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Princeton Chess Academy

Coppell Teen Vies To Be Best Junior Chess Player In Nation

5/27/2015

Coppell’s Jeffery Xiong just became a teenager, but he already has an international reputation. The 13-year-old -- one of the two youngest chessmasters in the country -- is the fifth-ranked junior player in the U.S. He’s in St. Louis today to compete in the U.S. Junior chess championship.

Jeffery Xiong has been engrossed in chess more than half his life - since he was 4, says his mother Jenny Li.

“At a birthday party, he saw a 4-year-old playing chess,” Li said. “He got so fascinated by the moves and he asked my husband to buy him a set of chess.”

Within a year, Jeffery learned to play. By the time he was 7, he was competing.

Only now, after seven years of competing, and playing up to 20 matches a year, he sees value in every match, even when he loses.

“When I was younger,” Jeffery says, “of course I enjoyed winning much more than when I lost. Now, when I lose a game, I want to improve more, because I learn more from losing than winning.”

Jeffery and his family are now so committed to chess that the teen is home-schooled. He takes classes online and gets help from his mom, a financial advisor who works at home. That lets him spend three to five hours a day studying chess, but his mom worries he might become too isolated.

“I think it’s just an absolutely fantastic experience to be playing people much older than me,” Jeffery says. “I just think it’s great for what I’m doing. In a way it makes me feel good about myself that I can keep up with older players.”

See the one-year old article. Jeffery just won the Chicago open, pocketed the third GM norm, and became the first Chinese-American GM (pending FIDE approval).

"Listen to your mother!"

5/21/2015

5/21/2015 – On May 16, 2015 nearly 2,700 students graduated at the Saint Louis University in Missouri, USA. The speaker at this Spring Commencement ceremony was the thirteenth World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, who also received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University. It is well worth the 17 minutes it takes to watch this well-crafted and inspiring speech.

When I was a little boy, growing up in Baku, my mother told me I could become the world chess champion someday. I don’t know if anyone else believed her, but I believed her. Years later, the sports authorities in the Soviet Union told me that I was a troublemaker, and that I could not become the world chess champion. Well, in 1985 I did become world champion, and this taught me the first important lesson I wish to share with you all today: listen to your mother!

Six years after that, the Soviet Union and all of its sports authorities ceased to exist while my mother is still going strong. And she is still telling me what I am capable of – and to eat my vegetables. Everyone will tell you to believe in yourself, and this of course is true. Only you can decide your course and only you can make it happen. But you must also listen to those who believe in you and to take strength from their love and from their support. Often they remind us to aim high, higher than you might aim on your own, especially when you are young. I am quite sure that if you all accomplish what your mothers believe you can accomplish, that this will be the most successful graduating class in the history of the world.

When I won the world championship in 1985 I was 22 years old and it was the greatest day of my life. I imagine today is a similar feeling for many of you. You are young, you are strong, and you have a long-time goal in your hands.

On that day in 1985, a strange thing happened. I was standing there on the stage, still with my flowers and my medal, the happiest person in the world, when I was approached by Rona Petrosian, the widow of a former world chess champion from the 60s, Tigran Petrosian. I was expecting another warm congratulations, but she had something else in mind. “Young man,” she said, “I feel sorry for you.” What? Sorry for me? Sorry for me? The youngest world champion in history, on top of the world? “I feel sorry for you,” she continued, “because the happiest day of your life is over.”

Wow, I couldn’t believe it. What a thing to say. But as I got over my shock I began to wonder… what if she’s right? And while I did not think much more about it on that celebratory day, I slowly came to realize that Rona Petrosian had given me a new goal in my life: to prove her wrong!

Now I realize she did me a favor that day, and so I will pass her gift on to you. Is the happiest day of your life over? Or do you already have a new dream, a new goal, a new plan? Graduation is about the future, and not just about your future. Few people expect to change the history of the world, but in some way you all will. It is up to you to decide if you will change the world with your presence – or if it will change in your absence.

You often hear in chess and other sports that “this player is more talented” but “that player works harder.” This is a fallacy. Hard work is a talent. The ability to keep trying when others quit is a talent. And hard work is never wasted. No matter what career you end up in, or even if you have a dozen different careers, the hard work represented here today will never be wasted. Your being here shows that you have that talent and it will serve you well no matter how you decide to make a difference in this world. Human beings cannot upgrade our hardware, that’s our DNA. But with hard work we can definitely upgrade our mental software.

