Gens Una Sumus!
Newsletter #980
August 7, 2021
Table of Contents
- July/August TNM Live Report
- Thursday Night Marathon Report
- US Open Report
- WIM Dr. Alexey Root
- TD Corner
- Tony's Teasers
- Events/Class Schedule
- Submit your piece or feedback
Tuesday Night Marathon Round 4 Report
by Abel Talamantez
Round 4 of the TNM had some exciting games and matchups, with Richard Liu continuing his strong TNM run with a draw against NM Siddharth Arun. Liu was able to force a draw in a rooks and pawns endgame despite being down 3 pawns. Christophe Bambou grinded down a bishop and pawns endgame to defeat Andrew Guo on board 2. Nicholas Weng and Kristian Clemens also got wins in the top section. Arun, Abhi Penagalapati, and Richard Liu lead the section with 3/4.
In the under 2000 section, Samuel Bownlow continue to lead the section after a victory over Adam Stafford, and Leon Quin got a fine win against an always dangerous Adam Mercado. Daniel Perlov drew with Luiz Uribe and Amitoj Singh won a quick game against Albert Starr to round up the top scorers in the section. Kevin Sun had a bye in the 4th round, so he and Samuel Brownlow are in the lead with 3.4/4.
In the under 1600 section, Isaac Sterling is the only perfect score left in the tournament after winning against David Nichol. Some strong competition is lurking close behind, including Paul Reed who is only a half point behind.
As we did last week, Paul and I ventured into North Beach prior to the start of the TNM. Jude Acers emailed me about visiting Cafe Trieste, where he said he saw Francis Ford Coppola work on drafts of the Godfather there many years ago. Paul told me also it used to be a popular chess hangout, so we headed out.
I had a latte with one sugar and chocolate spinkled on top and Paul had his usual cappuccino. There is plenty of space inside if people ever wanted to head there to play some blitz while enjoying drinks. The inside walls are lined with pictures for people to enjoy its history and it definitely has that classical feel. The outdoor space is great as well.
We made our way back to Mechanics' Institute to get ready for the start of round 4, but not before stopping by Pizzelle di North Beach for slices of cheese and pepperoni. It was nice to get a quick slice, with parmesean, chili flakes, and oregano as condiments while watching Grand Torino on the TV inside.
Next week we will again tackle the local cafes and San Francisco street chess hotspots, seeing if we can spread the message of bringing communities together through chess and food and reviving the once great street chess culture of San Francisco through the Mechanics' Institute.
Here is the link to the broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eztHVCrEwhs
Here are some games from the round, annotated by GM Nick de Firmian.
(1) Liu,Richard (1824) - Arun,Siddharth (2253) [A60]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM 2000+ San Francisco (4.1), 03.08.2021
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.Nxd5 An unusual move. This seems to give away White's opening edge, but has the advantage of avoiding the complex lines of the Modern Benoni. [5.cxd5] 5...Nxd5 6.Qxd5 Nc6 7.Bd2 d6 8.Nf3 Be6 9.Qe4 Be7
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Black has a lead in development and has no opening problems. 10.e3 Bf6 11.Qc2 g5!? Siddharth plays aggressively, but White can handle this advance. 12.Bc3! Bxc3+ 13.Qxc3 Kd7!? 14.Rd1 Kc7 15.Bd3 Qe7 16.Be4 Bd7 17.Bd5 Rhg8 18.a3! Remembering that White needs to get play on the queenside where the black king resides. 18...a5 19.h4 g4 20.Nd2 g3 21.f3 Nd4 22.Ne4! Nf5 23.h5 Rge8 24.Rd3 Bc6
