For NWC magazine contents and PDF files, see the magazine back issues page.

Ted Wang wins National K-12 3rd Grade Section! See the linked blog post. This scholastic chess event took place Dec. 9-11 in Maryland. Ted was the only 3rd grader from Washington.

December magazine! The December 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on Friday 11/25. This is the first NWC full-color issue! It's a 32-page issue with "2022-2023 States Cup Chess Tournament" by Siva Sankrithi, "Norman Friedman Memorial And National Chess Day" by Adam Porth, "Detective Cookie Chess Park Grand Opening" by Josh Sinanan, "Gary Dorfner (1947-2022)" by Bill Rogers, "Remembering Gary" by John Donaldson, "2022 Washington G/60 Championship," "2022 Washington G/15 Championship" and "2022 Washington Blitz Championship" by Josh Sinanan, Washington Junior Open & Reserve (Ad) Bellevue, January 16 "Took The Train To Spokane" by Karen Schmidt, "2022 Eastern Idaho Open" by Jay Simonson, and a back-cover photo of Brian Lee and Jason Cigan by Adam Porth. Cover: Jason Cigan, Brian Lee, and Ryan Ackerman by Adam Porth.

Gary J. Dorfner, 1947-2022 - As reported by Vivi Bartron, "It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Gary Dorfner, Tacoma Chess Club's Tournament Director. Gary died sometime last weekend of natural causes at the age of 75. He was discovered on Monday, October 31st sitting in his easy chair, maybe contemplating chess. ... Gary was active in Tacoma chess since high school. Besides being a major part of the Tacoma Chess Club, he was secretary of the Washington Chess Federation for many years and an active tournament director for many regional tournaments for adults and children." WCF President Josh Sinanan adds that "Gary served as an active member of the WCF Board and Tacoma Chess Club for many decades. He will be dearly missed." Photo: Gary at the Washington State (Puyallup) Fair in 2013.

Chess Coach Wanted! Seattle Prep is looking for a new chess coach! Please see the scholastic opportunities page, and email William Liu if you are interested: WLiu@seaprep.org.

November magazine! The November 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 10/28. It's a 32-page issue with "Aryan Deshpande Becomes National Master" by Josh Sinanan, "72nd Oregon Open" by Wilson Gibbins, "Fantastic FIDE Titles And Where To Find Them" by Joseph Levine, "Washington Women’s Championship" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of Rekha Sagar, Chouchan Airapetian, and Josh Sinanan by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Matt Zavortink and Erik Richardson on Denali, by Nick Sweeney.

New Master! (Reported by Josh Sinanan) Congratulations to Aryan Deshpande of Sammamish, Washington, who recently became Washington State's newest National Master! Aryan achieved a US Chess rating of 2202 as a result of winning two games at the recent PNWCC Friday night tournament on October 7, held at the Microsoft campus in Redmond. Along the way, Aryan won against young phenoms Michael Lin (1579) and Vidip Kona (1933). Way to go Aryan!! See the US Chess crosstable.

Tarjan among those inducted into Hall of Fame! In 2022, three candidates were selected for induction into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame, including local FIDE grandmaster James Tarjan, who represented the U.S. in five Chess Olympiads, winning four team and three individual medals with a winning percentage that places him equal second to Bobby Fischer, and also achieved the best-ever rating performance by an American player aged 65 or older. Also see the blog post "Fame!," by John Henderson. There are also three notable inductees into the World Chess Hall of Fame - Judit Polgar, Miguel Najdorf and Eugene Torre.

October magazine! The October 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 9/30. It's a 32-page issue with "Shades Of High Fidelity" by Karen Schmidt, "Collinge Perfect In Sixth Seattle Classic" by Josh Sinanan, "ICA Supports Ukrainian Refugees" by The Nosarev Family, "Back 2 School Quads" and "North Idaho Scholastic Chess League Formation" by Adam Porth, "2022 Seattle Classic Scholastic" and "Detective Cookie Chess Tables At Othello Park" by Josh Sinanan, "Seattle Kings vs Princes Match VIII," "Washington Players At US Open," "2022 Washington Summer Rapid Championships" and "2022 Northwest Summer Chess960 Open" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of "Evan Schroedle and Michael Cambareri" by Adam Porth. Cover: Huy Le by Meiling Cheng.

September magazine! The September 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 9/9 after a major delay. It's a 32-page issue with "From The Editor’s Desk" by Jeffrey Roland, "2022 Oregon Closed" by Wilson Gibbins, "Kids Say The Darndest Things At Chess Camp" by Karen Schmidt, "An Ode To Winning At Chess (Poem)" by Nobel Ang, "Detective Cookie Chess Park Ground-Breaking" and "2022 Seattle Summer Kickoff" by Josh Sinanan, "The Summer Sizzler Ends With Fire For More!!" by Josh Sinanan and Lakshana Anand, "Vancouver Open" by Josh Sinanan, and back-cover images of "2022 Chess Journalists Of America Awards - Best State Magazine/Newsletter." Cover: (L-R) Jason Cigan and Nick Raptis at Oregon Closed by Wilson Gibbins.

