South Houston Open - this weekend!

Sorry for the late notice, but there's a big event in Houston this weekend, with $5,000 in guaranteed prizes. Several strong players have already pre-registered, including:

GM Alejandro Ramirez, 2616
GM Axel Bachmann, 2602
IM John Bartholomew, 2499
IM-Elect Max Cornejo, 2473
IM Alfonso Almeida, 2448
FM Darwin Yang, 2377
FM CJ Arvind, 2317
FM Chris Land, 2248

The Cajun Chess website has more information. Online registration is available.

State Scholastic Championship - 2 weeks away!

The biggest scholastic event of the year is just two weeks away. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time. Early registration discounts are available until Feb 11th.

Visit the swchess.com website for more information.

Team Championship results

2010 Texas Team Champions: Matthew Michaelides, Bob Shao,
Alex Chua, Jeffrey De Jesus

18 teams (77 players) participated in the 2010 Texas Team Championship in Austin over the weekend. This is probably the largest turnout ever for this event, and certainly the largest in the USCF's online database, which goes back to 1992.

First place ($500 + trophy) went to "Your Queen Wants to Mate Me", a Houston-based team captained by NM Alex Chua. They scored 4-0, a half-point ahead of Austin's "Barely Legall", led by FM Michael Langer. In the under-1900 section, "Austin Powers" took first with 3 points.


First place under-1900: George Qi, Austin Jiang, Alexander Jiang, Matthew Liu

The Team Championship has traditionally been a 4-round event, but with more than 16 teams in the field, a 5-round schedule would guarantee that two teams don't each finish with perfect scores. Also, in this year's event, the first and second place teams never faced each other.

Board prizes:
Board 1 - FM Michael Langer (4.0)
Board 2 - Seth Thompson (4.0)
Board 3 - Bob Shao (3.5)
Board 4 - Josh Newsham, Arindam Raina, Matthew Michaelides (3.5)

Thanks to TD Lori Balkum for an extremely well-run event!

Last call for Texas Team Championship

There's still time to sign up for the 2010 Texas Team Championship, being held this weekend (Jan 9-10) in Austin. It looks like we'll have a great field, with 12 teams already registered, including players from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. You don't need a team of masters and experts to compete! There are U1900 team prizes as well as individual board prizes.

Jan 5 update: 14 teams
Jan 6 update: 15 teams
Jan 7 update: 17 teams
Jan 9 update: 18 teams!

2010 Texas Team Championship

The 2010 Texas Team Championship is just two months away, so now is the time to start forming your team! Last year's event was a big success with 14-teams competing, and we're expecting another strong turnout in 2010. Complete TLA below:

Jan 9-10, 2010: Texas Team Championship
Hosted by Austin Chess Club

Bridge Center of Austin (next to Taj Palace)
6700 Middle Fiskville Rd
Austin, Texas 78752

4-SS, G/90 + 30 sec. increment
Open to 4-player teams with average rating under 2200 based on
Dec 2009 rating list. One alternate allowed, must be lowest rated.
Entry Fee: $100 per team if received by Jan 7th, $125 at site.
TCA membership required. NS. NC. W.

$1325 b/16 teams: 1st: $500 + trophy, 2nd: $250,
1st U1900: $250 + trophy 2nd U1900 - $125.
Board 1-4 prizes $50 + plaque each.

Registration: Saturday 10:30-11:45am.
Rounds: Saturday 12:30, 6:00, Sunday 9:30, 3:00

Enter online or mail entry to:

AustinChessTournaments.com
P.O. Box 1386
Round Rock, TX, 78680
512-417-9008
registrar@AustinChessTournaments.com

"Kings of Brownsville"

Higher Ground Entertainment is working on a documentary film about scholastic chess in Brownsvile, TX. The film will tell the story of Russell Elementary School, winner of a record-setting 7 consecutive State Championships from 1993-1999. You can learn more and view a trailer(*) at the film's website. If you'd like to support this project, donations are being accepted.

* The trailer is in Apple's Quicktime format, so if you're on a Windows PC, you may need to install a Quicktime plugin for your web browser.

Texas Grade & Collegiate Championships

13th Annual Texas K-8 Grade Championships 6SS, Rds 1-3 G/45, Rds 4-6 G/60. George R Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas, Houston, TX HR: $103-$103-$103-$103, Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, Houston TX 77010 mention Texas Grade and Collegiate Championships to get rate. Reserve By 10/29 or rate may increase. The K-8 is Open to TX residents or players attending Texas schools. 9 separate tournaments, one per grade (K-8). Trophies to top 10 ind. & top 5 teams (top three players added for team scores, no more than 2 teams per school in each grade.) EF: $37 if postmarked by 11/13. $58 at site. Do not mail after 11/13 as your entry may not be received. Entries to Dallas Chess Club, c/o Barbara Swafford, 2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley TX 76036. Entry must include Name, USCF ID (or new/pending), grade & school and school location. Incomplete entries will be charged at site entry fee. No refunds after 11/18. Email: info@dallaschess.com 214-632-9000. Do not call after 11/18 as we are traveling. Reg. Fri 11/20 from 7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Reg. Sat.11/21 at 7:30 am-8:30 am. Sat. registration may require a ½ pt. 1st rd. bye. Sat. rds 9:30-12:00-2:05-4:10. Sun. rds 10-1:15. One ½ pt bye available, any round, if requested before end of rd. 2 and if player has not received a full point bye. Online registration (active.com charges a fee.) : http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1796640 Limited number of Team rooms available., www.swchess.com Side events: 4 rd G/30 open tournament on 11/20 at 7:30 pm. This G/30 tournament has three sections: Open, U1400 and U750. EF: $15, $$$60% of entry fees. Bughouse Open Tournament Sat. 8:35 pm. EF: $20/team. Trophy prizes. Parent/Child team tourney Sat. 6:35 pm. EF: $10/team. Trophy prizes. Registration for side event online or onsite only. NS, NC, W.

