Chieu Named Kortchnois' Captain

The Kenilworth Chess Club has chosen NM Ken Chieu to be Captain of its Kortchnois team. He replaces Dr. Richard Lewis, who resigned last month.

Hamilton 3.5 DOCA Knights 0.5

Hamilton remained unbeaten as Phil Hepler's league-record 3rd draw of the season backed-up victories by NM Dragan Milovanovic, Charles Miller & Ed Sytnik.

Aaron Kiedes' half-point was the Knights' only bright spot.

Thanks to Kevin Chen for the results.

Kortchnois 3.5 Sparta 0.5

NM Ken Chieu, Richard Lewis and Mikhail Kruglyak swept on boards 1-3 to lead Kenilworth's Kortchnois over Sparta. Bert Shiffman had a draw.

W. Orange-Summit Synopsis

Last night's match started early (20 minutes ahead of schedule) and so did the blunders. In fact, 3 of the games were so-marred and done within 90 minutes of play.

West Orange, making its initial GSCL road trip, got on the board first when Victor Rosas beat John Moldovan, who overlooked looming back rank troubles.

Moldovan-Rosas

Black to win

Summit evened the score at 1 on Don Varneckas's win over Robert Lynn, who allowed a shot and then hung his Q.

Varneckas-Miller

White to win

However, the visiting team moved ahead shortly thereafter as Jose Fernandez matched Rosas's feat and exploited Simon Thomson's lack of luft.

Fernandez-Thomson

White to win

Donnally Miller had a chance to give the hosts a tie but, after overcoming a lost position, he misplayed a winning pawn ending and had to make peace with Bryan Cohen.

Cohen-Lynn

Black to win

West Orange raised its record to 1-0-1 and climbed into a 3rd place tie. Summit fell to 1-2 and 6th in the standings.

Updated round 3 PGN & replay page

West Orange Edges Summit

West Orange edged Summit last night 2.5-1.5. An expanded report, page updates and games will follow later today.

Tonight the 0-1 Kortchnois play 0-2 Sparta.

Kortchnois Need 1 or 2 Players for Tuesday

The Kenilworth Kortchnois need 1 or 2 players for Tuesday's Garden State League match vs. Sparta, which will take place in West Orange. If you'd like to play, please contact Dr. Richard Lewis or me.

Karpovs-Chess Mates Synopsis

A shocking, last-second reversal gave the Kenilworth Karpovs a 3-1 victory over Chess Mates and sole possession of 1st place last night in Rahway.

Max Sherer put the visitors ahead at the 2 hour mark and Ian Mangion drew to set the table for clinching but the match turned as Steve Stoyko was denied by Ari Minkov and a likely full point on board 4 turned into certain loss.

However, with an extra piece and the clock in his favor, Chess Mates' Joe Renna tragically missed a win and allowed Joe Demetrick, who was down to the 5-second increment, to mate him.

Java-Replay
PGN

Karpovs 3 Chess Mates 1

An extended report and zipped PGN will follow. For now, here are the games, in order of finish with the players' current USCF ratings:

board 3
A54 Old Indian Defense
Max Sherer 1820 (K) - Ziggy Bliznikas 1800 (CM)
1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nf3 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. e4 O-O 7. Be2 c6 8. O-O Na6 9. f4 Nc5 10. Bf3 Re8 {novelty} 11. b4 Ne6 12. Be3 Nxd4 13. Bxd4 a5 14. a3 axb4 15. axb4 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 c5 17. bxc5 dxc5 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Rd1 Bd4+ 20. Kh1 Qf6 21. Qa4 Rd8 22. Nd5 Qd6 23. e5 Qf8 24. Qb5 f6 25. Qb6 fxe5 26. fxe5 Qe8?? 27. e6 Kh8 28. e7 Rd7 29. Bg4 Rxd5 30. cxd5 Bxg4 31. Qd8 Bd7 32. Rd2 b5 33. Ra2 Kg8 34. Ra7 Bc6 35. dxc6 1-0

board 2

B40 Sicilian Defense
Roger Pedersen 1935 (CM) - Ian Mangion 1966 (K)
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3 Nc6 4. Bb2 d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. Be2 Nf6 7. d3 Bd6 8. O-O O-O 9. h3 {novelty} Re8 10. Re1 d4 11. Nbd2 h6 12. Bf1 Bf5 13. Nc4 Bc7 14. a4 Nd5 15. Rxe8+ Qxe8 16. Qe1 Ncb4 17. Qxe8+ Rxe8 18. Re1 Rxe1 19. Nxe1 b6 20. g3 a6 21. Kg2 Bd7 22. Be2 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Nd2 f5 25. Bf3 Bc6 26. Kf1 Kf7 27. Ke2 Kf6 28. Nb1 Be5 29. Bg2 Ke6 30. Bxd5+ Nxd5 31. f4 Bf6 32. Bc1 g5 33. Ng2 Nb4 34. Ne1 gxf4 35. Bxf4 Bg5 36. Bxg5 hxg5 37. c4 bxc4 38. bxc4 Ke5 39. Nd2 Ba4 40. Ndf3+ Kf6 41. Kd2 Bc6 42. Ke2 Ba4 1/2-1/2