See the speech.

FIDE World School Championships 2015

5/20/2015

5/20/2015 – The FIDE World Schools Chess Championships were hosted by the ASEAN Chess Academy and took place in Pattaya, Thailand. About 500 children from 34 countries fought in their various age groups for medals, titles, and prestige. China was the most successful nation, winning five gold, five silver, and four bronze medals. Big illustrated report.

See the full colorful article.

Fabiano Caruana to Join U.S. Chess Federation

5/13/2015

SAINT LOUIS (May 12, 2015) - The United States Chess Federation (USCF) today announced that Grandmaster Fabiano Caruana has initiated the application process to change chess federations, which, when approved, will allow him to play for the United States. Fabiano, who has dual citizenship in the United States and Italy, has been playing for the Italian Chess Federation for a number of years.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be representing the United States again and working with the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. I'd like to thank everybody who has made this possible, and I look forward to this exciting new partnership," said Fabiano Caruana."In addition, I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude for the support given to me over the past ten years by the Italian Chess Federation. I wish them all the best for the future."

When complete, this change will unite Fabiano Caruana, who is ranked third in the world, with Hikaru Nakamura, the world's fourth ranked player and Wesley So who is ninth, under the United States flag.

"The addition of Fabiano Caruana to the United States' roster is historic. For the first time in history the United States will have three of the top ten players in world " said Jean Hoffman, Executive Director of the USCF, "Over the past several years, we have made tremendous strides to increase the awareness of, and appreciation for, the great game of chess in the United States. The return of Fabiano to the USCF is another large step toward achieving our goals."

Caruana hopes to compete in his first tournament as a United States player on the second leg of the Grand Chess Tour at the Sinquefield Cup in Saint Louis, Missouri. The Grand Chess Tour is a circuit of international events for the world's best players. The 2015 Tour was created in partnership between the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis (Sinquefield Cup), Tower AS (Norway Chess 2015) and Chess Promotions, Ltd. (London Chess Classic).

See USCF news release.

Norway’s new six-year-old chess prodigy

5/12/2015

A six-year-old Norwegian girl has defeated a chess grandmaster, who claims she is better than top ranked Magnus Carlsen was at her age.

Lykke-Merlot Helliesen, named after the grape by her wine-loving father, won a simultaneous exhibition match against Simen Agdestein in which he played nine girls.

“She played splendidly! She is much better than that Carlsen was when he was six years old,” Agdestein said after the game, according to the chess website sjakkbloggen.no.

Agdestein was Norwegian chess champion seven times and is Magnus Carlsen’s former coach. His brother, Espen Agdestein, is Carlsen’s manager.

Lykke-Merlot has been playing chess for six months at a local chess club in her home town of Sandefjord. During that time, she has made remarkable progress, beating many of the best 12-13 year-olds.

According to her mother, May-Brit Park Helliesen, Lykke-Merlot showed signs of intelligence very early in life, tying her father’s ties when she was just three years old.

”She could tie five different tie knots when she was three or four years old. Including a double-double windsor,” Helliesen told Aftenposten.

It was Lykke-Merlots own choice to play chess.

”She is fascinated by the game. She is fond of playing chess, and has never been pressured,” he mother said.

See article and video.

Magnus Carlsen claims he could ‘stay at the top for another 20 years’

5/9/2015

Magnus Carlsen, fresh from his latest triumph, claimed last week he could “stay at the top for another 20 years”. The world champion’s 7/9 against an elite field at Shamkir, Azerbaijan, was the closest yet that the Norwegian has approached to the near-sweeps that Alexander Alekhine in 1930, Bobby Fischer in 1971 and Garry Kasparov in 1989 achieved in their pomp.

Carlsen advanced his overall rating to 2876, only six points shy of his all-time peak. The gap to the No2, India’s Vishy Anand, has jumped to a whopping 72 points.

