CalChess State Champs on Labor Day

The view of airplanes landing at SFO is sometimes breathtaking.

The annual CalChess State Championships, open to chess warriors of all ages, will be held this coming weekend at the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, south of SFO Airport.  Veterans will recall this event as the Labor Day Festival, which for many years took place on Van Ness Avenue in the City itself. In those days, Labor Day was the biggest adult tournament in the Bay Area.  While the Golden State Open in January now boasts a larger prize fund and turnout, winning on Labor Day weekend brings more prestige--state champions will be crowned in every section!

Last year saw a pair of Grandmasters, Ioan Cristian Chirila and Oliver Barbosa, share first place, with Chirila awarded the trophy.  The defending champion will be back in 2015!  The top challengers include local GM and author Jesse Kraai, visiting GM Giorgi Margvelashvili, at least three International Masters, and one high-rated math professor.  Of course, one or two surprise entries show up on-site each year.

Update: 223 players have already registered.  

• Event: CalChess State Championships
• Date: September 5-7 (3-day) or September 6-7 (2-day) 
  
• Location: San Francisco Airport Hyatt Regency in Burlingame (map here)
• Format: 6 round swiss in 6 sections (Open, Expert, A, B, C and D/E/Unrated).
• 3-day schedule: Reg: Sat 8-9:30. Rounds: Sat 10, 3:30; Sun 11, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
• 2-day schedule: Reg: Sun 8-9, Rounds: Sun 9:30, 12, 2:30, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
• Time control: 40/120 G/30 d/5; except rounds 1-3 of 2-day schedule at G/61 d/5.
• Entry fee: $154 includes late fee; $25 extra to play up.
• Prize fund: $20,000 based on 249 players, including $2,500 for 1st place in Open and between $1000 to $1500 for 1st place in each lower section.
• Tournament flyer
• Information page
• Advance entry list
• 2014 Results (266 players!!)

Traffic alert!  There will be no BART service from the East Bay to San Francisco for the entire weekend. Expect heavier than usual traffic on the bridges. More info at 511.org.

US Chess League Kicks Off!

The San Francisco Mechanics kick off the 9th season of the US Chess League on Tuesday evening.  Always competitive, the local team reached the playoffs in six of the previous eight seasons, winning the league championship in 2006.  Over the years, noteworthy titled players included GM Josh Friedel, GM Sam Shankland, GM Vinay Bhat, GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky, IM David Pruess and captain IM John Donaldson.  The San Francisco recipe for success, now copied throughout the league, depends on cultivating underrated young talent to man board 4, thereby opening enough space under the 2401 rating cap for the highly rated professionals on boards 1 and 2.

The 2013 roster for the San Francisco Mechanics consists of 10 players: 6 kids and 4 adults.  The top five, representing the team nucleus, have earned at least 25 caps each.  The next three also saw playing time last season.  The bottom four represent the Bay Area's latest crop of young stars--all age 13 or less and National Scholastic Champions!  The team selected January 2013 as the official rating list for determining a legal weekly lineup.

2013 Mechanics Roster

(January Rating, September Rating, Difference)

1. GM Jesse Kraai (2567, 2567, 0)
2. GM Vinay Bhat (2555, 2555, 0)
3. GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky (2553, 2590, +37)
4. FM Yian Liou (2432, 2492, +60)
5. IM David Pruess (2431, 2431, 0)
6. FM Andy Lee (2294, 2316, +22)
7. FM Cameron Wheeler (2276, 2276, 0)
8. NM Kesav Viswanadha (2213, 2261, +48)
9. NM Vignesh Panchanatham (2191, 2278, +87)
10. Siddharth Banik (2033, 2151, +118)

A glance at the above roster reveals several observations.  The trio of Grandmasters are interchangeable, and, depending on availability, I expect to see them take turns on boards 1 and 2 for much of the season.  Likewise, the three "Chess Punks" (Cameron, Kesav and Vignesh) appear close in strength and will divvy up many weeks on boards 3 and 4.  Finally, if bottom-rated Siddharth simply holds his own against master level opposition, then the team can afford to field a top-heavy power lineup more often.

Check out some of the possible lineups at captain Donaldson's disposal.  Unfortunately, availability may again become a driving factor in determining who can play, as in recent years.

