Chess Chat: Q&A with Ashik Uzzaman

Ashik Uzzaman was born and raised in Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. He finished his post-graduation in Economics from University of Dhaka while completing diploma in software engineering from NIIT. He came to USA with job as a java developer in 2005 and currently working as a Senior Software Engineer at Roku. He, along with his son Ahyan Zaman, is a regular participant in chess tournaments on the west coast.

How old were you when you first learned how to play chess? Who taught you?

– I was about 8 years old when I learned to play chess. I learned it from my cousin.

How has chess effected your decision making process off the board?

– Chess makes you efficient considering many possible outcomes in parallel. This helped me consider pros and cons of making any decision carefully. Chess also helped me learn when to take time, observe and weigh in detail before making any conclusions. So I think it helped me in my career choice, my education and my social skills. 

How did your earlier career choices lead you to where you are now?

– To accommodate my chess tournament schedules, I picked relatively easier subject (Economics) during under graduate program. But later I focused on building my career as a Computer Programmer leaving chess for a long period of time.

How would you define your chess style?

– I was initially very aggressive attacking player. But as I started reading lots of chess books, I progressed to be a strategic positional player. I like Capablanca or Karpov’s style of accumulating small positional advantages.

Does your chess style transfer over into your business decisions as well?

– Yes. I often make decisions that are good for my team in the long term instead of looking at the immediate task in hand. Also I do a lot of trade off comparisons while deciding which option to choose while solving a problem.

What has been your worst chess mistake which has given you the biggest lesson?

– My biggest mistake was not focusing on the end game which resulted in loosing lots of games despite having advantages in the middle game.

What has been your worst career mistake that has given you the biggest lesson?

– My worst career mistake was not moving into Engineering Management roles despite getting several opportunities. I have been comfortably working as a software engineer in individual contributor roles for 19 years now. I am glad to share that I have amended the mistake and joining a company next month as an Engineering Manager.

Do you think chess has helped you to become more resilient in life?

– Yes. Chess teaches us perseverance and endurance. When I am stuck with a problem, I dont give up easily. I patiently continue to retry until I succeed. This is a direct habit learned from playing long games chess with intense struggles.

What do you hope to achieve professionally during the next couple of years?

– I want to see myself making good impact in my new project and hopefully take the pre-IPO company I am joining to public.

What is the biggest challenge to achieving that goal?

– Meeting continuous aggressive deadlines of multiple software projects; hiring and retaining the best engineers of bay area.

How would you relate these goals and challenges to the chessboard?

– In chess we have to keep eyes on our own weak squares and king safety and at the same time exploit our opponents’ weaknesses all throughout the game without slipping. Just as challenging in life.

Could you please leave us with a favorite piece of chess wisdom to conclude this interview?

– “Tactics is knowing what to do when there is something to do; strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” – Savielly Tartakower

Be sure to check out Ashik’s chess blog: https://dragonbishop.blogspot.com/

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The Torres Chess and Music Academy Has Big Plans for Fremont

The President of the TCAMA reports on an upcoming Open House Event in Northern California.

Fremont, California (PRWEB) October 22, 2013

On November 2, 2013, the Torres Chess and Music Academy will be having its annual Open House in Fremont, California. The TCAMA Open House allows children the opportunity to take part in an afternoon of classes with the Torres Chess and Music Academy. The festivities will begin at 1:00 pm at Achiever Institute in Fremont with an exciting hour long chess lesson. Directly following the lesson, children will be treated to a brief classical guitar concert by Doug Torres. After the concert, the children will be paired up to play a rated game of chess against one other opponent. Once the game concludes, Torres Chess and Music Academy teachers will explain to the players where they could have made better chess moves and how to avoid making the same mistakes again. Chris Torres will then advise all interested parents on the best course of action for improving the chess skills of their children.

