Saturday, December 3

Magnus Strikes Again, Retains Title

World Champion Magnus Carlsen
Credit: Maria Emelianova and Chess.com
World Champion Magnus Carlsen claimed the chess crown for the third time by prevailing in a competitive title match in New York.  The challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia gave the Norwegian titleholder all that he could handle, refusing to crack despite several losing positions.  After a dozen classical games, the combatants remained tied with one win each and ten draws.

The first two games of the rapid playoff also ended drawn.  As the pressure mounted, Carlsen sacrificed a pawn in the third rapid game and finally crashed through.  The fourth and final tiebreak game also ended in favor of the Norwegian after a spectacular queen sacrifice 50. Qh6+ forced checkmate in one.  A battle that many observers criticized as being dull and uninteresting concluded with perhaps one of the most memorable checkmates in chess history!

The first chess title bout between two players born after 1980 has concluded in favor of the defending champion.  For Carlsen, this was his third successful championship match, the first two coming against Viswanathan Anand in 2013 and 2015.  He can expect to face another challenger in late 2018.  For now, the champ can enjoy a vacation to celebrate his 26th birthday, which coincidentally was the day of the playoff.

Tal Meets Qh6 and Carlsen Wins



Watch Israeli GM Tal Baron broadcast the final moves of the World Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin.  Within a minute, his live reaction runs the gamut from disbelief to pure ecstasy as Carlsen first played Rc8+ and followed up with the spectacular queen sacrifice Qh6+.  Karjakin immediately resigned, unable to prevent checkmate in one.

Saturday, November 12

World Championship Results

Players stare at board in full concentration during Game 7. (credit: Chessbase)

World Championship Match
New York City
November 11 - 28
Games Begin 11AM Pacific time
Tiebreaks on November 30 (if necessary)

         |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-----|
 Round # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| TOT |
         |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-----|
 Carlsen | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | 0 | = | 1 | = | = | 6.0 |
         |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-----|
Karjakin | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | 1 | = | 0 | = | = | 6.0 |
         |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|-----|

Magnus Carlsen plays White in Games 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12
Sergey Karjakin plays White in Games 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11


Tiebreaker on Wednesday, November 30.
  1. Four games of Rapid G/25 with 10 sec increment. 
  2. If still tied, two games of Blitz G/5 with 3 sec increment.
  3. If still tied, repeat until 10 Blitz games are completed.
  4. If still tied after 14 tiebreak games, then one Armageddon game. White gets 5 minutes, Black gets 4 minutes.  Black wins if drawn!  A 3 second increment kicks in on move 61.

Friday, November 11

Carlsen vs Karjakin Match Begins Today

Carlsen and Karjakin smile on the day before Game 1. (credit: Chess24)

The World Chess Championship 2016 begins today at 11AM Pacific time. Defending champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway faces challenger Sergey Karjakin of Russia, but born in Ukraine. The venue is the Fulton Market Building in the South Street Seaport of Manhattan, New York. This will be the first title bout featuring two players of the Computer Age. Karjakin is 26 and Carlsen turns 26 on November 30, the day of the tiebreaker, if necessary. Both grew up analyzing with computers, studying databases, and playing blitz on the internet.

When they were kids.... (credit: Chess Daily News)
The competitors are two of the three youngest Grandmasters in history. Carlsen is both the #1 rated player in the world at 2853, and holds the highest rating in history of 2882. He earned the GM title in 2004 at the tender age of 13 years, 4 months and 27 days. Carlsen was crowned world champion in 2013, vanquishing Viswanathan Anand of India. He also won a rematch in 2015. On the other hand, Karjakin became the youngest GM ever in 2002, amazingly only 12 years and 7 months old. Now he is #9 in the world at 2772, with a lifetime peak rating of 2788. He qualified for the title match by winning the strong Candidates Tournament earlier this year, outlasting the top rated American Fabiano Caruana in the final round. While Karjakin has competed against the strongest players in the world for the past decade, this will be his first shot at the chess crown.

Most experts have tabbed Carlsen as the favorite. They cite his higher rating and greater experience in title matches. His universal style has few known weaknesses, and his ability to grind out a win from a seemingly drawn endgame is second to none. Carlsen could play almost any opening imaginable, and sometimes chooses to avoid mainstream theory simply to obtain the middlegame he prefers. For someone who enjoys marathon games, he is fit as an athlete, an advantage that may be less significant against an opponent his own age.  

