Grunfeld Early Registration Deadline Extended

Partial List of Registrations (38) as of 3/31: 

Open: V. Do (2084), A. Carey (1856), J. Winick (1827), S. Rajamani (1786), A. Raje (1727), S. Henderson (1701), J. Willett (1634), et al...
Reserve: J. Gaenzle (1563), E. Patterson (1559), S. Lauger (1503), R. Padilla (1500), A. Emrikian (1408), S. Insley (1377), J. Zarris (1363), A. Insley (1325), T. Segreto (1315), D. Bell (1309), J. Davis (1292) et al...
Booster: A. Ramirez (1249)*, D. Reyes (1247), W. Cahill (1231)*, S Mamidi (1200), D. Chen (1193), J. Marchert, Jr. (1083), M. Chen (1059)*, and others...
Super-Booster: K. Sureshkumar (966), P. Cappaert (963), J. Marchert, Sr. (916), J. Wilde (872), T. Verden, D. Henderson, J. Marchert III and others...

* Have requested to play up

Date: Saturday, April 2, 2016

Tournament Name: Ernst Grunfeld Memorial Class

Recognizing what would have been 54th anniversary of the passing of Ernst Franz Grunfeld in early April of 1962 (see below).

4 rounds, G/60 with no delay, Regular-rated. 

Sections expected as Open, Reserve - Under 1600, Booster – Under 1250 and Super-Booster – Under 1000. Requests to play up considered at TD discretion and TD reserves the right to combine or split sections depending upon registrations.

Prize Fund: Cash Prizes at TD discretion (calculated and posted during second round). Guaranteed 67% of entry funds received, generally 80%. At least $100 guaranteed to clear first place in the Open.

Additional “Under” prizes within sections and upset prizes too. For example, Under 1800 in the Open Section, Under 1400 in the Reserve, Under 800 in the Super-Booster. Must have at least three eligible players for a prize to be created. Unrated players are eligible for Section prizes only.

Where: First Congregational Church, 615 N First Street, DeKalb, IL

On-site Registration: 8:15am - 8:50am (after which ½ bye available for round one ONLY)

Rounds: 9:00am, 11:10am, (Lunch), 1:50pm, 4:00pm, with conclusion anticipated by 6:00pm.

Entry Fee: $15 with advance registration by Thursday, March 31  9pm Friday, April 1, $20 at the door. $5 discount to second and additional family members.

Pre-registration: send US Chess ID number and name to registration@dekalbchess.com.

Lunch: refrigerator and microwave available onsite for registrants, delivery menus also available onsite (Chinese, Thai, Jimmy John’s). Pizza: $5 for two slices and a soft drink.

Skittles room available for family and games analysis.

Side event: shortly after the main event, we will host a thematic quick chess tournament where games will begin 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5. (The Grunfeld Defense). Participants to decide by vote if this will be G/10 or G/15 and whether we have 3 or 4 rounds. Entry fee to be determined. Please indicate interest at time of registration for main event.

Questions? Contact info@dekalbchess.com or see details at www.dekalbchess.com.

Ernst Franz Grunfeld:

According to the well-known chess authority Wikipedia, Grunfeld was born in 1893 in Vienna and struggled in poverty as a child.

“However, he discovered chess, studied intensely, and quickly earned a reputation as a skilled player at the local chess club, the Wiener Schach-Klub.” By age 20, he was contributing articles to chess publications in multiple countries.

“He modeled his style of play on Akiba Rubinstein, and only played 1. d4 claiming that he did not make mistakes in the opening. However, his style of avoiding complex variations together with an essentially drawish nature was simply not good enough to trouble the world's best.”

According to the Chessmetrics website he would have been rated around 2715 at his peak in 1924. He became an International Grandmaster in 1950.

“By the late 1950s he was playing very little chess and he mainly worked on his prodigious library which by now had completely filled the living room in his flat which he shared with his wife and daughter.”

He died April 3, 1962 at the age of 68. Wikipedia reports the cause of death as “obesity”.

He is best remembered for his eponymous defense, the Grünfeld Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5) and for his general expertise in the opening.