Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter #411

The difference between an IM and GM varies with each individual. One IM can be great tactically while another may excel in positional areas. For example, yesterday I played a simultaneous which had, among others, six national masters. One swindled me beautifully and others find nice tactical ideas. Clearly these masters were not weak tactically! There is no general difference. Grandmaster openings tend to be better, but overall the differences vary from player to player.

 

Mikhail Tal ( How to Get Better At Chess: Chess Masters On Their Art , pages 86-87)

 

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

2) A poem from Dennis Fritzinger

3) 2009 US Championship

4) 14th North American FIDE Invitational

5) Here and There

6) Upcoming Events

 

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

 

Three rounds into the Irving Chernev Tuesday Night Marathon the only perfect scores in the 58-player field belong to Evan Sandberg and Dante Argishti.

 

Sean McLaren on British Columbia ( no relation to Brian) won the 4th Annual Bernardo Smith Amateur open to players under 1800 last weekend. A point behind his 5.5 from 6 score were Daniel Liu and Vignesh Panchanthan.

 

MI Members Sam Shankland and Gregory Young attended the latest class of the US Chess School taught by GM Joel Benjamin and held at the Ippolito Chess Academy in Branchburg, New Jersey. The US Chess School is the brainchild of IM Greg Shahade who does a lot of good things for US chess.

 

MI member Josh Friedel finished tied for fourth with 6 from 9 in the recently concluded New England Masters won by Israeli GM Sergey Erenburg with an impressive 7.5 from 9.

 

This coming Wednesday the Mechanics' Institute entry in the US Chess League will open its season against the defending champions from Dallas starting at 5:30 pm. Spectators are welcome.

 

IM Ricardo DeGuzman leads the Alan Benson IM norm event being held at the MI with 4 from 5 followed by IM Vladimir Mezentsev and 2008 co-US Junior Champion Gregory Young with 3 from 4. The tournament will feature non-stop action this weekend and next week. Thanks to MI member William Gray for his donation supporting this event.

 

GM-elect Josh Friedel will teach the MI's master class for top Bay Area prospects this Saturday.

 

MI member Peter Sherwood has been diligently entering games from the latest TNM. A selection will appear in upcoming Newsletters with all games eventually making there way to the MI website (www.chessclub.org) where an online viewer is in the works.

 

 

2) A poem from Dennis Fritzinger

 

Berkeley NM Dennis Fritzinger contributes the following poem.

 

THE FIGHTER REMINISCES


back in the ring again.
today i
played in my first blitz tournament
in many years,
and my last actual game
of lightning chess
(or blitz, as we call it)
was 6 months ago,
give or take a few.
and it was one. only.
i was telling everybody
it felt like the first tournament
i ever played in—
tot ally at sea,
trying to keep score,
make moves, punch the clock,
i was completely inept.
and lost.  like i lost my
first three games today—
the only thing worse
than my board sense was my clock sense.
still, i survived,
hung on, and managed to
rack up the next seven games
and finish in the money.
what luck--what dumb luck!
i'm looking forward
to doing it again

 

The Fighter Reminisces first appeared  in ASK GM EVANS (Chess Life For Kids, August 2008. page 8).

http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8626/130

 

3) 2009 US Championship

 

Sometimes the bad news about who is suing who in the USCF tends to obscure the fact that a lot of good stuff is happening in American chess including Greg Shahade's US Chess School and US Chess League, the huge number of talented juniors who are developing and the following announcement concerning the 2009 US Championship. 

 

 

CHESS CLUB AND SCHOLASTIC CENTER OF SAINT LOUIS TO HOST 2009 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP INVITATIONAL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                           

For more information contact:

Mark Bretz, Slay & Associates

314-838-9371 or mbretz@slayandassociates.com


ST. LOUIS, August 19, 2008  --  The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis, which Steve Goldberg called in Chess Life Online "certainly one of the most impressive chess centers" in the country, has been selected by the United States Chess Federation to host the 2009 U.S. Championship.  The U.S. Chess Championship dates back to 1845.

    The Chess Club and Scholastic Center, which was founded by retired investment fund manager Rex Sinquefield and opened in July 2008, is located at 4657 Maryland Avenue in St. Louis’ fashionable and historic Central West End neighborhood.  The three-level, 6,000-square-foot facility possesses an array of customized features, including DGT chess boards, hand-made wooden chess tables, LCD-screen televisions, video installation art, overhead paging and an adjustable lighting system.  The primary colors of the club are black and white, the colors of a traditional chessboard.

  The players’ room is private and enclosed with its own kitchen and restroom.  There is ample natural lighting with windows along two walls and two skylights in the space.  Recessed adjustable lighting fixtures cover the ceiling to ensure an even light with appropriate brightness.

