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  New registrations require advance approval; use the response form at the bottom of this page to inquire.

• We are making Northwest Chess magazine back issues available on this website! For a complete list of available issues (scanned prior to Sept. 2008, made from the print production files thereafter), please see the Northwest Chess Scanning Project page.

• Washington Chess Letter scans from the 1947-1952 and 1955-1964 time period are also available.

• We've added MyChessViewer 2.2 from MyChess.com, which allows you to view games from some local chess tournaments directly in your browser. See the games page.

See calendar and TA pages for more info about upcoming chess events.

Happy New Year from Northwest Chess!

This Week/Weekend - NWC Grand Prix events! Spokane Winter Championship (Rd 2 on Jan 29); Seattle CC Saturday Quads (Jan 31); Portland CC G/60 (Jan 31).

This Week/Weekend - Other (non-GP) events! Portland Tuesday Night Quads (Rd 4 on Jan 27); Tacoma CC annual membership meeting (Jan 30).

February magazine! The February issue of Northwest Chess is now in production. it's a 32-page issue with Oregon Chess News, "The Foolish King" by Samir Sen, Washington Chess News, Idaho Chess News and a back-cover photo of Corey Longhurst by Jim Berezow. Cover: Aaron Grabinsky by Nancy Keller. See the teaser (selected pages with color).

Best Chess Books! See a list of the "Best Chess Books Ever" on chess.com as recommended by various GMs and IMs including GM Seirawan, IM Donaldson and IM Silman.

Nakamura to play in Gibraltar! GM and former U.S. chess champion Hikaru Nakamura is the second-highest rated player currently entered in the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, scheduled for Jan. 26-Feb. 5. The highest rated player, at 2800 FIDE, is former world championship contender Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria. See the event website.

Elmars Zemgalis memorial information - A memorial to celebrate the inspirational life of Elmars Zemgalis, International Grandmaster, was held on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015 at the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Seattle. Memorial contributions, in lieu of flowers, may be made to the Seattle Chess Club, http://www.seattlechess.org, or to the church. See the obituary on legacy.com, as also published in The Seattle Times on Jan. 4.

January magazine! The January issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 12/26. It's a 32-page issue with Washington Chess News, Chess Groovies by NM Daniel He and NM Samuel He, Oregon Chess News, Idaho Chess News and a back-cover photo of Jim Berezow by Jeffrey Roland. Cover: Alan Tan by Duane Polich. See the teaser (selected pages with color).

David Golub awarded top USCL board 4 honors! Congratulations to NM David Golub for being named U.S. Chess League 1st team All Star for board 4 for the 2014 season. Link to report from the USCL website. 1st Team: NM David Golub (SEA). This was not a difficult decision as Golub had a near-perfect record (7.5 of 8 with a 2499 performance rating), with many instrumental wins along the way, several of which were critical to Seattle recovering from a tough start to the season and snagging the final playoff spot. According to team manager Josh Sinanan, "I can assure you that David will be graduating to board 3 next season!" Orlov 3rd Team Board One All Star! In addition, IM Georgi Orlov was named as the 3rd Team All Star on board 1, behind two GMs. Link to report from the USCL website. His record was 4.5 of 6, for a very impressive 2874 performance rating.

Tied for 1st! Congratulations to Samir Sen of Washington for his 1st-place tie in the 12th grade section of the USCF K-12 Championships held Dec. 12-14 in Orlando, Fla. Samir scored 6 of 7, raising his rating to 2222, a solid master level. See the completed tournament news below for a link to the USCF crosstables for the grade-level sections of this event.

In Memoriam - Elmars Zemgalis (b. September 9, 1923 in Riga, Latvia - died December 8, 2014 in Seattle, Washington) as reported by IM John Donaldson. He was the second oldest Grandmaster in the world (age 91) behind only Yury Averbakh (92). Elmars was Washington State Champion in 1953 and 1959. His best result was = 1st with Bogoljubow at Oldenbourg 1949 ahead of Rossolimo, Unzicker, O'Kelly, Saemisch and 12 other participants. Photo at left: Zemgalis at 90th birthday party in 2013, courtesy of Viktors Pupols and Deborah Petzal. Photo at right: Zemgalis at chessboard in his younger days, courtesy of IM John Donaldson.

December magazine! The December issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 11/28. It's a 32-page issue with Oregon Chess News (includes Raptis vs. Koons match annotated by Koons), Idaho Chess News, Millionaire Chess Open and Western States Open, Washington Chess News, Chess Groovies by NM Daniel He and NM Samuel He, Journal of Chess Research Launches with De Groot Gala! by FM Loren Schmidt and a back-cover photo of Jazon Samillano with Morgan the Dog by Brian Berger. Cover: Darwin Porth on National Chess Day by Adam Porth. This is also the first issue printed by Sound Publishing Inc. of Everett, Wash. See the teaser (selected pages with color).

Photo at right: Northwest Chess editor Jeff Roland shows off the December magazine at the Boise Chess Club on December 8. Left to right: Alex Machin (sitting at the chessboard playing), Corey Longhurst (standing next to Jeff, looking at the magazine) and Jeff (holding magazine). Photo by Jim Berezow.

