TABLE OF CONTENTS: February, 2007

• 02.28 - 2006 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 10 RESULTS
• 02.27 - FORMER IDAHO CHAMPION RECEIVED FIDE GRANDMASTER TITLE
• 02.26 - 2007 TWIN FALLS NEW YEAR INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT ROUND THREE
• 02.26 - G/10 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULED FOR TWIN FALLS MARCH 9
• 02.23 - OBITUARY - DAVID BISHOP REYNOLDS
• 02.20 - BOISE CHESS CLUB WEBSITE
• 02.20 - HANS MORROW WINS IDAHO CLOSED
• 02.20 - 2006 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9 RESULTS
• 02.09 - 2006 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHP ROUND 8 RESULT
• 02.07 - 2007 TWIN FALLS NEW YEAR INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO
• 02.05 - 2006 ICU CHAMPIONSHIP ¼ FINAL MATCHES
• 02.02 - 2007 BOISE WINTER INVITATIONAL RESULTS
• 02.02 - MARTIN WINS 2007 JOYCE’ JANUARY THAW
• 02.01 - 2007 MAGIC VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP

02.28 - 2006 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 10 RESULTS

Posted: 2007.02.08

By: Barry Eacker

TWIN FALLS -- Dan Looney of Meridian is still clinging to the slightest of leads in the 2006 Twin Falls City Championship. Looney retains the lead with 7.5/9, but Garrett Reynolds of Twin Falls is cruising now and is at 7.5/10 after a pretty 19 move win against Gary Dugger that featured a double Rook sacrifice to deflect the white Queen.

Fred Bartell of Twin Falls is back on track after winning his third game in a row and now stands in third place with a 6.0/10 tally.

Jeff Roland of Boise is close behind with 5.5/8, looking at a possible 8.5. Barry Eacker of Twin Falls comes in at 5.5/10 and out of the running. Behind Eacker sits Hugh Myers of Boise at 5.0/7 and can win the event if he runs the table.

Rounding out the field is Don Shouse of Hansen with a respectable 5.0/9, Quay Marshall of Hagerman (4.0/8), Gary Dugger of Twin Falls (2.5/7), Aleksander Veryschagin of Twin Falls (2.5/9), Andrew Bortz of Twin Falls (1.0/9) and Steven Olson of Jerome (0.0/8)

Results for the evening were:

1. Myers - Olson (rescheduled)
2. Eacker - Looney (1 - 0)
3. Dugger - Reynolds (0 - 1)
4. Marshall - Roland (rescheduled)
5. Veryschagin - Bartell (0 - 1)
6. Shouse - Bortz (1 - 0)

Several make-up games need to played as soon as possible and the players involved need to contact their opponents and complete the games at their earliest convenience. Games are as follows:

• Shouse vs. Dugger (RD 7)
• Dugger vs. Veryschagin (RD 8)
• Roland vs. Myers (RD 8)
• Looney vs. Myers (RD 9)
• Olson vs. Dugger (RD 9)
• Bortz vs. Marshall (RD 9)
• Myers vs. Olson (RD 10)
• Marshall vs. Roland (RD 10)

02.27 - FORMER IDAHO CHAMPION RECEIVED FIDE GRANDMASTER TITLE

Posted: 2007.02.27

By: Nomen Nescio

TORINO, ITALY -- 1981 Idaho State Champion Yge Visser, who at the time of his championship was a foreign exchange student from the Netherlands, was given a conditional FIDE Grandmaster title at the 77th FIDE Congress at Torino, Italy in May, 2006. The title was conditional upon Visser's obtaining the 2500 FIDE rating level. He has since reached that rating and so now unconditionally holds the Grandmaser title.

Visser’s title is somewhat unusual because he achieved the title during his 40s.

A rather interesting website with information about Visser is Wild Knights.

02.26 - 2007 TWIN FALLS NEW YEAR INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT ROUND THREE

Posted: 2007.02.26

By: Nomen Nescio

TWIN FALLS -- Round three results for the Twin Falls New Year Invitational Tournament.

