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"Once a chessplayer begins to understand how far from perfection his game is, and perceives the necessity of learning from others, he has made the first important step on the road to mastery in chess. " Gerald Abrahams 1) Shabalov and Fridman tie for first in Vermont 2) DeGuzman and Rich tie in Stamer Memorial 3) Summer TNM and Wednesday Blitz set attendance records 4) Here and There 5) Readers Write 6) Upcoming Events 1) Shabalov and Fridman tie for first in VermontAlex Shabalov and Daniel Fridman tied for first in the 2004 CCA-Internet Chess Club International held June 8-14 at Stratton Mountain, Vermont. The two Grandmasters, both of whom were born in Latvia, reached their total of 7 1/2 from 10 in different ways. The top seed at 2624 FIDE, Shaba started like a rocket with 6 1/2 points from 7, including a win over Fridman, but then overpressed in round 8 against GM Alex Ivanov, bounced back to beat GM Pavel Blatny with Black and then was crushed playing White against Canadian IM Jean Hebert in the final round. A draw would have given him clear first and $5,000, but that word is rarely in Shaba's vocabulary as is the concept of playing safely. As it was, he shared $7,500 with Fridman, who defeated IM James Rizzitano in a tough last round grind. One of the principle reasons for holding this event was to give American players a shot at earning norms for international titles. This year two teenagers, Josh Friedel and Matthew Hoekstra, both made IM norms. This was the second for Friedel this year and one suspects he will make his third and final norm shortly. Josh, who has been coached by Larry Christiansen, appears to be a real talent. The performance of Matthew Hoekstra was also impressive. A student at Duke, Matthew hadn't played in six months but showed no signs of rust as he made his first IM norm. Three Bay Area players participated in the even led by six-time US Champion Walter Browne. Walter had a very combative tournament as he knocked heads with most of the top rated players in the event. He finished on a high note defeating former World Championship candidate Jaan Ehlvest in convincing fashion. Up to that point, things had been going well for Ehlvest. A last round draw would have given him shared first. MI Chess Director John Donaldson made a second GM norm in Vermont last year, but didn't come close this time around, scoring 4 from 7. Alan Kobernat scored 2 from 9. Bill Goichberg's Continental Chess Association and the Internet Chess Club are to be commended for sponsoring this rare norm opportunity for American players.
Final standings: 2) DeGuzman and Rich tie in Stamer MemorialInternational Master Ricardo DeGuzman and Expert Albert Rich tied for first in the 41st Arthur Stamer Memorial held to honor the memory of the MI's first Chess Room Director. The two winners, who scored 4-0, each received $325. The big upset if the event was 14-year old Eyeliner Krubnik's win over National Master Batsaikan Tserendorj. The two players were rated almost 600 points apart. 3) Summer TNM and Wednesday Blitz set attendance recordsThe Summer Tuesday Night Marathon has set an attendance record for weekly events at the MI with 85 participants, making it by far the largest weekly tournament in the United States. This edition of the Marathon features players of a wide variety of playing strength with seven Masters (including WIMs from Mongolia and Lithuania), as well as players under 1000. This is the first TNM that will be FIDE rated in the history of the event going back to the early 1970s. Attendance at the Wednesday Night Blitz is also up. Last week there were 20 participants. The two section winners, Batsaikan Tserendorj and Yefim Bukh, played off for first. They traded wins in the first two games and Tserendorj had White in the six minutes to four minutes tie breaker (Black with draw odds). Tserendorj was pushing but Bukh was able to bail out with perpetual check, taking first prize. The next Marathon will be held this evening from 7-9 PM. Entry is $5 with all money collected going into the prize fund. 4) Here and ThereGM Alex Ivanov continued his domination of local New England events by winning the Bradley Open in Windsor Connecticut in early June with a score of 4 1/2 from 5. Second was GM Ildar Ibragimov, who drew with Ivanov and was also nicked by NM Nelson Castaneda. The US Senior Open, held June 5-12, in Boca Raton, Florida, was FM Fabio LaRota nudge out IMs Victor Adler and Larry Kaufman for the title of US Champion over 50. All three players scored 5-1, but LaRota got the US Championship qualifying spot on tiebreak. Among those on 4 1/2 in the 67 player field, were California IMs Anthony Saidy and Walter Shipman. Surprisingly, almost none of the top players played each other. 5) Readers WriteDear Mechanics' Institute Chess Room, Greetings from Malaysia! You may now visit the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) website for the 2 (TWO) below mentioned tournament details: Official site: http://tcn.sourceforge.net Further details on both events e-mail: aham@pc..jaring.my
1st Dato Arthur Tan Malaysia Open
24th Merdeka Team Chess Championship 2004
Hope you can also spread this news to your
best wishes,
Max Burkett writes: If you visit http://people.montana.com/~mburkett you will see the largest collection of Kolty games extant, along with some "chessnicdotes". Check out "Walking George". I have other stories to add, the most notable of which are about George giving part of his fees to me. But I must do this later.
