1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
The Mechanics' Spring Tuesday Night Marathon starts next Tuesday evening and runs eight weeks. As usual the event will be FIDE rated.
A big thanks to John Alexander who has donated the library of his late father, the well-known San Diego organizer, John Alexander, to the Mechanics' Institute.
This June the MI will again hold the Arthur Stamer Memorial, named for the longtime Mechanics' member who served as the first Chess Room Director from 1951 until his passing in 1964. Here is a list of winners.
Arthur Stamer Memorial Winners
1964 William Addison
1965 Earl Pruner
1966 Duncan Suttles
1967 Earl Pruner and Dennis Fritzinger
1968 John Blackstone and Jude Acers
1969 Earl Pruner
1970 Julio Kaplan, Gilbert Ramirez, Dennis Fritzinger and Jairo Gutierrez
1971 James McCormick and David Blohm
1972 Rex Wilcox
1973 Craig Barnes
1974 Clark Harmon
1975 Craig Barnes and C.Bill Jones
1976 Roy Ervin, Jeremy Silman, and Frank Thornally
1977 John Watson
1978 Peter Biyiasas and Paul Cornelius
1979 Peter Biyiasas
1980 Nick deFirmian
1981 Viktors Pupols
1982 Peter Biyiasas
1983 Nick de Firmian and Jeremy Silman
1984 Peter Biyiasas
1985 Zaki Harari
1986 Nick deFirmian
1987 Dov Gorman
1988 Alex Savetti and Sid Rubin
1989 Marc Leski and Elliott Winslow
1990 Gregory Kotlyar
1991 Igor Ivanov, Richard Koepcke, Greg Hjorth and Jim Eade
1992 Walter Browne and Renard Anderson
1993 Nick deFirmian, John Donaldson, Marc Leski and Emmanuel Perez
1994 Emanuel Perez and John Grefe
1995 Dmitry Zilberstein and Paul Enright
1996 William Orton and Romulio Fuentes
1997 Igor Margulis
1998 Walter Shipman
1999 Russell Wong
2000 Walter Shipman, Gennady Fomin and Steven Gaffagan
2001 Walter Shipman, Guenther Steinmueller, Eugene Levin, Andy Lee, Jennie Frenklakh,
Rey Salvatierra, Steven Gaffagan, Larry Snyder and Monty Peckham
2002 Ricardo DeGuzman and Michael Aigner
2003 Adrian Keatinge-Clay
2004 Ricardo DeGuzman
2005 Vladimir Mezentsev
2006 Ricardo DeGuzman and Michael Aigner
2) Karl Forsberg 1930-2007
We note with sadness the passing of Karl Forsberg who was a regular at the Mechanics' in the 1980s and 1990s. Karl and his wife Sylvia often played in Bay Area tournaments from Berkeley to Burlingame.
The following appeared in the Half Moon Bay Review:
Following a long period of declining health, Karl Edwin Forsberg of Half Moon Bay died peacefully March 1, at home, surrounded by loved ones.
Mr. Forsberg was born in Altoona, Pa., on Oct. 12, 1930, the eldest of three brothers. He worked for the federal government for 35 years.
He was an avid chess player for most of his adult life. He belonged to the U.S. Chess Federation and, as a highly ranked player, participated in many tournaments in various Bay Area locations.
Since moving to Half Moon Bay in February 2001, Mr. Forsberg played chess at a senior center in San Mateo and also at the Coastside Gourmet Coffee in Half Moon Bay.
Mr. Forsberg is survived by his wife of 19 years, Sylvia, of Half Moon Bay, his daughters Monica Forsberg and Jennifer Forsberg, both of Berkeley, a granddaughter, Natasha, and a brother.
"Karl will be sorely missed by his family, neighbors and many friends," his wife wrote in an obituary
3) David Pruess makes GM norm!
Congratulations to Berkeley IM David Pruess who made his first GM norm at Cappelle la Grande last week. David did it in his typical head banger style scoring 5.5 from 9 against a field which included eight GMs, with 5 wins, 3 losses and a draw. We wonder how many players have ever made a GM norm with three losses. David won his first three, lost two, won two, lost and then drew.
Last week we game David's first three games. Here are rounds 4 and 5. Next week we hope to be able to present rounds 6-10.
The following game against one of the eventual tournament winners could easily have gone either way.
