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ABC Channel 4 Salt Lake City, Utah
Kayden Troff is a Utah chess prodigy! At age eleven he is the reigning Utah state champion for all ages for several time controls: Game in one hour, Game in 15 minutes (quick chess), Game in 5 minutes (speed chess), Chess960 (Fischer random chess) and Bughouse Chess (partner chess).
He first demonstrated his amazing chess ability at the age of three, by which time he had learned to play by watching his father, Daniel Troff, teach and play against his older brothers. When Troff turned six, his father decided to have him tutored by Grandmaster Igor Ivanov. Ivanov was impressed with how well Kayden played!
On January 24, 2009, Troff won the Utah Speed Chess Championship at age ten, becoming the youngest player to win that event, and by a huge margin. In that event he went 2-0 against Jeff Phillips, who was at the time Utah's only chess master and also the Utah player with the highest quick chess rating. On March 14, 2009, Troff won the Utah G/60 Championship (where each player has one hour to complete the whole game), also becoming the youngest player ever to win that event, by far. At this event he defeated the #1 seed, 73-year-old Hans Morrow, the oldest player in the tournament.
Kayden's quick rating is the highest in Utah and, even more astonishingly, the highest of all US players under the age of 13 according to the rating list published by the USCF in June 2009. After the Utah G/60 championship win, the tournament director dubbed Kayden "Utah's Mozart of Chess." Kayden's rating achievement is made all the more impressive due to the limited opportunites he has to gain points, as Utah is short on high rated players.
As of August 22, 2009 Kayden is the highest USCF standard rated active tournament player in Utah.
Kayden's ambition is to become a Grandmaster, which will require a 2500 FIDE rating as well as three Grandmaster level performances in international tournaments.
Kayden lives in West Jordan, Utah with his parents, Kim and Daniel, and brothers Jeremy and Zachary, both of whom also play chess at a high level for their age group. The Troff family runs a popular "TNT" Chess Camp in the Salt Lake City area, along with their family friend Scott Treiman, who won the 2009 Utah State Junior High School championship tournament.
For more information please visit http://kaydentroff.blogspot.com.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Astronaut Fuglesang in trouble – in space chess game
Astronaut Fuglesang in trouble – in space chess game
09.09.2009 Chessbase
On August 28 Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang blasted off into space, on the 128th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. He conducted a seven-hour space walk at the International Space Station, and also continued his chess game against the readers of a Swedish newspaper. Both the astronaut, who has a tough position, and his opponents have lovely prizes waiting for them.
09.09.2009 Chessbase
On August 28 Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang blasted off into space, on the 128th mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program. He conducted a seven-hour space walk at the International Space Station, and also continued his chess game against the readers of a Swedish newspaper. Both the astronaut, who has a tough position, and his opponents have lovely prizes waiting for them.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Bulgaria Bids to Host Chess World Championship
Bulgaria Bids to Host Chess World Championship
byPetar Kostadinov
Bulgaria wants to host the 2010 world chess crown match between Bulgarian grandmaster Vesselin Topalov and world champion Viswanathan Anand, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said on September 3 2009.
"We have a duty to stand behind our champion and give him the opportunity to play in his home country," Borissov said after meeting Topalov and manager Silvio Danailov.
Borissov accepted the invitation to head the committee that will attempt to secure Sofia as the host city and called upon Bulgarian businesses and institutions to sponsor the event.
Costs were estimated at about six million leva and Borissov said that plan B was for the state to cover the expenses.
The deadline for submitting bids for hosting the match is September 30 2009, while the showdown itself is tentatively scheduled for early-2010. So far, interest in hosting the match has been shown by the Chechen capital Grozny, Dubai and Delhi.
Topalov won the right to challenge Anand for the title after winning the chess crown pretenders match against American Gata Kamsky on February 26 2009. Topalov's superb performance forced Kamsky to concede on the 45th move of the seventh match, with one game to spare.
Topalov, the 2005 world champion in the world chess federation FIDE championship, but lost it in the unification match to Professional Chess Association champion Vladimir Kramnik. Topalov and Anand, the two top-ranked grandmasters in the FIDE rankings, was initially scheduled to be played in 2009, but has been postponed.
byPetar Kostadinov
Bulgaria wants to host the 2010 world chess crown match between Bulgarian grandmaster Vesselin Topalov and world champion Viswanathan Anand, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said on September 3 2009.
"We have a duty to stand behind our champion and give him the opportunity to play in his home country," Borissov said after meeting Topalov and manager Silvio Danailov.
Borissov accepted the invitation to head the committee that will attempt to secure Sofia as the host city and called upon Bulgarian businesses and institutions to sponsor the event.
Costs were estimated at about six million leva and Borissov said that plan B was for the state to cover the expenses.
The deadline for submitting bids for hosting the match is September 30 2009, while the showdown itself is tentatively scheduled for early-2010. So far, interest in hosting the match has been shown by the Chechen capital Grozny, Dubai and Delhi.
Topalov won the right to challenge Anand for the title after winning the chess crown pretenders match against American Gata Kamsky on February 26 2009. Topalov's superb performance forced Kamsky to concede on the 45th move of the seventh match, with one game to spare.
Topalov, the 2005 world champion in the world chess federation FIDE championship, but lost it in the unification match to Professional Chess Association champion Vladimir Kramnik. Topalov and Anand, the two top-ranked grandmasters in the FIDE rankings, was initially scheduled to be played in 2009, but has been postponed.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Man Murdered in Chess Game
IOWA CITY, Iowa -
According to a court filing, an Iowa City man will plead guilty to a lesser charge in the death of his opponent in a chess game.
The filing made Thursday in Johnson County District Court says David Christian will plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Sept. 25.
Police say Christian and Michael Alan Steward were playing chess and drinking at Christian's residence on Oct. 19, 2008, when a quarrel turned violent. They say Christian apparently trapped Steward's neck between his legs and squeezed until Steward was dead.
Christian originally faced a charge of second-degree murder, which could have landed him in prison for 50 years. The voluntary manslaughter charge has a maximum 10-year sentence.
According to a court filing, an Iowa City man will plead guilty to a lesser charge in the death of his opponent in a chess game.
The filing made Thursday in Johnson County District Court says David Christian will plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Sept. 25.
Police say Christian and Michael Alan Steward were playing chess and drinking at Christian's residence on Oct. 19, 2008, when a quarrel turned violent. They say Christian apparently trapped Steward's neck between his legs and squeezed until Steward was dead.
Christian originally faced a charge of second-degree murder, which could have landed him in prison for 50 years. The voluntary manslaughter charge has a maximum 10-year sentence.
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