Yet Carlsen could be faced with a serious challenger as early as 2017. Across the border from Shamkir, in Azerbaijan’s neighbour state Armenia, the world team championship ended in victory for China, already the first Asian country to break the Western monopoly of the biennial Olympiads. China captured gold ahead of Ukraine and Armenia, while the top-seeded Russians recovered from a dreadful start but still finished only fourth.

China has no heritage of Western chess. Xiangqi and Go remain far more popular. But when state backing arrived in the 70s, China’s coaches opted to focus on the best youthful talents. This strategy was used in 1930s USSR to create a golden generation and was followed in England in the 70s and 80s when Nigel Short and Michael Adams were spotted and helped before they were 10.

China’s current top six, all rated above the elite 2700 level, have an average age of 22. Chinese GMs used to peak at the world top 30-50, but now Ding Liren, 22, is rated No11 and poised for the top 10.

But the real mega-talent is Wei Yi. The 15-year-old was the best individual scorer in the world teams with 7/9, jumping to No34 in the ratings. He is the youngest 2700 in chess history, inviting comparisons with the phenomenal quantum jumps made by Fischer, Kasparov and Carlsen in their mid-teens. His likely years to become a world title candidate are 2017 and 2019, but his current progress is so fast that he should not be ruled out for the 128-player World Cup at Baku this September, whose two finalists will become candidates in 2016.

See full article.

Trophies at NJ All-Girls

5/8/2015

Princeton Chess Academy girls won two trophies at NJ All-Girls on May 3.

Ashley won the 4th place in the U1400 section.
Wendy won the 5th place in the U1400 section.

Both girls are attending the Tactics Workshop.

Congratulation!

Women's chess in India – myths and facts

5/6/2015

What is it that stops young girls from taking up chess in our state and also in the rest of India? Why is it that in an open chess tournament the participation of female players can be counted on our fingers? Why do young, talented girls drop out of chess at a young age and enter into academics? For this we need to understand some facts about chess and the problems faced by women players.

The myth goes that chess is only a mind game. Physical fitness does not count. However, this is far from truth. Yes, chess is a mental gym. One has to use full mental energy to fight out the battle on the chess board. But is mental strength and intellect enough? No. Most of you will be surprised to hear that chess requires complete physical fitness. Physical stamina and strength are essential for proper functioning of the brain during the five to six stressful hours that one has to sit at the chess board. No wonder World Champion Magnus Carlsen plays football or goes to a gym to ‘relax’ on rest days during chess tournaments!

As of today, men play chess better than women. But does that mean they are more intelligent? No. In academics, girls have proved themselves to be as good as or even better than boys. So, what makes chess different? First of all we must agree that nature has made men and women different. Let’s respect each others’ differences. We can see the difference between a girl and a boy from early childhood. When young boys meet, they love to push each other, fight – this is all fun for them. Ever noticed how young girls behave when they meet each other? They make each other comfortable, smile, laugh, talk, but they normally do not indulge in physical fight. So we see that the fighting spirit required in the game of chess comes naturally to men whereas the peaceful women have to go the extra mile to inculcate this fighting spirit in themselves.

There is a theory that women are inborn nurturers. Nature has made women very soft and caring. However, every woman chess player knows that she has to become tough to excel in chess. They say chess is a gentleman’s game. Yes, chess players are very good human beings off the board, but trust me, a very average human being cannot excel at chess. One has to be extra sharp and clever on the board, one has to be a bad guy on the board – completely ruthless. Most male players have two personalities: they are a great human being off the board, complete gentlemen, but on the board they do not spare anyone. Normal women find it difficult to keep double standards. They always have soft corners for people and being ruthless doesn’t come naturally to them. So we see that a girl has to develop instincts which are not natural to her. She has to make extra efforts to develop that killer instinct which a boy has very early on, and he mingles in similar company. Do I mean to say that women cannot develop these qualities to play good chess? Of course they can, but they do so with effort, acting against what nature has made them. These are the characteristic traits which make girls different from boys from an early age.

Read the full article.

May 2015 Newsletter

5/1/2015

News and Announcement

Alice wins the Co-Champion at KCF National All-Girls
Team Trophies at Central Jersey Chess Tournament
Daily Puzzles: http://www.completechesscourse.com/puzzles.html
Tactics Workshop

Tactics Corner

Scholastic Tournaments

See newsletter.