FIDE Chess in Chicago

Emergency Note

2006-06-02T14:21:00.000-05:00

Please do NOT visit www.nachess.blogspot.com

Someone has hijacked the blog and is using it as a spam blog.

Our blogsite is www.nachess.org/blog.html now.

Thank you,

Sevan A.Muradian

Player Substitution

2006-03-14T10:19:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately IM-elect Jan van de Mortel will not be able to participate in the GM-A event next month. But he has found a replacement for himself!

IM Giorgi Margvelashvili (GEO) will be taking his place.

Take a look at the FIDE player card for this 16 year old powerhouse:

http://www.fide.com/ratings/card.phtml?event=13602926

Over 100 rating points in 1 rating period!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Congrats!

2006-03-14T10:15:00.000-06:00

To Mehmed Pasalic who is participating in the IM-C group. He is on schedule to receive his FM title.

Info can be found at http://www.fide.com/official/regularfm.phtml (under GER federation).

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Onsite Commentator

2006-03-03T07:44:00.000-06:00

It gives me great pleasure to announce that GM-elect Pascal Charbonneau will be present at the event giving live commentary. Pascal, who received his final GM norm in January at this event, will begin commentating from Round 5 throughout the end.

We will shortly announce a commentator for Rounds 1-4.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

An update to the Battle Field!

2006-03-03T07:37:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately IM Roberto Martin del Campo will be unable to participate in GM-A event due to committments with the Mexican Chess Federation but a replacement has been found!

It is none other than the Silver Medal winning US Womens Olympiad team member IM Irina Krush!

With the addition of Irina this event will be host to the 3 top active female players on the US Chess scene - IM Irina Krush, IM-elect Anna Zatonskih, and WGM Rusa Goletiani. Now if I could only get GM Susan Polgar and WGM Jennifer Shahade to a tournament of mine I'd have the entire Silver Medal Olympiad team!

So the GM-A section now is:

GM-A; Average rating of the event 2494; 6/9 for GM norm

GM Y. Shulman - USA - FIDE 2581 (playing in the US Championships!)
GM V. Mikhalevski - ISR - FIDE 2570
GM N. Mitkov - MKD - FIDE 2552
IM B. Finegold - USA - FIDE 2563 (playing in the US Championships!)
IM S. Smetankin - BLR - FIDE 2485
IM J. Freidel - USA - FIDE 2455 (playing in the US Championships!)
IM S. Kriventsov - USA - FIDE 2449 (playing in the US Championships!)
IM I. Krush - USA - FIDE 2447 (playing in the Women's World Chess Championships!)
IM-elect A. Zatonskih - USA - FIDE 2433 (playing in the US Championships!)
IM-elect J. van de Mortel - NED - FIDE 2412

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

The Dates of Battle has been set!

2006-02-28T09:08:00.000-06:00

April 18 - April 22, 2006

Morning rounds @ 11am
Evening rounds @ 5:30pm

Only 1 round on Saturday April 22.

Time Control - G/90 + 30/sec increment from move 1.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

The Battle Site Has Been Set!

2006-02-27T20:22:00.000-06:00

AmeriSuites Schaumburg Hotel
1851 McConnor Parkway
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
Phone: (847) 330-1060
Fax: (847) 330-1001
Toll Free: 1-800-833-1516

The Field is Set!

2006-02-27T20:06:00.000-06:00

After some tedious work of getting in contact with people, finding replacements, juggling FIDE requirements, the field has been set. We have good representations from the USA and Mexico. I was hoping for more Canadian players but schedule conflicts were abundant. IM Lawson is carrying the name of our neighbors to the north here!

Please note these are ratings from the Jan 2006 rating list. The April 2006 rating list is to be used for the event. As a result, required scores for norms could change up or down depending on flucuations in participant ratings.

GM-A; Average rating of the event 2493; 6/9 for GM norm

GM Y. Shulman - USA - FIDE 2581
GM V. Mikhalevski - ISR - FIDE 2570
GM N. Mitkov - MKD - FIDE 2552
IM B. Finegold - USA - FIDE 2563
IM S. Smetankin - BLR - FIDE 2485
IM J. Freidel - USA - FIDE 2455
IM S. Kriventsov - USA - FIDE 2449
IM R. Martin del Campo - MEX - FIDE 2433
IM-elect A. Zatonskih - USA - FIDE 2433
IM-elect J. van de Mortel - NED - FIDE 2412

GM-B; Average rating of the event - 2421; 7/9 for GM norm, 5/9 for IM norm

GM V. Golod - ISR - FIDE 2577
GM V. Georgiev - MKD - FIDE 2539
GM D. Gurevich - USA - FIDE 2503
IM R. Burnett - USA - FIDE 2397
IM M. Scekic - SCG - FIDE 2395
IM E. Lawson - CAN - FIDE 2383
WGM R. Goletiani - USA - FIDE 2378
IM A. Almeida - MEX - FIDE 2369
IM D. Kopec - USA - FIDE 2362
FM P. Bereolos - USA - FIDE 2307

