Chess brings out man's creative powers. It is not only a struggle, it is a sphere where humans can fight for justice because there are strict laws.

Time magazine July 31, 1972

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

2) Leonid Kritz wins New England Masters

3) Joel Johnson wins US Senior

4) Hans Ree on Watson's Chess & Book Show

5) California Chess History

6) Upcoming Events

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News

NM Andy Lee, Experts Batsaikhan Tsrendorj, Carlos Davila, Victor Ossipov, Romulo Fuentes, Larry Snyder, Wiliam Gray, Igor Traub, James Jones and Class A players Demtrious Goins and Adam Goldberg who upset NM Igor Margulis and Expert Felix Rudyak respectively, are tied at 2-0. Right behind them at 1 1/2 are IM Ricardo DeGuzman , NM Sam Shankland and Expert Daniel Naroditsky who have each taken a half point bye. It's still possible to enter the 74 player, 9 round event, with half point byes for the first two (or three) rounds.

This past weekend Jay Kumar won the Bernardo Smith Amateur ( Under 1800) at the MI with a score of 5 from 6. Bernard Liang, Evan Sandberg, Cesar Tamondong and Zachi Bacharav tied for second with 4 1/2 in the 38-player event.

Thanks to John Alexander Jr.who has donated several beautiful black and white photos of chess in San Diego in late 1950s including one with Bent Larsen, Larry Evans and Pal Benko in it. John's father, John Alexander Sr., was one of the leading West Coast organizers in the 1950s and 60s.

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.

GM Leonid Kritz was the winner of the New England Masters, finishing with 7/9, a half-point ahead of GM Alex Shabalov and IM Dean Ippolito. Kritz maintains his 100% record of winning Master tournaments organized by Chris Bird, which includes his joint first in the Las Vegas Masters last year.

Finishing in fourth place was IM Robert Hess with 6/9, while IM Lev Milman, IM Josh Friedel and 12 year old FM Ray Robson finished tied for fifth with 5.5/9.

Ippolito's 2nd place finish was also good for the top Under 2400 prize while Robson took second in the same category. FM James Critelli and local youngster Max Enkin took the top Under 2300 prize, both of them finishing with 5/9, and both of them notching up a win against English GM Nigel Davies during the course of the tournament.

IM Dean Ippolito's 6.5/9 was good enough for a GM norm performance and FM James Critelli's 5/9 was good enough for an IM norm performance. Unfortunately both players played six USA players and the FIDE rules stipulate that a maximum of 60% of your opposition can come from your own federation. FM Ray Robson and Max Enkin both ended up just a half-point shy of IM norm performances, although they would have also failed to play the necessary non-USA opposition.

This was caused due to various foreign players dropping out for one reason or another over the final couple of weeks, including a foreign GM dropping out and being replaced by GM Shabalov (who is USA, but who wouldn't want the US Champion at their tournament?) and the foreign players not performing well enough to be paired against the players that needed them. Obviously there is only so much that can be done to obtain these match-ups, while maintaining the integrity of the tournament, which is of paramount importance.

The only consolation for both of the players is that they still need to obtain the relevant 2500 (GM) and 2400 (IM) FIDE ratings, and their results in this tournament will go a long way to helping with that cause. If they take the confidence gained from this tournament, and keep performing up to these standards, it will only be a matter of time before they eventually succeed in their quests.

IMs Josh Friedel and David Pruess went to New England looking for GM norms and will not be satisfied with their results, but 16-year-old Sam Shankland scored a very respectable 4 from 9 with a performance rating of around 2300 despite typically spending 30 minutes on his clock each game. Slow down Sam!