• Jennifer Stevens vs. Caleb Marshall (rescheduled)
• Niamh Kelly vs. Carlos Arenz (0 - 1)
• Chris Viveros vs. Kendall Jorgensen (1 - 0)

Round four was scheduled for Monday, January 26, 2007; however, the entire round has been rescheduled for play at a later date due to conflicts. Round four pairings are:

1. Caleb Marshall vs. Niamh Kelley
2. Kendall Jorgensen vs. Jennifer Stevens
3. Carlos Arenz vs. Chris Viveros

02.26 - G/10 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULED FOR TWIN FALLS MARCH 9

Posted: 2007.02.26

By: Nomen Nescio

TWIN FALLS -- A Game/10 tournament will be sponsored on Friday evening, March 9, 2007 at the Obenchain Center in Twin Falls. This event will start at 7:00pm and consist of six or eight rounds. This event is sponsored by Dan Looney. No entry fee required.

02.23 - OBITUARY - DAVID BISHOP REYNOLDS
June 3, 1934 - January 24, 2007

Posted: 2007.02.23

By: Nomen Nescio

DURANGO, COLORADO -- Former Idaho State Closed Champion David Bishop Reynolds died in Durango, Colorado on January 24, 2007. He was 72 years old.

Reynolds was born on June 3, 1934 in Battlecreek Michigan. He started playing chess at the age of 12 and won both the Lansing City and Michigan Junior Championships at an early age.

Reynolds was an associate professor of sociology at Idaho State University in Pocatello from 1968 to 1972. Professor Reynolds ended with a 4-1 score in the 1969 Idaho Open and tied for first place with Wolfgang Freeze; However, Freeze' tie-breaks were higher and during those years the state title was not shared, but awarded on tie-breaks. Reynolds and Glen Buckendorf tied for first place with identical 4-1 scores in the 1971 Idaho Closed; however, this time Buckendorf lost out on tie-breaks.

Reynolds achieved a master’s rating as an adult and had other significant chess achievements. He won the Ohio state championship in addition to his Idaho title and also played in simultaneous exhibitions with Bobby Fischer and Samuel Reshevsky.

Mr. Reynolds underwent a cardiac double-bypass operation in 1996; however, this did not stop his chess activity. His last event was the John Mical Memorial Melee in Durango last December -- he win his section with a score of 8½-2½ score.

This game is the one that likely won the 1971 Closed title for Reynolds.

02.20 - BOISE CHESS CLUB WEBSITE

Posted: 2007.02.20

By: manager@boisechessclub.org

BOISE -- The Boise Chess Club website is now open for acccess. The Forum tab on the horizontal menu will take you to a feedback forum. The Shout Out forum page is used for Boise area residents to say hello and write a little about themselves. the Proposed Upcoming Events forum page lets you discuss what kind of events you would most like to hold and add events you might like to try. You must register a name to post to the forums and should be over 13-years old.

The Chess Club Blog tab on the horizontal menu will allow local players to post their own chess news. Registration will be by request.

If there is no feedback, then the Boise Chess Club will most likely remain closed.

Website: Boise Chess Club

Contact: manager@boisechessclub.org

Phone: 703-9698 (voice mail box)

02.20 - HANS MORROW WINS IDAHO CLOSED

Posted: 2007.02.20

By: Nomen Nescio

BOISE -- The 2007 Idaho Closed Championship was won by Hans Morrow of Pocatello with a 5½-½ score. Patrick Flynn, Boise and Daniel Taylor, Eagle, finished 2nd-3rd with scores of 4½-1½.

This event was held at Horizon Elementary School in Boise on Feburary 17-19, and was directed by Jeffrey T Roland and Barry D Eacker.

This year’s tournament was much stronger than last year’s event in Pocatello with 2 experts and 5 Class-A players participating. Attendance was also up over last year’s 29 player event.

The Susan Polgar Chess Blog had a post about the tournament and the local Fox televison station KTRV-Boise/Nampa/Caldwell also had a nice piece with lots of telegenic kids.

