Ten Questions With New York Knight IM Jay Bonin

1. You play an unbelievable amount of chess. How many rated games on average per year? How long have you been doing this? Why? Do you study much as well? Don’t you ever get sick of chess?

Number of games.... Yea ive played an insane amount. 400 500 600 a year. Broke 700 when greg and John ran the nymasters. That was a great experience playing all those gms.
I spend so much time playing I have no time to study lol.

2. It seems likely you will be playing Denys Shmelov in the upcoming match with Boston. What do you think of him as a player? Could you name his specific strengths and weaknesses? Do you have any predictions for your individual game (result, opening, what the decisive factor will be)?

Shmelov is tough, not too many games.

3. Any predictions for the other three boards? (Assuming a line up of Naka Charbonneau Bonin you vs. Christiansen, Zamora, Shmelov, Williams)?

I am really surprised how we beat Philly by such a large margin. Were getting hot at the right moment. Boston is a tough team and they have draw odds so we have our work cut out for us.

4. Who are your favorite and least favorite USCL opponents and why? (You may answer individuals and/or teams)

Favorite team out side of us is Philadelphia. I have a good record personally but I tip my hat to them for improving so much and making it to the playoffs.

5. If you had to play for/ manage a different USCL team, which would it be and why?

I cannot see myself playing for any other team but the knights. But nowadays people move around...eg pascal from baltimore to us, Stripunsky from ny to queens.. Josh FRiedel from Boston to SF. Guess Queens would be next in line...proximity.

6. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

Preparation.... I go to Chessgames.com plus games from the uscl website.
Guess I am superstitious. We have the sword and the shield. It brings us good luck. It was missing for our first couple of matches. But we found them.... In storage downstairs. And the rest is history.

7. Of your USCL games, which is your favorite and why?

My favorite game this year is against Molner because of the sacrifice and the urgency of the situation. I also played a nice combo vs Pruess.

8. In recent years, a number of prose books about the chess world have been published. Have you read any of the following and, if so, what did you think: The Day Kasparov Quit (Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam), Chess Bitch (Jennifer Shahade), The Chess Artist (J. C. Hallman), Kings of New York (Michael Weinreb), The Art of Learning (Josh Waitzkin), King’s Gambit (Paul Hoffman), Engaging Pieces (Howard Goldowsky), How Life Imitates Chess (Gary Kasparov)?

Favorite Chess books.....Chess Bitch and Kings Gambit. I pay more attention when I know the authors lol.

9. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

Chessclub.com Uschess.org Uschessleague.com Thephtest.com Chessgames.com

10. What’s your life like outside of chess? Where do you live? What’s your apartment like? Are you still a messenger? Do you like that? Do you have any other hobbies?

Live in Ridgewood Queens for 3 years. Im a real nomad. Move around alot. A free spirit. Not working right now, but miss the courier work. It kept me limber. Hobbies... Sports, Beer, trying to learn poker.

Nineteen Questions With NM Chris Williams of the Boston Blitz

1. If you were trapped on a desert island for eternity with no possibility of rescue and could choose to have with you:

a. 5 books

b. 5 albums- Ultimate Victory, chamillionaire some others, idk I like many diff kinds of music.

c. 1 chess player –my fav ladyd.

d. 1 member of the USCF executive board -oh hell nahe.

e. 1 luxury item, -my ipod

(The island already contains a chessboard and clock)

2. Who are your favorite and least favorite USCL opponents and why? (You may answer individuals and/or teams)

I really enjoyed all of my games, I felt they were tense, like I had really strong opposition, and I have high respect for each of my opponents for putting in the effort, they were all really great games, I suppose I was most impressed all inaccuracys and anaylysis aside, with iryna zenyuks play vs me she was very methodical and took a lot of time and found a very brilliant idea (rg5) and that was quite impressive.

3. If you had to play for/ manage a different USCL team, which would it be and why?

I’m very interested in seeing many more teams emerge in the uscl, im particularly looking forward to seeing an Arizona team form I have many friends from there, through national tournaments and also Robby Adamsons Western Invitational chess camp, whom I hold in the highests esteem for all he has done for scholastic chess and my own personal improvement.

4. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

I usually find out (if possible), the icc handles of my opponents and go eco code hunting in chess base, trying to find a good preparation for that particular player, I do not mind veering off in to unfamiliar territory during the actual game in my preparation warrants me some sort of edge from the opening

5. So New York will be your opponent in the Eastern finals. You lost to Zenyuk last time. What will you do differently in this game? What do you see as her strengths and weaknesses? Percentage-wise, how do you rate your chances?

Well in our last game I really just messed up at the end, I didn’t play my fav move of all time quite possibly, I had my mouse about to release it instead I like just gave her a bishop and was lost the move was Qe6 sacking the queen for 2 pieces some pawns and tremendous dirty potential specially with her time situation. Iryna is a very strong player shes original, solid, and methodical, my game with her will be a hard one im sure I just hope I will be able to keep a consistent mind set throught the entire game.

6. What are your predictions for the other boards? (I have no inside information, but let’s assume a line up of Nakamura, Charbonneau, Bonin and Zenyuk.)

naka-draw, char loses to Necf, dennis beats bonin(maybe draw)

7. If Boston wins the Eastern finals, who do you expect to see as your opponents in the championship? How do you rate your chances against them (board by board)? Are there any specific lineups you would hope to play against?

I think our oppents would be the dallas players, I predict I would play millsits on last board and it would be a good crazy game and possibly a league championship deciding game.

8. I understand you felt unfairly passed over for the Game of the Week award several times. Which of your games do you feel is most deserving and why do you think the judges robbed you so blindly?

