Gens Una Sumus!
Newsletter #1006
February 12, 2022
Table of Contents
- The Falconer Award
- TNM Report
- Gross Memorial
- Meet our Players
- Tony's Teasers
- FM Paul Whitehead's Column
- GM Nick de Firmian's Column
- Upcoming Events
- Special Event: Simultaneous Exhibition
- Solutions
The Falconer Award
by Dr. Judit Sztaray
As reported in previous issues, this year's Falconer award recipient is GM Andrew Hong. He was the highest-rated player under Age18 by his December 2021 rating. Andrew clinched the award just by a few rating points from GM Christopher Yoo, who crossed the 2600 at the end of December 2021 and took over by the February 2022 supplemental rating. Andrew has been active since June 2021 when the country restarted in-person tournaments. He attended a number of prestigious events, such as the National Open in Las Vegas, the World Open in Philadelphia, the 2021 US Junior Championship in Saint Louis, and the 2021 Northern California Invitationals Online, as well as three events organized by the Charlotte Chess Center.
In 1999 Neil Falconer, then longtime Mechanics' Institute Trustee, established the Falconer Award at the Institute which awards a cash prize to the highest-rated junior player under Age 18 in Northern California.
GM Hong joins a long list of now famous players:
2000 - 2002 Vinay Bhat
2003 Michael Pearson
2004 Nicholas Yap
2005 - 2006 Matthew Ho
2007 Nicholas Yap
2008 - 2009 Sam Shankland
2010 Steven Zierk
2011 - 2013 Daniel Naroditsky
2014 - 2015 Yian Liou
2016 - 2018 Cameron Wheeler
2019 Andrew Hong
2020 Christopher Yoo
2021 - no award was given out due to closures
I was extremely happy to be able to schedule a quick call with Andrew, who is such a wonderful and humble Grandmaster. It is my pleasure to have a chance to share a few interesting facts about him and his life. Andrew is a basketball fan, likes Mediterranean food, his favorite piece is the Knight, and his favorite chess player is GM Gary Kasparov. When asked how he got into the game, he shared "I was 7 years old when I first saw my brother playing chess. He brought home the chess set, and I started playing." He shared that while living in China for a year, he attended a chess club and that's where he was exposed to games of Grand Masters. He was especially fascinated by endgames, and how the club was teaching how to win endgames with interesting positions, like K&Q vs. K& pawn before promotion. "I was especially fascinated how this game can be won by moving the queen back and forth." I asked him what his best tournament was, to which he replied: "I would like to borrow Nepo's line: my best tournament is yet to come." His favorite tournament so far was the Charlotte tournament where he made his last GM norm.
I asked him what he would say to his 7 years old self: "I'd say work harder because it takes less time when you are younger." What great advice! I also asked what message he would give to scholastic players who are thinking about pursuing their dream of becoming a titled player, he said he would suggest “to only pursue the game if you have a passion for it; tone down your expectations and let passion drive you.”
If you would like to meet Andrew, please come by to celebrate with us at the award ceremony on Saturday, February 12 at 2:30PM in the Chess Room on the 4th floor at Mechanics' Institute at 57 Post Street in downtown San Francisco.
2022 IM Walter Shipman TNM Round Six Report
by FM Paul Whitehead
By drawing in only 14 moves with Expert Christophe Bambou, International Master Elliott Winslow maintains a ½ - point lead over rising star Jayden Xu (who took a bye) with only one round left to play. On board 2 Experts Lucas Lesniewski and Edward Lewis were both spoiling for a fight, but they also ended up splitting the point in a tough game. Joining those two with 4 points are NM Yusheng Xia (will he be paired with Winslow in the final round?) and MI stalwart Kristian Clemens who outfoxed NM Michael Walder in a great game.
In the Under 1800 Section, Romeo Barreyro moved into a tie for 1st with Ashwin Vaidyanathan by defeating Nursultan Uzakbaev. They both have 5 points, but right behind them are Stephen Parsons and Sebastian Suarez, who drew each other in a wild roller-coaster of a game. They are joined at 4.5 by Matt Long, who I heard caught Thomas Gu in an opening trap… With Ashwin sitting out the final round, we are in for a photo-finish!
