Chris Torres’ Chess Résumé

Chris Torres teaching chess (summer 2017)

 

Chris Torres (209) 323-0197 chesslessons@aol.com · chessmusings.wordpress.com

Chris Torres is a nationally renowned scholastic chess coach working in the San Francisco Bay Area. His classes have attracted players of strengths ranging from rank beginners to world champions. A chess professional since 1998, Chris is widely recognized as one of the main driving forces behind the explosion in popularity and sudden rise in quality of scholastic chess in California.

Experience

1998 – 2000 Chess Coach, Weibel Elementary School During his first year as a chess coach, Chris Torres helped Weibel to win the state championship and also coached his first state champion student.

2000 – 2005 Director of Instruction/Vice President, Success Chess Schools At Success Chess, Chris Torres designed curriculum for all levels of chess players, trained over 50 instructors, established programs at 60 Bay Area schools. Chris established a strong coaching reputation by training several individual state champions each year.

2005 – Present President, Torres Chess and Music Academy Through the Torres Chess and Music Academy, Chris Torres has brought world class instruction to California’s most talented young chess minds. Some of his accomplishments included running a “Chess Study” with the Kern County Superintendent of the Schools and U.C. Berkeley from 2006-2008. In addition to the study, Chris was able to educate the children in Kern County’s migrant farm worker community in chess and even coach them to prestigious Southern California regional chess titles. In the Bay Area, Chris was able to instruct several individual National Chess Champions as well as coach for the Mission San Jose Elementary School chess team, which in 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018 took first place at the USCF National Elementary Chess Championship. Before 2009, no school from California had ever won the Elementary Championship section at the USCF Nationals.  In 2015 and 2016, the Torres Chess and Music Academy organized the Susan Polgar Foundation’s National Open for Girls and Boys which awarded over $100,000 in scholarships and prizes to the top youth chess players in the United States. In 2016, the Torres Chess and Music Academy accomplishments were officially recognized by FIDE (the world chess organization) and the TCAMA was awarded the title of FIDE Academy.

Chess Titles

2015 Correspondence Chess Master, United States Chess Federation

2015 Arena International Master, FIDE

Skills

·         Event Planning ·         Individualized Curriculum Development ·         Program Management

·         Tournament Game Analysis ·         Tournament Selection and Preparation ·         Using Chess as a Confidence Building Tool

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Commendations

 

24 December 2015 

Hi, Chris !

 

            Congratulations on attaining the rating of Master in USCF Correspondence Chess. This is an excellent accomplishment and the attached certificate honors your success.         

.          

                        Pax, Alex Dunne

                                 USCF CC Director

Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur

Front cover of the classic chess book, Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur

“Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” is one of the best books I have read on the subject of crime and punishment in chess. The author, former World Chess Champion Max Euwe, elucidates common mistakes of “amateur” chess players with great authority. The layout of “Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” progresses from analyses of games in which the amateur player is fish, continues through games with tournament calibre amateurs and finishes with games of a chess master facing expert chess players. Throughout the book the Max Euwe teaches the reader how the amateur’s chess crimes were punished by the master player. “Chess Master vs Chess Amateur” is an excellent treatise on chess that belongs on the shelf in any serious chess library.

Often times, after reading a great chess book I continue to find examples that would fit well within its pages. Below is a more modern game between (chess master) Eric Schiller and (chess amateur) Ted Castro that would fit well in the beginning of “Chess Master vs Chess Amateur.” National Master Eric Schiller PhD is a prolific chess author and incredible chess coach. Ted Castro has won amateur chess titles, instructed many beginner chess players and runs fairly popular chess classes at the Norcal House of Chess.

When playing through the chess game below, pay attention to the occasions where chess amateur Ted Castro violates the opening guidelines in the “Thirty Rules of Chess” and how Eric Schiller is able to easily punish these mistakes.

TEN OPENING RULES
1. Open with a center pawn.
2. Develop with threats.
3. Knights before Bishops.
4. Don’t move the same piece twice.
5. Make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.
6. Don’t bring your Queen out too early.
7. Castle as soon as possible, preferably on the Kingside.
8. Always play to gain control, of the center.
9. Try to maintain at least one pawn in the center.
10. Don’t sacrifice without a clear and adequate reason.
For a sacrificed pawn you must :
a) Gain three tempo, or
b) Deflect the enemy Queen, or
c) Prevent castling, or
d) Build up a strong attack.

