SPICE Thanksgiving

After the Thanksgiving dinner at my home, a chess game broke out between the SPICE students :)

Chess Analysis

Click on the image above to see the full size article and the analysis.

Former Knight Raider wins 5th Open "Mediterranean 2017"

Former captain of the SPICE - Knight Raiders chess team, GM Davorin Kuljasevic, tied for 1st (wins the trophy on tiebreaks) at the 5th Open "Mediterranean 2017". Last year, Davorin played board 1 for the Knight Raiders and helped them win the U.S. National Collegiate Championship by beating GM Leonid Kritz in the final round with black.

Congratulations to Davorin!

Final top 15 finishers

1	GM	Kuljašević Davorin	CRO	2560	7.0	43.0
2	GM	Kožul Zdenko	CRO	2577	7.0	42.5
3	GM	Martinović Saša	CRO	2504	6.5	41.5
4	GM	Predojević Borki	BIH	2642	6.5	41.5
5	GM	Šarić Ante	CRO	2497	6.5	41.5
6	IM	Dorić Darko	CRO	2504	6.5	41.5
7	GM	Nevednichy Vladislav	ROU	2543	6.5	40.0
8	GM	Tratar Marko	SLO	2495	6.5	38.5
9	GM	Jovanić Ognjen	CRO	2476	6.5	38.0
10	GM	Haznedaroglu Kivanc	TUR	2426	6.0	41.5
11	GM	Cvitan Ognjen	CRO	2523	6.0	41.0
12	IM	Žufić Miroslav	CRO	2409	6.0	39.5
13	GM	Lazić Miroljub	SRB	2459	6.0	39.0
14	GM	Baron Tal	ISR	2504	6.0	38.0
15	IM	Šale Srđan	CRO	2386	6.0	37.0
16		Šutković Damir	BIH	2339	6.0	35.5
17	IM	Kanmazalp Ogulcan	TUR	2401	6.0	35.5
18	IM	Battaglini Gabriel	FRA	2423	6.0	33.0
19	IM	Lončar Robert	CRO	2415	6.0	33.0

Full standings here.

Knight Raider Shines on the World Stage

Knight Raider Shines on the World Stage

Grandmaster Georg Meier, co-captain of the Texas Tech University Knight Raiders, has defeated a former top 10 world professional chess player, Sergei Movsesian of Armenia. The win came in the final round of the 2011 European Team Championship.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Grandmaster Georg Meier, co-captain of the Texas Tech University Knight Raiders, has defeated a former top 10 world professional chess player, Sergei Movsesian of Armenia. The win came in the final round of the 2011 European Team Championship.

Meier, a freshman from Germany, tied for second place last month in the 2011 SPICE Cup at Texas Tech, along with Cuban Grandmaster Leinier Doniguez, a former World Blitz champion.

Meier also tied for first and beat Grandmaster Le Quang Liem of Vietnam in the playoff at the 2011 SPICE Cup Blitz Championship.

“One of the top young talents in the world, Meier is the best German-born player in the past two decades,” said Paul Truong, marketing director for the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence ( SPICE ). “Last year, he decided to give up his very lucrative professional career with Baden Baden, the top club team in Chess Bundesliga, to join the SPICE program at Texas Tech.”

He is now being trained by Grandmaster Susan Polgar, winner of four Women’s World Championships and five Olympiad Gold Medals.

Meier will play board one for the Texas Tech Knight Raiders, the No. 1 ranked collegiate team in the nation with four Grandmasters, at the 2011 PanAm Collegiate Championship in Dallas in December. He will also lead the Knight Raiders in their title defense at the 2012 Final Four in Washington, D.C.

Full standings of the 2011 European Team Championship can be found here: http://euro2011.chessdom.com/etcc-2011-standings-open-section.

A photo of Meier and Polgar is available here: https://picasaweb.google.com/SPICEChess/0SPICECup2011B#5667585805572112706

Find Texas Tech news, experts and story ideas at www.media.ttu.edu and on Twitter @TexasTechMedia.

Welcoming back the Champ!

Members of the Knight Raiders welcoming back GM Georg Meier at the Lubbock International Airport, one of the stars in the German European Championship Team!

