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Northwest Chess — Chess News from Washington, Oregon and Idaho

Northwest Chess is a non-profit corporation registered in Washington State.
Address: NWC c/o Orlov Chess Academy, 4174 148TH AVE NE BLDG I STE M, REDMOND, WA 98052-5164.
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Current Chess News (see below for tournaments completed)

Note: See calendar for more info about upcoming chess events.

Important Changes (Rev. Oct. 2020) - Please Read
  • If you are a resident of Washington State, your Northwest Chess subscription includes a state chess membership. For WCF (Washington) membership options, please continue to use this website. All WCF memberships are considered "Premium," and include benefits such as free registration to certain seminars.
  • If you are a resident of Oregon, your Northwest Chess subscription to paper copies includes a "Premium" OCF state membership. You can also choose a "Basic" OCF membership with online-only access to NWC magazine. For now, you should contact OCF directly if you want this option. Also see the OCF website.
  • For Idaho (ICA) membership options, please visit the ICA website. These options include a "Premium" membership with a NWC subscription.
  • For new subscriptions and renewals, NWC no longer guarantees that there will continue to be 12 printed magazines each year. There could be fewer editions, and/or publication could be in an online format. At present, we expect that printed magazines will continue to be available for all 2024-dated editions.
  • PayPal Subscription/Membership Form | Printable Form (PDF file).

  • In 2018, the NWC board decided to add "Foundation" to its corporate name, becoming the Northwest Chess Foundation. We will completely update the website once this name is officially registered with the State of Washington and the IRS. This does not affect the name of the magazine - it's still Northwest Chess!

December - Advertised Chess Events

  • See calendar for more info about upcoming chess events, including ad links.
  • Dec 6, 13, 20, 27 Chess City Swiss (at SCC), Seattle, WA
  • Dec 7 Monroe Winter Rapid Championship, Monroe Senior Center, Monroe, WA
  • Dec 14 Seattle CC Saturday Quads, Seattle, WA
  • Dec 21-22 Washington Winter Classic, Bellevue, WA
  • Dec 29 Seattle CC Sunday Tornado, Seattle, WA

December - Scholastic Events

Important note: All extra copies of Northwest Chess are received and handled by Josh Sinanan. If you would like to request an extra copy or didn't receive your copy in the mail, please contact Josh, joshsinanan@gmail.com. Eric Holcomb is no longer the Business Manager. Please mail all checks and other written items to the Orlov Chess Academy address at the top of this page.

World Chess Championship! From 25 November to 13 December, defending champion Ding Liren and his challenger Gukesh Dommaraju are playing for the World Chess Championship in Singapore. The matches will start at 5 p.m. local time on each of the match days (which is very early in the morning here in the Northwest). Should there be a draw after 14 games, a play-off will follow. See the story on ChessBase.

Northwest Chess December 2024 coverDecember magazine! The December 2024 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Tuesday, 12/3. It's a 32-page issue with "Washington Women’s Championship" by Josh Sinanan, "Michael Franett 1941-2004" by John Donaldson, "New Adventure Scholastic" by Josh Sinanan, "Interview With Susan Polgar" by Ken Lee, "Bobby Ferguson Games" by Ralph Dubisch, "News Flash: Austin Liu Becomes National Master!" by Josh Sinanan, "Pioneer Joe’s 1K / The Fall Open" by Steven Breckenridge, and a back-cover photo of Rekha Sagar and Mary Hjort by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Erin Bian by Meiling Cheng. See the teaser edition (selected pages). The teaser edition contains the Polgar interview, but it's also available as a separate PDF file here.

