Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #82

"Modern chess is too much concerned with things like pawn structure. Forget it. Checkmate ends the game."
   Nigel Short

1) Wong, Ossipov and Hernandez lead the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon
2) April FIDE Ratings
3) Northern California State Scholastics
4) MI Chess History
5) The Turk is Coming
6) Upcoming Events

1) Wong, Ossipov and Hernandez lead the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon

NMs Russell Wong and Rudy Hernandez are tied for the lead at 3-0 with Expert Victor Ossipov in the 61-player Spring Tuesday Night Marathon.

2) April FIDE Ratings

FIDE recently released it April ratings which included the People's Open and Bay Area Masters. The following is a list of active local players.

GM Yermolinsky 2583 
GM  Browne 2473
IM Donaldson 2430
FM Mezentsev 2400
IM DeGuzman 2372
IM Rey 2358
FM Zilberstein 2337
FM Porter 2309
FM Keatinge-Clay 2284
FM Lobo 2282
IM Shipman 2237
Stearns 2233
Nambiar 2203
Casadei 2169
Schiller 2166
Aigner 2158
Gallegos 2134
Morkunaite 2132
Peckham 2080

3) Northern California State Scholastics

The Mechanics' Institute, coached by Anthony Corrales, won the Elementary and High School Championships at the Northern California State Scholastics, held this past weekend in Monterey. Top scorers in the High School, which was won by IM Vinay Bhat, were Monty Peckham and Michael Pearson with 5, Elisha Garg 41/2 and Michael O'Brien 4. Daichi Siegrist, Anand Kesavaraju (representing the MI) and David Chock tied for first in the Elementary Championship with 6-0 scores. Joining Anand on the winning team were Ben Laufer, Shawn Tse and Davis Xu, each with five points.
We expect to have a full report from Anthony next week.

4) MI Chess History

The MI recently acquired a reprint of the 1909 American Chess Bulletin which provided the following information.

The Mechanics' Institute Chess and Checker Club of San Francisco, which flourished before the earthquake, has been reorganized, with J. J. Dolan as president, J. L. Jaunet as secretary and treasurer, and Messrs. A. B. Stamer, L. A. Rosenblatt, H. Jones and Dr. G. Gere as other members of the executive committee. The annual tournament for the gold medal was duly revived, and in a field of eighteen players, Dr. Henry Epstein proved the winner, with A. Ferragut and Dr. Legler, second and third respectively. The brilliancy prize was won by Lawrence A. Rosenblatt for his game against Dr. Sternberg, on the award of Dr. W. R. Lovegrove.

ACB 1909, p 138

5) The Turk is coming to town

Do you remember the Turk? No, we are not talking about Grandmaster Suat Atalik of Istanbul, but the famous chessplaying machine of the 18th century which is the subject of a recent book (THE TURK: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth Century-Chess Playing Machine) by Tom Standage. He will be talking about "Thinking about Thinking Machines, 1769-2002" and signing copies of THE TURK in San Francisco on the following dates:

   * May 28 @ 7:00 PM: The Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street    * May 29 @ 12:30 PM: Stacey's Booksellers, 581 Market Street

For additional information about the book and/or Tom Standage, please visit www.theturkbook.com.

6) Upcoming Events

Mechanics' Institute Events:

2nd Imre Konig Memorial Saturday, April 13th
5 round Swiss One Day G/45, Rated at 1/2 K

Rounds: 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm.
Late Registration: 9 - 9:30am
Time Control: Game/45 Entry Fee: $25 for MI members, $30 for non-members, $5 discount for juniors, $2 discount for CalChess members. One discount per player. Late fee of $5 for entries received after April 8. Prizes ($600 b/25): $200-$100, Under 2200: $90, Under 2000: $75, Under 1800: $70, Under 1600: $65

The Walter Lovegrove Senior Open April 27th -28th, 2002
4 Round Swiss Open to players 50 and over
Round One 10:00am, Round Two 4:30 - April 27th...............
Round Three10:00am, Round Four 4:30 - April 28th Late Registration is from 9-9:30 am on April 27th.
Time Control: 50/2, SD/1 Entry Fee:$30 for MI members, $35 for non-members. Both $5 more after April 24th. $2 discount to CalChess members.
Prizes (600 b/20) :$200-$125-$75. Class A: $80, Class B: $65, Class C and under: $55

Regional Events:

CalChess San Mateo Swiss
May and 5

Four USCF-rated games for $20! No cash prizes, an inexpensive weekend Swiss! Support your state organization! Any profit from this event will benefit CalChess!
CalChess San Mateo Swiss
When: May 4 and 5, 2002
Where: American Legion Hall, 130 South Blvd., San Mateo (from Highway 92 in San Mateo, exit El Camino Real north, first right on 17th Ave., first left on Palm, first right on South Blvd.). Format: Four-round Swiss in eight sections: Master, Expert, A, B, C, D, E, Under 1000 (Ratings from April 2002 supplement will be used; strict class divisions: no one plays up). Round Times: 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. both days (half-point byes available all rounds, bye for round 4 must be requested before May 4). Late registration 10 a.m. Saturday. Time Control: Sudden death in 2 hours.
Prizes: Three trophies or plaques in each section.
Entry Fee: $20 to CalChess members (membership expiration dates before May 1, 2002),$40 to non-members, if received by May 1. $10 more at site. USCF membership required.
A one-year membership in CalChess gives you discounted entry fees into participating tournaments, and six issues of the award-winning California Chess Journal A regular one-year membership costs $15.
Registration and Information: Tournament director Frisco Del Rosario, 126 15th Ave., San Mateo CA 94402-2414 (650) 868-5187 no calls before 4 p.m., e-mail preferred to frisco@appleisp.net
Graphic: Beneath the San Mateo/Hayward Bridge

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Checks payable to Frisco Del Rosario ($20 entry fee for CalChess members, $40 for non-members who may join CalChess for $15 for one year, $28 for two years, $41 for three years, scholastic memberships $13 for one year), mail to 126 Fifteenth Ave., San Mateo CA 94402.