World Champion Vasily Smyslov 1921-2010

The 7th World Chess Champion Vasily Smyslov died on Friday night, just three days after his 89th birthday. He will be remembered for a stellar career among the top chess players of the world that spanned four decades. His stint as champion was rather short; he won the title from Mikhail Botvinnik in 1957, but lost the automatic return match to the same player a year later. He came close to earning another shot at the title more than 20 years later, but faltered in the 1982 Candidates Final to a certain Garry Kasparov.

"Smyslov was always known for his positional style and his extraordinary endgame abilities. He was also a great combinational player, and in his games we find many spectacular tactical shots. In the opening he made important contributions to the English, Grünfeld, Ruy Lopez and Sicilian." --ChessBase website

"He is truth in chess! Smyslov plays correctly, truthfully and has a natural style. ... But I am fond of his style. I would recommend a study of Smyslov's games to children who want to know how to play chess because he plays the game how it should be played: his style is the closest to some sort of 'virtual truth' in chess. He always tried to make the strongest move in each position." --Vladimir Kramnik (photo at right from ChessNinja blog)

The following sample games from ChessGames.com offer a glimpse into the style of the 7th World Champion.

• Botvinnik-Smyslov (1954 WC match) - King's Indian - queen sacrifice
• Botvinnik-Smyslov (1957 WC match) - English / Slav - endgame
• Smyslov-Liberzon (1968 USSR champ) - English / Dutch - bishop pair
• Smyslov-Ribli (1983 London) - QGD / Semi-Tarrasch - builds up attack
  

Smyslov also excelled away from the chessboard. He studied aviation science in the 40s and was an accomplished baritone singer. In fact, he often sang at tournaments (photo at top right), accompanied by the famous pianist and chess rival Mark Taimanov.

Zierk Survives Upset Parade at Denker Qualifier

(Fpawn poses between two students, 2nd place Daniel Liu and 1st place Steven Zierk.)

The Bay Area Chess Regional Championship & Denker Qualifier attracted nearly 200 players to the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency on a warm and sunny March weekend. Many of Northern California's top juniors participated in the High School division, either hoping to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational for High School State Champions in Irvine this summer or playing just for the sake of strong competition. Although only high school students could claim the prestigious top prize, an amazing 33 out of 54 players were younger than 9th grade.

Due to the skewed attendance numbers, the high school championship turned into an epic battle between teenagers and a talented pool of elementary school kids. Would experience or youth prevail? The first round on Saturday morning was marked by a parade of 300 to 400 point upsets: 6th grader Richard Yi (1596) beat a 2010, 5th grader Russel Bik (1531) beat a 1802, 12th grader Bryan Petersen (1481) beat a 1832, 3rd grader Michael Wang (1446) beat a 1832 and 5th grader Daniel Song (1239) beat a 1743. Typically the upset winner was the younger and lower rated player; a few elementary school kids lost to even younger opponents! Some semblance of order was restored in the second round, although occasional upsets continued all weekend. Two names to watch for in the future are 3rd grader Michael Wang (now rated 1707!) and 6th grader Richard Yi, who both played up almost every round and combined for six upsets in the tournament.

• Tournament crosstables
  
• MSA ratings report
• Photos by Kirshner
  

Despite the wave of surprises, the highest rated players still finished near the top. Top rated FM Steven Zierk (2420) took on the role of 600 lb gorilla by squishing anyone in his path for a 6-0 score. Needing merely a draw in the final round, Steven ground down his opponent with technique that has become his trademark. The most intriguing pairing of the weekend matched Steven, the 2008 Denker qualifier, against last year's representative, Evan Sandberg (2167). Black quickly achieved a comfortable position in the Qa5 line of the French Winawer, although it took nearly 60 moves to convert the full point.

Play chess online

The talented and rapidly improving 6th grader Daniel Liu finished alone in second place at 5-1. He faced five of the seven players rated above 2000 in the tournament, winning three games and drawing the other two! Daniel's rating jumped a whopping 70 points to 2052. Kudos on an awesome performance--and for becoming an Expert!

