Gens Una Sumus!
Newsletter #945
November 27, 2020
By Abel Talamantez
Table of Contents
- Thanksgiving Message
- Mechanics' TNM Report
- Mechanics' Thursday Night Marathon Report
- FIDE Trainer Seminar
- Mechanics' League Play
- Dr. Alexey Root
- Become a Mechanics' Institute Member
- Twitch Arena
- Weekly Classes
- Pacific Regional Grade Level
- Scholastic Online Offerings
- Online Events Schedule
- FM Paul Whitehead's Column
- GM Nick de Firmian's Column
- Submit your piece or feedback
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving everyone from the chess department. We hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday and we thank you for your support!
Mechanics' Institute November Tuesday Night Marathon Report
The Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Night Marathon concluded this week with GM Gadir Guseinov defeating GM Jim Tarjan in a great positional game to win the TNM with a score of 5.5/6. This much anticipated matchup showcased Guseinov's patience, slow build up, and precision, against an always dangerous and tough Tarjan. Guseinov defeated Tarjan in round 5 and then sealed the deal with a 6th roun win against NM Arun Dixit. FM Kyron Griffith took sole 2nd place in the TNM after a final round victory over IM Elliott Winslow, finishing with 5/6. Rising young talent Nicholas Weng took sole 3rd place with a sharp final round win over Ethan Guo.
In the under 1800 section, Philip Gerstoft and Pranav Pradeep tied for first with a score of 5.5/6, with their only draw coming against each other in round 3. Tying for 3rd with 4/6 were Bryan Hood, Sebby Suarez, Kevin Sun , and Nate Andaya.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all the players who participated!
Here are two games from the final rounds, annotated by GM Nick de Firmian.
(2) GM Jim Tarjan - GM Gadir Guseinov [A26]
TNM Chess.com, 24.11.2020
The battle of the heavyweights. 1.c4 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.Bg2 d6 4.Nc3 e5 5.e4 Nc6 6.Nge2 Tarjan likes this Botvinnik pawn set-up with the white side. It has shown up in a number of his recent games. 6...f5 7.d3 Nf6 8.0-0 0-0 9.Nd5 [9.Rb1 with the idea of pushing the b-pawn is the standard plan, Tarjan's move seems equally good.] 9...Be6 [9...Nxd5 10.cxd5 Ne7 11.Be3 c6 12.dxc6 bxc6 gives Black central control from the pawns at the cost of a little loosening of the position] 10.Bg5 Qd7 11.Qd2 Kh8
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This is a complex position with various options for White. 12.Rac1 [12.Nxf6 Bxf6 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.Bxf6+ Rxf6 15.b4 Would again be the standard queenside expansion. White should have an edge here.] 12...Rae8 13.b3 Ng8 14.exf5 [Grandmasters may prepare one plan but switch to annother if the tactics change. Yet there was also good reason to follow through on the previous move with 14.c5] 14...Bxf5 15.Rce1 Nd8 16.d4 Nf7 17.Be3 c6 18.Ndc3 e4
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19.f3?! This starts to change the game in Black's favor. A stronger plan, suggested by the computer, was [19.d5 c5 20.Nf4 Nf6 21.Ne6! which gains play since 21...Bxe6 22.dxe6 Qxe6 23.h3 h5 24.Bf4 Qf5 25.Qc2 White wins the pawn back with an edge.] 19...exf3 20.Rxf3 Nf6 21.Ref1 d5 22.cxd5 cxd5 23.Nf4 Nd6 24.h3? This ends up as a weakeness that gets taken. [White should have played 24.Nd3 Nfe4 25.Nxe4 dxe4 26.Nc5 Qc8 27.R3f2 b6 with a small edge for Black but nothing severe. Now White is in trouble.] 24...Nfe4 25.Nxe4 Bxe4 26.R3f2 Bxg2 27.Rxg2
