Monday, December 29, 2014

League Schedule and Rules for 2015

Minnesota Junior High Chess League - Cities Division

TEAMS 

Bring sets, clocks, pencil and notation paper.

So far we have Capitol Hill (1), Farnsworth (1), Friendly Hills (1) Seward(1) and Breck(1).
Wash tech is out. Farnsworth will try to field 2 teams. (If Farnsworth does not have enough for a B team, there will be 5 teams and therefore a bye for the team scheduled to play Farnsworth B in the schedule below.

Fees are $40 for the first team. ($60 for two teams, $70 for 3 teams.)

Make checks out to Minnesota Junior High Chess League and mail to
Brian Ribnick
Metcalf Jr. High
2250 Diffley Road, Burnsville MN 55337
There's an invoice available on the link to the League site in the upper right.

If anyone else wants to join, send Bill Heinemann an e-mail at gemshein@hotmail.com

2015 SCHEDULE

Jan 31 9:00 - 12:30 Seward Montessori Matthew's Center
Team listed 1st is White on Boards 1, 3 and 5
Round 1 9:15 Breck vs Capitol Hill, FarnsworthA vs FarnsB, Seward vs Friendly Hills
Round 2 10:25 (or sooner) Breck vs FarnsworthA, Capitol Hill vs Friendly Hills, FarnsB vs Seward
Round 3 11:35 (or sooner) Friendly Hills vs Breck, FarnsB vs Capitol Hill, Seward vs FarnsworthA
Done at 12:45 at the latest
Feb 28 8:45 - 12:15 First Covenant Church on Arcade (across from Farnsworth Lower School)
Round 4 8:50 FarnsworthB vs Breck, FarnsworthA vs Friendly Hills, Capitol Hill vs Seward
Round 5 10:00 (or sooner) Capitol Hill vs FarnsworthA, Friendly Hills vs FarnsB, Seward vs Breck
New format for round 6 due to the fact that I just learned that 2 teams from this division will advance to playoffs.
Round 6 11:10 (or sooner) Team 1 vs Team 4, Team 2 vs Team 3, Team 5 vs Team 6.
In round 6, preference for White on odd boards will be given to Breck, Farnsworth A and Friendly Hills since they were black 3 times in th first 5 rounds.
Final Standings 12:20
Done at 12:25
Playoffs March 21, at Metcalf Jr. High in Burnsville.
Awards will be given at St. Kate's at the State Tournament (on March 27-29?)

DIVISION RULES
(League rules available at the link in the upper right.)
Teams should bring their own notation paper, pencils, chess sets and clocks.
Players should bring their own clocks to ensure they will have a clock for their game.

Rules are USCF rules. All games must be notated (moves recorded) by both players. A clock will be used on all games. Each player will have 30 minutes with a 5 second delay (35 min with no delay). We could run over an hour by 7 minutes on a 40 move game or by 15 on an 80 move game, but with so few games we are more likely to finish early. So I think we'll be OK with this time control.

Touch move - if you touch a piece with the intent to move it you must move it if you can legally do so. If this means you have to block check with your queen, so be it. If you touch an opponent's piece with your hand or your piece with intent to capture, you must capture. A player is not required to say check. The three-move repetition rule will be enforced. Press the clock with the same hand that moved your piece. No kibbitzing, verbal or otherwise - penalty will be forfeit of 1 point from your team score that round. If you have a question or issue, raise your hand. No one will remind you to press your clock or notify you if you have an illegal position on the board. You must be aware of these yourself.

A match will consist of five games pitting one school against another. Top player from one school will play the top player from the other school, etc. Coaches should develop a way to rank their players. If a team does not field a full team, players must move up leaving the bottom boards vacant. You will forfeit the games on those boards. The team that scores 3 or more points is the winner of the match.  If a team score 2.5 points it is considered a draw. With forfeits it is possible that neither team will win the match. The team that wins the most matches advanced to the playoffs. In case of tie in matches, the total points will be used as a tie breaker. You may bring extra players and sub them into your team, but they must stay in proper order according to their ratings/ranking. We will match the extras up for practice games that will not affect the league scores.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

One last problem from Junior High League Chess Matches

This was a battle between Frank Sullivan from Friendly Hills playing White against Elise Lothrop from Farnsworth at board 2 in round 3. Elise has just played h5, demonstrating that she understands the concept of undermining. Is there anything Frank can do to stay in the game?
(In the actual game, Frank played Rf1 which is what any reasonable player would play - save the rook and give up the knight. But as I often say, "When you're in trouble, don't panic, think! There is usually a way out.