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25.Kd2! Richard is playing with inspiration and has gottern the edge with better control of the central squares. 25...Bxd5 26.Rxd5 Qe6 27.Re1 b5?! 28.Qf6! A fine counter to Black's aggression. White threatens a lot himself. 28...Ne7 29.Qxe6 [29.Rxd6! Rad8 30.Qxe6 fxe6 31.Rxd8 Rxd8+ 32.Kc3 Is a clear pawn up in the endgame.] 29...fxe6 30.Rxd6 Nf5! 31.Rd3 bxc4 32.Rc3 Nd6 33.Nxd6 Kxd6 34.Rxc4 Rg8 White still has a pawn up double rook ending and all the winning chances. Rook ending are always tricky to win though. 35.Kc3 Rg5 36.Rd1+ Kc6 37.Rh4 Rf8 38.f4 Rg7 39.Rf1 Rd8 40.Rh3 c4 41.h6 Rgd7 42.Rxg3 Rd3+ 43.Kc2?! [43.Kxc4! Rd2 Is a huge advantage for White 44.Kb3] 43...Rd2+ 44.Kc1
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44...c3! Now the black rooks controls the second rank with play against the white king. 45.bxc3 Ra2 46.Rgf3 Rdd2
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The doubled black rooks on the second rank guarantee Black a draw, desipite the three pawn disadvantage. 47.g4 Kc5 48.e4 Rg2 49.Kb1 Kc4 50.f5 Rgb2+ 51.Kc1 Rc2+ 52.Kb1 Rab2+ 1/2-1/2
(2) Argo,Guy (1928) - Heidari,Ako (1964) [C02]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM 2000+ San Francisco (4.5), 03.08.2021
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.g3?! Rare -- the main three moves are [6.Bd3; 6.Be2; and 6.a3] 6...cxd4 7.cxd4 Nge7 8.Bh3 Nf5 9.Bxf5 exf5 It's interesting to trade the bishop for knight and double the pawns, but White needs to watch out for the light-squares now. 10.0-0 h6 11.Nc3 Be6 12.b3 Be7 13.Bb2
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13...f4!? 14.gxf4 0-0-0 15.Na4! Qc7 16.Rc1
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16...g5! Black also gets attacking chances. 17.fxg5 Bh3 18.Re1 Rdg8 19.Re3 Kb8 20.b4 Qd7
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21.e6! Bxg5! 22.Nxg5 [22.exd7? Bxe3+ 23.Kh1 Bg2+ 24.Kg1 Bxf3+ 25.Kf1 Bxd1 wins] 22...Rxg5+ 23.Rg3 Rxg3+?! [23...Qxe6! keeps White's pawns split] 24.hxg3 Qxe6 25.b5 Na5 26.Qe1?! [26.Nc5] 26...Nc4 27.Qxe6 fxe6 28.Bc3 b6
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29.Be1?! [29.Bb4=] 29...h5 30.f4? fixing the white pawns on a poor set up 30...Bf5 Black has the chances now. 31.Kh2 Rg8 32.Nc3 Kb7 33.a4 Rg4 34.Nd1 Rg7 35.Nc3 Rg8 36.Na2 Bg6 37.Nb4 Be8?! 38.f5! Bd7 39.fxe6 Bxe6 Now White is fine. 40.Nd3 Bf7 41.Nf4 Re8 42.Bb4 a5 43.bxa6+ Kxa6 44.Re1 Rxe1 45.Bxe1 Nb2 46.Kh3 Nxa4 47.Kh4 Nb2 48.Nxh5 Nd3 49.Bc3 b5 50.Nf4 b4 51.Bd2 Nxf4 52.gxf4? The wrong recapture. 52. Bxf4 should just be a draw 52...Kb5!-+ Black is now winning on the board *and* has almost seven minutes to White's half a minute! 53.Kg5
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53...b3?= [53...Kc4 gains a lot of moves and is still winning] 54.Bc3 Kc4 55.Bb2 Now White is safe again in this bishops of opposite color ending. 55...Kd3 56.Kf6 Be8 57.f5 Kc2 58.Ba1 Kb1 59.Bc3 Kc2 60.Ba1 b2? 61.Bxb2 Kxb2 62.Ke6 Kc3 63.Kxd5 Bf7+
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64.Ke5? [64.Kc5! Kd3 65.d5 Ke4 66.d6 Be8 67.f6 Kf5 68.f7 Bxf7 69.d7 queens!] 64...Kc4 65.Kf6 Bd5 66.Ke5 Bf7 67.Ke4 Draw agreed. A hard fought and interesting battle! 1/2-1/2
(3) Persidsky,Andre (1828) - Zhou,Chelsea (1879) [D46]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM 2000+ San Francisco (4.6), 03.08.2021
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 c6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 dxc4 8.Bxc4 b5 9.Bd3 a6 10.a4 Bb7 11.axb5 cxb5 12.Qe2 0-0 13.e4
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13...Be7 White has an opening edge due to the classic pawn center, but Chelsea is still pretty solid anyway. 14.e5 Nd5 15.Qe4 g6 16.Bh6 Re8 17.Qg4 Nxc3 18.bxc3 Nb6 19.Ng5 Bxg5!? 20.Bxg5 Qd7 21.Bf6 Black has to worry about the dark squares on the kingside. Chelsea proceeds carefuly. 21...Nd5! 22.Qg5 Nxf6 23.exf6 Qd6 24.h4 [24.Qh6 Qf8] 24...Qd5 25.Qg3 e5! Now Black has leveled the game. 26.h5?! e4 27.hxg6 hxg6 28.Bc2 Qc6 29.Bb3 Qxf6 30.Rfe1 Rac8 31.Rac1 Kg7 32.Re3
