Posts Tagged ‘9 queens’
9 Queens gets a makeover
After spending five years working to change the face of chess, we finally decided it was time to treat ourselves…to a total website makeover! For the past six months, we have been working with Dennis Fesenmyer from Fezlab and Ian Johnson from MoiaGroup to redesign 9Queens.org. We are thrilled to launch the new site and pretty proud of our new duds. In addition to the spiffy new design, there are a couple of features we created specifically for the 9 Queens community.
They include:
Calendar– This is your place to find upcoming 9 Queens events and workshops.
Learn to Play– Features a preview of the 9 Queens passport. This soon to be released booklet is your guide to learning how to play chess quickly and painlessly.
Success Stories and Player Profiles– 9 Queens chess players around the country tell us why they like chess. If you have a quote about chess and want to be featured on our website, email us!
Many thanks to Ian and Dennis for all their hard work and beautiful design. We hope you like the site as much as we do. Let us know what you think!
5th Annual Chess Fest!!!
Join 9 Queens and former Women’s World Champion and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk for the 5th Annual “Chess Fiesta” on Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 2012) from 2-5 pm at the Hotel Congress (311 E Congress St, Tucson, Arizona). This year’s Chess Fest will feature a simultaneous chess exhibition where Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk will play multiple games at a time against Tucsonans interested in challenging the Grandmaster. Grandmaster Kosteniuk will also be the recipient of the 9 Queens Award given to a player who embodies the mission of 9 Queens and our commitment to empowering under-served and under-represented populations.
This year’s “Readymade” Chess Fest will have something for everyone, regardless of age or chess experience. For those more artistically inclined, Chess Fest will pay homage to Marcel Duchamp an artist and avid chess player known for selecting ordinary manufactured objects and using them to create “readymade” pieces of art. Participants can visit the arts and crafts station to create their own “readymade” chess sets and crowns. Other activities include: beginner chess lessons, pick-up chess games, face painting, chess simultaneous exhibits.
November Family Chess Night @ Bookman’s features Bobby Fischer’s “Game of the Century”
Can you solve this month’s puzzle? White to move and mate in 4 moves.
Puzzle from the book Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess.
Bring your puzzle solution to Bookman’s on Speedway Family Chess Night, 6:30-8:30pm, first Wednesday of every month–this month Wednesday, November 2–and win a free prize. The whole family, new and experienced players are all invited to join us to play chess.
Remembering Bobby Fischer’s 1956 “Game of The Century”
When asked in an interview the year before he died which of his games he thought the best or most beautiful, Fischer replied his game with Donald Byrne in 1956.
At the age of thirteen Robert James Fischer was invited to play with eleven other top Americans in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York City.
Playing black, Fischer forced mate at move 41, establishing him as one of the greatest chess prodigies. Because of Fischer’s age, precision and daring the game has been labeled the Game of the Century.
The game demonstrates young Fischer’s understanding of the hypermodern system and use of the Grunfeld Defense that quickly develops his pieces, hooking up his rooks and placing a rook in a center open file.
In the unexpected and powerful 11th move, Fischer brilliantly exploits white’s weak position. Fisher’s famous move 17. . .Be6!! sets up a surprising queen sacrifice that results in a fierce attack with his minor pieces, allowing multiple discovered checks.
Lessons to be learned from this game–develop pieces quickly, castle early; a large pawn center (here, white pawns) can be a liability; an open file in the middle attacks a king in the center.
More about great Bobby Fischer games in puzzles to come.
References:
Fischer, Bobby (with Stuart Margulies and Donn Mosenfelder), Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Bantam Books, 1972
Brady, Frank, Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy, Dover, 1965
Verwer, Renzo, Bobby Fischer for Beginners, New in Chess Press, 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_the_Century_%28chess%29
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361
https://youtu.be/Vqbq_bPCzN8 (a YouTube commentary of the game)
https://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3434# (game commentary, history)
Celebrate National Chess Day with 9 Queens
Hey Tucsonans: celebrate National Chess Day with 9 Queens and Bookmans on Saturday, October 8, 2011 from 2-4 pm at the Bookmans on Speedway and Wilmot. This event will feature free chess lessons for the entire family, chess arts and crafts, puzzles and prizes.
Deadly Decoys this Sunday
Reminder: do not miss the 9 Queens Ladies Chess Academy this Sunday, May 23 from 2-4 pm at the Bookmans Low Lounge in the Girl Scout Resource Center!!! This month National Master Leo Martinez will be teaching advanced players how to create deadly decoys to distract their opponents. Beginners will learn the king and queen dance while going over how all the pieces move. This free workshop is generously sponsored by Bookmans.
