tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50446092864684352062024-02-20T16:31:51.870-08:00pannerchessglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-40013186725939117652010-02-16T13:12:00.000-08:002010-02-16T13:38:08.464-08:00USAT NorthI had the privilege of directing the US Amateur Team Championships North this weekend in Milwaukee, and had a fantastic time doing it.<br /><br />If you have never had the opportunity to play in a team event, it is so different and so much fun, as you are really actively cheering for your teammates. Personally, I don't believe these tournaments should be rated though. This is because since the team result is key, a player may be forced to make different decisions then they would in an individual event. For example, a player in a position that is considerably better may offer a draw to if it helps the team clinch a match. Or just the opposite, a player who needs a win to prevent a team loss may play riskier than usual just to create opportunities for the team. <br /><br />Teams from IL, IA, WI, and IN were all represented as well as individual players from as far away as CA and NJ (where the big USAT was played). The biggest stories were the players from IL though. Top board honors were taken on board 1 by Blaze member Trevor Magness, who you could have gotten some tall odds for considering the other teams had players like GMs Yermolinsky and Gurevich, IM Young, and NMs Tennant and Karagianis. Blaze manager Daniel Parmet took board 3 honors. The team competition came down to Angelo Youngs Pinoy team against the Chicago Industrial Chess League team. The two lone perfect teams played to a tough draw in round 4, and Pinoy caught a break in the pairings playing an 1856 rated team while CICL faced the Yermo, Betaneli, Santarius sleeping giant of a team that had been nicked for a couple of draws. CICL drew their game while Pinoy cruised to the title.<br /><br />The Crowne Plaza site was really nice, and hopefully we will return there next year. Shouts out to Alex Betaneli and Ashish Vaja for doing a first class job organizing. Also big thanks to Ashish for recommending the outstanding Duck Curry at Bangkok House for dinner!<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-47288845215880366442010-02-06T21:53:00.000-08:002010-02-06T22:22:29.916-08:00Blaze and Warren FundraiserSo today I was scheduled to TD at the Blaze and Warren Jr. Program fundraiser tournament and IL Blitz Championship. I have to admit that when I woke up this morning this wasn't what I wanted to do today. My voice still best resembled a duck call (that had been run over by a truck), and a day that I knew I wouldn't be home for about 15 or so hours just didn't sound good to me. However, these are really great programs in chess, and I volunteered my time because I feel they are important and worth helping.<br /><br />This was the first event being hosted at NorthEastern IL University on the north side. The site was really amazing, very spacious, with plenty of skittles area, and a coffee shop that could give me my Chai fix. David Rubin, the faculty adviser for the chess club, as well as a master, really came through in getting us such a wonderful location. Our turnout was a bit lower than expected, about 30 for the rated event, and 20 for the blitz, but I really think that if we have the chance to run another event at that site we would double the numbers.<br /><br />I have been directing so many game 30 events lately that in comparison the game 60 time control seemed leisurely and gave me more time that usual to socialize with players and parents which I really enjoyed. Now I know that every once in a while I will poke a little fun at chess parents, but wow while it is easy to marvel at some little wunderkind who comes up to your belly button but has a huge rating, talking to some of the parents today I could see where that talent comes from.<br /><br />The blitz tournament was a little top heavy with the midpoint rating being right at 1900, and there was a lot of exciting games to watch. In the end it was a tie between Aleks Stamnov and Gopal Menon for the state blitz title. Gopal is perhaps the most talented blitz player in the state rated under 2400 or so with a fierce combination of cutting edge theory, raw speed, and tactical prowess.<br /><br />Whenever I watch blitz played, it amazes me that the amount of gamesmanship and dirty pool are played. Players in a time scramble knock over pieces without picking them up, block each other from hitting the clock, and use all sorts of tactics aimed at distracting their opponents. Thankfully there were few situations that I had to be involved with.<br /><br />After I finally finished I stopped off at Honey 1 BBQ on my way home to reward myself for not collapsing during the day. Honey 1 for those that don't know is probably the heaviest hitter in the world of BBQ on the north side. Normally, when I go out for Que, it is on the south side at Uncle John's, so tonight was the battle of the aquarium style smokers. H1 was on top of its game, and excellent, but I give the slight edge to Uncle Johns. I will give the post mortem on that battle tomorrow when I wake up. <br /><br />Looking forward to next week when the new IL HS champions are crowned, and also I am up at the US Amateur Team North, in Milwaukee,<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-41114039610922691542010-02-01T10:48:00.000-08:002010-02-01T11:00:01.256-08:00My SilenceI have been sick for the last week or so, and without a voice, which has been interesting (and rather entertaining for my 4 year old). In spite of that I have directed tournaments the last two weekends, and am in a stretch where I direct the next 3 weekends (Blaze fundraiser, US Amateur Team, and Kumbaya).