Indian River County Chess Club

   Two other members of our club, Frank Redway and Joe Diskin, won cash prizes in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open played in Boca Raton April 28-May 2, 2008.

   Frank scored 2.5 points out of a possible five, winning $38 in an eight-way tie for first among players rated under 1800. Joe Diskin scored 2 points, earning him a three-way tie for first among players rated under 1600, and a $100 prize.

   Club member Humberto Cruz also scored two points after a first-round loss to 2501-rated international master Igor Foygel, but fell short of qualifying for any prize money among players rated under 2000.

   However, upon returning home to Vero Beach, Humberto found a letter from the United States Chess Federation informing him he had placed fifth, good enough for a $350 prize, in the 1998 USCF Golden Knights correspondence championship. Humberto won 14 games, drew three and lost one in the national correspondence tournament, which has finally concluded after 10 years of play via post cards.
  

Bill wins 'Under 1200' section

 

  Doug Dougherty scored seven victories and a draw to win the double round robin rated section of our 2008 club championship. Meanwhile, Mike Dellaselva reeled off four straight victories to win the unrated Swiss Open section with a perfect 4-0 score.

   Doug and Mike are now in the midst of a playoff match to crown the 2008 club champion. The match was tied 1-1 after two games (Mike won the first game and Doug the second) when Doug had to return to Canada.  Therefore, the match for this year's club championship will resume after Doug returns to Vero Beach this fall.

   In the unrated "Under 1200'' section, Bill Baum scored three victories and a draw to finish in first place.

   Congratulations to all section winners, and thanks to all participants.

     

  Melbourne beats us in club match  

 

  A higher rated Melbourne team cruised to a 14.5-3.5 victory in a match against our club on Jan. 26. The Melbourne players played better chess and amply deserved to win. We congratulate them on their victory and thank them for their hospitality.

   Frank Redway was top scorer for our club with 1.5 points in three games. Paul Bagley won one game and Joe Diskin and Humberto Cruz had a draw each. Humberto's draw came against Peter Dyson, the highest-rated player in the tournament.

    In one bright spot for our club, Jack Norris won a separate three-player tournament against two Melbourne players, winning both his games.

         

Humberto wins Nov-Dec tournament 

  

    Humberto scored 3.5 out of 4 to win the November-December rated club tournament. Doug Dougherty finished second with 3 points.

     This is the first time that Doug has played in a club rated tournament he has not won. Humberto defeated Doug in their head-to-head game -- his first victory against Doug in rated play -- and played Harold Scott to a draw.

  

      Five chess sets donated to school

 

  The board of directors of the Indian River County Chess Club has voted unanimously (5-0) to donate five regulation-size chess sets to the Beachland Elementary School Chess Club.
  As an affiliate of the not-for-profit United States Chess Federation, our club supports USCF’s mission to promote the study and knowledge of chess, including chess activities in schools. Many studies have shown that chess can help develop self-discipline and analytical and critical-thinking skills among children. Our donation recognizes the work Beachland is doing for the teaching and enjoyment of chess.
  The sets we are donating meet USCF size and design standards for tournament play. The chessboards have the numbers and letters of the squares on the side, making it easier for the students to learn chess notation and write down their moves, a very important skill in their chess learning. The sets were presented to Beachland chess club members at their meeting Nov. 26.

  

   Get paid for playing chess, win or lose 

   The Florida Chess Association, of which our club is an affiliate, runs a “Grand Prix’’ competition that awards players points for participating in rated tournaments sponsored by FCA-affiliated clubs. You get more points for winning, but you still get points even if you lose. In 2007,  thanks to the many tournaments we sponsored, club member Humberto Cruz finished in second place in the FCA Grand Prix among Class A rated players and won a $75 prize. 
   To be eligible for a prize, players must be individual members of the FCA (information at www.floridachess.org). Based on his participation in rated tournaments this year, Paul Bagley, who has now joined the Florida Chess Association, most likely would have won a $100 prize if he had been an FCA member all year long.

 

Humberto, Michael win summer events

 

   With three victories and a draw, Humberto Cruz won the Open section of our July 2007 rated tournament, which actually spilled a few days into August. Eleven-year-old Michael Sabia scored three straight victories to win the three-round Under 1200 section.

    Humberto clinched first place in the Open section with a victory as Black in his last game against Harold Scott, who was undefeated to that point. Proving that anybody can fall prey to an opening trap, Harold, our club's top-rated player at the time, opted to resign after only six moves: 1.d4 d5. 2. c4 e6. 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Nxd5 and White has seemingly won a pawn because Black's Knight on f6 is pinned. But this was a trap. In fact, Black won the Knight with 6...Nxd5! because, in response to 7.Bxd8, Black has ...Bb4+!, winning back White's Queen (after the forced 8. Qd2) and remaining a piece up.

 

Two club members among Top 100 rated USCF correspondence chess players 

 

   Two of our club members, correspondence chess masters Humberto Cruz and A.J. Kain, made it to the Top 100 rated correspondence players in the country in 2007. They both appeared on a list that is periodically updated by the United States Chess Federation.

    Humberto was ranked 59th in the United States with a listed rating of 2246 and A.J. was tied for 89th place with a 2177 rating.

    The list does not include results of recent games that have boosted A.J.'s rating above the 2200 mark, making him at the age of 18 possibly the youngest American player ever to earn a correspondence chess master title.

     The list includes only correspondence players active in USCF-rated tournaments and matches. It does not include several strong American players rated by other groups, such as the Correspondence League of America and the International Correspondence Chess Federation. Still, inclusion in the Top 100 USCF list represents an honor to the players and to our club.  

     "How many other tiny clubs can say they have two members on a Top 100 list?'' A.J. said. You can see the entire list at this Web site: 
http://beta.uschess.org/frontend/section_235.php?filename=data/top100/0708/TopCorr.txt&&pheader=Top%20Correspondence%20List

         Speaking of A.J., here is the solution to one of the puzzles on our recently added Games and Puzzles page. Black wins with two successive sacrifices (it does not matter in which order they are made) that ultimately clear (or force White to clear) the way for the Black Bishop on g6 to deliver mate on c2. The solution: ...Qb5 check!; Bxb5 Rxa3 check!; bxa3 Bc2 mate. (Or Black could play ...Rxa3 check first, followed by Qb5 check).

        And speaking of Humberto, he scored a win with White and a draw with Black to win his individual match as part of a 55-board international correspondence match between the United States and Sweden. To see these two games and others by Humberto and A.J., click on the Tournaments link to the left, and then on Correspondence Chess.

 

     Good tournament results        

boost club members' ratings

 

     First it was club member Shawn Campbell who raised his United States Chess Federation over-the-board rating a whopping 257 points by winning five straight games in the Space Coast tournament in Melbourne in April 2007. Shawn’s rating jumped from 1178 to 1435.
   Now, after playing in two outside tournaments – a small one in Melbourne on June 23, 2007 and the World Open in King of Prussia, Pa. in July 2007, club member A. J. Kain saw his over-the-board rating climb from 1288 to 1423. A.J. won two out of three games in the Melbourne tournament, and won three games, drew one and lost two at the World Open. (Julio Becerra, a grandmaster from Miami, finished in a nine-way tie for first in the World Open).
   Many club members, including Doug Dougherty, our top player this year, believe current ratings understate the playing strength of several of our players. So far, results in outside tournaments confirm this view. All members interested in rated tournaments are encouraged to play in nearby events. For a list of upcoming tournaments in Florida, visit the Florida Chess Association Web site at www.floridachess.org.

 

 

 

    Shawn Campbell big winner in

Space Coast

 

 

Five straight victories in Space Coast tournament earned Shawn Campbell this handsome trophy.

 

  Club member Shawn Campbell has done our club proud. Shawn, playing one class up, won the Class D section of the 14th Space Coast Open tournament in Melbourne the weekend of April 27-29, 2007. He took home a trophy more than three feet tall and the $531 first prize for winning the section.

   Shawn did not just win -- he dominated the field, winning all his games in the five-round event and finishing 1.5 points ahead of the second-place finisher.  He picked a good spot to do it, too. The Space Coast Open is one of the major tournaments in Florida, arguably second only in stature to the annual state championship.

   As a result of his victory, Shawn's rating has zoomed from the 1178 he had before the tournament (a rating that clearly did not reflect his playing strength) to 1435, currently fifth highest in our club. To see the official tournament crosstable with round-by-round results, go to http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?200704291111.5-12785028

   One week after the Melbourne tournament, Shawn tied for first place with Humberto Cruz in a one-day, four-round Rapid Club Tournament (Time control G/29) in Sebastian. Both Shawn and Humberto won three games and drew one, the draw coming against each other. Humberto and Shawn were the two highest rated players in the event.

  

Paul Bagley wins 2007 club championship

2007 club champion Paul Bagley shows trophy.

 

  With a score of 6 and a half points, Paul Bagley, pictured above, won the three-month-long Indian River County Chess Club championship that ended April 30, 2007. In recognition of his victory, Paul received a championship trophy and the title of 2007 IRCCC champion.
   The club championship, which was an unrated event this year, rewarded both good results and playing activity. The top player in our club this year has been Doug Dougherty, who finished first in every rated tournament in which he played. But Paul played more games than anyone else and won enough to outscore all his opponents in the club championship. Humberto Cruz finished in second place with 5 points.

