NorCal Top Adults - March 2014

GM Sam Shankland

GM Daniel Naroditsky

A quintet of Grandmasters headlines the list of active chess masters in Northern California.  The top rated pair, Sam Shankland and Daniel Naroditsky, will proudly represent the Bay Area at the 2014 US Championship in St. Louis beginning on May 8.  Can Shanky or Danya join the local veterans Walter Browne (6-time winner) and Nick De Firmian (3-time winner) as national champions?  Good luck guys!

NorCal Top 20 Adults - March 2014

1. GM Shankland, Sam 2698 USCF 2611 FIDE
2. GM Naroditsky, Daniel A 2632 2543 
3. GM De Firmian, Nick E 2582 2509 
4. GM Kraai, Jesse 2574 2518 
5. IM De Guzman, Ricardo 2487 2406 
6. IM Li, Wen Liang 2481 2429 
7. FM De La Cruz, Alfredo 2480 2336 
8. SM Sharma, Arun 2478 2398 
9. FM Liou, Yian 2475 2387 
10. GM Browne, Walter 2474 2444 
11. IM Mezentsev, Vladimir 2432 2356 
12. IM Donaldson, William John 2413 2390 
13. IM Pruess, David 2407 2347 
14. IM Kaufman, Ray 2401 2332 
15. FM Silber, Henning 2378 2267 
16. NM Ishkhanov, Tigran 2369 2298 
17. NM Manvelyan, Hayk 2354 2265 
18. FM Wheeler, Cameron 2345 2229 
19. IM Ganbold, Odondo 2338 2327 
20. NM Viswanadha, Kesav 2334 2194 

List adapted from Fpawn Chess
Photo credit Bay Area International 

NorCal Top 20 Masters

GM Sam Shankland in Ningbo, China

FM Yian Liou in Chongqing, China.

Check out the Top 20 Masters in Northern California ranked by their August USCF or FIDE rating.  The top 7 names are identical, and should be familiar to the readers.  The young stars GM Sam Shankland, GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky and FM Yian Liou spent the summer trotting across the country (St. Louis, New York and Washington DC) and flying around the globe (China, Spain, Germany and Latvia), at each destination playing the royal game and representing the USA.

Unfortunately, there are no juniors under age 16 to be found on the international rankings, and just one on the national list.  Indeed, I count merely five players (six on USCF) under age 30, with four of those near the top.  Perhaps we should investigate the "graying of California chess masters" under 2475 USCF or 2400 FIDE.  The Nachwuchs, currently represented only by 13-year old NM Colin Chow, better arrive soon!

	TOP 20 USCF			TOP 20 FIDE
Rank	Name	USCF		Name	FIDE
1	GM Shankland, Sam	2673		GM Shankland, Sam	2599
2	GM DeFirmian, Nick	2586		GM DeFirmian, Nick	2509
3	GM-e Naroditsky, Daniel	2570		GM-e Naroditsky, Daniel	2503
4	IM Zierk, Steven	2543		IM Zierk, Steven	2485
5	GM Browne, Walter	2525		GM Browne, Walter	2454
6	FM Liou, Yian	2491		FM Liou, Yian	2402
7	SM Sharma, Arun	2478		SM Sharma, Arun	2398
8	IM Zilberstein, Dmitry	2454		IM DeGuzman, Ricardo	2397
9	IM Mezentsev, Vladimir	2441		IM Donaldson, John	2390
10	IM DeGuzman, Ricardo	2439		IM Zilberstein, Dmitry	2389
11	IM Pruess, David	2431		IM Mezentsev, Vladimir	2364
12	IM Donaldson, John	2413		IM Pruess, David	2363
13	IM Kaufman, Ray	2408		IM Kaufman, Ray	2326
14	NM Ishkhanov, Tigran	2379		NM Ishkhanov, Tigran	2314
15	IM Tate, Emory	2362		IM Winslow, Elliott	2300
16	NM Manvelyan, Hayk	2340		IM Tate, Emory	2284
17	FM Lee, Andy	2316		FM Cusi, Ronald	2272
18	NM Chow, Colin	2313		NM Manvelyan, Hayk	2270
19	FM Porter, Ryan	2308		FM Cunningham, Robin	2266
20	IM Winslow, Elliott	2280		FM Lee, Andy	2260

CalChess Top 20 Adults -- October 2010

(Photos of the top Bay Area chess masters: #2 IM Sam Shankland, #1 GM Vinay Bhat and #6 FM Daniel Naroditsky.)

Eight months have passed since I last posted the Top 20 Adults list for Northern California. I can report relatively few changes; most notably Japanese FM Shinsaku Uesugi began attending UC Berkeley. The top junior, 14 year old FM Daniel Naroditsky, moved up three spots to #6 after gaining 56 points to 2482. And a few players returned to the rankings after briefly dropping off due to inactivity (e.g. GM Walter Browne).

The four former residents of the GM House in El Cerrito (it closed last May) still occupy the top spots, with GM Vinay Bhat ranked #1 by a single point over US Junior Champion IM Sam Shankland. Both Vinay and Sam spend time outside of the Bay Area; Vinay travels around Europe (primarily Spain) while Sam started classes at Brandeis University (in Boston). By the way, if you enjoy studying well annotated games, then I highly recommend bookmarking Vinay's chess blog.

CalChess Top 20 Masters
(Fpawn's former students in red)

1 GM Bhat, Vinay 2560
2 IM Shankland, Sam 2559
3 GM Friedel, Josh 2554
4 GM Kraai, Jesse 2551
5 GM Browne, Walter 2520
6 FM Naroditsky, Daniel 2482
7 IM Florean, Andrei 2477
8 IM DeGuzman, Ricardo 2460
9 SM Kotlyar, Gregory 2435
10 FM Zierk, Steven 2431
11 IM Zilberstein, Dmitry 2421
12 IM Pruess, David 2411
13 FM Uesugi, Shinsaku 2399
14 IM Mezentsev, Vladimir 2394
15 IM Donaldson, John 2389
16 IM Tate, Emory 2389
17 IM Grefe, John 2340
18 FM Lee, Andy 2340
19 FM Cusi, Ronald 2332
20 NM Young, Gregory 2328

CalChess Top 20 Adults -- February 2010

Surprise, there's a new name leading the Northern California rating list! For several years, the local 500-lb panda was GM Josh Friedel, top board for the San Francisco Mechanics and resident of the infamous GM House in El Cerrito. However, Josh was recently passed by GM Vinay Bhat, the popular San Jose native who rose through the ranks in the mid 1990s while playing nearly every weekend all around the Bay Area.

For all his life, Vinay (photo at right from SPICE 2009, photo below unknown) chased records set by others, such as when he became the youngest USCF master at 10 years, 6 months (broken twice since). He finally reached the top of the hill here in California, ironically while traveling over the hills of Europe, competing in strong chess festivals against dozens of Grandmasters. Despite not playing in America, Vinay's USCF rating jumped upwards in large part thanks to a controversial new regulation that converts overseas events into USCF rating points.

There are three newcomers to this edition of the Top 20 list. FM Andrey Chumachenko returned to the Sacramento Chess Club after spending about five years in North Carolina. SM Gregory Kotlyar and FM Robin Cunningham participated in the CalChess State Championship on Thanksgiving weekend after taking many years off.

CalChess Top 20 Masters (USCF Rating, FIDE Rating)

1. GM Bhat, Vinay (2606, 2540)
2. GM Friedel, Josh (2601, 2549)
3. GM Kraai, Jesse (2549, 2509)
4. IM Shankland, Sam (2546, 2491)
5. FM Chumachenko, Andrey (2449, 2325)
6. IM DeGuzman, Ricardo (2443, 2406)
7. SM Kotlyar, Gregory (2435, 2306)
8. IM Zilberstein, Dmitry (2429, 2391)
9. FM Naroditsky, Daniel (2426, 2337)
10. IM Pruess, David (2423, 2391)
11. FM Zierk, Steven (2417, 2359)
12. FM Strugatsky, Vladimir (2414, 2390)
13. IM Donaldson, John (2390, 2394)
14. IM Mezentsev, Vladimir (2380, 2367)
15. IM Tate, Emory (2380, 2322)
16. NM Schwarz, Daniel (2349, 2232)
17. FM Cusi, Ronald (2325, 2322)
18. IM Ganbold, Odondoo (2322, 2346)
19. NM Lee, Andy (2315, 2273)
20. FM Cunningham, Robin (2289, 2304)
    

CalChess Top 20 Adults -- December 2009

The December rating list is considered the 'annual' supplement by the US Chess Federation. With this in mind, I compiled the Top 20 chess players in CalChess, including both adults and elite juniors. Check out this link on the USCF website for a longer list of 200 players, dropping down into the 1800s.

The big mover this fall was 16 year old FM Steven Zierk (photo by Shorman at right), who jumped from 2312 over the summer to 2401 after the State Championship on Thanksgiving weekend. The bulk of the increase came at the Western States Open in Reno, where "Zkid" shocked GM Loek van Wely with this miniature, drew with two other Grandmasters and beat strong IM Enrico Sevillano. Another successful local player was GM Vinay Bhat (photo by Truong at top left), who gained 67 USCF and 36 FIDE rating points at two tournaments: the Montreal International and the SPICE Cup at Texas Tech University.

CalChess Top 20 Masters (USCF Rating, FIDE Rating)

1	GM Friedel, Josh	2609	2551
2	GM Bhat, Vinay	2566	2510
3	GM Kraai, Jesse	2545	2509
4	IM Shankland, Sam	2541	2486
5	IM Florean, Andrei	2484	2420
6	IM DeGuzman, Ricardo	2453	2404
7	IM Zilberstein, Dmitry	2432	2392
8	IM Pruess, David	2419	2389
9	FM Strugatsky, Vladimir	2414	2390
10	IM Donaldson, John	2390	2394
11	FM Zierk, Steven	2387	2306
12	FM Naroditsky, Danya	2375	2339
13	IM Mezentsev, Vladimir	2367	2383
14	FM Cusi, Ronald	2325	2322
15	IM Ganbold, Odondoo	2322	2346
16	NM Schwarz, Daniel	2313	2232
17	NM Lee, Andy	2305	2273
18	FM Evans, Bela	2282	2262
19	NM Pearson, Michael	2280	2167
20	FM Cunningham, Robin	2279	2302

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