Today, we had 62 participants split into 15 sections. Four sections were played at Game 45, while the other eleven were played at Game 30. In a Game 30 match, each player has thirty minutes, and whoever has to make a move has their time decrease. Therefore, it is expected that games with this time control would finish in 45 minutes minimum, especially at the 700+ rating level. Although this was true for most games, Rayan Zarineh and his twin brother Kian have a tendency of rushing their games! Therefore, I could only laugh after Rayan’s first game was the second fastest out of 32 total. In that game against the eventual Section 8 winner Daniel Lee, Rayan hung his queen and resigned - maybe it would be a better idea to take more time!
One of our first winners of the day was Ansh Shamdasani, who won all three games in Section 11!
In his final match, Ansh (white) played the Ruy Lopez opening, which is known for its attacking variations. And this game was no different. Black place his bishop on h3 and created a pawn storm down the king-side. His goal was to trap the bishop and involve his rooks. Although he succeeded in trapping his bishop, he completely neglected Ansh’s attack down the queenside! After 17. Ba4, black played 17. ... h5?? Although the bishop was trapped, Ansh responded by capturing the a6 pawn, revealing the bishop’s discovered pin on the queen! This effectively ended the match as a contest.
In the second match of Section 13, Hank Tartantino intended to move his queen to h5 on the second move. However, he inexplicably moved his king to that square instead. Because this was an illegal move and Hank had already touched the king, he would end up having to move it to e2 instead! Although it is sad to see players have to move pieces they did not intend on moving due to carelessness, Hank was able to pull through and win! This put him on two out of two points. He would, however, lose the final match to section winner Emma Shevelenko of Fair Lawn. Emma was able to win the match via controlling the center with both her d and e pawn. Eventually, the opponent crumbled under the pressure, meaning Emma took all three points!
Sitting next to Emma in the photo above is Lucas Sokolov (also from Fair Lawn), who won all three games in Section 12! Winning this tournament was very important for Lucas, as this sets up a rematch against rival David Sanchez. Lucas and David attend the same school in (you guessed it!) Fair Lawn, and Lucas previously accused David of cheating in a match. Therefore, a future match between these players will be very meaningful for both players.
Another player that will have an eye on this rivalry is Shiven Patel, who is in the same school and grade as the aforementioned players. Although Shiven did not have a report-worthy tournament, his post-match claims earned him meaningful coverage. It came up in conversation that Shiven plays 40-moves games of “mental chess” during his classes. This means Shiven is able to picture a 40 move game of chess entirely in his head!
Baffled by these claims, I asked onlookers their thoughts. Classmate Leon Shevelenko (who won Section 3 and proceeded to call me out for a rematch the day after) called Shiven’s claims “cap”, meaning they were not true. Chief TD Noreen Davisson and I thought similarly: how can somebody not win an under 1000 section yet claim to play 40 move games without a chessboard?
Oleg Shevelenko gave a different answer: being able to visualize a game and being able to win one require different skill sets. Although this is true, I challenge anyone who sees “The Mentalist of Fair Lawn” to challenge him to a game of mental chess and see how far he gets!
Congratulations to all winners: click HERE to view rating reports!
Our next Quads will be held next Saturday, May 13. Click HERE to register!
In addition, we will be returning to Bergen County Acadmies for the Dr. David Ostfeld Memorial ICA Championships Sunday, June 4! Click HERE for more information!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates on tournaments, classes, and other information.
Visitors: 1532