The psychological
aspect of chess may be my strongest point. You cannot think how a win will
affect your tournament result. Only think about one game at a time, and
not how a result will help or hurt you. It is okay to win, lose, or draw a
game. It happens. You cannot get stuck on a
single-game result.
GM
Robert Hess
1) Mechanics'
Institute Chess Club News
2) USCF versus Polgar and Truong
3) Chess
Books
4) Spice Cup
5) Here and
There
6) Upcoming
Events
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
Last night's match with the division leading Miami Sharks was a good test for the Mechanics' and early season indicators suggest this year's team compares favorably with the 2007 USCL Championship squad. GM Jesse Kraai was the first to get on the scoreboard and he was quickly joined by Yian Liou. Up 2-0 and with Sam Shankland his customary 30 minutes up on the clock, and his opponent IM Blas Lugo running low on time, the match score was soon 3-0. GM Julio Becerra, the 2006 and 2007 USCL MVP and the first team all star selection for board one four seasons running averted a shut out for the Sharks.
Miami 1 - San Francisco 3
1. GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Josh Friedel
(SF) 1-0
2. GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs FM Bruci Lopez (MIA)
1-0
3. IM Blas Lugo (MIA) vs IM Sam Shankland (SF)
0-1
4. NM Yian Liou (SF) vs NM Ernesto Alvarez
(MIA) 1-0
Practical players and not perfectionists rule supreme in the USCL and Becerra is the practical player par excellence. Rule one is play quickly and confidently and try to set your opponent problems. Sometimes, as in this game, that can lead to a somewhat dubious position but if the opponent is low on time he will be hard pressed to find the right moves. One last observation is those who plays frequently on ICC tend to do better - it helps if playing in front of a computer screen feels nature.
The following game could be analyzed for hours but in a nutshell White was outplayed in the early middlegame and found his best chance in sacrificing a piece for two pawns and a mobile center. One answer to this was to return the material for a better position. It appears Black had at least two opportunities to do this. First he had 34...Bxf2+ 35.Nxf2 Nxd6 when the pin on f2 and the passed pawn on b3 give Black the advantage. The second possibility was 37...Bxd7 ( and not 37...Ba6??) 38.cxd7 Ra7. Josh might well have found the latter if the match had not already been decided, but up 3-0 he was noticeably relaxed.
Becerra,Julio (2615) -
Friedel,Josh (2612) [C88]
Miami vs San Francisco (3) 2009
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.h3 Bb7 9.Nc3 d6 10.a3 Nd4 11.Ba2 c5 12.d3 h6 13.b4 Qc7 14.Bd2 Rfe8 15.bxc5 dxc5 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Bd6 18.c3 Nf5 19.c4 Bc8 20.Bc3 Bd7 21.Nd2 b4 22.axb4 cxb4 23.Bb2 a5 24.Ne4 a4 25.Rc1 b3 26.Bxb3 axb3 27.c5 Bf8 28.c6 Bc8 29.d4 Qb6 30.dxe5 Ra2 31.Bc3 Bc5 32.Qf3 Bd4 33.e6 fxe6 34.d6 Rf8 35.d7 Ba6 36.Bxd4 Nxd4 37.Qxf8+ Kxf8 38.c7 Qxc7 39.Rxc7 Ke7 40.Nc5 Kd8 41.Ra7 Bc4 42.Rb7 Ra8 43.Re4
1-0
Black was already worse (and getting low on time) when he blundered with 20...f5. A very efficient performance by Jesse.
Kraai,Jesse (2552) - Lopez,Bruci
(2480) [E97]
Miami vs San Francisco (3) 2009
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.d4 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Bg5 Qxd1 10.Rfxd1 h6 11.Be3 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 Rfd8 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.cxd5 Nd4 16.Rac1 Rd7 17.Kf1 h5 18.Be2 Rf8 19.Bc4 Kh7 20.g4 f5 21.exf5 gxf5 22.Bxd4 exd4 23.Bd3 Re7 24.Bxf5+ Kh8 25.Re1 Rfe8 26.Rxe7 Rxe7 27.d6
1-0
Sam's win clinched the match and was filled with some eventful moments. White got nothing from the opening but Black decided to unbalance things with 26...Qb4 ( in place of 26...Rd4 or 26..Rbd8). White should have tried 29.Rxd4 but very low on time blundered with 29.Kb2 and 30.a3.
