35th CalChess Scholastics Begin

The biggest annual chess tournament in the Bay Area, the CalChess Scholastics, began this evening with the blitz side event. After six years, the tournament returns to the premiere venue in Northern California: the Santa Clara Convention Center at Great America. Thanks to a steady trickle of last minute entrants who don't seem to mind the late fee, paid attendance now stands at 890, including a total of 267 in the five Varsity sections. Organizer Salman Azhar no doubt is pleased with more entries! Counting parents, siblings, relatives, coaches and volunteers, the crowd will approach 2000 people. If you're not there, you're really missing out on pure chess bliss!

Participants compete in one of 14 sections from 1-3 Rookie (unrated) to 9-12 Varsity. Advanced and intermediate youngsters play six rounds over two days while beginners only play one day. The elite players in the Varsity divisions play G/75 to G/90, meaning a single game can take up to three hours. There are three rounds Saturday and three more Sunday (9:00, 12:15 and 3:30 on both days). The Novice, Rookie, Kindergarten divisions play only one day each, with five rounds at G/30.

I will watch my 22 private students closely (plus another half dozen former students). Several have aspirations of winning, including three of the top four seeds in 4-6 and the top three rated players in 7-8. Historically my students have dominated the High School division, but that may not be the case this year because all five of my Masters are skipping this tournament. Some have legitimate conflicts while others don't see any benefit from playing only against much lower rated opponents. Most significantly, the Denker Qualifier was held last month with FM Steven Zierk victorious. What a shame! Perhaps one of my five students seeded between 4th and 12th can step up and hit a home run.

Here are my favorites and dark horses for each of the Varsity divisions. Current and former private students are shown in red bold.

• 9-12 Favorites: Samuel Sevian (2133), Hayk Manvelyan (2103), Michael Brown (2068), Arthur Liou (2010). Dark horse: Daniel Liu (1982).
• 7-8 Favorites: James Kwok (1919), Edward Li (1832), Roland Zhu (1798), Hwai-Ray Tung (1688). Dark horse: Aamir Azhar (1639).
• 4-6 Favorites: Kyle Shin (2052), FM Tanuj Vasudeva (1863). Dark horses: Neel Apte (1802), Colin Chow (1787), Hunter Klotz-Burwell (1704), Richard Yi (1688).
• 4-5 Favorite: Cameron Wheeler (1851). Dark horses: Jeffrey Tao (1599), Udit Iyengar (1556).
• 1-3 Favorites: Rayan Taghizadeh (1648), Michael Wang (1473). Dark horse: Leyton Ho (1428).

The team championships should be competitive as they always are. In the Elementary divisions, 2009 national champion Mission San Jose Elementary has won most of the Varsity trophies in recent years. But this year seems to be the best opportunity for crosstown rival Weibel Elementary to steal a title. Likewise, Saratoga High has captured five straight K-12 team titles and is looking for a record sixth in a row. Can they do it, or will Mission San Jose High end the dynasty? Stay tuned!

Latest news from Santa Clara: 7th grader Michael Brown of Southern California won the 7-12 blitz and Edward Li took 2nd. Hunter Klotz-Burwell won K-6 blitz.

Aamir and Suraj Win CalChess Titles in Stockton!

(From left to right: Aamir Azhar, Suraj Nair and Michael Meng. Photos of Aamir and Michael by Dr. Alan Kirshner of CalNorth Youth Chess.)

Here's a somewhat belated recognition to my three students who played at the CalChess Grade Level Championships in Stockton on December 6-7. A total of 342 intrepid young players arrived at the University of the Pacific to compete for the title of state champion in one of 11 sections ranging from Kindergarten to High School. Perhaps the competition was lighter than the CalChess Scholastics in the spring because none of the local 1800+ rated players attended, but don't tell that to those who worked hard for their trophies.

Two of my students took home 1st place trophies and a third got 4th place. Congrats to 7th grade champion Aamir Azhar and 9th grade champion Suraj Nair! Honorable mention goes to Michael Meng for finishing just half a point behind the winners in the tough 6th grade section.

