The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News 535Everything is playable until you know what's going on. Yuri Shulman 1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News 2) Kamsky wins US Championship in St. Louis 3) Here and There 4) Upcoming Special Events at the Mechanics' 5) Upcoming Events 1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club NewsThe Spring Tuesday Night Marathon is heading towards an exciting finish with NMs Peter Zavadsky, Kyle Morrison and Russell Wong sharing first place with 5.5 from 7 with one round remaining. Half a point behind in the 57-player field are Oleg Shaknazarov, James Jones, Uyanga Byambaa and Ethan Chamberlain. Here is a tough loss for the former tournament leader who got too low on time to cash in a very favorable position.
Byambaa - Wong Black later won with both players very short of time. Mechanics' junior Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky both performed admirably in the US Championship as did former Mechanics' Womens Chess Director Camille Baginskaite. Ray Robson, the youngest Grandmaster in the United States at age 16, and his father Dr. Gary Robson, who teaches at St. Petersburg College, will give a talk and book signing at the Mechanics' Institute on Tuesday, June 14th, from 5:15 to 6:15 pm. All are welcome to attend.. Ray scored an excellent 4-3 in the recent US Championship and will play in the World Junior Championship in India this August. He was a member of the US squad that took home the silver medals in the World Team Championship held in January 2010 in Bursa, Turkey. Arthur Ismakov won the April 27th edition of the Mechanics' Wednesday Night Blitz with a score of 9-1. Carlos D'Avila was second with 7.5. 2) Kamsky wins US Championship in St. LouisGroup A, final standings: 1. GM Kamsky (2733) - 5/7 $42,000 ( $40,000 for first and $2,000 for winning his group) 2. GM Shulman (2622) - 4½ $30,000 3. GM Robson (2522) - 4 $8000 4. GM A. Ivanov (2540) - 3½ $6000 5-6. GMs Akobian (2611) and Ehlvest (2586) - 3 $4,500 each. 7-8. GM Stripunsky (2578) and IM Naroditsky (2438) - 2½. $2750 each Group B, final standings: 1. GM Hess (2565) - 5½ $17,000 ( 4th place money of $15,000 plus $2,000 for winning his group) 2. GM Onischuk (2678) $8,000 and IM Shankland (2512) - 4 ($20,000 for 3rd place) 4. GM Seirawan (2636) - 3½ $6,000 5-6. GMs Shabalov (2590) and Kaidanov (2569) - 3 $4,500 each 7-8. GMs Christiansen (2586) and Finegold (2500) - 2½ $2750 each Gata Kamsky and Yury Shulman advanced from Group A and Robert Hess and Sam Shankland (who beat Onischuk in a rapid playoff) made it through Group B. Kamsky defeated Shankland in the semis 1.5-.5 while Shulman eliminated Hess in a rapid playoff after going 1-1 in regulation time. The final saw Kamsky repeat as champion as he defeated Shulman 1.5-.5 while Shankland beat Hess for third place in a playoff after going 1-1. Gata Kamsky was a deserving winner of the 2011 US Championship and his result was that more impressive when one considers he was likely holding back preparation for his upcoming match with Topalov which begins May 3 in Kazan, Russia. Kamsky's final obstacle to victory, as it last year, was Yury Shulman whose pair of silver medals the past two years and victory in the 2008 event confirm that he is one of the very best players in the US. Sam Shankland of Orinda, California, was the real surprise of the event. This was Sam's 4th US Championship but the first time he shined despite being one of the lowest rated players in the competition. He played well throughout the event and his performance consolidated his claim to the GM title. Like the other five top finishers he also earned a spot in the FIDE World Cup (Alex Onischuk will likely take Kamsky's spot as he will qualify by other means). While Shankland made much of the finishing news fellow 19-year-old Robert Hess also played exceptionally well, particularly in winning his preliminary group with an outstanding 5.5 from 7 for a performance rating of 2812! Shankland and Hess were not the only teenagers to shine. Ray Robson earned a World Cup spot with his 4-3 score and the youngest player in the tournament, 15-year-old Daniel Naroditsky made a honorable debut with 2.5 points. GMs Alexander Ivanov and Yasser Seirawan were the top scoring veterans at fifty percent. They were two of the five players competing in the event that were close to or over 50 (Christiansen, Kaidanov and Ehlvest being the others) in what was truly a tournament of generations. The purse for the 2011 US Championship was $166,000 which was made possible by the generosity of Rex Sinquefield. Go to http://saintlouischessclub.org/2011-us-championship-information for more information on this event. The US Womens Championship will be covered next Newsletter. 3) Here and ThereMonday, June 6th, at 9:00 pm, HBO will broadcast the new Bobby Fischer documentary The 2012 US Open will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Vancouver, Washington, from August 1 to 12.