IM-C; Average rating of the event - 2292; 6.5/9 for IM norm for all players except Pasalic and Sorkin; 7/9 for Pasalic and Sorkin with 1 point short for cutoff for 6.5/9

GM M. Sher - USA - FIDE 2431
GM A. Bisguier - USA - FIDE 2256
CM M. Pasalic - GER FIDE 2363
CM I. Sorkin - ISR - FIDE 2365
FM R. Hess - USA - FIDE 2328
FM I. Tsyganov - USA - FIDE 2281
CM A. Rios - MEX - FIDE 2244
CM P. Karagianis - USA - FIDE 2226
FM A. Chow - USA - FIDE 2220
CM A. Vishnuvardhan - IND - FIDE 2205

Update - Group IM-A

2006-02-20T15:17:00.000-06:00

The latest addition to the event is FM Igor Tsyganov of Chicago.

So we currently look like:

IM-C (or IM-A I guess would be more accurate) has the following invitations accepted:

GM M. Sher - USA - FIDE 2431
GM A. Bisguier - USA - FIDE 2256
CM M. Pasalic - GER FIDE 2363
FM R. Hess - USA - FIDE 2328
CM I. Sorkin - ISR - FIDE 2365
CM P. Karagianis - USA - FIDE 2226
CM A. Visneurchi - IND - FIDE 2205
FM A. Chow - USA - FIDE 2220
FM I. Tsyganov - USA - FIDE 2281
+1 more response

Avg rating of event should be around 2300 - 6.5/9 for IM norm

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Update: Chicago Spring FIDE Invitational

2006-02-16T09:22:00.000-06:00

We are getting closer to having the full roster. All ratings are from Jan 2006 list.

GM-B is currently set with all players:

GM V. Golod - ISR - FIDE 2577
GM V. Georgiev - MKD - FIDE 2539
GM D. Gurevich - USA - FIDE 2503
WGM R. Goletiani - USA - FIDE 2378
IM A. Young - PHI - FIDE 2380
IM I. Scekic - SCG - FIDE 2395
IM R. Burnett - USA - FIDE 2397
IM D. Kopec - USA - FIDE 2362
IM E. Lawson - CAN - FIDE 2383
IM A. Almeida - MEX - FIDE 2369

Avg rating of event is 2428 - 7/9 for GM norm, 5/9 for IM norm (Goletiani)

GM-A is almost set waiting for 1 more invitation acceptance:

GM Y. Shulman - USA - FIDE 2581
GM V. Mikhalevski - ISR - FIDE 2570
GM N. Mitkov - MKD - FIDE 2552
IM B. Finegold - USA - FIDE 2563
IM-elect J. van de Mortel - NED - FIDE 2412
IM J. Freidel - USA - FIDE 2455
IM S. Smetankin - BLR - FIDE 2485
IM A. Zatonskih - USA - FIDE 2433
IM S. Kriventsov - USA - FIDE 2449
+ 1 more

Avg rating of event is 2495; 6/9 for GM norm

IM-C (or IM-A I guess would be more accurate) has the following invitations accepted:

GM M. Sher - USA - FIDE 2431
GM A. Bisguier - USA - FIDE 2256
M. Pasalic - GER FIDE 2363
FM R. Hess - USA - FIDE 2328
I. Sorkin - ISR - FIDE 2365
P. Karagianis - USA - FIDE 2226
A. Visneurchi - IND - FIDE 2205
FM A. Chow - USA - FIDE 2220
+2 more responses

Avg rating of event should be around 2300 - 6.5/9 for IM norm

More info as I get it.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Another Update: Chicago Spring FIDE Invitational

2006-02-01T07:23:00.000-06:00

Another acceptance has come through:

IM-elect Jan van de Mortel (NED) - FIDE 2412

For those of you that remember the April 2005 event that I held, Jan was able to secure his 3rd and final IM norm. In January he did 2 days worth of unannounced special commentating during some crucial matches.

As more participants accepts invitations I will post them here.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Update: Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational

2006-01-30T16:02:00.000-06:00

3 more chess players have confirmed their participation in the Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational:

GM Arthur Bisguier
WGM Anna Zatonskih
NM Peter Karagianis

So the field currently looks like the following:

Group A - 6/9 for GM norm

GM Yury Shulman (USA) - FIDE 2581
GM Victor Mikhalevski (ISR) - FIDE 2570
GM Nikola Mitkov (MKD) - FIDE 2552
IM Benjamin Finegold (USA) - FIDE 2563
IM Stanislav Smetankin (BLR) - FIDE 2485
IM Josh Friedel (USA) - FIDE 2455
IM Stan Kriventsov (USA) - FIDE 2449
WGM Anna Zatonskih (USA) - FIDE 2433

Group B - 7/9 for GM norm; 5/9 for IM norm;