Lugo,Blas (2351) - Shankland,Sam
(2564) [B90]
Miami vs San Francisco (3), 2009
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.f3 Be6 9.Qd2 0-0 10.0-0-0 Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 b4 13.gxf6 bxc3 14.Qxc3 Nxf6 15.Na5 Rc8 16.Nc6 Qd7 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.Qa5 Rc6 19.Bd3 Rb8 20.Rhg1 Qb7 21.b3 Nd7 22.Qd2 g6 23.h4 Nc5 24.Bxc5 dxc5 25.c4 Rd6 26.Qg5 Qb4 27.Qxe5 Rd4 28.Bc2 Rbd8 29.Kb2 Bxc4 30.a3 Qb6 31.Rxd4 cxd4 32.h5 d3 33.h6 f6 34.Qe7 Bf7 35.Rd1 Re8 36.Qd7 dxc2 37.Rd3 Qc5 38.Kc1 Rc8
0-1
Yian had the advantage in the middlegame when his opponent went wrong with 25...Qe7 ( better was 25...Qxa5 26.Qxa5 Rxa5 27.Rxd6 Ra2 when White has two connected passed pawns but at least Black has some activity. In the game after 27.Qb6! White's d-pawn is a game winner.
Liou,Yian (2149) - Alvarez,Ernesto
(2200) [B92]
Miami vs San Francisco (3), 2009
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.0-0 b5 9.a4 b4 10.Nd5 Bb7 11.Be3 Nxd5 12.exd5 0-0 13.a5 Nd7 14.c4 bxc3 15.bxc3 Rc8 16.c4 Bg5 17.Qd2 Bxe3 18.Qxe3 Nc5 19.Rfb1 Qe7 20.Nxc5 Rxc5 21.Rb6 Qc7 22.Qb3 Bc8 23.Qb4 f5 24.Rd1 e4 25.Rc6 Qe7 26.Rxc5 dxc5 27.Qb6 f4 28.d6 Qf7 29.f3 e3 30.Qxc5 Be6 31.Qd4 Qg6 32.Bd3 Qh5 33.c5 Bh3 34.Qe4 e2 35.Bxe2 Qxc5+ 36.Qd4 Qxd4+ 37.Rxd4 Bd7 38.Bxa6 g5 39.Rb4 Kf7 40.Re4 Kf6 41.Bb7 Bc8 42.a6 Rd8 43.Bxc8 Rxc8 44.d7 1-0
WESTERN
DIVISION
W
L
Game
Points
Opps Avg
Rating
Opps
Record
San Francisco
2.5
0.5
8.0/12 (67%)
2428
4.5-1.5 (75%)
Miami
2.0
1.0
7.0/12 (58%)
2414
3.5-2.5 (58%)
Seattle
2.0
1.0
6.5/12 (54%)
2421
4.5-1.5 (75%)
Arizona
1.5
1.5
7.0/12 (58%)
2405
3.0-3.0 (50%)
Tennessee
1.5
1.5
6.0/12 (50%)
2408
2.0-4.0 (33%)
Dallas
1.0
2.0
6.0/12 (50%)
2431
4.5-1.5 (75%)
Chicago
1.0
2.0
4.0/12 (33%)
2404
3.0-3.0 (50%)
Josh won the USCL game of the week for his win over Dallas IM Zivanic. You can read about this at http://fpawn.blogspot.com/2009/09/gm-josh-friedel-earns-game-of-week.html . You may also wish to check out GM Freidel's website at http://www.joshfriedel.com . Josh recently learned that he has been officially invited to play in the FIDE World Cup (knockout championship) in Khanty Mansiyk beginning on November 20. Josh replaces Hikaru Nakamura who will be playing in a big tournament with Kramnik and Carlsen in December in London.
