Donald Benge Memorial

The Marshall Chess Foundation presents

DONALD BENGE MEMORIAL

Speed Chess Tournament

Monday, April 5th 2010

9-round Swiss-System, Game/5 minutes

Over $2000 Prize Fund
Unconditionally Guaranteed!

$1000 1st Place
$500 2nd Place
$250 3rd Place
$100 4th – 6th Place

Free Buffet for Participants!

Entry Fee: $30, Members $20, GM’s free
Registration: 6:15-6:45pm, Rounds: 7-7:30-7:50-8:10-8:40-9-9:20-9:40-10

Tournament may be limited to the first 60 players.

Early registration by mail or in person is recommended.

USCF Membership NOT required.

World Blitz Chess Association (WBCA) Rules

This tournament, made possible through the generosity of Mr. Sidney Belzberg, has been named after lifelong chess lover Donald Benge who was tragically killed in a car accident, caused by a drunk driver, on April 6th, 2007.

Marshall Chess Club
23 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone 212-477-3716
Fax 212-995-9281
http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Pix from NY March Open

Over the weekend, I took these pictures during the New York March Open, at the Marshall Chess Club. You will see Class A players David Spigel and Ed Kopiecki, as well as IM Jay Bonin and Christopher Wu.

Celebrity Plays in NY March Open

Yesterday, at the Marshall Chess Club, a celebrity played in section 2 of the New York March Open. Can you identify him from the pictures below?

New York March Open, Day 2

I finished the New York March Open, at the Marshall Chess Club, with a score of 2-0-2.

Round Three: English Opening

Sam Barsky (FIDE 2067) - Jim West (FIDE 2094), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2010

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Bg7 5.d4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 Nce7 8.e4 Nf6 9.h3 a6 10.Be3 Rb8 11.a4 O-O 12.Qd2 Bd7


13.a5 b5 14.axb6 Qxb6 15.Bg5 Qxb2 16.Rxa6 Qxd2+ 17.Nxd2 Nc8 18.Nb5 Bxb5 19.cxb5 Nb6 20.O-O h6 21.Be3 Nfd7 22.Rfa1 f5 23.f3 Rb7 24.Ra7 Rfb8 25.Rxb7 Rxb7 26.Ra6 Nb8 27.Ra2 f4 28.Bf2 Bf6 29.Kf1 Bd8 30.Ke1 Nc8 31.Kd1 Na7 32.Kc1 Kf8


33.Be1 Ke7 34.g3 fxg3 35.Bxg3 Kd7 36.f4 exf4 37.Bxf4 h5 38.e5 dxe5 39.Bxe5 Bc7 40.b6 Bxb6 41.Bxb8 Rxb8 42.Nc4 Nc8 43.Bd3 Ne7 44.d6 Nf5 45.Ra6 Bd8 46.Be4 Bg5+ 47.Kd1 Ne3+ 48.Nxe3 Bxe3 49.Bxg6 h4


50.Bf5+ Kd8 51.Ke2 Bf4 52.Kd3 Ke8 53.Kc4 Rd8 54.Kd5 Rxd6+ 55.Rxd6 Bxd6 56.Kxd6 Kf7 57.Kxc5 Kg7 58.Kd6 Kf6 59.Be4 Kg7 60.Ke7 Kh8 61.Kf6 Kg8 62.Kg5 Kg7 63.Kxh4 Kh8 64.Kg5 Kg7 65.Bd5 Kh8, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (FIDE 2094) - George Berg (FIDE 2054), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9.Be3 O-O 10.f4 b4 11.Na4 Nxe4 12.f5 d5 13.fxe6 fxe6 14.Nf5 Bb7


15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.Rxf8+ Kxf8 17.Nb6 Ra7 18.Nd7+ Nxd7 19.Bxa7 Ndc5 20.Qd4 Nxb3 21.axb3 e5 22.Qb6 d4 23.Bb8 Kg8 24.Rf1 Nc5 25.Bd6 Qg5 26.Rf8#.

New York March Open, Day 1

Earlier today, I played these games in the New York March Open at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (USCF 2200) - James Black (USCF 1996), Marshall Chess Club 3/27/2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 d6 7.f3 Nxd4 8.Qxd4 Bg7 9.Be3 O-O 10.Qd2 Be6 11.Rc1 Qa5 12.Be2 Rfc8 13.b3 Nd7


14.Nd5 Qxd2+ 15.Kxd2 Bxd5 16.cxd5 Bb2 17.Rxc8+ Rxc8 18.Rb1 Bf6 19.Rc1 Rxc1 20.Kxc1 a6 21.a4 Nc5 22.Kc2 Kf8 23.a5 Ke8 24.b4 Nd7 25.f4 e6 26.Bc4 Ke7 27.g4 Bg7 28.g5 h6 29.h4 hxg5 30.hxg5 Bh8