Although our live commentary and broadcast on Twitch is on hiatus, you can still follow the DGT action on the Internet: https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/walter-shipman-memorial-tnm-2022#live
SwissSys Standings. 2nd Shipman Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon: 1800+
| # | Name | ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Total |
| 1 | Elliott Winslow | 10363365 | 2251 | W24 (b) | W6 (w) | D2 (b) | W13 (w) | W5 (b) | D4 (w) | 5.0 | |
| 2 | Jayden Xu | 15918365 | 1765 | W8 (w) | W12 (b) | D1 (w) | D7 (b) | W11 (w) | H--- | 4.5 | |
| 3 | Yusheng Xia | 13471910 | 2294 | H--- | F16 | H--- | W15 (b) | W12 (w) | W13 (b) | 4.0 | |
| 4 | Christophe Bambou | 12734479 | 2106 | D16 (w) | L11 (b) | W18 (w) | W22 (b) | W14 (w) | D1 (b) | 4.0 | |
| 5 | Edward Lewis | 12601629 | 2017 | W21 (w) | W20 (b) | W14 (w) | D11 (b) | L1 (w) | D8 (b) | 4.0 | |
| 6 | Kristian Clemens | 13901075 | 1934 | W19 (w) | L1 (b) | W10 (w) | D14 (b) | D13 (w) | W11 (b) | H--- | 4.0 |
| 7 | David Askin | 13776967 | 2035 | W18 (w) | L14 (b) | W17 (w) | D2 (w) | H--- | D9 (b) | 3.5 | |
| 8 | Lucas Lesniewski | 17039584 | 2025 | L2 (b) | W23 (w) | L13 (b) | W18 (w) | W19 (b) | D5 (w) | 3.5 | |
| 9 | Jim Ratliff | 11163831 | 1719 | H--- | H--- | H--- | D19 (w) | W16 (b) | D7 (w) | 3.5 | |
| 10 | Joshua Lamstein | 15487526 | 1605 | L14 (w) | X25 | L6 (b) | W24 (w) | H--- | W15 (b) | 3.5 | |
| 11 | Michael Walder | 10345120 | 2085 | D13 (b) | W4 (w) | W16 (b) | D5 (w) | L2 (b) | L6 (w) | 3.0 | |
| 12 | William Gray | 13217831 | 1971 | W23 (b) | L2 (w) | D19 (b) | D16 (w) | L3 (b) | W14 (b) | 3.0 | |
| 13 | Luke Widjaja | 16010621 | 1792 | D11 (w) | W15 (b) | W8 (w) | L1 (b) | D6 (b) | L3 (w) | 3.0 | |
| 14 | Kayven Riese | 12572270 | 1906 | W10 (b) | W7 (w) | L5 (b) | D6 (w) | L4 (b) | L12 (w) | 2.5 | |
| 15 | Guy Argo | 12517167 | 1856 | H--- | L13 (w) | W21 (b) | L3 (w) | W23 (b) | L10 (w) | 2.5 | |
| 16 | Ranen Lardent | 12614986 | 1827 | D4 (b) | X3 | L11 (w) | D12 (b) | L9 (w) | D19 (b) | 2.5 | |
| 17 | Abel Talamantez | 12465386 | 1804 | H--- | H--- | L7 (b) | H--- | U--- | B--- | 2.5 | |
| 18 | Adam Mercado | 16571026 | 1774 | L7 (b) | D24 (w) | L4 (b) | L8 (b) | B--- | W23 (w) | 2.5 | |
| 19 | Joel Carron | 16600505 | 1671 | L6 (b) | B--- | D12 (w) | D9 (b) | L8 (w) | D16 (w) | 2.5 | |
| 20 | James J Mahooti | 12621393 | 1867 | W25 (w) | L5 (w) | H--- | H--- | U--- | U--- | 2.0 | |
| 21 | Glenn Kaplan | 12680193 | 1740 | L5 (b) | H--- | L15 (w) | H--- | X22 | U--- | 2.0 | |
| 22 | Daniel Austi Wang | 15361305 | 1737 | H--- | H--- | H--- | L4 (w) | F21 | U--- | 1.5 | |
| 23 | Charles Faulkner | 12559529 | 1720 | L12 (w) | L8 (b) | D24 (b) | B--- | L15 (w) | L18 (b) | 1.5 | |
| 24 | Fredrick Dutter | 12343420 | 1900 | L1 (w) | D18 (b) | D23 (w) | L10 (b) | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | |
| 25 | Gaziz Makhanov | 16828914 | 1917 | L20 (b) | F10 | U--- | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.0 |
SwissSys Standings. 2nd Shipman Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon: u1800
| # | Name | ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Total |
| 1 | Romeo Barreyro | 17018168 | 1631 | W21 (w) | D7 (b) | W3 (w) | W12 (b) | D2 (w) | W9 (b) | 5.0 | |
| 2 | Ashwin Vaidyanathan | 30205719 | 1444 | W11 (w) | W12 (b) | W14 (w) | W4 (w) | D1 (b) | H--- | H--- | 5.0 |
| 3 | Stephen Parsons | 16566932 | 1629 | W16 (b) | W5 (w) | L1 (b) | W6 (w) | W13 (b) | D4 (w) | 4.5 | |
| 4 | Sebastian Suarez | 16875347 | 1565 | W27 (w) | W20 (b) | W9 (w) | L2 (b) | W8 (w) | D3 (b) | 4.5 | |
| 5 | Matt Long | 13377410 | 1519 | W30 (w) | L3 (b) | W27 (b) | D15 (w) | W17 (b) | W10 (w) | 4.5 | |
| 6 | Yorgos Tsolias | 17266862 | 1512 | H--- | H--- | X22 | L3 (b) | X26 | W13 (w) | 4.0 | |
| 7 | Paul Reed | 13373197 | 1474 | W23 (b) | D1 (w) | L13 (b) | D16 (w) | W25 (b) | W17 (w) | 4.0 | |
| 8 | Anton Maliev | 30250562 | 1429 | H--- | X10 | W15 (b) | D13 (w) | L4 (b) | W12 (b) | 4.0 | |
| 9 | Nursultan Uzakbaev | 17137317 | 1521 | X22 | W29 (w) | L4 (b) | W11 (b) | H--- | L1 (w) | 3.5 | |
| 10 | Thomas Gu | 17005685 | 958 | H--- | F8 | W23 (b) | W21 (b) | W14 (w) | L5 (b) | 3.5 | |
| 11 | Ambrogino Giusti | 30223021 | unr. | L2 (b) | X26 | X20 | L9 (w) | D19 (b) | W25 (w) | 3.5 | |
| 12 | Adam Ginzberg | 30268083 | 1576 | W17 (b) | L2 (w) | W25 (b) | L1 (w) | W16 (b) | L8 (w) | 3.0 | |
| 13 | Dean Guo | 30257083 | 1554 | W18 (b) | H--- | W7 (w) | D8 (b) | L3 (w) | L6 (b) | 3.0 | |
| 14 | Albert Starr | 12844781 | 1522 | W28 (w) | X25 | L2 (b) | L17 (w) | L10 (b) | W27 (w) | 3.0 | |
| 15 | Richard Hack | 12796129 | 1500 | W26 (b) | H--- | L8 (w) | D5 (b) | L18 (w) | W28 (b) | 3.0 | |
| 16 | Jp Fairchild | 30150098 | 1229 | L3 (w) | W30 (b) | H--- | D7 (b) | L12 (w) | W19 (w) | 3.0 | |
| 17 | Benjamin Anderson | 30235937 | 1172 | L12 (w) | X31 | W24 (b) | W14 (b) | L5 (w) | L7 (b) | 3.0 | |
| 18 | Pratyush Hule | 16317000 | 1104 | L13 (w) | H--- | H--- | X--- | W15 (b) | U--- | 3.0 | |
| 19 | David R Olson | 13913131 | 1400 | L29 (b) | L22 (w) | X32 | W27 (b) | D11 (w) | L16 (b) | 2.5 | |
| 20 | Simone Pagan Griso | 17322263 | 1329 | W32 (b) | L4 (w) | F11 | H--- | L23 (w) | W31 (b) | 2.5 | |
| 21 | Deandre Stallworth | 30255378 | 1294 | L1 (b) | D23 (w) | W29 (b) | L10 (w) | W24 (b) | U--- | 2.5 | |
| 22 | Prasanna Chandramouli | 30279272 | 1002 | F9 | W19 (b) | F6 | L25 (w) | W31 (w) | D24 (b) | 2.5 | |
| 23 | David Nichol | 12934283 | 982 | L7 (w) | D21 (b) | L10 (w) | X32 | W20 (b) | U--- | 2.5 | |
| 24 | Nick Casares Jr | 10424364 | 1600 | L25 (w) | W28 (b) | L17 (w) | D31 (b) | L21 (w) | D22 (w) | 2.0 | |
| 25 | Vittorio Banfi | 30308530 | 1227 | W24 (b) | F14 | L12 (w) | W22 (b) | L7 (w) | L11 (b) | 2.0 | |
| 26 | Timothy Bayaraa | 15616166 | 1149 | L15 (w) | F11 | W28 (b) | W29 (w) | F6 | U--- | 2.0 | |
