Chess.FM

World Chess Live membership includes free access to a selection of video interviews, lectures, weekly shows, and major event coverage from the growing library of ICC Chess.FM productions. In the sample below, Chess.FM correspondent Macauley Peterson conducts a rare interview with World Championship Challenger Gata Kamsky. Macauley Peterson was named the 2008 Chess Journalist of the Year by the Chess Journalists of America.

WCL Chess.FM Special Report

Stilwell, 2009
Photos & Article by Betsy Dynako

“During the awards ceremony, my name was announced as the 2009 Stilwell Winner,” said Saagar Gupta, of Niles North High School in Skokie, IL. “I was totally shocked and surprised! I really didn’t expect anything. Honestly, I was hoping for our Board 5, Michael Chinitz, or some of my friends such as Michael Auger from Whitney Young, or Justin Feng from Illinois Math and Science to win. It was a pleasant surprise and I am honored to receive such a prestigious award.”

Naming awards in the memory of a person isn’t something new - look at the Edison Award, Albert Einstein Award, or the Pulitzer Prize. The Illinois Chess Coach Association has carried out this tradition by annually bestowing the Larry Stilwell Award to an “Outstanding High School Sophomore”.

Larry Stilwell, coach for Proviso West High School, was known by his colleges as an individual who promoted chess for what it could do for individuals rather than for personal gain, pride, or power. He wanted chess players, especially high school students, to experience the enjoyment of competition and to promote comradeship. This award, given in his honor, is not only bestowed on the basis of a sophomore’s playing skills. Besides being a skilled chess player, award winners are individuals who foster team camaraderie, are generous with their chess knowledge, accept directions well, and display other personality traits as illustrated by Larry Stilwell.

The 2009 recipient, Saagar Gupta’s name now graces a list of players that include Ilan Meerovich and WFM Yelena Gorlina, who played in the 2000 US Women’s Chess Championship.

Like every chess player, Gupta has a beginning to his story. As a freshmen just last year, he played a game against a 1st grader family friend, and lost. “The next day hearing my story, my friend, Chad Hirsch, encouraged me to visit the physics room after school. As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a lot of people and an ample amount of trophies. I was amazed. That was the first day I joined the Niles North chess team.” After attending his first tournament with the team, he was hooked.

Since then, he has been absorbed in the wonderful world of chess; working hard to improve his game, because he wanted to help his team. “With that goal in mind, I started practicing more and more.” Internet chess services such as World Chess Live have been an important part of his training schedule. “It has become more like a routine for me to play online almost every day,” he added. “There are several advantages of internet chess, including being able to play chess against classmates, friends from other schools, and random people worldwide. I recently heard that WCL is offering trial memberships. Right now, the entire Niles North Chess Team has ICC accounts, and are probably going to switch or add WCL in the coming year due to the new Illinois chess league. Add me on ICC/WCL when you start!”

One thing that is hard to miss as you read down the list of outstanding sophomore recipients of the Larry Stilwell award in the last dozen years or so is the fact that five of them are from Niles North High School. It is easy to conclude that they must have an excellent chess program, but what makes this school’s program so successful? Gupta attributes this success to their coach, Harry Kyriazes, award winner of the 2003 Chess Coach of the Year title. “Coach Kyriazes is honestly the anchor to this great team. Without his full commitment we would be like a normal team. He sacrifices tons of time for the team. He calls himself the ultimate Vandriver (also his ICC username); he has built a farm system for chess players. He nurtures us there, and the experienced players help him out to mentor new players. Even if you lose a match, the entire team is behind you to analyze your game. Win or lose, you learn from every game. At Niles North, you may come in as a player who may or may not know how to move the pieces, and leave senior year as a player who has excelled in many parts of the game.”

Like many teams across the country right now, Gupta adds, “We are working very hard to improve our game further and try to win the national championship. I am currently preparing four teammates for SuperNationals IV (Nashville, TX April 3-5) through Internet chess servers such as WCL at home and after school every day.”

Beyond Super Nationals, Gupta has his own personal goals for the game. He wants to be a Class A to Expert player (2000 USCF) by next year. “I plan to continue playing for a long time because I really love the competition chess brings, as well as making new friends. I’ll do my part and let’s see where it takes me! I definitely will play college chess if there is a team (maybe start my own!?) I am also coaching my sister and hopefully she will be one of the top high school players.”

