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Chess in the

Antelope Valley Chess e-Newsletter of the Antelope Valley

Vol VI No 2 Editor: Daa (day) Mahowald [email protected] http://chess4.us 1 February, 2015

Local Chess News & Photos PAGE TOPIC

2 Local chess classes and club 7-8 AV Holiday Chess Party 9 FREE Field Trips to AV Chess House 10 Chess Club to perform at AVLA Open House 13 Want to see your name in print?

State & National Chess News PAGE TOPIC

2 National Scholastic Chess Tournament – Over $100,000 in scholarships and prizes! 14 Randy Hough – Who is he? Plus info on chess activities ‘down below’

Chess Columns

PAGE COLUMNIST TOPIC 3 Transferrable Skills 5 NM Matt Mahowald AV’s National Master Matt Mahowald Analyzes a Caro 10 John Herron – author of the book Total Chess King Maneuvers (Beginner Lesson) 10 Chess Corner – chesscorner.com Rules of the Opening 14 NM Ruben Ondangan’s Chess Corner Christmas Classic

Upcoming K-8 Chess Events

PAGE EVENT WHEN 2 & 12 Presidents’ Day 11am – 3pm, February 16 2 Spring Break Chess Camp 9am – 1pm, March 23-25 2 & 4 AV-wide K-8 Chess Club 5:15 – 5:45pm, Fridays, January 9 – March 27 Still Accepting New Member!

Regular Features

PAGE FEATURE 6 AV CHESS OPPORTUNITIES 11 CHESS FUNNIES 9, 12, 13 Please check out our advertisers

Quick Survey

In the January 1, 2015 issue of this newsletter, we asked:

If we held a Memorial Day chess event, would you and/or your child be likely to participate? Yes No

Please email your response today, to: [email protected] Please make the email’s subject line: Memorial Day

Because no one responded to the survey, the AV Chess HouseAV Chess HouseAV Chess HouseAV Chess House will not schedule any Memorial Day weekend activities. However, groups and individuals can schedule classes, workshops, or Field Trips to be held over that weekend. For more info or to schedule an activity: [email protected]

zazzle.com.au/

EDITOR’S NOTE: It is with apologies that this issue is 5 days late. Your editor spent those days in the AV Hospital but is now recovering.

Chess in the Antelope Chess e-Newsletter of the Antelope Valley Vol VI No 2 Page 2 of 14 1 February, 2015

Chess in the Antelope Chess e-Newsletter of the Antelope Valley

Vol VI No 2 Page 3 of 14 1 February, 2015

Transferable Skills



KIDS CHESS CLUB Celebrates with an End-of-Session Awards Ceremony & Party New AV-Wide KIDS CHESS CLUB sessions starts January 9!

During the KIDS CHESS CLUB end-of-session Awards Ceremony, volunteer, Ms. Dawn, presents Good Sportspeopleship spinner medallions to Shaun Ikeuchi, left, and Alex Zitser. Both are 1st Graders at Gregg Anderson Academy of Palmdale. The next session of the KIDS CHESS CLUB runs January 9 through March 27. There’s still time to join the club and give your children hands-on chess fun. ALL ability levels, from Beginner through Advanced will be provided with skill-appropriate lessons.

17 youngsters were in the KIDS CHESS CLUB Fall Session which met 5:15-6:45pm on Fridays from October 3 – December 19. On the last day, 1st through 3rd Place Overall went to, from left, Owen McCoy, a 2nd Grader at iLEAD Charter School of Lancaster, Matthew Marchand, an 8th Grade homeschooler from Lancaster, and Gavin Krohman, a 2nd Grader at Dos Caminos.