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27...g5! 28.Ne2 [Somewhat better was 28.Nd3 Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Qxh3 30.Kg1 Ne4 31.Qe1 when Black is a pawn ahead with also a big positional advantage, yet White could still hope.; 28.Nxd5? Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Ne4] 28...Rxf1+ 29.Kxf1 Qxh3 30.Bxg5 Ne4 [Even better was 30...Qh1+ 31.Ng1 Ne4 32.Qe3 Qh5! winning immediately as the bishop on g5 is threatened and also the deadly ...Qe1+] 31.Qe3 Qh1+ 32.Qg1? losing immediately [32.Rg1 Qh5 33.Bf4 Nxg3+ 34.Rxg3 Rxe3 35.Rxe3 is a winning ending for Black with queen and pawn for rook and knight. White could still play at least.] 32...Qxg1+ GGuseinov won by resignation. Black wins the bishop on g5. 0-1
(1) IM Elliott Winslow (ecwinslow) (2043) - FM Kyron Griffith (KyronGriffith) (2235) [D30]
Live Chess Chess.com, 24.11.2020
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 Avoiding the crazy lines of [5...dxc4 6.e4 b5 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4 g5 9.Nxg5 hxg5 10.Bxg5 Nbd7] 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 Be7 We have now transposed into the (usually) calm lines of the Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation. 8.Qc2 h6 [8...0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 is the most common line, avoiding moving any black pawns on the kingside for the moment] 9.Bf4 0-0 10.h3 Re8 11.Bd3 Nf8
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12.0-0-0?! [12.0-0 or; 12.Bh2 should be a safe, pleasant position for White. Winslow decides to go for the gusto and mix it up.The opposite sides castling suddenly makes the game very exciting as White wants to pawn storm the kingside and Black to attack on the queenside. I expect Beth Harmon would approve. She wouldn't play the Queen's Gambit for a draw.] 12...Qa5 13.Kb1 Be6 14.g4 Ne4! Kryon remembers that for good attacks you need to control the center. 15.Rhg1?! White needs to deal with the center squares immediately. [15.Bxe4 dxe4 16.Nd2 b5 17.Ndxe4 Ng6 18.Bg3 b4 19.Na4 Bd5 20.f3 Bh4 is compensation for the pawn] 15...Bb4 16.Bxe4 dxe4 now White can't take the e-pawn 17.Nd2 Bd5 18.a3?! [18.Nxd5 cxd5 19.a3 would keep the disadvantage to a minimum. Black would have more play, but all the white pawns are solid.] 18...Bxc3! 19.Qxc3 Qb5 Black's control of the light squares on the queenside is more impotant than anything White can do on the kingside. 20.Rc1 Ne6 21.Bg3 Ng5 22.h4 Nf3 23.Nxf3 exf3 24.Rgd1? [24.g5 keeps White in the game (though under strong pressure). Now Black takes full command of the position as White can't break out of the light square bind.] 24...a5 25.Ka1 a4 26.Qd3 Qb3!
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27.Qxb3 axb3 The black bishop on d5 is a powerhouse. White cannot generate active play on either side of the board and must await Black's advance. 28.g5 hxg5 29.hxg5 Kh7! note the difference between the two monarchs. Kyron's king comes up to attack and Elliott's is stuck in the corner. 30.Rd3 Kg6 31.Rc5 Rh8 32.Rd1 b6 33.Rc3 Kxg5 The extra pawn is decisive. Bishops of opposite color give hopes for a draw only if all the rooks get exchanged, which Kyron will not allow. 34.Kb1 Kf5 35.Kc1 Ke4
