Gens Una Sumus!
Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News #618
March 6, 2013
Yes. There is also the Chinese school. I think this is set by the founder. In Riga, it was Tal, and it is understandable that then people like Vitolins, Shabalov and Shirov played like they do. And, let us say, In Minsk, at the start of the 1950s, there were Boleslavsky and Sokolsky. Naturally, they taught a serious approach to opening set-ups, with a clear preference for dynamics. So, the King’s Indian, various Sicilian set-ups, and this starting all the way from children’s tournaments. Openings such as the Queen’s Gambit and Queen’s Indian we did not know at all, I played the King’s Indian and Najdorf from the age of six. Boleslavsky did not only teach Kapengut, he also read lectures to other trainers.
—Boris Gelfand, talking about the different schools of chess, including his native Belarus,
in an interview at Why Chess - http://whychess.com/en/node/4109
The Mechanics’ will host the A.J. Fink Amateur this Saturday and Sunday.
1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News
The Winter Tuesday Night Marathon produced number of memorable performances. Among them was Todd Rumph, earning his master title after playing tournament chess (with breaks) for roughly 40 years. Bill Ortega showed he can still play after a twenty-year layoff, turning in a 2059-rating performance.
FM Andy Lee and Bryon Doyle each had the distinction of winning every game they played. Lee went 6-0, but had to miss two rounds, while Doyle was very helpful as the always-dependable house man who stepped in to make sure that no players got byes. That didn’t stop him from winning all four of his games.
Top rating point winners (amazingly, no juniors) were:
Christopher Nelson 1513-1676 (163 points!)
Nicholas Brown 1471-1570 (99 points)
Robert Frank 1264-1343 (79 points)
David Rakonitz 1482-1555 (73 points)
Bayaraa Bekhtur 1649-1704 (55 points)
The next Tuesday Night Marathon starts on March 19. All USCF members are welcome to play in this eight-round event.
MI Chess Camps this summer:
June 10-14 Beginners’ Camp
July 15-19 Master Class
July 22-26 Main Camp
Hello everyone,
Tell your friends that Non-members can now play the Wednesday Night Blitz!
It is time for the weekly blitz tournament starts 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 minutes, increment 2 seconds; otherwise 5 minutes, no increment.
Last week we had 8 players in the Blitz. The winners were:
1st - Merim Mesic 9-1/2 pts
2nd - Jules Jelinek 9 pts
3rd - Joe Urquhart 5-1/2 pts
Look forward to seeing you tonight.
Jules Jelinek
Weekly Wednesday Night Blitz Coordinator
2) A Chess Poem by Dennis Fritzinger
prisoners
every captured
pawn or piece
is a prisoner.
it goes automatically
behind the lines
on your side of the board.
there it watches
the remaining play,
perhaps rooting on
the home team,
perhaps wishing
it was still on
the playing field,
perhaps dispassionately
analyzing the chances
for both sides.
i can almost hear
them mutter,
placing their bets
as to who will win.
3) Here and There
Rene Olthof reports that Yasser Seirawan didn’t succeed in retaining the title of Open Dutch Blitz Champion for the third time in a row in Dordrecht last Saturday. He did, however turn in a more-than-respectable performance of 2708 FIDE in finishing equal 6th.
The top group of the tournament, with 194 players, was won by the French 2700 player Fressinet, with GMs Edouard, Sanikidze and Van Wely right behind.
Russia, China and Ukraine are leading the Womens’ World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, with 7 match points after 4 rounds. The US team, seeded 5th, is in the middle of the standings at 4 points, having beaten Turkey, lost to China and drawn with France and Kazakhstan. Irina Krush, playing board two, has been the top performer to date for the US, with 3 from 4 for a performance rating of 2524. For more information go to http://astana2013.fide.com/.
Congratulations to 6-time US Champion Walter Browne and his wife Rachel who celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary on March 9.
Here is a lesser-known Browne masterpiece from the 1972 US Open.
Benoni A43
Bent Larsen – Walter Browne
USA, 1972
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 d6 4.Nc3 g6 5.e4 Bg7 6.Bb5+ Nfd7 7.a4 0–0 8.0–0 Na6 9.Bf4 Nc7 10.Be2 f5! 11.exf5 Rxf5 12.Bg5 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Nxd5 14.Bd3 Nxc3 15.Qd2 Rxf3 16.gxf3 Ne5 17.Bc4+ e6!! 18.Qxc3 Qxg5+ 19.Kh1 b6 20.Rfd1 Qf4 21.Rxd6 Nxf3 22.Rd8+ Kf7 23.Kg2 Qg5+ 24.Kh3 Qh4+ 25.Kg2 Nd4 26.Rxd4 Bb7+ 27.Bd5 Bxd5+ 28.Rxd5 Qe4+ 29.f3 Qxd5 30.a5 b5 31.Re1 Rd8 32.Re2 Qg5+ 33.Kf2 Rd1 34.Re1 Qh4+ 0–1
4) Metropolitan February GM Tournament, by Ankit Gupta
Metropolitan Chess, Inc. hosted a Grandmaster norm round robin tournament from February 20th to 24th, 2013. The tournament was sponsored by California Market Center, Fashion Business, Inc, Chess.com, MonRoi, LawyerFy, the Law Offices of Steinfl & Bruno, EventForte Inc, and Betty Bottom Showroom.
This tournament was the 24th in its series and was held in Suite C855 of the California Market Center on 110 East 9th Street, Los Angeles 90079. The tournament was organized by Ankit Gupta, FA, IO. The participants included: GM Vladimir Georgiev (MKD), GM Enrico Sevillano (USA), GM Melikset Khachiyan (USA), IM Zhanibek Amanov (KAZ), IM Andranik Matikozyan (ARM), IM Mackenzie Molner (USA), FM Samuel Sevian (USA), FM Alexandre Kretchetov (RUS), John Daniel Bryant (USA), and Arun Sharma (USA).
The tournament was a 10 player round-robin (all-play-all), with rounds scheduled as follows – 20th: 7:00 PM, 21st: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 22nd: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 23rd: 11:00 AM & 5:00 PM, 24th: 10:00 AM & 4:00 PM.
The tournament had an IM norm achieved by Arun Sharma, who now holds two IM norms. There was a three-way tie for first among IM Andranik Matikozyan, GM Melikset Khachiyan, and IM Mackenzie Molner.
Keep updated with events by Metropolitan Chess, Inc, by visiting www.metrochessla.com.
J.D. adds - This was yet another fine result by UC Berkeley math professor Arun Sharma, who is better known as the organizer of several Berkeley Internationals.
1-3. Khachiyan, Molner and Matokozian 6; 4. Sharma 5.5; 5-6. Sevillano and Georgiev 5; 7. Bryant 3.5; 8-9. Sevian and Kretchetov 3; 10. Amanov 2.
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