board 1
B07 Pribyl Defense
Steve Stoyko 2202 (K) - Ari Minkov 1970 (CM) 
1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 c6 4. Bd3 e5 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be3 Nbd7 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. a4 {novelty} exd4 11. Bxd4 Ne5 12. Bxe5 dxe5 13. Ne2 Qc7 14. c3 Rad8 15. b4 Rd6 16. g4 Rfd8 17. Bc4 Bf8 18. Ng3 Ne8 19. Nf5 Rd2 20. Qe3 Qb6 21. Qg5 c5 22. Bd5 R2xd5 23. exd5 cxb4 24. a5 Qf6 25. Qxf6 Nxf6 26. c4 Ne4 27. Rfe1 Nd2 28. Kg2 b3 29. Ne3 Bc5 30. Nf1 Nxc4 31. Rac1 Bb4 32. Re4 b2 33. Rb1 Rc8 34. Rxb2 Bxa5 35. Rxb7 Nd6 36. Rxa7 Nxe4 37. Rxa5 f6 38. Ne3 Rc7 39. h4 Kf7 40. Ra8 Nd6 41. Rd8 Ke7 42. Rh8 Kf7 43. h5 Rc8 44. Rxc8 Nxc8 45. Nc4 Ke7 46. Kg3 Nd6 47. Ne3 Kd7 48. f4 Ne4+ 49. Kf3 Nd2+ 50. Kg3 Ne4+ 51. Kf3 Nd2+ 52. Ke2 exf4 53. Kxd2 fxe3+ 54. Kxe3 Ke7 {& agreed drawn after further play.} 1/2-1/2

board 4

D02 QP Game
Joe Renna 1252 (CM) - Joe Demetrick 1664 (K)
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d5 6. Bf4 e6 7. Nbd2 Nbd7 8. Qc1 c5 9. Rd1 cxd4 10. Nb3 Re8 11. Ne5 Nh5 12. Nxd7 Nxf4 13. Qxf4 Qxd7 14. Rac1 Qb5 15. Bf1 Qb6 16. Rb1 e5 17. Qd2 Bf5 18. Nc1 Rac8 19. Nd3 e4 20. Ne1 Red8 21. Qf4 Rc6 22. c3 Rdc8 23. g4 g5 24. Qxf5 Rd8 25. cxd4 h6 26. e3 Rf6 27. Qe5 Rxf2 28. Qg3 Rf6 29. b3 Qa5 30. Rb2 Qc3 31. Rc2 Qa5 32. Rdc1 Rfd6 33. Rc8 Qxa2 34. Rxd8+ {34.Qxd6 1-0 Bliznikas} Rxd8 35. Qc7 Re8 36. Qd7 Re6 37. Rc7 Rf6 38. Rxb7?? Qf2+ 39. Kh1 Qxf1# 0-1 {Black had 1 second left}

The games were relayed live on Playchess. They can be viewed there until around 12:30 a.m. Saturday 11/10. Go to the Broadcast Room and look for games from Jpmoldovan.

Karpovs Visit Chess Mates Tonight

The 2-0 Kenilworth Karpovs visit the 2-0 Chess Mates in an early-season battle for 1st place.

The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and the games will be relayed live on the Playchess server, which can now be viewed in your browser.

Hope to see you in Rahway or watching online.

Hamilton-DOCA Knights Rescheduled

The Hamilton-DOCA Knights match has been rescheduled for Thursday, December 9th, at 7:30 p.m.

The new location is:

Dean of Chess Academy

334 Route 31 North

Flemington, NJ 08822

(908) 237-2437

Chess Mates 2.5 DOCA Knights 1.5

Shumowitz,Marvin (1963) - Minkov,Ari (1968)

Garden State League (2), 05.11.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.0–0 d6 6.c4 Be4 7.Nc3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 Nbd7 9.e4 e5 10.h3 Be7 11.Be3 0–0 12.d5 h6 13.b4 Nh7 14.c5 dxc5 15.bxc5 Bxc5 16.Bxc5 Nxc5 17.Qc4 Qe7 18.Rfd1 Rfd8 19.Rd2 Rd7 20.Ne2 Ng5 21.Nxg5 Qxg5 22.Rad1 Rad8 23.Ng3 g6 24.Qc3 Qf4 25.Re1 c6 0–1