AV’s National Master Matt Mahowald Analyzes a Caro

(2) Fabiano Caruana (2801) − Maxime Vachier−Lagrave (2768) [B12] Sinquefield Cup Saint Louis USA (2), 28.08.2014 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 Qb6 Diagram

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[6...cxd4 Fritz7 doesn't like Qb6. Commenters call Qb6 sharp 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.c4 Nbc6 9.Qa4] 7.Nc3 Nc6 8.0-0 Qxb2 9.Qe1 Diagram

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[The normal move is 9.Nb5 ] 9...cxd4 The surprise move is

15.g4! (some 6 moves later). How could white know the

moves? turns out there are not that many variations. once

black does cxd4, the rest is mostly forced. [9...0-0-0 Is fine,

but looks bad.] 10.Bxd4 Nxd4 11.Nxd4 Bb4 12.Ndb5

[possible is 12.Rb1 Bxc3 13.Rxb2 Bxe1] 12...Ba5 [Rybka likes

12...Bxc3 But I'm not surprised that a GM does not.] 13.Rb1

Qxc2 14.Rc1 Qb2 15.g4!

Diagram

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And we are here! Its not that this position is good for white (or the computers would see it), its that its really hard to play as black. 15...Bg6 16.f4 Be4 17.Rf2 Diagram

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17...Nh6? [And if black plays 17...Qb4 Black is up .4, but he has used up most of his time.] 18.Bd3! The first move that White had to think on. White is now up .5 18...Qb4 19.Rb1 Qc5 20.Nxe4 dxe4 [20...Bxe1 21.Nxc5 Bxf2+ 22.Kxf2 And black is still loosing] 21.Qxa5 And the game is basically over, White only had to play 3 moves!. 21...0-0 22.Be2 e3 23.Rff1 Rfc8 24.Qe1 Qd5 25.Rb2 f6 26.Qg3 fxe5 27.fxe5 Rf8 28.Rxf8+ Rxf8 29.Qxe3 Nf7 30.Nc3 1-0 When Grandmasters play, they focus on getting a winning advantage, often by giving opportunity for a bad, but not loosing game

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Chess in the Antelope Valley Chess e-Newsletter of the Antelope Valley


AV CHESS OPPORTUNITIES

FOR ALL AGES USCF-rated Monthly 4 RD SWISS Tournament 10am – 3pm, 2nd Sunday-of-every-month USCF-rated, LOC AV Chess House. PZ 1st

Place 50% of combined entry fee, 2nd Place 25% FEE $10 if pd at least 10 days prior; $15 if email registered 3 days prior, $20 if email registered at least 1 hour prior. RDs 10:10; 11:20; 12:30; 2:00 USCF req. CONTACT: [email protected]

AV Checkmate Sunday Tournaments 2pm – 7pm 1st & 3rd Sundays. PZ TBA. REG at door. RDs TBA. USCF req. CONTACT: [email protected] 661-917-7628

Unrated Monthly 3 RD Chess Tournament 10am – 2pm, 1st-Saturday-of-every-month. LOC AV Chess House FEE $7. PZ 1st Place $15, 2nd Place $10. RDs 10:15, 11:30, 12:45. CONTACT: [email protected]

Improve Your Chess Play with Private Lessons Individual and small-group private chess lessons for Beginners, Beyond Beginners, and Intermediates of all ages. LOC AV Chess House. CONTACT: [email protected]

Bring Chess to Your Client Base Whether you work with seniors, preschoolers, families, special-needs populations, etc. The AV Chess House can provide a chess program tailored to your needs. CONTACT: [email protected]

Get Your “Chess Match” USCF-rated Only $1/person/game. CONTACT: [email protected]

FOR KIDS

Kids Chess Club (Winter) 5:15 – 6:45pm, Friday’s January 9 – March 27!

Spring Break K-8 Chess Camp 9am – 1pm, March 23-25!

President’s Day - Chess-O-Rama 11am – 3pm, Monday, February 16th!

Girl Power Chess Camp Chess learning experience for K-8 girls, all skill levels Details coming soon!

Have a Chess Match with Another School Several Scholastic Chess Clubs in the Antelope Valley are eager to hold a Chess Match with other Scholastic Chess Clubs in the AV. If your school is looking for a Chess Match, CONTACT: [email protected]

Boy Scout Chess Merit Badge To earn a Boy Scout Chess Merit Badge or Cub Scout belt with Ms. Daa, CONTACT: [email protected]

Start a Chess Club at Your Child’s School Students who participate in a once-a-week Chess Club reap numerous benefits, especially improvement in math and reading skills. To learn how to start a CHESS CLUB, CONTACT: [email protected]

FOR ADULTS

Chess Club 1 – 4pm Thursdays. LOC AV Senior Center, 777 West Jackman St, Rm 105, Lancaster Free, casual chess CONTACT:

Casual Chess at Starbucks A free, casually-organized group of chess players meets at different Antelope Valley Starbucks at a variety of days and times. CONTACT: John Buck 661-816-1423 or Christian Mercado 661-406-0798

Because this monthly e-newsletter has over 1750 subscribers, it's a great outlet to advertise your products or services, whether or not they're chess related!