<br /><br />Hopefully this weekend I will have a new laptop to direct on, replacing my vintage 2001 Toshiba! Anyways, I am hoping to see everyone soon, and if you are looking for a fun little event to play in please check out the fundraiser this weekend. Details are at <a href="http://www.il-chess.org/">www.il-chess.org</a><br /><br />Let me tell you briefly why this event is important. First, two terrific and underfunded programs wind up with all the profits from this event. The Chicago Blaze is our local team in the US Chess league, and this is the way to support it. Plus you get a cool Blaze hat for playing! The Warren Junior program is dedicated to helping IL produce some of the most promising junior players in the country, Andi Rosen has done a great job lining up opportunities for kids, and this will help. And later that evening is the IL Blitz Championships. You could wind up going home with a state title. The site is at NE Illinois University on the NW side of the city, which is the first time that I have seen a tournament hosted there. Please come out and show your support.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-49790024029760671672010-01-20T21:17:00.000-08:002010-01-20T21:38:19.945-08:00USCF Chess Coach Certification programToday I received word that my application for level 4 chess coach certification has been approved. If you are not familiar with the program, USCF has started to put an official stamp on those who are qualified to teach chess.<br /><br />At first, I was very skeptical of the program, our game has a few personalities that while rated highly are not the kind of people I would want teaching my kid. The certification has nothing to do with saying whether a person is a good teacher or has the classroom skills to be effective, it merely tests if someone has the base chess knowledge, and a track record to be successful.<br /><br />When I stopped by the office in Crossville a couple weeks ago, I was told that about 50 or so applications had been submitted. When you consider that there are probably more than 50 people in Chicago teaching chess, it is safe to say that so far the program has been underutilized.<br /><br />So the question is, does certifying coaches have merit? And how important will it be to schools in the coming years?glennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-42064971106175194382010-01-19T20:56:00.000-08:002010-01-19T21:14:24.892-08:00Sponsorship in chessFor years, we have heard from many different people in our sport, that the key to chess becoming more mainstream, or accessable, or popular is sponsorship. Sponsorship for the GMs and top players so that they can support themselves. Sponsorship to lower the cost for kids to participate. Sponsorship to headline tournaments, increasing prize funds and interest in the game. It has been a buzzword and holy grail for many a chess politician.<br /><br />From a chess point of view, how is it that other things that don't qualify as sports like spelling bees and poker can find financial angels, but our game can't? Well, the single biggest thing is this, we don't market well, and have no idea how to showcase our strengths or even present an attractive product.<br /><br />When I have met with corporations about sponsoring kids tournaments, the first question I get asked is about the demographics of chess players or their parents. I asked USCF if any studies or surveys had been done detailing this, and the answer was unfortunately no. So how can we expect a corporation that is donating money for advertising and goodwill, to throw money at us when we can't even tell them who US is? The problem is that developing a report on this to be handed out to prospective sponsors is quite expensive, and why it has not been done yet.<br /><br />USCF would be well served to make this investment, as it will likely pay off in the long run. We do have plenty to offer sponsors. Our players are bright consumers that are attractive to many industries. We do have something to offer, we just need to find the right box and bows to wrap it up in nicely.glennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-47809656213639377482010-01-09T07:24:00.000-08:002010-01-09T07:35:49.923-08:00Blogging AgainI'm BAAACK! After a 14 month absence from the blogosphere, I have decided to return to blogging...if there is anyone left out there reading these things. What have I been up to? Well, chesswise I have been involved in working with the Chicago Blaze, have run a 500 player National Youth Action tournament, been teaching, and am in the process of putting together my first big money adult tournament to take place in this December.<br /><br />I will be posting about all of these things, as well as some of the current issues in Illinois chess which there are several hot topics.<br /><br />Back to the Atlantic City International, which is the 50K prize fund event taking place in Atlantic City, NJ from December 17-19. Our goal (Tim Just's and myself), is to provide a different type of tournament experience than the typical Goichberg swiss (not that there is anything wrong with those). We will be providing boards and sets (trying to do clocks as well, but that doesn't look like it will happen). If you enjoy playing in these types of events, what type of side events, or perks would you like to see? We want to know. I am also looking at having a poker side event during the tournament, which would be interesting given the mass amount of chess players who have gravitated to poker. Our website for this event is <a href="http://www.chessweekend.com/">http://www.chessweekend.com/</a><br /><br />There is a lot going on chesswise, and I am hoping to start updating this blog 2-3 times per week. Check back early and often.