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Clearly, I didn't understand the position as well as Coach Kaidanov did.. |
Xiao Cheng's well rounded views and laid back personality certainly contributed to the fun environment.. |
The third session of the U.S. Chess School took place in Phoenix this January 2 through 6. Since most of you have probably not heard of the School's purpose, I will give a quick description of what is one of the best and most important programs for the future of chess in this country.
The U.S. Chess School is sponsored mainly by IM Gregory Shahade. Shahade, who was once a young chess star himself, came up with the idea of bringing America’s top youth players together for a “Soviet” like training session. He hired the man many believe to be this country’s top chess trainer, GM Gregory Kaidanov, to be the instructor for these young talented minds. GM Kaidanov has said the vision for the School would be to eventually rival the legendary Botvinnik Chess School in Russia, which was created for the Soviet Union’s top players. A plan was set in motion by both GM Kaidanov and Shahade for the sessions to take place twice a year for two different rating groups: 2000-2300 and 2300 & Up.
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Shauna, Nash and Danny wait for the rest of the dogs to come off the grill. Nash is not as excited about his Mom and Dad's conversation as they are. |
It could be argued that San Diego's own Elliot Liu is more famous in his home town than #21 himself! |
IM
Shahade has provided the students with the opportunity to work with their peers under the supervision of the country's top GM trainer. All this has been provided to the students for the small cost of covering their own travel expenses (the students do not have to pay a single dime for the training they receive). All those involved in the sessions over the past two years have spoken very highly of their experience. I think I speak for many when I say that the future is bright for American chess as long as the U.S. Chess School can become a mainstay in the growth of our young players.
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The 2007 U.S. Chess School "Team". From left to right: Josh Friedel, Robert Hungaski, Daniel Rensch, Gregory Kaidanov, Elliot Liu, Ray Robson and Xiao Cheng. |
Coach Kaidanov and Ray Robson play a blindfold game. |
Participating in this year's 2300 & Up session were Josh Friedel from New Hampshire, Robert Hungaski from Connecticut, Ray Robson from Florida , Elliott Liu from California, Xiao Cheng from Georgia, and myself. Although only three of us had participated in last January’s session (Josh, Robert, and myself) the awkwardness of meeting people for the first time was short lived. American Chess Events (ACE) hosted the event, providing housing and wonderfully cooked meals (by my wife Shauna) throughout.
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(From left to right) Elliot Liu, Robert Hungaski, and Xiao Cheng look on as Josh gives his Karpov Lecture. |
Ray Robson looks on as Robert Hungaski gives his Anand Lecture. |
Everyone arrived by the evening of Monday, January 1. The first session started promptly at 9am on Tuesday. Each day of chess was over 8 hours long; the studies were not for the feint of heart by any means. As in the two previous camps, the main focus of the School was on the most important part of chess: learning from mistakes. We spent about 5 hours each day reviewing each other’s games. I would definitely say that we were all critical of each other’s weaknesses, but we also provided support when we recognized each player’s individual strengths.
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Robert Hungaski kept everyone laughing during the sessions. |
Coach Kaidanov put up with our crazy antics throughout and still managed to teach us more than we could handle. |
From a simple look at one particular game, GM Kaidanov has the ability to quickly recognize a player’s overall weaknesses and psychological barriers. During the analysis of our games he would implement different puzzles to solve, as well as different theoretical opening discussions. This approach provided an “evolving” chess experience where you could feel everyone in the room improving by the hour.
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The final night was a celebration and sense of accomplishment for a job well done. |
Shauna and I crashed after the hard week. A final thanks of appreciation to Shauna and Yee Chen for cooking our meals and putting up with us for the whole week. |
Among other topics under discussion were theoretical debates about the Najdorf English Attack, the Richter-Rauzer, and the Caro-Kann Advanced Variations. There were also homework assignments given by Kaidanov last January, for Josh, Robert and myself. Josh presented a lecture on Karpov’s play in Closed positions, Robert lectured in the Categorization of Exchange Sacrifices in Anand’s games, and I presented a lecture on Kramnik’s Endgame Technique. The three of us were very happy with the feedback from our lectures.
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I argued with Greg Shahade about his claims that he threw the Blitz games we played because I was gracious enough to host the event. |
Josh finds the Najdorf English Attack very amusing... Or maybe he was laughing about his own variation 6.f4? |
The week was long and intense. To keep our brains fresh for the next day’s chess workout, we played tennis and basketball each night. We finished the last day by having a fun and relaxed Blitz tournament in which both Kaidanov and Shahade participated. I was lucky enough to win first place with 10 and ½ out of 14, followed closely by Josh with 9. We then had a home cooked Chinese meal by Yee-chen (Ray’s Mom), and it was time to start saying our goodbyes.
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Mrs. Yee-Chen Robson's Chinese Cuisine was too good to be true. |
Soon these Multi-Taskers will have to make the tough career choice between chess and tennis. |
Although his senior students had all left, GM Kaidanov was kind enough to stay and host a one day session for Arizona’s local chess talent. The format was the same: 8 hours of chess study. The list of local players invited was kept to 1700 and up. The list included: Jon Cox, Ashu Thakur, Sean Higgins, Leo Martinez, Richard Ding, Ben Marmont, Mark Moore, Jeffrey Garrett, Alex Curry, John Williams and Ryan Mead.
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Some familiar faces (left to right): (half cut-off) Ashu Thakur, Leo Martinez, Alex Curry, Richard Ding, and John Williams. They are looking on as Kaidanov explains the purpose of "prophylactic" chess training. |
Kaylan Burleigh, Ben Marmont and Mark Moore are puzzled by Dvoretsky's latest chess problem. |
Special thanks again to IM Gregory Shahade, GM Kaidanov, our photographer Beka Silver, and our webmaster Luke Karrys. I hope I speak for everyone when I say that the overall experience was a huge success. Good food, good friends, and good chess are all we need in life, and that is exactly what we got…
Daniel Rensch
American Chess Events
480.733.9150