Pedersen,Roger (1927) - Chen,Kevin (1779)

Garden State League (2), 05.11.2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Bc5 4.c3 Nge7 5.0–0 0–0 6.d4 exd4 7.cxd4 Bb6 8.d5 a6 9.dxc6 axb5 10.cxd7 Bxd7 11.Ne5 Be6 12.a3 f6 13.Nf3 Nc6 14.Bf4 Nd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Qxd4 Bxd4 17.Nc3 c6 18.Rfd1 Rfd8 19.Kf1 Bb3 20.Rd2 Bxc3 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.bxc3 Rd3 23.Rc1 Kf7 24.Be3 Ke6 25.Ke1 Ke5 26.Ke2 Bc4 27.Kf3 f5 28.exf5 Kxf5 29.g4+ Ke5 30.Kg2 Bd5+ 31.Kf1 Bf3 32.h3 Kd5 33.Bd4 g6 34.Kg1 Kc4 35.Rb1 Rd1+ 36.Rxd1 Bxd1 37.f4 Bc2 38.Kf2 Kb3 39.Ke3 Kxa3 40.Bc5+ Kb3 41.Kd4 Bb1 42.Bb6 b4 43.cxb4 Kxb4 44.Bc5+ Kb5 45.Be7 b6 46.Ke5 c5 47.f5 gxf5 48.gxf5 c4 49.h4 c3 50.h5 c2 51.Bg5 Ba2 52.Kf6 Kc4 53.Kg7 b5 54.Kxh7 b4 55.Kg7 b3 56.Bc1 Kc3 57.h6 b2 58.Bxb2+ Kxb2 59.h7 c1Q 60.h8Q Qc3+ ½–½

Balakrishnan,Praveen (1755) - Adelson,Serge (1879)

Garden State League (2), 05.11.2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be3 Be7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 Bd7 9.g4 h6 10.h4 Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Bc6 12.Bh3 d5 13.g5 Nh5 14.Bg4 hxg5 15.hxg5 Bxg5 16.Qf2 Qc7 17.Rxh5 Rxh5 18.Bxh5 Qf4 19.Bg4 dxe4 20.Kf1 e3 21.Qg2 Qxd4 22.Bxe6 Qf4 23.Bg4 g6 24.Ne2 Bb5 25.Kg1 Bxe2 26.Qxe2 Qg3+ 27.Kf1 f5 28.f4 Qxf4+ 29.Bf3 0–0–0 30.Rd1 Rh8 31.Kg1 Qg3+ 32.Bg2 Rh4 33.Kf1 Rf4+ 34.Kg1 Qf2+ 35.Qxf2 Rxf2 36.Rc1 Kc7 37.a4 Bf6 38.b3 Bb2 39.Re1 Rxc2 40.Kh2 f4 41.Kh3 Bc3 42.Rf1 e2 43.Rb1 e1Q 44.Rxe1 Bxe1 45.Bd5 b6 46.Kg4 g5 47.Kxg5 Rc5 48.Kxf4 Rxd5 49.Ke4 Rd8 50.Ke3 Kc6 51.Ke2 Kc5 52.Kxe1 Kb4 53.Ke2 Kxb3 54.Ke3 Kxa4 55.Ke4 a5 56.Ke5 Rc8 57.Kd6 Kb5 58.Kd7 Rc5 59.Kd6 a4 60.Kd7 a3 61.Kd6 a2 62.Kd7 a1Q 63.Kd6 Rc2 64.Kd5 Qd1+ 65.Ke4 Re2+ 66.Kf3 Qf1+ 67.Kg3 Rg2+ 68.Kh3 Qh1# 0–1

Renna,Joe (1319) - Pecota,Doug (1433)

