Free Everyman Chess Viewer

Everyman Chess's Chess Viewer for iOS devices is free this month on the iTunes App Store. This application usually runs around $1.99 and allows you to purchase and view Everyman Chess titles, as well as allowing you to upload and view your own PGN files with commentary. Check it out!

St. Francis Winter Tournament

A winter chess tournament will be held on February 25, 2011 at St. Francis of Assisi in St. Albans. The entry fee is $20 if registered by 2/22 and $25 on site. If there are enough players, there will be four rounds and the tournament will then qualify as a WVCA Grand Prix event. Time controls will be G/60. Play will begin at 10 AM. 70% of the entry fees will be paid in prize money (40%, 20%, 10%). Also on this day, the scholastic league individual championship will be held. The scholastic sections will start at 9 AM.

A entry form for the tournament can be found here.

WVCA Board of Directors Meeting

A West Virginia Chess Association Board of Directors meeting is being planned for December. A tentative agenda includes moving the date of the Junior Championship so that juniors can play in both championship tournaments. Stay tuned for more details...

2012 USCF Due Changes

The USCF Board of Delegates passed a number of motions in August of 2011 that will directly impact tournament directors, affiliates, and players starting in January of 2012, if not sooner.

Most dues rates were revised slightly. In addition, tournament memberships will be discontinued in January of 2012 and will be replaced with three month trial memberships. The USCF hopes to start offering these three month trial memberships in early October. Like tournament memberships, these trial memberships can only be sold by USCF affiliates at tournaments.

USCF Dues Rates as of 1/1/2012:

Membership Type	Details	1 Yr	2 Yr	3 Yr
Adult	12 issues of Chess Life	$46	$84	$122
Adult	No Magazine	$40	$72	$104
Senior (65 or older)	12 issues of Chess Life	$40	$72	$104
Young Adult (Under 25)	12 issues of Chess Life	$33	$61	$88
Young Adult (Under 25)	No Magazine	$26	$47	$67
Youth (Under 16)	6 issues of Chess Life	$28	$51	$73
Youth (Under 16)	No Magazine	$22	$40	$57
Scholastic (Under 13)	6 issues of Chess Life for Kids	$24	$43	$61
Scholastic (Under 13)	No Magazine	$17	$30	$42
Family Membership	Plan 1 - With Adults	$75
Family Membership	Plan 2 - No Adults	$47
Life Membership	12 issues of Chess Life annually	$1500
Senior Life Membership (65 or older)	12 issues of Chess Life annually	$750
Life Benefactor	12 issues of Chess Life annually	$3000

Three month trial memberships will be $15 for those over age 24, with three issues of Chess Life, $10 for those under age 25, with three issues of Chess Life, and $8 for those under age 13, with two issues of Chess Life for Kids.

2011 WV Championship Results

The 2011 WV State Chess Championship was held on Labor Day weekend at the WVSSPA building in Charleston, WV. South Carolina resident Klaus Pohl won the tournament with an impressive 5.5 score. The championship title was shared by West Virginia residents David Saville and Ben Good. Several other players won class prizes. Here is a transcription of the final chart:

Klaus Pohl (2200) 5.5
Wayne Christensen (2096) 4
David Saville (2062) 4.5
Ben Good (2025) 4.5
Donald Griffth (2000) 4
James Walker (2000) 4
Sidhartha Parhi (1954) 4
Chris Que (1916) 3.5
Lewis Sanders (1900) 3
David Hines (1871) 3
Michael Richardson (1846) 3
Joseph Dixon (1828) 3
Gary Cummings (1796) 2.5
James Fuller (1765) 2.5
Michael Felton (1700) 3
Matthew Richardson (1584) 2.5
James Fields (1565) 2
Advait Patel (1559) 2.5
David Hundley (1279) 2.5
Sam Timmons (1063) 1
Charles McCallister (964) 1
Sam Walker-Matthews (504) 2
Dale Eggleton (Unr) 1.5

State Championships

The West Virginia State Championship and the Ohio Chess Congress are both this weekend. Good luck to all the players!

Incentives for New Scholastic Players

I would like to pass along the following message from Craig Timmons, which may be of interest to scholastic players interests in tournament chess:

We have a local chess enthusiast that has made and funded the following offers.

