The hunt for the elusive chess norm

By Dr. Rich Rice, Associate Professor at Texas Tech University

Thousands of years ago Native American Indians hunted buffalo and bison on the Southern High Plains. Today, a different hunt is taking place in the same region. Ten chess players have come to Texas Tech University to compete in the 2010 SPICE Spring Invitational. They hail from four different countries (USA, Canada, Hungary, Croatia) and six different states (Texas, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, California, Florida). Seven of these players are aiming for their international or grandmaster chess norms: three for a final norm, two for a second norm, and two for a first norm.

The battle for cerebral fitness is taking place in the English Department at a university striving to become a Tier-1 Research school. In golf, Woods and Mickelson battle for prize money on the PGA tour. Beckham and Donovan kick soccer balls in front of thousands of screaming fans in large stadiums. Bryant and James sign high-dollar endorsement contracts. These chess players compete for the love of the game, for bragging rights, and for personal satisfaction as they hunt for that elusive chess norm.

Chess is the most popular game on the planet, with more than 45 million people playing chess in America and over 700 million players worldwide. Millions of kids who learn and play chess each year in the states develop life skills which benefit them the rest of their lives.

As the popular saying goes, chess is easy to learn, but hard to master. The ten players who are in Lubbock, Texas this week are working to master the game. They are some of the best chess players in their respective countries with some of the top chess ratings according to the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the World Chess Federation (FIDE):

1. International Master Irina Krush (USA) 2488 USCF - 2461 FIDE is 2-time U.S. Women’s Champion and 2-time Olympiad medalist, one silver and one bronze. She has one grandmaster norm, she participated in the 1st SPICE Cup in 2007, and she currently has a Samford chess fellowship.

2. International Master Gergely Antal (Hungary) 2557 USCF - 2511 FIDE is a Texas Tech University Senior. He captured the first ever national championship for TTU last year. He was the top performer on Board-3 at the 2009 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. He has 2 grandmaster norms and needs one more to earn the prestigious title of grandmaster.

3. International Master Davorin Kuljasevic (Croatia) 2585 USCF - 2552 FIDE is a Texas Tech graduate student. He was the top performer on Board-1 at the 2009 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. He has 2 grandmaster norms and needs one more to be called grandmaster.

4. FIDE Master Eric Hansen (Canada) 2426 USCF - 2415 FIDE is the top-rated junior in Canada. This is his first appearance at a SPICE event.

5. International Master Gabor Papp (Hungary) 2578 USCF - 2542 FIDE is a Texas Tech Senior. He was one of the top performers on Board-2 at the 2009 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship. He has 1 grandmaster norm and may be able to earn his 2nd norm in this event.

6. Grandmaster Julio Becerra (USA) 2610 USCF - 2538 FIDE is one of the top players in the United States and has competed in many US Championships. He is also a 2-time participant of the prestigious SPICE Cup A-Group, which is one of the top tournaments in America and is held at Texas Tech University.

7. International Master Dean Ippolito (USA) 2548 USCF - 2466 FIDE is a former winner of the prestigious Samford chess fellowship and is an 11-time All-American Chess Player. He is one of the top chess coaches in the country. He was a participant in the 2009 SPICE Cup B-Group.

8. Grandmaster Jesse Kraai (USA) 2550 USCF - 2508 FIDE is a former National Junior High and High School Champion. He has won 5 consecutive state championships in New Mexico. He has competed in multiple U.S. Championships. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg in 2001. This is his first appearance at a SPICE event.

9. FIDE Master Darwin Yang (USA) 2413 USCF - 2378 FIDE won the gold medal at the PanAm Youth Under 10 Championship, as well as the bronze medal at the 2009 World Youth Under 12 Championship. He has been ranked #1 in his age group in the U.S. for many years. This is his first appearance at a SPICE event and at age 13 he is the youngest ever participant of a SPICE Invitational.

10. Grandmaster Ben Finegold (USA) 2631 USCF - 2534 FIDE is a 2-time U.S. Open Champion, 2-time National Open Champion, and former winner of the prestigious Samford fellowship. He earned his grandmaster title at the 2009 SPICE Cup-B group.

The average FIDE rating at this tournament is 2490.5. A Grandmaster norm at this tournament is expected to be 6 points (out of 9 games) and an International Master norm is expected to be 4 points (out of nine games).

Many online spectators have tried to predict who will earn their norms at this tournament. Will it be the 13-year old? Will it be one of the Texas Tech players? What about Irina Krush or the Canadian youth? There are so many variables that impact each player’s final tournament score. We’re in our fourth round now. Who could have imagined that Grandmaster Jesse Kraai would be in last place with a -2 score while 13-year old Darwin Yang, who is in his first strong invitational event, would be leading with 2 wins and 2 draws after 4 rounds?

Chess is a game that requires mental toughness, physical fitness, strong nerves, diligent preparation, strenuous calculation, superb memory, pinpoint intuition, and some plain-old luck. Each player faces ups and downs during each grueling round. This is why chess is so challenging. During this tournament, simultaneously at another tournament, one of the world’s best players opened with a3, which is moving a pawn located on the side of the board rather than in the middle. This move is typically considered a beginner’s mistake. His game was still going on in France while the players in Lubbock loaded up on coffee discussing it before their next round.

Who will win the 2010 SPICE Spring Invitation? No one knows. Chess is live, varied, and exciting. Five rounds remain as many players work to earn their norms. After each game is completed, Susan Polgar, a former women’s world champion, and others, deconstruct the language and nuances of each game. It is fitting they’re doing so in the English Department lounge, where words and phrases and books surround them. Analysis has shown missed checkmates, missed wins, and miracle comebacks. Can Darwin keep up this blistering pace? Can Jesse get out of his slump? Can Irina, the sole woman in this tourney, make a big run? Can Eric, the Canadian star junior player, earn his final IM norm? Can the Knight Raiders reel off a series of big wins and earn their next and last norm? Only Caissa, the chess godess, knows.

Check out the 2010 SPICE Spring Invitational games on http:/www.MonRoi.com.

See pictures and updates at http://www.ChessDailyNews.com.

SPICE website: www.SPICE.ttu.edu

Texas Tech website: www.ttu.edu

Upcoming rounds:

Tuesday, March 16

2:00 pm - 6:30 pm Round 5

Kuljasevic - Finegold
Hansen - Antal
Papp - Krush
Becerra - Yang
Ippolito - Kraai

Wednesday, March 17

9:00 am - 1:30 pm Round 6

Finegold - Kraai
Yang - Ippolito
Krush - Becerra
Antal - Papp
Kuljasevic - Hansen

Wednesday, March 17

3:30 pm - 8:00 pm Round 7

Hansen - Finegold
Papp - Kuljasevic
Becerra - Antal
Ippolito - Krush
Kraai - Yang

Thursday, March 18

2:00 pm - 6:30 pm Round 8

Finegold - Yang
Krush - Kraai
Antal - Ippolito
Kuljasevic - Becerra
Hansen – Papp

Friday, March 19

10:00 am - 2:30 pm Round 9

Papp - Finegold
Becerra - Hansen
Ippolito - Kuljasevic
Kraai - Antal
Yang - Krush

All photos of the event can be found here.