• Aamir (1650) improved recently by consistently beating opponents that he was supposed to beat, something that he did quite well in Stockton. He stumbled only against co-champ Thomas Gonda, but later Aamir won the blitz playoff for the bigger trophy. Check out Aamir's strong attack against the Chigorin defense.
  
• Suraj (1499) left no doubt who was the man to beat in 9th grade by blasting his way to a perfect 6-0 score. He crushed the top seed (1713) with a thematic Bxh7+ sacrifice, much like the spectacular Pruess-Kraai game in the previous post. Suraj took care of business in his other games to finish two points ahead of the field.
  
• Michael (1274) was rated well below the top players in 6th grade, but that was not reason to be intimidated. He finished with 4.5 out of 6 and barely missed out on a chance to tie for 1st with a last round draw.

Click this link for the USCF rating report. Many thanks to Chief TD John McCumiskey, the entire directing staff and the North Stockton Rotary for spending their time preparing for and running this annual tournament. I still have faint hope that someone who attended the event will write a summary article for the CalChess website.

Yian Liou Takes Clear First in Elementary 4-6

(As Salman Azhar commented at the awards ceremony, many of the top players in Northern California are friends with their rivals. Top 4-6 players Yian Liou on left and James Kwok are both in a good mood as they shake hands before their round 5 matchup.)

Although major upsets shook up many other sections at the CalChess Scholastics, that was not the case in the 4-6 Varsity when the top four seeds all finished in the top five spots. Rated nearly 200 points above anyone else and ranked #6 in the country for age 10, Yian Liou took his seat at the top board on Saturday morning and stayed there throughout the weekend, taking clear 1st place. He did surrender a half point in round 5 against friend and second seed James Kwok. This draw allowed Aamir Azhar to take the lead going into the final round, but not unexpectedly, Aamir lost to much higher rated Yian in the battle for 1st place. Nonetheless, Aamir managed to squeak ahead of James on tiebreak points. The final person to tie for 2nd place with a score of 5.0 was James' school teammate Jerry Wu, who improved his rating by 100 points with a strong result.

I am proud to say that it is a real pleasure working with all three kids: Yian, James and Aamir. In particular, I have watched Yian grow up from a shy 8 year old rated about 1200 to an outgoing and confident 10 year old rated over 1900. If he didn't live in the shadows of Danya Naroditsky and Nicholas Nip, there's no doubt that Yian would be the local star. Fortunately, Yian has the opportunity to study with Danya, Nicholas and other elite Bay Area kids at the series of Grandmaster seminars sponsored by the Mechanics' Institute.

Final Standings of 4-6 Varsity

1. 5.5 Yian Liou (1939) -- $50 gift certificate
   
2. 5.0 Aamir Azhar (1596) -- 1 year ICC extension
   
3. 5.0 James Kwok (1750) -- 1 year ICC extension
   
4. 5.0 Jerry Wu (1464)
   
5. 4.5 Neel Apte (1588)
6. 4.5 Thomas Gonda (1470)
   
7. 4.5 Kevin Zhu (1577)
   
8. 4.5 Kunaal Naik (1366)
   
9. 4.0 Suraj Nair (1250)
   
10. 4.0 Nathan Zhang (1372)
    

Bughouse Photos

Trophy winners at the CalChess Scholastics bughouse championship. The youngsters in top photos played in the primary division while the bottom pictures came from the Elementary section. This side event was, as predicted, lots of fun for all!

States Bughouse Results

(Bughouse champions for the High School division: Arnav Shah on left and Ted Belanoff.)

