Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter 524

The essence of chess is thinking about the essence of chess.

David Bronstein

1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
2) Christiansen-Reshevsky Match 1984
3) Chess Child: The Story of Ray Robson, America's Youngest Grandmaster
4) Upcoming Events in Los Angeles by Ankit Gupta
5) Here and There
6) Upcoming Events

IM Walter Shipman and FM Robin Cunningham are tied for first with 4.5 from 5 in the Winter Tuesday Night Marathon. Right behind them on 4 are Expert Peter Grey and Class A player Jason Ochoa who has knocked off Experts the past two rounds.

IM-elect Daniel Naroditsky was presented his 2011 Falconer Award prize ($2483) on Tuesday night by Mechanics' Trustees Neil Falconer, Michael Hilliard, Richard Laiderman and Vince McCambridge and MI Executive Director Jim Flack. Following the presentation Daniel showed the TNM crowd some of his most interesting games from recent events.

Daniel's book Mastering Positional Chess made the short list for the 2010 Chess Book of the Year sponsored by Chess Cafe.com along with Alexandra Kosteniuk's Diary of a Chess Queen and Yasser Seirawan's Chess Duels: My Games With the World Champions with the latter taking top honors.

MI Wednesday Night Blitz Results for February 2nd.

1st Carlos D'Avila $50
2nd Arthur Ismakov $30

NM John Blackstone passes along the following game played between two early giants of Southern and Northern California chess

Mlotkowski,S - Lovegrove,W [C52]
Match San Francisco-Los Angeles Telegraph, 1913

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 d6 7.Qb3 Nxd4 8.Nxd4 exd4 9.Bxf7+ Kf8 10.Bxg8 Rxg8 11.0-0 Bb6 12.Bb2 Qf6 13.cxd4 Bxd4 14.Bxd4 Qxd4 15.Nc3 g6 16.Rad1 Qe5 17.Rd3 Kg7 18.f4 Qc5+ 19.Kh1 Rf8 20.Nd5 Rf7 21.Qb2+ Kg8 22.Rc1 Be6 23.Rxc5 1-0
Source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle 1913, June 19, p.03

One important California match that is not preserved in MegaDatabase 2011

is the battle between Larry Christiansen and Sammy Reshevsky played in the summer of 1984. Only Rank and File published by the late John Hillery, who served as arbiter for this match,

published all 8 games.

Christiansen won the match, held at Lina Grumette's Chess Set, by a score of 4.5-3.5.

Los Angeles (1),1984
[Condensed notes by Christiansen]

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 c5 3.c4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d5 6.Bg5! e5 7.Ndb5 a6 8.Qa4

[8.Nxd5 axb5 9.Nxf6+ Qxf6!]

8...Bd7 9.Bxf6?!

[9.cxd5 Qb6 was slightly more complex.]

9...gxf6 10.cxd5 Bxb5 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.Qxb5+

[12.Qxa8 Bb4+ 13.Kd1 Qxd5+ leads to mate.]

12...Nd7 13.a3 Qa5+ 14.Qxa5 Rxa5 15.0-0-0 f5 16.g3 Bh6+ 17.Kb1 Nf6 18.Bh3?! Ne4
19.Rc1? Bxc1 20.Rxc1 Rxd5 21.Rc7 Nd6 22.Bxf5 Nxf5 0-1

Source: Player's Chess News, June 11, 1984, page 1.

Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) - Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) [E19]
Los Angeles (2), 06.1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 c5 10.Rd1 d6 11.Bf4 Qc7 12.Rac1 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 a6 15.Qf3 Ra7 16.Be3 Rc8 17.b4 Qb7 18.a4 Qxf3+ 19.Kxf3 g6 20.Nb3 Rb7 21.a5 bxa5 22.b5 Nc6 23.b6 a4 24.Nd2 f5 25.Kg2 Ne5 26.f4 Nd7 27.c5 dxc5 28.Nc4 Nxb6 29.Nd6 Bxd6 30.Rxd6 Nd5 31.Bd4 Rb6 32.Rd7 Rc7 33.Rxc7 Nxc7 34.Rxc5 Rb7 35.Ra5 Nb5 36.Bf2 Nc3 37.Rxa6 Rb2 38.Bd4 Rxe2+ 39.Kf1 Rc2 40.Ra8+ Kf7 41.Ra7+ Kf8 42.Bxc3 Rxc3 43.Rxa4 Rc2 44.Kg1 Rc7 45.Ra6 Kf7 46.h3 Kf6 47.h4 Rb7 48.Kg2 Re7 49.Kf3 Kg7 50.Rb6 Kh6 51.Kg2 Kh5 52.Kh3 e5 53.fxe5 Rxe5 54.Rb7 h6 55.Rb4 g5 56.hxg5 hxg5 57.g4+ ½-½

Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) - Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) [E12]
Los Angeles (3), 06.1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Qa4+ Nd7 8.Nxd5 Bxd5 9.g3 Be7 10.Bg2 0-0 11.0-0 c5 12.Bf4 cxd4 13.Qxd4 Bf6 14.Qb4 Rc8 15.Rac1 ½-½

Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) - Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) [E19]
Los Angeles (4), 06.1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 c5 10.Rd1 d6 11.Bf4 Qc7 12.dxc5 bxc5 13.Qd3 Rd8 14.b4 e5 15.Ng5 g6 16.Bd5 Rf8 17.bxc5 Bxd5 18.Qxd5 exf4 19.cxd6 Bxd6 20.Qxd6 Qxd6 21.Rxd6 fxg3 22.hxg3 Rc8 23.Rb1 h6 24.Ne4 Nc6 25.Kg2 Na5 26.c5 Rc7 27.Rb5 Nc4 28.Ra6 Kg7 29.a4 Rac8 30.e3 f5 31.Nd6 Nxd6 32.cxd6 Rd7 33.Re5 Kf6 34.Re7 Rcd8 35.Rxa7 Rxa7 36.Rxa7 Rxd6 37.a5 Rd2 38.a6 Ra2 39.Ra8 Kg5 40.a7 Kh5 41.Kh3 g5 42.g4+ fxg4+ 43.Kg2 g3 44.Kxg3 g4 45.Rb8 Rxa7 46.Rb5+ Kg6 47.Kxg4 Re7 48.Rb6+ Kg7 49.Rb4 Kg6 50.e4 h5+ 51.Kg3 Rg7 52.f4 Kh6+ 53.Kf3 Rg1 54.Rb6+ Kg7 55.Rb7+ Kh6 56.e5 h4 57.Ke4 Rg3 58.e6 h3 59.Rb8 Kg7 60.e7 h2 61.Rh8 ½-½

Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) - Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) [E15]
Los Angeles (5), 06.1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Be7 7.Bg2 d5 8.Qc2 0-0 9.0-0 c5 10.dxc5 bxc5 11.Nc3 Nc6 12.a3 Rc8 13.Rfd1 Nd4 14.Qa2 Nxf3+ 15.Bxf3 d4 16.Na4 Qd7 17.Bf4 Bb7 18.Bxb7 Qxb7 19.b4 cxb4 20.axb4 Qxb4 21.Rxd4 Rfd8 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.Rb1 Qa5 24.Qb3 Qh5 25.f3 e5 26.Be3 e4 27.Rd1 Rxd1+ 28.Qxd1 Qa5 29.c5 h5 30.Kf2 Qa6 31.Qd4 Qc6 32.Nc3 exf3 33.exf3 Nd7 34.Qe4 Qxe4 35.Nxe4 Ne5 36.Ke2 f5 37.Nc3 Kf7 38.Nd5 a5 39.f4 Nc6 40.Kd3 Bd8 41.Kc4 Ke6 42.Nb6 h4 43.Kb5 hxg3 44.hxg3 Nb4 45.Kxa5 Nd5 46.Bd4 g5 47.Be5 Ne3 48.Ka6 Nf1 49.Kb7 Nxg3 50.Kc8 Ne4 51.Kxd8 Nxc5 52.Bd4 Ne4 53.fxg5 Nxg5 ½-½

Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) - Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) [E12]
Los Angeles (6), 06.1984
[Condensed notes by Christiansen]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Bb7 5.Nc3 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.e3 g6 8.Bb5+ c6 9.Bc4 Bg7 10.e4 Nxc3 11.bxc3 0-0 12.Bg5 Qd6 13.0-0 c5 14.Qd3 cxd4 15.cxd4 Nc6 16.Rad1 h6 17.Bh4 e5! 18.d5 Na5 19.Nd2 Rac8 20.Ba6 Bxa6 21.Qxa6 Rc7 22.Rc1 Qd7 23.Rxc7 Qxc7 24.Bg3?!

24.Qd3 was better.

24...f5 25.exf5 gxf5 26.Qd3 Qd7 27.d6 Rd8??

Black could have held with 27...Qe6 28.Rd1 Rd8 29.Nf1 Nb7 30.Qa6 Rxd6 31.Rxd6 Nxd6 32.Qxa7.

28.Bxe5 Bxe5 29.Qd5+ Qf7 30.Qxe5 Nc6 31.Qf4 Qd5?!" 32.Qxh6 Rxd6 33.Qg5+ Kh7 34.Nf3 Rg6 35.Qh5+ Rh6 36.Qe8 Rg6 37.h4 Kg7 38.Ng5 Qd7?? 39.Qxd7+ 1-0

Source: Player's Chess News, June 25, 1984, pages 5 and 11.

Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) - Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) [E39]
Christiansen-Reshevsky m Los Angeles (7), 06.1984

John Hillery writing in Chess Life, October 1984, page 20.

Christiansen,Larry Mark (2550) - Reshevsky,Samuel Herman (2460) [A40]
Los Angeles (8), 06.1984

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8 9.h4 h5 10.0-0-0 e5 11.d5 Na5 12.Ng3 b5 13.cxb5 axb5 14.Nxb5 c6 15.dxc6 Nxc6 16.Kb1 Be6 17.Rc1

Source: Rank and File, September-October 1984, page 7 ½-½

Here's a promotional offer regarding the book on Ray. Please pass this info on to the members of your chess community. Thanks!

We're offering a special until the end of February for U.S. chess club members. Chess Child: The Story of Ray Robson, America's Youngest Grandmaster retails for $16. We will sell the book to U.S. chess club members for $6 under the following conditions:

1. The club (or representative of the club) orders one box (each box contains 30 books). Since we will be paying postage as well, it is cheaper for us to ship one box via Media Mail than several individual packages.

2. Payment ($180) is made by a single check or money order, payable to Nipa Hut Press, 2340 Anna Ave., Clearwater, FL 33765.

Please contact the members of your chess community to see who might be interested. 100% of the proceeds from sales will go towards Ray's chess expenses (training and events).

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us at either of the following email addresses: goatpaths@gmail.com or NipaHutPress@gmail.com.

Dr. Gary Robson
www.NipaHutPress.com

The 1st Metropolitan International hosted by Metropolitan Chess <www.metrochessla.com> is going to be held in downtown Los Angeles at the California Market Center over August 17th to 21st. Open to players mainly above 2200 FIDE, the tournament is expected to be one of the strongest held in Los Angeles in recent years. Juniors U2200 FIDE and local players U2200 may be allowed to play, pursuant to approval by organizers

Grandmasters preliminarily slated are: GM Michael Adams (2723), GM Loek van Wely (2676), GM Ilya Smirin (2660), GM Dejan Bojkov (2544), GM Mark Paragua (2521), and GM Melikset Khachiyan (2518). The tournament already has roughly 10 foreign players committed (and over 10 titled players committed), and is easily projected to surpass the 20 foreign player mark, making swiss norm requirements lax. With a prize fund of 14,100 unconditionally guaranteed (not to mention additional best game prizes), and the luxurious hosting site at the California Market Center, the tournament is not one to miss for West Coast players.

Please e-mail Metropolitan Chess for inquiries regarding the tournament at ankit.gupta@metrochessla.com. Please note that this is the only e-mail address to send inquiries about the tournament and registration. Please take a moment to visit our newly designed website (changes ongoing) at www.MetroChessLA.com.

From February 23rd to 27th, Metropolitan Chess will be running their 3rd Metropolitan FIDE Invitational round robin which will have the opportunity at IM norms. IM Jacek Stopa (POL), IM Timothy Taylor (USA), IM Zhanibek Amanov (KAZ), FM Alexandre Kretchetov (RUS), FM Philip Wang (USA), NM Garush Manukyan (ARM), FM Michael Casella (USA), NM Kayden Troff (USA), NM Konstantin Kavutskiy (USA), and CM Giovanni Nieto Carreto (MEX) will take part. The tournament will be held in C998 inside the California Market Center. Games will be broadcast on www.chess.com. Round 7 and 9 will have live commentary on chess.com/tv. We'd like to thank our sponsors: California Market Center, LawyerFy, Chess.com, Fashion Business, Inc., Betty Bottom, and Rock and Roll Gourmet for their support in making such events possible.

Live Chess Ratings

This is how the top 10-list looks like after the Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee and all but the last round of Gibraltar: Notice how closely the top three are rated and how closely bunched together the players from number 5 to 9 are.

1. Anand 2817
2. Carlsen 2815
3. Aronian 2808
4. Kramnik 2785
5. Karjakin 2776
6.. Ivanchuk 2775
7. Topalov 2775
8. Nakamura 2774
9. Mamedyarov 2772
10. Grischuk 2747

Newsletter reader Frank Berry points out that 6-8, 245 pound Cal Berkeley junior Harper Kamp
is a real USCF tournament player with 217 rated events and a rating of 1694. Kamp's chess playing prowess is compared with his chess playing skills in an article by Jeff Farudo at
http://www.insidebayarea.com/dailyreview/ci_17210000 .

64 Themes was the early title, souvenir edition, which I presented at six Marshall Chess Club Lectures. The current title, baring a last minute change: "Understanding Chess: My System, (MY Life), My Games." Before final editing, it looks like some 120 of my favorite games and an appendix of games honoring certain persons close to me and others associated with my games in the book.

Go www.williamlombardy.com for more information.

Feb. 19-21 or 20-21 2011 37th Annual Peoples Tournament
GPP: 40 Enhanced California Northern

6SS, 30/90 G/60 (2-day sched rds 1-3 G/60). Marriott, 46100 Landing Pkwy., Fremont, CA 94538. Hotel rate $89. $8,000 b/137 entries (80% guaranteed). 6 sections: Open (2100+) $1000-500-200-100-100. XA (1900-2099), AB (1700-1899), BC (1500-1699), CD (1300-1499), DE (under 1300): $700-300-100- 100-100 each. The 5th place prize in the 2 largest sections only. Unrated prize limit of $200 except in Open section. EF: $99 3-day & 98 2-day mailed by 2/15, online by 2/16, Onsite +$25, Play-up +$20. 5% offbefore 1/18. GMs/IMs free: EF subtr from prize. Re-entry $40. EF Econ Opt: EFminus $30 & 1/2 of computed prize. Feb 2011 Supp, CCA min & TD discretion usedto place players accurately. TD/Org: Koepcke/Azhar. 3-day sched: Reg. Sat 10-11, Rds. Sat/Sun 11:30-5:30,Mon 10-3:30. 2-day sched: Reg Sun 9-9:30, Rds. Sun 10-12:30-2:45-5:30, Mon 10-3:30. Max two 1/2-pt byes & must commit bef rd 3. Ent: Bay Area Chess, 1590 Oakland Rd., Suite B213, San Jose 95131. $20 for refunds. T: 408-786-5515. E: ask@BayAreaChess.com, Info/Form/Entries: BayAreaChess.com/ppl. NS, NC, W. Chess Magnet School JGP.

Spring Chess Festival - Saturday, February 25th, 2011

Presented by: Atlantis Business Insurance Solutions, LLC AND NorCal House of Chess
5 Round Swiss
A One Day G/45 USCF rated Event
Location: 45401 Research Avenue, Suite 141, Fremont, CA 94539
Entry Fee: Regular Entry - $60. Economy Entry - $40. 5 discount to members of NorCal House of Chess. Economy Option pays 50% of calculated prize money. The remaining amount goes back to the budget to offset Economy Fee Discount.
Time Control: Game in 45.
Regestration & Schedule: Registration: 9:00 am-9:30 am. Rds: 10 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 4 pm, 6 pm.
Prizes: $1400 - total, based on 40 fully paid entries. Open Section: $400-$200, U2200: $180,
U2000: $150, U1800: $140, U1600 $130, U1400 $130, U1200 - $100.
Cash Prizes in every round! - $20 cash prize will be awarded in each round to a player scoring a first win AND to a player scoring the biggest upset. All lower-rated players are eligible to win higher class prizes.
Questions? - Call TD Felix German at (415) 335-0900 or email: felix@atlantisbusinessinsurance.com
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Mail advance entries to: 14 Sullivan Ave, Daly City, CA 94015. Make checks payable to: Felix
German.