GM Vitali Golod (ISR) - FIDE 2577
GM Vladimir Georgiev (MKD) - FIDE 2538
GM Dmitry Gurevich (USA) - FIDE 2503
IM Eric Lawson (CAN) - FIDE 2383
IM Angelo Young (PHI) - FIDE 2380
IM Alfonso Almeida (MEX) - FIDE 2369
IM Danny Kopec (USA) - FIDE 2362
WGM Rusudan Goletiani (USA) - FIDE 2378

Group C - 6/9 for IM Norm - no GM norms will be available

GM Miron Sher (USA) - FIDE 2431
GM Arthur Bisguier (USA) - FIDE 2256
Igor Sorkin (ISR) - FIDE 2365
Mehmed Pasalic (GER) - FIDE 2363
Robert Hess (USA) - FIDE 2328
NM Peter Karagianis (USA) - FIDE 2226
Arjun Vishnuvardhan (IND) - FIDE 2207

Preparation has begun for the Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational!

2006-01-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

One ends and another begins.

Out of the ashes another will rise.

Ok there are a million of these I could say! But let's talk about the Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational.

Right now I am planning on having 3 Groups - 2 GM norm groups and 1 IM norm group! Big change - from 10 players to 30 players!

Not all invitations have been sent but some have and some preliminary acceptances have been received.

Group A - 6/9 for GM norm; average rating - 2490

GM Yury Shulman (USA) - FIDE 2581
GM Vitali Golod (ISR) - FIDE 2577
GM Nikola Mitkov (MKD) - FIDE 2552
IM Benjamin Finegold (USA) - FIDE 2563
IM Stanislav Smetankin (BLR) - FIDE 2485
IM Josh Friedel (USA) - FIDE 2455
IM Stan Kriventsov (USA) - FIDE 2449

Group B - 7/9 for GM norm - potentially 6.5/9 for GM norm; 5/9 for IM norm; average rating - 2426

GM Victor Mikhalevski (ISR) - FIDE 2570
GM Vladimir Georgiev (MKD) - FIDE 2538
GM Dmitry Gurevich (USA) - FIDE 2503
IM Eric Lawson (CAN) - FIDE 2383
IM Angelo Young (PHI) - FIDE 2380
IM Alfonso Almeida (MEX) - FIDE 2369
IM Danny Kopec (USA) - FIDE 2362
WGM Rusudan Goletiani (USA) - FIDE 2378

Group C - 6/9 for IM Norm - no GM norms will be available; average rating - 2341

GM Miron Sher (USA) - FIDE 2431
Igor Sorkin (ISR) - FIDE 2365
Mehmed Pasalic (GER) - FIDE 2363
Robert Hess (USA) - FIDE 2328
Arjun Vishnuvardhan (IND) - FIDE 2207

More info as it comes along!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Final Thoughts for the Winter Invitational

2006-01-16T12:31:00.000-06:00

Well it is now over. The games have been posted on the website, the forms for Pascal's final GM norm are being completed. Things are wrapping up for this event.

This event has seen great wins, long draws, and yes some quick draws as well. All in all though some great fighting chess has been played!

As one of the organizers of this event (alongside Glenn Panner) I can say that I am very happy with how the event turned out. I was glad to meet the players that for so long I had only conversed with via email or the ICC.

I was glad to see some of the local Chicago crowd come through and watch the games. One of those people, who was also a sponsor - Joseph Delay, had written the following in an email to me: "You have to be there to see the intensity in their faces and feel the tension the game takes on through them." This is very true. While a number of people did show up to the event, a number of long time Chicago area chess players were visibly absent. I understand that the event took place during the week when most people work or are in school and I hope this was the reason that spectatorship was not as high as I had hoped.

However viewers online were plentiful. Prior to the event we were recording on average 50 unique hits per day and during the event on average 300 unique hits per day. We also had on average 75 people per game viewing on ICC.

Relaying of the games was somewhat cumbersome. Having limited manpower only 1 game per day was relayed but when the game was over another game was picked up half-way through or during the endgame. I am hoping to be able to get the DGT Sensor boards for the next event so all games can be automatically relayed. But thanks to IM-elect Jan van de Mortel and scholastic powerhouse Gopal Menon, both who helped relay games.

There can be so much more to write about this event from the start - going to Rockit Bar & Grill in downtown Chicago - all the way to the end - at the Greek Cuisine palace of Psistaria. All will be written up and you'll see it in a chess publication somewhere (we'll tell you where later!).

Now off to being planning for the Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational in April. It is under strong consideration to have 2 groups - one offering GM/IM norms and one offering IM norms only.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

IM Pascal Charbonneau Scores Final GM Norm

2006-01-13T14:19:00.000-06:00

IM Pascal Charbonneau has just scored his final GM norm with a tremendous win over WGM Goletiani!

Congrat's to Pascal for a great tournament.