Interview with GM Georg Meier

9th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Open

9th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Open
Saturday, December 3, 2011

A 4 Round Swiss USCF Rated Tournament (Game/30)

Event Site: Science Spectrum 2579 S. Loop 289, Lubbock, TX
Contact Info: 806-742-7742 E-mail: Spice@ttu.edu

Description of Tournament: An open tournament for all players. USCF membership required.
Registration: On-site registration and check in 8:30am-10:00am. All players must check in by
10:15am. Late arrival will receive a ½ point bye for the first round. Chess boards and sets
provided, bring clock.

Round schedule: 10:30am - 12:00pm - 1:30pm and 3:00pm.

Entry Fee: $20 by 11/23, after or onsite $25. K-12 or TTU students $5 off.
Entry fee includes access to the museum OR one free IMAX movie.
Prizes: 1st $125 2nd $75 3rd $25Top U-2000 $50 Top U-1600 $50. All prizes are based on 20 paid entries.

Please send Entry Blank and Entry Fee to Susan Polgar Foundation at 6923 Indiana Ave. #154 Lubbock, TX 79413.

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12-03-11 Open Entry Form: Please PRINT all information and make check to Susan Polgar Foundation.

Name: _____________________________Phone: (_____)______________
Address: _________________ City/State:________________ Zip:________
Email:________________________________________DOB:___________
USCF ID# and expiration date:___________USCF Rating (if any) ___________
Sibling Team_____Parent/Child Team________ Student/Coach Team________
Amount paid________ Check#_______ Cash_______ Bye request R1 R2 R3 R4

9th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Winter Scholastic Chess Championship

9th “Get Smart! Play Chess!” Winter Scholastic Chess Championship
Saturday, December 3, 2011

A 4 Round Swiss System Tournament (Game/30)
Event Site: Science Spectrum, 2579 S. Loop 289 Lubbock, TX
Contact Info: 806-742-7742 E-mail: Spice@ttu.edu

Description of Event: Individual and Team Scholastic Championship with rated and unrated sections.

Games are played in six sections: Primary (K-2), Elementary (K-5), Middle School (K-8), High School (K-12) (no USCF membership required) and two Rated “Championship” sections K-5 and K-12. There is a total of 30 minutes maximum per player per game.

On-site registration and check in 8:30am-10:00am. All players must check in by 10:15am. Later arrival will receive a ½ point bye for the first round.

Round schedule: 10:30am -11:45am-1:15pm and 2:30pm. UIL Invitational Puzzle-Solving at 9:30am.

Entry Fees: $10 received by 11/23; $15 received by 12/2, or on site $20. No USCF membership required except in the Rated “Championship” sections. Membership can be obtained at www.uschess.org or onsite on 12/3 until 10am. The advance entry for the UIL Puzzle Solving is $5, onsite $10.

Entry fee includes access to the museum OR one free IMAX movie. (For accompanying person there is an optional discounted entry ($4.50) to the museum or to the IMAX theatre. The discounted combined ticket is $7.)

Prizes: Trophies for top 3 finishers in each section. Trophies to top 3 school teams in each section.

Special valuable chess prizes to the top overall finisher in each section sponsored by the Susan Polgar Foundation! Team prizes are based on the top 3 individual scores from the same school within the same section. Also special trophy for top Sibling, top Parent/Child and top Coach/Student teams. Prize giving ceremony will be held shortly after the end of the last game which is around 3:45pm.

Chess boards and sets will be provided. Bring a chess clock if you have one.

Please register and send Entry Blank and Fees to TTU-SPICE send to: SPICE Box 45080 Lubbock, TX 79409-5080. Additional information on www.spice.ttu.edu

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Entry Form 12-3-11: Please PRINT all information and make check/money order to TTU-SPICE.

Name: _______________________ Phone: (_____) __________School_____________
Address: __________________________ City/State: _____________ Zip:__________
Email: __________________________ DOB: _____________Section______________
USCF Rating (if any) _____USCF ID#:_______ Amount Enclosed (No cash, please) $______
Sibling Team____Parent/Child Team___ Student/Coach Team___ Bye request R1 R2 R3 R4

You either win or learn

Paredes Elementary School hosts district chess tournament

November 05, 2011 9:40 PM

By JACQUELINE ARMENDARIZ
The Brownsville Herald

There were cheerleaders, pizza and the excited yells of players — and that was only elementary-level chess practice at the school district tournament that welcomed 806 players on Saturday to Paredes Elementary.

