You are not going to lose this game like an idiot. Try to pull yourself together.
Magnus Carlsen
From an article in the New York Times on August 31, 2008
( ...But Magnus stands out for more than just his age. His style of play and sang-froid are unusual. Since he began playing at the age of 8, he has favored tactically complicated positions, creating situations in which he is comfortable, and his opponents, even the best ones, often wilt. He is also mentally tough. He said that sometimes during games he loses his concentration, but then he silently scolds himself, saying:)
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) Sam Shankland 2008 Northern California Champion by Michael Aigner
3) Americans Abroad
4) Here and There
5) Upcoming Events
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
Five rounds
into the Irving Chernev Memorial Tuesday Night Marathon NM Michael Pearson and Expert William Gray of Scotland are tied for first with 4.5 points. Tied for third in the 59-player-field at 4 are IM Ricardo DeGuzman (2 half point byes), Expert Oleg Shakhnazrov and Class A player Dante Argishti.
IM Ricardo DeGuzman, a three-time member of the Philippines Olympiad team, scored a overwhelming victory in the Alan Benson IM Norm tournament held August 16-31 at the Mechanics' Institute. Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky were in the running for IM norms in the Category 3 (2322 average) event but a late draw to each other stopped the teenagers from reaching the necessary 6.5 points.
Final Standings
De Guzman,Ricardo (2389) - Young,Gregory (2233)
Alan Benson IM Norm Tournament San Francisco (1), 11.07.2008
1.e4 c5 2.c3 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nb6 7.Bb3 d5 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0-0 Be6 10.Na3 dxc3 11.Qe2 Bxb3 12.axb3 e6 13.Nb5 Qb8 14.g3 Nd5 15.bxc3 Qc8 16.c4 Nc7 17.Bf4 Nxb5 18.cxb5 Nb4 19.Rfd1 Bc5 20.Rac1 b6 21.Ng5 h6 22.Ne4 0-0 23.Bxh6 gxh6 24.Qg4+ Kh8 25.Qf4 Kg7 26.Nf6 Nd5 27.Nxd5 exd5 28.b4 Bxf2+ 29.Kxf2 Qe6 30.Rc6 Qh3 31.Kg1 Rae8 32.Qf6+ Kh7 33.Qf3 Kg8 34.Rf1 Re4?? [34...Re6] 35.Rg6+ Kh7 36.Qf6 fxg6 37.Qxf8 g5 38.Rf7+ Kg6 39.Rg7+ Kh5 40.Qf3+ Qg4 41.Qf7# 1-0
Shankland,Sam (2368) - Grefe,John (2369)
Alan Benson IM Norm Tournament San Francisco (5), 15.07.2008
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 d5 10.Kb1 Nxd4 11.e5 Nxf3 12.gxf3 Nh5 13.Nxd5 Be6 14.f4 Qxd5 15.Qxd5 Bxd5 16.Rxd5 Bh6 17.Bc4 Rfd8 18.Rf1 Rxd5 19.Bxd5 Rd8 20.Bxb7 Bxf4 21.Bxf4 Nxf4 22.c4 Nd3 23.Rd1 Rb8 24.Rxd3 Rxb7 25.Kc2 f5 26.exf6 exf6 27.Kc3 f5 28.c5 Kf7 29.b4 f4 30.Rd4 g5 31.c6 Rc7 32.b5 Ke6 33.Kd3 Rf7 34.Ke2 g4 35.Kf2 h5 36.a4 h4 37.Rd2 h3 38.a5 Rc7 39.Rb2 Rg7 40.b6 g3+ 41.Kg1 axb6 42.axb6 Kd5 43.c7 Re7 44.Rd2+ 1-0
Grefe,John (2369) - Naroditsky,Daniel (2311)
Alan Benson IM Norm Tournament San Francisco (9), 19.07.2008
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bd3 Nc6 6.Nge2 0-0 7.0-0 Nd7 8.Be3 e5 9.d5 Ne7 10.b4 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 Nf6 13.c5 g5 14.cxd6 cxd6 15.Nb5 a6 16.Na7 Bd7 17.Qb3 Kh8 18.b5 Qb8 19.b6 g4 20.Rac1 gxf3 21.gxf3 Bh3 22.Kh1 Qe8 23.Rg1 Qh5 24.Bb1 Nd7 25.Rc7 Rf6 26.Nc6 Rh6 27.Rxg7 Bg4 28.Kg1 Bxf3 29.Rxd7 Bxe2 30.Rg2 Rg8 0-1
The Mechanics' drew their second round match in the US Chess league against the Chicago Blaze and now stand second in the West behind front-runner Miami, next Monday night's opponent.
|
Chicago Blaze |
San Francisco Mechanics |
||
|
0.0 |
1.0 |
||
|
0.0 |
1.0 |
||
|
1.0 |
0.0 |
||
|
1.0 |
0.0 |
||
|
Avg Rating: 2393 |
Avg Rating: 2440 |
||
|
Chicago Total ------- |
2.0 |
2.0 |
------- San Francisco Total |
Felecan,Florin (2449) - Friedel,Josh (2595) [C77]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.c3 0-0 8.d3 d6 9.Nbd2 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Nf1 Re8 12.Ng3 h6 13.0-0 Nh7 14.h3 Nf8 15.Nh2 Bg5 16.Ng4 Ng6 17.Ne3 Nf4 18.Qf3 Bb7 19.h4 Bxh4 20.Ngf5 Bg5 21.g3 g6 22.gxf4 exf4 23.Nxh6+ Bxh6 24.Ng4 Qg5 25.Qg3 fxg3 26.Nxh6+ Qxh6 27.Bxh6 d5 28.Rae1 dxe4 29.dxe4 gxf2+ 30.Rxf2 Nc4 31.Ref1 Bxe4 32.Rxf7 Bxc2 33.Rg7+ Kh8 34.Rff7 g5 35.Rxg5 Re6 36.Bg7+ Kg8 37.Rc7 Rg6 38.Rxg6 Bxg6 39.b3 Ne3 40.Be5 Bb1 41.Rxc5 Bxa2 42.Bd4 Nc2 43.Rg5+ Kf7 44.Rg7+ Ke6 0-1Bhat,Vinay (2481) - Tate,Emory (2392) [C01]
1.d4 b6 2.e4 e6 3.Nd2 c5 4.c3 Ne7 5.Ngf3 d5 6.e5 Qd7 7.h4 Ba6 8.Bxa6 Nxa6 9.Qe2 c4 10.h5 b5 11.h6 gxh6 12.Nf1 b4 13.Ng3 bxc3 14.bxc3 Qa4 15.Rb1 Ng6 16.Nh5 Be7 17.Bxh6 Nc7 18.Nh2 Nb5 19.Qf3 0-0-0 20.0-0 Rd7 21.Ng4 Nh4 22.Qh3 Nf5 23.Bf4 Rb7 24.Ngf6 Rd8 25.g4 Nfxd4 26.cxd4 Nxd4 27.Rxb7 Kxb7 28.Ng3 Bxf6 29.exf6 e5 30.Be3 Qc2 31.f4 Qd3 32.Bxd4 Qxd4+ 33.Kh1 exf4 34.Ne2 Qe3 35.Qg2 Kc6 36.Rxf4 Kc5 37.Rf5 Kb4 38.Rf3 Qh6+ 39.Kg1 d4 40.Rf4 Ka3 41.Qb7 Qh4 42.Qxa7+ Kb2 43.Qb6+ Kc2 44.Qxd8 d3 45.Nd4+ Kc3 46.Qa5+ 1-0
Pasalic,Mehmed (2375) - Shankland,Sam (2364) [A25]
1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.e3 g6 4.a3 Bg7 5.g3 f5 6.d3 d6 7.Bg2 Nf6 8.Nge2 0-0 9.0-0 Rb8 10.Rb1 Bd7 11.b4 a6 12.b5 axb5 13.cxb5 Ne7 14.a4 b6 15.Qc2 Be6 16.f4 Qd7 17.Bd2 h6 18.Na2 Bd5 19.e4 Bb7 20.Nb4 fxe4 21.dxe4 d5 22.exd5 Nfxd5 23.Nxd5 Bxd5 24.Bxd5+ Qxd5 25.Bb4 exf4 26.Rbd1 Qf5 27.Qxf5 Rxf5 28.Bxe7 f3 29.Nd4 Bxd4+ 30.Rxd4 Re8 31.Rd8 Rff8 32.Bxf8 Rxd8 33.Bxh6 Rd3 34.Bf4 Black resigns 1-0
Naroditsky,Daniel (2321) - Young,Angelo (2356) [B07]
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.Nf3 Qa5 5.Bd2 Qc7 6.Bc4 b5 7.Bd3 e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.a4 b4 10.Ne2 a5 11.Ng3 Nbd7 12.Qe2 g6 13.0-0 h5 14.Bg5 Nh7 15.Be3 Be7 16.Nd2 h4 17.Nh1 Nhf6 18.Nc4 Nh5 19.g4 Nf4 20.Bxf4 exf4 21.e5 Nc5 22.Nd6+ Kf8 23.Nxc8 Rxc8 24.Bc4 Re8 25.Qf3 Bg5 26.Rfe1 Kg7 27.Rad1 Rxe5 28.Rxe5 Qxe5 29.Qxc6 Rd8 30.Rxd8 Bxd8 31.Kf1 Qd4 32.Be2 h3 33.Ke1 Be7 34.Qc7 Bh4 35.Bf3 Qe3+ 36.Be2 Ne4 37.Qe5+ Kh7 38.Qd5 Bxf2+ 39.Kd1 Kg8 40.Qd8+ Kg7 41.Qd5 Bh4 42.c3 bxc3 0-1
2) Sam Shankland 2008 Northern California Champion by Michael Aigner
The leaner and meaner FM Sam Shankland (photo at left by Shorman) once again demonstrated that he is a primordial force to be reckoned with in Northern California chess. Although he has yet to win the CalChess Scholastics, "Shanky" can now call himself State Champion after his success over Labor Day weekend at the Golden Gateway Holiday Inn in San Francisco. He scored an undefeated 5.0 out of 6, including this refutation of the St. George's Opening essayed by IM Andrei Florean. Shankland drew twice over the weekend against both of the players who tied for second place at 4.5: NM Daniel Schwarz and IM Dmitry Zilberstein. Congratulations to Sam on a successful summer that included an IM norm at the World Open, top honors at Agoura Hills, impressive wins against Grandmasters Shabalov and Erenburg, and last but not least a state title!
Sam Shankland (2410) vs Andrei Florean (2465)
1. e4 a6 2. d4 b5 3. Bd3 Bb7 4. Qe2 e6 5. a4 c5 6. dxc5 b4 7. Nf3 Bxc5 8. Nbd2 d6 9. Nb3 Nd7 10. O-O Ngf6 11. Bd2 O-O 12. a5 Qb8 13. Rfd1 Rd8 14. h3 h6 15. Qe1 Ra7 16. Nfd4 Kh8 17. f3 e5 18. Nxc5 Nxc5 19. Nf5 Nxd3 20. cxd3 Bc8 21. Nxh6 Nh7 22. Ng4 b3 23. Ne3 Be6 24. Bc3 f6 25. d4 Ng5 26. dxe5 dxe5 27. Bxe5 Qa8 28. Bc3 Re8 29. Qg3 Rb7 30. e5 Nh7 31. exf6 gxf6 32. Qf4 Rg7 33. Kh2 Qa7 34. Rd6 Kg8 35. Rad1 Bd7 36. Bd4 Qb8 37. Rd2 Rg6 38. Bc3 Be6 39. Qb4 Qc8 40. Qb6 Bxh3 41. Rd8 1-0
Final standings of Master section
The weekend was marked by a slew of upsets by Northern California's pool of talented younger players against internationally titled masters. The two players that everyone expected to battle for top honors didn't even stay in contention!? GM-elect Vinay Bhat drew twice with teenage masters Steven Zierk and Gregory Young before losing to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo sophomore NM Drake Wang. Joining the upset parade, the Bay Area's most active titled player, IM Ricardo DeGuzman, castled short against a pair of my students, losing to NM Schwarz for the second time this year before also losing to NM Zierk. Even 11 year old expert Yian Liou got into the act by beating veteran IM Walter Shipman for the first IM scalp of his young life! Considering all these upsets, perhaps the smartest person this weekend was two-time defending state champion GM-elect Josh Friedel, who wisely took a break from chess after a busy summer of tournaments.
The annual CalChess Labor Day Festival drew a total of 160 players in six sections and paid out the advertised prize fund of about $5,500. Organizer Richard Koepcke received assistance from CalChess President and Chief TD Tom Langland and NTD John McCumiskey. Thanks guys for a smooth and enjoyable weekend!
While I have concentrated on the Master section in this story, I wish to close by recognizing the various champions in lower divisions. Kudos to them as well!
Final standings: http://sacramentochessclub.org/weekend_events/2008laborday.htm
Photos by Richard Shorman on ChessDryad.
Photos by Michael Aigner on Flickr.
3) Americans Abroad
US Champion Yury Shulman won
the Montreal International in impressive style.
1. GM Yuri Shulman 2623 (USA)- 6.5
2-4 GM Hikaru Nakamura 2697 (USA), GM Mark Bluvshtein 2548 (Canada) and GM Varuzhan Akobian 2610 (USA)- 5.5
5-6- GM Sebastien Maze 2553 (France) and GM Igor Nataf 2534 (France) 4.5
7-9-GM Anton Kovalyov 2548 (Canada), GM Pascal Charbonneau 2499 (Canada) and IM Igor Zugic 2457 (Canada)-3.5
10- IM Thomas Roussel-Roozmon 2486 (Canada)-2.
Go to
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/8698/473/ for more coverage.
Italian-American Fabiano Caruana scored well in helping the Youngsters clobber the Veterans in Amsterdam.
Tal Memorial Blitz in Moscow (double round robin)
Final Standings:
1. Ivanchuk - 23½/34; $25,000!
2. Kramnik - 22½; $15,000!
3. Carlsen – 21; $10,000!
4-5. Svidler and Mamedyarov – 20, etc
American Gata Kamsky shared 9-10th with Boris Gelfand at 17.5 from 34.
4) Here and There
Newsletter 410 reported on the passing of Jack O'Keefe. Here is a nice game by him which appeared in Walter Korn's column The Finishing Touch (Chess Review, December 1960, page 365.
Zilic,J - O'Keefe,Jack North Central Open Milwaukee, 1957
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b3 Bg7 4.Bb2 0-0 5.d4 d6 6.Nbd2 e5 7.e4 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nbd7 9.Be2 Nc5 10.f3 c6 11.Qc2 Ne6 12.Nxe6 Bxe6 13.g4 d5 14.0-0-0 a5 15.h4 a4 16.h5 axb3 17.axb3 Ra2 18.e5 Qe7! 19.Kb1 Rfa8 20.exf6 Qxf6! 21.Bxf6 Ra1+! 22.Kb2 Bxf6+ 0-1
Those doing historical research may find Ander's Thulin's name index to Jeremy Gaige's crosstables useful. It can be found at
http://www.anders.thulin.name/SUBJECTS/CHESS/CTCIndex.pdf
5) Upcoming Events
Mechanics' Events
Howard Donnely Memorial - September 20
J.J. Dolan Memorial - October 11
Carroll Capps Memorial - November 8-9
Pierre Saint-Amant Memorial - November 22
Jim Hurt Memorial - December 6-7
Guthire McClain Memorial - December 13
Sept. 27
Exchange Bank Fall Classic GPP: 6 California Northern4 Rd Swiss, G/60. Exchange Bank, Andrew J Shepard Building, 444 Aviation Blvd, Santa Rosa CA 95403. In 3 Sections Open: Open to all. $$GTD: $250-175. Reserve: Open to 1500-1899. $$GTD: $200-125. Booster: Open to under 1500. $$GTD: $150-100. ALL: EF: $35 in advance, $40 after Sept. 20, 2008. Reg.: 8:30-9:30am. Rds.: 10:00am-12:30pm-3:00pm-5:30pm. ENT: Mike Goodall, 461 Peachstone Terrace, San Rafael, CA 94903-1327. INFO: (415)491-1269. Bring equipment, none provided. No phone or e-mail entries. Unrated must play in Open Section. NS NC W.