New, unrated players who participate in WVSCA tournaments will receive a complimentary copy of Chess Tactics Workbook, by Al Woolum, the most popular scholastic chess book in the United States. It retails for $16.95. In order to receive the book, you must be a new unrated player, join the USCF, pay the tournament entry fees, and play in ALL rounds of the tournament(for the League that means 9 rounds). You will receive your book when the tournament is over. This offer is good until we run out of books.

Funding for these books is provided by a local chess enthusiast.

Also this year, the winner of the K-12 section of the West Virginia Scholastic Championship will receive free tournament registration fees in the West Virginia State Championship or the West Virginia Junior Championship, whichever he/she prefers to play in. Both of those championships are held annually on Labor Day weekend. The goal of this sponsorship is to encourage and enable the state scholastic champion to continue his/her chess experience at the next level in West Virginia.

Funding for this is also provided by a local chess enthusiast.

Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament Results

The 19th Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Chess Tournament was held on Sunday, August 21, 2011 at the Parkersburg Municipal Building at 2nd & Market Streets in Parkersburg, WV. Eighteen players competed for the title.

The position of Parkersurg Homecoming Champion went to Lewis Sanders of Charleston, WV. This was his first tournament championship. The position of second place in the rated section was tied between Benjamin Good of Stonewood, WV and Ted Belanoff of Woodside, CA.

The following players won class prizes in the rated section:

David Hines of Ridgeley, WV (U1900)
James C. Fields of Elkview, WV (U1700)

The first place award in the non-rated section went to Martin J. Sams of Parkersburg, WV, who competed in the Homecoming tournament for the first time.

A crosstable for the event can be found here.

If you've never been to a chess tournament before, the annual Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament is an excellent opportunity to learn what it's all about. There are two sections. The first, the Non-Rated section, is open to the general public and is geared towards casual chess players who do not have an official rating. The second, the Rated section, is geared towards experienced tournament players. To enter the Rated section, you must be a member of the United States Chess Federation. Memberships are available onsite for those who wish to purchase them.

Congratulations to the prize winners, and thanks to everyone who turned out to make this a great tournament! We hope to see you all next year! For pictures from the events, check out the Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Club's photo gallery.

Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament

The 19th Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament is only a few days away! We've received pre-registrations from the following players. but expect many more at the door:

David Saville (2063)
Grant Perks (1991)
David Hines (1871)
Markle Butcher (1840)
Dave Rutherford (1826)
Christopher Shen (1486)
Advait Patel (1345)

So far it is shaping up to be a strong tournament. If you've been sitting on the fence, I'd encourage you to stop by and take in the tournament and the Homecoming festival.

Charleston Chess Club Speed Tournament

The Charleston Chess Club will hold a non-rated speed tournament at its usual meeting place (1610 Washington Street East; Charleston, WV) on August 2, 2011.

Registration: 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm
4 round Swiss System
Rounds: 6:25 pm; 6:50 pm; 7:15 pm; & 7:45 pm
Time Limit: 10 minutes per game for each side
Entry Fee: donation of $1 for “paid up members” and donation of $2 for others (Membership in the CCC may be paid at site, $10 per year for adults & $5 per year for under 18 years old)
Prizes: 1st Place = 75% of entries. (Remainder of donations goes to the club treasury for miscellaneous expenses)

Miscellaneous Rules, i.e. touch move, illegal move, etc. will be explained just prior to the start of round one.

2011 West Virginia State Championship & Junior Championship

The 73rd West Virginia State Championship will be held September 3-5, 2011 at 1610 Washington St E Charleston, WV. As always, the format of this tournament will be 6 SS 35/90, SD/60. The entry fee will be $40 by August 29th or $50 at site. Prizes are $1000 based on 30 entries, and a trophy will go to the top West Virginia Chess Association member and resident. WVCA membership is required for in-state residents ($10). Other state memberships will be accepted for out-of-state residents.

Registration is Saturday 8:30 - 9:30 am. The annual WVCA business meeting will be held Saturday at 9:00 am. Rounds are Sat 10-4, Sun 9-3, and Mon 9-3. Send advance entries to Charleston Chess Club, c/o Marvin Barker, 806 Litz Drive, Charleston, WV 25311. Make checks payable to Charleston Chess Club. For more information, including an entry form, visit the WVCA tournament page here.

In addition, the West Virginia Junior State Championship will be held on Sunday, September 4th at the same site. The format of this tournament will be 4 SS G/75. The entry fee is $20 by August 29th or $30 at site. Prizes are $125 based on 10 entries. WVCA membership is required for in-state residents ($10). Other state memberships will be accepted for out-of-state residents. This is a scholastic tournament and only junior players may participate.

Registration is Sunday 8:30 - 9:00 am. Rounds are 9-11:30-2-5. Send advance entries to Charleston Chess Club, c/o Marvin Barker, 806 Litz Drive, Charleston, WV 25311. Make checks payable to Charleston Chess Club. For more information, including an entry form, visit the WVCA tournament page here.

Beckley Chess Club Open #4

The Beckley Chess Club will be holding a chess tournament on July 23, 2011 in the Beckley Art Gallery located at 600 Johnstown Road in Beckely, WV. The entry fee is $20 and prizes will be based on the number of entries. The format of the tournament is 4 SS G/60. Registration is from 8 - 8:45 am. Rounds are at 9 am, 11:15 am, 2:15 pm, and 4:30 pm.

Charleston Chess Club Speed Tournament

The Charleston Chess Club will hold a non-rated speed tournament at its usual meeting place (1610 Washington Street East; Charleston, WV) on July 5, 2011.

Registration: 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm
4 round Swiss System
Rounds: 6:25 pm; 6:50 pm; 7:15 pm; & 7:45 pm
Time Limit: 10 minutes per game for each side
Entry Fee: donation of $1 for “paid up members” and donation of $2 for others (Membership in the CCC may be paid at site, $10 per year for adults & $5 per year for under 18 years old)
Prizes: 1st Place = 75% of entries. (Remainder of donations goes to the club treasury for miscellaneous expenses)

Miscellaneous Rules, i.e. touch move, illegal move, etc. will be explained just prior to the start of round one.

2011 Homecoming Tournament

The 19th Annual Parkersburg Homecoming Tournament will be held on Sunday, August 21, 2011 at the Municipal Building, 2nd & Market Streets, Parkersburg, WV. The format will be four-round Swiss System G/60. Registration is from 9-9:45 and rounds will be at 10:00, 12:45, 3:00, and 5:15. There will be both rated and non-rated sections. The entry fee for the rated section is $15 postmarked by 8/17 or $20 at the site. The entry fee for the non-rated section is $10.

We had a great turnout last year, and we are hoping to do even better this year! Check out last year's cross-table at the USCF.

For an entry form and more information, visit the Parkersburg Homecoming Chess Tournament website.

Huntington YMCA Chess Club Open

The Hungtington-YMCA Chess Club will be holding a tournament this Saturday, May 14th at the YMCA in Huntington, WV. The tournament is not USCF rated. For more information (including an entry form), check our the WVCA page here.

Fantasy Chess

Fantasy Chess for the 2011 U.S. & U.S. Women's Championships is now underway! Go to the St.Louis Chess Club website to create your team for a chance to win great prizes including a one-hour lesson with GM Hikaru Nakamura! The first round starts on April 15th, so be sure to make your picks by then. Best of luck!

April Fools' Day Puzzle

In honor of April Fools' Day, here's a fairy chess puzzle for you:

The upside-down queen is a grasshopper (G). The grasshopper moves along ranks, files, and diagonals, but only by hopping over another piece at any distance from the square immediately closest. If there is no piece to hop over, it cannot move. If the square beyond a piece is occupied by a piece of the opposite color, the grasshopper can capture that piece. The grasshopper may jump over pieces of either color; the piece being jumped over is unaffected.

Can you determine how White can mate the Black king?

Morgantown May Day Tournament

The 2011 May Day Tournament will be held on May 7, 2011 at 100 Cobun Ave, Morgantown WV. The format is 4-SS, G/75. Registration starts at 9 AM and rounds start at 10 AM, 1 PM, 4 PM, and 7 PM. The entry fee is $25 postmarked by 4/25 or $35 onsite. An entry form can be found here.

Four members of the Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Club made the journey to Morgantown for the Spring Open to show our support for the Morgantown club, and we all had a great time.

