Chess Room Newsletter #578

Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Newsletter #578
April 4, 2012

“In Dortmund, as well as in Leningrad and in Sochi, I played pretty well, but clearly I did not score high enough. It was something new: usually I had more points than I deserved. It seemed that I had matured as a chessplayer. My positional understanding got deeper, my opening knowledge had grown, and in general my game had become more balanced and versatile. At the same time, I had the feeling that something was important was gone for good. The mental tension that previously had never left me during the game was now replaced by a calm and sober view of the position. I was not sure if it was for better or for worse.”

—Vladimir Tukmakov, writing in Profession:Chessplayer

1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News

IM Elliott Winslow, FM Frank Thornally, National Master Romy Fuentes and Experts Todd Rumph and Steve Gaffagan are tied for first with 3.5 points after 4 rounds of the Spring Tuesday Night Marathon.

16-year-old International Master Daniel Naroditsky will be aiming for his second Grandmaster norm at the 6th Annual Philadelphia Open, held April 4-8. Among the top seeds are Grandmaster Sam Shankland of Orinda and former Bay Area GM Josh Friedel.

Hello everyone,
 
It’s Wednesday! Time for the weekly blitz chess tournament at Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club. As always, it starts no later than 6:40 pm, with sign-up beginning at 6:20 pm. Entry is $10 with clock, $11 without clock. Prizes are 50%, 30%, 20% of entry fees. Time control

The winners on 3/21/2012 were

1st - Elliott Winslow 
2nd - Jules Jelinek
3rd - Tom Stevens and Merim Mesic 

The winners last week were
1st - Carlos D’Avila
2nd - Felix Rudiyak
3rd - Merim Mesic

Look forward to seeing you tonight.
 
Jules Jelinek
Weekly Wednesday Night Blitz Coordinator

2) Tukmakov on Fischer and Karpov
Among the pieces of gold to be found in Vladimir Tukmakov’s Profession: Chessplayer (Russell Enterprises, Inc.) are the author’s impressions of greats such as Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov. Writing about the former, Tukmakov, who faced Bobby at Buenos Aires 1970, had this to say:

“Not only his play, but also his behavior on the stage was unusual. He hardly ever got up from the board, which was not common at the time. Now and then he would turn away from the game, however not so much to rest or to take a look at the positions of competitors, but only to refill his glass with milk, which he consumed in large quantities.”

Tukmakov sees Karpov as a most unusual player, one who doesn’t adhere to the logical approach of Botvinnik, building up a position step by step following a strategic idea that started in the opening and triumphs in the ending.

“Karpov, on the other hand, thought in chunks. There, was, of course, a general plan, but a new position with its specific features would emerge after every move and would demand a solution. Sometimes, the strongest move could be in discord with the previous plan of the game. Such contradictions would often confuse even great chessplayers. The twelfth world champion never had such doubts. He had a very unique ability of starting with a clean slate, not just a tournament or a game, but every single position. The previous ideas and variations were certainly present, but somewhere on the sidelines of this thought process and the specific features of the position after his opponent’s move were on the forefront.”

3) US Junior Closed to be held in St. Louis, by Mike Wilmering

The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship will be held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis July 6-20 this year.

This marks the third consecutive year this prestigious event will be held in Saint Louis.

The 2012 Junior Closed Championship will be a 10-player, round-robin event that will feature some of the top junior players in the nation.

Last year, Gregory Young, who was ranked seventh out of 10 players by rating, shocked the field with a superb 7.5/9 score to clinch the title of the 2011 U.S. Junior Closed Champion.

Invitations will be awarded to the six highest-rated players under the age of 21, according to the USCF’s March rating supplement.

Three wild card invitations and an automatic invitation to the defending champion will round out the field of 10.

The 2012 U.S. Junior Closed Championship will feature a prize fund of more than $10,000. The winner also will receive an invitation to the 2013 U.S. Championship and the 2012 World Junior Championship, scheduled to be held August 1 through August 16 in Athens, Greece.

Previous winners of the Junior Closed Championship include GM Bobby Fischer, GM Larry Christiansen, GM Patrick Wolff, IM Joshua Waitzkin, GM Tal Shaked, GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Robert Hess, GM Ray Robson and 2010 champion GM Sam Shankland.

