Tag: blitz

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Impromptu Blitz #51 Results

We had a smaller turnout for last week’s lecture and blitz tournament but there was no lack of appetite for the usual seven rounds of G/4;d2 chess. There were quite a few upsets over those seven rounds but Pranav Jindal still prevailed with 5.5 points and sole first place. Jason Wright and young Austin Chen tied for second with 5.0 out of 7 while Hayden Brongersma was alone in fourth with 4.5 points. Full results are in the attached image, congratulations to our winners and thanks to everyone who played in this free, unrated event.

Tonight will be much the same as last week, with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by another free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm, this time with a G/3+2 time control. I hope to see many of you then! Regards,

Mark Drury

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our free weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our free weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

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Impromptu Blitz #50 Results

Our first meeting of 2026 was a success with 24 players partaking of seven rounds of G/5+0 blitz action, including many first-time visitors to the club. A hearty welcome to Scott Stoll, Billy and Ketch Allen, Tushar Janefalkar and Nicholas Zhu and thank you again for joining us at the club!

Breakwell Loyalka added an exclamation point to his club championship win last month with a convincing 7/7 score in this event, a full point and a half ahead of second place finisher Hayden Brongersma. NM Gabe Sanchez claimed sole third at 5.0 out of 7 while young Austin Chen was alone in fourth at 4.5 points. There followed a raft of strong players at 4.0 who were left wondering what might have been, though mention should be made of Lua Loyalka’s performance in that group–she is quietly making her way up these wall charts week after week and I won’t be surprised to find her nearer the top by year’s end.

The full results for this blitz tournament are in the attached image and we will do the same thing this coming Thursday, though perhaps with a G/4;d2 time control this time around–I hope to see many of you then. Regards,

Mark Drury

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our free weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our free weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and it remains one of the highlights of club attendance.

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Daniel Naroditsky Lecture & A4c Variant Tournament

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

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Casual Evening Tonight & Club Championship Registration

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

Casual, Blitz, Lecture, Ladder Chess Evening

Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games as well as a lecture are in the offing and we will also play another free, unrated blitz tournament beginning round 7pm, given there appears to be a continuing appetite for same. Note that our weekly lecture begins at 6:30pm and remains one of the highlights of club attendance.