According to FIDE Regulations D.07.11.6.2., the following Federations are entitled
to send a team to the 2012 World Team Championship to be held this July in Ningbo, China.:
NM Jon Blackstone of Las Vegas passes along the following miniature first published in the NY Evening Post (1943.11.10 p.XX). 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e5 3.f4 d6 4.Nf3 Bg4 5.Bc4 Nbd7 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 exf4 8.d4 Be7 9.Bxf4 0-0 10.e5 dxe5 11.dxe5 Ne8 12.0-0-0 Kh8 13.h4 Qc8 14.Ne4 f6 15.Ng5 fxg5 16.hxg5 g6 17.Rxh7+ Kxh7 18.Qh3+ Kg7 19.Qh6# 1-0 GM Yasser Seirawan performed quite reasonably in the US Championship, making a fifty percent score after a eight year hiatus from tournament play. He also found time to attend a special fund raiser for the Seattle Chess Club a few days before action began in St. Louis. Legendary Pacific NW figures Viktors Pupols and James McCormick were in attendance at the event which netted several thousand dollars for the SCC as was National Master Robert Ferguson. A former Washington state chess champion and a current member of the King County Counsel, Ferguson is running for the position of Attorney General of Washington in 2012. IM Steven Zierk defeated IMs Enrico Sevillano and Vladimir Mezentsev enroute to winning the Far West Open in Reno last weekend with a score of 5.5 from 6. GM Melik Khachian was second at 5 in the event which attracted around 160 players. Hikaru Nakamura won the two section US Blitz Championship which featured $10,000 in prizes with a score of 7-0. Robert Hess was second at 5.5 followed by Jon Ludvig Hammer and Jaan Ehlvest with 5 points. Former Bay Area GM Josh Friedel was the best performing American player in the recent Championship of the Americas held in Toluca, Mexico. The qualifying event for the World Cup was won by GMs Bruzon, Bluvshtein, Vescovi and Quesada Perez with scores of 7.5 from 9. Josh, who beat the strong Argentine Gm Felgaer with black in round 8 lost to Vescovi in the final and finished with 6.5 points for a performance rating of 2598. Many other Americans participated including 2300 rated Erik Santarius whose score of 6.5 points (pr 2501) was likely good for a IM norm. Other top US scores include: GMs Ibragimov, Yermolinsky and D. Gurevich 6; GM Lenderman and NM Sturt 5.5.
4) Upcoming Special Events at the Mechanics'
5th Annual Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz Tournament
This tournament is unrated. (Membership in the United States Chess Federation is not required for participation.) The prizes are guaranteed due to the generosity of the Schutt Family. FORMAT: Five double-round Swiss or Roundrobin, depending on the number of entries. Each player will probably play ten blitz (fast) games in this tournament. TIME CONTROL: 5 minutes per player per game (G/5).
REGISTRATION: 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. on May 15, 2010 5) Upcoming Events
MECHANICS' TOURNAMENTS (go to www.chessclub.org for more information)
Charles Powell Memorial - May 14
Berkeley Open May 7-8
Oct. 1
Oct. 2 |