INDIANA CHESS SCENE

Blog Index

MICHIANA CHESS NEWS

February-April 2023*

compiled by Les Kistler

(contact information at the bottom)

* This blog entry was submitted on SEPTEMBER 7, 2023, long after news that was timely from February-April 2023. Therefore, upcoming tournament announcements in paragraph ❶ have been omitted.

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❶ ~~UPCOMING CHESS TOURNAMENTS~~

❷ RESULTS AT RECENT TOURNAMENTS

◉ Results at Niles (February, March, April)

◉ GOSHEN FUTURITY TOURNAMENT (March 11, 2023)

◉ MICHIGANTOWN MADNESS II; Michigantown, IN, March 18, 2023

◉ INDIANA SCHOLASTIC TEAM STATE TOURNAMENT; Martinsville, IN, March 18, 2023

◉ CHECKMATE HUNGER; Warsaw, IN (March 25)

❸ CHESSWALA an online chess game analysis marketplace

❹ RESULTS AT ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

◉ March 7

◉ March 14

◉ March 21

◉ March 28

◉ April 4

◉ April 11

◉ April 18

❺ CHESS CLUBS IN THE SOUTH BEND AREA

◉ Lincolnway West Chess Club; South Bend (Mondays, 6:30-9:30 PM)

◉ Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club (Tuesdays, 7:00-10:00 PM)

◉ IU South Bend Chess Club (Wednesdays, 6:00-9:00 PM)

❻ CHESS CLUBS IN FORT WAYNE

◉ Fort Wayne Chess Club

◉ Three Rivers Chess Club

◉ Takeastan Chess Club

❼ TWO chess.com CLUBS CONNECTED TO INDIANA

❽ CHESS ARTICLE APPEARS IN FREE NEWSPAPER Senior Times (St. Joseph County)

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❶ ~~UPCOMING CHESS TOURNAMENTS~~

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❷ RESULTS AT RECENT TOURNAMENTS

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MONTHLY SWISS SYSTEM TOURNAMENT

Niles District Library

620 East Main Street

Niles, Michigan

Saturday, February 4, 2023

(12 players)

Robert Lewis 4-0; Noah Bundus, Johncarlo Kimmey, & Cole Pifer 3-1.

USCF CROSSTABLE:

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202302044672

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MONTHLY SWISS SYSTEM TOURNAMENT

Niles District Library

620 East Main Street

Niles, Michigan

Saturday, March 4, 2023

(14 players)

Noah Bundus 4-0; Ron Plamowski, Noah Skopec 3-1.

USCF CROSSTABLE:

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303042042

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Goshen February Futurity

Goshen Public Library

601 South 5th Street

Goshen, Indiana

March 11, 2023

Since December 2022, Joe Riegsecker has been running a small USCF-rated tournament in Goshen with the aim of giving local youngsters and new USCF members a chance to gain experience.

On March 11, eleven players came to the Goshen Public Library to sharpen their chess skills and gain experience at USCF-rated tournaments. Top finishers were Josxuan Lugo (4-0), Ron Plamowski (3-1) and Jacob Morningstar (2½-1½).

For the full USCF crosstable, go here:

http://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303115572. .

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MICHIGANTOWN MADNESS II

Michigantown Lions Club-Alumni Community Center

500 Ohio Street

Michigantown, IN

March 18, 2023

by Les Kistler

Many thanks to John Herr who gave me permission to reprint his account of the Michigantown Madness II tournament. This account was posted on the webpage of the Indiana State Chess Association (ISCA) at

[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GPxOPqSYtOIikDsfb1U3gE5VS5moTplfrVdmlCtGn5w/edit].

The official USCF crosstables for all three sections are located at [https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303181032.0].

--Les Kistler

Where is Michigantown, Indiana? (see map) It is nowhere near the state of Michigan. Rather, it lies on the old “Michigan Road” (Indiana Highway 29) which extended from Indianapolis to Michigan. Michigantown is within easy reach of the cities of Indianapolis, Lafayette, Kokomo, Carmel, Frankfort, Lebanon, and Logansport.

Michigantown Madness II - 2023

Recap

By John Herr

Michigantown Madness II was held March 18, 2023, marking a return of the event for a second year.

The madness began early, as travelers to the event were greeted in the morning with sporadic but significant snow showers. The specter of travel difficulties remained the whole day, and many players opted out of Round 4.

Despite this, 46 players came out to play, including one from as far as Massachusetts.

View from balcony

Prior to Round 1, a person accompanying one of the players stumbled on the stairs and broke an ankle, prompting a response from two ambulances and police. We wish this person a speedy recovery.

Winners of each section are as follows:

Division I - Open

1st: James Mills (3.5/4)

2nd: Jay Carr, Josh Smith (3.0/4)

U2000: Bernard Parham III, Kirill Pesterev, Doug Todd (2.0/4)

Division II - U1800

1st: Daniel Watson, Daniel Kerrick, Zach Cramer (3.5/4)

Zach Cramer was also the highest finisher among U1550 players

Division III - U1300

1st: David Tran (3.5/4)

2nd: Alexander Cochran, Vincent Newbold, Evan Delp, Levi Colby (3.0/4)

Evan Delp and Levi Colby were also the highest finishers among U1000 players.

Michigantown Madness II Crosstable

Open champion, James Mills

U1300 champion, David Tran

The tournament was catered by local resident Linda Barnett, whose life is part of the history of the gym. All players enjoyed complimentary lunch and supper.

Players enjoying lunch

Local legend, Linda Barnett

I would like to personally thank Mike Chapuran for his valuable assistance in running the event. Thanks also goes to the venue managers Carolyn and Sam Fields. We hope to be back next year!

