tournament Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Menlo Park Chess Club

September 23, 2023September 25, 2023

Impromptu G/2+3 Double-Round Blitz #5

We enjoyed another good turnout for our casual evening this past Thursday and 24 people played in our impromptu G/2+3 double-round blitz tournament (two games played against each opponent), with Andy, Pranav and Alaric sharing first place with 7 out of 8 points. The time control was a bit unusual and was chosen solely because we wished to try something different, something a little faster than normal. I don’t know that we’ll play G/2+3 again as it was not obviously better than G/3+2 or the like but it was perhaps worth trying. We’ll play another impromptu blitz tournament next week (September 28th) and our club championship will begin the following week, October 5th. Regards,

Mark Drury

#	Player	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Total
1	Andy Applebaum	bye	bye	B 13	W 13	W 15	B 15	B 10	W 10
		0.5	1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	6.0	7.0	7.0
2	Pranav Jindal	W 17	B 17	B 5	W 5	W 10	B 10	W 3	B 3
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	6.0	7.0	7.0	7.0
3	Alaric Stein	B 18	W 18	W 6	B 6	W 11	B 11	B 2	W 2
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	6.0	6.0	7.0	7.0
4	Rohan Kapre	bye	bye	bye	bye	W 21	B 21	B 11	W 11
		0.5	1.0	1.5	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	6.0	6.0
5	David Zhao	B 20	W 20	W 2	B 2	W 13	B 13	W 7	B 7
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
6	Josen Kalra	W 9	B 9	B 3	W 3	B 8	W 8	W 12	B 12
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
7	Julian Tai	bye	bye	B 15	W 15	W 19	B 19	B 5	W 5
		0.5	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
8	Paul Hartel	B 15	W 15	B 17	W 17	W 6	B 6	W 20	B 20
		0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
9	Austin Chen	B 6	W 6	W 18	B 18	W 23	B 23	B 16	W 16
		0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
10	Richard Wang	B 21	W 21	W 16	B 16	B 2	W 2	W 1	B 1
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
11	Nikita Grinkin	W 19	B 19	W 12	B 12	B 3	W 3	W 4	B 4
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
12	Ashwin Ganesh	W 24	B 24	B 11	W 11	W 14	B 14	B 6	W 6
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.0
13	Isaiah Scott	B 22	W 22	W 1	B 1	B 5	W 5	W 21	B 21
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0
14	Hugo Pu	bye	bye	bye	bye	B 12	W 12	B 24	W 24
		0.5	1.0	1.5	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0
15	Thomas Gerber	W 8	B 8	W 7	B 7	B 1	W 1	B 18	W 18
		1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
16	Arnav Bhavsar	B 23	W 23	B 10	W 10	W 20	B 20	W 9	B 9
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
17	Amogh Rao	B 2	W 2	W 8	B 8	W 18	B 18	B 19	W 19
		0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
18	Hayden Brongersma	W 3	B 3	B 9	W 9	B 17	W 17	W 15	B 15
		0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
19	Jeff Ungar	B 11	W 11	W 24	B 24	B 7	W 7	W 17	B 17
		0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
20	Aditya Dhamdhere	W 5	B 5	W 22	B 22	B 16	W 16	B 8	W 8
		0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
21	Michael Darr	W 10	B 10	W 23	B 23	B 4	W 4	B 13	W 13
		0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
22	Johann Loeb	W 13	B 13	B 20	W 20	B 24	W 24	B 23	W 23
		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
23	Victor Chen	W 16	B 16	B 21	W 21	B 9	W 9	W 22	B 22
		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
24	Maxime Gerber	B 12	W 12	B 19	W 19	W 22	B 22	W 14	B 14
		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

September 9, 2023September 9, 2023

Impromptu G/5+0 Blitz Tournament #4

There was another good turnout for our casual evening this past Thursday and twenty people played in the 4-round G/5+0 blitz tournament, won (yet again) by Pranav Jindal with a perfect 4-0 score, followed by Kunal Modi, Nikita Grinkin, Satya Chitturi and yours truly at 3 points. At the conclusion of this tournament quite a few people wanted to play another 4-rounder but we simply didn’t have time–perhaps if we manage to start earlier we can hold two complete blitz tournaments in one evening. Regards,

