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Before Geller we did not understand the King's Indian Defence! Mikhail Botvinnik |
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News 2) Americans Abroad 3) Shulman and Ehlvest tie for first in Millennium Open 4) David Unlucky 5) Chess Camp in Davis 6) Upcoming Events 1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club NewsNM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs won the MI Winter Tuesday Night Marathon with the convincing score of 8 from 9, a point ahead of second place finisher NM Nicolas Yap. Tying for third at 6.5 in the 71-player Swiss were FM Frank Thornally, NM Igor Margulis and Experts Peter Grey, Larry Snyder, Michael Becco and Victor Ossipov. The next Marathon begins March 29th. 13-year-old Sam Shankland of Orinda took a first round bye in the A.J. Fink Amateur (open to under 2000) held last weekend but then reeled off 5 wins in a row to take home the $300 first prize. Among his victims were Yefim Bukh and Ted Castro, both frequent winners of Class A prizes in big tournaments in the West. Bukh was second at 5 followed by Maximo Fajardo and Alok Singh at 4.5 in the 48-player event. Here are two victories by the tournament winner who has been playing for 2 1/2 years and will be comfortably over 2000 when the USCF catches up with rating events. There looks to be about a two-month backlog at present.
Shankland,S - Bukh,Y
Shankland,S - Castro,T 2) Americans AbroadRene Olthof, jack of all trades at New in Chess, sends the following report on the Dutch chess league where Yasser Seirawan's retirement(!) continues successfully. "We have not had any cold weather this winter but with March solidly under way, all of a sudden snow has hit Holland! It's been 20 years exactly since such masses of snow have invaded our country. Due to transportation problems half of the country has come to a standstill. It must be God's punishment for Hilversum (headed by Yaz) beating my club HMC Calder 0.5 : 9.5 last weekend in Round 7 of the Dutch Team Championship, effectively killing our last hope for joining the Final Four in May! Seirawan's game features a model minority attack!"
Seirawan,Y (2631) - Fridman,D (2590) [E35] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.Qxc3 0?0 10.e3 c6 11.Nf3 Bf5 12.Be2 Nd7 13.b4 Bg4 14.0-0 Nb6 15.a4 Rac8 16.Rfc1 a6 17.h3 Bh5 18.Qe1 Nc4 19.Bxc4 Bxf3 20.Bf1 Be4 21.b5 axb5 22.axb5 Ra8 23.bxc6 Rxa1 24.Rxa1 bxc6 25.Qb4 Re8 26.Qb7 h5 27.Ra6 Re6 28.Ra8+ Kh7 29.Rf8 Re7 30.Qa8 g6 31.Rc8 Re6 32.Qb7 Kg7 33.Ra8 Kh7 34.Qc8 Bf5 35.Qg8+ Kh6 36.Ra7 Qg7 37.Qxf7 Qxf7 38.Rxf7 c5 39.dxc5 d4 40.g4 hxg4 41.hxg4 Bxg4 42.Rf4 dxe3 43.Rxg4 e2 44.Bxe2 Rxe2 45.Rc4 Re7 46.c6 Rc7 47.Kg2 Kg5 48.Kg3 Kf5 49.Rc1 Kg5 50.Rc5+ Kf6 51.Kg4 Ke6 52.Kg5 Kf7 53.Rc3 Kg7 54.Rc4 Rc8 55.c7 Kf7 56.f4 Kg7 57.Rc1 Kf7 58.Rc6 1-0 Alex Onischuk will not be satisfied with his minus one score in the recently concluded Poikovsky Cup in Russia, but the event was incredibly strong. Four points was good for a performance rating of 2641!
