Happy 4th of July from Sacramento Chess Championship

The first two rounds of the annual Sacramento Chess Championship were played on the 4th of July holiday at the Best Western Expo Inn. While the Cal Expo fireworks show (see photos below) in the evening was a pleasure to watch, I also had fun playing with fire on board during my round 2 game. Four players are tied at 2-0 in the top section: my students NM Gregory Young (upper left) and Yian Liou (upper right), veteran Martin Marshall and myself (round 3 pairings: Yian versus fpawn). Four masters played today and another four are expected for the faster 2-day schedule tomorrow; the overall attendance will probably be between 90 and 100 players.