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32...Qxd4! 33.Rd1 [33.cxd4 Rxc1+ 34.Kh2 Rh8+ wins] 33...Qf6 34.Rd6 Qe5? [34...Qf5!] 35.Qxe5+ Rxe5 36.Rd7! The endgame is salvation for White 36...Rb8 37.Rxf7+ Kh6 38.f4 Rf5 39.Rh3+ Rh5 40.Rg3 Rf5 41.Rh3+ Rh5 42.Re3 Rf5 43.Rh3+ 1/2-1/2
(4) Kachakji,Tony - Thibault,William (983) [A36]
July Aug TNM San Francisco (4), 03.08.2021
1.e4 c5 2.c4 An interesting move! This may seem strange but has an excellent plan to transpose to a Botvinnik English with the iron grip on the d5 square. 2...Nc6 3.Nc3 e6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.d3 Nge7 7.Nge2 0-0 8.0-0
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It's worth taking a look here. White has a very logical position (and presumeably one of his choosing). One cannot fault Black's play either - every move has been principled. 8...a6 9.Be3 Nd4 10.Rb1 Nec6! Stopping the break 11. b2-b4. 11.b3 We may criticize this as being a bit slow. 11. a3 would be ready to bring action on the queenside with the plan of 12.b4. 11...Re8 12.Qd2 Ne5?! 13.h3? [13.Nxd4 cxd4 14.Bxd4 Nf3+ 15.Bxf3 Bxd4 16.Ne2 Bg7 17.d4] 13...Nxe2+? Missing the royal fork with either knight to f3, winning the white queen! 14.Nxe2 b6 15.f4 Nc6 16.g4 Bd4?! This has a positional point to trade off White's "good" bishop (the one on the opposite color of the white pawns. Still, it is always risky to trade away the fianchettoed bishop that guards your king. 17.Bxd4 Nxd4 18.Nxd4 cxd4 19.e5 Ra7 20.Qf2! White wins a pawn with this move. 20...Bb7 21.Bxb7 Rxb7 22.Qxd4 d6! 23.Qe4 [23.exd6 Rd7! gets the pawn back with play on the d-file] 23...d5 [23...Rd7] 24.Qf3 Rd7 25.Rbd1 f5 26.gxf5 exf5 27.Rd2 h5 28.Rg2 Kf7 29.Re1 Re6 30.Rd2 g5? Aggressive but bad. This just gives away a pawn and allows White the attack. 31.Qxh5+ Rg6 32.Qh7+ Rg7 33.Qxf5+ Ke8 34.Rg2 gxf4 35.Qxf4 [35.Qh5+! will win a rook with check] 35...Rxg2+ 36.Kxg2 Rg7+
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37.Kf2?? Going from winning to losing in one move. [37.Kh2 Rf7 38.Qg3 is 3 pawns ahead with the safer king. One mistake is all it takes! Now the white queen gets pinned.] 37...Rf7! 38.Qxf7+ Kxf7 39.e6+ Ke7 40.Kf3
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40...Qf8+ It may seem White has chances with a rook and three pawns for a queen, but the black queen controls the board with checks. 41.Kg4 Qf2! 42.Re5 d4 43.h4 Qg2+ 44.Kf4 Qh3 45.h5 Qh4+ 46.Kf3 Qf6+ 47.Ke4
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47...Kd6! This works perfectly. The dangerous white pawns cannot advance due to the black threats. 48.Rd5+ Kxe6 49.Rxd4 Qe5+ White resigns as he loses the rook on d4. 0-1
(5) Uribe,Luiz (1856) - Perlov,Daniel (1555) [B21]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u2000 San Francisco (4.8), 03.08.2021
1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 d3 Declining the Smith-Morrra Gambit is perfectly reasonable. Many players feel the need to take the pawn on c3, but this is fine. 4.c4 d6 5.Bxd3 Nf6 6.Nc3 g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Be3 Nc6
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The diagram shows a common Smith-Morra Declined. White has a Marocy Bind where White has space but Black has good piece placement. 10.Qd2 Nb4 11.Be2 b6 12.a3 Na6 13.Rd1 Bb7 14.Qc2 Qc7?! [14...Nc5] 15.b4! It's lines with b2-b4 (and a2-a3 for support) that give Black the most problems in Maroczy Bind/Hedgehog formations. 15...Rfd8 16.0-0 Rac8 17.Rd2 Qb8 A standard maneuver, tucking the queen away. [Black could first use the square to reposition the knight: 17...Nb8!? But it gets complicated: 18.Nb5 Qd7 19.e5 Ne4 20.Nxa7!?] 18.Qa4?! Nc7 That knight is on a unusual track. 19.Qc2?! [19.Bd3] 19...Qa8 20.Bd3
