We have received from IM Renier Castellanos a small tribute to the greatest player of all time, Robert James Fischer. Fischer to play and win, Enjoy!

Fischer,R-Reshevsky,S
New York/Los Angeles m 1961
Fischer,R-Benko,P
Candidates tournament, 1962

Fischer,R-Fine,R
New York, 1963
Fischer,R-Benko,P
New York 1965
Fischer,R-Ivkov,B
Piatigorsky-Cup 2nd, 1966
Fischer,R-Panov,V
Skopje 1967
Fischer,R-Soos,B
Skopje, 1967
Fischer,R-Myagmarsuren,Lhamsuren
Sousse Interzonal 1967
Fischer,R-Minic,D
Vinkovci, 1968
Fischer,R-Hook,W
Siegen 1970

Link | Renier Castellanos

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My father taught me to play when I was 9 years old. I was fascinated by the boards set up all around the living room, each displaying a different position. I was so eager to learn. My father loved something called postal chess, where he would play people from far away exotic lands through the mail. Most of his opponents lived in Russia, so it took months for each move to arrive. It was always an exciting day when that postcard arrived with its intriguing stamps. It held the mysterious code known only to chess players, informing my father of the next move.

I quickly fell in love with the game and when I beat my father for the first time I quickly made the decision to try out tournaments. Although Dad was more interested in postal chess than over the board play, he joined me in my first tournament, so that I wouldn’t be alone. Now the first thing I noticed, in that small Connecticut tournament, was that I was the only girl and the only child. A little intimidating, but Dad was there, so it was okay. I soon became engrossed in my games, throwing myself into the battle, eager to conquer my opponent, forgetting that the odds were stacked against me. I’m not sure who was more surprised and excited, my father or I, when I won second place.

As an adult I spent a year traveling around the country playing in tournaments. When I attended the NY Open, Dad came up on the train from Connecticut to watch me play. After each game we would talk about the high and low points, analyzing my play, sometimes disagreeing about my strategies (especially when I chose to sacrifice a piece for a dubious attack).

Throughout my life chess has aided me in real life situations. The skill set I learned from getting good at the game gave me true advantages in life. Not only did I learn how to think logically, but I discovered I could create successful long-term strategies and short-term tactical plans, which would give me many victories on and off the board. To this day I see any challenge in life as simply a king on the board ready to be checkmated.

Of course most people do not get into competition play, but chess is still an amazingly adventure and wonderful bonding experience for any family. Whether you take a set on family camping trips or out to the beach or just stay home enjoying family-time after dinner there is nothing like chess for bringing a family together.

In this day and age with television and video games, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see families playing chess with one another? And just imagine for a moment what heights our children can reach if they gain the self confidence and strategic prowess that a sound knowledge of chess offers.

I am publishing this series of posts about Chess & Education with cooperation with Laura Sherman. Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as privately in students’ homes and online.

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Ja pots jugar a escacs amb lo Marraco sense necessitat de descarregar cap software.

Això sí! També podràs continuar fent-ho descarregant el software de manera habitual i connectant al servidor de joc amb el teu nom d’usuari registrat. Encara no ho has fet? Crea gratuitament el teu compte.

Fes click aquí per començar a jugar!

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Imagine a world where people all have excellent problem solving skills, where they are patient and respectful of each other on a daily basis. A society where citizens live for the future and plan long term, thinking of where their children’s children will be, following through, seeing each goal to its conclusion with ease. Now add to that an indefinable quality of artistic imagination, dreaming for more than can be reasonably expected, reaching beyond the status quo.

Chess can teach our next generation all these skills and more!

I learned the game when I was young and to this day I see the world as a giant chess game where any barrier can be conquered and any victory can be achieved. No goal is impossible and when I have a target in sight there is no stopping me. The same glint I had in my eye when I faced an opponent at a chess tournament still exists today when I face a challenge, along with the insouciant grin that comes from the pure joy of the experience.

Intuitively most would agree that chess improves a student’s grades and ability to study. Numerous studies have been done over the years throughout the world that show this to be the case. IQ increases, reading test results improve as do math and science scores. However there are so many other skills children pick up naturally from learning and becoming good at chess.

Imagination is a must in chess. You cannot form strategies and tactical plans without being able to envision your goals. It is impossible to win a game without first imagining the victory. You are the one to make the pieces dance to the rhythm you choose. Without the player the pieces just sit dormant on a dusty board.

