Simple positions give an inexperienced player an opportunity not only to understand, but also to feel deeply what each piece is able to do.
Vassily Smyslov
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) DeGuzman wins in Sacramento by Michael Aigner
3) Clark Harmon ( 1942-2007)
4) Canadian Open
5) Cats with high FIDE ratings
6) Americans Abroad
7) New Jersey International
8) The Berkeley Chess Club Returns! by Marc Newman
9) Jim Murray
10) The readers write
11) Upcoming Tournaments
The 7th Annual Charles Bagby G/45 will be held this Saturday at the MI.
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
FM Frank Thornally defeated Expert Murray Newcomb last night and leads the Summer Tuesday Night Marathon with 6.5 from 7. He will face NM Andy Lee, who has 6 points, in the last round. Tied for third are Expert Victor Ossipov and Class A player Brendan Purcell. The latter is having an excellent tournament and should be an Expert after this event.
The 2nd Imre Konig Memorial has started. So far the results are Stein-Baburin draw and Fedorowicz-Pruess 0-1.
Book and equipment donations to the Mechanics' are always welcome. All donations to the Mechanics' are tax deductible due to the M.I.'s 501(c) (3) nonprofit status. If you have any chess books or equipment that have been lying around unused for some time consider donating to the Mechanics'. You will not only get a tax write off but also the satisfaction of seeing things put to good use.
2)
DeGuzman wins in Sacramento by Michael AignerA total of 75 players braved the summer heat of Sacramento to play in the annual 4th of July
weekend classic on July 6-8. Many players came from the Bay Area but some travelled as far as
Idaho and Florida. The field was headlined by International Masters Ricardo DeGuzman and Walter
Shipman plus National Masters Daniel Schwarz, Zoran Lazetich and Michael Aigner. However, a total
of 13 players in the Master/Expert section were juniors (as young as 9 years old) and a few had
big impact on the final standings.
Final standings: http://sacramentochessclub.org/weekend_events/2007scc.htm
All of the top seeds got in trouble early in the event. On Friday night, Shipman lost to Larry
Martinez (1851) and never was a factor in the standings. This reporter fared not much better with
an endgame draw against teenage student Jeff Young (1918) and a loss to Martin Marshall (1947).
Aigner reentered to join DeGuzman and Lazetich in the 2-day schedule and all three masters earned
2.5/3 in the G/60 games (Aigner-DeGuzman was a draw). However, it was not without adventure, as
DeGuzman played the wrong check in a game against Brendan Purcell (1982) and found himself in big
trouble after sacrificing a piece and a rook. Thanks to some luck in time pressure, the master
magician won yet again. In the meantime, Schwarz cruised to a 3-0 start in the 3-day schedule by
defeating fellow teenager David Chock (2099).
However, after the merge, Schwarz promptly returned to earth, losing in 20 moves to DeGuzman's
favorite Torre Attack. While Lazetich won in a time scramble, this reporter was unable to break
down 12 year old Gregory Young's defenses in a rook endgame up a pawn. That left DeGuzman and
Lazetich tied for first at 3.5/4 with Aigner and three of his students (Schwarz, Chock and Gregory
Young) half a point behind.
On the final day, DeGuzman sacrificed a piece for three pawns against Lazetich and won the endgame
after over 50 moves, with Lazetich missing an apparent draw at one point. However, the real action
was on board 2 where, after a very sloppy middlegame (queen's gambit accepted) with multiple
forced wins for both sides, Aigner ran Chock out of time in a drawn endgame of Q+P vs R+B+P. In
the final round, DeGuzman came to fight and essayed the Shabalov-Shirov attack of the semi-slav
(7.g4), but could only force a drawn opposite bishop endgame. That left the winner of board 2 with
a chance to tie for first, but close friends Schwarz and Aigner swapped all of the minor pieces
without great adventure and agreed to a draw.
Master/Expert section prizes:
1st Place: IM Ricardo DeGuzman
2nd Place: NM Daniel Schwarz & NM Michael Aigner
1st & 2nd Place Under 2200: Gregory Young, David Chock, Adarsh Konda and Eleuterio Alsasua
The Reserve (under 2000) section saw 47 players compete for rating points and a variety of cash
prizes. Douglas Legvold, who moved from Florida to California about a year ago, took the first
place honors at 5.5/6. Junior Ted Belanoff shared second with veteran Conrad Cota at 5.0. Perhaps
the biggest success story of Sacramento in the past year has been the rise of 13 year old Nicholas
Karas from merely an 1170 player last October to 1740 after a 4.5 result last weekend! Much of the
credit for this improvement goes to his budding young teacher, NM Schwarz. Another promising
player is Brian Curtis from Colorado, who raised his rating from 1233 to 1463 after an amazing
4.0/6 result that included wins over two opponents rated above 1750.
Reserve section prizes:
1st Place: Douglas Legvold
2nd Place & 1st Place 1600-1799: Ted Belanoff & Conrad Cota
2nd Place 1600-1799: Nicholas Karas
1st Place 1400-1599: Jennifer Livschitz
2nd Place 1400-1599: Christian Dypoldt, Marvin Gilbert, Alan Howe,
Vjay Jasthi & John Locke
1st Place U1400: Brian Curtis
2nd Place U1400: Michael Fischer
1st Place Junior: Anthony Blessing, Vishal Dasari, Arun Gomatam & Isaac Zhang
3) Clark Harmon ( 1942-2007)
This weekend the Portland Chess Club will be holding a memorial tournament for Clark Harmon. Thanks to Clark's wife Sherry and Michael Morris of Portland all of Clark's games from the 1959 California Junior Championship and the 1974 Stamer Memorial are available.
Clark had only been playing for a few years when he made the long road trip from Portland to Lancaster ( 942 miles!) with Buz Eddy. Now much was expected from the 16-year-old from Oregon in a field which included such strong young talents as Gilbert Ramirez, Art Wang and Stephen Sholomson but Clark scored 6.5 from 7, drawing only with Ramirez, to earn the title "Clark- The California Crusher"
Here are two key games from the event:
Harmon,Clark - Wang,Arthur D [E56]
California Jr. WB Patterson Memorial Lancaster (5), 26.06.1959
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 0-0 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.a3 dxc4 9.Bxc4 Ba5 10.Ne2 cxd4 11.Nexd4 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qe7 13.Bd2 Bxd2 14.Qxd2 Bd7 15.Qe2 e5 16.Nf3 Bc6 17.Rfd1 a6 18.Rac1 h6 19.Nh4 Ne4 20.Qg4 Qf6 21.f3 Nd6 22.Bd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 Rac8 24.Rcd1 Nc4 25.Nf5 g6 26.Nxh6+ Kg7 27.Rd6 Nxd6 28.Rxd6 Rc1+ 29.Kf2 Rc2+ 30.Kg3 Qxd6 31.Nf5+ Kg8 32.Nxd6 Rxb2 33.Qc4 Rb6 34.Nc8 Re6 35.Qc5 Rfe8 36.Nd6 R8e7 37.Nxb7 Kg7 38.Nd8 1-0
Harmon,Clark - Sholomson,Steven [E70]
California Jr. WB Patterson Memorial Lancaster (7), 26.06.1959
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bg5 0-0 6.Qd2 Nbd7 7.f4 h6 8.Bh4 e5 9.fxe5 dxe5 10.d5 Nc5 11.Qe3 Qe7 12.Nf3 b6 13.h3 a5 14.Be2 a4 15.0-0 g5 16.Be1 g4 17.Nh4 Kh7 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.Rxf5 gxh3 20.gxh3 Ncd7 21.Kh2 Rg8 22.Bg3 Qb4 23.Rb1 Rae8 24.Nb5 Nc5 25.Be1 1-0
The 1974 Stamer Memorial set an all-time MI attendance record with 119 entries (not likely to be challenged since it is well over the current Fire Marshall limit!) and Clark won $700 for his 6.5 from 7 score. Here is his last round win.
Harmon,Clark - Newbold,Robert [D87]
Arthur Stamer Memorial San Francisco (7), 04.07.1974
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Qc7 11.Rc1 Rd8 12.Qa4 Bd7 13.Qa3 Bf8 14.Qb2 b5 15.Bd3 Rab8 16.Bf4 e5 17.Bg3 Bg7 18.d5 Na5 19.Qd2 c4 20.Bb1 Qc5 21.Kh1 b4 22.cxb4 Rxb4 23.f4 Bh6 24.Qc3 Rdb8 25.Bf2 Qc7 26.Qf3 exf4 27.Be1 Bg4 28.Qxg4 Rxb1 29.d6 Qd8 30.Bd2 R1b2 31.Bc3 Rxa2 32.Nxf4 Bg7 33.e5 Nb3 34.Rcd1 Nc5 35.Nd5 Ne6 36.Ne7+ Kh8 37.Nc6 Qf8 38.Nxb8 Qxb8 39.Rxf7 Rc2 40.Qxe6 Qa8 41.Rf3 1-0
Mr. Harmon died of cancer on Thursday, April 12, 2007, at his home. He was 64. Born in Portland on Oct. 18, 1942, he was the son of Edwin and L. Rose (Parker) Harmon. He grew up in Portland, graduating from Clackamas High School. He attended Portland State University, where he earned an accounting degree. He lived in Seattle for a short time, working for Boeing, then returned to Portland to work for Freightliner. He later established his own certified public accountant practice in Olympia. In 1989, he went into the business of manufacturing and selling greenhouses. He married Sherry Correla on March 30, 1991, in Vancouver, Wash. He moved to McMinnville in 1991 and Amity in 1996.
A master chess player, he was a 10-time winner of the state chess championship. He belonged to the Portland Chess Club and U.S. Chess Federation.
He also enjoyed horses, horse camping at the beach and reading. "He was an easygoing, mild-mannered man who was very non-judgmental and took everyone at face value," his family said. In addition to his wife, Mr. Harmon is survived by two sons, Calvin of McMinnville and Charles of Los Angeles; a daughter, Christina Schwartz of Amity; a sister, Susan Prothero of Corvallis; and three grandchildren.
4) Canadian Open
MI GM-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky and his good friend GM Suat Atalik are tied for first with 4 from 5 in the 9 round, 280-player, Canadian Open being held in Ottawa. Among those joining them at the top are GMs Nigel Short and Sergei Tiviakov. Expect action to heat up in the last four rounds as the top players slug it out.
For more information go to
http://www.islandnet.com/~jberry/cycc/5sO.htm http://canchess.blogspot.com/The following game from Ottawa is well worth replaying.
Mikhalevski - Sambuev: Queen's Gambit, Tarrasch
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.0–0 Be7 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Nc3 0–0 9.Bg5 cxd4 10.Nxd4 h6 11.Be3 Re8 12.Rc1 Bf8 13.Nxc6!? .bxc6 14.Bd4 Bg4 15.f3 Bd7 16.Na4 g6 17.Nc5 Bf5 18.g4 Bc8 19.Qa4 Qd6 20.e3 h5!? 21.g5 Nh7 22.f4 h4 23.e4 h3 24.e5 Qd8 25.Bf3 Bxc5?! 26.Rxc5 Bd727.e6!! Rxe6 28.Bc3 Kf8 29.Qd4 Ke8 30.Ba5 Qb8 31.Rcc1! Nf8 32.Bb4 Qb7 33.Bc5 Rc8 34.f5! gxf5 35.Qh8 Re7 36.g6!! fxg6 37.Rfe1 1–0.
5)
Cats with high FIDE ratingsMuch more obvious is the case of Vladimir Afromeev. GM Alexander Baburin wrote in Chess Today ( issue 300) on September 3rd, 2001, about the Romanian fake GM Alexandru Crisan ( still rated 2588 on the July 2007 FIDE list) and Afromeev.
"The problem is very serious - it is quite possible soon that people like Crisan will bring their ratings even higher, automatically gaining places in World FIDE Championships. Then they will be getting money (OK, they probably have expenses when 'earning' their ratings), depriving some deserving players a chance to make a better living. Alas, the fact that FIDE did not take a hard stance against such abuse, has already tempted more people into inflating their ratings. For example, I recently received '64-Chess review' No.7 of 2001. There I read an interesting article by IM Igor Yagupov, who described how a local businessmen in his native Tula (city about 120 km from Moscow; GM Kotov was from there) last year decided first to get and then to raise his Elo. That guy - Mr. Vladimir Afromeev - has been so successful in his fraud, that he now has an international rating of 2520! I call it a fraud, because many know that the some of the tournaments, which he 'organized' never took place, while in some others certain players threw points at Mr. Afromeev. Now he is an FIDE Master and I bet that soon he will become Grandmaster.
By the way, at some point Mr. Afromeev decided that his personal driver should have Elo rating too (who wants un-rated drivers nowadays?!). Now that guy has a rating in excess of 2440.
Mr. Afromeev is even claimed to have said that if he wanted, his cat would get a rating like that too! Now, that's something for FIDE to look at, if you ask me! Alas, as Yagupov's article indicates, the Russian Chess Federation is not going to do anything and I doubt that FIDE will do much either. Yet, this problem can be dealt with - for example by establishing a FIDE commission, which would examine all suspicious tournaments, demand score-sheets and warn people, who took part in them."
Prophetic words by Baburin. Afromeev is still an FM but he is now #78 in the world at 2642! There is no word on how high rated his cat is.
6) Americans Abroad
Top Americans players will be active this summer.
MonRoi International Women's Chess Grand-Prix will hold an 8 player round robin July 21st-28th in Montreal, Canada.
Standings, based on rating performances in 7 qualifiers in Grand-Prix host countries: Gibraltar, France, Croatia, Germany, Liechtenstein, Italy & USA
1. WGM Irina Krush, USA, RP- 2554 GibTelecom
2. GM Pia Cramling, Sweden, RP-2522 GibTelecom
3. WGM Iweta Rajlich, Poland, RP- 2521 Euro 2007
4. WGM Jovaka Houska, England, RP- 2512 GibTelecom
5. WGM Lela Javakhishvili, Georgia, RP- 2490 Euro 2007
6. WGM Cristina Adela Foisor, Romania, RP- 2489 Liechtenstein
7. WGM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman, India, RP- 2482 Liechtenstein
8. Myriam Roy, Canada, Quebec Chess Federation selection
Details:
http://www.monroi.com/GP/The 40th Biel Chess Festival takes place 21st July-3rd August 2007. Alex Onischuk will represent the US in the strong top group.
Official site:
http://www.bielchessfestival.ch/Players: Teimour Radjabov AZE 2747 Judit Polgar HUN 2727 Alexander Grischuk RUS 2717 Magnus Carlsen NOR 2693 Loek Van Wely NED 2674 Alexander Onischuk USA 2663 Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2656 Boris Avrukh ISR 2644 Alexander Motylev RUS 2642 Yannick Pelletier SUI 2602 --------------------------------- Average : = 2677 (cat. XVIII)
There may not be a lot of chess players in Canada but they do organize many nice tournaments each summer. Gata Kamsky will fly the US flag in this blockbuster as Vassily Ivanchuk tries to win his fourth major competition in a row.The 8th Montreal International takes place 19th-28th July 2007. Players: Vassily Ivanchuk, Gata Kamsky, Nigel Short, Pavel Eljanov, Sergei Tiviakov, Emil Sutovsky, Kamil Miton, Pentala Harikrishna, Mark Bluvshtein and Pascal Charbonneau. Official site: http://www.fqechecs.qc.ca/index.php?typ=actu&id=1760&categorie
7) New Jersey International
GM Leonid Yudasin leads the New Jersey Futurity International being held July 7-11 in Parsippany with a score of 5 from 7 with two rounds to go. Other standings in the event, which features an average FIDE rating of 2412 are:
2-3. GMs Panchanathan and Erenburg 4.5; 4-6. GM Zaichik, IM Simutowe and NM Ju 3.5; 7. NM Molner 3; 8-10. Bartell, Ippolito and Zlotnikov 2.5
Go to
http://njknockouts.blogspot.com for more information.
8) The Berkeley Chess Club Returns! by Marc Newman
Starting Sunday, September 9th, Berkeley will once again have a weekly chess club. To celebrate, the inaugural tournament will be a six-week Marathon with just $6 entry fee and $350 in cash prizes. Games will start at 7:00 pm and time control is 40/90 followed by G/30. The club will meet in room 17 at Hillside School 1581 LeRoy in Berkeley.
The Berkeley Chess Club is being sponsored by the Berkeley Chess School, in consultation with former BCC director Alan Glasscoe. Richard Shorman will occasionally provide pre-game lectures, plus analysis in the skittles room. We will have a web page with game transcripts, results, advance pairings, etc.
The registration form is at http://www.berkeleychessschool.org/chessclub.htm and this is a secure page. You can sign up online or print and mail it to us.
Feel free to contact us at 510-843-0150 or bcschool@pacbell.net. You can speak wtih Elizabeth, Marc, or David.
9) Jim Murray
Can anyone shed light on Jim Murray, a Bay Area master of the 1960s? NM John Blackstone, who played on the US Student team in Ybbs, Austria, in 1968 passes along the following three games.
Blackstone,J - Murray,J [B67]
M Peninsula - M.I. No. CA (1), 1962
Murray,J - Blackstone,J [E66]
M MI - Golden Gate No. CA (2), 1968
1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.0-0
0-0 7.d4 d6 8.d5 Na5 9.Qd3 a6 10.Rb1 b5 11.cxb5 c4
12.Qc2 axb5 13.Nd4 b4 14.Ncb5 Bd7 15.a4 Qb6 16.h3 Rfc8
17.Be3 Qb7 18.Qd2 c3 19.bxc3 Nc4 20.Qd1 Nxe3 21.fxe3
Bh6 22.Nc6 Bxe3+ 23.Kh2 Bf5 24.Rxb4 h5 25.Nxd6 Qd7
26.Nxc8 Rxc8 27.Qb3 Kg7 28.a5 e6 29.c4 Rh8 30.Qxe3
exd5 31.Ne5 Qc7 32.Rxf5 gxf5 33.Qg5+ Kf8 34.Qxf6 Rh7
35.Rb8+ Qxb8 36.Nd7+ Ke8 37.Nxb8 h4 38.Qe5+ Kd8
39.Nc6+ Kd7 40.cxd5 hxg3+ 41.Qxg3 1-0
10) The readers write
Today, when it is possible to watch games live over the internet, it is easy to forget what a recent development this is.
Michael Morris writes:
" Your bio of Addison mentioned his participation in the US Championships of the 1960's. I remember well the excitement at the club when the report first came in of Bill's sensational defeat of Sammy Reshevsky in the first round (I believe) of the 1963 tournament. In those pre-email, pre-fax days the only way to get the game score quickly was by telephone and I recall someone on the line taking down the moves from a friend in NY."
Vinay Bhat took time off work to play three tournaments in Spain in search of his final GM norm. He writes:
Hi John,
I started out quite well in Sort (4.5/5, with wins against Granda and a draw with Burmakin), but then I fell sick, started taking some
antibiotics and lost the next 3 games (Korneev, Mamedov, and Gupta). I have 5.5/9 right now, with one more game to go here.
Next up after Sort is Benasque, which starts July 5th.
Vinay
We note that Vinay is in the GM norm hunt in Benasque with 4.5 from 6 including a win over GM Mamedov and a draw with GM Gelashvili.
John Blackstone writes:
J
ohn the following was taken from the following:http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3934 which is ChessBase web site. Do you know if this actually occurred or is it just a joke.
