We enjoyed another good crowd for our Queen’s Gambit Thematic #1 last week, with forty people taking part in six rounds of 1. d4 d5 2. c4 action using the faster G/3+2 time control. After the final c-pawn was pushed some familiar names stood atop the wall chart, with Austin Chen, Pranav Jindal and Carlos Jerez sharing first place at 5.0 points. Sam Bekker and Yoyo He tied for 4th at 4.5, leaving a long list of strong players at 4.0 to wonder what might have been. This was a fun event and I think the majority of participants preferred the faster G/3+2 time control. Full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who joined us for this thematic tournament.
Note that this week Frisco Del Rosario, Brian Chen and Jeff McGinnis will be hosting the club in my absence and there will be a lecture followed by casual play, so bring your clock if you wish to play timed games. The following week we may hold a bughouse tournament for those interested and will offer casual play for those who are not—I hope to see many of you then. Regards,
Twenty-six people joined our King’s Gambit Thematic #1 last week and my casual observations saw most people accept the proffered pawn, leading to some honest, fighting chess which would have made Frisco proud, I think (Frisco’s lecture earlier that evening covered the King’s Gambit). After five rounds of G/6;d2 gambiteering, then, newcomer Sean Zhang stood alone atop the wall chart with 4.5 points, and that success without any avowed familiarity with or preference for the opening. David Flores, Hayden Brongersma and Austin Chen tied for second with 4.0 points while Yoyo He managed sole fifth at 3.5. Full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who who joined us for this foray into 19th-century chess.
One bit of feedback I received from many in attendance is that they would prefer a casual evening with lecture and blitz event rather than another thematic tournament this week, so I updated our Events page to reflect that change (we’ll hold another seven-round G/3+2 blitz tournament after the lecture this week). As always, please let me know if you have any suggestions or preferences for chess activities and I hope to see many of you at the club this week. Regards,
I was on vacation most of last week in Monterey, returning to the Bay Area Thursday afternoon, and did not post an update for the previous July 23rd meeting, when we enjoyed what may be a record 40 people participate in our Impromptu Blitz #70, with another 5-6 visitors spectating or playing casual games in the hall that evening. That was followed a week later by the 34 participants in our Impromptu Blitz #71 and, again, 6-8 visitors who played casual games in the overflow room—both evenings saw six or more first-time visitors to the club so the membership largesse continues unabated.
As consistent as the larger turnout these past couple months was the play of 13-year-old Sarp Sahin from Turkey, whose worst performance in his five weeks with the club was a tie for first place—twice—the other three weeks he was first alone, including a 7-0 run on July 16th. What’s more, his was the first and only club blitz rating to surpass the rarified air of 1700 on July 16th and 1800 last week, settling at 1812, a full 134 points above the next player on our list (an NM) and, it must be said, bettering Bobby Fischer’s ratings differential of 125 points over Boris Spassky in 1972, for those who keep track of such things.
In all seriousness, it was an honor to host Sarp and his equally-talented younger brother, Bora, this past month and we hope they enjoyed visiting Disneyland this week on their way home to Turkey. I’ve attached a couple images of the boys, one with me and another of both playing bughouse with Sam Bekker and Hayden Brongersma after last week’s blitz tournament. Full blitz results are in the attached wall chart images and there’s a bonus photo of Shlok, Pranav, Austin and Cameron shortly before or after they, too, threw down some bughouse last week.
Note that this week we will play the long-promised King’s Gambit thematic tournament with a slightly longer time control of G/6;d2 or so over five or six rounds. Each game will begin simply 1. e4 e5 2. f4 and the following week we’ll do the same with the Queen’s Gambit (1. d4 d5 2. c4), so let’s hear no excuses where your prep is concerned. The club Events page (https://menloparkchess.club/events/) has most of the next two months fleshed out if you are curious what we’ll be up to (bughouse tournament on August 27th) while the latest club blitz points standings and blitz ratings are available at the usual links:
