Sacramento Team Champ Is Underway

(Left: Heiserman white against Lazetich. Right: Micah Cohen white against MacFarland. Photos taken by cell phone.)


The annual Team Championship at the Sacramento Chess Club began last week with nine teams and over 60 players. Each team fields six boards rated under 1750 average, with up to three alternates allowed. The premiere event of the club brings back folks who rarely attend the rest of the year. I counted 5 masters, another 5 experts and over a dozen experienced A players. No doubt the competition on the top three boards will be fierce! Round-robin play continues through March 24, although each team gets a bye.

The defending champions from UC Davis, named after the university mascot Gunrock, appear heavy favorites to repeat. NM Jim Heiserman, Phillip Seitzer, Valeriy Timofeyev and John Cohen give them four players rated above 1950 to fill the top three boards; the lower boards are manned by strong unrateds typically of class B or C strength, but who count as 1300 for the team average rating. Top challengers include Pinoy Destroyers (expert Joe Escoto plus his Filipino buddies) and 2-C (formerly called B-Nam, featuring NM Jim MacFarland on top board).

My own team, Russo's Rustlers captained by rapidly improving A player Joe Russo, might also finish in the top half of the field. (The photo at right shows Robert struggling as black against my student Nicholas Karas.) Unfortunately, we seriously got our bells rung in the first round by Gunrock's Heroes. I have never been on the wrong side of a 5.5-0.5 score before! I even lost to Phillip Seitzer due to tactical blindness and poor time management. Thanks to Marvin Gilbert for avoiding the shutout with a draw on board 4. Fortunately, the team bounced back 4-2 against King Hunters, with me sitting out.

Team Standings after round 2 (MP, GP, top board)

1. Gunrock's Heroes (2.0, 10.5, NM Jim Heiserman)
2. Pinoy Destroyers (2.0, 10.5, Joe Escoto)
   
3. 2-C (1.0, 5.5, NM Jim MacFarland)
4. Daze N' Knights (1.0, 5.0, Micah Cohen)
5. Russo's Rustlers (1.0, 4.5, NM Michael Aigner)
6. King Hunters (0.5, 5.0, Nicholas Karas)
7. Zoki (0.5, 3.5, Ted Xiao)
   
8. Zoka (0.0, 2.5, NM Zoran Lazetich)
9. Warriors (0.0, 1.0, NM Steve Ross)

Official team standings and individual results are posted at Sacramento Chess Club website.

Sacramento Team Championship Round 5

The UC Davis Knights prevailed 3.5-2.5 in Wednesday's showdown against second place B-Nam. The match was tight throughout and it came down to the top board between NM Jimmy Heiserman and the multiple time Sacramento champion NM James MacFarland. The UCD freshman from Texas drew the game and now the Knights hold a nearly insurmountable 1.5 match lead with just two weeks to go. Congratulations!

While many had predicted a victory by the Knights, few people saw the low rated King Hunters defeating my Elk Grove squad by 4-2! When I looked up after winning a sloppy endgame on board 1, my teammates were literally staggering from a shutout on boards 2-5. I am sure to hear about this score for the rest of 2009. Big sigh!

TEAM STANDINGS (after round 5)

1. UC Davis Knights 5.0 MP, 22.0 GP
2. B-Nam 3.5 MP, 17.0 GP
3. Warriors 3.0 MP, 19.0 GP
4. UC Davis Bishops 2.5 MP, 15.5 GP
5. Elk Grove 2.0 MP, 16.5 GP
6. King Hunters 2.0 MP, 11.5 GP
7. Zoka Zoki Academy 1.0 MP, 10.0 GP
8. Daze Knights 1.0 MP, 7.5 GP

Captions for the photos, counterclockwise from top left:

• NM Jimmy Heiserman, board 1 for UCD Knights.
• NM James MacFarland, board 1 for B-Nam.
• NM Steven Ross (on left) and Alonzo McCaulley, boards 1 and 2 for Warriors.
• Mike Parmon, captain of the King Hunters, making a point to his students.
  
• Donald Dixon (on left) and William Lombard, Elk Grove team.
• Robert Russo (from left), Romeo Pilar and Bernie Lu, Elk Grove team.
  

Sacramento Team Championship Round 4

The Sacramento Chess Club Team Championship is the most popular event of the year, attracting some players on Wednesday nights who play in few other local tournaments. This year, there are eight teams of 6 players (plus 3 alternates) with an average rating under 1750 each week. The teams play a round-robin over seven weeks from February 4 until March 18.

The list of top board players is impressive: masters Zoran Lazetich, James MacFarland, Steven Ross, Jimmy Heiserman and your blogger are joined by three others rated above 2000. It is special to see so many of the active chess players in the Sacramento region turn out for this tournament.

After four rounds, two teams have separated themselves from the field. The UC Davis Knights are 4-0 with NM Heiserman and three other players rated over 1800. However, the strength of the Knights lies on the bottom boards, where they field several unrated players. Jamshid Alamehzadeh's B-Nam team trails close behind at 3.5-0.5, featuring NM MacFarland and two 1900s. Tied for third place at 2-2, but unfortunately well out of contention, are Elk Grove (my team) and Warriors (Joe Birt's team with NM Ross).

TEAM STANDINGS (after round 4)

1. UC Davis Knights 4.0 MP, 18.5 GP
2. B-Nam 3.5 MP, 14.5 GP
3. Elk Grove 2.0 MP, 14.5 GP
4. Warriors 2.0 MP, 14.0 GP
5. UC Davis Bishops 1.5 MP, 11.0 GP
6. Zoka Zoki Academy 1.0 MP, 9.0 GP
7. King Hunters 1.0 MP, 7.5 GP
8. Daze Knights 1.0 MP, 5.0 GP