Join Us for Thursday Evening Chess on the San Francisco Peninsula
Below are the current standings and round 4 pairings for our club championship, which continues after the Thanksgiving Holiday with round 4 on December 4th, 2025. We also have Frisco’s round 2 and round 3 bulletins available at the following links — many thanks once again to Frisco for producing this for our club!
Round Two Bulletin
Round Three Bulletin
I wanted to post a quick update reminding people that we’ll be playing round 3 of our club championship this Thursday at 7pm, per the attached wall chart image. Please feel free to join us for Frisco’s 6:30pm lecture and to spectate the tournament games thereafter but we won’t be holding the typical free, unrated blitz tournament this week. We will have a skittles room available for those who wish to pick up a game or two and that room becomes reasonably active as the tournament games finish round 8pm.
Frisco is also creating an excellent tournament bulletin for each round and that for the first may be viewed here.
Please let me know if you have any questions about the club championship or about club events for the remainder of the year (https://menloparkchess.club/events/) and I hope to see you at the Arrillaga Center soon! Regards,
Mark Drury
Last Thursday we dabbled yet again in the A4c variant with four rounds of G/10+0 action and it was surprising this time around how many matches went to the third game, even in the earlier rounds. I had given some thought to trying G/7+0 given a faster time control was suggested by the creator of this variant yet, given how poorly I performed with ten minutes on my clock, I’m perhaps fortunate we stuck with the longer time control (though it made little difference in my results). A few others bemoaned the seeming quickness of G/10+0 in this format but I don’t know that it would make sense to use anything longer. In any case, congratulations to Pranav Jindal for sole first place and for his perfect score in this event and to Hayden, Breakwell, Austin and newcomer Brice Huang for their T-2nd result with 3.0 out of 4 (full results are in the attached image).
Somewhat embarrassingly, in my second-round match with Kornél Csernai, we reached game three with me up 1.5-0.5 and I promptly ran out of time in the third game, laboring under the delusion that the worst I could do was draw the match, never mind the result of that last game. We recorded the draw and moved on to the next round but it finally dawned on us after the tournament that Kornel should have received the full point — I needed to resign the third game with time still on my clock to secure the half point, it seems (something we’ll need to run by Alaric the next time we see him). Apologies again for cheating you out of that half point, Kornel! 🙂
Our Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads also wrapped up last week and the full results can be found on the associated tournament page. Congratulations to Hayden Brongersma, Breakwell Loyalka, Austin Chen, Caleb Leong and Saveen Sahni for the excellent performances in their respective groups and I hope to submit the quads for rating as soon as we resolve one expired US Chess membership. On a personal note I learned that, as bad as I am at time management in A4c chess, I’m even worse in these G/15;d5 games and was lucky to scrape the lone half point from Hugo Pu in our second game (it occurred to me that he may have gifted me that draw given it was all he needed to secure second place in our quad). Poorly as I did the chess was still enjoyable and I’m glad to have played, never mind that my Quick rating is quickly heading to three digits.
Note that our Club Championship begins tomorrow evening and runs through December 11th, something which will supplant the free, unrated blitz tournaments normally run on casual evenings. We may still have a skittles room set up for casual play but that won’t be certain until the night of each round. Please feel free to stop by the club to spectate the club championship games if you are not playing, of course, and have a great Holiday season if we won’t see you until next year! Regards,
Mark Drury
Last Thursday we were treated to Frisco’s excellent lecture on the games and character of the late Daniel Naroditsky, whose passing deeply affected the many members of our club who knew him. I never met Daniel but everything I’ve heard and read about him makes clear the magnitude of the loss his untimely death is for the world-wide chess community. There was a celebration of his life and legacy (one of many, I’m sure) in San Mateo this past Sunday and I hope more than a few of you were able to attend and share what Daniel meant to you and to those who knew him and his work.
