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Badger setting chess standards

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By Logan Jaffe
Monday, March 24, 2008 12:32 a.m.

2 Vote 0 Votes

In less than two weeks, hundreds of local chess aficionados will gather in Wisconsin Dells with hopes of winning Wisconsin’s most prestigious chess tournament.

For some, the absence of reigning champion and University of Wisconsin alumnus Alexander Betaneli, 32, clears one spot for victory in this year’s Arpad Elo Open. Others simply come to challenge other Wisconsin Chess Association members in their favorite game.

“I’d say the most intriguing part about chess is the complexity of it all,” said Betaneli, who is currently ranked first among Wisconsin’s active players. “There are so many directions and principles that go into maximizing your performance. Sometimes at the end of the day you just look at the board and think, ‘Wow, I really don’t understand this game at all.’”

The statement seems unusual coming from Betaneli, who leads the Wisconsin Chess Association’s 2007 tour with 618 points and an average rating of 2,286.63.

According to WSA President Mike Neitman, adult scores typically range from 1,600 to 1,650, earning or losing points with each game. A player can get about 40 points for beating a higher-ranked player, whereas equally matched opponents usually gain a point or two with a win, he added.

Although Betaneli won’t compete in this year’s Arpad Elo tournament, which is named after a UW physics professor who developed the U.S. and World chess federations’ rating systems, he said his 1994 Arpad Elo victory was his most memorable. A Russian immigrant, Betaneli learned the game in his homeland from his father and brother, so winning his first tournament in the Unites States was a milestone.

“I was 18 years old, right out of high school,” Betaneli said. “That prize was $400; it was huge back then.”

Betaneli estimates he’s played about 2,000 tournament games and hopes to improve his technique with every match. The total number of move combinations between black and white pieces is more than 300 million, he said, so he tries to keep up with each game’s exponential growth.

“That’s the thing about chess, you learn at a young age and play until you’re a senior citizen,” Neitman said. “There are tournaments where a nine- or 10-year-old is playing against a grandmother-type. When I’m teaching kids, though, the last thing I tell them is that they can know all the rules, but it takes a lifetime to get good at the game.”

Betaneli has learned Neitman’s motto firsthand: Out of their six matches, the older Neitman beat Betaneli twice.

“It’s important to learn from your losses and move on; I’m sure it’s a far more memorable event for [Neitman] than it is for me,” Betaneli added.

But according to Betaneli, the best thing about chess is its appeal to players of diverse nationalities and economic backgrounds.

The Madison area hosts three open clubs in addition to several scholastic organizations. Parents enroll their children in chess clubs because the game teaches kids to accept loss and to remain graceful with opponents after matches, Betaneli said. School grades also improve with the chess study, he added.

With the local appreciation for chess in mind, Betaneli founded the Wisconsin Chess Academy, where players can enroll in private lessons, classes and a summer chess camp. As Betaneli watches his students improve, he can also pinpoint and learn from areas in which they struggle.

“It’s not enough to say, ‘Don’t do that,’” Betaneli said. “You have to explain why that problem occurred and what you can do to fix it. It’s a combination of psychological, mathematical and scientific nature, and you really just appreciate the game for what it is when you create moves from those elements yourself.”

Betaneli has coached state and national winners, and his student team recently won its sixth consecutive Wisconsin Scholastic championship. Betaneli’s priorities are with his students as he prepares them to compete in a Cincinnati scholastic tournament that will take place the same weekend as the Arpad Elo.

“Every chess board is critical because it allows you to look at life situations from your opponent’s point of view,” Betaneli said. “Hopefully that leads to more complete understanding of the human being. Some of my students write back to me and explain how the game relates to their lives as well, and I’m a better person because of it. It’s a great moment for me.”

2 Comments | Leave a comment

Anonymous | March 25, 2008 1:25 PM | Reply

There are losts of problems with this article.

1) “hundreds of local chess aficionados” where did you come up with this. The avarage number of participants for the last few years has been around 60.

2) “Wisconsin’s most prestigious chess tournament” What is this based on?

3) “challenge other Wisconsin Chess Association members in their favorite game”

You dont have to be a member of the Wisconsin Chess Association to participate.

4) “equally matched opponents usually gain a point or two with a win”

Equaly matched oponents can gain from 8-40 points based on their ratinf. A player rated 500 can gain 40 points for beating another player rated 500, while a player rated 2600 will only gain 8 points for beating another 2600

5) “UW physics professor ” He was a physics professor at Marquette

Anonymous | April 5, 2008 1:58 PM | Reply

The number of possible positions in much more than 300 million, my friends; otherwise the game would be solved already, like checkers.