• two of Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + Liou/Pruess + Banik
• two of Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + two of Lee/Wheeler/Viswanadha/Panchanatham
• Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + Pruess + two of Lee/Wheeler/Viswanadha/Panchanatham

One peculiarity of the US Chess League allows captains to submit a lineup rated over 2400 in spite of the 2401 rating cap. Indeed, 60% of the San Francisco team is currently rated north of their "official" January rating.  Consider the lineup of Kraai + Naroditsky + Liou + Banik, rated 2450 on the September list!!  Few teams can equal that.  Even stronger may be substituting Bhat, the club's all-time leading scorer, on board 1--exactly as Donaldson has done for week 1.

The league schedule shows one match per week for the next 10 weeks, on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  The Mechanics compete in the Pacific Division and will face the Arizona Scorpions, Los Angeles Vibe and Seattle Sluggers twice each.  The top pair of teams from each of the four Divisions will participate in the league playoffs in November.

In a big change, the US Chess League has moved to Chess.com.  Basic accounts are free, allowing anyone to follow the action live.  The planned coverage includes a live TV broadcast of every round.  The action kicks off with a California Clásico against Los Angeles on Tuesday at 6:15pm!

Grandmaster RR This Weekend @ Mechanics

This weekend, the Mechanics' Institute hosts one of the highest rated fields in its storied history.  Here's the catch: the Grandmasters will play at a rapid time control.  Read below how chess director IM John Donaldson described it in his newsletter on May 1.

GM Shankland

Thanks to the generosity of Tibor Weinberger, the Mechanics’ Institute will be holding the Third Imre Konig Memorial on September 22-23. The event, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the death of International Master Konig, the first top rate player to reside in San Francisco, will be held as a seven-player round-robin, featuring a rapid chess time control of Game in 25 minutes, with a 15-second increment from move one. 

The invited players consist of the top six rated players from the Bay Area, led by Grandmaster Sam Shankland (who by now is nearly 2600 FIDE and top 10 in the country). The last player, Grandmaster Emil Anka of Hungary, pays respect to Konig’s ancestry as an international cosmopolitan who was born in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Kula, in today’s Serbia. 

• GM Sam Shankland (2597 FIDE)
• GM Jesse Kraai (2514)
• GM Vinay Bhat (2511)
• GM Nick deFirmian (2510)
• IM Daniel Naroditsky (2483) 
• GM Walter Browne (2449)
• GM Emil Anka (2382)

  

  GM Anka

  
  

IM Naroditsky

Konig studied in Vienna and improved his game in its chess cafe milieu, being particularly influenced by Richard Reti. Like the Czech, he earned a reputation as a fine author with his Chess from Morphy to Botvinnik: A Century of Chess Evolution serving as a useful instructional guide to several generations of chess players.

Konig was not only a fine writer, but also an excellent player, who twice represented Yugoslavia in Chess Olympiads. He is fondly remembered by Mechanics’ old-timers for his Old World courtliness and generosity of spirit in sharing his chess wisdom. The Mechanics’ Institute is honored to pay tribute to his memory.

The games will be broadcast on the Chess.com live server, from 10 to 6 on Saturday and 10 to 4 on Sunday.  Each participant plays six rounds and gets a single bye.

Youth Movement Continues for SF Mechanics

The 8th season of the US Chess League kicks off this week, with Eastern conference teams facing off tonight and the West playing on Wednesday.  For the San Francisco Mechanics, the new year rekindles a quest for a second league Championship, after the successful campaign in 2006.  Ten weekly matches, played on both ICC and Chess.com this year, will lead up to the Playoffs in November.  As always, the team's home base is the 4th floor at the Mechanics' Institute.

Youth has served the club well over the years, and a precocious trio of preteen masters will have opposing managers cursing about the Bay's waters being Juiced.  Have they not learned over the years?  At the same time, don't count out a pair of successful prodigies manning the top boards--GM Vinay Bhat and IM Daniel Naroditsky--nor the wily engineer GM Jesse Kraai.  With five adults and five juniors on the team roster, I expect captain IM John Donaldson to maintain a steady hand and field age-balanced lineups, two adults to keep two rambunctious kittens in check.

The Mechanics will use the January 2012 rating list.  The four players chosen each week must be rated 2400.75 or less in average.  The +/- number shows any rating change from January to current, including the Labor Day weekend. 

