Exhibition Match

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.