Garden State League (2), 05.11.2010

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.g3 e6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.0–0 b6 6.Nbd2 Bb7 7.c4 0–0 8.Qc2 Nbd7 9.Re1 c5 10.Nb3 dxc4 11.Qxc4 Rc8 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Qd4 Nxb3 14.Qxd8 Rfxd8 15.axb3 Bb4 16.Rf1 a5 17.Be3 b5 18.Bb6 Rd6 19.Bxa5 Bxa5 20.Rxa5 Rb6 21.Nd4 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 b4 23.Rc1 Rd8 24.Rac5 g6 25.e3 Rd7 26.Nf3 Rbb7 27.R5c4 Kg7 28.Ne5 Rd5 29.Nf3 Rd3 30.Nd4 e5 31.Rc7 Rxc7 32.Ne6+ fxe6 33.Rxc7+ Kh6 34.Rc2 Rxb3 35.Rd2 e4 36.Kf1 Nd5 37.Ke1 Kg5 38.Kd1 Kf5 39.Kc2 Rd3 40.Rxd3 exd3+ 41.Kxd3 Ke5 42.Kc4 Kd6 43.e4 Ne7 44.Kxb4 Kc6 45.Kc4 g5 46.f4 gxf4 47.gxf4 Ng6 48.f5 exf5 49.exf5 Nf8 50.Kd4 Kd6 51.Ke4 Nd7 52.Kf4 Ke7 53.Kg5 Kf7 54.h4 Kg7 55.h5 h6+ 56.Kf4 Kf6 57.b4 Nb6 58.Ke4 Nd7 59.b5 Nb6 60.Kf4 Nd5+ 61.Kg4 Ke5 62.b6 Nxb6 63.f6 Kxf6 64.Kf4 Nd7 65.Kg4 Ke5 66.Kh4 Nf6 67.Kg3 Kf5 68.Kh4 Kf4 69.Kh3 Kg5 70.Kg3 Kxh5 71.Kh3 Kg5 72.Kg3 h5 73.Kh3 Ne4 74.Kg2 Kg4 75.Kh2 h4 76.Kg2 Ng5 77.Kh2 Nf3+ 78.Kh1 Ne1 79.Kh2 h3 80.Kg1 Nf3+ 81.Kh1 Nh4 82.Kh2 Nf5 83.Kg1 Ne3 84.Kh2 Nd1 85.Kh1 Kg3 86.Kg1 h2+ 87.Kf1 h1Q+ 88.Ke2 Qg2+ 89.Kd3 Qf2 90.Kc4 Qd2 91.Kb3 Kf4 92.Kc4 Ke4 93.Kb5 Qc3 94.Kb6 Qc4 95.Ka5 Qb3 96.Ka6 Kd5 97.0–1 White time-forfeited.

Final Score: Chess Mates 2.5 DOCA Knights 1.5

The games were broadcast on Playchess. They can be viewed there until around 12:30 a.m. Sunday 11/7. You can also download the PGN of each game from the server if you can't wait until I upload a zip.

Update 11/6 at 12:20 p.m. - 2nd round zip & replay page uploaded.

Quick Update

Tuesday:

Kenilworth Karpovs 3 Sparta 1

Last night:

Hamilton 2.5 Staten Island 1.5

Summit 3 Kenilworth Kortchnois 1

Tonight:

DOCA Knights at Chess Mates 7:30 p.m.

If internet access is available, I will attempt to relay the games - probably on Playchess, which can now be viewed in your browser. Check here before the match (7:20 or so) to learn if it's the broadcast is going to happen or not.

Update 11/5 @ 7:18 p.m. - All systems are go! The broadcast will be on Playchess starting around 7:35.

Schedule Changes II

Canceled Games

10/7 Kortchnois - Kramniks
11/2 Kramniks - West Orange
12/2 Staten Island - Kramniks
1/6 Kramniks - Hamilton
2/5 Kramniks - DOCA Knights
3/3 Summit - Kramniks
4/5 Kramniks - Sparta
5/5 Chess Mates - Kramniks
6/2 Kramniks - Karpovs

Byes

October... Kortchnois
November... West Orange
December... Staten Island
January... Hamilton
February... DOCA Knights
March... Summit
April... Sparta
May... Chess Mates
June... Karpovs

Visitor/Home switches

5/3 Summit - Sparta (at W. Orange)
6/2 Kortchnois - Hamilton (at Kenilworth)
6/3 Chess Mates - Summit (at Rahway)

Venue for the 6/3 match is subject to change.

Kramniks Sitting-Out 2010-11 Season

The Kramniks are sitting-out the 2010-11 season because they could not secure the minimum number of players.

The GSCL's 9 remaining teams will receive a 0 point bye in the month they were scheduled to play the Kramniks.

To ensure that each will have 4 home and 4 road matches, some minor schedule changes will be necessary but the November matches (except Kramniks vs. West Orange) will take place as listed.

More information will be posted tonight or in the early morning.

Correction

The final score of Chess Mates-Sparta match was 3-1, not the previously reported 2.5-1.5.

The standings page and other affected pages have been corrected.

Schedule Changes

Please note the following schedule changes:

• Round 3's West Orange-Summit match has been moved to Monday, 12/6 at Summit.
• Round 4's Summit-Staten Island match has been moved to Thursday, 1/6 in Kenilworth.
• Round 5's Hamilton-Summit match has been moved to Thursday, 2/17 in Kenilworth.
• Round 7's Summit-DOCA Knights match has been moved to Saturday, 4/2 in Branchburg.

Also the starting time for all matches in Kenilworth will now be 8 p.m.

Thanks.

Thanks to Kevin Chen, Ziggy Bliznikas, Jose Fernandez and Phil Hepler for contributing 1st round lineups, results and games.

