US Open in Indianapolis

Participants of the Denker Invitational. NM Michael Wang is in second row,
sixth from the right, wearing light blue dress shirt. Photo credit: US Chess

The 117th US Open kicked off this weekend in Indianapolis.  The 9-round tournament features three schedules: one game per day, 6 days beginning on Tuesday, and 4 days at an accelerated time control.  The 6-day schedule tends to be most popular.  After the merge prior to round 7, all participants compete for the same prizes.  At the time of this post, there are 10 Grandmasters among the 311 entrants, led by top rated GM Alex Lenderman (Note: GM Illia Nyzhnyk is now the highest rated after joining the 6-day schedule.)

The annual US Open features daily side events alongside the main tournament.  Chess politicians from around America meet to discuss the business of governing the US Chess Federation.  Three prestigious scholastic invitationals each offer $5,000 college scholarships to the winners.  The Denker, named after the late GM Arnold Denker, attracts the high school state champion from every state.  The Barber, named after organizer Dewain Barber of Southern California, targets top K-8 players from each state.  Likewise, the National Girl's Tournament of Champions invites the top young ladies.  Each of these invitationals runs 6 rounds over four days.

• US Open information


• Merged tournament standings


• Live games on Monroi


• Denker standings
• Barber standings
• Girls standings


• CalChess representatives (final score)
  
  • NM Michael Wang (Denker) = 4.0 (three master scalps)
  • Balaji Daggupati (Barber) = 3.5 (two master scalps, including top seed)
  • Divija Hasteer (Girls) = 3.0

CalChess Denker and Barber Qualifiers

NM Michael Wang (credit: @USChess)

Near the end of yet another school year, many students look forward to a relaxing summer vacation.  For two local  chess juniors, this summer includes a trip to Indianapolis to represent Northern California at the Denker and Barber Invitationals from July 30 to August 2.  After five competitive rounds over two days, the results are in.

The Denker Qualifier (grades 9-12 only) saw 5 masters and 4 experts battle for the ticket to Indy.  Half of the games were drawn and all but one of the masters finished undefeated.  Nonetheless, one player managed to separate himself from the field to take clear first.  Congratulations to 9th grader NM Michael Wang for a strong performance!

The Barber Qualifier (grades K-8) attracted 27 enthusiastic and talented participants, including a trio of masters.  Alas, all three masters tasted defeat on the first day (rounds 1-3) and were out of contention.  In the final round, a 5th grader faced a 3rd grader for all the marbles.  The game ended in a draw, allowing 5th grader Balaji Daggupati to claim clear first.  Well done!

The Denker Invitational began in 1985, with each state naming one High School representative (Northern and Southern California are considered separate states).  The Barber Invitational for K-8 started in 2011.  Thanks to the late GM Arnold Denker, his family and Dewain Barber for sponsoring and organizing these two national championships.

Best of luck to Michael and Balaji in Indy!

CalChess Denker and Barber Participants

• 2016: Michael Wang --------------------- Balaji Daggupati
• 2015: Vignesh Panchanatham ---------- Rayan Taghizadeh
• 2014: Colin Chow -------------------------- Siddharth Banik
• 2013: Hunter Klotz-Burwell --------------- Vignesh Panchanatham (co-champion!) 
• 2012: Sudarshan Seshadri --------------- Udit Iyengar
• 2011: Nicholas Karas ---------------------- Neel Apte
• 2010: Steven Zierk (champion!)   
• 2009: Evan Sandberg   
• 2008: Steven Zierk   



Balaji Daggupati

• 2007: Nicolas Yap   
• 2006: Daniel Schwarz   
• 2005: Nicolas Yap   
• 2004: Benjamin Tejes   
• 2003: Monty Peckham   
• 2002: Benjamin Haun   
• 2001: none
• 2000: Micah Fisher-Kirshner   
• 1999: Vinay Bhat   
• 1998: Vinay Bhat   
• 1997: Dmitry Zilberstein   
• 1996: Dmitry Zilberstein   
• 1995: Adrian Keating-Clay   
• 1995: Jennie Frenklakh (extra player)   
• 1994: Dmitry Zilberstein (champion!)   
• 1993: Peter Lee   
• 1992: Adrian Keating-Clay   
• 1991: Alan Stein (champion!)    
• 1990: Andrew McManus   
• 1989: Andrew McManus   
• 1988: Kash Patel   
• 1987: Andrew McManus   
• 1986: Peter Yu   
• 1985: none

FM Panchanatham Qualifies for Denker

Denker players (L to R): Jack, Colin, Vignesh, Teemu, Siddharth, Cameron,
Jordan Langland (TD), Pranav, Kesav and Tom Langland (TD).

The most heavily loaded Denker qualifier in CalChess history took place last weekend at Bay Area Chess headquarters in Milpitas.  Eight high school masters competed in a high class round-robin with an average USCF rating of  2296!  In a sign of the cutthroat competition, the top three seeds each scored a win and a loss in the head-to-head pairings.  However, the favorites finished undefeated against the other five participants, and the final standings depended on the number of draws allowed.

At the end of a long weekend, 15-year old FM Vignesh Panchanatham (2365) earned a trip to the Denker Invitational at the US Open in Phoenix.  IM Kesav Viswanadha (2386) and FM Cameron Wheeler (2386) took 2nd and 3rd places.  Vignesh beat Kesav in round 2, but lost to Cameron in round 6.  Alas, Cameron succumbed to Kesav in the finale.  Along the way, Vignesh surrendered just one draw, Kesav two, and Cameron three.   Click here for the Denker crosstable.

Denker Qualifier - Final Standings

Vignesh and Rayan at 2014 World Youth.