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The centralized black king deserves a diagram. It's perfectly safe on e4 as the white pawns are blockaded and the white rooks can't break through. 36.Kd2 f6 37.Bc7 b5 38.Bd6 g5 39.Rg1 Rag8 40.Ra1 f5 41.a4 Winslow takes his chance to finally gain some activity. 41...bxa4 42.Rxa4 Ra8? [42...Rh1! 43.Ra7 Re8 stops the threatened check on e7 and the Rh1 invades to take the f2 or b2 pawn. This would be a quick finish.] 43.Rxa8 Rxa8 44.Rc1 Rh8 45.Rg1 Rh5 46.Be7? low on time White makes a mistake by attacking the g5 pawn and taking the guard off of the h2 square. He could still have put up resistance with [46.Kc3!] 46...Rh2 47.Ke1
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47...Kd3! Kyron charges in. The black monarch finishes the job. 48.Bxg5 Kc2 49.Bf4 Rg2 50.Rh1 Kxb2 51.e4 fxe4 52.Be3 Kc2 KyronGriffith won on time 0-1
For more information on the November TNM, please follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/november-2020-tuesday-night-marathon-online
Here are the final standings:
SwissSys Report: November 2020 Tuesday Night Marathon Online
SwissSys Standings. November 2020 Tuesday Night Marathon Online: 1800+
# | Name | ID | Rating | Fed | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
1 | GM Gadir Guseinov | 17343590 | 2685 | gguseinov | W27 | W19 | W9 | D2 | W4 | W5 | 5.5 | 220.00 |
2 | Kyron Griffith | 12860484 | 2499 | KyronGriffith | W22 | W3 | W5 | D1 | D6 | W9 | 5.0 | 132.00 |
3 | Nicholas Ruo Weng | 15499404 | 1983 | ninjaforce | W20 | L2 | W15 | W14 | W8 | D6 | 4.5 | 88.00 |
4 | GM James Edwa Tarjan | 10991820 | 2469 | tirantes | W7 | W12 | D6 | H--- | L1 | W16 | 4.0 | |
5 | Arun Dixit | 14607904 | 2199 | Limelight2727 | W15 | W14 | L2 | W7 | W13 | L1 | 4.0 | |
6 | Michael Walder | 10345120 | 2075 | FlightsOfFancy | W23 | W16 | D4 | D9 | D2 | D3 | 4.0 | |
7 | Chelsea Zhou | 15239016 | 1908 | mwncklmann | L4 | W26 | W11 | L5 | W17 | W12 | 4.0 | 22.00 |
8 | Ethan Guo | 16761994 | 1664 | LightningDragon8 | B--- | W18 | L19 | W12 | L3 | W13 | 4.0 | 22.00 |
9 | IM Elliott Winslow | 10363365 | 2278 | ecwinslow | W10 | W13 | L1 | D6 | W19 | L2 | 3.5 | |
10 | Javier Silva III | 16089208 | 1895 | J3Chess24 | L9 | D21 | W17 | W25 | L12 | W18 | 3.5 | |
11 | Tejas Mahesh | 15086558 | 1988 | ChessTX9 | H--- | H--- | L7 | W23 | L16 | W24 | 3.0 | |
12 | Felix German | 12624534 | 1976 | FelixGerman | W24 | L4 | W22 | L8 | W10 | L7 | 3.0 | |
13 | Ashik Uzzaman | 13178575 | 1943 | ashikuzzaman | W21 | L9 | W16 | W19 | L5 | L8 | 3.0 | |
14 | Nitish Nathan | 15494283 | 1941 | BreatheChessAlways | W17 | L5 | W23 | L3 | D21 | D19 | 3.0 | |
15 | Nicholas Boldi | 15088356 | 1883 | nicarmt | L5 | W24 | L3 | L17 | W27 | W21 | 3.0 | |
16 | Adam Mercado | 16571026 | 1831 | A-boy415 | W18 | L6 | L13 | W24 | W11 | L4 | 3.0 | |
17 | Ahyan Zaman | 15035222 | 1711 | ahyanzaman | L14 | B--- | L10 | W15 | L7 | W22 | 3.0 | |
18 | Ethan Boldi | 15088362 | 2120 | etvat | L16 | L8 | D21 | W20 | W25 | L10 | 2.5 | |
19 | Kristian Clemens | 13901075 | 1997 | kclemens | W26 | L1 | W8 | L13 | L9 | D14 | 2.5 | |
20 | Max Hao | 16083648 | 1761 | Joseph_Truelsons_Fan | L3 | L22 | D26 | L18 | B--- | W27 | 2.5 | |
21 | Pudur Ramaswamy | 16106884 | 1718 | MatnMatt20 | L13 | D10 | D18 | W22 | D14 | L15 | 2.5 | |