Idk I was just being obnoxious, but yeah I was surprised at some of their evals for game of the week especially that Hilton kid’s he seems like a nut

9. What are your upcoming otb chess tournaments/ ambitions? Do you study with anyone?

I’m going to play vegas in December the NAO where I hope to do well and maybe get the u23 prize my rating for it will be 2298, I have studied with Christensen he is a great coach and I credit him for most of my chess abilities he really helped me, I haven’t studied with him for quite some time, I just really haven’t been in the mood for lessons I just kinda have preferred lately going over GM games on chess base and various other places, its an exercise I learned from him and it really does work, kinda like doing push-ups the benefit is seen long term.

10. If you could change any one USCF or FIDE rule, which one would it be and why?

I wuld get rid of the prize limit rule that was recently put into practice by bill goitchberg and his Continental Chees Association (CCA) which states that a player playing in a section may not win a prize higher than (lets say 2000 when 1st is 10k+) if their rating in the past year has exceeded 20 points over the section maximimum, in my opinion this is not the best way to get rid of sand baggers it just forces them to find alternate more sneaky routes and it punishes good honest players like my self when they genuinely deserve the prize they win, im referring of corse to this past World open in which I was entitled to a nearly 6k prize and received on 2 in the u22 section after having defeated many notorious sand baggers in tense situations, when I was technically if u go back in the msa history entitled to the prize even by their rule it was uscf who messed up my supplements and I was in fact not over 2200 for a whole year previous to the WO, the final decision tho after much discussion by the tds was to give my money to the other people I tied for 2nd with.

11. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

Oh yeah im obsessed with chess, chess ****ed up my life and if I culd go back in time I wuld never have started.

12. Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

I am a Sicilian kan player I find it an apropreitly dirty unsound opening that I have a good record with that players find hard to play against, with white I like playing chess, I do study many diff openings and feel I have a general knowlage of most and really play w.e I want with white depending on my mood.

13. If you had to name on type of ending that you are especially good at, what would it be?

i particularly like displaying the truth in chess, one way ive recently done this si by beating this 2400 dude in an equal material ending in which I had Q+B vs Q+N on an open board with lots of pawns, and compter eval wuld say equal but I proved how much more powerful a bishop can be in an endgame vs a knight technically.

14. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

Uschess.org Uscl.org ICC Brads Blog Boylston Blog, just cuz I get the most info about chess from them.

15. What’s your life like outside of chess? You probably graduated high school last spring? Going to college? Working? Studying chess full-time? Living with parents? Friends? Where?

I live at home and I graduate this year, going to college next year not sure where yet, weel see

16. Any thoughts on Kasparov’s recent appearances on Colbert or Maher?

I think all these tv programs do their best to discredit him, one example that most upset me was his appearance on channel 2 (GBH) a cuple years back in which they refered to him under his face on the screen as “former chess master, garry kasparov, that kind of ignorance by ******* out side the chess world has always been a thorn in my tush and very upsetting to me, it really discredits all the hard work and stress that chess players go thru day by day.

17. In recent years, a number of prose books about the chess world have been published. Have you read any of the following and, if so, what did you think: The Day Kasparov Quit (Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam), Chess Bitch (Jennifer Shahade), The Chess Artist (J. C. Hallman), Kings of New York (Michael Weinreb), The Art of Learning (Josh Waitzkin), King’s Gambit (Paul Hoffman), Engaging Pieces (Howard Goldowsky), How Life Imitates Chess (Gary Kasparov)?

Ick I hate chess journalists specially mig greengard, I think icc was dumb to replace paschal with him as chief web caster his a complete dunce.

18. What are your thoughts on the Krasik- Bournival war? Do you feel, for example, that “Ham Sandwich” is comparable in quality to “Chris is Awesome”?

I really am not going to go into this, ill just say I wish it would end because I am good friends with both of them.

19. If you could hand pick any seven people to serve on the USCF executive board, who would they be?

Well I don’t particularly belive in all the boards comitee nonsense that goes on, but I suppose prolly my closest chess friends who I trust to make the chess world a better place in the US.

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If you got this far, you will want to listen to this:

http://bradenbournival.com/chris_is_awesome.php

A Conversation With GM Julio Becerra of the Miami Sharks

You are playing in the Spice Cup. How’s that going? Who do you think is going to win?

It's a very nice tournament. Susan has done a good job. I think its hard to say who will win because there are many people here who are about the same strength.

You have an incredible personal record in the USCL, winning MVP two years straight. Why do you think you play so well in the league?

I think I try to do the best for my team. I like to play team tournaments.

Of all your games this year, which are you proudest of?

Probably the one with Stripunsky. He played a strange line of the Paulsen with Ne7-c6. He wants to trade knights on d4 and bring the other knight to c6. So I played 7. Nb3 to avoid this. Then the idea to sac the pawn on e5 and play f5 is something typical… it leads to a very strong attack for white. In the end 27. Rd1 was very nice because he can take my queen but then it's mate on d8.

Describe your preparations for USCL games.

I never go early to the club because I think maybe if I go early I will get a bit tired. Also, on that day, I don’t teach any lessons because it's important not to be tired for the game. It's important to be serious for the team.

Aside from yourself, who or what do you think are the keys to Miami’s success?

I think for sure the 4th boards are playing very well in the last 4 – 5 games. They've scored many points.

Do you help the third and fourth boards with opening preparation?

Usually they don’t have time to prepare because they are coming straight from work. The one I can prepare more is Marcel.

How do you choose the lineups each week?

I think we going to play with the same team for the rest of the season. Before, Blas was unavailable to play, but I think it's clear that the best team is with Marcel playing 3rd board.

In your earlier match this season, Dallas beat Miami. Any plans to make sure this does not happen again?

We going to try to prepare, to do the best for this time. I think anyone can win. It's like in baseball: the important thing is to be in the playoffs. Once you are there, anything can happen.

If you make it to the finals, would you rather face New York or Boston? Why?