After the lecture we held another 7-round Swiss blitz affair with G//5+0, a time control we don’t use all that often and one which left a number of people pining away for any increment or delay, self included. Pranav Jindal was upset in the first round by perennial threat Venugopal Mani before righting the ship and notching six straight victories for sole first place, including a final-round victory against the ever more formidable Austin Chen. Austin tied for second with Alex Chin at 5.0 points while returning player William Mandrusov and junior Caleb Leong shared 4th place at 4.5. Full results are in the attached image, thank you to everyone who played in this event and congratulations to our winners!
This Thursday night, after our lecture, we will once again assay Alaric Stein’s A4c variant, our third such event with this format and it proved very popular the first two times we gave it a try. The event is free and unrated (no need to register in advance) and more information may be found here:
https://menloparkchess.club/event/a4c-variant-tournament-3/
Please let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see many of you at the club tomorrow night. Regards,
Mark Drury
Just a quick reminder that tonight we’ll hold another casual evening at the club, with a free lecture at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament of 5-7 rounds. We’ll also play makeup games for our Autumn Quads event in a separate room, which are always fun to spectate. Please plan to attend if you have a free hour or two for chess this evening.
Please also consider registering for our club championship beginning November 6th, which is always a highlight of the year for our group and is limited to 32 players:
https://menloparkchess.club/event/fourth-menlo-park-chess-club-championship-round-one/
Regards,
Mark Drury
I wanted to share a quick update that the club’s Autumn Quads wrapped up last week, save for a few makeup games which will occur on the 23rd or 30th of this month, so tomorrow, October 16th, will include Frisco’s excellent lecture and a casual evening with a possible free, unrated blitz tournament to round out the night for those who are interested. One difference will be that I won’t attend tomorrow, given I’ll be out of town, but Hayden Brongersma, Jeff McGinnis and Hugo Pu have graciously offered to run the club in my stead. They will begin setting up round 6pm and if you are able to help them I’m sure it would be much appreciated. Casual, blitz, bughouse and hand-and-brain competition may complement any blitz tournament, I’m sure, so please plan to attend for some or all of the three hours, and thank you again, Hayden, Jeff and Hugo, for helping out!
I also wanted to send another reminder to register for our 4th annual club championship which begins November 6th, a 5-round G/45;d5 affair in one section over six weeks (no chess Thanksgiving week) that includes three or four different prize groups. This is our premier event and may very well be the most prestigious tournament north of Palo Alto and south of Atherton on the peninsula during the latter two months of the year. Details and a registration link may be found here: https://menloparkchess.club/event/fourth-menlo-park-chess-club-championship-round-one/. Regards,
Mark Drury
Just a quick reminder that tonight we continue our quick-rated quads after Frisco’s 6:30pm lecture so there will be no blitz tournament this evening, while the final quad games will occur next Thursday, October 9th, to wrap up this event (the Events tab on the club website is up-to-date through early November, when our five-round club championship begins).
Speaking of our club championship, it begins November 6th and includes five rounds of dual-rated G/45;d5 chess, one game per evening over six weeks with a break during the Thanksgiving Holiday. Details about this fun event and a registration link may be found here:
As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about club activities and I hope to see many of you at the club soon. Regards,
Mark Drury
Below are the complete wall charts and pairings for our Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, which begin Thursday, September 25th. As a reminder, participants will play two games against the same opponent each evening, one as white and one as black. Players should arrive at the club no later than 6:50pm to be ready to start their first game at 7pm sharp. Chess boards, chess sets, chess clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the club but feel free to bring your own clock of you prefer. Our tournament rules summary is worthwhile reading if you are new to rated chess or need a refresher.