Four players tied for third place at 4.5 each: 3rd grader Samuel Sevian, 11th grader Nicholas Karas, 11th grader Evan Sandberg and 4th grader Vignesh Panchanatham. Evan had a respectable result, gaining 3 rating points but leaving him at 2196, just shy of master. If Steven declines to participate in the Denker Invitational, it appears that Nicholas and Evan would need a playoff to determine who earns the right to represent CalChess.

The competition for the high school teams was as tight as possible. In fact, the race came down to the final game, pitting five-time state champion Saratoga High against newcomer Dougherty Valley High (San Ramon). Saratoga finally prevailed, but the message was delivered loud and clear: the CalChess Scholastics K-12 team competition will be fierce this year! In addition to Saratoga and Dougherty, I expect to see strong teams from Mission San Jose High (Fremont) and Monta Vista High (Cupertino).

Thanks to über-organizer Salman Azhar and his army of volunteers from Bay Area Chess for hosting a smooth and enjoyable tournament. The only complaint was about the lighter than expected attendance. Tournament directors John McCumiskey and Tom Langland had light work this weekend; it was a warm-up for the "Big One" on April 17-18. Parents and players: If you haven't already signed up for the CalChess Scholastics, make sure to register soon!

Chess Diva To Help Haiti!

A special note from Lauren Goodkind, co-producer of "Chess Diva" TV show.

You are cordially invited to the “Chess Diva” Chess-Haiti Fundraiser! Nationally ranked chess players Barbara and Lauren Goodkind, producers of the award winning local access TV show “Chess Diva,” will play 5-minute blitz games against the public. Non chess players will find it entertaining to watch! Parents, bring your kids!

• Dates: Saturday and Sunday, March 20th and 21st.
• Times: 10:00 to 4:30 on both days
• Location: Lytton Plaza at 202 University Ave, Palo Alto (next to Pizza My Heart)
• Suggested Donation: $5 per 5-minute blitz game
• Good Cause: All proceeds will go to UNICEF for Haiti.

If you live in or near Palo Alto and have free time this weekend, please consider dropping by to support these two enthusiastic young women. Watch out, they're both quite strong players, both ranked in the Top 100 of the country for women!

Denker Qualifier FAQ

(Group photo of prize winners at 2009 Denker Invitational in Indianapolis. Local hero Evan Sandberg is in front row at the right.)

Update on March 15: I have finally accounted for all but one of the local juniors rated above 2000. The top seeds for the Denker Qualifier this weekend will be 2008 champ FM Steven Zierk, 2009 champ Evan Sandberg, Samuel Sevian, Hayk Manvelyan, Nicholas Karas, Kyle Shin, Arthur Liou and maybe NM Rohan Agarwal. Sevian and Shin are ineligible to qualify because they are too young. Click to view the official advance entry list.

The 35th CalChess Scholastics will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center (near Great America) on April 17-18. This year, there is a second worthy scholastic event for top players to consider: the Denker Qualifier at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara on March 19-21. The Denker Qualifier doubles as the K-12 section of the Bay Area Chess Regionals.

Why are there two state championships?

Last year, CalChess made the unfortunate decision to schedule the state scholastics on the same weekend at the National High School Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The High School Nationals have never drawn a large crowd from the Bay Area, although sometimes a few elite players attend with the goal of bringing home a national title (like Michael Zhong in 2007). My students at Saratoga High School also achieved some success, finishing as high as 3rd place team in the country.

In order to allow top players a (theoretical) chance to attend the National High School Championship and still have a chance to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational this summer, there will be two separate events, one in March and one in April. However, only the winner(s) of the April championship may call themselves state champs.

What is the Denker Invitational?

The Denker is a prestigious invitational tournament open only to high school state champions each year. There are approximately 50 invitees, one for each state (two for California). Named after the late Grandmaster Arnold Denker (photo at right), the field includes many experts and usually tops out in the mid 2200s, with maybe one or two players above 2300. Only juniors currently in grades 9 through 12 are eligible; younger players cannot qualify. Recent Northern California representatives were: Evan Sandberg (2009), Steven Zierk (2008), Nicolas Yap (2007) and Daniel Schwarz (2006).

The invitational takes place each August at the US Open, held in different places each year all around the country. This year is a bit special because the location will be in Irvine, Southern California. The dates are July 31 through August 3. After completing six rounds in the Denker, players may choose to also play in the 6-day schedule of the US Open. That's 15 games of chess (each up to 5-6 hours) in 9 days. Most likely, I will play in the more leisurely 9-day schedule of the US Open.