Karpovs Rally, Edge Summit

Ian Mangion and Joe Demetrick won with black on boards 2 & 4 to give the Kenilworth Karpovs a come-from-behind 2.5-1.5 victory in Summit last night.

The hosts grabbed an early lead when Simon Thomson upset FM Steve Stoyko on board 1 and got a save from Glen Hart but could not overcome weak openings in the other games and succumbed when Demetrick defeated Don Varneckas.

P.S. - Ian has also posted a match-report at the Kenilworth Kibitzer.

Hamilton Held To A Draw

In what they hope will be a good omen, defending champion Hamilton matched its 2009-10 start with a 2-2 tie against West Orange. All 4 boards were drawn.

Chess Mates, DOCA Knights Debut With Wins

The GSCL's two new teams started-off on the right foot by notching narrow victories last week.

Arthur Macaspac and Ziggy Bliznikas won with the white pieces to lead the Chess Mates over Sparta, 2.5-1.5 3-1 while Aleksey Vishnyakov and Kevin Chen collected middle-board wins in the DOCA Knights' similar 2.5-1.5 success against Staten Island.

The Knights will visit Chess Mates, in Rahway, on Friday, November 5th.

Kortchnois-Kramniks Postponed

The Kortchnois-Karpovs match scheduled for October 7th has been postponed. A make-up date has not been set.

New Polls

The following polls were recently added to our sidebar:

• Poll #9 - Which team will win the 2010-11 GSCL title?
• Poll #10 - Should the GSCL require players to submit a copy of their game score?

#9 will be open through November and #10 will close June 30, 2011.

Season To Open October 5th

The Garden State Chess League will open its 3rd season on Tuesday, October 5th in West Orange.

The matches scheduled for that night are (visiting team listed 1st) Chess Mates vs. Sparta, West Orange vs. Hamilton and Staten Island vs. the DOCA Knights.

The Kortchnois and Kramniks will meet in Kenilworth on October 7th while the Karpovs will visit Summit on October 11th.

Bound-Player Rule Change

The rule regarding bound-players has been amended to allow a loaned house-player to remain eligible for his club.

It now reads as follows: 

"Once a player competes for a team, he is bound to them for the season. Exception: An unbound house player may be loaned to another team once (just once) and remain eligible for his club."

GSCL Adds Teams In Branchburg, Rahway

The Garden State Chess league has added 2 teams for the 2010-11 season:

• The DOCA Knights, which will play their home games in Branchburg.
• The Chess Mates, which hail from Rahway.

Site Being Updated

This blog/site is in the process of being archived and updated. Some pages and files may be temporarily unavailable as they are moved about.

Meeting In Kenilworth On 9/2

There will be a Garden State Chess League meeting at the Kenilworth Chess Club on Thursday, September 2nd, starting at 8 p.m.

If a team captain cannot attend the meeting, he should send a representative or let me know if his team or club will be participating in the 2010-2011 season, which would likely start on Tuesday, October 5th.

Sorry for the very short notice.

Rookies' Scoring

Top Scoring Rookies

1. Alexander Negron, Staten Island 4.0

2. Glen Hart, Summit 2.5

3. Mark Schwarcz, Kortchnois 2.0

4. David Cole, Sparta 1.0

4. Joe Demetrick, Karpovs 1.0

4. Lou Sturniolo, Kramniks 1.0

To view the scoring of all rookies click here.

Final Board Leaders

Final board by board scoring leaders:

Board 1

Steve Stoyko, Karpovs 6.0

Board 2

Charles Miller, Hamilton 5.5

Board 3

John Moldovan, Karpovs 4.5

Board 4
Alexander Negron, Staten Island 3.0

Fermin Arias, West Orange 3.0

Russ Avarella, Sparta 3.0

Tom Stanics, Hamilton 3.0

To view the top 5 scores on each board click here.

Scoring Percentage Leaders

Scoring Percentage Leaders (minimum 4 games played)

1. Steve Stoyko, Karpovs .857

2. Alexander Negron, Staten Island .800

3. Charles Miller, Hamilton .786

4. Fermin Arias, West Orange .750

4. Bob Sherry, Summit .750

4. Ari Minkov, Kortchnois .750

7. Richard Lewis, Kortchnois .667

8. John Moldovan, Karpovs .643

9. Paul Corcoran, West Orange .625

9. Don Carrelli, Kramniks .625

9. Glen Hart, Summit .625

To view the scoring percentages of everyone who played more than 4 games click here.

Final Scoring Leaders

Final Scoring Leaders:

1. Steve Stoyko, Karpovs 6.0
2. Charles Miller, Hamilton 5.5
3. Fermin Arias, W. Orange 4.5
3. Bob Sherry, Summit 4.5
3. John Moldovan, Karpovs 4.5
6. Alexander Negron, Staten Island 4.0
6. Richard Lewis, Kortchnois 4.0
8. Ed Sytnik, Hamilton 3.5

Stoyko, Miller and Sherry did not lose a single game.