Pruess,D (2402) - Miroshnichenko,E (2632) B65
Cappelle la Grande FRA (4 .2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bg5 e6 7.Qd2 Be7 8.0-0-0 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 0-0 10.f4 Qa5 11.h4 Rd8 12.Bc4 Bd7 13.e5 dxe5 14.fxe5 Bc6 15.Qf4 Rxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Nh5 17.Qg4 Bxg5+ 18.Qxg5 g6 19.Be2 h6 20.Qe3 Ng7 21.g4 Ne8 22.Bf3 Bxf3 23.Qxf3 Qxe5 24.Qxb7 Qf4+ 25.Kb1 Rb8 26.Qxa7 Qb4 27.b3 Rc8 28.Na4 Qxg4 29.Qd7 Qe2 30.Rd2 Qf1+ 31.Kb2 Rb8 32.Qa7 Qf4 33.Rd7 Qf6+ 34.c3 Rd8 35.b4 Nd6 36.Qd4 e5 37.Rxd8+ Qxd8 38.Qd5 e4 39.c4 e3 40.Nc3 Qe7 41.c5 Nb5 42.Ne2 Qxh4 43.Kb3 Qe1 44.Qd3 Qxe2 45.Qxe2 Nd4+ 46.Kc4 Nxe2 47.c6 Nf4 48.c7 e2 49.c8Q+ Kg7 50.Qc7 e1Q 51.Qxf4 Qe6+ 52.Kc5 Qe7+ 53.Kc6 Qe8+ 54.Kc5 Qc8+ 55.Kb6 Qd8+ 56.Kc5 g5 57.Qe4 Qc7+ 58.Kd4 Qa7+ 59.Kd3 Qa3+ 60.Ke2 Qxa2+ 61.Kf3 Qb3+ 62.Kg2 Qb2+ 63.Kg1 h5 64.Qd5 Qc1+ 65.Kg2 Qf4 66.b5 h4 67.b6 g4 68.b7 h3+ 69.Kh1 g3 0-1
Time pressure was a likely culprit in the following game.
Landa,K (2596) - Pruess,D (2402) E08
Cappelle la Grande FRA (5) 2007
1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 c6 3.c4 e6 4.g3 Nd7 5.Bg2 Ngf6
5...Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.0-0 Ngf6 8.Qc2 0-0 9.b3 b6 10.Rd1 Bb7 11.Nc3 Rc8 12.e4 c5 13.exd5 exd5 14.Bf4 is a more typical way to reach the game position at move 13.
6.0-0 Be7 7.Qc2 0-0 8.Rd1 b6 9.b3 Bb7 10.Nc3 Rc8 11.e4 c5 12.exd5 exd5 13.Bf4
13.Qf5 and 13.Bb2 are more common here but after ...Bb4+- Bd2 and ...Be7 White is more likely to put the Bishop on f4.
13...Re8
This looks to be Black's best as after 13...dxc4 14.d5 cxb3 (14...Ne8 15.bxc4 is better for White) 15.axb3 Nh5 16.Be3 a5 17.g4 Nhf6 18.d6 Nxg4 19.dxe7 Qxe7 20.Bg5 Qe6 21.Re1 Qg6 22.Qxg6 hxg6 23.Re7 the piece was stronger than the pawns in Nielsen-Adams,Playchess.com 2004.
14.Nb5
More common is 14.dxc5 when both 14...Bxc5 and 14...Rxc5 have yielded Black satisfactory results.
14...dxc4 15.Nxa7 TN
15.bxc4 a6 16.Nd6 Bxd6 17.Bxd6 cxd4 was fine for Black in Shumiakina-Kulish, Rostov on Don 1993.
15...Ra8 16.Nb5 cxb3 17.Qxb3 Bd5 18.Qb2 Rc8 19.Na7 Ra8 20.Nb5 Rc8 21.Ne5 Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Nd5 23.Qb3 Nxe5 24.dxe5 c4 25.Qf3 Rc5 26.Nc3 Nxf4+ 27.gxf4 Qa8
27...Qc8 might be better.
28.Rab1
28.Rd7!?
28...Rc6 29.f5 Bc5 30.Rd5 Rcc8 31.f6
31.Rbd1!?
31...Rcd8 32.a4
32.Rbd1 !?
32...Bd4??
