GM Hikaru Nakamura will lead the U.S. team into battle against the World at the 40th World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul, Turkey.

SAINT LOUIS (July 11, 2012) -- With two players ranked in the top 15 in the world, the United States will be well represented for the upcoming 2012 World Chess Olympiad, scheduled to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, August 27 through September 10.

The City of Saint Louis also will be well represented this year as two of the five players selected for this prestigious honor, and one of the coaches, will all call Saint Louis home this fall.

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura, currently ranked No. 7 in the world, is the reigning U.S. Champion and a Saint Louis resident. He will lead one of the strongest teams the U.S. has ever assembled alongside Grandmaster Gata Kamsky, a three-time U.S. Champion who is currently ranked No. 14 in the world.

Grandmasters Alexander Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian will hold down boards three and four, respectively.

Grandmaster Ray Robson, 17, is moving to Saint Louis in the fall to join Susan Polgar’s national champion collegiate chess team at Webster University. He will fill in as the alternate for the other four players and will help them prepare each day for their upcoming competition.

The players will be coached by Grandmaster Ben Finegold, the resident grandmaster at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, and Grandmaster Yury Shulman.

The World Chess Olympiad is a biennial event organized by FIDE, the World Chess Organization, that pits countries from all over the world against one another in a team competition. Teams of four compete against one another, all vying to earn a gold, silver or bronze medal for their respective countries. The 2012 World Chess Olympiad in Istanbul marks the 40th installment of this event, and 166 different countries will be competing.

Life Master Jim McLaughlin fought through a tough field to claim the top spot in the Premiere section of the Amateur & Premiere.

By Alex Marler

The 2012 Amateur & Premiere (my favorite tournament) went quite smoothly as we attracted 42 players, all vying for a guaranteed total prize fund of $1,200. This tournament was a little different than the average weekend Swiss. There were two sections: the Premiere (an open section), and the Amateur (an U1600 section). This format is great no matter where you are on the rating scale. Many of the U1600 players have a chance for some serious prize money as there was a 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-place prize for both sections. Also, if this event was your first tournament, then you didn't have to play anyone over 1600, thereby avoiding any serious trauma to your ego. If you elected to play in the Premiere Section, then you were all but guaranteed four tough games as the lowest rated players were still all 1600+.

Some might think this event was a little like an endurance challenge! With four games at G/90, that's 1.5 hours per player, per game (three hours per round), in one day. Who would not be tired by the last round? The games began around 9 a.m. and ended just before 10 p.m.; that's almost 13 hours of chess in one day!

The event featured an appearance by the mysterious Marek Ziolowski. Ziolowski use to play regurarly in our events, but he has taken a break for about eight months ... we had almost forgotten about him! He called the club 10:09 p.m. on the Friday night before the event to register, and after some troubles with registration he decided that he was not sure if he wanted play. He said if he changed his mind and felt like playing he would appear for the second round tomorrow with a half-point bye in round one. Well, not only does he decide to play (showing up literally at the last second before round 2 began), he managed to destroy everyone in his path to pocket some prize money. Now that is a great comeback tournament! Ziolkowski took down Brett Eckert, Matthew Flint, and William Little. However, he did not get to keep all the prize money, because of Steven D. Evans' smashing 3.5/4 performance. Evans dismantled Mike Buckley, Dan Tuttle, and Joseph Michael Bean. His only draw was to the up-and-coming Clark Zhang Berry, who finished with a respectable three points, netting him some prize money and a nice third-place finish. Bean also won money and took 4th on tiebreaks with a nice 3/4 finish. The fifth-place prize was split four ways between Levi Grant, Dan Tuttle, Willam Little, and Dennis Hourcade.

The Preimere Section was the toughest it's ever been with five players rated over 2000: FM Doug Eckert, NM Vic Feldberg, Life Master Jim Mclaughlin, Barry Manthe and myself (both Candidate Masters). These are some seriously strong players, and I'm not just saying that because I'm one of them! FM Eckert has played in the 2009 U.S. Championship and is on the Saint Louis Arch Bishops U.S. Chess League team, NM Feldberg plays for the extremely strong Washington University Chess Team and LM Mclaughlin has endless tournament victories over the past 30 years.

This tournament, McLaughlin rose to the top as he managed to crush each of his opponents. A few of his big wins are shown below. FM Eckert, Matthew Larson (soon to be the highest rated Club member) and I all tied for 2nd place through 4th place with 3/4. Matt Barrett (a new club employee), Jay Lewis III and NM Feldberg tied for 5th through 7th.

The tournament proved to be a fun event, and I hope to see everyone at the next tournament, the Saint Louis District Championship, on September 1.

Click here for a complete listing of the standings.

The Unrated Beginner Tournament for Kids helps introduce the joy of tournament chess to new students each month.

A total of 39 kids came to the Chess Club on a rainy Sunday to compete in the Unrated Beginner Tourney and created quite a storm. In the Kindergarten-3rd Grade section, Beginner Tourney regular Ajay Eisenberg let his presence be heard early and often as he smacked the clock hard after every move. His round two opponent was so caught up in all the slamming that after Ajay checkmated him, he obliterated the board 1 marker. As Executive Director Tony Rich likes to say: "This is why we can't have nice things."

