Hi Guys,<br> Brandon Eshleman has notified me (a
few days ago actually) that he needs a bye.
Regrettably, all the pairings from board 3 and down will
change.<br><br>My other option was to have given Brandon a 1/2 pt
bye, give his old opponent Bruce a full point bye, and
give Ted a full bye since he would have had to miss a
round.<br><br>This way two more players get to play and there's more
than ample notice. This is the last pairing change
I'll make for Tuesday, gauranteed. If someone else
needs a bye (on late notice), their opponent will get
an unrated win on forfeit, and the pairings will
remain. Ciao guys!<br><br>NEW PAIRINGS<br><br> 1 Kevin
Ward (10) : Bill Bentley (1) <br> 2 Frank Jones (2) :
Rodney Weis (4) <br> 3 Bruce Meharg (3) : Bob Macfie
(13) <br> 4 Joseph Santbergen (8) : Richard Canal (12)
<br> 5 Cornelia Dinca (21) : Martin Kuwair (7) <br> 6
Mike Smith (17) : Arthur Milne (6) <br> 7 Norm Luyben
(11) : Chris Clark (24) <br> 8 Richard Hudson (14) :
James Chapman (20) <br> 9 Carolyn McMaster (19) : Paul
Caddel (27) <br>10 Jules Caouette (22) : Don Macfarlane
(16)<br>11 Mitch Miller (28) : Steve Campbell (18)<br>12
Horst Ibach (25) : Tom McKay (23) <br>13 Mark Cole (26)
: Ted Borowski (15) <br>14 Brandon Eshleman (5) =:0
BYE <br>15 Brian Miller (9) =:0 BYE
Why? Either way, you get a workout, and that's part of the reason for playing,
isn't it? It's not like you can't win a game from either of them - a hundred
rating points isn't that big an obstacle.
After our game, you want ME to wish YOU
luck?<br><br>Good luck, Kevin. Make the most of the game. Don't
mind me - I'll just content myself with struggling on
board five against one of this year's rising
stars...<br><br>And thanks for the game. Some good material to review
there.
Round 5 Pairings<br>Calgary Closed 2002<br><br>No
WHITE Result BLACK <br><br><br>Closed Section<br> Kim
Nguyen : Kris Boehmer<br> Jim Daniluk : Roy Yearwood<br>
Walter Watson : Greg Huber<br> Dale Haessel : Chris
Demers<br><br>Swiss Section<br> 1 Kevin Ward (10) : Bill Bentley (1)
<br> 2 Frank Jones (2) : Rodney Weis (4) <br> 3 Bruce
Meharg (3) : Brandon Eshleman (5)<br> 4 Joseph
Santbergen (8) : Cornelia Dinca (21) <br> 5 Bob Macfie (13)
: Richard Canal (12) <br> 6 Richard Hudson (14) :
Arthur Milne (6) <br> 7 James Chapman (20) : Martin
Kuwair (7) <br> 8 Norm Luyben (11) : Mike Smith (17)
<br> 9 Carolyn McMaster (19) : Chris Clark (24) <br>10
Jules Caouette (22) : Paul Caddel (27) <br>11 Horst
Ibach (25) : Don Macfarlane (16) <br>12 Mark Cole (26)
: Steve Campbell (18) <br>13 Mitch Miller (28) :
Tom McKay (23) <br>14 Ted Borowski (15) 1:0 BYE
<br>15 Brian Miller (9) =:0 BYE <br><br><br>For more
info and standings, prizes, etc, please check
<a href=http://www.albertachess.org target=new>http://www.albertachess.org</a>
Round 4 Pairings<br>Calgary Closed 2002<br><br>No
WHITE Result BLACK <br><br><br>Closed Section<br> Kris
Boehmer : Jim Daniluk<br> Roy Yearwood : Dale Haessel<br>
Greg Huber : Kim Nguyen<br> Chris Demers : Walter
Watson<br><br>Swiss Section<br> 1 Bill Bentley (1) : Bruce Meharg (3)
<br> 2 Bob Macfie (13) : Kevin Ward (10) <br> 3 Arthur
Milne (6) : Frank Jones (2) <br> 4 Rodney Weis (4) :
Norm Luyben (11) <br> 5 Martin Kuwair (7) : Brandon
Eshleman (5) <br> 6 Paul Caddel (27) : Joseph Santbergen
(8)<br> 7 Richard Canal (12) : Carolyn McMaster (19)<br>
8 Cornelia Dinca (21) : Jules Caouette (22) <br> 9
Tom McKay (23) : Richard Hudson (14) <br>10 Mike
Smith (17) : Mark Cole (26) <br>11 Chris Clark (24) :
Steve Campbell (18) <br>12 James Chapman (20) : Mitch
Miller (28) <br>13 Ted Borowski (15) : Don Macfarlane
(16) <br>14 Horst Ibach (25) 1:0 BYE <br>15 Brian
Miller (9) =:0 BYE
Hi Bob,<br> Thanks for double checking, you are
correct. In fact many of the color assignments may be
wrong, I'll check them right now. I did check whether
the right people were paired, and yes the right
people are paired. BUT CAUTION: COLORS MAY
CHANGE!<br><br>I'm using SwissPerfect98 to do the pairings. It
follows the CFC algorithm quite well, but it takes
liberties to make transpositions to make colors work out