| 27 | Danny Cao | 16939797 | 1142 | L4 (b) | X32 | L5 (w) | L19 (w) | X32 | L14 (b) | H--- | 2.0 |
| 28 | Richard Ahrens | 16953298 | 1091 | L14 (b) | L24 (w) | L26 (w) | B--- | W29 (b) | L15 (w) | 2.0 | |
| 29 | Matthew Grange | 30403587 | unr. | W19 (w) | L9 (b) | L21 (w) | L26 (b) | L28 (w) | B--- | 2.0 | |
| 30 | Eli Chanoff | 12898987 | 993 | L5 (b) | L16 (w) | B--- | U--- | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | |
| 31 | Christian Brickhouse | 30261226 | 452 | U--- | F17 | H--- | D24 (w) | L22 (b) | L20 (w) | 1.0 | |
| 32 | Marcus Casaes | 30290420 | unr. | L20 (w) | F27 | F19 | F23 | F27 | U--- | 0.0 |
Annotated games by GM Nick de Firmian
(1) Winslow,Elliott (2251) - Bambou,Christophe (2106) [B01]
MI 2nd Shipman mem TNM: 1800+ San Francisco (6.1), 08.02.2022
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 Just one of a few moves, but preferred by Negi. The veiled attack could be fruitful. [5.Nf3 is the "old" move, depending what you mean by old.; 5.Bc4 is more modern, if only so that on 5...Bg4 White has 6.f3 (or 6.Nge2; as well as 6.Nf3) ; Oh, and 5.Bd3 was the main move -- in the 1880s.] 5...Bg4!? Bambou has played this a few times. 6.f3 Bd7!? Black has a sophisticated plan. [6...Bf5 7.Bc4 Qb6 8.g4 Bg6 9.Qe2 Nc6 10.Bb5 0-0-0 11.Bxc6 Qxc6 12.0-0-0 e6 13.Nh3 1-0 (33) So,W (2772)-Xiong,J (2687) Chess.com INT 2021] 7.f4!? Negi's novelty, although it doesn't seem to have caught on like many of his other Grandmaster Preparation ideas. Alas, this move was the end of White's preparation. It helps, when you're studying an opponent who plays a sharp and analyzed line, to remember which line it is! [7.Bc4 Qb6 8.Nge2 e6 has been seen dozens of times, with pretty good results, although 9.Be3!? could still be a problem.] 7...Qb6!?N Never played, not that much has been! [Negi analyzes the less directed 7...e6; as well as back to 7...Bg4; while 7...a6!? 8.Nf3 Qb6 just transposes, to one of Negi's lines, and, briefly, our game.] 8.Nf3 a6 9.Bc4 [9.Bd3 e6! Further control of c5; (More Negi: 9...Nc6? 10.Na4! Qa7 (so that's the point of ...a6! 11.c3 and there's no fork on b5.) 10.Qe2 Nc6! 11.0-0-0 a) 11.Qf2 Nb4; b) Note 11.Na4 Qa7 12.Be3!? (12.c3 Nxd4! and a4 is unprotected) 12...Nd5!; c) 11.d5!? Nb4 12.Ne5!? looks to be +/= (some slight advantage) after all.; 11...Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 "unclear" is the final mention.] 9...Nc6
[9...e6? 10.Qe2+/- (Negi again) 10...Nc6 11.d5] 10.d5N [10.Na4! Qa7 11.Nc5 is in fact the path forward. But it's a jungle of complications! 11...-- a) 11...Nxd4?! 12.Nxd7 Nxd7 13.Bc3! Nxf3+ (13...Nb5 is in fact better, although 14.Bxf7+ Kxf7 15.Qxd7 Qe3+ 16.Kf1 Qxf4 17.Be5 Qc4+ 18.Ke1 is pretty bleak for Black, with neither rook likely to join the battle for a while.) 