November 14-15, 2009

Garrett Reynolds wins the 2009 Southern Idaho Open

The 2009 Southern Idaho Open was held in Twin Falls, Idaho over the November 14-15, 2009 weekend. It was a huge success. 33 players attended, and coincidentally, 64 games were played to determine the winner. Click here for complete coverage.

Turnout was so good that the ICA added 2 prizes above what was advertized ($75 First Place U1400, and $50 Second Place U1400).

November 4, 2009

IdahoChess.net Web Chess
By Jeff Roland

There are many ways and places to play chess on the Internet these days. But did you know there is a chess server started from scratch right here in Idaho? Wayne Ebenroth has created a chess server called "WebChess" at IdahoChess.net/webchess. Neither "IdahoChess.net" nor "WebChess" are connected to the ICA in any direct way. It is a labor of love that Wayne says he will do as long as it stays fun.

WebChess is technically correspondence chess. Most games are played with a time control of 14 days per move. However, faster time controls can be set. Teams and Clubs can also be formed and compete against each other. Tournaments can be created by anyone and they have their own rating system (everyone starts at 1500 and then either goes up or down from there). Clubs can even hold their own tournaments. Friendly unrated games can also be played. And you can chat with your opponent during a game too.

This type of chess if very flexible and convenient because you can play as long as you have time. Maybe you only have 20 minutes to play. You can log on, make a move or two, then log off. Or you can stay on and play live with a player for as long as you both have time.

The most active player on the server currently has 61 games going. I have only 8 games going. It is forbidden to get any advice from another person or from a computer or chess engine. However, as in all correspondence chess, you are allowed to look in books or search databases. Nobody is allowed to hassle or pressure others to move before they are ready. There is an "Analyze" feature that lets you move the pieces around to try things out before actually playing the move in the game. But once you actually make the move in the game, you are committed. There are absolutely no take backs.

You even have the ability to look at other players' games by going to their profiles. And you can also download or export those games into a PGN file. And of course your own games are also stored on the server. Players are encouraged to learn from one another, so it is encouraged that players do annotate their best games.

Here are the complete games collections of the top 5 rated players on the server as of November 4, 2009:

1. MagiCat's games (rating is 1868)
2. Strider19cpk's games (rating is 1854)
3. wayne's games (rating is 1735)
4. Alano's games (rating is 1678)
5. MarathonMama's games (rating is 1642)

The server is probably not as fancy or sofisticated as some out there, but it is something created right here in our own back yard. And most if not all of the players are from right here in Idaho. And improvements are still being made. If you would like to support the efforts of Wayne Ebenroth and play chess on the server, it is very easy to sign up. It is completely free, and there are no annoying ads to pay for the site. Just click the IdahoChess.net icon below and register.

October 24, 2009

The first in a series of six monthly "Knights Quest" tournaments was held in Nampa, Idaho on October 24, 2009. Wayne Ebenroth was the organizer and tournament director for the event. In this tournament, Time control was Game/30 for the Scholastic Section, and Game/30 + 5 second time delay for the Adults.

Results are as follows:

Knights Quest 1: Adult

Knights Quest 1: Scholastic Intermediate

More information available at Idaho Chess.Net.

October 10-11, 2009

2009 Wood River Weekend Swiss Results
By Adam Porth

Jeff Roland, Boise won the one section open tournament with 3½ points out after four rounds of enjoyable chess in the Idaho Chess Association Wood River Weekend Swiss chess tournament in Hailey, Idaho. The tournament boasted 14 of the top competitors in the state of Idaho, and from the Wood River Valley. This tournament also attracted two tough opponents from Wyoming and Utah.

All eyes were on table one in the fourth round to see 15-time Idaho State Champion, Larry Parsons play twice and current Idaho State Champion, Garrett Reynolds. As the first moves unfolded, the spirit of the weekend overcame the competitiveness of the two state champions, and they decided to draw after 5 moves. This allowed Jeff Roland an opportunity to show his stuff in his final game against Wyoming competitor, Richard Cohen and take home a tournament win. Larry Parsons, Garrett Reynolds, and Jeff Baggett split the second prize winnings with 3 points a piece.

