Mechanic's Institute Chess Room Newsletter #89
"To study opening variations without reference to the strategic
concepts that develop from them in the middlegame, is, in effect, to
separate the head from the body."
1) Yermo ties for first in Chicago Open 2) Field for Imre Konig expanded 3) Lasker at the MI (December 1902) 4) Upcoming Events 1) Yermo ties for first in Chicago OpenMI GM-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky finished in a 7-way tie for first in the Chicago Open held May 24-27 at the Hyatt Regency Oak Brook. Joining Yermo in the winner's circle in the 805-player event, which featured 19 GMs and 13 IMs, were GMs Gregory Kaidanov, Jaan Ehlvest, Alexander Shabalov, Leonid Yudasin, Ildar Ibragimov and Giorgi Kacheishvili. Alex defeated Alexander Goldin (second rated in the US at 2702 USCF) with Black in the final round to gain his second big victory of 2002 (he and Walter Browne tied for first in the National Open). Good job Alex! Several other MI members made the trip east. David Pruess and Shivaji Shivkumar had 3 1/2 from 7 in the open section while Chethan Narayan had 2 1/2. Gennadi Reznikov had 4 in the under 2200, with Steven Gaffagan at 3 1/2 and James Jones on 2 (from 6). Former MI member Mike Maloney, now living in Chicago, finished in the money in the Under 2000 group with 5 1/2 points. US Championship Qualifiers (per the excellent Continental Chess Association Website): GM Alex Fishbein (5 points), IM Jesse Kraai, GM Anatoly Lein, Stephen Muhammad, Marc Esserman (all 4 1/2 points). Former Bay Area Players IM Mladen Vucic and Renard Anderson tied for 2nd-5th qualifier at 4 1/2 points, but lost out on the tiebreak. Elina Groberman was the qualifying women. The attendance for the Chicago, organized by Bill Goichberg's Continental Chess Association, was down slightly from last year, but excellent considering that very few players flew to the event. 2) Field for Imre Konig expandedCurrent US Champion Larry Christiansen (2573) and six-time titleholder Walter Browne (2473) have been added to the field for the Imre Konig Memorial. GMs Yury Shulman (2591), Alex Yermolinsky (2583), Lubomir Ftacnik (2576), Alex Baburin (2565), Alex Wojtkiewicz (2554), Suat Atalik (2551), Nick DeFirmian (2550), John Fedorowicz (2514) and IMs Varuzhan Akobian (2480) and Hikaru Nakamura (2466) round out the field. This will be the first time in the history of the Mechanics' that ten GMs have competed together in the same event. Rounds will be held daily from 11 am to approximately 4pm in the Mechanics' main Chess Room and spectators are most welcome. Admission is complementary. IM John Donaldson will provide commentary during some of the rounds. There will be a WBCA blitz tournament on Saturday, September 7 from 5-7 PM. Simuls pitting children against top players will also be part of the Konig chess festival. Full details will appear in upcoming Newsletters. Donations are what make events like this possible. Fund raising to date, through the generosity of National Masters Tibor Weinberger, Mark Pinto and Jim Eade and former US Senior Champion Neil Falconer, has generated 60 percent of the tournament budget. Can you help to make up the remaining $9,000? The M.I. has 501 (c) (3) status, so donations are tax deductible. Schedule for the Imre Konig Memorial September 3 7pm drawing of lots 4 rd 1 11am 5 rd 2 11am 6 rd 3 11am 7 rd 4 11 am (WBCA blitz 5pm -7pm) 8 rd 5 11am 9 rd 6 11am 10 Free Day 11 rd 7 11am 12 rd 8 11am 13 rd 9 11am 14 rd 10 11am 15 rd 11 11am 3) Lasker at the MI (December 1902)Many Newsletters ago, World Champion Emmanuel Lasker's December 1902 visit to the MI, including his famous lost to Dr. Lovegrove, were written up. The impression was that Lasker was just in town for a few days. Now, indefatigable researcher Steve