Nevada Chess, Inc.

The Las Vegas (Downtown) Chess Club reopened on December 7th, 2005. The Club is located at the Dula Center in Downtown Las Vegas at 441 E. Bonanza Rd.The Club meets every Wednesday evening from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm and every Sunday afternoon from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm. The Club also offers the use of computer to play and practice your chess skills!

For more information about the Las Vegas (Downtown) Chess Club please call (702) 229-6307.

(Report by Charles McVoy)

The Schoolhouse Chess Center opened it’s doors in Las Vegas on Friday, October 7th, 2005. The Center is the latest addition to the Las Vegas chess scene and will start off by offering a multitude of chess lessons and tournaments on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.The Schoolhouse Chess Center is located at 3004 Rigel Avenue in Las Vegas, which is just a couple of blocks east of the intersection of Valley View and Meade Avenue.

The Center has a membership program that offers players:

Las Vegas chess player, Lawrence Totaro, started collecting chess “items” when he was 17. Now, aged in his early twenties, Lawrence has managed to accumulate an interesting and very rare collection of chess artifacts, from signed letters to antique chess sets.Lawrence has set up a website detailing a lot of the items he has collected, and also delving into the world of “chess collecting”. The website makes an interesting read, and as such I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the wonderful history of chess.

You can visit his website at http://msnusers.com/baysholiss or at http://www.baysholiss.com to see a digitally enhanced version, including video footage of Las Vegas Master Ron Gross!

Nevada was represented by two players at the National Scholastic Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia on December 13-15, 2002. Michael Patraw played in the K-10 Championship, while Alan Amici played in the K-7 Championship.Michael started off well and was on 2

A hundred and fifty-five chess players from around the United States converged in Moab, Utah, November 8-10th, to compete for several national championship titles. This event, sponsored by the Moab Chess Club and the United States Chess Federation, determined the best players of the year at the fast, game/60 time control where each player has one hour to complete all moves. Each participant played 7 games in a Swiss-style competition; the more games a player wins the tougher the next game becomes until there is usually only one undefeated person left at the top. In this event the top prize was $1000 in cash, and second place was $500; an excellent prize fund made possible by a grant from the county Recreation and Special Service District.In the Open section, Enrico Sevillano won the $1000 prize. Hailing from the Phillipines, and now a resident of Las Vegas, Sevillano has established himself as one of the better players in the US. After seven games he had six and a half points: Six wins against amateurs and lesser masters, and one draw with Alex Wojtkiewicz of Maryland, an International Grandmaster rated 2683 and ranked #8 in the United States. The game between the #1 and #2 seeded players ended in a “grandmaster draw” on Sunday morning, where they agreed to a tie after just a few moves, saving their strength for their last two games. Sevillano defeated Las Vegas rival Emory Tate (a 7-time US Armed Forces chess champion) in round six, and Utah Champion Laszlo Bekefi in round 7 to finish ahead of Wojkiewicz.

In the final round, 19-year-old Philip Ponomarev of Denver held Wojtkiewicz to a draw in perhaps the greatest upset of the tournament. Rated exactly 500 points below Wojtkiewicz, his theoretical chances for a draw were considered less than one in twenty, and his chances for a win infinitesimal. Nevertheless, this former Colorado State Champion played an extraordinarily accurate game and Wojtkiewicz could not find a win against the young prodigy. Ponomarev finished in a tie for third at 5.5 points, tied with his father Mikhail, a seasoned chess master, and with the other young standout in the tournament, 16-year-old Tory Anderson of Levan, Utah. Wojtkiewicz took home the $500 second place prize as his consolation, plus some extra money he earned by playing 15-players at once on Saturday evening, winning against all. 15-year-old Stephanie Pitcher of Salt Lake City edged 11-year-old Janice Chen on tie-break points to take home the trophy for US G/60 Women’s Champion. Pitcher is currently the reigning Utah women’s champion.

In the Scholastic Section, open to players under age 20, Andrew Smith of Laramie, Wyoming took top honors. Seeded number one in the event, he held off all challengers until the seventh round when he agreed to a draw with Katie Kormanik of Salt Lake City. The two of them took home trophies for the US Scholastic G/60 Champion and Female Champion. Nate Anderson, a star running back on the Durango High School football team, showed his equal agility on the chess board to finish second in the event, tied at 5.5 points with Derek Christensen of Albuquerque, Sean Halls of Provo, Zachary Malone of Colorado Springs, Katie Kormanik and Maxfield Taylor of Salt Lake City. Grade level championship trophies were awarded at every level from 12th to kindergarten, the youngest national championship award won by 5-year-old Emily McIntosh of Salt Lake City.