    "We are proud to bring the 2009 U.S. Chess Championship to St. Louis," said Tony Rich, executive director of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis.  "I am certain that the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and the United States Chess Federation will make this an event unlike any other.  The USCF has done an exemplary job of promoting chess nationally, and now we can bring that same national perspective to St. Louis."

    The championship will be held in May 2009.  It will be a  9-round event, using the Swiss system with one round per day and a rest day between rounds 5 and 6.  Time controls will be the classical 40 moves in two hours, with the remaining moves in one hour.

    Invitations to potential tournament participants will be issued to some of the top-rated U.S. players, the top-rated women, among other qualifiers and wild card participants, who will be announced later.

    The championship will have a purse of $100,000, with $30,000 awarded to the winner, twice the amount of last year’s tournament.  In case of even scores, no tie-breakers will be used.  Instead, prize funds will be evenly divided between winners.

    The underlying goal of the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is to create a world class destination for chess players, both beginning and advanced and to elevate the game of chess throughout the Saint Louis metropolitan area.  Additionally, the Center financially supports existing local scholastic chess programs while providing new programs, at no cost, to local schools currently without programs.

    The Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization.  For more information, please visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.

    The United States Chess Federation is the official, not-for-profit U.S. membership organization for chess players and chess supporters of all ages and strengths, from beginners to grandmasters.  Founded in 1939 with the merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation, USCF has grown to more than 80,000 members and nearly 1,200 affiliated chess clubs and organizations.

    Under the management of a professional staff headquartered in Crossville, Tennessee, USCF sanctions thousands of tournaments with more than 500,000 officially rated games annually, 25 National Championships award titles to both amateurs and professionals, ranging from elementary school students to senior citizens.

    USCF promotes the study and knowledge of the 1,500-year-old game of chess, for its own sake as an art and enjoyment, but also as a means for the improvement of society.  It encourages the development of a network of institutions devoted to enhancing the growth of chess, from local clubs to state and regional associations, and it promotes chess in American schools

4) 14th North American FIDE Invitational

Sevan Muradian writes:

The 14th North American FIDE Invitational is about to begin!

 

For events specifics including round times visit - http://www.nachess.org/fide

 

All games will be held at the Holiday Inn Northshore Hotel in Skokie, IL

 

Round times are 1pm and 6:30pm Chicago time on Sat & Sun; 6:30pm Chicago time Mon - Fri.

 

Participants include:

 

IM Kirill Kuderinov (KAZ)

IM Mesgen Amanov (TKM)

IM Angelo Young (PHI)

FM Florin Felecan (USA) - holds 1 IM norm

FM Marc T. Arnold (USA) - holds 2 IM norms scored at this tournament series
FM Teddy Coleman (USA) - holds 1 IM norm
FM Aleksander Stamnov (MKD)

Parker Zhao (USA) - holds 1 IM norm

Michael Lee (USA)

Robert Loncarevic (USA) 

 

IM Norm - 6.5/9
 

Spectators are welcome!

Games will be available LIVE on the MonRoi World Databank of Chess.


DGT XL clock donated by Cajun Chess -
http://www.cajunchess.com

 

 

5) Here and There

 

The 2nd FIDE Grand Prix event in Sochi ended with Gata Kamsky near the top.


Final Standings:

1. Aronian - 8½,

2. Radjabov - 8,

3-4. Wang Yue and Kamsky - 7½,

5-7. Svidler, Jakovenko and Karjakin -7,

8-9. Ivanchuk and Gashimov - 6½,

10-11. Grischuk and Cheparinov - 6,

12. Gelfand - 5½,

13-14. Navara and Al-Modiahki - 4

 

Gata is now playing in the even stronger Tal Memorial in Moscow where Daniel and Alan Naroditsky are spectating.

 

Standings after 3 rounds:
1. Morozevich - 2½
2-3. Ivanchuk and Leko - 2
4-7. Mamedyarov, Gelfand,Ponomariov, Kramnik and Kamsky -1½
9. Alekseev - 1
10. Shirov - 0.

Marc Newman from the Berkeley Chess Club writes:
 
Our latest BCC tournament just finished.  Steve Gaffagan and Steven Krasnov tied for first with David Petty clear third. Go to  
http://www.berkeleychessschool.org/docs/BCC/Standings.html for the complete standings.

We always skip a week before the next tournament but due to the CalChess Labor Day Championships we’re skipping two weeks.  So the next BCC tournament starts Sept. 5th.  Again, this is on Fridays now.

The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter is not the place to look for advice but we did notice the recent interview with GM (and former IMF chief) Ken Rogoff who has long been a professor at Harvard University. Below are a few quotes. Caveat emptor!