I think I want to play New York because, well, ... it's always fun to play against Nakamura.

Do you mean you want to face New York because you personally like playing Nakamura, or do you mean you think Miami has better chances against New York?

Oh, I think we probably have more chances against Boston. Just because if it's 2-2 and goes to the tiebreak, it will be very hard to beat Nakamura in blitz.

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If you could choose the next USCL expansion team, which city would you choose, which players would you draft, and why?

The first one for sure is LA. They have a lot of good players: Akobian, Melikset Khachiyan, there are people there from Armenia who are very good players. Oh, and Taylor lives there too.

Do you have dreams about chess?

Sometimes, when I sleep I dream that I make 2600 and make the American team.

That's a dream you have when you are sleeping or when you are awake?

Both.

How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess?

It's different every time, but usually 4-6 hours per day.

What do you do exactly when you study?

A few different things: every Monday I download TWIC: I play through the games, check my openings there. Also I have a friend of mine who tells me some positions-- like checkmates in 2-- that I have to solve blindfold. These are positions with all the pieces on the board, usually from the book by Polgar's father. It's very useful training.

Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

The Ruy Lopez with both white and black. I enjoy it and I have good results with that opening.

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If you had to pick name on type of ending that you are especially good at, what would it be?

Queen endings. I’ve had a lot of queen endings and I think I play them ok. Maybe its because there are many tactics.

Ok, last question: If you were trapped on a desert island for eternity with no possibility of rescue and could choose to have with you:

a. 5 books? One year ago I could not say this answer but I've started to read a lot. I read quite a few books in the past years and I liked it. The Secret (Rhonda Byrne), The Alchemist (Paulo Coelhe), The Painted Veil (Somerset Maugham), and then two chess books: Korchnoi's Chess Is My Life and Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.

b. 5 albums? I like romantic music... in English? ... Air Supply

c. 1 chess player? Anand

d. 1 luxury item? I'd take a baseball; I love baseball very much. A-Rod is my favorite player.

Interview With Me by Ray Cheng*

* author of the fabulous Winning Chess Exercises

So in the comments to my last interview, Ray Cheng posted the questions below for me to answer. It's after midnight, so chances are good I will regret this in the morning, but for the faithful late night readers, here goes:

1. What is it that you enjoy most about chess? Is it the excitement of competing in tournaments; the thrill of winning; the aesthetic pleasure of seeing a well played game or a great move; opportunities for friendship and travel; making insecure male players feel even more inadequate?

Lots of reasons… it’s the only thing I don’t get bored with… it’s the only time I feel truly relaxed -- of course sometimes it’s nerve wracking—but when you are sitting there, you have lots of time, you lose yourself in some problem to solve, that makes me very happy. It’s the only time I don’t feel like there is something else I ought to be doing instead… I have a lot of friends in the chess world, and I like having friendships with people that are based around a shared interest… I admire people who are passionate about something as pure as chess.

2. If you didn't have a career in chess (including teaching, journalism, and playing for the Knights), what would you be doing instead? Assume you had another lifetime to start anew.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a mathematician. It’s hard for me to imagine a life other than the one that happened to me…. I guess I’m not much of a people person, although I’m learning to be one, but in the meantime, this weakness rules out a lot of careers….

3. How long have you hated puppies? What sort of music do you enjoy? Dislike? What are your "desert island" CD selections?

Are those questions really grouped? The anonymous person who said I hated puppies was really Greg Shahade. He was just mocking the guy who posts the nasty stuff on my blog. I’m very boring about music—I like a few things and listen to them over and over. Currently:

Interpol, Our Love to Admire;

Iron and Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days;

Tori Amos, Scarlet’s Walk;

Leonard Cohen, Greatest Hits;

Blonde Redhead, 23.

Also, without specific albums: Magnetic Fields, Massive Attack, Buddha Bar CDs, Suzanne Vega, Sinead O’Connor, Wilco. Music I dislike: a lot of stuff. My boyfriend sets his player to random and it drives me crazy.

4. A quantized entropy fluxoid has disrupted the fabric of the space-time continuum. Do you (a) reverse the polarity of the positronic wave matrix; (b) wrap your head in a damp towel and down a gin and tonic; (c) other (specify). Suppose you have 24 hours of free time - what would you do for amusement?

Um…. this question reminds me of a conversation I had with the random-music-playing boyfriend when we first started dating. We were at some tournament, were walking down this wide tree-lined street towards the art musuem in Philly, for some reason we never got there, but I was telling him about a dream I had where I felt really watched, and I said to him something like “how much time do you think about other people, and how often do you wonder if they think about you?” (it was more specific, honestly, but I don’t want to get into the details) and he replied, “I don’t think about things like that; I think about things like the fabric of time.” Looking back now, it seems like a fairly uncharacteristic remark by him, but at the time it really struck me. I thought, “wow, I feel like such a girl right now.” And then I thought, "maybe I should be more serious and less vain."

If I had 24 hours of free time? I love studying chess. I like running, but only if I can watch my favorite tv shows at the same time. I love the feeling of running, but it really bores me also. I love sleeping. I like wandering around New York. I like just sitting around, doing nothing. Mostly I’m happy when I’m either totally interested in something or hanging out with one of the 4 or 5 people I really really like.

5. What is your favorite TV show? Favorite movies? Favorite breakfast cereal?

TV: 24, La Femme Nikita, Law and Order: SVU, Twin Peaks, Daily Show and Colbert Report except I don't have cable.
Movies: English Patient, Clue, Closer, but there are lots of great movies.
Breakfast Cereal: Raisin Bran for serious mornings, Golden Grahams for silly mornings and very late nights

6. If you could invite any 3 characters (real or fictional, living or once living, historical or hysterical) to play a round of golf with you, which course would you play? Oh, and who would these 3 characters be?