Austin LiuNewest NM (another one)! Congratulations to Austin Liu of Sammamish, Wash., who recently became Washington State's newest National Master! Austin achieved a U.S. Chess rating of 2202 as a result of scoring 3.5/5 points at the Washington Challenger's Cup, held in Bellevue, Nov. 10-11. Along the way, Austin scored clutch wins against Washington's Aarav B. Mohan (1690), William Summerfield (1659), and Oregon's Isaac Vega (1811). See Austin's recent win (on ChessBase) against IM Bachin in Reno that propelled him to a 20-point rating gain and a share of 2nd place in the tournament. Also see the Challenger's Cup crosstable.

Featured in Chess Life! - Local junior Miranda Meng was featured in the November Chess Life magazine (pages 16-17), as a result of Miranda's big win at the 2024 Pan-American Youth Championship (gold medal for Girls U10, held July 15-20 in Orlando, Fla.). Miranda and her father Fanqi are in Italy for the FIDE World Cadet Chess Championships, Nov. 14-27, in Montesilvano, Italy. Miranda is the official U.S. representative in the Girls U10 division, and is immensely excited to represent the Open Window School Bobcats and Team USA in her first international competition! Website: https://www.worldcadetschess2024.com/. Miranda is playing against the best players from each participating country in her category - see the roster of players on Chess-Results.com.

Notes on November magazine - First, we'd like to congratulate editor Jeff Roland for his 12th complete year (144th issue) of Northwest Chess! Thanks, Jeff!! Second, we'd like to let you know that in "From the Publisher’s Desk" by Duane Polich, Duane explains why he's personally endorsing former Washington State Chess Champion Bob Ferguson for Washington State Governor. While many chess players will support Duane (and Bob), this is a personal endorsement and was not voted on by the Northwest Chess Board of Directors. Updates - See a post-election story on KUOW (NPR network) about Ferguson as chess master and governor-elect. and see some of Ferguson's chess games on ChessBase.

novNovember magazine! The November 2024 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, November 1. It's a 48-page issue with "Oregon Open" by Wilson Gibbins, "Interview with Megan Lee" by Ken Lee, "From the Publisher’s Desk" by Duane Polich, "Seattle Chess Classic" and "Vancouver Open" by Josh Sinanan, "The Death of a Legend: James McCormick (1936-2024)" by John Donaldson, "A Miniature from the 2024 Seattle Seafair Open" by Chad Boey, "Errata October 2024 Issue," "Washington vs British Columbia Challenge Match," "Seattle Summer Sizzler" and "Seattle Classic Scholastic" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of Jim Tarjan by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Zoey Tang by Meiling Cheng. See the teaser edition (selected pages). The teaser edition contains the Megan Lee interview, but it's also available as a separate PDF file here.

Report on Chess Olympiad — FIDE (International Chess Federation) has reported on the "spectacular conclusion" of the 45th Chess Olympiad, held Sept. 10-23 in Budapest. The event witnessed a record-breaking 188 teams in the Open section and 169 in the Women’s section, making it the largest Olympiad ever. According to FIDE, "With fierce competition and unforgettable games, India emerged victorious in both the Open and Women’s categories—a historic double gold that captivated fans worldwide." But the U.S. teams also performed very well—with a silver in the Open section, and a bronze in the Women's section. IM John Donaldson captains the U.S. team, and may have a report soon.

James McCormick (1936-2024) - We have been advised by IM John Donaldson that 7-time Washington State chess champion James McCormick, otherwise known as "Unkel Jim," passed away in September, at the age of 88. Jim won the championship for the first time in 1960, and for the last time in 1981 - see the list. Look for an obituary from John in the November edition of NWC. Here is a story about Jim shared by GM Yasser Seirawan from a few years back at the St. Louis chess club: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJlaz7aOC2A.

Northwest Chess October 2024 coverOctober magazine! The October 2024 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, September 27. It's a 32-page issue with "Answers to the puzzles in last month’s issue," "Coaching Corner" by Ralph Dubisch, "Interview with Michael Omori" by Ken Lee, "WCF Father’s Day Weekend Chess Festival," "Vidip Kona, New National Master!" and "Seattle Seafair Open" by Josh Sinanan, annual "USPS Statement of Ownership," and a back-cover photo of Riaan Babbar by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Michael Omori and Siva Sankrithi by Meiling Cheng. See the teaser edition (selected pages). The teaser edition contains the Michael Omori interview, but it's also available as a separate PDF file here.

