11th Orchard Scholastic Results

The results from last weekend's tournament are posted on our Chess Downloads page.
Congratulations to all!

Dean of Chess Academy Classes Scheduled

We have set some dates and times for our classes at our new facility. I will be teaching all classes at the center and I am looking forward to working closely with all students. You can register for these classes on our Event Registration Page.

Below is the information:

Thursdays:
Intermediate/Advanced - 6:30-7:30pm
November 8, 15, 29, December 6, 13, 20

Fridays:
Rating Improvement class for those rated between USCF 700-1000 - 5:15-6:45pm
Open Play and League Play - 7 pm until close
November 9- 16, 30, December 7, 14, 21

Saturdays
Special Advanced Classes with Dean
There are only two slots remaining for the first class in our new "Academy". This class will be an advanced class for students rated between 1000 and 1800. It will be an intense six-week training course that will meet for 2.5 hrs each week. It will be taught exclusively by me with the goal that each student improves by a minimum of 200 rating points in under six months. It will include study guidelines and essential knowledge which I have developed for improvement up each rating class.

The Fall semester will be 6 weeks long. We are alternating the times that the ability levels meet so that a time can meet every one's schedule. These classes will allow for much individualized attention.

We are excited about the Open Play and League night too. Any member can come to the Center on Friday nights to play a pick-up game. Annual Memberships are $25 but this entitles members to unlimited play on Fridays as well as other special nights.

The Dean of Chess Academy League will have USCF rated games. At the end of the season, we will host a banquet and exhibition. We will have awards for Best Win Percentage and Most Points Gained in League Play. To be eligible, a player must participate in at least 50% of the dates. To become a member of League, a player must be a member of Dean of Chess Academy and the USCF.

5th HFA Scholastic

Our 5th Holy Family Scholastic Tournament will be held on November 17th.
The school is located at:
120 E. Second Street
Bound Brook, NJ 08805
We hope to see you all there!

11th Orchard Scholastic News

Online registration for the 11th Orchard Scholastic is closed. You may register ON-SITE
from 8:30 am to 9:00 am ONLY!
See you there!

Dean of Chess Hires the Current US Woman's Champion!~

We are very excited about our most recent addition to our staff. International Master Irina Krush will be teaching at some of our programs. Below is Irina's biography, which I think you will all agree is very impressive! You can also find Irina on this month's issue of Chess Life.

Please join us in welcoming Irina to our staff!

US Woman's Champion International Master Irina Krush

Irina is the 2007 U.S. Women’s Chess Champion, a title that she first won in 1998, at the age of 14. Since 1998, Irina has been one of the top female players in the country, representing the U.S. Women’s team in four Olympiads and helping them capture an unprecedented silver medal in 2004. As of October 2007, Irina is the 13th ranked female chess player in the world.

In addition to being the youngest ever winner of the U.S. Women’s Championship (a record she still holds), Irina was also the first (at age 16) American woman to earn the International Master title, the second highest title in chess. She has one grandmaster norm, and since graduating summa cum laude from New YorkUniversity in May 2006 with a degree in International Relations, she has been pursuing the other two norms needed for that title.

In 1999, Irina was the most prominent analyst for the World team in the historic “Kasparov versus the World” game on MSN. She has been profiled in publications ranging from Teen People to The Village Voice, and just this year has graced the cover of Chess Life twice.

Irina enjoys sharing her passion for chess. From 2002 to 2007, she taught part-time at Chess-in-the-Schools, a nonprofit organization that brings chess to inner city public school children. She was a coach at I.S. 318, which won the 2007 National Junior High School Championship. Irina has also taught at many summer chess camps around the country, from Wisconsin to Florida.

This will be Irina’s first year teaching for Dean Ippolito, LLC. She is also available for private lessons with highly motivated students seeking to take their game to the next level.

Some of Irina’s interests outside of chess include writing, reading, traveling, and playing tennis. She is a frequent contributor to Chess Life magazine and its online counterpart, uschess.org.

Irina can be reached at irina@deanofchess.com .

Big Week in Chess: New Champion, New President?

Viswanathan Anand of India has become the 15th official World Chess Champion. He won the World Championship held in Mexico City over the past several weeks. He beat out the 7 other contenders including defending World Champion Vladimir Kramnik of Russia. Anand first challenged for the World Championships in 1995, but showed that persistence is the key to winning after losing that match against then World Champion Garry Kasparov.

And speaking of Garry Kasparov, after retiring from chess in 2004 with the reputation as the greatest chess player who ever lived, Kasparov is now turning his attention to politics. Kasparov was overwhelmingly elected as a candidate for President of Russia as The Other Russia candidate which is a coalition opposed to Vladimir Putin.

There should be more about these big chess stories in the news in the coming week.