1. GM Vinay Bhat 2555
2. GM Jesse Kraai 2567
3. IM Daniel Naroditsky 2546 (-2)
4. IM Dmitry Zilberstein 2472 (-5)
5. IM John Donaldson 2402 (+6)
6. FM Yian Liou 2354 (+78)
7. SM Sam Sevian 2299 (+147)
8. FM Andy Lee 2273 (+18)
9. NM Cameron Wheeler 2154 (+86)
10. NM Kesav Viswanadha 2134 (+72)  

The first week's lineup of Bhat - Kraai - Sevian - Wheeler seems typical for this year.  Not many teams can match the 2452 average rating while staying below the 2400.75 cap.  The roster appears quite flexible; Naroditsky can substitute for either GM while Liou/Sevian and Wheeler/Viswanadha are both almost interchangeable.  And when the team needs to draw upon more experience, Zilberstein and Lee can drive home the even numbered boards.

Good luck to the San Francisco Mechanics!  Check the US Chess League website for weekly lineups as well as the club's regular season schedule.  To kick off the 2012 season, the local guys dance with the Cobras of Carolina on Wednesday, beginning at 5:30pm Pacific.  Games will be on ICC for Mondays (and tonight) and on Chess.com for Wednesdays.  I believe the moves are relayed back and forth between servers.  However, each site plans independent live (and exciting) multimedia coverage.

Random question: How soon will the USCL include a player rated 2000+ and born after the inaugural season began in September 2005?

2010 US Championship Underway

The 2010 US Championship began on Friday at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis. Thanks to club sponsor Rex Sinquefield for backing a most generous prize fund of $170,000, including $35,000 for 1st place and $3,000 minimum for last. The novel format is a nine round swiss with one major variation. After round 7, the top four players split from the main swiss and face off in a round-robin quad to determine the top prizes. The "Final Four" plays ten games to determine the national champion while everyone else completes the nine round swiss, with the winner earning 5th place. This ensures that the best players face each other at the end.

The field of 24 participants includes all of America's top Grandmasters, a few older veterans and the brightest young talent. Will defending champion Hikaru Nakamura (photo by Betsy Dynako at top right) flex his muscles to become the first repeat winner in 25 years? Or will fellow Olympiad team (photo by Mike Klein below) members Gata Kamsky, Alex Onischuk, Yury Shulman and Varuzhan Akobian snatch the top honors? Or perhaps one of the three talented teenagers will surprise everyone, like last year when Robert Hess took 2nd place.Defending champion: Nakamura
Favorites: Kamsky, Onischuk
Contenders: Shulman, Akobian, Lenderman
Star Juniors: Hess, Robson, Shankland
Former Champions: Shabalov, Christiansen, Benjamin, Yermolinsky
The Field: Ehlvest, Kaidanov, Kudrin, Stripunsky, Bhat, Finegold, Khachiyan, Kraai, Gurevich, Krush, Altounian

Of course, many readers of this blog will cheer for the California players. Vinay Bhat has come home after spending more than a year traveling the European chess circuit. Gaining 73 FIDE rating points in the past 9 months, he may be a dark horse to surprise everyone. CalChess State Champions Sam Shankland and Jesse Kraai both have the potential to beat anyone, but it is unclear if they can maintain that high level of play over the full 9 or 10 rounds. Many Bay Area chess fans still consider 2-time US Champion Alex Yermolinsky as a local hero, although he moved to South Dakota a few years ago. Finally, Melik Khachiyan of Los Angeles has developed an pool of students from Northern California.

Readers may watch games live daily beginning at noon Pacific time. The Internet Chess Club offers live audio and video broadcasts from Saint Louis for its members (observe boards 1 through 12). Monroi broadcasts live moves for free. The official tournament website also promises live games, but their bandwidth was too low yesterday.

Key Round 1 Results: Stripunsky 0-1 Nakamura, Kamsky 1-0 Robson, Shulman 1/2 Bhat, Lenderman 0-1 Khachiyan (photo at right by Betsy Dynako), Hess 1-0 Shankland, Kraai 1/2 Shabalov.

I'm a Perfect Square

(Yes, I do love strawberries!)

Thank you to all of my friends and fans who sent birthday wishes yesterday. I really appreciate the many friends that I have, ranging from my youngest elementary age students to chess veterans who began playing during the Fischer boom of the 1960s and early 1970s. Amazingly, I personally know at least six fans of the royal game who also were born on May 6, including two of my private students plus a resident of the East Bay's famed GM House (Jesse Kraai).

There's a lot going on in the world of chess this week. Foremost is the World Championship match between defending champion Viswanathan Anand and challenger Veselin Topalov. The score is tied at 5.0 with two games remaining on Sunday and Tuesday, starting at 5:00am Pacific time. If they are still tied, then rapid and blitz playoffs are scheduled for Thursday. Let's go Vishy!!!