Answer: After considering a number of wild and daring captures, none of which worked, I considered saving the knight instead and imagined what Black's pieces would look like if he took the Rook. Wait! His King and Rook would be forkable! If I could just get my knight to d5. I can! The game (in my mind) continued 1. Ne3 Kxf6 2. Nd5+ Kg7 3. Nxe7 c3 (trapping the knight) 4.Rxe5 Re8 5.Nxc6 (or Nd5) bxc6 6.Ra5 Ra8 So I'm still down the knight but I did get two pawns for it, I've got an active Rook, she's got a passive one. And with four connected pawns vs two isolated ones on the queen's side, I should be able to get a passed pawn of my own. I'd still rather be Black, but at least the game isn't a slam dunk.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Some Interesting Positions From Feb 1

#1 Here Seth from Farnsworth, playing white, missed a good move against Anton from Friendly Hills. Friendly Hills went on to win this math 3-2, so this game decided the match. Anton checkmated Seth 4 moves later.



#2. In this next position, Eric from Nellie Stone Johnson playing black comes up with a way to save his minor pieces.



#3. In the same game  a few moves later, Eric was faced with the following position. He chose Re7 with the intent of doubling up his rooks - normally a good idea. But there's a better move here for Black.



#4. In the board 1 game between the two top teams, Thomas from Friendly Hills had just move his bishop to d5 holding back the knight and attacking the a-pawn. How should Chinu protect the a-pawn?



#5. Here, Elise from Farnsworth playing black on Board 2,  has sewn up her 6th straight win. But what is the best plan to win?



#6. Josh Philips has the chance to get the upper hand against Bobby Fraser. Bobby has just castled long. What should White play?



#7. Same game a few moves later. What should White do?



Answers

#1. Seth missed Bb6#

#2. Eric found Ne5! Anton can't take the Bishop because of Nxf3+ with (not NxQ?) Qxh2# next.
Another solution is Be5 which threatens mate and gives the knight time to escape. After 1. ... Be5 White can't play f4 because of QxQ, but 2. Rd1 seems to allow survival (not Re1 lest Bxh2+ with a discovered attack followed by RxR#) but 2. ... Bxh2+! 3. Kh1 Bg3+! 4. Kg1 Qh2+ 5.Kf1 Qxf2#

#3. 1. ... Rxe4 2. fxe4 Bxf2+ 3. Rxf2 (if Kh1 Qxe4#) Qxf2+ 4. Kh1 Qf1#

#4. Chinu doesn't have to protect it. If Thomas takes it, Chinu simply plays b3, then Kb2 and the bishop i dead. Look up the first game of the Fischer-Spassky match for a similar position where Fischer lost by taking the pawn.

#5. Right now the White King cannot get past the third rank because of the pawns guarding the light squares and the knight guarding the dark squares. So use your other piece to invade. Advance the King to the center, to e5. Then attack the b pawn with the knight (to d8 then c6). Finally when the White King is over towards the b file advance the f-pawn for a trade and queen the g pawn.

#6. 1. Nxf6 gxf6 2. Nxf7 fork! (Alternate solution - 1. Nxf7 fork! 2. Qxf7 Nxb6+! 3. axb6 Bxf7

#7. This is complicated, but I think the best choice is 1. Nxd8 Rxf1+ 2. Rxf1 Nxf1? 3. Be6!!

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Division Results After Round 6

Team Standings

The team from Friendly Hills advances to the playoffs on March 1 at Metcalf Jr. High. They are also encouraged to participate in the MSCA State championship to be held at St. Catherine University on March 29-30 where the team will receive its trophy.

FH FA NSJ WT FH FA NSJ WT Matches Games
Friendly Hills x 3-2 4-1 5-0 x 3-2 4-1 5-0 6 24
Farnsworth Aerospace 2-3 x 4-1 5-0 2-3 x 2-3 5-0 3 20
Nellie Stone Johnson 1-4 1-4 x 5-0 2-3 3-2 x 5-0 3 14
Washington Tech 0-5 0-5 0-5 x 0-5 0-5 0-5 x 0 0

















Individual Standings

Those in Bold have earned an "Outstanding Player Award". Those players are encouraged to participate in the MSCA State championship to be held at St. Catherine University on March 29-30 where they will receive their awards.