13th Annual Texas 9-12 Grade Championships 5SS, Grade 9-10 G/120. Grade 11-12 G/90 30 sec inc. Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, Houston TX 77010. HR: $103-$103-$103-$103, mention Texas Grade and Collegiate Championships to get rate. Reserve By 10/29 or rate may increase. The 9-12 is Open to TX residents or players attending Texas schools. 3 separate tournaments, one per grade 9, one per grade 10 and one for grades 11-12 (combined). Trophies to top 10 ind. & top 5 teams (top three players added for team scores, no more than 2 teams per school in each grade.) Winner of 11-12th Grade Section wins a 4 year scholarship to The University of Texas at Dallas, worth up to $43,000. Scholarship winner must meet UTD entrance requirements and follow team rules. EF: $37 if postmarked by 11/13. $58 at site. Do not mail after 11/13 as your entry may not be received. Entries to Dallas Chess Club, c/o Barbara Swafford, 2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley TX 76036. Entry must include Name, USCF ID (or new/pending), grade & school and school location. Incomplete entries will be charged at site entry fee. No refunds after 11/18. Email: info@dallaschess.com 214-632-9000. Do not call after 11/18 as we are traveling. Reg. Fri 11/20 from 7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Reg. Sat.11/21 at 7:30 am-8:30 am. Sat. registration may require a ½ pt. 1st rd. bye. Sat. rds 9,1:30-6:00. Sun. rds 9-1:30. One ½ pt bye available, any round, if requested before end of rd. 2 and if player has not received a full point bye. Online registration (active.com charges a fee.) : http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1796640 Limited number of Team rooms available., www.swchess.com Side events: 4 rd G/30 open tournament on 11/20 at 7:30 pm. This G/30 tournament has three sections: Open, U1400 and U750. EF: $15, $$$60% of entry fees. Bughouse Open Tournament Sat. 8:35 pm. EF: $20/team. Trophy prizes. Parent/Child team tourney Sat. 6:35 pm. EF: $10/team. Trophy prizes. Registration for side event online or onsite only. NS, NC, W.

13th Annual Texas Collegiate Championships 5SS, G/90, 30 sec inc. Hilton Americas, 1600 Lamar, Houston TX 77010. HR: $103-$103-$103-$103, mention Texas Grade and Collegiate Championships to get rate. Reserve By 10/29 or rate may increase. College section open to any college player. Only Texas Colleges can be Texas Collegiate Champs. Plaques to top 10 ind. & top 5 teams (top three players added for team scores, no more than 2 teams per school.) EF: $42 if postmarked by 11/13. $62 at site. Do not mail after 11/13 as your entry may not be received. Entries to Dallas Chess Club, c/o Barbara Swafford, 2709 Longhorn Trail, Crowley TX 76036. Entry must include Name, USCF ID (or new/pending), grade & school and school location. Incomplete entries will be charged at site entry fee. No refunds after 11/18. Email: info@dallaschess.com 214-632-9000. Do not call after 11/18 as we are traveling. Reg. Fri 11/20 from 7:00 pm-9:00 pm. Reg. Sat.11/21 at 7:30 am-8:30 am. Sat. registration may require a ½ pt. 1st rd. bye. Sat. rds 9,1:30-6:00. Sun. rds 9-1:30. One ½ pt bye available, any round, if requested before end of rd. 2 and if player has not received a full point bye. Fide rated but uses USCF rules. Online registration (active.com charges a fee.) : http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1796645 Limited number of Team rooms available, www.swchess.com Side events: 4 rd G/30 open tournament on 11/20 at 7:30 pm. This G/30 tournament has three sections: Open, U1400 and U750. EF: $15, $$$60% of entry fees. Bughouse Open Tournament Sat. 8:35 pm. EF: $20/team. Trophy prizes. Registration for side event online or onsite only. NS, NC, W. FIDE

IM Gergely Antal wins Southwest Open

Congratulations to IM Gergely Antal, winner of the 2009 Southwest Open. Antal scored 6/7, a half-point ahead of IM Davorin Kuljasevic. The $10,000 guaranteed prize fund attracted 160 players, and the Open section was the strongest ever seen at a Southwest Open, with 17 players rated over 2200, including 2 GMs and 6 IMs.

In the Reserve section, Phung Nguyen scored a perfect 7/7, a point and a half ahead of his nearest rivals - a performance worthy of the $1,000 first prize.

I'll post games from the event soon.

Watch Southwest Open games live!

For those of you who didn't make it to Fort Worth this weekend for the 75th Southwest Open, you can still watch the games live at monroi.com (free registration required).

TCA Business Meeting

TCA's annual business meeting will be held Sunday, Sept 6 at 10am in the Centreport Ballroom at the Southwest Open tournament site. The meeting is open to the public. If you're planning to attend, please read the motions that have been filed for consideration. You can also read the minutes from last year's meeting.