For the complete 2009-10 scoring list, click here.

Final Standings

The final 2009-10 Standings are, in tie-break order, :

1. Hamilton 5.5
2. West Orange 3.5
3. Kenilworth Kramniks 3.5
4. Kenilworth Karpovs 3.5
5. Staten Island 3.5
6. Kenilworth Kortchnois 3.5
7. Summit 3.0
8. Sparta 2.0

Thanks to all who played. I hope you can do so again next season.

Post corrected 4/14 @ 10:47 p.m. It originally listed the Kortchnois twice & omitted the Kramniks.

Summit 2.5 West Orange 1.5

Summit closed-out the 2009-10 season by defeating West Orange 2.5-1.5.

Donnelly Miller & Glen Hart had wins for the former & NM Peter Radomskyj won for the latter.

Poll Results

I don't know if the results of polls 3-8 will carry any weight at the Garden State's annual, off-season meeting but the voters evidently:

• do not want Open or U1600 sections
• do not want league games to be USCF-rated
• want fewer Kenilworth CC teams
• want West Orange to play road games

Opinion on whether matches should be played on the Internet Chess Club was split.

Look for more polls in the near-future.

Polls Closing

Polls 3-8 (see sidebar) will be closing in less than 11 hours (at 3 a.m. EDT). So, if you want your opinion counted, cast your votes now!

Staten Island 2.5 Sparta 1.5

Staten Island received lower-board wins from Ed Selling & Alexander Negron to end their 2009-10 season at 3-3-1.

Mark Van Der Veen had a full-point for Sparta, which finished at 2-5-0.

Kramniks 2.5 Karpovs 1.5

Don Carrelli & Ted Mann won with Black to give the Kramniks (3-3-1) Kenilworth CC bragging rights.

Steve Stoyko's league-record 5th victory was the Karpovs' (3-3-1) only bright spot.

Here are Steve's win over Mark Kernighan & my draw vs. Greg Tomkovich in java-replay & zipped PGN.

Kortchnois 2.5 Hamilton 1.5

Yaacov Norowitz & Richard Lewis won with White pieces to help the Kortchnois (3-3-1) finish on a high-note & spoil the league-champions bid for an unbeaten season.

Ed Sytnik won on board 4 for Hamilton (5-1-1).

April Matches

Thursday 4/1 at Kenilworth, 8:15 p.m.

• Kortchnois (2-3-1) vs. Hamilton (5-0-1)

A match between the old champs & new ones.
Previous meeting : May 6th, 2009 at Hamilton. The Kortchnois won 3-1.

• Kramniks (2-3-1) vs. Karpovs (3-2-1)

The home team can clinch 2nd place & KCC bragging rights with a win.
Previous meeting : April 9th, 2009 at Kenilworth. The Karpovs won 3-1.


Tuesday 4/6 at West Orange, 8 p.m.

• Sparta (2-4-0) vs. Staten Island (2-3-1)

Previous meeting : June 2nd, 2009 at W. Orange. Staten Island won 2.5-1.5.

• West Orange (3-2-1) vs. Summit (1-3-2)

This will be the 1st meeting between the 2 clubs.

Hamilton Sinks S.I. 3-1, Wins Championship

Last night, Hamilton defeated Staten Island 3-1 & clinched the 2009-10 Garden State League Championship with a round to spare.

Dragan Milovanovic & Ed Sytnik led the way with wins on the odd-numbered boards.

Leading Scorers Update

GSCL Individual Scoring Leaders (thru 6 rounds) :

1. Steve Stoyko, Karpovs 5.0 (+4-0=2)
1. Charles Miller, Hamilton 5.0 (+4-0=2)
3. Fermin Arias, West Orange 4.0 (+4-1=0)
3. Bob Sherry, Summit 4.0 (+3-0=2)
3. John Moldovan, Karpovs 4.0 (+3-1=2)
6. Richard Lewis, Kortchnois 3.5 (+3-1=1)
7. Ari Minkov, Kortchnois 3.0 (+3-1=0)
7. Alexander Negron, Staten Island 3.0 (+3-1=0)
7. Dragan Milovanovic, Hamilton 3.0 (+2-0=2)
7. Tom Stanics, Hamilton 3.0 (+2-1=2)
7. Russ Avarella, Sparta 3.0 (+3-3?=0)


GSCL Leading Scorers by Board:

Board 1 - Stoyko, Karpovs 5.0
Board 2 - C. Miller, Hamilton 5.0
Board 3 - Moldovan, Karpovs 4.0
Board 4 - 3 players (Arias, Avarella & Stanics) with 3.0

4/2 - List updated to include 3/24 match between Hamilton & S. Island
4/7 - Lewis's standing & point-total corrected.

