"When I am down in material and do not have a plan, I simply develop in the hope of finding one later on."

   Max Dlugy

1) Altounian and Matikozian tie for first in Southern California Championship 
2) Politiken Cup 
3) Karpov Chess School comes to Lindsborg, Kansas 
4) Favorite Websites 
5) Here and There 
6) Upcoming Tournaments 

1) Altounian and Matikozian tie for first in Southern California Championship

IM Andranik Matikozian and SM Levon Altounian tied for first in the Southern California State Championship with the excellent score of 7-2. Sharing third at 5.5 in the 10 player round robin which ended last Sunday, were IM Melik Khachiyan and FM Alexander Kretchetov. Other scores in the event, which was probably the strongest ever Southern California State Championship with 6 players rated over 2500 USCF, were: 5. SM Ambartsoumian 4.5; 6-7. NM Small and IM Lakdawala 3.5; 8-9. IM Peters and NM Casella 3; 10. NM Serpik 2.5.

2) Politiken Cup

Indian GM Krishnan Sasikiran won the Politiken Cup in Copenhagen with a score of 9 points from 11. Tied for seventh in a strong field was the Bay Area's Nick DeFirmian who won a key last round game against English Dragon specialist Chris Ward.

Nick De Firmian,N (2553) - Chris Ward,C (2531) [B76]
Politiken Cup KØbenhavn (11), 25.07.2003

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 0-0 9.0-0-0 d5 10.exd5 Nxd5 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Bd4 e5 13.Bc5 Be6 14.Ne4 Rb8 15.Bc4 f5 16.Bxf8 Qxf8 17.Ng5 e4 18.c3 e3 19.Qd3 Rxb2 20.Kxb2 Bxc3+ 21.Qxc3 Nxc3 22.Bxe6+ Kg7 23.Rd7+ Kh6 24.h4 Na4+ 25.Kc2 Qc5+ 26.Kb3 Qb5+ 27.Ka3 Qc5+ 28.Kxa4 Qb5+ 29.Ka3 Qc5+ 30.Kb2 Qe5+ 31.Kb1 1-0

3) Karpov Chess School comes to Lindsborg, Kansas

Mikhail Botvinnik once pointed out that it was just as important to have great organizers as great players. The United States is lucky to have gained a great organizer in Mikhail Korenman who has put chess in Kansas on the map like never before. Following on Korenman's hugely successful 2001 and 2002 Lindsborg Chess Festivals, Anatoly Karpov recently announced the opening of the first Karpov International School of Chess in the United States

The following press release from Wes Fisk tells more.

"It gives me great pleasure to announce the opening of the first Karpov International School of Chess in the United States, said Anatoly Karpov. The school in Lindsborg, Kansas will join my network of 14 existing Karpov chess schools throughout the world. I have decided to open the school in Lindsborg because of the extraordinary support given to chess by the Lindsborg Chess Club, the city officials, the State of Kansas, and the people in the Lindsborg community. Anatoly Karpov, who lives in Moscow, Russia, won the title of World Chess Champion in 1975 when then champion Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title. Karpov successfully defended his title until 1985, and then regained it in 1993 when he again won the world championship. Karpov established his 14 chess schools throughout the world, including schools in Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. He selected Lindsborg, Kansas to be the site of his first school in the United States, and the school instructors will provide instruction in chess tactics and theory, and it will also sponsor a number of major tournaments each year. It's probably befitting that Karpov should establish his first school here in Lindsborg (aka Little Sweden, U.S.A.), said Mikhail Korenman, director of the new school, after all, Karpov established his first school in Sweden. Karpov will work with other grandmasters to develop the curriculum for the school in Lindsborg. Anatoly Karpov is in the process of networking his school throughout the world, so students can communicate and receive additional instruction over the Internet, said Mikhail Korenman. Grandmaster Yury Shulman, formerly of Belarus, will join the staff of the school. Shulman, one of the top ranked players in the U.S., will assist Karpov in tailoring a curriculum for the school as well providing instruction to students. Women's Grandmaster Anna Zatonskih has also been asked to join the school's cadre of instructors. Chess in the Lindsborg area received a big boost when Korenman, who is the president of the Lindsborg Chess Club and INTECS, applied for a grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing. INTECS, a nonprofit corporation, received State authorities blessings and a $261,000 grant to develop chess in the area. Lindsborg had already established itself as a Mid-West chess center by hosting several major tournaments, including an international tournament in December 2002, which Anatoly Karpov presided over the opening and closing ceremonies."

4) Favorite Websites

This Newsletter, number 150, marks almost three years of weekly publication, but that pales compared to a milestone that GM Alex Baburin's Chess Today is about to reach. The Internet daily is coming up on its 1,000 issue! There is a small charge for this site ($15 for three months), but the amount of high quality material that readers receive is enormous. Every day you get a well-annotated game and news from around the world. There are interviews, editorials and puzzles to solve. It's not the policy of the Newsletter to plug commercial sites, but in this case I'll make an exception as I know that no one is getting rich from it! Go to: www.chesstoday.net for a sample copy.

Closer to home, two California based websites deserve attention. Former Mechanics' Institute member IM Jeremy Silman has a huge, free site called appropriately JeremySilman.com, where readers can find a wealth of chess related information. The site is particularly strong on book reviews, with several hundred. Those interested in things related to California chess history are blessed. Kerry Lawless and Richard Shorman have produced a great site that contains all sorts of articles, photos, and other artifacts relating to chess played in California. Their database of games played in California, close to 20,000, is quite impressive.

5) Here and There

Chess is very much in the news of late. The Wall Street Journal ran articles on Hikaru Nakamura and William Morrison a few weeks ago. The August issue of Smithsonian has an excellent eight page story on Jennifer Shahade by Paul Hoffman. Locally, the Berkeley Voice ran a cover page story on the Berkeley Chess School with Irish Olympiad team member Sam Collins among those featured. Last, and not least, KQED Radio ran a program on the Mechanics' Institute Chess Room on June 13rh. Kelly Wilkenson produced the segment which was part of the California Report. MI members Mike Goodall and Kevan Gross were featured along with chess director John Donaldson. You can download the program from the KQED archives.

One piece of news that was very sad to read was Yasser Seirawan's retirement from chess which was the subject of IM Jack Peter's weekly column in the LA Times on July 6th. Seirawan seemed particularly disappointed in the failure of the Prague Agreement to reunite the chess world. It's hard to think of another person that's done more for American chess the past two decades. We hope he reconsiders, but wish him well in his new endeavors.

SM David Pruess scored 5.5 - 3.5 in the Quebec Open.

Look to Games of Berkeley to be a good source for chess books and equipment in the near future. Noted organizer Alan Benson will be working in the store shortly.

This October GM Nick DeFirmian will be returning to the West Coast for a visit. The popular former US Champion will be playing in the Western States Open October 17-19 in Reno and giving a simul the evening of the 16th.