Free Houdini Beats Commercial Rybka

I posted this on the club's Facebook page a few weeks ago, but I thought I would put a link to it on the blog as well in case anyone had missed it. The free chess engine Houdini has beaten the commercial chess engine Rybka in a forty-game match recently. ChessVibes has the story here.

Three sample games from the match are included in the report, including one where Houdini dramatically sacrifices material to defeat Rybka. If you are looking for a strong, free chess engine for analysis, then you might want to give Houdini a try.

WV Action Championship 2011

The 2011 WV Action Championship will be held April 9, 2011 in Bridgeport, WV. It will consist of seven rounds at G/30, and will affect both your quick and regular USCF ratings. Information and an entry found can be found at the WVSCA website here.

"Dangerous Weapons: Caro-Kann" Free Update

Everyman Chess has released another free update, this time to their book "Dangerous Weapons: Caro-Kann". Follow this link to download a PGN file with five games annotated by Richard Palliser, or view them on the web using their online viewer. Even if you don't own the original book, these games should prove interesting.

Scholastic Chess League Results

The results for the 2011 WV Scholastic Chess League have been posted to the www.wvsca.com site. Look under tournament results. The individual results have been submitted to the USCF and have been rated.

We have had several questions about tie breaks. I would like to recommend that you look under FAQ on the website as there is a good link to a how chess tournaments are run. I have looked around and found a couple of sites about tie breaks.

They are :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tie-breaking_in_Swiss-system_tournaments#Modified_Median
http://vtchess.info/Results/Tie_break_rules.htm

Next week is the league individual competion. We will have sections of K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12. As it stands right now, most sections will probably play 5 rounds. The K-12 will play 4 rounds. In K-8 section, we will use a slightly shorter time control in the first 2 rounds. Mr. Homer and I will evaluate this this week and let you know prior to Friday evening.

If you know of anyone wanting to play in the individual competition, please let me know. The cost is $10 for those players. If you played in the league there is no charge and you are automatically registered for this event.

Also, a special thanks to the Mr. John Roush, WV State Champion, who came and played two simuls yesterday. He went 30-0-1.

We had 103 players this year which is a huge success. I want to thank all those at the various schools who have helped organize and get players to the sight, etc.

The State Scholastic Championship is March 19, 2011 at WV State University. The information and registration for can be found at www.wvsca.com and look under upcoming events. You may register on-line.

Thanks we will see you on Saturday February 26, 2011 at St. Francis

Craig Timmons

USCF Voter Registration

This year in order for members to vote, members MUST register, or their voice will be lost in the election. This new rule was approved at the 2010 Delegates meeting. No Vote, No Voice!

Normally there are over 35,000 voting members that would receive ballots. So far only 1216 people have registered to vote!  Voters must be 16 years of age or older to register. Remember family memberships are entitled to vote for anyone that is 16 or older in that family membership!

To register to vote, members will need their USCF ID, Date of Birth, and their PIN number. Their PIN number can be found on their Chess Life mailing label or on their TLA Newsletter. Once this information is handy visit this website - https://secure2.uschess.org/voter-registration.php and they will be able to register to vote.

"Beating 1 e4 e5" Free Update

Everyman Chess has released a free update to their book "Beating 1 e4 e5". The update includes five games featuring modern responses to the Italian Game and the Bishop's Opening. All of these games are annotated by John Emms. You can view the games and annotation here. The webpage includes a link to download the games in PGN format as well. Enjoy!

Club Meeting Cancelled

Due to inclement weather, the library is closing early, so our regular club meeting will be cancelled tonight.

Meeting Tomorrow

This is just a reminder that our next club meeting will be tomorrow, January 26th at the Vienna Public Library from 6-9 PM. I hope to see you there!

Endgame Puzzle

Today's puzzle comes from the folks at ChessVideos.tv. It's White to move and win. How should White proceed? You can play out the endgame using this simulator.

MOVCC Now on Facebook

The Mid-Ohio Valley Chess Club is now on Facebook! I've created a new Facebook page for the club, replacing the old group that had not been used in some time. Posts from our blog will appear on this page, offering an alternative way to receive information about the club, as well as (hopefully) increasing our exposure.

Please become a fan us today!

34th Cardinal Open

A number of our club members are planning to make the trip to Columbus this month to play in the 34th Cardinal Open. If you are interested in tagging along, please send me an e-mail or talk to one of the members at our next club meeting.