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2023 SCHOLASTIC CHESS OF INDIANA

TEAM STATE FINALS

Martinsville High School

1360 East Gray Street

Martinsville, Indiana

March 18, 2023

by Les Kistler

This annual Indiana Scholastic Team State Finals tournament has always been a nostalgic event for me because of my own youth playing scholastic chess (Munster, Indiana; grades 8-10 from 1975-1978) followed by (many years later) my chess coaching career at Penn High School (Mishawaka, Indiana; 1990-2019). As a youngster, there is no experience quite like the strain and frightening electricity of mental combat. My 8^th grade chess coach once said that during my difficult chess matches, my face was “the color of cement.” And we coaches know of the vicissitudes of a team’s fortunes while we are sidelined with nothing to do but hope and wait until the match (or the tournament) is over. Only a chess journalist or a top-notch sportswriter could put these monumental emotions into words…

This year’s event was held at Martinsville High School, an excellent facility for a tournament of this importance. In 2019, my final year as a chess coach at Penn High School, Martinsville HS capably hosted that year’s event. I recall that, despite the incredible number of players and adults present, the event was well-organized, and there was no overcrowding or trampling. That 2019 State Team Finals in Martinsville left me with very pleasant memories as I concluded my career as a fulltime chess coach!

After retirement, I tentatively stepped back into the role of chess teacher and coach, helping out at Elkhart West Side Middle School and Elkhart High School (9^th grade campus). Despite the strictures of COVID year the cancellation of the regionals/state finals tournament (2020), chess programs continued on in numerous schools in Elkhart.

For this year’s tournament, I decided not to accompany the Elkhart High School chess team to the State Finals since I couldn’t count on waking up in good time for a pre-dawn rendezvous with the school bus…so I drove down on Friday to stay overnight with my niece and her husband in the city of Fishers. As John Herr noted in his story of the Michigantown Madness tournament [see above], there was significant snowfall on the morning of March 18. Despite the early hour, the busy interstates around Indianapolis were absolutely crowded with traffic traveling too fast and too unsafely. I noted numerous slide-offs and fender-benders as I gingerly piloted my car to Martinsville. It was unsettling to notice that the pavement was noticeably shiny in places!

Although I missed my intended exit off I-465, I still pulled in at Martinsville High School ahead of the scheduled 9:00 AM round 1 start time, but upon arrival, I realized that there were absolutely no school buses in the parking lot. Despite my worries about being late, I had managed to show up well ahead of most of the teams. With so many school vehicles still en route, the organizers and tournament directors decided to delay the start of the tournament until every team arrived safely.

At the last State Finals tournament I attended in 2019, the high school and junior high sections were held in Martinsville’s spacious cafeteria while the elementary grade sections were elsewhere. At the reception desk this year, I was directed to the brand-new fieldhouse/arena at the west side of the building. This fantastic building, the John R. Wooden Gymnasium (named after one of the towering figures of Indiana and national basketball), had ample room to house every grade-level section with room to spare. When the official USCF crosstable was later published, I saw that there were nearly 500 chess players present!

Martinsville Artesians High School’s chess club has received support from the school administration and parents’ groups. They even have their own Facebook page where I spotted this excellent video posted the day before the tournament (see screen grab photo below). As you can see on the side walls, the MHS Chess Club even has giant posters showing the chess students who represent the school. This type of recognition is usually reserved only for sports stars!

Despite the morning’s bad weather (which yielded to sunny afternoon skies despite the chill wind) and the late arrivals, the usual pre-tournament difficulties got sorted out. Just before all the games began, Dr. Eric Bowlen, superintendent of Martinsville city schools, welcomed all of us in a brief and gracious speech. In words not-quite-verbatim, he said “We welcome you, we want you here, and we invite you to enjoy this new facility.” Immediately afterwards, sometime around 9:45, head TD Joe Riegsecker gave the word for all adults to leave the tournament arena, and round 1 got underway with (apparently) few problems. Joe was assisted by his wife Debi as well as assistant TDs Roger Norris, Todd Walatka, and Gerald Roberts.

Besides the excitement of competing in the top scholastic chess event for the state of Indiana, many coaches enjoy this time to socialize and meet fellow chess sponsors who wish to promote chess for youth in our state. For me, a trip to the tournament is like a reunion—a chance to meet long-time chess coaches and friends I’ve known through many earlier chess campaigns. Those include brothers Jim and Aaron Dean from Fort Wayne Canterbury. I’ve known the Deans for many years: as over-the-board opponents, as teammates at the US Amateur Team North tournament, as chess camp co-counselors, and as fellow coaches in scholastic tournaments. In addition, I saw Warsaw’s Jay Bolduc, chess camp organizer and director of many rated/unrated tournaments; Dan Shenk of Goshen, longtime guiding force for Goshen’s city-wide chess program plus coach at various elementary and middle schools; Ken Cross, coach at Goshen High School; Nancy Baker, coach at Elkhart’s Mary Daly Elementary (she can play a mean skittles game!); and Gerry Roberts, over-the-board rival and fellow chess coach at Elkhart’s Osolo Elementary (accompanied by his children Giovanni and Faith). Last but not least, I was also introduced to Ms. Stephanie Elam-Garcia, coach at Elkhart’s North Side Middle School. The longer I know and associate with these fine people, the more I appreciate how extensive the network of chess clubs are in the Hoosier State.

