You tell your manager you are Out Of Office, but if they know chess, can’t you just say you are Castling Queenside, (O-O-O)?

Welcome to Vegas! It all comes together with the Saturday evening merge, all sections chained under the same controls for the main event. The accelerated schedules offer flexibility to people wanting to be a part of the National Open experience, and the Las Vegas International Chess Festival. While many of us have been Castling Queenside for some time now, this is where it all comes together. A few events have concluded, some have started, and others have been ongoing.

Day 1 of the International Youth Championships takes place, with former US Women’s Champion WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor holding a simul without a single loss, drawing one and winning 27. Nearly 350 players and 21 teams competed in the International Youth. This tournament is open to all 14 and under.

Team Finegold defeats Team Rosen in Battle of the Streamers

After the merge and final round matches ended on Saturday, the Las Vegas International Chess Festival put on a Battle of the Streamers that was broadcast live for people at home to tune into. GM Ben Finegold and IM Eric Rosen recruited a team comprising of four players going head to head against each other. The time controls were 3+2, with double rounds. A surprising twist came when Karen Boyd sat down to play…for Team Rosen. Oh No! Ben’s Queen!

Despite the rating difference of several hundred points, Karen did not get swept and escaped with an upset draw in Game 2 of her second match. Despite the unexpected result from Karen (.5-1.5), this was the only fortune bestowed upon Team Rosen, as Team Finegold pulled out ahead with his later boards. Victory was clinched after the result of the Board 3 double round. This led to Boards 4 squaring off and entertaining the crowd with a double of their own sort, with GM Finegold riding high as the first ever Battle of the Streamers Champion. Thank you to all who competed, GM Finegold, and IM Rosen!!

Track(s) of the Day, Mikaelyan – Akopian

Tune in for Sundays recap, thank you for your time. Thank you, Thank you very much.

Huge Showing for Youth

The King of Rock and Roll also was inducted into the Gospel Hall of Fame, among his many accolades and talents. When it comes to the gospel of chess, look no further than these eager young minds. Chess is an activity lends itself to prodigies. Not everyone can become the next Magnus Carlsen, but everyone has the ability to make a positive impact on the game of life, where it is always your move.

The Youth Trophy had four sections with 225 combined entrants. Congrats to Lorenzo Antonio in the Premier (4.5/5) and Derek Li in the Reserve with a perfect 5/5 score. There was a three way tie in the Booster with 4.5/5, but Alex Zuo edged out Jason Qin (2nd) and Jonathan Gong (3rd) on tiebreaks. The Novice section was by far the largest section, with more entrants than the other sections combined with an impressive 145 entrants. Byron Jia and Andrew emerge with perfect 5/5 scores with Byron coming in first on tiebreaks.

People, Don’t you Understand, a Child Needs a Helping Hand…

…and a chess coach sighs…

Jay Stallings, or Coach Jay has been managing this chess camp for the past few years here as part of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival. These day camps were for all ages, but a majority of them were kids. Jay himself is a is a certified FIDE Trainer (one of only 19 in the U.S.) with 25 years coaching experience. For more information about his chess academy and teaching resources, you may contact him at jay@coachjayschessacademy.com, or check out his site. A special thanks to the coaches this year making this a wonderful annual offering. Many of them compete in the National Open when the camp concludes, and GM Ben Finegold has been providing free game analysis to all comers.

Tune in for Saturdays recap, thank you for your time. Thank you, Thank you very much.

Andrea Botez wins her first round match and the crowd in the meet and greet.

2021 US Women’s Open Champion Badamkhand Norovsambuu

Trophy recipient on tie-break

Step Aside King, the Queen has Arrived

For over three quarters of my life, I have been heavily involved in a game where the Queen is the most powerful piece on the board; so you will need to try much harder to emasculate me.  Am I afraid to face Andrea Botez and Badamkhand Norovsambuu over the chessboard…there is a slight apprehension, yes. 

