New York State Scholastic Champions in Tandem Simul
By Zachary Calderon   
November 8, 2010
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Deepak Aaron makes a move, Photos by Herman Calderon
On Friday, November 5th, two-time New York State Scholastic Chess Champion Deepak Aaron played a tandem simul with New York  State Elementary Champion Patrick Chi. They played twenty two games, with Chi playing the odd moves and Aaron playing the even moves. There were two upsets against the champions, with George Ladouceor and this writer scoring wins against Chi and Aaron, putting the Allies with twenty wins and Schenectady with two. Play through a couple of the games below. In my game, White was ahead before the fatal blunder 26.Rc1?? It seems even champions can forget their back rank when playing so many games at once. 

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Patrick Chi resigns against Zach Calderon


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Aaron and Chi played white on all the boards. From the start there was conflict from move one, one of the things that make tandem simuls fun. The champions have very different playing styles, and were not used to each other's openings.  Deepak Aaron plays his 1. e4 and goes into the Italian Game lines, while Patrick Chi plays 1. d4 religously. Patrick Chi went first, playing both 1. e4, 1. d4, and one 1. Nf3 that transposed into an atypical Benoni Defense. The contestants consisted of Niskayuna players, players from Union College, Schenectady downtown players, and scholastic chess players.

Tandemsimul.jpgThis event was a kick off for the Fall/Winter Chess in the Chess Center at Proctors Theater in Schenectady, NY  on Fridays.  It was sponsored and organized by Proctors Theater, the Schenectady City Mission, and Third Way. Schenectady Chess Club, Brother John McManus of Make the Right Move Chess Foundation, and the Internet Chess Club supported the event. A great job and thanks to all the contributors!