For more information, please contact:
Mike Wilmering
Communications Specialist
Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis
[email protected]
314.361.2437

4) 1st Nor Cal House of Chess Invitational, by Joyce Laforteza 

The 1st NorCal House of Chess Invitational in Fremont proved to be a successful event. There were a few upsets along the way, but the top-seeded players still came out the victors. After a nine-game round-robin, IM Enrico Sevillano scored 7.5 to win clear first, while two other IMs, Ricardo De Guzman and Ray Kaufman, placed 2nd-3rd with 6 points. The tournament included 3 IMs, 3 FMs, 1 WFM and 2 National Masters to satisfy the Category III (2307 average FIDE Rating).

The youngest two participants proved they could play against the big guns: 22-yr old WFM Uyanga Byambaa and 14-yr. old whiz kid (NM) Yian Liou. Both came close to earning their first norms (WIM and IM). IM-elect Ronald Cusi came in 4th place (5.5 points), without losing a game. Ronald has already completed three of his IM norms, and merely needs to reach 2400 FIDE rating to officially become an IM. They will most likely try their chances again in the next NorCal House of Chess Invitational on May 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20.  

On the same weekend, NorCal House of Chess conducted its 1st FIDE Qualifier event, to give players the chance to earn a much-coveted seat in the Invitational. 20 players competed in this prestigious event, mostly the top kids from Northern California. Daniel Liu earned the seat by scoring 3.5 points. He also became a National Master by reaching the 2200-mark. He actually tied with World-Youth-veteran Cameron Wheeler, but had better tie-breaks. Cameron, together with fellow chess punk Vignesh Panchanatham (who beat top-seeded NM Ryan Porter), both earned seats in the next FIDE Qualifier on May 19-20.    

NorCal House of Chess continues its tradition of organizing the most elite chess tournaments in Northern California, for both adults and scholastics. This type of tournament has attracted many players from other countries and states, primarily because of chief organizer Ted Castro’s (famous coach and chief organizer) hospitality—warm accommodation, food, quality of tournament (every round starts on time) and great players. It’s like one big party; everyone’s having fun (before and after their games) while playing serious, quality games on the board. Despite having no sponsors (other than Weibel Chess, which provided nice chess pieces and clocks), parents/chess lovers come and visit, bring food/drinks and volunteer to make these events a successful one. Wei Liu, coach and father of Daniel Liu, commented that “NorCal House of Chess has raised chess in the Bay Area to a higher level.” 

Tune in for more events at NorCal House of Chess -chess camps, group classes, casual games, Grandmaster lectures/simuls and quality chess tournaments! Many famous players, coaches and celebrities such as GM Susan Polgar, GM Akobian, GM Ian Rogers (Australia), GM Bojkov (Bulgaria), IM Jennifer Shahade, and many more have visited us in Fremont. If you want to come and check out or be part of our events, please visit us at www.norcalhouseofchess.com .  Like us on facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/NorCalHouseofChess and follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/#!/NorCalChess 
 
5) Job Opening with Bay Area Chess, by Salman Azhar

Dear Chess Community,

As Bay Area Chess continues to grow and organize national events, we have an opportunity for chess enthusiasts to make a living doing what they love. This is a full-time or a part-time position for Director of Activities or Manager of Activities. I have been serving this role so far, and it has given me a tremendous feeling of goodness and achievement at the same time. Now I need help, so there is an opening for full-time or part-time employment.
Please find the job description for the Activities Manager below.

Salman Azhar, Ph. D.
Executive Director

---Who We Are---
Bay Area Chess in a non-political, non-religious, non-profit (501(c)(3)) organization which provides everyone with enjoyable activities that develop intellectual, mathematical, analytical, visual, and personal skills. Our services include after-school activities and chess tournaments. We have been the highest-ranked US Chess Federation affiliate west of Texas for the last four years.

---Position Description---
Title: Director of Activities
Reports to: Executive Director (Dr. Salman Azhar)

The Director of Activities

• develops and supervises activities related to Chess.
• establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships with event facilities, CalChess, US Chess Federation, school districts, parent-teacher organizations, and related groups.
• provides quality event services through effective event management and leadership of event staff.
• hires, leads, meets, motivates, trains, evaluates, and mentors staff to achieve great results.
• schedules activities at partner schools and facilities to optimize resources.
• develops and manages activities budgets.
• manages compliance with all applicable local, State and Federal regulations and requirements. 
• performs a wide range of organization and administrative duties related to departmental operations.
• demonstrates and promotes high ethical standards and integrity.
• shows a commitment to excellence and is willing to be coached for continual professional growth.