 

[Event “St. Amant Memorial”]
[Site “San Francisco CA USA”]
[Date “2003.11.22”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Eric Schiller (Chess Master)”]
[Black “Ted Castro (Chess Amateur”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E14”]
[Opening “Queen’s Indian”]
[Variation “4.e3”]

Chess Master Eric Schiller “Opens with a center pawn.”

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro does not.

 

“Knights Before Bishops.”

 

Still no center pawn for Chess Amateur Ted Castro.

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller has written books about this line!

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro makes another pawn move. “Try and make as few pawn moves as possible in the opening.”

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller plays a useful pawn move which grabs more space in the center of the board. “Always play to gain control of the center.”

 

Chess Amateur Ted Castro finally moves a pawn to the center on his third pawn move in just four moves. Some players may be successful employing chess openings such as Ted’s, but the vast majority of amateur chess players would do better to simply follow the Ten Opening Rules.

 

Chess Master Eric Schiller now leads in piece development and space.

 

The adage, “Knight’s before bishops,” means that the amateur chess player should bring out a knight on a particular side of the board before he places a bishop on that same side. Here, Chess Amateur Ted Castro places an undefended bishop where it can fall victim to a fork. Mistakes like these are very common among amateur chess players.

 

The rule of not bringing the queen out too early is ignored for the purpose of punishing Ted Castro’s mistake. There is now nothing Chess Amateur Ted Castro can do to avoid losing a piece in the opening phase of the game. 

Of course, Chess Master Eric Schiller went on to win this game easily.

 

Eric Schiller is a fantastic chess coach and respected author.

National Master Eric Schiller PhD  will be teaching at the Fremont Summer Chess Camp at MSJE this summer. To sign up, Please visit the Torres Chess and Music Academy’s web page.

 

Ted Castro, multi-winner of the Amateur Team West Championship,  also will be teaching at a summer camp in Fremont this summer.

 

For more on choosing a good chess camp for your child please read:

Nothing Amateur about the TCAMA Summer Chess Classes and Tournaments

 

“Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur” by Max Euwe and Walter Meiden is available anywhere chess books are sold.

 

 

 

Justus Williams is a Chess Master

Congratulations to Justus Williams on achieving a master rating in the United States Chess Federation. Justus Williams is now the youngest African-American chess player to receive the master title. Read more about this amazing twelve year old in the Wall Street Journal.

Chess Quads for Children

A children’s chess quad run by the Torres Chess and Music Academy is the ideal way for new chess players to begin playing in tournaments. Children are separated into groups of four based on rating and age so that each quad tournament represents the closest chess experience grouping possible. This structure assures that all three chess games a child in are winnable and instructive. All Torres Chess and Music Academy tournaments have a group of outstanding master chess teachers on hand to review the child’s game as soon as he/she finishes it. At Torres Chess and Music Academy tournaments a loss is never just a loss. Instead a loss is a unique opportunity to grow as a chess player under the supervision of the very best chess coaches.
Today the Torres Chess and Music Academy ran a children’s chess quad tournament in Sunnyvale, California. Our tournament was hosted at the beautiful South Peninsula Hebrew Day School site. On hand were scores of enthusiastic young chess players as well as TCAMA coaches Chris Torres, Tans Hylkema, Kenneth Kirkland and Saurabh Gupta. Plenty of children left with trophies while even more left with consolation prize medals. All children who attended left with a better understanding of chess than they arrived with. Below are the cross tables from todays event. I will provide some games and photographs in a future post.