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-15930312821138342442008-11-16T06:29:00.000-08:002008-11-16T07:13:54.892-08:0091 Players in Orland!?91 players in Orland Park? The title even looks surreal. This month attendance exploded, and we almost ran out of space. Next month it would be amazing to try to top 100! We will be raffling off prizes for the Holidays as we did last year.<br /><br />Our very first Orland scholastic two years ago had a whopping 6 players. Six, that is not a typo. To come this far and give players in this area a place to play without driving an hour has been one of my bigger achievements in chess.glennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-16226272695056901232008-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:002008-11-16T06:28:16.065-08:00The Illinois All GradeI meant to blog about this event during the week, but I have to admit that I needed a little time to recover. 485 players, it was our largest event yet. Most of the people I have spoken with about the event seemed pleased with it, which is nice because of the hundreds of hours of logistics and prep work that goes in before that day.<br /><br />But of course, the big story was the kids. Results can be found at <a href="http://chessforlife.com/chess/allgrade08/allgrade08.html">http://chessforlife.com/chess/allgrade08/allgrade08.html</a> <br /><br />It was amazing to see how many talented kids there are in our area. It would not surprise me at all to see many of them place well at Supernationals next year.<br /><br />One little proud anecdote from the event for me. As I was at the podium reading off the team results for the 5th grade section, it had occurred to me that earlier when I had spoken with a parent from Noonan (where I teach), he had mentioned that Noonan was in 3rd place in that section after a could of rounds. Since 5th place and 4th place had already been called out, my eyes scanned up to see if we had gotten 3rd, we hadn't. I continued scanned until it hit me that there we were in first place. I literally froze up at the podium to the point where Alice Holt who was handing out the trophies walked over to me and asked what was wrong, or if I was ok. I pointed to the results with a proud smile, and said, just taking a moment to savor this, she laughed and I went back to reading wondering if the team knew yet. When I read off the second place team, they started jumping around. Not sure when the last time a team from the south suburbs won a state chess title, but it was awfully gratifying to be there for this one.<br /><br />Palatine HS and Sean Fisher-Rohde were exceptional hosts that hopefully will welcome us back in 2010. The TD staff had many of the best in the business in Wayne Clark, Jeff Wiewel, Mike Zacate, Betsy Dynako, Gary Janssen, Chris Merli, and Elizabeth Villaflor. And we would have been completely lost without the wonderful volunteering and support of Alice Holt, Margaret Drier, Maret Thorpe, Jon Burgess, Jerry Neugarten, Andi Rosen, Eric Rosen, Trevor Magness, and apologies to anyone that I may have missed.<br /><br />Also, to any of the top finishers from the event or their coaches that may be reading this, we are in the process of writing an article on the tournament for the Illinois Chess Bulletin. If you have a game you are proud of and would like to submit it for the article, please contact me.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-77032325616196100182008-10-25T22:14:00.000-07:002008-10-25T22:27:11.993-07:00Scholastic results and SchedulingToday was our first Orland Scholastic of the year, and we drew 42 players, which is about a 50% increase over last years October event. We have added a rated section which was dominated by wunderkind William Radak. William has been rocketing up the rating list and should be near 1600 now putting him near the top of his age group in the country, not bad for a second grader. Last week Shiva Maharaj dubbed him the "Harry Potter of chess" for his more than passing resemblance to the young Potter as well is his prowess on the board. The title drew a nice grin of approval and a high five from the young man.<br /><br />Coming up next is the Illinois All Grade championships coming up on November 8th. So far registration has been a little slower than expected at about 240 right now, but we are still projecting that we break 400 for the event.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-70358795417210743162008-10-21T07:25:00.000-07:002008-11-11T19:36:37.802-08:00Allan Hsu is a lowlifeBeen away from blogging for a while now, and the scholastic chess schedule is now in full swing. Unfortunately, it seems as though despite there being fewer tournaments, the turnout among the players has actually decreased. Maybe that will be a column for another day.<br /><br />We are also in week 9 of the US chess league season, where our Chicago Blaze is 4-4 playing against the Arizona Scorpions in a match that has significant playoff ramifications. A win puts our destiny in our own hands and even gives us a chance at the #2 seed, a draw and week 10 becomes a must win game. I will probably blog again after the match.