nicer, including transpositions to achieve color
alternation. This is not normally the practice, and I
personally am against it. Transpositions for color
equalization are fine, but not simply for alternation.
<br><br>I selectected a SwissPerfect option "Ignore
Colors". This fixes the problem; it gives the correct
pairings, but then it fails to assign the colors properly
at the end of it all. It's now questionable how
useful swiss perfect is. It can give the right pairings,
but it appears you have to tell it the colors
afterwards yourself. <br><br>To avoid this kind of confusion
in future rounds, I will try pairing it by hand and
using the software so I get a better feeling for how
much I can trust it. I will then correct the
auto-generated pairings with my own.<br><br>Also, the order of
some of the players was a bit inaccurate in the first
round. Bruce Meharg and Jules Caouette gave me rating
estimates, and not to blame them, these were not the same as
the Jan 8 CFC Rating List I was using. This means
I'll change some pairing numbers etc to match the new
(correct) list.<br><br>I'll post again when the color
corrections have been made.<br><br>Juraj
Juraj, thanks for having the pairings up so
quickly - and so well formatted too. But I do have to ask
if you might have switched the wrong player for
colours in my game against Ted Borowski? We both had
White last week, but as the (slightly) higher-rated
player, aren't I supposed to have Black this
time?<br><br>Sorry if I'm quibbling. Thanks again for taking two
tournaments on in the space of one week. (Or three in the
space of two.)
Hey Kris, (and others)<br> Just like you, I am
somewhat pleased (and surprised) that other people are or
were in the same position. You are absolutely correct
that I have been placing the blame almost entirely on
schoolwork, etc. It is true that an almost laughable and
frustration chain of assignments have prevented me from
coming to tournaments. It is not true, however, that
schoolwork has gotten in the way of just picking up a book
and studying. I used to play a massive amount of
games on the internet and got frustrated when I made
beginner-like chess moves all too often. I don't play on the
internet anymore and instead I will try and focus my time
on studying chess books instead of wasting my time
on a "second chess childhood" by blundering my queen
and mate at the same time. I think I'm going to be
back in the game pretty soon. This weekend I'm going
to play in the January Open, hopefully.
<br><br>Yeah, I do miss the aspects of the game that I
mentioned (nervousness/anxiousness before and opponent's
move). They were a great part of the game for me. The
nervousness that I experienced during the game is not
something that I dislike; conversely, I enjoyed it. I liked
the competition feeling of the game. Of course, there
was more nervousness when I was younger because I
didn't have a lot of experience and I enjoyed the
feeling that I got from beating someone who was older
than me hehe. <br><br>I remember that game, too. I
think it was the Alberta Reserves... I also remember
some of the aspects of it, such as when I offered my
P/e7 to your B/a3, etc.<br><br>Thanks for everyone's
replies to my post<br><br>Ashton
Hey Kris, (and others)<br> Just like you, I am
somewhat pleased (and surprised) that other people are or
were in the same position. You are absolutely correct
that I have been placing the blame almost entirely on
schoolwork, etc. It is true that an almost laughable and
frustration chain of assignments have prevented me from
coming to tournaments. It is not true, however, that
schoolwork has gotten in the way of just picking up a book
and studying. I used to play a massive amount of
games on the internet and got frustrated when I made
beginner-like chess moves all too often. I don't play on the
internet anymore and instead I will try and focus my time
on studying chess books instead of wasting my time
on a "second chess childhood" by blundering my queen
and mate at the same time. I think I'm going to be
back in the game pretty soon. This weekend I'm going
to play in the January Open, hopefully.