Mark Drury

#	Player	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Total
1	Pranav Jindal	B 15	W 5	B 4	W 2
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0
2	Kunal Modi	W 16	B 9	W 3	B 1
		1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
3	Nikita Grinkin	B 12	W 11	B 2	W 6
		1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
4	Satya Chitturi	W 17	B 13	W 1	B 10
		1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
5	Mark Drury	B 18	B 1	W 14	W 11
		1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
6	David Zhao	W 14	B 8	W 9	B 3
		0.5	1.5	2.5	2.5	2.5
7	Hugo Pu	bye	bye	B 12	W 14
		0.5	1.0	2.0	2.5	2.5
8	Josen Kalra	W 13	W 6	B 19	B 17
		0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
9	Cesar Tamondong	B 20	W 2	B 6	W 18
		1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
10	Rohan Kapre	bye	bye	B 18	W 4
		0.5	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
11	Arnav Bhavsar	B 19	B 3	W 13	B 5
		1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
12	Eddie Zhao	W 3	B 20	W 7	B 19
		0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
13	Hayden Brongersma	B 8	W 4	B 11	W 16
		1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
14	Aditya Dhamdhere	B 6	W 15	B 5	B 7
		0.5	1.5	1.5	2.0	2.0
15	Ashwin Ganesh	W 1	B 14	W 17	B 20
		0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0
16	Kornel Csernai	B 2	W 18	W 20	B 13
		0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
17	Michael Darr	B 4	W 19	B 15	W 8
		0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
18	Jeff Ungar	W 5	B 16	W 10	B 9
		0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
19	Kyan Agdassi	W 11	B 17	W 8	W 12
		0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
20	Paul Hartel	W 9	W 12	B 16	W 15
		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

September 2, 2023September 2, 2023

Impromptu G/3+2 Blitz Tournament #3

Our casual/blitz/bughouse evening this past Thursday was more lightly attended than usual, perhaps due to the upcoming Labor Day Weekend and the fact that we completed our Quick-rated tournament the week before, but many club stalwarts and several first-time visitors played in a five-round impromptu blitz tournament, with Andy Applebaum taking sole first with a perfect 5-0 score (I gave Andy a run for him money in the final round). Satya Chitturi was second with 4 points and Jeff McGinnis third at 3.5. It was another fun event and we may do this every casual evening as there appears to be an appetite for it. Full results follow and note that our Surfeit of Blitz Redux event will likely occur over two weeks September 23rd and 30th. Regards,

Mark Drury

#	Player	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total
1	Andy Applebaum	B 8	W 4	B 2	W 9	B 7
		1.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
2	Satya Chitturi	W 10	B 9	W 1	B 6	W 4
		1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	4.0	4.0
3	Jeff McGinnis	bye	bye	bye	B 11	B 9
		0.5	1.0	1.5	2.5	3.5	3.5
4	Deep Bardhan	W 11	B 1	W 7	B 10	B 2
		1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0	3.0
5	Aranya Kundu	W 12	W 14	B 6	B 15	W 10
		0.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
6	Chase Wang	W 7	B 16	W 5	W 2	B 12
		0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	3.0	3.0
7	Mark Drury	B 6	W 12	B 4	bye	W 1
		1.0	2.0	2.0	2.5	2.5	2.5
8	Hayden Brongersma	W 1	B 11	W 16	B 13	—-
		0.0	0.5	1.5	2.5	U2.5	2.5
9	Ashwin Ganesh	B 17	W 2	B 12	B 1	W 3
		1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
10	Arnav Bhavsar	B 2	W 17	B 14	W 4	B 5
		0.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
11	Hugo Pu	B 4	W 8	B 17	W 3	W 13
		0.0	0.5	1.5	1.5	2.0	2.0
12	Esther Mendoza	B 5	B 7	W 9	W 14	W 6
		1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0	2.0
13	Colin Taylor	bye	bye	bye	W 8	B 11
		0.5	1.0	1.5	1.5	2.0	2.0
14	Aditya Dhamdhere	W 16	B 5	W 10	B 12	B 17
		1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	2.0	2.0
15	Abhik Chatterjee	bye	bye	bye	W 5	B 16
		0.5	1.0	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
16	Michael Darr	B 14	W 6	B 8	W 17	W 15
		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0
17	Paul Hartel	W 9	B 10	W 11	B 16	W 14
		0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	1.0	1.0

August 8, 2023September 2, 2023

Impromptu G/3+2 Blitz Tournament #2

We had another good showing at our casual night this past Thursday and threw together a second impromptu G/3+2 blitz tournament, which Pranav won with a perfect 4-0 score. Full results are below for the curious. We’re overdue to host our second Surfeit of Blitz marathon so that may happen in September or October, at the latest.