31.Kd3 Bg7 32.dxe6 fxe6 33.Bd4 Bxd4 34.Kxd4 Nb8 35.b5 axb5 36.Bxb5 Na6 37.Ba4 Nc5 38.Bc2 e5+ 39.fxe5 Ne6+ 40.Kd5 Nf4+ 41.Kc4 dxe5 42.Kb5 Kd8 43.Kb6 Kc8 44.Bd1 Kb8 45.Bg4 Nd3 46.Be6 Nf4 47.Bf7 Kc8


48.Be8 Ne6 49.Bxg6 Nxg5 50.Bf5+ Kb8 51.Kc5 Ka7 52.Kb5 Nf7 53.Kc5 Ka6 54.Bc8 Kxa5 55.Bxb7 Ng5 56.Kd5 Nxe4, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: English Opening

George Tom (FIDE 2031) - Jim West (FIDE 2094), Marshall Chess Club 3/27/2010

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 e6 6.O-O Nge7 7.d3 O-O 8.Ne4 d6 9.Bf4 e5 10.Bd2 b6 11.Rb1 Bb7 12.a3 h6 13.b4 f5 14.Nc3 Qd7


15.bxc5 dxc5 16.Qc1 Kh7 17.Rd1 Rad8 18.Nb5 Nd4 19.Nbxd4 exd4 20.a4 Nc8 21.a5 Rde8 22.Re1 Re6 23.h4 Rfe8 24.h5 g5 25.Bxg5 Bxf3 26.Bxf3 hxg5 27.Qxg5 Ne7 28.Rb5 Bh6 29.Qh4 Bd2 30.Ra1 Ng8 31.axb6 axb6 32.Ra6 Qe7


33.Qh3 Qf6 34.Rb2 Ba5 35.Ra7+ R6e7 36.Ra6 Qg5 37.Kg2 Nh6 38.Rb5 Ng4 39.Raxa5 bxa5 40.Rxc5 Re5 41.Rc7+ R8e7 42.Rc8 Rxe2 43.Bxe2 Rxe2 44.Rc7+ Kg8 45.Rc8+ Kf7, White resigns.

Super Saturday Grand Prix in Cherry Hill

So far, the following competitors are confirmed, for tomorrow's Super Saturday Grand Prix in Cherry Hill NJ:

Open: GM Alex Lenderman [pictured above], GM Gennady Sagalchik, GM Mikheil Kekelidze, IM Bryan Smith, FM Victor Shen, NM Peter Minear, NM Leroy Dubeck, Michael Katz, NM Andrew Shvartsman, Andrew Ng, Arthur Shen, Jeremiah Williams, Dave Repici, Lawrence "Muskee" Books, Gennadiy Geyler, Anthony Norris, and Nate Kolo.

U1800: Dan Herman, Alex Shestyan, Don Battle, James Tuzeneu, David Willenbring, Chris Anderson, and Tarik Bittout.

March 27th Greater Cherry Hill Super Saturday Grand Prix: 5SS. Game 30.
OPEN SECTION: 1st $450, 2nd $300, 3rd $150. U2000 $100.
SECTION 2: U1800 1st $125, 2nd $75, 3rd $50.

$$ 100% guaranteed.

FIRST 5 GMs and IMs PRE-REGISTER FREE! ($50 deducted from winnings). EF online: $50 by 3/15, after 3/15 $60. $70 ONSITE. Register at http://www.greaterchchess.com/ . Cherry Hill Library Conference room from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Onsite reg. 9:30-10 a.m. 1st rd. 10:15. More info: hermanator3@comcast.net
or (856) 287-2393.

Molner Earns Final IM Norm

Mackenzie Molner of New Jersey has earned his final norm for the title of international master.

David Cole Simul in Sparta NJ

On Saturday March 13th, David Cole gave a simultaneous exhibition in Sparta NJ. Here is an account of the event from Chess Life Online.

Ippolito Wins Only NJ Championship

Who says nice guys finish last?

International master Dean Ippolito [pictured above] proved them wrong by winning the FIDE section in the Only New Jersey Championship, at the Dean of Chess Academy, with a perfect score of 4 points. Dean defeated me, NM David Grasso, IM Mikhail Zlotnikov, and Christopher Wu.

Below are more photos that I took on Sunday.

Only NJ Championship, Day 2

On Sunday, I played the following games in the Only New Jersey Championship, at the Dean of Chess Academy. I finished the tournament with a score of 1-1-2.