This is the board they will play on. The glass window
is a special mirror that spectators can see through, but
the players cannot. (credit: Dan Lucas of US Chess)
All that said, Karjakin is a dangerous challenger, a talented junior who dominated tournaments back in his youth. Over the years, he has also shown few weaknesses. Perhaps his strength lies in defending, an attribute that highlights resourcefulness and resilience. In many ways, Karjakin’s style mirrors that of the world champion. Another advantage could be in the opening, where he draws upon the accumulated knowledge of the Soviet Chess School. Never before has Karjakin received unconditional financial support of the Russian Chess Federation and the Kremlin. His team of seconds may include some of the best of the world, or at least, the former Soviet Union.  No doubt, he will be fully prepared, and probably an even stronger player than ever.

The match lasts just 12 games, short by historical standards. For example, the famous encounter between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972 went 24 rounds. And the first match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov in 1984 was controversially aborted after 48 games over nearly five months! As a result, the subsequent four Kasparov-Karpov matches were capped at 24 games. In spite of historical precedent, 12 games became the modern standard in 2008, when Viswanathan Anand soundly defeated Vladimir Kramnik.

The World Chess Championship 2016 runs from November 11 to 30. Games are scheduled one per day starting at 11AM Pacific time, with a rest day after every two games (plus an extra day off before the final game). Carlsen has the white pieces in rounds 1, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12. Once either player reaches 6.5 or 7.0 points, the match terminates immediately. On the other hand, if they finish tied 6 to 6, then a 4 game rapid time control tiebreaker will occur on November 30.

Carlsen won in Bilbao just 4 months ago. (credit: Chessbase)

Who will win? These two combatants have battled 21 times in classical chess, with the Norwegian scoring 4 wins against only 1 for the Russian. Karjakin’s lone win came in 2012, while Carlsen has won three straight (not counting draws), most recently this July in Bilbao, Spain. No doubt, the defending champion remains the clear favorite. My prediction is +2, which translates to Carlsen scoring 2 wins more than losses (e.g. 6.5-4.5 with 3 wins, 1 loss and 7 draws). Let the show begin!

Recommended websites:

Wednesday, August 10

Carlsen vs Karjakin Match in Manhattan

Magnus Carlsen (Credit: Tata)
Sergey Karjakin (Credit: Tata)









VS








Press Release from the World Chess Federation (FIDE):
The FIDE World Chess Championship Match 2016 is to take place at the Seaport District in Manhattan, New York.

The three week long Championship Match, to be held from November 11th to 30th, will be contested by 25-year-old reigning champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and his challenger, 26-year-old Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

When they were kids.... (Credit: Chess Daily News)

The Match arena will be built within the Fulton Market Building, a five minute walk from Wall Street, and will also feature dedicated spectator and VIP lounges with panoramic views of the Brooklyn Bridge as well as retail space, a restaurant, TV studios and much more.

Shabalov Wins US Open Again

2-time US Open champion GM Shabalov
poses with TD Francisco Guadalupe
(Photo credit: Guadalupe)
Defending champion GM Alexander Shabalov emerged as the winner after a dramatic final day at the 2016 US Open in Indianapolis.  At first, Shabalov vanquished GM Aleksandr Lenderman on top board for his 8th victory in 9 rounds.  Then he defeated Israeli GM Gil Popilski in an Armageddon blitz playoff to claim the trophy.  15-year old IM Ruifeng Li, the tournament leader throughout the entire week, only managed a draw in the final round and finished in 3rd place.  Officially, 389 participants played in at least one round of the giant single section swiss.


Five shared the highest score from Northern California at 6.0 out of 9.  Congratulations to NM Michael Wang, NM John Langreck, FM Mark Pinto, and two young experts: Balaji Daggupati and Christopher Yoo.  11-year old Balaji is rated 2166 after an especially impressive run, defeating a pair of masters and losing only once, to top rated GM Illia Nyzhnyk. 9-year old Christopher finished perfect against opponents rated under 2200, and drew a master in the money round.   Well done guys!!

