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"If a player isn't Grandmaster by 18, I would advise against becoming a chess professional." Yasser Seirawan 1) Governor's Cup 2) Western States Open 3) Yasser Seirawan to talk at MI 4) Ralston Memorial 5) Fall Tuesday Night Marathon 6) Upcoming Events 1) Governor's CupThe 8th Governor's Cup was held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, from October 24-26. The event attracted 131 players in three sections and was organized as usual in fine fashion by David and De Knudson for the Sioux Empire Chess Foundation.
1-2. GM Alex Yermolinsky 2546 (USA) and NM Alexander Stamnov 2234 (MKD)4.5/5 Ratings given are FIDE. The MI's GM-in-Residence showed his efficient style when he won one game before some players had a chance to sit down. Mr. X-Yermo 1.e4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.e5 Nfd7 4.d4 c5 5.Nxd5 cxd4 6.Qxd4?? Nb6 oops! and ...0-1 shortly. 2) Western States OpenComplete standings for the recently concluded Western States Open are available at the Reno Chess Club's excellent website at http://www.renochess.org/. Note an important correction. Hikaru Nakamura defeated Sergey Kudrin in the first place playoff. One of the many things that makes the Western States Open unique are its special prizes for best teams and top finishing seniors. This year the Seattle Chess Club was the top finishing club with 36.5 points. Reno was second with 35.5 followed by the Mechanics' A team 33.5 and Sacramento 33. Dan Mayers was top senior with 5 points. MI member Victor Todortsev was among those tied for second senior with 4 points. This years WSO was such a success that organizer Jerry Weikel is considering having two events in Reno at the Sands Regency Hotel and Casino. The new event would be set for mid-April. 3) Yasser Seirawan to talk at MITwo-time World Championship Candidate Yasser Seirawan will be giving a free talk at the Mechanics' Institute this Saturday, November 1, at 3pm. Seirawan, who recently announced his retirement from tournament play, will talk about the world of top level chess and the problems it is currently facing. Yasser played often in Northern California tournaments during his formative years and has many ties to the area. We hope his many friends in the Bay Area will come out to hear him in his first appearance in San Francisco since the 1999 Bronstein Jubilee Action Tournament. Among those expected to attend Yasser's talk is Mikhail Korenman, organizer of the Lindsborg Chess Festival this December and director of the first Karpov Chess School in North America. The Lindsborg Open promises excellent norm hunting opportunities with GMs Onischuk, Andersson, Atalik, Yermolinsky, Yudasin, Shulman, Blatny, Baburin, Kudrin and Sharavdorj all signed up to play. Details for the Festival may be found below. There will be a blitz tournament immediately after Yasser's talk. Entry fee is $10 for the 5 double round Swiss with all money collected returned as prizes. 4) Ralston MemorialThe H.J. "Bip" Ralston has started and the surprise early leader is the lowest rated player, fifteen-year-old Matthew Ho of San Jose. The first weekend of competition he scored 3 1/2 from 4 including a victory over SM Vladimir Mezentsev. Current information and games will soon be available at the MI website at www.chessclub.org. This will be one of only a handful of tournaments held in the USA this year offering norm possibilities and continues an annual MI tradition dating back to 1995. Vinay Bhat, Cyrus Lakdawala, Jesse Kraai and Mark Paragua are among those who earned their title at the Mechanics'. Running these events is expensive when you factor in the cost of travel to bring in foreign players, a prize fund and honoraria for titled participants. If you would like to help to support these events consider sending a tax-deductible donation to the MI (57 Post St., Room 408, San Francisco, CA 94104) which enjoys 501 (c) (3) status as an officially recognized nonprofit educational organization. Entry fees and donations have raised $2250 of the needed $3150 so far. Consider helping if you can. 5) Fall Tuesday Night MarathonIM Walter Shipman, FM Frank Thornally, and NMs Win Ye of Myanmar, Egle Morkunaite of Lithuania and Andy Lee are among those with perfect scores after two rounds of Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Fall Marathon. The nine round continues every Tuesday until December 16. It is still possible to enter the 9 round event with a half point byes for the first two rounds. 6) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI
33rd Carroll Capps Memorial - Nov. 8-9
November 27-30 American Open in Los Angeles Dec. 19-23. GPP: 60 Kansas 2nd Annual Lindsborg Open. 9SS, 30/90, SD/1.First two rounds accelerated pairing. 3,500 guaranteed prize fund! GM & IMnorms are available! FIDE rating 1st - $1,200, 2nd - $800, 3rd - $600, 4th 400, 5th 200. U2400: $100 75; U2200: $100 75EF: GMs & IMs free. Membership at KCA is required for Kansas residents.Before 11/15/03: FIDE >2300, $80. FIDE, USCF >2200, $90. FIDE <2200, $100. non-FIDErated, USCF <2200 *, $130. Before 12/1/03: $90, $100, $110, $140, respectively. At site: $100, $110, $120, $150, respectively. * number of players in this section will be limited. Schedule: Opening Ceremony December 19, 2003 at 11:00am. Rds: 12/19 - 12:00noon & 6:00 pm; 12/20, 21, 22 - 10:00am & 5:00pm; 12/23 9:00am 1/2-pt byes OK at ALL. Limit 3. FIDE, USCF. NS, NC. Ent: INTECS,Inc. (232 N. Main St, Lindsborg, KS 67456) 785-906-0402 Dec. 19-21. GPP: Kansas 3rd Annual Lindsborg Rotary Open. 6SS, $1,500 guaranteed prize fund! Open: G/120. 1st - $300, 2nd - $200, 3rd - $100; U1800: $100 75 50; U1600: $100 75 50; U1400: $100 75 50; U1200-UNR: $100 75 50 EF: $50 (paid before 11/15); $60 (before 12/15); $70 (at site) Schedules: Reg: 12/19 by 5:30pm. Rds: 12/19 6:00pm; 12/20 9:00, 1:30, 7:00; 12/21 9:00, 1:30. 1/2-pt byes OK at ALL. Last bye must commit before round 4. USCF. NS, NC. Ent: INTECS, Inc. (232 N. Main St, Lindsborg, KS 67456) 785-906-0402, http://www.intecsus.org/. Info: intecsus@yahoo.com HR: http://www.lindsborg.org/ 1-888-227-2227. Dec. 13. Karpov Chess School Scholastic Tournament. Presents tournament guests: 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov; 2003 World Championship Qualified Grandmasters Alexander Onischuk, Yury Shulman, and Ivan Morovic (Chile). 5SS, G/30. Sections: K-3, K-5, K-8, K-12. Trophies for each category: 1-3 (teams and individuals); medals 4-20. Schedule: Reg: Ends at 9:30am. Opening Ceremony: 9:45am. Rds: 10:00am; 12:45pm, 2:00pm, 3:15pm, 4:30pm. Closing ceremony: 5:45pm EF: $25, including tournament registration, tournament brochure, autographed photo with Grandmasters, and free tickets to the Invitational tournament (details on www.lindsborg.org). Ent: INTECS, Inc. (232 N. Main St, Lindsborg, KS 67456) 785-906-0402, http://www.intecsus.org/. Info: intecsus@yahoo.com HR: http://www.lindsborg/.org, 1-888-227-2227. |