Round Three: Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

Jim West (FIDE 2094) - David Grasso (FIDE 2173), Branchburg NJ 3/21/2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6 6.d4 Bg4 7.dxe5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 fxe5 9.Rd3 Bd6 10.Nbd2 b5 11.b3 Ne7 12.Bb2 Ng6 13.g3 O-O


14.Kg2 Rf6 15.h3 Be6 16.Ng5 Bd7 17.Rf3 c5 18.Rxf6 gxf6 19.Ngf3 Kf7 20.c4 h5 21.h4 Bc6 22.Re1 Rd8 23.Re2 Nf8 24.cxb5 axb5 25.Kg1 Ra8 26.a3 Ne6 27.Re1 Ke7 28.Rc1 Be8 29.Nb1 Nd4


30.Nxd4 cxd4 31.b4 Kd7 32.Nd2 Bf7 33.f3 Bf8 34.Kf2 Bh6 35.Rd1 Ra6 36.Ke1 Rc6 37.Rc1 Rxc1+ 38.Bxc1 Bf8 39.f4 c5 40.bxc5 Bxc5 41.Nf3 Bg6 42.fxe5 Bxe4 43.Nd2 Bd5 44.exf6 Ke6 45.Ke2 Kxf6 46.Kd3 Ke5 47.Bb2 Bg2


48.Nb3 Bf1+ 49.Kc2 Bb6 50.Nd2 Be2 51.Kb3 Ba5 52.Kc2 Kd5 53.Bxd4 Kxd4 54.Nb3+ Ke3 55.Nxa5 Kf2 56.Nc6 Kxg3 57.Nd4 Bf1 58.Nf5+ Kf4 59.Ng7 Kg4 60.a4 bxa4 61.Nxh5, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Four: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Danny Arceo (FIDE 2164) - Jim West (FIDE 2094), Branchburg NJ 3/21/2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.a3 Bxd2+ 7.Bxd2 Nxd2 8.Qxd2 Qe7 9.Qc3 O-O 10.e3 Re8 11.Be2 Nxe5 12.Nxe5 Qxe5 13.Qxe5 Rxe5 14.O-O d6 15.Rfd1 a5 16.b3 b6 17.Bf3 Rb8 18.Bc6 Bb7


19.Bxb7 Rxb7 20.Rd5 b5 21.Rxe5 dxe5 22.Rd1 Kf8 23.c5 Ke8 24.Kf1 f6 25.Ke2 a4 26.b4 Rb8, draw.

Only NJ Championship, Day 1

Here are the games that I played on Saturday in the Only New Jersey Championship, at the Dean of Chess Academy.

Round One: Catalan Opening

Dean Ippolito (FIDE 2466) - Jim West (FIDE 2094), Branchburg NJ 3/20/2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.a4 c5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Nbd2 Nc6 11.Nxc4 Qe7 12.Nce5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Rd8 14.Bg5 Bd4


15.Ng4 h6 16.Nxf6+ Bxf6 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Rfd1 e5 19.Rxd8+ Qxd8 20.Qc5 f6 21.Rc1 Rb8 22.a5 Be6 23.Qc7 Qxc7 24.Rxc7 Rc8 25.Rxc8+ Bxc8 26.f4 exf4 27.gxf4 g5 28.Kf2 Kf7 29.Ke3 Ke7 30.Kd4 Kd6 31.e3 Kc7 32.fxg5 hxg5 33.Kc5 Bd7


34.Bd5 Bc8 35.Bc4 Bd7 36.Kd5 Bc8 37.Bd3 Bd7 38.e4 Bh3 39.Be2 Kd7 40.Bh5 Be6+ 41.Kc5 Kc7 42.Bg6 Bb3 43.Bh5 Be6 44.Bf3 Bb3 45.Kd4 Kd6 46.Bg4 Bc2 47.Bc8 Kc7 48.Be6 b6 49.axb6+ Kxb6 50.e5 f5


51.Bc4 f4 52.e6 g4 53.e7 Bg6 54.Bd5 a5 55.Be4 Be8 56.Ke5 f3 57.Kf4 f2 58.Bg2 Bd7 59.Kg3 Kc5 60.Kxf2 Kd6 61.Kg3 Kxe7 62.Bf1 Kf6 63.Kf4 a4 64.Be2 Kg6 65.Bxg4 Bb5 66.h4 Kf6 67.Bd1 Kg6


68.Ke5 Kh6 69.Kd6 a3 70.bxa3 Be8 71.Kc5 Bd7 72.Kb4 Be8 73.Be2 Bc6 74.Bb5 Bf3 75.a4 Kh5 76.a5 Kxh4 77.a6 Kg5 78.Kc5 Kf6 79.Bc6, Black resigns.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Ken Thomas (USCF 1717), Branchburg NJ 3/20/2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O O-O 7.Nc3 h6 8.Nb5 Bb4 9.Bf4 Ba5 10.c3 a6 11.Na3 Nc6 12.Nc2 Bg4


13.h3 Be6 14.Qd2 Ne4 15.Qd1 Ne7 16.Re1 Ng6 17.Bh2 f5 18.Ne5 Qf6 19.Qh5 Kh7 20.Nxg6 Qxg6 21.Qxg6+ Kxg6 22.f3 Ng5 23.h4 Rae8 24.hxg5 hxg5 25.g4, Black resigns.

Photos from Only NJ Championship, Day 1

Earlier today, I snapped these photos during day one of the Only New Jersey Championship, at the Dean of Chess Academy.