Heritage Event!
6SS.40/2,20/1,SD/30. Sands Regency Hotel/Casino, 345 N. Arlington Ave., Reno, NV 89501. 1-800-648-3553 or (775) 348-2200. $$40,000 b/400, Gtd. $$25,850-$3500-2000-1500-1000-800-700-600-600-500-500 in Open Section plus 1/2 of all other prizes. 7 Sections: OPEN: EF: GMs & IMs free (enter by 10/1 or pay late fee), Masters $133, (2000-2199)-$151, (1999-below)-$201. $$ Prizes 1-10 listed above, 2499-below) $1000, (2399-below) $1000-600-400, (2299-below) $1000-600-400. If a tie for 1st overall then 2 (G/10) playoff for $100 from prize fund. (Note: GM/IM w/free entry not eligible for class prizes 2499 and below, may elect to pay entry fee and become eligible). EXPERT: (2000-2199) EF: $132. $$1800-900-500-400-300-200 (under 2100)- $600."A" Sec. (1800-1999) EF: $131, $$1700-900-500-400-300-200-200."B" Sec. (1600-1799) EF: $130, $$1,600-800-500-300-200-200-200. "C" Sec. (1400-1599) EF: $129, $$ 1,400-700-400-300-200-200-200. "D" Sec. (1200-1399) EF:$128, $$1,000-500- 400-300-200-200-200."E" Sec. (1199-below) EF: $65 ("E" Sect. entries count as 1/2 paid player toward prize fund),$$500-400-300-200-100-100-100. (Unrated Players) EF: Free + must join USCF or increase membership for 1 additional year thru this tournament ($49 adults,$25 juniors) Prizes: Top unrated in "D" & "E" Sections wins 1 yr. USCF membership plus trophy. Note: Adult unrated will be put in "D" Sect., Junior unrated in "E", unless requested to play up. Seniors additional prizes (65+) $$400-200-100 (Srs not eligible: provisionally rated, unrated, masters & E Sect); Club Championship $$1000-500-300-200 decided by total score of 10 (and only 10) players from one club or area (not eligible - GMs, IMs, "E" Sec., or unrated). Trophies to Top 3 (A-E Sections). ALL: EF $11 more if postmarked after 10/1 and $22 more if postmarked after 10/11 or at site. Do not mail after 10/11 or email after 10/15. $20 off EF to Srs (65+) and Jrs 19/under (E sect. not eligible). Players may play up. Unrated players not eligible for cash prizes except Open 1-10. Provisionally rated players may win up to 50% of 1st place money except open Section 1-10. CCA ratings may be used. Note pairings not changed for color alternation unless 3 in a row or a plus 3 and if the unlikely situation occurs 3 colors in a row may be assigned. Reg.: (10/16) 5-9 pm, (10/17) 8:30-10 am. Rds.: 12-7, 10-6, 9:30-4. Byes available any round (2 byes max.) if requested before 1st round. SIDE EVENTS: Wed.(10/15) 7pm Clock Simul, (40/2, G/1) (Including an analysis of YOUR game.GM Sergy Kudrin $30 (A great value!). Thursday(10/16) 5:30 "Yermo" champagne reception, 6-7:30 pm GM Larry Evans lecture -Free, 7:30 Simul (only $20!) GM Alex Yermolinsky, 7:30 Blitz (5 min) Tourney ($20). Sat 10/18 (3-4:30pm) GM Larry Evans Clinic(Game/Position Analysis) - Free. Sun. (10/19) Quick Tourney (G/25) 5 Rd. Swiss ($20) (12 (Noon)-5pm) 80% of entries returned as prizes. ENT: Make checks payable and send to: SANDS REGENCY (address above) HR: $34! (Sun-Thurs) & $54 (Fri-Sat) + 13.5% tax. (mention CHE1016 & reserve by 10/4 to guarantee room rates.) INFO: Jerry Weikel
wackyykl@aol.com, (775) 747 1405, or website: www.renochess.org/wso (also go here to verify entry). FIDE .W. WCL JGP.