Shankland,Samuel (2166) - Yanayt,Eugene (2335) [B77]
New England Masters (4) 2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 d6 8.f3 0-0 9.Qd2 Bd7 10.h4 Qa5 11.h5 Ne5 12.Bb3 Rfc8 13.hxg6 hxg6 14.Bh6 Bh8 15.0-0-0 Nc4 16.Bxc4 Rxc4 17.Nb3 Qa6 18.Bf8 Rxf8 19.Rxh8+ Kxh8 20.Qh6+ Kg8 21.Rh1 Nh5 22.g4 Be6 23.gxh5 g5 24.Qxg5+ Kh7 25.Rg1 1-0

3) Joel Johnson wins US Senior

Arizona NM Joel Johnson won the US Senior ( age 50 and over) title by scoring 5.5 from 6. Johnson's key win was in round 5 over Mechanics' member IM Walter Shipman who tied for second at 4.5 with FMs Jim Eade, Lester Van Meter and Robert Rowley and NM Stane Kirofiloski. Eade, a former Mechanics' Institute Chess Director coming off a long layoff from tournament play, had a fine result and was undefeated. MI regular Nelson Sowell tied for first under 1800 in the 41-player event held in Palm Springs August 14-19.

Each Tuesday at 21:00 Server Time, John's 90+ minute show will review the latest titles, followed by a
discussion of books and other chess topics with his guests. John's special mguest on the 21st of August is Dutch
GM Hans Ree. A four-time champion of the Netherlands, Hans is now a more recognizable figure as one of the
game's great writers. He's a columnist and chess writer for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelblad and also
a contributor to the award-winning chess magazine New in Chess.

Hans has written many books, though mainly in Dutch, but has written one book in English, The Human Comedy
of Chess: A Grandmaster's Chronicles, based on a collection of his insightful articles that delve into the history of
the game and its personalities.

5) California Chess History

On Tour

By I. A. Horowitz

When one leaves for an extended trip of ten weeks, it is generally to be expected that much time and effort is spent in preparation. Not so with a chessplayer. I hastily packed my belongings, and madly rushed to bid farewell to some of my friends. Then still somewhat in a daze, I headed for the depot. As the pleasant chant "a-b-o-a-r-d" was heard, I relaxed.

At long last, I arrived in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was a breathing spell for me, for I stayed a week and played only twice. And the weather was favorable.

I believe Los Angeles has the largest chess club in point of membership, in the world. The roster, I am told, records the names of over 400. And at the opening gong at nine, forty to fifty men assemble for combat and sociability. It is no particular miracle that the club is successful. For E. P. Elliot, champion of the American Chess Federation in the early 1900s, has devoted his full time and effort to building the club.

I played at the L. A. Club and also at the home of Gottfried Reinhardt. We topped off the evening at the latter’s home with a brand of New York rapid transit. It was fun.

My old teammate, Herman Steiner, did most of the honors at L. A. We visited Hollywood, and watched Fred Astaire rehearse, and saw them shoot a few scenes. We met actors and artists. Incidentally, Steiner is forming a new club to cater to these people. It was the particular delight of Mrs. Steiner to see that I regained the weight lost by the arduous labors of a tour. And I did. I must have gained six or seven pounds gorging at the Steiner household.

Simultaneous performance at the home of Gottfried Reinhardt.

January 26, 1939

SICILIAN DEFENSE

I. A. Horowitz (White) – G. Reinhardt (Black)

Then I made the trek up the West Coast. From L. A. to Seattle, taking in Carmel, Frisco, Portland, I rode and played. Again I met many friends. There were Work and Whitman, and Clarke and Smith and Bagby and Boyette and Fink, and Chapman and Pelouse, and another of my old teammates, Arthur Dake. All made it a point to ease the tension of the grind. Then in Seattle there were Bourne Smith and Bart Bowen, and a host of others.

Occasionally I'd find time to meander. And at Santa Cruz, with Reynolds and Miller as guides, I visited the

"Big Trees". Gigantic Redwoods towering into the sky, and broad.

Clock Game – San Francisco, Calif.

January 31, 1939

RUY LOPEZ

I. A. Horowitz (White) – A. J. Fink (Black)

20…BxBch followed by …Q-Kt3 was better.

If instead 27…KPxP; 28 PxP, PxP; 29 R-R6 followed by 30 P-K6!

Now I was headed eastward. The touch of nostalgia was eased by the thought that each exhibition brought me one step closer to home.

6) Upcoming Events

MI Events