14.Qxf3 is the sort of gambit you see so often in the Scandinavian and many openings; Black hangs on to a "healthy" pawn but is lost. 14...e6 can be met by 15.0-0-0 (or 15.f5+- right away) 15...0-0-0 16.f5+-; b) Here Negi really goes to town, analyzing 11...Bg4 12.c3 e6 13.Nd3!; c) and also 11...Bf5!? 12.Ne5 e6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qf3; ; Here's a game, which follows the analysis for quite a few moves: 10.Na4 Qa7 11.Nc5 Bf5 12.Ne5 e6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Qf3 Qb6 15.b4 a5 16.a4 Nd5 17.c3 axb4 18.Bxd5 exd5 19.Qe2+ Kd8 20.cxb4 Bxc5 21.dxc5 Qa6 22.Qxa6 Rxa6 23.Kf2 Kc8 24.Bc3 1/2-1/2 (24) Eastlake,P (2336)-Milde,L (2355) ICCF email 2020] 10...Nd4 11.Nxd4 Qxd4 Negi one last time: "unclear" 12.Qe2?! [12.Bb3 is the last try for any advantage, or maybe that's for no *dis*advantage: 12...Ne4! 13.Nxe4 Qxe4+ 14.Qe2 Qxe2+ 15.Kxe2 0-0-0 16.Rae1!? is, basically, even.] 12...Bg4 13.Qd3 Qxd3 14.Bxd3 and White offered a timely draw. If anyone is better it's Black. 1/2-1/2
(2) Lesniewski,Lucas (2025) - Lewis,Edward (2017) [A43]
MI 2nd Shipman mem TNM: 1800+ San Francisco (6.2), 08.02.2022
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 c5 6.d5 [6.dxc5 Qa5 7.0-0 Should be a small edge to White. ] 6...0-0 7.0-0 Na6 8.h3 Rb8 9.a4 Nc7 10.Bf4
This position should also be a little better for White with the extra space. Yet Black has played for dynamic chances to get an imbalanced game. 10...h6?! A slow move, giving White another tempo to play for the center. 11.Nd2 [11.Qd2 g5 12.Bh2] 11...e5 12.Be3 g5 Stopping f2-f4, however White can play on the queenside too. 13.Nc4 Nce8 14.a5 Bd7 15.Ra3 Kh8 16.Rb3 [16.Qb1 b6 17.axb6 axb6 18.b4 is a big queenside initiative] 16...b5 17.axb6 axb6 18.Na3 Ng8 19.Bg4 Nc7 20.Bxd7 Qxd7 21.Qg4 f5 Edward starts to fight back. The middle game holds chances for Black while the endgame would be white square torture. 22.exf5 Nf6 23.Qc4 Qxf5 24.Nab5 Nce8 25.Qe2 h5 26.Na7 Nc7 27.Nc6 Rbe8 28.Rxb6?! Better to hold the center with 28. Rfd1 28...g4 [28...Ncxd5! 29.b4] 29.hxg4 hxg4 30.Qc4 [30.Na5 Ncxd5 31.Nxd5 Nxd5 32.Rxd6 Nxe3 33.Qxe3] 30...Qxc2 31.Rb7?! [31.b3!] 31...Ncxd5! Turning the game from White's favor to Black's! The white knight on c3 cannot do its job of protecting the d5 pawn when it is pinned. 32.Bg5 Nxc3 33.bxc3 Qg6 34.Be3 d5 35.Qxc5 g3! 36.fxg3
36...d4?! [36...Ng4! puts White in difficulties due to the mating threats 37.Rxf8+ Rxf8 38.Rb4 Ra8 forces 39.Rxg4 Qxg4 with a big edge to Black] 37.cxd4 Ng4 38.Rxf8+ Rxf8
39.Nxe5! Nxe5?! [39...Qe4 40.Nxg4 Qxb7 41.Qh5+ Kg8 42.Nh6+ Bxh6 43.Qxh6 is a little better for White] 40.dxe5 Qxg3 41.Rb4 [41.Bf2! Qxe5 42.Rxg7! Qa1+! 43.Kh2 Qxg7 44.Bd4 Rf6 45.Bxf6 Qxf6 is a pawn up queen ending] 41...Ra8 42.Qd4 Bxe5 43.Qh4+ Qxh4 44.Rxh4+ This pawn up ending is just a draw 44...Kg7 45.Kf2 Ra2+ 46.Kf3 Ra3 47.Re4 Bf6 48.Kg4 Ra8 1/2-1/2
(3) Widjaja,Luke (1792) - Xia,Yusheng (2294) [C00]
MI 2nd Shipman mem TNM: 1800+ San Francisco (6.3), 08.02.2022
