Bay Area Kids at Nationals in Dallas

Over 20 CalChess juniors and their parents made the trek to Dallas for the National Scholastic K-12 Championships this weekend. The kids compete among 1200 young chess players in one of 13 sections, one for each grade level from Kindergarten to 12th grade. By Sunday afternoon, all will have finished seven tough rounds at the time control of G/90. Can any of our kids bring home a trophy? The local delegation actually did quite well last year in Orlando: Kyle Shin (photo below, eating Texas sized ribs) won 5th grade, Arun Khemani won Kindergarten and five others earned either a place trophy or honorable mention.

Since most of the Bay Area kids are ranked near the top of their section, the two rounds on Friday were supposed to be just a warm-up. Not surprisingly, 11 have perfect 2-0 scores before going to bed. However, the three rounds on Saturday should be a wee bit more challenging. Go ChessPunks!

Click here for the official pairings and standings.

FINAL Local Standings
Highlights: Rayan Taghizadeh won all seven rounds to become National 2nd Grade Champion! Unfortunately, both Allan Beilin (5th) and Kyle Shin (6th) lost in the last round while sharing the lead. Bay Area kids brought home a grand total of 10 trophies.

• 1st grade: Solomon Ge 5.0 -- 9th place
• 1st grade: Josiah Stearman 4.5
  
• 2nd grade: Rayan Taghizadeh 7.0 -- National Champion!!
  
• 3rd grade: Anirudh Seela 5.0 -- 15th place
  
• 4th grade: Cameron Wheeler 6.0 -- 3rd place!
• 4th grade: Vignesh Panchanatham 5.5 -- 6th place
  
• 4th grade: Jeffrey Tao 5.5 -- 11th place
  
• 4th grade: Alvin Kong 5.0
  
• 4th grade: Siddharth Banik 5.0
  
• 4th grade: Udit Iyengar 4.5
• 5th grade: Kesav Viswanadha 6.0 -- 2nd place!
• 5th grade: Allan Beilin 5.5 -- 7th place
• 5th grade: Armaan Kalyanpur 4.5
  
• 6th grade: Kyle Shin 5.5 -- 4th place!
  
• 6th grade: Daniel Liu 5.0 -- 13th place
  

My readers may wish to hop over to an exciting new blog written by Cameron Wheeler and his father Rob. Thanks also for the frequent Twitter updates! Finally, some of the top boards from each round appear to be available at the MonRoi website (free registration).

Watch Hikaru vs Magnus on Saturday Morning!

The organizers of the 2009 London Chess Classic invited an intriguing group of eight players to the capital of England, including four from the home country plus four foreigners. The average FIDE rating is impressive at 2696. The three veterans were former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik and a pair of Englishmen who have been among the elite for many years: Nigel Short and Michael Adams. Most of the media attention, however, has focused on the younger generation, in particular two stars.

• Magnus Carlsen (photo at top left)
• 19 year old from Norway
  
• #1 in World with 2810 live rating

A growing number of chess aficionados around the globe see Carlsen as heir apparent to the throne of our royal game. Over the years, the handsome young Norwegian attracted a sizable sponsorship that other Grandmasters only can dream of. His coach is the legendary maestro Garry Kasparov, the undisputed #1 player in the World for 20 years. Imagine what Kramnik must be thinking: I thought Kasparov retired four years ago, but now I face him again through his pupil Carlsen! Read Magnus' blog here.

• Hikaru Nakamura (photo at top right)
  
• 22 year old reigning US Champion
  
• 2718 live rating

The young two-time US Champion has a strong following among American players, some who think he may become the next Bobby Fischer. Playing under the username "Smallville" on the Internet Chess Club, Nakamura holds records for highest rating in every category except for chess variants. His official FIDE rating climbed steadily and he is now ranked in the top 25 of the World. Playing in London and then Corus A next month, Nakamura hopes to convince skeptics that he belongs among the elite. Check out Hikaru's blog here or order his hot new book Bullet Chess: One Minute to Mate online at Amazon.