2) USCF versus Polgar and Truong
Australian GM Ian Rogers will be visiting the Mechanics' Institute in early October. Recently he wrote about the ongoing relationship between the US Chess Federation and Susan Polgar and Paul Truong. Roger's Australian newspaper doesn't put his column on the net but you can find it in Italian on http://www.messaggeroscacchi.it/. A Babelfish translation provides the gist of the column on this depressing subject.
3) Chess Books
Mechanics' member FM Daniel Naroditsky will become what appears to be the youngest author in the history of chess when his Mastering Positional Chess: Practical Lessons of a Junior World Champion is published by New in Chess. The book is due out in the first half of 2010 and Daniel turns 14 on November 9. Go to http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/ for article 6310 of Edward Winter's Chess Notes for a list of other young authors.
Six-time US Champion Walter Browne has collaborated with Slovak GM Lubomir Ftacnik and IM Danny Kopec on the outstanding Chess Champions of the New Millennium . The 453 page book features biographies and four heavily annotated games by 18 of today's best players with over 100 color photographs. The publisher is Quality Chess (www.qualitychess.co.uk).
4) Spice Cup
The Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence at Texas Tech University is putting on two high level GM round robin events that start this Saturday and MI member GM Vinay Bhat is among the participants. The following information comes from the official website - http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2009/09/spice-cup-b.html
SPICE Cup A Group –
Category 16 (6-player DRR) - Average rating:
2631 – Average age:
20
Grandmaster Dmitry
Andreikin,
Grandmaster Wesley So,
Grandmaster
Grandmaster
Grandmaster
Grandmaster Jon Ludwig
Hammer,
SPICE Cup B Group – Category 11 (10-player
RR) - Average rating: 2503
International Master Gabor Papp, Hungary,
2562, 22
years old (Texas Tech student and member of the
TTU Knight Raiders)
International Master Davorin
Kuljasevic, Croatia, 2547, 22 years old, (Texas Tech student and member of the TTU Knight
Raiders)
Grandmaster Eugene
Perelshteyn, United States, 2542, 29 years old
(2007 SPICE Cup Champion and former
winner of the prestigious Samford fellowship)
International Master Ray Robson,
Grandmaster
Andre Diamant,
International Master Ben Finegold, United States,
2515, 40 years old (2-time U.S. Open Champion,
2-time National Open Champion and former winner of the prestigious Samford
fellowship)
International Master Gergely Antal,
Grandmaster
Vinay Bhat,
International Master Dean Ippolito,
FIDE Master Danny Rensch,
All ratings listed are from the September 2009 FIDE rating list.
5) Here and There
Sept. 26-27 1st Annual Exchange Bank Open GPP: 6 California Northern
Exchange Bank, 444 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa, CA 95403. 4 round Swiss, G/120. In 3 Sections Open: $$GTD: $250-175. Reserve: Open to 1899 & under. $$GTD: $200-125. Booster: Open to 1499 & under. $$GTD: $150-100. Unr. must play in Open Section. ALL: EF: $35 advance until 9/21, $45 at site. Reg.: 09/26 8:30am - 9:30am. Rds.: Sat 10, 3; Sun 10, 3. ENT: Paul Stagnoli, 4233 Kintyre Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95409 (707) 539-6368. INFO: paulgs@sonic.net. No phone or e-mail entries. Bring equipment, none provided. No cell phones allowed. NS NC W. WCL JGP.