Vidip KonaNewest NM! Congratulations to Vidip Kona of Redmond, Wash., who recently became Washington State's newest National Master! Vidip achieved a U.S. Chess rating of 2201 as a result of winning 2nd Place in the 74th Oregon Open, held in Portland Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2024. Along the way, Vidip scored clutch wins against Oregon's Jason Cigan (2175) and Washington's Vikram Srivastava (2241). See the final round win against Vikram Srivastava (ChessBase link) that clinched the NM title for Vidip. US Chess crosstable link.

Northwest Chess September 2024 coverSeptember magazine! The September 2024 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday, August 30. It's a 32-page issue with "He Twins Tandem Simul" by Josh Sinanan, "Interview with Danny Musovski" by Ken Lee, "2024 US Junior Open (Washington Players Shine!)" by Siva, Sarang, and Vivaan Sankrithi, "M’ Lady’s Hand" by Glen O’Harra, "Washington State Elementary Chess Championship" by Josh Sinanan, "My Nationals" by Ted Wang, "Washington Open (Part Two)," "Mid-Year Scholastic Cup" and "Seattle Summer Kickoff" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of Samuel He, Daniel He, and WCF President Josh Sinanan by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Samuel He (L) and Daniel He during their tandem simul at Blakely Hall in Issaquah. Photo by Meiling Cheng. See the teaser edition (selected pages). The teaser edition contains the Danny Musovski interview, but it's also available as a separate PDF file here.

See old news previously appearing on this page.

Completed Tournament / Match News

Some local tournament reports were previously posted to the Northwest Chess (NWC) blog, found at http://www.nwchess.com/blog/. Links are to NWC blog post or other report, usually US Chess or scholastic rating report. However, blogging activity has stopped. If you are interesting in blogging for your club's events, please let us know.

  Scholastic Events (November-December):
  Open or Invitational Events (November-December):
  • Nov 30-Dec 1 Seattle CC Piper Memorial Adult Swiss, Seattle, WA
  • Nov 29-Dec 1 Washington Class Championships, Redmond Marriott, Redmond, WA
    Also see the linked flyer for fun side events!
  • Nov 24 Seattle CC November Tornado, Seattle, WA
  • Nov 1-22 Seattle CC November Rains, Seattle, WA
  • Nov 16 Seattle CC November Quads, Seattle, WA
  • Nov 10-11 Washington Challenger's Cup, Chinook Middle School, Bellevue, WA
  • Nov 2-3 Oregon Class Championships, Portland, OR
  Scholastic Events (September-October):
  Open or Invitational Events (September-October):
  Scholastic Events (July-August):
  Open or Invitational Events (July-August):
  • Aug 31 (start of Oregon Open - see above)
  • Aug 30 Seattle CC Fifth Friday G/15, Seattle, WA
  • Aug 25 Seattle CC Sunday Tornado, Seattle, WA
  • Aug 24 Snohomish County Open, Mukilteo, WA
  • Aug 2-23 Seattle CC Dog Days, Seattle, WA
  • Aug 17-18 Seattle Chess Classic, Seattle, WA
  • Aug 10 Seattle CC Saturday Quads, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 27 Simul with GM Emil Anka at SCC, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 5-26 SCC Hot as Hades, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 21 SCC Sunday Tornado, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 20-21 Vancouver Open, Vancouver, WA
  • Jul 14 Seattle Seafair Blitz, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 13-14 Seattle Seafair Open, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 13 Seafair Hand-and-Brain Blitz, Seattle, WA
  • Jul 6 SCC Saturday Quads, Seattle, WA
See old tournament news previously appearing on this page.

Miscellaneous


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