Play Chess in Reno Next Weekend!

To those readers not flying to Greece on Sunday, I highly recommend the annual Western States Open in Reno starting in just five days. Unfortunately, I can't attend one of my favorite events because of an extended illness.

The Western States is one of the largest and strongest annual chess events west of the Continental Divide. Come to watch the Grandmasters play! Organizer Jerry Weikel, his wife Fran and the entire staff work diligently to make the weekend as enjoyable as possible for all. In fact, the Western States draws more players from Northern California than any local adult event except Labor Day. If you still have doubts, check out my article in the February 2008 issue of Chess Life about the 25th anniversary tournament in 2007.

• Event: Western States Open
• Dates: October 22-24
• Location: Sands Regency in Reno (map)
  
• Format: 6 round swiss in six sections (Open, Expert, A, B, C, U1400)
  
• Schedule: Registration: Fri 9-10. Rounds: Fri 12, 7, Sat 10, 6, Sun 9:30, 4.
• Time control: 40/2, 20/1, SD/30 (up to seven hours!)
  
• Prize fund: $37,000 based on 400 players, $25,000 guaranteed.
  
• For more information, visit the Reno Chess Club website.
• At this late date, register on-site on Thursday evening or Friday morning.
  
• Click here for the advance entry list (149 entries).
  

Although the tournament is held at a casino, the chess rooms are on the second floor, above the gambling floor. Surprisingly, the chess event is actually quite kid-friendly. One suggestion: If you request a room in the Regency or Dynasty towers, the children can ride the elevators between your hotel room and the tournament hall without passing through the casino at all.

Many students find it difficult to attend because of school. If you can, skip classes on Friday; otherwise take a round 1 bye and drive up in the early afternoon. Unlike most other 3-day tournaments, Reno doesn't offer a 2-day schedule. Despite this conflict, plenty of local juniors play in Reno each year, including many of my students.

Postscript: Students of mine may wish to visit my house in Davis on the way to or from Reno. I live just two minutes away from I-80. While I am sick, I would love to say hi. Please email me if you're interested.

Steven Zierk Defeats GM Loek Van Wely!

Playing on the top board tonight at the Western States Open in Reno, FM Steven Zierk scalped former world class Grandmaster Loek Van Wely of Holland. Although Van Wely no longer competes with Kasparov and company, he remains a formidable opponent rated 2733 USCF and 2650 FIDE. Check out the spectacular 27 move long attacking game below. Even Tal may have been impressed. Way to go Steven!!

Play online chess

Countdown to Western States Open

(Photos from past Reno tournaments: parking lot entrance, playing room and lecture hosted by GM Larry Evans and organizer Jerry Weikel.)

The Western States Open in Reno is one of my favorite events to play. I participated in every WSO since 2000, a streak which will end this year because of the timing of my family's annual vacation. Nonetheless, a number of my top students will attend. Check out the advance entry list at the Reno tournament website.

The two annual Reno events offer the opportunity to escape the hassles of work or school. The organizers, Jerry and Fran Weikel, and the Sands Regency Hotel go out of their way to keep players happy. No wonder they come back year after year! The Open section will be strong with a dozen or more GMs and IMs. Even with the poor economy, I am sure that the attendance will approach 300 players, more than any Bay Area adult tournament. The advance entry list shows 170 names as of last Thursday!

Some parents are shy about Reno because of the casino atmosphere. Rest assured that the chess tournament maintains a quiet family-friendly atmosphere. Second-hand smoke has decreased since 2007 when Nevada banned smoking except on the casino floor. I recommend that parents request a room in either the Regency or Dynasty towers so that the kids can take the elevator straight up from the playing hall to your hotel room. Then you only pass through the casino on the way to restaurants.

Best of luck to all players! May all your pawns promote!

RIP Jay Blem (1957-2009)

I don't like posting such sad news on my blog, but make an exception to reflect on the life of a true gentleman and dedicated fan of the royal game. Most of us knew Jay Blem as tournament director, bookseller, demo board helper and simply as the guy with all of the answers. He would strike up a friendly conversation with anyone, whether about chess, sports, politics or just about any other topic. Readers of this blog may remember him as the bookstore guy and assistant TD in Reno; he also sold books at Bay Area tournaments in the 1990s and early 2000s. Jay Blem was just 51 years old when he moved on to a higher chess board, a life taken way too young.

I knew Jay for at least 10 years and always enjoyed the opportunity to chat with him in Reno or in Los Angeles. He was often the first chess player that I would meet after arriving at a tournament. Frankly, he will be missed a lot and by many!

Please read this obituary written by his sister at the Southern California Chess Federation website. A memorial service is scheduled for October 11 in Ontario, CA. I anticipate another tribute to him at the upcoming Western States Open on October 23-25.