He also won clear first place with 6/9 and $750 to go along with that!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Final Standings

2006-01-13T13:30:00.000-06:00

1st:

IM Pascal Charbonneau (6/9) - GM Norm Scored! ($750)

2nd-4th:

GM Nikola Mitkov (5.5/9) ($292)
GM Vladimir Georgiev (5.5/9) ($292)
IM Ben Finegold (5.5/9) ($292)

5th:

IM Stanislav Smetankin (4.5/9) ($125)

6th-8th:

GM Pawel Blehm (4/9)
IM Eugene Perelshteyn (4/9)
IM Angelo Young (4/9)

9th:

IM Irina Krush (3.5/9)

10th:

WGM Rusudan Goletiani (2.5/9)

Round 9 Results

2006-01-13T12:38:00.000-06:00

GM Blehm - GM Georgiev: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Young - IM Finegold: 0 - 1
GM Mitkov - IM Smetankin: 1 - 0
IM Charbonneau - WGM Goletiani: 1 - 0
IM Krush - IM Perelshteyn: 1/2 - 1/2

Off to Chessbase.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

The end is near!

2006-01-12T23:03:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's already Thursday evening. This week has zipped by (and most of the week is a blur!). I have had a lot of fun this week and was somewhat saddened by all of the eliminations that occurred today.

The bright point is that 1 player still has the ability to clinch his 3rd and final GM norm - none other than one of Canada's favorite (maybe I should spell it favourite?) sons, International Master Pascal Charbonneau.

Pascal has yet to suffer a loss in the event and has had some outstanding wins. This is a bright and talented young player, well more mature than his young 22 years shows. He has shown that you can fight it out for 86 moves and draw or you can fight it out for less than 30 moves and win the game. Pascal has shown an aggressive nature to outright crush (not Krush) an opponent and when to make the calculated decision of accepting the draw.

Tonights games though were bloodthirsty no doubt. Even players eliminated from the norm hunt were fighting it tooth and nail. Even though Irina lost tonite she proved a point - that she means business across the board and not to take her lightly. Irina and Vladimir fought it out till the bitter end. Rusa and Ben were no different in their fighting spirit. Rusa was going for the kill however could not deliver the death blow - but she too proved her point that she is here and to be taken seriously! Both of the fine young ladies are examples young girls should look to as leading female figures in the male dominated sport of chess.

Tonight we also saw more spectators. IM-elect Jan van de Mortel showed up again to relay games and give commentary. Many thanks to Jan for his tireless efforts. Hopefully in April Jan will be sitting at the boards going after his 1st GM norm!

Also showing up included Brad and Andi Rosen, GM Yury Shulman, Fred Scott Allsbrook, and a few faces that I did not recognize.

This blog site and the website each have been registered over 300 unique hits per day (and over 600 repeat visits) from all over the world!

Well enough for now!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 8 Results

2006-01-12T18:19:00.000-06:00

IM Charbonneau - GM Mitkov: 1/2 - 1/2 (Charbonneau needs to win the next round to get his norm)
IM Smetankin - GM Blehm: 0 - 1 (Smetankin is eliminated out of the norm hunt)
IM Perelshteyn - IM Young: 0 - 1 (Young won the grudge re-match)
WGM Goletiani - IM Finegold: 0 - 1 (Goletiani is out of the norm hunt)
GM Georgiev - IM Krush: 1 - 0

Off to Chessbase!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 7 Results

2006-01-12T13:20:00.000-06:00

IM Young - GM Georgiev: 1/2 - 1/2
GM Blehm - IM Charbonneau: 1/2 - 1/2
GM Mitkov - WGM Goletiani: 1 - 0
IM Krush - IM Smetankin: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Finegold - IM Perelshteyn: 1/2 - 1/2

Off to Chessbase I go.....

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Standings after Round 6

2006-01-11T20:45:00.000-06:00

IMs Charbonneau and Smetankin need 2 more points for their final GM norm. They both can 'afford' 1 loss in the next 3 rounds.

IMs Finegold and Perelshteyn need 3 more points for their final GM norm and they play each other in the next round!

WGM Goletiani needs 1.5/3 for her IM norm.

Krush and Young have been eliminated out of the norm hunt at this point but there will be plenty more opportunities for these two in FIDE Chess in Chicago events!

These last three rounds will be quite interesting for those on the hunt.

1st - 2nd:

IM Pascal Charbonneau (4.0/6.0)
IM Stanislav Smetankin (4.0/6.0)

3rd:

GM Vladimir Georgiev (3.5/6.0)

4th - 6th:

GM Nikola Mitkov (3.0/6.0)
IM Benjamin Finegold (3.0/6.0)
IM Eugene Perelshteyn (3.0/6.0)

7th - 9th:

IM Irina Krush (2.5/6.0)
IM Angelo Young (2.5/6.0)
WGM Rusudan Goletiani (2.5/6.0)

10th:

GM Pawel Blehm (2.0/6.0)

Round 6 Results

2006-01-11T18:00:00.000-06:00

IM Charbonneau - IM Krush: 1/2 - 1/2
GM Mitkov - GM Blehm: 1/2 - 1/2
GM Georgiev - IM Finegold: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Smetankin - IM Young: 1 - 0
WGM Goletiani - IM Perelshteyn: 0 - 1

Grudge Match is Over! Smetankin avenges his loss at the IL Open!

Off to Chessbase....

