Chess Room Newsletter #617

Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News #617
February 27, 2013

Only by playing gambits will the chessplayer begin to understand that getting active positions, with the possibility of landing combinative shots will compensate him for the material sacrificed. The path followed by the chessplayer in his development will thus repeat the historical path followed by the art of chess itself. Its starting point is combinational creativity, on whose basis thereafter was laid the art of positional play.

—Yakov Estrin, from the introduction of his book Gambits,
published by Chess Enterprises in 1982.

1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News

National Master Romy Fuentes, second in the last two Tuesday Night Marathons, found himself alone in first when the Winter TNM ended last night. The veteran master scored an undefeated 6.5 from 8 to take home top honors and a check for $500. There was a large crowd a half-point back, which included FIDE Master Andy Lee, National Master Russell Wong (who beat top-seeded International Master Elliott Winslow in the last round), Experts Steven Gaffagan and Uyanga Byambaa and Class A player Craig Andries (who beat high-rated Expert and former Master Oleg Shakhnazarov in round 8).

Other prize winners were:

First Under 1800 – Richard Newey and Vadim Ryaboy
First Under 1600 – Christopher Nelson
First Under 1400- Robert Frank
First Under 12 – Hans Niemann

This Marathon set an all-time record for the series (which dates back to 1973) with 90 entries. The Spring Tuesday Night Marathon, an eight-rounder, starts March 19.

Jules Jelinek writes:

Tell your friends that Non-Members can now play the Wednesday Night Blitz!
 
It is time for the weekly blitz tournament at Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club. As always, the last entry is accepted at 6:40 pm, with sign-up beginning at 6:20 pm. Entry is $7 with clock; $8 without clock. Non-member entry is $9 with clock; $10 without clock. Prizes are 50%, 30%, 20% of base entry fees ($7 per player) collected. Time control preferably is 3 minute, increment 2 seconds; otherwise 5 minutes, no increment.

Winners for 2/13

1st - Carlos D'Avila
2nd – IM Elliott Winslow
3rd - Jules Jelinek
 
Winners for 2/20

1st - Carlos D'Avila
2nd - Jules Jelinek
3rd - Felix Rudiyak

Mechanics’ Chess Director John Donaldson won the 21st annual David Collyer Memorial held in Spokane last weekend with a 5-0 score.

2) Marshall in San Francisco in 1913

The Newsletter has published information on Frank J. Marshall’s visit to the Mechanics’ Institute in 1913 on several occasions, most recently in issue #516, when we published four games. Now Eduardo Bauzá Mercére has unearthed two more that first appeared in the San Francisco Call of July 20, 1913.

Danish Gambit Declined C44
Frank Marshall - Bernstein
San Francisco (simul) July 1, 1913

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5 4.exd5 Qxd5 5.cxd4 Nc6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.Be2 Nf6 8.0–0 Be7 9.Nc3 Qd8

9...Qa5 was safer.

10.d5 Nb4 11.Qa4+ c6 12.dxc6

12.Rd1! would have given White a dangerous initiative. The remainder of the game Bernstein plays quite solidly and Marshall is unable to make any headway.

12...Nxc6 13.Bg5 Bd7 14.Rad1 0–0 15.Bxf6 Bxf6 16.Ne4 Be7 17.Bb5 a6 18.Bxc6 Bxc6 19.Qc2 Qa5 20.Nd4 Qxa2 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Rfe1 Bb4 23.Ng5 g6 24.Re4 c5 25.Qe2 Rad8 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Re8+ Rxe8 28.Qxe8+ Kg7 29.Qe5+ Kg8 30.Qe8+ Kg7 ½–½

Danish Gambit Declined C44
Frank Marshall- A. Epstein
San Francisco (simul) July 1, 2013

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d3 4.Bxd3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bc5 6.0–0 d6 7.Be3 Bxe3 8.fxe3 Nf6 9.Nbd2 Be6 10.Nd4 Ne5 11.Be2 d5?

11...0-0 was more prudent. Black never recovers after this the move.

12.Qb3 Qc8 13.Rxf6 gxf6 14.exd5 Bd7 15.Ne4 f5 16.Nf6+ Ke7 17.Nh5 c5 18.dxc6 Bxc6 19.Qb4+ Kd8 20.Qd6+ Nd7 21.Nxf5 Qc7 22.Qe7+ Kc8 23.Rd1 Nb6 24.Qf6 Rf8 25.Nf4 Nd7 26.Qg7 Qe5 27.Bg4 Qxg7 28.Nxg7 Rg8 29.Bxd7+ Bxd7 30.Ngh5 Bc6 31.c4 a5 32.Nf6 Rg7 33.N4d5 Kb8 34.Nb6 Rxg2+ 35.Kf1 Ra6 36.c5 Rxh2?? 37.Rd8+ 1–0

3) Top Bay Area Juniors under 18

International Master Daniel Naroditsky will be playing in the US Junior Closed this June in St. Louis. Looking at the list of top junior under 18 in Northern California, it appears that Yian Liou and Samuel Sevian might also be extended invitations.

Recent Mechanic’ Institute Chess Club-affiliated players who have won the US Junior Closed include Grandmaster Sam Shankland (2010) and Senior Master Gregory Young (2011). MI staffer Paul Whitehead tied with Yasser Seirawan and John Fedorowicz in the 1978 edition of this event, which offers the winner a spot in the US Championship and an official spot in the World Junior.

1. IM Daniel Naroditsky 2538
2. FM Yian Liou 2469
3. SM Gregory Young 2467
4. IM-elect Sam Sevian 2459
5. FM Cameron Wheeler 2298
6. NM Kesav Wiswanadha 2235
7. NM Vignesh Panchanatham 2219
8. Colin Chow 2199
9. Daniel Liu 2199

4) Here and There

Mark Saylor, the 1972 California Junior Champion, who later worked at the Los Angeles Times as an editor where he oversaw a Pulitzer-winning series, died on March 19 at the age of 58.

Casey Bush, author of Grandmaster from Oregon: The life & games of Arthur Dake, has written an article for the Oregon publication 1859 on the only top American player to emerge from the Beaver State.

It can be found online at http://1859oregonmagazine.com/2013-january-february-1859-magazine-chess-master-arthur-dake.