Since 1998, Chris Torres has been providing his critically acclaimed chess instruction to children in the San Francisco Bay Area. Widely recognized as one of the main driving forces behind the popularity of scholastic chess in the Silicon Valley, Chris Torres has also taught numerous national champions including the 2013 National Elementary Chess Championship team from Mission San Jose Elementary School. With fifteen years of teaching experience under his belt, Chris Torres looks forward to helping even more children achieve their chess goals this school year.

Doug Torres has been teaching classical guitar at Ohlone College in Fremont since 1969. Doug’s guitar work has been a part of numerous acclaimed recordings and many of his former students now are professional guitarists themselves. Well versed in all styles of guitar performance, Doug has also won the national championship on his steel guitar and authored several guitar instruction books.

A growing mountain of evidence is now available proving that chess and music are beneficial activities for children. Hundreds of university studies and even brain scans demonstrate the effectiveness of the Torres Chess and Music Academy approach at making children smarter. Chris Torres believes that: “It is beyond coincidence that chess and music produce child prodigies with a much greater frequency than that of other intellectual pursuits. While there is no theoretical necessity to explain why this should be so, I am quite comfortable in stating that chess and music ameliorate the rapidly maturing frontal lobe of the child’s brain by providing the adequate challenge that it requires to achieve its fullest potential.”

The TCAMA Open House at Achiever Institute in Fremont is an ideal opportunity for Bay Area residents to enjoy both chess and classical music with their families. There is no charge for admission and snacks will be provided for all attendees. Those interested in attending should RSVP by sending an email to hello(at)achieverinstitute(dot)org or by calling the Achiever Institute at 510-226-6161.

source PRweb

Chess students in Fremont get exciting lessons from Chris Torres.

 

 

Chris Torres: A Chess Coach, a Music Teacher, and an Advocate for Quality Education.

Chris Torres has been successfully managing and creating school chess programs for his entire adult life. His most recognized accomplishments include the co-founding of Success Chess Schools, the creation of the Torres Chess and Music Academy and consistently coaching the best young chess players in California for 15 years.

Chris found himself drawn into chess education in 1998 when

Chris Torres is California’s chess coach.

Dr. Alan Kirshner needed a replacement teacher for his famous Weibel Chess Club. Chris was an obvious choice beause he had been teaching Alan’s son classical guitar and often played chess with the Kirshners. Soon after joining a group of chess instructors at Weibel, Chris coached his first state champion student. Copying from the success of the Weibel Chess Club, Chris went on to establish State Champion chess programs at Argonaut Elementary School in Saratoga and the Harker School in San Jose. Shortly later, Alan Kirshner promoted Chris to Vice President of Success Chess and Chris turned all of his independently run programs over to the newly formed nonprofit.

As vice president of Success Chess, Chris Torres established chess programs and taught chess at schools all around the Bay Area. Many of the schools still have chess programs to this day. Some of these chess programs are at: Warm Springs Elementary School(Fremont), Leitch Elementary School(Fremont), Mission Valley Elementary School(Fremont), Ardenwood Elementary School(Fremont), Gomes Elementary School(Fremont), Blue Hills Elementary School(Cupertino), Collins Elementary School(Cupertino), Dilworth Elementary School(Cupertino), Muir Elementary School(Cupertino), Regnart Elementary School(Cupertino) Matsumoto Elementary School(San Jose), Meyerholz Elementary School(San Jose), Silver Oak Elementary School(San Jose), Covington Elementary School(Los Altos), Duveneck Elementary School(Palo Alto), Palo Verde Elementary School(Palo Alto), International School of the Peninsula(Palo Alto), Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School(Palo Alto),  Laurel Elementary School(Atherton), Las Lomitas Elementary School(Atherton), John Muir Elementary School(San Bruno), Crestmoor Elementary School(San Bruno), Dougherty Elementary School(Dublin) and quite a few other schools. During his time at Success Chess, Chris Torres also became a notable tournament director and a board member for Calchess. Through Success Chess, Chris Torres was able to achieve his goals of bringing scholastic chess to children all over the Bay Area.