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20...b5! Nice. [20...d5!? is even possible.] 21.c5 [21.cxb5? Nxb5! 22.Bxb5 Nxe4; 21.Re1!?] 21...d5? [21...dxc5 22.bxc5 a6 leaves the c-pawn weak.] 22.exd5 Nfxd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Be2 It's pretty level now. 24...a6 [24...a5!?] 25.Rfd1 Bc6 26.Ne1 Ne6 27.Bf3 Now White starts to pull ahead 27...Bxf3 28.Nxf3 Rxd2 29.Rxd2 Rd8 30.Rxd8+ Nxd8 31.Nd4? Queen to the d-file was a working plus. 31...e5? [31...Bxd4 32.Bxd4 Qd5=] 32.Ne2 [32.Nb3!] 32...Qd5 33.a4 e4 34.axb5 axb5 35.Nc3 Qc4 36.Qxe4! "Luft" comes in handy. No bank rank mates to worry about. 36...Qxe4 37.Nxe4 f5 38.Nd6 Bc3 39.Nxb5 Bxb4 40.Na7 Ba5 41.Bf4?! Ne6 42.Bd6?! Kf7? [42...Bb4! shows the White bishop to be on the wrong square and wins the c-pawn] 43.c6 Bc7 44.Nb5 Bxd6 45.Nxd6+ Ke7 46.Nb5 Both players have 3:50 left and they agreed a draw. Unless you know something, you should play on as White with the extra pawn! 1/2-1/2
Here are the current standings:
SwissSys Standings. Jul-Aug 2021 Tuesday Night Marathon: 2000+
| # | Place | Name | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Total | Prize |
| 1 | 1-3 | NM Siddharth Arun | 2253 | W9 | D5 | W6 | D3 | H--- | H--- | 3.0 | ||
| 2 | Abhi Penagalapati | 2078 | W11 | D4 | W14 | H--- | 3.0 | |||||
| 3 | Richard Liu | 1824 | H--- | W8 | W5 | D1 | H--- | H--- | 3.0 | |||
| 4 | 4-7 | IM Elliott Winslow | 2278 | W7 | D2 | H--- | H--- | 2.5 | ||||
| 5 | Christophe Bambou | 2121 | W10 | D1 | L3 | W11 | 2.5 | |||||
| 6 | Nicholas Weng | 2013 | H--- | W12 | L1 | W10 | H--- | 2.5 | ||||
| 7 | Kristian Clemens | 1997 | L4 | W9 | D10 | W14 | 2.5 | |||||
| 8 | 8-14 | Ako Heidari | 1964 | H--- | L3 | D13 | D9 | 1.5 | ||||
| 9 | Guy Argo | 1928 | L1 | L7 | B--- | D8 | 1.5 | |||||
| 10 | Kayven Riese | 1900 | L5 | B--- | D7 | L6 | 1.5 | |||||
| 11 | Andrew Guo | 1885 | L2 | H--- | W12 | L5 | 1.5 | |||||
| 12 | Chelsea Zhou | 1879 | B--- | L6 | L11 | D13 | H--- | 1.5 | ||||
| 13 | Andre Persidsky | 1828 | H--- | L14 | D8 | D12 | 1.5 | |||||
| 14 | Anthony Acosta | 1818 | H--- | W13 | L2 | L7 | 1.5 |
SwissSys Standings. Jul-Aug 2021 Tuesday Night Marathon: Under2000
| # | Place | Name | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Total | Prize |
| 1 | 1-2 | Samuel Brownlow | 1795 | D5 | W16 | W20 | W6 | 3.5 | ||||
| 2 | Kevin Sun | 1517 | W25 | W10 | W4 | H--- | 3.5 | |||||
| 3 | 3-6 | Amitoj Singh | 1819 | W17 | L4 | W11 | W13 | 3.0 | ||||
| 4 | Leon Quin | 1611 | W23 | W3 | L2 | W15 | 3.0 | |||||
| 5 | Daniel Perlov | 1555 | D1 | W12 | W18 | D7 | H--- | H--- | 3.0 | |||
| 6 | Adam Stafford | 1473 | W26 | W15 | W13 | L1 | 3.0 | |||||
| 7 | 7-9 | Luiz Uribe | 1856 | L13 | W19 | W10 | D5 | 2.5 | ||||
| 8 | Ted Porlares | 1789 | D19 | H--- | H--- | W18 | 2.5 | |||||
| 9 | Max Hao | 1761 | H--- | H--- | H--- | W19 | 2.5 | |||||
| 10 | 10-14 | Marty Cortinas | 1720 | W14 | L2 | L7 | W20 | 2.0 | ||||
| 11 | Frederick Hope | 1646 | W21 | F13 | L3 | W23 | 2.0 | |||||
| 12 | David Rakonitz | 1622 | H--- | L5 | W21 | H--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 13 | Albert Starr | 1609 | W7 | X11 | L6 | L3 | 2.0 | |||||
| 14 | Anvi Penagalapati | 1485 | L10 | D24 | W16 | H--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 15 | 15-21 | Adam Mercado | 1879 | D16 | L6 | W23 | L4 | 1.5 | ||||
| 16 | Joel Carron | 1610 | D15 | L1 | L14 | B--- | 1.5 | |||||
| 17 | Nick Casares Jr | 1600 | L3 | H--- | H--- | H--- | 1.5 | |||||
| 18 | Nikhil Pimpalkhare | 1577 | W22 | H--- | L5 | L8 | H--- | 1.5 | ||||
| 19 | Stephen Parsons | 1532 | D8 | L7 | W24 | L9 | 1.5 | |||||
| 20 | Nursultan\ Uzakbaev | 1513 | W24 | H--- | L1 | L10 | 1.5 | |||||
| 21 | Jerry Morgan | 1483 | L11 | H--- | L12 | X24 | 1.5 | |||||
| 22 | 22-23 | James Mahooti | 1800 | L18 | H--- | H--- | U--- | 1.0 | ||||
| 23 | Aaron Craig | 1408 | L4 | B--- | L15 | L11 | 1.0 | |||||