<br /><br />Anyways, lets get to the title of the post. Back in the wild west days of the internet, cybersquatting was a practice that was common and even lucrative. The idea was that you either vulture a domain name when it expired, or beat a person or a company to getting a website at what their natural name is. Apparently this practice is still common. Several years ago the Seattle Chess Foundation (aka the AF4C) had their site taken and turned into a porn site. Allan Hsu purchased the Illinois Chess Association's <a href="http://www.ilchess.org/">http://www.ilchess.org/</a> address, and is holding it for ransom for $3000. To do this to a non-for-profit group is despicable. If you would like to tell Allan what you think of his doing this, you can contact him at <a href="mailto:allan_hsu@hotmail.com">allan_hsu@hotmail.com</a><br />To get to the real ICA website, please go to <a href="http://www.il-chess.org/">http://www.il-chess.org/</a><br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-82521860430619219022008-09-14T20:57:00.000-07:002008-09-14T21:09:18.739-07:00Blaze take on the SluggersMonday night the Chicago Blaze take on the Seattle Sluggers and their creepy overcaffeinated knight mascot. As we are sitting at 1.5-1.5 we are on pace to make the playoffs which can be done with a 5-5 result. Seattle presents and interesting challenge as they will be putting out their 2 GM lineup, and we are out rated on 3 of the 4 boards. <br /><br />The US chess league seems to be a large game of rock, scissors, paper and while the Seattle 2 GM lineup creates matchup problems this week, it probably gets no better than a draw against most balanced lineups that it would see. This is a must win matchup for seattle as dropping to 1-3 cripples their playoff chances. It also sets up what may become a rather heated rivalry due to the accusations Nakamura aimed at Mitkov a couple years ago in Vegas.<br /><br />I still like our chances as we are coming off a big win last week, and are playing well. Thankfully it is an internet match so the 11 year old boys in the area are safe from Nakamura's rantings.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-41713730504080909392008-09-13T19:01:00.000-07:002008-09-13T19:06:05.879-07:00Colias best game prizesWe are pleased to announce the best game prizes for the Colias Invitational from last month. For the Class player section, Richardson-Djordjevic wins the prize. For the master sections, Tate-Gratz was selected. As soon as I figure how to add games to my blog, I will post them here with annotations.<br /><br />This week the Blaze have a featured Monday night matchup against the Seattle Sluggers. We have a bit of an uphill struggle as we are outrated on 3 of the 4 boards, but our team has been playing well lately, and upsets happen.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-8130837634417489892008-08-31T20:03:00.000-07:002008-08-31T20:18:01.050-07:00Visiting the St. Louis Chess ClubAs every year at this time I am sentenced to hard labor day time in South Central IL (not LA), I decided I would make a break for it this year and drive the hour to St. Louis and check out the chess club that has gotten so much pub. That and I really did not want to see one more meal that was fried, pork, or fried pork. So I drove down.<br /><br />First, the neighborhood is exceptionally cool. Right off of the Wash U campus, the homes are beautiful and brick, there are tons of outdoor cafes, and stores, and coffee shops, not to mention a Vodka bar just around the corner for the Russian GMs that want to stop by.<br /><br />You walk in, and it has the feel of a nice apartment building or downtown office as you come to the granite countered kiosk and are greeted. The floors are a dark hardwood, everything else is themed black and white. The place is immaculate, and they must have made the plasma TV salesman happy as there are like 15-20 of them in the place. <br /><br />There are three levels to the club, the basement has a library full of chess books and magazines, as well as about 20 boards, all with chairs with the STLCC logo etched into the back of them. The main floor has about 8 boards, and is for informal play. There are also the plasma sets showing Diana Thater's video artwork. The upper level has about another 20 boards, and is the tournament hall.<br /><br />Right now they have about 250 members, and are looking for a resident GM to give lessons as well as play and work there. Tournaments are weekly, and we will see both the US Championship and Women's championship there next year.<br /><br />It really is too bad that we don't see more places like this in other cities. The one question I did not get answered is what will happen to the vibrant club at the St. Louis Bread Company? Will this new club kill it?<br /><br />My next blog will likely be on Wednesday during the Chicago Blaze-San Francisco Mechanics USCL match. Tune in at 7:30 to watch.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-89452755182254072712008-08-26T19:46:00.000-07:002008-08-26T20:00:31.749-07:00Blaze drop close opener to ArizonaLast night I was hoping to make it to the Altounian home in Tucson to watch the Blaze take on the Scorpions first hand, unfortunately my three year old had other plans for us so I had to rely on the kindness of others to text me with updates. We lost the match 2.5-1.5, and take on San Francisco next week.<br /><br />The highlight was the crushing victory of Ilan Meerovich over 2007 Denker winner Warren Harper. The next few weeks we will be trying some different lineups, and GM Nikola Mitkov will be back to anchor board one. The league is a bit new to us right now, but we have a fantastic roster top to bottom as well as great support from assistant manager Tom Panelas, resident tech geek Sevan Muradian, master blogger Brad Rosen, TD Betsy Dynako.<br /><br />I have to admit, I was highly annoyed by Arun Sharma, who has never met many of our players, or even spoken to any of our management group, decided to publicly question our dedication. Arun, your prediction was spot on for the first match, I give you credit as a prognosticator, but apparently your journalism skills are quite lacking.