Analysis: Irrefutable proof that you could have won a game that you lost.

   Eliot Hearst

1) Challenging Times in New Windsor
2) LA GM Event
3) DeGuzman wins 4th Annual Pafnutieff Memorial
4) Tuesday Night Marathon
5) Earliest Recorded Game in California
6) Warren Billings - Chessplayer
7) Here and There
8) Upcoming Events

1) Challenging Times in New Windsor

The United States Chess Federation, which was founded in 1939, faces its greatest challenge as an organization. The USCF is struggling to stem the bleeding caused by several bad years in which it burned through three million dollars. The bleeding seemed to have been stanched earlier in 2003 when Executive Director Frank Niro assured everyone the organization was turning a $70,000 profit for the year, but closer examination showed the Federation was in the hole for over $350,000. Mr. Niro was not present at the US Open in early August when this information was made public, and sent in his resignation prior to the annual Delegates Meeting.

Newly-elected Beatriz Marinello, Timothy Hanke and Don Schultz join fellow Executive Board Members Frank Camaratta, Frank Brady and Steve Shutt in trying circumstances. Regular payments to staff and the Chess Life printer head the top of the USCF's obligations. Close behind is money to pay for the USCF summer catalogue which was printed a few months ago, but not mailed out due to cash flow difficulties. The lack of a summer catalogue understandibly had a negative impact on book and equipment sales. Fourth on the list of those to pay, and one sure to attract a lot of attention in the near future, are the prize winners from the recently concluded US Open in Los Angeles. All pre-entries were sent to the USCF office in New

and is making tough decsions. The USCF website has an anouncement that on August 20th the organization was forced to let 17 employees go, close to half the work force. This came on the heels of

Grotjan,T - Schleiden,P [C44]
San Francisco, 1856

Played in 1856 (but never before published) between Professor Schleiden, president of the German Chess Club, San Francisco, and T.J. Grotjan, of the Pioneer Club. The German Club had won a supper in a match by correspondence with the Pioneer Club, and this game was played over the board for another supper, each club selecting a player. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 This is not a very usual move, 4.Nxd4 is usually played. Mr. Stiebel played Mr. home (London Chess Monthly, Vol. II, page 114) 4.Bc4 followed by Ng5 with great success. 4...Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.cxd4 Bb6 7.Nc3 d6 8.0-0 0-0 9.a3 We think this move rather weak, we prefer 9.Be3. 9...Bg4 10.Be3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 Rather than lose the d-pawn, we should have preferred to have taken with g-pawn. 11...Nxd4 12.Qd1 Ne6 13.Bxb6 axb6 14.Qg4 c6 15.f4 d5 This is not a good move, as it affords White to open a very strong attack; ...b5 trying to drive the White bishop out of the line we think would have been better or ...Kh8. 16.Rad1 Nc7 17.f5 Kh8 18.f6 White pushes the game in brilliant style. 18...gxf6 19.Rxf6 Rg8 20.Qf3 Ng6 21.Bf1 Rg7 22.exd5 Qg8 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.Rxc6 Ne5 25.Qf6 Nxc6 26.Qxc6 Ne6 27.Ne4 Nf4 28.Qf6 Qb8 29.Nd6 Nh3+ 30.Kh1 Ng5 31.h4 h6 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.Nxf7+ Kg8 34.Rd8+ Qxd8 35.Nxd8 Kh7 36.Bd3+ Black fought the end bravely, but the White attack was irresistible. Baltimore Sunday News, March 25, 1883; annotations by J.B. Muncy 1-0

2) Yudasin and Becerra tie for first in Los Angeles International

The Southern California Chess Federation website posted the following report this morning on the just-concluded LA International. Congratulations go to the two winners, the two norm makers and organizer (and player!) Varuzhan Akobian. This was the strongest closed event in Southern California in some time. TD John Hillery did a good job getting the games and results up ASAP. Hillery, who also did the website for the US Open, set a record of sorts for major US national events by getting the games from the Open out on TWIC just two days after the event.

The Los Angeles International, a 10-player, Category X tournament which took place from August 18 though 26 at the California Chess Club, ended in a tie between GMs Leonid Yudasin and Julio Becerra, both with 6½-2½. The undefeated Yudasin drew quickly in the last round with tournament organizer IM Varuzhan Akobian, but Becerra had to battle to the last minutes of sudden death to wrest the full point from IM Melikset Khachiyan, in a crowd-pleasing slugfest. Other notable results include IM Enrico Sevillano's 6-3, good for a GM norm, and Armen Ambartsoumian, who earned his third IM norm with 4½. John Hillery directed.