6th Round Games

Updated Standings, board by board results from Thursday's match & 2 games from Round 6 have been uploaded.

Schedule Change

The Kortchnois-Hamilton match scheduled for Tuesday, April 6th at West Orange, has been rescheduled to Thursday, April 1st at Kenilworth, 8:15 start time.

Hamilton Beats Kramniks, Clinches Tie

Hamilton received wins from Dragan Milovanovic & Ed Sytnik plus a draw by Charles Miller to edge the Kenilworth Kramniks last night 2.5-1.5.

With that result, Hamilton clinched a tie for 1st place and knocked the Kramniks, Kenilworth Karpovs & West Orange out of contention.

Staten Island is the only team left that can catch the league-leaders and win on head to head tiebreaks or in a 3 or 4-way deadlock.

Page updates plus 6th round games will follow.

Last Night's Results

Here are the results of last night's matches in West Orange:

• Karpovs 3 Sparta 1
• Staten Island 4 Summit 0
• West Orange 4 Kortchnois 0 (forfeit)

Sparta, Summit & the Kortchnois have been eliminated from title contention.

Karpovs Need An U1889 Fill-In Tonight

This very late notice & probably won't be of any help but I'll give it a shot:

The Kenilworth Karpovs need an U1889 player for tonight's Garden State Chess League match versus Sparta.

If you fit the bill, please be at the West Orange Chess Club by 8 p.m.

March Matches

Tuesday 3/2 at West Orange, 8 p.m.

• Karpovs (2-2-1) vs. Sparta (2-3-0)

This will be the 1st match between the 2 teams.
Sparta needs at least a draw to keep its 1st place hopes alive.

• Summit (1-2-2) vs. Staten Island (1-2-1)
  

Previous meeting : April 7th, 2009 at W. Orange, a 2-2 tie.
Summit needs a draw or better to stay in the title-hunt.

• West Orange (2-2-1) vs. Kortchnois (2-2-1)

Previous meeting : April 7th, 2009 at W. Orange. The Kortchnois won 2.5-1.5.


Thursday 3/4 at Kenilworth, 8:15 p.m.

• Hamilton (3-0-1) vs. Kramniks (2-2-1)

Previous meeting : June 30th, 2009 at W. Orange. Hamilton swept 4-0.
If Hamilton wins again, they secure a tie for 1st, eliminate the Kramniks & at least 3 other teams!
In fact, if the other 3 matches end-up 2-2, Hamilton can knock-out 7 teams at once!!!


To be announced

• Hamilton vs. Staten Island

This match was to take place in January but was postponed. It will be played at Hamilton's convenience.

Magic & Tragic Numbers

Here are the current magic & tragic numbers for clinching 1st place or being eliminated from the race (discounting tiebreaks) :

Magic number

• Hamilton 1.5

Tragic Numbers

• Karpovs, Kortchnois, Kramniks, Staten Island, West Orange 1.5
• Sparta, Summit 1.0

Schedule Change

Next week's match between league-leading Hamilton & the Kramniks has been shifted to Thursday, March 4th at Kenilworth.

The other 5th round matches will be played at West Orange on Tuesday, March 2nd, as scheduled.

Staten Island 3 Karpovs 1

Staten Island received wins from Jackson Hueckel, Alexander Negron & Pete Cavaliere while notching their 1st match-victory of the season.

This reporter was in prime position to tie the match at 2 but blundered in moderate time-pressure.

Cavaliere - Moldovan
after 33.Nc1?

Black to Win

With the Karpovs' loss, Hamilton leads by 1.5 games & can clinch 1st place by going 1-1-1 against S. Island, the Kortchnois & Kramniks.

Updated 5th round replay & PGN.

Karpovs Add Two

The Karpovs have added 2005 Kenilworth U1800 Champ Joe Demetrick (1660) & Team 45 45 League vet SATELLITE-DAN (1496-rated Dan Komunicky) to their roster.

The latter was on the Kramniks' list but did not play for them.

Hamilton 2.5 Sparta 1.5

Hamilton edged Sparta on Feb. 2nd. &, for the moment, leads the league by a full game.

The Karpovs have a chance to cut the margin tomorrow night, when they host Staten Island at the Kenilworth Chess Club (8:15 start time).

More 5th Round Games

I have added 2 games from the Kramniks-West Orange match to the 5th round's replay page & zipped PGN file.

West Orange 3.5 Kramniks 0.5

West Orange defeated the Kenilworth Kramniks last night, 3.5-0.5. Fermin Arias had 1 of the wins & upped his record to 4-1.

Update 2/7 @ 12:13 a.m.- Bryan Cohen & Paul Corcoran also won.