Gupta was chosen for the Larry Stilwell award for Most Outstanding Sophomore because of his commitment to the game and his team. He was also honored with the award because of his willingness to help others and give credit where credit it due. That is why I am not surprised that he also wanted to get in a few ‘thank yous’ during our interview.

“I would like to thank all those who taught me chess as well as instill confidence, leadership qualities, and camaraderie along the way: Uncle Sree (who taught me how to play), Mrs. Grossman, Ritik, Mr K. and Mrs. Ingraham, Niles North, ICC/WCL, and especially a big thank you to my family for supporting me, and I am sure I missed someone since I have learned priceless experiences from many along the road.” ~Betsy Dynako

Saagar Gupta at right, in cowboy hat.

WCL Chess.FM Special Report

From Peoria with Love...and more WCL members!
Video, Photos & Article by Betsy Dynako

VALENTINE'S DAY WEEKEND WASN'T just for lovers this year, as chess players from across the USA took advantage of it also being President's Day weekend, a popular time for multi-day chess tournaments in the country.

In Illinois - birthplace of Abraham Lincoln, one of America's most famous and revered presidents, and who this year we commemorate the 200th anniversary of his birth - chess players from 120 high schools descended on the Peoria Civic Center to do battle in the 35th Annual Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Team Chess Championship.

The two-day, seven round event has 8-player teams and alternates making the 1,200 player field the largest High School Team Chess tournament in the country. And, unlike must tournaments with team prizes, where individual scores are counted towards a team result, the IHSA Chess Team competition truly encourages and breeds team spirit with members sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, playing against an opposing team. Teams also show this spirit in a variety of other ways. One tradition is to mark their playing location by placing team mascots and signs by their board one player. Some teams sport matching shirts or offer up a team cheer before each round. As Scott Johnson, Assistant Executive Director of the IHSA told the local Peoria Journal Star newspaper, “Everyone plays a part in determining the winner of the match. They root for each other and want each other to develop as players, like any other team.”

Niles North of Skokie, IL decided to make themselves more visible by wearing a variety of different hats. Niles North can also be distinguished from other schools as they are the only team that can boast World Chess Live/Internet Chess Club (WCL/ICC) memberships for ever team member and coach. Though this distinction won't be one they will be able to claim for much longer. WCL and the Illinois Chess Coaches Association have joined together to trial run an online team competition for inter-school play.

The test run is scheduled to be followed by regular league play next fall with a working version based on an online product in partnership with the people from the Think Like a King software, recipients of the 2009 Chess Educators of the Year award. Also, as part of this link-up, coaches were treated to a friendly demo/exhibition match and talk by John Henderson of ICC on Saturday morning. In addition to that, 1,200 CDs containing a three-month free membership to WCL, as well as training videos by the likes of former US champions GM Joel Benjamin and GM Larry Christiansen, and NM Dan Heisman were given to all of the tournament players and coaches - so watch out on WCL for a higher profile of Illinois High School kids! But that's all for an exciting future - now lets get back now to who actually won in Peoria....

After playing for two days, the team standings were finalized with an unlikely underdog in University High School of Urbana surprisingly coming out on top with a perfect score. The school, more commonly known as “Uni,” boasts only 245 students. A small cry from the student body of Lincolnshire Stevenson, who with over 4,500 students were top seeds for the tournament. But the bigger they are the harder they fall, and Uni, seeded 14th, showed what team spirt is all about as they took it one match at a time as they plowed through the competition. It wasn’t any easy road though, as Coach Chris Merli explained, “Along the way the team beat the No. 1, 2, 4 and 5 seeds. We didn't sneak in the back door to win this thing."

Breaking News: Calvin Olson on "Chess Talk" Freely Available

Chess author, historian, and Correspondence master Calvin Olson passed away Wednesday, January 14, 2009. Calvin studied the history of chess and is perhaps best known for his book The Chess Kings. Chess.FM is re-releasing his appearance on "Chess Talk" with John Watson to the public. Olson will be missed.

This Week: Attack with LarryC: "Study the Specialists!"