Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter
#443
Chess can be very hard work if we take it seriously. All that opening
analysis, all that endgame theory, all those current games to keep up with, all
that money spent on books. The stress, the angst, the pain. You know what I
mean. If we put as much time and effort into other studies as we put into chess,
we'd all speak eight languages and have a lock on the unified field
theory.
Burt Hochberg
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) US Championship
3) Here and There
4) Horowitz in Los Angeles and at the Mechanics' Institute
1939
5) Places to Play in San Francisco
6) Upcoming Events
Don't forget the MI Chess Club double header this weekend.
Saturday the club hosts 9th Annual Charles Powell Memorial G/45 and Sunday
the 3rd Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz ( see details below.)
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club
News
The last round of the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon had an
exciting finish. Four players had a chance to take first and they were
paired with each other.
Snyder (5.5) - Sandberg (6)
Shakhnazarov (5.5) - Grey (5.5)
Here are the key two games. The first sees
67-year-old Larry Snyder defeat rising young star Evan Sandberg. This
TNM Evan had an outstanding result scoring 3.5 from 4 against players rated in
the top ten going into the last round but is outplayed by the wily veteran
in the latter's pet c3 Sicilian.,
Snyder,Larry - Sandberg,Evan [B22]
Spring TNM (8)
2009
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.cxd4 d6
7.Bc4 Nb6 8.Bb3 dxe5 9.d5 Na5 10.Nc3 Nxb3 11.Qxb3 e6 12.Nxe5 exd5 13.Be3 Bd6
14.Qb5+ Kf8 15.f4
15.Nf3 Be6 16.0-0 with a slight edge is
John Emms suggestion in Starting Out; The c3
Sicilian.
15...Bxe5?!
So far so theory. This position has been
reached several times with Black trying 15...Qe8; 15...Be6 and 15...f6. Parting
with the dark-squared Bishops looks to favor White.
16.fxe5 Be6 17.Rd1 Qh4+ 18.Bf2 Qc4 19.Qa5 Nd7 20.Bd4 a6
21.b3 Qc6 22.0-0 g6?
Evan had to try 22...Kg8 with the idea of
...h6 and ...Kh7.
23.Rc1 Kg8
Unfortunately the planned 23...Kg7 fails to 24.Ne4
Qb5 25.Rxf7+.
24.Qa3! Bf5
Black can make a square for the Queen with
24...a5 but his prospects for survival after 25.Ne4 Qa6 26.Nd6 are bleak.
25.Ne4 Qb5 26.Nd6 Qd3 27.Nxf5 gxf5 28.Rcd1 Qe4 29.Qe7
Nf8 30.Rfe1 Qg4 31.Qxb7 Re8 32.Qxa6 Ne6 33.Qe2 Ra8 34.a4 Kg7 35.Qxg4+ fxg4
36.Bb6 d4 37.a5 Rhc8 38.Rc1 Rxc1 39.Rxc1 Kg6 40.Rf1 d3 41.Rd1 Nf4 42.g3 Nh3+
43.Kg2 Kf5 44.Rxd3 Kxe5 45.b4 f5 46.Rd8 Rxd8 47.Bxd8 Kd6 48.a6 Kc6 49.b5+
1-0
Oleg Shakhnazarov and Peter Grey have had many
battles over the years and have sharply contrasting styles with Oleg always
charging forward and Peter taking a more theoretical
approach.
Shakhnazarov,Oleg - Grey,Peter [D94]
Spring TNM (8)
2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.e3 0-0 6.Be2 c5
7.dxc5 dxc4 8.Qa4 Qc7 9.Qxc4 Na6 10.b4 Be6 11.Qh4 Nd5 12.Nb5 Qd7 13.Rb1 Nc3
14.Nxc3 Bxc3+ 15.Bd2 Bxd2+ 16.Nxd2 Bxa2 17.Rb2 Qa4 18.0-0 Qa3 19.Rc2 Nxb4
20.Rcc1 Qb2 21.Nf3 Qxe2 22.Qxb4 Bd5 23.Rfe1 Qa6 24.e4 Bc6 25.Nd4 e5
25...Qa4! 26.Qxa4 Bxa4 27.Ra1 Bd7 28.Reb1 offers
White some compensation for the pawn but nothing more.
26.Ra1 Qd3 27.Nf3 Rfe8 28.Rad1 Qb5 29.Qc3 Rad8 30.Rxd8
Rxd8 31.Nxe5 Qa4 32.Qf3 Qa2 33.Qf6 Rc8 34.Ng4 Qe6?
34...Qd2 35.Qa1 Rd8 36.Nf6+ Kg7 37.Ne8+ Kf8 is
Rybka's cold-blooded suggestion. White has strong pressure with 38.Nd6 Kg8
39.h4 h5 40.Re3 but Black can keep fighting.
35.Nh6+ Kf8 36.Qh8+ Ke7 37.Qxh7 Be8 38.Qh8 Rxc5 39.Ng8+
Kf8 40.Nf6+ Ke7 41.Ng8+ Kf8 42.e5 Bc6 43.Nf6+ 1-0
So in the end Larry Snyder and
Oleg Shakhnazarov share first with 6.5 from 8, repeating their victory in the
last TNM where they shared top honors with Igor Margulis. This was actually the
third TNM in a row Oleg has either finished first or equal first while Larry has
two shared first and second place in the Fall 2008 TNM.
Congratulations to former Mechanics' Institute Grandmaster in
Residence Roman Dzindzichashvili who celebrated his 65th birthday on May
5. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Roman came to the United States in the
early 1980s by way of Israel and Germany. He tied for the first in the US
Championship in 1983 and 1989.
Daniel Naroditsky leaves today for Kirishi, near St
Petersburg, in Russia. The 13-year-old Mechanics' member will be competing in
the Vanja Somov's Memorial " Young Stars of the World
tournament. The official website is
http://www.somovs-memorial.ru/ has both Russian
and English pages . 2. BS Chess is also reporting on the tournament in
English -
http://www.bs-chess.com/latin/english.html .
Congratulations to MI members Yian Liou and Evan Sandberg who
tied for first in the High School section of the Northern California Scholastic
Championships this past weekend. NM Michael Aigner writes:
Yian, a precocious 6th grader from
Alamo, continued
the local trend of kids playing up and winning the K-12 section! In the final
round, he defeated defending champion FM-elect Steve Zierk
to claim his share of the title. After his recent results, including a
pair of wins against my nemesis IM Ricardo DeGuzman,
it seems very likely that Yian
will become the next local master under the age of 18. He is also a
bundle of energy, as became apparent after the last round when he joined my
older students in bughouse.
Evan is more your typical high school
student, a quiet yet very likable 10th grader from San Francisco. His recent
tournament results have become increasing strong; in fact, he
leads the Mechanics' Institute Tuesday
Night Marathon
heading
into tonight's final round.
Since Yian is not old enough, Evan
qualified to represent Northern California at the Denker Tournament of High
School Champions in Indiana this
August.
2) US Championship
The 2009 US Championship will take place in St Louis on May
8-17, 2009. The prize fund is more than $130,000 thanks to the generosity of Rex
Sinquefield . Among the 24 participants will be the three rated players in
the country Gata Kamsky, Hikaru Nakamura and Alex Onischuk, and also the
defending champion, GM Yury Shulman. GM Josh Friedel and high-school-senior IM
Sam Shankland will represent the Mechanics' Instutute.
3) Here and There
The 1st MAAT Science Village Chess Club Tournament, originally
scheduled for May 2nd from 11am to 3pm has been rescheduled to May 9
at the same time due to the heavy rain last Saturday ( the venue is outside).
The 7 round event with a $5 entry fee and a guaranteed first prize of $100 will
be held at the Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland. Call ((510) 290-7907) or
e-mail (
maatsvc@gmail.com) Marvin Willis for more
information. Players are requested to bring their own clocks and sets.
There is an excellent video on Bobby Fischer at
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7321059979584018314 with interviews of Frank Brady, Robert Byrne, Allen
Kaufman, Shelby Lyman and Anthony Saidy - people who knew Bobby when he was
growing up - of particular interest. Lyman quotes Taimanov saying " Fischer
played liked Achilles without the Achille's Heel." Pictures of Paul Nemenyi show
an uncanny resemblance between father and son. Caveat emptor - there are more
than a few annoying advertisements embedded into this video.
Levon Aronian won the FIDE World Cup in Nalchik while American
representative Gata Kamsky had an honorable finish and a particularly fighting
tournament with many lengthy games.
1. Aronian (ARM, 2754) - 8½,
2-3. Leko (HUN, 2751) and Akopian (ARM, 2696) - 7½
4-5. Grischuk (RUS, 2748) and Bacrot (FRA, 2728) - 7
6-7. Alekseev (RUS, 2716) and Gelfand (ISR, 2733) - 6½
8-11. Kamsky (USA, 2720), Svidler (RUS, 2726), Karjakin (UKR, 2721) and
Mamedyarov (AZE, 2725) - 6
12-14. Ivanchuk (UKR, 2746) Kasimdzhanov (UZB, 2695) and Eljanov (UKR,
2693) - 5½
Congratulations to American FM Erik Kislik, formerly of San Jose, for
making an IM norm in the May First Saturday series in Budapest.
The 10th Karpov tournament in Poikovsky,Russia will take place
from June 3rd to 12th. This year's participants are GMs Bologan, Efimenko,
Gashimov, Inarkiev, Motylev, Naiditsch, Onischuk, Shirov,Sutovsky and
Rublevsky.
IMs Leon Piasetski, Lawrence Day and Vicente Lee were
joined by WFM Valeria Gansvind of Estonia in the winner's circle of
the Grand Pacific Open held as part of the 3rd annual Victoria Chess
Festival from April 10th to 13th. The last game to finish was a draw between
Piasetski and Day who were battling it out in Eastern Canadian Swisses 40 years
ago! Piasetski, a former member Olympiad team member and Interzonalist (Manila
1990), has recently returned to Vancouver after spending 15 years in Japan as a
language instructor.
4) Horowitz in Los Angeles and at the Mechanics'
Institute (1939)
The following is a condensed version of an
article which first appeared in Chess Review in March of 1939.
On
Tour
By
I. A. Horowitz
When one leaves for
an extended trip of ten weeks, it is generally to be expected that much time and
effort is spent in preparation. Not so with a chessplayer. I hastily packed my
belongings, and madly rushed to bid farewell to some of my friends. Then still
somewhat in a daze, I headed for the depot. As the pleasant chant "a-b-o-a-r-d"
was heard, I relaxed.
At long last, I arrived in Los
Angeles. Los Angeles was a breathing spell for me, for I stayed a week and
played only twice. And the weather was favorable.
I believe Los Angeles has the
largest chess club in point of membership, in the world. The roster, I am told,
records the names of over 400. And at the opening gong at nine, forty to fifty
men assemble for combat and sociability. It is no particular miracle that the
club is successful. For E. P. Elliot, champion of the American Chess Federation
in the early 1900s, has devoted his full time and effort to building the
club.
I played at the L. A. Club and
also at the home of Gottfried Reinhardt. We topped off the evening at the
latter"s home with a brand of New York rapid transit. It was fun.
My old teammate, Herman
Steiner, did most of the honors at L. A. We visited Hollywood, and watched Fred
Astaire rehearse, and saw them shoot a few scenes. We met actors and artists.
Incidentally, Steiner is forming a new club to cater to these people. It was the
particular delight of Mrs. Steiner to see that I regained the weight lost by the
arduous labors of a tour. And I did. I must have gained six or seven pounds
gorging at the Steiner household.
Simultaneous performance at
the home of Gottfried Reinhardt.
January 26, 1939
SICILIAN DEFENSE
I. A. Horowitz (White) " G.
Reinhardt (Black)
1 P-K4 P-QB4
2 Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3
3 P-Q4 PxP
4 KtxP Kt-B3
5 Kt-QB3 P-K3
6 B-K2 B-K2
7 0-0 0-0
8 Kt-Kt3 P-QKt3
9 P-B4 PQ3
10 B-B3 B-Kt2
11 Q-K2 P-QR3
12 B-K3 Q-B2
13 Q-B2 Kt-Q2
14 QR-Q1 QR-B1
15 P-KKt4 P-B3
16 P-B5 Kt-Q1
17 R-Q2 Kt-K4
18 B-K2 Kt-B5
19 BxKt QxB
20 BxP Q-B3
21 B-K3 B-R1
22 Kt-Q4 Q-B5
23 PxP KtxP
24 Kt-B5 KR-K1
25 KtxBch RxKt
26 RxP BxP
27 P-KR3 B-Kt2
28 KR-Q1 Q-QKt5!
29 B-B1 R-B5
30 P-R3 RxPch!
31 PxR QxPch
32 K-R2 Q-R4ch
33 K-Kt3 Kt-Kt4!
34 BxKt QxBch
35 K-R2 Q-R3ch!
36 K-Kt3 R-K6ch
37 QxR QxQch
38 K-R2 Q-B7ch
39 K-R3 Q-B6ch
Resigns
Then I made the trek up the
West Coast. From L. A. to Seattle, taking in Carmel, Frisco, Portland, I rode
and played. Again I met many friends. There were Work and Whitman, and Clarke
and Smith and Bagby and Boyette and Fink, and Chapman and Pelouse, and another
of my old teammates, Arthur Dake. All made it a point to ease the tension of the
grind. Then in Seattle there were Bourne Smith and Bart Bowen, and a host of
others.
Occasionally I'd find time to
meander. And at Santa Cruz, with Reynolds and Miller as guides, I visited the
"Big Trees". Gigantic Redwoods towering into the sky, and broad.
Clock Game " San Francisco,
Calif.
January 31, 1939
RUY LOPEZ
I. A. Horowitz (White) " A. J.
Fink (Black)
1 P-K4 P-K4
2 Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3
3 B-Kt5 P-QR3
4 B-R4 Kt-B3
5 0-0 KtxP
6 P-Q4 P-QKt4
7 B-Kt3 P-Q4
8 PxP B-K3
9 P-B3 B-K2
10 QKt-Q2 0-0
11 B-B2 Kt-B4
12 Kt-Kt3 Kt-Q2
13 R-K1 R-K1
14 QKt-Q4 KtxKt
15 KtxKt Kt-B1
16 P-KB4 P-QB4
17 KtxB PxKt
18 R-K3 P-B5
19 R-R3 B-B4ch
20 B-K3 Q-Kt3
20"BxBch followed by "Q-Kt3
was better.
21 B-Q4 R-K2
22 K-R1 BxB
23 PxB R-B2
24 Q-Q2 P-Kt3
25 R-KB1 Kt-Q2
26 P-KKt4 QR-KB1
27 P-B5 K-R1
If instead 27"KPxP; 28 PxP,
PxP; 29 R-R6 followed by 30 P-K6!
28 R-KKt1 KPxP
29 PxP RxP
30 Q-R6 Resigns
Now I was headed eastward. The
touch of nostalgia was eased by the thought that each exhibition brought me one
step closer to home.
5) Places to Play in San
Francisco
Thanks to Eric De Mund and his website
http://ixian.com/ba-chess.htm for
providing the following information.
Cafe La Boheme Chess Group, San Francisco, CA
- Every evening, though Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings are best, in
that order.
- Casual play.
- Cafe La Boheme; 3318 24th Street (between Valencia Street and Mission
Street); San Francisco, CA 94110.
- No contact point or web site yet; Cafe La Boheme's telephone number is
(415) 643-0481.
- Description at
<http://calchess.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=60>.
Play includes blitz as well as slow chess.
- Updated 2009.01.06 (WesB/EDeMund).
Fog City Knights Chess Club, San Francisco, CA
- Sunday afternoons, 4:00-7:00pm. Also occasional weekday evening meetings;
email to confirm.
- Casual play.
- Cafe Abir; 1300 Fulton Street; San Francisco, CA 94117 (at the northwest
corner of Fulton and Divisadero Streets).
2008-07-30: Note that Cafe Abir
is a cash-only establishment.
Backup location: In the unlikely event that
Cafe Abir is closed, proceed 2 blocks west and 1 block north to Cafe Neon;
1801 McAllister Street; San Francisco, CA 94115 (at the southwest corner of
McAllister and Baker Streets).
- Club web site is <http://www.citychess.net/> and Yahoo!
group is <http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/fogcityknights/>.
Contact person is David Tornheim <dat UNDERSCORE room AT hotmail DOT
com> (note: no email availability for David between 6:00pm Fridays and
10:00am Mondays). Also, Cafe Abir may be telephoned for directions at (415)
567-6503. Cafe Neon, the backup location, may be telephoned for directions at
(415) 567-8478.
- "Do you enjoy playing chess? Do you want to learn how to play
chess?
If you like playing chess and are
looking for new people to play with, or if you want to play but don't know
where you can find a friendly game in a warm energetic environment, your
problem is solved!
We are always looking for
new people to join us. Whether you are a bullet blitz expert, a casual
Caissan, or only know that the "horsie" moves in an L, there will be someone
of commensurate skill for you to play with. All ages, skill levels, and all
types of people are welcome and
invited.
There will be plenty of boards,
pieces, and clocks (for those who wish to play with them), and beginners are
sure to find patient and fun coaches to help them along. Also, Abir makes a
great cup of coffee!" --Brandon Owens
- Reconfirmed 2009.01.04 (DTornheim/EDeMund).
Mechanics' Chess Club, San Francisco, CA
- Casual play Monday through Friday, 11:00am-9:00pm; and weekends
11:00am-5:00pm; Tuesday Night Marathon until 10:30pm. Children and beginner's
class, Saturdays 10:00am-2:00pm. Women's class, Sundays 2:00-4:00pm.
- Rated tournament play, casual play, classes.
- 57 Post Street; San Francisco, CA 94104.
- Club web site is <http://www.chessclub.org/>.