Kortchnois 2 Summit 2

The Kenilworth Kortchnois, enabled by a draw from last-minute sub Richard Lewis, got a lucky win by Ari Minkov & a 2-2 tie at Summit.

Glen Hart had the home team's victory.

Java-replay

PGN

February Matches

Monday 2/1 at Summit, 8 p.m.

• Kortchnois (2-2) vs. Summit (1-2-1)

Previous meeting : June 4th, 2009 at Kenilworth. The Kortchnois won 3.5-0.5 &, in doing so, clinched their 2009 crown with a round to spare.


Tuesday 2/2 at West Orange, 8 p.m.

• Kramniks (2-1-1) vs. West Orange (1-2-1)

Previous meeting : June 2nd, 2009 at W. Orange. W. Orange swept 4-0.

• Sparta (2-2) vs. Hamilton (2-0-1)

Previous meeting : April 7th, 2009 at W. Orange. Hamilton won 3-1.


Thursday 2/18 at Kenilworth, 8:15 p.m.

• Staten Island (0-2-1) vs. Karpovs (2-1-1)

Previous meeting : March 3rd, 2009 at W. Orange. Karpovs won 3-1.


To be announced

• Hamilton vs. Staten Island

This match was to take place last month but was postponed. It will be played at Hamilton's convenience.

Sparta Adds Expert

The Sparta team has added Expert David Cole to its roster. The 2049-rated is expected to debut in Tuesday's match vs. league-leading Hamilton.

Leading Scorers

GSCL Individual Scoring Leaders :

1. Bob Sherry, Summit 3.5 (+3-0=1)
2. Charles Miller, Hamilton 3.0 (+3-0=0)
2. Russ Avarella, Sparta 3.0 (+3-1?=0)
2. Fermin Arias, West Orange 3.0 (+3-1=0)
2. Steve Stoyko, Karpovs 3.0 (+2-0=2)
2. John Moldovan, Karpovs 3.0 (+2-0=2)
7. Six players tied with 2.0


GSCL Leading Scorers by Board

Board 1 - Stoyko, Karpovs 3.0
Board 2 - C. Miller, Hamilton 3.0
Board 3 - Moldovan, Karpovs, 3.0
Board 4 - Avarella, Sparta 3.0

Sherry had a win on board 2 & Arias had one on board 3.

Goeller on Thomson-Stoyko

Earlier this month, on his Kenilworthian blog, Michael Goeller annotated Round 4's exciting Thomson-Stoyko game.

More Corrections

A couple of corrections:

• In addition to the mistake noted in my previous post, the Thomson-Stoyko score was a move short. 40...Qe1+ was missing.

• Staten Island's 2nd board in rounds 2 & 3 was Adrian Relingado (not Pelingado).
  

If you notice any other errors, please contact me.

Correction

In the Thomson-Stoyko game posted yesterday, 29...h6 was played - not 29...h5.

The round's replay page & zipped PGN have been corrected.

Race For #1 Tightens

This week's results have tightened an already competitive race for the GSCL top spot. At the moment, Hamilton (which has yet to play its 4th round match), the Karpovs & Kramniks are tied for 1st with 2.5 points.

The Kortchnois & Sparta have 2.0 while Summit & West Orange are at 1.5.

Staten Island, currently bringing-up the rear, can make it an 8-team race if it wins the make-up match.

Hamilton-Staten Island Postponed

This week's match between the Hamliton and Staten Island clubs has been postponed. It will be rescheduled at the former's convenience.

Sparta 2.5 West Orange 1.5

Sparta notched its 2nd victory of the season thanks to Tom Murray's upset draw against Ken Chieu and wins on the lower boards.

West Orange got a win from Bryan Cohen but fell to 1-2-1.

Karpovs 2 Summit 2

This was a very strange match with all 4 games taking unexpected turns.

Bob Sherry gave Summit a 1-0 lead by defeating Ian Mangion, who could have locked Sherry's dame out of play & enjoyed a decisive Q vs. B advantage on the rest of the board.

Next, Kenilworth's Mike Wojcio, who was a Rook-down for no compensation from the opening-on, sacked his other R to lure Raoul Bertorello into a stalemate!

John Moldovan then wasted 2 totally-won positions against Summit's Glen Hart & had to settle for a drawn, opposite Bishops ending.

Finally, the Karpovs' Steve Stoyko evened the score after being outplayed by & lost against Simon Thomson.

You can play through Stoyko's win & Moldovan's fully-annotated draw here or download the games.

Kramniks 2.5 Kortchnois 1.5

The Kramniks received wins by Greg Tomkovich & Gordon Agress plus a match-clinching draw from Lou Sturniolo to earn their 2nd straight victory.

Yaacov Norowitz scored a full-point for the Kortchnois, who again lost to a fellow Kenilworth team.