1. FM Vignesh Panchanatham (2365) 5.5
2. IM Kesav Viswanadha (2386) 5.0
3. FM Cameron Wheeler (2386) 4.5
4. NM Pranav Nagarajan (2200) 3.5
5. NM Siddharth Banik (2298) 3.0
6. NM Jack Zhu (2255) 3.0
7. NM Colin Chow (2261) 2.5
8. NM Teemu Virtanen (2218) 1.0

Two more qualifiers occurred alongside the Denker last weekend.  In another clutch victory for the #3 seed, 12-year old FM Rayan Taghizadeh (2226) scored 1.5-0.5 against his highest rated competitors to qualify for the Barber Invitational (restricted to K-8 players).  Click here for the Barber crosstable.  The National Girls Invitational qualifier followed a similar script, when 12-year old Simona Nayberg (1821) scored 1.5-0.5 against her top challengers.  Click here for the Girls crosstable.

Congratulations to Vignesh, Rayan and Simona for qualifying to represent Northern California in Phoenix during the first week of August.  These scholastic invitationals take place alongside the U.S. Open.   Best of luck in Arizona!!

Denker, Barber and Girls Invitationals

Hunter Klotz-burwell

NM Vignesh Panchanatham

The 114th US Open kicked off this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin.  Only ten participants have signed up from Northern California, a somewhat smaller number than past years.

Three invitational side events will attract more local interest.  The prestigious Denker Tournament of High School Champions operates as a competition between the state scholastic champions of all 50 states.  Click for a historical perspective.  The field seems especially strong this year, with 11 players rated over 2300 USCF!  The Barber Invitational extends the same experience to the top K-8 players in each state.  Here the competition also promises to be fierce, with 8 masters in attendance.  Finally, the National Girls Invitational offers the same format to one girl from each state.

The official CalChess representatives are: Hunter Klotz-burwell in Denker, NM Vignesh Panchanatham in Barber, and Audrey Zhao for the Girls.  Each qualified at state scholastic championship events earlier this year.  Best of luck to all three!

NEWS FLASH!  Vignesh Panchanatham tied for first in the Barber Invitational!  He scored 5.0 out of 6, including 2.5 in 3 games against fellow masters.  Bravo!

Apparently the Texas Chess Association has the only website with live games.  Unfortunately, they can only broadcast eight boards total.

Dewain Barber

FINAL Results (after round 6)

• Hunter = 3.0 and tied for 20th in Denker -- tough pairings: 0.5/3 against 2300 average masters
• Vignesh = 5.0 and CO-CHAMPION in Barber -- 4-way tie for 1st and 2.5/3 versus masters
• Audrey = 3.5 and tied for 9th in Girls

Many thanks to Dewain Barber of Southern California for the required inspiration and perspiration to bring these special events to fruition each year. 

Good Luck at CalChess Scholastics!

(2011 top trophy winners in 6-8 on left and 4-5 on right.
The man in the red is chief organizer Dr. Salman Azhar.)

Here's wishing all players the best of skill this weekend at the 37th CalChess Scholastic Championship. If you're not experienced enough to win by skill alone, I also wish you an extra large serving of luck. Remember my favorite bit of advice: try your best and have fun!

For the many adults in attendance--directors, coaches and parents--I offer a generous potion of patience. You will need it! Don't forget to check your personal biases at the front door and let this weekend be filled with cheerful competition.

Frankly, I am a bit disappointed with the turnout to date. The advance entry list shows 762 entries, far less than the standard of 1000 achieved every year from 2001 to 2008. The attendance record of 1319 was established in 2006. I have heard many sad explanations for the downward trend, ranging from the economic recession to petty politics. Sigh! Addendum: The more I find out about a partial boycott, the sadder I become. What lesson do the kids learn from these adults who are acting like immature teens?

The five championship sections (9-12, 6-8, 4-6, 4-5 and 1-3) certainly could be a lot stronger, with only 12 out of 24 masters and experts signed up. What is wrong with this picture? This is the state championship, for Pete's sake! While I understand that 2300+ rated masters have bigger fish to fry, there's no excuse for nine experts to sit at home. Sigh!

I fondly remember 2006, when the final round pairings in 9-12 featured four masters on the top two boards (Drake Wang def. Matthew Ho and Daniel Schwarz def. Nicolas Yap). Those stuck on lower boards included future titled players Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky. Last year, expert Nicholas Karas (photo at left) took clear first.

Still, there are sufficient elite players signed up to make anyone sweat! The strongest section seems to be 6-8, featuring the defending champion, a master plus six experts, two former national champs and a former continental champ! I doubt I could win 6-8 even if they let me play. Note: The top high school student in 9-12 qualifies for the prestigious Denker Invitational and all co-champions in 6-8 earn a spot in a separate qualifier for the Barber Invitational. Both events take place at the US Open this August in Vancouver, WA.

9-12 High School Championship

• Colin Chow 2053 (now 2117 after beating two IMs in Reno)
• Joshua Cao 2050
• Paul Richter 2048 (was 2010 CalChess High School co-champion)
• Ted Xiao 2033
• James Kwok 2009

6-8 Middle School Championship

• NM Cameron Wheeler 2126 (now 2204 after beating three masters in Reno; photo at right)
• Vignesh Panchanatham 2103
• Neel Apte 2093 (defending champ and 2011 Barber rep)
• Udit Iyengar 2069
• Siddharth Banik 2051
• Allan Beilin 2044
• FM Tanuj Vasudeva 2014

4-6 Elementary Championship

• Art Zhao 1976 (rated nearly 400 points above field)

4-5 Elementary Championship

• William Li, Jr 1819
• Anirudh Seela 1770
• Amit Sant 1677

1-3 Primary Championship

• Ben Rood 1654
• Solomon Ge 1551