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 5 Results

2006-01-11T14:20:00.000-06:00

IM Finegold - IM Smetankin: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Young - IM Charbonneau: 0 - 1
GM Blehm - IM Goletiani: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Krush - GM Mitkov: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Perelshteyn - GM Georgiev: 0 - 1

Off to Chessbase....

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Special Thanks!

2006-01-11T13:18:00.000-06:00

I wanted to take time to give some special thanks to the following people:

1. Shiva Maharaj - Shiva is a well known teacher in the Chicago and Milwaukee area who not only has contributed $250 to the event but also he has been here each day so far offering support for the local players, snapping pictures, and having fun!.

2. Gopal Menon - Gopal is a freshman in highschool who spent an entire day with us today helping relay the games and helping me out with other responsibilities here at the event.

3. IM-Elect Jan van de Mortel - Jan made a special appearance here and has been commentating on games all morning long.

4. Juan Vela - father of Chicago player Johnny Vela - has been by so far twice to snap photo's of the event.

As more of these special thanks are in order I will post them but I thought that people should know that some community members are showing up showing their support for this event!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Official Standings thru Round 4

2006-01-11T10:33:00.000-06:00

1st thru 3rd:

IM Charbonneau - 2.5
IM Smetankin - 2.5
IM Young - 2.5

4th thru 8th:

GM Mitkov - 2
GM Georgiev - 2
IM Finegold - 2
IM Perelshteyn - 2
WGM Goletiani - 2

9th:

IM Krush - 1.5

10th:

GM Bhelm - 1.0

------------------------------

Games can be found on our website (replayable and pgn download) - www.fidechessinchicago.com/games.html

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 4 Results

2006-01-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

IM Smetankin - IM Perelshteyn: 1/2-1/2
GM Blehm - IM Krush: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Charbonneau - IM Finegold: 1/2 - 1/2
WGM Goletiani - GM Georgiev: 0 - 1
GM Mitkov - IM Young: 1/2 - 1/2

Off to Chessbase.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 3 Results

2006-01-10T13:55:00.000-06:00

IM Finegold - GM Mitkov = 1/2 - 1/2
GM Georgiev - IM Smetankin = 0 - 1
IM Perelshteyn - IM Charbonneau = 0 - 1
IM Young - GM Blehm = 1 - 0
IM Krush - WGM Goletiani = 1/2 - 1/2

All games completed. Off to Chessbase I go!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Opening Day in Review

2006-01-10T11:17:00.000-06:00

The games today, in this organizers perspective, are in general what we want to see. With the exception of 2 quick draws (1 in each round) the games were all fighting games and down to the wire.

Even though we had draws that occurred, such as Smetankin-Charbonneau, the draws were not the typical 14 move theoretical draws. The game I mentioned went 86 moves before the draw was agreed!

It's obvious that exhaustion and nerves are showing themselves already. The time pressure doesn't help either. All of the games that went the distance were in time scramble. Some may say that it makes for bad chess and others may say it makes for more exciting chess. Some parts of both are true.

I must say I am greatly impressed with the cast of characters that agreed to participate in this event. The men and women are great people to interact with both on and away from the board. The chess scene in the US is lucky to have them.

The only funny thing that occurred during the day was that the power went off in the hotel for about 1 minute. That minute was quite funny as we were powering up our cell phones to make enough light to allow me to pause the clocks.

All games are currently available on ICC for replay and I will have them posted on the FIDE Chess in Chicago website shortly.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 2 results

2006-01-09T19:04:00.000-06:00

GM Pawel Blehm - IM Ben Finegold: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Pascal Charbonneau - GM Vladimir Georgiev: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Krush - IM Young: 0 - 1
GM Nikola Mitkov - IM Eugene Perelshteyn: 1/2 - 1/2
WGM Rusudan Goletiani - IM Stanislav Smetanin: 1/2 - 1/2

All games completed. Now onto entering into Chessbase

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Round 1 Results

2006-01-09T12:41:00.000-06:00

Games will be posted after the round is over.

GM Georgiev - GM Mitkov: 1/2 - 1/2
IM Perelshteyn - GM Blehm: 1 - 0 (flag fall)
IM Finegold - IM Krush: 1/2 - 1/2 (repetition of position - tense game)
IM Young - WGM Goletiani: 0 - 1
IM Smetankin - IM Charbonneau: 1/2 - 1/2 (long drawn out game)

Now off to entering games...

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

And they're off!

2006-01-09T11:23:00.000-06:00

Round 1 is underway. Given the lack of arms and eyes only 2 games are being relayed.

Pictures will be posted after the round along with games.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

What's that phrase?

2006-01-06T21:35:00.000-06:00

'When an irresistable force meets an unmoveable object'?

I may be wrong on the exact wording of the phrase but this is what it's going to feel like starting on Monday.

The question becomes exactly how much force will be applied from the get go. Will the norm seekers go for the jugular immediately from Round 1 to secure their norm as quickly as possible? Or will they be slow and paced?