The Ryker brothers continue to improve. In the second round, Roman's opponent exclaimed "you are too good" in the middle of the game. Roman went on to win that game easily. Roman and his older brother Derian were both 3-0 heading into the final round. But Derian couldn't stop Ajay "the freight train" in the last round, and Roman's hopes were derailed by Andy Behrman, a USCF member. Ajay Eisenberg won a membership to the USCF for his four thumpings.

In the 4th Grade and up section, GM Ben Finegold's daughter, Erum, was putting on a show early. After crushing her first two opponents, she made a slight misstep to cost her the victory in round 3. Erum recovered nicely in round 4 as she delivered a clever checkmate to her unsuspecting opponent.

In round 4, two 3-0 competitors faced off for the championship. New USCF member and Friday Action Quad staple Jack Riordan had the black pieces vs. June Beginner winner Ben Boaz. Ben's 3.5 points last month were not good enough for a USCF membership so he was determined to go 4-0 this time around. Ben's perseverance paid off as he won the intense battle and earned himself a USCF membership.

Congratulations to both the winners and we hope to see everyone at the "Back-to-School Bash" on August 11. USCF membership is required for the event, and everyone will get a chess rating after the event. USCF membership cost as little as $17 for the year. The entry fee is just $5 if pre-registered.

Standings - Unrated Kids Beginner Tourney: Open

Standings - Unrated Kids Beginner Tourney: K-6

Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield will each receive a Gold Koltanowski Award from the USCF for their commitment to the promotion of the game of chess on a multitude of levels.

Awards will be given out at a special awards luncheon at the U.S. Open, which currently is being held in Vancouver, Washington, on Saturday, August 11 at Noon PST.

The CCSCSL is no stranger to national awards. In the past, the Chess Club has also been honored with the following awards:

• In 2009 and 2011, the USCF awarded Saint Louis the title of “Chess City of the Year.”
• In 2010, The CCSCSL was named “Chess Club of the Year.”
• In 2009 and 2010, Executive Director Tony Rich won “Organizer of the Year.”
• In 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, club founder Rex Sinquefield won the Gold Koltanowski Award
• In 2012 Jeanne Sinquefield won the Gold Koltanowski Award

In September of last year, Jeanne's hard work in helping the Boy Scouts of America develop and launch a merit badge for chess was finally realized with a kickoff-celebration that coincided with the opening of the World Chess Hall of Fame. Eagle Scout and NASA Astronaut Greg Chamitoff was among the honored guests who helped launch the newest badge for the Boy Scouts.

Launch of the Boy Scouts of America Chess Merit Badge

The CCSCSL has started hosting day-long workshops to help area Boy Scouts earn their Chess Merit Badge.

On July 28, the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis hosted its first-ever Chess Merit Badge workshop. The CCSCSL has so far been focusing on supporting local chess merit badge counselors, but with the help of the Boy Scouts of America, we were actually able to host our own event here at the Chess Club.

Fourteen eager boy scouts and their parents descended on the Central West End to see if they had what it takes to earn the Chess Merit Badge. Participants went through a rigorous eight-hour workshop (with an hour lunch break, of course). Despite the fact that all of the participants knew the basic rules, there were many additional requirements to fulfill. Boy Scouts learned chess lingo, algebraic notation, and took part in a an actual chess tournament.

The day was wrapped up with an examination. Each Boy Scout had to answer a series of questions and demonstrate the first ten moves of their tournament game, using algebraic notation. Boy Scout Councilor Ernest Hayes, moderated the examination and referred all 14 scouts to receive the badge. From all of us, at the Chess Club, congratulations scouts!!

The next Boy Scout Merit Badge Workshop will take place on October 27 here at the Chess Club. Sign up today by calling 314.361.2437. More information on the upcoming event can be found below.

GM Ben Finegold served as the CCSCSL's Resident Grandmaster from January 2010 until August 2012.

SAINT LOUIS (August 15, 2012) -- Grandmaster Ben Finegold has resigned his position as the Resident Grandmaster at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Citing personal reasons for his departure, Finegold and the Chess Club are parting on good terms, and the club hopes he will continue to support American Chess at all levels, from developing strong scholastic players to coaching players at the top tier.

GM Finegold was hired to be the Resident Grandmaster at the CCSCSL in January 2010, and he was integral in helping shape the growing scholastic chess movement in Saint Louis and in helping organize numerous world-class events.

Tony Rich, executive director of the CCSCSL, thanked GM Finegold for his service to the Chess Club. 

“Ben was a valuable addition to our staff, and we are thankful for his expertise and input throughout his tenure here,” Rich said.

Julian Proleiko recently returned from a trip to Russia where he seems to have acquired secret Soviet training methods.

