Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #46"Once man starts designing electronic brains analagous to human chess players, the inadequacies of chess thinking will be revealed." 1961Mikhail Botvinnik FREE LECTURE TONIGHT (WEDNESDAY, JULY 25) by GM WOJTKIEWICZ from 5:15-6:15 PM on "The Life of a Chess Professional" at the MECHANICS'. 1) Appeal for Donations 2) Kramnik and Topalov tie in Dortmund 3) US Junior Closed 4) Ossipov wins Bagby 5) Altounian Southern California Champion 6) Ossipov leads Tuesday Night Marathon 7) US Championship Schedule and Prizes 8) San Francisco - Los Angeles Telegraph Matches 9) Governor's Cup 10) Chess Camps 11) Upcoming EventsSpecial Announcement: Former Chess Room Director Kurt Bendit has been moved to a skilled nursing home in San Francisco and would very much like visitors to drop by for a game. Please call Karen at (415) 543-2121 for more information.
1) Appeal for Donations to the Mechanics' Institute Chess RoomMechanics' Institute membership dues ($60 a year) account for only 20 percent of the true cost of providing services to the Chess Room and Library patrons. Investment income from the MI endowment, office rentals and generous donations make up the difference. The past year has been expecially difficult for the Institute with the decline in the financial markets and the energy crisis in California. The result is that to run a balanced budget the various departments at the Mechanics' are taking 20 percent cuts. The Chess Room will continue to run its regular programs like GM Yermolinsky's weekly lectures and educational classes for children, but will be forced to downsize its Internationals like the Koltanowski and Linklater. As things stand today these tournaments will continue to be run, but as smaller weekend Master/Expert events, rather than international norm opportunities with several well known GMs participating.If you feel these international events are important and worth having at the club please consider sending a donation to the Mechanics' Institute at 57 Post Street, Room 408, San Francisco, California, 94104. Your donation should have a note that it is restricted specifically for Chess Room activities. Note that the Mechanics' Institute is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit recognized by the IRS. All donations are tax deductible. If you have any questions about this matter please don't hesitate to contact MI Chess Room Director John Donaldson at imwjd@aol.com or call (415) 421-2258. 2) Kramnik and Topalov tie for first in DortmundVladimir Kramnik of Russia and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria tied for first in Dortmund this year. This victory enhanced Kramnik's status as World Champion, particularly as Viswanathan Anand suffered through his worst result in recent memory. This was arguably the best result of Topalov's career.Final placings: 1-2 V Kramnik (Russia), V Topalov (Bulgaria) 6.5/10; 3 P Leko (Hungary) 5.5; 4 A Morozevich (Russia) 5; 5 M Adams (England) 3.5; 6 V Anand (India) 3.
V Karmic - V Anand 3) US Junior ClosedThe US Junior Closed just started in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Three Bay Area players are participating in the ten-player round robin.IM Vinay Bhat 16 CA 2496.5 FM Dmitry Schneider 16 NY 2494 FM Justin Sarkar 19 NY 2448.5 IM Hikaru Nakamura 13 NY 2421.5 FM Steven Winer 19 VT 2407.5 David Pruess 19 CA 2376.5 FM Andrei Zaremba 19 TX 2376 Asuka Nakamura 14 NY NA FM Todd Andrews 19 TN 2360.5 FM Philip Wang 17 CA 2349 4) Victor Ossipov wins Charles Bagby Memorial70-year-old Victor Ossipov defeated Senior Master Dmitry Zilberstein in the last round of the Charles Bagby Memorial to take first place. Ossipov scored 4 1/2 from 5, taking a bye in round three. He received $200 for his victory in the Game in 45 Minutes event held July 21 at the MI. Tying for second at 4-1 in the 40-player event were NMs Eric Schiller, Rudy Hernandez and Mike Arne as well as Mike Cardillo and Jeff Mallett. Anthony Corrales directed for the Mechanics'.The Chess Room Office computer was hit during the tournament by the sircam worm virus and we are very happy to report that we now have a clean bill of health thanks to the efforts of Shivaji Shivkumar, Eric Schiller, Kevan Gross and John Heymann. Thanks! 