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-6322214152636956152008-08-24T22:02:00.000-07:002008-08-24T22:36:17.384-07:00ArizonaSorry for the lack of updates. I have been in Arizona for the last few days enjoying the 105+ degree heat. Actually I have gotten to visit several chess friends, hung out with my 3 year old, and even got to see a baseball game (more on that later). <br /><br />Tomorrow I am hoping to get down to Tucson, for two reasons, to watch our Chicago Blaze battle the Arizona Scorpions at their den. The other reason is because the best Mexican food in the country is found in Tucson. I need to get to the little Cafe Poca Cosa, or I could even settle for El Charro, or any number of places down there. <br /><br />Our first match should be enjoyable to track. I think the team will get stronger as we go along, and we will be trying some different lineups nearly every week to get a feel for how the team plays. Arun Sharma gives his predictions on the US Chess League season on their site, which predict us for 6th. We will give it our best attempt to make him look bad. We are a little outrated in this first match, but I still like our chances.<br /><br />Today I was able to get the Chase Field (formerly the BOB), to watch the Dbacks and the Marlins face off. What a great park and experience! Visiting parks is a hobby of mine, so this was a treat. The seats were great along the 1st base line (angled to face home plate), food selection was top notch, the weather was 105 outside but probably a comfortable 80 or so inside the yard. Misty May Treanor just back from Beijing threw out the first pitch, John McCain was on hand to watch. Of the parks I have visited, here is how I would rank them:<br /><br />1. Pac Bell, San Francisco: Stunning views, great food, older park feel with newer park convenience, nice features such as the statues and the free viewing area outside of the park through the fence, and a cool lively area.<br /><br />2. Chase Field, Arizona: Just a really well thought out park. Engineeringwise, this place is amazing, the area is getting more stuff to do. It is kind of like if you were a kid and trying to design the perfect park (natural grass, dome, great food, cool area, very kid friendly, wonderful sight lines, it is all there). The one feature that I don't think most fans care for is the Upper deck looks even steeper to the old upper deck at the current Comiskey park.<br /><br />3. PNC Park, Pittsburgh: Ok, so the Pirates aren't very good, but the park makes up for some of it. The Megatron with the sound system looks like it was taken from a Vegas casino with the sound and picture quality. Some of the best scenic views of any park.<br /><br />4. Coors Field, Colorado: This is the most fun stadium to watch batting practice in. An absolutely huge and beautiful park, not very expensive either. The lo-do neighborhood is great to visit.<br /><br />5. Turner Field, Atlanta: In some ways, very similar to Coors, a really nice looking park, though a bit harder to get to.<br /><br />6. Commiskey, Chicago: Screw US Cellular, this will always be Commiskey to Sox fans. Yes, I am putting it ahead of Wrigley. This park is convenient, and while I disliked it when it opened, hard not to when we saw the parks right after it but it continuously improves every year.<br /><br />7. Wrigley, Chicago: Great history, fun neighborhood and that is where the positives end. Parking is terrible, the sightlines are poor, food poor, I don't even know where to start about the bathrooms. Yes, it is a great place to spy beautiful women, but the tickets are costly and perhaps the dumbest fans in baseball that go do games. Disclaimer, I do actually like the Cubs too. I think they use the "Go Cubs Go" song to torture prisoners in Guantanimo. <br /><br />8. Busch Stadium, St. Louis: Some of the best fans in baseball, a nice downtown location, but a completely non-descript new stadium.<br /><br />9. Jacobs Field, Cleveland: I really thought I would love this park, fun area downtown, but as I entered the park I noticed a few things. For a newish park, it looks rather run down. The food selection there is poor. Sightlines are average. They do get some points for the yankee stadium style monuments by center field though.<br /><br />What are some of your favorite parks?<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-78092143925657645852008-08-19T20:39:00.000-07:002008-08-19T20:57:18.516-07:00Central IL Road tripOver the last two days I have had to do a little traveling for work, and drove to several places in central IL. No, for any north siders happening to read this, Frankfort is not in Central IL!<br /><br />I had the good fortune to be able to drop by Colley Kitson's new chess club yesterday (<a href="http://www.colleyschessclub.com/">www.colleyschessclub.com</a>), and came away very impressed. First, the building is beautiful, with high ornate ceilings, projection TV, and Colley's collection of wooden sets and boards on all of the tables. Next, it is located in the downtown area surrounded by shops, pubs, and restaurants which seemed to be a fun area. I came away wishing Chicago and its suburbs had something like this. In a couple of weeks I will likely be getting down to St. Louis and see the new club down there.<br /><br />One last thing that cracked me up, on my way back up, I was passing through the booming town of Nokomis, and saw a sign on the door of the local watering hole that said, " Central IL trianthlon. This Olympic quality event included pool, darts, and bowling. There is no word if that was a qualifier for the redneck games. <br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-31929747889284290252008-08-13T21:12:00.000-07:002008-08-16T23:39:25.572-07:00Snake Oil SalesmenJust the term conjures up the image of the old time shifty salesman going from town to town pushing their dubious product on an unsuspecting public. Those days are still here, and I am not talking about the mass amount of emails that we get.