A Day With A Grandmaster - Photo Gallery

The Grandmaster, the Tournament Director and the Organizer. What a day! It always takes a few special people to make such an event happen.

A few of us were able to get some photos of the event on May 11th [2024], which I have shared below. We didn't get pictures of everything and everyone, so if you have pictures you want to share just get in touch.

Blitz Tournament
PHOTO by Don Smallidge Everyone is smiling and relaxed before the first round of the Blitz tournament. MECA President J. Paul Ciarrocchi and Teasurer Wyatt Hendrix share a moment before the first round begins.
PHOTO by Don Smallidge Henry and I played against each other in the recent Farmington tournament; he won. And he did well on this day, too.
PHOTO by Don Smallidge Jake and I played against each other in the recent Farmington tournament; he won. He did not do so well on this day (he faced some pretty tough opponents, including a grandmaster). But he was glad he decided to be here.
PHOTO by Don Smallidge This looks like a "David and Goliath" situation; one of many. There were many young people here for this event.
PHOTO by Don Smallidge Aric is surprised by an early victory against his Caro-Kann defense.
PHOTO by Don Smallidge Aric congratulates his opponent on his quick win; another fine example of good sportsmanship.
More photos coming (when I get a chance).

Grandmaster Q & A
PHOTO by Aric Chabot GM Nadya Kosintseva interacts with the audience by sharing challenging positions from some of her games, asking for volunteers to share their advice for making the next move. Eventually she gave a very robust analysis of each position, describing in detail how she evaluated various options before deciding on her actual move from the game. Anyone who has struggled to find the "right move" in a chess game was suitably impressed by her ability to resist the tempting moves (which turned out to be flawed several moves down the line) and select only the best move!

Grandmaster Q & A

Sharing thought process for challenging position

PHOTO by Aric Chabot
GM Nadya Kosintseva interacts with the audience by sharing challenging positions from some of her games, asking for volunteers to share their advice for making the next move. Eventually she gave a very robust analysis of each position, describing in detail how she evaluated various options before deciding on her actual move from the game. Anyone who has struggled to find the "right move" in a chess game was suitably impressed by her ability to resist the tempting moves (which turned out to be flawed several moves down the line) and select only the best move!

Simultaneous Exhibition [Simul]
PHOTO by Aric Chabot If you ever wondered how they set up a simultaneous exhibition, now you know. Several volunteers arranged the tables, placed the chessboards and made sure there as water for the participants (and especially the pedestal for the grandmaster). We were advised to sit around the room based on our playing strength, stronger players sat at the bottom of the image.
PHOTO by Aric Chabot Nadya takes a moment to chat with one of her opponents before the simul begins.
PHOTO by Gil Willette After a moment's confusion, Don Smallidge understands that he must make his move before Nadya can make hers!
PHOTO by Aric Chabot The stronger players sat at the head of the table (and surely gave her more of a challenge). She may have been surprised by the strength of some of the other players, though. She needed to spend a fair amount of time contemplating her moves against Aric's Caro-Kann opponent. And Anna Thomas managed to hold out the longest. In the end, GM Nadya won every game.
PHOTO by Aric Chabot This was the final position in GM Nadya vs. Aric Chabot.
More photos coming (when I get a chance).

A Thank You Rose

It was unexpected, but much appreciated. The May 11th "thank you" rose occupies a place of honor beside our computer.