Sunday, July 31

US Open in Indianapolis

Participants of the Denker Invitational. NM Michael Wang is in second row,
sixth from the right, wearing light blue dress shirt. Photo credit: US Chess

The 117th US Open kicked off this weekend in Indianapolis.  The 9-round tournament features three schedules: one game per day, 6 days beginning on Tuesday, and 4 days at an accelerated time control.  The 6-day schedule tends to be most popular.  After the merge prior to round 7, all participants compete for the same prizes.  At the time of this post, there are 10 Grandmasters among the 311 entrants, led by top rated GM Alex Lenderman (Note: GM Illia Nyzhnyk is now the highest rated after joining the 6-day schedule.)

The annual US Open features daily side events alongside the main tournament.  Chess politicians from around America meet to discuss the business of governing the US Chess Federation.  Three prestigious scholastic invitationals each offer $5,000 college scholarships to the winners.  The Denker, named after the late GM Arnold Denker, attracts the high school state champion from every state.  The Barber, named after organizer Dewain Barber of Southern California, targets top K-8 players from each state.  Likewise, the National Girl's Tournament of Champions invites the top young ladies.  Each of these invitationals runs 6 rounds over four days.

Saturday, July 30

People's Open in Berkeley

Top boards in 3-day schedule, from left to right: GM Parimarjan Negi (W),
GM Nick DeFirmian (B), FM Cameron Wheeler (W) and IM Kesav Viswanadha (B).

The 41st Annual People's Tournament returned to its traditional roots on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley.  Due to the lack of a suitable venue in Berkeley, this event was held at Santa Clara in recent years.  This year, chess came home to The Faculty Club on campus.

  • Top players:
    • GM Parimarjan Negi, GM Cristian Chirila
    • IM Kesav Viswanadha, IM Ricardo DeGuzman, IM Elliott Winslow
    • FM Cameron Wheeler, SM Arun Sharma, FM Andy Lee
  • 169 total participants 

Saturday, June 11

Chess Students Head Off To College

All smiles on graduation day.


















For almost two decades, I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach some of the brightest young minds in Northern California.  Simply spoken, smart children play chess, and chess offers a competitive arena to exercise their brain muscles.  Of course, I always knew my students had the cerebral skill to excel.  And every June, it seems that the graduates move on to some of the best colleges in America.  Well done mates!

The High School graduating Classes of 2015 and 2016 included more than a dozen of my former chess trainees, four who achieved the master level.  Their college choices were, quite literally, all over the map.  Six preferred the short commute to Berkeley, Stanford, UC Santa Cruz and San Jose State.  Another signed up for the short flight to UC Irvine.  The remaining students apparently wanted to get away from home--far, far away.  They enrolled at MIT, New York University, Carnegie Mellon, Wesleyan, U Mass and Washington University (Saint Louis).  Quite a list, I dare say!  

The following list shows the universities all around the country where 51 of my former chess students enrolled at (includes incoming freshmen)Two prominent Bay Area schools top of the list.  Roughly 2/3 stayed close to home, choosing to study at one of a dozen California schools.  If it is not the nice weather, then it must be the worldwide acclaim of the University of California.  Indeed, my list includes 7 of the 9 undergraduate UC campuses.   

  • 14 = UC Berkeley
  • 6 = Stanford 
  • 3 = MIT and UC San Diego
  • 2 = Duke, Carnegie Mellon, NYU, UCLA and UC Santa Cruz  
  • 1 = Cambridge (UK), Yale, Wesleyan, UMass, Rutgers, Northwestern, Washington (StL), Caltech, Pomona, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Pacific, San Jose State and Puget Sound

Note: The above list only includes undergraduate institutions and not graduate schools.

Tuesday, May 17

CalChess Denker and Barber Qualifiers

NM Michael Wang (credit: @USChess)

Near the end of yet another school year, many students look forward to a relaxing summer vacation.  For two local  chess juniors, this summer includes a trip to Indianapolis to represent Northern California at the Denker and Barber Invitationals from July 30 to August 2.  After five competitive rounds over two days, the results are in.

The Denker Qualifier (grades 9-12 only) saw 5 masters and 4 experts battle for the ticket to Indy.  Half of the games were drawn and all but one of the masters finished undefeated.  Nonetheless, one player managed to separate himself from the field to take clear first.  Congratulations to 9th grader NM Michael Wang for a strong performance!