Who should play in the Denker Qualifier?

Technically speaking, any student in K-12 may enter the Denker Qualifier, although a minimum rating of 1200 is needed for those in elementary or middle school. Very few, however, have a realistic chance to qualify. Generally speaking, only high school students rated over 2000 have a decent chance to win. Seven high school players are rated over 2000: FM Steven Zierk, NM Gregory Young, NM Rohan Agarwal, Evan Sandberg, Hayk Manvelyan, Nicholas Karas and Arthur Liou. Players younger than 9th grade may play for practice, but cannot qualify for Denker even if they win.

I suggest that you should play in the Denker Qualifier on March 19-21 if you fall into one of the following categories:

• You are in grades 9-12 and are rated above 2000.
• You are in grades 9-12, are rated above 1600 and wish to face tough competition.
• You are in grades K-8 and are rated above 1800 and feel that you need to face older and stronger opponents to get better.
• You are in grades K-12, are rated above 1200, and simply want to get your butt kicked--just for a learning experience.
  

Should I choose the 2-day or 3-day schedule?

I expect most players to choose the 2-day schedule (three G/60 then three more G/120). Those who prefer slower time controls and are free on Friday night can play the 3-day schedule (three G/90 then three more G/120). The two schedules will merge in round 4. Note: based on early entries, the 3-day schedule is significantly stronger with nobody rated under 1800.

Which tournament will be stronger?

I predict that the March event may actually be tougher than the official state championship in April, for the following three reasons:

• Top players tend to be more interested in qualifying for Denker than winning a state championship. Plus, one or two masters might go to Ohio for nationals instead.
• The Denker Qualifier presents a great opportunity for all of the talented elementary and middle school kids to compete against the top high school players. I expect most of the A and B rated K-6 and K-8 kids to be back in their normal age groups at the CalChess Scholastics.
• There won't be many weak players at the Denker Qualifier (currently 17 of 28 early entries are over 1800). On the other hand, the CalChess Scholastics attracts school teams, including many lower rated players.
  

Where is the advance entry list?

Click here for the advance entry list posted at the Bay Area Chess website. As of March 10, there are 28 entries in the Denker Qualifier. (3-day schedule: 10 players, median rating 1888. 2-day schedule: 18 players, median rating 1763.) Only three of the seven eligible high school students rated above 2000 have entered so far. However, there are seven elementary school kids rated above 1800 who have chosen to play up.

Make sure to register for the Denker Qualifier before the entry deadline on Wednesday, March 17! (St. Patrick's Day) Follow this link to the Bay Area Chess online payment system.

Naroditsky Book Signing on Sunday

Special event at the Mechanics' Institute!

Here's a brief word about a special event happening this Sunday, during the A.J. Fink Amateur at the Mechanics' Institute. The youngest chess author in the world, 14 year old FM Daniel Naroditsky, will sign copies of his new book "Mastering Positional Chess" on March 14, at 2pm. You can buy a copy of the book for $24 (I think) and Daniel will sign it. By the way, great book!

If you can't make it to San Francisco on Sunday, you can order the book from the links on Daniel's new website!

CalChess FIDE Rated Juniors -- March 2010

The new FIDE rating list for March 2010 was released this week. Nine Bay Area juniors have earned their international rating--fully 75% of the local kids rated above 2000. Unlike just a few years ago, now there are plenty of opportunities to establish a FIDE rating simply by playing in the top section at Northern California tournaments.

Two observations this month: 1. Welcome to Samuel Sevian (photo at left by Shorman), who earned his first published rating last November. He gained 84 points since that first rating (using the higher K factor for new players). 2. The two FIDE Masters, Danya Naroditsky and Steven Zierk (photo at right from 2007 CalChess Scholastics), appear to be chasing each other's rating. Their current USCF ratings are 3 points apart; the FIDE ratings are separated by just 8 points. Go right ahead boys! Chase each other all the way to 2500!

