Blitz Tourney on Sunday at Mechanics!

Neil Falconer - Legacy.com

Update: At least three GMs expect to play: Daniel Naroditsky, Patrick Wolff and James Tarjan!

Five months after his passing, the Mechanics' Institute will honor trustee, patron and chess enthusiast Neil Falconer with a Sunday afternoon blitz tournament.  Mr. Falconer's dedication to the royal game spanned 75 years, from days as a high school student to sponsorship of the generous Falconer Award every year since 1999.  He remained a strong class A player even into his 80s, and challenged some of my top students.  I spoke with him several times, during the CalChess legal crisis in 2004-05 and informally at the chess club.  Unfortunately, we never crossed swords over the board.  Please read this tribute to one of the great gentlemen of Northern California chess.

The Falconer Blitz Tournament follows a similar format to the annual Ray Schutt Memorial, which has become the largest and most prestigious blitz event in the Bay Area.  Given Mr. Falconer's popularity, I expect many experts and masters to attend, including a few titled players.  Come on down for a fun afternoon of chess in the City!  


Neil Falconer Blitz Tournament  Sunday, September 21
Location: 57 Post Street, San Francisco (Montgomery BART)

  FORMAT: Five double-round Swiss

TIME CONTROL: G/5 + inc/2 (bring your digital clock)

ENTRY FEE: $10 (free for GM/IM)
This tournament is UNRATED. (Membership in USCF not required)

PRIZES: $750 total (guaranteed)
1st place: $300
2nd place: $200
3rd place: $100
4th place: $75
5th place: $50
6th place: $25

Every player takes home a book from Mr. Falconer's library!

REGISTRATION: 1 to 1:45 pm on-site only.  There will be no registration in advance.  The tournament starts at 2 pm and lasts until about 5 pm. Prize fund guaranteed by GM Patrick Wolff.

Note from Fpawn: Normally, I would jump to attend this event, especially since I knew Neil.  However, the date presents an unavoidable conflicts with other plans.  I'll be there in spirit.

R.I.P. Neil Falconer 1923-2014

Walking into the chess room.

The Mechanics' Institute lost a giant earlier this month.  Aside from a successful legal career, Neil Falconer will be remembered as a competitive chess player and a generous chess philanthropist.  Over 75 years, he served in nearly every capacity at the historic San Francisco chess club, from one of the top amateurs to becoming a member of the Board of Trustees.  He remained a strong class A player even well into his 80s.

I saw Mr. Falconer off and on over the years, both at weekend tournaments and Tuesday lectures.  Strangely, we never crossed swords, although he battled fiercely against several of my star students.  Foremost an attorney, Mr. Falconer capably represented (pro-bono) the state organization CalChess against a rogue scholastic organizer in 2004-05.  He seemed to navigate legal complexities as methodically as Vladimir Kramnik would convert a positional advantage.
 
The following paragraphs first appeared in this obituary at Chess Life Online.

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Watching a tournament game.

The Mechanics' Institute Chess Club has had nine Chess Directors and three Grandmasters-in-Residence in its 160-year existence, but there is no doubt that the person with the longest and most important connection with the Chess Club has been Neil Falconer. His involvement with the club spans nine decades from his first visit in 1938 as a Berkeley High School student to the end of his life.

A native Californian, Neil first joined the Institute in 1945 after finishing his service in the U.S. Army and soon after established himself as one of the strongest chess players in California, finishing third in the state championship in 1946. When former World Champion Max Euwe visited the Mechanics' in 1949 Neil was one of those who held him to a draw. That same year, Neil graduated from the Boalt School of Law at UC Berkeley, passed the bar and started working at the firm where he would later rise to named partner - Steinhart and Falconer. New responsibilities did not slow down Neil's rise as a chess player, and in 1951 he won the California Open title at Santa Cruz.
...

Chess tournament flag.

In 1999 Neil established the Falconer Award at the Institute which awards a cash prize to the highest-rated junior player under 18 in Northern California.  Grandmasters Vinay Bhat, Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky are among those who have won the Falconer Award, which has awarded more than $35,000 to support excellence in chess.
...