 

 

JP Munro wins 2007 club

Group 2 championship

 

Sebastian Co-Vice President Debbie Osterhoudt presented JP Munro his championship trophy at the club meeting in Sebastian on June 4.

 

    Meanwhile, JP Munro won the Sebastian group championship with 9 points, followed by Debbie Osterhoudt who had 7. As the Sebastian champion (and there being no Vero Beach Group 2 winner to face in a playoff), JP will received a trophy.

    Although eight players signed up to play in the Vero Beach Group 2 for the club championship, no game results were reported and therefore, no winner is declared. 

 

Doug Dougherty wins

another club event

 

    Doug Dougherty finally lost a game but he still won a rated Over-1800 three-player double round-robin with Harold Scott and Humberto Cruz.

     After losing to Harold with the Black pieces -- his only loss in 16 rated games so far -- Doug came back to win with White against Harold on April 17 to  clinch first place in the tournament.

     Doug finished the tournament with a 3-1 score, having defeated Humberto twice. Humberto and Harold drew in their first game and Harold won the second.

     In a separate but concurrent Vero Beach Open tournament, Humberto Cruz and Paul Bagley tied for first with three points. Doug and Harold did not participate in this tournament.

     For detailed results of all our tournaments, click on Tournaments on the panel to the left, then on Tournament results.

     In four rated tournaments this year, Doug won three of them outright and tied for first in the other. All total, he has won 13 games, drawn 2 (against Humberto and Jack Norris) and lost only one, against Harold.  Congratulations, Doug!

   

     Two new pages added to our Web site

    We have added a Games and Puzzles page on our Web site (to go to it, just click on the Games and Puzzles link on the panel to the left). This page will feature games from our members and interesting -- and instructive -- positions from those games. All club members are invited to submit material for this page (please see Humberto Cruz or Jack Norris).

 

     We also have added a Lessons page, illustrating some of the lessons club members teach as part of the free classes open to anyone in the community. To go to the Lessons page, click on Education on the panel to the left, then on Lessons.

 

       
Visit to Sebastian River High 

promotes chess
     

Sebastian River High School classroom became a veritable chess center with students playing and listening to lessons during our visit to the school.

 

Debbie Osterhoudt teaches the basics to beginner students. 

 

Paul Bagley works with a group of intermediate students.

 

 

         Five club officers went back to high school to teach and promote an interest in chess.
         At the invitation of Master Chief David Botonis, Naval Sciences Instructor at the Sebastian River High School Navy Junior ROTC Unit, club officers Humberto Cruz, Jack Norris, Paul Bagley, Laurel Paige Jackson and Debbie Osterhoudt visited the school in March and April to talk to the students about chess and our chess club. 

   

 Club searches for evening, weekend site 

      A “site’’ committee headed by Officer-At-Large Harold Scott has been appointed to search for a site suitable for evening club meetings and evening and/or weekend tournaments. Other members of the committee include Jack Norris and Humberto Cruz.
      While we are grateful to the library system for the free use of their facilities, our current meeting schedule makes it very difficult if not impossible for people who work during the day to join our club and play in our events. 
      An additional meeting site that would be available evenings and weekends (not to replace the library but to serve as an additional site) would allow the club to serve their needs. Also, being able to hold USCF-rated tournaments on weekends will help our club attract more and stronger players.
       Anybody with suggestions, ideas or contacts to help in this search is urged to contact Harold, Jack or Humberto.

 

 

 Debbie wins March Booster tournament

 
       Debbie Osterhoudt won two games and drew one to finish with 2.5 points out of a possible three and win a March Booster tournament for players rated under 1200.

        Caleb Benedick finished in second place with two points. As the highest scorer among non-adults, Caleb won a chess book donated by tournament director Humberto Cruz.  For detailed results of all our tournaments, click on Tournaments on the panel to the left, then on Tournament results.

  

   Closing time policy to be vigorously enforced

 

 

      Under a policy approved by the IRCCC Board in 2007, all chess club activities at the library (including picking up equipment and tidying up) must end no later than 15 minutes before the library closes.

      We are grateful to the library staff for their support through the years. This policy is designed to show our appreciation and avoid interfering with library operations.

      For a full text of this policy -- which will be vigorously enforced -- click on Officers and governance on the panel to the left and then on Policies, or go to http://ircchessclub.org/Policies.aspx .

 

 

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