SuperNationals Videos

To see an interesting variety of submitted videos related to the upcoming SuperNationals, see the USCF video page. Have you submitted yours yet?

SuperNationals IV Update

If you're not already set for SuperNationals in Nashville (April 3-5), here are some phone numbers that may be of use:

** For registration and information about team rooms, contact Cheryle Bruce at (931) 787-1234, ext. 147.

** For reservations at the host Gaylord Hotel, call (615) 883-2211.

** For other inquiries, try Pat Knight, National Events Director, at (931) 200-3411, or call USCF Scholastic Director Jerry Nash at 931-787-2756.

As of this writing, it appears that free tickets (while they last) will be available for the Kasparov lecture at 3 PM Saturday. Tickets will be available, I'm told, at the bookstore in Ryman Exhibit Hall B1.

Irina on Gibraltar

Photo: Chess Life Online
IM Irina Krush wrote a not-to-be-missed article about her experiences at the recent Gibraltar tournament - always one for great pictures. Take your time, though. I lost count of how many annotated games she included in this excellent article. You can find it at Chess Life Online.

SuperNationals Simuls

Over at Chess Life Online, Jennifer Shahade has posted a phenomenal schedule of simultaneous exhibitions to be given by some of the biggest chess names on U.S. soil, at the upcoming SuperNationals tournament. This event may well be the most spectacular chess tournament, everything considered, ever to occur in the U.S.

Tournament Preparation

The SuperNationals mega-tournament takes place next month in Nashville, in which all three Spring scholastic championships (elementary, junior high and high school) occur at the same time and at the same location. Some 5,000 players are expected to attend this combined event that only takes place every four years.

In advance of this big event, I thought it would be interesting to hear from a variety of talented players, coaches and parents regarding how best to prepare for a chess tournament, physically, nutritionally and psychologically. Our esteemed “panel” members offer a number of interesting suggestions!

The Panel

WFM Abby Marshall – prominent high school player.
WGM Jennifer Shahade – editor of Chess Life Online.
Jonathan Hilton – prominent high school player and editor of World Chess Live newsletter.
Michael Goeller – author of The Kenilworthian blog.
FM Darwin Yang – prominent scholastic player.
IM Greg Shahade – founder of the U.S. Chess League and the U.S. Chess School
Dan Heisman – full-time chess tutor and author of many books, as well as the popular ChessCafe.com Novice Nook column.
Dr. Gary Robson, father of teenage IM Ray Robson.
WIM Dr. Alexey Root – author and lecturer at University of Texas at Dallas.
FM Robby Adamson – won multiple national scholastic championships and has coached multiple national championship teams at Tucson’s Catalina Foothills High School; he is featured on the cover of the March 2009 issue of Chess Life.

To read all about what our panel had to say about what should be done prior to and during a big tournament, see my March ChessCafe Scholastic Chess column here, or in the ChessCafe archives.

Review: Chess Tactics for Advanced Players

Have you ever visited a foreign country and felt rather disoriented by the many strange sights, sounds, smells, and tastes? Such was my feeling upon opening Chess Tactics for Advanced Players. The text is in English, and the chess is more or less familiar, but much about the book is, well, just different...

For the full review, go to the ChessCafe book review page, or see it in the ChessCafe archives.