02.20 - 2007 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 9 RESULTS

Posted: 2007.02.20

By: Barry Eacker

TWIN FALLS -- Dan Looney of Meridian is still maintaining his lead in the 2006/2007 Twin Falls City Championship with 7.5/9 despite suffering his first loss of the tournament. Looney was defeated by Barry Eacker in a game that was all about position and time trouble. Garrett Reynolds is right on Looney's heels, picking up wins over Quay Marshall and Aleksander Veryschagin the last two rounds and now stands at 6.5/9.

Jeff Roland is now 5.5/8 after a draw with Eacker in round 9. Eacker is at 5.5/10, but the real danger to the leaders is Hugh Myers with a cool 5.0/7 with four rounds left to play. If he wins out, 9.0 will be hard to beat. All of Myers games have been decisive so far and he is currently riding a four game winning streak.

Fred Bartell resides right behind Myers with a 5.0/9 tally and is playing well of late with wins over Eacker and Shouse the last two rounds. Quay Marshall and Don Shouse are both sitting at fifty percent with 4.0/8 marks. Rounding out the field is Gary Dugger (2.5/6), Aleksander Veryschagin (2.5/8), young Andrew Bortz (1.0/8) and winless Steven Olson with 0.0/8. As make-up games are completed, the standings will likely change significantly...... stay tuned.....

02.09 - 2006 TWIN FALLS CITY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 RESULTS

Posted: 2007.02.08

By: Nomen Nescio

TWIN FALLS -- The 2006 Twin Falls City Championship continues with the results of round eight. Dan Looney has been caught atop the leader board by Garrett Reynolds -- both players having identical scores of 6 points; however, Looney still has the advantage in having one fewer in the loss column.

Jeffrey T Roland has taken over third place with a score of five points.

The following games from previous rounds are still unplayed:

• Myers vs. Shouse (round 5)
• Bortz vs. Myers (round 6)
• Reynolds vs Looney (round 6)
• Shouse vs. Dugger (round 7)
• Bortz vs. Looney (round 8)
• Dugger vs. Veryschagin (round 9)

Click the chessboard or here to play through Twin Falls City Championships Games

02.07 - 2007 TWIN FALLS NEW YEAR INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO

Posted: 2007.02.07

By: Barry Eacker

TWIN FALLS -- Jennifer Stevens continued her tactical assault on the field by defeating Chris Viveros. Kendall Jorgensen vs. Niamh Kelly saw an attack go bad by Kelly, overlooking king safety and falling to a mating attack by Jorgensen. Caleb Marshall once again had the shortest game, using only five minutes on the clock and losing quickly to Carlos Arenz. All games have been decisive so far with three wins for each color.

02.05 - 2006 ICU CHAMPIONSHIP ¼ FINAL MATCHES

Posted: 2007.02.05

By: Nomen Nescio

BOISE -- The 2006-07 Idaho Chess Union ¼ final matches continued on January 27-28 at Vellotti’s Chess Studio in Boise.

Kurt Douglas, Boise, defeated Jeffrey T Roland, also of Boise, with a score of 2½-1½. Douglas started out in a slight hole as he inadvertantly forfeited the first game of the match due to a scheduling problem.

Garrett Reynolds, Twin Falls, defeated Hugh Myers of Boise with a score of 3-1 in the second match held that weekend. Myers held his higher rated opponent to draws in the first two games; however, games three and four were wins for Reynolds.

The Hinton vs. Dugger match will be held at some time in the near future in Twin Falls.

Our chess friend Michael Henderson was unable to play his match with Janos Fucsko due to a prior committment and Fuscko now advances.

The semi-final matches will consist of Fucsko vs. Reynolds and Douglas vs. the winner of the Hinton-Dugger match.

