The final Master Trek of the season will be held this Saturday at the Mesa Convention Center, so don’t miss it! Register today BEFORE late fees kick in and save $3 on your entry fee!!!

Congratulations to all the Arizona players who fared well at the Elementary National Championships in Nashville last weekend! You can click here to see a full list of the final standings – but the regular “Trekkers” who placed in the top 20 of their respective sections were:

• Ethan Li, 6th Place — K-6 Championship
• Prateek Pinisetti, 18th Place — K-6 Championship
• Ethan Xie, 17th Place — K-5 Championship
• Rick Sun, 11th Place — K-3 Championship
• Ethan Tang, 16th Place — K-3 Championship
• Arun Moorthy, 10th Place — K-1 Championship
• Kevin Chor, 11th Place — K-1 Championship

Thanks again to all of you for another great year of Master Trek tournaments!!! We hope to see you this weekend, but if not, have a great summer of chess!

CHESS WORLD UPDATE:

US Championship Heats Up!

World Championship Dead Locked!

Chucky Wins Capablanca Memorial!

In other chess news, the world’s highest rated player, Magnus Carlsen, was featured on the Colbert Report last Tuesday. Click here to check it out (watch the last third where he brings on his guest)!

Also, Chess.com’s 4th Blitz Chess Death Match will take place tomorrow at 9:30am PST and features reigning Canadian Champion Eric Hansen against America’s newest GM (soon to be) GM-Elect Conrad Holt! The LIVE broadcast is open to all, so sign up for a FREE Chess.com Membership and watch the show on www.Chess.com/TV — hosted by IMs Daniel Rensch and David Pruess!

Chess.com's Death Match Players

CHESS WORLD UPDATE:

NM David Adelberg will be playing a simul for charity — for Leader Dogs for the Blind — this Sunday in Scottsdale. Click here for more information!

High School Nationals Results and Story!

Kramnik v Aronian Zurich Match Update!

CHESS WORLD UPDATE

Upcoming AZ Scholastic State Champs & Governor’s Cup

Anand Struggles Continue

Tomsk Wins Russian Team Champs

REGISTER NOW before late fees kick in!

Mark your calendars for the first weekend in July, where Expert Level and above players can compete for a chance to play in a closed tournament against International Master Competition! Register early and track the advanced entries…

CHESS WORLD UPDATE:

World’s Best to Compete at Russian Team Champs!

Chess.com Near 5-Million Member Mark!

GM Sam Shankland Wins 3rd Blitz Chess Death Match!

Don’t forget, today is your last day to register for the Unity Open this weekend in Scottsdale! Click here for more information…

Also, the next Master Trek is on April 7th! Sign up now!

CHESS WORLD UPDATE:

FIDE Changes Candidates Dates!

Blitz Chess “Death Match” on Chess.com!

YouTube FREE Video Lecture: How to Checkmate with Bishop & Knight!

When & Where:

August 24th-26th, 2012. Chess Emporium, 1835 E Elliot Rd Suite 103-104 Tempe Arizona 85284

Tournament Details:

1 Section — 2000 USCF minimum Rating required as of June 1st 2012 USCF Official Supplement. No exceptions! 

Round Times:

• Round 1 – 10am, Saturday August 25th
• Round 2 – 4pm, Saturday  August 25th
• Round 3 – 10am, Sunday  August 26th
• Round 4 – 3:30pm, Sunday  August 26th

Time control: Game in 90 minutes with a 30 second increment throughout.

Sets provided. Clocks not provided, please bring your own!

Entry Fee:

$75 by July 1st 2012; $100 by August 21st 2012.

Registration for this tournament is closed on August 22nd 2012!

Awards:

All players will be competing for 3 spots – with FREE Entry – to the August International Master Trek Challenge! Qualifying players will be competing against 3 International Masters in a Double Round Robin, Scheveningen Team Match.

 PAIRINGS:

 1) International Master Shahin Mohandesi — USCF Rating  2618. IM Mohandesi recently took first place at the Tucson Open in January and at the ACE Chess Arizona State Championship in February. He is also working alongside IM Banawa and FM Atoufi for the Unity Chess Club. He was a team member of Belgium in the 1992 championship tournament of Europe. His full biography can be found here.

International Master Shahin Mohandesi

2) International Master Mackenzie Molner — USCF Rating  2530. Though new to the top ranks of the “Arizona Chess Scene”, Mackenzie Molner has been ranked amongst the top juniors in the United States for more than ten years. Originally, from New Jersey, “Mac” recently graduated from NYU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Romance Languages, with a specialty in Spanish (he also speaks German, French and Russian). Mac considers himself a Professional Chess Player/Coach.

International Master Mac Molner

3) International Master Joel Banawa — USCF Rating  2475. Joel was born in the Philippines, and he learned to play chess at the age of 7. Joel won his first National Championship in the Under-10 years division of the Philippine National Championships. He recently relocated from Southern California to Arizona, and is an active player in the Arizona Chess Scene.  You can read his entire biography here.

International Master Joel Banawa

4) International Master Daniel Rensch — USCF Rating  2479. Danny was born and raised in Arizona and is currently the only ever “Arizona born” International Master. Danny is the President of American Chess Events LLC, and the Director of Content and Professional Relations for Chess.com and ChessKid.com.

International Master Daniel Rensch

5) FIDE Master Joan Olivera– USCF Rating  2399. FM Joan Olivera is one of the lead instructors for the Chess Emporium and their scholastic enrichment programs. He is originally from Cuba, and is one of the highest rated players in the state of Arizona.

FIDE Master Joan Olivera

6) FIDE Master Pedram Atoufi– USCF Rating  2299. FM Atoufi is the founder of the Unity Chess Club. He is also won the 2005 World Open (U2300 Section) in 2005. A full bio and history of FM Atoufi can be found here.

FIDE Master Pedram Atoufi

For information on how you could qualify to play in the International “Master Trek” Challenge, click here and register for the August International Master Trek Challenge Qualifier!

The final details for the International “Master Trek” Challenge are not complete and may be subject to change. The final field will not be set until the completion of the August International Master Trek Challenge Qualifier.

When & Where:

September 14th-16th, 2012. Chess Emporium, 1835 E Elliot Rd Suite 103-104 Tempe Arizona 85284

Tournament Details:

• 6 Players
• 5 Rounds
• Double Round Robin — Scheveningen Style Team Match Play — NOTE: with one less game against one of the International Masters (chosen randomly).
• Invitation Only
• The three International Masters below will take on 3 “Challengers” (Qualified Players from the July International Master Trek Challenge tournament). Each challenger will play two rated games, one with each color, against each International Master (except for the “NOTE” above)

The June International “Master Trek” Showdown is sponsored by the Chess Emporium, Steven Kamp and the Unity Chess Club.

When & Where:

June 8th-10th, 2012. Chess Emporium, 1835 E Elliot Rd Suite 103-104 Tempe Arizona 85284

Tournament Details:

6 Players. 5 Rounds, Single Round Robin. Invitation Only. Player’s List and Pairings: