Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #349

I strongly believe that your practical results will improve once you are more willing to sacrifice material - not for attack (we can all do that) but for defensive and psychological reasons.

GM Jonathan Rowson from his Chess for Zebras (page 143)

 

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

2) Hikaru Nakamura wins National Open

3) 2007 US Womens Championship

4) GM Danny King Simul in Berkeley

4) Frank Anderson-Part Two

5) Here and There

6) Upcoming Tournaments

 

    1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

    Twelve players, led by top-seeds NM Albert Rich and FM Frank Thornally, lead the Summer Tuesday night Marathon with 2-0 scores. Six round remain for the 71 competitors who finish the event on July 17.

    John Fedorowicz has replaced Lubomir Ftacnik on the GM team in the 2nd Imre Konig Memorial which will be held using the Scheveningen system from July 10-26. The field consists of:

    GM Team

    GM Baburin ( Ireland)

    GM Atalik (Turkey)

    GM Yermolinsky ( USA)

    GM Fedorowicz ( USA)

    IM Atalik ( Turkey)

    IM Team

    IM Pruess ( USA)

    IM Stein (USA)

    IM Zilberstein (USA)

    IM Friedel (USA)

    IM Mezentsev (USA)

    Many thanks to Imre Konig's good friend, Tibor Weinberger, for helping to make this event possible.

    Readers write:

    In Newsletter #348 we wrote:

    Pictures of the MI Chess Club from the early 1920s show spittoons on the floor that bear a strong resemblance to high end dog food dishes. A picture of the main playing area from 1930 suggests that spittoons were no longer in use.

    Longtime MI member Art Wang writes that this multi-purpose devices in fact lasted much longer.

    John,

    Shiny brass cuspidors (Arthur Stamer's word for spittoons) were in MI's chess room through the 1950's as well as signs on the walls stating, "No expectorating on the floor!".

    Cheers,

    Art

    Below MI member Steven Gaffagan responds to Josh Waitzkin's quote from his new book The Art of Learning, which appeared in Newsletter # 348. We note that IM Waitzkin worked with Dvoretsky in the early 1990s and Mr. Gaffagan about ten years later. Readers who like to obtain a copy of The Art of Learning are in luck. The MI Chess Club has a limited number of hard cover signed copies with dust jacket available for $25 in room #408.

    Dear John,

    Please print in your next newsletter in defense of Mark Dvoretsky:

    I was very surprised to read Mr. Waitzkin's charge. I trained with Mr. Dvoretsky 5 years ago and the very first thing he discussed was training your creative vision: looking for the unexpected and/or beautiful move. I was in a small group with mostly young players and I must say that Mr. Dvoretsky was refreshingly patient, courteous, and downright likable. Furthermore, throughout the entire series of lessons Mr. Dvoretsky solicited ideas and analyses from the students in a quiet, relaxed
    atmosphere.

    I believe Mr. Waitzkin's understanding of creativity (however elaborate, revolutionary, or successful) as "audacious" is antithetical to Mr. Dvoretsky's view. In Mark's sessions, /each and every player/ is summoned to search creatively. Why? Because creativity exists in everyone. Not just the champion. What could be more democratic?

    Steven Gaffagan

     

    2) Hikaru Nakamura wins National Open

    GM Hikaru Nakamura defeated IM Renier Gonzlez in the final round to win the 2007 National Open held June 7th to 11th in Las Vegas. Hikaru ended an amazing run by IM Gonzalez of Miami who defeated GMs Mitkov, Ehlvest, Gagunashvili and Kolev in consecutive rounds! Tying for second at 5 were Gonzalez, GMs Kortchnoi, Serper and IMs Sevillano, Friedel and Matikozian. Departing from the form charts, many of the 14 GMs competing in the event suffered rough treatment from IMs. 689 players competed in the various sections.


    .
    Final standings:
    1. GM Nakamura – 5½
    2-7. GM Korchnoi, IM Sevillano, GM Serper, IM Friedel, IM R.Gonzalez and IM Matikozian –
    5
    8-14. GM Akobian, GM Erenburg, GM Kolev, GM D.Gurevich, IM Krush, IM Pruess, NM Yanayt –
    4½,

     

    3) 2007 US Womens Championship

    They are at it again. Frank Berry and his twin brother Jim who is running this year for the USCF Executive Board, are putting on another big event on top of the US Championship they held in May. This time it is the US Womens Championship in which Mechanics' members WGM Kamile Baginskaite and NM Batchimeg Tuvshintugs are expected to participate.

