Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

Games by two of the top female finishers in the Reserve Section: Wagner,Warren (1382) - Huang,Alena (1320) [D13] HCC X, Milwaukee, WI (3), 17.10.2009 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.cxd5 cxd5 4.Nc3 Nc6 5.Bf4 Nf6 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.e3 a6 8.a3 e6 9.Bd3 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.0-0 Bd6 12.Bxd6 Qxd6 13.b4 0-0 14.Be2 Rac8 15.Qb3 Rfe8 16.Qb2 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 e5 18.dxe5 Nxe5 19.Rfd1 Nxf3+ 20.gxf3 Qe5 21.Na4 Qf5 22.Kg2 Rc4 23.Rd4 Rc2 24.Qb1 Rxe3 25.Qd1 Rce2 0-1 Huang,Joanna (1383) - Neumann,Curt (1245) [B23] HCC X, Milwaukee, WI, 17.10.2009 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bb5 Nd4 6.Bc4 Nxf3+ 7.Qxf3 d6 8.0-0 Nh6 9.d3 0-0 10.Qg3 Be6 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Qh4 Nf7 13.f5 Ne5 14.Bh6 Bxh6 15.Qxh6 exf5 16.exf5 gxf5 17.Qg5+ Kh8 18.Rxf5 e6 19.Rxf8+ Qxf8 20.Rf1 Qg7 21.Qf6 Qxf6 22.Rxf6 Re8 23.Ne4 d5 24.Nxc5 Kg7 25.Rxe6 Rxe6 26.Nxe6+ Kf6 27.Nc7 d4 28.Nb5 Nc6 29.a3 a6 30.Nd6 b5 31.Kf2 Ke5 32.Nf7+ Kd5 33.g4 a5 34.c3 dxc3 35.bxc3 b4 36.cxb4 axb4 37.axb4 Nxb4 38.Ke3 Nc6 39.Ng5 h6 40.Nf7 Ne7 41.Nxh6 Ng6 42.Nf5 Ne5 43.g5 Ng4+ 44.Kf4 Nxh2 45.g6 Ke6 46.d4 Nf1 47.d5+ Kf6 48.g7 Kf7 49.d6 Nd2 50.d7 1-0

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

More photos...

Joanna Huang receiving a Kosteniuk prize from TD Tom Fogec

Action shots of the ladies in the Reserve Section

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

More photos of the ladies in action! Robert Shockley v. Sandra Pahl Brian MacLeish v. Isabella Ilchenko Jonathan Hildeman v. Nicole Niemi

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

More photos - I'll have some games from the chess femmes within the next few days, too. Winners of Kosteniuk prizes: Rachel Ulrich (left) and Alena Huang (right) Alena Huang v. Warren Wagner Claudia Schneider checkmating John Hegelmeyer

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

Here are the final standings for the ladies (with Section winners noted) (updated 7:48 p.m.): Open (42 players): No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score 1. Amanov, Mesgen (1)............ IL 2437 W8 W12 W16 W5 4.0 13. Niemi, Nicole (18)............ WI 1854 W27 D6 L14 W29 2.5 (Goddesschess prize) 36. Pahl, Sandra R (40)........... WI 1527 L31 L24 L35 W41 1.0 (Goddesschess prize) Reserve (33 players): No. Name St Rate 1 2 3 4 Score 1. Etzel, Steven W (1)........... WI 1565 W32 W14 W6 W8 4.0 2. Huang, Joanna (8)............. WI 1383 W33 W15 D7 W13 3.5 (Regular and Goddesschess prizes) 7. Ulrich, Rachel J (12)......... IL 1351 W34 W18 D2 D9 3.0 (Regular and Goddesschess prizes) 8. Huang, Alena (14)............. WI 1320 W29 W5 W10 L1 3.0 (Regular and Goddessches prizes) 21. Ilchenko, Isabella (31)....... WI 590 L14 W32 L5 W28 2.0 28. Schneider, Claudia (28)....... WI 656 L11 L4 W31 L21 1.0 33. Khunger, Simran (26).......... WI 872 L2 L30 -U- -U- 0.0 A good showing by Nicole Niemi in the Open, a tough one for Sandra Pahl but she scored a win in her final game. A great result for Joanna Huang (3.5/4), Rachel Ulrich and Alena Huang (3/4.0)! Congratulations to the winners of the Goddesschess and Kosteniuk prizes. I'll see if I can get a couple of the ladies' games to post. Official ratings for the Tournament at USCF. You Tube video - top boards in Reserve Section (I think final round).

