Wednesday, May 30, 2012

2012 May TNT has been rated by the CFC

See the crosstable here

Congratulations to the following who achieved new peak ratings:

Anthony Boron 2088
Leor Wasserman 2047
Steven de Groot 1890
Johan Moleta 1817 provisional
Cody Baron 1577
Derek Ma 1636 provisional


Sunday, May 27, 2012

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - May 19, 2012

from the Winnipeg Free Press
White to mate in 2 (Petrovic)



Think 'Zugszwang' !
Pxh8(N)

Monday, May 21, 2012

2012 Canadian Chess Challenge

The annual Provincial Team contest for Chess and Math representatives.
A 10-round round-robin pitting players in the same grade against each other.

Team Results here
http://www.chess-math.org/ccc/national/results/2012/English/index.xml

Team Manitoba narrowly lost their rounds to BC and Alberta, otherwise a 3rd or 4th place finish was possible.

In individual medalist standings, Derek Ma tied for third in Grade 5, Kevin Li (undefeated) tied for 2nd in Grade 9,  Christopher Delos Santos took 2nd in Grade 11, and Aaron Green tied for 3rd in Grade 12.
Well done, gentlemen !

http://www.chess-math.org/ccc/national/results/2012/English/index.xml

Minnesotan Glen Proechel RIP

Dale Gustafson also informed me of Glen Proechel's passing.

I don't know if he ever got up here to Winnipeg to play chess - perhaps somebody will remember.

In the 2008 Chessnuts Challenge Open in Fargo, I managed to survive with a draw against him in the last round.

He was still sporting an 1885 rating when he played Kaptsan and Lipic in the 2009 Chessnuts Challenge Open - his second to last tournament


Glen Proechel - April 14, 2012
Glen Proechel, active in Minnesota Chess for many years, died April 14, 2012.  Glen is survived by his wife, Maryse; sister Janet Cooper, daughters, Lisa and Sara and grandchildren.  Services will be held Saturday, April 21, 2PM at Trinity Luthern Church in Janesville, MN.  Online tributes at www.mcraithfuneralhome.com.




Glen was born Jan 3, 1938 in Janesville, MNHe was an expert chess player and was the MN State Jr Chess Champion as a Sr. in high schoolHe was MN State Chess Champion as an adult and a many time MN State Sr Champion, most recently in 2008, and also the Iowa State Champion in 1967Glen enjoyed playing simultaneous chess exhibitions, playing 10 or more games at a time. He also played correspondence chess with players around the worldGlen was a linguist speaking 7 languages fluently. H
He loved playing Scrabble, Go, checkers and especially chess. When he was a senior in high school, he won the Minnesota State Junior Chess Championship. He was also Iowa state chess champion in 1967 and had also won the Minnesota State Chess Championship as an adult. He competed in many Minnesota Senior Championships and during the last 20 years was senior champion in 2008, 2007 1995 and 1993. He was runner-up in 2006, 2005 and 1999. His last USCF-rated tournament was the 2010 North Dakota Championship in Fargo.

Teacher was also a chess master and missionary

Glen Proechel, a linguist and chess master who once hosted a Klingon Language Camp in Red Lake Falls, Minn., for devotees of the fictional race in the Star Trek television and movie series, died April 14 in Crookston.
Glen F. Proechel was born on January 3, 1938 to Chester and Irene (VanSlyke) Proechel in Janesville, MN.  He attended Trinity Lutheran School and graduated from Concordia College in St Paul.  He obtained a B.S. in German from the U of MN, and Masters in Education and German Studies from Mankato State.  Glen was a rostered minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Missions, and he was also a licensed teacher of German, French, Spanish and Russian languages.  He has taught in Russia, China, Germany and traveled the world extensively.  Glen enjoyed playing chess & Scrabble and spending time with family, especially his grandchildren.

Glen F. Proechel was born on January 3, 1938 to Chester and Irene (VanSlyke) Proechel in Janesville, MN.  He attended Trinity Lutheran School and graduated from Concordia College in St Paul.  He obtained a B.S. in German from the U of MN, and Masters in Education and German Studies from Mankato State.  Glen was a rostered minister of the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Missions, and he was also a licensed teacher of German, French, Spanish and Russian languages.  He has taught in Russia, China, Germany and traveled the world extensively.  Glen enjoyed playing chess & Scrabble and spending time with family, especially his grandchildren.