The "Back-to-School Bash" was the third and final installment of the 2012 Scholastic Summer Series of tourneys. Clark Berry, the winner of the "Summer Slam Bash" and Torin Hylan, the winner of the "Royal Rumble Bash" were the top two seeds in the 29-player field. Torin's first-round encounter lasted the longest as he finally put Domenic Fenoglio away. Domenic ended up finishing strong to capture the "Top U600" trophy. In round 2, Torin's brother, Bo, got the only stalemate of the event. But in all fairness, it was in a dead drawn king-and-pawn endgame. In round 3, Clark breezed by his opponent utilizing multiple queens. CCSCSL rising superstar Julian Proleiko sacrificed his queen to achieve smother mate against his baffled opponent. Julian, Clark and Torin were all perfect heading into the fourth and final round.

The two "Bash Champions" squared off, while Julian was paired against Ellison Van Scoy, a visitor from Ohio.

Julian won the game in the endgame with a an x-ray motif that won Ellison's queen to finish 4-0. Clark and Torin's game predictably was the last game to finish. A lot of players stuck around to watch the two battle. It was the classic knight vs. bishop endgame. Clark had the bishop plus his king was in much better position. Clark ran his king over to the queenside to gobble up pawns while Torin's king remained idle on the back row. Armed with queenside passers, Clark got the pawns rolling while Torin's knight could do little to stop them. With Clark's victory, both he and Julian were deadlocked with 4 points each meaning there was only one way to decide 1st place.

Tiebreaks. 

Basically, it came down to whose opponents performed better in the event. Unfortunately for Clark, Lixen Zheng scored the "Biggest Upset" of the event in round 4 against Clark's 3rd round opponent costing Clark the title. All of Julian's hard work earned him the 1st Place trophy. He just returned from Russia where he acquired secret Soviet training methods. Julian let it slip that his goal is to be 2200 at this time next year. With his dedication to the game and the resources of the Chess Club at his fingertips, his master plan may just become a reality.

GM Yasser Seirawan is a four-time U.S. Champion and former World Championship contender.

SAINT LOUIS (August 24, 2012) -- Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan will arrive in Saint Louis on September 3 to serve as the acting Resident Grandmaster of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.

Seirawan, a four-time U.S. Champion and former World Championship contender, came out of retirement in 2011 to play in the U.S. Championship, which was held in Saint Louis. He cited the exciting developments of the Saint Louis chess scene as a contributing factor for his renewed interest in competitive chess and the U.S. Championship.

“First, it is a great event, and I wanted to thank the good folks at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis for all their wonderful work,” he said. “Secondly, I got bored watching the young lions at play and felt the urge to join them.”

Seirawan followed the 2011 U.S. Championship with a stunning performance at the 2011 World Team Championship, where he finished with a 2773 performance rating, which was almost 140 points higher than his rating at the time.

This move will allow him to have a direct impact on the rapidly growing chess movement in Saint Louis.

GM Hikaru Nakamura eclipsed Bobby Fischer's rating record 40 years to the day that the final game between Fischer and Boris Spassky was adjourned to decide the 1972 World Championship.

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura became the highest-rated GM in the history of American chess with a FIDE rating of 2786.7 following his victory over Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran at the World Chess Olympiad. This is the highest rating ever attained by Nakamura, who was recently named Grandmaster of the Year by the United States Chess Federation.

Fittingly, today also marks the 40th anniversary of the adjournment of the final game in the 1972 World Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. Spassky officially resigned by telephone the following day. 

Nakamura's rating can still fluctuate throughout the remainder of the Olympiad, and the rating will not be official until FIDE releases its next supplement, but this is still a monumental achievement for the U.S. No. 1 and reigning U.S. Champion.

To follow Nakamura's rating progress each day, visit www.2700chess.com or follow his progress at the Olympiad by visiting www.uschesschamps.com. 

By Alex Vergilesov

It was another hot Sunday here in Saint Louis, and the Chess Club's main campus in the Central West End once again hosted its monthly beginner tournament for kids. The tournament included two sections: preschool to grade 3, and grades 4+. The younger section featured a whopping 25 players! The kids played four rounds with a 15-minute time control, and all of the players were either new to tournament chess or had a USCF rating under 600. There was much excitement in the last round of the tournament as five players competed for first place. Wilson Gao won his last round game to place first with a perfect 4/4 score. Amit Kadan and Chaim Zaromb both scored 3.5/4. Best of luck to all of the players next month!

The older kids’ section proved to be a different story. Eight players competed in the section for grades 4+, and Morgan Risch, visiting from Washington State, delivered a stunning 4/4 performance, which left the rest of the competitors in the dust.

All participants received medals for their awesome effort!

Many thanks to all that participated!

Please join us for our next Beginner’s Tournament Event scheduled to be held on the last Sunday of September (9/30), at the CCSCSL. Click here for more information.

For more information on the CCSCSL's Scholastic Program, please contact Alex Vergilesov at Avergilesov@SaintLouisChessClub.org or call 314.361.CHESS (2437).

SwissSys Standings. Kids' Beginners: K-3

SwissSys Standings. Kids' Beginners: 4+

GM Ben Finegold is helming the top board for the Arch Bishops this year.

By Alex Marler and Matt Barrett

The United States Chess League is a competitive Internet-based chess league played on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) and Chess.com. Cities from across the country field teams of four players to do weekly battle throughout the fall. Each team has a total of 10 players who will participate in a rotation throughout the season. Most of the teams are comprised of expert-level to grandmaster-level players, so the competition is pretty tough and the players take the games quite seriously.

