Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter #485Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (31 October 1892 - 24 March 1946) has been called a 'genius of chess combinations'. However, his fantastic combinative vision was based on a solid positional foundation, and was the fruit of strong, energetic strategy. Therefore Alekhine can safely be called the pioneer of the universal style of play, based on a close interweaving of strategic and tactical motifs. Garry Kasparov - My Great Predecessors: Part I, page
340 1) Mechanics Institute Chess Club News 2) US Blitz Championship 3) Olaf Ulvestad 4) John Alexander 5) Saint Louis versus Quincy 1859-60 6) Upcoming Events The Max Wilkerson G/45 will be held at the Mechanics' Institute this Saturday.
1) Mechanics Institute Chess Club News FM Daniel Naroditsky made the front page of section E in yesterday's (March 23) San Francisco Chronicle. The online version of Steve Rubenstein's excellent article can be found at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/23/DDCR1CHCJU.DTL&type=entertainment.We would like to thank to Lyman Johnston for donating his chess library to the Mechanics' Institute. Book and equipment donations to the Mechanics' are always welcome and such donations are tax deductible due to the M.I.'s 501(c) (3) nonprofit status. If you have any chess books or equipment that has been lying around unused for some time consider donating to the Mechanics'. You will not only get a tax write off but also the satisfaction of seeing things put to good use. John Blackstone found the following information about the 1911 Mechanics' Institute Championship in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle of July 27, 1911. Hermann Helms had the chess column for that paper for decades and it is an invaluable source of information about American chess, especially pre-1933. Note the following is a condensed version of the original. Ernest J. Clarke, former champion of the Queens County Chess Club and predecessor of Dr. Lasker as chess editor of the Evening Post, who went West for his health several years ago, proved to be the winner of the recent open tournament for the Pacific Coast championship at the rooms of the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club of San Francisco. J. Drouillard was second, followed by A.J. Fink in third with A.W. Gruer, L. Rosenblatt and W. Nevill sharing fourth place. IM Vladimir Mezentsev won the March 17 edition of the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Wednesday Night Blitz. Mezentsev scored 13-1, losing only to Arthur Ismakov in a field composed of Experts and Masters. Ismakov, Carlos D'Avila and Jorge Lopez tied for second place. Your editor found the following game during a recent visit to the John G. White Collection in Cleveland. Walter Lovegrove and Adolf Jay (A.J.) Fink were the top two Mechanics' players for several decades but we have few games played between them. Walter Lovegrove- A.J. Fink San Francisco, 1935 Ruy Lopez C77 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.h3 Bd7 7.c3 g6 8.Bg5 Bg7 9.Nbd2 h6 10.Be3 0-0 11.Nf1 Qe7 12.Qd2 Kh7 13.Bc2 Ng8 14.g4 Nd8 15.d4 Ne6 16.h4 c5 17.d5 Nc7 18.h5 Bxg4 19.hxg6+ fxg6 20.N3h2 Bf3 21.Nxf3 Rxf3 22.Ng3 b5 23.0-0-0 c4 24.Rh2 a5 25.Rdh1 b4 26.Nf5 gxf5 27.exf5 Rxe3 28.f6+ Rd3 29.Bxd3+ cxd3 30.Qxd3+ Kh8 31.Qg6 Qxf6 32.Rxh6+ Nxh6 33.Rxh6+ Bxh6+ 0-1 Source: North American Correspondence Chess League Official Reporter-Bulletin, January 1936, page 4. MI member GM Jesse Kraai played below his normal level in the recently concluded Spice Cup in Lubbock, Texas, but we expect him to bounce back with a fine result in the US Championship this May. 1. GM Julio Becerra- 6.5 2. IM Gergely Antal and GM Ben Finegold-5.5 4. IM Dean Ippolito-5 5-6 IM Gabor Papp and IM Davorin Kuljasevic-4.5 7- FM Darwin Yang-4 8. IM Irina Krush-3.5 9-10. FM Eric Hansen and GM Jesse Kraai-3
2) US Blitz Championship The folks in Saint Louis are continually outdoing themselves. Sponsors
of the 2009 and 2010 US and Womens Championships, the US silver medal winning
squad at the World Team Championship, organizers of the 2010 US Junior Closed
and now they are putting on a US blitz championship like nothing seen before.
SAINT LOUIS-- Grandmaster Maurice Ashley, the first African-American GM in the history of chess, will provide expert analysis and commentary at the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship, set for the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis May 13-25. Ashley was featured on ESPN in 1996 when he provided commentary for the Man vs. Machine match (Garry Kasparov vs. IBM's super-computer Deep Blue) and again in 1997 for the Kasparov vs. Deep Blue rematch. Ashley earned the title of grandmaster in 1999. He and WGM Jennifer Shahade will provide in-depth commentary throughout the 2010 U.S. Chess Championship. Fans are also invited to play with the best in a $10,000 Open Blitz tournament held on Monday, May 24, at the Khorassan Ballroom in the Chase Park Plaza. The U.S. Championship Blitz Open will feature a $7,000 prize fund in the open section and a $3,000 prize fund in the reserve, U2000 section. The nine-round Swiss will begin at 8 p.m. and will feature a game-in-five-minute (G/5) format. Pre-register at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis until 6:30 p.m the day of the tournament. On-site registration is available at the Khorassan Ballroom from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. The entry fee is waived for GMs, $50 for non-annual club members and $40 for annual members. More details, including prize breakdown, will appear on the CCSCSL website soon. This year's innovative championship format will culminate in a "Final Four" quad from May 22-24. The 2010 edition will also feature the strongest Swiss field in history and the richest per capita prize fund. Fans from all over the world are invited to Saint Louis to participate in the blitz, watch GM Ashley's commentary and see the quad finals. Prospective spectators just need to become a CCSCSL member. Student rates are $5/month or $30/year and adult memberships cost only $12/month or $80/year. A family membership costs only $120/year for the entire household. Those who purchase an annual membership, or existing annual members who renew their membership, will receive one complimentary pass to either the opening or closing ceremony. For more information, please call 314-361-CHESS (2437) or visit www.saintlouischessclub.org.
3) Olaf Ulvestad The following information about the eclectic Seattle master who made his home
in Europe for several decades comes from the January-April 1941 (page 11) issue
of the New York State Chess Association Bulletin. Ulvestad who went 1-1
against David Bronstein in the 1946 USA-USSR match and is remembered for his
analysis of offbeat opening lines may have been the first master to visit
Alaska.
4) John Alexander The noted San Diego organizer John Alexander, who's Steiner Chess Group
played a key role in San Diego in the 1950s and 1960s, could also play a nice
attack as the following game shows.
5) Saint Louis versus Quincy 1859-60 Saint Louis has long played a prominent role in American chess. The following
two games, played 150 years ago, come from a notebook that was sold by the noted
book dealer Dale Brandreth to the John. G. White Collection in 2001. The
manuscript contains games played between 1859 and 1891, primarily by a Mr.
Tilson (probably from Quincy, Illinois) who appears to be the author of the
work. |