On Saturday, Nakamura plays against Carlsen for the first time at a classical (slow) time control. They actually squared off in the final round of a blitz tournament two weeks ago in Norway, where Nakamura prevailed by 3:1. Carlsen will definitely be eager for revenge with the white pieces. Coming off a day of rest, I wonder what special preparation Carlsen and Kasparov will have cooked up?

The game begins at 6am Pacific time, but the tension typically peaks in the third or fourth hour of play. To watch, log into ICC and open the Events list (BlitzIn) or select Events tab on the Activities Console (Dasher). If necessary, navigate using the Window menu at the top. You may also examine the completed game later in the day from the Events list.

London Chess Classic Standings
(After three rounds using 3-1-0 scoring system like soccer.)

1. 7.0 Magnus Carlsen, 2801 (+2 =1 -0)
   
2. 6.0 Vladimir Kramnik, 2772 (+2 =0 -1)
   
3. 3.0 Luke McShane, 2615 (+1 =0 -2)
   
4. 3.0 Hikaru Nakamura, 2715 (+0 =3 -0)
5. 3.0 Michael Adams, 2698 (+0 =3 -0)
6. 3.0 David Howell, 2597 (+0 =3 -0)
7. 2.0 Nigel Short, 2707 (+0 =2 -1)
   
8. 2.0 Ni Hua, 2665 (+0 =2 -1)

Today's big game was drawn in 45 moves, with Nakamura pressing towards the end.

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Saving Your Games to Library on ICC

(This screen shot of ICC's Dasher interface shows game board and library list.)

The following post was first published on November 5, 2008.
The Internet Chess Club gives each member a 300 game library. You can save your favorite online games or you can enter moves from real life tournaments. Once saved, you can show your best wins to your friends or your worst losses to your teacher. It is a good idea to enter your games soon after the tournament so that you remember what happened and can correct any mistakes in your notation. I also ask my students to upload their games so that we can review them more efficiently during class.

BlitzIn

1. To open a blank board, type /examine into any console.
2. Use your mouse to play through all of the moves.
3. Type /setwhitename Anand and /setblackname Kramnik for the player names.
4. (Optional) Type /tag whiteelo 2785 and /tag blackelo 2763 for player ratings.
5. Type /libkeep to save the game.
6. To see stored games, go to Actions Menu --> Show my personal library.
7. Right click on the game that you just entered and select Examine to play through it.
8. To manage your library, right click and use Libdelete or Libappend.
9. To save for Chessbase, Fritz or other program, right click and select Save PGN.
10. Open games from PGN file at Game Menu --> Open PGN.

Dasher

1. To open a blank board, go to Action Menu --> Enter Examination Mode
2. Use your mouse to play through all of the moves.
3. Type /setwhitename Anand and /setblackname Kramnik for the player names.
4. (Optional) Type /tag whiteelo 2785 and /tag blackelo 2763 for player ratings.
5. To store the game, click on Save to Game Library icon at top right of board.
6. To see stored games, go to View Menu --> My Profile --> Games and scroll down.
7. Right click on the game that you just entered and select Examine to play through it.
8. If you don't have Fritz, try the cool Toggle Computer Analysis Window.
9. To manage library, right click and use Delete Game or Save to Library Slot.
10. To save to Chessbase, Fritz or other program, click Save icon at top left of board.
11. Open games from PGN file by clicking on the Upload Game icon.

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

FIDE Master Tanuj Vasudeva, Youngest in USA!

Here is a kid who trots around the world with his father, having discovered the fountain of youth at the chessboard. He brought home medallions of gold and silver from his conquests in far away lands such as Argentina and Turkey. At home, he has become a veteran of adult tournaments, playing in them since his sixth birthday. While playing, he is a wizard who may checkmate before you know what hit you! His infectious smile brightens any room that he enters, earning attention from 500s and 2500s alike. He was ranked #1 in the nation for age 7 and currently checks in at #2 for age 8. Now he is #1 in the Americas and #2 in the World, both under age 8.