4-SS, 30/90; SD/60. Fremont Adult School, 4700 Calaveras Ave., Fremont, CA 94538. $$B 80 paid entries (not counting unrateds). Three Sections: Open $400-260 U2200 $250-150; A/B A $250-150 B $250-150; Reserve C $250-150 D/E $250-150 Unr: Trophy First. Reserve players playing in the A/B section compete for the B prizes. All, EF: postmarked by 10/12 $60, $70 at site. Unrateds $20 in the Reserve section or may play up to the Open section for the regular fee. USCF memb. req'd. May play up for add'l $10 per section. Reg.: Sat 10/17 9:00-9:45am. 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 October Ratings List, CCA minimums and Directors discretion will be used to place players as accurately as possible. Please bring clocks and equipment. INFO: Ken Zowal (510)-623-9935. Email: kenneth.zowal@sbcglobal.net or richardkoepcke@yahoo.com. Ent: Ken Zowal, P.O. Box 3211, Fremont, CA 94539. No Phone entries. WCL JGP.
Oct 31-Nov1 Adults Only Open (17 and older only)
4SSx30/90 G/60 at BayAreaChess Center,
4423 Fortran Ct, Ste 160, San Jose, CA 95134.
Rounds:
Both
days 11am-4pm. Free lunch – donations welcome.
EF:
$49
bef 9/19, $57 bef 9/29. $65 onsite. Prizes:
$1,000 based on 38 paid
entries.
2
sections. Open (1800+):
$200-100-50 (u2000: 100-50)
Reserve
(u1800):
$150-100-50 (u1600: 100, u1400: 50, u1200:
50)
ENT:
BayAreaChess, 4423 Fortran Ct, Ste 160, San Jose, CA
95134.
More info BayAreaChess.com. Info.
& Orientation
BayAreaChess.com/events/09adults. Email:
contact@BayAreaChess.com. NS NC W.
Oct 31-Nov1 Fall Open 4SSx30/90 G/60 at BayAreaChess
Center,
4423 Fortran Ct, Ste 160, San Jose, CA 95134.
Rounds:
Both
days 11am-4pm. Free lunch – donations
welcome.
EF:
$55
bef 10/17. $63 bef 10/27. $71 onsite. Prizes:
$2,002 based on 66 paid
entries.
2
sections. Open (over 1800):
$300-200-100-60-60 (u2000: 150-100-55-55)
–
Reserve
(u1800):
$200-150-101-60 (u1600: 100-55, u1400: 100-55, u1200:
100-55)
ENT:
BayAreaChess, 4423 Fortran Ct, Ste 160, San Jose, CA
95134.
More info BayAreaChess.com. Info.
& Orientation
BayAreaChess.com/events/09oct. Email: contact@BayAreaChess.com. NS NC W.
A State Championship Event!
Nov. 27-29 or 28-29, GPP: 40 California
Northern
CalChess Annual State Championship 2009 6SS 40/2, SD/1
(2-day
option,
rounds 1-3 G/60).
Hotel: Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, 5101
Great
America Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Free parking. Prizes:
$8,010
based on 166 paid entries. 7
sections. Master/Open (FIDE rated):
$1000-
500-300-200, (u2300 $201-101) - EXPERT: $500-200-100-100 (u2100:
201-
101) -- A:
$500-200-100-100 (u1900: 201-101) -- B:
$500-200-100-100
(u1700: 201-101) -- C:
$500-200-100-100 (u1500: 201-101) -- D:
$300-200-
100-100 (u1200: 201-100). Unrated may enter any section but prize
limit of
$200 in all u2000 sections; balance goes to next player(s) in
line. EF: $85
3-
day, $79 2-day mailed or online by 11/13. Add $15 for
11/14-11/25, add $25
onsite, add $19 for play-up, and subtract $45 for BayAreaChess
Pass. GMs
&
IMs
free before 11/7
(entry feed deducted from prize). Re-entry $39. TD
may
assign ratings. 3-day
schedule: Reg.: Fri 10-10:30a, Fri/Sat 11a 5:15p,
Sun
10a, 4:15p. 2-day sched:
Reg.: Sa 9-9:30a, Sat 10, 12:15, 2:30, 5:15p.
Sun
10am, 3:15pm. Tel 408-786-5515. Byes must commit before rd 3. Max
2 byes.