My story would not be complete unless I mention the Elkhart High School Chess Team, where my coaching contribution is only a minor part of the school’s overall program. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and coaching many of the youngsters on this team, and between rounds, I thoroughly enjoyed talking to them and getting a recap of the day’s events. In addition, I must not forget the invaluable leadership and friendship of their coach, Mr. Larry Benjamin, retired Biology/Chemistry teacher from (former) Elkhart Central HS. As a long-time chess coach himself, Larry has a unique knowledge of the dynamics of team play, and his unfailing optimism and good cheer at the tournament acted as a spur to encourage the EHS kids on the team.

Besides connecting with many familiar faces, I had numerous friendly interactions with strangers—adults and students from different schools. One parent from Crown Point asked me how to read one of the wall charts. If you are new to the experience of a scholastic tournament, especially one as important as the State Finals, the information posted on the wall can be indecipherable. He and I also shared “war stories” about our morning drive to Martinsville on such hazardous roads. I also spent some time with the students from my alma mater, Elkhart North Side Middle School. I invited them to join us at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club sometime in the future, and I hope they take me up on it! In recent years, Warsaw schools have distinguished themselves in regional and State tournaments, and Jay Bolduc’s rated events have drawn many players from all corners of northern Indiana. About 10 years ago, Jay set up a summer “chess camp” using the services of myself and Josh Matti as coaches/teachers. Now a decade later, here at Martinsville, I got to reunite with several of the Warsaw youngsters from that camp, and the now-high schoolers are as interested in chess as ever. In another pleasant contact with strangers, I enjoyed a long conversation with three students from Carmel High School. I spoke to them about my experiences playing scholastic chess in the “old days” (1970s). Further, I encouraged them to work at “growing” their school’s chess club by having the high school kids work on “outreach” to the middle and elementary school chess players in their district, thus inspiring participation and interest for years to come. I also advised them to explore the possibility of setting up their own city chess club for continued practice and improvement.

Finally, at the conclusion of each grade level section, trophies were awarded on the floor of the old gym. One of the hosts at the presentation was given a microphone, and in true WWE style, he worked up the youngsters into an enthusiastic fervor which led to rhythmic clapping, stomping, yelling and applause for the prizewinners. This gentleman had a real talent for his job, and he was one of the many goodwill ambassadors for Martinsville High School.

I look forward to next year’s tournament, and despite the long distance to Martinsville, I do hope it is held there next year!

You can see complete results at

http://sci.joepye.net/2023TeamFinalsEntries.htm

You can see the USCF crosstable at

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303180292

2023 SCHOLASTIC CHESS OF INDIANA

TEAM STATE FINALS

Martinsville High School

1360 East Gray Street

Martinsville, Indiana

March 18, 2023

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CHECKMATE HUNGER

Washington STEM Academy

423 Kincaide Street

Warsaw, Indiana

March 25, 2023

by Les Kistler

OLDER PLAYERS WIN, BUT YOUNGSTERS IMPRESS

The annual Checkmate Hunger chess tournament, held at Washington STEM Academy, was held on Saturday, March 25 on a day which was absolutely perfect for chess. On the drive down from Mishawaka to Warsaw, I encountered a miserable, wimpy drizzle which occasionally transformed into a much heavier downpour. After the tournament got underway, the sky cleared briefly, but outdoors the school building was assailed by gusty winds in excess of 40 miles/hour. For a while, we could hear the rafters of the building groaning, prompting me to do my best imitation of Dorothy Gale (“Auntie Em! Auntie Em!”) from the old movie The Wizard of Oz…yes, it was a perfect day to stay indoors and play chess.

A full count of all the players present came to a whopping 139, split up into six sections (plus an “extra” rated section which had players from sections already counted).

In the 17-player USCF-rated Open Section, there were 4 players rated over 1800, plus a sprinkling of dangerous lower-rated players. In a terrifying, nail-biting time scramble, Jon Gotz defeated Ben Bentrup to take clear first with 4-0. Pre-tournament rated as the #4 player (at 1800), Gotz was the oldest player in the section, but he knocked off #3 rated Mat Leach and #1 Ben Bentrup. As a result of his fine performance, he annexed 69 (!) rating points, no easy feat for a player with an established rating. As Jon modestly remarked after one of his games, “That’s what you get when you go 3 months without playing chess.” It’s a shame I wasn’t wearing a hat—I would’ve raised it to Jon!

Although Jon was the moral and actual victor of the tournament, several youngsters made splendid showings. Tanqi Li from Granger (rated 1088!) faced four higher-rated players. After an initial draw against John Bentrup, Tanqui defeated two 1400-rated opponents, arriving for round 4 undefeated and appearing unbeatable. After a valiant struggle, he lost to 1889-rated Leach, deep into an endgame. For his mighty efforts, Tanqi annexed 182 (!) rating points. Well done!

Nearly unnoticed on the crosstable were the exertions of Goshen’s Doug Baker, a veteran of many local tournaments. Like Tanqi, Doug faced four higher-rated opponents, losing only to Jon Gotz while gaining 170 (!) rating points in the process.

Top finishers were Jon Gotz 4-0; Ben Bentrup, Mat Leach, John Bentrup (undefeated with +2=2) and Doug Baker 3-1.

(The USCF crosstable for the Open Section can be viewed at

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303253852.1)

In the 32-player Under 1200 Section, Dave Teel, the oldest player present in all six sections, started off slowly with a draw, but four successive wins gave him top honors with 4½-½. He was chased by a quartet of youngsters who finished right behind at 4-1: Khushi Kumari, Josxuan Lugo, Daniel Vu, and Avighna Guntupalli.

(The USCF crosstable for the Under 1200 Section can be viewed at

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202303253852.2)

While the rated sections were held in a science classroom, the remaining sections (all unrated) were assembled in the gym. Here are the top finishers in each section:

Adult unrated (17 players):

Quinton Bolduc 3-0; Floyd Smith, Sam Bolduc, & Brendan Cooper 2½-½.