Back in the USA, the Bert Lerner National Elementary Championship began in Atlanta. The crowd of 2000+ participants includes 55 enthusiastic youngsters from Northern California. Many of the elite local players flew east, including: Daniel Liu (K-6), Kesav Viswanadha (K-5), FM Tanuj Vasudeva (K-3), Allan Beilin (K-5), Cameron Wheeler (K-5) and the severely underrated Michael Wang (K-3). A pair of Fremont schools are hunting for big team trophies: 2009 national champ Mission San Jose Elementary and crosstown punching bag Weibel Elementary both have over 15 kids. Click here for updated standings and pairings from Atlanta.

Finally, I hope to play in the Powell G/45 tournament tomorrow at the Mechanics' Institute. I expect to see many of my students. Will preteen terror NM Yian Liou win for the second month in a row? Can any of my lower rated kids scalp an expert or a master? And will I perform well enough to eek my USCF rating back above my lifetime floor of 2200. Wish us all good luck!

Shankland and Kraai Draw Top Honors

IM Sam Shankland and GM Jesse Kraai shared first at 4.5/6 in the CalChess State Championship, held at a new venue in Santa Clara. Shankland (photo at left) had superior tiebreaks and earned the title for the second year in a row. Congratulations Sam!! Still a teenager, "Shanky" now has two adult trophies at home; although in a bit of an irony, he never won the CalChess Scholastic Championships!

The winners faced stiff competition from IM Ricardo DeGuzman, IM Dmitry Zilberstein and two teenagers: FM Steven Zierk and NM Greg Young. DeGuzman, Zierk and Young tied for third at 4.0/6, with Young claiming top U2300 honors as well. One interesting tidbit: Shankland, Kraai, DeGuzman and Zierk completed a quad amongst themselves, drawing every single game. (Photo of Shankland versus Kraai at top right.) With a performance over 2600 for his last 12 rated games, Zierk (photo at right) will break 2400 USCF.

The tournament attracted 153 players, almost all from the San Francisco Bay Area. Organizer Salman Azhar of BayAreaChess.com paid out 100% of the $8,100 advertised prize fund, even though it was based on 166 paid entries. In a sure sign of the future, at least 60% of the players were kids, including a majority of the prize winners. And here's one unusual sight: a WIM and a FM played *up* in the Expert section!?

• Final crosstables and Prize winners
• USCF rating report
• Fpawn's Slideshow on Flickr
• Awesome Photos by Richard Shorman
  

State Champions!

• Master: IM Sam Shankland and GM Jesse Kraai; U2300: NM Greg Young
  
• Expert: Karim Seada
• Class A: James Kwok
• Class B: Thadeus Frei (6-0!!)
  
• Class C: Jonathan Uesato and Udit Iyengar
• Class D/E: Leyton Ho; U1200: Rupa Gudiseva
  

US Chess League Semifinals: San Francisco vs Miami

In recent years, the San Francisco Bay Area sports franchises have not performed well. The A's 49ers, Raiders, Warriors and Earthquakes all try to out-stink each other. At least the Giants and Sharks have been competitive of late, although the hockey team seems allergic to winning playoff matches. College sports fans may look forward to the 112th Big Game, although few would have predicted before the season that Stanford, not Cal, has a chance to play in the Rose Bowl. Go Stanford! Beat Cal!!

Fortunately, at least one San Francisco franchise has made the playoffs for five straight seasons! Congratulations to the Mechanics, competing in the US Chess League, for making local fans proud. The Mechanics finished at 6.5-3.5 in the regular season standings, earning second place in the competitive Western Division.

Featuring four strong Grandmasters and three International Masters each with two GM norms, the team has strength and depth unparalleled in the league. This season, the Mechanics' captain IM John Donaldson submitted four different lineups featuring Grandmasters on both boards 1 and 2: Josh Friedel + Jesse Kraai (see photo at left), Patrick Wolff + Kraai, Wolff + Vinay Bhat and Kraai + Bhat. In fact, the 2469 rated lineup of Friedel, Kraai, IM Sam Shankland and NM Yian Liou likely was the strongest in the history of the league, at least by numbers.

However, the formula of success for the San Francisco team always has been the play of talented (and underrated) juniors on boards 3 and 4. This year's roster included four members age 18 or younger: IM Shankland, FM Daniel Naroditsky, NM Gregory Young and NM Yian Liou (see photo at right). The first three were veterans, having participated already in previous years. Newcomer Yian Liou, the #2 ranked 12 year old in the nation, turned out to be the team's star! Playing in all but two weeks, Yian scored 6.5 out of 9 for a performance rating of 2412, including wins against IM Mehmed Pasalic of Chicago and WFM Bayaraa Zorigt of Dallas.

