April 12. Chess Center Scholastic Octos!
3SS, G/30. Under age 18, 8 player groups (low section might not = 8). Marshall Chess Club, 23 W 10th St, bet 5-6 Ave, NYC: 212-477-3716. EF: $20, Club membs. $15, specified Greater NY Scholastic prize-winners free. $$80 b/8 paid entries per section: $50-20-10. Limit 1 bye (commit by 4 pm). Reg. ends 3:50 pm. Rds. 4-5-6. No advance entries. NS.

April 13-14 GPP: 6 New York Marshall CC April GP.
4SS, 30/90, SD/60. Marshall CC 23 W 10th Street, NYC. 2 Sections: Open: Top 2 prizes gtd, others b/24: $200-100-60, U2200/Unr $90. Amateur: (U2000/Unr.) $$275 b/16: $150-75, U1800 $50. FIDE.

April 16, 23, 30, May 7 or April 30, May 7 GPP: 10 New York Jose Raul Capablanca Tuesday Open!
4SS, 30/90, SD/1. Chess Center at Marshall Club, 23 W 10th St, bet 5-6 Ave, NYC. 212-477-3716. EF: $40, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$550 b/26 paid entries, top 2 Gtd: $200-100-50, top U2200/unr $110, U1900 $90. Limit 2 byes, commit by rd 2. 2 options: 4-week, 7pm each Tue, 4/16-5/7; 2-week, (rds 1-2 G/30) 4:30-5:45-7pm 4/30, 7pm 5/7. Re-entry $20. CCA ratings used. FIDE.

Back to Monthy index

April 17-May 8. Marshall CC Wednesday U2000.
4SS, 50/2, 25/1. 23 W 10th Street, NYC. Open to U2000 & Unr. EF: $25, members $15. $$260 b/20: $120-60-30, U1700/Unr. $50. Reg: 6:15-6:45, Rds: 7pm each Wednesday. Ent: at site.

April 18 GPP: 10 New York 10 Grand Prix Points Tonight!
4SS, G/30. Chess Center at Marshall Club, 23 West 10 St, bet. 5-6 Ave, NYC. 212-477-3716. EF: $30, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), free to specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners. $$550 b/32 paid entries, top 2 Gtd: $200-100-50, Top 2000-2199/unr, U2000 each $100. 2 byes max, commit by 8:15. Re-entry $12. CCA ratings used. Rds 7-8:15-9:30-10:45 pm. NS,NC.

April 19. Chess Center Scholastic Octos!
3SS, G/30, under age 18, 8 player groups (low section might not = 8). Marshall Chess Club, 23 W 10th St, bet 5-6 Ave, NYC. 212-477-3716. EF: $20, Club membs. $15, specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$80 b/8 paid entries per section: $50-20-10. Limit 1 bye (commit by 5pm). Reg. ends 3:50pm. Rds: 4-5-6. No advance entries. NS.

April 20-21. Marshall CC Amateur Championship.
4SS, 30/90, SD/60. Marshall Chess Club, 23 W 10th St., NYC. EF: $35, members $20. $$400 b/20: $150-90-60, 1800-1999/unr. $50, U1800 $50. Club members making plus scores eligible to enter club championship . One 1/2 pt bye available, ask by rd. 2 for last rd. Reg: 11:15-11:45, Rds: 12-5:30 each day. Ent: At site. NS

April 25-May 23. Marshall CC Thursday Members Only Swiss.
5SS, 30/90, SD/60. 23 W 10th Street, NYC. Open to members only. EF: $20. $$300 b/20: $120-70-50, U2000 $60. Reg: 6:15-6:45, Rds: 7pm each Thursday. Byes ok, limit 2. Ent: at site.

April 25. Original 4 Rated Games Tonight!
4SS, G/30. Chess Center at Marshall Club, 23 W 10th St, bet 5-6 Ave, NYC. 212-477-3716. EF: $25, Club membs $20, specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$480 b/32 paid: $150-100-50, Top 2000-2199/unr, U2000 each $90. Limit 2 byes, commit by 8:15. Re-entry $15, counts half. Rds: 7-8:15-9:30-10:45pm. NS,NC.