He is survived by his wife of 30 years, Maryse Proechel of Red Lake Falls; by his daughter's Lisa Proechel of St Paul and Sarah Proechel of New York; by grandchildren Terriah, T.J., Leo, Eliot and Robin; by his sister Janet Cooper of Illinois; and by many other relatives and friends.

            He was preceded in death by his parents.







Don 'Dondo' Aldrich RIP

Dale Gustafson informed me that Minnesotan friend of Manitoba Chess - Don 'Dondo' Aldrich has passed away.

Don C. "Dondo" Aldrich

  |   Visit Guest Book

Aldrich, Don "Dondo" C. age 59, died May 15, 2012. Preceded in death by mother, Dorinda Aldrich. Survived by wife, Cynthia; father Anthony; brothers, Robert (Jane), Alan, Steven (Nancy); 9 nephews, 4 nieces, 8 grand nephews, 3 grand nieces; and many stupendous friends. A celebration of Don's life will be on May 24, 2012 at 2:30 PM, Castle Chess Club, 1121 Jackson Street, #134, Minneapolis, MN 55413. As he requested, no flowers, no ties. From 5-7 PM, Don will be holding court for the last time at the Bulldog NE, 401 East Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis 55414 As he requested, no flowers, no ties.
Published in Star Tribune on May 20, 2012



Don played in the 1997 Canadian Open in Winnipeg, and the 2002 Albert Boxer Classic, where he achieved an impressive second place.
http://chess.ca/players?check_rating_number=105507&key=120521

From the Chess Castle (Minnesota) Blog:
UPDATE: Don passed away at 1:30 this Tuesday afternoon.
SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR FRIEND DON [5/14]

Yesterday we heard the startling news that Don Aldrich, a long time and great friend of Minnesota Chess and Minnesota Chessplayers, is at the Hennepin Country Medical Center. Sadly his is unconscious and with seemingly no hope of recovery.  He was at the Twins game on Friday night when he suffered a heart attack. Any of his friends who would want to say goodbye in person only have a couple of days to do so. Many of our younger players may not know Don well, as his health and his demanding career as a trial lawyer had restricted him to only several tournaments as year. The rest of us, who have spent any stretch of years in the game, know Don well. I personally knew him since 1970. He always made the Twin Cities Chess League (where he won his board trophy in the gold section) and the Senior Championship. He was the first one to step up and join the Chess Castle when we first pitched the annual memberships, that enable us to hold our current space. Our thoughts and prayers are with Don and his wife Cynthia.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Saul Magnusson is selling some chess books

Some nice stuff at reasonable prices.
Send him an email at Saul.Magnusson    at  gmail  dot com


How to play Good Opening Moves –Edmar Mednis  $5
Simple Chess – Michael Stean  $8
Zurich 1953 – David Bronstein   $ 12
Understanding Chess Move by Move – John Nunn $12
Endgame Strategy – Mikhail Shereshevsky    $ 12
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy – John Watson $12
Botvinnik – One hundred selected games $ 5
Bobby Fischer – My 60 Memorable Games $8
Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual -  $15
Pawn Structure Chess – Andrew Soltis $8
Fischer vs. Spassky – Svetozar Gligoric $5
Tal Botvinnik 1960 – Mikhail Tal $ 12
Sicilian Scheveningen – Craig Pritchett $10
Excelling at Chess – Jacob Aagard$ 12
Learn from the Legends  – Mihail Marin $ 10
The Flexible French – Victor Moskalenko $10
My Great Predecessors – Garry Kasparov $15    (Vol 1)
John Nunn’s Chess Puzzle Book $8
639 Essential Endgame Positions – Eric Schiller $8
The Magic of Chess Tactics – Claus Dieter Meyer $8
Improve Your Chess Now – Jonathan Tisdall $8

Monday, May 7, 2012

Cecil's Saturday Puzzle - May 5, 2012

from the Winnipeg Free Press
White to mate in 2 (Dobrila)
No hints -  it is too easy.
Ra8