1. FM Danya Naroditsky 2388
2. FM Steven Zierk 2380 -- gained 74 points in 4 months!
3. NM Gregory Young 2268
4. NM Yian Liou 2229
   
5. NM Rohan Agarwal 2197
6. Evan Sandberg 2159
7. Samuel Sevian 2144 -- gained 84 points (provisional) in 4 months!
   
8. Hayk Manvelyan 2087
   
9. Kyle Shin 2061

California Budget Crunch Threatens Sacramento Chess Club

Another sad sign of the times from the Sacramento Chess Club:

As many of you are aware, the City of Sacramento has been suffering from budget problems for several years now. In 2008, those budget issues directly affected the Sacramento Chess Club, requiring us to pay rent to use the Redwood Room of the Hart Senior Center. Through the donation of generous benefactors, the Club has been able to continue to rent the space at the Hart Senior Center. Since then, the Club has also looked at the options available, with the primary focus being to avoid charging members dues, something the Club has been able to do throughout most of its existence, and remain in or close to the downtown area.

For the year 2010, the Sacramento Chess Club will need to pay $3,432 in rent to the City of Sacramento for the use of the Redwood Room. ... In a recent informal discussion with the staff of the Hart Senior Center, it appears likely that the rental rates for the Redwood Room will increase during the course of the year. This puts the Sacramento Chess Club in an untenable financial position.

During the last several months, an unsuccessful search has been on-going to find a new location for the Club to meet. Although there are still some possibilities being investigated, the outlook appears bleak for staying in the downtown Sacramento area. ... The Sacramento Chess Club has a long, rich chess history in the community and state of California. Your help is vital to the continuation of the Sacramento Chess Club and its place in the community.

The cold, hard reality of the state's fiscal catastrophe will be felt yet again. Ever since I began playing competitive chess in 1994, Sacramento was my home club. Each Wednesday night, 30 up to nearly 100 players would drop by the Hart Senior Center on J Street between 27th and 28th Street to play chess. The club was quite fortunate to meet rent free until the summer of 2008. In turn, the weekly tournaments (G/10 and G/60 were most popular) only cost $2 or $5 per player. Since the City of Sacramento began charging a steep rental fee, the club cannot keep going; it will have to find a cheaper venue for meetings.

This story mirrors the harsh reality at many other small chess clubs around the country. That's why many meet at fast food places, eager for extra business in the evenings. Unfortunately, most restaurants can't accommodate a club as large as Sacramento. I would really be sad to see a club whose history dates back to 1934 close. Hopefully that won't be necessary.

Celebrity Guest: Danya on ChessFM!

Announcement on the ICC ChessFM website:

This week (Tue., 9 February) joining IM John Watson on Chess Talk will be the young American prodigy and author, FM Daniel Naroditsky.

Daniel Naroditsky, 14, of the Mechanics Chess Club in San Francisco, shot to fame in 2007 when he won the under-12 World Youth Championship, being only the second American to win a world youth title - and in the process, he was rewarded with a lifetime membership of ICC. Recently, Daniel has also become the world's youngest chess author in history with the release of Mastering Positional Chess for top chess publishers New in Chess.

(To listen to the full interview, you must be a current Internet Chess Club member. Enter your ICC username / password if prompted. Click here for a 10-minute free preview.)

During the hour long interview, Danya lists all of his many GM and IM coaches, describes some of his study habits, shares what it is like playing--and beating!--a strong Grandmaster and then shows off his crushing win on the black side of the Najdorf against GM Alexander Shabalov in round 4 of 2009 North American Open. He also explains why he wrote a book on positional chess and how he put together enough examples to fill over 200 pages.

Danya's book already was released in Europe and should be available sometime in March in the USA. Click here to pre-order the book on Amazon.

36th Annual People's Tournament in Concord

A change in venue. The old: Sather Tower in Berkeley at left. The new: Mount Diablo near Concord at right.





Some participants will miss the drums. More than a few others will not. For most of its 35 year existence, the People's Chess Tournament was held at Sproul Plaza on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. Love 'em or hate 'em, the drummers were always a part of the annual President's Day weekend tournament.

A sad sign of the times, state budget cuts, rising rental fees and lack of insider support forced organizer Richard Koepcke to find another venue. He teamed up with BayAreaChess.com founder Salman Azhar to move the event to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Concord (1/2 mile north of the Concord Hilton where last month's Golden State Open was held). The weekend simply won't be the same, although the board game being played remains unchanged.

