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Exhibition Match

Chess champion, David Sherman, will play a simultaneous exhibition at the Day of the Book Festival on Sunday, April 21 in Kensington, MD

The 17th Kensington Day of the Book Festival will be on Sunday, April 21. We will be there to play chess with anyone who wants to join us. https://www.dayofthebook.com/

In addition to the chess tent, there will be live music, authors reading from their books and engaging in discussions, children’s programs, cookbook demos (and quite a variety of food vendors), poetry readings, and booksellers.

For many years, Allan Savage performed a simultaneous chess exhibition at the festival. Allan, a friend of the Center, passed away unexpectedly during the pandemic, and the Center has picked up the torch.

David Sherman, a former Maryland and DC Champion who used to teach chess with us, volunteered last year and again this year to continue Mr. Savage’s tradition.

Looking for Chess Books? The U.S. Chess Center also has over a thousand used chess books for sale, starting at $1.00 and up and your purchase helps support the charitable mission of the Chess Center.  Peruse our inventory of used chess books at https://chessctr.org/usedbooks/

Judit and Sofia Polgar Played a Simul in the German Bundestag to Honor Israeli Hostages

We try to inculcate our motto of Friendship, Courage, Integrity to all our students. We see examples of these traits in many strong chess players, although, regrettably, not all.

The best female player ever, Judit Polgar, with the active participation of her sister, International Master Sofia Polgar, recently performed a simultaneous exhibition in the German Parliament in Berlin to honor the hostages taken from Israel into Gaza. The exhibition strengthened the ties of friendship between Germany and Israel, while allowing 40 chess players the opportunity to face the Polgar sisters, who are retired from active competitive play.

 

The simul in the German Bundestag on March 14

With anti-Israel sentiment running high in many places, it took considerable courage to speak out for the hostages. Judit is a chess player of unquestioned integrity. Despite facing discrimination as a young player, which deprived her as a teenager of opportunities to compete for the World Chess Championship and to represent her country of Hungary in the Olympiad (she was offered, but declined, the chance to play in the Women’s Division of each), she steadfastly worked to become the strongest female player ever.

In rising to the top of the chess world, Polgar defeated 11 current or past World Champions including Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov when they were each ranked #1. She broke Bobby Fischer’s record of becoming the youngest grandmaster ever and did so before the changes in the system that allowed the rank of grandmaster to become more common. She is the only woman ever to be ranked among the top ten players in the world.

When she speaks on an issue, the world listens. Now, she speaks on the topic of hostages. As she recently said, “Speaking up for hostages is not political. It is humanitarian. The world of sports is asking all athletes to heed the call to protect the safety and security of all hostages.”

The exhibition was staged by Chess4Solidarity, a collaboration between Germany and Israel.

Judit and Sofia Polgar, pictured in 1988

Photos and Games from Our Match With the Icelandic Student Team

Iceland was instrumental in making chess popular in America. Without the small island nation stepping up to host the Fischer-Spassky match in 1972, the United States would not have had a native world chess champion and chess would not have grown in popularity in America as it did.

Chess in Iceland also boomed as a result of that match. Iceland became the strongest country in the world for chess with the most grandmasters per capita in the world, a distinction it still holds. Iceland is also one of only a small handful of nations with more grandmasters, the highest title in chess, than international masters, the second-highest title.

Following the match, the United States and Iceland established an annual match among juniors of the two nations, with Americans traveling to Iceland for matches in even-numbered years, and the reverse in the odd-numbered years.

Those matches ended after the 1989 match in New York City, but after 35 years, we decided it was time to bring them back. On January 27, young Americans and Icelanders played a match via the internet, using the lichess.org platform.

We decided on a rapid time control (G/7;+3) so that each player would have the opportunity to play many players from the other side over the course of 90 minutes. Several of Iceland’s top young players were unexpectedly unavailable, giving the team from the District of Columbia and its environs a distinct advantage.

The first five games were won by the Americans, and while the Icelandic team gamely made it close at the halfway point (29-27) the US team pulled away for a 75-47 final score.

We hope to have a rematch sometime soon and are investigating playing in person again, perhaps as early as late spring this year.

 

Here are a few of the games.