Could it be minigolf?
The narrator from any Murakami novel.
The narrator from Absurdistan.
Greg Shahade

7. Have you ever killed another human being? What about with your bare hands? What sports do you enjoy doing? What sports do you enjoy watching?

No no no. I’m frustrated but I’m not violent.
I like running. I don’t understand sports. I’m not coordinated and I don't play well with others.
I don’t like watching sports, except for the USCL. And then only sometimes.

8. (a) Lightsaber vs. phaser. (b) Spiderman vs. Batman. (c) Kramnik vs. Anand. (d) Ginger vs. Mary Ann.

None of the above. I admire certain chessplayers for their chess alone, but neither Anand nor Kramnik do it for me. The other questions…. I’m not very pop-culture literate…. I was on a different planet when I was a kid, so I missed out on a lot of things like comics, video games, sports, old tv shows

9. What is the most hilarious or embarrassing or frightening moment you have ever experienced? What is the strangest, or most exotic, or most memorable thing you have ever eaten?

Oh, I can’t manage this…. My brain saves itself by erasing the most unpleasant memories….I try to find life funny. I believe that being happy is a conscious choice, and I try to look at everything with humor and enjoyment…. I try to get enough sleep, eat unprocessed food, be around positive people, find things funny, skip the stupid stuff, forget/ignore the bad stuff…. I’m still not great at it, but I have friends to remind me.

10. Tell us more about the hole in your leg. Is it a fashion accessory? Political statement? Medical emergency? If you could magically change your physical appearance to that of some well-known celebrity, who would that be?

Wow, well, Greg broke the news… the truth is that I have a tiny hole in the back of one knee…. I can stick a pin in about an inch ... no, that's a lie ... half an inch without feeling anything…. but it’s not visible, not like a deformity or anything… more a curiosity… I’ve always wondered what it was, but I haven’t looked at it for 5 or 6 years now so maybe it’s gone by now, maybe I imagined it….

I wouldn’t change my appearance at all…. appearances are a huge trick society plays on us… totally random, meaningless, but everyone worships the idea, even smart, conscious people …. I discovered this when I shaved my head for the first time….people treated me completely differently. It turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for myself, in the sense of the development of my character... for the first time in my life I had to actually be interesting and funny.

Thirteen Questions With Carolina Cobra IM Lev Milman

1. Do you feel like Carolina faces special difficulties fielding consistent USCL teams because so many of the players are students at Duke? Any thoughts about how that has worked in the last couple years, or what changes might occur in coming years?

It’s very tough to have a team in North Carolina since there is a lack of players here. We use pretty much the same line-up for all of our matches and have some players on the team who are a few hours commute away. Duke definitely helps attract players but it’s not consistent. Hopefully, we can maintain a team here by attracting more top chess players to Duke.

2. In 2005, you won the league’s top board two award. Since Kaminski left, you’ve had to move up to first board. Have you enjoyed this or has it felt discouraging?

I have enjoyed playing with stronger player on first board. We definitely miss having Kaminski play for our team.

3. You play very sharp openings. How do you manage to keep up on theory while in college?

Preparing for my games in the USCL helps me keep up with theory. I also try to go through some of the latest top-level games to see if there are any novelties in the lines I play.

4. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

It’s pretty hard to be obsessed with chess while in college, but I think playing in the USCL helps me stay active. I usually study the most before a big tournament so I haven’t been studying too much lately but I did play two tournaments this summer which I prepared a lot for. I definitely play less chess now than I did in high school. I think I am well balanced in terms of chess and will concentrate more on chess this winter break when I plan to play a tournament or two.

5. What are you majoring in at Duke? Do you like it there? What are you hoping to do after graduation? Are you planning to apply for the Samford?

I am majoring in Economics with a possible minor in Statistics. Duke is a fun school with a good mix between social and academic life. I really enjoy the atmosphere here. After graduation, I plan on getting a job on Wall Street but I am also considering applying for the Samford after I graduate and taking some time off between finishing school and beginning work. It would be fun to take 2 years off after graduation to concentrate fully on chess. During college, it has been hard to improve at chess since there is no time to play.

6. I really enjoyed the tactic you showed at the NE Masters from your game against Fang. Can you tell us something about the game?

28. Ne7+ Kh7 29. Qg6+ fxg6 30. hxg6+ Kxg7 31. Rh7#

My tactic against Fang is the most beautiful one I have ever played. I was trying very hard to win and avoid a repetition so I just kept looking at the position until I found the tactic. The tactic briefly entered my head at first but I didn’t think that it would be possible. But I looked into it further and couldn’t find a refutation. I am very proud of this game.

7. What was your favorite USCL game this year (of yours or anyone else’s)?

None of my games were particularly good but I guess my game against Drasko Baskovic was my best performance. I played solidly and didn’t make too many mistakes.

8. Which of your teammates would you nominate for Carolina’s MVP award and why?

That would have to be Oleg Zaikov. He always plays very well and has been our top performer. We would be a lot worse off without him.

9. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

I usually do some opening preparation and then help out my team members, especially Schroer to figure out what to play. We have e-mail exchanges between all of our team members to help out before the match and to give each other pointers about what to play against specific opponents.

10. If you could choose the next USCL expansion team, which city would you choose, which players would you draft, and why?

It should be a big city like LA with players such as Akobian and Khachian or Chicago with Shulman and Dmitry Gurevich. It’s tough to have a team in a small city like Durham, North Carolina where there aren’t that many chess players.

11. If you could change any one USCF or FIDE rule, which one would it be and why?

I would love it if the official time controls were even faster. It would make the games a lot more exciting and would also allow tournaments to be quicker. I think this would make chess a more exciting game and help attract more players and more sponsors.

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12. Any thoughts on Kasparov’s recent appearances on Colbert or Maher?