The entry fee has increased due to the rental cost at the hotel. The days of cheap tournaments seem to be history because few organizers can find a free or cheap playing site. Big sigh!! The nonprofit Mechanics' Institute remains the biggest exception. New this year are 3-day and 2-day schedules, plus an experimental dual entry fee structure: players may pay the full entry fee to win full prizes, or pay 2/3 of the entry, but only be eligible for half of the advertised prizes. So far, about 1/3 of the entrants have chosen the "economy" fee. (If you're a junior playing up a section for the experience, then it makes sense to pay the economy fee.)

• Event: 36th People's Tournament
• Date: February 13-15
  
• Location: Crowne Plaza Hotel in Concord (map link)
  
• Format: 6 rounds in 6 sections (Open, U2100, U1900, U1700, U1500, U1300).
• 3-day schedule: Reg: Sat 10-11. Rds: Sat 11:30, 5; Sun 11:30, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
• 2-day schedule: Reg: Sun 9-9:45, Rds: Sun 10, 12:15, 2:30, 5; Mon 10, 3:30.
  
• Time control: 30/90, G/60 (rounds 1-3 of 2-day schedule at G/60)
  
• Entry fee: Regular $99/98 or Economy $69/68. Play up for $20. Add $25 after 2/11.
  
• Prize fund: $7,001 based on 129 paid entries. $1000 (guaranteed) top prize in Open and $500 in each of the lower sections. Economy players win 1/2 prize.
• Tournament Flyer
• Online Registration
  
• Advance Entries (89 players as of 2/11)

I will be there and look forward to seeing many of my students as well! Hopefully I have some free time between rounds (or before 11:30 on Sunday morning) to go over games.

Trivia question: Who won the People's the last time it was not held at UC Berkeley?

Can Chess Get You Into College?

Conventional wisdom suggests that you must participate in a wide range of academic and extra-curricular activities to get into a top tier university. Examples include math club, debate team, band or a varsity sport. Where does chess fit into the picture? Over the years, there has been little evidence that competitive colleges view chess as more than another club.

A parent pointed out this article from April 2008 about admissions at UC Berkeley. I wouldn't have thought much about it except for one 5-letter word in this paragraph.

"The admitted class for fall 2008 also excels beyond academics. It includes a world champion in youth division sailing, a student who wrote a symphony during high school, a back-up dancer for a pop star on a U.S. concert tour, a national chess tournament champion, an international Irish dance competition winner, several Olympic and Junior Olympic medalists and a set of quadruplets."

Perhaps there is hope after all! It is just a few short words, yet they say chess matters.

The more frequently admissions officers see chess listed among activities, the better the chances that it leaves a positive impression. In fact, my teaching experience has shown that chess can indeed be one component of a successful college application, especially when supported by thoughtful essays.

Saratoga Wins Santa Clara County High School Championship

The top ranked Saratoga High School chess team dominated the 2010 Santa Clara County High School Chess Championship on February 6 at Monta Vista High School. While Saratoga has won five straight CalChess state scholastic titles, Monta Vista won the county chess league two months ago and was looking for more. Order was restored to the universe as Saratoga players took home four of the top five place trophies, plus the perpetual trophy awarded to the top team.

• Final standings
• Photos at top: Charles, Evan and Kevin
• Photos at right: Brian and Sankash

The 41 player tournament ended in a tie for 1st place between Saratoga senior Charles Sun (1920) and sophomore Evan Ye (1811), both at 4.5 out of 5 after they drew their last round head-to-head game. Freshman Kevin Garbe (1743) and sophomore Brian Wai (1914) took home the 4th and 5th place trophies, respectively. Rounding out the four-way tie for third with 4.0 out of 5 were Monta Vista senior Vishal Dasari (1848) at 3rd place and freshman Chris Wu (1851) at 6th place. In the all-important team standings, Saratoga's top three combined for 13.0 while Monta Vista only managed 11.0.

Kudos to Charles and Evan, plus the rest of the Saratoga team! (Rolland Wu and Sankash Shankar both finished at 3.0/5.) The players built on the success from the New Year's Open and Golden State Open, where Evan, Charles and Brian combined to pilfer over $1600. Next up are the Denker Qualifier in March and the CalChess Scholastics in April. Can the Saratoga dynasty capture a record setting sixth consecutive state K-12 team title?