Some notable upsets occurred when Larry Parsons drew against Utah opponent, Doug Finch in a game that used the entire time. In the last round, Tyler Jaramillo scooped up a queen early in the game and won against his own chess coach, Adam Porth. Jeff Roland also obtained a draw against Garrett Reynolds in round 3 which seemed to set the tone of the fourth round for most competitors. Other impressive scores were obtained for two tournament newcomers and valley residents, Erwin Kett and Jeff Baggett. Both players won important games against experienced tournament players.

Four Wood River High Schoolers were among the mix and were very impressive to their opponents. Nick Bruck commented on how different the games were with longer time settings - 4 hour games! And Shane Bruess, Chris Ellis, and Tyler Jaramillo were very close to beating some of the experienced opponents. Richard Cohen said he had to "be very careful".

The weekend included opportunities for the chess players to socialize outside of the competition room and play more chess "just for fun". The Kett's served up German lunches for all the competitors and the Porth's filled the house on Saturday evening for dinner. Richard Cohen awed the chess players with outstanding piano songs and magic tricks. Were it not for the social hours, the chess games might have been more merciless!

Thank you ICA, Jeff Roland, Barry Eacker for support of the tournament, and Lynnet Porth and Mr. & Mrs. Erwin Kett for housing, food, and encouragement to the chess players.

Click here for complete details

October 5, 2009

Chess Clubs, a good way to play chess
By Jeff Roland

Tonight, prompted by a phone call from an old friend, I went to Borders Books in the Towne Square Mall in Boise, Idaho and attended their weekly meeting of chess players.

There were no blitz games that I could see, and no bughouse games. There were only serious chess players playing quality games and being very pleasant, sociable, and friendly. The players were very respectful of one another and very respectful of the game of chess.

I arrived at 6:00 p.m. and decided to record my games. I played 3 games (1 game/30, and 2 game/35's). All three games were very interesting for games of those time limits, prompting several players to request that I put my games up on the web site.

Click here to play through my games from the evening

The main thing to remember is that there are places to play chess in Idaho. One merely has to go, play, and enjoy! And there are lots of really cool people you can meet in a chess club. Check out Where To Play to find these chess clubs.

September 28, 2009

Allan Cunningham resigns as President of the Wyoming Chess Association - Brian Walker elected new President

The following is from an e-mail from Allan Cunningham dated 9-28-09. ICA congratulates Allan Cunningham for a job well done, and looks forward to working with Brian Walker in the future. Both Allan Cunningham and Brian Walker have been key players working with the Idaho Chess Association (ICA) and Montana Chess Association (MCA) in the organization of the Tri-States (ID, WY, MT) chess matches in recent years.:

Allan's e-mail reads as follows:

Dear Wyoming Chess Group,

Due to other commitments, I have resigned as President of the Wyoming Chess Association. Brian Walker has graciously accepted and was voted by the members of the Wyoming Chess Association at this weekend's Wyoming Closed in Casper, Wyoming, as President of the Wyoming Chess Association. I encourage you all to give Brian your support and help.

I thank all of you for your support over the last 15 years.

Allan Cunningham

September 26-27, 2009

Hans Morrow and Jershon Laimana win Eastern Idaho Open

In the Open Section, Hans Morrow from Farmington, Utah and Jershon Laimana from Idaho Falls tied for first place at the 2009 Eastern Idaho Open on September 27, 2009 with 4 points each. Jeff Roland from Boise was third at 3½ points.

In the Reserve Section, Adam Porth from Bellevue was clear first with 4½ points followed by Doug Finch from Utah in second place at 3½ points and Katie Patterson from Boise at 3 points was third place.

Jay Simonson, President of Idaho Chess Association and Tournament Director of the event, started every round on time. He even had the tournament submitted and was rated by USCF even before most of us could drive home from the tournament! Nice job, Jay!

Before Round 4, Jeff Roland got out his video camera to try and get some footage to be used on this web site. The two Calebs (Abernathy and Kircher) decided to play a 2-minute exhibition game for the camera. The footage was great, but the video quality was too high resolution which is great to view as a DVD, but not so great to upload, download, or view the video online. We may be able to lower the resolution and thereby make the video available to view. But in the meantime Click Here to view moves of the 2-minute Exhibition Game.