I love that Kasparov is getting a lot of attention. It is definitely a good thing for chess. I thought Kasparov’s arguments on Bill Maher’s show were really well argued. Kasparov is bringing a lot of attention to the political situation in Russia and hopefully this will bring about some positive changes in Russia.

13. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

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I love the new USCF website with its online articles. I like to check Mig’s Daily Dirt Chess blog at chessninja.com and Susan Polgar’s blog is a great way to see what’s going on in the chess world since she doesn’t miss much. The Chessbase site also always has interesting stories.

Sixteen (!) Questions with San Fransisco Mechanic GM Patrick Wolff

1. Tell us about your return to chess? During your hiatus, how much did you keep up with the chess world: theory, games, etc? How did it happen that you were recruited for the SF USCL team? How has it felt to play after such a long break? Are you planning to play OTB tournaments again?

I kept in touch with John Donaldson and he asked me to play. I have just enough time in my life to squeeze it in so I thought I should do it because it would be lots of fun. Alex Yermolinsky said that I was "brave" to return after so many years of inactivity, which I thought was very nice but also kind of funny, because this is relaxing for me! Of course I want to win but I care infinitely more about my career and I don't feel like my ego is on the line in any way in these games. (Although it was definitely annoying to get outplayed by Larry after getting a decent opening position...) I think my answers to the questions above give some idea of how little I have practiced in any way. The one thing I do to keep in touch with chess is I co-write the Boston Globe chess column with Harold Dondis, which consists of annotating one game per week. That's interesting, but the annotations are definitely superficial and I have no illusions that it takes the place of any sort of real practice.

2. You have had some sensational USCL games. Any thoughts on the win over Burnett or the loss to Christiansen?

The Burnett game was fun. I think 10...Qa5 is inaccurate (10...a6 looks better) and he probably missed a chance for advantage with 11.Qd2, although 11.Bd2! may be even stronger than 11.Qd2. The combination of 11.h4 and 12.Qd2 wastes a tempo. After 12...b5 Black should have a good position. In time trouble I missed an obvious win with 30...Rb1+, but the basic game looks sound. The Christiansen game was interesting. I definitely overestimated my position after 14...d5. Believe it or not, there is a very nice game in this position from 1966 between Sammy Reshevsky and Tony Saidy! Saidy beat (a very strong) Reshevsky by playing 14...b5 15.Qf2 Rb8 16.g4 Ne5! 17.g5!? (Maybe White should look at other moves here?) 17...hxg5 18.h6 (18.Bxg5 Nfg4!) 18...Nh7!? 19.hxg7 Kxg7 and Black simply hung onto the extra pawn to win. It was a heck of a game and looked very modern. Maybe I should have done that? After 14...d5 15.Kb1 dxe4 (15...Bb4!?) 16.Rxd8+ Bxd8 17.fxe4 I thought I was better, but after only a few moves I just got completely outplayed. The fact that I can't find a clear way to play suggests my evaluation of this position was wrong. I think Black should not be worse, and maybe he does have an edge, but there needs to be some very clear plan which I did not find. The combination of 17...b5 and 18...Qe5 was just awful. I completely missed 20.g3! and after that I'm losing control of the dark squares in the center while I am still behind in development, so Larry just gets a perfect Larry-like position to play. Of course my king run can't work but I thought I might at least confuse him. I missed 27.Nd5!! but I am not surprised it was there -- and I'm not surprised Larry found it. After that my position was just a wreck. Nicely done by Larry.

3. Was it an accident that you had black all three games? If not, why? Are you anxious to play some games with white in the final week and/ or the play-offs?

I was wondering why I had Black in all three games myself! I have heard that playing the first move can be useful. I dimly remember that I used to move my king's pawn on the first move. I may try that when I get the chance.

4. How do you rate SF’s chances in the play-offs? What do you think SF’s strongest line up is? Who are your main play-off rivals? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How much do you personally care how SF does?

I have no idea what our chances are. I certainly would like to see SF go all the way, because it is always fun for your team to win. Sadly, I see that they are playing a washed-up GM on Board One so that will certainly hinder them. But they have a heck of a lot of young talent on the other boards, so maybe there is a chance.

5. Which Mechanic would you nominate for an MVP award and why?

I don't know, but Vinay Bhat appears to be winning all the time so I would think he should get consideration.

6. Who are your favorite and least favorite USCL opponents and why? (You may answer individuals and/or teams)

I enjoy all my opponents, and I am just happy to be playing chess again. Larry is clearly the strongest player I have played so far, and the result of the game showed it.

7. If you had to play for a different USCL team, which would it be and why?

The only other USCL team I would want to play for is Boston, since that is where I lived for much of my life.

8. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

Most of my preparation consists of remembering basic opening theory. If I can get to move 10 with a decent position then I am happy. So far, so good.

9. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

I study not at all, although now that I am playing I need to remind myself how the pieces move. (See question #8.) However, I will randomly play through chess positions in my head every day and I will probably never have more than 1-2 days in a row for the rest of my life where I do not think about chess at least once during the day. I love chess quite a lot, and I hope at some point to be able to take some more time to play through games or otherwise interact with the game for more pleasure. I am happy with my current relationship to the game and so long as I will be able to take the aforemention time later in my life to spend some more time with the game I would not change anything. Well, except that I would like not to be distracted by random chess positions so much -- but I suppose it is better than having random music playing in your head.

10. How’s your life outside of chess? Married? Kids? Happy single life? You work for a hedge fund in SF. Fun? Tiring? Stressful? To what extent / in what ways do you think finance and chess use the same skill set?