Grade 6-12 unrated (30 players):

Josiah Jordan, Carson Devanathan 5-0; Caden Christy 4-1; Aditya Vaidya, Gavin McPeak 3½-1½.

Grades 4-5 unrated (41 players!):

Chance Miller 5-0; Fareed Mohammed 4½-½; Maryam Anwar, Bryce Jordan, Aarav Jena, & Eli Brown 4-1; Benjamin Maile, Colin Meerzo, Luke Finley, & Isaiah Powers 3½-1½.

Grades K-3 unrated (52 players!):

Marjane Searl 5-0; Josiah Burden, Sawyer Schlemmer, Saanvisri Akkipally, Asher Howe, Beckett Maile, Lane Reed 4-1; Brennan Durham, Adhvik Badhrinath, Azra Anwar, & Nandika Rajaram 3½-1½

(The crosstable for all unrated sections can be viewed at

http://chess.joepye.net/xtables/l230325.htm).

Many thanks to organizer Jay Bolduc and tournament director Joe Riegsecker for an excellent tournament! Last year’s tournament was held on April 22, 2022, so the date for the annual Checkmate Hunger tournament varies from year to year. Be sure to reserve a spot on your calendar for this tournament next spring!

--Les Kistler

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MONTHLY SWISS SYSTEM TOURNAMENT

Niles District Library

620 East Main Street

Niles, Michigan

Saturday, April 1, 2023

(19 players)

Ian Brown 4-0; Johncarlo Kimmey & Noah Skopec 3½-½

USCF CROSSTABLE:

https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202304018792

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❸ CHESSWALA an online chess game analysis marketplace

Dear chess friends:

I got the following e-mail recently from Mr. Dave Mohan from University of Notre Dame [see below]. I hope you will consider his offer of chess analysis. Check out the website at [ https://chesswala.com/ ].

Just for fun, I thought I’d share a game fragment that demands detailed analysis from an engine or a human:

The opening was 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 Be7 8. O-O c4 9. Bc2 b5 10. b3 b4 11. bxc4 bxc3 12. cxd5 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Nxe5 14. dxe6 cxd2 15. exf7+ Nxf7 16. Qxd2 O-O [Les Kistler-Ilya Schwartzman; Munster High School Ladder match, March 9, 1978]. This game was played with a time control of 45 | 0. Although White gained a winning edge after 17. Qd3 g6 18. Nc6! Qc7 19. Nxe7+ Qxe7 20. Ba3, this game was drawn when both flags fell in a vicious time scramble.

--Les Kistler

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From: Dave Mohan <dmohan@nd.edu>

To: lkistler_phm@yahoo.com

Sun, Nov 27 at 11:40 PM

Hi Les!

My name is Dave Mohan and I’m a senior at the University of Notre Dame. I’m also a National Master in chess and have been playing the game for almost my entire life. I’m reaching out today because I recently launched a chess startup, Chesswala, and I was wondering if there was any way that you could include some information about the website in your next South Bend Chess Club Newsletter.

Here is a snippet that describes who we are!

Chesswala is an online game analysis marketplace that connects curious chess learners to master-level chess coaches. While chess coaches can often cost up to $100/hour, Chesswala offers a cheaper alternative, allowing you to get your games analyzed for as cheap as $7/game. The platform makes chess education much more accessible, allowing learners of all levels to tap into Chesswala’s network of chess masters. All you have to do is create an account on the Chesswala website, create your posting, and wait to receive a master-level analysis video of your game! You can also join the Chesswala newsletter from our site and follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitch to stay up to date on the latest company information.

If you could please share the above snippet, it would be greatly appreciated! As a token of my appreciation, I will provide every South Bend Chess Club member 1 free game analysis on the platform! All they have to do is write “SBCC” at the beginning of the description of their posting, and we will analyze their first posting free of charge.

Best,

Dave Mohan

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The following was sent out to the Chesswala mailing list in January:

Fellow Chess Nerd 🤓,

My name is Dave Mohan and I’m the CEO & Founder of Chesswala, an online chess education marketplace that makes it cheap, quick, and easy to get a chess master to analyze your game or teach you an opening! I’m reaching out today because I need your feedback. We here at Chesswala are always trying to improve, and your feedback is essential to that process. So, if you can, please take ~5 minutes to fill out the survey below:

Survey Link:

https://forms.gle/CjEcemjy2HFRbwz86

As an added incentive, anyone who completes the survey will be granted 1 free posting on Chesswala! All you have

to do is create a posting using code SURVEY. We’ll see you on Chesswala.

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❹ RESULTS AT ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

(B.U.M. = Bethel United Methodist Church)

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March 7, 2023

Tonight marks the 104^th week of chess at B.U.M. since March 9, 2021. And since a year has 52 weeks, that means we’ve now had a total of 2 years of consecutive meetings. Add to that the 8 weeks when the chess club met during the “pandemic year” of 2020, then we’ve had a grand total of 112 meetings. Although I haven’t counted it up, I estimate that we’ve had over 80 different individuals play chess with us.

For some weeks now, we’ve had a slump in attendance, but tonight’s turnout of 16 is one of the largest we’ve had (I believe our record attendance was 18 in July 2021). A brand-new guest tonight was Ian Brown from Granger. Ian is a writer for The Paper and Senior Times, two free newspapers headquartered in Milford, Indiana (not far from Warsaw). Currently he is working on an article about senior citizen chess players who reside in St. Joseph County. Roger Blaine and Les Kistler are providing Ian with some background information for his article. We hope that Ian’s article will make our three local clubs more well-known to interested chess players. Welcome, Ian! Also attending tonight were the always-welcome Murray and Bentrup family units. From distant Warsaw came Jim Spalding and Dave Teel, “foreigners” from Kosciusko County; from Middlebury Merlin Stoltzfus rode with the Bentrups tonight; our newfound friends Eli Dermott and Tony Hardy showed up; also in attendance were Elkhart High School students Gavin Ayers, Trystin Leers, and Vicente Patlan-Luna. Rounding out the congregation were Cameron Andrews, Roger Blaine, and Les Kistler.

With this interesting mix of new and familiar players, the chess tonight was friendly but competitive. Ben Bentrup came through as top finisher with 4-0, disposing of Les Kistler in the final round. Next came John Bentrup, Roger Blaine, Les Kistler, and Connor Murray with 3-1. Our new visitor Ian Brown took clear 6^th place, scoring an excellent 2½-1½. Also noteworthy were the solid 2-2 performances of youngsters Eli Dermott and Vicente Patlan-Luna. Well done!

Join us on Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514 (corner of Simonton & Michigan Streets). Park on the east side of the building, off Locust Street. Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [currently they are optional]. And don’t forget to tell your chess friends about the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club! Join us!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

MARCHING INTO MARCH

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

March 7, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Ben Bentrup 4

2 John Bentrup 3

3 Roger Blaine 3

4 Les Kistler 3

5 Connor Murray 3

6 Ian Brown 2½

7 Eli Dermott 2

8 Trystin Leers 2

9 Logan Murray 2

10 Vicente Patlan-Luna 2

11 Jim Spalding 2

12 Cameron Andrews 1

13 Tony Hardy 1

14 Dave Teel 1

15 Gavin Ayers ½

16 Merlin Stoltzfus 0

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March 14, 2023

Week #105 at Bethel United Methodist Church!

With 13 players present tonight, Roger set up the tournament with cross-round pairings, as usual. While its occurrence in our little tournaments is completely routine, performing them is not so simple—but it is for Roger whose authority and experience make it a simple matter.

Elkhartan Aidan Kaczanowski, a senior at Purude, was home this week on spring break; he is always welcome at B.U.M. By winning two important tournaments in the last year (Michigantown Madness, March 2022; Southern Indiana Open, February 2023), he has become a fearsome opponent and tough competitor against high-rated Hoosier opponents. Tonight, however, was John Bentrup’s night, who, by defeating Kistler and his dad, took clear first with 4-0. The high-rated trio of Ben Bentrup, Aidan Kaczanowski, and Les Kistler took the next three places with 3-1.

Recent newcomers Casey Hartzler, Caden Christy, Eli Dermott and Tony Hardy are getting accustomed to the tough opponents they face here at the club, and their placing tonight confirms that they are making significant progress. With additional study, practice, and over-the-board play, we expect them to keep growing in their knowledge of chess. Keep up the good work, guys!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

March 14, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 John Bentrup 4

2 Ben Bentrup 3

3 Aidan Kaczanowski 3

4 Les Kistler 3

5 Greta Bentrup 2

6 Roger Blaine 2

7 Casey Hartzler 2

8 Trystin Leers 2

9 Vicente Patlan-Luna 2

10 Caden Christy 1

11 Eli Dermott 1

12 Tony Hardy 1

13 Cameron Andrews 0

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March 21, 2023

ATTENDANCE RECORD BROKEN!

Today marks the 106^th consecutive meeting at B.U.M. Chess Club as well as the first full day of spring (the new season officially arrived yesterday at 5:24 PM EDT).

As 7:00 neared and I started setting up tables, I was very pleased to see our numbers swell, not with just our regular attendees but numerous new faces. Mary Daly 5^th graders Aidrick Brown and Matthew Alvarez showed up tonight, encouraged to attend by their teacher and chess coach Nancy Baker. Caden Christy, a newcomer last week, brought his dad Shawn tonight. Welcome one and all! Besides these newcomers, we also greeted Jason & Matthew Herrmann, absent for some weeks; brothers Tanbo and Tanqi (pronounced “tan chee”) Li; Yash Patel and Vicente Patlan-Luna from Elkhart High School; and recent newbies Eli Dermott, Tony Hardy, and Casey Hartzler. Combined with all the regular chess “BUMS”, tonight’s attendance numbered a whopping 22 chess players! An uptick in attendance is always welcome, but when we started up the club in September 2020, I could only dream of large numbers like this. In the fullness of time, I hope we can count on sustaining an attendance of more than 20 each week.

With such a gigantic number of players, it fell to Roger to pair the tournament. As I’ve remarked numerous times, Roger’s long experience as a tournament director means that he can make pairings almost with his eyes closed. Tonight he split the gathering into two separate sections: Sharks (experienced players) and Seahorses (newcomers and rookies).

In the 12-player Sharks Section, placings of the top players did not produce any surprises (Ben Bentrup 4-0; John Bentrup, Les Kistler, and Logan Murray 3-1), but excellent performances were turned in by Cameron Andrews, Tanqi Li, and Casey Hartzler who scored 2-2 against strong opposition. Keep up the good work!

In the 10-player Seahorses Section, the presence of three brand new players with other recent newcomers made this one difficult to predict. In the end, Jason Herrmann came away with top honors (4-0) while Tony Hardy came in clear second (3-1). Newcomer Aidrick Brown lost his first game, but then he scored 2½ out of the next three to tie with Greta Bentrup on 2½-1½. The other newcomer Matthew Alvarez scored 2-2 which includes a valiant last-round battle against Jason where the youngster couldn’t hold out against his more experienced foe. Well done, Aidrick and Matthew!