To those of us who know him well, his name is simply Tanuj. To everyone else, his name now comes with a set of initials: FM Tanuj Vasudeva. As in FIDE Master, a lifetime title in the World Chess Federation. By winning the Pan American Championship Under 8 in Argentina this summer, he automatically became the youngest FM in USCF history and currently the youngest in the world. Not skipping a beat, Tanuj followed up 9-0 at the Pan Am with an even more impressive silver medal at the World Youth Under 8 in Turkey. Thanks to his father Tarun for the photos from Turkey at left and right. Tanuj became the Bay Area's third medalist in as many years at World Youth, behind FM Danya Naroditsky (gold in Under 12 in 2007) and IM Sam Shankland (bronze in Under 18 in 2008).

• Name: Tanuj Vasudeva
• Title: FIDE Master
• Age: 8 years old
  
• Current ratings: 1913 USCF, unrated FIDE
  
• National ranking: #2 for age 8
  
• CalChess ranking: #4 for age U12
  
• First tournament: October 2006 (at barely 5 years old!)
  
• First established rating: 751 in January 2007
• First adult tournament: July 2007
  
• Last 12 months: gained 293 points in 108 rated games at 28 USCF tournaments
• Recent successes: Scored 9.0/9 (gold!) at Pan American Under 8 in Argentina (Aug 2009) and 8.5/11 (silver!) at World Youth Under 8 in Turkey (Nov 2009).
  
• Biggest scalps: NM Arthur Wang (Feb 2009) and 2175-rated Marek Jankowski (July 2009)
• Website/Blog: http://tanujchess.blogspot.com plus Photo Gallery
• Chess Life for Kids: Cover story "Mr. Perfect" (October 2009)
  
• In The News: NBC Bay Area (Nov 30, 2009)

Tanuj joins a rich tradition of young masters in the San Francisco Bay Area, dating back to 1995 when 10 year olds Jordy Mont-Reynaud and Vinay Bhat both broke the USCF's youngest master record in short succession. A year and a half ago, Nicholas Nip lowered the mark even further, cracking 2200 a month before his 10th birthday! At 8 1/2 years old, Tanuj has a shot at this hallowed record too. However, it seems likely that another talented Bay Area kid, Samuel Sevian, about half a year older and already rated 2123, might get there first! Stay tuned! Best of luck to Tanuj, Samuel and all of the other kids who aim for the stars.

For a sample of Tanuj's playing style, check out this ruthless attacking game from the final round of the World Youth. His opponent is Hamzah Amier of Malaysia.

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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
  

Hello from the Heart of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley becomes chess central this weekend as the CalChess State Championship takes place at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara. Defending champion IM Sam Shankland will face stiff competition from veterans GM Jesse Kraai, IM Ricardo DeGuzman, IM Dmitry Zilberstein and the red hot teenager FM Steven Zierk. With 142 players registered in advance, the attendance will likely top out between 160 and 180. BayAreaChess.com organizer Salman Azhar should be pleased (and relieved) with the turnout at his first big money tournament!

Players will be divided up into three different regions of the hotel: Master, Expert, A, B and C all play on the second floor (Bayshore room). The D and E sections (Mendocino room) and Friday scholastic tournament (Napa room) are on the ground floor. Hopefully the rowdy young kids stay far away from where the big boys do battle. We'll kindly allow an exception for 8 year old FIDE Masters. ;-)..
FINAL RESULTS

• Fpawn Twitter page
• Photo album at Flickr
• Tournament flyer
  
• Map and driving directions

I will try my best to provide limited internet coverage throughout the weekend, most likely on Twitter and perhaps by uploading photos to Flickr. No promises! I should be quite busy with over 20 students in attendance, all who want part of my attention. Hopefully my own games won't take too long, so that I have enough time to socialize, eat and still look at a few games between rounds. Wish me luck, both on and off the board!