The US Women’s Open concluded on Thursday with a three way tie for 1st Place. WCM Sandhya Goli, Badamkhand Norovsambuu, and Carissa Angela Zheng all finished with 4.5 out of 5 with Badamkhand earning the trophy on tiebreaks. All three and several others from the US Women’s Open are also signed up to compete in the National Open.

BotezLive!

Thousands have seen these sisters on their streaming channel, but not many have had a chance to see them in person or even say hello to them. Alexandra is back home streaming, but Andrea Botez is here competing in the U2100, taking time out of her busy schedule with a Meet and Greet in the late afternoon.

After some early jitters, Andrea really came into her own, handling various questions with sincerity, poise, and with answers as graceful as her moves on the chessboard. A side of her personality came through that was different than what you see behind a computer screen. This experience proved why Andrea is such an inspiration to so many, and why kids look up to her, especially younger women. Thank you Andrea!

After the Q&A, Andrea spent time signing boards and other items for those that stayed until the end. Pictured here is Aiden Chen, a graduate of a chess camp held by Coach Jay Stallings that took place earlier in the day.

Rosen Simul

International Master Oh No My Queen…I mean Eric Rosen held a 30 person simul of various abilities, ranging from Class A players and a few beginners. Playing one game for a single hour is challenging enough, much less against 30 individuals with the last game concluding four and a half hours later! Rosen scored an impressive 28-1-1. The sole draw was earned by Charles Davis, and the sole win was garnered by Robert Lubin, which reminds me…

Track(s) of the Day, Rosen-Lubin

Track(s) of the Day, Anderson – Newhall

While top games can be seen live on the Follow Chess website, this one will be coming to you from two individuals seeking their first win after four grueling rounds in the US Women’s Open. While one proved victorious, both Deja Anderson and Lindsey Newhall were so proud of their well fought game and so happy to be at this event, they wanted to submit it. To that I say,

Chess me tender, chess me sweet
Never let chess go
You have made my article complete
And I chess you so

There was also mention of self annotation/analysis, but this can be added in afterwards as needed and will produce the game now.

Tune in for Saturdays recap, thank you for your time. Thank you, Thank you very much.

Welcome to Opening Day of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival at the Westgate. We were graced by the presence of Elvis, perhaps to generate interest for the release of the biopic portrayed by Tom Hanks on June 24th.

But, that is still a couple weeks away. In the meantime, Rock and Roll to chess! Click here for the schedule of events.

US Women’s Open Rounds 1-3

Suspicious [chess] minds have arrived, starting with the morning rounds of the US Women’s Open, looking to become the new champion. Both WGM Carla Heredia and WFM Zoey Tang, co-champions of last year’s event are not competing, leaving the field wide open. Zoey is competing in the National Open, trying to obtain another WIM norm. She recently earned one at a PNWCC event, and wish her well in her pursuit this week. The US Women’s Open has been a part of the Las Vegas Chess Festival for many years, and many more to come. Some have offered to share their experience in this event, which will be featured tomorrow.

National Open Round 1

The National Open started on Wednesday evening, with the 5 day schedule. Top seed GM Illia Nyzhnyk defeats last year’s US Women’s Open co-champion WFM Zoey Tang, while Benjamin Shoykhet notches an upset against IM Kenneth Frey

Track(s) of the day, Coyne-Guo

While top games can be seen live on the Follow Chess website, as well as several other broadcasting sites, we would like to thank GM Michael Rohde, https://lichess.org/@/mikerohde for providing analysis on the following game between Theodore Coyne and IM Arthur Guo. IM Guo earned a GM norm at this event last year with a 7/9 finish. In a four-way tie for first place, Guo also was the winner of the Edmondson’s Cup.

**The annotation cuts off, but the final comment was “After White’s 37th, Coyne had 38 seconds left, and Guo had 43 seconds left. Then, after 37 … Nd3, Black is better and later won.”

Tune in for Thursdays recap, thank you for your time. Thank you, Thank you very much.