Grandmaster Ben Finegold Training Seminar 1 session only – Saturday December 17 Enjoy a 6 hour training session with one of the top Midwestern Grandmasters in the United States – GM Ben Finegold! GM Finegold has been the trainer for the 2011 Men’s World Team and the second (trainer) for GM Ray Robson at the […]
CCSCSL Invitational: Final Recap
CCSCSL Invitational: Final RecapBy GM Ben Finegold SAINT LOUIS, December 5, 2011–The CCSCSL Invitational wrapped up Friday night with a lot of exciting games. I was wondering two things went I went to sleep Thursday: Would GM Georgi Kacheishvili continue his blistering pace? And would IM Angelo Young be able to tighten up and avoid […]
CCSCSL Invitational: Day 3 Recap
CCSCSL Invitational: Day 3 RecapBy GM Ben Finegold Day three was a day for the GMs and Irina Krush. Krush, who had drawn her first three games, won both of her games Thursday to position herself well for a run at a GM norm. She now needs three points out of her remaining four games […]
Winning … sometimes
Giving thanks for competitionBy Ben Finegold, Grandmaster, special to the Beacon Posted 12:50 pm Thu., 12.1.11 When I have a chess student who is doing poorly (which I’d like to think rarely happens), I remind them of an important lesson: strong competition breeds success. Most people want to get better — at everything. They think […]
Moscow Mission
Mission to Moscow By Ben Finegold, Grandmaster, special to the Beacon Posted 10:58 am Wed., 11.23.11 I am writing this column from the fabulous Ritz-Carlton hotel in Moscow, which is about a five-minute walk from Red Square. My mission in Moscow is to help Hikaru Nakamura do well in the 2011 Tal Memorial. This event […]
The battle of two young phenoms
2011 Tal Memorial By Ben Finegold, Grandmaster, special to the Beacon Posted 11:18 am Wed., 11.16.11 I am reporting from the 2011 Tal Memorial, held Nov. 16-26 in Moscow. I am also 10 hours later than my St. Louis readers, so that means I am reporting from the future! The Tal Memorial is named after […]
SPICE Cup round by round by GM Finegold
SPICE Cup: Round-by-Round by GM Ben Finegold The Final Day The last day of the Spice Cup B and C groups was interesting, not only to see who would win, but also to see who would (and would not) achieve norms. In the B Group, there were two people with chances for GM norms (6 […]
SPICE Cup B and C Champions
SPICE Cup group C Champion GM Ben Finegold and B Champion Texas Tech Knight Raider GM Anatoly Bykhovsky. I presented GM Eugene Perelshteyn a Swiss watch as a token of appreciation for being the only player to participate in all 5 SPICE Cup (2007-2011). He won SPICE Cup A in 2007, and tied for 1st […]
Bykhovsky wins SPICE Cup B, Finegold wins C
Texas Tech sophomore Anatoly Bykhovsky won the 2011 SPICE Cup B group with the score of 6.5 / 9. He played board one and helped the Texas Tech Knight Raiders capture the 2011 College Chess Final Four title earlier this year. He also tied for first with fellow Knight Raider GM Gergely Antal in the […]