Final standings and games may be found at http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Field/8184/notes.html#lai03 .

Standings: 1-2. GMs Yudasin and Becerra 6.5/9; 3. IM Sevillano 6; 4. GM Minasian 5.5; 5. IM Akobian 5; 6-7. IMs Matikozian and Ambartsoumian 4.5; 8. IM Khachiyan 3; 9. FM Kretchetov 2; 10. IM Taylor 1.5.

3) DeGuzman wins 4th Annual Pafnutieff Memorial

IM Ricardo DeGuzman won the 4th Annual Vladimir Pafnutieff Memorial held August 23 at the MI with a perfect score, defeating SM Vladimir Mezentsev in the last round. Tied for second at 4-1 in the 48-player field were Mezentsev, NM Paul Gallegos, Expert Nicolas Yap and Class A player Erik Kislik. Anthony Corrales directed the event which honored the memory of the late Russian-American Master who made the Bay Area his home for seven decades. A crosstable of the event can be found at http://www.chessclub.org/Pafnutieff03.html

4) Morkunaite leads Goodall Tuesday Night Marathon

NM Egle Morkunaite, the 11th highest rated women in the United States, leads the Mike Goodall Tuesday Night Marathon with a perfect score after four rounds. Tied for second at 3.5 in the 78-player field are NM Russell Wong, Experts Larry Snyder and Matthew Gross, and Class A play David Karapetian. Five rounds remain in this Mechanics' traditional event.

5) Earliest Recorded Game in California

Earlier this year renowned chess historian John Hilbert discovered several games played in San Francisco in 1858 which appeared in the MI Newsletter. At the time these were the earliest recorded games played in the Golden State but now he has pushed the record back two more years! Grotjan,T - Schleiden,P [C44]

San Francisco, 1856
Played in 1856 (but never before published) between Professor Schleiden, president of the German Chess Club, San Francisco, and T.J. Grotjan, of the Pioneer Club. The German Club had won a supper in a match by correspondence with the Pioneer Club, and this game was played over the board for another supper, each club selecting a player.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4

This is not a very usual move, 4.Nxd4 is usually played. Mr. Stiebel played Mr. Home (London Chess Monthly, Vol. II, page 114) 4.Bc4 followed by Ng5 with great success.

4...Bc5 5.c3 Nge7 6.cxd4 Bb6 7.Nc3 d6 8.0-0 0-0 9.a3

We think this move rather weak, we prefer 9.Be3.

9...Bg4 10.Be3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3

Rather than lose the d-pawn, we should have preferred to have taken with g-pawn.

11...Nxd4 12.Qd1 Ne6 13.Bxb6 axb6 14.Qg4 c6 15.f4 d5

This is not a good move, as it affords White to open a very strong attack; ...b5 trying to drive the White bishop out of the line we think would have been better or ...Kh8.

16.Rad1 Nc7 17.f5 Kh8 18.f6

White pushes the game in brilliant style.

18...gxf6 19.Rxf6 Rg8 20.Qf3 Ng6 21.Bf1 Rg7 22.exd5 Qg8 23.dxc6 bxc6 24.Rxc6 Ne5 25.Qf6 Nxc6 26.Qxc6 Ne6 27.Ne4 Nf4 28.Qf6 Qb8 29.Nd6 Nh3+ 30.Kh1 Ng5 31.h4 h6 32.hxg5 hxg5 33.Nxf7+ Kg8 34.Rd8+ Qxd8 35.Nxd8 Kh7 36.Bd3+ 1-0

Black fought the end bravely, but the White attack was irresistible.

Baltimore Sunday News, March 25, 1883; annotations by J.B. Muncy

6) Warren Billings - Chessplayer

Does the name Warren Billings ring a bill? If you are interested in California or Labor history you probably remember the famous Mooney-Billings case where the two were falsely convicted of organizing a bombing in San Francisco in 1916. What you might not know is that Billings was a chess player and played correspondence games while in prison, some of them under the auspices of the Correspondence League of America. Billings opened a small jeweler's shop in San Francisco after leaving Folsom Prison in 1939. He eventually became vice president of the Watchmakers Union and died in 1972. Does anyone have any of his games by any chance? Would anybody know if he was a member of the MI and played in the Chess Room? If you have any information please contact John Donaldson at imwjd@aol.com

7) Here and There

Congratulations go Eric Schiller who was finally awarded his FIDE Master title for results from 1986 and 1987!

