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Chess is now entering a new stage of its development, with an even greater wealth of internal and external substance. It would be too much to reject the practical side too quickly for the sake of analytical and romantic creativity. I am sure the further development of chess will move along a harmonious blending of what seem at first glance to be mutually exclusive principles. Garry Kasparov |
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News 2) Atalik and Yermo win in Southland 3) Nakamura dominates Foxwoods 4) East Bay Chess Club news 5) Here and There 6) Upcoming events 1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club NewsFormer US Champion John Grefe is the top rated contestant in the spring Tuesday Night Marathon. Other top rated players include FM Frank Thornally and NMs Batchimeg Tuvshintugs, Nicolas Yap, and Igor Margulis. It's possible to enter the nine round event with a half point bye for the first round. Byes are also possible for rounds eight and nine due to the conflict with the HB Global Challenge. Byes for these two rounds are irrevocable and must be taken before the start of round two. The MIs annual Walter Lovegrove Senior Open will be held this Saturday and Sunday. The event is open to all players age 50 and older. Val Zemitis 80th Birthday Blitz April 9 at the Mechanics' Institute 5 double round blitz - WBCA rules used Prizes (guaranteed) 1st $150 2nd $75 3rd $50 Top Under 2200 $50 Top Under 1800 $50 Book prizes to all contestants This year's Imre Konig Memorial G/45 on April 16 will be something special. The normal first and second prizes ($200 and $100) will be doubled and are guaranteed. GMs Suat Atalik and Alex Yermolinsky have confirmed their participation. Book and equipment donations to the Mechanics' are always welcome. All donations to the Mechanics' are tax deductible due to the M.I.'s 501(c) (3) nonprofit status. If you have any chess books or equipment that have 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. 2) Atalik and Yermo win in SouthlandGMs Suat Atalik and Alex Yermolinsky, fresh from their victory in Reno the previous weekend, were again successful March 25-27, tying for first in Burbank in the Pacific Coast Open. Suat and Alex won their first four games, numbering among their victims GM-elect Melik Khachiyan and IMs Andranik Matikozian and Enrico Sevillano, before drawing in the last round. 3) Nakamura dominates FoxwoodsThe Foxwoods Open took place March 23rd-27th 2005. It is one of the five US Tournaments with a prize fund of $100,000, it is held at the World's largest casino on the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in Connecticut. Hikaru Nakamura won clearly with 7.5/9. US Championship qualifiers were Alexander Ivanov, Alexander Stripunsky, Julio Becerra and Yury Shulman plus Iryna Zenyuk and Esther Epstein. Website: http://www.foxwoodsopen.com/ - current details: http://www.chesstour.com/fox05.htm Leading Final Round 9 Standings:
1 GM Hikaru Nakamura 2752 7.5 $8031
Nakamura,H (2752) - Smirin,I (2812) 4) East Bay Chess Club newsDavid Preuss writes: GMs Yermolinsky, Atalik and Sharavdorj, IM Roussel-Roozmon, Stein, and myself are competing in a GM norm event. The rounds are at 1 pm daily from Mar 29 -Apr 6, with the exception of Sat Apr 2nd when we play a double round, 11 am and 6pm. EBCC March Swiss The March Swiss featured $500 in guaranteed prizes, but this was not enough to lure any masters out of hiding. EBCC director SM David Pruess was the sole player over 2200, and he took first with a 4-0 score, despite several tough games. Tying for second at 3-1 were Kenneth Voss, Larry Snyder, Salar Jahedi, and Nima Ferdosi, the first three only losing to Pruess, while Ferdosi had a bye, and played one draw. 2nd under 1700 went to Thomas Boyd with 2.5. EBCC March Scholastic Swiss A record 50 players turned out the next weekend for the Scholastic Swiss, in three section, K-3, 4-6, and 7-12. The K-3 section was the largest, drawing half that number of players. After 5 rounds, Hemang Jangle emerged the untouched winner at 5-0. Right behind him Austin Lloyd and Jerome Sun finished at 4, losing only to Jangle. 10 place trophies were given out in each section, but additionally Jangle and Lloyd (on tiebreaks) won free private lessons at the EBCC. Things were a little calmer on Sunday as the two older sections played the second half of their tournament. In the 4-6 (which featured quite an impressive level of chess), Rahul Desirazu dominated the event through 5 rounds, defeating the 4 highest rated players in the section. But in the last round Ray Hua Wu pulled out an amazing game to nick the winner. Rahul’s 5 points were still good for a terrific sole first. Pulling up behind him was other top seed Kevin Zhu who reached 4.5, followed by 3rd-4th place Andrew Li and Wu at 4. Desirazu and Zhu won the free lessons. In the 7-12 section, there was another perfect score. Top seed Ted Belanoff mowed down his competition, and won the event with 6/6. Second seed Sreekar Jasthi took second, scoring 5, and Arnold Hua (a very strong unrated) third with 4. The event went pretty smoothly with rounds starting as scheduled, and awards ceremonies each day after the last game was done. The EBCC plans to hold another event like this in June or July. 5) Here and ThereEric Schiller writes about the Chess Festival coming up at Fort Mason. By the way Eric has just produced the online March issue of the CalChess magazine. Dear Master. You are invited to take part in the San Francisco Masters Invitational, May 6-8 at Fort Mason. The winner will be recognized as San Francisco Champion. This will be a 5-round event, with prizes of $500-250-150-100 plus some additional prizes for best games, women and juniors. GMs and IMs free, others pay $50 EF. USCF and FIDE rated. Some details, such as time control, are still being determined, but I'd like to know if you are interested. Because we have two games per day on Saturday and Sunday, a 5-hour time contol seems reasonable. However, please indicate your preference, knowing that the schedule is Fri eve, 2 Sat, 2 Sun. The event will have approximately 24 players, first selected by invitation based on title and rating (and ability to receive email), and then other players over 2200 (plus selected women an juniors) will fill out the field. The event is sponsored by CalChess as part of the big SF Chess Festival. CalChess is providing the prize fund, entry fees will be used to cover other expenses. I'll send out more information in about a week, but please let me know if you are interested (this will also confirm that the email address I have for you is accurate!)
Eric Schiller Ernie Hong, webmaster for the Reno Chess Club corrects the last Newsletter's info about Far West Open bulletins: Thanks for the compliment in your newsletter, but I have to point out some inaccuracies, mainly due to some faulty webmastering on my part. The games bulletin that you refer to was last year's 2004 edition. The 2005 edition costs $7 (not $6) from Jerry Weikel and contains only 70 open section games, plus 21 expert games and probably another 14 class games. Last year's Open section included all the experts, partly why there were substantially fewer open games this year. IM John Donaldson won the Joshua Tree Open held March 26 with a score of 5-0. NM Stane Karafiloski was second with 4-0. Mark Muller organized and directed the event for the Joshua Tree Chess Club. Mark holds monthly Grand Priz events in Joshua Tree which is about 2 hours from Los Angeles. 6) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI
Lovegrove Senior Open - April 2-3 National
Oklahoma Chess Foundation presents: GPP: 80 Oklahoma Las Vegas International Chess Festival The Las Vegas International Chess Festival comprises of the following events: June 9th, Polgar Sisters Tandem Simul! For the first time in over 10 years the Polgar sisters, Susan, Judit and Sofia will give a tandem simul. June 9th, National Open Blitz Championship 7 double rounds, seeded Swiss format tournament. June 10th, Breakfast with the Polgar Sisters June 10th-12th, National Open Tournament $55,000 guaranteed prize fund! First place, $5000. 6 round, seeded Swiss format. 8 different sections. US Championship Qualifier. June 13th, US Game/10 Championship $5,000 guaranteed prize fund. 7 round, seeded Swiss format. June 13th-18th, US Senior Championship Open to US residents/citizens born before 6/13/1955. 6 round, seeded Swiss format, one round a day and this is also a US Championship Qualifier. June 13th-18th, US "Under 50" Championship Open to US residents/citizens born on or after 6/13/1955. 6 round, seeded Swiss format, one round a day. You can find out more information about all the above events, along with online entry at http://www.64.com |