Just for Fun Chess at Schenectady

Last night, Thursday, the latest Just for Fun event took place at the Schenectady Chess Club. Six players took part in a round robin Game in 20/15 tournament. It began as a Game in 20 Quad, but a couple of late joiners increased the number of rounds and we had to dial back the time limit.

The results were:

Tied for first and second place;

Glen Perry, 3 - 2 with wins from Little, Chu and Zack Calderone, and losses to Saran and Herman Calderone.

Herman Calderone, 3 - 2 with wins from Perry, Saran and Zach Calderone, and losses to Little and Chu.

In third;

Bill Little, 3 - 1 with wins from Chu, Herman Claderone and Zack Calderone and a loss to Perry. One game un-played with Saran.

In fourth;

Richard Chu 2 ½ - 2 ½ with wins from Saran and Herman Calderone, losses to Little and Perry and a draw with Zack Calderone.

In fifth;

Brij Saran 1 - 2 with a win from Perry and losses to Chu and Herman Calderone. Brij had to leave early with two un-played games versus Little and Zack Calderone.

In sixth;

Zack Calderone ½ - 3 ½ with a draw with Chu and losses to Perry, Little and Herman Calderone and an un-played game with Saran.

I had to take a seat in the tourney to make an even number of participants and did better than expected. The real surprise was Zack Calderone, a rising scholastic star who plays fast chess very well, not having a good night. The unexpected is the norm in these events this year. There has not been one event won by the highest rated participant yet. Regardless of the upsets, all seemed to enjoy the not-quite-skittles atmosphere. Play was over by 10:15 pm, and we all were on our way home by 10:30. And truly that was the goal; to have two or three hours of chess and get home by a decent hour.

It is planned to have another such event on July 28th in a faster time control. Most probably it will be Game in 10 the next time. Again, no prizes, no rating and no entry fee, just a chance to play chess! Come on out to try your latest opening idea and to tune up for the State Championship.

We have reached the doldrums of the “chess year” locally. The club titles are all decided, the Capital District League has finished play, and without the long running saga of the Studio Quads, there are no local games on which to report. Rummaging around through a closet in my office a handful of pictures from the Capital District Invitational came to light. That was a tournament Bill Townsend and I put together about ten years ago. Playing were a couple of masters and four local Experts. Somewhere I have the games. The photos inspired digging the games out and publishing some analysis during this lull. Look for the post soon.