School Name Score
FH Thomas Miranda 6-0
FH Anton Priborkin 6-0
FA Elise Lothrop 6-0
FH Magnus Nordby 5-1
FA Seth Xiong 4-2
FH Josh Philips 4-2
NSJ Eric Hall 4-2
NSJ Michael Hopewell 4-2
FH Frank Sullivan 3-3
FA Chinu Thao 3-3
NSJ Freddy Alonso 3-3
NSJ Eli Barban 3-3
FA Pahlee Thao 3-2
FA Bobby Fraser 3-0
NSJ Angel Alonso 2-4
FA Simon Thao 1-2
WT Cowboy Dway 0-3
WT Shuepheng Lee 0-3
WT Mula Lay 0-3
WT Pov Thao 0-3

Round by Round Results







Round 1 Friendly Hills Farnsworth Aerospace
Thomas Miranda 1 0 Chinu Thao
Frank Sullivan 0 1 Elise Lothrop
Anton Priborkin 1 0 Simon Thao
Josh Philips 0 1 Seth Xiong
Magnus Nordby 1 0 Pahlee Thao
Washington Tech Nellie Stone Johnson
Cowboy Dway 0 1 Freddy Alonso
Shuepheng Lee 0 1 Eli Barban
forfeit 0 1 Eric Hall
Mula Lay 0 1 Angel Alonso
Pov Thao 0 1 Michael Hopewell
Round 2 Friendly Hills Washington Tech
Thomas Miranda 1 0 Cowboy Dway
Frank Sullivan 1 0 Shuepheng Lee
Anton Priborkin 1 0 Mula Lay
Josh Philips 1 0 Pov Thao
Magnus Nordby 1 0 forfeit
Farnsworth Aerospace Nellie Stone Johnson
Chinu Thao 1 0 Freddy Alonso
Elise Lothrop 1 0 Eli Barban
Simon Thao 0 1 Eric Hall
Seth Xiong 1 0 Angel Alonso
Pahlee Thao 1 0 Michael Hopewell
Round 3 Nellie Stone Johnson Friendly Hills
Freddy Alonso 0 1 Thomas Miranda
Eli Barban 0 1 Frank Sullivan
Eric Hall 0 1 Anton Priborkin
Angel Alonso 0 1 Josh Philips
Michael Hopewell 1 0 Magnus Nordby
Washington Tech Farnsworth Aerospace
Cowboy Dway 0 1 Chinu Thao
Shuepheng Lee 0 1 Elise Lothrop
Mula Lay 0 1 Simon Thao
Pov Thao 0 1 Seth Xiong
forfeit 0 1 Pahlee Thao
Round 4 Nellie Stone Johnson Farnsworth Aerospace
Freddy Alonso 1 0 Chinu Thao
Eli Barban 0 1 Elise Lothrop
Eric Hall 1 0 Seth Xiong
Angel Alonso 0 1 Bobby Fraser
Michael Hopewell 1 0 forfeit
Washington Tech Friendly Hills
forfeit 0 1 Thomas Miranda
forfeit 0 1 Frank Sullivan
forfeit 0 1 Anton Priborkin
forfeit 0 1 Josh Philips
forfeit 0 1 Magnus Nordby
Round 5 Friendly Hills Nellie Stone Johnson
Thomas Miranda 1 0 Freddy Alonso
Frank Sullivan 0 1 Eli Barban
Anton Priborkin 1 0 Eric Hall
Josh Philips 1 0 Angel Alonso
Magnus Nordby 1 0 Michael Hopewell
Farnsworth Aerospace Washington Tech
Chinu Thao 1 0 forfeit
Elise Lothrop 1 0 forfeit
Seth Xiong 1 0 forfeit
Bobby Fraser 1 0 forfeit
Pahlee Thao 1 0 forfeit
Round 6 Farnsworth Aerospace Friendly Hills
Chinu Thao 0 1 Thomas Miranda
Elise Lothrop 1 0 Frank Sullivan
Seth Xiong 0 1 Anton Priborkin
Bobby Fraser 1 0 Josh Philips
Pahlee Thao 0 1 Magnus Nordby
Nellie Stone Johnson Washington Tech
Freddy Alonso 1 0 forfeit
Eli Barban 1 0 forfeit
Eric Hall 1 0 forfeit
Angel Alonso 1 0 forfeit
Michael Hopewell 1 0 forfeit

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Next Match

The next match of the Cities Division of the Jr High Chess League is:

Feb 1, 8:45 am Friendly Hills Middle School. We'll be done at 12:00.