World Championship Rematch! Carlsen wins and retains championship! World Champion Magnus Carlsen and Challenger Vishy Anand played the World Championship Match (actually rematch) in Sochi, Russia, November 7-23, with Carlsen winning 6.5-4.5, thus retaining his championship title. Carlsen won games 2, 6 and 11, and Anand won only game 3, although he missed a Carlsen blunder in game 6. The FIDE President previously invited the Prime Ministers of Norway and India to the opening ceremony and to the "first move." The FIDE President also invited all World Champions to the ceremony, which took place on November 7th. Official match website.

Seattle Sluggers eliminated in wildcard round! This year's Sluggers season (as part of the United States Chess League), which started on 8/27, is now over, with the Sluggers eliminated in the wildcard playoff round on Wednesday 11/5 against New Jersey. The Sluggers finished the regular season 4.5-5.5, managing three impressive 3.5-0.5 wins during the season, over San Francisco, Rio Grande and New Jersey. Background: This year we welcomed USCL rookies FM Bill Schill and NM Samuel He and welcomed back NM David Golub, who last played for the team in 2011. The 2014 Sluggers roster included IM Georgi Orlov, GM Emil Anka, FM Costin Cozianu, FM Tian Sang, FM Curt Collyer, NM Roland Feng, NM David Golub, FM William Schill and NM Samuel He. The team manager was Josh Sinanan, assisted by Tian Sang. The local TDs were Bert Rutgers and Mark Smith. The Sluggers played at the Orlov Chess Academy in Redmond.

See old news previously appearing on this page.

Beginning in 2013, some local tournament reports are posted to the Northwest Chess (NWC) blog, found at http://www.nwchess.com/blog/. Links are to NWC blog post or other report. Thanks to Rusty Miller for writing most of the tournament reports from 2013 until April 2014. Rusty stepped down, but started blogging again occasionally as of Nov. 2014. If you are interesting in blogging for your club's events, please let us know. Click on photos to enlarge, or see photos in some of the blog posts.

Daniel He, winner of the Washington Junior Closed.

Scholastic Events (January): The KING's Tournament (K-8) (Jan 24) in Bellingham, WA WA High School Individual Championship (Jan 23-24) in Seattle, WA Bethel Chess Quads (K-12 and adult) (Jan 23) in Eugene, OR WA Junior Open and Reserve (Jan 19) in Bellevue, WA Washington Junior Closed (Jan 9-11) - congratulations to Daniel He! Assumption Winter Chess Blast (K-8) (Jan 10) in Bellingham, WA King County Chess League (week 5 update on Jan 9)

Photo: Action in the WA Class Masters section. Credit: Victoria Doknjas.

Open Events (November): WA Class Championships (Nov 28-30) in Lynnwood, WA Portland Tuesday Night Quads (Nov 4-25) Seattle CC Sunday Tornado (Nov 23) Portland CC G/60 (Nov 22) Turkey Quads (Nov 6-20) in Spokane Portland Saturday Quads (G/45) + Blitz (G/3;d2) Tournament (Nov 15) Portland Chess Club Thursday Blitz (USCF Blitz rated) (Nov 13) Seattle CC Extravaganza (Nov 7-9) Southern Idaho Open (Nov 8) in Twin Falls Seattle CC Novice (Nov 2) New photo added! Oregon Class Championships (Nov 1-2) in Portland Seattle CC Saturday Quads (Nov 1)

Photo: USCF Life Master Viktors Pupols plays GM Alexander Ivanov in Reno. Credit: Brian Berger.

Open Events (October): Seattle CC Championship (concluded Oct 31) Portland CC Club Championship (Sep 30-Oct 28) Washington Challenger’s Cup (Oct 25-26) in Seattle - See ad/flyer Portland CC G/60 (Oct 25) Bethel Chess Quads (K-12 and adult) (Oct 24) in Eugene Portland Chess Club Thursday Blitz (USCF Blitz rated) (Oct 23) 32nd Annual Sands Regency Reno-Western States Open (Oct 17-19) in Reno, NV Link is to the USCF crosstables. As usual, a number of Northwest players competed. Portland Saturday Quads (G/45) + Blitz (G/3;d2) Tournament (Oct 18) Spokane Fall Championship (final round on Oct 16) MILLIONAIRE Chess Open (Oct 9-13) in Las Vegas, NV - A number of NW players competed in this historic event, with at least two (Artem Verdiyan and Becca Lampman) winning significant prizes. See the USCF crosstables. See an interesting report on tacticstime.com. Seattle CC Sunday Tornado (Oct 12) National Chess Day Portland Fall Open (Oct 11-12) Wood River Weekend Progressive Open Chess Tournament & National Chess Day Celebration (Oct 11) in Hailey, ID Washington Blitz (Speed Chess) Championships (Oct 11) in Bellevue, WA National Chess Day (Oct 11) Portland Chess Club Thursday Blitz (USCF Blitz rated) (Oct 9) Oyster Bay Inn Classic (Oct 4-5) in Bremerton, WA Eastern Washington Open (Oct 4-5) in Spokane

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Web site updated 1/26/2015 by J. Eric Holcomb.
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