    The 2007 Frank Berry U.S. Women's Championship is scheduled for Stillwater, Oklahoma from July 16-20. The top ten rated women from the May list will be invited for a round robin, with $25,000 in prizes. The Women's Championship will be followed by two other exciting events, a blitz open with a $1500 prize fund on Friday, July 20th and a $2500 weekend five round Swiss on July 21-22.


    U.S. Women's Championship Schedule

    Opening Ceremony- Monday 11 AM
    Rounds 1+2- Monday at Noon and 6 PM
    Rounds 3+4-Tuesday the 17th at 11 AM and 5 PM
    Rounds 5+6- Wednesday the 18th 11 AM and 5 PM
    Rounds 7+8- Thursday the 19th-11 AM and 5 PM
    Round 9- Friday the 20th at 11 AM
    Blitz Tournament (Open) July 20
    Weekend Swiss (Open) July 21-22

    Prize Fund

    1st $7000
    2nd $5000
    3rd $3000
    4th $2500
    5th $2000
    6th $1500
    7th $1000
    8th $1000
    9th $1000
    10th $1000

    Total Prize fund $25,000.

    4) GM Danny King Simul in Berkeley


    The Berkeley Chess School is sponsoring a simul by GM Daniel King at 7:00 PM on Friday, June 29th in Berkeley. This is in conjunction with GM King's visit to teach the top class for two weeks of summer camp at the Berkeley Chess School the weeks of June 18th and June 25th. The simul is limited to 30 boards and the cost is $15. Location is room 17 at Hillside School, 1581
    LeRoy Avenue, Berkeley. To register please contact the Berkeley Chess School at 510-843-0150 or bcschool@pacbell.net. Our mailing address is The Berkeley Chess School, PO Box 10073, Berkeley, CA 94709.

    5) Frank Anderson-Part Two

    We continue our coverage of San Diego's first International Master.The following article was first published in the Gulf Oilmanac of November, 1972.

    Pick a number between one and one million. Multiply it by itself. Again. Again. Again. Again. And Again!

    Lost? Keep going. Then think of this. There are even more possible plays in a game of chess - in fact, an almost infinite number. That makes it all the more incredible that anyone could become a master of the game.

    But Frank Anderson, Marketing Consultant for Gulf Computer Sciences, Inc. (GCSI), San Diego, is just such a man, an international chess master and authority on chess. His photographic memory, his phenomenal accomplishments in blindfolded chess play, and his wins in tournaments and exhibitions have earned him a worldwide reputation in chess circles. He has played as many as 50 games-by-mail at once, and, in an exhibition chess, has played as many as 100 games simultaneously.

    " I set out to master chess," Frank says simply, "and I accomplished my aim," indicating the self-confidence that enabled him to overcome childhood illness and achieve both the personal and professional goals he had decided upon.

    What moved Frank to excel at chess is perhaps a mystery, but that same desire to master all tasks is still with him. Four years ago he could not hammer a nail. Today, he's an avid do-it-yourselfer. His home workshop, which he built himself, is neatly stocked with all the essential tools. Nails and screws are, of course, separated by size and type and properly labeled.

    " I got some books from the library to find out what tools I would need for a basic workshop," he says. "Then I built something. Then I went back and got more books on carpentry and home improvement. I built something else."

    The routine repeats itself in almost all aspects of Frank's life, and he is quick to recognize the pattern. "Theory, practice, theory, practice...to perfection,' he says. "I found that way of doing things quite satisfactory.'

    His love for logic and order also led him to an interest in computers. A native of Canada, Frank began his professional career as a computer consultant there with his graduation from the University of Toronto, where he majored in mathematics and statistics.

    He joined Gulf in 1967 an assistant to the head of the Mathematics and Computing Division, then switched to GCSI when it was formed two years ago. As a Marketing Consultant at GCSI he is responsible for computer time sales in 13 western states. The wholly owned subsidiary of Gulf Oil Corporation has headquarters in Houston, with offices in Pittsburgh and San Diego.