April 27-28 GPP: 6 New York Marshall CC End of April GP.
4SS, 30/90, SD/60. Marshall CC 23 W 10th Street, NYC. 2 Sections: Open: Top 2 prizes gtd, others b/24: $$200-100-60, U2200/Unr $90. Amateur: (U2000/Unr.) $$275 b/16: $150-75, U1800 $50. Both: EF: $35, members $20. Reg: 2-day ends 12:15, 1-day ends 9:45 Sun., Rds: 2-day, 12:30-5:45 each day, 1-day rds. 1 & 2 (G/30) 10-11:15 Sun. NS,FIDE.

April 30-May 7. Jose Raul Capablanca Tues. Open (2-week schedule).
4SS EF: $40, Club membs $25, GMs free ($20 from prize), specified Greater NY Scholastic prizewinners free. $$550 b/26 paid entries, top 2 Gtd: $200-100-50, top U2200/unr $110, U1900 $90. Limit 2 byes, commit by rd 2. 2 options: 2-week, (rds 1-2 G/30) 4:30-5:45-7pm 4/30, 7pm 5/7. Re-entry $20. CCA ratings used. FIDE.

Back to Monthly Index

Interview with International Master Greg Shahade, Founder of the NYC Master Rapids
By Larry Tamarkin

Larry Tamarkin: I'm here with Greg Shahade on April 4th. For the first time in this event, players have the chance to qualify for a spot in a unique series of tournaments that Greg has set up primarily for Masters, that is being held at the Marshall each Tuesday, which started March 19th, 2002. Now the best scoring player U-2200 can qualify to pay the entry fee & play in next Tuesday's Master event, and the top scoring master here in the 4-rated games tournament can win a free entry into your next tournament.

Greg Shahade: That's correct. The Entry Fee is $35, $25 to non-members of your club. Its free for Grandmasters & there's nothing deducted from the prize.

LT: All the prizes are guaranteed?

GS: What happens is that there is $180.00 base money sponsored, so that goes on top of the prize fund. Whatever the entries are, we add $180.00 and that is what the prizes are. So with enough players there is always enough for the 'base' amount of prize money, and often more. We're encouraging all the Grandmaster's to come by adding this money to the prize fund.

LT: Players are just playing for first, second & third?

GS: Yes, but the prizes are pretty high in comparison to the entry-fee. If you win one time - you pay for the next 8 events.

LT: So, if there is enough interest in chess the number of players should grow?

GS: Yes, Also, is very good training to play 4 players who are all very strong. We had 3 GMs in the first tournament, just 1 in the second, and the one this week is the best one, with 4.

LT: So it's clearly 'picking up' then?

GS: Some weeks it will be up, some down. We're not even in Chess Life yet. We'll also have a qualification from the 4-rated games events held on Thursday's for the top Expert, as well as a free entry to the top scoring player 2200-2399. (Steve Immitt of the Chess Center of NY informs that he will soon have a flyer with this information as well).

LT: Both as a player & manager here at the Marshall Club, I've warmed up allot to your event, especially as you've worked with club staff to try to make sure that it doesn't conflict with other events.

GS: We want to make it Wednesday actually; because I don't want to interfere with the slow tournament.

LT: Well, I'm hearing a lot of favorable comments about your event. It's great to have an event that has guaranteed prizes and is aimed at already strong players - i.e. Masters, and I think it gives more impetus to players that would like to become masters, in that it gives them a reason for working on this very serious goal of improving their game.

GS: Thank you - That is part of what I'm trying to accomplish. I don't have anything against other tournaments, but it seems there should be something exclusive to masters, somewhere. Its almost like people don't want to be masters anymore, because there are no class prizes.

There's almost zero tournaments that are designed for masters. There are plenty of U-2200 events and other events for lower-rated players, and that's good. But there are quite a few master rated players who don't want to risk their rating every week, and there should be more events for them, where they can get good competition, which is what I'm trying to achieve with this.

LT: You've reach a point in your own play where playing people U-2200 doesn't appeal to you, to say the least?

GS: In general it doesn't - Its just not as fun when you're expected to win. You gain very little on rating (and you lose a lot of points if you're somehow upset). Here no game is a 'Cakewalk', but your not risking piles of rating points if you lose. I don't play only for the money; I play for the experience of playing a good opponent and having strong competition, and I think other masters want this experience more often too.

LT: Your first event had 14 players?

GS: Yeah, it was very good - We were happy with that. GMs Novikov & Kacheishvili tied for fist, and no big upsets.