The B.U.M. Chess Club meets Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514. Park on the east side of the building, off Locust Street. Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [masks are optional]. Keep telling your friends about our club—perhaps we can continue to break attendance records!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

WELCOME SPRING!

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

March 21, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

SECTION 1: SHARKS SECTION

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Ben Bentrup 4

2 John Bentrup 3

3 Les Kistler 3

4 Logan Murray 3

5 Cameron Andrews 2

6 Roger Blaine 2

7 Casey Hartzler 2

8 Tanqi Li 2

9 Connor Murray 1

10 Yash Patel 1

11 Vicente Patlan-Luna 1

12 Matt Herrmann 0

SECTION 2: SEAHORSES SECTION

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Jason Herrmann 4

2 Tony Hardy 3

3 Greta Bentrup 2½

4 Aidrick Brown 2½

5 Matthew Alvarez 2

6 Caden Christy 2

7 Eli Dermott 2

8 Shawn Christy 1

9 Tanbo Li 1

10 Merlin Stoltzfus 0

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March 28, 2023

Although we did not match our record-breaking attendance of 22 players last week, we still had a creditable 16 players show up hungry for battle. In recent weeks, we’ve been attracting new members: Matthew Alvarez, Aidrick Brown, Shawn & Caden Christy, Eli Dermott, Tony Hardy, and Casey Hartzler. Tonight we were joined by yet another newcomer, Collin Swihart of Mary Daly. Collin is a 5^th grader and classmate of Matthew Alvarez and Aidrick Brown. Welcome, Collin!

TD extraordinaire Roger split us up into two eight-player sections. In a Swiss system tournament of 8 players, a clear winner is (usually) determined after three rounds, so instead of our usual 4-SS, 10|0 setup, we switched to a slower 3-SS, 15|0 arrangement tonight. After months of 10|0 play, having 15 minutes of thinking time felt like an eternity for us older players who get stuck in our chess ruts. Therefore, placed the veterans and seasoned players in the Northern Pike section while the newcomers and rookies joined battle in the Minnows section.

In the Northern Pike section, besides the Bentrup father-son duo and Les Kistler, tonight’s lineup was strengthened by the addition of Tanqi Li, recent participant and high scorer in the strong Open section of the Warsaw Checkmate Hunger tournament (at Warsaw Tanqi, rated 1088, faced 4 higher-rated opponents and scored 2½-1½, losing only to 1889-rated Mat Leach in the final round!). After the smoke cleared Ben Bentrup scored 3-0 followed by John Bentrup, and Connor & Logan Murray with 2-1. Despite being the heavy underdog in the Northern Pike section, Eli Dermott managed to score a well-earned draw against such distinguished company. Well done!

In the Minnows section, Greta Bentrup cruised through to a perfect 3-0 finish followed by Caden Christy, Vicente Patlan-Luna and Tony Hardy. Congratulations to all three!

We cordially welcome new players to join us at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. The church’s fellowship hall can easily accommodate 40 players, with the possibility to expand to other rooms if necessary.

The B.U.M. Chess Club meets Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514. The church is located at the intersection of Simonton and Michigan Streets; park on the east side of the building, next to Locust Street. Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [masks remain optional in Elkhart city and Elkhart County]. Join us for friendly informal chess on Tuesday evenings!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

Swiss System, three rounds (15 | 0)

March 28 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

SECTION 1: NORTHERN PIKE

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Ben Bentrup 3

2 John Bentrup 2

3 Connor Murray 2

4 Logan Murray 2

5 Les Kistler 1

6 Tanqi Li 1

7 Eli Dermott ½

8 Elijah Murray ½

SECTION 2: MINNOWS

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Greta Bentrup 3

2 Caden Christy 2

3 Tony Hardy 2

4 Vicente Patlan-Luna 2

5 Matthew Alvarez 1

6 Shawn Christy 1

7 Casey Hartzler 1

8 Collin Swihart 0

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April 4, 2023

Tonight marks our 108^th consecutive week at Bethel Church. Ben Bentrup, our frequent top-finisher, had a meeting to attend, but Family Bentrup was ably represented by Greta and John. In Ben’s absence, Les arrogantly believed he would be a big winner tonight, but he played so terribly that he managed only 2-2, finishing halfway down the table. Top honors tonight were shared by John Bentrup and Logan Murray (3½-½), with Connor Murray taking clear third place with 3-1. Other excellent performances were turned in by Greta Bentrup (2½-1½), Caden Christy (2-2), and Collin Swihart (1½-2½). After losing her first game, Greta scored 2½ in the last three rounds to leapfrog over higher-rated Les Kistler and Jim Spalding. Caden Christy and Collin Swihart have been coming to the club for only a few weeks, but they are already making great strides. Since the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club has about 30 or so chess books and magazines (all hand-me-downs), I invited them to take home a few items. Our next step will be to get them enrolled in tournaments to take further steps on their road to improvement.

In age, our Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club has had players from 3^rd grade (age 8-9) up through age 79; in skill level, our players range from near-beginners up through USCF-rated expert. We cordially welcome new players to join us at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. The church’s fellowship hall can easily accommodate 40 players, with the possibility to expand to other rooms if necessary.