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

I'm having issues downloading photos that Allen Becker emailed to me. Here are two from the SWCC blog. Top photo is Nicole Niemi v. Anthony Parker in R3. Bottom photo is Joanna Huang v. Ryan Thomas on Board 2 (front of table) and I believe Alena Huang v. Steve Etzel same table but toward the wall (Alena had black in the final round).

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

The final count is in: 75 players participating. This is down from the record 107 players who participated in Challenge IX in April. The recession is taking a hard toll on Challenge X. There are two women playing in the Open section (42 players): Nicole Niemi (winner of a Goddesschess prize in Challenge IX) and Sandra Pahl (winner of a Goddesschess prize in Challenge IX, playing in the Reserve section). According to information from SWCC, there are six chess femmes playing in the Reserve section (33 players). Here are their standings after R1: Open: 18. Nicol Niemi 1854 B 39 (W 7 R2 match-up) 1.0 40. Sandra R. Pahl 1527 B 19 (W 26 R2 match-up) 0.0 Not surprising, as her opponent outranked her by more than 300 points. Reserve: 8. Huang, Joanna 1383 B 25 (W 15 R2 match-up) 1.0 12. Ulrich, Rachel J 1351 B 29 (W 21 R2 match-up) 1.0 14. Huang, Alena 1320 B 31 (W 7 R2 match-up) 1.0 27. Schneider, Claudia 656 W 10 (B 5 R2 match-up) 0.0 (Claudia's first match was against Adream Liang, rated 1366) 30. Ilchenko, Isabella 590 B 13 (W 17 R2 match-up) 0.0 (Isabella's first match was against Shi Tinglin, rated 1210) I am missing a chess femme from the reserve section -- name, please? I will report results as they become available. UPDATE 3:55 P.M.: I can't locate results for R2, but I received this brief email report from Allen Becker on R3: I watched Nicole nearly defeat Anthony Parker (a very strong expert) in Round 2, and took some photos (I can send later). She ended up drawing. In the Reserve section, the Huang sisters are moving up the charts, now on Boards 2 and 3 in Round 3, with an eye on 1st place! UPDATE 8:20 P.M. - after R3: Open: 21. Niemi, Nicole (18)............ WI 1854 W19 D10 L8 1.5 42. Pahl, Sandra R (40)........... WI 1527 L27 L29 L32 0.0 Reserve: 2. Huang, Alena (14)............. WI 1320 W26 W9 W10 3.0 3. Huang, Joanna (8)............. WI 1383 W32 W13 D4 2.5 4. Ulrich, Rachel J (12)......... IL 1351 W33 W16 D3 2.5 23. Schneider, Claudia (27)....... WI 656 L18 L8 W29 1.0 25. Ilchenko, Isabella (30)....... WI 590 L12 W31 L9 1.0 32. Khunger, Simran (25).......... WI 872 L3 L28 -U- 0.0

