First Moves / Chess news from around the U.S.
CARL SCHLECHTER (1874-1918)
One of the top players in the world from 1900 until his death, Carl Schlechter is best remembered for his drawn world chess championship match against Emanuel Lasker in 1910. Born in Vienna, he learned the game at 16 and within five years competed in the Hastings, 1895 tournament, where he finished in the middle. In the following years, he enjoyed many major successes, including shared first place in the Munich, 1900 tournament and undisputed first place in the Ostend, 1906 and Hamburg, 1910 tournaments. Schlechter was a top chess problemist and edited the last edition of Paul Rudolf von Bilguer’s Handbuch des Schachspiels. The opening variations 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 g6 and 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. g3 (shared with Akiba Rubinstein) bear his name.
ALEXANDER SHABALOV (1967-)
Noted for his sharp and uncompromising style, Alexander Shabalov learned to play chess in his native Latvia. He immigrated to the United States in 1992, and since his arrival, he has won the U.S. Chess Championship four times (1993, 2000, 2003, and 2007). He also represented his new homeland in four chess Olympiads, including in 1998 when the team finished second. Shabalov has won many major open tournaments in the United States. These victories include first place finishes in the 1993 and 2003 U.S. Opens and ties for first in the 1999, 2007, and 2008 U.S. Opens, among victories in many other competitions. The opening sequence 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Qc2 Bd6 7. g4 is named after him.
The Shore High School Chess League
For over 30 years, a New Jersey organization has been successfully promoting scholastic chess activity. By JARRETT DEWELDE
THE SHORE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE WAS founded over 30 years ago with the mis- sion of “promoting amateur education, activity, and competition in the field of chess.” It currently has 25 teams located in the central New Jersey area and is a USCF gold affiliate (see sidebar). Throughout the season, teams play
eight regular season matches (five players per team) and the top eight teams advance to the league championship. This daylong event is held annually at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown where the winner is crowned. The Shore High School Chess League
is made up of 25 schools and over 200 players. The League is always looking to expand. If you are interested in learning
10 July 2015 | Chess Life
how to join please contact Jarrett_dewelde @
hotmail.com or shorehschessleague@
yahoo.com. This year’s final match pitted two-time
defending champion Princeton High School against High Tech High School, with Princeton coming out on top 4-1. The schools’ top players are David Hua (Princeton) and Christopher Wu (High Tech), two of the top junior players in the country. Here is their game with anno- tations by eventual winner, Wu.
Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation (B70)
David Hua (2412) Christopher Wu (2379) SHSCL 2015 Varsity Championship (3), 02.25.2015 Notes by Wu
Coming into the match, I was quite
daunted to face David Hua with the black pieces. Last year, I lost to him playing white and I was looking for revenge. That coupled with the fact that David’s rating is well above 2400 kept me on my toes.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Nc6
Already, this was a surprise to me. I
was expecting an English Opening or a queen’s pawn start, both of which offer White a solid positional base, the type of position I knew David excels at. This sharp variation of the Dragon immediately shows that White is going for an aggres- sive attack, and escaping the much deeper theory after the main line, 6. Be3.
PHOTOS THIS PAGE: COURTESY OF WCHOF. OPPOSITE PAGE: COURTESY OF NORTH SHORE CHESS LEAGUE
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