R.I.P. Mike Parmon 1945-2014

This sad news reached me over the weekend.  Mike Parmon, easily the most popular 1200 rated player at the Sacramento Chess Club, passed away last Thursday at the age of 69.  While I have not attended the Tuesday evening club since the move to Great Escape Games, I still hear the echoes of his voice.  He seemed to know everyone, and never hesitated to critique the play of many a stronger player‒always in jest, of course.  It is difficult to imagine the Sacramento chess scene without Mike.

Parmon will be best remembered for spreading the gospel of Caissa to dozens of cheerful youths (and a few adults) every year.  He dedicated himself each week to explaining basic chess strategies to wide-eyed kids, at both the adult club and the Sacramento Chess School.  Check out these photos of the coach and his protégés.

Apparently, they needed another chess teacher in heaven.  Rest In Peace.

Update: Check out this tribute on KXTV News10.

Last Round of Sacramento Team Championship Tonight

(This photo of the UC Davis Chess Club is posted on their website.)

The Sacramento Chess Club Team Championship wraps up tonight. The scene will be a bit anticlimactic as the UC Davis Knights already clinched first place with a dominating 6-0 match score and 74% of all possible game points. Last week they defeated the Warriors, a team that many thought would compete for top honors, by a convincing 4.5-1.5 margin (Heiserman defeated Ross on board 1). Thanks to this victory, the Knights lead B-Nam by 1.5 match points heading into the final round. Three teams are tied for third place way back at 50%: the above mentioned Warriors, my squad from Elk Grove and the overachieving King Hunters.

TEAM STANDINGS (after round 6)

1. UC Davis Knights 6.0 MP, 26.5 GP
2. B-Nam 4.5 MP, 22.5 GP
3. Warriors 3.0 MP, 20.5 GP
4. Elk Grove 3.0 MP, 20.0 GP
5. King Hunters 3.0 MP, 15.5 GP
6. UC Davis Bishops 2.5 MP, 18.0 GP
7. Zoka Zoki Academy 1.0 MP, 12.0 GP
8. Daze Knights 1.0 MP, 8.0 GP

Kudos to the UC Davis Chess Club and the members of the mighty Knights: NM Jimmy Heiserman, club President Zach Han, Rohan Sathe, Anthony Blessing, Erik Friedlander, Marcus Langston, Brian Eller, Ryan Leung and David Whiteneck.

Here are the unofficial board prize standings. I listed all players who have scored at least 3.0 in the first 6 rounds, or are within a point of the leader. To be eligible for the board prize at the end of the tournament, the person must play 60% of the rounds at that board. Boards 1 and 2 are pretty close to being settled, but at least three players have a shot at winning each of the others. Look at board 5: even Mike Parmon has a shot!

BOARD 1

• 5.5 NM Zoran Lazetich (ZOKA) -- defeated MacFarland, Heiserman and Ross
  
• 4.5 NM James MacFarland (BNAM) -- defeated Aigner
  
• 4.5 NM Michael Aigner (EG) -- defeated Heiserman and Ross
  
• 3.5 NM Jimmy Heiserman (UCD-N) -- defeated Ross
  

BOARD 2

• 5.5 John Cohen (UCD-B)
• 3.0 Alonzo McCaulley (WAR)
• 3.0 Zach Han (UCD-N)
  

BOARD 3

• 4.5 Kevin Dooley (KING)
• 4.0 Joe Birt (WAR)
• 4.0 Romeo Pilar (EG)
• 3.0 Dalton Peterson (BNAM) -- 3 games on board 3 and 3 games on board 4
  

BOARD 4

• 4.5 Erik Friedlander (UCD-N)
  
• 4.5 Brady Hill (KING)
• 4.0 Nebojsa Gvozden (BNAM)
• 4.0 Bob Baker (WAR)
• 3.0 Robert Russo (EG)
  

BOARD 5

• 3.5 Everett Penn (WAR)
• 3.5 Michael Parmon (KING)
• 3.0 Brian Eller (UCD-N)
• 2.5 Marcus Langston (UCD-N)
  

BOARD 6

• 4.5 Ryan Leung (UCD-N) -- 3 games on board 6, 2 on board 5 and 1 on board 4
• 4.5 Donald Dixon (EG)
• 4.0 Joel Iniquez-Aguiar (BNAM)
• 3.0 Justin Garvin (WAR)

Sacramento Team Championship Round 5

The UC Davis Knights prevailed 3.5-2.5 in Wednesday's showdown against second place B-Nam. The match was tight throughout and it came down to the top board between NM Jimmy Heiserman and the multiple time Sacramento champion NM James MacFarland. The UCD freshman from Texas drew the game and now the Knights hold a nearly insurmountable 1.5 match lead with just two weeks to go. Congratulations!

While many had predicted a victory by the Knights, few people saw the low rated King Hunters defeating my Elk Grove squad by 4-2! When I looked up after winning a sloppy endgame on board 1, my teammates were literally staggering from a shutout on boards 2-5. I am sure to hear about this score for the rest of 2009. Big sigh!

TEAM STANDINGS (after round 5)

1. UC Davis Knights 5.0 MP, 22.0 GP
2. B-Nam 3.5 MP, 17.0 GP
3. Warriors 3.0 MP, 19.0 GP
4. UC Davis Bishops 2.5 MP, 15.5 GP
5. Elk Grove 2.0 MP, 16.5 GP
6. King Hunters 2.0 MP, 11.5 GP
7. Zoka Zoki Academy 1.0 MP, 10.0 GP
8. Daze Knights 1.0 MP, 7.5 GP

Captions for the photos, counterclockwise from top left:

• NM Jimmy Heiserman, board 1 for UCD Knights.
• NM James MacFarland, board 1 for B-Nam.
• NM Steven Ross (on left) and Alonzo McCaulley, boards 1 and 2 for Warriors.
• Mike Parmon, captain of the King Hunters, making a point to his students.
  
• Donald Dixon (on left) and William Lombard, Elk Grove team.
• Robert Russo (from left), Romeo Pilar and Bernie Lu, Elk Grove team.