Mechanics' Institute Chess Room Newsletter #57"Chess is a scientific game and its literature ought to be placed on the basis of the strictest truthfulness, which is the foundation of all scientific research."William (Wilhelm) Steinitz Special Announcement: This weekend, the Western States Open will be held in Reno. This is one of the premier open tournaments in the United States. Don't miss it! If you're not going out of town, the MI is holding it's monthly Game/45 tournament this Saturday starting at 10 AM. GM Alex Wojtkiewicz will be giving a free lecture this Tuesday, starting at 5:15 PM. 1) Aigner Wins Fall Marathon 2) Karpov to play in FIDE Knockout 3) Wojtkiewicz lecture this Tuesday 4) Odds and Ends 5) Upcoming Events 1) Aigner Wins Fall MarathonStanford graduate student Michael Aigner won the Tuesday Night Fall Marathon by drawing with Larry Snyder in the last round. Aigner finished with 6 from 7, a half point ahead of Snyder, David Blohm, Victor Ossipov and Igor Margulis. This victory is another step forward for the popular Aigner who solidified his Master rating with this result. If you would like to learn more about Michael, check out his website at http://www.stanford.edu/~maigner A full list of prize winners for the Fall Marathon will appear in the next Newsletter. The Kurt Bendit Tuesday Night Marathon, honoring the long time MI member and former Chess Room Director, will start on October 30, running eight consecutive weeks. Three half point byes are available for rounds one through six. For more information consult the Chess Room Website at www.chessclub.org
2) Karpov to Play in FIDE KnockoutFormer World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov of Russia announced that he will join the World Championship organized by FIDE starting 25th November at the Kremlin in Moscow. "The time is right for me to make a comeback," Karpov said. "I celebrated my 50th birthday this year with close to 2000 guests at the Bolshoi Theatre and many of my friends encouraged me to make this move. My recent victory at the Najdorf Memorial Cup in Buenos Aires has inspired me to seek the title again," he said. Another reason was the change of the World Chess Championship cycle rhythm from 1 year to 2 years. Karpov said that the World Championship being held in Moscow would enable him to give to his beloved Russia his best. "I brought the title back to Russia from the West in 1975. Now in 2001 I feel it is my duty to wrest the crown from the East and take it back to Mother Russia."
The defending champion Viswanathan Anand of India won the title last year
when the World Championship was held in New Delhi and Teheran. "Anand
had the home court advantage then. Now I shall have the edge since the
World Championship is in Russia," Karpov added. Concerning the 3K
tournament, Karpov said, "I approached the Organizing Committee to
coordinate another date at the beginning of next year. I strongly support
the idea of that tournament in honour of the great M. Botvinnik."
3) Wojtkiewicz lecture this TuesdayPolish Grandmaster Alexander Wojtkiewicz will give a lecture this coming Tuesday from 5:15-6:45 PM at the Mechanics' Institute. This will be the third visit by Wojt to the Bay Area this year. This past spring, he tied for first with Yuri Shulman in the Charles Linklater Memorial and won Jerry Weikel's Firecracker Open over the summer. Wojtkiewicz, who is one of the great globetrotters of the world, has won the USCF Grand Prix the past two years and is near the top of the standings once again. A former second for Mikhail Tal, Wojt has a wealth of interesting stories and experiences that he loves to relate. He will talk about recent events in the chess world and show some of his games from the Western States Open. This event is free to all. Please come and enjoy! 4) Odds and EndsWe wish GM Patrick Wolff of Vallejo good luck in his new job with Capital One, a credit card company based outside Washington, DC. The two-time US Champion made a comeback at the Governor's Cup this past September and we look forward to seeing him play again with regularity. IM Vinay Bhat of San Jose will represent the United States in the World Youth Championships which will be held from October 21-November 2 in Oropesa del Mar, Spain. MI Chess Room Director IM John Donaldson will be serving as a coach for the American team, along with GM Joel Benjamin. Grandmaster Maurice Ashley of New York City was among the contestants on the October 4th edition of the TV show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Following on the heels of fellow MI member Walter Dorne's appearance in the San Francisco Chronicle, National Master Robert Hammie was featured in the UC Berkeley Daily Californian this past Monday. Congratulations to Ewelina and Emilia Krubnik. This past Sunday Ewelina (age 11) turned in a perfomance of almost 1800 to capture first prize in her section in the San Leandro Quads. Younger sister Emilia (9) tied for first in her group. Kerry Lawless has long been known as one of the most knowledgeable chess personalities in the Bay Area. Check out his website at: http://www.chessdryad.com for a look at California chess history. Alan Benson played Boris Spassky in a simul on July 18, 1980, in downtown San Francisco. Alan remembers that the exhibition was not played at the MI, but fairly close by. Does anybody remember exactly where? Steve Cohen will be hosting a chess extravaganza on December 8 at the Park School at 161 Clark Drive in San Mateo. The triple-header will offer over $2,000 in prizes. The featured event is the: 5th Annual Peninsula Game/15 Championships. There are also five and one minute events. Flyers for these events are located in the Chess Room. Steve mentions that this will probably be the last triple-header event, so don't miss it! For more information, call (650) 349-7746. 10) Upcoming TournamentsMI EVENTS (check the MI website at www.chessclub.org) for complete details
October 20
November 9-11
December 1
December 8-9
January 25 - 27, 2002.
Open to players rated 2200 USCF and above (December 2001 rating list)
USCF and FIDE rated.
Send entries to: Guillermo Rey, 435 Firecrest Ave, Pacifica, Ca. 94044. REGIONAL TOURNAMENTS
Oct. 19-21 GPP: 200 Nevada
An American Classic & A Heritage Event |