Star Ledger Chess Problem

Pete Tamburro sent the following email this morning.  I implore you, if you like reading the chess article in the Star Ledger, do something about it.  In the meantime, I will continue to post NJ Chess news or links as I find them.

To friends of chess in NJ,

If you bought the Star-Ledger this morning, you will see that Steve and I have been replaced by the syndicated "Chess" column by Selby Lyman. If you want NJ chess news to appear in the newspaper again, it would be a big help if you wrote to the editor/publisher and the letter to the editor page about this. Some of you have had your games published or your kids' games published or just like to read state chess news. If you have a personal reference, please mention it. Form letters don't work. Please encourage your chess friends to write.

Thanks,

Pete

The respective emails:

publisher@starledger.com

eletters@starledger.com

NJ Open Roundup

I apologize for the delay, but I am finally home to blog about the NJ Open.

First we have the obligatory links to games & results.  The games were compiled by Pete Tamburro, the Star Ledger Chess Columnist.

NJ Open Selected Games

NJ Open Results List

This was one of the strongest NJ Opens I can ever remember.  The Organizers wanted to invite two GMs to the tournament.  They initially struck out on the second person, so they got a third person.  However, the GMs might have a chess playing thread active, as after the first two accepted, 5 more GMs came!  We had 7 GMs & 5 IMs, the most that I could ever remember, & over 1/3 of the Open Field was Master Level Strength (2200) or higher.

The only lowlight of the tournament was an outburst in the 5th Round.  I was tucked away in a corner when all of a sudden a player on the other side of the room starts slamming pieces at his opponent.  After he was escorted out, he yells even louder - so loud that you could hear him through the closed doors.  I really hope that all the other players don't get scared off of this tournament by this guy.  I have since been informed that he will be dealt with, as his behavior was extremely unprofessional & extremely childlike.

The Morristown Hyatt is a really nice site.  There are places galore to eat within a mile walking distance.  The hotel staff is very attentive, the playing room was nicely lit, & the parking situation is not problematic for the players.

I finished with 3 points out of 6 rounds.  You can see some of my games, especially the losses to both IM Zlotnikov & NM Milovanovic in the first link above.  I went up a piece against Zlotnikov, but there was really no choice but to offer a draw as he had perpetual check.  I opted to press on & eventually lost the game.

Against Milovanovic, we played a deep main line of the King's Indian Defense.  The game was very exciting, & both of us squandered at least one or two chances to take control of this game.

Pete was nice enough to help me out going over some games after a few of my rounds.  He published a book earlier this year called Openings for Amateurs.  I am about a third of the way through the book, & it's a really good resource for players 1300-1900.  He's really instructive, & actively challenges you to find out what you did wrong, as well as ask you why you did what you did in the game.

That concludes my brief report.