<br><br>Yeah, I do miss the aspects of the game that I
mentioned (nervousness/anxiousness before and opponent's
move). They were a great part of the game for me. The
nervousness that I experienced during the game is not
something that I dislike; conversely, I enjoyed it. I liked
the competition feeling of the game. Of course, there
was more nervousness when I was younger because I
didn't have a lot of experience and I enjoyed the
feeling that I got from beating someone who was older
than me hehe. <br><br>I remember that game, too. I
think it was the Alberta Reserves... I also remember
some of the aspects of it, such as when I offered my
P/e7 to your B/a3, etc.<br><br>Thanks for everyone's
replies to my post<br><br>Ashton
Hello All,<br> I would be interested in TD'ing the E&C tournament tonight. I
have received advance entry from Greg Huber, who unfortunately will not be able
to play in round 1.<br><br><br>Juraj
Hello to Kris and everyone - I hope all had a
nice holiday season and New Year's. There have been at
least a couple of cases where the AB Closed has been
FIDE rated - there are certain requirements to do so
(I believe 50% of the players have to already have
FIDE ratings, for example), and there is a $50.00
rating fee (or was, it may have gone up) which the
Alberta Chess Association has paid for in the past. When
the final qualifiers for the Closed are known, I'm
sure that the ACA board will have the tournament rated
by FIDE provided the necessary conditions are
met.<br><br>Rod.
Is the Alberta Closed FIDE rated? I was having a
think in the shower today and thought it might be fun
and a good opportunity for non-FIDE rated Albertans
to send the results of the Alberta Closed to FIDE if
we can meet the requirements. That is, if we aren't
already doing so. Any thoughts?<br><br>Kris
Ashton,<br><br>It's comforting to hear that there
are other people out there hitting the same walls.
Over the past few years I've found that school and
work have slowed my growth in chess; I played in fewer
tournaments and read fewer books. At times I've felt like I
was losing interest somewhat. I'd caution against
placing all the blame on work, school, or other
distractions, however. You say you lost interest in chess and
yet you say your school work has got in the way. Is
the former the main culprit for the latter? If your
experience is like mine then time constraints aren't the
only roadblocks. School may get in the way and reduce
your interest by distancing yourself from the game but
it takes a little more to stop you from playing or
reading for an extended period. Perceived lack of
progress, poor tournament results, losing or drawing
against inferior opposition or general stress of
tournament play are reasons why myself and many players I
know have taken mini-vacations from the game. But as
Juraj points out, most come back to the game, not in
guilt due to the investment of time and effort, but
because they love the game. I don't want to give you
advice on what actions you should take to get back into
the game because what works for one doesn't
necessarily work for another, but you can take comfort in
what you already know: we've all come back. Few have
escaped entirely.<br><br>Kris<br><br>P.S. You mentioned
that you forget what it's like to feel nervous/anxious
before an opponent's move and to feel the long lasting
pain of defeat. Do you miss these aspects of the game?
I'd agree that we all experience these feelings to
varying degrees, but it's a goal of mine to achieve a
state of mind where you enjoy playing so much you don't
get nervous and when you lose, it's simply a
opportunity to learn about a weakness you have so that you
can strengthen it. And before the critics have a
field day with that last statement I'll be the first to
admit that I'm not there yet.<br><br>P.P.S. I remember
a game we had that ended in a draw when the rating
difference was almost 500 points in my favour and I don't
remember playing that badly. It's hard to stay away from
the game when you have so much potential.
Hey Ashton! Yeah, happens to me all the time.. on
-off - on - off - on - off etc. Its usually because of
school work (gotta keep my priorities straight), but
there are times when I'm just not motivated. Anyways,
hope you pull through and do some serious a**
kicking!<br><br><br>Erik
Thanks for the advice Juraj. I will have to find
a balance between all the things I'm trying to do
at once. I wish my dad would give advice like that!