A child’s self confidence soars as the victories pile up, especially when that child can routinely trounce adults. Allow that child to teach other children or perhaps even the adults and he or she will master the game quickly. Nothing helps someone learn faster than teaching others and nothing does more for one’s pride than to see someone improve under one’s tutelage.

In order to achieve a victory one must consistently play well throughout the game. You can make forty excellent moves and one thoughtless blunder and lose the game instantly. As a result you quickly learn to be thorough in your analysis and patient with your moves. Imagine if we all applied this little lesson to our daily lives. Thoughtless comments, heat of the moment bursts of anger, crimes of passion might just become things of the past to be studied as a part of a history lesson.
 
If every parent initiated regular family chess nights and if every school taught chess as part of their daily lesson plan imagine where our country could be. Children naturally are drawn to chess. If you don’t believe me try an easy experiment. Go to an area populated with children, put out a chess set and see what happens. I promise you they will flock to the board and become immersed in a game. We all have the power to fuel our children’s existing passion for learning and help our next generation soar. Let’s make a difference!

I am publishing this series of posts about Chess & Education with cooperation with Laura Sherman. Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as privately in students’ homes and online.

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I get this question a lot. Many parents wonder when they should dust off the old chess board in the attic and introduce the game of kings and queens to their child. I would venture to guess most parents wait too long. In our household I started teaching our son when he was four. The lessons were very short and fun, many occurred on the beach. As he learned more and more of the basics the lessons became longer and longer. Now that he is five and has more experience we can go 45 minutes without a problem. He has also played in two tournaments which lasted over 1 hour.

Since we teach our son regularly our 2-year-old daughter started to hop up on the chair in front of the board in the dining room and declare “Chess!� in a quite demanding way. At first glance this may seem to be an impossible task, but really, if you look at it, any familiarity with the game, with the pieces and board is good. So what’s the first step? Introduce and name the pieces. This is true of any student of any age. So I started with the pawn.

Holding up the pawn and said, “This is a pawn. Can you say ‘pawn’?� She eagerly repeated “Pawn!� and I handed it to her. Then I picked up another pawn and asked, “What is this?� “Pawn!� she chirped happily and received another pawn. I let her place these pawns anywhere on the board that she wanted, after all they were her reward for a job well done. I repeated this a few times and then I held up a rook. “This is a rook,� I said. “Rook,� she repeated and received the treasured piece. We repeated this a few times and then I held up a pawn to see if she remembered that piece. Seeing that she was having trouble I reminded her, “This is a pawn.� “Pawn!� she exclaimed and took it from my hand. I focused on these two pieces for a few minutes and then ended the lesson, making sure to tell her that she did a very good job and that I was really proud of her. She, like her brother, request regular lessons from us.

A month or so later she can now name all the pieces. Her brother helps to teach her. This will greatly improve his understanding and appreciation of the game. Any time a child can teach another a skill they will advance immeasurably in that area.

We actually caught a lesson on tape and posted it on YouTube so you can see them in action. You can see here that she is still learning the difference between a king and a queen, but now she has that down.

 

The next step will be to go over the movement of the pieces. Patience is the key. It doesn’t matter how long it takes for your child to grasp the next step. The only important thing is that he or she fully get one step before moving on. Remember you are building a foundation of understanding.

Laura Sherman founded Your Chess Coach with her husband, Dan Sherman. Together they teach children to play chess through various schools in Pinellas County, Florida, as well as privately in students’ homes and online.

Chess related links: Secondchess | Your Chess Coach | Lleida Escacs Virtual

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Lleida Escacs Virtual ha superat la fita de 300.000 partides jugades al servidor de joc des de la seva posta en funcionament al mes Gener de 2005. El projecte ha estat desenvolupat integrament per Accés - Institut Municipal d’Informàtica i ha comptat, entre altres, amb el suport de SEMIC, el Departament de Treball de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Turisme de Lleida, la Regidoria d’Esports i la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

El servei web de Lleida Escacs Virtual és actualment accesible des de www.escacsvirtual.com i marraco.paeria.es. Els usuaris registrats poden descarregar gratuitament la aplicació i jugar o seguir partides d’escacs durant les 24 hores del dia.

