WRHS Championship Results

Desmond, Nick, Andrew, and Miles 

Nick Bruck is the 2010-11 WRHS Chess Champion and coolly remained undefeated after the third and final day of play.  Half of the tournament included elementary and middle school students, and only seven high school students.  I was greatly disappointed at the lack of participation by our high school this year, however, the games that were played were very good when compared to previous years.  Blunders were there but not as numerous and the openings were much better understood.  Chris "Curly" Ellis and Julia Broderick dropped out of the final games due to school work requirements and some forfeits for the underclassmen were for missing scoresheets.  Prizes for the participants include choice of executive bag with triple weighted pieces, Fritz 11 software, or a vintage, inlaid travel board for 1st - 4th place.

Tournament prizes will be gifted at our end-of-the-year party this next Wednesday at South Valley Pizza (meet at 6 pm).  Afterwards we will go bowling at the Bellevue Lanes.  Also, Varsity letters will be gifted to our seniors:  Nick Bruck, Andrew Uriarte, Miles Hendrix, Chris Ellis, Alex Bates, and Shane Bruess.

No.	Name	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3	Rnd4	Rnd5
1	Nick	4	W13	W3	W4	D6	D2
2	Desmond	4	W10	-H-	W5	W8	D1
3	Miles	3.5	W8	L1	W10	D5	W6
4	Andrew	3.5	W9	D5	L1	-X-	W7
5	Adam	3	W12	D4	L2	D3	W8
6	Alex	3	-H-	W14	-X-	D1	L3
7	Dylan	2	-H-	-H-	L12	W13	L4
8	Max	2	L3	W13	W14	L2	L5
9	Real	2	L4	-F-	L13	-X-	W10
10	Colten	2	L2	-B-	L3	W12	L9
11	Curly	1.5	W14	-H-	-F-	-F-	-U-
12	Hunter	1	L5	-F-	W7	L10	-F-
13	Victor	1	L1	L8	W9	L7	-F-
14	Julia	0	L11	L6	L8	-F-	-U-

Miles in Round 4

Round 5:   For the Championship

Dylan and Andrew

Round 4:  The Titans face off

Nick and Alex:  two machines

Coffee News

Pseudomonas putida

Methinks I must have been a bacterium in another life:  Pseudomonas putida.  Many species in this genus persist in a variety of habitats and have a diverse diet.  Some species of Pseudomonas are found feeding on a variety of substances including meat, decaying food, peteroleum oil, cyanide, toluene, geothermal features, and sometimes on humans and other beasts.  One species produces the characteristic rainbow effect on deli cut roast beef.  Don't worry though, as the critter is harmless to you or I (unless it is one of the parasitic species of Pseudomonas aeruginosa - the second most common infection in hospitals!).  So, why not live on coffee?  The little guy is a chemoautotroph that lives on the aromatic compounds in coffee including caffeine.  This makes perfect sense as caffeine is a molecule that contains carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen.  The prime ingredients in living systems.  More on this newly discovered bacteria is at Scientific American.

Caffeine

someone's not happy : (

Turn that frown upside down:  European Chess Union letter

From Chess Vibes:
Boris Gelfand (Israel) defeated Alexander Grischuk (Russia) in the 6th and final game of the Candidates final in Kazan, Russia. The grandmaster from Israel won a superb strategical game on move 35 and thus became the opponent for World Champion Vishy Anand in a title match that is scheduled for next year. (full article)

WRHS Championship & Blitz Championship

The WRHS Championship is moving right along.  The games are intense by the unusual quiet these kids are offering my classroom.  We are running the championship as a G/30 5SS this year instead of the 2 group round robins.  Also, we decided to create an open from now on to reflect the inspiration and enthusiasm that the elementary and middle school kids are bringing to the club.  We are running two rounds at each meeting except tonight, we neglected to plan for the "Father and Me BBQ" that the seniors will be attending.  This Wednesday we are completing rounds 4 and 5.  Nick is the leader with 3.0 points.  He played Andrew down to pawns and eventually snagged a win by time.  As I had to tutor a student on balancing chemical reactions while playing Desmond, I missed a queen exchange that lost me a rook and essentially the game.  Desmond is now in 2nd place.  Curly failed to show up tonight and provided Alex with a forfeit win and third place.

Name	Rate	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3
Nick	1269	3	W11	W4	W7
Desmond	1233	2.5	W12	-H-	W6
Alex	1088	2.5	-H-	W13	-X-
Miles	1280	2	W5	L1	W12
Max	976	2	L4	W11	W13
Adam	1295	1.5	W10	D7	L2
Andrew	1253	1.5	W14	D6	L1
Curly	1194	1.5	W13	-H-	-F-
Dylan	1188	1	-H-	-H-	L10
Hunter	1076	1	L6	-F-	W9
Victor	813	1	L1	L5	W14
Colten	786	1	L2	-B-	L4
Julia	928	0	L8	L3	L5
Real	799	0	L7	-F-	L11

In the WRHS Blitz Championship, 6 rounds were completed in G/5 time controls.  With all of the participants veterans of tournaments, it ran very smooth with no hitches.  Games were fairly intense with blunders and falling flags deciding most of the outcomes.  In the round 3, Miles and Nick were squared off in an intense battle going back-and-forth.  Literally, Miles kept checking Nick with his queen.  Nick was clambering for three move repetition but failed to stop his clock and ask for an observer.  Also, it was not necessarily a forced repetition as the USCF Rules state.  He might have been able to obtain a draw by perpetual check but Miles was determined to win on time.  And he did!  Miles also learned quite a bit from Alexandra Botez in his social Bullet games at the National High School Championships, even though she won every game.  By the end of our tournament, Miles Hendrix was the new WRHS Blitz Champion.  Andrew and Curly win second and third, respectively.

Curly (3rd), Andrew (2nd), and Miles (1st)

Name	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3	Rnd4	Rnd5	Rnd6
Miles	4.5	-B-	D3	W4	W5	W2	W8
Andrew	4	W4	W8	W5	W3	L1	W7
Curly	3.5	W9	D1	W6	L2	W7	W4
Bruck	3	L2	W9	L1	W8	W6	L3
Porth	3	W7	W6	L2	L1	-B-	W9
Chase	2	W8	L5	L3	W7	L4	-B-
Max	2	L5	-B-	W9	L6	L3	L2
Colten	2	L6	L2	-B-	L4	W9	L1
Victor	1	L3	L4	L7	-B-	L8	L5