- Reconfirmed 2009.01.04 (EDeMund).
Royal Ground Coffee, San Francisco, CA
- Monday and Friday evenings, 7:00-11:00pm (formerly 6:00-10:00pm).
- Casual play.
- Royal Ground Coffee; 2216 Polk Street; San Francisco, CA 94109.
- No contact point or web site yet; Royal Ground Coffee telephone number is
(415) 474-5957.
- "Royal Ground Coffee at Polk and Vallejo (in SF) has a regular Chess &
Scrabble night on Mondays starting around 8:00pm. [Now 7:00pm.] Plus,
impromptu chess can be found most other days, including a less rigourously
attended Friday night session."
"Also, it is
important to note that the cafe is at Polk & Vallejo as there is another
cafe with the same name nearby at Polk & Sacramento. People often go the
wrong cafe and get disappointed." --TXY
- Updated 2009.01.06 (TXY/EDeMund).
6) Upcoming
Events
MI Events - full details at www.chessclub.org
Charles Powell Memorial May 9
3rd Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz
Tournament A chance to remember and pay tribute to an old friend
May 10th
(Sunday) at the Mechanics' Institute.
When: Sunday, May 10th from 1 to 5
pm. The blitz tournament will be held from 2 to 4 pm. There will be a chance to
reminiscence about Ray over light refreshments both before and after the event.
Where: Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post St, San Francisco (Montgomery BART)
Format: Five Double-Round Swiss or Roundrobin depending on entries.
Prizes ( guaranteed):
1st $300
2nd $200
3rd $100
4th
$75
5th $50
6th $25
Entry Fee: $10. Free to IMs and GMs. Enter at
tournament from 1pm to 1:45. Entries close at 1:45 pm please take note. No phone
entries. Come honor Ray's memory and help make this the largest and strongest
blitz tournament in the history of Northern California chess!
Northern
California
May
16-17 Berkeley Open
4-SS, 90/90; G/60. Hillside School; 1581 Le Roy
Ave, Berkeley, California. $$B 80 paid entries (not counting unrated entries ).
Three Sections: Open: $320-225, U2200 $220-120; A/B Section: A $220-115, B
$220-115; Reserve: C $220-115; D/E $220-115, Unr: Trophy First. Reserve players
playing in the A/B section compete for the B prizes. All, EF: postmarked by 5/11
$40, $50 at site. Unrateds $20 in the Reserve section or may play up to the Open
section for the regular fee. $2 discount to CalChess members or to BCC Members.
USCF memb. req'd. May play up for add'l $10 per section. Reg.: Sat 5/16
9:00-9:45 am. RDS.: Sat 10:00-3:30; Sun 10:00-3:30; One 1/2 pt bye available if
requested in advance (bye in rds 3 or 4 must be requested before rd 1). 2009 May
Ratings List, CCA minimums and Directors discretion will be used to place
players as accurately as possible. Please bring clocks and equipment. INFO:
(650)-224-4938. Email: ricahrdkoepcke@yahoo.com. Ent: Richard Koepcke, P.O. Box 1432,
Mountain View, CA 94042. No Phone entries. WCL JGP.
A Heritage Event!
May 16-17
29th Annual San Joaquin Championship GPP: 15 California Northern
5SS, Rds 1-3 G/90; Rds 4-5 G/120, St Agnes
Medical Center, West Wing, Education Room B, 1303 E Herndon Ave., Fresno, CA
93710. EF: $35 if rec'd by May 13; $45 at the door. Entry fee returned after Rd
5 GM IM SM. $$GTD: $400-200-100-100. Trophies 1st overall and Classes A B C D,
Under 1200 & Unrated. Accelerated pairings rd 1. 1/2 bye point any round.
Must be requested before Rd 2. ENT: Fresno Chess Club, c/o Vaness French, 4085 N
Peach Ave., Apt 166, Fresno, CA 93727-8415. INFO: Vaness French 559-292-1468
& frenchchessman@sbcglobal.net. DIR: Email for site directions.
NS NC W. WCL JGP.
May 23-25 BayAreaChess Memorial Day
Festival
San Jose, CA. 6SSx30/90 G/60. Expected prize
$3360 based on 85 paid entries. 6 sections: (Master, Expert, A, B, C, D/E/Unr);
2 day schedule with 3xG/60 merges in Round 4. EF: $66. BayAreaChess is #1 USCF
affiliate in rated games west of Texas! More info at bayareachess.com/events/memo.php. Online entry at: bayareachess.com/my. Email to: contact@bayareachess.com. WCL JGP.