US G/60 Open Section Trophy Winners:

US G/60 Chess Champion: Enrico Sevillano (Las Vegas)
Women’s Champion: Stepanie Pitcher (Salt Lake City)
Amateur Champion: Philip Ponomarev (Denver)
Senior Champion: Mikhail Ponomarev (Denver)
Category A Champion: Jason Mielke (Salt Lake City)
Category B Champion: Tory Anderson (Levan, UT)
Category C Champion: Jess Mickelson (Salt Lake City)
Category D Champion: Majid Kahhak (Carbondale, CO)
Category E Champion: Bob Phillips (Moab, UT)
Under 1000 Champion: Sherri Astle (Salt Lake City)

US G/60 Scholastic Section Trophy Winners:

Champion: Andrew Smith (Laramie, WY)
Second Overall: Nate Anderson (Durango, CO)
Third Overall: Sean Halls (Provo, UT)
Female Champion: Katie Kormanic (Salt Lake City)
12th Grade Champion: Tim Snow (Salt Lake City)
11th Grade Champion: Robert Mulvey (Salt Lake City)
10th Grade Champion: Mackenzie Mical (Durango, CO)
9th Grade Champion: Derek Christensen (Albuquerque)
8th Grade Champion: Kevin Patraw (Las Vegas)
7th Grade Champion: Taylor Maxfield (Salt Lake City)
6th Grade Champion: Scott Wade (Albuquerque)
5th Grade Champion: Zachary Malone (Colorado Springs)
4th Grade Champion: Kolbie Astle (Salt Lake City)
3rd Grade Champion: David Twerskoi (Denver)
2nd Grade Champion: Benjamin Twerskoi (Denver)
1st Grade Champion: Colin Chen (Salt Lake City)
Kindergarten Champion: Emily McIntosh (Salt Lake City)

Information provided by
Moab Chess Club
3820 Kerby Lane
Moab, Utah
Damian Nash, Organizer
(435) 259-1720

On May 1st, 2002, a new chess studio opened in Las Vegas. Called the Chess Vineyard, the studio will feature lectures, instruction, monthly tournaments, simultaneous exhibitions and a bulletin for members. Grandmasters will visit for simuls and lectures and possible FIDE norm tournaments. The Chess Vineyard is located at 6370 West Flamingo, Suite 11, at the corner of Flamingo and Torrey Pines. The Chess Vineyard will be open from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. Membership is encouraged for a fee and guests are welcome. You can telephone 248-CHES for details. Special thanks to IM Enrico Sevillano and Allan Fernandez for this new opportunity for local chess.Club Contact Information:

The Chess Vineyard
6370 W. Flamingo, Ste 11
Las Vegas, NV 89103
Telephone (702) 248-CHES
Website http://www.chessvineyard.com
Email allan@chessvineyard.com or enrico@chessvineyard.com

(Report by John Trivett, Nevada Chess Bulletin, May 2002)

Stephen Barbre of Las Vegas ties for 7th-8th

Congratulations to Stephen Barbre of Las Vegas on sharing 7th-8th place in the 1998 USCF Absolute Correspondence Chess Championship

The complete text of the U.S. Chess Federation press release follows:

**********************************

January 27, 2002
Press Release 6 of 2002

DULIBA AND MAILLARD TIE AS USCF ABSOLUTE
CORRESPONDENCE CHESS CHAMPIONS

The 1998 U. S. Chess Federation’s (USCF) Absolute Correspondence Chess Championship finished with Chess Masters Duliba of Bellefonte, PA, and Maillard of Pico Rivera, CA, sharing first place with final scores of 9 out of 12.

The annual invitational event consists of 13 USCF Correspondence Chess Masters. Players are allowed 30 months to complete all twelve games, and all moves are exchanged through the mail. Winners of this event are eligible to compete internationally with the International Correspondence Chess Federation, which can lead to players obtaining the title of World Correspondence Chess Champion.

Other finishers in this prestigious event were:

Paul Thompson of Columbus, OH who took third place with 8