GM Alexandra Kosteniuk Visits Miami Beach High

Students Max Cufari, Ariela Zuniga, Alexandra, teacher Ben Silva

As part of the "Chess Masters Tour", GM Alexandra Kosteniuk visited Miami Beach Senior High's chess elective class taught by math teacher Ben Silva. The "Chess Masters Tour" involves titled players visiting 12 middle and high schools offering chess as an elective in the M-DCPS system. The "Chess Masters Tour" is organized by District Chess Coordinator Andy Ramos of the Chess Education Program. Chess experts expected to participate are GM Renier Gonzalez, GM Julio Becerra, GM Gilardo Garcia, IM Blas Lugo, IM Alejandro Moreno, FM Marcel Martinez and FM Charles Galofre. GM Gonzalez visited Howard D. McMillan Middle and IM Lugo visited Shenandoah Middle recently and presented lectures and analysis. M-DCPS has over two-hundred and thirty chess programs including AEP Chess, Title I, chess elective classes, and clubs.

Alexandra analyzed a game she played against IM Andreas Huss in Switzerland in 2003. The game featured the Queen's Indian Defence. White usually develops the King's Knight to support the d4 pawn to avoid the Nimzo-Indian. Kosteniuk (Black) played its sister defence the Queen's Indian in response, planning to fianchetto her Queen's Bishop to control and occupy e4. She also examined variations played by Victor Korchnoi vs. Vladmir Simagin in 1960 and Kiril Georgiev vs. Alexander Grischuk in Crete last year at the European Championships for white after 9.Bd3 http://www.kosteniuk.com/photoenews3/Huss-Kosteniuk.pdf . To emphasize how much GMs prepare for their opponents, she states incredibly that 20. ......Be4 was her only original move in the game below! The students engaged her with great questions and ideas which she skillfully corroborated or refuted. She advised them to learn basic positions, study great games, study challenging problems, and work hard on the end game. She gave away pamphlets and her books to the students.

Last year Alexandra played a simul and analyzed games with students at the Florida State Scholastic Chess tournament attended by 1200 players from throughout Florida. She gave away her signature computer to the top girl in each of the 12 sections as well as her book, "How I became a Grandmaster at 14". Thank you for your generosity and kindness. Her daughter Francesca Maria will turn 1 year old on April 22nd.

For a free chess video podcast hosted by Alexandra go to http://www.chesskillertips.com/index.php and improve your chess game.

[Event "Swiss Championship"][Site "Silvaplana (Switzerland)"][Date "2003.165.165"][Round "4"][White "Huss, A"][Black "Kosteniuk, Alexandra"][Result "0-1"]

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 e6
3. Nf3 b6
4. Nc3 Bb4

5. Qc2 Bb7
6. a3 Bxc3+
7. Qxc3 d6
8. e3 O-O

9. Bd3 Nbd7
10. O-O Ne4
11. Qc2 f5
12. Nd2 Qh4
13. f3 Ng5

14. f4 Nh3+
15. gxh3 Rf6
16. Nf3 Rg6+
17. Kh1 Qxh3
18. Qe2 Nc5!!
19. Bxf5 exf5
20. Bd2 Be4

Black is better

White resigned because after...
21. dxc5 Rg3
22. Rf2 Rxf3
23. Rg2 Rg3
24. Rg1 dxc5

Black wins an exchange and gets a winning endgame 0-1