Over the years, BISD has presented its successful chess program as a tool to reach students in an area with high poverty levels and low educational attainment levels, providing funding for a district chess program since at least 2004.

“Our youth have a lot more potential than what people think Brownsville is,” Patty Vela said on Saturday as she watched her son practice.

The event was the fourth out of 10 being hosted by the school district this year.

BISD University Interscholastic League and chess coordinator Jaime Rojas said there were six sections for skill levels based on a mix of points and grade level, which ranged from K-12.

Vela’s son, Matthew Cohen, is a 15-year-old sophomore on the Porter High School chess team.

She said he asked to play when he was in second grade and has been dedicated since. The game teaches youth more than game strategy, his mother said; it teaches them critical thinking for everyday life.

“It’s been pretty amazing,” she said of watching her son grow up and progress in his chess skill. “It don’t know how to describe it. ... I’ve never told him ‘no’ when it comes to trying something new.”

Vela laughs when she recalls how the two began learning chess basics together, but today her son surpasses her in skill.

Rojas said as coordinator he sees children become passionate about chess and through that gain focus. Passion fuels learning, he said.

“Chess is one of those few games where you can be sitting completely still and your heart will be racing,” he said.

There’s even a motto that goes along with the game, he said.

“You either win or learn,” Rojas said. “There are no losers.”

Full story here.

SPICE in Texas gets U.S. out of chess backwater

SANDS: SPICE in Texas gets U.S. out of chess backwater
By David R. Sands
The Washington Times
Tuesday, November 1, 2011

We can claim the Super Bowl, the World Series and three of golf’s four “majors,” and we have played host to eight Olympics. But when it comes to staging big-time chess events, the U.S. is something of a backwater.

The 1995 Kasparov-Anand match at New York's World Trade Center was the first world championship played on American soil in 88 years. The most storied U.S. tournaments - Cambridge Springs 1904, New York 1924, New York 1927, Santa Monica 1966 - occurred decades ago. On the topographical chess atlas of the world, obscure burgs such as Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands; Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia; and Linares, Spain, tower over New York and Los Angeles.

So for patriotic reasons if nothing else, it’s nice to report on the fifth annual SPICE Cup, staged last month in Lubbock, Texas, by Texas Tech University and the Susan Polgar Foundation. The strongest of the three round-robin invitationals there had an average rating of 2656 and docked in as a Category 17 event.

Full article here.

The Knight Raiders Motto

What is the first thing a new Knight Raider learn when he / she joins the team?

We work hard, we play hard, and we do it as a TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More)!

The National Champions Knight Raiders Recognized

Here are some pictures from the recognition tonight: https://picasaweb.google.com/SPICEChess/KnightRaidersRecognition



This was what the announcer said:

"The Texas Tech Knight Raiders Chess Teams are the reigning National Collegiate Chess Champions in three different divisions. In only the second year competing in Division I, the Knight Raiders stunned the chess world by winning the College Chess Final Four this past April in Washington, DC.

Now, for the first time in school history, they are also ranked as the number one team in the nation and they are looking forward to defend their titles this year.

The Knight Raiders Head Coach, 4-time World Champion and 5-time Olympic Champion, the first woman to lead a men's division I team to the National Championship, and the first woman to coach the number one ranked team in the nation, our very own Grandmaster Susan Polgar. Let's wish the team luck in their title defense.

Here are your National Champion Texas Tech Knight Raiders!"

Special recognition for the Knight Raiders and SPICE

The National Champions Knight Raiders and SPICE will be recognized at the Texas Tech football game versus Iowa State tonight in front of 60,000 fans! More than 20 members of the Knight Raiders and SPICE will be at midfield to be recognized. Go Tech!

"Tous pour un, un pour tous!"

"Tous pour un, un pour tous!" - "All for one, one for all!" Just as the Musketeers, this is the motto the Knight Raiders chess teams live by. This is what team sport is all about!

Rising in the ranking

Vietnam’s number one chess player wins 5th SPICE Cup
Thursday, Oct 27, 2011, Posted at: 13:24(GMT+7)

Vietnam’s number one chess player, 20 year old Le Quang Liem, won the championship title at the 5th SPICE Cup in the US after beating Cuba’s Leinier Dominguez in a decisive game on October 26.

Liem defeated his Cuban rival in 29 moves with 17 points, after ten matches. In the first round, Liem had lost to Leinier, but he played with an advantage of holding the white pieces in the last game.