1.e4 e6 2.b3 An unusual reply to the French Defense! Luke wants to avoid theory, though Black easily equalitzes in the center. 2...d5 3.Bb2 dxe4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.Qe2
White gets the pawn back unless Black tries 5...Nc6 [5...Qd4 6.f3 exf3 7.Nxf3 with good play for the pawn.] 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.0-0-0 0-0 8.Nf3 a5! Fine use of the a-pawn to soften up white's king position a bit. 9.a4 Nb4 10.d4 b6 11.c3 [11.Nxf6+] 11...Nbd5 12.c4?! White is left with a hole on b4 after this. 12...Nb4 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Qe4 Rb8 15.h4 Bb7 16.Qe3 c6 17.Kb1
17...Ba6 [Black had the opportunity for a very promising pawn sacrifice - 17...b5! 18.cxb5 cxb5 19.Bxb5 Qd5] 18.Ng5?! [18.g4] 18...b5 19.Bd3 Nxd3 20.Qxd3 g6 21.Ne4? allowing Black to follow his plan [21.cxb5 cxb5 22.Ne4 was ok] 21...bxc4! Now White is on the run on the queenside 22.bxc4 Rb4 23.h5 This doesn't help. Black is too fast on the other side 23...Bxc4 24.Qe3 Bg7 25.hxg6
25...Qb6! other moves win also, but this is the fastest 26.gxh7+ Kh8 27.Rd2 Rb8 28.Qc3
28...Bd3+! 29.Qxd3 Rxb2+ 30.Ka1 Rxd2 0-1
Recap of the 21st Gross Memorial Championship
(4) Mei,Austin (2233) - Boldi,Nicholas (1931) [C00]
21st Henry Gross Memorial Championship San Francisco, CA, United Sta (1.2)
1.e4 e6 2.Qe2!? Avoiding the main lines of the French to get out of mainsteam theory. 2...d5?! [2...c5] 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Nc3 So the Black queen is driven back and White has chances for an opening edge. 4...Qd8 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.d4 Be7 7.Bg5 0-0 8.0-0-0 White has an edge from the opening with better development. 8...b6?!
9.Qd2?! [9.Bxf6! Bxf6 10.Qe4 c6 11.Bd3 g6 12.h4 Bb7 13.h5 Nd7 14.Kb1 Qe7 15.hxg6 hxg6 16.Qf4 gives White good attacking chances] 9...Bb7 10.Bd3 Nc6 11.a3 a6 12.h4 b5 13.Ne4 Still White has his edge of a little more central space and mobility. 13...Nd5 [13...Nxe4] 14.Nc5 Bc8 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Be4 Rb8 17.Bxd5 exd5 18.Rde1 Qd6 19.Ne5 Nxe5 20.Rxe5 f6 21.Re3 Bd7 22.Rhe1 Rbe8 White is very solid with a fine knight on c5. Black is under pressure. 23.g3 Rxe3 24.Rxe3 Re8?! Trading all the rooks makes the white knight clearly better than the black bishop. 25.Rxe8+ Bxe8 26.Qe1 [26.Qa5] 26...Bf7?!
[26...Bd7 holds all the black pawns] 27.Qa5! Qe7 28.b3 Making an escapre rout for the White king. White gains the a-pawn with good winning chances. 28...Bh5?! [28...h6] 29.Qxa6 Qe1+ 30.Kb2 Now its very difficult for Black. 30...h6 is best but with best play Black should lose anyway. 30...Qxf2?
31.Qe6+! Now it's mate in two. Our Tony would be pleased. 31...Bf7 32.Qc8+ Be8 33.Qxe8# 1-0
(5) Sankar,Arjun (1578) - Brown,James (1795) [C45]
21st Henry Gross Memorial Championship San Francisco, CA, United Sta (4.5)
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Bc5 5.Be3 Qf6 6.c3 Classic Scotch Game. Arjun doesn't fall for 6. Nxc6? Bxe3 6...Nxd4?!
7.Bxd4?! [White could have gotten a classic pawn center with 7.cxd4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3] 7...Bxd4 8.Qxd4 Qxd4 9.cxd4 Now White has the classic center, but it is less important with the queens and bishops traded. Here there is more room for the black pieces to maneuver. 9...d6 10.Nc3 c6 11.Be2 Nf6 12.0-0 0-0 13.Bf3 Re8 14.Rfe1 Bg4 15.Bxg4 Nxg4 16.f3 Nf6 White has just a small edge with the nice pawn center. With few pieces on the board it is only a slight worry. 17.Re2 d5 18.Rae1 Allowing exchanges cedes equality. White would still be for choice after [18.e5] 18...dxe4 19.Nxe4 Nxe4 20.Rxe4 Kf8 21.Kf2 Rxe4 22.Rxe4 Re8
23.Rxe8+?! The immediate trade leaves White with an isolated pawn. The game should still be a draw, but it is Black who has the better chances. 23...Kxe8 24.Ke3 Ke7 25.g3 Ke6 26.h3 Kd5 27.Kd3 g5 28.b3 a5 29.a3 f5 30.Ke3 b5 31.Kd3 b4
32.a4? [32.axb4 axb4 33.f4 gxf4 34.gxf4 is just a drawn king and pawn ending. Now Black can win] 32...f4! 33.gxf4 gxf4 34.Ke2 losing the pawn, but White is in zugszwang anyway after 34. h4 h5 34...Kxd4 35.Kd2 c5 36.h4 h5 White resigns. Nice endgame play by James. 0-1
Meet Our Club Players #1
DeAndre Stallworth
We are starting a new column in which we are profiling our club players. In this inaugural piece we would like to introduce DeAndre Stallworth during Black History Month. Please welcome his introduction and say hello to him next time you see him in the club!
Tony's Teasers
Mechanics' Institute Chess Events Schedule
February - March 2022
February 12, 2022, 3PM USCF Rated. 3RR G/30;d5
Information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/mechanics-championship-quads
Falconer Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon,
March 1 - April 122022, 6:30PM FIDE Rated. 7SS G/120;d5
Information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/falconer-memorial-tuesday-night-marathon
Register: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/2022Tournaments/FalconerMemorialTuesdayNightMarathon
March 6, 2022, USCF Rated. 4SS G/45;d5
Information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/aj-fink-amateur-u2200-championship-g45-person
Register: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/2022Tournaments/AJFinkMemorialu2000ChampionshipG45
FM Paul Whitehead's Column
Chess is Everywhere
[email protected]
No sooner had World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen gained a precious 3.1 rating points from Tata Steel Masters, when he turned around and lost it all – and then some – by drawing IM Geir Ostmoe in the Norwegian League a week later:
https://chess24.com/en/read/news/carlsen-suffers-hiccup-on-hunt-towards-2900
GM Nick de Firmian's Column
FIDE Grand Prix – The Return of Nakamura
There are many things that we have missed in the last two years of the pandemic, but chess games and tournaments are not usually on everyone’s list. That’s because the chess world (and certainly the Mechanics’ Institute) adapted quickly to the new circumstances and introduced high-quality online tournaments. Then organizers figured out how to hold in person tournaments safely, and life seemed normal to chess players.
FIDE Chess Grand Prix 1 2022 | Pool A Chess.com (2), 05.02.2022
(2) Nakamura,Hikaru (2736) - Grischuk,Alexander (2764) [E73]
FIDE Grand Chess Prix 1 All Pools 2022 Chess.com (5), 09.02.2022
Special Event by Mr. G featuring Mechanics' players
2022 Winter Simul -- A Free Community Event
Two Mechanics' club players: Luke Widjaja and Adithya Chitta
Also: Lauren Goodkind, Mr. Dan Gertmenian (aka Mr. G.) and Jai Satrawada
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Date: Friday, February 18, 2022
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Time: First Sitting at 4:00 pm, Second Sitting at 7:00 pm
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Location: Quinlan Community Center, 10185 N. Stelling Rd. in Cupertino Cost: Free
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Registration: tinyurl.com/m5sftu6
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Open to the public: Age: 3rd grade and up
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Level: open to all players regardless of experience level (up to 1500 USCF rating)
Solution to Tony's Teaser
Qe3!
if 1....Kxd6 2. Qb6+ Kxe7 3. Rf7 mate
if 1....Kxf6 2. Qh6+ Ke5 3. Rd5 mate
if 1....N8xd6 2. Nc6+ Kxf6 3. Qh6 mate
if 1.....N8xf6 2. Ng6+ Kxd6 3. Qb6 mate
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