Our August Quick-Rated Double-Round Quads begin this Thursday and I’ll send the groups and round-by-round pairings later today or tomorrow. Note that we have one extra spot in the larger Swiss section for someone rated 750 or below—please contact me if you or someone you know may wish to play some quick-rated games over the coming three weeks. Regards,

Mark Drury

July 6, 2023July 6, 2023

June Dual-Rated Short Swiss Results

I’m a little late in sharing the results of our June Dual-Rated Short Swiss which wrapped up last week, though given how busy I’ve been it’s more a matter of better late than never, I suppose (I was able to submit the tournament for rating last Thursday, so there’s that). We had clear winners in each section and Kornél Csernai, Gregory Gauthier and Billy Barnds deserve special mention for the perfect 3-0 scores in their respective groups. The rest of our winners, their winnings and the full wall charts follow (I’ll contact those who are owed prize money to ask how each wishes to be paid). Note that this evening at the club we’ll play casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder games and we may consider holding another unrated blitz tournament next week. I hope to see many of you at the club tonight! Regards,

Mark Drury

1500+
Alex Chin, 2.5, $30
Triet Vo, Daniel Francis, 2.0, $5 each

U1500
Kornel Csernai, 3.0, $30
Nicholas Tan, Nikita Grinkin, Lasha Lakirbaia, 2.0, $5 each

U1000
Gregory Gauthier, 3.0, $30
Jeffrey Ungar, 2.5, $10

UNRATED
Billy Barnds, 3.0, $30
Sunny Tulsi, Austin Chen, Hugo Pu, 2.0, $5 each

June 17, 2023

June Dual-Rated Short Swiss Round 1 Results

Thirty-five people are taking part in three rounds and four sections of our dual-rated short Swiss G/30;d5 tournament, the first round of which was played this past Thursday. The players, sections and results may be seen in the accompanying images and I will share the second round pairings this coming Monday. Thank you to everyone who is playing in this event! Regards,

Mark Drury

June 2, 2023June 2, 2023

Isles of Blood and Spices Blitz Results

We enjoyed an excellent turnout for our 5-round G/5 Isles of Blood and Spices Blitz tournament last night, with 28 players vying in one Open section for modest cash prizes in three ratings groups. Congratulations to Pranav and Adam S. for shared first overall, to Lasha and Nicholas for shared first 1000-1499 (and their excellent 4.0 result) and to young Siddharth for yet another strong showing in taking first alone in the U1000 group, with Hayden, Marc and Trinton tying for second a point behind. The common lament heard during this event was that “I was n moves away from mate or a draw but lost on time!” so we may revisit an increment or delay during our next blitz tournament. The full results may be seen in the attached image—I’ll follow up with prize winners about payment and, as always, please let me know if you have questions or if a correction is needed.

Our next tournament will be a 3-round, dual-rated G/30;d5 Swiss over three weeks beginning June 15th, and we’ll again offer 2, 3 or 4 sections to keep the ratings within groups as close as possible. The entry fee is $5, all of which will be returned in cash prizes. More information and a registration button may be found here: https://menloparkchess.club/event/june-dual-rated-short-swiss-round-1/. Note that you only need register for round 1 of this event and you’re good for all three rounds.

