Category: blitz

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Impromptu Blitz #41 Results & Summer Schedule

Twenty intrepid people, including five first-time visitors to the club, joined us this past Thursday for another excellent lecture followed by seven rounds of G/3;d3 blitz, which is fast becoming the favored (or least despised) time control at the club of late. Alex Su once again shared first place with 6.0 out of 7 points, though this time with relative newcomer Vishesh Agrawal, a strong blitz player who took third the previous week, while Adam Ferrell had another strong showing with sole third at 5.0, ahead of the usual dejected throng of 4.0 players. I was expecting a lighter turnout given we met on the eve of a national holiday but attendance was good and it was great to see so many new people at the club.

This coming Thursday we’ll do the same, with a lecture and free, unrated blitz tournament, then we’ll take the weeks of July 17th and July 24th off (I’ll be riding my bike across Iowa with the RAGBRAI horde). I’m including the tentative summer schedule below but always check https://menloparkchess.club/events/ for the latest event and tournament information:

Jul 10: Lecture & Free Blitz Tournament
Jul 17: No Chess Meeting
Jul 24: No Chess Meeting
Jul 31: Lecture & Free Blitz Tournament
Aug 07: Rounds 1-2, August Double-Round Quick-Rated Event
Aug 14: Rounds 3-4, August Double-Round Quick-Rated Event
Aug 21: Rounds 5-6, August Double-Round Quick-Rated Event
Aug 28: No Chess Meeting

Registration is now open for our August Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads & Small Swisses for those who are interested. Participation is limited to 32 players so please register early. Regards,

Mark Drury

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Impromptu Blitz #40 Results

Twenty people took part in last week’s free, 7-round G/3;d3 blitz tournament, with several new visitors and some returning players in the mix. Alex Su and Yoyo He shared first place with 6.0 points out of 7, first-time visitor Vishesh Agrawal took sole third with 5.0 points and a raft of players tied for fourth at 4.0. This G/3;d3 time control seems to be working for us, with little in the way of complaint, but we’re always willing to try something different if earlier arrivals at the club have a request.

We will meet tonight, July 3rd, for a lecture and another free blitz tournament and will do the same the following week, July 10th, before taking two weeks off for a summer break of sorts. In August the tentative plan is to hold double-round quick-rated quads or small Swisses over 3-4 weeks, as we’ve done in the past, but please let me know if you’d prefer some other format which might work with our ~7-9pm time constraint. I hope to see many of you at the club this evening! Regards,

Mark Drury

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Last Week’s Impromptu Team Blitz #1 Results

Last Thursday we tried, for the first time, a free team blitz event using the SwissSys ‘fixed team’ setup with eight teams of two for the sixteen brave souls who were willing to give this format a try. Suffice to say, the pairings were interesting, as were the results. I haven’t yet taken a closer look at the pairings in question but during many of the rounds the higher rated players on each team were not paired against one another, as I was expecting–it may be the software was favoring color alteration or actual team player score in these intra-match pairings but there was no lack of questions as the tournament unfolded, understandably.

When all was said and done, Josen Kalra and Lua Loyalka stood atop the other teams with four match points out of five, followed by three other teams at 3 points. The team scores were reasonably even which suggests that the proprietary algorithm used to make the teams was a success, never mind the good-natured grousing heard from a couple of the younger teams. I don’t know that I would call this event a success but we may give it another try at some point if there’s any interest, and thank you to everyone who boldly took part.

Tonight we’ll have another lecture at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament at 7pm–I hope to see many of you then! Regards,

Mark Drury

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Impromptu Blitz #39 Results

We had an excellent turnout for our lecture and blitz tournament last week, with 28 people playing a full seven rounds of G/3;d3. After five rounds Breakwell Loyalka found himself alone in first place with 4.5 points, before running afoul of Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo in round six. Similarly, young Austin Chen was sole first after six rounds with 5.0 points, before falling to Simon in the final round, leaving Breakwell and Simon tied for first at 5.5 out of 7 when all was said and done. Austin held on to sole third with 5.0 points, ahead of some very strong players. The full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who joined us for this event.

