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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
UT Dallas Chess Program Video
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012
Hi everyone,
Here is an interesting video from UT Dallas about their chess scholarships and program. Watch what some of the most talented of their chess students have to say!
Friday chess news summary - Kavalek's Huffington Post column; Deysi and Jorge Cori chess campaign; Second Koltanowski International Conference on Chess and Education
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hello everyone,
Time for the chess news summary for Friday. We've found these very interesting links.
Joys of Chess: From Krabbé to Hesse by Lubomir Kavalek. Read column in the Huffington Post. Christian Hesse's book The Joys of Chess: Heroes, Battles & Brilliances, published by New in Chess, was endorsed by the world champion Vishy Anand and Vladimir Kramnik. It is a compilation of chess stories, biographical sketches, games and fragments with references to art and science. The author is a professor of mathematics, and the book was first published in German. It resembles work previously done by Tim Krabbé, a prominent Dutch writer, on his website Chess Curiosities. Image by José Diaz .
Cori siblings to take part in 2011 World Youth Chess Championship
World champions Deysi and Jorge Cori. Photo: ANDINA/Archivo.
Peruvian siblings Jorge and Daysi Cori will go after another achievement at the 2011 World Youth Chess Championship, to take place in Brazil from November 17 to 27 with the participation of over 200 competitors from 20 countries.Both of them have prepared to compete in different European championships, with the aim to continue wining international competitions. Peruvian starlets not only seek the title, but raise their ELO and improve their raking in the Word Chess Federation (Fide). Daysi, who was crowned World Junior chess Champion in India, will participate in the U18 category competing against the best boys and girls players.
Chess Conference to Focus on Benefits to Education
Chess players and coaches, writers, teachers and fans of the game from around the world will meet in Dallas this weekend to explore the benefits of chess on education. The Second Koltanowski International Conference on Chess and Education begins Friday, Nov. 18, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. It concludes Saturday, Nov. 19. Dr. Tim Redman, a professor of literary studies at UT Dallas, is the founder of the UT Dallas Chess Program and the conference organizer. “I chose to have a second international conference because there has been a considerable advance in serious work on chess and education in the last 10 years,” said Dr. Tim Redman, who is a professor of literary studies at UT Dallas, the founder of the UT Dallas Chess Program and the conference organizer. Read the full release here.
(Right) Sophomore business administration major Julio Sadorra achieved the rank of Grandmaster, a goal he has been working toward since seventh grade.
UT Dallas Heading
to the Chess Final Four
The team will end the season with an appearance at the Final Four of Chess, scheduled for April 1-3 at Booz Allen Hamilton headquarters in Washington, D.C. Opponents include the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Texas Tech University; and UT Brownsville. Games can be viewed online atmonroi.com; a free account is required to see the matches.
Pre-Tournament
Pep Rally
The UT Dallas Cheerleaders will send the team off with a rally on the chess plaza.
What: Pep Rally and Ginormous Chess
When: Tuesday, March 29, noon to 2 p.m.
Where: Student Union and Chess Plaza
“While we did not prevail, our team met its objective,” Chess Program Director Jim Stallings said. “We were there to prepare for the Final Four of Chess, and we did that effectively.
“I congratulate the visiting Grandmasters on a hard-fought tournament.”
Early on in the competition, the University’s two Grandmasters (GMs) and four International Masters (IMs) kept pace with their higher-rated opponents.
“Our team was doing well until the rest day,” said Coach Rade Milovanovic. “We were in a dead heat.”
The visitors rallied during the second half of tournament play to take the event. Full results are available on the tournament web page.
The GM Invitational also marked the first time UT Dallas held a Scheveningen-style event, named for the town in Holland where the style of play was born nearly a century ago. The Scheveningen rarely is seen in U.S. competitions. Each player on one team plays each member of the opposing team, rather than a round-robin style where players face all others in a tournament. The University’s tournament tweaked the Scheveningen slightly, allowing the six chess team players to meet each visiting GM twice over 12 rounds.
“Twelve straight games against grandmasters is not the norm for college chess,” Stallings said. “There’s no substitute for rigorous competition to be in top condition, and we can’t thank Turner Construction Company, Masters & Associates, Walker Engineering and Corgan Associates enough for their tremendous support.”
Sophomore business administration major Julio Sadorra proved he was on top of his game when he achieved the correct combination of added rating points and victories over GMs to qualify for the Grandmaster player title in chess. Sadorra called the achievement “a dream come true.”
“I’ve been working toward this since I was in the seventh grade, when I wrote in my yearbook, ‘I will become a grandmaster in the next 10 years,’” he said.
The World Chess Federation is scheduled to make Sadorra’s title official in June.
UT Dallas Grandmaster Invitational Welcomes Best Chess Players in the World
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011
Hi everyone,
It's very nice to know how chess is growing in the United States. We thought this was a nice news item to share we found at NewsWire Today.
The UT Dallas Chess Program has taken home first place in the National Collegiate Chess Championship three out of the last four years. After a sweeping victory in December’s Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship in Milwaukee, UT Dallas ranks first above The University of Maryland, Baltimore, The University of Texas Brownsville and Texas Tech University.
Taking place March 12-19, the UT Dallas Grandmaster Invitational, underwritten by Turner Construction, marks the first time a chess tournament of this level of difficulty will be hosted by the University. Opening ceremonies take place Sat., March 12 at 4:30 pm., with tournament play beginning immediately after at the Hyatt Regency North Dallas hotel.
Six Grandmasters (GMs) will compete against six of UT Dallas’ chess team members. As one of the highest nationally ranked collegiate chess teams, the UT Dallas chess program is becoming one of the most sought-after chess programs in the country.
“We are pleased to partner with Turner Construction to host an event of this magnitude,” said Jim Stallings, Chess Program Director.
Alejandro Ramirez, a graduate student studying arts and technology, and Cristian Chirila, an international political economy freshman, are UT Dallas’ top ranked players and GMs playing in the invitational. The University’s International Masters, Marko Zivanic, Julio Sadorra, Salvijus Bercys and Puchen Wang, are all using the tournament as an opportunity to move closer to GM status . The visiting Grandmasters are Alex Shabalov (USA), Valentin Iotov (Bulgaria), Julio Becerra (USA), Dejan Bojkov (Bulgaria), Magesh Panchanathan (India) and Ray Robson (USA).
In addition to being one of the most difficult tournaments to hit North Texas, this competition also marks the first time the Scheveningen system of play will be used in a UT Dallas tournament. Rarely seen in the U.S., it allows each player on one team to play each player on the opposing team. Playing against all Grandmasters makes achieving norms, which are needed to reach a GM rating, easier. One qualification a player needs to become a GM is to earn at least three norms in tournaments involving Grandmasters and players from other countries.
The Grandmaster Invitational also marks the first spring chess tournament underwritten by Turner Construction, which has led the construction of several UT Dallas buildings and facilities. Turner partnered with Corgan, Walker Engineering and Masters & Associates to provide funding for the event.
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12th Women's World Chess Champion
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