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.

February Top 100 Lists

(Left: Yian Liou and Steven Zierk hard at work. Right: Daniel Liu and Jack Zhu pose for the camera.)




Congratulations to the 109 Northern California juniors who are nationally ranked on the February USCF Top 100 lists! We have witnessed a veritable explosion of talent--there were merely 87 ranked kids three years ago, a growth of 25%. Nine stars appear among the top 5, including three well-known #1's: FIDE Masters Tanuj Vasudeva and Daniel Naroditsky plus 9 year old candidate master Samuel Sevian.

Considering that the Bay Area still remains a technology hotspot for the country, it comes as no surprise to see so many of the nation's best young chess players at local tournaments. In fact, the participants of the recent Golden State Open included five #1 ranked juniors and another five at either #2 or #3 (the majority from the Bay Area). Frankly, the explosive growth of scholastic chess over the past decade suggests that the future of our country remains bright.

A few days ago, I uploaded the February CalChess Top 100 and CalChess Top 20 lists to my website. I counted 16 ranked juniors who gained at least 100 rating points in just the past two months. While most big gains came under 1200 (the formula makes it easier to gain points if you're lower rated), two of the most impressive performances were turned in by 12 year old Joshua Cao (1399 to 1665) and 16 year old Thadeus Frei (1790 to 1903). (Photo of Thadeus at right from Dana Mackenzie's interesting chess blog.)

Special kudos to the following nine Bay Area gold medalists for February! How many future Grandmasters or International Masters are there among this exclusive list?

GOLD MEDAL (top 5)
Arun Khemani (#4 age 6)
Rayan Taghizadeh (#3 age 7)
Tanuj Vasudeva (#1 age 8)
Samuel Sevian (#1 age 9)
NM Yian Liou (#2 age 12)
FM Daniel Naroditsky (#1 age 14)
NM Gregory Young (#2 age 14)
NM Steven Zierk (#3 age 16)
IM Sam Shankland (#2 age 18)

Players ranked in the top 10 and top 25 of the country also deserve a special recognition. The names shown in bold and italics are all current or former students of mine.

SILVER MEDAL (top 15)
Cameron Wheeler (#10 age 9)
Vignesh Panchanatham (#11 age 9)
Jack Zhu (#9 age 11)
Kyle Shin (#14 age 12)
NM Rohan Agarwal (#14 age 16)

BRONZE MEDAL (top 25) Leyton Ho, Michael Wang, Kesav Viswanadha, Allan Beilin, Daniel Liu, James Kwok, Taylor McCreary, Samyukta Bhat, Evan Sandberg, Michael Zhong, Adarsh Konda

Survival Guide for Chess Parents

I suggested in this blog post from last December that someone should write a book about the many hats a chess parent must wear at a tournament. Merely surviving a weekend of scholastic chess could be a science in itself, combining mathematical reasoning with psychology, navigation, nutrition, endless patience and endurance. If it seems bewildering to a tournament veteran, I hardly can imagine what parents who never played chess must go through!

Northern California scholastic guru Dr. Alan Kirshner (photo by Shorman) found the answer for his CalNorth Youth Chess newsletter. Thanks!

If you do have a budding chess player you might want to purchase Survival Guide for Chess Parents. I just checked and Wholesale Chess has it for $17.05. I guess you might call this book "Everything You Wanted to Know About Being a Chess Parent and Were Afraid to Ask!"

FM Zierk Wins Falconer Award

Mechanics' Institute chess director IM John Donaldson reports that Los Gatos High School junior FM Steven Zierk won the 2010 Falconer Award as Northern California's top rated kid. The cash award, given by former US Senior Champion and longtime Mechanics' Institute Trustee Neil Falconer to the highest rated Bay Area player under 18 on the December rating supplement, is equal to the youngster's rating - in Steven's case $2,387. Past winners of this prestigious prize include IM Vinay Bhat (now a Grandmaster) and IM Sam Shankland.