They can't play for all draws - that's only 4.5 points (ok WGM Goletiani can employ this technique but a miscalculation can throw a monkey wrench in the works). At a minimum they need to win 3 and draw 6.

It would be great to know which scalps each player has in mind. Who are they targeting?

At the beginning of each round I will put up my predictions. We'll see how accurate I am here. I don't want to put it up before hand because I don't want the players to see it.

After games I'll try to have the players do a blog entry to give their insights.

I'll post pictures as much as possible as well.

The games will be relayed on ICC (hopefully with no problems) and I was told today that it will be on Chess.FM as well.

I wanted to give thanks to the blogs that I know are helping promote the event:

www.susanpolgar.blogspot.com
www.chessdad64.journalspace.com
www.boylston-chess-club.blogspot.com
Chess Underground - http://apresdiluvia.com/pc/

Of course there may be other blogs out there promoting the event that I don't know about. If you are please drop me a note but I want to say thank you in advance!

Until the next blog...

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Getting Closer!

2006-01-05T10:11:00.000-06:00

Slowly we get closer to the big day of Round 1. It seems like these last days just drag on. I want to get this started and let the blood bath commence.

Having 4 players each on the cusp of becoming official GM's will make for a very strenuous tournament. IMs Finegold, Charbonneau, Perelshteyn, and Smetankin have 2 norms and their FIDE ratings have been over the required 2500 mark someone during their chess careers. Of course getting their title is a matter of process - each of these players are GM caliber. As I've heard from GM and IM alike - GM is just a title. But of course it's a nice title to have.

While 6/9 seems like an achievable score keep in mind the caliber of this event. As an example each USA player has been in the US Championships, Charbonneau has held the Canadian Championships, and the list goes on. The only way to get this 'achievable score' was to ensure that average rating of opponents was high enough and that speaks for the caliber of opponents. This will not be a walk in the park!

Each of the non-GMs have taken GM scalps time and time again so there are no 'safe' bets to make. Remember back to April 2005 - FM Jan van de Mortel took the scalp of GM Nikola Mitkov, NM Pete Karagianis took the scalp of IM Andranik Matikozian (300 points rated higher), and IM Ben Finegold scalped GM Vladimir Georgiev. Anything is possible!

Now it would be this organizers dream (and potentially a chess politics nightmare) if all 7 norm seekers gain a GM norm out of this event (that would require all non-GMs beat the GMs and draw each other - so it would be a sorry state of an event for the GMs). Now I'm realistic that this won't happen however an organizer can dream!

I won't name names but I'll say 3 norms will be achieved out of this event. And I will go as far as saying the we will crown 2 new GMs out of this event (I think May is the next time FIDE reviews applications - just in time to bring them back in July for another event!). I think this is highly within the realm of reason.

I hope to see the Chicago community come out and support the players and this event. I would also like to see the chess parents of our local female players bring their daughters to the event and see 2 of the top women players in the United States - IM Irina Krush and reigning US Women's Champion WGM Rusa Goletiani. These young ladies, and many others like them, are proud examples of women excelling in chess!

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Winter Chicago FIDE Invitational Update

2006-01-04T00:18:00.000-06:00

After much work on my part and IM Angelo Young we finally secured authorization (at 12:03am CT) from Mr. Casto Abundo (FIDE Ratings Coordinator) to allow IM Young to participate in the event starting in less than 5 days!

Currently the PHI federation is excluded from FIDE however FIDE rules allows a player to participate in an event up to 3 months after the exclusion, giving time for the federation to make good with their obligations to FIDE, and not penalizing the player.

The other change is IM Young's rating - his rating dropped to 2380 from his previous rating of 2416. This does NOT change the required score for GM/IM norms - they are still at 6/9 and 4/9 respectively.

Watch out for the grudge match between IM Eugene Perelshteyn - IM Angelo Young. If you don't know why check out the Miami International tournament from December 2005.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Our First Sponsor!

2006-01-02T11:04:00.000-06:00

I wanted to take this blog entry to thank the first sponsor of FIDE Chess in Chicago - Mr. Shanker Raman who generously pledged $100 to this worthy cause. All of the participants in FIDE Chess in Chicago events thanks you, the worldwide chess community thanks you, and the organizers of these events thanks you!

Only through the generousity of sponsors such as Mr. Raman are these types of events possible. Please visit our website at www.fidechessinchicago.com and use the link on the home page to make a sponsorship pledge to FIDE Chess in Chicago. The transaction is secured through PayPal and no PayPal account is required to make your pledge.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

FIDE Chess in Chicago Website Active

2005-12-30T23:37:00.000-06:00

The FIDE Chess in Chicago website is now up and I am actively putting content up. You can visit the website at www.fidechessinchicago.com

You can find some basic information up there now on the Home Page and Info page. This blog is also linked from the website as well.

Finally you can find all games from the Spring Chicago FIDE Invitational tournament where IM Ben Finegold scored his 2nd GM norm and FM Jan van de Mortel scored his 3rd and final IM norm!