After leaving Success Chess Schools in 2004, Chris Torres spent several months working for Richard Peterson of the Chess Education Association. After the school year concluded, Richard suggested to Chris that he set up his own organization and offered to sell all of the chess equipment from the CEA at a discount price. A couple months later, the Torres Chess and Music Academy was born.

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 alongside Joe Lonsdale, which in 2009 and 2013 took first place at the USCF Super Nationals Chess Championship. To date, no other elementary school from California has ever placed first in the Elementary Championship division of the USCF Super Nationals.

Acknowledged today as a pioneer in the field of chess and education, Chris Torres has been invited to speak at numerous educational forums and events. Aside from his reputation as a successful chess teacher, Chris is also known throughout the Silicon Valley as a top notch classical guitarist who still finds time to teach groups of youngsters the enjoyment of playing classical music.

Children’s Chess in the Bay Area

A Parent’s Guide to Chess in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Bay Area chess parents have many resources available to help establish their children’s chess calendar. Two of my  favorite Northern California chess websites are listed below.

1) SiliconValleyChess.com

This is the web site to visit to get all the latest information on children’s chess events in Norther California. SiliconValleyChess.com features an easy to use Bay Area scholastic chess calendar that offers links to the top children’s chess events in the Silicon Valley Area. Rated tournaments listed on SiliconValleyChess.com are a part of a yearly scholastic chess grand prix which awards special prizes to the Bay Area’s top young chess players.  A regularly updated scholastic chess leader board allows all competing children to view their position in relation to the other young chess players in Northern California.

2) FremontChess.com

The best website to find out information on scholastic chess in Fremont, California. FremontChess.com enables parents to easily find chess coaches teaching in Fremont. This website also features stories on the top scholastic chess players in Fremont including Fremont’s National Champion Elementary Chess Teams. Also, included on FremontChess.com is a calendar which depicts many of the best scholastic chess opportunities in Fremont, California.

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

For Immediate Release: Scholastic Chess Tournaments in the Bay Area

For Immediate Release:

Torres Chess and Music Academy, Inc. Presents:

The SPHDS Quads

At the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School – 1030 Astoria Dr., Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Sunday, February 7^th, 2010 AND Sunday, March 7^th, 2010

Where: South Peninsula Hebrew Day School

When: 1:00pm – 4:00pm

What: Scholastic (K-12) 3 Round Quad – G/30

Cost: $20 for one or $30 for both.

Trophies are awarded to top player(s) in each quad. All other players will receive medals.

USCF Rated Quad Format:

All players must be U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) members, and understand USCF tournament rules. To register for USCF pay an additional $16 for 12 & under; $19 for 15 and under; $25 for 16 to 24.

3 round Quad Format – Everyone plays 3 games against players in their quad. Quads are formed by making groups of four by rating. All sections will be Game in 30 min (each player). Sets and boards provided. Clocks will be provided, but players are encouraged to bring their own. Financial aid is available upon request.

Round Times: Check In/Late Registration begins at 12:00 PM.

R 1 @ 1:00pm * R 2 @ 2:00pm * R 3 @ 3:00 pm *

Trophies and medals awarded at the conclusion of each quad

Entry Fees: $20 entry fee for one quad $30 entry fee for both.

Make check payable to: TCAMA or APPLY ONLINE at www.siliconvalleychess.com

Information: Contact Chris Torres at 661-699-8348 or Chesslessons@aol.com.

Website: www.SiliconValleyChess.com www.ChessandMusic.com or www.sphds.org

PLEASE EAT BEFORE COMING TO THE TOURNAMENT!

NON-KOSHER FOOD IS NOT ALLOWED ON CAMPUS!!!