32...Rxd5 33.Qxd5 Qxd5+ 34.Nxd5 Rxe5 35.Nxb6 Bxb6 36.Rxb6 gxf6 was a draw.
33.Qg4 g6 34.Qxd4 Rxd5 35.Qxd5 1-0
IM Josh Friedel was doing well before a few mishaps at the end. Here is an interesting draw with one of China's top players.
Friedel,J (2466) - Ni Hua (2632) C11
Cappelle la Grande FRA (7) .2007
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.Be3 Be7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 a6 10.Qd2 b5 11.Nd1 b4 12.Nf2 Qb6 13.c3 a5 14.Nd3 Ba6 15.dxc5 Nxc5 16.Rac1 Rfc8 17.Kh1 bxc3 18.Rxc3 Nb4 19.Nxc5 Bxc5 20.Rxc5 Rxc5 21.Bxc5 Qxc5 22.Bxa6 Nxa6 23.Nd4 Qb4 24.Qe3 Qxb2 25.f5 Nc5 26.fxe6 Nxe6 27.Qf3 Qb7 28.Nf5 Rf8 29.Rd1 f6 30.exf6 Rxf6 31.Qxd5 Qxd5 32.Rxd5 a4 33.Kg1 Nf4 34.Rd8+ Kf7 35.g4 g6 36.Ng3 Nh3+ 37.Kg2 Nf4+ 38.Kg1 Rc6 39.Rd4 Rc1+ 40.Kf2 Rc2+ 41.Kf3 Ne6 42.Rxa4 Rxh2 43.Ne4 h5 ½-½
Ricky Grijalva, better known for his poker prowess, made the trip with David and Josh and had a solid 2100 FIDE result.
4) Julio Becerra qualifies for US Championship
Miami GM Julio Becerra won the 2007 ICC State Champions Qualifier by defeating NM Xiao Cheng of Georgia 1.5 -.5 to earn a spot in the 2007 Frank K. Berry US Championship to be held May 15-23 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Becerra(2601) - Cheng (2348) B52
Internet Chess Club (2) 2007
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.a4 Nc6 5.0-0 e6 6.Re1 Nf6 7.d3 Be7 8.Nbd2 0-0 9.b3 Nd4 10.Bxd7 Nxd7 11.Bb2 e5 12.c3 Nxf3+ 13.Qxf3 Bg5 14.Nc4 Qe7 15.d4 cxd4 16.cxd4 exd4 17.Bxd4 Bf6 18.Bxf6 Nxf6 19.Nxd6 Qxd6 20.e5 Qd5 21.exf6 Qxf3 22.gxf3 gxf6 23.Re7 Rab8 24.Rc1 a5 25.Rcc7 b5 26.Ra7 bxa4 27.bxa4 Rb3 28.Kg2 Kg7 29.Rxa5 Kg6 30.Re4 h5 31.Ra6 Rfb8 32.Rf4 R8b6 33.Rxb6 Rxb6 34.a5 Ra6 35.Ra4 Kg5 36.Kg3 Kf5 37.Kh4 Kg6 38.f4 f5 39.Ra1 Kh6 40.Kg3 Kg6 41.Kf3 Kf6 42.Ke3 Ke6 43.Kd4 Kd6 44.Ra3 h4 45.Ra1 h3 46.Ra3 f6 47.Kc4 Kc6 48.Kb4 Ra8 49.Rc3+ Kd5 50.Rxh3 Ke4 51.Ra3 Kxf4 52.a6 Kg4 53.a7 f4 54.Kb5 1-0
5) FIDE Candidates Matches
Both rounds of the Candidates Matches for the 2007 World Championship Tournament will take place in Elista, 26 May - 14 June 2007. The prize fund for each match of both rounds will be USD 40,000. President Ilyumzhinov is personally contributing 320,000 USD towards the total prize fund and a further USD 160,000 will be contributed by FIDE.