Bill Goichberg points out that the 1991 US Open was actually a 12 rounder and that in fact there were very few 9 rounders before 1998- maybe only Fort Worth 1984, Chicago 1989 and Philadelphia 1993.

The August 2003 issue of The DeSoto Cab has a nice writeup of the Louie Ladow Memorial Taxi Cab Drivers tournament held at the MI this past June.

The Kasparov - Computer match will receive extensive coverage according to the ChessBase website which writes: "The announced broadcast schedule is as follows, set your recorder now. All times are EST (New York). November 11th 1-6, 13th 1-6, 16th 1-3:30, 18th 1-6 The announcers will be ESPN sports anchor Jeremy Schapp, GM Yasser Seirawan, and writer Paul Hoffman. There will also be guest commentators each day. ESPN coverage will likely also include radio and web postgame updates."

8) Upcoming Events

Upcoming Tournaments at the MI

Full details at www.chessclub.org

Bay Area Events

Aug. 30-Sept. 1 CalChess Labor Day Championships GPP: 15 California 6SS, 30/90, SD/1 (2-day option rds 1-3 G/60); Golden Geteway Holiday Inn. Van Ness at Pine, San Francisco. $$ b/130 paid adult, 20 paid junior entries. Seven Sections: Master $700-$350-$200; U2400, $300; Expert $400-$200-$100. "A" $350-$175-$100. "B" $350-$175-$100. "C" $350-175-100. "D/E" $350-$175-$100; U1200 $225. Unr: Trophy First. Trophy to top finisher (State Champion) in each section. All, EF: postmarked by 8/25 $65 (Jrs. $55) 3-day schedule, $64 (Jrs $54) 2-day schedule. $75 at site (Jrs. $65). Unrateds $40 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 8-9am. 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 11:00-4:30; Mon 10:00-3:30. 2-day schedule Sun 9:30-11:45-2:00-4:30 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). 2003 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 (415)-964-2640. Ent: Richard Koepcke, P.O. Box 1432, Mountain View, CA 94042. No Phone entries. FIDE.

Regional and National

The following is now the third largest Labor Day event in the nation after New York and Southern California.

Aug. 29-Sept. 1 22nd North American Open GPP: 40 Oklahoma 10SS, 25/80, SD/60. Holiday Inn (Holidome), 2515 W. Sixth Ave (HWY-51) Stillwater. EF: $60, $30Jrs U19. OCA req $10, OSA. EF refunded to rating +2300 men, +1700 women who finish tnmt. $$Gtd: $800-$600-$400-$200. Eleven class plaques and $ per entries. Reg: Noon-1:30pm Fri, Rds: 2-7, 9-2-7, 9-2-7, 9-2. 2 byes rds 1-8. Free Parking. HR: $60(1-4) 405-372-0800. Ent: Jim Berry P O Box 351, Stillwater, OK 74076. 405-624-2281. Email: jaberrycg@aol.com.

2003 Oregon Open - Richard Wood Memorial

August 30, 31, September 1
6 round Swiss , 2 sections - Open and Reserve (under 1800) Time Control 40 moves in 2 hours, then sudden death in 1 hour (40/2, SD/1) Registration Saturday 9:00 - 10:30 AM Rounds Saturday 11 - 5:30 Sunday 9:30 - 5:30 Monday 9:30 - 3:30 Bring boards and clocks - A Christopher NW Grand Prix event

Mount Hood Community College - 26000 SE Stark - USE THE SOUTH ENTRANCE - Registraion is in the Gym Directions: I-84 to exit 17, go south on Kane/257th past Stark street. Turn left on 17th Street. TriMet: Bus 20 Motel: Gresham Super 8 Motel, 121 NE 181st, $55/night 503-661-5100 Sponsors: PCC, MHCC Chess Club, Oregon Chess Federation, www.novacoins.com