(DETACH AND RETURN APPLICATION BELOW WITH PAYMENT)

– – – – – – – – – – – – – — – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Torres Chess and Music Academy, Inc. Presents:

The SPHDS Quads

1 $20.00 to attend the February 7^th Quads

1 $20.00 to attend the March 7^th Quads

1 $30.00 to attend both the February and March Quads

1 Annual fee for USCF membership: $16 for 12 & under; $19 for 13 to 15; $25 for 16 to 24

Total $ _________ Check payable to TCAMA.

MAIL TO: TCAMA, 1832 Walnut Grove Ct., Oakley, CA 94561

OR APPLY ONLINE AT SILICONVALLEYCHESS.COM

Name: __________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________ City: _________________ CA Zip: _________

Birth Date: ____/____/____ Phone: (___) ______________ E-Mail: ______________________________

School: __________________________________________________ Grade: ____

USCF ID #: ___________________________ USCF Rating: ________________ Exp Date: __/__/__

I request that my child, (named above) be permitted to participate in the 2/7/10 and/or 3/7/10 Chess event(s). I fully understand that it is my (or my representative’s) responsibility for supervising my child during this event. Should it be necessary for my child to have medical treatment while participating in this event, I hereby give the supervisory personnel permission to use their judgment in obtaining medical services for my child, and I give permission to the physician selected by such personnel to render medical treatment deemed necessary and appropriate. I, as parent or representative of this child, hereby release, discharge, indemnify, and hold harmless the TCAMA, the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School, and their employees, volunteers or agents, and/or staff, from any claims arising out of, or relating to, any injury that may result to said individual while participating in this event. I, as a parent or representative of this child, hereby waive any rights to the taking and use of photographs, (including posting on SiliconValleyChess.com, ChessandMusic.com or any promotional material) or any other recorded material, including video and audio taken during this chess tournament. I, as a parent or representative of this child, hereby consent to the publication of this child’s individual tournament results/scores.

Parent/Guardian Signature: ________________________________________ Date: __/__/__

Print Name: ________________________________________ Relationship ________________

End

California Chess Tournaments

Kids playing chess at a tournament directed by Chris Torres.

Chris Torres has been one of the most successful scholastic chess organizers since 1998. His chess tournaments are extremely well organized and offer young chess players an opportunity to compete in a structured format and receive chess instruction from the best chess teachers in California. For information on these chess tournaments please visit SiliconValleyChess.com and ChessAndMusic.com.

Summer Chess Camp

   Today was the start of the TCAMA Summer Chess Camp at Mission San Jose Elementary School in Fremont.  So far we have over 30 students signed up for this three week camp. The camp which runs from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm features instruction from TCAMA chess coaches Joe Lonsadale, Tans Hylkema, and Chris Torres. The format includes lectures, rated play and one on one analysis. Its nice to see so many students from the rival schools of Mission San Jose Elementary and Weibel coming together to increase their chess skills and create lasting friendships. Below is a game from day 1 with light analysis:

[Event “Summer Camp”]

[Site “MSJE”]

[Date “2009.06.22”]

[Round “1”]

[White “Arun, Sagar”]

[Black “Zhang, Joseph”]

[Result “0-1”]

[PlyCount “22”]

[TimeControl “g90”]

1. e4 e5 {notes by Chris Torres}  2. Nf3 Nc6  3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 {The Fried Liver Attack is always a popular choice!} 5. exd5 Nd4 {This line is exceptionally tricky. NCO recomends 6. c3 b5 7. Bf1 Nxd5 8. cxd4 Qxg5 9. Bb5+ Kd8 10. Qf3 Bb7 11. 0-0 Rb8 12. Qg3 Qxg3  } 6. d6 {an alternative worth studying} Qxd6  7. Nxf7 [White feel for a trap. Bxf7 is correct] Qc6 8. Nxh8 {perhaps 0-0?} Qxg2 {Such a beautiful attack from a young player. This move leaves white with no real chances.} 9. Bf1 Qe4+ 10. Be2 Nf3+ 11. Kf1 Bh3+ 0-1