Adult State Championship on Thanksgiving Weekend!

In a bold move, BayAreaChess.com chief organizer Dr. Salman Azhar reinvented the annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament into something bigger, stronger and more prestigious. The advertised prize fund of more than $8000 (based on 166 entries) exceeds what any local organizer has offered since the failed Firecracker Open in 2001. The event takes place at the plush Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, across the street from the Great America theme park. Veteran players may remember this hotel as the venue of the CalChess Scholastics for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s.

To my surprise, the CalChess Board designated this untested event as Northern California State Open & Class Championship. At first, it seemed strange to me to quietly move our state championship from the traditional Labor Day weekend to an untested date. Moreover, chess enthusiasts from Southern California and other western states will undoubtedly continue to attend the 45th annual American Open in Los Angeles. I even heard of a few local players traveling to LA for the larger prizes and stronger competition.

However, I am impressed by the number of advance entries so far. Already 110 participants have registered for the 3-day and 2-day schedules (not including another 50 in the 1-day scholastic side event). I project a final turnout near the "based on" number of 166, or roughly on par with this year's Labor Day festival. Not bad at all for the first year! The Master section already appears respectably strong with five International Masters, including 2008 State Champion IM Sam Shankland, plus another seven masters (three age 16 or younger).

• Event: CalChess Open State & Class Championship
  
• Date: November 27-29 (3-day) or November 28-29 (2-day)
  
• Location: Hyatt Regency at Santa Clara Convention Center, 5105 Great America Parkway (across street from Great America water park)
  
• Format: 6 round swiss in 6 sections (Open, Expert, A, B, C and D/E).
• 3-day schedule: Reg: Fri 10-10:30. Rds: Fri 11, 5:15; Sat 11, 5:15; Sun 10, 4:15.
• 2-day schedule: Reg: Sat 9-9:30. Rds: Sat 10, 12:15, 2:30, 5:15; Sun 10, 4:15.
  
• Time control: 40/2, G/1 except G/60 for rounds 1-3 of 2-day schedule.
• Entry fee: $90 for 3-day, $84 for 2-day by Sunday 11/22; $20 more on-site.
• Other fees: play up one section for $19, re-enter into 2-day schedule for $39.
  
• Prize fund: $8100 based on 166 players, including $1000 guaranteed for 1st place in Master section and $500 for 1st place in lower sections ($300 for D/E).
  
• Tournament flyer
• Orientation page
  
• Advance entry list

All of my students are strongly encouraged to attend this championship! Watch America's elite juniors match wits with titled players and each other in the Master and Expert sections: FM Steven, NM Gregory, NM Yian, Kyle, Arthur, DanielL and several more who haven't registered yet! I expect a fun weekend of skewers and forks. Be there!

New CalChess Website: www.norcalchess.org

ANNOUNCEMENT from CalChess President Tom Langland (originally dated 11/01/09)

As many of you have observed the CalChess website (www.calchess.org) has suffered a major malware attack. From what I can gather, the website was possibly penetrated several weeks ago, and has since been hit critically. This is not the first time the site has been attacked and penetrated, but one of several. The current location appears to provide insufficient protection against outside attacks. I also continue to receive 40-50 spam messages a day.

My attempts to remedy the situation have met with extreme resistance, and the current environment is untenable. This was a position I thought was regrettably forthcoming.

To that end, I have been working on a long-term project to improve the site, and due to the above situation, I am releasing it ahead of my intended schedule.

So... I am announcing the new official Calchess website located at: http://www.norcalchess.org

The new site is still a work in progress, and I am looking forward to feedback. I do not have any plans to maintain the "old" site.