Back to Monthy index

LT: The other players were not too happy?

GS: Well, I like strong players to make money from chess, and otherwise do well. I also hope that the other masters will keep coming back to get more experience and sometimes gain rating points here when they play above form. The 2nd tournament had 9 players. I was little disappointed, but several players later told me they didn't come because the weather was bad, so I'm optimistic that the attendance will go back up.

LT: You come from a chess-playing family?

GS: Yes, my father's a master & my sister Jennifer is a Women's IM. She qualified & played in this year's US Championship, achieving the male I.M. norm while beating GM Sagalchik and drawing GMs Fedorowicz, Seirawan & Kudrin. She is now the current US Women's champion. She had not until this event beaten a GM before.

LT: How do you feel about Jennifer being so much in the 'spotlight'?

GS: She 'came up' only a little later than some of my own best results, so I didn't think of her as being a 'lesser player' or whatever. Anyway, I'm very happy she is doing as well as she is too.

LT: I was surprised that you weren't in the US Championship. This system that is set up for the qualification - Do you like it?

GS: In theory, yes. There are some changes that can be made but I think it's a good idea, definitely. And there's a lot of money that they're putting into the tourney. Yasser Seirawan's organization is very good. After-all it's a tournament where you can make a lot of money. Even if you come in last place (In the US Championship), you get $2000.00.

LT: So even though you didn't qualify you weren't 'soured' on the whole enterprise?

GH: I don't like how some of the qualifiers worked; To have the National Open as one of the qualifiers is kind of ridiculous - A six round tournament - There should be longer tournaments & there should always be an U-2200 section to go along with the Open event. In the National Open you play like 2 sub-2200 players in the fist 2 rounds. So everyone who is going to qualify wins those two game, so then it becomes a 4-round tournament so it becomes too random. Why have the National Open as a qualifier, I don't know? That said, all of the players who got into the US championship are strong players.

LT: Did you go to Seattle with your sister?

GS: No, I didn't go. I'm going to try to qualify in the US Open this year.

LT: She went by herself - Were you concerned?

GS: Concerned? She won all her games - almost. She beat everybody!

LT: I don't mean about that - I mean about 'guys' making approaches at her?

GS: This isn't the 1st time she has gone to a tournament alone. She knows how to 'handle it'.

I played in the US OPEN, but I lost in the tie breaks Everyone who qualified got 7-2. 10 got in, and I think 8 didn't. I was hoping for some kind of a playoff so at least I would have had a chance, but their wasn't. I didn't like the system so much. (I might have liked it if I had won in the tiebreaks). 7 and 2 is a pretty good score, so I was pretty annoyed not to get in.

LT: You won the Samford award In 1999 - Can you tell me about how that has affected/helped you?

GS: They give you $32000. Half of it is divided into a monthly paycheck and the other half is for chess expenses. When I go to a tournament, I send them my receipts. It definitely makes life as a chess-professional a lot less difficult!

LT: One of the things I wonder is at what age did you learn how to play chess?

GS: I first started to play some in tournaments in the 4th grade I believe.

LT: And Jennifer?

GS: Jennifer started a bit later - She didn't get into it until she was quite a bit older. She was 11 or 1200 for quite a few years, then suddenly she just 'broke through' at some point.

LT: Do you remember your first experience of 'serious chess' or going to a chess club?

GS: My elementary school had a chess club - the first day I walked in (I was in 4th grade), and there were 7 & 8th graders there. It turned out I was the best player, so I felt very good about this. So that's kind of how I got into it.

LT: Was there some special reason that your family got into chess more than many others do?

GS: You get to travel & you get to do a lot of things that other kids don't often get to do. For instance, I remember that going to the nationals for 5-days was quite an exciting event for me. It was my first experience in a big open Swiss when I was in the 5th grade. I was a 'big-shot' in my school - I figured I'd go & do very well, except that I was probably over-rated or something. In the 2nd round I played a kid who was rated 1700 - He crushed me. I wasn't too surprised. Then I played this kid who was 1200. I was up a piece - and somehow he did a rook-lift & mated me! I was very upset, I wasn't used to losing to lower-rated players.

LT: Do you remember the year?

GS: I was very young - In 4th or 5th grade.

LT: Was it 1993?

GS: I was a master in 1993! (Laughter) It was way before that. I was a 1300 player at the time.