The 16 Grandmasters who will participate in the Candidates Matches are:
1. Levon Aronian (ARM)
2. Peter Leko (HUN)
3. Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR)
4. Boris Gelfand (ISR)
5. Etienne Bacrot (FRA)
6. Alexander Grischuk (RUS)
7. Judith Polgar (HUN)
8. Alexei Shirov (ESP)
9. Michael Adams (ENG)
10. Evgeny Bareev (RUS)
11. Vladimir Malakhov (RUS)
12. Gata Kamsky (USA)
13. Rustam Kasimjanov (UZB)
14. Sergei Rublevsky (RUS)
15. Mikhail Gurevich (TUR)
16. Magnus Carlsen (NOR)
Out of the above 16 Grandmasters, the top 4 will qualify for the 2007 World Chess Championship Tournament in Mexico, 11 September - 1 October, joining the defending World Champion Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) and GMs Vishy Anand (IND), Peter Svidler (RUS), Alexander Morozevich (RUS) who have already qualified from the previous World Championships.
6) Upcoming Events
MI Events - go to http://www.chessclub.org/ for more information
Max Wilkerson Open - March 24th
Walter Lovegrove Senior Open - April 14th and 15th
Imre Konig Memorial - April 21st
Charles Powell Memorial - May 12th
Arthur Stamer Memorial - June 2nd and 3rd
William Addison Open - June 23rd
Classic Event!
Mar.24 11th California Classic Championship California, Northern
5SS G/45. 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054. EF: $29. $15 more after 4/10, $2 Cal Chess Discount.. $750 b/50: Open 200-100-50 U2000 30, Reserve: 200-100 U1600 30, U1400 30, U1200 30. Reg: Sat 8:30-9:30 AM, Rds: 10:00-11:30, 11:45AM-1:15 PM, 1:45-3:15PM, 3:25-4:55PM, 5:00-7:00 PM. Ent: Salman Azhar, P.O. Box 730934, San Jose, CA 95173-0934, Payable to Salman Azhar or paypal to sazhar@yahoo.com. Info: sazhar@yahoo.com.
A Classic Event!
Apr.14 12th California Classic Championship California, Northern
5SS G/45. 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054. EF: $29. $15 more after 4/10, $2 Cal Chess Discount.. $750 b/50: Open 200-100-50 U2000 30, Reserve: 200-100 U1600 30, U1400 30, U1200 30. Reg: Sat 8:30-9:30 AM, Rds: 10:00-11:30, 11:45AM-1:15 PM, 1:45-3:15PM, 3:25-4:55PM, 5:00-7:00 PM. Ent: Salman Azhar, P.O. Box 730934, San Jose, CA 95173-0934, Payable to Salman Azhar or paypal to sazhar@yahoo.com. Info: sazhar@yahoo.com.
A Classic Event!
Jun.16 14th California Classic Championship California, Northern
5SS G/45. 3003 Scott Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95054. EF: $29. $15 more after 6/12, $2 Cal Chess Discount.. $750 b/50: Open 200-100-50 U2000 30, Reserve: 200-100 U1600 30, U1400 30, U1200 30. Reg: Sat 8:30-9:30 AM, Rds: 10:00-11:30, 11:45AM-1:15 PM, 1:45-3:15PM, 3:25-4:55PM, 5:00-7:00 PM. Ent: Salman Azhar, P.O. Box 730934, San Jose, CA 95173-0934, Payable to Salman Azhar or paypal to sazhar@yahoo.com. Info: sazhar@yahoo.com.
The East Bay Chess Club has two tournaments coming up in March:
March 24: March Scholastic Quads (open to 18 years old or younger)
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Prizes: Trophy to top finisher
Entry fee: $15 if mailed before 3/17/07, $20 at site.
$5 discount for East Bay Chess Club Members
Rounds: 10 AM, 12 PM, and 1:30 PM
All games will be over by 3:00 PM.
Time control: G/45
March 25: March Adult Quads (open to all ages)
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Prizes: $40 to quad winner
Entry fee: $20 if mailed before 3/17/07, $25 at site.