The fight for this year's came down to the final tournament in Reno, the Western States Open, with FM Daniel Naroditsky ahead by 45 points. Steven literally needed to pull off a 2700 level performance, which is exactly what he did by beating one Grandmaster and drawing with two others. I predict these two teenagers, both now rated above 2420 and ranked in the top 15 of the country under age 21, will compete neck and neck again in 2010.

Here's a summary of Steven Zierk's many chess achievements. (Photo at top by Shorman.)

• Current ratings: 2420 USCF and 2359 FIDE.
• Earned SM status in November 2009.
• Earned FM title in July 2009.
• Earned NM title in July 2008.
• Best tournament of life at 2009 Western States Open: 2700 performance!
• 1st GM scalp: Beat super GM Loek van Wely at 2009 Western States Open.
  
• 1st IM scalp: Beat IM Ricardo DeGuzman at 2008 CalChess Labor Day.
• 1st NM scalp: Beat NM Albert Rich at 2007 Silicon Valley Ch. while rated 1623.
• Represented CalChess at 2008 Denker Invitational.
• CalChess Scholastic Champion for K-3 in 2001, K-8 in 2007 and K-12 in 2008.
• Big $$$ at World Open: 2nd U2000 in 2007 and 3rd U2200 in 2008.
• USCF rating jumped +556 in 2007 (1549 to 2105), including +384 over first 3 months.
• Break from competitive chess--2002 through 2006.
• Won U1400 in 2001 World Open at age 7.

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)
    

Nakamura Draws Anand with Dutch Defense!

(Nakamura and Anand analyze after the game. Photo from Chessbase website.)

The brash American kid faces the polished World Champion. Such was the contrast earlier this week when US Champion Hikaru Nakamura squared off against World Champion Viswanathan Anand at the famous Corus tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Holland. The stage was set for the veteran to teach his young challenger a painful lesson.

Alas, that was not to be! Nakamura, playing with the black pieces, surprised his opponent on move 1 with the Dutch Defense 1.d4 f5, playing the Leningrad variation. Theory said that such a bold opening was suspicious at the highest levels, except in rapid or blitz games. The Dutch is a rare bird at the Grandmaster level. However, I beg to differ with the theoretical assessment after about ten years of experience. Apparently, so does Nakamura. In fact, he has already essayed the Dutch quite a few times in American weekend tournaments, but facing Anand is certainly a step upwards!

How did he do? Play through the game below to find out! Black chose a setup of d5, Nc6 and Ne4 to combat White's double fianchetto. The computers gave White a modest advantage around move 15, but by move 19 the pressure had dissipated. Definitely a 33 move draw with Black against a player of Anand's caliber counts as a success.

Nakamura will face more challenges at the Corus tournament. He plays against top rated Magnus Carlsen on Thursday, early leader Alexei Shirov on Saturday and former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik on Sunday. Watch the games live on ICC ChessFM beginning at 4:30am PST; if you wake up at 7:00am, you'll still get to see the climax of the round.

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CalChess Top 20 for Age U-12

(FM Tanuj on left and candidate master Sam on the right.)

If the Top 20 for Age 12-17 looked scary, then wait until you see the little kids! Three of the Top 20 for Age U-12 are rated over 1900 while another 11 are rated above 1600. Wow!!! Top rated Sam Sevian has a strong chance to become America's Youngest Master ever while FM Tanuj Vasudeva earned the silver medal at World Youth U-8 in Turkey last October. Don't forget to watch out for this quartet of rapidly improving juniors: Jack Zhu, Hunter Klotz-Burwell, Russell Bik and Udit Iyengar.

CalChess Top 20 for Age U-12
(February 2010 rating and points gained in last two months;
fpawn students are shown in bold)
Corrected February 1.

1. Sevian, Samuel (2123, +27, age 9)
2. Zhu, Jack (1999, +78, age 11
3. FM Vasudeva, Tanuj (1906, -20, age 8)
4. Viswanadha, Kesav (1784, +90, age 10)
5. Apte, Neel (1783, -17, age 11)
6. Wheeler, Cameron (1783, +8, age 9)
7. Panchanatham, Vignesh (1782, +24, age 9)
8. Beilin, Allan (1770, +52, age 10)
9. Ho, Daniel (1696, +87, age 11)
10. Chow, Colin (1666, -6, age 9)
11. Klotz-Burwell, Hunter (1660, +61, age 11)
12. Taghizadeh, Rayan (1608, +41, age 7)
13. Janarthanan, Naveen (1607, +27, age 11)
14. Tao, Jeffrey (1600, +49, age 9)
15. Yu, Leland (1598, -13, age 11)
16. Wang, Justin (1596, +92, age 11)
    