 

"The US is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would even go further to say the worst is to come," Prof Rogoff said at a conference in Singapore.

In an ominous warning, he added: "We’re not just going to see mid-sized banks go under in the next few months, we're going to see a whopper, we're going to see a big one — one of the big investment banks or big banks," he said.

 

The professor also sounded a warning over rising US inflation, which rose last month to its highest since 1991, and criticized the Federal Reserve for having cut American interest rates too drastically. "Cutting interest rates is going to lead to a lot of inflation in the next few years in the United States," he said.

 

Longtime MI Newsletter reader Michael Bacon has a new address for his blog

http://blog.chess.com/nocab

 

 

6) Upcoming Events

 

 

Upcoming Events

Mechanics' Events

Howard Donnely Memorial - September 20
J.J. Dolan Memorial - October 11
Carroll Capps Memorial - November 8-9
Pierre Saint-Amant Memorial - November 22
Jim Hurt Memorial - December 6-7
Guthire McClain Memorial - December 13


Aug. 30-Sept. 1   2008 CalChess Labor Day Championships   GPP: 15   California Northern

6-SS, 30/90, SD/1 (2-day option rds 1-3 G/60); Golden Geteway Holiday Inn. Van Ness at Pine, San Francisco. $$B 160 paid entries (not counting free or unrated entries). Six Sections: Master $700-$400-$250 U2400 $250; Expert $380-$200-$150. "A" $380-$200-$150. "B" $380-$200-$150. "C" $380-200-150. "D/E" $380-$200-$150 U1200 $150. Unr: Trophy First. Trophy to top finisher (State Champion) in each section. All, EF: postmarked by 8/25 $70 (Jrs. $60). $80 at site (Jrs. $70). Unrateds $20 in the D/E section or may play up to the Master section for the regular fee. $5 discount to CalChess members. USCF memb. req'd. May play up one section for add'l $10 (Jrs $5). GM/IM free entry. Reg.: Sat 8/30 8-9:30am, Sun 8/31 8:15-9:15am. RDS.: Choice of schedules- 3-day, 2-day merge at round 4, all compete for the same prizes. 3-day schedule Sat 10:00-4:00; Sun 11:00-4:45; Mon 10:00-3:30. 2-day schedule Sun 9:30-11:45- 2:00-4:45; Mon 10:00-3:30. 1/2 pt bye(s) any round(s) if requested in advance (byes rds 5-6 must be requested before rd 1). 2008 August Ratings List, CCA minimums and Directors discretion will be used to place players as accurately as possible. Please bring clocks and equipment. HR: Golden Gateway Holiday Inn (415)-441-4000. INFO: Richard Koepcke (650)-224-4938. Ent: Richard Koepcke, P.O. Box 1432, Mountain View, CA 94042. No Phone entries. Master Section FIDE Rated. WCL JGP.

A Heritage Event!
Aug. 30-Sept. 1   30th Annual Southern California Open   GPP: 50  

6SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2-day schedule rds 1-3 G/60, then merges). Pasadena Hilton, 168 South Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California 91101. $$10,000 b/200, 60% of each prize guaranteed. In two sections: Open: $$T+1700-1000-800-450-300, U2400 400, U2300 200, U2200 600-300, U2000 $$600-300. Amateur (Under 1800/unr): $$T+750-400-200-150-100, U1600 $$500-300-200-100, U1400 $$300-150, U1200 100, Unr 100. (Unrated may win Unr. prize only in this section.) Best game prize $25, both sections eligible. All: half-pt bye available in rds 1-4 if requested with entry, limit 2. SCCF membership req ($18, jr. $10), OSA. No checks or credit cards at door. SCCF Annual Membership Meeting: 2:30 p.m. Sept. 1. Reg.: 3-day 8:30-9:45 a.m. 8-30. 2-day 8:30-9:30 a.m. 8-31. Rds: 3-day: 10:30-5 Sat -Sun, 10-4:30 Mon. 2-day: 10-12:15-2:30 Sun, then merges. EF: $83 if rec'd by 8-29, $95 door, U1400/unr. $67 by 8-29, $80 door. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles CA 90038. On-line entry:
www.westernchess.com. HR: $129, 626-577-1000 or 1-800-HILTONS, use group code CHESS. Reserve by Aug. 8 or rates will go up. Parking $9/day. Info: admin@westernchess.com. NS, W, F. State Championship Qualifier. WCL JGP.