/Tom Langland/ (photo at right)

Postscript by fpawn: In fact, the www.calchess.org domain name already expired and the former website is now history. What a shame! The old webmaster put much effort into the site, but unfortunately the many tools were never utilized to their potential. I tried hard for several years to write articles in the hopes that other local chess players would contribute as well. Becoming frustrated, I turned my efforts to this blog and www.calchess.org died. There are many reasons why nobody wanted to post, ranging from pure laziness to the quirky personality of the webmaster. Fortunately, Tom Langland stepped up and volunteered many hours of his own time to develop www.norcalchess.org almost entirely from scratch. I sincerely hope it meets a better fate, and I pledge to contribute again. Nonetheless, I intend to continue posting the majority of my writings on this blog.

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.

Fpawn Takes a Vacation

This blog will be quiet for the next two weeks as I take a vacation with my family. No chess! Little net access! No cell phone! No Blogger or Twitter! The break allows me to relax and avoid the hectic life in the 21st century. At times, I wonder how I'll manage.

Good luck to those who play at the Western States Open in Reno this weekend. And in the US Chess League, may the San Francisco Mechanics team build on last week's success to earn the #2 seed in the Western Division playoffs.

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!!

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Bay Area Well Represented on All-America Team!

(FM Naroditsky presents a lecture at left while Sevian calculates a position at right.)

According to this press release by the US Chess Federation, eight CalChess stars earned a spot on the 2010 All-America Chess Team sponsored by Trophies Plus! The requirements for this prestigious honor are quite strict: players must exceed a very high rating depending on their age (ranging from 1800 for age 8 & under to 2450 for age 18). Only 43 juniors made the team--an average of merely four per age group.

Kudos to the following CalChess kids! Readers of this blog are already familiar with the names, and now folks around the country will recognize them as well.

Bay Area juniors on All-America Team (age as of January 1).

• IM Sam Shankland (17)
• FM Steven Zierk (15)
• FM Daniel Naroditsky (13)
• NM Greg Young (13)
• NM Yian Liou (11)
• Samuel Sevian (8)
• Cameron Wheeler (8)
  
• Tanuj Vasudeva (7)

The All-America team highlights a fact that Bay Area coaches have known for several years: the local kids can compete with those from the scholastic hotbeds of New York and Texas! With eight All-Americans, CalChess narrowly edged New York and Texas, both with seven. No other state has more than four.

The Bay Area has become a prime breeding ground for the nation's elite kids, sharing the role that New York dominated for many years. Much of the credit goes to the Mechanics' Institute for fostering an environment that motivates kids. Regular tournaments offer the rising stars a chance to match wits with experienced adult masters and experts, while the San Francisco School of Chess hosts lectures by experienced Grandmasters from around the world. A final factor is that Silicon Valley kids tend to become comfortable with computers at a young age; I have watched kids as young as 5 and 6 playing chess on ICC!

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!

GM Ian Rogers Teaches Top Kids at Mechanics Institute

(The elite chess class is hard at work! From left to right: GM Rogers with students Samuel, Greg, Yian, Kyle and Tanuj.)

Grandmaster Ian Rogers visited the Mechanics' Institute last weekend in conjunction with a meeting of the Ken Whyld Association of chess historians. Known as the strongest player ever from Australia, GM Rogers achieved a peak FIDE rating of 2618 in 1999 (about top 50 of the world back then). He faced many of the world's top players in the 1980s and 1990s, earning a draw as black versus Anatoly Karpov and swindling a checkmate against Viktor Kortchnoi!

On Sunday, October 11, GM Rogers (seated next to FM Naroditsky at right) took time from his busy schedule to tutor some of the Bay Area's elite juniors. The lecture carried on the inspiration of the San Francisco School of Chess, a program seeking to boost promising young chess players in Northern California both through interactions with GMs and IMs as well as their fellow juniors. Sunday's topic quickly caught the attention of the audience: the rapid improvement of teenager Magnus Carlsen to 2800 and beyond. The class delved deeply into Carlsen's openings and middlegames from the recent Nanjing tournament, with lengthy variations and occasional jokes flying around the room from all sides.