The Barber Qualifier (grades K-8) attracted 27 enthusiastic and talented participants, including a trio of masters.  Alas, all three masters tasted defeat on the first day (rounds 1-3) and were out of contention.  In the final round, a 5th grader faced a 3rd grader for all the marbles.  The game ended in a draw, allowing 5th grader Balaji Daggupati to claim clear first.  Well done!

The Denker Invitational began in 1985, with each state naming one High School representative (Northern and Southern California are considered separate states).  The Barber Invitational for K-8 started in 2011.  Thanks to the late GM Arnold Denker, his family and Dewain Barber for sponsoring and organizing these two national championships.

Best of luck to Michael and Balaji in Indy!

CalChess Denker and Barber Participants

  • 2016: Michael Wang --------------------- Balaji Daggupati
  • 2015: Vignesh Panchanatham ---------- Rayan Taghizadeh
  • 2014: Colin Chow -------------------------- Siddharth Banik
  • 2013: Hunter Klotz-Burwell --------------- Vignesh Panchanatham (co-champion!
  • 2012: Sudarshan Seshadri --------------- Udit Iyengar
  • 2011: Nicholas Karas ---------------------- Neel Apte
  • 2010: Steven Zierk (champion!)   
  • 2009: Evan Sandberg   
  • 2008: Steven Zierk   
  • Balaji Daggupati
  • 2007: Nicolas Yap   
  • 2006: Daniel Schwarz   
  • 2005: Nicolas Yap   
  • 2004: Benjamin Tejes   
  • 2003: Monty Peckham   
  • 2002: Benjamin Haun   
  • 2001: none
  • 2000: Micah Fisher-Kirshner   
  • 1999: Vinay Bhat   
  • 1998: Vinay Bhat   
  • 1997: Dmitry Zilberstein   
  • 1996: Dmitry Zilberstein   
  • 1995: Adrian Keating-Clay   
  • 1995: Jennie Frenklakh (extra player)   
  • 1994: Dmitry Zilberstein (champion!)   
  • 1993: Peter Lee   
  • 1992: Adrian Keating-Clay   
  • 1991: Alan Stein (champion!)    
  • 1990: Andrew McManus   
  • 1989: Andrew McManus   
  • 1988: Kash Patel   
  • 1987: Andrew McManus   
  • 1986: Peter Yu   
  • 1985: none

Play Team 45 45 on ICC This Summer


The Team 45 45 League on the Internet Chess Club is accepting signups for a new tournament! Every participant plays one game each week for 6 weeks (plus playoffs) against different opponents at a mutually negotiated time. The time control is 45 minutes plus a 45 second increment for every move; thus, a typical game lasts 2-3 hours. The league, which has been active on ICC for over 15 years, offers sections at 200 rating point intervals, allowing everyone the opportunity to play near their own rating.  There is no cost to join the league, but ICC membership is required.  You also must first obtain a non-provisional ICC standard rating based on at least 20 games.

I have played in Team 4545 off and on for a decade, and I also volunteer as a TD. Over the years, many of my students have played in the league for tournament practice! Many Bay Area youngsters play on ICC and in the league. Highly recommended and fun to play!

Don't try this at home!
Before joining, please carefully read the Quick Guide and Player Handbook. The league has some strict rules that require a modest degree of personal responsibility.  You have 7 days to play each round.  While negotiating a time to play, it helps to be a little flexible in your availability, either after work or school on several days of the week, or on most weekends. If you're busy at a big weekend tournament, or out of town on vacation, you may wish to ask your captain to sit out that week. Please contact me with further questions.

T69 Schedule 
  • Team Entries Open May 17
  • Team Entries Close May 31
  • Round 1 Begins on June7
  • End of Round 6 on July 19
  • Playoffs Begin July 26

Warning: The league administration takes computer cheating very seriously, and a Computer Use committee carefully checks all games against chess engines.

Wednesday, May 11

Schutt Blitz at Mechanics on Sunday

GM Walter Browne versus the fpawn at the 2011 Schutt Memorial (photo by Shorman). We
battled many times over the years, notably in the last round at the 2007 US Championship
in Oklahoma, his final game in a championship that he won 6 times. My final pairing with
Mr. 6 Time came at the 2013 Schutt Memorial, when I managed a draw in two games. To
me, Walter Browne was the embodiment of the art we call blitz chess. RIP


For the past decade, the Ray Schutt Memorial has consistently been the strongest and most popular blitz tournaments in the Bay Area.  The last four years saw an average of 50 players, including many masters (17 last year) with several Grandmasters and International Masters.

The winners have included some of the strongest masters in California.  Stanford freshman GM Daniel Naroditsky finished on top in four of the past five years, including clear first in both 2014 and 2015.  Two other Grandmasters have won: Melik Khachiyan and the late Walter Browne.  Three lesser titled players have also won: IM Ricardo DeGuzman, FM Yian Liou (now an IM) and FM Andy Lee.

Naroditsky plans to defend his title against all-comers young and old.  Challengers will include Grandmasters Cristian Chirila and Patrick Wolff plus several International Masters.  And with some luck, there will even be an fpawn sighting!!?  Will you be there?



10th Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz 
Sunday, May 15
Location: 57 Post Street, San Francisco (use Montgomery BART)
 
FORMAT: Six double-round Swiss (12 games total)

TIME CONTROL: G/4 + inc/2
(bring your digital clock)

ENTRY FEE: $10 (free for GM / IM / WGM / WIM)
This tournament is NOT rated. 

PRIZES: $1025 total
1st place: $400
2nd place: $250
3rd place: $150
4th place: $100
5th place: $75
6th place $50

Prizes are guaranteed by the generosity of the Schutt family.  In addition, every player takes home a book prize!

REGISTRATION: On-site only from Noon to 12:45.


There will be no registration in advance. No phone entries.  The tournament will be held between roughly 1 and 4 PM.  Light refreshments courtesy of the Schutt family. Even if you don't play, please come and enjoy the atmosphere as a tribute to the popular 2300 rated master.

Tuesday, May 10

Top Juniors in the World Born Since 2000


An interesting chess fact for today.  

The top four rated juniors in the World born since January 1, 2000 all represent the USA.  Grandmasters Jeffery Xiong and Sam Sevian, both now rated over 2600 FIDE, clearly comprise the class of the millennium to date.  How far can they go? 

Also surprising is that three of the next five represent Iran.  Watch out for the untitled Alireza Firouzja, who earned his second IM norm by winning his national championship in January.  He is just 13, two years younger than anyone else on this list.

Finally, note that only one Russian junior managed to squeeze into this Top 10, and nobody from traditional youth powers India and China. 

Data obtained from the 2700chess website and based on the May 2016 FIDE rating list.

MSJE Repeats as National Champions

The Mission San Jose K-6 National Champions pose with Coach Joe Lonsdale in the back.

Kudos to Mission San Jose Elementary for winning US Chess K-6 Nationals for consecutive years and the third time in the past four years!  The school fielded competitive teams in all four championship divisions in Nashville, finishing Top 5 in three.  Simply said, major props to Coach Joseph Lonsdale and his large group of enthusiastic and talented kids!  Repeated success at states and nationals over so many years speaks for itself.

The following list shows Northern California trophy winners at Elementary Nationals.

  • MSJE (Fremont) school team = 1st in K-6, 5th in K-5, 4th in K-3 and 9th in K-1
  • Weibel (Fremont) school team = 5th in K-6, 13th in K-5

  • Rishith Susarla (MSJE) 9th in K-6 
  • Kevin Pan (MSJE) 20th in K-6
  • William Sartorio 5th in K-5
  • Milind Maiti 12th in K-5
  • Shree Jay (MSJE) 2nd U1200 in K-5
  • Adrian Kondakov 20th in K-3
  • Christopher Yoo 23rd in K-3
  • Sriram Krishnakumar 26th in K-3
  • Siddharth Arutla (MSJE) 1st U600 in K-3 
  • Nitish Nash 16th in K-1
  • Jason Liu (MSJE) 32nd in K-1

Monday, May 9

Panchanatham Leads Harker to Victory


National High School Champions from The Harker School.
Top board FM Panchanatham at left. (credit: Greg Shahade)

This post comes about five weeks too late.  As they say, better late than never.

Congratulations to The Harker School for winning the National High School Championship in Atlanta, and to their top board FM Vignesh Panchanatham for earning first place on tiebreaks in the individual standings!  Local rival IM Kesav Viswanadha defeated Vignesh in round 6, but took the second place trophy after tragically losing in round 7.  Bay Area representatives came home with four of the Top 10 trophies in the final standings.  Veni!  Vidi!  Vici!