(Non-profits pay half price for any ad.)



AV Holiday Chess Party

Almost 50 Antelope Valleyans dropped in during the AV Holiday Chess Party, 12-4 pm, 12/29/14. Even USCF National Master Ruben Ondangan dropped in for a few games. He even gave an impromptu analysis discussion!

Arrow points to NM Ruben Ondangan as he leads an analysis discussion. At various times, the youngsters challenged Ms. Daa to a game or three.

Others played on the HUGE chess set . . .

. . . or challenged each other on the Jumbo set. However, much more than chess went on at the AV Holiday Chess Party! Go to page X to see a photo array of those activities which included X-box, Mouse Trap, Upwords, Harry Potter Chess, etc.



AV Holiday Chess Party (continued from page 7)

Along with lots of chess, those who partied at the December 29 AV Holiday Chess Party enjoyed the variety of non-chess choices available, such as . . .

. . . Upwords (a scrabble-like game where you build words both vertically and horizontally) . . .

and air hockey . . .

. . . Mouse Trap (left) . . . X-box on a huge projector screen (bottom left) . . . Harry Potter Chess (below) . . . as well as a variety of other board and card games (below). Even chess players’ non-chess playing family members enjoyed these activities as well as conversation. Several new friends exchanged contact information so as to stay in touch.



Is your group or organization looking for a fun, hands-on activity? The AV Chess AV Chess AV Chess AV Chess

HouseHouseHouseHouse invites groups to schedule a visit. Up to 20* Chess Adventurers can come to the HouseHouseHouseHouse for a presentation of chess including a 90-minute, fun, hands-on Chess Adventurer workshop! No previous chess knowledge required. Groups which have taken - or are scheduled to take - this free field trip include:

- school groups - preschool groups - Girl Scout troops - Cub Scout troops - Seniors - Group Home residents - Afterschool Child Care - etc.

To schedule your free field trip or for more information, email [email protected]

* If the group includes children, add one chaperone for every 4 children * Groups of less than10 Chess Adventurers pay $2 apiece.

Our Kindergartener Curriculum includes academic enrichment through chess!

Field Trip to the AV Chess HouseAV Chess HouseAV Chess HouseAV Chess House!

*

chesscorner.comchesscorner.comchesscorner.comchesscorner.com



19 of 43

Lessons from Total Chess

by John Herron

King Maneuvers (Beginner Lesson)

The king is your most valuable piece. The king can never be captured, but you lose the king and you lose the game when you get checkmated. You must be very careful when you maneuver your king. It must be kept safe from checkmate at all times. One of the best ways to keep your king safe is to castle. This puts your king behind a protective wall of pawns, shielding it from attack. After you castle, try not to move the pawns in front of your king, unless you have to. Every time you move

one of these pawns, you weaken your king’s safety a little bit. If you move too many of these pawns, they will no longer protect your king and it will become exposed to attack. When should you move your king? Should it always stay on the back row and never move? Early in the game, the king should generally not move, but there are times when you need to move your king. King maneuvers can help you defend your king, and they can sometimes help you attack with your king.