    Prior to joining Gulf, he and his wife Sylvia went on a two-year honeymoon trip to Europe and North Africa. They toured 25 countries in a camper bus, a surprising thing for a man who was so crippled by arthritis at the age of ten that he spent nearly ten more years as an invalid. At 16, still bedridden, he read a couple of books on chess and taught him self how to play.
    'The only part of the body I could exercise was my mind," he said. "And chess motivated me to get out of bed - so that I could get more books on chess, read more, learn more!"

    At 19 he moved himself into a wheelchair and headed for the library. He read every book on chess that he could find and discovered his photographic memory. He can remember, move for move, literally thousands of chess games played throughout the world. His astonishing mental ability and chess prowess led him to the chess Olympics in 1954 and 1958. Both times he was awarded gold medals, with scores of 85 and 86 out of a possible 100.

    Another illness kept him from completing the number of games necessary to qualify as a Grandmaster, but he feels he earned the title anyway.

    "I was only a game away from becoming Canada's first Grandmaster," Frank recalls, "but I was too sick to play that last game . That's when I decided to give up chess, at least on a professional basis. I had other things to do with my life, other goals to reach."

    But even on the job, Frank's reputation as a chess champion follows him. When six executives at one of GCSI's client companies found out about him, they challenged Frank to a chess match. The six men formed one team, Frank the other. The match is still in progress, but Frank feels that the odds are fair.

    "Whatever analogies can be drawn between life and chess, or the game of life and so on, aren't really correct," Frank says. "Chess was only one factor in my early years, but there were other things I wanted, too."

    And important part of his decision to leave competition chess was a desire for a wife and family. Professional chess players, like professional golfers and tennis players, must travel frequently. And while a golf tournament takes only a few days, a chess tournament lasts a month or more.

    Today Frank speaks of pride of his wife and two daughters, Carol, who is three, and Joy, 18 months. The older one is learning to play chess.

    Obviously, the nomadic life of a chess master does not appeal to Frank Anderson, a man who enjoys his wife and children and work, whose philosophy is partly summed up by, "Only do things you enjoy. I enjoy chess and still play when I can. And I enjoy my work, my home life, my hobbies."

    His ever-present enthusiasm and quest for knowledge has taken him into a new field of interest - hydroponics, the growing of fruits and vegetables without soil. The greenhouse on his patio shelters, among other things, green beans, lettuce, and corn, all fed with pure nutrients and watched carefully. Frank did all the inside carpentry and electrical work himself.

    Characteristically, he read over 75 books before beginning the new project.

     

    6) Here and There

    A special memorial tournament will be held for NM Clark Harmon in Portland the weekend of July 14-15. See below under upcoming events for more information.

    Congratulations to IM David Vigorito on the publication of his outstanding Challenging the Nimzo-Indian (www.qualitychessbooks.com) . The attractively produced 325 page oversized paperback fills a void in chess literature - an up to date guide to 4.Qc2 in the Nimzo.

    Best wishes for a speedy and complete recovery to US Life Master Jerry Hanken who was hospitalized in Las Vegas after the last round of the National Open.

    Max Burkett passes on the following request for assistance:

    Max,

    I can tell you that almost all games of Stockholm 1937 are saved,as the original score sheets have been found. Together with Peter Holmgren I have just started working on a book on the Stockholm Olympiad. For the book we would appreciate all information about sources of game annotations (detailed sources;if possible photo copies or scans), especially from foreign newspaper columns.

    Calle Erlandsson
    callena@telia.com

    Several Newsletter's ago we wrote about the serious injuries that FM David Weinstock of Seattle suffered in a car accident. Fortunately he has been making a god recovery. His condition can be followed here: http://www.caringbridge.org/cb/inputSiteName.do?method=search&siteName=myloveone .

    Congratulations to NM Tom Brownscombe, the former USCF Scholastic Director, who recently signed on to run the Anatoly Karpov Chess School in Lindsborg, Kansas.