El Mestre Internacional lleidatà Guillem Baches, també desenvolupador del projecte, ha escenificat la partida 300.000 jugant una partida des de la Seu Vella contra el motor de joc marraco desenvolupat a partir del software de joc FIBChess en col·laboració amb la Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

Guillem Baches ens explica que “El joc de peces , que va estar especialment dissenyat per el dissenyador lleidatà giland.com, representa motius emblemàtics de la ciutat de Lleida. Per exemple, Trobem els peons que son cargols de lleida, els alfils representats per Indivil i Mandoni, els cavalls son lo marrcao, el rei i la dama representats per la fruita de Lleida i la Torre que està simbolitzada per la Seu Vella.”

En l’agenda d’events virtuals es programa la celebració del dia de Internet, el proper 17 de Maig, la festa Major Virtual i la propera Campanya Juga a Escacs amb lo Marraco on els internautes podran jugar des de la web, sense necessitat de descarregar cap software, i enfrentarse amb el motor de joc marraco. La campanya començarà el proper mes de Maig i s’allargarà fins a finals del mes de Setembre.

A més a més, els aficionats als escacs podran gaudir de la organització del Campionat de Catalunya Absolut. L’event comptarà amb la participació de 16 dels millors jugadors catalans i tindrà lloc els propers dies 16 al 23 de Maig al Hotel Sansi Park. L’organització serà a carrèc del Club Escacs Lleida i la Federació Catalana d’Escacs. Les partides, com no, podran ser visualitzades a escacsvirtual.com.

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Capturo a través del Facebook de David Monell la foto del ascenso a División de Honor del Club Escacs Lleida. En la foto aparecen componentes del primer equipo y algunas de las piezas clave del Club fundado el año 1934 que retoma una plaza en la máxima categoría de Ajedrez Catalana.

Arriba de izquierda a derecha: Alberto Aranzana, Josep Oms, Jorge González, Sandro Pozo, Josep Codina, Aramis �lvarez, Guillem Baches, Jaume Esparbé, Joan Gensana, Carmelo Villa. A bajo de izquierda a derecha: Mario Bruned, David Monell i Joan Trepat.

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El Club Escacs Lleida s’ha proclamat Campió de la Primera Divisió Catalana desprès d’aconseguir 8 victòries i un empat obtenint així l’ascens a la Divisió d’Honor.

La novena i darrera jornada, en la que l’equip lleidatà depenia d’ell mateix per aconseguir l’ascens amb una victòria, va resultar positiva amb un ample resultat de 9,5 a 0,5 contra La Lira que finalment ha evitat el descens tot i la derrota.

L’equip lleidatà titular ha estat format per el GM Josep Oms, els MF cubans Sandro Pozo i Aramis Alvarez, el Mestre Internacional colombià Jorge Gonzalez, el Mestre Internacional lleidatà Guillem Baches i els Mestres Catalans locals Joan Trepat, Mario Bruned, José María Rodriguez, David Monell i Josep Codina.

D’altra banda, el Club Escacs Balaguer, amb cinc victòries, tres derrotes i un empat, ha aconseguit una meritòria tercera posició que el manté a la categoria un any més.

Enhorabona als equips lleidatans!

La meva darrera partida | Baches, G - Severri

Més info | Federació Catalana d’Escacs

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Notable vuitena jornada al Campionat de Catalunya per Equips per als equips lleidatans a Primera Categoria.

El Club Escacs Lleida va aconseguir la seva setena victòria davant el Congrés i continua al capdavant de la classificació a manca d’una jornada.

El resultat amb les victòries de Sandro Pozo, Aramis, Guillem Baches i Josep Codina sumat als empats de Josep Oms, Joan Trepat, Alberto Aranzana i Joan Gensana reflexava un 6-4 favorable al equip lleidatà.

D’altra banda, el Club Escacs Balaguer va poder sumar la seva cuarta victòria el que el confirma un any més a la Primera Divisió.

Més info | Federació Catalana d’Escacs

Via | Lleida Escacs Virtual

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El Club Escacs Lleida suma la seva sisena victòria a la Primera Divisió Catalana amb victòries dels Mestres Internacionals Sandro Pozo, Aramis, Jorge Gonzalez, el lleidatà Guillem Baches i els Mestres Catalans locals Joan Trepat, Mario Bruned i Josep Codina.

Sumat als empats del GM Josep Oms i Joan Mora es va aconseguir un resultat contundent per 8-2 que el confirma com un clar candidat al ascens tot i estar forçat a guanyar les dues partides que manquen per finalitzar la Lliga.

D’altra banda, El Club Escacs Balaguer va sumar un empat que gairebé confirma en la categoria amb 3,5 punts acumulats.

Més info | Federació Catalana d’Escacs
Via | Lleida Escacs Virtual

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