This season, Saint Louis offers a team with a diverse roster of collegiate, international, and local players. There are representatives from India, Georgia, Belarus, Ecuador, Wisconsin and Saint Louis. The team is headed by Grandmaster Ben Finegold, a 2011 3rd-Team All-Star with a season performance rating of 2719, who sports an excellent record in past leagues. Lindenwood University has provided several strong additions, including India's IM Priyadharshan Kannappan, Georgia's IM Levan Bregadze, Belarusian WGM Anna Sharevich, and Ecuadorian WIM Carla Heredia Serrano. Boards 3 and 4 will be comprised of FM Doug Eckert, NM Nolan Hendrickson, Washington University's Expert Nick Karlow, and Matthew Larson.

The first match of the season pitted the Saint Louis Arch Bishops against the Miamis Sharks. This was a fairly equal matchup as far as rating was concerned, and the games proved as much. The first tally was scored in favor of Saint Louis when IM Kannappan defeated SM Robert Perez on Board 2. The score was evened when Finegold went down at the hands of GM Becerra. Boards 3 and 4 presented opportunities for both sides. Ultimately, Miami won out in both cases despite the best efforts of FM Doug Eckert and NM Nolan Hendrickson. Check out the games below for analysis and be sure to check in on Chess.com next Wednesday at 7 p.m, Central time for Saint Louis' match against the Baltimore Kingfishers.

By Mike Kummer

New faces filled out the 64-player field at the Saint Louis District Championship over a wet Labor Day Weekend. With the addition of two new collegiate chess programs in the Saint Louis area, 12 local college students showed up looking to earn a paycheck. In all, there were 30 players of Class A strength or higher including IMs Priyadharshan Kannappan and Levan Bregadze of Lindenwood, and Cuban GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez of Webster University.

Corrales Jimenez held off the tag team efforts of Lindenwood University's top two boards to claim the district title on tiebreaks. The Cuban grandmaster got the better of Bregadze in the final round. But Bregadze didn't leave without some cash as his four points were good enough for a share of third place. Bregadze's teammate, Kannappan, fared better in his round-four encounter with Corrales Jimenez. Despite being a down a pawn in a knight-and-bishop endgame, Kannappan used good technique to neutralize his material deficit and force a draw. The IM then defeated expert annihilator Al Howlett in the final round. IM Kannappan finished with 4.5/5 to crack in on the grand prize and, along with Corrales Jimenez, received automatic qualification for the 2013 CCSCSL Club Championship. They were followed closely by Bregadze with 4 out of 5, who tied for 3rd place overall with Calvin Parnon and Zach Stuart (both also of Lindenwood) and several others including Saint Louisans FM Doug Eckert and NM Jialin Ding.  

Parnon and Stuart were forced to play each other with the Championship on the line, but Parnon clogged the position and a draw was agreed upon. They shared the top U2000 prize. Parnon had a spectacular first three rounds, scoring victories over NM Jialin Ding and NM Spencer Finegold before settling for a draw against NM Bob Holliman in round four. In the end, he gained 70-plus rating points and nearly leapt to expert.

CCSCSL Scholastic coordinator Alex Vergilesov played a wild game against Holliman in round 2.

Matt Larson provided perhaps the most exciting near-upset of the tournament with his strong performance against Corrales Jimenez who finally managed to outmaneouver his underrated opponent and escape with the full point.

The story of the tournament was youngster Amit Kadan, who played in his first-ever tournament. During registration his dad was quite skeptical of Amit entering such a strong field with a long format. But Amit persisted, his dad relented, and finally he got to play. Amit's first-round match didn't last long, and in round two, Amit's game was the first to finish again. This was bad news ... for his opponent! Amit scored a shocking upset victory that quickly sent his opponent not just out of the building, but out of the state. Amit didn't stop there. He proved that Ken West's "Grandmaster" moniker, is just that and nothing more by scoring another upset in round four. Amit's two points earned him some Froyo money and an over-the-top USCF provisional rating. Loren Lenzen (1197) also started out with a bang, scoring the upset of the tournament over 1928-rated Jeffrey Kovalic. He followed up with a win over a 1600 later. Clearly Loren is improving his game. He shared U1200 money with Amit and Robert Lucky.

Alex Stiger's 2.5 points were enough to win the $225 U1600 prize outright. Nathan Phan had a difficult first three rounds, facing three 1900-plus players and failing to score a point. He finished very strong though, winning his final two games, which left him tied with several others for 2nd and 3rd place in the U1600 section including Richard Pointer, Ken West, Christopher Dobbs, Brett Exkert, Owen Bitting and Dan Tuttle

The tournament was one of the bigger and stronger tournaments the club has hosted in quite a while. A total of 29 players had a USCF rating of 1900+. In addition to Lindenwood and Webster being represented, Washington University and Saint Louis University also had students compete. A total of 23 players got a piece of the $2,500 prize fund.