CalChess Scholastics BUGHOUSE: 7-12 (JHS and HS)

#	Name	Rtng	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Tot
1	Ted+Arnav Belanoff+Shah	1886	12	$4	$3	W2	$5	7.0
2	Davis+Joey Xu+Goodman	1821	10	$11	W5	W1	$8	6.0
3	Elliott+Geoff Jardin+Zoehfeld	1521	12	$9	L1	$6	$7	6.0
4	Danny+John Stoll+Clara	1156	7	L1	W6	$9	$11	5.0
5	Sean+Aidan Jennings+Wilner	1281	9	X---	W2	W8	L1	4.0
6	Kyle+Lichen Shih+Han	816	10	W7	W4	L3	B---	4.0
7	David+Scott Oawster+Simmons	1165	9	W6	W8	$11	L3	4.0
8	Daniel+Aliaksander Gong+Karos	1173	11	$10	W7	W5	L2	4.0
9	Joshua+Jerry Gonzalez+Compton	1064	12	L3	B---	L4	W10	3.0
10	Seldon+Van Kwok+Melikian	unr.	11	L8	L11	B---	W9	3.0
11	Alex+Aristotl Magganas+Magganas	1079	7	L2	$10	L7	L4	2.0

CalChess Scholastics BUGHOUSE: 4-6 (Elementary)

#	Name	Rtng	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Tot
1	Aamir+Mohammed Azhar+Mohideen	1611	5	$12	$5	$2	W4	7.0
2	Stuart+Aidan Jennings+Llora	950	5	$9	$3	L1	$6	6.0
3	Nari+Pier Farhangi+DeethStehlin	845	6	$10	L2	$11	$7	6.0
4	Caleb+Jesse Morin+Mackinney	1206	6	W7	$6	W5	W1	5.0
5	Josh+Nick Barnhart+Herringer	871	6	$8	L1	W4	$10	5.0
6	Steele+Jordan Langland+Langland	832	6	$11	L4	$9	L2	4.0
7	Jimmy+Tony Hicks+Hubbell	801	5	W4	W9	$10	L3	4.0
8	Antonio+Marco DaCunha+DaCunha	487	4	L5	L10	$12	$11	4.0
9	Samuel+Jacob Lushtak+Dexter	705	4	L2	W7	L6	$12	3.0
10	Albert+Lawrence Han+Han	unr.	4	L3	$8	L7	L5	2.0
11	Emmett+Simarjeev Norris+Singh	unr.	5	L6	$12	L3	L8	2.0
12	Lind+Lia Canessa+PruynGoldstein	100	K	L1	L11	L8	L9	0.0

CalChess Scholastics BUGHOUSE: K-3 (Primary)

#	Name	Rtng	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Tot
1	Seaver+Matt Dahlgren+Steiner	789	3	$2	$3	$4	6.0
2	Yousef+John Azhar+Canessa	896	2	L1	$4	W3	3.0
3	Micah+Joshua PruynGoldstein+Lee	601	3	W4	L1	W2	2.0
4	James+Triston Lehmann+Mentink	206	2	W3	L2	L1	1.0

Blitz Photos

Photos of the top players in action at the CalChess Scholastics blitz championship. The top two shared first in the 4-6 section. The 1st grader on the lower left won K-3 in style. Finally, the photo on the lower right shows the top 7-12 players going head-to-head.

States Blitz Results

(The top 7-12 blitz players, Jay Kumar on left and Steven Zierk, pose with their trophies.)

State Championship: 7-12 (JHS and HS) BLITZ

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Tot
1	Jay Dave Kumar	1902	BELARM	12	$11	$8	$4	W2	#3	8.5
2	Steven C Zierk	2145	LOSGAT	9	W3	$5	$6	W1	$7	8.0
3	Ted Belanoff	1886	HARKER	11	W2	$7	$8	W4	D1	6.5
4	Mukund Chillakanti	1868	CHALL	8	#6	$9	L1	W3	$11	6.5
5	Zachary McDiarmid	1580	ACALA	11	W7	L2	B---	#10	#6	6.0
6	Boglarka Erdos	2121	HUNGAR	10	D4	$10	L2	B---	D5	5.0
7	Rohan S Sathe	1939	LYNBRO	12	W5	L3	$11	$8	L2	5.0
8	Kartik Chillakanti	1706	CHALL	8	X---	L1	L3	L7	$9	4.0
9	Rohan Kapre	735	CHABOY	8	B---	L4	L10	$11	L8	4.0
10	Nitin Gomatam	1489	LYNBRO	10	B---	L6	$9	D5	U---	3.5
11	Aymin Bedri	738	GRAND	7	L1	B---	L7	L9	L4	2.0