22 | Jonah Busch | 12469525 | 1940 | kondsaga | L2 | W20 | L12 | L21 | W26 | L17 | 2.0 | |
23 | Davi Flores Gomez | 14799653 | 1812 | PlayerCreate1 | L6 | W27 | L14 | L11 | L24 | W26 | 2.0 | |
24 | Roger V Shi | 16191192 | 1753 | 1-h4-1-0 | L12 | L15 | W27 | L16 | W23 | L11 | 2.0 | |
25 | Thomas F Maser | 10490936 | 1900 | talenuf | H--- | H--- | H--- | L10 | L18 | U--- | 1.5 | |
26 | Kevin M Fong | 17254586 | 1783 | chessappeals | L19 | L7 | D20 | D27 | L22 | L23 | 1.0 | |
27 | Cailen J Melville | 14006141 | 1940 | Mangonel | L1 | L23 | L24 | D26 | L15 | L20 | 0.5 |
SwissSys Standings. November 2020 Tuesday Night Marathon Online: u1800
# | Name | ID | Rating | Fed | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
1 | Philip Gerstoft | 12913356 | 1724 | pgstar3 | W4 | W10 | D2 | W5 | W12 | W8 | 5.5 | 132.00 |
2 | Pranav Pradeep | 15871762 | 1409 | pranavpradeep2006 | W8 | W18 | D1 | W7 | W5 | W9 | 5.5 | 132.00 |
3 | Bryan Hood | 12839763 | 1574 | fiddleleaf | W12 | W21 | L5 | W11 | H--- | H--- | 4.0 | 22.00 |
4 | Kevin Sun | 16898540 | 1161 | kevin_mx_sun | L1 | L8 | B--- | W17 | X--- | W10 | 4.0 | 22.00 |
5 | Sebby Suarez | 16875347 | 811 | Sebbymeister | W14 | W16 | W3 | L1 | L2 | W11 | 4.0 | 22.00 |
6 | Nate Andaya | 30054738 | unr. | nathaniei | L11 | L13 | W19 | W16 | X--- | W12 | 4.0 | 22.00 |
7 | Marina Xiao | 16380642 | 1545 | programmingmax | W13 | D11 | W16 | L2 | L8 | W17 | 3.5 | |
8 | Bruce Hedman | 17344551 | 870 | Bruce_Hedman | L2 | W4 | D10 | W15 | W7 | L1 | 3.5 | |
9 | Valerie Jade | 17168772 | 1490 | Evariel | H--- | H--- | L11 | W13 | W18 | L2 | 3.0 | |
10 | Michael Xiao | 16380636 | 1363 | swimgrass | W22 | L1 | D8 | W18 | D11 | L4 | 3.0 | |
11 | Ethan Sun | 16964125 | 1180 | sfdeals | W6 | D7 | W9 | L3 | D10 | L5 | 3.0 | |
12 | Ian Liao | 16738735 | 1105 | victor6688 | L3 | W15 | W13 | W14 | L1 | L6 | 3.0 | |
13 | Andrew Ballantyne | 17079795 | 1057 | andrewaballantyne | L7 | W6 | L12 | L9 | W15 | W20 | 3.0 | |
14 | Stan Polivyanenko | 17310102 | 1365 | MrL0cust | L5 | W20 | W17 | L12 | H--- | U--- | 2.5 | |
15 | Adithya Chitta | 16695036 | 930 | adichi | D20 | L12 | W22 | L8 | L13 | W18 | 2.5 | |
16 | Nursulta Uzakbaev | 17137317 | 1519 | rimus11 | W17 | L5 | L7 | L6 | W20 | L19 | 2.0 | |
17 | Jeff North | 17179258 | 1043 | JeffNorthSF | L16 | W19 | L14 | L4 | X22 | L7 | 2.0 | |
18 | Cleveland W Lee | 12814843 | 470 | Vincitore51745 | B--- | L2 | W20 | L10 | L9 | L15 | 2.0 | |
19 | Justin Brunet | 30055583 | unr. | night_breeze | L21 | L17 | L6 | L20 | B--- | W16 | 2.0 | |
20 | Michael Hilliard | 12279170 | 1446 | Echecsmike | D15 | L14 | L18 | W19 | L16 | L13 | 1.5 | |
21 | Stephen Zhu | 16412414 | 1347 | chesspoki | W19 | L3 | U--- | U--- | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | |
22 | Samuel Brown | 16380615 | 662 | comfyqueso | L10 | H--- | L15 | H--- | F17 | U--- | 1.0 |
SwissSys Standings. November 2020 Tuesday Night Marathon Online: Extra Games
# | Name | ID | Rating | Fed | Rd 1 | Total |
1 | Cleveland W Lee | 12814843 | 470 | Vincitore51745 | W2 | 1.0 |
2 | Judit Sztaray | 14708926 | 827 | JuditSztaray | L1 | 0.0 |
Mechanics' Institute Thursday Night Marathon Report
The Thursday Night Marathon has an off week this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be back next week with round 3.
For more information about this event, follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/thursday-night-marathon-g605-novdec-2020-pilot
Here are the current standings for our G/60+5 USCF rated Thursday Night Marathon:
Standing after Round 2
SwissSys Standings. Thursday Night Marathon Online: Open
# | Name | ID | Rating | Fed | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Total |
1 | Elliott Winslow | 10363365 | 2278 | ecwinslow | W13 | W14 | 2.0 |
2 | Eric Hon | 13778105 | 2186 | microbear | W19 | W15 | 2.0 |
3 | Michael Walder | 10345120 | 2075 | FlightsOfFancy | W20 | W17 | 2.0 |
4 | Stewart Katz | 12458563 | 1835 | knvsback | W22 | W26 | 2.0 |
5 | Adam Mercado | 16571026 | 1831 | A-boy415 | W23 | W18 | 2.0 |
6 | Ako Heidari | 15206848 | 1980 | oka_ako | W30 | W24 | 2.0 |
7 | Allan G Savage | 10014999 | 2200 | duchamp64 | W33 | W12 | 2.0 |
8 | Pranav Sairam | 15424820 | 2084 | chesspilot01 | W34 | W16 | 2.0 |
9 | Felix German | 12624534 | 1976 | FelixGerman | W21 | H--- | 1.5 |
10 | Richard W Koepcke | 10493269 | 2200 | rkoepcke | H--- | W29 | 1.5 |
11 | Gadir Guseinov | 17343590 | unr. | gguseinov | H--- | W28 | 1.5 |
12 | Roger V Shi | 16191192 | 1753 | 1-h4-1-0 | W25 | L7 | 1.0 |
13 | Marina Xiao | 16380642 | 1545 | programmingmax | L1 | W31 | 1.0 |
14 | Alexander Huberts | 16419664 | 1794 | cccalboy | W36 | L1 | 1.0 |
15 | Timothy Horng | 13282721 | 1730 | aYzz | W35 | L2 | 1.0 |
16 | Jeff C Andersen | 11296106 | 1643 | zenwabi | W38 | L8 | 1.0 |
17 | Bryan Hood | 12839763 | 1574 | fiddleleaf | X--- | L3 | 1.0 |
18 | Richard Hack | 12796129 | 1569 | Kaline340Green | W37 | L5 | 1.0 |
19 | Rama Krish Chitta | 17350313 | 1475 | draidus | L2 | W35 | 1.0 |
20 | Ya Dancig Perlman | 16280288 | 1428 | noydan100 | L3 | W36 | 1.0 |
21 | Michael Xiao | 16380636 | 1363 | swimgrass | L9 | W37 | 1.0 |
22 | Stephen Zhu | 16412414 | 1347 | chesspoki | L4 | W38 | 1.0 |
23 | Paul Krezanoski | 16897133 | 1238 | pjkrizzle | L5 | W33 | 1.0 |
24 | Robert H Frank | 10498325 | 1200 | cyber-droid | X32 | L6 | 1.0 |
25 | Ethan Sun | 16964125 | 1180 | sfdeals | L12 | W34 | 1.0 |
26 | Danny Du Uy Cao | 16939797 | 863 | caodanny | X--- | L4 | 1.0 |
27 | Rahim Dharssi | 12693378 | 595 | rahimftd | H--- | H--- | 1.0 |
28 | Thomas F Maser | 10490936 | 1900 | talenuf | H--- | L11 | 0.5 |
29 | Lisa Willis | 12601676 | 1583 | LittlePinkCorvette | H--- | L10 | 0.5 |
30 | Andrew Nicho Paul | 14232850 | 1385 | chessplayer3740 | L6 | H--- | 0.5 |
31 | Willia Fitzgerald | 17048414 | 537 | OlympusMons00 | H--- | L13 | 0.5 |
32 | Mohammad Amir Ali | 30029248 | 1565 | Deshbondhu | F24 | U--- | 0.0 |
33 | Nursulta Uzakbaev | 17137317 | 1513 | rimus11 | L7 | L23 | 0.0 |
34 | Jacob S Wang | 17083655 | 1434 | jacobchess857 | L8 | L25 | 0.0 |
35 | Ian Liao | 16738735 | 1105 | victor6688 | L15 | L19 | 0.0 |
36 | Bruce Hedman | 17344551 | 870 | Bruce_Hedman | L14 | L20 | 0.0 |
37 | Cleveland W Lee | 12814843 | 470 | Vincitore51745 | L18 | L21 | 0.0 |
38 | B J Day | 12586048 | unr. | mrbillstunes1 | L16 | L22 | 0.0 |
FIDE Trainers Seminar December 11-13
The Mechanics' Institute will be organizing its first FIDE Trainers Seminar on December 11-13, 2020. This seminar is for coaches and players looking to enhance their education in coaching and understanding the learning of chess. Participants at the conclusion of the seminar will take an exam towards the awarding of a FIDE title for trainers.
The instructors and lecturers for this seminar include GM Melik Khachiyan, GM Jacob Aagaard, GM Dejan Bojkov, IM John Donaldson, IM Kostya Kavutskiy, WIM Dr. Alexey Root, Dr. Judit Sztaray and Abel Talamantez. Topics for the seminar include Some of the topics covered will be the role of the trainer, fair play in chess, psychological issues, study of classical games, tactics training, training in calculation, and means of improvement.
For more information and to register, please follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/fide-trainer-online-seminar-dec-11-13
![](/sites/default/files/u1997/MIlogonew.png)
Support the Mechanics' Institute and
Save Big in the Process!
Join the Mechanics' Institute, and realize savings on our events and classes while supporting our mission to provide a center for cultural and intellectual advanncement
We are doing a membership drive through the end of the year for new members and to encourage current members to renew.
- Discount on most chess events or classes.
- Full use of the Library and its services, including online databases, ebooks, and more!
- Free or reduced admission to cultural events, programs, classes, and book groups.
- Access to the Chess Room and its tournaments and classes.
- WiFi access throughout the Library, Chess Room, and 4th floor meeting room.
