Silver Knights Chess

USCF Rating Report

7th-grader William Culbertson of Devon Prep won the Fall Warm-Up chess tournament with an undefeated 4-0 score. William defeated top-seeded Yasasvi Hari in the last round for his first tournament victory.

Audubon Elementary was the first place team, edging out the host school, Beaumont, by half a point.

USCF Rating Report

The 2nd Annual Greater Pocono Scholastic Chess Championship was held at the Swiftwater Elementary Center on September 27, 2008. Thirty-two chessplayers participated in the event, up from just twenty last year. Both sections featured very competetive team and individual battles for first place.

In the K-12 Championship section, 2nd seed Bryce Bartling of Sparta High School defeated top-seeded Alex Belkin (also the Greater Philadelphia Scholastic Champion) of Pocono Mountain East High School to win the tournament with 3.5/4 points. Bryce beat out Kevin Diver of Pocono Mountain East on tiebreaks for the title. The battle for first place team came down to the very last round. With Pocono Mountain East leading Sparta by just half a point with one game to go, it came down to Shawn Mitchell of Pocono Mountain East vs. Natasha Sica of Sparta. When Mitchell emerged victorious, Pocono Mountain East kept their narrow lead, winning 10.5 to 10.

In the K-12 U/1000 section, top-seeded Corbin Mills went 4-0 to secure first place. Swiftwater Intermediate Center narrowly held off Sparta Junior High School by a score of 7 to 6, winning first place in the team competition.

Congratulations to all the winners and competitiors. We look forward to an even bigger and better tournament next year!

New this week in our chess video library:

1) FM Dan Yeager analyzes his final game from the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. See the game that made him a national champion!

2) IM Bryan Smith shows several complicated and controversial finishes to his recent U.S. Chess League games.

3) IM Bryan Smith shows an example of the Noah's Ark Trap in master-level chess. (For an explanation of the Noah's Ark Trap at the beginner level, see NM Adam Weissbarth's video in the beginner section from February 3, 2008.)

USCF Rating Report

Sixteen chessplayers battled it out last Saturday at the Horsham Community Center. Top-seeded Teddy Willis faced off against Yasasvi Hari for first place in the last round. After a long, tough endgame, Yasasvi held on for the draw and won the tournament on tiebreaks. Max DuBoff came in third, with a score of 3-1.

The top school, with 5.0 points, was Rolling Hills Elementary. Jacob Guynee of Rolling Hills, rated 579, won the first-ever "biggest upset" prize for his 4th-round victory over 846-rated Daniel Gildenbrand. The upset prize goes to the player who scores the biggest upset over a higher-rated opponent.

New this week:

1) FM Dan Yeager analyzes his round 5 game from the Denker Tournament of High School Champions. (Advanced)

2) IM Michael Mulyar analyzes another system for white against the Najdorf Sicilian - the English Attack. (Advanced)

3) NM Adam Weissbarth goes through some basic examples of tactics that come up during games. (Beginner/Intermediate)

New this week in our chess video library:

1) FM Dan Yeager annotates his 3rd and 4th round games from the recent Denker Tournament of High School Champions. Dan won the tournament with a score of 5/6.

2) IM Michael Mulyar shows one of his games from the Colorado Open, played over Labor Day weekend.

3) NM Adam Weissbarth gives tips for how to handle a chaotic, tactical middlegame position.