NM Gabriel Bick

Gabe played GM Kudrin in Reno. (Credit: Joseph Bick)

Kudos to Gabriel Bick for earning the National Master title!  He cracked 2200 by scoring 3-0 at a Bay Area Chess tournament Cupertino.  He had held GM Walter Browne to a draw over Memorial Day, his first against a GM.  By my count, 22 local juniors can now call themselves masters (although a few have since dropped under 2200).  Gabe also became my 10th private student to achieve this lifetime distinction.  Woohoo!

Larry Evans Memorial in Reno

Downtown Reno on Virginia Street.

The Larry Evans Memorial in Reno on Easter weekend--just a week away--has always been one of my favorite events. The trip up into the mountains truly feels like a mini-vacation. Each year, the two Reno tournaments attract more chess players than most of the adult events that the Bay Area has to offer--only the Golden State Open can compare.  Plus there's the opportunity to watch, learn from and compete with strong masters.  Grandmasters Sergey Kudrin and Alexander Ivanov shared top honors last year with FM John Bryant.

After a disappointingly sparse turnout in 2012 (only 149 players), I expect to see a rebound this year.  The long-range forecasts call for pleasant spring weather.  Already 91 players have been registered, including five Grandmasters (Ivanov, Kudrin, Sevillano, Khachiyan and Browne) and three International Masters (Mezentsev, Odondoo and Formanek).  Plus, some of "the usual suspects" have not signed up yet.

• Event: Larry Evans Memorial (formerly Far West Open)
• Dates: March 29-31
• Location: Sands Regency Hotel in Reno, NV
• Format: 6 rounds in 5 sections: Open, A, B, C, U1400
• Time control: 40/2, G/1 (maximum length game can go 6 hours)
• Entry fee: $133-137 + $22 late fee
• Prize fund: $21,000 based on 250 entries (2/3 guaranteed)
• See this website for complete details.
• Check advance entries by section
• Rating report from 2012.

Look for this sign from I-80.

This tournament last year was my first since surgery in 2010.  I had fun despite being able to only play three rounds.  I hope to play more this year, if health permits.  After facing three opponents age 10 last year, I look forward to being paired with someone, anyone, a wee bit older.  Say hello to me if you read this blog. 

A final note to chess parents: I know conventional wisdom says that casinos and kids do not mix well, but this tournament seems to be an exception. Dozens of kids rated from 800 to 2400 play each year. I recommend to request the Regency or Dynasty tower while reserving your hotel room so that the kids can take the elevator directly to the playing hall without walking through the casino.  This weekend is also the final opportunity to practice before SuperNationals in Nashville, TN.

Western States Open Report on US Chess Online

(Photo of GM Kudrin playing against GM Sadvakasov in round 5.)

My final report on the 26th Western States Open has been posted at Chess Life Online. The article focuses on the results in the Open section. I annotated five games, including the critical round 5 pairing between Grandmasters Sergey Kudrin from Connecticut and Darmen Sadvakasov from Kazakhstan. Kudrin won that game and took clear first place.

• Official website with crosstables
• Rating report on USCF website
• Photo album and slideshow (over 60 photos)
• All blog posts on Western States Open
  

Kudos to these players from Northern California who finished near the top of their sections.

Open:
1st U2500 GM Vinay Bhat, East Bay
2nd U2300 NM Michael Aigner, NM Steven Zierk, IM Walter Shipman, Rohan Agarwal, Dana Mackenzie

Expert:
1st-2nd Igor Margulis, San Francisco

Class A:
1st Hayk Manvelyan, East Bay

Class B:
1st-6th Richard Haggstrom, Sacramento
1st-6th Kesav Viswanadha, South Bay
1st-6th Robert Russo, Sacramento

Class C:
1st-3rd Sam Young, Sacramento

Class D:
1st-2nd Suraj Nair, Sacramento
1st-2nd Darren Chapla, Chico

Class E:
1st Merak Arriola, East Bay
2nd-3rd Larry Webb, Sierra foothills
2nd-3rd Colin Chow, Sacramento

Wrap-up of the Western States Open

Click here for the crosstables on the Reno chess website. The tournament has been USCF rated.

I returned home after a long and tiring weekend in Reno and slept in my familiar bed again. Reno has always been one of my favorite destinations, but this year's Western States Open was up and down both at the chess board and away from it. My wheelchair problem (see previous blog entry) distracted me a lot, although fortunately, my joystick worked well after I "fixed" it using my finger. Nonetheless, I blundered left and right in my final three games, still somehow scoring 1.5/3 after my last round opponent repeated moves in a winning position. Maybe I was more frustrated than usual because all of my opponents were from Northern California. My final score of 3.0/6 (two wins, two losses, a draw and a bye) was good for $135 in prize money, but I lost 3 USCF and 4 FIDE rating points. I picked up another $120 net from gambling. It could have been worse. :-\

Most of my half dozen students finished with respectable results. On the bright side, Nicholas (photo at upper left) was undefeated at 4.0/6 in the A section and 11 year old Yian (photo at upper right) gained valuable experience from 3.5/6 in the Expert section. NM Steven Zierk continued two contradictory streaks: he remained undefeated lifetime against Grandmasters by drawing with Alex Yermolinsky in round 1, but he also added to an otherwise mediocre record against IMs and 2400s. Getting to 2300 and beyond was never supposed to be easy. Congratulations to Sacramento area 12 year old Suraj (see photo at right) for winning the D section on tiebreaks with 5.0/6!

I expect the organizers to upload the final standings and submit the tournament for rating by Wednesday. In the meantime, please check out over 60 photos at Flickr: click to view the album or the slideshow.

My final report will appear at the USCF homepage later this week. Kudos to GM Sergey Kudrin for taking top honors at 5.0/6. Three tied for 2nd at 4.5: GM Jaan Ehlvest, GM Melik Khachiyan and IM Enrico Sevillano (photos below from left to right).