The Saint Louis District Championship served as a very exciting, hard-fought first event of the fall. It looks as though the arrival of so many strong players to the Saint Louis area in recent months will translate to greater competition and entertainment at CCSCSL tournaments this year. We very much look forward to the 2-on-2 Team Championship on Oct. 6, which should once again feature numerous titled players and lots of scintillating chess!

CCSCSL Scholastic Coordinator Matt Barrett contributed to this report.

Saint Louis District Championship: Final Standings

Week two of the 2012 U.S. Chess League proved to be the Arch Bishop's single greatest victory in league history. The team won all four of their games against the Baltimore Kingfisher's!! GM Finegold defeated German GM Huschenbeth in a beautiful game that demonstrated the immense power of queen-and-bishop battery. Finegold said that his opponent pretty much only played the King's Indian defense, so when he played a Nimzo-Indian on the board Finegold quickly played one of the more positionally complicated lines where the subtleties are too great to appreciate over the board. GM Huschenbeth proved incapable of solving the intricate problems posed by GM Fingeold and found himself in a strategically losing position early on in the game.

IM Priyadharshen Kannappan, top board on the new Lindenwood University Chess team, put forth a tremendous effort to pull out a win over GM Larry Kaufman on board 2. IM Levan Bregadze, 2nd board on the new Lindenwood University Chess team, found himself outprepared and confused when his opponent, Kevin Wang, played the Alekhine Defense! Bregadze kept his cool, and managed to outplay Wang in a titght game that tested both player's skill in time pressure. The Arch Bishops' youngest member, Matthew Larson(unfortunately no relation to Bent) came through with a huge upset victory against NM Selzler on board 4. Be sure to checkout the games below for annotations and www.uschessleague.com for league info and pairings. Come support the Arch Bishops in person at the Chess Club on Monday the 16th at 7:30 pm local time as they take on San Francisco Mechanics.

By Alex Marler

The fourth week of the U.S. Chess League saw the Conneticut Dreadnoughts hoist the pirate flag and send the Arch Bishop's to Davey Jones' Locker. Newcomers to the USCL, the Dreadnoughts are quite the powerful team this year with an undefeated match record. The team is captained by GM Robert Hess, ranked 4th in the nation, and also sports several other strong, titled competitors, such as GM Kekelidze, IM Sarkar, and SM Otchiyev. The Arch Bishops have continuously fielded a GM, two IM and expert line up, which is a fairly rare strategy for the USCL. Many USCL teams have two titled players and then some 2300+ rated masters. The Dreadnoughts decided to match the Arch Bishops' strategy this week by playing GM Hess on board 1, GM Mekheil Kekelidze on board 2, IM Justin Sarkar on board 3 and expert rated Tanenbaum on board 4. This line up proved rather daunting for Saint Louis as they were out rated on boards 1 and 2, and board 3 was fairly equal. This meant a lot of pressure for Saint Louis' board 4, Nick Karlow, who was really in a must-win situation. Unfortunately, the team let the match slip away with a few untimely blunders.

GM Hess v. GM Finegold

"Maybe 14...Qe6 is wrong? Black should be fine...I just got outplayed, but I don't know why exactly." - GM Finegold

GM Hess is well known for his unique style of play. He plays offbeat openings in the hopes to just get some position unfamiliar to both sides and then proceed to outplay his opponent. Unfortunately for Saint Louis, Hess implements this strategy perfectly in his win over Finegold. Actually, it was Ben who attempted to surprise Hess with 4..Bc5 against Hess' Spanish Opening. White, played the super rare, maybe novel, 5. Bxc6, which Finegold had not considered in his preparation for the match, "Nobody plays Bishop takes there!"Finegold said. The game was balanced until Finegold played the first inaccuracy, 23...Ne7, which allowed white to win a pawn. Black was then on the wrong side of a pawn storm with little to no defensive resources. Eventually, Finegold had to part with more material to force an ending, but the ending proved to be hopeless.

IM Kannappan has stomped all over many of his opponents this season. His victims include GM Larry Kaufman, SM Robert Perez, and now GM Mekheil Kekelidze. Kannappan prepared a King's Indian Attack for Kekelidze's Sicilian Defense. The opening proved to be rather quiet and by move 29 the queenside was completely locked. Black was the only one with realistic play, i.e. the central pawn break e5. Kannappan recentralized his knight to a good square, e3, and was well placed to meet the further opening of the position. By move 35 the game had transformed into a complex queen-and-knight ending, with both sides in time pressure of course! In severe time pressure, Kekelidze blundered with 44...Nc5?, which gave Kannappan time to play 45.Nd6 and 46.Nxc4, winning a crucial pawn and the game.

IM Sarkar vs IM Levan Bregadze was a real nail biter for the Arch Bishops. Sarkar unknowningly walked into Bregadze's preparation in one of the most dangerous chess openings, the Botvinnik Semi-Slav! GM Yasser Seirawan, proved invaluable during the pregame preparation as he had analyzed this particular line very deeply and was able to convey its secrets to Bregadze. Black cruzed through the opening, and gained a nice edge on the clock. However, Bregadze reached a critical position on move 19 and failed to find the best response, 19...e5!. After his move, 19...Bd6, Sarkar found a nice defensive and attacking setup with a queen and bishop battery on the h1-a8 diagonal. Bregadze clearly flustered and wondering where his advantage went, committed a mental error and blundered with 21...Qxf6?, which allowed White's Queen to penetrate Black's defenses with 22. Bg4! and 23. Qxc6+.