1,000-game simultaneous display
From the ‘Simultaneous Display’ entry in Harry Golombek’s The Encyclopedia of Chess (London, 1977 and Harmondsworth, 1981):
‘It is also reported that a certain Dr Backer played 1,000 games in San Francisco, 1938 with the result +343 –138 =519.’
Golombek’s words appeared in the section on exhibitions given on a replacement basis (i.e. with new games beginning as others are completed).
Whether such a display ever occurred was a question raised in C.N. 899 by Hugh Myers (Davenport, IA, USA), who pointed out that ‘Backer’ is usually given as
‘Basker’. Our correspondent quoted from page 122 of the March 1938 BCM (of which Golombek was then the General Editor):
‘San Francisco. A certain Dr Basker has succeeded in performing the herculean task of playing 1,000 boards simultaneously. His results were (after four days’
play) 343 wins, 138 losses and 519 draws.’
As noted in C.N. 3230, the story was widely reported. For example, the following appeared on page 100 of the Australasian Chess Review, 30 April 1938:
‘A certain Dr Basker, of San Francisco, is reported to have played 1,000 games simultaneously. After four days’ play, he finished up with a score of 343-137[sic], and 519 draws. We assume that his opponents came along in relays or waves, with day and night shifts.’
Finally, from page 337 of CHESS, 14 June 1938:
‘Several magazines and journals have reported that a certain Dr Basker, of San Francisco, has played 1,000 opponents simultaneously, winning (after four days’
play) 343, drawing 519, losing 138. We believe the whole thing is a hoax.’ Whether this ‘certain’ Dr Basker ever existed is uncertain.
Can readers shed light on this matter?
The last day to qualify for the early entry discount for the New England Masters Tournament is JULY 13, 2007! Get your entry in soon to pay the lowest possible entry fee!
The New England Masters is a 9 round FIDE Swiss that will be held from August 13-17, 2007, near Boston, USA.
GM and IM norm opportunities exist as we have 25 entries currently averaging over FIDE 2350, including 4 Grandmasters and 10 IMs. Remember, entries are limited to players FIDE rated 2200 or higher to help maintain the high average and maximize norm opportunities!
The event will take place at the Holiday Inn, Boston-Peabody, which is about 12 miles away from Logan International Airport in Boston. We have secured a low $69/night rate for all nights, so long as you book your hotel by July 23, 2007. After this date both the rate and availability cannot be guaranteed!
For complete information on the New England Masters, online entry and online hotel booking system, please visit our website at www.NewEnglandMasters.com.
Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions regarding the tournament.
Sincerely,
Chris Bird
Organizer, New England Masters Chess Tournament
www.NewEnglandMasters.com
11) Upcoming Tournaments
MI events - go
www.chessclub.org for more information
Charles Bagby - July 14th
Vladimir Pafnutieff - August 11th
Bernardo Smith Amateur - August 18th and 19th
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
http://www.pdxchess.org/ for directionsByes: 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
July 19-22, 20-22 or 21-22
12th annual Pacific Coast Open GPP: 80 California Southern 6SS, 40/2, SD/1 (2-day option, rds 1-3 G/60). Renaissance Agoura Hills Hotel, 30100 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills CA 91301 (US-101 to Reyes Adobe Road exit). Adjacent to the Santa Monica Mountains, 26 miles west of Burbank, 12 miles from Malibu, 28 miles from Ventura. Free parking. Prizes $20,000 based on 250 paid entries (re-entries count as half entries, U800/Unr Section as one-third), minimum $16,000 (80% of each prize) guaranteed. In 7 sections. Open: $2000-1000-500-300, U2300/Unr $1200-600. FIDE. Under 2100: $1500-700-500-300. Under 1900: $1500-700-500-300. Under 1700: $1500-700-500-300. Under 1500: $1500-700-500-300. Under 1200: $1200-600-400-200. Under 800/Unr: Trophies to top 8. Unrated may play in any section, with maximum prize U2100 $700, U1900 $600, U1700 $500, U1500 $400, U1200 $300; balance goes to next player(s) in line. Top 6 sections EF: 4-day $104, 3-day $103, 2-day $102 mailed by 7/11, all $105 online at chesstour.com by 7/16, $110 phoned by 7/16 (406-896-2038, entry only, no questions), $120 (no checks, credit cards OK) at tmt. SCCF membership ($14, jrs $9) required for rated Southern CA residents. U800/Unr Section EF: 4-day $24, 3-day $23, 2-day $22 mailed by 7/11, all $25 online at chesstour.com by 7/16, $30 phoned by 7/16 (406-896-2038, entry only, no questions), $40 (no checks, credit cards OK) at site. Re-entry $50; not available in Open Section. Advance EF $10 less if paid with $49 USCF dues. GMs free, $100 deducted from prize. 4-day schedule: Reg Thu to 6:30pm, rds Thu 7 pm, Fri 7 pm, Sat 12-7, Sun 10-4:30. 3-day schedule: Reg. Fri to 11am, rds Fri 12-7, Sat 12-7, Sun 10-4:30. 2-day schedule: Reg Sat to 9 am, rds Sat 10-1-4-7, Sun 10-4:30. All schedules: Bye all, limit 2, Open must commit before rd 2, other sections before rd 4. HR: $82-82-82-82, 818-707-1220, reserve by 7/5 or rate may increase. Car rental: Avis, 800-331-1600, use AWD #D657633. Ent: Continental Chess, PO Box 249, Salisbury Mills NY 12577. $10 charge for refunds. Questions: www.chesstour.com, 845-496-9648. Advance entries posted at chesstour.com.The Miami Chess Open
September 26-30, 2007
REGISTER ONLINE NOW!You play only those in your section.
$100,000 based on 650 entries
$50,000 guaranteed
Tournament details:
Sheraton Miami Mart Hotel, 711 NW 72 Ave (near Dolphin and Palmetto Expressway), Miami, FL 33126 (Inside the hotel you will find over 100 different retail stores). 5$ a day parking or 8$ for an in and out parking ticket.
Open Section: 9-SS, 90mins with 30 seconds increment for the whole game. GM and IM norms possible. In 7 sections. Prizes based on 650 paid entries, else proportional, 50% of prizes guaranteed. Re-entries count as half an entry. Unrated must enter U1000/Unr or Open Section.
Other sections: 7-SS, 90 mins with 30 seconds increment for the whole game.
Open Section: $12000-5000-3000-1500-1000-700-600-500-400-400, clear first bonus $200, 2300-2499 $2000-1000. Under 2300/Unr Section: $3000-1500-700. If tie for first, top 2 on tiebreak play speed game for title & bonus prize. FIDE rated, 150 GPP.
Prize limits: 1) If under 26 total games as of 8/07 list, limit $1000 U1300, $2000 U1600 through U2200. 2) If more than 20 points over section maximum on any list 8/07 or after, prize limit $1000.
Re-entries: $100. Not available in open section.
5-day Open schedule: Late entries end Wed 6 pm. Rounds Wed 7 pm, Thur 1 & 7, Fri 11 & 6, Sat 11 & 6, Sun 10 & 4:30.
All schedules merge & compete for same prizes.
Hotel rates: $119 for 1-4 room (305) 261-3800 rate may increase or hotel sell out.
All: ½-pt byes OK all rounds, limit 3. Open byes must commit before rd 2, lower sections before rd 4. No smoking. Bring sets, boards, clocks- none supplied.
Prize limits:
1) If under 26 total games as of 8/07 list, limit $1000 U1300, $2000 U1600 through U2200. 2) If more than 20 points over section maximum on any list 8/07 or after, prize limit $1000.The Miami Chess Open entry form:
Name _________________________________ Tournament_________________________________ Section_______________________ Number of days_______ USCF ID _____________ Rating ______
Entry Fee_______________Membership Dues___________ Address_______________________________________________________________________________
email address_____________________________________
Send to Miami International Chess Academy: 5880 SW 8Street, Miami Florida 33174.
Checks payable to The Miami Chess Open