THIEVES MARKET INTERVIEWS & FOOTAGE!

Coach Jeremy and yours truly doing their part to promote chess! Enjoy - Coach Sean.

MSNBC TODAY SHOW - A segment on Scholastic Chess!

A recent Today Show spot light on Scholastic Chess - well done and very interesting!



- Chess Coach Sean Tobin.

HOW I FINISHED OUT THE 2010 EDITION OF THE LOS ANGELES OPEN

MAKING FRIENDS!

At least I got to meet and mingle with other chess players at this event!

Well day two was not a good day for me - result wise. I drew my round 4 game and then went all in for a win in game 5 but came up short. So a loss and a draw for today... or rather yesterday. My idea looks sound I just did not play the right move order... but I will have to spend some time reviewing this game and then run it through Fritz or Rybka to get even more food for thought about what happened during this game.

I cannot complain about the result from this tournament. I knew I was going into this event without any prep but it was a good warm up for the AMERICAN OPEN being held next month. Now it is time to study... to prepare and to play practice games in local events so that I can play my best this November. Chess is chess, and chess is best when it is played!

- Chess Coach Sean Tobin.

2010 LOS ANGELES OPEN - My score after three rounds stands at 50%

Dream, per chance, to play and win on the morrow - both of my games!

50% for the day today. Could have been better and it could have been worse!

CHESS PUZZLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PUZZLE FOR MY SCHOLASTIC CHESS PLAYERS!

This is how I dreamed of finishing off my first round opponent... however he played the move 20. Bd3 instead of the move 20. Qd2 as in the above position. How would I have gained the advantage here in this position? Either the decisive win of points or a swift checkmate!

ROUND ONE
2 - Day Schedule.
The "evil" Game in 60 time control!

MY OPPONENT FROM ROUND ONE!
Sam played a great game today I had to take a risk in going for the win against him.
( The only game I won today...)

Ok... so I split the two Game in 60 minutes today... one win and one loss. I lost to an IM who was rated 2344 in round two. That was an enjoyable game though - learned a lot! The "IM" stands for "International Master"and you have to be really good at chess to win that title. Even tougher is the "GM" title... and we have one of those super strong players here at this event! Getting to play really strong players like that is why I come to these events in California.

I played really weak in my third round game this evening - which was using the "real" time control of 40 moves in 2 hours and Sudden Death in one hour. That is potentially a six hour game folks! I was lucky to escape with a draw in that game. So My score after three rounds is 50 percent. Tonight I will be dreaming of winning both of my games tomorrow!

The solution for the puzzle up top begins with the move I was hoping to play... 20. ...Qxb3! Now if 21. axb3 then 21. ... Nxb3 is checkmate! Any other move lets me keep the Knight leaving me up a minor piece.

- Chess Coach Sean Tobin.

ARRIVAL IN LOS ANGELES! Traffic gets in the way of round one - a near catastrophe!

LOS ANGELES OPEN 2010 - The JOHN HILLERY MEMORIAL

VADIM KUDRYAVTSEV (White Pieces) vs my friend NUMAN ABDUL-MUJEEB

INTERNATIONAL MASTER (IM) JACK PETERS
ON BOARD 1
CONDUCTING THE BLACK PIECES

So leaving at noon today was not a wise choice in scheduling as there is such a thing known as "TRAFFIC" that one must contend with. I would have arrived about 45 minutes late - after my game would have been started - which would have been too much time to cede to anyone. My students are very lucky to have their parents bring them to their tournaments! Logistics handled by Mom and Dad are easily appreciated - when they are older! Of course you folks did not have to drive six to seven hours to get to the tournament site... all you have to do is maybe at the most is a 40 minute drive which is easy.

So how to deal with this problem of my late arrival while mid trip? Calling ahead and requesting a switch to the two day schedule was the only logical thing to do and thankfully Tournament Director (TD) Randy Hough obliged. Now I am faced with playing two game 60's for rounds one and two tomorrow and then the two day section will merge with the three day. That will be three rounds of chess for me and round three will be a long game. Why? The third round will be real chess - 40 moves in two hours and then sudden death in one for both players. Potentially a six hour game! Sunday will feature two of those and then this event will be in the history books!

For more information about Randy Hough's "LOS ANGELES OPEN - JOHN HILLERY MEMORIAL" please feel free to visit his website at http://www.randyhough.com/word/

There are many master already playing in this event with potentially even more top notch players registering in the morning. The highest rated players, who have registered so far as of now, are Enrico Sevillano at 2553 and Roman Yankovsky at 2574. Time to get ready with a little light studying and then it will be time to go get some serious sleep... and lots of it as that was one long drive today!

- Chess Coach Sean Tobin.

LOS ANGELES OPEN 2010 - Another Coach Sean Adventure!

CHESS COACH IN ACTION!

Pre drive checklist for LOS ANGELES OPEN:

1.) Car Maintenance... YES.
2.) Snacks in car... YES
3.) Pre trip errands taken care of? YES
4.) Chess set, board and clock in the car? YES!
5.) Did I get to prepare for this event Like I really needed to? NO!

But that is ok - chess is chess and chess is best played! Look for daily reports on my progress - or lack of it - at the LOS ANGELES OPEN 2010! I'm an active chess tournament player too but of course!

5.) AM I THERE YET? NO - Time to get in the car and drive!

- Chess Coach Sean Tobin.