The group was small and intimate, yet highly competitive with five of six students ranked in the top three of the nation for their age! These kids no doubt comprise the present and future stars for the San Francisco Mechanics squad in the US Chess League. The team has a seemingly endless supply of underrated juniors for the next few seasons. If the kids keep improving like this, next year's team may field a GM plus three 2300+ rated juniors! (a.k.a. Panda and the three bamboo sprouts)

• FM Danya Naroditsky, 2378, #1 age 13 (Board 3)
  
• NM Greg Young, 2272, #2 age 14 (Alternate)
  
• NM Yian Liou, 2226, #2 age 12 (Board 4)
  
• Kyle Shin, 2088, #6 age 11
  
• Samuel Sevian, 2079, #1 age 8
  
• Tanuj Vasudeva, 1904, #3 age 8

Busy Weekend at the Mechanics' Institute

The top seeds at the Dolan Memorial G/45 tournament sit side-by-side for the early rounds. IM Ricardo DeGuzman (sitting at left) and expert Romulo Fuentes (not in photo) split the top prizes with a last round draw after Fuentes took down NM Michael Pearson (wearing white shirt). A total of 33 participants (see photos below) visited the historic Mechanics' Institute despite the nice weather, nearby Navy show and other conflicts.

The chess players were joined this weekend by a group of (mostly) gray haired men attending the Ken Whyld Association of chess historians. Presenters at this two day seminar include chess club director IM John Donaldson, IM Tony Saidy, GM Ian Rogers and FM Danya Naroditsky. Surely the former World U12 champion will be a tad out of place among the celebrities, but none of them had their first book published at age 13! (To be released in spring 2010.)

Fpawn Rating List - November 2009

Within the last week, the USCF posted the Top 100 lists for October and official ratings for November. As usual, the Bay Area is well represented among the elite of the nation. Three kids are ranked #1 for their age: FM Danya Naroditsky (13), NM Nicholas Nip (11) and expert Samuel Sevian (8). Four more follow in the top 3: IM Sam Shankland (17), NM Greg Young (14), NM Yian Liou (12) and A player Tanuj Vasudeva (8). Another four check in at either #5 or #6, bringing the total to 11 Bay Area stars ranked in the Top 6 of the nation for their age!

The November USCF rating supplement includes the 154 player Labor Day Festival (not officially the state championship this year) plus an assortment of smaller tournaments. A total of 25 present and former students attended on Labor Day weekend, but only one became "pseudo state champion." Props to Alan Naroditsky (see photo at right) for scoring an undefeated 5-1 in the Expert section, playing against three talented juniors and three conniving adults! Alan's annual improvement has been quite steady: 1784 in 2006, 1927 in 2007, 2014 in 2008 and now 2092 in 2009. He began his freshman year at UCLA a few weeks ago, but I expect to see him push some more pawns during school holidays.

Look for both Naroditsky brothers among the rankings of all my 2000+ rated students.

Top Students Overall (minimum rating = 2000, current students in red)

1. FM Danya 2378
2. FM Steven 2333
   
3. NM DanielS 2313 -- Stanford
   
4. NM Gregory 2272
5. NM Yian 2226
6. David 2095 -- UC Berkeley
   
7. Alan 2092 -- UCLA
   
8. EvanS 2092
9. Kyle 2088
10. Nicholas 2049
11. Arthur 2014

I updated my student rankings as well. Click here for the Fpawn Rating List or check out the National Rankings page on my website. I copied my trio of Top 5 lists below.