Brandwein has unearthed a great deal more about Lasker's visit, which in fact lasted almost two weeks. The pages of the San Francisco Chronicle report that during Lasker's stay he was a regular at the MI (then located a few feet east at 31 Post and only a three story building), but also gave simuls at the Western Addition Chess, Checker and Whist Club and the SF Whist and Chess Club. The fruits of Steve's research Steve's research will appear in the next few Newsletters. Lasker's Blindfold Simul at the MI (December 27) Champion Lasker yesterday afternoon at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club, played five blindfold chess games, winning four and losing one. The players who opposed him were T.D. Black, Dr. B. Marshall, Harvey Dana, Richard Ott and J.J. Dolan. The game the champion lost was won by Dr. B. Marshall, the well-known local player. In his game with Dolan, Dr. Lasker, after the twenty-third move, announced mate in four moves. Considering that he does not claim to be a great blindfold player this remarkable man nevertheless gave a splendid exhibition, and demonstrated to a large crowd that he is a genius. Friday night (December 26) last Champion Lasker in a simultaneous exhibition at the Western Addition Chess, Checker and Whist Club, faced the largest number and the strongest combination of chess players since opening up his engagement here. He had twenty-two-players arrayed against him and after the smoke of battle had cleared away he had defeated sixteen, drawn four and lost two. George Halwegan and I. Schonfeld won from the champion and Dr. W.R. Lovegrove, Oscar Samuels, E.V. Gage and Dr. Franklin drew. Halwegan, who has been away from the city for some time, showed that he can still put up a good game. Schoenfeld, the other player to win from Lasker, is a member of the Western Addition Chess Club, and formerly played on the University of California chess team. The following are the players who took part against Lasker : C.W. Moores, Dr. W.R. Lovegrove, E.V. Gage, L.S. Schoenfeld, D.C. deLong, M.Ettinger, G.R. Thompson, G.P. Woodward, Dr. B. Marshall, Dr. J.D. McKee, Oscar Samuels, Dr. W.S. Franklin, Mr. Winter, E.E. Perley, L. Woodworth, N.J. Manson, M.J. Kuhl, J. Firebaugh, L.S. Adams, Gilbert Griffith and George Halwegan. A large crowd watched the contest which lasted until after midnight. Lasker,E - Schoenfeld,L [D35] Simul San Francisco, 26.12.1902 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 Nc6 5.f4 Bb4 6.Bd3 h6 7.Nf3 Ne7 8.0-0 Bxc3 9.bxc3 c6 10.Ba3 Nf5 11.Qe2 dxc4 12.Bxc4 Ne4 13.Qd3 Ned6 14.Bb3 Nb5 15.Bb2 0-0 16.Bc2 Nbd6 17.g4 b5 18.gxf5 exf5 19.Ba3 Re8 20.Ne5 Ne4 21.Qe2 Be6 22.Bxe4 fxe4 23.f5 Qg5+ 24.Qg2 Qxe3+ 25.Kh1 Bd5 26.Rae1 Qxc3 27.Ng4 Qxa3 28.Nf6+ Kh8 29.Rg1 Rg8 30.Nxd5 cxd5 31.Rgf1 Rac8 32.Rf4 Rc1 33.Qf1 Rgc8 34.Kg2 R8c2+ 35.Rf2 Rxf2+ 36.Qxf2 Rxe1 37.Qxe1 Qf3+ 38.Kg1 e3 39.Qh4 e2 0-1 4) Upcoming EventsMI Events
Jun. 7-9 GPP: 6 N. California
Jun. 14-16 GPP: 15 N. California June 22 2nd William Addison Open G/45 - go www.chessclub.org August 12-16 3rd Annual Mechanics' Institute Chess Camp for Intermediate and Advanced Players (1200-2200)
This is not a camp for players that want to jump two rating classes in
five days. You won't learn how to win against the Sicilian every time
using the Grand Prix Attack. So why our camp and not others? At the MI
camp you will get a look inside a GM's laboratory and get a feel for how
they work on their game from the ground up. You will learn not only the
importance of analyzing your own games, but also how to do it properly.
You will learn to identify the critical points of the game and to
understand when and why things went wrong.
Who: Open to all ages from 8 and up. Regional Events:
Jun. 1-2 GPP: 6 N. California
Jun. 29-30 GPP: 6 N. California |