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

It's nearly here! This Saturday, October 17th!!! I'm very excited, but anxious too. Goddesschess wants Hales Corners Challenge X to be the biggest and best Challenge in SE Wisconsin yet! And we want to see a record-breaking number of chess femmes come out and play. In HCCC IX, a record-breaking 107 players turned out -- many registering on the morning of the Tournament! Of those, 11 were females, for an overall participation rate of 10.28% (Open and Reserve Sections); female participation in the Reserve Section was a whopping 19.61%. The economy is lousy, money is tight, and playing four two-hour long games (total time both players) in one day is an absolute GRIND. Can we do it? I believe we can - more female players! For Challenge X, Goddesschess changed its prize structure a bit. We are now offering three prizes for the best female players in the Reserve Section, and two prizes in the Open Section in the hopes of encouraging more females to play in the Open. And for HCCCX, we have something new - current Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk generously donated several books (autographed) and other items just for the female players who participate in HCCCX! She has provided these items in the hopes of encouraging more female players to sign up and play in this great local event. GM Kosteniuk is co-chair with GM Susan Polgar of the FIDE Women's Commission, and is dedicated to improving playing conditions and enlarging playing opportunities for female chessplayers around the world, in addition to doing educational outreach. She does this while balancing family life and playing schedule (she just competed in the Women's European Club Cup on the Monaco team and is one of three women who will be playing in the upcoming World Cup).

HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE X

October 17, 2009

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day USCF RatedTwo Sections – Open & Reserve (Under 1600) TIME LIMIT: Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player) ENTRY FEE:$35 – Open; $25 – Reserve (both sections $5 more after October 14, 2009) Comp Entry Fee for USCF 2200+: Entry fee subtracted from any prizes won SITE REGISTRATION:8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ROUNDS:10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm Pairings by WinTD---No Computer Entries---No Smoking PRIZES: OPEN RESERVE 1st—$325* 1st—$100 2nd—$175* 2nd—$75A—$100 D—$50B & Below—$75 E & Below—$40* guaranteed Goddesschess prizes for top performing females: Open Section: 1st - $60, 2nd - $40; Reserve Section: 1st - $40, 2nd $30, 3rd $20 Additional items (books, CDs, etc.) just for female chessplayers donated by "Chess Queen" GM Alexandra Kosteniuk Tournament Director: Tom Fogec Assistant Tournament Directors: Robin Grochowski & Allen Becker SITE: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue—Milwaukee—Telephone 414-481-8000 (formerly known as Four Points Sheraton, across street from airport) ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker—6105 Thorncrest Drive—Greendale, WI 53129 allenbecker@wi.rr.com QUESTIONS TO: Tom Fogec—414-425-6742 (home) or 414-405-4207 (cell) USCF I.D. Required -- Bring your own clocks – Sets and Boards Provided Half point bye available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4. Registration form See the announcement in the September, 2009 print edition of Chess Life Magazine under Grand Prix. Goddesschess will increase the dedicated prize money for the female players in the next HCCC if we get one more female playing in Challenge X. And the more females who sign up and play in Challenge X, the more we will increase the prize fund and number of prizes available for Challenge XI.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

NEWS! Women's World Chess Champion GM Alexandra Kosteniuk is graciously providing books and CDs that will be distributed as special prizes to chess femmes at the Hales Corners Chess Challenge X on October 17, 2009 at the Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel, Milwaukee, Wisconsin - stay tuned for the particulars! Thank you, GM Kosteniuk, for your generous support! GM Kosteniuk shares our goals of encouraging more female chess players to participate in local chess tournaments and for girls and women of all ages to take up the game! The Hales Corners Challenge series of USCF-sanctioned Grand Prix Tournaments is organized by the Southwest Chess Club, Hales Corners, Wisconsin.

Hales Corners Chess Challenge X!

It will be here before we know it! (Photo: Nicole Niemi, one of the winners of a Goddesschess prize in Hales Corners Challenge IX) Information and a link to the registration form below. Goddesschess would like to see the Hales Corners Challenge X be the biggest and best Challenge yet! And we want to see a record-breaking number of chess femmes come out and play.

HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE X October 17, 2009

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day USCF Rated Two Sections – Open & Reserve (Under 1600) TIME LIMIT: Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player) ENTRY FEE: $35 – Open; $25 – Reserve (both sections $5 more after October 14, 2009) Comp Entry Fee for USCF 2200+: Entry fee subtracted from any prizes won SITE REGISTRATION: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ROUNDS: 10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm Pairings by WinTD---No Computer Entries---No Smoking PRIZES OPEN RESERVE 1st—$325* 1st—$100 2nd—$175* 2nd—$75 A—$100 D—$50 B & Below—$75 E & Below—$40 * guaranteed Goddesschess prizes for top performing females: Open Section: 1st - $60, 2nd - $40; Reserve Section: 1st - $40, 2nd $30, 3rd $20 Tournament Director: Tom Fogec Assistant Tournament Directors: Robin Grochowski & Allen Becker SITE: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue—Milwaukee— Telephone 414-481-8000 (formerly known as Four Points Sheraton, across street from airport) ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker—6105 Thorncrest Drive—Greendale, WI 53129 allenbecker@wi.rr.com QUESTIONS TO: Tom Fogec—414-425-6742 (home) or 414-405-4207 (cell) USCF I.D. Required -- Bring your own clocks – Sets and Boards Provided Half point bye available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4. Registration form See the announcement in the September, 2009 print edition of Chess Life Magazine under Grand Prix.

Hales Corners Challenge X!

Hola Darlings! I'm taking a short break after raking up all the twigs and debris in the back yard (whew!) left by several windstorms since the last time I cut the grass (3 weeks ago!). I'm going to change and walk to the supermarket for necessities such as toilet paper and bird seed and then change back into my sweat-soaked, insect-repellant impregnated clothes and rev up the 6 hp gas-guzzling lawn mower to give the grass out back the once-over. I wanted to take a moment to remind all of our millions of faithful fans (ahem) of this absolutely fabtastic event coming up in October - the Hales Corners Chess Challenge! It's good for 10 Grand Prix points! Goddesschess increased its special prizes just for the chess femmes for this tournament. There are now 2 prizes offered for femmes playing in the Open, and three prizes offered for femmes playing in the Reserve section. We hope more chess femmes than ever before will come out and play, and compete for the prizes.

Hales Corners Challenge X

Sponsored by The Southwest Chess Club

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Two Sections – Open & Reserve (Under 1600)

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day USCF Rated TIME LIMIT: Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player) ENTRY FEE: $35 – Open; $25 – Reserve (both sections $5 more after October 14, 2009) Comp Entry Fee for USCF 2200+: Entry fee subtracted from any prizes won SITE REGISTRATION: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.ROUNDS: 10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm Pairings by WinTD---No Computer Entries---No Smoking PRIZES OPEN RESERVE 1st—$325* 1st—$100 2nd—$175* 2nd—$75 A—$100 D—$50 B & Below—$75 E & Below—$40* guaranteed Goddesschess prizes for top performing females: Open Section: 1st - $60, 2nd - $40 Reserve Section: 1st - $40, 2nd $30, 3rd $20 Tournament Director: Tom Fogec Assistant Tournament Directors: Robin Grochowski & Allen Becker SITE: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue—Milwaukee—414-481-8000 (formerly known as Four Points Sheraton, across street from airport) ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker—6105 Thorncrest Drive—Greendale, WI 53129 allenbecker@wi.rr.com QUESTIONS TO: Tom Fogec—414-425-6742 (home) or 414-405-4207 (cell) USCF I.D. Required -- Bring your own clocks – Sets and Boards Provided Half point bye available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4. _____________________________________________________________________________Checks Check payable to Southwest Chess Club (Please indicate section desired) __Open Section __Reserve Section Name: __________________________________________________ USCF ID#: ________________ Rating: _________ Expire Date: ___________ Address: ______________________________________ City: _____________________ State: _______ Zip: _________ Phone: __________________e-mail Address: _______________________

Hales Corners Challenge X!