Feel free to place a link to this blog and the website on your blog/website.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Winter Chicago FIDE Invitational Update - Revised FIDE Ratings

2005-12-27T15:21:00.000-06:00

FIDE has released their updated ratings:

GM Vladimir Georgiev (MKD) - 2539 (dropped from 2547)
GM Nikola Mitkov (MKD) - 2552 (increased from 2520)
GM Pawel Blehm (POL) - 2520 (no change)
IM Ben Finegold (USA) - 2563 (increased from 2550)
IM Eugene Perelshteyn (USA) - 2521 (dropped from 2523)
IM Pascal Charbonneau (CAN) - 2495 (dropped from 2500)
IM Stan Smetankin (BLR) - 2485 (dropped from 2492)
IM Irina Krush (USA) - 2447 (increased from 2437)
IM Angelo Young (PHI) - 2416 (cannot find an entry for IM Young - something wrong with FIDEs website)
WGM Rusa Goletiani (USA) - 2378 (increased from 2358)

No change for norms:

6/9 for GM Norm
4/9 for IM Norm (only applicable to WGM Goletiani)

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Winter Chicago FIDE Invitational

2005-12-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

The Winter Chicago FIDE Invitational, held from January 9 - 13, 2006 is a closed, invitation only event where participants will have the opportunity to earn Grand Master (GM) and International Master (IM) norms. The participants for this event are as follows:

GM Vladimir Georgiev (MKD) - 2547
GM Nikola Mitkov (MKD) - 2520
GM Pawel Blehm (POL) - 2520
IM Ben Finegold (USA) - 2550
IM Eugene Perelshteyn (USA) - 2523
IM Pascal Charbonneau (CAN) - 2500
IM Stan Smetankin (BLR) - 2492
IM Irina Krush (USA) - 2437
IM Angelo Young (PHI) - 2416
WGM Rusa Goletiani (USA) - 2358

*Note - these are October 2005 ratings. The event must use January 2006 ratings which will be published prior to the event. As a result of any rating changes, the required score in the event can flucuate for achieving GM or IM norms.

The event specifics are as follows:

9-Round, Round Robin (all players play everyone once)
G/90 + 30 sec per move
2 rounds per day except for last day
Round times @ 11am and 5pm Central Time
Prize Fund - $750-500-250-125-125
4/9 points for IM norm; 6/9 points for GM norm
Location: Best Western Hotel O'hare on Higgins Rd. immediately west of Mannheim Rd.
Organizers: Sevan A. Muradian, Glenn Panner, The Illinois Chess Association

As I had stated in the previous blog I will point out some specifics in terms of rules that we must follow (all references to rules are in the FIDE Handbook found online at: http://www.fide.com/official/handbook.asp

No more than 2 rounds per day (Rule 1.13) - we have 2 rounds per day;
No more than 12 hours of play per day (Rule 1.12) - With G/90 + 30 sec per move, assuming a typical game of 60 moves an additional 30 minutes per player would be incurred resulting in a total of 4 hour games. As we are having 2 games per day we are at a total of 8 hours of play per day which is well under the limits. Additionally this time control is approved under rule 1.14a;
9 round event (Rule 1.41a) - this is the minimum number of rounds for a norm event and we meet it;
For GM norms to be available at least 3 GMs (Rule 1.45b) - GMs Blehm, Georgiev, and Mitkov are playing;
For IM norms to be available at least 2 GMs, 2 IMs and 1 GM, or 3 IMs (Rule 1.45c) - we easily meet this requirement - we have 3 GMs and 6 IMs;
At least 50% of the opponents shall be title-holders excluding Candidate Master and Woman Candidate Master (Rule 1.45a) - 100% of our players are title holders;

These are minimum rules. There are more such as 'foreign federation' requirements. This means that a specific number of opponents a norm seeker meets must be from federations outside of their own. The minimum number is 2 (Rule 1.43). Additionally a maximum of 60% of opponents may come from the norm seekers' federation and a maximum of 66% from one federation (Rule 1.44a). We don't have to worry about this problem as we have a solid mix of federations - USA, CAN, MKD, BLR, PHI, POL.

Another important rule (they are all important but I'm just highlighting things) is the average rating of opponents. This is necessary to determine for a norm seeker how many points they require to achieve the norm. Please keep in mind that this is the average rating of a players' opponents - NOT the average rating of all players. So for example to determine what the average rating of opponents is from the perspective of WGM Goletiani you would add up the ratings of her 9 opponents and divide that sum by 9. You would then take that average rating and look up in the rating tables (Rule 1.49) under 9 round events how many points she would require for an IM or GM norm. You would notice that she needs 4/9 for an IM norm and 6/9 for a GM norm (actually all players need 6/9 for a GM norm).

The pairings for the event are as follows:

A brief profile of each participant will be posted in upcoming blog entries. A tournament booklet was originally planned however it has been decided that between this blog and the website, an online journal of events will benefit the entire chess community rather than a printed one.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

FIDE? Norms? Huh?