With Bregadze and Finegold both losing, Karlow v. Tanenbaum became very important to the outcome of the match. The game was nothing but equal through and through. Both players played very well, and in fact better than their FIDE titled teammates; this was the only game where no one blundered! Sadly for Saint Louis, there was no win to be had for karlow as the position was too sterile.

By Matt Barrett

On Saturday morning, Washington University and Lindenwood University met to play the first-ever collegiate chess match held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. This was a historic match on several accounts as it was the first collegiate contest of its kind in Saint Louis, and it marked the first-ever team match for LU chess. This friendly match pitted the 10 best players on each team, ranked in rating order on 10 boards, against each other for one game. Colors alternated on each board, so Wash U got white on the odd boards and LU white on the even boards. On paper, the team ratings were very similar, with LU better in the top five, but Wash U much higher in the bottom half.

Although they are best known for their academics, Wash U is also a very strong chess school. Sometimes referred to as the Harvard of the midwest, Wash U competes annually at the Pan-Am Collegiate Championship. Since both schools have their sights set on a strong performance in that end-of-year tournament, this match provided excellent practice and offered a measuring stick for future competitions.

Wash U scored first when Willy Kane defeated Josh Cardenas to put the Bears up 1-0.

Not long after, NM Nolan Hendrickson struck back vs Lucas McCain to tie it at 1-1. In chess, it is often a player's familiarity with a position or type of position that allows him to play concisely and accurately at the board. Hendrickson explained after his game that he had done a lot of home preparation along the same lines as his actual game, and that he simply had to find the general ideas and play the associated moves to take the full point. LU took a brief lead 2-1 when Alex Richter emerged ahead in the endgame of a back-and-forth affair with Aldrich at board five. The next two results went in favor of Wash U, when WIM Carla Heredia Serrano was upset at board three by native Saint Louisan and CCSCSL veteran Nick Karlow, and LU's Micah Losee also lost on board seven to Wash U's Jesse Jones.

The tension was thick for Lindenwood who was trailing 3-2 with things looking unclear on several boards. This was a critical time for the team to get a favorable result. They got exactly that from the team's hottest performer, top-rated IM Priyadharshan Kannappan at board one. Kannappan was facing SM Mark Heimann, a very strong player from Wash U, and in a relatively equal and quiet-looking position, Kannappan was clever enough to out-maneuver Heimann and win a difficult endgame. This moment was clearly the final tipping point in the match. Shortly thereafter, George Krasnopolskiy put the finishing touches on a stunning upset at board 10 where his opponent Jason Zhang had out-rated him by 400 points! IM Levan Bregadze took a draw with NM Victor Feldberg at board two and LU held a slight lead at 4.5-3.5. Zach Stuart was debating taking a draw, but had to wait until Justin Grimes finished off an upset of his own at board eight to be sure. When Grimes' opponent resigned, LU had clinched the match and Stuart happily took the draw. Final score: Lindenwood: 6, Washington U: 4.

This was a solid first step for LU's collegiate league aspirations. Both teams are looking to accomplish great things in the chess world this year! Next up for Lindenwood is a team tournament on October 6, before a mid-October tilt with Yale University. Wash U is also prepping for the Pan-Ams, and its students will keep training by attending the bigger tournaments in the Saint Louis area advance of that December date.

By Alex Marler

The Arch Bishops struck back this week with a superb win over the Seattle Sluggers, who are ranked 2nd in the Western Division. This win has pushed Saint Louis into 3rd place in the Western Division, which is the highest ranking the team has ever held this late in the season. Once again week five featured the Arch Bishops' top clergymen: GM Ben Finegold, IM Priyadharshan Kannappan and IM Levan Bregadze. The three were unstoppable this week as they all reached winning positions by move 23! GM Finegold, true to his style, never allowed his opponent, FM Costin Cozianun (2508), an ounce of counterplay. Check out the game below to see GM Finegold's annotations. IM Kannappan also crushed his opposition without much trouble. However, that should not be too surprising, since IM Kannappan is the current league leader (the best individual score)!!! IM Bregadze defeated FM Curt Collyer with a crushing kingside attack in only 22 moves. Newly crowned expert, Matthew Larson, tried a daring line of the Gruenfeld Defense against Sinanan that included exchanging his best defensive piece, the dark-squared bishop. This choice proved too risky, and Larson was quickly routed.

Be sure to check out week 6 action against the New Jersey Knockouts this Tuesday night, October 9 at 7 p.m. in the chess club or on the Internet Chess Club.

Lindenwood University Freshman Micah Losee was one of six LU students who participated in the 2-on-2 Team Championship.

By Mike Kummer

A total of 17 teams of two came out to compete for a guaranteed prize fund of $750 over a pleasant Columbus Day weekend. Unlike most of the previous team events held at the CCSCSL, the No. 1-seeded team was not the father-son duo of Ben and Spencer Finegold, rather it was Lindenwood University teammates International Masters Priyadharshan Kannapanan and Levan Bregadze. But in a team tourney with a fast time control (G/70 with a five-second delay), anything can happen.