| 24 | 24 | Gregory Rousso | 1745 | L20 | D14 | L19 | F21 | 0.5 | ||||
| 25 | 25-26 | Glenn Kaplan | 1776 | L2 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.0 | ||||
| 26 | Jim Cohee | 1612 | L6 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.0 |
SwissSys Standings. Jul-Aug 2021 Tuesday Night Marathon: u/1600
| # | Place | Name | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Total | Prize |
| 1 | 1 | Isaac Sterling | 1236 | X--- | W11 | W4 | W7 | 4.0 | ||||
| 2 | 2 | Paul Reed | 1322 | W18 | H--- | W12 | W8 | 3.5 | ||||
| 3 | 3-7 | Dominic Zirbel | 1481 | W6 | W15 | L7 | W16 | 3.0 | ||||
| 4 | Sebastian Suarez | 1433 | W21 | W14 | L1 | W17 | 3.0 | |||||
| 5 | Claudio Bastiani-Fonck | 1377 | W31 | D25 | W15 | H--- | 3.0 | |||||
| 6 | Romeo Nehme | 795 | L3 | W18 | W27 | W14 | H--- | 3.0 | ||||
| 7 | David Nichol | 435 | B--- | W27 | W3 | L1 | 3.0 | |||||
| 8 | 8-11 | Valerie Jade | 1490 | W16 | H--- | X25 | L2 | 2.5 | ||||
| 9 | Andrew Imbens | 1296 | H--- | H--- | D21 | W23 | H--- | 2.5 | ||||
| 10 | William Thibault | 1050 | L25 | D31 | B--- | W24 | 2.5 | |||||
| 11 | Iven Yarovoy | unr. | W28 | L1 | H--- | X22 | 2.5 | |||||
| 12 | 12-19 | Samuel Agdamag | 1586 | L14 | W23 | L2 | W21 | 2.0 | ||||
| 13 | Charles James | 1368 | W24 | H--- | H--- | U--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 14 | Tobiah Rex | 1013 | W12 | L4 | X--- | L6 | 2.0 | |||||
| 15 | Andrew Ballantyne | 948 | W20 | L3 | L5 | X--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 16 | Andrejs Gulbis | 826 | L8 | W26 | B--- | L3 | 2.0 | |||||
| 17 | Pratyush Hule | 825 | H--- | H--- | W19 | L4 | 2.0 | |||||
| 18 | Trent Hancock | unr. | L2 | L6 | B--- | W27 | 2.0 | |||||
| 19 | Ian Atroshchenko | unr. | D30 | H--- | L17 | W29 | 2.0 | |||||
| 20 | 20-26 | Richard Hack | 1569 | L15 | L21 | H--- | W31 | 1.5 | ||||
| 21 | Thomas Gu | 660 | L4 | W20 | D9 | L12 | 1.5 | |||||
| 22 | Yuri Meseznik | unr. | H--- | H--- | H--- | F11 | 1.5 | |||||
| 23 | Thomas Dobbs | unr. | H--- | L12 | W31 | L9 | 1.5 | |||||
| 24 | Tony Kachakji | unr. | L13 | W28 | H--- | L10 | 1.5 | |||||
| 25 | Ambrogino Giusti | unr. | W10 | D5 | F8 | U--- | 1.5 | |||||
| 26 | Jabez Wesly | unr. | L27 | L16 | W28 | H--- | H--- | 1.5 | ||||
| 27 | 27-29 | David Olson | 1400 | W26 | L7 | L6 | L18 | 1.0 | ||||
| 28 | Richard Ahrens | 1228 | L11 | L24 | L26 | B--- | 1.0 | |||||
| 29 | Elias Colfax-Lamoureux | unr. | H--- | H--- | U--- | L19 | 1.0 | |||||
| 30 | 30-31 | Peter Borah | 1232 | D19 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.5 | ||||
| 31 | Tyler Johnson | unr. | L5 | D10 | L23 | L20 | 0.5 | |
SwissSys Standings. Jul-Aug 2021 Tuesday Night Marathon: Extra Games - JulyAugTNM
| # | Place | Name | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Total | Prize |
| 1 | 1-2 | Alex Chin | 1811 | U--- | U--- | W12 | W14 | 2.0 | |
| 2 | Abel Talamantez | 1800 | U--- | L5 | W18 | W15 | 2.0 | ||
| 3 | 3-9 | Kayven Riese | 1900 | U--- | W4 | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | |
| 4 | Juan Cendejas | 1718 | W13 | L3 | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | ||
| 5 | Albert Starr | 1609 | U--- | W2 | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | ||
| 6 | Andrew Ballantyne | 1467 | U--- | U--- | U--- | W17 | 1.0 | ||
| 7 | Andrejs Gulbis | 826 | U--- | U--- | W20 | U--- | 1.0 | ||
| 8 | David Nichol | 435 | W19 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | ||
| 9 | Kevin Nguyen | unr. | U--- | W16 | U--- | U--- | 1.0 | ||
| 10 | 10-11 | William Thibault | 1050 | U--- | U--- | D11 | U--- | 0.5 | |
| 11 | Tobias Rex | 1013 | U--- | U--- | D10 | U--- | 0.5 | ||
| 12 | 12-20 | Guy Argo | 1928 | U--- | U--- | L1 | U--- | 0.0 | |
| 13 | Chelsea Zhou | 1866 | L4 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.0 | ||