$3000 Guaranteed

Increased if more than 100 non-junior entriesOpen: All - 1st $550, 2nd $300, 3rd $200 U2200 - $200, $115, $90 U2000 - $200, $115, $90 Reserve: All - 1st $325, 2nd $180, 3rd $115 U1600 - $110, $75 U1400 - $110, $75 U1200 - $90, $60 Limited class prizes for unrated $100 Open, $60 ReserveAdult $60, Preregister by August 23rd for $50 Junior(U19) $15, Compete for non-cash prizes in reserve section, or may pay full entry for Open or Reserve. USCF and OCF/WCF membership required (OSA), 2 Byes, commit before round 3, irrevocable Online registration: http://www.aboutchess.org (Credit card payments accepted on-line only) Blitz Score - $15 Simul $10.00 Side Events Blitz Score at Gresham Super 8 Motel - Friday 8/29 Reg: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM, 6 round Double Swiss: Score: 12 -$50, 11.5 -$37, 11.0 -$25, 10.5 -$20, 10 -$15, 9.5 -$12, 9.0 -$10, 8.5 -$9, 8.0 -$5 Simul: Mike Janiro of PCC will play a simultaneous exhibition. (Limited to 10 boards) - Sunday 3:30 - 4:30 OCF Business meeting Get involved - Sunday 3:30 - 4:30

Western States Open (Reno) October 17-19

21st ANNUAL SANDS REGENCY RENO-WESTERN STATES OPEN GPP: 150 Nevada 6SS, 40/2, 20/1. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345N.Arlington Ave., Reno, NV 89501. 1-800-648-3553 or 775-348-2200. $$50,000 b/500 $$30,250 Gtd. FREE LECTURE/ANALYSIS by GM LARRY EVANS! G: $3,000-1,500-1,100-1,000-900-800-700-600-500-400 in Open Section plus 1/2 of all other prizes. 7 Sections: OPEN: EF: GMs and IMs free, Masters $135, (2000-2199) $156, (1999-below) $206. $$3,000+trophy- 1,500-1,100-1,000-900-800-700-600-500-400, (2400-2499) $1,000, (2300-2399) $1,000-600-400, (2299-below) $1,000-600-400. If a tie for 1st overall, then (G/15 min.) playoff for $100 from prize fund. (Note: GM/IM w/free entry not eligible for class prizes (2499/below) ,may elect to pay EF and become eligible). EXPERT: (2000-2199) EF: $134. $$2,000+trophy-1,000-700-500-300-200-200-200-200-100-100-100-100-100- (U2100 $700). "A" SECT. (1800-1999): EF: $133. $$1,900+trophy- 1,000+trophy-700+trophy-500-300-200-200-200-200-200-100-100-100-100-100. "B"SECT. (1600-1799): EF: $132. $$1,800+trophy- 1,000+trophy-600+trophy-500-300-200-200-200-200-200-100-100- 100-100-100. "C" SECT. (1400-1599): EF: $131 $$1,700+trophy- 1,000+trophy-600+trophy-500-300-200-200-200-200-200-100-100- 100-100-100. "D" SECT. (1200-1399 including adult unrated) EF: $130 (Unr.free entry but must join USCF for 1 full yr. thru this tournament. If already a member must join for 1 additional yr.-($49 adults,$25jrs.) $$1,500+trophy-1,000+trophy-500+trophy-400-300-200-200-200-200-200-100-100-100-100-100, 1st unrated-1yr. USCF membership+trophy. "E" SECT. (1199/below,including unrated Jrs.). EF: $65 (Unrated free but must join USCF for 1 full yr. thru this tournament, if already a member must join for 1 additional yr.-$25/Jrs.). (NOTE: Each entry in this section counts as 1/2 of entry for total prize fund). $$500+trophy- 400+trophy-300+trophy-200+trophy-100-100-100-100-100-100-100- 100-100-100-100, 1st Unr.-1 yr. USCF membership+trophy. SENIORS: (65yrs./older) $$500-300-200-100 (Srs. not eligible-provisional rated, unrated, "E" Sect., and Masters). CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: $$1,000-500-300-200 decided by total score of best 10 scores from one club or area in main tournament (Not eligible- Masters, unrateds, or SECT."E"). ALL: $11 more if postmarked after 9/30, and $22 if postmarked after 10/12 or at site. $20 off EF to Sr. (65yrs. and +) and Jrs. (19/under) (Does not apply to SECT. "E"). Players may play up. Provisionally rated players may only win "up to" 50% of 1st place money except in Open Sec. 1-10. CCA ratings may be used. NOTE: pairings not changed for color alternation unless three in a row or a plus 3 and if the unlikely situation occurs 3 colors in a row may be assigned. REG: 5-9pm (10/16), 9-10am (10/17). RDS: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4:30. Byes available any round if requested before 1st round. ENT: Make checks payable and send to: SANDS REGENCY (address above).HR: $39! (Sun-Thurs) and $54! (Fri-Sat) + 13.5% tax. Info: Jerry Weikel (775) 747-1405 (Email: wackyykl@aol.com) FIDE.W.