 

1)

[Event “DC – Reykjavik Match Team Battle”]

[Site “https://lichess.org/g0xu6rAW”]

[Date “2024.01.27”]

[Result “1-0”]

[UTCDate “2024.01.27”]

[UTCTime “18:34:38”]

[WhiteElo “1852”]

[BlackElo “1965”]

[WhiteRatingDiff “+187”]

[BlackRatingDiff “-45”]

[WhiteTeam “us-chess-center-pine”]

[BlackTeam “iceland-kids-skakskoli-islands”]

[Variant “Standard”]

[TimeControl “420+3”]

[ECO “A45”]

[Termination “Normal”]

 

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d5 5. f3 dxe4 6. fxe4 O-O 7. Qd2 Nc6 8. O-O-O Bg4 9. Nf3 Nh5 10. Be3 e5 11. d5 Nd4 12. Be2 Nxe2+ 13. Nxe2 Nf6 14. Ng3 a5 15. h3 Bh5 16. Nxh5 gxh5 17. Qd3 Qd6 18. Rdg1 b5 19. g4 h4 20. Nxh4 Qd8 21. Nf5 Nd7 22. Bh6 Bxh6+ 23. Nxh6+ Kh8 24. Rf1 Qg5+ 25. Qd2 Qxd2+ 26. Kxd2 Kg7 27. g5 Nc5 28. Ke3 Ra6 29. Nf5+ Kg8 30. Ne7+ Kh8 31. Nc6 Raa8 32. Nxe5 Rae8 33. Rf5 f6 34. gxf6 Nxe4 35. Kxe4 1-0

 

 

2)

[Event “DC – Reykjavik Match Team Battle”]

[Site “https://lichess.org/SdnednKS”]

[Date “2024.01.27”]

[Result “1-0”]

[UTCDate “2024.01.27”]

[UTCTime “19:14:56”]

[WhiteElo “2072”]

[BlackElo “1579”]

[WhiteRatingDiff “+4”]

[BlackRatingDiff “-7”]

[WhiteTeam “us-chess-center-pine”]

[BlackTeam “iceland-kids-skakskoli-islands”]

[Variant “Standard”]

[TimeControl “420+3”]

[ECO “B32”]

[Termination “Normal”]

 

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. c3 d3 5. Bxd3 d6 6. O-O e5 7. Bc4 Be7 8. Ng5 Bxg5 9. Qh5 Qf6 10. Bxg5 Qg6 11. Qh4 h6 12. Be3 Nf6 13. f3 O-O 14. Na3 a6 15. Rad1 b5 16. Rxd6 bxc4 17. Rxc6 Be6 18. Nxc4 Bxc4 19. Rxc4 Rfd8 20. Rc6 Rab8 21. b3 Rd3 22. Bxh6 Qxh6 23. Qxh6 gxh6 24. Rxf6 Kg7 25. Rxa6 Rxc3 26. Rd1 Rbc8 27. Rd2 Rc1+ 28. Kf2 Ra1 29. Ra7 Rcc1 30. Rdd7 Rf1+ 31. Kg3 Kg6 32. Rxf7 Kh5 33. Ra6 Rxf3+ 34. gxf3 Rg1+ 35. Kf2 Rg5 36. Rf5 1-0

 

3)

[Event “DC – Reykjavik Match Team Battle”]

[Site “https://lichess.org/jMIFYgIA”]

[Date “2024.01.27”]

[Result “1-0”]

[UTCDate “2024.01.27”]

[UTCTime “19:10:14”]

[WhiteElo “1705”]

[BlackElo “1904”]

[WhiteRatingDiff “+103”]

[BlackRatingDiff “-81”]

[WhiteTeam “us-chess-center-pine”]

[BlackTeam “iceland-kids-skakskoli-islands”]

[Variant “Standard”]

[TimeControl “420+3”]

[ECO “B46”]

[Termination “Normal”]

 