<br /><br /><br /><br />My Mother-in-law came this week to visit us, and brought in tow a lovely bottle of Acai berry juice. She talked about how many anti-oxidants there are, and how she bought it from a friend who was a distributor, and how that friend wanted to set her up as a distributor and see if my mother in law would be able to set others up. Of course, for each level that you or one of your underlings sets up, you get a piece of the pie. Yes, a classic pyramid scheme. I asked how much this bottle of juice cost her and she told me that she bought a case for $100. How many bottles in a case? 4. So why did she pay $25 for a bottle of fruit juice? Hope! Everybody hopes that they will feel better, and this scam takes advantage of it. A couple of years ago, mangosteen juice was the rage. A couple years earlier, it was grape seed extract. <br /><br />How does this topic relate? Look at our very own USCF. A week ago was the USCF delegates meeting in Dallas. I hate chess politics, in fact anyone that sat through the meeting for four hours really needs their head examined. What is so bad about it is the agendas of self interest of the EB and delegates. <br /><br />We have lawsuits flowing back and forth as people jockey for position, not to mention the threats of lawsuits which seem to be daily. It just means that our bottle of fruit juice is costing us $41 (and rising), and the health benefits have not yet been proven. Can this be solved? Not without a complete restructuring of USCF. First, put in an ED who doesn't have ED. By this I mean, the position is micromanaged so much by the EB and the delegates, that regardless of what one thinks of Bill Hall ( who is a very nice guy), he has no chance for success. Let the man do his job, or hire someone with a history of fundraising success with an open ended commission plan based on the dollars he or she brings in. Is an ED worth over a million who brings in 10 million in sponsorship? In my eyes he more than pays for himself. Hire good people and let them do their jobs, it is that simple. Who on the EB or the delegates has actual experience raising funds and doing what is needed?<br /><br />I think perhaps one of the best shows ever on TV was Sports Night. This show was an Aaron Sorkin creation (and so much better than anything else he has done), and was about a struggling TV show. This link <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtMMcxKu7G0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtMMcxKu7G0</a> goes to a rather long clip that has a lot of parallels to this point. We do need more Cliff Gardners of the world. I hope you watch and enjoy.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-13712589270114023622008-08-11T10:21:00.000-07:002008-08-11T11:00:09.228-07:00Profit vs. Non-Profit OrganizationsThe topic comes up every once in a while for chess, is an organization that runs events for profit, or non for profit (NFP). Personally, I find the whole debate fruitless.<br /><br />Generally, it is my experience that when someone is concerned with that question, they are asking because they believe that an NFP 1. Has lower profit margins and gives more back to the players, and 2. If they somehow do make a profit that it magically goes back and helps the community. As Todd Barre once said as ICA treasurer, "Just because it says Non-profit doesn't mean that we are trying to lose money".<br /><br />NFPs that run tournaments have the same expenses as a FP group, they still have to pay rating fees, prize funds, TDs, site costs, advertising, etc. There is no guarantee that the money does anything more than go to the organizer. Conversely, I run my events for profit, and don't feel any need to apologize for it. I try to make sure that my tournaments run quickly, professionally, and that players have a pleasant experience. I put plenty of time into each event, not just at the site, but also before hand and afterwards (I am still doing the post work for the Colias). Some of the profits that I earn go towards donations to worthy chess causes, like schools and organizations. I am also putting together things like a free scholastic clinic, and of course the Colias Memorial tournament. I don't expect people to cry for me when I lose money, but I have to allow a profit to prepare for a losing event.<br /><br />I was speaking with a professional player who was describing how most organizers have become mercenaries (which is pretty funny as most organizers feel that way about players). Ask a player how much money should go to the prize fund, and if they don't say all of it, 80% is expected. Sometimes this is realistic, other times it is not. For example, lets look at the upcoming Renaissance Knights Third Coast event. They have a $30 EF, and are basing a $700 prize fund on 40 players. If they reach their guarantee, players will get 58% of the entries back. If they only draw 20 players that number still remains about the same. Is that a reasonable profit? Players get to vote on that with their own $$.glennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-46401476274997762892008-08-09T10:05:00.000-07:002008-08-09T10:14:12.728-07:00Additional BlogsI just wanted to bring into focus a couple of additional blogs that I have enjoyed lately. First, my good friend Theo Poulos has joined the blogosphere, and makes me wish that I could write as eloquently has he does. His blog is at <a href="http://psilopoulosblog.blogspot.com/">http://psilopoulosblog.