<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[A4C Chess Group News]]></title><description><![CDATA[Articles]]></description><link>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/</link><copyright><![CDATA[Copyright A4C Chess Group News]]></copyright><generator>sNews CMS</generator><item><title><![CDATA[Edmar Mednis]]></title><description><![CDATA[  
  Submitted by   billwall       on Fri, 04/25/2008 at 
8:53pm.      
  Edmar (Edmars) John Mednis was born on March 22, 1937 in Riga, Latvia.    
  He and his family escaped from Latvia in 1944.  &nbsp; 
  They lived in several displaced camps in Germany before coming to the 
United States in 1950.  
  In 1949, at the age of 12, his father taught Edmar how to 
play chess.  
  In 1950, at the age of 13, Edmar joined the Marshall Chess 
Club and soon had an expert rating.  
  In January, 1951, he took 3  rd   place in the 
Marshall Junior Championship tournament.  
  In January, 1951, at the age of 13, he participated in a 
simul given by master Max Pavey in Brooklyn, along with 7 year old Bobby 
Fischer.  &nbsp;   Mednis drew his game.  
  In the summer of 1951, Edmar played in the 52  nd   US 
Open in Fort Worth and scored 7.4-4.5 and tying 
14  th  -21  st  .  &nbsp;   His first USCF rating was 
2137.  
  In 1954, he won the New York City Interscholastic 
Championship while a student at Stuyvesant High School.  
  In 1955 he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in New York 
City.  
  In 1955, at the age of 18, Mednis won the New York State 
championship with at 8-1, score.  
  In 1955, he represented the United States and took 
2  nd   in the 3  rd   World Junior Championship in Antwerp, 
Belgium, behind grandmaster Boris Spassky, drawing their individual 
game.  &nbsp;   He did not lose a single game and had a 7-2 score.  
  In December, 1955, Mednis won the U.S. Intercollegiate 
championship.  &nbsp;   He was a freshman at New York University (NYU) 
majoring in chemical engineering.  &nbsp;   He tied with Anthony Saidy, 
but won on tie-break points.  
  In April, 1956, he represented the U.S. in the 3  rd   
World Student Team Chess Championship in Uppsala, Sweden.  
  He was trained as a chemical engineer, and then became a 
stock market investor.  &nbsp;   He became a professional chess player 
in 1972 at the age of 35.  
  In 1957, he was nominated by the USCF for the International 
Master title.  &nbsp;   In 1957 his USCF rating was 2444.  
  In 1962, he tied for 3  rd   place in the 1961-62 U.S. 
Chess Championship.  
  In 1962, he played on the United States Olympiad team in 
Varna, Bulgaria.  &nbsp;   He won 5 games and lost 2.  
  In 1962, he defeated Bobby Fischer in the 1962-63 U.S. 
championship in Round 1.  &nbsp;     &nbsp;&nbsp;  Fischer 
resigned the adjourned game before the start of Round 4 by telling the referee, 
Hans Kmoch.  
  In 1970, he represented the United States in the Men’s Chess 
Olympiad in Siegen, Germany.  
  In 1972, he was a commentator for PBS during the 1972 world 
championship match between Fischer and Spassky.  
  In 1974, he finished 3  rd   at Houston and became an 
International Master.  &nbsp;   He missed the grandmaster norm by a 
half point.  &nbsp;   The average FIDE rating was 2454 and he needed a 
7.5 score for a GM norm.  &nbsp;   He scored 7-4.  
  In 1978 he tied for 3  rd   place in the U.S. Chess 
Championship with Leonid Shamkovich.  &nbsp;   Mednis scored 8-6 in a 
field averaging 2498.  &nbsp;   He needed 8.5 for a GM norm.  
  The top three U.S. players qualified for the Interzonal, so a 
play-off was needed to determine 3  rd   place.  &nbsp;   Before 
the play-off, Mednis wanted to be played for playing a match with 
Shamkovich.  &nbsp;   Shamkovich was will to play for free.  &nbsp; 
  The match was scheduled for the Marshall Chess Club.  &nbsp; 
  Shamkovich showed up, but Mednis did not since no one was willing to pay 
for the match.  &nbsp;   Later, Mednis called to say he was 
sick.  &nbsp;   Several more times the match was scheduled, but Mednis 
continued to call in sick.  &nbsp;   The match was finally awarded by 
default to Shamkovich.  
  In 1978, at the FIDE Congress in Buenos Aires, the 
application by Mednis for the grandmaster title was denied.  
  In 1979, there were two Interzonals, and one of them was in 
Riga, Latvia, the birthplace of Mednis.  &nbsp;   Ed Edmondson, 
Executive Director of the USCF, appealed for an extra spot for Mednis to 
play.  &nbsp;   This was accepted and an extra place was created for 
Mednis.  &nbsp;   This gave Mednis an opportunity to return to his 
homeland since leaving after World War II.  
  In 1979, he played in the Interzonal tournament in Riga, his 
birthplace.  &nbsp;   However, he did poorly and finished near the 
bottom.  
  In 1980, he took 4  th   at New York.  
    &nbsp;  He became a Grandmaster in 1980 at the age 
of 43.  &nbsp;   It was the Puerto Rico Chess Federation rather than 
the United States Chess Federation that formerly proposed him for the 
