Chess Room Newsletter #632

Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club Newsletter #632
June 12, 2013

“Yasser, control the e5-square and all good things will flow.”

—FM Robert Zuk (to youngster Yasser Seirawan)
Source: Learn from the Grandmasters, by GM Raymond Keene

1) Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club News

IM Ricardo de Guzman won the 50th Arthur Stamer Memorial last weekend with a score of 5.5 from 6. His key game came in round 5 against 10th-seeded Udit Iyengar, who had defeated masters the two previous rounds, and who nearly drew the former Filipino Olympiad team member. It took all of the veteran’s guile and cunning to trick the youngster.

NM Dharim Bacus and soon-to-be Master Siddarth Bannik shared second with 5 points.

Guioco Piano C55
Udit Ivengar – Ricardo de Guzman
50th Stamer Memorial (5) 2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 4.0–0 Nf6 5.d3 d6 6.Re1 Na5 7.Bb3 Nxb3 8.axb3 0–0 9.Nbd2 b6 10.Nf1 Bb7 11.Ng3 Re8 12.h3 Bf8 13.c4 g6 14.Bd2 Bg7 15.b4 Nd7 16.b5 a6 17.bxa6 Bxa6 18.b4 c5 19.b5 Bb7 20.Qc2 Rf8 21.Rxa8 Qxa8 22.Bc3 h6 23.Ra1 Qb8 24.Nf1 f5 25.Ne3 Nf6 26.Nd5 Kh7 27.Nd2 Qd8 28.Ra7 Rf7 29.Qa2 Nh5 30.Nf1 Nf4 31.Nxf4 exf4 32.Bxg7 Rxg7 33.f3 Qf6 34.Qa1 Qe6 35.Qc3 fxe4 36.dxe4 g5 37.Nh2 h5 38.Kf2 Kg6 39.Ke1 Qe5 40.Qxe5 dxe5 41.Nf1 Kf6 42.Nd2 Ke6 43.Ke2 Kd6 44.Ra3 Kc7 45.Rd3 g4 46.hxg4 hxg4 47.Kf2 g3+ 48.Kf1 Rh7 49.Kg1 Rh8 50.Ra3 Rd8

Black has the better of it, but with the position so blocked, and his king unable to enter White’s position, a draw looks almost certain, but de Guzman has one trick that he hides for twenty moves before time pressure sets in for his opponent.

51.Ra2 Bc8 52.Kf1 Be6 53.Ke2 Kb7 54.Ra1 Rd4 55.Rc1 Kc7 56.Rc3 Kd6 57.Rc1 Ke7 58.Rc3 Kf6 59.Rc1 Kg5 60.Rc2 Rd7 61.Ra2 Rd4 62.Rc2 Bf7 63.Rc3 Kf6 64.Rc1 Rd8 65.Rc3 Ra8 66.Rc1 Ra3 67.Rc2 Re3+ 68.Kf1 Ra3 69.Rc1 Be6 70.Ke2 Ra2 71.Ke1 Kg6 72.Ke2 Kg5 73.Ke1??

This is definitely the losing move. Instead, 73.Kd3 would have held

73...Bh3!!

The shot that deGuzman has been hoping to play.

74.gxh3 Kh4 75.Ke2 g2 0–1

Hayk Manvelyan, Alexander Ivanov, Bill Ortega and David Klinetobe lead the Summer Tuesday Night Marathon with perfect scores after round three. It’s still possible to enter the 89-player event with half-point byes for the first three rounds.

Mechanics’ Institute member Barbara Alexandra Szerlip writes:

An excerpt from a book I’m writing (on maverick designer Norman Bel Geddes) appeared last May in The Believer Magazine (which the library subscribes to). The article is also available online, just Google: Believer + Szerlip.

       Title: "Colossal in Scale, Appalling in Complexity."

It occurred to me that the Mechanics’ Chess Club (perhaps some of its members) might find it of interest, as it goes into some detail about an elaborate "War" board game Bel Geddes invented in the early 1930s based on chess, a game that—I posit—presaged NBG’s famous Futurama exhibit at the 1939 NY World’s Fair.

FYI, the excerpt was subsequently translated into French, published in Europe, and nominated for inclusion in Best Essays of 2012.

Congratulations to National Master and former Mechanics’ Trustee Bob Burger, who won first prize in the Mate in 2 section of the 2013 Belgrade Internet Problem Composing Tourney held in honor of the late Milan Velimirović.

Thanks to Peter Sherwood, Nils Delmonico and Colin Ma for their donations of clocks, books and more books to the Mechanics’ Chess Club, which are always gratefully appreciated.

Hi everyone,

There will not be any Blitz on 6/12/13. The next Wednesday Night Blitz will be on 6/19/13.

This week we had 6 players in the Blitz. The winners were

1st—Jules Jelinek
2nd—Jeff Sinick
3rd—Joe Urquhart

Jules Jelinek
Weekly Wednesday Night Blitz Coordinator

2) Hans Baruch (1925-2013)

Hans Baruch, an American physiologist/inventor noted for his contributions to scientific apparatus and instruments in the field of automated clinical chemistry, died on June 6 in Berkeley at the age of 87.