- Membership access at other membership libraries.
Take on the Mechanics' Chess Staff Live on Twitch!
The chess room staff at the Mechanics' Institute are taking on all comers now weekly, as each of us will live stream an arena tournament where we will commentate our own games! You might be playing 3-time US Champion GM Nick de Firmian, or perhaps our commentator and instructor extraorinaire FM Paul Whitehead. Try to take down Organizer sensation Dr. Judit Sztaray or Chess Director Abel Talamantez. We will all be live on Twitch playing, reviewing about our games, and talking about anything that comes up in the chat. Come hang out with us at the Mechanics' online club, perhaps we may even give out an occasional free prize!
Arenas are an hour long, and the chess staff will be paired against the first available player to play at the conclusion of their games. All other players will be paired with the next available opponent. This will continue for the whole hour. While there is no guarantee you will be paired against a chess staff member, you will have a very good chance at it, depending on the number of players playing. All games will be streamed live on our Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/mechanicschess
Check out the times here:
FM Paul Whitehead Arena: Tuesdays 5pm-6pm, 12/1: https://www.chess.com/live#r=688462
GM Nick de Firmian Arena: Thursdays 5:00pm-6:00pm, 12/3:
See you in the arena!
Mechanics' Institute Regular Online Classes
Monday's 4:00-5:30PM - Mechanics' Chess Cafe
Casual meeting to talk about chess, life and everything. Join 3-time US Champion GM Nick de Firmian and FM Paul Whitehead as they give a lecture and class in a fun casual atmosphere where you can discuss games, learn strategy, discuss chess current events and interact in a fun casual atmosphere. Enter our Monday chess café for the pure love of the game. Class suitable for ALL level of players and FREE for MI members.
FREE for Mechanics' members. $5 for non-members.
More information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess/chess-cafe
Register: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/2020OnlineClasses_120/ChessCafe
Monday's 6:30-8:00PM - The Art of Attack in Chess by FM Paul Whitehead
Course Dates: 11/16 through 12/21 (6 classes)
Learn to attack the king in this six-week class using Vladimir Vukovic's book, The Art of Attack in Chess (1963 revised 1993 by GM John Nunn), as our text.
We will take lessons from chapters such as "The classic bishop sacrifice", "The attack against the uncastled king", "Focal-points" and "The attack on the king as an integral part of the game".
Vukovic also talks about mating patterns, defense, and much more.
Join us in an investigation into one of the greatest chess books ever written, a classic enjoyed by chess players around the world.
Registration Fee: $20/class for Mechanics' member, $25/class for non-member
Wednesday's 5:00-6:30PM - Free Adult Beginner Class for Mechanics' Members
November 18, 2020 - January 20, 2021
Are you an adult who wants to put learning chess on top of your New Year's resolution! Get a head start with us at the Mechanics' Institute! This virtual class is open to any MI member who has no knowledge of the game or who knows the very basics and wants to improve. Taught by MI Chess Director Abel Talamantez along with Judit Sztaray and other MI staff, we will patiently walk through all the basics at a pace suitable for our class. Our goal is to teach piece movement basics, checkmate patterns, importance of development, and general strategy. We will also show students how to play online so they may practice. The goal of the class is to open a new world of fun and joy through the magic and beauty of chess, from one of the oldest and proudest chess clubs in the world.
Registration: Free for MI members. Members will have to register online to secure their spot and to receive an email confirming the Zoom link.
More information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess/free-adult-beginner-class-mechanics-members
Wednesday 6:30-8PM - Online class with FM Paul Whitehead
More information: https://www.milibrary.org/chess/online-class-fm-paul-whitehead
Register at: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/2020OnlineClasses_120/OnlineClasswithFMPaulWhitehead
2020 Pacific Regional Grade Level Online Championship
Mechanics' Chess - Scholastic Tournaments
Free daily non-rated tournaments on chesskid.com:
https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/scholastic-online-tournaments-every-day-chesskidcom
Saturday, November 28: starts at 9:30AM
5SS G/25+5: Pacific Regioanl Grade Level Online Championship
https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/pacific-regional-grade-level-online-championship
Sunday, November 29: starts at 4:00PM - join from 3:45PM
5SS G/5+5: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148049
Monday, November 30: starts at 4:00PM - join from 3:45PM
4SS G/15+0: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148050
Tuesday, December 1: starts at 4:15PM - join from 4PM
5SS G/5+5: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148051
Wednesday, December 2: starts at 4PM - join from 3:45PM
4SS G/20+0: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148055
Thursday, December 3: starts at 4PM - join from 3:45PM
5SS G/5+5: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148057
Friday, December 4: starts at 4:15PM - join from 4:00PM
4SS G/10+5: https://www.chesskid.com/play/fastchess#t=148059
If you have any problems connecting with us on chesskid.com, please send us an email and we'll send you step-by-step instructions with pictures.