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Also, with the political season near at hand <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/">http://www.fivethirtyeight.com</a> has fantastic analysis. This site is the brainchild of Nate Silver of Baseball Prospectus fame. Nate had the most accurate projections of any group during the primaries. His Baseball Prospectus site has notoriously strong projections as well, and gained a lot of press for Kenny Williams calling them out on their prediction of the WhiteSox going 72-90 last year, saying that the BP guys knew nothing of baseball. When they hit the projection dead on, Williams did not want to discuss it. <br /><br />Just wanted to share the interesting reading.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-86342207427911341062008-08-08T06:41:00.000-07:002008-08-08T07:07:40.813-07:00Baseball CrazinessYesterday evening I went to the Sox game with some out of town friends. Had a really great time, they just keep on improving that park which, I know this is sacriligious for many is so much nicer than going to Wrigley. Better food, better sight lines, better parking, more comfortable. Speaking of which, I go to the Cubs game today. I am one of those rare Chicagoans that actually likes both teams. Hey with one WS title in the last 200 seasons combined, we can't afford to be choosy.<br /><br />I hate leaving Andrea at home without the car, so I went to Enterprise, where I rent from regularly. They really need a new training program. I know that they are trying to engage the customer, but I really can't stand the whole "where are you going? Do you have and fun big plans?" shtick. Is it really any of their business? I am always tempted to try to come up with some creative way to mortify them. "Am I going somewhere fun? That depends, is burying your grandmother fun?"<br /><br />Let me put this offer out there. Whoever comes up with the most creative way to freak out one of the Enterprise rental people, and posts in on the blog, I will use it during my next rental and report back. In fact, if I can, I will even video tape the event. So loyal readers that is your challenge!<br /><br />I was sad to see this week that Skip Caray passed away. He was really one of my favorite announcers with his dry wit and nasal tones. You could always count on Skip to liven up a blowout broadcast by casually dropping in an absurd question or story in his matter of fact way. I mean this in a nice way, but I spent many a Sunday afternoon watching TBS and relaxing and eventually napping during a Braves game.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-83872657434018259172008-08-06T07:05:00.000-07:002008-08-06T07:20:59.541-07:00Increment Time controls and clock settingsIncrement time controls are already the FIDE standard in Europe, and are likely to take off here in the states. The Miami International which takes place next month with a 100K prize fund appears to be the first major event stateside to use this. From running a few invitational events, it is apparent that there is some confusion as to rules with increments, so I thought I would address it.<br /><br />First, what is increment, and why is it different from time delay? With time delay, simply the clock does not start ticking until the delay time (usually 5 seconds) has run out. With increments, you get a "bonus" amount of time added to your clock after you complete a move. Adding to the confusion, increment time controls are also called bonus, accumulating, Fischer, and there may be a couple others.<br /><br />Are there different rules for this? Yes, the most notable rule is that regardless of the time left on a players clock, they must keep notating. As a TD and organizer, I love this, because complete gamescores are more common. As a player, the main difference is the feeling in time trouble. With regular delay controls, the pressure is constant. Such as, I have 30 seconds left on my clock, I must move quickly. During time pressure with an increment control, it comes and goes, and is easy to let your guard down. You may have 30 seconds, make 3-4 quick moves and be back over 2 minutes and start to relax. It is difficult to get used to.<br /><br />Which clocks are capable of increment settings? Most recently manufactured European made clocks have it, and it is easy to find. But here, the two most common types of clocks, the Chronos and the Excalibur Game Time 2 both have it, though it is difficult to find and most players don't know it is there.<br /><br />For the Chronos Blitz, it is right in the standard options. For the regular larger Chronos, you must go into the programming menu to the ChP5 setting and set the time control, and then scroll to where the delay would normally be set and set the increment. For the Excalibur, when you are in the programming menu, turn off the time delay, and turn on the Accum, set the Accum to the desired increment, and you are ready to go.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-52218720706931181282008-08-04T13:47:00.000-07:002008-08-04T14:41:47.311-07:00Colias ResultsI am completely exhausted from the weekend's event, and now just want to sleep. But before I do, here are the results from the weekend, and also some commentary.<br /><br />Before I get to the results, it is very important to thank the generous sponsorships of Tim McEntee and Robert Loncarevic, without whom this would not have been possible.<br /><br />Section 1:<br />FM Peter Bereolos 5-0<br />NM Tim McEntee 3-2<br />CM Eric Rosen 3-2<br />FM Aleksander Stamnov 2.5-2.5<br />CM Larry Cohen 1-4<br />NM Len Weber 0.5-4.5<br /><br />Bereolos dominated the section with precise technique. This ran Peter's unbeaten streak to 15 games at the even, and the performance rating for the tournament was over 2540!! Also impressive were the performances by 14 yo Eric Rosen (2277 performance) who demonstrated impressive poise and patience in his games, and by Tim McEntee.