We have a flyer for the Hales Corners Chess Challenge X, yippee! It doesn't show up in all of its glory here - but I'll do my best to make it pretty :)

Hales Corners Challenge X Sponsored by The Southwest Chess Club Saturday, October 17, 2009 Two Sections – Open & Reserve (Under 1600)

FORMAT: Four Round Swiss System - Four Games in One Day USCF Rated TIME LIMIT: Game in One Hour (60 minutes per player) ENTRY FEE: $35 – Open; $25 – Reserve (both sections $5 more after October 14, 2009) Comp Entry Fee for USCF 2200+: Entry fee subtracted from any prizes won SITE REGISTRATION: 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ROUNDS: 10 am -- 1 pm -- 3:30 pm -- 6 pm Pairings by WinTD---No Computer Entries---No Smoking PRIZES OPEN RESERVE 1st—$325* 1st—$100 2nd—$175* 2nd—$75 A—$100 D—$50 B & Below—$75 E & Below—$40 * guaranteed Goddesschess prizes for top performing females: Open Section: 1st - $60, 2nd - $40 Reserve Section: 1st - $40, 2nd $30, 3rd $20 Tournament Director: Tom Fogec Assistant Tournament Directors: Robin Grochowski & Allen Becker SITE: Wyndham Milwaukee Airport Hotel—4747 S. Howell Avenue—Milwaukee—414-481-8000 (formerly known as Four Points Sheraton, across street from airport) ENTRIES TO: Allen Becker—6105 Thorncrest Drive—Greendale, WI 53129 allenbecker@wi.rr.com QUESTIONS TO: Tom Fogec—414-425-6742 (home) or 414-405-4207 (cell) USCF I.D. Required -- Bring your own clocks – Sets and Boards Provided Half point bye available in Round 1, 2 or 3 if requested prior to round 1; not available in Round 4. _____________________________________________________________________________ Checks payable to Southwest Chess Club (Please indicate section desired) __Open Section __Reserve Section Name: __________________________________________________ USCF ID#: ________________ Rating: _________ Expire Date: ___________ Address: ______________________________________ City: _____________________ State: _______ Zip: _________ Phone: __________________ e-mail Address: _______________________

Hales Corners Challenge X!

It's early days yet, darlings, but I am pleased to announce that Goddesschess will be funding chess prizes just for the chess femmes who participate in this upcoming USCF Grand Prix event sponsored by my adopted chess club, the Southwest Chess Club (of Hales Corners):

HALES CORNERS CHALLENGE X!

There was a great turn-out for the Hales Corners Challenge IX in April, 2009 (107 players - a record!), and I was so happy to see so many chess femmes playing, particularly in the Reserve section. I'm greatly looking forward to Challenge X. I don't have dates yet, but I'm assuming it will be held around the same time this year that it was in 2008 (October), when Goddesschess first funded some special prizes (in Hales Corners Challenge VIII). For Challenge X, we first offered a somewhat increased level of funding for prizes for the chess femmes over those paid in Challenge IX. But after discussing it with further with my partners - as it was pointed out to me - the Reserve section attracted the most female players in both Challenge VIII and Challenge IX. We have therefore increased the number of prizes available to chess femmes who will be playing in both the Reserve and Open sections in Challenge X, and increased our prize fund by 80%, to $190. Details will be forthcoming when the Club publishes its official flyer! We would love to see the best turn-out yet of chess femmes for the Hales Corners Challenge X. Please spread the word. The more chess femmes who play in each Hales Corners Challenge, the more Goddesschess will increase its funding of special prizes just for them. Funding prizes for chess femmes in our now TWO adopted chess clubs is a way of showing our commitment to increasing the number of femmes who play in clubs and participate in their tournaments. To that end, you may have read here recently that we have adopted a club in Montreal, Quebec (Canada), which is hosting the 2009 Montreal Open Chess Championship to be held September 11 - 13, 2009 in Montreal: Club d'echecs Ahuntsic. Goddesschess is funding special prizes such for the chess femmes in the 2009 Montreal Open too. More info on the Montreal Open. Oh, we're just tickled pink - except pink doesn't show up too well against the white background of this blog so we're sticking with red for now :)