If you're coming south on 35E, go east on 494.
Take Dodd Rd North from 494 to Mendota Hgts Rd. Then East about 4 blocks to FHMS on your left.

Use the Main entrance and go left to the cafeteria.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Six Interesting positions from Jan 25

I went over some of the notated games and found some interesting positons. I also discovered that some boards were set up wrong with queens on the wrong color, white pieces on ranks 7 and 8. Etc. Let's try to do a better job at that next week. I'll remind everyone to check their board before they start.



Anton from Friendly Hills has just played Bb5. Why is this a mistake? What should Simon from Farnsworth play? Answers below.

In this next position at board 1, Tom from Friendly Hills finds a weakness after Cowboy from Washington Tech played c5 attacking Tom's knight.

Josh from Friendly Hills was down a piece and almost in checkmate against Seth from Farnsworth. Josh lost on the next move by playing Rxc4, but he could have finished the game in style. How?


Since you all have a few snow days off, I'll give you more. Here Josh, playing black, found a nice move against Pov, but then Pov almost found a way to save the game.



Magnus from Friendly Hills, playing white,  shows one reason Friendly Hills is in first place with a sweet move against Pahlee from Farnsworth.



Answers
1. This was the deciding games between the top two teams. If Simon had found this move and gone on to win, Farnsworth would be in first place and Friendly Hills in second. Nxe5 snatching a nice central pawn. If dxe5 Bxb5 and if Bxe7+ Nxe7!

Game 2 continues Tom showed why he is 3-0 at board 1. 1.Qa5+ Kd7 (the knight and h-pawn are both pinned preventing 1. ... g6. Else 2. fxg6 cxd4 3. g7+)
2. Ne6 Qe8 3. Qxe8 Kxe8 4. Nxc7+ with a nice fork.

Seth was lucky to go 3-0 on day one. He should not have won this game. In game 3 Josh should have proceeded as follows 1.... Qd2+ Kb3 2.Qd1+ Ka3 3.Qc1+ Qb1 with a perpetual check and draw. If Seth would try to escape it would be disaster. 4.Kc3 Qc1+ 5.Kd3
 (Kd4 is mate next turn) Qxd4+ 6.Kd2 Rd8+ 7.Ke1 Qe4+ 8.Kf2 (Kf1 is met with Rd1+ then Qe3#) Qe3 9. Kf1 Rd1# Almost always a Q and R can deliver checkmate against a lone King. That's a good thing to remember. But Josh has to remember to keep him in check every turn else Seth checkmates Josh.

In position 4, Josh from Friendly Hills found Bf8! attacking the trapped Queen. But then Pov found a way to save his queen with Ne6!

Magnus played Qd5 with two powerful threats. He picked up the knight and she was so rattled, she left her bishop out there for him to take next.  I saw lots of evidence of panic in the games I went over. Chess is part mental and part psychological. Don't let your opponents' good moves rattle you. Don't look back and regret your last move. Just take a deep breath and resolve that you're going to move forward, take your time and play hard - especially on that next move after making a mistake. The bigger mistake usually happens on the next move.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Division Standings after week 1

Team Standings

FH FA NSJ WT Matches Games
Friendly Hills x 3-2 4-1 5-0 3 12
Farnsworth Aerospace 2-3 x 4-1 5-0 2 11
Nellie Stone Johnson 1-4 1-4 x 5-0 1 7
Washington Tech 0-5 0-5 0-5 x 0 0







Individual Standings


School Name Score
FH Thomas Miranda 3-0
FH Anton Priborkin 3-0
FA Elise Lothrop 3-0
FA Seth Xiong 3-0
FH Frank Sullivan 2-1
FH Josh Philips 2-1
FH Magnus Nordby 2-1
FA Chinu Thao 2-1
FA Pahlee Thao 2-1
NSJ Eric Hall 2-1
NSJ Michael Hopewell 2-1
FA Simon Thao 1-2
NSJ Freddy Alonso 1-2
NSJ Eli Barban 1-2
NSJ Angel Alonso 1-2
WT Cowboy Dway 0-3
WT Shuepheng Lee 0-3
WT Mula Lay 0-3
WT Pov Thao 0-3