To close, I compiled the following quotes from the USCF Forums and Facebook:

• I was shocked to hear the news. Jay did a great job selling books and equipment for many years at the North American Open in Las Vegas, and was always friendly and helpful. He left us much too young. -- Former USCF President Bill Goichberg
• So very sorry to hear of this. Jay was a fine man and his wit just blossomed in private. -- Allan Fifield (Visalia)
  
• What a great loss -- As a friend, and friend of the game. -- Barbara Rainey (Reno)
• Jay was a great person and always happy about everything. I have worked with Jay at numerous events and he was an awesome person. I think he was liked by all. Jay, you will be missed! -- Alan Kantor, USCF Staff
• There are many very nice folks in our chess community, and Jay was among the best-liked and most enjoyable of them all. I, too, shall miss his presence. Rest in peace, friend. -- Hal Bogner (Half Moon Bay)
  

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).

Update From Reno

I have been unable to post on this blog in two days due to a hectic tournament schedule and some unexpected trouble with my wheelchair. On Friday night, the joystick on my control box became loose and a safety feature prevented me from even turning the power on. After the round 2 game, my opponent GM Vinay Bhat (photo at top left) kindly pushed the wheelchair to my hotel room. For about 18 hours, I was stuck. Then in a classic moment of engineering, my dad and I stuck our fingers into the joystick, wiggled them around and presto! I still do not know exactly what went wrong.

To make a long story short, I have two wins, one loss to GM Bhat and an emergency half point bye in round 3 for a total score of 2.5/4. I should face a GM or IM on Sunday morning. Kudos to my student NM Steven Zierk (photo at top right) for continuing his undefeated record against Grandmasters by drawing with GM Alex Yermolinsky in the first round. He now has 2.0/4 after losing to IM Enrico Sevillano. My other students are entered in the Expert and A sections--all with mixed results so far.

Check out my Western States Open story on Chess Life Online and the accompanying slideshow on my Flickr album. I hope to update more photos later today.

In other news: Viswanathan Anand leads the World Chess Championship by 2.5-1.5 after winning with black in game 3 on Friday. I have updated the right sidebar after each game. Also, the World Youth Chess Championship begins tonight in Vietnam. Local representatives are FM Danya Naroditsky in U14, FM Sam Shankland in U18 and Alisha Chawla in GirlsU8. I will have more coverage of both major events over the coming weeks.

Fpawn Has Landed in Reno

Hello readers from the self-proclaimed "Biggest Little City in the World": Reno, Nevada! I arrived a day early for the 26th annual Western States Open chess tournament that begins at noon on Friday. The main event draws about 350 players of all ratings, including at least 15 Grandmasters and International Masters, making this one of the strongest annual events on the West Coast. Many players, myself included, return each year in part because of the hospitality by organizer Jerry Weikel and the Sands Regency hotel.

I expect to post occasional updates on this blog. Seven of my students will join me this weekend for some serious fun on the 64 squares. Make sure to also check Chess Life Online for the two or three columns that I will write over the next five days.

• Official website
• Advance entry list
• My photo collection on Flickr (I will add more pictures throughout the weekend)
• Story in February 2008 issue of Chess Life about last year's event
  

Western States Open

Update on October 9: I sorted the advance entry list by section and rating using Excel, and have posted the document on my website. There are presently 187 players signed up, on target for a turnout in the 300s.

The Western States Open is one of my favorite annual tournaments. It is also one of the largest and strongest annual chess events west of the Continental Divide. Organizer Jerry Weikel and his staff work to make the weekend as enjoyable as possible for all. In fact, the Western States draws more players from Northern California than any local adult event except Labor Day. If you still have doubts, read my story in the February 2008 issue of Chess Life about last year's 25th anniversary tournament.

Unfortunately, the October tournament in Reno is a bit difficult for many children to attend. Either you miss school on Friday or you need to take a round 1 bye and drive up in the early afternoon (maybe cutting class for the last hour or two). There is no 2-day schedule in Reno, unlike most other big tournaments. Despite the conflicts, I expect to see a number of local juniors up in Reno, including about a half dozen of my students. Wish us luck!

• Event: Western States Open
  
• Dates: October 17-19
• Location: Sands Regency Hotel and Casino in Reno, NV
• Format: 6 round swiss in 7 sections (Open, Expert, A, B, C, D, U1200)
  
• Schedule: Reg: Fri 8:30-10. Rounds: Fri 12, 7, Sat 10, 6, Sun 9:30, 4.
• Time control: 40/2, 20/1, SD/30 (total of up to seven hours)
  
• Prize fund: $40,000 based on 400 players.
  
• Visit the Reno Chess Club website for entry forms.
• Click on the advance entry list.
  

Although this tournament is hosted at a casino, the chess venue is on the second floor, above the gambling floor. The event is quite kid-friendly and many juniors play each year. If you request a room in the Regency or Dynasty towers, you can take the elevators between your room and the tournament hall without passing through the casino. See you in Reno!