Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #21

1) Kasparov wins in Holland

37-year-old Garry Kasparov won the the Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee for
the the third year in a row.

1. Kasparov (Russia) 8.5/12
2-3. Anand (India) and Kramnik (Russia) 7.5
4-7. Adams (England), Ivanchuk (Ukraine), Morozevich (Russia) and Shirov
(Spain) 7
8. Leko (Hungary) 6
9-11. Fedorov (Belarus), Topalov (Bulgaria) and Van Wely (Netherlands) 5
12-13. Piket and Timman (both Netherlands) 4
14. Tiviakov (Netherlands) 3.5

Kasparov also starred away from the board on Sunday with a "guest appearance"
during the Super
Bowl contest. Heading a major $5m commercial for Pepsi Cola, the former
world champion accepts
the Pepsi Challenge by taking on and losing to one of the soft-drink giants'
vending machines at chess.

2) GM Tournament at MI February 26-March 8

A Category 8 ( +2425 FIDE) GM round robin will be held at the MI beginning
February 26. Rounds will be held
starting at 10 AM daily. Spectators are welcome.

Participants and FIDE ratings:

GM Baburin 2598 Ireland
GM Wojtkiewicz 2572 Poland
GM Shulman 2543 Belarus
IM Shahade 2456 USA
FM Altounin 2441 USA
IM Donaldson 2439 USA
FM Lakdawala 2436 USA
FM Mulyar 2428 USA
IM Vucic 2364 USA
WIM Baginskaite 2306 USA
FM Kretchetov 2300 Russia


Upcoming events at the MI

Note more detailed information on these events can be found by consulting the
MI Chess Room website at (milibrary.org) or e-mailing John Donaldson at
(imwjd@aol.com).

1. The Spring Tuesday Night Marathon begins February 6th and runs eight
weeks, ending March 27. Rounds are 6:30-10:30 pm. Entry Fee: $30.00 in
advance or $37.00 at registration on the day of the first round. Prizes:
Guaranteed 80% of prize fund given to 1st prize, 2nd & 3rd, Best Expert,
Best"A", Best"B", Best"C" & Best "D" and under. Cash prizes can only be given
to Mechanics' Institute members. All other prizes will be given as either a
membership to the Mechanics' Institute with the remainder in cash prize, or
partial payment toward a years membership ($70).

2. Henry Gross Memorial February 24

This one day G/45 , five round Swiss will be rated 1/2 K by the USCF . There
is a $600 prize found based on 25 paid entries. Registration is from 9-9:30
AM on February 24, with the first round starting at 10am and the last
beginning at 6pm.


3. Mark Coggins and Patrick Wollf to appear at the MI on February 28

Mark Coggins, author of The Immortal Game, a chess-based mystery set in the
Bay Area, will give a reading on February 28 at 6:15 pm in the MI Members
Lounge on the fourth floor. Coggins will be joined by former US Champion GM
Patrick Wolff.

4. MI WBCA Blitz Tournament
March 4, 4-6 PM (note time change!)
Five double round Swiss or Round Robin as entries dictate
$150 first, $100 second guaranteed, more per entries
100% of all entry fees paid back
FREE TAPE FOR TOP UPSET BY A RATED PLAYER COURTESY OF WALTER BROWNE
Donated book and magazine prizes as well
WBCA membership required
Entry fee: $15 adults, $10 juniors

Note we expect some of the participants from the concurrent GM round robin to
play so this should be an excellent chance to face some stiff competition.

Here is the corrected score for Wijk aan Zee (the scores given before were
with one round to go) and more information about the Patrick Wolff / Mark
Coggins event at the MI.


Final placings: 1 G Kasparov (Russia) 9/13; 2 V
Anand (India) 8.5; 3-4 V Ivanchuk (Ukraine), V
Kramnik (Russia) 8; 5-7 M Adams (England), A
Morozevich (Russia), A Shirov (Spain) 7.5; 8 P Leko
(Hungary) 6.5; 9 V Topalov (Bulgaria) 5.5; 10-11 A
Fedorov (Belarussia), L Van Wely (Netherlands) 5;
12-13 J Piket, S Tiviakov (both Netherlands) 4.5;
14 J Timman (Netherlands) 4


For Immediate Release:
Contact: Laura Sheppard, Director of Events (415)393-0114
Section: Author events/ Literary Events

Location: Mechanics' Institute, 57 Post St., San Francisco
Reservation/Info: (415) 393-0100


Wednesday, February 28, 6:00 pm
The Immortal Game
Author Mark Coggins & Grandmaster Patrick Wolff

Selected as one of the top mystery/thrillers of the year by the SF Chronicle,
The Immortal Game is a high power mystery novel involving the game of chess.
Set in San Francisco, this book pays homage to Dashell Hammett, as the
leading character August Riordan, a private investigator, is hired to recover
stolen chess software.

Local author Mark Coggins is joined by Patrick Wolff, a two-time American
champion chess player and International Grandmaster.

Members Free; Public $5
***

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