| 14 | Joel Carron | 1676 | U--- | U--- | U--- | L1 | 0.0 | ||
| 15 | Richard Ahrens | 1210 | U--- | U--- | U--- | L2 | 0.0 | ||
| 16 | Pratyush Hule | 825 | U--- | L9 | U--- | U--- | 0.0 | ||
| 17 | Iven Yarovoy | unr. | U--- | U--- | U--- | L6 | 0.0 | ||
| 18 | Tony Kachakji | unr. | U--- | U--- | L2 | U--- | 0.0 | ||
| 19 | Benjamin Grant | unr. | L8 | U--- | U--- | U--- | 0.0 | ||
| 20 | Yuri Meseznik | unr. | U--- | U--- | L7 | U--- | 0.0 |
Thursday Night Marathon Report
by Abel Talamantez
The Thursday Night Marathon was broadcast live from the US Open, and it was a fun evening which included special guests WIM Dr. Alexey Root, Joshua Anserson from the Chess Journalists of America, and NM Evan Rabin from Premier Chess, all of which joined me live on the broadcast. GM Gadir Guseinov showed his dominance again with a positionally masterful performance against IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla. NM Michael Walder was able to hold Guseinov to a draw, and both Guseinov and Walder lead the tournament with 3.5/4 with 4 more rounds of play remaining.
Click here to watch the broadcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jugq6VQPzIc
SwissSys Standings. July-August Thurdsay Night Marathon Online: Open
| # | Name | Handle | ID | Rating | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Total | Prize |
| 1 | GM Gadir Guseinov | gguseinov | 17343590 | 2635 | W11 | W5 | D2 | W3 | 3.5 | |||||
| 2 | NM Michael Walder | FlightsOfFancy | 10345120 | 2171 | W28 | W17 | D1 | W8 | 3.5 | |||||
| 3 | IM Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla | Swarnapuri | 30100858 | 2513 | W24 | W15 | W4 | L1 | 3.0 | |||||
| 4 | Cailen Melville | Mangonel | 14006141 | 1940 | W29 | W30 | L3 | W10 | 3.0 | |||||
| 5 | Aaron Nicoski | KingSmasher35 | 12797931 | 1789 | W20 | L1 | W30 | W16 | 3.0 | |||||
| 6 | Sanjeev Anand | chessp1234 | 14436451 | 1753 | L14 | W29 | W19 | W21 | 3.0 | |||||
| 7 | Robert Smith | maturner | 12463327 | 1853 | L30 | X21 | D12 | W22 | 2.5 | |||||
| 8 | Nikunj Oza | Motif | 12497585 | 1851 | W25 | D14 | W22 | L2 | 2.5 | |||||
| 9 | Kevin M Fong | chessappeals | 17254586 | 1783 | H--- | H--- | W28 | D11 | 2.5 | |||||
| 10 | Jeff Andersen | zenwabi | 11296106 | 1643 | H--- | W31 | W14 | L4 | 2.5 | |||||
| 11 | Akshaj Pulijala | Loltheawesomedude | 16497860 | 1531 | L1 | W25 | W18 | D9 | 2.5 | |||||
| 12 | Kevin Sun | kevin_mx_sun | 16898540 | 1521 | H--- | H--- | D7 | W27 | U--- | U--- | 2.5 | |||
| 13 | Michael Xiao | swimgrass | 16380636 | 1363 | D31 | W26 | H--- | H--- | 2.5 | |||||
| 14 | Katherine Sunny Lu | 2Nf31-0 | 16425316 | 1152 | W6 | D8 | L10 | W26 | 2.5 | |||||
| 15 | Rithwik Narendra | rukja | 14903560 | 1849 | W19 | L3 | H--- | H--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 16 | Ricnesh Ravind | Fi_Ricnesh | 30181578 | 1651 | H--- | H--- | W20 | L5 | 2.0 | |||||
| 17 | Bryan Hood | fiddleleaf | 12839763 | 1584 | W32 | L2 | H--- | H--- | 2.0 | |||||
| 18 | Aaron D Craig | aaroncraig602 | 12872385 | 1408 | H--- | H--- | L11 | W30 | 2.0 | |||||
| 19 | Sarvagnya Brahmanapally | bsarvagnya | 16466227 | 1287 | L15 | W24 | L6 | W29 | 2.0 | |||||
| 20 | Austin Jin | austinjin666xd | 17144712 | 1153 | L5 | B--- | L16 | W28 | 2.0 | |||||
| 21 | Tobiah Rex | tobiahsrex | 30164211 | 1013 | H--- | H--- | W23 | L6 | 2.0 | |||||
| 22 | Cleveland W Lee | vincitore51745 | 12814843 | 569 | X10 | W23 | L8 | L7 | 2.0 | |||||
| 23 | Christopher Nelson | LudiMagisterJosephus | 13742111 | 1700 | D26 | L22 | L21 | W31 | 1.5 | |||||
| 24 | Marina Xiao | programmingmax | 16380642 | 1554 | L3 | L19 | D25 | W32 | 1.5 | |||||
| 25 | Andy Xu | vivianandy | 16732301 | 1312 | L8 | L11 | D24 | B--- | 1.5 | |||||
| 26 | Bruce Hedman | Bruce_Hedman | 17344551 | 1055 | D23 | L13 | W31 | L14 | 1.5 | |||||
