PFC Chess Page

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Chess Page- Paul Bumblauskas

Replay a game from North American Open- Click Here

Upcoming OTB Tournaments

I will be participating in the following upcoming tournaments:

May, 2009- Chicago Open
June, 2009- National Open in Las Vegas and Castle Grand Prix in Atlanta
July, 2009- World Open in Philadelphia and Chicago Class Championships
November, 2009- Kings Island Open in Ohio
December, 2009- North American Open in Las Vegas

Thanks for visiting the site! Now on to some other commentary:

Over the past several years, Paul Bumblauskas has researched chess sites. Overall, most have been enjoyable. This page summarizes some of the best sites, with links where possible. Following are Paul's comments:

In 2003 and after a 26 year break from the chess community (without even touching a piece in all those years), I decided to return to the game. I was surprised at the level of sophistication. Players are much better today at all levels. I quickly determined that the internet had a significant impact on that rapid evolution. I decided to join a web-based club. But where does one start? There are so many sites and many are confusing. Some have members that are immature. Some are just extensions of silly game sites. Still others were set-up to make a quick buck. Following are some of my favorites. Before you read ahead to quickly, please note the following:

1. I am a traditional player and have a difficult time with short time controls. Therefore, I will not give you good recommendations on where to develop your 1-minute game. It is my opinion that the 1-Minute game is simply advanced "mouse clicking" and this is not a skill that I feel the need to develop.

2. I am not a very strong player. I need a site where I can develop at my own pace. Therefore, my recommendations will be for places that are friendly and places that will help you.

3. I constantly factor-in Return on Investment (ROI). Therefore, high cost and low return sites will not be recommended here.

Best wishes for enjoyment of the game and if I can be of any help, please let me know.

Ready for a quick game of chess. Try Instant Chess. This is a Russian site and you should quickly get a game. Click on this link to get there and enjoy the game!

The great replacement for correspondence chess- Chessworld.net: In the old days, correspendence chess was very popular. Some sites have tried to convert correspondence to an internet-based solution. The advantages are 1) playing at your own pace, 2) meeting those that are typically unavailable when you play, 3) gaining a new perspective and 4) better development and understanding of the game. In my opinion, Chessworld.net does all of these better than anyone else. With about 70,000 members the community is huge and most members are friendly and willing to help. Most members appear to be outside the United States and this will help you gain a new perspective. The current price is $28.50 per year (US$) and this is absolutely the best value on the internet (or anywhere for that matter). The easy to use interface can be accessed from any computer at any time- I even played from a jury duty room! I WOULD APPRECIATE REFERRALS- MY HANDLE IS "PAULKASPAR". Following is the link to this terrific site:

Play online chess at Letsplaychess.com

Best On-Line Chess- Internet Chess Club! You can try all the sites you want. But for serious players at all levels you always get back to the Internet Chess Club. The on-line gaming is great, but this is a great place to play tournaments as well. In addition, they have a very strong reference library, much of which is free. The cost is about $59.00 per year (and you will be amazed at how fast the year goes by), but there are reduced rates for students and others and, if you play a fair amount, this is the place to be. AGAIN, REFERRALS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. MY HANDLE HERE IS "PAULKASPAR". Following is their link:

Serious chess. Serious fun!

Team Chess? If you are interested in team events, I suggest the TeamChess.org site. This is a growing group and you will really enjoy the team experience. The games are with longer time controls and you must take the time commitment seriously. Best of all, it's FREE and you can play games on ICC or FICS. Following is their link:

http://team4545league.org

Club Play? Need a place to consider for some club events. I suggest the STC Bunch. This site features some great tournaments and an organized club structure. This site is also FREE. Note that the games are longer time controls, but there is less of a time commitments than Teamchess.org. Unfortunately, "thewiz" died recently and he will be missed by all that enjoy the site. We are not sure how the site will continue but keep checking and I am sure they will find a way to retrun. Followng is their link:

http://www.stcbunch.net/

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