Note that this evening there will be no lecture, given Frisco is covering the Golden State Valkyries game at Chase Center tonight, so we’ll hold casual play until 7pm then start our free, unrated blitz tournament at that time, perhaps with a team twist to mix things up. I hope to see many of you at the club this evening! Regards,

Mark Drury

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Impromptu Blitz #36 Results & Casual Play/Blitz Evening Tonight

Twenty-two people played in our Impromptu Blitz #36 last week, a G/5;d2 affair over six rounds and, when the final flag fell, Pranav Jindal and David Flores tied for first place with five points each out of six. Breakwell Loyalka had another good result and sat alone in third with 4.5 points, followed by three of the club’s typically strong blitz players at 4.0 points. Full results are in the attached image, congratulations to all of our top finishers and thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun, free event.

Tonight is another casual evening with a free lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by another free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Next week we commence our four-week rated Swiss event with the G/45;d5 time control and four rounds over four consecutive weeks in two sections. A couple spots remain if you’d like to join us for this event:

https://menloparkchess.club/event/may-dual-rated-g-45d5-swiss-in-two-sections-round-one/

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions and I hope to see many of you at the club this evening. Regards,

Mark Drury

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Lecture & Blitz Tournament Tonight

Just a quick update to let you know we will hold a typical “casual” chess evening tonight, with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Also, if you haven’t yet registered for our rated tournament beginning May 8th please do so asap at https://menloparkchess.club/event/may-dual-rated-g-45d5-swiss-in-two-sections-round-one/. I look forward to seeing many of you this evening! Regards,

Mark Drury

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More Schedule Changes & Impromptu Blitz #35 Results


Apologies for the short notice (and the long message) but I am out of town today and next Thursday and will not be at the club either evening, regrettably, but we still plan to meet for casual play and Frisco’s lecture beginning at 6:30pm. If some of you are able to arrive early, round 6:15pm or so, to help set up the room that would be great. Having a few people help put away all the chess sets and boards round 8:45pm or earlier is also important, given the desk attendant, Harold, is typically ready to march out the door at 9pm sharp.

The chess equipment (boards and pieces) are in the usual cabinet in the Willow Room–Harold and several members know where it is stored. Note that the club chess clocks won’t be available this evening given they are at my home so please bring your clock or download one of the free apps onto your phone if you would like to play timed games tonight. Next week the club clocks will again be available.

Another scheduling change is that for our dual-rated G/45;d5 event, which will now begin May 8th and not next week. Sriram and I were looking at our calendars and it simply makes more sense to run that event in May, when we wouldn’t need a protracted break between rounds. I’ll follow up with everyone who has registered thus far with more details and will ask about continued interest in participating, bye requests, possible entry fee refunds and the like.

Lastly, we held one of our oddest impromptu blitz tournaments last week with a double-round G/1+5 (game in 1 minute with a 5-second increment) affair and, suffice to say, reviews were mixed on the time control. It was too short for an enjoyable blitz experience yet too long to warrant the double-round format, with sentiment seeming that most were glad to have tried it but don’t wish to do so again. When all eight rounds were finished Hayden Brongersma stood atop the field of 22 with 7 out of 8 points, followed a half point back by perennial wall chart-topper Pranav Jindal. Yash Shah and Liam Liu shared third at 6 points while relative newcomer Di Lin was alone in fifth at 5.0. Full results are in the attached image, thank you to everyone who slogged through this event with us and know that we’ll stick to more conventional blitz formats in the future. Regards,

Mark Drury

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Recent Tournament Results & Upcoming Tournaments

Our February Small Swisses concluded March 13th with a couple make-up games and the full results with prize distributions are available on the following page:

https://menloparkchess.club/tournaments/february-small-swisses-final-results-prizes/

Congratulations to Pranav Jindal, Breakwell Loyalka, Amogh Rao and Evan Sobel for winning clear first in their respective sections, with a special shout out to Pranav for the perfect score in his group–well played, all of you! I should also point out that 8 out of 11 of our prize winners were junior players, proving once again the old maxim that “youth will be served!” The full US Chess rating report for this quick-rated event may be viewed here, and thank you to everyone who joined us for this tournament.

