There will be no chess club meeting September 3rd but we will meet September 10th, when our rated Copa del Menlo tournament begins (see the Events page to register now).
Join Us for Thursday Evening Chess on the San Francisco Peninsula
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After another of Frisco’s excellent lectures last week we played the first round of our Copa del Menlo dual-rated Swiss tournament, one which includes three sections of eight players each and an additional teams component. Attached are the first round results, second round pairings and team standings and we’ll play the second round tomorrow evening beginning promptly at 7pm. Note that we should have a skittles room open so those of you not playing in the tournament should feel free to visit and perhaps play some casual chess–several people did so last week.
On the scheduling front, we’ll play the third and final round of our Copa del Menlo September 24th and then on October 1st from 7-8pm Lauren Goodkind has offered to give a free lecture covering one or two of her recent tournament games, a lecture aimed at encouraging more women and girls to play chess and one suitable for beginners as well as more advanced players. Please plan to attend Lauren’s lecture in October and help spread the word, especially among your female friends who are or may be interested in getting more involved in the game we all share. More information may be found here.
Lauren Goodkind, a well-regarded chess coach and author in the Bay Area, will give a FREE chess lecture at the Menlo Park Chess Club to inspire more women and girls to play chess. Lauren will review one or two of her recent tournament games and the lecture is suitable for beginners and experienced players. Please let others know about this event so we can help grow the game among women and girls who are or may be interested in the game we all love.
After the lecture there will be free casual play for anyone wanting a game and chess boards, chess sets and chess clocks will be provided by the club. We hope to see many of you there and please help spread the word!
Well, after Frisco’s excellent lecture last week we were supposed to hold a bughouse tournament, which may go some way to explaining the smaller turnout of 23 players seen Thursday, but our bughouse fanatics didn’t show so we opted instead for yet another impromptu blitz event with seven rounds of G/3+2 chess, the clear preference of those in attendance. After the conclusion of the dramatic seventh round, when no fewer than eight players had some chance of nabbing a possible tie for first, Lauren Goodkind claimed her first victory in this blitz series with 5.5 points, a half point ahead of Carlos Jerez, Hugo Pu and Jeff McGinnis (who also enjoyed his best finish to date). The three strong players tied for 5th place at 4.5 points give some idea how hard-fought this tournament was and make Lauren’s performance all the more impressive. Full results are in the attached wall chart, thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun, free event and I’ll update the club’s blitz points standings and club blitz ratings in another day or two.
Please note that the club will not meet this week per the listing on our Events page but we will begin our three-week Copa del Menlo rated tournament the following Thursday, September 10th. If you wish to play in that event please register asap via the following link (you only need register for the first round/week):
This week we will have a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by casual play for the remainder of the evening, given Mark is out of town and cannot host a blitz tournament or the like. Please bring your own clocks if you would like to play timed games — boards and sets will be provided, as always.
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:
After Frisco’s lecture from 6:30-7:00pm we’ll hold a free 4- or 5-round bughouse tournament for those who are interested, though the chess room will be open and available for casual play for those who do not wish to participate. We’ll follow the rules documented here and will use the G/5+0 time control for this event. If you arrive after the tournament has started you may not be able to join in the event we are unable to maintain an even number of teams with your entry.
After Frisco’s lecture from 6:30-7:00pm we’ll hold a free 6- or 7-round Queen’s Gambit thematic tournament beginning with the moves 1. d4 d5 2. c4, using the shorter G/3+2 time control of our impromptu blitz series. Brush up on your favorite lines as both white and black in this dynamic opening and join us for some fighting chess in August! (Please try to arrive before 7pm to complete sign-up given we’re now maxing out our available space and equipment for these free tournaments and late arrivals are not guaranteed registration).
After Frisco’s lecture from 6:30-7:00pm we’ll hold a free 5- or 6-round King’s Gambit thematic tournament beginning with the moves 1. e4 e5 2. f4, using a slightly longer time control than the G/3+2 of our impromptu blitz series. Brush up on your favorite lines as both white and black in this dynamic opening and join us for some fighting chess in August! (Please try to arrive before 7pm to complete sign-up given we’re now maxing out our available space and equipment for these free tournaments and late arrivals are not guaranteed registration).