1-2. Bacrot (FRA, 2715) and John Fedorowicz made a rare overseas performance, sharing second prize with Alex Baburin in the Bunratty Masters in Ireland with a 4.5 from 6 score. The event was won by IM Brian Kelly with 5 points. 3) Shulman and Ehlvest tie for first in Millenium OpenMichael Atkins reports: The Millennium Chess Festival VI was another success story. Along with the regular tournament, there was an exciting Fischer-Random blitz vent which featured a last round match between US Champ GM Hikaru Nakamura and 4-time Women's World Champ Susan Polgar. It also featured the exhibition match between the same two players, which GM Polgar has analyzed at http://www.chesscafe.com/polgar/polgar.htm Booz Allen Hamilton was a big sponsor this year. Senior Vice President Mark Hermon, a lifetime chess player, introduced the players at the start of the exhibition match. We look forward to working with them in future events. The tournament was held at the Ramada Plaza Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach, Virginia over the weekend of February 25-27. The tournament itself was exciting and somewhat of a surprize finish. GM Jaan Ehlvest as 4-0 and leading the pack going into the final round. He drew quickly with GM Alex Wojtkeiwicz which left the interest in the match between US Champ GM Hikaru Namamura and GM Yury Shulman who needed to beat Hikaru in order to tie for first. Nakamura had given up 3rd and 4th round draws to Wojtkeiwicz and GM Pavel Blatny and was in the role of potential spoiler. Shulman eventually won and joined Ehlvest as winners with 4.5 Wojtkeiwicz and Blatny, along with FM Bryan Smith finished with 4-1 to take 3rd-4th/Top U 2400. Chris Bush won the under 2000 with 4.5; Ryan Thunder Rust (great chess name!) and Bradley Marts took the U1800 with 4.5; Sara Walsh took the U1600 with 4.5; and Kyle Ward-Dahl won the U1300 section with the tournaments only perfect 5-0. The exhibition match is always a crowd favorite. This time it was special with the reigning US Champ and highest ranked Woman in the world. Players talked about their moves in separate rooms, analyzing the game and talking about their thoughts so the average player can see the process. Hikaru and Susan fielded many questions from the audiences, explaining their ideas and looking at why suggested spectator moves were not so good. All this went on while spectators were enjoying a nice dinner. This game joined all the previous exhibition results as a draw, but it probably would have been an ok draw in the upcoming Minnesota HB Global Challenge, definitely not a Grandmaster draw! The Fischer-Random Blitz event was a unique experience to most of the players. It was a 4-round double blitz event with 4 printed Fischer-Random positions. It was run under WBCA rules where illegal moves lose if correctly claimed and most of the correct claims seemed to happen out of incorrectly placed King-Rook positions after castling. No matter where the K-R are in this version of chess, the final castled position is the same as regular chess with all the same rules of castling. If the King is on C1 and the Rook is on E1, the King Side castled position was still Kg1 and Rf1. One strong master didn't castle once in all eight games! The tournament was won by GMs Namamura and Blatny with 7.5/8. All final standings are at the tournament website: http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival/ Thanks to Tom Braunlich for organizing another great Millennium Chess Festival and to the new major sponsor Booz Allen Hamilton. It was directed by Ernie Schlich and Michael Atkins. Viriginia Beach's Beach Events also continues to be a major sponsor as were Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Dominion Scholastic Chess Supplies.
