First Moves / Chess news from around the U.S.
FACES ACROSS THE BOARD
SINQUEFIELD CUP!
AT THE By AL LAWRENCE
RUSSELL WILSON
CINCINNATI, OHIO No overseas trip required
Wilson sat outside the front door of the Saint Louis Chess
Tom Nordeman with a group from the Masterman chess team at a surprise birthday party for him held at his assisted living facility in Philadelphia. (Top, l-r): Yuva Gambhir, 8th grade; Torin Kuehnle, 8th grade. Bottom: standing in the back row from left to right are Zach Kingsley, 8th grade; Nalin Khanna, 9th grade; Manas Narula, 8th grade; Torin Srisa Changolkar, 10th grade; Angel Hernandez-Came, 10th; and Beckett Sanderson, 8th grade. Seated next to Nordeman is Yuva Gambhir. Standing in front is Adam Serota (not a Masterman student).
Club at one of its street-side stone chess boards. “I wanted to see an elite international tournament for the first time—without having to travel to Europe.” Russell first learned chess on an overnight with a grade-school chum. “At the time, it was not a lot different from learning Parcheesi or any other game.” But Wilson got master-serious when Bobby Fischer struck a national nerve.
Now an attorney in Cincinnati, he helps organize the annual Queen City Classic (QCC) as part of the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Fund. The K-12 tournament, held at Paul Brown Stadium, attracts 700 school kids from eight states with the mission of empowering children by fostering self-esteem, sportsmanship, and critical thinking. GM Maurice Ashley, one of the commentators doing the live broadcast from the Sinquefield Cup, has dazzled the kids at the massive QCC simul. “So have GMs Gregory Kaidanov and U.S. Women’s Champ Irina Krush.
KAREN BOYD & ARCHER WATSON
ROSWELL, GEORGIA Mother and son team
JULIA R. MASTERMAN SCHOOL
The Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School was established in September 1958 as an academic magnet school for elementary school students in grades 4, 5 and 6. A junior high school program was initiated in 1959, and a senior high school was added in 1976. In 1990 Masterman was re-organized as a middle school (grades 5-8) and a high school (grades 9-12). Masterman is ranked highly in the school district of Philadelphia, and is considered one of the best college-preparatory public schools in the tri-county area. The school has twice been named a national blue ribbon school of excellence. U.S. News & World Report ranked it as the top public school in Pennsylvania in 2014, and as the 52nd in the nation. It is the alma mater of two-time U.S. Women’s Champion Jennifer Shahade and her brother IM Greg Shahade, who currently coaches the chess team that has won many national championships. Stephen Shutt continues to coach the team as he has since 1998. See more at
mastermanschool.org.
Archer learned chess when he was just three. Mom Karen followed up by arranging for Life Master David Vest to tutor Archer and seven other homeschooled students. At his first rated event, the kindergarten section of the 2014 National K-12 Championship in Orlando, Florida, Archer turned in the best performance of any unrated player, tying for fourth place. Now six, he easily makes the US Chess top- 100 under-seven list. Mom followed son by diving into the ratings pool in March. She’s already chalked up a dozen tournaments, including two side events with Archer at the Sinquefield Cup. Earlier in August, Archer attended the Club’s one-week summer camp. “We were coming into St. Louis for an Epsilon camp at Washington University for Archer’s older brother Holden, who excels in math,” Karen said. “So we took advantage of the time here to enroll Archer at the Club. Except for the double-blitz tournament, he won every event!”
www.uschess.org 11
PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF STEPHEN SHUTT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76