US Chess Online Rated Scholastic Tournaments
Every Week!
Next one: December 5, @3PM on chesskid.com
https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/uscf-online-rated-scholastic-tournaments-chesskidcom
US Chess online rated - affecting online rating only (not over-the-board)
Every player must be a US Chess member.
Trophies or Medals for Top Finishers - Curbside pickup is available per arrangement.
Convenient, safe platform & tight fair play screening.
Mechanics' Enrichment Chess Classes
Select from the following four levels that are offered:
NEW Class: Get Those Chess Boards Out! -- Tuesdays 4-5PM
As parents, many of us now see kids staring at a screen for hours during the school day. We understand having another online class may not be so exciting. What if we are able to offer a class for beginners where they can feel and interact with the pieces to capture an important part of the early learning experience? That's why we are introducing a new class for our young, beginner players!
Let's get those chess boards out and use it during the class!
Coach Colin will interact with the players via zoom, but they will talk, use the chess board, set it up and set up different positions, and learn and play on a physical board. No shared screen during the class! It's all interactive, using physical chess pieces! Click HERE for more information.
Starting at Chess -- Mondays 3-4PM
This class is for new players that need to develop basic skills that will lead to improvement, such as learning notation, elementary checkmates, piece values, piece development, importance of the center of the board, and the most important part of chess learning, the value of learning from mistakes and losses and how to improve from it. This class will build the foundations from which all learning will develop and teach them learning skills that can be applied in many other areas of a child’s learning and development. Class is suitable for new players, non rated players, and players with a ChessKid rating under 800. Click Here to Register and for information
Developing Players -- Tuesdays 3-4PM or Thursdays 4-5PM
This class is for students looking to go beyond the basics and learn the building blocks of advanced chess learning. We will cover tactics, mating patterns, opening principles, middle game attack planning and endgame techniques. This class is suitable for kids with a ChessKid rating 800-1300 or who have had tournament experience. Click Here to Register and for Information.
Mastering Your Chess -- Thursdays 5-6PM
This class is for advanced scholastic players with tournament experience and understand tactics and mates who want to go beyond what can be calculated and think more abstractly about the game. We will go over middle and endgame theory, have students create their own tactics and learn positional play by going over historical games from the great players in history. Ideal for players with a ChessKid rating above 1300 or USCF rating over 800. Click Here to Register and for Information.
Note: Minimum five students to start the class, maximum 10 student in each class. Information with link to join the class will be sent via email after your registration:
Classes are online: student must have laptop, with mic and webcam, and good internet connection in order to participate in classes!
Refund policy: Full refund minus a $5 administration fee if cancelled more than 24 hours before the start of class. No refunds within 24 hours of the start of class.
If you have any questions, or need a sample of a class, please feel free to reach out to [email protected].
Mechanics' Institute Regular Online Events Schedule
The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club will continue to hold regular online events in various forms. Here is the upcoming schedule for players:
Format: 8SS G/35+2
Registration: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/december-2020-tuesday-night-marathon-online
Format: 5SS G/60+5
Registration: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/thursday-night-marathon-g605-novdec-2020-pilot
Start at 6:30PM
Any questions? [email protected]
FM Paul Whitehead
[email protected]
Chessmonster666: old and slow.
Joining the Paul Whitehead Arena (see https://www.milibrary.org/chess-newsletters/943#paul for more details) on Tuesday, November 17th, I was unpleasantly surprised by a new time control of 2 minutes a side (fast, but OK by me) with a 1-second increment (uh-oh: way too fast!).
There are things I like about blitz, but when you throw in pre-moves and time controls with actual physical obstacles (sticky mouse, 1-second increment) then I start losing interest – not to mention losing chess games!
Chess is (or should be) a game of skill using your brain. Or, as in my case, what’s left of it.
Nevertheless, my final score of 10-4 wasn’t too bad: I may be old and slow, but I’m not down and out!
Below I take a quick look at those four losses, for the following reasons:
- Explaining my losses improves my game.
- Explaining my losses is better than drowning my sorrows in drink.
- Explaining my losses enables me to make excuses for my mistakes.
I’ve been told that next week we are back to the old 3/2 format, and I’m grateful. I’m old-school, really, and don’t much fancy chance, or lady-luck in my chess.
See you then.