Q#	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	SCHOOL	USCF ID	RATING	PLAYER 1	PLAYER 2	PLAYER 3	PLAYER 4	TOTAL
Q1	SERGEY	GASPARYAN	LWS	13708417	1292		1	1	1	3
	TRUMAN	LEUNG		13520267	1210	0		1	1	2
	ALBERT	SUI	CHADBOURNE	13590730	754	0	0		1	1
	OJAS	ARUN	MSJES	14192020	683	0	0	0		0
Q2	SOORYA	KUPPAM	MSJES	14267883	689		0	0	0	0
	SABRINA	LEUNG		13545068	898	1		1	0	2
	KEVIN	MAO	HIRSCH	14137754	534	1	0		1	2
	LUKE	ZHAO	MSJES	14282042	500	1	1	0		2
Q3	DANIEL	HU	ALMOND	14137733	455		1	1	1	3
	SEAN	CROFUT	COLLINS	14135537	424	0		1	0	1
	RHYS	GIROUARD	JOHN MUIR SB	14207710	390	0	0		0	0
	ALBERT	QIU	COLLINS	14137775	388	0	1	1		2
Q4	MARSHAL	HATFIELD	PARKMONT	14212354	283		1	1	1	3
	VIVEK	POKALA	COLLINS	14137905	204	0		0.5	1	1.5
	ADITYA	MENON	COLLINS	14176302	112	0	0.5		0.5	1
	RAVI	VARMA	MUIR	14176240	114	0	0	0.5		0.5
Q5	RUSHABH	SHAH	COLLINS	14204003	105		1	1	0	2
	SHREYASH	GUPTA	GARDEN GATE	NEW	0	0		1	0	1
	ANOOP	BHAT	COLLINS	NEW	0	0	0		0	0
	JAMIN	CHEN	MONTESSORI	14298006	0	1	1	1		3
Q6	WILLIAM	QIU	COLLINS	NEW	0		0.5	0	0	0.5
	RIO	VAZQUEZ	ST. NICHOLAS	NEW	0	0.5		0	0	0.5
	ANEESH	BHAT	COLLINS	NEW	0	1	1		X	2
	PRATIK	MULPURY	LOYOLA	NEW	0	1	1	F		2
Q7	ALVIN	CAI	DELPHI	NEW	0		1	1	1	3
	FAVEO	HOEROLD	COLLINS	14346836	0	0		0	1	1
	DANILA	KARABELNIKAU	MUIR	14349967	0	0	1		0	1
	ASHWIN	NATHAN	MUIR	NEW	0	0	0	1		1
Q8	RYAN	SU	LACS	NEW	0		0.5	1	1	2.5
	NIVEN	JAYANTHI	JOHN MUIR SB	NEW	0	0.5		1	0.5	2
	JOSEPH	YOON	LACS	NEW	0	0	0		1	1
	KEITH	ANDREWS	CRESTMOOR	14339447	0	0	0.5	0		0.5
Q9	HARRISON	CHEN	STOCKLMEIR	NEW	0		0	1	1	2
	ZACHARY	CHEN	LOYOLA	NEW	0	1		1	1	3
	MORIAH	ELDAR	SPHDS	NEW	0	0	0		0	0
	VICTOR	LEE	DELPHI	NEW	0	0	0	1		1
Q10	ANISH	SUNDAR	COLLINS	NEW	0		1	1	1	3
	AMRITA	MENON	COLLINS	NEW	0	0		0	0	0
	BEN	FERREL	ST. NICHOLAS	NEW	0	0	1		X	1
	DERRON	MENDEL	SPHDS	NEW	0	0	1	F		1
Q11	ORI	SHANI		14298012	0		0.5	1	1	2.5
	JESSE	CHEN	MONTESSORI	NEW	0	0.5		1	1	2.5
	PHILIP	CULBERTSON	LACS	NEW	0	0	0		0.5	0.5
	GABRIEL	GELLER	SPHDS	NEW	0	0	0	0.5		0.5
Q12	ANTHONY	LIU	DELPHI	NEW	0		1	1	1	3
	CHEZKY	FELSEN		NEW	0	0		0	1	1
	RONIT	PATTANAYAK	DELPHI	NEW	0	0	1		1	2
	COLE	RINENBACH	LACS	NEW	0	0	0	0		0

Standings. SPHDS QUAD 13 FEB 10: QUAD 13	Name	ID	Rtng	Team	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Tot
1	MOSHE FELSEN		unr.	SPHDS	W2	W3	W5	3
2	SHARV UTPAT		unr.	DELPHI	L1	W5	W4	2
3	MORGAN STOLPMAN		unr.	LACS	W4	L1	B—	2
4	SHION TAKIGUCHI		unr.	MUIRC	L3	B—	L2	1
5	RAI MADHAV		unr.		B—	L2	L1	1