Alexander Shabalov by winning in the Final Round vs Sergy Kudrin wins
the US Championship outright as Alex Onischuk was held to a draw by
Boris Gulko.www.monroi.com has the results,games etc...

On May 24, 2:27 am, EJAY wrote:
Alexander Shabalov by winning in the Final Round vs Sergy Kudrin wins
the US Championship outright as Alex Onischuk was held to a draw by
Boris Gulko.www.monroi.comhas the results,games etc...

Did any Americans take part?

Did any Americans take part?

Sadly very few...No Joel Benjamin,No Nick DeFirmian,No Larry
Christiansen...well at least Jay Bonin was there

On May 24, 6:05 am, EJAY wrote:
Did any Americans take part?

Sadly very few...No Joel Benjamin,No Nick DeFirmian,No Larry
Christiansen...well at least Jay Bonin was there

Stop this nonsense. All four
chess players which you have
mentioned in your first post
are Americans.

Wlod

On 26 May 2007 22:26:18 -0700, "Wlodzimierz Holsztynski (Wlod)"
wrote:

On May 24, 6:05 am, EJAY wrote:
Did any Americans take part?

Sadly very few...No Joel Benjamin,No Nick DeFirmian,No Larry
Christiansen...well at least Jay Bonin was there

Stop this nonsense. All four
chess players which you have
mentioned in your first post
are Americans.

Wlod

But it would be reasonable, and not particularly xenophobic, to ask
about the percentage of players in the U.S. Championship who developed
their skills primarily in the United States.

On May 27, 10:54 am, Mike Murray wrote:

Did any Americans take part?

No. Only foreigners with Russian-sounding surnames
were allowed to enter this year.


Sadly very few...No Joel Benjamin,No Nick DeFirmian,No Larry
Christiansen...well at least Jay Bonin was there

You're showing your age here. Those guys are already
starting to trip over their surfer beards.


Stop this nonsense. All four
chess players which you have
mentioned in your first post
are Americans.

But have you actually *seen* their green cards?


But it would be reasonable, and not particularly xenophobic, to ask
about the percentage of players in the U.S. Championship who developed
their skills primarily in the United States.

That's easy; just look at the tournament crosstable
and count up from the bottom (the home-growns)
until you reach the first "...insky" or "...ov" surnames.
Then do the math.

---

These "Russian imports" probably serve to improve
the level of play here in America. I know that on the
local level, they certainly gave a kick in the pants to
a few of our rather complacent masters, who otherwise
would have merely indulged themselves in blitz chess
instead of studying to get back in the hunt.

Unfortunately, there is a reverse effect on the strong
imported players; they gradually become accustomed
to our lower level of play, and their own game begins
to slide. Perhaps this does not apply to the top
players, to the pros, but it was evident at the local
level.

-- hep bot

"help bot" wrote in message
ups.com...
On May 27, 10:54 am, Mike Murray wrote:

These "Russian imports" probably serve to improve
the level of play here in America. I know that on the
local level, they certainly gave a kick in the pants to
a few of our rather complacent masters, who otherwise
would have merely indulged themselves in blitz chess
instead of studying to get back in the hunt.

I think we all agree on the 'problem', if indeed it is a problem. And this
sort of discussion covers about half of it, the other side being why
American-born youngsters drop out of the game, or do not find sufficient
mentoring or other encouragement to stay in it.

Isn't this one subject on the SPICE agenda?

Cordially, Phil Inski


Unfortunately, there is a reverse effect on the strong
imported players; they gradually become accustomed
to our lower level of play, and their own game begins
to slide. Perhaps this does not apply to the top
players, to the pros, but it was evident at the local
level.

-- hep bot

On May 28, 9:55 am, "Chess One" wrote:

I think we all agree on the 'problem', if indeed it is a problem. And this
sort of discussion covers about half of it, the other side being why
American-born youngsters drop out of the game, or do not find sufficient
mentoring or other encouragement to stay in it.

Isn't this one subject on the SPICE agenda?

Cordially, Phil Inski

You're not fooling anyone with this "insky" business.
We are well aware that you come from the highlands
of Scotland (or the lowlands of Ireland), just like 007
and the winner of the Indy 500.

So, what makes American kids eventually drop out of
chess? I think the game itself can be blamed, for it is
not entertaining enough to compete with the latest
computerized RPGs and first-person shooters, with
their awesome graphics and massively interactive
formats. But another thing is that Americans are all
about making (and spending!) money, and once again
chess comes up short relative to say, getting a real
job after high school or college. Why devote time to
studying the openings, when you can instead watch
HDTV, drink beer, and outrun the police (in a video
game, of course!)? Chess is, well... boring.

-- help bot