Carlsen Won't Defend! As reported in John Henderson's blog post, "The Day the King Abdicated" (July 20) Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen announced that he won't defend his title again against Ian Nepomniachtchi (see below). As a result, "Nepo" will play runner-up Ding Liren of China.

August magazine! The August 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 7/29. It's a 32-page issue with "So What Really Are Deadlines Anyway?" by Jeffrey Roland, "2022 WA vs BC Challenge Match" by Josh Sinanan, a "Letter To The Editor" by Brian Berger, "WIM Megan Lee Simul" by Josh Sinanan, "Reflection On My Nationals" by IM Anthony He, "Carol Kleist Feisty In Chess And Life" by John Selsky, "In Memory Of Carol Kleist" by Karen Schmidt, "North Idaho Championship" by Adam Porth, "The Longest Day Fundraiser" by Scotty Hohman, "2022 Rusty Miller Memorial" by Josh Sinanan, "Chesstoon (the first-ever in the Brian Berger series!) (originally published in October 2013)," "2022 Washington Open Puzzle Solving Solutions" by Valentin Razmov, "Mid-Year Scholastic Cup" by Josh Sinanan, and a back cover photo of "Team WA at the 2022 BC vs WA Match" by Haiyong Wang. Cover: Team BC at the 2022 BC vs WA Match by Haiyong Wang.

Nepomniachtchi Wins FIDE Candidates Tournament! As reported in John Henderson's blog post, "Refinding Nepo," Ian Nepomniachtchi has "cruised to victory" in the FIDE Candidates Tournament. The 31-year-old Russian "sealed the deal to secure his second (back-to-back) Candidates title with a round to spare, with his reward being the right to once again challenge Norwegian Magnus Carlsen in the next World Championship match," although it was uncertain if Carlsen would defend his title again against Nepomniachtchi. The tournament featured eight candidates including two Americans (Caruana and Nakamura) and ran from June 16 to July 5 in Madrid, Spain.

July magazine! The July 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 7/1. It's a 48-page issue with "Carol Kleist (August 18, 1929-May 30, 2022)" by John Selsky, "2022 Washington Open plus various side events," "2022 Washington Barber + Rockefeller Qualifier," "Northwest Regional Scholastics Championship" and "Washington Players Shine at Elementary Nationals" by Josh Sinanan, "Oregon Senior Open" by Wilson Gibbins, "Planting A "S.E.E.D." (Detective Cookie's Story)" by Karen Schmidt, and a back-cover photo of "Medina Elementary K-3 Team with Josh Sinanan" by Rongzhi Lu. Cover: Ananth Gottumukkala (left) and Josh Sinanan, by Chad Lykins.

Detective Cookie Chess Park ground breaking ceremony! This event took place Sunday June 12 at the site of the future Detective Cookie Chess Park on Rainier Ave. S in Seattle. Several chess players and supporters of the park gathered to celebrate the milestone ground breaking. The event featured free food, good company, and of course chess. In attendance were Detective Denise "Cookie" Bouldin, Seattle Chief of Police Adrian Diaz, former Seattle Seahawks player K.J. Wright, WCF Women's and Girls Director Chouchan Airapetian, and WCF President Josh Sinanan. Many thanks to the City of Seattle, 4 Culture, and Seattle Parks Foundation for their support. | Photo Album (courtesy of Meiling Cheng) | South Seattle Emerald article | Kiro 7 News Video

In Memoriam - Carol Kleist - As reported by Seattle Chess Club President John Selsky, “The Seattle Chess Club mourns the passing of Carol Kleist, long-time club Secretary, club Life Member and devoted wife of Fred, our Tournament Director. Carol died peacefully over Memorial Day weekend.” We're expecting an article for the August edition of NWC.

June magazine! The June 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 5/31. It's a 32-page issue with "Idaho Open" by Jay Simonson, "29th Dave Collyer Memorial" by Kevin Korsmo, "Crash And Burn In Salt Lake City" by Nobel Ang, "Inland Empire Open" by Kevin Korsmo, "En Masse (Stanchions Buckled)" by Karen Schmidt, "Intermat," "2022 Washington Senior Championship" and "Lakeside Team Shines at High School Nationals" by Josh Sinanan, "Washington State Elementary Chess Championships" by WSECC Organizers, and a back-cover photo of Nolan Zhou by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Shrey Talathi by Meiling Cheng.