Speaking of youth served, the top four finishers in last week’s Impromptu Blitz #34 were all juniors, perhaps for the first time ever in our club but certainly not the last. Breakwell Loyalka secured first alone with 5 out of 6 points after a tough last-round win over Hugo Pu, who tied with Zelin Fang and Austin Chen for second at 4.5 points. Zelin ground me down in the final round and Austin did the same to newcomer (and another strong junior) Cameron Troy. Full results for #34 are in the attached image.

Interestingly, in my third-round game with Breakwell he played some offbeat b4 line as white against my Sicilian and quietly encouraged me to take the pawn, that it was “perfectly safe.” I accepted and soon found my uncastled king and uncoordinated pieces in a world of hurt. Not two rounds later I was seated next to Breakwell and Vinayak Vikram during their game when the same b4 position in the Sicilian arose, and I’m certain I heard the same, now hollow-sounding “perfectly safe” assurances emanating from the white side of the board during that game, as well (with the same result, it seems). Just a heads-up in case you find yourself playing Breakwell and he offers you similar “safety.”

Note that tomorrow evening Frisco will give his lecture from 6:30pm to 7pm and then we will hold another free, informal Freestyle Swiss tournament of 4 or 5 rounds, with a draft format and G/5;d3 time control. More information about the tournament is here and you can register at the club Thursday beginning round 6:30pm. The following week we’ll hold a blind draw bughouse tournament and on April 3rd we’ll begin a four-week, four-round rated Swiss in two sections with a G/45;d5 time control. I’ll send more information about both tournaments in a day or two. As always, I hope to see many of you at the club soon! Regards,

Mark Drury

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Impromptu Blitz #32 Results

We enjoyed another full house at the club last Thursday, with 30 people participating in our free, unrated G/3+2 blitz tournament and with several first-time visitors to boot. Yash Shah proved his blitz mettle once again with 6.5 points out of 7 for clear first, followed a half point behind by Zelin Fang in sole second, while three others tied for third with five points: Alex Chin, Pranav Jindal and Venugopal Mani. Full results are in the attached image, congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who joined us for this event!

Regarding our rated quads which begin this week, many people let me know that there is no school in some local districts the week of February 17-21, with many players (parents and/or kids) being out of town on the 20th, so I have rescheduled the quads to occur on February 13th, February 27th and March 6th, with the week of the 20th being another casual night with a lecture and informal blitz tournament. If you wish to play in our quads please register asap on the website: https://menloparkchess.club/event/february-double-round-quick-rated-quads-round-one/.

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Impromptu Blitz #31 Results

I’m finally getting round to posting the results from last week’s impromptu G/5;d5 blitz tournament, which saw a return to action for Adithya Karavadi, the club’s first champion. Welcome back, Adithya, and congratulations on your perfect 5/5 score in this event. Following Adithya by a single point in a 3-way tie for second were three club stalwarts who frequent the top of our wall charts: Yash Shah, Adam Ferrell and Cesar Tamondong. Well played, all of you, and thank you to everyone who joined us for this tournament (full results are in the attached image).


We’ll hold another casual evening tonight with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by another free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Note that we only have about 10 registrations for our rated quads beginning next week so unless that number picks up considerably we may postpone or cancel the event (the start date doesn’t work for some people, regrettably): https://menloparkchess.club/event/february-double-round-quick-rated-quads-round-one/. Regards,

Mark Drury