Also before Round 4, Aaron Proferes and Jeff Roland played a miniature game ending in mate on move 8 that is interesting. Click Here to view moves of this game.

Click Here for more details!

September 19, 2009
By Daniel and Ava Vellotti

Jeff Roland takes clear 1st Place Title at the "Flaming Dragons" Chess Tournament!

Click here for Games played by Jeff Roland

The "Flaming Dragons" Chess Tournament took place at the Smoky Mountain Pizza in Boise on September 19th. This tournament hosted four separate sections to accommodate all the players from Beginner through Advanced skill level. Jeff Roland played in the most advanced section called "The Grandmaster" along with several state champions. He managed to win several very close and complicated games to emerge the 1st Place Overall Champion in the event.

His section also featured Carl and Luke Harmon-Vellotti, who gave the other players piece odds for each game, with Carl playing down a rook and Luke playing without his queen. This made for an extremely exciting and challenging tournament, which was made even more fun with the addition of unlimited pizza, soda, and awards for all the players. You may find out more info on the Fall/Winter schedule of upcoming chess tournaments hosted by Vellottis Chess Kids on their website www.successinchess.com or e-mailing danielvellotti@yahoo.com.

September 19, 2009

Caleb Kircher wins 3rd Annual Mayor's Chess Tournament

The 3rd Annual Mayor's Chess Tournament was held on September 19, 2009 at the Garden City Library. There were to be three divisions, Advanced Open, Intermediate, and Beginner. Play was to be from 8:30a.m. to 5:30p.m., however, the tournament finished 2 hours ahead of schedule. The overall winner was Caleb Kircher. No other information is available at this time. For more information, please see Extreme Chess.

August 17, 2009

Erica Barkell of Boise went to represent Idaho at the highly prestigious 25th Annual Denker Tournament of High School Champions in Indianapolis, Indiana. Click here for the final crosstable of that event.

August 14, 2009

Wood River vs. Idaho Champion Reynolds
Reynolds pulls 26-2-1 score
Bellevue, Idaho
By Adam Porth
www.wix.com/aporth/chessnut/

Reynolds wins Wood River People & the Elements!

Chess players are tough! Garrett Reynolds, twice and current State Champion, braved a normal work-day, a 2½ hour drive, and immediately faced 29 challengers, 2 expert chess players, picnic distractions, 49 degree temperatures, and lantern light . Wood River threw everything we had at Garrett and he came out on top beating 26 people, drawing one, and only losing 2 games.

By 9 p.m., Garrett successfully eliminated 14 challengers, however, Dan Mayers, Senior Champion of England in 1996, and Norman Friedman, Manhattan Chess Club and founder of the Right Move, soon met Garrett with success. Norman drew and Dan Mayers won.

Pictured above is the first winner Larry Helzel. He commented that he surely earned his medal in one of the toughest games he has played. Other victor, Dan Mayers hoped that he could participate in more local chess events. However, he decided they will be indoors and with better lighting! I guess I underestimated Wood River's chess abilities and anticipated the event finishing sooner than expected as the last player, Jeff Baggett, fought on until 12am, nearly 40 degrees cooler and 4½ hours after we started. This was truly a one-of-a-kind event.

I wanted locals to feast their eyes on a simultaneous chess exhibition, in addition to their hamburgers and picnic foods at the Bellevue Memorial Park's "ribbon cutting" ceremony. There were at least 50 people watching the exhibition in awe and snapping photos as the event began and this proved to be an educational and inspiring event for many people.

Thank you Irwin Kett for delivering Dan Mayers, and the Bellevue Community Church and Tad Walton for supplying emergency stage lighting. Thank you the City of Bellevue for letting us tag along on the ribbon cutting party. A special thanks to my wife for supplying lattes, hot cocoa, blankets, and coats for participants while playing Garrett herself.

Idaho Expert Luke Harmon-Vellotti recipient of Schein-Friedman Scholarship

USCF announces that Luke Harmon-Vellotti was recently awarded the third place scholarship by the Schein-Friedman Scholastic Recognition Project. Ten year old Harmon-Vellotti is a two time national scholastic champion and is currently ranked number two in the nation for his age group. Luke has been active in tournaments around the US, but has been noticeably absent from Idaho events for the last seventeen months, missing even the prestigious Idaho State Championship.

August 1-8, 2009

Ernest Emerick wins Southeast Idaho Senior Games
By Jeff Roland

The Southeast Idaho Senior Games competition was held in Pocatello from August 1 through August 8, 2009. The games are committed to providing adults, age 50 and better, with an opportunity and motivation to participate at Local, State and National games in events that promote physical, mental, social and emotional well-being.

The Southeast Idaho Senior Games is endorsed by the Idaho Governor's Council on Physical Fitness & Sports and belongs to the U.S. National Senior Games Organization.

2009 introduced Chess into the competition for the first time. For the modest entry fee of $3.00, six (6) seniors got the chance to play a round robin tournament. Our own Idaho Chess Association President, Jay Simonson was one of those six!!! Time control was game/45.

It is clear by playing through the games that the players were really into the spirit of the games. In the tournament literature the caption reads, "You don't stop playing because you grow old, You grow old because you stop playing." The six players showed that they were still very young at heart, and you can tell by playing through the moves that they were very much enjoying themselves at this event. Chess is a marvelous game that one just never grows too old to play.

Competition was challenging. Nobody went through this competition undefeated. The tournament was won by Ernest Emerick with 4 points. Second place going to Garry Montgomery with 3 points. The remaining four players all tied with 2 points each.

I think it is great that chess was added to the Southeast Idaho Senior Games. Former World Chess Champion, Anatoly Karpov has been quoted as saying, "Chess if everything: art, science and sport." It certainly does belong in these games!

Click here to play through the games

Southeast Idaho Senior Games official web site

August 1, 2009

Reynolds shines in Twin Falls Simul

Idaho State Chess Champion Garrett Reynolds of Boise won 19 games, lost one and drew two at the simultaneous chess exhibition held Saturday August 1, 2009 in Twin Falls, Idaho. The sole winner was Armando Arambula of Twin Falls while Chris Viveros (Twin Falls) and Andrew Christ (Filer) nicked the champion for draws.

Many thanks to Obenchain Insurance and Barnes & Noble Booksellers for their support of Magic Valley Chess. Thank you to Magic Valley Bank for supplying the excellent playing site and Mayor Lance Clow for his logistical skills. Thanks also to Garrett Reynolds for conducting the simul as well as all Magic Valley and Wood River Valley chess players who helped at the event.

July 25-31, 2009

Barkell, Abderhalden, Patterson compete in the 2009 Susan Polgar National Invitational for girls at Texas Tech University
By Angela Abderhalden

The sixth annual Susan Polgar National Invitational Chess Tournament held in Lubbock, Texas this past week (July 25-31, 2009) was an absolute success and fun too. Idaho had three girls in the tournament, Erica Barkell, Katie Abderhalden, and Emily Patterson who all tied for the Idaho Girl's State Championship this year. Erica officially represented Idaho while Katie and Emily were there as special invitees from Susan Polgar.

Not only did the girls play well, but they had lots of fun too. There were many side events, as always, which included quads, puzzle solving, Blitz chess, and Bughouse. The Idaho girls placed well in each. Other, non-competition, side events were basketball games, campus tours, chocolate making class, a simul with IM Gergely Antal, and dance class. (See the You Tube videos for both tournament rounds and the dance class! Search SPNI. See how much fun the girls had!)

The girls made many new friends from across the nation and had a great time while playing some top level chess games. The final results for the Idaho girls in the Susan Polgar National Invitational tournament were Katie Abderhalden placed 24th (3 out of 6), Emily Patterson placed 37th (3 out of 6), and Erica Barkell placed 43rd (2½ out of 6). Congratulations to all three girls. And good luck to Erica Barkell at the Denker this week!

July 18-19, 2009

Idaho State Champion Garrett Reynolds wins 2009 ICA President's Cup in Twin Falls, Idaho

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage.

Published in The Idaho Statesman July 12, 2009

Idaho chess expert Dennis Hevener passes away in Boise

Dennis Noel Hevener III, 49, of Boise, died at home. At his request no services will be held. Cremation is under the direction of the Alden-Waggoner Funeral Chapel.