:) <br><br>I definitely agree that my break from
chess was too long. I have to play in another
tournament, soon! :) <br><br>Thanks
Has the Calgary Closed started yet? The Edmonton
Closed started last night (its a 16 player knockout
again, like last year). The first round matches
are<br><br>1 Reeve - 16 Alex Kazakevich<br>2 Gardner - 15
Buitendyk<br>3 Grumic - 14 Beebe<br>4 Hughey - 13 Brodmann<br>5
Ottosen - 12 Stark<br>6 Quiring - 11 Tassone<br>7
Bertrand - 10 Day<br>8 Roy - 9 Yamach<br><br>All the
higher rateds won except for Micah and myself who were
humiliatingly held to draws.
Daniel's been improving a lot and did
particularly well at the Southern AB Open, holding Jim to a
draw, beating Milne, and drawing Boehmer as
well.<br><br>Grabba Jabba has changed names to "Timothy's" but we do
meet there every Friday still. I'll be there tonight.
Odi has been coming of late so there'll be no
shortage of "tough guys" for you.<br><br>There are lots of
January tournaments, check the aca website for more info.
Jan 12-13 at the Ramada Hotel downtown is the big ACA
Calgary tournament. There's also the Northern, the
Trumpeter, and the E&C tournament starting in
Jan.<br><br>Juraj
Hi Ashton,<br> I think taking a break sometimes
helps the situtation, but in your case it sounds like
the break was too long. <br> When I was going to
school I tried to get top marks. But at the same time, I
didn't do too much more than was necessary. I wanted to
keep a balance between good grades and enjoying
myself. Often to change a mark from 95 to 97 or even 90
to 93 means at least double the work. I never felt
that was worth it and settled for the 95 or 90. My dad
gave me the advice that if I had a hard test the next
day, to go see a movie. Most parents would freak at
that. The idea is to relax your mind, not study until
the last minute, cramming, but to give your mind a
break. <br> So what I"m saying is that if you feel like
playing a tournament, and you're doing well in school,
ask your parents if you can go. Even if they say you
should study because of exams coming up, make your own
assessment of what needs to be done. If you over study and
burn yourself out, it helps no one. <br><br>I think
you would quickly get revived if you played in a
tournament from time to time. But if you still don't feel
much like playing, don't worry about it. You've
studied too much chess to give it up. Not because it's a
shame to throw the studying away, but because you can't
help but fall in love with the game a little when you
have put so much into it. So don't worry, It'll draw
you back eventually.<br><br>Juraj
Hey all,<br>I never thought this would really
happen, but I am finding it harder and harder to pick up
a chess book and study it now. I haven't played in
a tournament in months, due to school work and
general unavailability! I barely remember how the bloody
knight moves. I've forgotten what it's like to play a
chess game, all the nervousness, anxiousness for the
opponent's next move, planning, waiting, excitement when I
win, sudden and longlasting disappointment when I
lose. Any of the members here experienced a loss in
interest and regained it (obviously ... if you're still
playing you regained it)?<br><br>Ashton<br><br>P.S. You
know you've been away for awhile when a new junior
that I haven't previously heard of before/seen/played
is already going to the nationals! Good luck
Daniel.<br><br>P.P.S. Are Grabba Jabba and Bridgeland still running? If
so, are they at the same times? Next tourney is Jan
Open, right?
Here is a request from the ACR Editor, Greg
Beebe<br><br>> Also, Since this is the end of the year do you or
anybody else have any<br>> general recap comments on
the regular calgary events for 2001? Info such
$<br>> who was the winningest player, who was
impersonated the most at halloween,<br>> or other
interesting tidbits from the city of cows.<br><br>Mike, can
you send the Halloween stuff?
Hi Daniel,<br> Reader games are games of the
people that read the ACR - anybody's games in Alberta.
They don't get analyzed for you, but if you analyze
them and send them to acr@... and
webmaster@..., we will publish them online and in the ACR.
Others will read your comments and may give you feedback
at the next tournament. Also since you are
publishing it for others, it encourages you to be more
thorough in your analysis.<br><br>Good luck!
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