Top 5 Grades K-6

1. Kyle 2088 -- 2008 National 5th Grade Champion
   
2. Neel 1800 -- 2009 CalChess K-5 co-Champion
   
3. Richard 1620
4. Leland 1600
5. Rahul 1449
   

Top 5 Grades 7-8

1. NM Yian 2226 -- 2009 CalChess K-12 co-Champion
   
2. Sam 1953
3. James 1848
4. Roland 1773
5. Tyler 1654

Top 5 Grades 9-12

1. FM Steven 2333 -- 2008 CalChess K-12 co-Champion
   
2. NM Gregory 2272 -- 2008 US Junior co-Champion
   
3. EvanS 2092 -- 2009 CalChess K-12 co-Champion
   
4. Arthur 2014
5. Brian 1854
   

New Hot Rod!

After waiting six months, I finally got my new wheelchair today! I cannot tell you how relieved I am that this episode has come to a close. The process was frustrating; it should never have taken this long. One more reason why this country needs health care reform!

Those of you who visit the Mechanics' Institute for either the Dolan G/45 tournament on Saturday or the SF School of Chess lecture on Sunday (by Australian GM Ian Rogers) will get to see my new hot rod. It is similar to my old one, except that I now can pop a wheelie.

RIP Jerry Hanken (1934-2009)

The venerable chess master Jerry Hanken passed on to a higher chess board on October 1, succumbing to complications of diabetes. He was 74. Jerry was best known as a correspondent for Chess Life magazine and Chess Life Online, mixing in human interest stories with tournament results. He would interview not only with the Grandmasters, but also winners of the lower class sections. His byline included the title "Original Life Master," referring to the old days when masters earned a 2200 floor by playing 300 games. Everywhere he went, Jerry would spread his infectious enthusiasm for the royal game.

For more information about the life of Jerry Hanken, check out the two obituaries written by former USCF President Bill Goichberg and close friend Randy Hough. Or read Jerry's final online article about the Pacific Coast Open in July.

To close, I wish to share a funny--and true!--personal story about Jerry Hanken. As he grew older, his chess playing strength deteriorated sharply from a peak of about 2350. He would lose to 1800 and 2000 rated kids with alarming frequency, yet his rating remained stuck at 2200 because of the floor. (Aside: Jerry still showed flashes of his old brilliance. In fact, he defeated teenage FM Daniel Yeager, rated 2388, in his next to last tournament.)

Back in 2005, the Saratoga High School chess team and I traveled to play at the Western Class Championships held at a hotel near LAX airport. After seeing my round 3 pairing, white against Hanken, I boldly informed my teenage charges that, should I lose this game, I would jump out of the hotel room window. There was absolutely no way I could afford to go down against the old man without losing face before my students!

The game started out with a boring Bird's Opening (1.f4) setup. Perhaps I showed some of my overconfidence because the aggressive play on the kingside (9.h4) was not justified. The alert sacrifice 16... Nxg3 allows black to force a draw by repetition, but I had little interest in a peaceful result with an old man. Yet by move 26, I was practically mated and would have had to resign after 26... Rf2+ 27.Kg1 Ne2+. Very embarrassing indeed!

My students followed the game in the hotel room using Fritz and knew the end was near. Even Caissa saw my desperate situation. At the last possible moment, I set a subtle trap--and Jerry unwittingly walked right into it. After the seemingly reasonable 26... Nf3+, I replied with a stunning queen sacrifice to turn the tables! The Fritz evaluation changed from -6 to +7 in a single move. And with this fateful move, Jerry Hanken snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Poor guy!

Returning to the hotel room, my students immediately became quiet. One quickly moved in front of the window, just in case I was a man of my word. Expecting me to be depressed, another started to express his sympathies. The chessboard on the floor showed my hopeless position. Little did they know that, by the grace of Caissa, I had won!

Always a fan of queen sacrifices (he called them "parting with the lady"), Jerry illustrated the final combination in his magazine article. More than once since then, he told people how he saved my life. Thank you Jerry, for your infectious love of chess, your tireless efforts on behalf of the USCF and, of course, for saving my life! RIP YHR.

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