June 4-7, 2009

California's GM Akobian and IM Sevillano Co-Champions of the 2009 National Open in Las Vegas, NV
www.vegaschessfestival.com

GM Varuzhan Akobian (2659) 5.0/6
IM Enrico Sevillano (2557) 5.0/6

COMPLETE RESULTS: www.vegaschessfestival.com/results/2009/results.php

April 10-12, 2009

GM Sergey Kudrin wins 2009 Far West Open in Reno, NV

COMPLETE RESULTS: http://sites.google.com/site/renochessclub/results/20090412

April 4-5, 2009

Montana's Greg Nowak wins 2009 Idaho Open Chess Championship

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage.

March 7-8, 2009

Garrett Reynolds wins 2009 Magic Valley Chess Club Championship
Obenchain Insurance Building in Twin Falls, ID

by Barry Eacker

If you didn't know any better, you would swear that you had been sent back in time in Mr. Peabody's wayback machine (how many of you remember that?). Looking around the tournament hall the names are familiar to the MVCC tournaments of the early nineties....Buckendorf, Pocol, Reynolds, Rambo, Looney, Hinton, Dugger, Myers, Vereshchagin.....sure was great to see all those players in the same room together again.

Fast forward to the twenty first century as the 2009 version of the MVCC Championship fades into the foreground from yesteryear. One thing has changed though.......Garrett Reynolds holds the Idaho State Championship, Southern Idaho Open championship and now adds the MVCC crown to his list of conquests, all in the last four months. Reynolds, of Boise ID, finished at 3½/4 in a first place tie with Daniel Pocol, formerly of Twin Falls and now living in Issaquah, WA, Reynolds and Pocol drew their game so the head to head tiebreak would not apply and the Solkoff gave the title to Reynolds by one half point. Hugh Myers of Boise headed a list of players with 2.0/4 and grabbed third place in the event, squeaking out a one half point tiebreak over ten time Idaho champion and chess gentleman extraordinaire Glen Buckendorf of Buhl ID.

The Challenger section saw Gary Dugger of Twin Falls ID blast the opposition for the first three games, establishing himself as undisputed champion after three rounds and claiming the right to play in the Championship section next year. He finally yielded a loss to Chris Viveros (Twin Falls) in the final round. Kevin Patterson of Boise ID won his final two games of the event to claim the second slot at 2.0/4, in spite of cursing the day chess was invented and swearing never to play another game after round two. Newcomer Kitt Conner, one of Adam Porth's star students from Hailey, took the third place award at 2.0/4, winning on Solkoff tiebreak from his good friend and fellow Porth student Danny Mills, also of Hailey.

The event produced a situation that this TD has never seen in tournament competition. In round one, Chris Viveros had the white pieces against Aleksandr Vereshchagin. As the game progressed, it became apparent that Viveros was on the losing end and it would require some effort to achieve a draw. Viveros chose the perfect solution, liquidating pawns and forcing a rook trade in order to achieve king against king and two knights, which ended in a draw despite incredible effort by Vershchagin to gain the point. Nice job, Chris!

Glen Buckendorf, ever generous and always considerate of the plight of the chess player, sweetened the pot considerably by donating two very fine autographed books to the fourth place finishers of each section, Danny Mills and Barry Eacker. Let me go on record as saying that receiving such a gift from an Idaho chess legend is a very high honor indeed and many thanks go out to Mr. Buckendorf for his generosity and unwavering support of chess and chess players.

Once again, many thanks go out to the players for making the event and to Obenchain Insurance who has allowed us to push wood at this site for eighteen years.

February 14-16, 2009

Garrett Reynolds Wins 2009 Idaho Closed

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage.

February 10, 2009

Barnes & Noble Game/10 Tournament
Twin Falls, Idaho

February 7, 2009

2nd Annual ICU Treasure Valley Chess Championship
Fucsko wins second consecutive title

By Garrett Reynolds

Like many Saturday winters in downtown Nampa, the early morning traffic was kept to a dull and subdued roar. Young couples in the suburbs across town were still in bed from activities Friday night, or conversely (and more likely) from continuous early morning waking rituals of small children; the older and wiser of us were still at home also, perhaps watching the morning news over a cup of coffee; however, none of them could count themselves as devoted chess players, for the squarely devoted - 64 squares to be more precise - were at Nampa's Intermountain Community Bank bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for a 9AM start time. Ok, so maybe closer to 9:15 AM is more accurate.

