Pics

Here are some pics from my recent trip to Dallas:

http://picasaweb.google.com/caminator2000/2009K12Nationals

Several people have asked about my games during the tournament. Here is my final round victory against the tough (and underrated) Ryan Swerdlin from Colorado. We were the last two players in our section. The game lasted about 3 hours and 5 minutes (the time control was G/90 with 5 sec delay).

K12, USA
Ryan Swerdlin vs. Cameron Wheeler (1802)

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 a b c d e f g h 0

(white to move) 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Be2 c6 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Nc3 Qc7 10. h3 a6 11. Rc1 Bb4 12. Nh4 Bxc3 13. Bxc3 Bg6 14. Nxg6 fxg6 15. Bf3 Rae8 16. Qd3 Qb8 17. cxd5 exd5 18. Bb4 Rf7 19. Rc2 Ne4 20. Bxe4 Rxe4 21. f3 Re6 22. Be1 Qe8 23. Bf2 Nf6 24. Re1 Rfe7 25. Rce2 Nh5 26. Qc2 Nf4 27. Rd2 g5 28. Red1 Nh5 29. Qf5 h6 30. Qd3 Nf6 31. Rc2 Nd7 32. a4 Qd8 33. Qc3 Qb8 34. Re1 Nf8 35. Rec1 Ng6 36. b4 Nh4 37. Re1 Qe8 38. Rce2 Nf5 39. Qd3 Nd6 40. Kf1 b5 41. axb5 axb5 42. Bg3 Nc4 43. Bf2 Ra7 44. Qf5 Ra4 45. Kg1 Rxb4 46. Qd3 Ra4 47. e4 Qg6 48. Qc2 Ra3 49. Rb1 Ra6 50. Rbe1 Nd6 51. Qb3 dxe4 52. fxe4 Kh7 53. e5 Nc4 54. Qb4 Ra4 55. Qc5 g4 56. h4 Qd3 57. Be3 Nxe3 58. Rxe3 Qxd4 59. Qc2+ Kh8 60. Qf5 Re8 61. e6 Ra7 62. Kh1 g3 63. Re4 Ra1 64. e7 Rxe1+ 65. Rxe1 Qxh4+ 66. Qh3 g5 67. Kg1 Qxh3 68. gxh3 Kg7 69. Kg2 Kf7 70. Rc1 Rxe7 71. Rxc6 Re6 72. Rc3 b4 73. Rb3 Re4 74. Kxg3 Rc4 75. Kg2 Kg6 76. Kf2 Kh5 77. Kg2 Kg6 78. Kf2 Kf5 79. Kg2 Ke5 80. Kf2 Kd5 81. Ke2 Kc5 82. Kd2 h5 83. Re3 Kb5 84. Re5+ Rc5 85. Re3 Ka4

[ Flip the board | Reset | Options… ] Play chess online

 

Options:
	- allow legal moves only;
	- use short algebraic notation;
movement/animation speed: (slow) (fast)
	- show legal moves;

 

Pawn promotion:
	- Queen
	- Rook
	- Bishop
	- Knight

Bay Area chess kids rock

Well, the nationals are finally over. The Bay Area kids came and represented very well. Here we are with our new hardware:



Unfortunately, Allan's dad made their flight too early, so he had to grab his trophy before the official presentation and head to the airport. Here is a shot of him before he left:



All told, the Bay Area kids took home several trophies, almost one of every flavor:

1st place - Rayan Taghizadeh (2nd grade)
2nd place - Kesav Viswanadha (5th grade)
3rd place - Cameron Wheeler (4th grade)
4th place - Kyle Shin (6th grade)
6th place - Vignesh Panchanatham (4th grade)
7th place - Allan Beilin (5th grade)
11th place - Jeffrey Tao (4th grade)
13th place - Daniel Liu (6th grade)
15th place - Anirudh Seela (3rd grade)

Day 3 coming up

So today is the last day. Lot's of exciting things happening.

In grade 2, Rayan T* has a perfect 5/5 and is in excellent position. The top seed in his group lost in the last round, and he has moved up to the #2 slot behind Annie Wang. The two games today will be the biggest of his short chess career.