In the first round, the Lindenwood team, "LU Lions," were paired against "Mini-Me and Dr. Evil," otherwise known as the father-son tandem of FM Doug Eckert and his son, Brett. So in just the first round, spectators were treated to the titanic match-up of FM Eckert, the No. 4 seed overall, playing white vs. the No. 2 seed IM Kannappan. IM Bregadze won his game early over his outmatched opponent so all Kannappan needed was a draw to clinch the match. FM Eckert wisely declined a draw in the middlegame and got an advantage in the endgame. Kannappan was low on time and material but not low on heart. Despite being down a bishop, he consolidated all the mating material off the board to force the draw and win the round one match for his team.

The Finegolds, who used a couple Super GMs to build their team name of "Caruana & Carlsen," dispensed yet another father-son tandem to remain perfect. Things weren't so difficult for the "LU Lions" in round two as they took care of "Charlie Checkmate and the Oakland Kid" (a.k.a. Michael and David Askin). The Finegolds overpowered Lindenwood's "B" team, "the BMF's," in round two. Going into round three, there were only three teams perfect: the "LU Lions," "Caruana & Carlsen," and "The Club," which was made up of CCSCSL Executive Director Tony Rich and Scholastic Coordinator Matt Barrett.

"The Club" was paired against a pair of Washington University students in round three, so that meant the much-anticipated match-up was upon us. As expected, IM Bregadze got the better of NM Spencer Finegold meaning GM Finegold was forced to play for a win to draw the match. Finegold had the advantage on the board and also a big time advantage. He also had a rook, a knight in his opponent's territory and three pawns to Kannappan's rook, bishop and three pawns. Finegold had well over a minute to Kannappan's seven seconds. But with the five-second delay, the young Lindenwood IM still had a chance. Finegold, in severe time pressure of his own, pushed his passed e-pawn to the sixth rank in an attempt to get a new queen. But lo and behold, by pushing the pawn, it allowed his knight to be pinned to his king. Doh!

Kannapan got the miracle he was looking for as he chopped the knight off the board and advanced his pawns to a thrilling victory! Who says chess isn't a spectator sport? In round four, the "LU Lions" were paired agaisnt "The Club" which had drawn the team from Wash U in the previous round. Amazingly, Barrett was able to draw the IM but it wasn't enough as Kannappan could not be denied on this day and defeated Rich.  The "LU Lions" took clear 1st, which was good for $300, and Kannapan's rating broke the 2500 mark.

The Wash U teammates finished strong by defeating the Eckert team 1.5-.5 to take the U3800 prize. Owen Bitting's ad hoc team with Tom Gaul was a bit of genius. Their combined rating of 3194 put them in prime position to snatch the U3200 prize. They got two match points, which was good for a tie for 1st place U3200. They split the prize with the Rainbow Warriors, the brainchild of CCSCSL Scholastic Coordinator Alex Vergilesov. He teamed up with an underrated instructor to compete for the U2800 prize. The strategy worked out as Ben Conover (796) scored the upset of the tourney by defeating a 1700 in the first round.

The 2-on-2 Team Championship was another fun event as players got to play alongside their family and friends for the day. The event featured the top 10 boards relayed simultaneously on the internet via DGT Boards.

Check out the final standings, and download all the exciting games by clicking the link here.

GM Varuzhan Akobian will help fill the role as Acting Resident GM at the CCSCSL while GM Yasser Seirawan is away.

Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan has returned to Amsterdam for an extended hiatus, but he will return to the Chess Club on November 20. While he is away, two GMs who have extensive knowledge of Saint Louis and the Chess Club will fill in in his absence. From October 16 through October 22, and then again from October 30 through November 8, GM Varuzhan Akobian will serve as the CCSCSL's Acting Resident Grandmaster. GM Alejandro Ramirez, who will be in town competing in the SPICE Cup, will fill in October 21 through October 28.

Rotating Resident GM Schedule

GM Varuzhan Akobian: October 16-22 and October 30-November 8

GM Alejandro Ramirez: October 21-28

GM Yasser Seirawan: November 20-December 20

Akobian has participated in all four of the U.S. Championships that were held at the CCSCSL and has been back numerous times for lectures and other special events. GM Alejandro Ramirez previously has filled in as Acting Resident Grandmaster and has played in major tournaments at the Chess Club including the 2012 U.S. Championship. He has also serves as a grandmaster instructor for the Chess Club's Summer Camp program.

Don't miss your opportunity to play a few games or take a lesson from these chess greats while they're in town!

Call 314.361.CHESS (2437) to schedule a lesson today!

GM Alex Yermolinsky takes on GM Ben Finegold at the 2010 U.S. Championship. Yermolinksy becomes the 48th player inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

October 17, 2012 (St. Louis, MO) – The World Chess Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Alex “Yermo” Yermolinsky will be officially inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame on October 23, 2012. Yermolinksy becomes only the 48th person named to the Hall of Fame, joining luminaries such as Bobby Fischer and Benjamin Franklin.