5) Altounian Southern California ChampionSenior Master Levon Altounian won the 2001 Southern California Championship, held July 14-22 in Los Angeles by the Southern California Chess Federation. Los Angeles Times chess columnist IM Jack Peters reports the last round was particularly dramatic and completely altered the standings. Varuzhan Akobian, the sole leader, lost to Cyrus Lakdawala, while Altounian beat Andranik Matikozian. Altounian was the only undefeated player in one of the strongest Southern California Championships in recent memory. The rejuvenation of Los Angeles chess by Armenian players was evident as half of the players in this event were born in the small country located in the Caucasus.Final Standings: 1. SM Levon Altounian 5-2; 2-3. IM Varuzhan Akobian and SM Cyrus Lakdawala 4.5; 4. IM Jack Peters, 4; 5. IM Andranik Matikozian 3.5; 6. IM Melikset Khachian 3; 7. NM Ron Hermansen 2 and 8. NM Karl Yee 1.5 6) Ossipov leads Tuesday Night MarathonVictor Ossipov is on a roll. After defeating SM Dmitry Zilberstein on Saturday to win the Bagby, he came back last night and defeated NM Rudy Hernandez to take over undisputed first place in the Tuesday Night Marathon. Ossipov, who is originally from Leningrad, but has made the Richmond area of San Francisco his home for many years, has 5 1/2 points from 6 with two round to go. NM Kenneth Hills, who defeated Expert Michael Becco is second with 5 points. The next Tuesday Night Marathon will start on August 28th.7) US Championship Schedule and PrizesThe Seattle Chess Foundation recently announced the dates and prizes for the next US Championship. The 56 player, 9 round Swiss, features a prize fund of $200,000!The U.S. Chess Championships will take place from January 5 - January 13, 2002 at the Northwest Rooms of the Seattle Center in downtown Seattle. Playing Schedule U.S. Championships Friday January 4 Arrival Saturday January 5 Round 1 Sunday January 6 Round 2 Monday January 7 Round 3 Tuesday January 8 Round 4 Wednesday January 9 Round 5 Thursday January 10 Round 6 Friday January 11 Round 7 Saturday January 12 Round 8 Sunday January 13 Round 9 Monday January 14 DepartureTime Control Time control: 40 moves in 100 minutes followed by 20 moves in 50 minutes followed by all moves in 10 minutes (all moves played get 30 seconds bonus (Fischer method) Prize Fund: $ 200,000 U.S. Chess Championships Prize Fund Distribution: 1st $ 15,000 First Woman $ 9,500 2nd $ 11,000 Second Woman $ 7,700 3rd $ 8,500 Third Woman $ 6,200 4th $ 7,000 Fourth Woman $ 5,000 5th $ 6,000The four highest placed women will receive only one prize, depending on their final classification 6-10th $ 4,500 11-14th $ 3,500 15-24th $ 2,750 25-34th $ 2,300 35-46th $ 2,100 47-56th $ 1,900 8) San Francisco - Los Angeles Telegraph MatchesEarlier issues of the Newsletter dealt with San Francisco's matches with Vancouver and Victoria in the 1890s. Now we start to take a look at the famous series with Los Angeles that started in 1913 and ran into the mid-1920s when it metamorphisized into the face to face North-South matches with the advent of the automobile. Those of you who have visited the MI Chess Room may recognize some of the names of the players in the 1915 event from some of the photographs that are displayed in the Chess Room.San Francisco, 9 1/2; Los Angeles, 5 1/2, September 1915 Labor Day was utilized by the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club of San Francisco and the Los Angeles Chess and Checker Club for the purpose of holding another telegraphic match, which, after the adjudication of three unfinished games, ended in favor of San Francisco by 9 1/2 to 5 1/2, thereby reversing the result of the last encounter between these two clubs. E. W. Gruer acted as team captain for San Francisco, while E.R. Perry performed a like office for Los Angeles. The match went off smoothly, except for complaint from both sides concerning the slowness to which certain of the