The B.U.M. Chess Club meets Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514. Park on the east side of the building. Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [masks remain optional in Elkhart city and Elkhart County]. And don’t forget to tell your chess friends about the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club! Join us!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

April 4, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 John Bentrup 3½

2 Logan Murray 3½

3 Connor Murray 3

4 Greta Bentrup 2½

5 Caden Christy 2

6 Les Kistler 2

7 Elijah Murray 2

8 Jim Spalding 2

9 Collin Swihart 1½

10 Shawn Christy 1

11 Shrey Patel 1

12 Kadence Lentz 0

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April 11, 2023

Tonight marks our 109^th consecutive week at Bethel Church. Tonight we welcomed two more new players: Adrian Helmuth from Nappanee and Leo Coates from Elkhart. Adrian has already attended the South Bend chess clubs at Lincolnway West and IUSB, and he has proven himself to be a dangerous opponent (just ask Roger!). Leo Coates, a 6^th grader from Elkhart, was referred to our club by Kadence Lentz, an ex-pupil of Les Kistler at West Side Middle School Chess Club. Welcome Adrian & Leo! Please come back soon! Leo’s mother said that he does not have a chess club at his school, but he has a few chess playing friends who might join us. Additionally, Mrs. Coates saw the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club’s Facebook page (created last year by Lois Anderson). With exposure on social media and word-of-mouth, we are making ourselves known to local chess players. By my reckoning, we are not far away from having a constant attendance of 20 or more every week. Indeed, last week there were 9 regular attendees who did not make it tonight!

Also present was Ryan Andrews (older brother of Cameron) who we haven’t seen in a while. Welcome back, Ryan! The top places were rather predictable (Ben Bentrup, 4-0; John Bentrup & Les Kistler 3-1), but the youngsters and newcomers gave a good accounting of themselves tonight. Roger Blaine scored 2-2, but in the crosstable, he was “surrounded” by youngsters Cameron Andrews (8^th grader), Eli Dermott (8^th grader), Adrian Helmuth (freshman at IUSB), and Collin Swihart (5^th grader). We welcome the steady improvement of our youth and expect that they will score even better in future tournaments.

The Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club has had players from 3^rd grade up through age 79 and players who are near-beginners up through USCF-rated expert. We cordially welcome new players to join us at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. The church’s fellowship hall can easily accommodate 40 players, with the possibility to expand to other rooms if necessary.

The B.U.M. Chess Club meets Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514. Park on the east side of the building. Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [masks remain optional in Elkhart city and Elkhart County]. And don’t forget to tell your chess friends about the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club! Join us!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

April 11, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Ben Bentrup 4

2 John Bentrup 3

3 Les Kistler 3

4 Cameron Andrews 2

5 Roger Blaine 2

6 Eli Dermott 2

7 Adrian Helmuth 2

8 Collin Swihart 2

9 Ryan Andrews 1

10 Tony Hardy 1

11 Leo Coates 0

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April 18, 2023

FAREWELL, JEREMY PRINCE!

In recent weeks, I’ve been delighted to see an influx of new players appear “out of nowhere” and join us. Recently we’ve seen newcomers Matthew Alvarez, Aidrick Brown, Ian Brown, Shawn & Caden Christy, Leo Coates (whose first visit was last week), Eli Dermott, Tony Hardy, Casey Hartzler, Adrian Helmuth, and Collin Swihart. Tonight we added one more; Luke Datzman, a 6^th grade classmate of Leo Coates joined us tonight. This makes a total of 12(!) newcomers in the last two months! Welcome Luke (and welcome back Leo)! My constant advice “tell your friends” is paying off.

Tonight, the Elkhart Garden Club was using the basement fellowship hall of the church (but nobody told me about it!), so we hurriedly had to transfer our club to the Upper Room on the main floor of the church. There were no special surprises in the top finishers of our little swiss system tournament tonight (Ben Bentrup 4-0; John Bentrup 3-1; Les Kistler 3-1), but Eli Dermott, Kadence Lentz, and Shrey Patel scored 2-2 to land in a massive 7-way tie for 4^th place. Good work! And newcomer Luke Datzman, on his first night, scored a creditable 1-3 against this strong field!

With an odd number of players at the outset, Roger removed himself from the round 1 pairings, aiming to create a cross-round pairing with himself and the loser of the first decisive game. However, Jeremy Prince, who we haven’t seen in some time, arrived late giving Roger his first opponent.

With great regret, I report that our good friend Jeremy Prince will soon return to his native Chicago, so tonight was his final night playing chess with us at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Jeremy joined us last year after settling in Granger to work for a firm in our area. To relocate to a new city to pursue a new job is not easy, but I think joining a chess club would be a natural first step for any devotee of our Royal Game. I recall that when I got out of college in 1984 to take up my first teaching job, one of my first tasks was to seek out the local chess club. When he joined us for the first time, Jeremy embraced us and we embraced him as a strong chessplayer, good friend, and enjoyable companion. There were numerous times when I saw Jeremy and his opponent animatedly discuss their chess ideas over a just-completed game. In addition, he often gave younger players advice on how to improve their opening or play better. He had many good ideas, and the exchange of chess knowledge was beneficial to all of us. We will miss playing against Jeremy, but we will miss his friendship and kindness even more. We hope you won’t forget us—we certainly won’t forget you. Fond wishes and good luck with your career in Chicago!

The B.U.M. Chess Club meets Tuesday nights (7:00-10:00 PM) at Bethel United Methodist Church, 1200 North Michigan Street, Elkhart, IN 46514. (Church is located at the corner of Simonton and Michigan Streets; park on the east side of the building, off Locust Street.) Remember: there is no membership fee to join the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Contact Les Kistler [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com] for information, including questions about local health guidance on mask-wearing [masks are optional in Elkhart city and Elkhart County]. We keep a box of masks [the standard blue ones] at the church for anybody who wants one. And don’t forget to tell your chess friends about the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club!