| 27 | Zerui Titus Mei | thankfuifortune | 16959455 | 984 | H--- | H--- | H--- | L12 | 1.5 | |||||
| 28 | Paul Krezanoski | pjkrizzle | 16897133 | 1360 | L2 | W32 | L9 | L20 | 1.0 | |||||
| 29 | Gabriel Ngam | boozerrip | 13553308 | 1350 | L4 | L6 | W32 | L19 | 1.0 | |||||
| 30 | Ivan Zong | ivanzong | 30131397 | 1335 | W7 | L4 | L5 | L18 | 1.0 | |||||
| 31 | Jonathan Rice | ricejonathanc | 30205348 | unr. | D13 | L10 | L26 | L23 | H--- | H--- | 0.5 | |||
| 32 | Jimolee Gray | jgray43 | 30172836 | unr. | L17 | L28 | L29 | L24 | 0.0 | |
Northern California Making Waves! 2021 US Open Report Part 1
by Abel Talamantez
We have always known Northern California is talent rich when it comes to its players, and it was demonstrated in full force this week. Henry Deng won the Rockeller Tournament of Elementary Champions on tiebreaks, FM Vyom Vidyarthi won the Barber Tournament of Middle School Champions, NM Ruiyang Yan won the Haring Tournament of Girls Champions, and NM Milind Maiti placed 13th in the Denker Tournament of High School Champions with a score of 4/6 in a field that included GM Awonder Liang. IM Elliott Winslow placed 11th in the Irwin Tournament of Senior Champions with a score of 3.5/6. All together, their scores combined for 23/30 possible, the most of any state delegation. Congratualtions to all the players!
Incidentally, I arrived at the hotel late Wednesday evening in New Jersey as go to the elevator to head to my room, and I ran into Henry Deng and his dad. I congratulated him on his championship, after directing an event where he beat IM Josiah Stearman just a week before. This kid has some talent!
Henry Deng (left) and Ruiyang Yan (right) are among the new crop of national champions after winning their respective champion of champions events at the US Open in Cherry Hill, New Jersey
It is fun to come to the US Open literally on the other side of the country and still run into Mechanics' Institute players from the Bay Area. Here are some pictures of some local talent at Mechanics' east in Cherry Hill.
Ethan and Ella Guo (left) made the trip to Cherry Hill to play the main event, as did Omya and Vyom Vidyarthi. Vyom won the Barber Tournament of Middle School Champions and Omya finished tied for 3rd at the 2021 US Women's Open.
IM Elliott Winslow performed well in the Irwin Senior Champions event, and GM Timur Gareyev pitches in to keep the venue clean
Inside the main playing hall at the 2021 US Open
You can see full U.S. Open results here: http://www.uschess.org/results/2021/usopen/?page=STANDINGS&xsection=senior
WIM Dr. Alexey Root
WIM Dr. Alexey Root has a newly released article on Chessbase online regarding the Northern California victory over Texas in the tournament of state champions at the US Open. Get her take on what had to be a difficult article to ride from the University of Texas at Dallas Instructor by following this link: https://en.
I want to thank Alexey for being my partner on the Thursday Twitch broadcast live from the US Open!
TD Corner: Draw Offers
by Abel Talamantez
We had previously written that we expected some OTB rules to be forgotten, or at least players would need a refresher in certain instances since it had been so long since we had over the board play. Here is one example, and it happened in two different live OTB events less than a week apart at the Mechanics' Institute. How do you offer a draw according to USCF rules?
How you offer a draw is regulated, here is the rule:
14B1. Proper timing of draw offer. Except for a draw claim, which is an implicit draw offer (14), a player should make a proposal of a draw only after determining a move (9G) and before pressing the clock. The opponent may accept the proposal or may reject it either orally or by deliberately touching a piece (10B). In the interim, the player who made the offer cannot withdraw it. See also 9G3, Draw offers.