A native of Germany who immigrated to the United States in 1938, Baruch served in the US Military during WW2 and was a member of the Ritchie Boys—a special military intelligence unit comprised primarily of German-speaking immigrants. He received the Bronze Medal and the Prisoner of War Medal for his service.

Mr. Baruch was a member of the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, and best known to the chess world as contributor to the 13th edition of Modern Chess Openings, and for sponsoring Mikhail Tal’s participation in the 1991 Pan Pacific International, one of the last big tournaments the Wizard from Riga played in before his death the following year. The party Mr. Baruch and his wife Flora held at the conclusion of the event for participants and their guests is still warmly remembered.

Mr. Baruch is survived by his sons David and Duncan and daughter Claudia.

He will be sorely missed.

3) USA-China Match

Those with good memories will recall that the United States and China held a series of “Friends and Rivals” matches at the beginning of the new millennium. Now they are preparing to play a new pair of matches, with the Chinese hosting the first in mid-July in Ningbo, a city of several million about three hours south of Shanghai by train. The United States will return the hospitably in 2015 at the Marshall Chess Club, which will be celebrating its centennial.

The first match will take place in Ningbo from July 17-28, according to the following schedule:

17th July     Arrival
18th July     Opening Ceremony
19th July     Round 1 of Classical Game
20th July     Round 2 of Classical Game
21st July     Round 3 of Classical Game
22nd July     Round 4 of Classical Game
23rd July     Round 5 of Classical Game
24th July     Free Day
25th July     4 Rapid Games
26th July     4 Rapid Games
27th July     2 Rapid Games
28th July     Departure

The American team will be headed by Dr. Marcus Fenner, Executive Director and Club Manager of the Marshall Chess Club.

The US Men’s team in order of FIDE rating:

1. Ray Robson 2619
2. Sam Shankland 2601
3. Gregory Kaidanov 2577
4. Alex Lenderman 2567
5. Yury Shulman 2560

The Chinese Men’s team in order of FIDE rating:

1. Zhou Jianchao 2607
2. Zhou Weiqi 2590
3. Wei Yi 2530
4. Xiu Deshun 2534
5. Lu Shanglei 2551

The US Women’s team in order of FIDE rating:

1. Tatev Abrahamyan 2310
2. Sabina Foisor 2281
3. Irina Zenyuk 2250
4. Viktorija Ni 2228
5. Alisa Melekhina 2207

The Chinese Women’s team in order of FIDE rating:

1. Guo Qi 2443
2. Wang Jue 2405
3. Ding Yixin 2427
4. Xiao Yiyi 2163
5. Qiu Mengjie 2098

The Scheveningen format will be used, so the US men play all their Chinese counterparts but not their teammates.

Credit on the American side for organizing this match on last-minute notice goes to former USCF President and current FIDE Vice President Beatriz Marinello.

4) Here and There

International Master Ray Kaufman has enriched the Bay Area chess scene since settling down in Northern California in August 2011. Working as a chess teacher hasn’t left him as many opportunities to play, but he grabs them when he can including back to back tournaments in the Pacific Northwest the last two weeks of May.

The first, the Paul Keres Memorial in British Columbia, saw him finish second with the excellent score of 5-1, behind only the winner IM Georgy Orlov (5.5).

Here is Kaufman’s last round game against the always tough and aggressive Canadian FM Jack Yoos.

King’s Indian E94
Ray Kaufman–Jack Yoos
38th Keres Memorial (6) 2013

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0–0 6.Be2 e5 7.Be3 c6 8.d5 Na6 9.0–0 Ng4 10.Bd2 f5 11.Rb1 c5 12.Ng5 Nf6 13.f4 h6 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 fxe4 17.Qc2 Qe7 18.Qxe4 Qxe6 19.Qxb7 Nb4 20.a3! exf4 21.Bf3 Qxc4 22.axb4 1–0

The following weekend Kaufman shared 5th in the 199-player Washington Open, won by the young star Michael Wang.

USCF Executive Board member Jim Berry of Stillwater, Oklahoma, writes that the recent Candidates’ tournament in London was not only strong, it was literally off the charts—the FIDE Category charts, that is.

Go to the FIDE Handbook and you will find the following table.

Category ELO Range

XV 2601-2625
XVI 2626-2650
XVII 2651-2675
XVIII 2676-2700
XIX 2701-2725
XX 2726-2750
XXI 2751-2775

This is all well and good, but London had an average rating of 2784, what the French might call hors catégorie, for those Tour de France climbs that are so tough they are “beyond classification”.

Norway Chess (2766 average) and the Alekhine Memorial (2745 average) were both formidable events, but the closest competitor for highest-rated event of the year goes to the upcoming Tal Memorial, which starts June 12th and averages just under 2776. Among the participants in the ten-player round robin are Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand, who will be tuning up for their match this fall.

Also in the field is Hikaru Nakamura, never a man to pass up a challenge. The amount he has played since April against the strongest possible opposition is truly remarkable and quite possibly without precedent.