LT: So that was the driving force? - Not your dad. But your dad did show you how the pieces move?

GS: He would run 'blitz tournaments' at the house sometimes and all the Philadelphia masters would show up sometimes. I guess I picked something up from that!

LT: Which players went to these largely social events?

GS: Rich Costigan, Norman Rogers, Carl Dehmelt, Bruce Rind - I think the only one of these guys still playing chess is Normal Rogers. Do you know any of these guys?

LT: Yes, I do, and I think a lot of us chess players have experiences like that. We'll have a backyard barbecue or party or something, and have our buddies come over, and work out our chess ideas with them.

GS: I first went to the Franklin Mercantile chess club. Later on I started to go to more open tournaments; I remember one time I went to the Manhattan Chess Club & went 0 and 3, which was one of my first tournaments ever. I lost to an 1800, a 1600 and a 1200.

It was a Quad. My father used to play in the quads, so I usually went with him. I also sometimes went to these events with my school, Masterman - We would take 'field trips' to tournaments sometimes. Steve Shutt was the coach, and there were other strong young players' at this time - Ben Johnson, Dan Rickman.
(Now Steve Shutt is Vice President of the USCF & on the policy board).
Still, I didn't play in NY too often then. More at the Franklin Mercantile. I've heard that they are not doing too well right now - When I was younger, they were much more active, and I went there all the time, made friends there and so on.

LT: Do you still live in Philadelphia?

GS: No, I live in Brooklyn now. My father still lives in Philadelphia, but does sometimes participate in my Tuesday event.

LT: Perhaps someone from the Shahade family should start a revival?

GS: He tried, but its not easy.I don't know why, but it's a lot of work. Perhaps its partly that the kids aren't 'into it', even if they're involved in scholastic chess.

LT: Living in NY, you got involved in some of the Internationals that have been set up here at the Marshall, at the Manhattan Chess Club, and elsewhere in NY. In general, these events are round-robin events by invitation, so you decided to create something that would still be strong, but also more open to many players. Is this right?

GS: The Internationals are only open to about 5 local players, tops - And its always the same 5 people.

LT: How did you think up this particular format for the 'Masters Only' event?

GS: Originally, I was going to make it an 'informal get-together at my house or my sister's house - I had six players. I talked to people and they liked the idea, but said I should make it bigger. That it should be rated and so forth. When I spoke to representatives of the Marshall they were generally in favor of it, so I went from there. I wanted particularly to avoid the club politics & not ruin any events that are already taking place here.
Even now the event may be reschedule to another day. We've already modified it (by have qualifiers from the 4-rated event on Thursday's), so that it will hopefully even help stimulate attendance in the other events.

Back to Monthy index

LT: Of course as a membership chess club, our aim is that we get as many regular tournament players to join the Marshall as we can. It also will save people money if they play many times during the year.

GS: I'm trying to get all the players in my event to join your club too, especially as masters get a lower rate, and we do charge $10 dollars more to non-members of your club. Quite a few of these players have joined, including my father, so I think we are succeeding in this.

LT: That's why I've warmed up considerably to your event. The other thing I noticed is that I really do find myself wanting to have the right to participate in your event, even if I don't necessarily want to enter it. (My ego can't take the pain of losing). So I feel a greater desire to reach 2200+ rating level again after many years. I suspect I'm not alone in this 'feeling', and that other players will play in more of our other tournaments with the same objective in mind.

GS: Yes, I agree. And I think it's a great historic opportunity for the players here. Some great chess is being played in this event and other events here. The Marshall as the only (currently) surviving NY chess club, draws the best players from around the world. When people look at some of the games played here 50 years from now they might well be impressed at how good the play was.

LT: Where do you see yourself and this event in 5 years?

GS: I really don't know. I'm not in school right now; I'm doing some chess teaching and playing as much chess as I can.

LT: What do you think of these kids who are strong?

GS: Nakamura is probably the best of them right now. You've told me about some of the younger kids who play at the Marshall. I really don't know much about them, but there do seem to be more of them (higher-rated), young-talents than there were 10 or 12 years ago when I was just coming up.

LT: Greg, Its been a pleasure speaking with you, and I wish you the best of luck with this event in the future, as well as further successes in your own game.

GS: Thanks Larry - Good luck to you to.

Back to Monthly Index

March 2002

Back to Monthy index