One of Neil's defining characteristics besides his generosity of spirit and dry sense of humor has been a lifelong interest in learning. He was a regular attendee of former Grandmaster-in-Residence Alex Yermolinsky's weekly endgame lectures and has always had a keen interest in solving chess puzzles and problems. The past decade he has played with pleasure in more than one 5-minute chess tournaments at the Institute, matching wits with players almost 80 years his junior!

Yian Liou Wins Falconer Award

Yian playing at 2013 US Junior Invitational (Photo by CCSCSL)

SM Yian Liou earned the prestigious Falconer Award given annually to the highest rated chess player under 18 in the Bay Area.  The junior at Monte Vista High School (Danville) will receive a check for $2478, equal to his rating on the December USCF rating supplement.  Yian, who already has a pair of IM norms and a peak FIDE rating of 2403, will try to score his final IM norm at the Bay Area International in the first week of January.

Mr. Falconer in 2011 (Photo by Jim Eade)

The Falconer Award is sponsored by longtime Mechanics' Institute trustee Neil Falconer, himself a strong and competitive tournament player, holding a 1900+ rating up to age 85.  Over the past 15 years, three recipients of this generous prize have gone on to earn the highest title in chess: Grandmaster.

• 2000 SM Vinay Bhat
• 2001 SM Vinay Bhat
• 2002 IM Vinay Bhat - now GM
• 2003 NM Michael Pearson
• 2004 NM Nicolas Yap
• 2005 NM Matthew Ho
• 2006 NM Matthew Ho
• 2007 NM Nicolas Yap 
• 2008 NM Sam Shankland
• 2009 IM Sam Shankland  - now GM
• 2010 SM Steven Zierk - now IM
• 2011 SM Daniel Naroditsky
• 2012 IM Daniel Naroditsky
• 2013 IM Daniel Naroditsky - now GM
• 2014 SM Yian Liou  

Yian and fpawn in 2008

Congratulations to Master Yian!  You make your old chess teacher a very proud pawny. :-)  


Thanks to IM John Donaldson of the Mechanics' Chess Club for sharing this good news!  Yian will receive his award at a ceremony at 5:15pm on Tuesday, January 21st. 

FM Zierk Wins Falconer Award

Mechanics' Institute chess director IM John Donaldson reports that Los Gatos High School junior FM Steven Zierk won the 2010 Falconer Award as Northern California's top rated kid. The cash award, given by former US Senior Champion and longtime Mechanics' Institute Trustee Neil Falconer to the highest rated Bay Area player under 18 on the December rating supplement, is equal to the youngster's rating - in Steven's case $2,387. Past winners of this prestigious prize include IM Vinay Bhat (now a Grandmaster) and IM Sam Shankland.

The fight for this year's came down to the final tournament in Reno, the Western States Open, with FM Daniel Naroditsky ahead by 45 points. Steven literally needed to pull off a 2700 level performance, which is exactly what he did by beating one Grandmaster and drawing with two others. I predict these two teenagers, both now rated above 2420 and ranked in the top 15 of the country under age 21, will compete neck and neck again in 2010.

Here's a summary of Steven Zierk's many chess achievements. (Photo at top by Shorman.)

• Current ratings: 2420 USCF and 2359 FIDE.
• Earned SM status in November 2009.
• Earned FM title in July 2009.
• Earned NM title in July 2008.
• Best tournament of life at 2009 Western States Open: 2700 performance!
• 1st GM scalp: Beat super GM Loek van Wely at 2009 Western States Open.
  
• 1st IM scalp: Beat IM Ricardo DeGuzman at 2008 CalChess Labor Day.
• 1st NM scalp: Beat NM Albert Rich at 2007 Silicon Valley Ch. while rated 1623.
• Represented CalChess at 2008 Denker Invitational.
• CalChess Scholastic Champion for K-3 in 2001, K-8 in 2007 and K-12 in 2008.
• Big $$$ at World Open: 2nd U2000 in 2007 and 3rd U2200 in 2008.
• USCF rating jumped +556 in 2007 (1549 to 2105), including +384 over first 3 months.
• Break from competitive chess--2002 through 2006.
• Won U1400 in 2001 World Open at age 7.