Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:45pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games are in the offing and we’ll discuss details of the next tournament, tentatively scheduled for June 15th.
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
June Dual-Rated Short Swiss, Round 3
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold another USCF-rated tournament over three consecutive Thursdays June 15th, 22nd and 29th, a three-round Swiss-system event using the dual-rated G/30;d5 time control, with one game played each evening beginning at 7pm. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Multiple sections will be created with the goal of allowing players three games against opposition close to their own rating or skill level (sections could be as small as 8-10 players). Details follow:
- Format: Three round Swiss-system tournament in 2-4 sections, one game per evening
- Rounds: June 15th, 22nd and 29th—play begins promptly at 7:00pm, please arrive by 6:45pm to check in
- Control: G/30;d5 (US Chess dual-rated time control)
- Entry Fee: $5 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12), entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
- Prizes: Players will be divided into two or more sections based upon rating and number of participants; top three scorers in each section win that section’s prize fund, with 1st place taking ~65% (any ties will split the cash prize).
- Byes: Zero-point byes are available for any round
- Register: Closed after start of first round
- Boards, sets and clocks will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
- All tournament participants must be current US Chess members
- Tournament is limited to 36 players so early registration is encouraged
- Withdraw at any time up to the start of the event for a full refund
- Our tournament chess rules summary is worth perusing if you’re new to tournament play
- For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club or tweet @MenloParkChess
- Join our Facebook group to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events
June Dual-Rated Short Swiss, Round 2
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold another USCF-rated tournament over three consecutive Thursdays June 15th, 22nd and 29th, a three-round Swiss-system event using the dual-rated G/30;d5 time control, with one game played each evening beginning at 7pm. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Multiple sections will be created with the goal of allowing players three games against opposition close to their own rating or skill level (sections could be as small as 8-10 players). Details follow:
- Format: Three round Swiss-system tournament in 2-4 sections, one game per evening
- Rounds: June 15th, 22nd and 29th—play begins promptly at 7:00pm, please arrive by 6:45pm to check in
- Control: G/30;d5 (US Chess dual-rated time control)
- Entry Fee: $5 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12), entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
- Prizes: Players will be divided into two or more sections based upon rating and number of participants; top three scorers in each section win that section’s prize fund, with 1st place taking ~65% (any ties will split the cash prize).
- Byes: Zero-point byes are available for any round
- Register: Closed after start of first round
- Boards, sets and clocks will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
- All tournament participants must be current US Chess members
- Tournament is limited to 36 players so early registration is encouraged
- Withdraw at any time up to the start of the event for a full refund
- Our tournament chess rules summary is worth perusing if you’re new to tournament play
- For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club or tweet @MenloParkChess
- Join our Facebook group to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events
June Dual-Rated Short Swiss, Round 1
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold another USCF-rated tournament over three consecutive Thursdays June 15th, 22nd and 29th, a three-round Swiss-system event using the dual-rated G/30;d5 time control, with one game played each evening beginning at 7pm. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Multiple sections will be created with the goal of allowing players three games against opposition close to their own rating or skill level (sections could be as small as 8-10 players). Details follow:
- Format: Three round Swiss-system tournament in 2-4 sections, one game per evening
- Rounds: June 15th, 22nd and 29th—play begins promptly at 7:00pm, please arrive by 6:45pm to check in
- Control: G/30;d5 (US Chess dual-rated time control)
- Entry Fee: $5 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12), entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
- Prizes: Players will be divided into two or more sections based upon rating and number of participants; top three scorers in each section win that section’s prize fund, with 1st place taking ~65% (any ties will split the cash prize).
- Byes: Zero-point byes are available for any round
- Register: Please sign up in advance using the ‘Register’ button, above
- Boards, sets and clocks will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
- All tournament participants must be current US Chess members
- Tournament is limited to 36 players so early registration is encouraged
- Withdraw at any time up to the start of the event for a full refund
- Our tournament chess rules summary is worth perusing if you’re new to tournament play
- For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club or tweet @MenloParkChess
- Join our Facebook group to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events
Isles of Blood and Spices Blitz
In a final homage to Mervyn Peake—for now—the Menlo Park Chess Club will hold an unrated 5-round tournament with a G/5 time control (no increment or delay) in one section over one evening Thursday, June 1st, our Isles of Blood and Spices Blitz. The entry fee is $5, all of which will be returned in prize money, the distribution of which will be based on ratings groupings and number of entries. Games played during this event which meet our blitz ladder criteria will also impact ladder standings. Entries are limited to 32 players so please register early using the button, above, and provide a US Chess ID or Lichess.org/Chess.com handle to give some idea of your blitz strength. The first round begins promptly at 7pm—please check in at the club no later than 6:45pm!
Casual, Blitz, Bughouse, Ladder Chess Evening
Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:45pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz, bughouse and ladder chess games are in the offing and we’ll discuss details of the next tournament, tentatively scheduled for mid-June.
MPCC Ladders
This evening we’ll host casual, blitz and bughouse play at the club but will also open up our Blitz and Quick ladders a little early for those seeking to climb either. The idea remains to run each ladder for three months and award points for ladder games as one would an ordinary Swiss, where a win is one point, a draw half a point and a loss zero points, and we may also incorporate a bonus for the person or persons who climb the most rungs during each three-month period.
As mentioned during the Quick Swiss last week, Chess.com is sponsoring some nice prizes, including 1-month Diamond memberships for three club members every month, which we will award to ladder participants based on monthly results, with some additional prizes awarded for one’s three-month performance. If you’ve read this far, you deserve a little prize already—please use the following link to get Chessable Pro free for one month, another benefit Chess.com is passing along to affiliate clubs such as ours: http://chessable.com/MenloParkChessClub.
More information about our ladders, along with rules and initial standings based upon our two most recent tournaments, may be found here: https://menloparkchess.club/ladders/ (if you wish to be added to either ladder just let me know). Questions? Send a message to info@menloparkchess.club or see me at the club tonight. Regards,
Mark Drury
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 – |
Casual, Blitz, Bughouse Chess Evening
Our regular weekly club meeting occurs Thursday evenings from 6:00-9:45pm in the Oak Room of the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center. Casual, blitz and bughouse chess are in the offing and we’ll discuss details of the next tournament, tentatively scheduled for early June.