The following list shows Northern California trophy winners at High School Nationals.

IM Viswanadha
(credit: Greg Shahade)
  • The Harker School (San Jose) team = CHAMPIONS
  • Monta Vista High School (Cupertino) team = 4th

  • FM Vignesh Panchanatham (Harker) 1st and co-champ
  • IM Kesav Viswanadha (MVHS) 2nd and co-champ
  • NM Siddharth Banik 8th
  • NM Michael Wang (Harker) 10th
  • Richard Yi (Harker) 20th
  • NM Andrew Hong 36th
  • Evan Lohn (Harker) 1st Unrated
  • Richard Wang (Harker) 2nd Unrated

Tuesday, April 5

Arnold Plays Chess


Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger played against children in a chess simul held at the sports and health exposition bearing his name in Rio de Janeiro. Before entering the political arena, Arnold built his reputation as an actor (Terminator among others) and bodybuilder.  Less well known is his affection for the royal game.  Alas, a chess master he is not.

Thursday, March 17

Young Reporters Interview Magnus Carlsen

Carlsen poses with two young reporters.  Photo by Dein Spiegel.

A pair of 13-year old reporters from Hamburg, Germany interviewed the World Champion prior to a celebrity simultaneous exhibition.  The two youngsters asked several unusual questions, including from whether he plays on Gameboy (no), dreams about chess (mostly important losses), or would skip a chess match to play a soccer game with Real Madrid (yes).

Many chess kids and their parents will smile at the following exchange.
Q: Magnus, when you were a child, did you cry after losing a chess game? And if yes: when did you stop doing so?

A: Who says that I am not crying today? ... Okay. I think, I was 16 when I last cried after losing a game. But you should not be ashamed of that. The tears only show that you are ambitious and that you want to achieve something.
Read more about this interview at the ChessBase news website

Wednesday, March 2

Women's World Championship

Muzychuk (white) vs Hou Yifan (black) - Credit: FIDE

Women's World Championship Match
March 2-18 @ Lviv, Ukraine
10 games (rapid tiebreaks if necessary)
Champion: Mariya Muzychuk (UKR) rated 2563
Challenger: Hou Yifan (CHN) rated 2667 (former Champion)

Score: Hou Yifan Wins 6.0-3.0

Game 1: Muzychuk 1/2 Hou Yifan :: Giuoco Pianissimo, 31 moves
Game 2: Hou Yifan 1-0 Muzychuk :: Open Ruy Lopez, 32 moves
Game 3: Muzychuk 1/2 Hou Yifan :: Closed Catalan, 36 moves
Game 4: Hou Yifan 1/2 Muzychuk :: Open Ruy Lopez, 21 moves
Game 5: Hou Yifan 1/2 Muzychuk :: Reti Opening, 33 moves
Game 6: Muzychuk 0-1 Hou Yifan :: Giuoco Pianissimo, 38 moves
Game 7: Hou Yifan 1/2 Muzychuk :: Open Ruy Lopez, 81 moves
Game 8: Muzychuk 1/2 Hou Yifan :: Queen Pawn Game, 44 moves
Game 9: Hou Yifan 1-0 Muzychuk :: Sicilian Boleslavsky, 46 moves

Monday, February 29

Park Hustler Hustled by Grandmaster


As a young chess prodigy, Maurice Ashley sharpened his skills against hustlers in Central Park.  The typical hustler plays a mean game, sometimes relying on psychological tricks to intimidate his opponents.  After many years, Ashley sat down across from one unsuspecting hustler.  Who would be intimidated, the park hustler or the veteran Grandmaster?  Watch the video to find out!