Tonight, the Mechanics face the Miami Sharks in the semifinal round of the playoffs! These rivals squared off twice in the regular season, with the local boys winning 3:1 in week 3 and drawing 2:2 in week 6. But the playoffs have favored Miami over the years, with the Sharks eliminating the Mechanics in both 2005 and 2007. Who will win this year? Tune into ICC between 5:30 and 9:00 to watch the action LIVE!

Playoff Semifinals: San Francisco vs Miami

1. GM Jesse Kraai vs GM Julio Becerra 1/2
   
2. IM Blas Lugo vs GM Vinay Bhat 0-1
   
3. IM David Pruess vs IM Alejandro Moreno Roman 0-1
   
4. NM Eric Rodriguez vs NM Yian Liou 1-0
   

UPDATE on Monday night: It was not to be! San Francisco got pummeled on three boards and lost 1.5:2.5. Congrats to the Sharks and good luck in the USCL Championship!

UPDATE on Wednesday night: Read the thorough post mortem by team captain IM John Donaldson at the Mechanics' blog.

Kiddie Plays with Fire in US Chess League

(White to move and win! What short combination did GM Jesse Kraai play to force resignation? Hint: remember that opposite colored bishops always favor the attacker.)

The San Francisco Mechanics faced their stiffest test to date last Wednesday evening against the undefeated Miami Sharks. Led by the most dominant player in the US Chess League, Grandmaster Julio Becerra, the challengers from South Florida appeared poised to play the locals tough, perhaps motivated by a 4.5-4.5 record over the past four years.

While Becerra indeed earned his customary full point with the white pieces, the Mechanics cleaned up on the other boards to secure an important 3-1 victory. GM Jesse Kraai (photo at left) solved the diagram above for his first ever league win while the youngsters IM Sam Shankland and NM Yian Liou both outplayed their opponents in the Najdorf to improve to +2 on the season. Sam pushed hard to win as black in a sharp line while "Kiddie" calmly milked a pair of connected passed pawns from his small opening advantage as white.

Three rounds into the ten week season, the San Francisco squad sits atop the Western Division standings with 2.5-0.5. They already faced the teams tied for second, tying 2:2 with Seattle and defeating Miami 3:1. Two team members appear in the latest league MVP rankings, with the 2009 CalChess High School co-champion (Yian) debuting at #8 and the 2008 World U18 co-champion (Sam) at #9. 12-year old Yian (see photo at right) looks a wee bit out of place as the only NM on this list full of GMs and IMs!

Week 3: Miami 1.0-3.0 San Francisco

1. GM Julio Becerra vs GM Josh Friedel 1-0
   
2. GM Jesse Kraai vs FM Bruci Lopez 1-0
3. IM Blas Lugo vs IM Sam Shankland 0-1
   
4. NM Yian Liou vs NM Ernesto Alvarez 1-0

The fourth round sees the Mechanics matched up against the Chicago Blaze. Team captain and historian IM John Donaldson is well aware that the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club already survived the Great San Francisco Fire of 1906. Unwilling to take chances just in case the Blaze would be fueled by 2009 US Champion Yury Shulman, Donaldson tapped the Mechanics' biggest water guns: GM Josh Friedel, GM Kraai, IM Shankland and NM Liou. Using the latest online ratings, this is the highest rated lineup ever seen in the US Chess League at a whopping 2494 USCF!

The last two weeks, elite teams from Dallas and Miami tried to match up evenly on the top boards. The strategy did not work very well--both lost convincingly by 3:1 scores! Chicago took the opposite approach: win board 4 at all cost and pray for the best on the top boards. On paper, this is a mismatch! The Chicago players are lower rated by at least 130 points on every board; the average rating of all four boards is 2416, fully 78 points less!

Certainly IM Mehmed Pasalic is the heavy favorite to hand the Mechanics' young board 4 his first league loss. Now up 1-0, Chicago simply needs the recent trend of blunders throughout the league to continue. Perhaps Josh may hallucinate another knight sacrifice, or Jesse drop another piece to a double attack, or Sam become distracted by the latest chick he met on BART. This is the US Chess League, where chess nuts crack!

Will this match be a mismatch or will it be decided by blunders? Watch the action LIVE on the Internet Chess Club beginning Monday evening at 5:30pm PDT. Log in and type "/finger USCL" for links to the games.