02.02 - 2007 BOISE WINTER INVITATIONAL RESULTS

Posted: 2007.02.02

By: Nomen Nescio

BOISE -- Stewart Sutton, Boise, won the 2007 Boise Winter Invitational tournament, held on January 27-28 at Vellotti's Chess Studio, Boise, with an undefeated 3½-½ score. Coach Daniel J Vellotti, a former 3-time Idaho state scholastic champion and also of Boise, finished in clear second with an equally undefeated 3-1 score. Sutton said that Vellotti had a crushing position in their individual game; however, age and treachery overcame youth and skill and he eventually lucked into a drawish Rook and Pawn endgame.

One of the primary objectives of this tournament was to create an opportunity for some of the more promising local young players to do battle with more experienced adults. The three candidates, Luke Harmon, Sam Seiniger, and Carl Harmon aquited themselves very well. Tournament Director Barry Eacker, Twin Falls, commented concerning these young tigers:

"We were pleased to discover the playing strength of these three students Luke, Sam and Carl. I especially enjoyed my game with Sam and was impressed to see that he kept constant pressure throughout the game while pursuing the win instead of losing the thread while having material superiority as some inexperienced players are apt to do. I also learned that Luke played very well against Stewart Sutton , only losing because of a lengthy and complicated variation that would have been overlooked by many players. It is evident that Coach Vellotti has diligently sought to teach them not only the rules of the game, but respect for the game itself and the players who play it."

The Idaho Chess Union wishes to extend its gratitude for the splendid job done by Danny and Ava in hosting this tournament and opening their house and playing site to our players. It was a very nice touch for them to provide lunch both days and a virtual cornucopia of snacks and drinks during rounds.

02.02 - MARTIN WINS 2007 JOYCE’S JANUARY THAW

Posted: 2007.02.02

By: Nomen Nescio

HELENA, MONTANA -- Our Montana Chess friend, Robert A Martin, won the 2007 edition of the Joyce’s January Thaw Tournament with a score of 4½-½. This event was held on January 27-28, 2007 in Helena, Montana.

James Skovron, also of Montana, took second with a score of 4-1.

Attendance was 19 and the event was directed by Daniel J McCourt.

The Idaho Chess Union hopes that the 72nd Montana Open, to be held in Missoula on April 21-22, 2007, has a good turnout from players in the Nothern Idaho area and that a few Southern Idaho area players also make the trip to the Big Sky Country. Every Idaho player we have spoken with has enjoyed the tournaments they played in Montana.

Montana Chess Association website and tournament information.

02.01 - 2007 MAGIC VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIP

Posted: 2007.02.01

By: Barry Eacker

The Magic Valley Chess Club has announced the details for the upcoming MVCC Championship. This invitational event will be held on March 10 through 11 at the Obenchain Insurance Building Community Room, at 264 Main Ave So., Twin Falls.

This event will have two sections: Championship and Challenger. The Challenger section is for for players rated under 1400 by the Rocky Mountain Chess Rating Service; however, this limit may be raised to 1500 depending on the RSVP of the players. Tournament Director Barry Eacker said that he would like to have 12 - 16 players per section.

Players not receiving a personal invitation may request one from Barry Eacker: mol@isp.com or by calling 733-6186 or 734-2855, or leave contact information at the Idaho Chess Union voice mailbox: 703-9698.

The following players have committed to playing:

Twin Falls The winner of the CHALLENGER division earns an automatic invitation to the CHAMPIONSHIP section in 2008. Idaho State University student Azubike Emenari won the division last year with a perfect 4.0/4.

The time control for this event is: 30/120 G/60 for both sections. The use of an analog clock is preferred.

Tournament check in is between 8:30am and 8:55am on Saturday. Round times are 9:00am, 4:00am, 8:00am and 3:00pm.

Trophies for the top 3 finishers in each division will be issued. There is no entry fee for this event; however, donations are recommended to help offset tournament expenses.

This event is sponsored by the Idaho Chess Union and Magic Valley Chess Club. This event will be rated by the Rocky Mountain Chess Rating Agency and is NOT USCF rated. USCF Membership is NOT required.

Your presence is highly anticipated and appreciated. Please RSVP ASAP to: mol@isp.com or call Barry Eacker at 733-6186 or 734-2855.

Respectfully,
Barry Eacker