Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #24

"The greatest skill in chess lies in not allowing the opponent to show you
what he can do."

Garry Kasparov

1) Revamped MI Chess Room Website

Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky is in the process of revamping the Chess Room's
website. The new look will feature lots of up to date information including
tournament reports and annotated games. There is a special section featuring
past and present MI Chess Room Newsletters. Check out the website at
http://www.milibrary.org/

2) Charles Linklater Memorial

The Charles Linklater Memorial will be starting next Monday, February 26th at
10 AM. Rounds will be held daily from 10-2, with commentary from February
27-March 8 during lunch time (noon to 1 PM). MI Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex
Yermolinsky and IM John Donaldson will be providing free lectures for the
public.

The drawing of lots for the tournament was held yesterday afternoon and the
following numbers were drawn.

1. Alexander Baburin
2. Alex Wojtkiewicz
3. Michael Mulyar
4. Cyrus Lakdawala
5. Camilla Baginskaite
6. Gregory Shahade
7. Aaron Stearns
8. Mladen Vucic
9. Alex Kretchetov
10. Levon Altounian
11. Yury Shulman

Round by round pairings are available on the MI website .

3) People's Open

Italian master Mauro Casadei, who is a graduate student in geology at UC
Berkeley, won the annual People's Open this past weekend with a 5-1 score. IM
Guillermo Rey, who tied for second a half point back, drew with Casadei in
the last round. There were 130 players competing in the three day event.

4) Tuesday Night Marathon

National Masters Kenneth Hills and David Blohm are tied with Experts Victor
Ossipov and George Sanguinetti after three rounds of the Spring Tuesday Night
Marathon with perfect scores. A half point behind are National Master Russell
Wong, long-time MI Chess Director (1980-96) Max Wilkerson and Julian Standen.
Complete standings can be found on the MI Chess Room website.

5) Maurice Ashley Visits the Bay Area

Bay Area organizer Riley Hughes passes on the following message from Alan
Kirschner.

Have you been having trouble locating that excellent CD-ROM, Maurice Ashley
Teaches Chess? Well, how about the next best thing--Maurice Ashley live?
Under the auspices of Chuck Windsor's East Bay Chess Club, Grand Master,
Maurice Ashley, has taken a two-thirds reduction in his usual fee to make,
what I believe will be, his first public appearance in the Bay Area to help
celebrate Black History Week.

Grand Master Ashley, who became the first US citizen of African descent to
achieve the most prestigious chess title internationally, will participate in
a "Chess-Fess 2001" on Saturday, February 24, from 10 AM until 3 PM. The
location will be the People Soft Building at the Knowland Park Zoo in
Oakland. The cost to attend this historic event will only be $5. Tickets will
be available at the door. I will provide a copy of the announcement I
received from Chuck Windsor at the CalChess Scholastic Tournament site which
can be reached from, my main page at http://KidChess.go.cc.

6) Donaldson-Khmelnistsky

John Donaldson defeated fellow International Master Igor Khmelnitsky in a
Battle of the Minds event held on the USCF website (USCL) on February 15. The
game appears on the MI website with annotations.

7) Upcoming Events at the MI

A. Henry Gross Memorial

The Henry Gross Memorial, a five-round one day action (g/45) tournament, will
be held on February 24 starting at 10 am. For more information contact John
Donaldson at imwjd@aol.com or call (415) 421-2258.

B. Mark Coggins and Patrick Wolff to appear at the MI on February 28


Mark Coggins, author of The Immortal Game, a chess-based mystery set in the
Bay Area, will give a reading on February 28 at 6:15 PM in the MI Members
Lounge on the fourth floor. Coggins will be joined by former US Champion GM
Patrick Wolff. Refreshments will be served afterwards.

C. MI WBCA Blitz Tournament

March 4, 4-6 PM (note time change!)
Five double round Swiss or Round Robin as entries dictate
$150 first, $100 second guaranteed, more per entries
100% of all entry fees paid back
FREE TAPE FOR TOP UPSET BY A RATED PLAYER COURTESY OF WALTER BROWNE
Donated book and magazine prizes as well
WBCA membership required
Entry fee: $15 adults, $10 juniors

Note we expect some of the participants from the concurrent GM round robin to
play so this should be an excellent chance to face some stiff competition.