Hotel
$99
BayAreaChess rate, 800-233-1234. reserve by 11/13 or rate
may
increase. Ent: BayAreaChess, 4423 Fortran Ct., Ste. 160, San
Jose, CA
95134. $20 service charge for refunds. Questions:
contact@BayAreaChess.com, Info
& Entries: BayAreaChess.com.
More
info: BayAreaChess.com/events/ccc09. NS NC W. WCL JGP
Jan. 15-18, 16-18 or 17-18 Golden State Open GPP: 200 Enhanced California Northern
7SS, 40/2, SD/1 (3-day option rds. 1-2 G/75, 2-day option rds. 1-4 G/35, no 2-day Open Section.) Under 900 Section plays separate 2-day schedule Jan 17-18 only, G/35. At Concord Hilton Hotel, 1970 Diamond Blvd., Concord, CA 94520 (I-680 Willow Pass Rd exit). Free shuttle between hotel and Concord BART station. Free parking. $$60,000 based on 450 paid entries (re-entries & U900 Section count as 1/3 entries), minimum guarantee $40,000 (2/3 each prize). Open, open to all. $$4000-2200-1300-1000-800-700-600-500-400-400, clear or tiebreak winner $300, top U2400 $2000-1000. FIDE. Under 2200: $3000-1500-800-700-600-500-400-300-200-200. Under 2000: $3000-1500-800-700- 600-500-400-300-200-200. Under 1800: $3000-1500-800-700-600-500-400-300-200-200. Under 1600: $2500-1300-700-600-500-400-300-300-200-200. Under 1400: $2000-1000-700-500-400- 300-200-200. Under 1200: $2000-1000-700-500-400-300-200-200. Under 900: $800-400-200-150-100-80-70. Prize limits: 1) Unrated (0-3 lifetime games rated) may enter any section, with maximum prize U900 $200, U1200 $400, U1400 $600, U1600 $900, U1800 $1200, U2000 $1500. 2) Players with under 26 lifetime games rated may not win over $400 in U900, $800 in U1200 or $1200 in U1400. 3) If more than 30 points above section maximum on any list 1/09-12/09, prize limit $1000. 4) Balance of any limited prize goes to next player(s) in line. Top 7 sections EF: 4-day $174, 3-day $173, 2-day $172 mailed by 1/7, all $175 online at chesstour.com by 1/12, $180 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 1/12 (entry only, no questions), $200 at site. GMs free; $150 deducted from prize. Under 900 Section EF: $52 mailed by 1/7, $55 online at chesstour.com by 1/12 (entry only, no questions), $60 phoned to 406-896-2038 by 1/12, $70 at site. All: Special 1 yr USCF dues with Chess Life if paid with entry: online at chesstour.com $30; mailed, phoned or paid at site $40. Re-entry (except Master) $60. Mailed EF $5 less to rated CalChess members. 4-day schedule: Reg. ends Fri 6:15 pm, rds. Fri 7 pm, Sat 11 & 6, Sun 11 & 6, Mon 10 & 4:30. 3-day schedule: Reg. Sat to 10:15 am, rds Sat 11, 2:30 & 6, Sun 11 & 6, Mon 10 & 4:30. 2-day schedule: Reg Sun to 9:15 am, rds Sun 10-12-2-4-6, Sun 10-4:30, not available for Open Section. Under 900 schedule: Reg. Sun to 9:15 am, rds. Sun. 10-12-2-4, Mon. 10-12-2. Byes: OK all; Open must commit before rd 2, others before rd 4; limit 3 byes in Open. Unofficial uschess.org ratings based on 4 or more games usually used if otherwise unrated. Foreign player ratings: See chesstour.com. HR: $99-99-109, 925-827-2000, reserve by 1/1 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633. Questions: chesstour.com, 845-496-9658. Ent: Continental Chess, c/o Goichberg, Box 661776, Arcadia, CA 91066. $15 service charge for withdrawals. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com. WCL JGP.