I love my life, which as you point out is mostly outside of chess now. I am very happily married to a wonderful woman whom I met in San Francisco back in 1999. We have one son, almost 2 years old, and he is so much fun it is incredible. I enjoy working at the hedge fund a lot and I love the job of investing money; I think I have found my "niche" and now I just want to do it as well and as successfully as I can. I think the question of how investing and chess use the same skill set is very complicated and I can't do it justice in this answer. But I will point out one thing. Chess demands objectivity to win. Investing in the markets allows a person to "hide" from the reality of his decisions for some time because there is a lot of random noise in the markets -- of course in the end only skill allows you to outperform, but the feedback loop in chess is much more rapid and pure than it is in the markets. I am very grateful to have had many years of experience developing myself to the highest possible level in such a rigorous environment as chess. The habits of mind that I learned from chess enable me to push myself much harder and much more objectively than the markets "force" you to do, and I believe that this habit of rationality and objectivity is enormously valuable. I think this is probably true for any endeavor, but it is particularly so in the world of finance where there is such a high reward for consistently being rational and objective in an environment where the amount or random noise allows one to rationalize good or bad outcomes.

11. In recent years, a number of prose books about the chess world have been published. Have you read any of the following and, if so, what did you think: The Day Kasparov Quit (Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam), Chess Bitch (Jennifer Shahade), The Chess Artist (J. C. Hallman), Kings of New York (Michael Weinreb), The Art of Learning (Josh Waitzkin), King’s Gambit (Paul Hoffman), Engaging Pieces (Howard Goldowsky), How Life Imitates Chess (Gary Kasparov)?

I have read none of these books. I have read only two chess books in the last 5 years or so: Bobby Fischer Goes to War and Kasparov's 4-book series on the World Champions. I have to hand it to Garry, although the title is obnoxious ("My Great Predecessors"? Come on!) he did a really spectacular job. He's a brilliant guy, there's no question.

12. Any thoughts on Kasparov’s recent appearances on Colbert or Maher?

I think Kasparov is trying to get as much western media exposure as possible to protect himself from any possibility of being assassinated by Putin. Kasparov is a complex and difficult person, but I think he is on the side of the angels in Russia's current politics and I wish him well.

13. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

I like TWIC and The Chess Cafe. But really, I follow chess very little online except to get information on recent chess tournaments and annotate one game per week for The Boston Globe (and those annotations are quite shallow from a true chess perspective). I do not allow myself to go to any online chess playing web site as I would become consumed by it.

14. If Bill Gates gave you $100,000 to organize a chess tournament
a) where would you hold it,
b) what format would you choose,
c) who would you invite, and
d) what, if any, special rules would you impose?

If I were limited to $100,000 then I would simply try to hold a decent event for players and make the conditions as reasonable as possible. But the bigger question is how to create something that would take root and grow. If it were an annual sponsorship ($100,000 growing 5% each year from our hypothetical rich donor, for example) then I would make it an event that would make the individual sponsor as happy as possible and I would make it clear to all of the players that the #1 priority is to keep the sponsor happy -- and anyone who acted childishly or irresponsibly would be disinvited the next year. I would prefer to try to create an event that would attract corporate sponsorship, i.e. sponsorship from an entity that derives some business benefit and not just pleasure from the event. But that is hard, and probably $100,000 would not be enough to provide any benefit.

15. If you could hand pick any seven people to serve on the USCF executive board, who would they be?

This is an interesting question. My answer is that I would choose various businesspeople with whom I have worked over the past 10 years who enjoy chess. You do not know any of these people because they are not involved in the USCF. In fact, that is the point. I think at this point the politics are so entrenched that a complete "re-set" would be very beneficial. This does not at all imply that the current people on the USCF board lack good will or organization skills; it simply means that at this point starting completely fresh would probably be a good thing for everyone. But of course, it will not happen, so those who are still involved must do the best they can to work for the higher good, not just their own interests.

16. If you were trapped on a desert island for eternity with no possibility of rescue and could choose to have with you:

a. 5 books

b. 5 albums

c. 1 chess player

d. 1 luxury item, What would you choose?

(The island already contains a chessboard and clock)

I would pick any books and albums that would allow me to get off the island. (Yes, I know you disallowed this but I am a practical person and I would not be happy if I were trapped on a desert island.) The two people I would most want with me are my wife and my son, but I would not wish them to be on a desert island, so I would instead choose the two people who would best be able to get me off the damn island.

Questions With New Jersey Knockout (and he is a knockout!) IM Dean Ippolito

1. You are at an all time rating high after a fantastic performance at the New England Masters. To what do you attribute your recent success? Do you feel you have made a big jump in your understanding of chess / solved some kind of practical problem you were having? How have you done this?

That result was somewhat surprising to me. I can contribute it to several things though. First, I was in good form for this event and felt very focused. I had been studying with IM Vigorito a few days before the event and got zoned in very quickly. I had played 3 tournaments before that over the summer, all of which were disappointing, but had gotten some rust off. Besides narrowly missing a tie for 1st at the US Open by not winning the last round game, I played pretty badly.

I also get very emotional and when things are going badly, and in the past I had tended to have difficulty recovering but when things were going well I would play well above my strength. So when things were going well this tournament, I could feel myself playing better and better each round.

Likely the biggest reason that I played well though was that I wasn’t afraid of losing or making a mistake. That had always been a big problem but got less and less so as I got older and more mature. Then something happened this year that eliminated it altogether. We almost lost my son a week after he was born and had to revive him once at home and the doctors and nurses once at the hospital. After you see nurses and doctors given CPR to your 10 day old, things like being afraid to lose a game seem ridiculous. He’s very healthy now so I feel extremely lucky. Things that used to seem worth worrying about don’t anymore. Earlier in the summer I was playing unafraid but my form was off and the games seemed too reckless. Once my form was on though as in the NE Masters, it made it easier to have a breakout result because I wasn’t concerned with ‘blowing it’. I still might take some draws but it is more for practical reasons now than due to fear of losing.