Jim Schmitt - Carroll Capps 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3 d5 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Nc6 8. Nf3 Re8 9.O-O e5 10.cxd5 Qxd5 11.c4 Qd6 12.d5 e4 13.dxc6 exf3 14.cxb7 Bxb7 15.Qb3 Ng4 16.g3 Bc6 17.Bf5 Ne5 18.Qc2 g6 19.Be4 Qe6 20.Bf5 gxf5 0-1
Jack Peters writes:
Dear John, Can you tell some Northern California chessplayers about the online survey that Chris Roberts created? He wants to get as many replies as possible. The survey is at http://home.comcast..net/~zugz http://home.comcast.net/~zugz/ 6) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI William Addison Open - June 26 http://www.chessclub.org/Addison.html Charles Bagby Memorial - July 17 http://www.chessclub.org/Bagby.html Mechanics' Institute Scholastic Quads 2004 Tournaments: April 17, May 8, June 19 and July 24 Open to players age 18 and under (Limited to first 80 players) Game/45 Rounds : 10:30am, 12:15pm, 2:00pm Late Registration: 9:30am - 10:15am Open: to the first eighty players Note: Quads based on rating. USCF Rated. Unrated players face each other. You must be a USCF member to play in the quads. Time Control: Game in 45 minutes Entry Fee: $20 / $30 day of tournament/ $15 for MI members Checks payable to Mechanics' Chess Club Prizes: Trophies for the winners of each quad. California Events The Sacramento Chess Club will be hosting the Sacramento Chess Championship July 3-5 at the Best Western Expo Inn, 1413 Howe Avenue, in Sacramento. For a complete flyer, please visit the Weekend Events page of the Sacramento Chess Club website: http://sacramentochessclub.org/ For questions or further information, please contact John McCumiskey at sactochess@sacramentochessclub.org /ym/Compose?To=sactochess@sacramentochessclub.org . Or, if you prefer, the on-line TLA information is below: July 3-5 2004 Sacramento Chess Championship GPP: 6 N. California 6SS, Full-K. Best Western Expo Inn, 1413 Howe Avenue, Sacramento, CA. On-site Reg: 7/3, 8:15-9:30am; 7/4, 8:15-9:10am. Rds: 3-day: 7/3, 10 & 3:30; 7/4, 11 & 5; 7/5, 10 & 3:30. 2-day: 7/4, 9:30, 11:45, 2, & 5; 7/5, 10 & 3:30. Time Controls: 3-day: 30/90 G/1. 2-day: Rds 1-3, G/60, Rds 4-6, 30/90 G/1. 5-second delay on all time controls. Sections: Master/Expert (above 1999), Reserve (1600-1999), Amateur (U1600). EF: 3-day $65 (Juniors $35) postmarked by 6/26. $75 (Juniors $40) after 6/26. 2-day $66 (Juniors $36) postmarked by 6/26. $76 (Juniors $41) after 6/26. IMs/GMs free. Entrants may play up one section for $10. $5 discount to CalChess members. Reentry after round 2 of the 3-day schedule: $40. Prizes: 1st Place in each section $325 & trophy (1st prize guaranteed in the Master/Expert section). Prize fund of $2810 b/o 75 full paid adult entries and 10 full paid junior entries overall (with 60 full paid adult entries and 10 full paid junior entries, the prize fund will be $1,900).. HR: Best Western Expo Inn, (916) 922-9833 or 1-800-643-4422. Ask for the Sacramento Chess Club rates. Adv. Ent & Info: John McCumiskey (TD), 6700 50th St, Sacramento, CA 95823-1306; e-mail: sactochess@sacramentochessclub.org /ym/Compose?To=sactochess@sacramentochessclub.org ; phone: (916) 428-5532, checks payable to Sacramento Chess Club. Full flyer: sacramentochessclub.org http://sacramentochessclub.org/ under Weekend Events. Other Info: 06/04 rating list only. Please bring clocks and equipment. Maximum of two ½ point byes per entry and are available in any round. ½ point byes for rounds 5 & 6 must be requested prior to round 1. NS, NC, W.
July 3-5 or 4-5 44th Annual Pacific Southwest Open |