What happened in both games in question is that the player offering the draw did so on their own time, but before making a move on the board. In one case, the offer was made by a player in an inferior position while the opponent had seconds on the clock. The player then made a move on the board, but then the player had a brief second of confusion as he was processing whether the offer was valid. While this happened, he ran out of time and lost the game. The player who ran out of time does bear some responsibility, but clearly what happened was not the correct way it should have happened. In both cases, there did not seem to be any ill intent. According to the rule however, the offer is binding regardless of the circumstances. I reminded players before the start of the TNM round that if there is an apparent rule violation or question about the rules, players may pause the clock to find an arbiter. In any moment of doubt, please immediately call on an arbiter to assist. And yes, there are penalties that can be levied to players who pause the clock under the guise of finding an arbiter with a question that was not necessary.
So if you want to offer a draw, offer it BEFORE you press the clock on your own time, then make the move on the board, and then hit the clock.
I urge players to familiarize themselves with the USCF Rulebook HERE.
Tony's Teasers
Here is a mate in three from longtime Mechanics' Institute player Tony Lama. This should occupy a good chunk of your time this weekend!
White to move and mate in 3
Mechanics' Institute Events Schedule
The Mechanics' Institute will continue to hold regular and online events. Here is our upcoming schedule for players:
Mechanics' Institute Thursday Night Marathon Online: July 29-August 19, 6:30PM PT. 8SS G/35+5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/thursday-night-marathon-online-jul-aug-2021
Mechanics' Institute August Quads: August 14, 3PM PT. 3 Games G/30;d5: https://mechanics-institute.jumbula.com/Tournaments2021/MechanicsChampionshipQuadsAug2021
20th Bernardo Smith Memorial Championship: FIDE Rated. August 21-22, 9AM PT. 5SS G/120;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/15th-smith-memorial-championship-person-fide-g120d5
Mechanics' Institute Class Schedule
Click HERE to see our full slate of specialty chess classes, we offer something for everyone!
Scholastic Bulletin
The scholastic news will be covered in a dedicated publication:
Scholastic Chess Bulletin
Please click the following LINK to read our latest edition.
All of us at Mechanics' Institute would like to thank you for your support of our scholastic chess programming.
FM Paul Whitehead's Column
[email protected]
Paul's column will return next week
GM Nick de Firmian's Column
World Cup
The FIDE World Cup has reached its final match as all the players have lost except two. The actual first place finish is not so important – the great prize were the two spots in the next Candidate’s Tournament. Those go to Poland’s Jan-Krzystof Duda and the Russian Sergey Karjakin, who are now facing off in the finals. Duda’s path in getting to the final was not likely, as he had to win in the semi-final match against non-other than World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Magnus had easily dealt with his opponents in the first 6 knock-out rounds and was certainly the betting favorite. Duda managed to hold two draws in the classical chess games, then struck with the black pieces in rapid chess to down the champ. We show below this important encounter which will tremendously boost the career of the talented young man from Poland.
Karjakin had a much more straightforward time in the semi-finals, due to a powerful performance with the White pieces in the classical chess game. Indeed, one could say that Karjakin had a very smooth journey to the finals and the precious Candidate’s spot if not for the epic battle he had with Sam Shankland. Sam won the first game of the classical time control, forcing Karjakin to come back with a win of his own to make it to the rapid time control. Sam again won the first of the two rapid games, but Karjakin was lucky to come back and take the second rapid and move on to blitz. Sam finally went down in the blitz, so we must credit Karjakin for his cool nerves and fighting spirit. Sam showed though that he can play level with the best in the world and we hope that he will be encouraged to continue his quest to bring glory to chess in the Bay Area...
(1) Carlsen,Magnus - Duda,Jan-Krzysztof [B52]
World Cup, 03.08.2021
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Qxd7 5.0-0 Nf6 6.Qe2 Nc6 7.c3 This is common for Magnus. He chooses a slightly off-beat opening to get his opponent into a position where he/she has to think for themself. 7...e6 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5! 10.e5 Ne4 This French Defense type of position should be positionally fine for Black with the light-squared bishops traded off. 11.Nbd2 Nxd2 12.Bxd2 Bb4
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(2) Karjakin,Sergey - Fedoseev,Vladimir [C93]
World Cup, 03.08.2021
Karjakin is of course familiar to the readers as the challenger for the World Championship in 2016. Fedoseev is not so well known and was the clear underdog in this match. 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Bb7 10.d4 Re8 11.Nbd2
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The position looks very complicated as White must lose the knight back. Karjakin shows he has everything under control. 30.Kg1 Qxf4 31.d5! Qg3 32.Re2 guarding the g2 pawn allows the terrible white center pawns to advance. Material is even yet Black has no salvation. 32...Qg5 [32...Qd6 33.Bxf5 Qxd5 34.Qxd5 Bxd5 35.e7 wins the exchange at least with an easy endgame win] 33.Qd2 Simple and powerful. In either the endgame or middle game the white center pawns will win a piece. Black resigned. 1-0
Solution To Tony's Teaser
1. Rg1!! b4 2. Bg2 (whatever black's move, discovered mate next move Bf3. If Bh3, Bxh3#)
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