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Be3 Qc7 8. Be2 Nf6 9. O-O d5 10. exd5 cxd5 11. Qd2 Bd6 12. h3 O-O 13. Bg5 Be5 14. Bf3 Rb8 15. Rab1 Rxb2 16. Rxb2 Bxc3 17. Qc1 Bxb2 18. Qxb2 Nd7 19. Be2 h6 20. Be3 Bb7 21. Qa3 Qxc2 22. Bd3 Qc7 23. Rc1 Qe5 24. Qa4 Nf6 25. Bd4 Qg5 26. Be3 Qe5 27. Bf4 Qh5 28. Rc7 Bc8 29. Bd6 Ne8 30. Rxc8 Nxd6 31. Rxf8+ Kxf8 32. Qxa6 Qe5 33. Be2 g6 34. a4 Nf5 35. Qd3 Nd4 36. Bf1 Nc6 37. Qb5 Qc3 38. Qe2 d4 39. Qd1 Qb4 40. Qc1 Na5 41. Qxh6+ Ke7 42. Qg5+ Ke8 43. Bb5+ Kf8 44. Qh6+ Kg8 45. Qc1 Nb3 46. Qd1 e5 47. Bd3 f5 48. Qc2 e4 49. Bc4+ Kg7 50. Bxb3 d3 51. Qc7+ Kh6 52. Qf4+ Kg7 53. Qe5+ Kh6 54. Qh8+ Kg5 55. h4+ Kg4 56. Bd1+ Kf4 57. Qh6+ Ke5 58. Qg7+ Kf4 59. g3# 1-0

Photos From Robert Katende’s Visit to Lanham

If there are any better tools than chess to teach life skills to young people, we don’t know what they are.

Robert Katende has spent the last two decades helping impoverished Ugandans escape some of the hardest slums in the world using sports, especially chess. Every year, he comes to the Washington, DC, area to host a free chess tournament, most recently this past Saturday in Lanham.

Several volunteers, including Scott Low and Andy Tichenor, helped make the event fun for children and adults. (Scott played in events at the U.S. Chess Center as a child and teenager. That was 15 years ago, and we are proud that we contributed to his development as a chess player and terrific human being.)

Katende’s best-known student is Women’s Candidate Master Phiona Mutesi, who was illiterate and hungry when she entered his chess classes in Katwe, Uganda, looking for food. Now a college graduate and an analyst for Deloitte, she credits learning chess for developing the skills she uses as an adult.

Hundreds of students come through Sports Outreach, Katende’s organization to help impoverished Ugandans and we appreciate that the Washington Education Zone in Lanham provided beautiful space in which to host a screening of Disney’s movie Queen of Katwe, the free tournament, and a simultaneous exhibition of chess. We will see them back here next year.

Spend National Chess Weekend (Oct 13-14) in Lanham, MD and meet Robert Katende

On Friday, October 13, you have a chance to meet Robert Katende and support Sports Outreach. On Saturday, October 14, the Washington Education Zone (Miles Hall at 8401 Good Luck Road in Lanham) will host its annual free chess tournament and a simultaneous exhibition by Mr. Katende.

Phiona Mutesi (seated left in the photo below) is one of the most inspiring stories to come from the chess world. As an under-nourished child in a slum of Uganda, Phiona discovered chess and became a champion of the African continent. Her story was written in The Queen of Katwe, then turned into a successful Disney movie.

We never would have heard of Phiona, however, had Robert Katende not created a chess program that welcomed her. Katende’s story, while not as well known, is equally inspiring. He also was brought up in difficult circumstances by his grandmother in Uganda. Through hard work and perseverance, he went to college, played soccer at a high level, and created a charity to help impoverished young people in his home country.

On National Chess Day this year, you have a chance to meet him and hear him speak.

GM Alex Sherzer: Q&A and Simul with our Sunday Chess Class on June 20, 2021

On Sunday, June 20, 2021, friend of the U.S. Chess Center and Grandmaster, Dr. Alexander Sherzer, joined our Sunday Chess class to answer questions and play a simultaneous exhibition (simul) against the students.  Dr. Sherzer talked about his chess experiences, including his friendship with the Polgár sisters and meeting Bobby Fischer.

View the 10 games played in the simul on Lichess at: https://lichess.org/simul/zixkDp4j or below (click the board to view that game on Lichess).

Photos & Games from an International Exhibition Match with Lusaka Province Chess Association of Zambia, Saturday, June 12, 2021

The US Chess Center played a match with a team from the Lusaka Province Chess Association (LPCA) in Lusaka, Zambia, on Saturday afternoon (evening in Africa), June 12th.  Each team was supposed to field 12 students, but the Zambian team had a few technical difficulties and only nine were able to participate.  The games were hard-fought, with every player having plenty of opportunities.