(1) chessmonster666 (1868) - vish1080 (2208) [B31]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.11.2020
[Whitehead,Paul]
Storyline: white completely outplays black and wins 2 pawns. Then he blunders badly with 36.Qg4?? dropping a rook. Say no more! 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.0-0 Bg7 5.Re1 e5 6.d3 Nge7 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.Nc4 d6 9.Bxc6 Nxc6 10.a4 Be6
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(2) fpawn (2205) - chessmonster666 (1232) [B24]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.11.2020
[Whitehead,Paul]
Storyline: a nice game! Some mutual errors, but as his time ticked down black made more. Finally, white finishes him off with a pretty tactic. 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.d3 Bg7 6.Be3 d6 7.f4 Nge7 8.Nf3 Nd4 9.0-0 Nec6 10.e5 dxe5
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(3) Oli_MS (1874) - chessmonster666 (1866) [A48]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.11.2020
[Whitehead,Paul]
Storyline: White drops a piece on the 21st move, black blunders it back, white wins on time on the 48th. I suppose this is chess... 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.e3 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 Nbd7 7.c4 e6 8.Nc3 Qe7 9.h3 b6 10.b4 Bb7
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(4) stratus_junior (2290) - chessmonster666 (1880) [E64]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.11.2020
[Whitehead,Paul]
Storyline: A hard fought game where black eventually came out on top...only to lose on time yet again. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 d6 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.0-0 e5 8.e4 c6 9.h3 a5 10.Be3 exd4
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stratus_junior won on time. Black is winning with 47...Kd6 or 47...Kc8. 1-0
GM Nick de Firmian's Column
The coronavirus pandemic continues, yet fortunately online chess is continuing even more so. The 1.5 million dollar Champions Chess Tour consists of 10 online super-tournaments and has just kicked off with the first event of the brand new season – the $100,000 Skilling Open. That rapid play event started with 16 of the world’s best in a round robin preliminary event. Eight of the players “made the cut” to advance to the knock-out matches. Some surprising exits were the young stars Alireza Firouzja and Jan Kristoff Duda along with world #3 Ding Liren.
Magnus Carlsen tied for first in the preliminary round robin, tied with the USA’s Hikaru Nakamura. Yet Carlsen had some bumps along the road, particularly against the Russians. We give below his game against Ian Nepomniachtchi and with it the question, “Do you think you could beat Magnus in one chess game?”
You probably have an answer in your mind, but I will ask you again after you’ve seen the game.
(1) Nepomniachtchi,Ian - Carlsen,Magnus [C60]
Chess Tourn Skilling, 22.11.2020
Here is a battle between the player tied for first in the Candidates Tournament and the World Champion. We could well see the title match next yeat between these two players, though the games would be classical time control and so fewer errors. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nge7 Magnus plays an offbeat line of the Ruy Lopez, something he is unlikely to try in a classic match. 4.Nc3 Ng6 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Bc5 7.Be3 Bxd4 8.Bxd4 Qg5 9.g3 Nxd4 10.Qxd4 Ne5 Rather tricky play from Magnus, but Nepo has more space and isn't going to fall for a knight fork. 11.Be2 Nc6 12.Qc4 d6 13.Nd5 Qd8 14.Qc3 0-0 15.0-0-0 Re8 16.f3 Be6 17.Bb5 Bd7 18.h4!
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(2) Nakamura,Hikaru - Firouzja,Alireza [B19]
Skilling Prelim, 24.11.2020
Young Firouzja is the #1 up and coming teenage talent of the chess world. He plays Nakamura, one the "old" players in his mid-thirties. Yet of course Hikaru is still one of the very top players of rapid chess, and he will often hit you with a trick or tactic that is hard to avoid in these quicker time controls. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5 Bh7 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 The players follow the main line of the Caro-Kann, just as Spassky and Petrosian used to play sixty years ago. Black is very solid with just a bit less space. 10...e6 11.Bf4 Qa5+ 12.Bd2 Bb4 13.c3 Be7 14.c4 Qb6 15.Bc3 Ngf6 16.Ne5 Rd8 17.Qe2 Bb4!
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It is this move which restricts the black knight that gives White a winning ending. 35...Kg8 36.Kg3 Kf7 37.Kf3 Ke8 [37...Ne7 38.Nxe7 Kxe7 39.Ke3 Kd7 40.Kd4 Kc6 is an easily winning king ending 41.Ke5 Kxc5 42.Kxe6 Kb4 43.Kf7 Kxa4 44.Kxg7 Kb5 45.Kxh6 a5 46.Kg6 a4 47.h6 White queens first] 38.Ke3 Kd7 39.Kd4 a6 40.Ke5 the black pawns fall 40...Kc6 41.Kxe6 Kxc5 42.Kf7 Kb4 43.Kxg7 1-0
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