 

Sept. 27   Exchange Bank Fall Classic   GPP: 6   California Northern

4 Rd Swiss, G/60. Exchange Bank, Andrew J Shepard Building, 444 Aviation Blvd, Santa Rosa CA 95403. In 3 Sections Open: Open to all. $$GTD: $250-175. Reserve: Open to 1500-1899. $$GTD: $200-125. Booster: Open to under 1500. $$GTD: $150-100. ALL: EF: $35 in advance, $40 after Sept. 20, 2008. Reg.: 8:30-9:30am. Rds.: 10:00am-12:30pm-3:00pm-5:30pm. ENT: Mike Goodall, 461 Peachstone Terrace, San Rafael, CA 94903-1327. INFO: (415)491-1269. Bring equipment, none provided. No phone or e-mail entries. Unrated must play in Open Section. NS NC W.

Heritage Event!
An American Classic!

Oct. 17-19  
26th Annual Sands Regency Reno-Western States Open   GPP: 200 Enhanced   Nevada

6SS.40/2,20/1,SD/30. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345 N. Arlington Ave., Reno, NV 89501. 1-800-648-3553 or (775) 348-2200. $$40,000 b/400, Gtd. $$25,850-$3500-2000-1500-1000-800-700-600-600-500-500 in Open Section plus 1/2 of all other prizes. 7 Sections: OPEN: EF: GMs & IMs free (enter by 10/1 or pay late fee), Masters $133, (2000-2199)-$151, (1999-below)-$201. $$ Prizes 1-10 listed above, 2499-below) $1000, (2399-below) $1000-600-400, (2299-below) $1000-600-400. If a tie for 1st overall then 2 (G/10) playoff for $100 from prize fund. (Note: GM/IM w/free entry not eligible for class prizes 2499 and below, may elect to pay entry fee and become eligible). EXPERT: (2000-2199) EF: $132. $$1800-900-500-400-300-200 (under 2100)- $600."A" Sec. (1800-1999) EF: $131, $$1700-900-500-400-300-200-200."B" Sec. (1600-1799) EF: $130, $$1,600-800-500-300-200-200-200. "C" Sec. (1400-1599) EF: $129, $$ 1,400-700-400-300-200-200-200. "D" Sec. (1200-1399) EF:$128, $$1,000-500- 400-300-200-200-200."E" Sec. (1199-below) EF: $65 ("E" Sect. entries count as 1/2 paid player toward prize fund),$$500-400-300-200-100-100-100. (Unrated Players) EF: Free + must join USCF or increase membership for 1 additional year thru this tournament ($49 adults,$25 juniors) Prizes: Top unrated in "D" & "E" Sections wins 1 yr. USCF membership plus trophy. Note: Adult unrated will be put in "D" Sect., Junior unrated in "E", unless requested to play up. Seniors additional prizes (65+) $$400-200-100 (Srs not eligible: provisionally rated, unrated, masters & E Sect); Club Championship $$1000-500-300-200 decided by total score of 10 (and only 10) players from one club or area (not eligible - GMs, IMs, "E" Sec., or unrated). Trophies to Top 3 (A-E Sections). ALL: EF $11 more if postmarked after 10/1 and $22 more if postmarked after 10/11 or at site. Do not mail after 10/11 or email after 10/15. $20 off EF to Srs (65+) and Jrs 19/under (E sect. not eligible). Players may play up. Unrated players not eligible for cash prizes except Open 1-10. Provisionally rated players may win up to 50% of 1st place money except open Section 1-10. CCA ratings may be used. Note pairings not changed for color alternation unless 3 in a row or a plus 3 and if the unlikely situation occurs 3 colors in a row may be assigned. Reg.: (10/16) 5-9 pm, (10/17) 8:30-10 am. Rds.: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4. Byes available any round (2 byes max.) if requested before 1st round. SIDE EVENTS: Wed.(10/15) 7pm Clock Simul, (40/2, G/1) (Including an analysis of YOUR game.GM Sergy Kudrin $30 (A great value!). Thursday(10/16) 5:30 "Yermo" champagne reception, 6-7:30 pm GM Larry Evans lecture -Free, 7:30 Simul (only $20!) GM Alex Yermolinsky, 7:30 Blitz (5 min) Tourney ($20). Sat 10/18 (3-4:30pm) GM Larry Evans Clinic(Game/Position Analysis) - Free. Sun. (10/19) Quick Tourney (G/25) 5 Rd. Swiss ($20) (12 (Noon)-5pm) 80% of entries returned as prizes. ENT: Make checks payable and send to: SANDS REGENCY (address above) HR: $34! (Sun-Thurs) & $54 (Fri-Sat) + 13.5% tax. (mention CHE1016 & reserve by 10/4 to guarantee room rates.) INFO: Jerry Weikel wackyykl@aol.com, (775) 747 1405, or website: www.renochess.org/wso (also go here to verify entry). FIDE .W. WCL JGP.