Leinier Dominguez was ranked second, holding 15 points above Germany’s Georg Meier.

Ray Robson of the US finished fourth with 11 points, followed by Sebastian Feller of France with 9 points and Yuri Shulman of the US with 7 points.

The SPICE CUP was held this year in Texas from October 15 to 25. There were three round-robin tournaments, with the A Group of 6-players in double round-robin, and B and C Groups of 10-players in single round robin.

Liem returned to Ho Chi Minh City yesterday evening. He said that he will continue to train at the National Sports Training Centre in HCMC and prepare for the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia on November 11.

The website www.2700chess.com, which specializes in daily updates of super international grand master Elo ratings, listed Le Quang Liem as one of the 40 super grand masters after he drew with U20 World Junior Chess Champion Dmitry Andreikin of Russia, within the framework of the Capablanca Chess Tournament in Cuba from May 9-21.

With this ranking, Liem has become the fourth Asian player, and the only Southeast Asian player as well as the world’s second youngest player, after 19 year old American Italian Fabiano Caruana, to have achieved an Elo rating.

Liem said he hoped his success would offer him more opportunity to enter major competitions and compete with world-class players and to overcome new challenges.

By N.Thien – Translated by T.Huong
Source: http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn

Heart breaking loss

Leinier Dominguez Losses Spice Cup in Final Round
Wednesday, 26 October 2011 15:02

Havana, Cuba, Oct 26.- Cuban Leinier Dominguez’s first defeat in the last round of the Chess Spice Cup cost him dear as the event was finally dominated by Vietnamese Le Quang Liem.

Liem, top favorite by Elo -2 717 points- took revenge over the Cuban, who had defeated him in their first match in the doble round robin event, and beat Leinier (2710) in 29 moves of a Queen’s Gambit.

Those who followed the match, that took place in Texas, via chessdom.com, could see how the Vietnamese took advantage of a fatal error of the Cuban idol in the 26th move and did not only become champion, but also paid back his defeat in the first round.

The Capablanca 2011 Memorial runner-up added 6.5 units on the traditional system and 17 on the one used by the organizers which awards every victory with three points and every draw with one.

Leinier who until Tuesday had won three times and drew in six opportunities, ended with six points (15), as well as German Georg Meier (2 648), who was threatening to finish first but drew against French Sébastien Feller (2 668).

With his victory over his fellow countryman Yuri Shulman (2 608), young local Ray Robson (2 583) managed to climb to the fourth place, going home with 4.5 (11), and before Feller who accumulated 4 points (9).

Shulman ended last with barely three points (7) and surely with a drop on its Elo.

Before yearend, Leinier will go back into action at Spain’s club team championships, and the Mind Sports Games, in Beijing, China. (acn).

Source: http://www.cadenagramonte.cu

Le Quang Liem Wins SPICE Cup

Le Quang Liem Wins SPICE Cup
By Zachary Haskin
October 26, 2011

Texas Tech University and the Susan Polgar Foundation hosted the 5th Annual SPICE Cup from October 15-25. This year’s festival had three Invitational sections, a FIDE Open, a Scholastic Championship, and an Invitational Blitz, with some exciting matches. The A group was a 6 player double round robin event with an average rating of 2656 FIDE, making the Category 17 tournament the highest rated International Invitational round robin in United States history. With no draw offers before move 30 and the increasingly popular scoring system of three points for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss, spectators were guaranteed to see some fighting chess. Fourteen of the 30 games in the A group ended with decisive results, and no competitor was able to escape the tournament without a loss.

The top grandmasters came from all over the world to compete. Le Quang Liem of Vietnam and Leinier Dominguez of Cuba came in as the first and second seeds respectively, both with FIDE ratings above 2700. Both are well known and respected players. Liem has twice won the very strong Aeroflot Open (in 2010 and 2011), while Dominguez reached the quarterfinals in the 2004 FIDE World Chess Championships and has been a member of the 2700+ club for quite some time. Sebastien Feller of France and Georg Meier of Germany (who is a freshman at Texas Tech) boast mid to high 2600 ratings that put them in the top 100 in the world, and they both play on their respective Olympic teams. Well-known American talents Yury Shulman and Ray Robson, who need no introduction to our readers, rounded out the field.

Full article here.