As mentioned at the club last night, I may be out of town next Thursday, June 8th, but I’ll try to find someone to bring the chess equipment to the club in my stead. If that turns out to be impracticable we may still open for casual/blitz/bughouse/ladder play but you’ll need to bring your own equipment, is all. I’ll send another note once I know more. Regards,

Mark Drury

May 12, 2023May 13, 2023

Hall Of Bright Carvings Quick Swiss Results

Our Hall of Bright Carvings Quick Swiss ended dramatically Thursday with perfect scores in two sections, and with Michael Ho looking to make it three until he ran afoul of WFM Olivia Smith in the final round, leaving the two tied for first atop the 1400+ section with 3 points apiece. Of particular note are the performances of Banks Bennion, U1400 champion, and Austin Rolfe, winner of the Unrated section, both of whom scored the aforementioned 4-0 in their respective groups. Banks is all of nine or ten years old, I think, and his rating clearly has some catching up to do with his ever-increasing skill in the game, while Austin now finds himself with a 1735 provisional rating after just four games, 300+ points higher than he was speculating Thursday night. Congratulations to both on their excellent results and to Siddharth Kalra, as well, another strong junior who tied for second in the U1400 section!

The full results for all three sections may be found in the attached images, while the tournament rating reports are now available here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202305111132.0. The prize winners for each section follow and I’ll contact them directly to ask how they wish to receive the proceeds. Thank you to everyone who participated in this event, especially for your patience with the slightly noisier playing conditions during the first two rounds (rounds 3 and 4 were better, I hope). As always, please let me know if you have feedback, good or bad, and I hope to see many of you at our next tournament! Regards,

Mark Drury

1400+ (12 players):
Michael Ho: $30
Olivia Smith: $30
–
–

U1400 (15 players):
Banks Bennion: $45
Kornél Csernai: $10
Nicholas Tan: $10
Siddharth Kalra: $10

Unrated (12 players):
Austin Rolfe: $40
Atul Dhingra: $10
Amogh Rao: $10
–

May 8, 2023

Hall of Bright Carvings Quick Swiss Rounds 1 & 2

Our Hall of Bright Carvings Quick Swiss got off to a rocky start Thursday due, chiefly, to SwissSys software crashes and subsequent data loss, but we managed to complete the second round by ~9pm so all was not lost. I believe I have resolved the software issues so rounds 3 and 4 should proceed far more smoothly, with an 8:30pm finish easily attainable if we begin promptly at 7:00pm. The three images below show the results after two rounds (please check them for accuracy) as well as the tentative third round pairings—these could change if there are bye requests or withdrawals before Thursday evening (let me know ASAP if you are unable to play for any reason).

Another issue raised by several players Thursday was that of frequent vocal intrusions heard during play. We have a number of younger, less experienced players in this event, players who may be accustomed to scholastic gatherings where stream of consciousness chatter about one’s misfortunes during a game is largely overlooked. I won’t be playing in rounds 3 and 4 and will do my best to keep this chatter to a minimum, but please keep in mind that part of our club’s charter is to encourage new players to join our tournament ranks and some etiquette leeway should be afforded the youngest participants—they could very well be tomorrow’s masters, after all. Regards,

Mark Drury

May 4, 2023May 9, 2023

Raphael Yelluas Memorial Blitz

The Raphael Yelluas Memorial Blitz event held last night at the Kolty Chess Club was a great success, with a very large turnout split into two sections, 1600+ and U1600. The Menlo Park club was well represented and saw excellent results from the likes of Cesar, Adam, Kunal, Marshall, Nicholas, Samuel, Ashwin, Alex Chin, Shahin Aghevli, Josen Kalra, Michael Ho and certainly others I’m forgetting at present.

I don’t have the official results but I believe IM Grisha Kotlyar and CM Badamkhand Norovsambuu tied for first in the 1600+ section, while Menlo Park Chess Club stalwarts Nicholas Tan and Samuel Agdamag shared first in the U1600 section, after an exciting final-round draw between the two (both undefeated to that point!).

The photos below are from the first round, with Cesar and Badamkhand squaring off on board two while I had the pleasure of playing Grisha on board one. We began an interesting Dutch game of a dozen or so moves until I may have been on the verge of losing a pawn or some positional concession but instead opted to boldly hang my queen, from which auspicious start I never left the bottom boards for the rest of the night. Grisha was gracious in victory, however, and may visit our club at some point to play blitz with members and/or give a lecture of some kind.

A big thank you to Wolfgang Behm, George Jeffers, Carl Lumma, Grisha Kotlyar and all the other Kolty Chess Club Players who made this happen—it was a great event!