Round by Round Results


Round 1 Friendly Hills Farnsworth Aerospace
Thomas Miranda 1 0 Chinu Thao
Frank Sullivan 0 1 Elise Lothrop
Anton Priborkin 1 0 Simon Thao
Josh Philips 0 1 Seth Xiong
Magnus Nordby 1 0 Pahlee Thao
Washington Tech Nellie Stone Johnson
Cowboy Dway 0 1 Freddy Alonso
Shuepheng Lee 0 1 Eli Barban
forfeit 0 1 Eric Hall
Mula Lay 0 1 Angel Alonso
Pov Thao 0 1 Michael Hopewell
Round 2 Friendly Hills Washington Tech
Thomas Miranda 1 0 Cowboy Dway
Frank Sullivan 1 0 Shuepheng Lee
Anton Priborkin 1 0 Mula Lay
Josh Philips 1 0 Pov Thao
Magnus Nordby 1 0 forfeit
Farnsworth Aerospace Nellie Stone Johnson
Chinu Thao 1 0 Freddy Alonso
Elise Lothrop 1 0 Eli Barban
Simon Thao 0 1 Eric Hall
Seth Xiong 1 0 Angel Alonso
Pahlee Thao 1 0 Michael Hopewell
Round 3 Nellie Stone Johnson Friendly Hills
Freddy Alonso 0 1 Thomas Miranda
Eli Barban 0 1 Frank Sullivan
Eric Hall 0 1 Anton Priborkin
Angel Alonso 0 1 Josh Philips
Michael Hopewell 1 0 Magnus Nordby
Washington Tech Farnsworth Aerospace
Cowboy Dway 0 1 Chinu Thao
Shuepheng Lee 0 1 Elise Lothrop
Mula Lay 0 1 Simon Thao
Pov Thao 0 1 Seth Xiong
forfeit 0 1 Pahlee Thao

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Jan 25 Match at First Covenant

When you are entering the building from the parking lot, use the triple doors to the south.
First Covenant Church will open around 8:00 am

Also please note that hwy 52 (Lafayette Freeway) will be closed Saturday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
So you should be able to use it in the morning, but plan an alternate route at noon.

Friday, January 10, 2014

Schedule and Rules (modified 1-12)

Welcome to the Junior High League for Chess - Twin Cities Division

 WT - Washington Tech in St. Paul
 NSJ - Nellie Stone Johnson in Mpls
 FH - Friendly Hills in Mendota Heights
 FA - Farnsworth Aerospace in St. Paul

SCHEDULE

Jan 25 - First Covenant Church 1280 Arcade (Arcade & Hyacinth)
     Rounds 1 - 3 Team listed first is white on boards 1-3-5
     8:45 Intro and rules 9:55 Rd 1, 10:00 Rd 2, 11:05 Rd 3

RD 1 RD 2 RD 3
WT vs NSJ FH vs WT WT vs FA
FH vs FA FA vs NSJ NSJ vs FH

Feb 1 - Friendly Hills Middle School, 701 Mendota Hgts Rd (Mendota Hgts Rd & Huber Dr)
     Rounds 4 - 6 Team listed first is white on boards 1-3-5
     8:45 Rd 1, 9:50 Rd 2, 10:55 Rd 3 12:00

RD 4 RD 5 RD 6
WT vs FH FA vs WT NSJ vs WT
NSJ vs FA FH vs NSJ FA vs FH

March 1 Playoffs at Metcalf for only the top team from this division!

March 29-30 State Championship for Jr Hi and High School at St. Catherine's University. Awards from the league will be presented at the conclusion of this tournament.

RULES

Rules are USCF rules. All games must be notated (moves recorded) by both players. A clock will be used on all games. Each player will have 30 minutes with a 5 second delay. (We could run over an hour by 7 minutes on a 40 move game or by 15 on an 80 move game, but with only 10 games we are more likely to finish early. So I think we'll be OK with this time control.)

Touch move - if you touch a piece with the intent to move it you must move it if you can legally do so. If this means you have to block check with your queen, so be it. If you touch an opponent's piece with your hand or your piece with intent to capture, you must capture. A player is not required to say check. The three-move repetition rule will be enforced. Press the clock with the same hand that moved your piece. No kibbitzing, verbal or otherwise - penalty will be forfeit of 1 point from your team score that round. If you have a question or issue, raise your hand. No one will remind you to press your clock or notify you if you have an illegal position on the board. You must be aware of these yourself.