All in all, the wisest among us were not at home but were present to dismantle an imposing field of the Treasure Valley's best. After co-kings of the mountain Janos Fucsko and Paul Johnson battled to a draw in the last round, both waited with bated breath as TD Garrett Reynolds called in a life line to Nomen Nescio for help with the tiebreak process to confirm that, yes, chessplayers still huddle around TD computers and yes, there would still be subdued groans and triumphant exhalations when the final tiebreak popped up so rudely nonchalant. It was indeed the perfect response for a tournament held with a free entry fee where the only prizes were plaques for the top 3 and more importantly - pride.

Both Janos Fucsko and Paul Johnson finished the event with 3½/4 in impressive fashion, dismissing each opponent like so many forlorn pawns. In the end, by a single half point in the median tiebreak system, Janos prevailed as the repeat winner of the 2nd Annual Treasure Valley Championships with his typical fluid style, leaving opponents both shaking their heads in dismay and amazement. Paul Johnson took home second place honors, proving once again in his solid and methodical, bone-crunching style that the multiple state champion is a threat to win any tournament he enters. Daniel Drumm rounded out the field with a noble 3/4, yielding a draw only to Garrett Reynolds in the last round, even then showing a dazzling repertoire of creativity in fearlessly battling for the win. Dan had a first round bye, making his three-round effort even more impressive.

As a TD, I could not have been more pleased with those in attendance. Thank you very much to everyone who attended, and thank you for your generous donations. It is because of you that over-the-board chess still lasts out here in the Treasure Valley, and we are all grateful for your love of the game.

Special thanks to Dan Looney for securing a wonderful site, the likes of which was praised by many. We sincerely hope the Intermountain Community Bank will have us again sometime.

Hope to see you all at the Closed!

This event is the brainchild of the late Stewart Q Sutton, whose prevailing impetus was to provide inexpensive, quality chess events for players who play chess because of the game itself.

This is an Idaho Chess Union tournament and was rated by Rocky Mountain Chess. Please browse the new ICU website at www.idahochessunion.net

January 3, 2009

First Idaho Server Match Ends In Draw

By Dick Vandenburg

Hi everyone,

I just received the results of the last game in our match between Ada County and The Rest of the State. With a win by the TROTS team, the match ended in a TIE, 7-7! An interesting result for the first ever server match in which many of you have participated. Considering that the ADACT team had a rating advantage over TROTS, you might say it was a "moral" victory for them? But a draw is a draw!!

Congratulations to Caleb Kircher, Jim Stark (for ADACT) and Jesse Brent (for TROTS), who were double winners for their respective teams. Tim O'Connor and Garrett Reynolds scored 1½ - ½ for TROTS, and they were the only other players to achieve a plus score.

Thanks to Jay Simonson for captaining the TROTS Team! I had fun being captain for ADACT.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage.

December 27, 2008

David Eacker 2008 Winter Solstice Round Robin Victor

10 Rounds G/20, Invitation only!
Rated by Rocky Mountain Chess

David Eacker wins with 6/7, Bartell - 4/7, Bloomquist Jr. - 3/4.

The small event known as the Winter Solstice Round Robin has been held annually for the last two years in Twin Falls, Idaho in the dead of winter as the axis of the earth leans away from the sun. David Eacker of Davis, California is this years winner as he notched a 6/7 tally to win the event by two points over Fred Bartell of Twin Falls. Eacker did not lose a game and gave up only two draws on his way to the victory. Eacker also won the 2007 tourney.

Making the trip for the tournament all the way from Iowa, as he does every year, was Don Bloomquist Jr who finished 3/4 during the first half of the competition before having to depart, summoned by more pressing matters. Barry Eacker and Aleksandr Vereshchagin both of Twin Falls rounded out the field. Vereshchagin was not himself, struggling throughout the event.

Thanks once again to Obenchain Insurance in Twin Falls for supplying the excellent site. Thanks to the players who took time to attend.

November 22-23, 2008

Reynolds Wins 2008 Southern Idaho Open

COMPLETE COVERAGE: Click here for complete coverage.