN. Open. All the results can be viewed here. I feel the new site is working out with more options in between rounds and better conditions for parents and fans. Thanks to Sarah for directing and Tim for organizing.
November 8 Do not E-mail MSCA. The limit has been reached for entry into the MN. Class Championship. . We should have an on time start and prizes should be fully paid. Alice Lee, home from St. Louis, and Samrug Narayanan lead a strong field. Bring sets and clocks just in case we need them.
November 2 NM Matt Jensen won the Rochester Championship pocketing $1,000. He posted a video of his last game. Congratulations.
October 24 From the MSCA site: The 2022 edition of the Senior (50+) State Championship was played at the new Castle Chess Club in Southdale Mall on October 22-23. Andres Hortillosa & Tim Radermacher finished in a tie for 1st place with 3.5 / 4.0 points. There will now be a tiebreaker playoff to determine who represents Minnesota at the Irwin National Tournament of Senior State Champions next summer. Other prize winners included Andres Hortillosa for the U2000 section, Daniel Nenneman for the U1700 section, Scott Carpenter for the U1400 section, and Daniel Voje for the age 65+ category.
October 6 NM Eugene Kerkay has passed away. He had recently moved back to MN with his family. I have an E-mail with some information and contact people I can forward if you request it. No obituary yet.
The latest edition of the MCJ has been uploaded to the MSCA site. Thanks to the guys for preserving MN. chess history. MSCA
FM Alice Lee will be in St. Louis for the U.S. Women's Championship. She is an underdog but I know she will do well. You can see the games on Lichess and a little on YouTube. Wild first round game!! Interview with Alice.
The Senior Championship will be held at the Castle this year. A trip to Michigan for the winner along with bragging rights. We must stop Nels Truelson. Also our last chance before the good doctor Iwu turns fifty.
The Castle Chess Club will now be at the Southdale Mall in the basement. Enter at the Hennepin County Service Center entrance off of York and go down the stairs. We are located by the dance studio.
The picture is of the club. With sets and new chairs and good lighting and posters the place looks like a real club. There is more work to do but it is coming along very well.
The Grand Open Think had only 21 players. Vaibhav Kalpaka, a new player, won the event with 6/7. Medhat Feshir, whom we have not seen in a long while and Eddie Wasserman finished tied for 2nd-3rd. It has been rated. The pizza drew a crowd and Mrs. Dahl brought homemade cookies. Monday drew 10.
Our Thursday night events drew 27 between the two sections.
September 21 Ashton Jin is off at UCLA and still playing chess. He recently competed in the Collegiate Chess League on chess.com. Playing some very strong young titled players he scored 6/6. More details on chess.com
September 20 The Northern Open was a huge success. 98 players spread over 4 sections and a blitz on Sunday. Tim Radermacher organized it at the Roseville Oval. Jackson and Sarah did another great job directing. Alice Lee was perfect in the open as she prepares to play in the U.S. Championships in October. Okey Iwu and Josiah Jorenby, from SD. were 2nd-3rd with 4/5. Hunt ,Shemesh and Murray took the Expert prize with 3.5/4. Nathan Kangas was clear first in the U1800 and Rohan Shanbhag clear first in the U1200. Northern
September 8 NM Matt Jensen, from Rochester, has a chess improvement channel with some interesting content.
September 1 Andy Grube from Twin Ports Chess is announcing a monthly chess tournament. Sunday Sept. 25th. Game 60, 5 sec delay. Here is the link to their Facebook page.
The May issue of the Minnesota Chess Journal is now posted on the MSCA site.
Games from the Closed Playoffs
Games from Nagle -Narayanan tie break.
Chess Castle Championship 2021
The club held our yearly championship this past weekend. Not bitter cold or covid could keep 22 brave souls from the competition. Going into the last round winner NM Troy Cavanah was being chased by Jackson Wahl and John Talghader both a half point behind his 5/6. They had all played so a win was needed for Troy to clinch the title. This he did by beating the fast playing Jordan Timm. This pushed him back over 2200 where I am sure he has found a home. Congratulations.
If you want to see some games from the Winter Open: DGT games.
The next MCJ is now available on the MSCA site.