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![[MU Chess Club Logo]](/web/20070810005404im_/http://www.students.missouri.edu/~muchess/muchess.gif)
Anyone is welcome at these events. There is a wide range of skill levels in Columbia, from beginners to chess masters, and it is our goal to meet the needs of all. Membership is open to members of the Columbia community in addition to students, faculty and staff.
Chess Club members (dues: $5/semester) receive a spiffy membership card and may play in club tournaments. To become a member, please contact an officer or the club advisor. Voting members must meet UMC eligibility requirements.
Because the club is a U.S. Chess Federation affiliate club members may purchase individual USCF memberships through the club. Club members should contact Charlie Ward regarding joining the USCF or renewing your membership. A small discount on USCF membership is available due to the club being a USCF affiliate.
The UMC Chess Club meets every Monday night at 7pm. During the school year the meetings are in the MU Memorial Union, room S203 (second floor, south side), 516 S. Hitt Street, Columbia. Between mid-May and mid-August, and during semester breaks or university holidays when the university meeting rooms are closed, club members meet informally at 7pm on Mondays at Lakota's Coffee, 24 S. Ninth Street in downtown Columbia (on evenings when Lakota's is open).
Speed Chess Tournaments -- Speed chess tournaments are held each month, with the exception of no tournament in December. Time limits are G/5. Each round consists of two games between paired opponents, one as White, one as Black. Normally 5 rounds are played.
Here are this year's winners in the monthly club speed chess tournaments:
During the 2006 Fall semester:
August 28: 1st place Ulziibold Yadamsuren; 2nd place Konstantin Koroliak, Ellis Smith and Shan Siddiqi (tie).
September 25: Tied for 1st place: Igor Verbitsky, Ed Irish and Ellis Smith.
October 30: Tied for 1st place: Konstantin Koroliak and Ed Irish.
December 4: Tied for 1st place: Konstantin Koroliak, Igor Verbitsky and Arjun Khurana.
During the 2007 Winter semester:
January 29: 1st place: Igor Verbitsky ; 2nd place Nathan Swinger.
February 26: 1st place: Javier Cepeda ; 2nd place Konstantin Koroliak.
April 2: 1st place: Javier Cepeda ; 2nd place Konstantin Koroliak.
April 30: 1st place: Igor Verbitsky ; 2nd place Nasyr Ulmasov.
Club Ladder -- Club members can compete with each other on our chess ladder. Games can be played at any time and place agreeable to the opponents, but typically they are played at the Monday night club meetings. The default time limit for these games is Game/60 minutes per player.
Club Tournaments -- These tournaments are played at the Monday night club meetings, one round per week. They are not USCF rated. Two sections of the fall tournament were played during October 2006, one for experienced players and one for new players. Both tournaments were 3 rounds with a time control of Game/75. Prizes in the form of credits toward purchase of chess equipment or books will be awarded.
Winner of the New Player tournament was Ashwath Kumar, with Buzz Bledsoe taking second place. In the Experienced Player tournament, Ed Irish defeated Steve Brietzke in a tie-break game to take overall first place. Patrick Brooks won the prize for the best score in the lower-ranked half of the field in a tiebreak playoff between six players.
Club Championship Tournament -- Javier Cepeda was the winner of this year's club championship and received the championship trophy. This 4-round tournament with a Game/75 time control was played at the Monday night club meetings, one round per week on Feb. 12, Feb. 19, March 5 and March 12; the event was not USCF-rated. Prizes of chess books or equipment were awarded for the best scores in each third of the field: Javier Cepeda top third, Mikhail Zernov middle third and Fabio Gallazzi lower third.
Club Simuls -- The club expects to sponsor several simultaneous exhibitions where a strong player takes on all comers. The first of these simuls during the 2006-2007 school year was given by USCF senior master and club member Neil Foxon November 13, 2006. Despite rust from a long absence from competitive chess and playing 15 opponents in parallel, Neil won 11 of the games, lost to Alexei Zernov and Daniel Hawley and yielded draws to Charlie Ward and Damiano Fulghesu. A second simul was held on April 16, 2007; despite a low turnout of 7 players, Neil won all seven games against the field of uniformly solid opponents.
Club-Sponsored USCF Tournaments -- The club will sponsor several one-day US Chess Federation-rated open tournaments in Columbia during the 2006-2007 school year. These events give club members experience in playing against USCF-rated players from a wider area than just the Columbia community. USCF membership is required for participants and can be purchased at the events.
The Harry Nelson Pillsbury Open (honoring a famous American chess player of the early 20th century and winner of the famous Hastings 1899 international tournament) was played on Saturday, August 18, 2006. There were 23 players; James Long (from Arkansas) and Tony Duteil (from the Kansas City area) were the winners with perfect 3-0 scores. Click here for the complete results.
The Frank Marshall Open (honoring the long-time U.S. champion of the early 20th century and the inventor of the famous Marshall gambit) was played on Saturday, October 7, 2006. There were 24 players; the winner with a perfect 3-0 score was Danny Roberts of St. Louis. Click here for the complete results.
The Isaac Kashdan Open (honoring the world-class American player of the 1930's and 1940's) was played on Saturday, January 27, 2007. There were 18 players; the winners with perfect 3-0 records were Nathan Swinger from the UMC Chess Club and Nathaniel Fast of Jefferson City. Click here for the complete results.
The annual Mizzou Quads was held on Saturday, March 17, 2007. This event was organized as 3-round round-robins between like-rated players. There were 22 players. Click here for the complete results
Future Missouri Chess Events
For information on tournaments scheduled in the next 3-4 months, visit the Missouri Chess Association Web site; otherwise see the Tournament Life section of the U.S. Chess Federation's Chess Life magazine.
For tournaments further in the future, browse the USCF Tournament Clearing House calendar for Missouri.
Mailing List
Our electronic mailing list MUCHESS-L is used mostly for announcements of interest to local chessplayers. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to listserv@lists.missouri.edu. Leave the Subject line blank. In the body of the message, type:
SUBSCRIBE MUCHESS-L Yourfirstname Yourlastname
You should receive a confirmation message within a few minutes.
If you are already subcribed to MUCHESS-L and would like to UNsubscribe, send the one-line message UNSUBSCRIBE MUCHESS-L to the same address. (SIGNOFF MUCHESS-L also works.)
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