players were prone. There was no timing system and play went on under an agreement to keep the games "speeded up" within fifteen or twenty moves an hour. This proved unsatisfactory. Such a match cannot be expeditiously handled without the aid of timing clocks, which have always been called into use in telegraphic matches in the East and in the cable matches. Clocks having been installed, it remains only to a point efficient referees or umpires, who will conscientiously watch these clocks and see to it that they are set promptly in motion the moment moves received over the wire have been made on the boards. Los Angeles found the increase in the size of the teams to fifteen boards too much of a handicap, for, at the last seven boards, San Francisco won outright no less than six games. The struggle on the first eight boards was by Los Angeles. Boris Kostic, present during the match, was invited to act as referee, but declined. Professor Levy, of the University of California, represented Los Angeles at San Francisco. It is probable that the next match will again be played on ten boards. The summary of the match is appended:
Bds. San Francisco Los Angeles Bds. San Francisco Los Angeles
1. Gruer 1/2 Mlotkowski 1/2 9 Stamer 1 Greer 0
2. Rubinstein* 1/2 W.S.Waterman 1/2 10 W. Smith 1 Geldert. 0
3. Hallwegen 0 Perry 1 11 Dickinson 1 Anderson 0
4. Fink* 1/2 Woodward 1/2 12 Haber 1 Moore 0
5. Clarke 1/2 C.W.Waterman 1/2 13 Stephenso 1 Burnett. 0
6. Nevill 1/2 Peterson 1/2 14 Bergman 1 McAnslor 0
7. B. Smith 1/2 L'Hommede 1/2 15 Ford 0 McMurray 1
8. Drouillard* 1/2 Lewis 1/2 16
Total 9 1/2 Total 5 1/2*Unfinished and subsequently declared drawn. Mechanics' Institute had the white pieces on the odd-numbered boards. Source: The American Chess Bulletin 1915 9) Governer's CupOne of the more intriguing national events held each year is the Governor's Cup held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. This tournament attracts not only GMs, but also state champions from around the nation. It is open to all chessplayers. We pass along an invitation from 1999 USCF Organizer of the year De Knudson.
Dear Chess Friends, At this time we know that IM John Donaldson, GM Sergey Kudrin, and GM Yuri Shulman will be with us, and we are waiting to hear from other GM's and IM's. Once again state chess associations are being asked to nominate their current champion or one of their best chess players. Those state nominees will receive free entry into the tourney as well as $100 to help defray their expenses. The prize fund has been increased to $10,000, and we hope that you can be with us once again. Now that it is closer to September please let me know what your intentions are so that I can plan accordingly. Mark your calendars now and plan to bring your friends with you! The entry fee has been increased $5 to $40 because the Sioux Falls Convention Center charges us ten percent more each year. Please enter before September 15 to get the best rate. Entries postmarked after September 15 will be $60. 10) Atalik to serve as guest instructor at Advanced Chess CampGrandmaster Suat Atalik of Turkey will serve as a guest instructor at the MI Advanced Chess Camp held from July 30-August 3. The two GMs join full-time staffers Alex Yermolinsky, John Donaldson, Robert Haines and Anthony Corrales. This will be the strongest staff of instructors for any chess camp held in the United States this year. This camp is intended primarily for youngsters, but there are a limited number of spots for adults. NOTE - GM Lubomir Ftacnik, who was originally scheduled to come has just told us he will not be making a trip west at this time. He hopes to pay a visit to San Francisco late this year or in the spring of 2001.A camp for intermediate and advanced youngsters will be held July 30-August 3 and a camp for beginners and novices from August 6-August 10. Information about these camps is available at the Chess Room website under programs for children. Mechanics' Chessroom 11) Upcoming Events at the MIAugust 18Vladimir Pafnutieff Memorial (5 rounds G/45 at 1/2 K)
September 22
October 20
November 9-11
December 1 |