Quad One
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yoyo He | W 4 | B 4 | B 3 | W 3 | B 2 | W 2 | ||
| 1917 15174491 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2.5 | $15 | |
| 2 | Adam Ferrell | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | W 1 | B 1 | ||
| 1879 12644884 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | $15 | |
| 3 | Jason Wright | B 2 | W 2 | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | ||
| 1844 12707147 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | ||
| 4 | Hayden Brongersma | B 1 | W 1 | W 2 | B 2 | W 3 | B 3 | ||
| 1838 31240441 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5.5 | $50 |
Quad Two
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Breakwell Loyalka | W 4 | B 4 | B 3 | W 3 | W 2 | B 2 | 1st | |
| 1728 31569521 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | $50 | |
| 2 | Yaniv Vinish | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | B 1 | W 1 | ||
| 1705p 32105653 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | ||
| 3 | Mark Drury | B 2 | W 2 | W 1 | B 1 | W 4 | B 4 | ||
| 1700 12459313 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0.5 | ||
| 4 | Hugo Pu | B 1 | W 1 | W 2 | B 2 | B 3 | W 3 | ||
| 1679 31093860 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 3.0 | $30 |
Quad Three
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Chen | W 4 | B 4 | B 3 | W 3 | B 2 | W 2 | ||
| 1641 31293249 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5.0 | $50 | |
| 2 | Di Lin | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | W 1 | B 1 | ||
| 1555p 32402356 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.5 | $30 | |
| 3 | Kaio Deeter | B 2 | W 2 | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | ||
| 1440 31951986 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0F | 0F | 0.5 | ||
| 4 | Jeffrey McGinnis | B 1 | W 1 | W 2 | B 2 | W 3 | B 3 | ||
| 1400 13195830 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1F | 1F | 3.0 |
Quad Four
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven Swick | W 4 | B 4 | B 3 | W 3 | W 2 | B 2 | ||
| unr. 32587496 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | ||
| 2 | Caleb Leong | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | B 1 | W 1 | ||
| 1284 30207849 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4.5 | $50 | |
| 3 | Cameron Troy | B 2 | W 2 | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | ||
| 1233 30632621 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.0 | $30 | |
| 4 | Vinayak Vikram | B 1 | W 1 | W 2 | B 2 | W 3 | B 3 | ||
| 1081 31007663 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.5 |
Quad Five
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lua Loyalka | W 4 | B 4 | B 3 | W 3 | B 2 | W 2 | ||
| 1043 31569531 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.0 | $30 | |
| 2 | Alan Chen | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | W 1 | B 1 | ||
| 502 31293265 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | ||
| 3 | Alfred Davis | B 2 | W 2 | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | ||
| 438p 31939241 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | ||
| 4 | Saveen Sahni | B 1 | W 1 | W 2 | B 2 | W 3 | B 3 | ||
| unr. 32515744 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6.0 | $50 |
Twenty-four people joined us for our Impromptu Blitz #48 last week, another 7-round G/4+2 affair which produced no real surprises where the final results were concerned. Alex Chin claimed another sole first place with 6.0 out of 7, with his only loss a tough game against Breakwell Loyalka, a name we’re seeing far more of in these summaries. Hayden Brongersma and first-time club visitor and Bay Area chess stalwart Cailen Melville tied for second at 5.5, while Breakwell was alone in fourth at 5.0 followed by a raft of strong if vexed players at 4.0. I suppose after 48 iterations of these blitz tournaments it’s time to lose the “Impromptu” title and I’m thinking of ways to change the format to make it more league-like, with results over several weeks or months leading to prizes and the like—more to come about that soon. Full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who joined us for this tournament.
We still have some spots available in our double-round quick-rated quads or small Swisses which begin this Thursday. Note that there will be no on-site registration for this event, given I need to set up the groups ahead of time, so if you wish to play please register today, if at all possible (if you didn’t receive email from the club address today stating you are registered for the event you are not currently in the tournament):
Well, the inevitable happened last week when ten-year-old Austin Chen (I think he’s but ten) tied for first place with Breakwell Loyalka in our five-round Freestyle Chess with Draft tournament, one with a relatively short (for the variant) G/5;d3 time control. Austin and Breakwell played some nice games en route to their 4.5 out of 5 scores, with Austin grinding down both me and Sanat Singhal in what were likely drawn rook and pawn endgames while Breakwell won a wild final-round game against WFM Olivia Smith. Olivia, Hugo Pu and Raghav Ramesh tied for third with 3.5 points. The full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun variant tournament.
This Thursday we’ll hold yet another casual evening with a lecture at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Also, we will proceed with our autumn quick-rated quads beginning September 25th so if you wish to play and have not yet registered for that event please do so asap here. Regards,
Mark Drury
