Columbus Chess Academy June Newsletter! |
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Greetings! Welcome to the latest edition of our chess newsletter, where we bring you the highlights, winners, and exciting events from the world of chess. In addition to the updates, present a chess puzzle for you to solve. But first, let's take a moment to remember and honor fathers on this special occasion. |
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Father's Day Remembrance
On this Father's Day, we reflect on the significant role fathers play in introducing us to the game of chess and the profound impact they have on our lives. For many of us, our fathers were our first chess opponents, mentors, and sources of inspiration.
Here is a beautiful memoir from Eric Gittrich about his father, Dennis Gittrich + a beautiful game
“Why do we play chess? Well that is a big question to unpack. I suspect there are several answers; perhaps, a sibling or a teacher introduced you to the game; maybe you were captivated by the Fischer/Spassky match. I think many may be like me and the reason is simply your father. As many of you know, my father passed away in May of 2016, and it has taken a long time to write this. If I had not taken up chess there is a part of my father I would have never understood. I have so many of my fond memories of my father. My father worked 3rd shift at parking garage and when I was a teenager, I would walk to the Convention Center and we would play or analyze till the wee hours of the morning. My father’s personality could be like a force of nature and he had a way of turning everything into a story or event. There were “dennis-isms” such as reorder your pieces, ‘speak to the issue on the board,’ or ‘here I make the Northwestern move.’ My father had more of an artist or gamblers approach to chess rather than a scientist or technicians. It was most often more important who he beat and how he beat them. He had a showman’s spirit. He was playing Edward Emanuel at the Turkey Open and took a long time on his clock to work out a forced mate in 8 and announced this to him. I do not know how he took this but he did resign on the seventh move after the announcement, one move short of mate. My dad’s first rated game he beat a master the story goes the master saw he was playing an unrated kid started to enjoy a few drinks from the hotel bar, but he played an opening my father was very knowledgeable with but he took his time so that the master would get suspicious about his familiarity with the opening and to give him time to drink more. Eventually, the master found himself in a losing position. He tried to drink coffee and sober up but it was to late—he lost to my dad. Dad would later joke that he should have quit then and been a provisionally rated master. He sometimes called himself an anarchist and called the Alekhine defense “religion” I think playing the Alekhine defense was his way of waving the black flag in a chess sort of way. He loved to play some of the sharpest variations such as the Ljubojevic variation of the four pawn or the Larson variation of the Modern variation. He had original analysis in both variations, and some of his notes went out to the 25th move or so. If there was a game in either of these variations published anywhere in which black lost he would work on the game for days or even weeks to findwhere black had gone wrong or to find holes in the analysis and all without the aid of a computer! And while his analysis was not GM level by any means, he did have an impressive score against experts and masters in those variations. Some of the most cherished things I have are my dad’s score sheets. They are little glimpses into his mind and I don't think many people get something like that, so as a chess player I implore you save your score sheets! You may never play a game as beautiful or as correct as Kasparov, Tal, or Fisher, but you may not know how much they may mean to somebody down the line. Even though we all compete against each other, there is a certain comradery among chess players. I have been overwhelmed by how many of you have expressed your sympathy or shared a memory of him. Everytime I walk into a tournament hall, I feel a connection to him and you all make that possible for me. There may be states with more highly rated players, but for the quality of people, Ohio is second to none You're the best chess family i could ask for! Thank you! So get out there and play some chess! The clock is ticking, and the next round is promised to no no one.”
‘If chess is the god of games then combinations are the hymnal praise,’ Dennis Gittrich.
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A message from Kathy Lin to her Dad: Kathy wanted to thank her dad for teaching her chess at a young age and encouraging her to play in tournaments. “Love you, Dad!" |
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A message from Sneha Prabu to her Dad: Dear Dad, Thanks for showing me the world, and making me believe that I am limitless and that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. You and Mom put me in numerous classes at a very young age, hoping to find my passion. You took me to every class alternatively with mom— swimming, dancing, singing— you name it. The one that stuck though, was chess. You took me to every tournament, lesson, and you used to play and train with me for hours when I was younger. Now that I am all grown up, and I might need slightly stronger players to train with (sorry, Dad, haha! 🙂), you still ask to play a game with me when I’m upset, knowing that playing a fun, casual game where we are just laughing about blunders will cheer me up. You introduced me to something that will be my lifelong partner, and I am forever grateful for that. You have never given up on me. I am so lucky to have you, and I love you! <3 |
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Recent Tournaments Columbus Plus Score June 4: The Columbus Plus Score featured some very strong and some rising talents in Ohio. The two sections, Premier and Reserve, had fierce competition, but in the end, two players emerged clear first in their sections! Congratulations to Brett Passen (Premier winner) and Jayden Ratnayaka (Reserve winner) who scored 3.5 and a perfect 4.0 for a clean sweep in their respective sections!
Sunday in the Park June 4: Sunday in the Park is a series that everyone looks forward to— playing chess under the trees outside in nature is truly something different and enjoyable for every chess enthusiast. There were some beautiful upset wins, and congratulations to Joseph Warren Kleban who scored a perfect 5.0! Also, congratulations to Sarah Zhang who increased a whopping 130 points from 1298 → 1428! We are looking forward to seeing more of this series this summer.
Cleveland Open (June 9 - 11): Big events like the Cleveland Open, Cincinnati Open, The King’s Island Open, and more always excite Ohio Chess players. The Cleveland Open was massive and had 6 sections with a total of 216 players! In the Major section, the first two places were secured by top seeds IM Safal Bora and GM Bryan G Smith who dominated the field. Having such strong players participate events shows the sheer strength of the players.
Congratulation to all the following section winners! Major: IM Safal Bora U2100: Michael Opaska U1800: Joshua Garrow U1500: Ansagarius Aylward U1200: Ryan Mattew Yovichin
National Open (June 14-18): The 2023 National Open happened in Las Vegas from June 14th- June 18th, and was truly a treat to play in for any chess player. This tournament was featured in the Las Vegas International Ches Festival, and the playing hall was at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino with rows and rows of chessboards set up under glistening chandeliers! The tournament featured numerous unique prizes such as a replica of the Edmondson cup for the Open winner, Plus-Score Bonus, and the “Freddie.” It was truly an experience for anyone that had the chance to participate in this event. |
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Puzzle of the Day: Black to move Here's a chess problem from William Avery Parker (white) and Vinay Garg (black game in a Dublin tournament to test your skills. In the diagram below, it is Black to move and win. Can you find the winning combination? |
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Solution! Qe4!! An ingenious move seemingly sacrificing the queen. Of course if Qxe4 then Rxd1, Rxd1, Rxd1# back rank checkmate! AND if Rxd6 instead attempting to trade off the pieces than black has Qg2# utilizing the pawn on h3! |
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International Puzzle of the Day: Black to move Of course we couldn’t resist adding another puzzle! This one was from a Game between Goh Wei Ming and Nguyễn Sơn at the Olympic Escorts Series 2023. Try to find the stunning checkmate below. |
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Solution Rxh3, gxh3, Qxh3# a beautiful sacrifice paving the way for the Queen to infiltrate. Of course if you spot Qxh3, gxh3, Rxh3# bonus points to you! Who doesn’t like a class queen sac? |
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That's all for this edition of our chess newsletter. If you would like to be featured in the next edition of our newsletter shoot us an email with a brilliant game, a resourceful tactic you found, an end game you played, or more! Keep playing and enjoying the game of chess! Best regards, Columbus Chess Academy |
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