--Les Kistler

ELKHART B.U.M. CHESS CLUB

Swiss System, four rounds (10 | 0)

April 18, 2023

TD: Roger Blaine

(tied players are listed alphabetically by last name; no tiebreaks calculated)

1 Ben Bentrup 4

2 John Bentrup 3

3 Les Kistler 3

4 Cameron Andrews 2

5 Roger Blaine 2 (played 3 games)

6 Eli Dermott 2

7 Kadence Lentz 2

8 Connor Murray 2

9 Shrey Patel 2

10 Jeremy Prince 2 (played 3 games)

11 Luke Datzman 1

12 Tony Hardy 1

13 Logan Murray 1

14 Leo Coates 0

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❺ CHESS CLUBS IN THE SOUTH BEND AREA

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◉ Lincolnway West Chess Club; South Bend, Indiana

Mondays, 6:30 - 9:30 p.m., at the Primerica Building, 22500 US Highway 20, South Bend. It is a hard number to find, because it is the first 5-digit county number after the 4-digit city numbers peter out. It is on the south side of Lincolnway West, not quite as far out as the Airport entrance. It is the first building west of Beacon Community Center, 4210 Lincolnway W., which has a prominent blue-and-white sign and used to be a bowling alley. (Primerica is an insurance company.)

--Roger Blaine

For info, call Wayne Berry, 574-289-1701

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◉ Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club

(B.U.M. = Bethel United Methodist Church)

The Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club meets every Tuesday evening (7:00-10:00 PM).

Location:

Bethel United Methodist Church

1200 North Michigan Street (located at the corner of Michigan & Simonton Streets)

Elkhart, IN 46514

There is no membership fee to play at the Elkhart B.U.M. Chess Club. Masks are encouraged, but optional. Most weeks we have a G/10 (10 | 0) tournament with chess clocks. Occasionally we have a short chess lecture, or a quiz position displayed on a wall demonstration board. In age, we have had players from grade 3 (age 8-9) up through 79 years old. In skill levels, we have players from beginners up through USCF-rated expert. In the summer of 2022, we held an [optional] USCF-rated tournament with a slower time limit to enable participants to play one game per week. We hope to hold more USCF-rated tournaments in the future also.

Contact Les Kistler with questions [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com].

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◉ IU South Bend Chess Club

During the Academic year, the IUSB Chess Club meets from 6:00-9:00.

IUSB CHESS CLUB SUMMER HOURS (mid-May to mid-August) 5:00-9:00.

During the summer, the building closes at 7:00, but we may stay later to play chess.

Student Activities Center, Room 206. The chess club meets in room 206 [second floor] in the northwest corner of the building.

The IUSB Chess Club has chess clocks and tournament chess sets, but you are welcome to bring your own equipment.

--Les K.

IUSB Student Activities Center

941 S. 20th Street (near Vine & 20th Street)

South Bend, Indiana 46634

Use the east parking lot. Indoors, you will see the main basketball arena on the lower level. Walk around the basketball courts until you reach to the staircase on the west side of the gym. The chess club meets in room 206 [second floor] in the northwest corner of the building.

All chess players are welcome at the IUSB Chess Club. It is not necessary to be enrolled as a student at IUSB. IUSB chess players look forward to the chance to meet and learn from new players. Join them Wednesday evening!

--Les Kistler

Contact Tyler Forrest [tyforres@iu.edu] for information or questions about the IUSB Chess Club.

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❻ CHESS CLUBS IN FORT WAYNE

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FORT WAYNE CHESS CLUB:

Fort Wayne Chess Club meets at 111 W. Berry Street, 2nd floor, on Saturdays from 2:00 — 6:00 PM.

-- Jon Gotz

For information, contact Stephen May [fortwaynechessclub@gmail.com] or Cameron Pancner [pltwcpancner@gmail.com].

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THREE RIVERS CHESS CLUB:

https://www.facebook.com/threeriverschess

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Charles Vu at threeriverschess@gmail.com

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TAKEASTAN CHESS CLUB:

https://www.facebook.com/takeastan.chessclub

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❼ TWO chess.com CLUBS CONNECTED TO INDIANA:

◉ TEAM INDIANA

Note from Jason Torpy (administrator of Team Indiana on chess.com):

Dear Les:

Would you be able to put in a note for Team Indiana on chess.com to [your] newsletter? I think that can be a good way to get the word out.

https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/location-map?page=3&newCommentCount=1#last_comment

It's getting pretty robust in terms of [member players from different] locations. I'm an administrator there [for the chess.com Team Indiana group].

--Jason Torpy

Screen grab below is from https://www.chess.com/club/team-indiana

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◉ IUSB (Indiana University South Bend)

Contact Tyler Forrest on chess.com if you wish to join the online version of the IUSB Chess Club. Tyler’s screen name is TylerTheeMighty.

You can send him a message on chess.com, or e-mail him at [tyforres@iu.edu].

Screen grab below is from https://www.chess.com/club/iusb-chess-club

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❽ CHESS ARTICLE APPEARS IN FREE NEWSPAPER Senior Times (St. Joseph County)

The Senior Times, a free newspaper published in northern Indiana, recently had an article featuring chess among senior citizens. This article, entitled “The Ageless Game: Keeping Alzheimer’s in check”, was written by Ian Brown, participant in the recent February “Amish” tournament in Middlebury and newcomer to the Elkhart and South Bend Clubs. Roger Blaine and Les Kistler contributed to this article.

Below is a screen grab of this article; or, you can access this article in the April 2023 issue of Senior Times. On this website, go to page 9: [https://issuu.com/thepapersinc/docs/sl-st-joe-april-2023?fr=sOWU2MzU0NDQ5MTk]

--Les Kistler

======================================================================================================

This chess bulletin was created by Les Kistler. If you spot any errors, please contact me at [LKistler_phm@yahoo.com]. If you have any newsworthy chess items you'd like to see included, please e-mail me.

Mr. Leslie C. Kistler

retired teacher

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