I received the following from USCF Executive Director Bill Hall, "On behalf of the United States Chess Federation, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to receive a Special Services Award for 2008. This award is being given in recognition of your many contributions to chess. The strength of any organization lies in volunteers like you." The Awards Luncheon is at noon on August 9th, during the U.S. Open.
My son William and I played chess this morning. Thanks to his thirty minutes of chess a day with his Dad (International Master Doug Root), William has reviewed many games connected with his opening repertoire. I played an Advanced French against him, including an ill-fated g4. William had a commanding position, and drew. I thought about how to remember the day of his first draw against me, and this blog seemed like a good place to do so.
Klein chess camp was held June 16-20, 2008. As parents dropped off children around 7:45 each morning, I autographed (sold) two copies of Children and Chess: A Guide for Educators and two copies of Science, Math, Checkmate: 32 Chess Activities for Inquiry and Problem Solving. This year I taught tactics in the upper camp, where students ranged from USCF 612-1479. The schedule was fantastic: One group of 8 students from 8 a.m. to 9:15 a.m., then a recess/snack.
All Inter-Service photos on this blog are by NTD Ron Braud.
Baniel keeps his lead despite losing his sixth round game to Choate, the Navy’s top seed. Eight players (Keough, Bucholtz, Dulger, Ranario, Echaure, Macaspac, Pitts and Choate) are behind Baniel’s heels at four points each.
Specialist Jhonel Baniel of the Army Medical Department demolished Air Force surgeon Dr. (Colonel) Sam Echaure in the last round of the 2008 US Armed Forces Inter-Service Chess Championship to secure top honors finishing with 5.5 points. A week-long stellar performance earned him a hallowed place in the tradition-rich annals of military chess. His name is forever etched in the record books alongside world famous players like IM Emory Tate.
Baniel beat Ranario in round five to take sole lead in a 20-player field with 4.5 points. Dulger who is proving to be the sensation of the tournament is only half a point behind. Baniel’s score reflecting his solid performance is enough to guarantee a team spot on the US Armed Forces Team for the NATO event. The Army is now tied with the Air Force, each team with 19 points. Individual scores and team standing will be posted in the next entry.
August 7, 2008 is the date of the USCF Chess in Education workshop. Please see the press release. I am the co-organizer of the workshop, and one of the presenters. I look forward to seeing you there!
This year’s edition of chess rivalry between the armed services is already showing hints of historical proportions. For the first time ever in the history of military chess, a lone Air Force tigress laid waste to a field of mesmerized men by defeating the top boards of both the Army and Navy teams.
Hi everyone! This is Ray Robson from Las Vegas. I have just finished playing in the National Open, and I will be going home soon. In the end I finished with a good 4.5/6. Here is a short recap of my games:
Tonight I attended Denton Chess Club. My first speed chess game was as black against Julia Jones. It was her move in this position. White: Kh1; Qh4; Rs a1, e4; Ps a2, b2, f6, g5, h3. Black: Kg8; Qc6; Rs d2, f8; Bf4; Ps a7, b5, c5, c4, f7, g6. The white rook on e4 is pinned to the white king on h1. What was nice about the continuation is that more pressure was put on this pin. In other words, just as I taught students last week at T. H. Rogers, when you have a pin, add pressure! The continuation was
From June 2-6, T. H. Rogers public school hosted a chess camp. The organizer was chess parent Martha Jenkinson. As usual, she provided fantastic snacks and lunches for campers and instructors. After each of the four classes per day, students ate snacks of string cheese/yogurt/cookies/granola bars (or lunches of pizza/tacos/nuggets/veggies/fruit) and drank juice/soda/water, then headed to the gym for basketball or went to the playground.