17. Yi, Richard (1581, -35, age 9)
18. Kalyanpur, Armaan (1580, -5, age 10)
19. Bik, Russell (1580, 115, age 9)
20. Iyengar, Udit (1579, +72, age 9)

CalChess Top 20 for Age 12-17

(Photo of FMs Danya and Steven from the 2008 CalChess Scholastics, where they shared top honors in the High School championship.)

The CalChess scholastic rankings keep becoming stronger and stronger. Ten players on the Top 20 for Age 12-17 are rated over 2000 and the next ten are over 1900; just 3-4 years ago, the 20th spot was well into the low 1800s. Incredibly, five ranked players are just 12 years old, with plenty of room to grow over the coming years.

Even with the graduation of IM Sam Shankland last June, there are still five active young Masters in the Bay Area. Two recently broke 2400 USCF, earning the distinction of 'Senior Master' in addition to the FIDE Master title. Congratulations Danya and Steven! And Evan Sandberg is racing to break 2200, having gained an impressive 77 points in two months.

CalChess Top 20 for Age 12-17
(February 2010 rating and points gained in last two months;
fpawn students, both present and former, are shown in bold)
Corrected February 1.

1. FM Naroditsky, Daniel (2426, +51, age 14)
2. FM Zierk, Steven (2417, +30, age 16)
3. NM Young, Gregory (2282, +10, age 14)
4. NM Liou, Yian (2211, -15, age 12)
5. NM Agarwal, Rohan (2204, 0, age 16)
6. Sandberg, Evan (2162, +77, age 16)
7. Manvelyan, Hayk (2064, +12, age 16)
8. Shin, Kyle (2052, -14, age 12)
   
9. Karas, Nicholas (2042, -3, age 16)
10. Liou, Arthur (2010, -4, age 15)
11. Lin, Michael (1974, 0, age 17)
12. Yeh, Andrew (1972, 0, age 14)
13. Bekker, Sam (1953, 0, age 14)
14. Liu, Daniel (1940, +11, age 12)
15. Xiao, Ted (1930,+41, age 14)
16. Kwok, James (1919, +71, age 12)
17. Chillakanti, Mukund (1907, 0, age 15)
18. Sun, Jerome (1907, 0, age 12)
19. Li, Changhe (1904, 0, age 13)
20. Frei, Thadeus (1903, +113, age 16)
    

Magnus #1 in the New Year!

Here's wishing all of my readers a joyous, healthy and prosperous New Year 2010!!

There has been plenty of exciting chess news to report over the past couple of days. Several local youngsters faced stiff competition at the North American Open in Las Vegas (photo top right), and they no doubt earned the praise of many around the country. Watch for my final report in the coming days.

The biggest international story is the rise of a Norwegian teenager as the new #1 rated player in the World. At 2810, Magnus Carlsen (photo top left) becomes the youngest top ranked chess player in history! It may only be a matter of time before he also earns a shot at the official World Chess Championship. Check out the December 25 issue of Time magazine for an interview with the new "King of Chess".

Top FIDE Ratings, January 2010

• 1 Carlsen, Magnus 2810 (NOR, 19)
• 2 Topalov, Veselin 2805 (BUL, 34)
• 3 Anand, Viswanathan 2790 (IND, 40)
• 4 Kramnik, Vladimir 2788 (RUS, 34)
• 5 Aronian, Levon 2781 (ARM, 27)
• 6 Gelfand, Boris 2761 (ISR, 41)
• 7 Gashimov, Vugar 2759 (AZE, 23)
• 8 Ivanchuk, Vassily 2749 (UKR, 40)
• 9 Wang, Yue 2749 (CHN, 22)
• 10 Svidler, Peter 2744 (RUS, 33)
• 28 Nakamura, Hikaru 2708 (USA, 22)
• 40 Kamsky, Gata 2693 (USA, 35)
• 57 Onischuk, Alexander 2670 (USA, 34)