Thursday, July 30, 2009

Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament

I just wanted to remind everyone that the Parkersburg Homecoming Chess Tournament will be held on Sunday, August 23rd at the Parkersburg Municipal Building. There will be two sections in this tournament: a rated section and an unrated section. The rated section requires membership in the United States Chess Federation (USCF), which entitles you to the right to earn an official chess rating. The unrated section is open to the public.

If you've never been to a chess tournament before, this is a great opportunity to discover what one is like. I'd highly recommend the unrated section for players who are considering playing chess competitively.

For more information, please e-mail me at movchessclub@gmail.com.

OU Chess

The OU Chess Club will be meeting next Tuesday, August 4 at 6 PM in Clippinger room #254 (the Physics Department's "Common Room").

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Weekly Chess Puzzle


I have an endgame puzzle for you this week. White has a bishop and a pawn nearing promotion. Black has a rook. It is White's move. Can Black prevent the pawn from promotion?

Thursday, July 23, 2009

OU Chess

The OU Chess Club will be meeting next Tuesday, July 28 at 6 PM in Clippinger room #254 (the Physics Department's "Common Room"). If anyone is interested in arranging a car pool from the Parkersburg/Belpre area, please contact me at movchessclub@gmail.com.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Weekly Chess Puzzle


Today's chess puzzle comes from a game between Lev Alburt and Paul Koploy in 1987. White to move and mate in 8. Can you find the right move?

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Review: Shredder for iPhone & iPod Touch

This is the second in a series of reviews of chess applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Today I'm reviewing Shredder Chess.


Shredder is well-known as one of the most successful chess programs for the PC and Mac. It has been ported to the iPhone / iPod Touch platform by game developer Eiko Bleicher of Skizzix.com. The iPhone implementation has most of the features of its "older brother", including analysis, the ability to setup positions, and the ability to save & e-mail games as Portable Game Notation (PGN) files. Unlike Glaurung, it does not display an opening book tree, nor does it allow timed games.

Shredder’s engine is very strong and plays in a human-like fashion. The strength of the engine can be easily adjusted from 850-2400 ELO. Shredder will rate you based on your playing strength. As you win or lose to Shredder, it will adjust its playing strength to provide a good challenge. Shredder's chess coach can optionally warn you if it thinks you are making a mistake. Another distinguishing feature is Shredder's puzzle mode. Shredder will time and rate your performance on 1000 different puzzles. These three features make Shredder a great training tool.


Shredder’s graphics are clean and pleasing to the eye. It features four piece sets and six board colors. The analysis engine graphically displays suggested moves as it examines the position. Shredder supports both the 'tap-drag' and 'tap-tap' methods of moving pieces during play, but the interface for setting up positions only supports ‘tap-drag’. Unfortunately, the button to clear the board is very close to the buttons for the pieces, making it easy to clear the board accidentally while attempting to setup a position.

Shredder’s pricing is on the high end of the scale. At $9.99, it is much more expensive than most chess applications on the App Store; however, it does have a number of features that make it stand out. In addition, if you are thinking about purchasing Shredder for PC or Mac, you can get a code for $10 off your purchase if you buy Shredder for the iPhone.

Shredder is a good option if you can afford the steep price tag; otherwise, the free Glaurung will be fine for most users.

PROS

Strong, human-like engine
Chess coach
Puzzles
Good graphics
Analysis
Ability to save games as PGNs

CONS

Ability to setup positions needs work
Relatively expensive compared to other apps
No opening book tree
No timed games

Overall Rating: 4/5

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Columbus Open

Congratulations to Jordan Whistler, who finished 7th in his section at the Columbus Open and achieved his first official USCF rating of 1579. Out of five rounds, Jordan won three and drew one. Great job, Jordan!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Weekly Chess Puzzle


This week's chess puzzle comes from a game played between Arthur Bisguier and Bobby Fischer in 1965. It's black's move and Fischer finds mate in 6. Can you find it?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Tournament Update

Ohio University CHESS and the Chess Association for Training, Tactics and Analysis will be hosting the 2009 Summer Chess Tournament at Ohio University in Athens, OH on Saturday, August 8th. This will be a four-round G/30 Swiss-style event. For more information, see the following flyer.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

OU Chess / CATTA Meeting

The Ohio University Chess Club and CATTA will be meeting at the Donkey Coffeehouse in Athens on Thursday, July 16 starting at 4 PM. If anyone is interested in arranging a car pool, please contact me at movchessclub@gmail.com.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Chess Club Meeting

I'd just like to remind everyone that the Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Club will be meeting this Wednesday, July 8th, in the Vienna Public Library. We will meet at 6 PM in the conference room and play until 9 PM. I look forward to seeing you there!

Ohio University Chess Club

The Ohio University Chess Club will be meeting next Tuesday, July 7th at 6:00 PM in the Physics Department common room (#254) of the Clippinger Laboratories building. A few of us made the trip last week and had a great time, so if you have a chance, why not pay them a visit?

Weekly Chess Puzzle


White to move and mate in 7. There are several variations to this puzzle - see if you can find them all!

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Polgar Invitational Girls Chess Tournament

I've just been informed that the West Virginia nominee to the Polgar Invitational Girls Chess Tournament cannot participate this year, and a search is going on for a replacement nominee. If you know a West Virginian girl in grades 6-12 who would be interested in participating, please contact me at movchessclub@gmail.com as soon as possible. The USCF must be notified of the replacement candidate by July 2. The nominee must know how to play chess, but need not be a current member of the USCF.

There is no entry fee to this tournament, and each girl who participates will receive $150 plus anything she wins. The top prize is a $20,000 scholarship to the University of Texas, Dallas. This is a four-day tournament. Each girl gets free room and meals, and parents can stay for $22 per night. Side attractions include a simul with Susan Polgar, a Bughouse tournament, a speed chess tournament, problem solving contests and more.

This is really an outstanding opportunity! Girls will learn a lot and have lots of fun. Some states have low rated players - this tournament will not have 50 superstars.

OU Chess / CATTA Meeting

The Ohio University Chess Club & the Chess Association for Tactics, Training and Analysis will be meeting this Thursday evening in Athens. Here are the details from CATTA co-founder Jordan Pleasant:

To All:

WE REALIZE IT"S SHORT NOTICE BUT: Summer players in Ohio University Chess Club and the Chess Association for Tactics, Training and Analysis will be meeting from 4:00 PM to God Knows When on Thursday, July 2 at the Donkey Coffeehouse in Athens.

Please join us for a nice evening of casual play and analysis.

Best, and we hope to see you there.

CATTA and OU Chess

If anyone has any questions or needs directions, please send an e-mail to movchessclub@gmail.com and I will pass along Jordan's contact information.

OU Chess Club Update

Three of our club members made the trip to Athens on Tuesday night to challenge the Ohio University chess club to an informal blitz tournament. There were five rounds in the match. MOVCC members Jordan Whistler and Matt Richardson came away with two victories, while Reggie Best won two and drew one. The tournament was a blast, and we look forward to the next one.