State Championship: 4-6 (Elementary) BLITZ

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Tot
1	Aamir Ali Azhar	1611	GRAND	6	$17	$5	W2	W4	6.0
2	Daniel Liu	1388	BARRON	4	$16	$6	W1	W3	6.0
3	John Guiragossian	1275	OAKKNO	4	$14	#9	W7	W2	5.5
4	Steven Hao	1591	MILLER	6	#12	W8	$9	W1	5.5
5	Aidan O Llora	950	DUNHAM	4	$10	L1	$16	#8	5.5
6	Nick Herringer	871	MARIGO	6	X---	L2	$10	W7	5.0
7	Caleb Lyman Morin	1206	JACOBY	5	W11	$13	W3	W6	5.0
8	Muhammed Mohideen	1417	GRAND	5	W13	W4	$12	D5	4.5
9	Joshua Barnhart	868	MARIGO	6	$15	D3	L4	$14	4.5
10	Jesse Mackinney	unr.	JACOBY	6	L5	$17	L6	$16	4.0
11	Noah H Quanrud	581	ARGON	4	W7	L12	W15	$17	4.0
12	Jordan Langland	715	AFS	6	D4	$11	L8	W13	3.5
13	Tony Hubbell	681	SIERVI	5	W8	L7	W14	W12	3.0
14	Ketan Kapre	622	MATSUM	4	L3	B---	W13	L9	3.0
15	Riley Tobin-Castle	unr.	AFS	4	L9	L16	W11	B---	3.0
16	Dawood Rahmat	658	GRAND	6	L2	$15	L5	L10	2.0
17	Steele Langland	832	AFS	4	L1	L10	B---	L11	2.0

State Championship: K-3 (Primary) BLITZ

#	Name	Rtng	Team	Grd	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Tot
1	Micah Pruyn Goldstein	601	MCGILL	1	$6	$4	W2	$3	7.0
2	Yousef Rezwan Azhar	873	GRAND	2	W3	$7	W1	$6	6.0
3	Andrew Lin	unr.	DILWOR	2	W2	$5	#4	L1	4.5
4	John L Canessa	896	LASLOM	1	$5	L1	D3	B---	4.5
5	Ramie Salem	520	GRAND	K	L4	L3	B---	$7	4.0
6	Nadine Salem	136	GRAND	2	L1	B---	W7	L2	3.0
7	Lindsey Canessa	100	KIRKHO	PK	B---	L2	W6	L5	3.0

Fpawn Rating List - Best Gain in First Quarter of 2008

(Aamir playing blitz at my holiday party in December 2007, where he took 2nd place.)

As I do every month, I compiled the Fpawn Rating List and Top 5 lists using the new USCF rating supplement. Instead of presenting the raw numbers for May on my blog, I took a slightly different approach. Since we are one-fourth of the way through 2008, I wanted to see who has been most successful at improving their rating in the first quarter of the year. My spreadsheet calculated the rating gain from the February to May supplement; each list was created on the first Friday of the previous month (i.e. January 4 to April 4).

Congratulations to Aamir for breaking out of a slump in style with two impressive results in recent weeks. Rebekah has also been moving up and she will represent CalChess at the Polgar Invitational for Girls in Texas this summer. Finally, I wish to congratulate Brian, not so much for his chess rating (which has improved quite a bit), but for passing the difficult AMC and AIME tests to qualify for the USA Math Olympiad as an 8th grader!

1. Aamir +145
2. Rebekah +86
3. Danya +68
   
4. EvanY +66
   
5. Chris +65
   
6. Yian +50
   
7. Steven +49
   
8. Brian +48
   
9. Tyler +45
   
10. Alan +38