Before and after the match, the students went to break-out rooms to meet and learn about each other.  In addition to having common interests in sports and music, the kids from both locations like to play video games and have parents who restrict how much time they may spend online.

The coaches discussed the challenges of attracting and keeping girls involved with chess.  In Zambia, much competition is played among teams and the leagues require that at least one player per six-person team be female.  The coaches have succeeded in educating parents about the long-term value, both cultural and educational, of chess so that their attrition rate is low.

An excellent relationship was established and more matches between the two groups are expected to occur starting this summer. 

Here are some of the games played (Click the board to view the game at Lichess):

USCC - LPCA
LPCA - USCC
USCC - LPCA
LPCA - USCC
USCC - LPCA
LPCA - USCC
USCC - LPCA
LPCA - USCC
USCC - LPCA

WGM Jennifer Yu answers students’ questions and plays a consultation game against our Sunday Chess group

Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Jennifer Yu, the 2019 US Women’s Champion, spent time with our Sunday Chess group on May 16, answering students’ questions and playing a consultation game with them. Jennifer spoke about her training for tournaments, her expectations of playing chess indefinitely but not making it her career, and her passion for doing the best she can.  Watch some of the Q&A here:

After chatting with the students, WGM Yu played a consultation game with them.  In a consultation game, a group (in this case the US Chess Center’s Sunday Chess students) plays collectively, discussing and determining each move together as a team.  

USCC Sunday Chess (White) - WGM Yu (Black)

Nearly three hours later, the match resulted in a draw.  Watch each move in the match on Lichess here: https://lichess.org/kl7LM8LG#1

Thank you to WGM Yu for spending a Sunday afternoon with our students!

WATCH LIVE: IM David Recuero plays blitz chess with US Chess Center students on Twitch – Sunday, April 18, 2021 at ~1:30pm ET

International Master David Recuero will play blitz games with students in the US Chess Center’s Sunday Chess class, broadcasting his commentary on Twitch of the games as he plays them. The games begin at about 1:30 pm ET on Sunday, April 18, 2021.

International Master Recuero, of Oviedo, Spain, lived in Washington, DC, until recently and is the 2020 District of Columbia Chess Champion. He is temporarily located in Lima, Peru.

WATCH LIVE: IM David Recuero plays blitz chess with US Chess Center students on Twitch

Sunday, April 18, 2021
1:30pm ET
 

Re-match against GM Vassily Ivanchuk‘s Chess Club in Lviv, Ukraine

This past Saturday, March 13, 2021, elementary school students of the U.S. Chess Center played a friendly re-match with students from GM Vassily Ivanchuk’s Chess Club in Lviv, Ukraine. 

This is the third international match U.S. Chess Center students have played this year.

Fifteen students represented each team, playing for 90 minutes using the lichess.org Arena Chess platform.

These international matches are one of the great benefits of chess, as people from different cultures meet over the chessboard. Chess is the only language the students had in common and they had a wonderful time with their new friends.

The U.S. Chess Center welcomes friendly challenges from clubs around the world with the expectation that chess will continue to be a force for peace and goodwill among nations.

U.S. Chess Center
Students

GM Vassily Ivanchuk's
Students

U.S. Chess Center students play exhibition match against students from Ukraine


On Sunday, February 21, 2021, the U.S. Chess Center fielded a team of twelve students to play an online exhibition match with students in GM Vassily Ivanchuk‘s Chess Club in Lviv, Ukraine. The match was held in an arena format at a fast time control of seven minutes plus three second increments. The two teams exchanged photographs of the students involved.

While playing online is never as good as playing in person, travel time is greatly reduced and everyone involved had a good time.

The U.S. Chess Center Visits Cuba

The U.S. Chess Center took seven young chess ambassadors to Cuba from December 27, 2018, through January 3, 2019. We played chess with masters in three cities: Havana, Trinidad, and Camaguey, and with students in Havana and Camaguey.

In the Capablanca Chess Club in Havana

Other photos from Havana

Playing chess in Trinidad

Grandmaster Daniel Albornoz

More photos from Havana

Playing Camaguey youths

To see even more photos, visit the blog of Reemberto Rodriguez. Mr. Rodreguez joined us on the trip.