Special 2008 Summer Chess Academy report by Alan Anderson
Chair, Chess Subcommittee, Tempe Impact Education Foundation
Director, 2008 Summer Chess Academy
President, Checkmate Chess Instruction
Here is some great coverage about the 2008 Summer Chess Academy due to the excellent blogging skills of Randy Ho. Last night featured an excellent evening of chess at the home of Norm and Pam Saba. Please post this on your blog if you are able.
We were very fortunate to see the excellent chess skills of International Master Ben Finegold and International Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov. The Summer Chess Academy is very fortunate to have them as instructors – they are tremendous!
It was a very enjoyable evening which featured a wonderful dinner prepared by Pam Saba as well as great hospitality by Norm and Pam Saba.
Also, Myron and Rachel Lieberman, who have been tireless promoters of chess in Arizona and the U.S. for over 40 years were there. Myron and Rachel were a key element in helping the Summer Chess Academy get started and have given a lot of much-needed support and advice to this project.
Today, Ben had dinner at the home of Dr. Norman Saba and his wife Pam. The festivities started in the afternoon. First, Ben showed us his last round win in the National Open. After that, Ben played blitz (time odds of 1 minute to 5 minutes) against Dr. Saba, who is a 1900+ player. Ben won, though.
Then, we had a nice dinner (vegetarian lasagna, salad, bread, chess cookies, etc.)In the picture, from left to right going around the table: Randy Ho, Dr. Norman Saba, Audrey Colletti (a well-known TD), IM Ben Finegold, Alan Anderson (organizer of the Summer Chess Academy), GM Gregory Kaidanov, Myron Lieberman (leading chess promoter in Arizona).
After dinner, Ben showed us how the Knight moves (not kidding). Not to be outdone, Gregory Kaidanov moved his Knight around the board.
Next, Ben and Gregory played two blitz blindfold games. They would say their move and hit the clock. No pieces on the board! The spectators had no idea what the position looked like during the game.The first game was, according to Ben, ridiculous.
Kaidanov-Finegold (5 minute blindfold)
1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. exd5 Qxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. Be2 e6 7. Na3 cxd4 8. Nb5 Qd8 9. Qxd4 Qxd4 10. Nfxd4 Na6 11. Bf4 Bc5 12. f3 Bh5 13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. Nxb7 Nd5 15. Bxa6 1-0Ben thought his light-squared bishop was on h5 AND c8! So when Kaidanov played Nd6+, Ben played Ke7 allowing Nxb7.
Ben wanted a rematch to redeem himself.
Finegold-Kaidanov (5 minute blindfold)
1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxc4 5. e3 Bb4+ 6. Nbd2 b5 7. a4 c6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. O-O O-O 10. b3 c3 11. Ne4 Nbd7 12. Qc2 c5 13. Nxc5 Bxc5 14. dxc5 b4 15. Rfd1 Qa5 16. Bb5 Nxc5 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Nd4 Be4 19. Qe2 Qc7 20. a5 Rad8 21. Bc4 Bg6 22. h4 Qe5 23. Nc6 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Qh5 25. Qxh5 Bxh5 26. Rc1 Kg7 27. Nxa7 Rd8 28. Nc6 Rd1+ 29. Rxd1 Bxd1 30. Nxb4 c2 31. Na2 Bg4 32. b4 Na4 33. b5 Nc3 34. Nc1 e5 35. a6 Bc8 36. b6 Bxa6 37. Bxa6 1-0 Kaidanov lost on time.
The evening ended with Ben showing some chess problems. In the picture above, the task is: White to checkmate Black, BUT White can only move the Rook when it delivers mate.The theme of the night was creativity in chess. Thanks to Dr. Saba and his wife Pam for hosting the evening.
Sounds like a fun event.