-------------------------------------------------------- 1. Ehlvest, Jaan g EST 2622 4.5 2. Shulman, Yuri g USA 2551 4.5 3. Wojtkiewicz, Aleksander g USA 2536 4.0 4. Blatny, Pavel g CZE 2456 4.0 5. Smith, Bryan G f USA 2339 4.0 6. Ibragimov, Ildar g USA 2603 3.5 7. Sarkar, Justin m USA 2386 3.5 8. Adu, Oladapo m NGR 2296 3.5 49 players
GM Susan Polgar (2577) & GM Hikaru Nakamura (2660) 4) David UnluckyHead ChessBase Megadata Base gardener Lubo Ftacnik doesn't have an easy job standardizing all the names of players today. Many languages and different alphabets keep the hardworker from Bratislava on his toes, but what about players who change their name? The past provides us Leo Fleischmann who later played as Forgacs. Andras Adorjan played the first part of his career under Jocha while Kasparov used his father's name Weinstein. The reasons for name changes are many and varied. I remember while living in Cincinnati that a player disappointed with his USCF rating decided to start over and bought a new membership. Overnight he went from Mike Rice to Ekim Ecir. Reversing his name yield some initial success but soon Mike's rating was right back to where it started. A second try under the moniker Forrest Wynn didn't lead to many forced wins and Mike finally reverted back to his real name. The number of active players in the US over 2400 is pretty limited, and excepting a recent immigrant, one usually has watched them rise through the ranks. A few years ago Joel Benjamin and I were at the Chicago Open and we both happened to notice the name Eric Torman on the pairing sheet with a USCF rating of 2500 listed from Michigan. We asked each other simultaneously, who is Torman? Neither of us had a clue so we wandered over to Torman's board only to find Vadim Tsemikhman sitting where Torman should have been. Only then did Joel and I realize that Tsemikhman =Torman. But how does poor Ftacnik put this together? Last issue I reported on IM Melik Khachiyan who won the Ibar International in Los Angeles, making his third and final GM norm in the process. Going over the games from the event I must confess to being curious. Who was this player David Lucky with a very respectable FIDE rating of 2335? Why had I never heard of him, especially since he was listed as USA on the FIDE list. Determined to solve the mystery I went back into Mr. Lucky's rating reports on the FIDE list and bingo, Mr. Lucky use to be David Gliksman. Those with good memories will remember David as a talented Southern California master. Remember the famous novelty in the Slav (16.Qf7!!) which David Strauss uses to defeat Cyrus Lakdawala in 1992? That was David Gliksman's work. Unfortunately the name Lucky proved to be unlucky for David at the Ibar. Check out how GM-elect Khachiyan defeats him in fine style.
Khachiyan,M (2462) - Lucky,D (2335) 5) Chess Camp in Davis
2nd Annual Davis Chess Camp When: Wednesday, July 20 through Friday, July 22 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Where: UC Davis campus - Wellman Hall, rooms 1 and 2 Directions: >From Sacramento - Take I-80 west to SR 113 (north) and exit at Russell Blvd. Turn right and continue on Russell to Howard Way and turn right. The parking garage will be on the left and staff will be on hand to greet campers. >From San Francisco - Take I-80 east to SR 113 (north) and follow the directions above.
Program: Beginner Group
Advanced Group Bughouse Tournament Price: $125 if received by 5/15. $150 after 5/15. Price includes lunches and snacks. Jim Dean is on the faculty of Canterbury Elementary in Fort Wayne, Indiana as its chess advisor. He is a FIDE master (FM) and USCF life master. He is also a 4-time Indiana state champion and a member of 3 U.S. amateur championship teams. Jim has coached national junior champions and teaches in chess camps throughout the country. John Langreck is a CPA practicing in Sacramento and a USCF life master. He was a member of the Armed Forces championship team and 2 U.S. amateur championship teams. He has coached numerous students of all ages and abilities. Mail checks to John at the following address. Questions? Please call or email.