Grandmaster title.  &nbsp;   The USCF did not think Mednis was strong 
enough with a 2475 Elo rating and refused to sponsor him for the GM title 
because he had not made any norms.  &nbsp;   The standard Grandmaster 
rating is 2500.  &nbsp;   Puerto Rico nominated him after Mednis agreed 
to give chess lessons to the Puerto Rican chess team.  &nbsp; 
  Although Mednis did not make any GM norms, FIDE later changed its system 
for calculating norms (for the first time, FIDE used performance ratings instead 
of norm scores).  &nbsp;   Under this new system, Mednis was qualified 
for the GM title.  &nbsp;   He had qualified with two norms, but did 
not need a third norm because the previous two moves totaled 26 
games.  &nbsp;   A player needed at least 25 games before a title was 
considered.  
  1n 1984, he took 1  st   at Puerto Rico.  
  In 2000, he was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of 
Fame.  
  He died on February 13, 2002 at the age of 64.  &nbsp; 
  He died suddenly of cardiac arrest during a bout with pneumonia in 
Woodside, Queens, New York.  &nbsp;   He had recently undergone minor 
surgery.  
  Mednis was survived by his wife Baiba, his daughter Sari 
Eskildsen and his son Mariss Mednis.  
  He wrote 26 chess books and hundreds of chess articles.  
  He wrote   How to Beat Bobby Fischer   (1975),   How 
Karpov Wins   (1975),   How to Beat the Russians   (1978),   The 
Modern Defense   (1978),   Practical Endgame Lessons   (1978),   Open 
Games   (1980),   Practical Rook Endings   (1980),   How to Play Good 
Opening Moves   (1982),   King Power in Chess   (1982),   From the 
Opening into the Endgame   (1983),   From the Middlegame into the 
Endgame   (1987),   Questions and Answers in Practical Opening Play   
(1987),   Strategic Themes in the Endgame   (1987),   How to Defeat a 
Superior Opponent   (1989),   Practical Bishop Endings   (1990),   How 
to be a Complete Tournament Player   (1991),   Rate Your Endgame   
(1992),   Strategic Chess   (1993),   Practical Knight Endings 
  (1993),   Advanced Endgame Strategies   (1996),   Practical Opening 
Tips   (1997),   The King in the Endgame   (1997),   The King in the 
Opening   (1998),   Practical Endgame Tips   (1998),   The King in the 
Middlegame   (1999),   Better Endgame Play   (2000).  
  For many years, he wrote a monthly column for   Chess 
Life   called “The Practical Endgame,”  
  His overall score with Bobby Fischer was 1 win, 1 draw, and 5 
losses in tournament play, along with two losses in a blitz tournament.    ]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:03:47 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/edmar-mednis/</link><guid>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/edmar-mednis/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Tonya Harding Option]]></title><description><![CDATA[      The Tonya Harding 
Option          
      &nbsp;      
    An event dedicated to cheating; 
there is a website that is allowing someone who admits he cheats to play his 
members in a community type of chess game (Vote Chess).    
      &nbsp;      
    Obviously, this type of character 
can be good for business when you are trying to stir the pot; everyone likes to 
hate someone however, in my opinion this is a typically a rooky webmaster 
mistake when it comes to cheating, even the so called cheater is shocked that 
this being allowed.    
      &nbsp;      
    In every walk of life this type or 
person or this type of situation, is shunned, avoided and or given the respect 
it deserves (none). To allow this situation to take center stage, to promote 
their concepts clearly show this site is a business and is using this so called 
tactic to promote its website for financial gain.    
      &nbsp;      
    No person who understands chess and 
the seriousness on how cheating is viewed in the chess circles would ever take 
this stance, this webmaster states its all about the community, what community 
allows cheaters to take center stage and allows a self proclaimed cheater to 
promote is ideas or beliefs.    
      &nbsp;      
    This very argument is in the papers 
today, they call is the Tonya Harding option.    
      &nbsp;      
    Since this opinion will be 
censored, I want to go record stating this is wrong and helping to promote 
someone that cheats is fundamentally wrong.    
      &nbsp;      ]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:06:53 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/the-tonya-harding-option/</link><guid>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/the-tonya-harding-option/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eaters.....]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Submitted by     screekdawg     on Sat, 03/22/2008 at 9:37am.  
   I 
have written about how we can relate chess to life. It has been my attempt to 
relate the lessons I am learning as I learn about chess, to life in general. 
Many have responded to the blogs and I thank you for the comments.  