May magazine! The May 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed by the new printer serving NWC on 5/4. All current subscribers with an email on file also received an invitation to view this edition via Google Drive. It's a 32-page issue with "Games Of Megan Lee (from WA State Championship)" by Megan Lee, "Oregon Girls Championship" by Wilson Gibbins, "The Zen Priest and The Chess Samurai" by Nobel Ang, "Idaho State Scholastic Championship" by Jeffrey Roland, "Trying Not To Live For My US Chess Rating But..." by Karen Schmidt, "Montana Open" by Mike Murray, "Intermat Candidates," "Cascadia Dragon’s Lair," "St. Anne Celtic Challenge Spring 2022," "Open Window School Spring Tornado," "All Girls Chess Tournament," "Harmon Memorial" and "Medina All-City Chess Tournament" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover photo of Bryce Leifeste by Jef Leifeste. Cover: Megan Lee by Josh Sinanan.

April magazine! The April 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 3/29. It's a 32-page issue with "Spring Thaw" and "Idaho Closed State Championship" by Jeffrey Roland, "Coaching Corner (Let’s Talk Candidate Moves)" by Ralph Dubisch, "2022 Washington State Championship" and "Washington News Roundup" by Josh Sinanan, "Meet The Chengs" by Karen Schmidt, "Zachary Fritchen Discovers Northwest Chess" by Jeffrey Roland, "In Memory Of Ignacio Perez" by Karen Schmidt, and a back-cover photo of Gabriel Razmov by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Kaustubh Kodihalli by Desmond Porth.

Newest Master! Congratulations to Anne-Marie Velea of Sammamish, Wash., who recently became Washington State's newest National Master! Anne-Marie achieved a US Chess rating of 2201 as a result of scoring a perfect 5 points from 5 games at the 2022 Washington Girls Championship, held at the Redmond Orlov Academy, Feb. 26-27. In the WA State Championship the weekend before, Anne-Marie finished in 2nd place and won against players rated as high as 2249. Way to go Anne-Marie!! (See completed tournament section below for links to crosstables.)

March magazine! The March 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 2/18. It's a 32-page issue with "Solutions To Last Month’s Puzzles" by Valentin Razmov, "Memories Of Ignacio Perez" by various authors, "Ignacio’s Brilliant Attacking Play" and "Play Like Ignacio!" by Josh Sinanan, "A Pre Grand Prix" by Mike Murray, "WOW Tournament" by Jacek Stopa, "Sixth Annual Neil Dale Memorial Open" by Steven Breckenridge, "East Regional Scholastics Qualifier" by Jay Simonson, "Winning And Losing In Person Once Again" by Jim Tarjan, "To Draw Or Not To Draw?" by Nobel Ang, "Play Like Ignacio! (answers to positions from page 7)" by Josh Sinanan, "Washington News Roundup" by Josh Sinanan, and a back-cover Chesstoon by Brian Berger. Cover: Ignacio Perez by Washington Chess Federation.

February magazine! The February 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 1/24. It's a 40-page issue with "Ignacio Perez (1967-2022)" by Josh Sinanan, "He Is An IM!" by Anthony He, "Charm City Chess Club" by Karen Schmidt, "Oregon Junior Closed" by Wilson Gibbins, "Washington Class Championships" and "Washington Winter Classic" by Josh Sinanan, "Annotated Game from Northwest Chess Winter Open" by Gabriel Razmov, "2021 Year-End Scholastic Cup" by Josh Sinanan, "Sridhar Wins" by Sridhar Seshadri, "Chess And Romance" by Glen O’Harra, and a back-cover photo of Siddharth Bhaskaran by Meiling Cheng. Cover: Anthony He by Xuhao He.

In Memoriam (Reported by Josh Sinanan on 1/11) It is with great sadness that I inform the chess community about the passing of Ignacio Perez after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 54. FM Ignacio Perez was a two-time Washington State Champion (2007, 2013) and the reigning Washington Senior Champion. He was an avid speed chess player, a legendary attacker, and always a true gentleman at the chess board. He will be greatly missed. Photo: Ignacio with the Washington State Chess Championship trophy.

Documentary! Adam Whitaker has produced a new documentary about GM Lev Alburt, which is available on YouTube. You may share the link with anyone who might be interested.

January magazine! The January 2022 issue of Northwest Chess was mailed on 12/28. It's a 32-page issue with "Youngest Ever Washington IM" by Josh Sinanan, "Coaching Corner" by Ralph Dubisch, "Chess4Girls" by Nesara Shree, "2021 Oregon Class Championships" by Wilson Gibbins, "Commentary On The World Championship" by Eric Holcomb, "2021 World Chess Championship (All The Games)," "Southern Idaho Open (Veteran’s Tournament)" by Barry Eacker, "2021 WA Fall Mini-Teams Championship" and "2021 Northwest Chess Winter Open" by Josh Sinanan, "Miscellaneous Game" by Jeffrey Roland and Ralph Dubisch, "Detective Cookie" by Karen Schmidt, "ICA Chess News From The North" by Adam Porth, and a back-cover photo of a "Hand-Carved Chess Set" by Jeffrey Roland. Cover: Tyler Barron by Detroit Rogers.