John Langreck 6) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI Max Wilkerson Open - March 12
Mar. 13 2nd Annual Century West Open GPP: 6 S. California Mar. 18-20 5th Annual RENO-FAR WEST OPEN GPP: 120 Nevada 6SS, 40/2, 20/1, G/1/2. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345 N.Arlington Ave. Reno, NV 89501. 1-866-386-7829 or (775) 348-2200. $$28,500 b/300. $$18,000 Gtd. (Prizes 1-10 in Open Section Gtd. plus ½ of all other prizes). Free Lecture/Analysis Clinic by GM Larry Evans! 6 Sections. Open (2200 & above) EF: $120 (2000-2199=$175; 1999 & below=$251) (GMs & IMs free but must enter by (3/1) or pay late fee at door). $$2,000-1,000-800-700-600-500-500-500-500-400, (2300-2399) $1,000-600-400, (2299-below) $1,000-600-400 (If a tie for 1st then a playoff for $100 from prize fund). Sec."X" (2000-2199) EF: $119; $$1,000-600-400-300-200-100-100-100-100 (2099-below) 700. Sec."A" (1800-1999) EF: $118; $$1,000-600-400-300-200-200-100-100-100-100. Sec."B" (1600-1799) EF: $117; $$1,000-500-400-300-200-100-100-100-100-100. Sec."C" (1400-1599) EF: $116; $$900-500-300-200-200-100-100-100-100-100. Sec."D/" (1399-below) EF: $115; $$800-400-300-200-200-100-100-100-100-100, (1199-below) $500-300-200-100. 1st Sr.= $200-100; 1st Club=$500-300-200. All classes have trophies 1st-3rd. Unrated players are free entry but not eligible for cash prizes. Must join USCF for 1 full year thru this tournament. 1st Unrated=trophy + 1 yr. USCF Membership. $15 discount to Seniors (65+ yrs.) & Juniors (19-under). Players may play up. Provisionally rated players may only win ½ of 1st place money. CCA ratings may be used. Note: pairings not changed for color alternation unless 3 in a row or a plus 3 and if the unlikely situation occurs 3 colors in a row may be assigned. Note: a no draw rule until 30 moves will be in effect. SIDE EVENTS: Wed. (3/16) 7pm IM Igor Ivanov Clock Simul ($40-includes analysis), 7pm- Quick Quads (G/29) ($20).Thurs. (3/17) 6-7:15pm Free Lecture-GM Larry Evans; 7:30pm- GM (TBA) Simul ($20); 7:30pm- Blitz (5 Min) tourney ($20) 80% entries = Prize Fund. Sat. (3/19) (3-4:30pm) Free Game/Position Analysis- GM Larry Evans. Sun (3/20) Quick Tourney (G/29) 5 rd. Swiss ($20) Reg. 11-11:30am play begins at 12 (noon) -80% of entries = Prize fund. ALL REG: 5-9pm (3/17), 9-10am (3/18). RDS: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4:30. Byes available any round if requested before rd 1. ENT: make checks payable and send to: SANDS REGENCY (address listed above), postmarked by 3/1. $11 after 3/1. Do not mail after 3/11 or email after 3/16. $22 late fee at site. HR: (Sun-Thurs. $25!!) (Fri. & Sat. $54!) + tax. 1-866-386-7829 mention (Code) CHE 318. Info: Jerry Weikel 6578 Valley Wood Dr, Reno, NV 89523, (775) 747-1405, wackyykl@aol.com. Or check out our website at: www.renochess.org/fwo. To verify entry, phone Sands Regency. Heritage Event! 3rd Annual Western Pacific Open GPP: 50 S. California 5SS, 3-day 40/2, SD/1, 2-day rds. 1-2 G/75 then merges. Burbank Airport Hilton, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank CA (adjacent to Burbank Airport). $$10,000 b/200, 50% of each prize guaranteed. In 3 sections: Open: 1600-1000-800-400-200 plus $200(G) bonus for clear first, U2400 300, U2300 200, U2200 700-500-300. EF: $81 if received by 3-23, $95 door. Premier (U2000): $$ 700-500-300-100, U1800 400-200-150, U1600 400-200-150. EF: $81 if received by 3-23, $95 door, no unrated. Amateur (U1400): $$400+trophy-200-100, U1200 100+trophy, Unr 100+trophy, unrated may win unrated prize only. EF: $66 if received by 3-23, $75 door. On-line entry: http://www.westernchess.com/. No checks or credit card entries at door. All: $25 Best Game prize, all sections eligible. One half-point bye if requested with entry, rds 4-5 cannot be revoked. SCCF membership req. of S. Cal. res., $14 reg, $9.00 junior. Reg: 5:30-6:30 p.m. 3/25, 8:30-10 a.m. 3/26. Rds: 3-day 7 p.m., 11-5:30, 10-4:30. 2-day: 10:30-1:30 (G/75), then merges. HR: $89, (818) 843-6000 or (800) 840-6450. Be sure to mention Western Chess. Parking $7/day. Info: admin@westernchess.com. Web site: http://www.westernchess.com/. Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles CA 90038. NS. NC. F. State Championship Qualifier. National
Oklahoma Chess Foundation presents: GPP: 80 Oklahoma |