2. I understand you have been studying recently with IM Dave Vigorito. How are those sessions going? What do you look at? Aside from Dave, what kinds of things do you do when you study chess?

We have mainly been studying openings. We play many of the same openings and he is a very good person to analyze with because he comes up with many original ideas and knows how to explain things. Besides this, I have done very little studying since my daughter was born 2 years ago.

3. How’s your general relationship to chess going? Any plans for upcoming tournaments?

I’m not sure if I will play any major events for at least another 6 months. We just opened our first chess center in NJ and it is taking up most of my time.

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4. Goals for the next year or so?

Just to get that form back from the NE Masters. I don’t expect to really make a run at making GM until the chess center can run without my needing to be there most of the time.

5. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

I am very obsessed with chess. I do not get to study much now with two young children and a business, so during the school year I am lucky if I study 2-3 hours on an average per week. Until the NE Masters, I would have chosen to be less obsessed with chess because I was not having any great results and knew that I would not get much time to study to try to improve them for a while. That was too painful to realize but since that event I feel like I would like to be more obsessed.

6. How’s your chess teaching business?

It’s going really well, thanks. We currently teach in about 40 schools and now have a building to run more classes and special events. It doesn’t take the 100 hour week that it took to get off the ground now, but between teaching and the business aspect of it, it does require about 70 hours of my time and my wife Dawn puts in about the same.

7. Do you actually enjoy teaching, and if so which parts?

I love teaching chess. I love to work with the kids and spread enthusiasm for chess. It’s fun for me to even teach total beginners but it’s a real pleasure to help someone with talent win nationals and improve to a level where he can compete on a world stage. I have a few students like that now. I wish I were as good at playing as I were at teaching but I think I’m fortunate in that there is more money in teaching than playing!

8. How’s your book doing and do you have plans to write another one?

The book has been very well received. We are finalizing a contract to distribute the book in all Barnes and Noble stores. I do have plans to write another one for students who are stronger, but it’s just a matter of getting the time to do that.

9. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

I try to find a little bit of time to do opening preparation. I think next year it will be easier since our team will know what to expect and how to better prepared.

10. How do you rate NJ’s chances against Baltimore this week? Are there any lineups you hope to see?

There is no specific lineup that I’d really want to see. NJ is such a solid team and never scores less than 1.5 so I’d expect the final result to be either 2-2 or 2.5-1.5 NJ.

11. If you qualify for the play-offs, how do you rate NJ’s chances? In your mind, which teams are the favorites?

I would expect that NJ could make it at least to the conference finals. There are many good players who have teams that don’t finish at the top and have minus scores. With so many strong players in the league, a lot of it comes down to who is sharper on a particular night, especially since games often come down to blitz matches.

12. Which was your favorite USCL game so far? (yours or someone else’s?)
I haven’t played very well this year so far. I’ve seen some of the games but need to take a closer look before I can suggest a favorite.

13. Which NJ Knockout would you nominate for an MVP award and why?

It would have to be Joel Benjamin,. He’s consistently scored well on board 1, though Mackenzie Molner has been very good on board 3 having only been able to play a few times. We have a lot of strong underrated younger players that are doing well.

14. Any thoughts on Kasparov’s recent appearances on Colbert or Maher?

This is going to be great for chess. All of this exposure that Kasparov is bringing by running for President of Russia can only help the game. I have been mentioning this in my classes and newsletters and kids are really excited about it.

Ten Questions With Tennesee Tempo Manager and Board Two, FM Todd Andrews

1. Thanks for doing the interview Toddie!

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Before I answer any of your questions Elizabeth…there are a couple of things I would like to address. First off, comparing my League results to Andrei’s is completely ludicrous. Has Andrei played board two this season? I am pretty sure he is a board three player – which means that he is not really even in the same league as me. The fact that I have scored better than him on a higher board should shut him up for a while. Also, an important lesson can be learned from my League game against Koo-JA from the Destiny-Tempo match this week. The ole’ retained image concept got the best of me. I remember reading about this mental breakdown in Krogius’ book on chess psychology. I simply thought my Queen was still on e4 making my “??” rook sack possible. Mistakes like this are far more common in USCL time scrambles. Koo-JA fought well though…comparing my results to his makes a lot more sense. So until Drei-day gets out of the Busch league, there really is no need for this type of discussion.

2. OK! Congratulations on your clutch victory against Marcel. Can you tell us a little about the game? About your long-standing rivalry with Miami?

I guess I have to echo Marcel from last year. There is no rivalry until he beats me. It's one-sided.

3. The other key victory in your draw against Miami came from Louisianan John Bick. Was there any special reason he was visiting?

Unless you count playing for the Tempo as a special reason…John stayed with me for two weeks and we traveled to two weekend swiss events (one in Memphis and one in Huntsville) in between the Tempo matches.

4. You are facing Carolina next week. Any predictions ?

Week 10 will be an alternate jamboree in the Carolina-Tempo “For-the-Love” match.

5. Any big plans for the Tempo next year? Have you thought about trying to recruit Goldin or Kaidanov to play?

We can’t afford Kaidanov right now, but I did speak to him about it. Really we just need a sacrificial lamb on board one to be good. That would move everyone else down one and we would be a far more competitive team than we already are.

6. If you could choose the next USCL expansion team, which city would you choose, which players would you draft, and why?

Atlanta should have a team. The South is not fully represented. There are plenty of strong masters there too.

7. How’s life treating you these days? Does running the Nashville Chess Center take all your time? Are you playing a lot of tournaments? Giving many private lessons outside of the center? Cooking a lot?

After culinary school, I cooked for a couple of years and grew to dislike the drama that comes with working in a busy kitchen. I am happy that I got this education though, now I can cook for my family and friends (and myself, of course) and it is very rewarding. Then the opportunity arose for me to take over the adult operations at the NCC. So I quit cooking and focused on the club and my lessons. I now have a pretty full schedule with multiple lessons and four different after school programs during the weekdays. The club has been a big success as well. Membership is way up and our events are bigger than ever in Music City.