Zug FIDE Grand Prix April 17-May 1 (average 2756)
Norway Chess May 7-18 (average 2766)
Thessaloniki FIDE Grand Prix May 22-June 3 (2753)
Tal Memorial (Moscow) June 12-24 (2776)

For those counting, that’s 40 games in a little over two months against opposition averaging over 2760 FIDE!

Six players shared first place in the main section of the National Open , receiving $2,175 each.

Final standings:

1-6. GMs Wesley So, Jaan Ehlvest, Varuzhan Akobian, Alejandro Ramirez,
Manuel Leon Hoyos and Enrico Sevillano – 5/6, etc (91 players)

MI GM-in-Residence Nick de Firmian played exactly at his rating (2583) in scoring 4-2 and finishing = 12th.

MI regulars Hans Niemann and Jeff Sinick were among those tied for 3rd in the Under 1600 with 5/6, winning $663 each.

The 8th Mikhail Tal Memorial starts today (June 12) in Moscow with a blitz tournament (featuring a prize fund 15,000 Euros!) as the warm-up event.

The participants in order of their rating, with world rank indicated, are

#1 Magnus Carlsen (NOR, 2864)
#3 Vladimir Kramnik (RUS, 2803)
#4 world champion Viswanathan Anand (IND, 2786)
#5 Hikaru Nakamura (USA, 2784)
#7 Sergey Karjakin (RUS, 2782)
#9 Fabiano Caruana (ITA, 2774)
#10 Alexander Morozevich (RUS, 2760)
#12 Boris Gelfand (ISR, 2755)
#14 Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (AZE, 2753)
#29 Dmitry Andreikin (RUS, 2713)

5) Upcoming Major Bay Area Tournaments

*July 19-21 or 20-21, GPP: 60 (enhanced)
*People’s Tournament A Heritage Event*—Santa Clara
6ss 30/90 sd60;d5, 2day rd 1-3 g60;d5. Hilton 4949 Great America Pkwy
Santa Clara Ca 95054. Hotel $79. Park free. *Prize: $12,000 *b/197 guar 2/3.
*Open* (2000+ *FIDE*): $2000 1000 400 200 u2300 300 100, u2100 100
*A:*$1000 500 200 100 100 *B:* $1000 500 200 100 100 *C:* $1000 500 200 100 100 *DE:* $800 300 100, u1200 600 300 100. Unr max $200 exc in Open.
*EF* by 7/16*:* $99. Onsite +$25, Playup +$25. re $45. Econ: EF-20 & 2/3 calc prize (unavail in Open). Rfnd fee $20. GMs/IMs $0 by 7/9: prize-EF. Jul 13 Sup, CCAmin, TD disc to place players. *Sched:* 3day Reg F 10-11, Rds F/Sa 11:30 5:30, Su 10 4:30;
2-day Reg Sa 9-9:30, Rds Sa 10 12:30 2:50 5:30, Su 10 4:30. Max 2 .5pt byes
req by rd 3 *E:* [email protected]. *Info:* BayAreaChess.com/ppl. T:
408.786.5515. NS. NC. W. Chess Magnet School JGP.

*August 31—September 2 2013 or September 1-2 GPP 80 Enhanced*
*2013 CalChess State Championship (Labor Day)*—Burlingame
6SS 30/90 sd60;d5 (2-day opt rounds 1-3 G/55;d5); SFO Airport Hyatt
Regency, 1333 Bayshore Hwy, Burlingame Ca 94010. *Prizes*: $12,000 b/200 pd
entries (excl free & unr entries, 75% guar). *6 Sections:* *Master*
(*FIDE*rated) $2000 1000 500 350, U2300 $250; Expert $800 400 200 150;
*A* $800 400 200 150; *B* $800 400 200 150; *C* $800 400 200 150;
*D/E*$700 350 200, u1200 $200 150 100. Unr: Trophy 1st. Trophy to top
Finisher (State Champion) in ea section.
*EF:* $100 by 8/29. $120 on site. Unr $40 in the D/E section or may play in the Master section for reg EF. $5 disc to CalChess mems. USCF mem reqd. May play up 1 section for $20 more. Refund fee: $20. GM/IM free (EF subtr from prize). *Reg:* Sat 8/31 8:30-9:30am, Sun 9/1 8:30-9:15am. *Rds:* 3day Sat 10 3:30; Sun 11 4:45; Mon 10 3:30.
2-day Sun 9:30 11:45 2 4:45; Mon 10 3:30. Merge at Rd 4. All compete for
the same prizes. 1/2 pt bye(s) in any round(s) if requested in advance
(byes Rds 5 6 must be requested bef Rd 1). 2013 August Supp, CCA min, & TD
discretion will be used to place players as accurately as possible. Bring
clocks. HR: $99 Hyatt 888-421-1442. *Info:* BayAreaChess.com/labor, Richard
Koepcke 650-224-4938. *Ent:* Online @ BayAreaChess.com/my/labor or mail
Richard Koepcke, PO Box 1432 Mountain View Ca 94042. No Phone entries. NS
NC NW JGP