New Jersey Futurity International

The New Jersey Futurity International will take place July 7-11, 2007, at the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel, in Parsippany, New Jersey. It is a nine-round round robin, and is being directed by International Arbiter, Glenn Petersen. It is being organized by Michael Khodarkovsky, president of the Kasparov Chess Foundation, Chair of the International Affairs Committee of the USCF, and Chair of the Master Affairs Committee of the New Jersey State Chess Federation.

This tournament is sponsored by New Jersey State Chess Federation and the New Jersey based International Chess School.

The participants are:

01 Mikhail Zlotnikov .... 2367 IM USA
02 Magesh Panchanathan .. 2486 GM India
03 Evan Ju .............. 2173 NM USA
04 Mackenzie Molner ..... 2293 NM USA
05 Leonid Yudasin ....... 2550 GM Israel
06 Gennadi Zaichik ...... 2473 GM USA
07 Tom Bartell .......... 2398 FM USA
08 Dean Ippolito ........ 2395 IM USA
09 Sergey Erenburg ...... 2565 GM Israel
10 Amon Simutowe ........ 2421 IM Zambia
All ratings are FIDE.

The average rating is 2412.1, making it (unofficially) a Category 7 tournament.

Opening Ceremony and First Round starts on Saturday, July 7, at 3:00pm. Time control is G/90 + 30 seconds per move.

First Round Pairings:

• Zlotnikov - Simutowe
• Panchanathan - Erenburg
• Ju - Ippolito
• Molner - Bartell
• Yudasin - Zaichik

Participants Evan Ju, Mackensie Molner, Dean Ippolito, Tom Bartell, and organizer Michael Khodarkovsky are all members of the New Jersey Knockouts. We wish them the best in the tournament!

Preview of Round 1

The four GMs all clash in the first round! So do the four members of the Knockouts! It should make for an exciting day.

By my reckoning, Yudasin and Zaichik last played in the 33rd National Chess Congress in 2002, where they drew in the last round to take a share of first place. They also played four times in the 1980s in the former USSR where Yudasin won two, Zaichik won one, with one draw.

It doesn't appear as if Panchanathan and Erenburg have ever played. However, at the Chicago Open this year, Erenburg beat two of the USA's rising stars, IM Josh Friedel and IM David Pruess in 26 and 25 moves respectively. Both Friedel and Pruess play for the USCL's San Francisco Mechanics.

Knockouts Evan Ju and Dean Ippolito played to a draw in the last round of the 2006 New Jersey Open, a tournament that Ju won. Evan also just won the US Cadet Championship last month.

Tom Bartell just beat GM Yury Shulman at the World Open. And Molner had a great start at the US Junior Closed last month, and finished with an even score. I wouldn't be surprised if they have played in the past, but I didn't find anything on it.

Watch this page for tournament updates!