Rules of the Opening The Opening of the game is the beginning phase. It is when you are trying to control the centre of the board and get your chess pieces out from their starting positions to more aggressive posts. In his excellent book, The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings, Ruben Fine gives ten rules to bear in mind when starting a game of chess: 1. Open with either the e or d pawn - it is these pawns which stake a claim in the centre. 2. If possible try to develop your pieces so that they threaten something or make it difficult for your opponent to

develop. 3. It is generally a good idea to develop knights before bishops. This is because it is generally easier to see where your

knights should go as they have less choice of good squares than bishops. 4. When you develop your pieces do not move them to a square which can easily be attacked by your opponent and

consequently drive your chessman to another square. Try to move each piece only once in the opening. 5. In the opening make only one or two pawn moves, no more. 6. Do not bring your Queen out too early as it can be chased around the board by enemy pieces and you will lose

valuable time and fall behind in development. 7. Bring your King to safety by castling as soon as possible and preferably on the king's side. 8. Play to get control of the centre of the chessboard. The centre consists of the squares d4, d5, e4 and e5. 9. Always try to keep at least one pawn in the centre of the chessboard. 10. Do not sacrifice (give away your pieces) without a good reason. For example, a good reason to sacrifice a pawn might

be to get ahead on development, to prevent your opponent from castling, to build up a strong attack or to deflect your opponent's Queen.

While it is normally a good idea to follow the above rules remember that there are always exceptions [as long as there is a good reason to break the rule]. To summarize, in the Opening: Control the centre Develop your pieces Castle as soon as possible

From the book, “TOTAL CHESS: Learn, Teach and Play the Easy 1-2-3 Way,” by John Herron, copyright 2011, reprinted with permission from the publisher.

Chess FunniesChess FunniesChess FunniesChess Funnies Chess Tactics Workbook (4th edition)

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Retail Price $15 Bulk Price $13 Sale Price at the AV Chess House $10

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Chess helps students learn how to answer these questions:



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Want to see your name in print?

by Daa Mahowald (editor of the Chess in the Antelope Valley e-newsletter)

[email protected]

Want to see your name in print? This e-newsletter will happily oblige! Just submit some chess news with an Antelope Valley tie. For example, if you live in the Antelope Valley, write about a chess tourney you played in, even if it wasn’t held in the AV. Or, if you’re NOT from the Antelope Valley but you played in a tourney here, write about that. Including one or two notated games would be great! There are lots of other ways to get a byline in the Chess in the Antelope Valley e-newsletter. Write a book review on any chess book published on or after January 1, 2000. Write a family-friendly fiction story with a chess theme. Submit an original chess joke or cartoon. Interview a local chess champion (names and contact info can be provided by this newsletter’s editor). Give a first-person account of how you earned your Girl Scout Creativity Badge through chess or your Boy Scout Chess Merit Badge. Write an essay on “Why I Love Chess” or “How Chess Has Improved my Life” or . . . In other words, just about any contribution to this newsletter will enable you to see your name in print although you might want to run your idea past this newsletter’s editor at [email protected] before you put a lot of work into it.

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ANTELOPE VALLEY ’S NM Ruben Ondangan’s CHESS CORNER

Randy Hough

According to Wikipedia, Randall Hough (born 1946) is a chess expert, and a former member of the Executive Board of the United States Chess Federation. Randy Hough is an active chess player, and former chess master. He has been a National Tournament Director since 1985, having directed several national championships (including the US Open, US Championship, and National High School), and an International Arbiter since 1989. He served as technical director in the USCF office, 1983–86, on the Executive Board (1990–93, 2006–09), and has chaired several USCF committees. He is also an organizer, Southern California Federation board member, president of his local club, has taught chess in the public schools, has published dozens of articles in Chess Life, and serves as secretary/treasurer of the Chess Journalists of America. Randall is a Vietnam veteran. With a BA from University of California, Berkeley and an MA from University of California, Riverside, he was a government affairs representative for the City of Los Angeles before retiring in 2005. Hough says, “Our complete 2015 calendar, as well as a catalogue of the hundreds of books in our lending library, can be found on our webpage: http://www.tim-thompson.com/pasadena.html ”

The Antelope Valley Checkmate's 5th Edition of the Christmas Classic !!! An annual tradition Open: IM John Daniel Bryant took clear first with 4/4 ! 2nd to 5th placer NM Ruben Ondangan, NM Pablo Pena, Experts Fernando Sevilla and Julia Sevilla. In the Under 1600, Gia Peterson scored 3.5/4 to run away with the 1st place trophy, tied for 2nd-3rd were Christian Mercado and Chris Hamilton. Congrats to all!

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