“We are thrilled to honor Yermo as he takes his place among the top players in US history. Besides his obvious personal gift for the game, he should also be recognized for his generosity helping others learn to play and improve their skills,” said Harold Winston, chairman of the U.S. Chess Federation Hall of Fame Committee.

Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), Yermolinsky immigrated to the United States in 1989 and became a grandmaster in 1992. He went on to share the title of U.S. Chess Champion with Alexander Shabalov in 1993 and was the sole champion in 1996. He has won countless other titles and was the Grandmaster-in-Residence at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club in San Francisco from 1999-2007.

Yemolinsky is a noted chess writer and instructor. He has authored two books: The Road to Chess Improvement (winner of the Cramer Award for best instructional chess book and the British Chess Federation’s Book of the Year award) and Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian. He broadcasts on the Internet Chess Club website and was instrumental in the development of the website ChessKid.com, which teaches the game to children in a fun, safe, and secure online environment.

Alex and his wife, Women’s Grandmaster Camilla Baginskaite, live with their two children in South Dakota, where he works with the South Dakota Chess Association as an instructor, lecturer, and tournament director.

“Hosting this induction ceremony is a highlight of our year. It is a reminder of the broad-reaching significance of chess, the impact that chess has had on our city, and the importance of the Hall of Fame’s mission to shine a light on the game’s greater meaning,” said Susan Barrett, director of the World Chess Hall of Fame.

About the World Chess Hall of Fame www.worldchesshof.org

The World Chess Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization committed to building awareness for the cultural and artistic significance of chess. It opened on September 9, 2011, in the Central West End after moving from previous locations in New York and Miami.

The WCHOF is housed in an historic 15,900 square-foot residence-turned-business and features the U.S. and World Chess Halls of Fame, displays of artifacts from the permanent collection, and temporary exhibitions highlighting the great players, historic games, and rich cultural history of chess.

It is a partner organization to the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, which has become an acclaimed center for chess both in the US and internationally.

By Matt Barrett

With the fall term kicking off in August for students throughout the Saint Louis area, our scholastic programs have resumed and are quickly hitting full stride. This year our academic initiatives have reached out to more schools than ever, including such institutions as Andrews Academy, Christ the King, and Rohan Woods. We are now providing chess instruction in several schools in the Parkway district and have received rave reviews from administrators and parents about the excitement among students about our offerings and our instructors' commitment to chess. In addition, we are developing a close relationship with the Saint Louis Archdiocese and are implementing programs at many member schools, none on as grand a scale as Immacolata.

Immocolata is off and running with chess education, offering students a chance to be part of a cutting-edge instructional offering that enhances study skills, rewards work ethic and organization, and emphasizes methodical thinking all under the format of the highly entertaining and historically noteworthy game of chess. On Monday afternoons we have an unprecedented five classes taking place all at once between kindergarten and 5th grade. These classes each have between eight and 16 students playing and practicing chess. An impressive 20 percent of the Immacolata student body is involved in studying chess. In total there are 54 kids in the Immacolata program, all enthusiastic learners who are moving forward rapidly from learning the basics of chess to higher-level strategy. Each class offers the study of principles and opportunity for in-class competition.

One key reason for the high degree of success at Immacolata is the interest and participation on a variety of levels at the school. The parents and school administration have been particularly supportive of the institution of a chess curriculum. A special thanks goes out to the talented instructors there, working from kindergarten thru 5th grade: Caleena Karstens, Brian Lau, Alex Yowell, Raymond Jackson and Tom Pathiyil. Thanks to Principal Latranga for his help facilitating these programs. When schools participate this actively and are so welcoming about incorporating chess in school, it creates a perfect learning environment. Classes on such a scale and with such obvious success as at Immacolata are a source of particular pride for our scholastics partners and are particularly effective for unlocking the teaching potential of chess.

At the collegiate level we are very proud of our efforts to enhance chess opportunities at area universities. Our partnership with Lindenwood University has yielded a formidable team for the 2012-13 collegiate season. There are four titled players on the team, hailing from the faraway lands Belarus, India, Ecuador and Georgia. LU is competing in matches against some of the strongest schools in the country and will attend this year's Pan-Am Intercollegiate Championship in December with high hopes of a strong finish. IM Priyadharshan Kannappan has already gained celebrity status in national chess circles for his astounding 5.5/6 points and MVP performance for the Arch Bishops of the U.S. Chess League. Lindenwood continues its recruiting efforts for 2013 and beyond.

Also, we have begun working with UMSL's School of Education in a fantastic partnership getting future teachers experience observing and working in the classroom, exposing them to chess and our instructional curriculum. They can move forward from the experience with a stronger sense of how to incorporate chess with math as an instructional tool for youth.

With 56 classes currently meeting on a weekly basis, the CCSCSL and the entire Saint Louis community is buzzing with chess activity! This fall, there are several upcoming events of significance in the area of chess and education. UMSL on Monday Oct 22 at the Monday Noon Series, The Center for Humanities is hosting Alex Vergilesov and Matt Barrett, Scholastic Coordinators at the CCSCSL, for a discussion of the educational value of the game and its impact in classrooms called "Learning to Learn Through Chess".