In grade 4, my friend Vignesh and I are in a 7-way tie for 2nd place right now with two rounds to go. There is only one kid 1/2 point ahead of us, so anything can happen. Vignesh has a tough pairing against William Graif of New York (last year's champion), and I'm playing Amir Moazami, another tough New York kid. The picture in grade 4 will become a lot clearer after this round.

In grade 5, Allan Beilin is an amazing 5/5 and is playing the tough Christopher Wu from New Jersey. My dad and I hope that Allan "french fry"s the guy! Kesav V* has an excellent score of 4/5. He can place very well with a good showing today. Armaan K* is also doing well at 3.5/5; two wins today might nab him a trophy.

In grade 6, Kyle Shin is just a half-point behind the leader and plays him on board 1 this morning. His fate is in his own hands. Daniel Liu is also in contention, just a point behind the leader.

Good luck to all of the bay area kids!!!

Pre-game warm-up:

Trophies Plus All-American Team

Right before the start of the 4th round, they announced this year's All-American Team. I made the team for the first time, by having a peak rating over 1800 while I was still 8 years old. They gave us all monogrammed jackets:



Then they called us up on stage and presented us with a plaque:



Here is a short video of the presentation:

Short break before round 4

Round 3 is wrapping up and we are back at the room watching some basketball and eating a quick snack. My friends and I are doing well:

2nd:
Rayan (3/3)

4th:
Me (3/3)
Vignesh (3/3)
Jeffrey T (3/3)

5th:
Allan (3/3)
Kesav (3/3)
Armaan (2.5/3)

The games keep getting tougher and tougher. Still waiting for round 4 pairings, but several of the 'punks will have to play up.

Day 1 is in the books

So an exciting day 1 is complete. It is time to get a good night's rest for a busy day 2. I finished the day with a score of 2.0/2.0. Several of my friends have 2.0/2.0 as well: Allan, Vignesh, Kesav, Armaan, and Rayan. I'm happy to have the victories, but the games were much tougher than I thought they would be. Tomorrow is going to be very challenging.

My Uncle Darren was born and raised in San Jose, but he is a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. Coincidentally, he and Auntie Desiree had planned to come to Dallas this weekend to see the Cowboys take on the San Diego Chargers. They are staying in a hotel just a few miles away, so Uncle Darren came by tonight to take us out to a nice steak house after the 2nd round. My dad and uncle both shared their steaks with me because for some reason I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. The steaks were very, very good! At the restaurant, they had this funny chair made from the horns and hide of cattle:

After dinner, uncle took us to a supermarket so we could stock up on some of my favorite tournament foods: crackers and cheese, fruit, yogurt, and cereal. Now we are all set! Thanks Uncle!!!

Round 1 is over

Round 1 started on time (1pm local time). I was sitting at the very front of the room, as far from the doors as possible, so my Dad couldn't see me. Luckily I had my lucky Orioles hat on. My opponent came in late, just as the round was starting. After an hour, I finally beat my opponent. He played much better than I expected for round 1.

By the time I finished, most of my friends were done. Allan, Vignesh, and Kesav all won quickly. We stayed to watch Rayan win his game. It looked like Armaan was going to win, but we needed to grab some food, so we had to leave before he was done (update: Armaan eventually won).

Now my Dad and I are playing hotel room football, just relaxing until the next round starts...

Settled in

We've safely arrived in Dallas. The trip was pretty uneventful. Kesav's family came to pick us up and we traveled to the San Jose Airport together. At the airport, we met up with Armaan, Vignesh, and little Muthu. Here we are waiting for our flight to board:

The flight was a little late leaving San Jose, but we got here quickly. Upon arrival, we grabbed a cab with Armaan and Kesav to the tournament hotel.

The hotel is very nice, with lots of Asian style art. After dropping our stuff in the rooms, we met back in the lobby to search for dinner. While waiting for Kesav to return from his 22nd story perch, we ran into Allan and his father returning from dinner. After a short chat, we parted ways and headed for dinner. We found a sports bar in the hotel where we could eat something and watch the Steelers get embarrassed by the Cleveland Browns. My dad's fantasy football team might be in trouble.

After dinner, we checked out the playing hall and bumped into a couple more Bay Area chess players: Shalin Shah and Jeffrey Tao. Now it is off to bed to get some rest before tomorrow's opening round at 1pm (11am PST). More updates then...

Cam gets a blog

Welcome to Cam's Chess Blog.

On this blog I'll keep people updated on my latest chess activities.