Friday, January 15

NorCal Top Adults - January 2016

GM Negi studies at Stanford University (credit: Stanford Daily)

  1. GM Negi, Parimarjan 2734 USCF 2664 FIDE
  2. GM Shankland, Sam 2723 2638
  3. GM Naroditsky, Daniel 2710 2634
  4. GM Chirila, Cristian 2599 2536
  5. GM Chirila
  6. GM Barbosa, Oliver 2593 2508
  7. GM De Firmian, Nick 2583 2508
  8. GM Kraai, Jesse 2573 2510
  9. GM Bhat, Vinay 2570 2519
  10. IM Mc Cambridge, Vincent 2515 2465
  11. IM Liou, Yian 2500 2414
  12. SM Sharma, Arun 2456 2362
  13. IM Mezentsev, Vladimir 2444 2359
  14. FM Wheeler, Cameron 2436 2369
  15. IM Pruess, David 2416 2350
  16. FM Panchanatham, Vignesh 2416 2344
  17. IM Viswanadha, Kesav 2415 2359
  18. FM Lee, Andy 2391 2317
  19. IM De Guzman, Ricardo 2387 2363
  20. FM Critelli, James 2366 2273
  21. IM Kaufman, Ray 2337 2315

http://www.fpawn.com/NorCalTopAdults.pdf

Thursday, January 7

Bay Area Teenage Mutant Chess Masters

Future GMs: Daniel Naroditsky (white) squares off against Sam Shankland in 2007.

Over the past decade, the Bay Area has become an incubator for the development of young chess talents.  Indeed, school age masters used to be a rare breed, with no more than one or two gracing local tournaments at the same time.  This changed at the 2006 CalChess Scholastics, which saw a quartet of masters compete in the K-12 section.  Moreover, two of the experts participating that year would go on to earn the highest title in chess: Grandmaster!

Today, the roster of teenage masters has mutated.  It no longer numbers in single figures, but rather in the 20s!  Only a few states around the country can boast that many adult masters.  Some of the most talented juniors earn the NM title already at age 10 or 11.


NorCal K-12 Masters (Age and January 2016 USCF rating)
  1. FM Wheeler, Cameron (15) 2436 (photo at right)
  2. IM Viswanadha, Kesav (16) 2416
  3. FM Panchanatham, Vignesh (15) 2415
  4. NM Zhu, Jack Qijie (17) 2313
  5. FM Taghizadeh, Rayan (13) 2312
  6. NM Hong, Andrew Z (11) 2306
  7. NM Banik, Siddharth G (15) 2265
  8. NM Jirasek, Ladia (15) 2257
  9. NM Zhao, Art (16) 2242
  10. WIM Eswaran, Ashritha (15) 2238
  11. NM Beilin, Allan J (16) 2231
  12. NM Virtanen, Teemu (16) 2230
  13. NM Klotz-Burwell, Hunter (17) 2225
  14. NM Bick, Gabriel J (16) 2223
  15. NM Wang, Michael (14) 2217
  16. NM Nagarajan, Pranav (16) 2217
  17. NM Chow, Colin (16) 2209
  18. NM Apte, Neel (17) 2205
  19. NM Iyengar, Udit (15) 2205
  20. NM Stearman, Josiah P (12) 2203 (photo at right)
  21. nm Wang, Michael Lei (16) 2196*
  22. FM Vasudeva, Tanuj (14) 2186*
  23. nm Liu, Daniel (18) 2159*
 * previously broke 2200, but slipped back down

In addition, several local juniors have been awarded the Candidate Master title by the World Chess Federation in recognition of excellent performance at international youth tournaments.  These young stars are well on track to become masters themselves.

  • CM Senthilkumar, Pranav (13) 1975
  • CM Bayaraa, Chinguun (10) 1889 (photo at right)
  • WCM Garai, Antara (11) 1821
  • WCM Zhao, Chenyi (12) 1775
  • CM Nachiappan, Aghilan (8) 1743
  • WCM Eswaran, Aksithi (9) 1709

Make sure to check out the NorCal Top 20 Juniors at my chess teaching website.
Photo credit: Richard Shorman at ChessDryad.

Monday, January 4

New Year's Championship in Oakland

Tsegmed Batchuluun
Mongolian GM Tsegmed Batchuluun dominated the Bay Area Chess New Year's Championship, scoring five wins and only one draw despite being paired with four blacks.  He impressively knocked off the top two seeds, GM Parimarjan Negi and GM Yaroslav Zherebukh, both rated over 2600 FIDE.  Scheduled for the first three days of 2016, the tournament drew a relatively modest turnout of 127 participants to a new venue, the Marriott at the Oakland Convention Center.


Next: Golden State Open in Concord on January 15-18.  This event has attracted an average of 280 players over the past six years, making it the largest annual adult chess event in Northern California.  Advance entry listBe there!