I have been fairly active this year playing in the US Masters in NC, Foxwoods and the World Open. Of course, I participate in numerous southern weekend Swiss events every chance I get. My busy tournament schedule this year is probably the reason for my USCL success. It has sharpened me up and hopefully it will carry over into this IM-norm Invitational I am competing in up in Chicago next week.

Besides all the chess, living in Nashville is extremely entertaining and comfortable. Despite our amphitheatre closing, concerts are still plentiful in town. As I write this, I am still sore from all the dancin’ and drinkin’ we did at the recent Widespread Panic shows. I have a lot of good friends and people I can trust here. I do not plan on leaving anytime soon.

8. I asked several questions in the category "chess politics." Todd gave a general answer:

Why would anyone want to waste their time on chess politics? You either play or teach…if you can’t handle either of those…then I guess its time for politics.

9. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

Chesslab.com and chesslive.de are good for online databases. Then I like to read US Chess Online, because of the great articles by American chess journalism heroes such as the Shahades and Elizabeth Vicary. I like to read my own articles there too. I like The Week in Chess and Chessbase.com to keep up with International chess news…

10. If Bill Gates gave you $100,000 to organize a chess tournament
a) where would you hold it,
b) what format would you choose,
c) who would you invite, and
d) what, if any, special rules would you impose?

Since I have become one of the most active TDs in Tennessee in 2007, the scenario greatly interests me. It would definitely be in downtown Nashville…maybe at LP Field where the Titans play. I would make it a 14-Round classical, multi-time control 2200+ section.
One special format that goes along with the lines of involving physical bouts with chess games would be interesting to me as far as special rules go. Although I don’t like the format of the chess boxing that I have read. I believe that each match should be a two-point match. The first point is determined by the game of chess. Whoever wins the game of chess, then gets to take the advantage of taking the first blow in the physical bout to follow. The loser has to just sit there and take it.

Ten Questions With FM Andrei Zaremba of the Dallas Destiny

1. I understand from the League Commissioner that many girls come around during your matches and distract you. I can’t say I’m surprised, but how do you deal with that? Is it only you, or is this a problem for the entire Dallas team?

this is a huge problem, nobody can focus. People just come and want to hang out like a social event. I get particularly distracted, but I found a genius solution: bring headphones and listen to music, I credit this technique to my last round win.

2. While you scored 3/4 last year, I notice you are 0/2 this year. Does it make you sad to have a worse record than Todd Andrews? Any words for him? (editor's note: this interview was done before Zaremba's sensational defeat of NM Jerry Wheeler)

It makes me very sad that one Todd Andrews has a higher winning percentage than me, we were competing as young kids, and to this day the competitive fire has not died out. I predict a strong comeback by me however in thesecond part of the season and playoffs.

3. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

no preparation takes place

4. Who are your favorite and least favorite USCL opponents and why? (You may answer individuals and/or teams)

Favorite opponents: Tennessee, least favorite Seattle because I always lose

5. If you could choose the next USCL expansion team, which city would you choose, which players would you draft, and why?

Detroit or Chicago need a team!! Midwest is not represented

6. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

not very obsessed. I spend many 2-3 hours on a average week. I would bemore involved with chess: playing, studying, etc. if I had more time.

7. If someone were to post on internet newsgroups as “The Fake You,” what kinds of things would they write to discredit you?

Andrei doesn't know openings past move 4

8. How long have you been in Dallas and, cmon, why so long?

7 years, and damn I gotta get out of here, the sooner the better. I guess the chess team is the only thing that keeps me around. Still gotta move somewhere fun. Any ideas?

9. How did you spend your last summer vacation?

I went to Europe to play in a few chess tournaments, it was pretty fun, but a little too long, I got a homesick pretty quickly.

10. What do you think of your chances against USCL Commissioner Greg Shahade in your fantasy basketball league?

First let me say that it's a true honor to play with such a fine gentleman such as Greg. Not only is he a fine fellow, but he's also one of the greatest fantasy basketball minds I've ever met. I've learned the hard way never to make a trade with him, it's as if he knows exactly how every player will do in ever game. It's really quite incredible! He will win for sure.

(Note that it's "possible" that this question was asked and answered by USCL Commissioner Greg Shahade himself because Andrei was only able to muster the energy to answer 9 questions instead of the required 10! However Mr. Shahade is quite certain that these words reflect Andrei's true thoughts. Beware, if you try to skimp and answer only 8 or 9 questions, this may happen to you too!)

The Recent Comments Attacking Me Are....

... hilarious!
You should read them all in the "I could beat their reporter" post and the interview with Irina.
"Peter Cunningham" recently demanded to know why I wasn't responding. I'm truly sorry about this. I just didn't know what it was possible to say to:

"She may very well be a nigger hater. Who knows?"
Good point.

or

"Just remember that Mussolini liked to bully other kids in school when he was a kid and some historians say that that was the beginnings of Fascism in Italy."

I may also be an Italian dictator. Who knows?

But my posting friend gets weirder and weirder:
"Did you hear?!?? Lizzie Vicary has a hole in her leg!!! That's why she dresses so conservatively at chess tournaments!! "

ummm... ?! I have a hole in my leg?? What drugs are you on?
I honestly thought the whole thing was a marginally successful attempt at absurdist humor until I was challenged to "fight back face to face like a man verbally blow by blow in your face like men do" and called a "yellow bellied coward" for not doing so.

But that doesn't sound like much fun to me, and since
a) it's not my job to be nice to total strangers at chess tournaments
b) I'm not really all that sensitive about my body
c) I didn't invent the FIDE rules for women's titles
d) I'm not a man
I don't think ... I need to?!