<br /><br />Section 2:<br />IM Emory Tate 4.5-0.5<br />NM Tony Cao 3-2<br />NM Glen Gratz 3-2<br />NM Steven Tennant 2-3<br />CM Adam Strunk 1.5-3.5<br />CM Robert Loncarevic 1-4<br /><br />I really can't wait to go over some of the games from this section as many of these were action packed. Tate's play was fantastic, I could study his game against Cao for hours and not find have the stuff these guys found over the board. Tony Cao and Glen Gratz shared 2nd-3rd, and were tremendous. Strunk found this year tougher goind after being a co-champion with Bereolos last year.<br /><br />Section 3:<br /><br />Vladimir Djordjevic 4-1<br />Sevan Muradian 4-1<br />Ryan Richardson 3-2<br />Theo Poulos 2-3<br />Leo Kirsch 2-3<br />Fred Gruenberg 0-5<br /><br />This section was the product of a request by Ryan Richardson. The more I thought about it the more excited I got about having this section. It isn't often that class players get a chance to prep for each other and trade punches like the masters do in a Round Robin event. Trading punches is a good way to put it as the section was all about fighting chess. Not a single draw in the section for the whole event. I can't remember ever seeing that before. Vladimir got off to a torrid 3-0 start before being derailed by Richardson, who had a chance to tie for first going into his final round with Sevan. Sevan provide that organizing is not the only thing he can do well in chess. With how balanced the field was, I do wonder if the same players play again next year, if the result would be the same or completely different. I was extremely impressed with the sportsmanship exhibited in this section.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-20760094694825237782008-07-27T19:25:00.000-07:002008-07-27T19:45:25.962-07:00Colias FieldThe field for the 4th Colias memorial is now set. We will be drawing lots tomorrow. The field for the top 2 sections are:<br /><br />IM Emory Tate 2367<br />FM Peter Bereolos 2323<br />FM Aleksandr Stamnov 2239<br />NM Steven Tennant 2216<br />NM Tony Cao 2208<br />NM Tim McEntee 2200<br />NM Len Weber 2200<br />NM Glen Gratz 2133<br />Adam Strunk 2113<br />Robert Loncarevic 2048<br />Eric Rosen 2038<br />Larry Cohen 2022<br /><br />For our class section, here are the lots and pairings:<br /><br />1. Fred Gruenberg<br />2. Leo Kirsch<br />3. Sevan Muradian<br />4. Theo Poulos<br />5. Vladimir Djordjevic<br />6. Ryan Richardson <br /><br />The pairings will thus be as follows:<br />Friday August 1 at 7PM:<br />Gruenberg - Richardson<br />Kirsch - Djordjevic<br />Muradian - Poulos<br /><br /> Saturday August 2 at 10AM:<br />Gruenberg - Kirsch<br />Djordjevic - Muradian<br />Richardson - Poulos<br /><br /> Saturday August 2 at 3PM:<br />Muradian - Gruenberg<br />Richardson - Kirsch<br />Poulos - Djordjevic<br /><br />Sunday August 3 at 10AM:<br />Gruenberg - Poulos<br />Kirsch - Muradian<br />Djordjevic - Richardson<br /><br />Sunday August 3 at 3PM:<br />Djordjevic - Gruenberg<br />Poulos - Kirsch<br />Muradian - Richardson<br /><br />More to come.<br /><br />Gglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-85287694499256840842008-07-26T15:29:00.000-07:002008-07-26T15:59:12.198-07:00ChangesOk, so it has been nearly a month since my last post. If people are still out there reading, let me tell you about some changes. I have gotten truly a little tired blogging about chess. There isn't much to talk about in regards to scholastic chess over the summer, and there are other things that I would like to talk about.<br /><br />First, the 4th Billy Colias Memorial is next weekend. I will try to post updates on that each day while it is going on. For those of you not familiar with Billy, he was perhaps the strongest player to be homegrown in the midwest. He also was an outstanding chess teacher, and one of the more fun, interesting, and gregarious players I ever met. My favorite thing about Billy was watching him analyze games. I saw one game where he played an 1100 who blundered a queen horribly and went over it with the player. they got to the position where the queen was dropped, and Billy paused for a second. He then said wow, this is interesting, was your idea to do this? He then constructed a kingside attacking plan that was viable. The opponent perked up as Billy started talking about how creative an idea his opponent had. The opponent walked away feeling like a million bucks, and thats how many of us felt hanging out with Billy.<br /><br />One of my absolute favorite things to follow is baseball. I am a bit of a junky, so I watch a lot of it. So this week when I read one of the dumber things ever by analyst and broadcaster Joe Morgan, I wanted to share it. According to Joe, on his ESPN chat, run differential is an overrated statistic. Yeah, it is really overrated to score more runs than your opponents. That has nothing to do with winning.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5044609286468435206.post-2028541142189602392008-06-27T14:03:00.000-07:002008-06-27T14:09:45.173-07:00Thank you Palatine HSIt is official that we will be moving the 2008 Illinois All Grade Championships to Palatine HS. Mark Saturday, November 15th on your calendar. Tim Just and I did our final site visit yesterday, and this has the potential to be our finest scholastic event yet. <br /><br />The tournament will take place in the gym, where there is a viewing area for parents and coaches from a mezzanine area with bleachers. The skittles room, book vendor, and food concessions will take place in the cafeteria which has room for about 600. Team rooms are nearby and available, feel free to contact me to arrange for one. <br /><br />We are hoping to have flyers out, and our web site with registration up soon. I will post more details when available.<br /><br />Glennglennpanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06841419521724091291noreply@blogger.com0