    7) Upcoming Tournaments

    William Addison Open - June 23rd
    Charles Bagby - July 14th
    Vladimir Pafnutieff - August 11th
    Bernardo Smith Amateur - August 18th and 19th

    http://www.nwchess.com/calendar/Harmon_Memorial.pdf

    June 29-July 1
    47th Annual Pacific Southwest Open

    5-SS, 3-day 40/2, SD/1, 2-day rds. 1-2 G/75 then merges. Burbank Airport Marriott, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank CA (adjacent to Burbank Airport).
    $$8,000 b/240, half of all prize guaranteed.
    Choice of 2 schedules: 3 day schedule plays all rounds at 40/2, SD/1. 2 day schedule plays first 2 rds at G/75, others at 40/2, SD/1.
    2 sections:
    Open, $$1400-700-400-300-200, U2200 $600-300-150, U2000 $600-300-150.
    Amateur, open to U1800/Unr, $$600-300-150, U1600 500-250-150, U1400 400-250, U1200 150, Unr. 150. Unr. may win Unrated prize only.
    EF $69 if rec’d by 6/28, $79 at site.
    SCCF memb. req’d of So. Californians ($14, jrs. U18 $9, includes Rank & File magazine).
    Reg: 5:30-6:30 p.m. 6-29, 8:30-10 a.m. 6-30.
    Rds: 3-day 7 p.m., 11-5:30, 10-4:30. 2-day: 10:30-1:30 (G/75), then merges.
    HR: $119, 800-736-9712 or 800-840-6450. Reserve by June 15 or rates will go up. Be sure to mention Western Chess. Parking $10/day.
    Inf:
    admin@westernchess.com. On-line ent: http://www.westernchess.com/.
    Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles CA 90038.
    NS. NC. F. GP: 30. State Championship Qualifier.
    Download flyer

    July 1
    PSW Scholastics

    5-SS, SD/45. Burbank Airport Marriott, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank CA (adjacent to Burbank Airport).
    Open to gr. 12-below.
    In two sections:
    Open: Trophies to top 5, top 3 U1200, top 2 Unrated.
    Grade 6/below U1000: Trophies to top 5, top 3 U700, top 2 Unrated.
    Reg: 8:30-9:15. Rds: 9:30-11-1:00-2:30-4.
    EF: $16 if received by 6/28, $20 door. On-line ent:
    http://www.westernchess.com/.
    Info:
    admin@westernchess.com.
    Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles CA 90038.
    Download flyer

    July 1
    PSW Hexes

    3-SS, G/90 Burbank Airport Marriott, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank CA (adjacent to Burbank Airport).
    6-player sections by rating.
    $$40-20-10 each section.
    EF: $20 if received by 6/28, $25 door.
    Reg: 9:30-10:15 a.m. Rds: 10:30-1:30-4:30.
    Ent: SCCF, c/o John Hillery, 835 N. Wilton Pl. #1, Los Angeles CA 90038. On-line ent:
    http://www.westernchess.com

    Clark Harmon Memorial Open

    July 14-15

    $1500 Guaranteed!

    Sponsored by Portland Chess Club and contributors to the

    Harmon Memorial Fund

    5-round Swiss: One open section

    Time Control: Saturday 40/90, SD/30; Sunday 40/120, SD 60

    Registration: Saturday 9-9:45 am. Registration is limited to first 50 entrants. Advanced registration is strongly encouraged.

    Rounds: Saturday 10:00; 2:30 & 7:00; Sunday 9:30 & 4:30

    Location: Portland Chess Club, check www.pdxchess.org for directions

    Byes: 2 half-point byes available if requested before 1st round. GMs & IMs may enter in round 2 with 1 point or round 3 with 1.5 points.

    1st $425 2nd $250 3rd $150

    U2000, U1700, U1400 each 1st $150, 2nd $75

    Entry: $50; $40 for PCC members.

    Memberships: USCF and OCF/WCF required (OSA). Harmon NW Grand Prix.

    This is the First Annual Harmon Memorial. We hope players will join in this tribute to one of the Northwest’s premier players and ambassadors of the game. The prize fund is underwritten through the generosity of contributors to the Harmon Memorial Fund. To date the following have contributed:

    Sherry Harmon; Alexey Root; Neil Dale; Jonna Schuder; Taylor Bailey; Mike Morris; Shirley Venhaus; Marvin Hayami; Russell Miller; Mike Schemm; Grisha Alpernas ; Jon & Barbie Fortune; Michael Ratliff; Laszlo Szalvay; Ted Lundin

    Any net proceeds from this tournament will be added to the fund, so that this will become an annual event.

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