   am involved in a game in which my opponent asked me to hold off making a move until the last moment (they said they were messaging me from an old account), this person said that their account has been closed and they needed time. Unfortunately I had already made a move in the game before I received the message. I felt  bad. I was playing well in the game, but still felt the outcome was up in the air. So I apologised to the person and even thought of resigning , just to make it a fair game.   


          

  I am glad I didn't  

  Today I decided to look up the person's former account. I looked at the the 
game achieves and saw that they played and lost to the same account that I had 
been playing.Obviously to boost their rating.I sent a message to the two 
accounts (later found a third account that belong to this person),asking 
why.&nbsp;  

  There has been a lot of talk on this site about using chess engines to help 
people make moves. The purpose of the chess engine is to help analyse your moves 
AFTER you make them. Unfortunately people use them to make their moves for them, 
I am sure.&nbsp;  
  That is hard to prove , so I don't worry about it. I am trying to play this 
game with the intention to learn. I can tell you that all my games I have played 
have been pure (my opponents hopefully will tell you the same thing). I can live 
with my woeful ranting , because it is honestly achieved. You people out there 
who have achieved your ratings artificially, you know who you are, have to live 
with yourself.   
  If you are cheating at a game...what else are you cheating at?   
  ]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:57:48 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eaters/</link><guid>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eaters/</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[Off the Wall Chess - Banking on the Benko]]></title><description><![CDATA[  Submitted by     billwall         on Mon, 03/10/2008 at 
6:41pm.  
  My opponent played the Benko Gambit against me and I was probably lucky to 
win.&nbsp; I think my opponent resigned too early as there was still 
counterplay.&nbsp; My opponent was banking on the Benko to give him a draw or 
win.&nbsp; He might have succeeded with alternative moves or avoiding the pin 
that cost him a piece.    

      
    
  [Event "  www.chess.com   "]  [Site "?"]  [Date 
"2007.??.??"]  [White "Wall, Bill"]  [Black "Dxdplay"]  [Result 
"1-0"]  [ECO "A58"]  [PlyCount "45"]  [EventDate "2007.??.??"]    
  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 { the Benko Gambit&nbsp; 
}&nbsp; 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 ( 5. Nc3 axb5 6. e4 b4 7. Nb5 Nxe4 8. Qe2 Nf6 9. Nd6# 
{ B. Wall - NN, North Carolina 1975&nbsp; }&nbsp; ) g6 ( 5... Bxa6 6. Nc3 d6 7. 
g3 g6 8. Bg2 Bg7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. O-O Nbd7 11. Re1 c4 12. e4 Nb6 13. a4 Qc7 14. 
Qc2 Rfb8 15. e5 Nfxd5 $2 16. a5 Nc8 17. Nxd5 Qd7 18. exd6 Qxd6 19. Nd2 { 
1-0&nbsp; Wall - McCarty, California 1973&nbsp; }&nbsp; ) 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. Nf3 d6 
8. e4 Bg7 $5 ( 8... Bxf1 9. Kxf1 { is more common&nbsp; }&nbsp; ) 9. Bxa6 Rxa6 
10. O-O O-O ( 10... Nfd7 11. Nd2 ) ( 10... Nbd7 11. Nd2 ) 11. Bg5 Nbd7 ( 11... 
Qb6 12. Qd2 ) 12. h4 ( 12. Qe2 ) ( 12. Qc1 ) ( 12. Qd2 ) Qa8 ( 12... Qb6 ) 13. 
h5 $5 ( 13. Qe2 ) Nxh5 14. Bxe7 Rb8 ( 14... Re8 15. Bg5 Bxc3 16. bxc3 Rxe4 ) 15. 
Qd2 Rab6 ( 15... Bxc3 16. bxc3 ) 16. b3 Ne5 ( 16... Bxc3 17. Qxc3 Re8 18. Bg5 
Rxe4 ) 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. g4 ( 18. Bg5 ) Ng7 ( 18... Qa5 19. Rac1 Nf4 ) 19. f4 
Bd4+ 20. Kh1 ( 20. Kg2 Re8 21. Bg5 Bxc3 22. Qxc3 Rxe4 ) Qa5 ( 20... Re8 21. Bg5 
Bxc3 22. Qxc3 Rxe4 23. Rfd1 Ne6 24. Bh6 Nd4 ) 21. Rfc1 R8b7 $2 ( 21... Re8 22. 
Bg5 Qb4 ) ( 21... Bxc3 22. Rxc3 Re8 23. Bf6 Rxb3 ) 22. Bd8 Bxc3 23. Rxc3 { Black 
resigned here, but had more play after 23...Qb4.&nbsp; }&nbsp; ( 23. Rxc3 Qb4 
24. Bxb6 Qxe4+ 25. Kg1 Rxb6 26. Re1 Qb4 27. Rc2 Qxd2 28. Rxd2 Rb4 29. Rf1 
)  1-0  
    &nbsp;  ]]></description><pubDate>Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:41:22 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/off-the-wall-chess-banking-on-the-benko/</link><guid>http://www.anyone4chess.com/news/home/off-the-wall-chess-banking-on-the-benko/</guid></item></channel></rss>