Week 4: Chicago vs San Francisco (Update: SF won 2.5-1.5)

1. IM Jan van de Mortel (2456) vs GM Josh Friedel (2601) 1/2
   
2. GM Jesse Kraai (2584) vs FM Florin Felecan (2452) 1-0
   
3. IM Angelo Young (2398) vs IM Sam Shankland (2564) 1-0
   
4. NM Yian Liou (2226) vs IM Mehmed Pasalic (2356) 1-0
   

San Francisco Mechanics Gear Up for US Chess League

The San Francisco Mechanics finalized their roster for the upcoming season of the US Chess League. Can the local team add to a rich tradition that includes four straight winning records and the 2006 league title? To find out, watch beginning August 31 live on Wednesday (occasionally Monday) nights at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club or follow the games at the Internet Chess Club. Of course, I plan regular reports on this blog and my Twitter page.

2009 San Francisco Mechanics' Roster (first rating is 9/08; second is current)

1. GM Josh Friedel 2581 (2601 = +20) -- see photo at right
2. GM Jesse Kraai 2573 (2584 = +11)
3. GM Vinay Bhat 2481 (2491 = +10)
4. IM Sam Shankland 2398 (2534 = +136) -- age 17
   
5. IM John Donaldson 2425 (2390 = -35) -- captain
   
6. FM Danya Naroditsky 2339 (2376 = +37) -- age 13
7. NM Gregory Young 2227 (2272 = +45) -- age 14
   
8. NM Yian Liou 2019 (2226 = +207) -- age 12
   
9. (alt) GM Patrick Wolff 2623 (2623 = +0) -- his 2623 rating actually counts as 2590 for league
10. (alt) IM David Pruess 2464 (2419 = -45) -- assistant captain
    

Each week, the captain chooses four players with an average rating under 2401. Most of the key participants return from last year. The Bay Area's top rated player, GM Josh Friedel, will man the top board for a majority of the matches. GM Vinay Bhat and 2008 World U18 co-Champion IM Sam Shankland (with two GM norms) are two of the more successful players in the history of the league. 2007 World U12 Champion FM Danya Naroditsky and 2008 US Junior co-Champion NM Gregory Young offer a lethal one-two punch on boards 3 and 4. The captains are Mechanics' Institute chess director IM John Donaldson and Berkeley's own IM David Pruess.

The 2009 team adds two new faces. At the top, GM Jesse Kraai will see action on board 2 and perhaps even a couple of games on board 1. And on board 4, CalChess High School co-Champion NM Yian Liou (see photo at left) may be San Francisco's secret weapon. "Kiddie" is only 12 years old, but has already proven himself against the best that California has to offer. Continuing the Mechanics' tradition of fielding underrated juniors, Yian counts as merely 2019 for the league, while his actual rating is nearly 200 points higher at 2212. These rating points are valuable because they allow the team to field stronger players on the top boards without sacrificing strength on board 4.

For more information, check out the official San Francisco Mechanics homepage or browse through the 2009 US Chess League schedule.

CalChess Top 20 Adults -- August 2009

(Photos of the top three players in Bay Area: GM Friedel, IM Shankland and GM Kraai.)

Check out the USCF website for a list of the top 200 active players in Northern California based on the August 2009 rating supplement. If you are rated 1870 or above, you can look up your official state ranking! This census includes 10 senior masters, a total of 50 masters and 59 experts.

I took into account several players who no longer live here plus a couple who have not played since summer 2008 to generate the following list of CalChess Top 20 Adults. I also included top rated and two-time state champion GM Josh Friedel, who resides in El Cerrito but remains registered under New Hampshire.

1			GM JOSH FRIEDEL	2612
2			IM SAM SHANKLAND	2564
3			GM JESSE KRAAI	2552
4			GM VINAY BHAT	2504
5			IM ANDREI FLOREAN	2487
6			IM DMITRY ZILBERSTEIN	2437
7			IM RICARDO DEGUZMAN	2419
8			IM DAVID PRUESS	2418
9			FM VLADIMIR STRUGATSKY	2414
10			IM JOHN DONALDSON	2408
11			IM VLADIMIR MEZENTSEV	2392
12			IM EMORY TATE	2372
13			FM DANIEL NARODITSKY	2371
14			FM RONALD CUSI	2325
15			IM GANBOLD ODONDOO	2322
16			DANIEL SCHWARZ	2313
17			STEVEN ZIERK	2312
18			RICHARD LOBO	2299
19			MICHAEL PEARSON	2290
20			FM BELA EVANS	2282