2005-12-21T11:16:00.000-06:00

Many questions may pop into the minds of both casual and amateur chess players about this organization called FIDE, the titles they award, and the process a player goes through to gain a title. I will not go into great detail on FIDE as you can browse their website (http://www.fide.com/) and learn more about them.

FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) is the World Chess Federation (or sometimes also referred to as the International Chess Federation). They are the governing body for professional chess tournaments and titles, sanctioning everything from the titles of Grand Master to crowning World Champions.

FIDE awards various titles to players upon completion of specific requirements. Some titles only require attaining a published rating at one time in their career:

FIDE Master - 2300
Candidate Master - 2200
Woman FIDE Master - 2100
Woman Candidate Master - 2000

Other titles require an arduous process of achieving 'norms'. A norm signifies that a player has competed successfully in a sanctioned event at a specified level of playing strength. While there are exceptions to the following rules, for an event to be eligible for norms it must meet certain requirements in terms of the number of rounds, time controls, number of rounds per day, and composition of the players in terms of rating/represented federation/titles.

These rules, while in general clear, have certain points where it can be confusing to even a seasoned organizer. If you are planning to hold a FIDE event where norms will be possible I highly recommend the following book which you can find on Barnes & Noble for $25:

The Chess Organiser's Handbook - 3rd Edition - by Stewart Reuben. ISBN 1843821702.

Stewart translates the rules in a clear and concise manner. This book is just as key for an organizer or tournament director as is your local federations' rule book.

The next entry in this blog will detail the Chicago Winter FIDE Invitational tournament in January 2006 and I will display how the FIDE rules are applied.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Why hold FIDE events?

2005-12-21T09:00:00.000-06:00

A valid question that was asked of me by a friend of mine. The answer was simple in my eyes - I love chess and this is the a unique way to show it.

Sure I could go run scholastic chess events like tournaments or camps. Or I could go run amateur events (like my IL Amateur or IL Classic events). These events would help me turn a slight dollar (but I actually ran my events at break even to give as much back to the chess community as possible - I don't make a living off of chess so I can do this). But there are many great scholastic organizers like Zack Fishman (www.chesseducationpartners.com) and Yury Shulman (www.shulmanchess.com). And there many great amateur chess tournament organizers like Tim Just and Wayne Clark (www.chessforlife.com). But we are missing organizers for professional events. Simple reason is because they don't make money. Best case scenario is that you break even.

Running a FIDE norm event costs money. Done correctly you can do this for between $5-10k each. The money for this comes from one of two places - sponsors or your pocket (and in some events from entry fees). We are blessed in the Chicago area to have a plethora of chess enthusiats who do open up their wallets and sponsor professional chess. But the difference you have to pull out of your own pocket. How many organizers are willing to do that? Not many.

Expenses for FIDE norm event include at a minimum appearance fees for the GMs, prize money, rating fees (USCF and FIDE), and costs of the playing site. I like to factor in costs for a welcome and farewell dinner as well. So whatever amount is left over after I factor in all sponsorship funds is left up to me to pay out.

Do I mind? Nope.

Why? Outside of loving the mind bending game of chess:

I find it interesting to interact with the participants - I speak to a handful of them on a weekly basis on the Internet Chess Club, Instant Messenger, or e-mail;
I am building a network of chess professionals for future events - this is the 2nd event of mine that GM Mitkov, GM Georgiev, IM Finegold, IM Smetankin, and WGM Goletiani are participating in;
These small steps will allow us to increase the level of professional chess that occurs in this country. If we look at our European counterparts they always have these types of events going on - chess in general in ingrained in their culture so professional chess tournaments are a natural fit for them. Here in the U.S., chess is not ingrained in our culture so we have to take extra steps to make things like this happen.

Again, simple to me why I run these events.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian

Introduction

2005-12-20T14:17:00.000-06:00

Greetings to all fellow chess lovers!

This blog will be used follow the daily happenings at chess tournaments held in the Chicago area that offer the opportunity for players to earn 'norms' for the FIDE titles of Grand Master, International Master, Women's Grand Master, and Women's International Master.

During 2006 there are 4 events planned in the months of January, April, July, and October. These 4 events will be open only to FIDE titled players with potentially 1 wild card spot for a non-FIDE titled player at the organizers discretion.

During 2007 the goal is to hold 1 event per month as follows:

1, 1 week long tournament in January, April, July, and October open only to FIDE titled players with potentially 1 wild card spot for a non-FIDE titled player at the organizers discretion.
1, 2 weekend long tournament in Feb, May, August, and November where non-FIDE titled players holding established FIDE ratings over 2000 will have the opportunity to play alongside FIDE titled players.
2, 1 week long tournament in March and September where all participants are female players (titled and non-titled but with established FIDE ratings over 2000)
1, 1 week long tournament in December where all participants from the previous 11 tournaments will be invited back to play in

More information will be posted in upcoming blogs about these events.

I encourage you post here on this blog and to pass along the website to your chess friends.

If you wish to contribute material to this blog please send me an email at info@fidechessinchicago.com.

Good Chess to All,

Sevan A. Muradian