$5 discount for East Bay Chess Club Members
Rounds: 11 AM, 2:30 PM, and 5:30 PM
Time control: G/90
For more details and to sign up online, please visit our website:
http://www.eastbaychess.com
Apr. 6-8 Reno-Far West Open VII GPP: 150 Enhanced Nevada
7 Sections. F.I.D.E.- 40/2,20/1,G/30. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345 N. Arlington Ave., Reno, NV. 89501. 1-866-FUNSTAY, HR: Sun-Thurs $27! Fri & Sat $54(CHE 405). $$25,000 b/275 ($16,000 Gtd.); Rds: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4:30. Open Section: EF: GM/IMs free (must enter by Mar. 15 or pay late fee), Masters- $116, (2000-2199)- $151, (1999-below)- $201. $$2,000-1,000-800-700-600-500-400-400-300-300, (2300-2399)-$1,000-500, (2299-below)- $1,000-500; "X" Section (2000-2199)- EF: $115, $1,000-500-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100; "A" Section (1800-1999)- EF: $114, 1000-500-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100; "B" Section (1600-1799)- EF: $113, $1,000-500- 300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100; "C" Sect. (1400-1599) EF: $112, $900-500-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100; "D" Sect. (1200-1399) EF: $111, $800-400-300-200-100-100-100-100-100-100; "E" Section (1199-below) EF: $60 (counts as 1/2 player towards prize fund, also no Sr./Jr. discounts in this section)- $500-300-200-100-100-100-75-75-75-75; Top Sr. (65+) $200, Club Champ. $400-200. Unrated free entry but must join USCF for 1 yr. thru this tournament (Adults-$49, Sr.-$36, Jrs.U25-$25, U16 -$19, U13-$17). Discounts- Sr (65+) and Jrs. (under 20)- $10 (not available for Sect. "E"). Players may play up. Side Events: Thurs. 4/5 (5:30-7pm) GM Larry Evans Lecture (Free), GM Sergy Kudrin Simul (+ Analysis!) 7pm ($20), Blitz (5 min)Tourney 7 pm. $20 (80% of entries returned as prizes), Sat (4/7) GM Larry Evans Clinic/Game Analysis (Free) 3-4:30pm, Sun (4/8) Quick Tourney (G/25) ($20) 5Rd Swiss, (80% of entries returned as prizes) Reg. 11-11:30 am, Rds: 12-1-2-3-4 pm. Enter: Send checks and make out to Sands Regency at above address postmarked by Mar. 15 ($11 late fee after 3/15), ($22 late fee at site). Do not mail after Mar. 31. Questions and enter by e-mail or phone to Jerry Weikel at (775) 747-1405 or (wackyykl@aol.com). W. NS. (775-348-2200).
May 15-23, Oklahoma
Frank K. Berry 2007 U.S. Championship
9SS, Quality Inn (formerly Holiday Inn) , 2515 W 6th Ave (Hwy 51), Stillwater OK 74074. Prize fund $65,000 or higher; see website. Open only to qualified US players (most are GMs) or Patrons who are US players. Entry fee for Patrons: 2500/over $5000, 2400-2499 $10000, 2300-2399 $15000, 2200-2299 $20000, 2100-2199 $30000, 2000-2099 $40000, Under 2000 $50000. No fee for qualified players. Deadline for Patron EF is 4/25; after that, Patron entries accepted only at discretion of USCF Executive Director. HR: $60 or lower, 405-372-0800. For updated details see www.uschess.org/ FIDE rated, GM & IM norms possible. Ent: US Chess Federation, PO Box 3967, Crossville TN 38557, phone 931-787-1234.
Aug. 14-19 2007 U.S. Senior Open S. California
6SS, 40/2 SD/1, open to USCF members born before August 14, 1957. La Quinta Resort & Club, 49 - 499 Eisenhower Drive, La Quinta (Palm Springs) CA. 92253 HR: $105 800 -589-3828. EF: $90 if received by July 16, $100 by July 30, $110 after July 30 or onsite. Make out checks to USCF. Prize Fund: 85 or more paid entries: guaranteed $5,000 (or 70% return) 1st: $1200, 2nd: $700, 3rd: $450, 4th: $350; 5th $250; 6th 150; U2200 $300-150, U2000 $300-150; U1800: $250-150, U1600: $200-100, U1400 $200-100, Unrated $200-100. Trophies: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Prizes for each Age champions 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-74 and over 75. Reg: ends 12 noon August 14 for Senior Open. Traditional Schedule: Tuesday - Saturday one round daily 2 pm. Sunday, 11 am. Alt Schedule: G/60 Thur Rd 1 3pm, Rd 2 6pm, Fri Rd 3 10am, merge with Traditional Schedule 2pm. 1/2 pt. byes available except final Rd. Awards reception 6 pm. TD: NTD Carol Jarecki. (website coming soon for this event)www.uschess.org/tournaments/2007/senior/ or mail USCF P.O. Box 3967, Crossville, TN 38557
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