Tag: rated

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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

August Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads & Small Swisses, Rounds 5-6

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, August 7th, using the G/15;d5 time control and playing two games each evening against the same opponent (one as white and one as black) over three successive weeks. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Quads or small Swiss sections (6-8 players) over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
  • Rounds: August 7th, 14th and 21st—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/15;d5 (quicki-rated game of 15 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
  • Prizes: Each quad will offer a $50 first and $30 second prize, while any Swiss section prizes will depend upon the number of players
  • Byes: No byes are available for this event
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

August Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads & Small Swisses, Rounds 3-4

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, August 7th, using the G/15;d5 time control and playing two games each evening against the same opponent (one as white and one as black) over three successive weeks. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Quads or small Swiss sections (6-8 players) over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
  • Rounds: August 7th, 14th and 21st—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/15;d5 (quicki-rated game of 15 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
  • Prizes: Each quad will offer a $50 first and $30 second prize, while any Swiss section prizes will depend upon the number of players
  • Byes: No byes are available for this event
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

August Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads & Small Swisses, Rounds 1-2

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, August 7th, using the G/15;d5 time control and playing two games each evening against the same opponent (one as white and one as black) over three successive weeks. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Quads or small Swiss sections (6-8 players) over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
  • Rounds: August 7th, 14th and 21st—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/15;d5 (quicki-rated game of 15 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20; PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12; entire entry fee goes to the prize fund
  • Prizes: Each quad will offer a $50 first and $30 second prize, while any Swiss section prizes will depend upon the number of players
  • Byes: No byes are available for this event
  • Register: Please sign up in advance using the ‘Register’ button, above
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events
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May Dual-Rated Swiss Results & Lecture + Blitz Tournament Tonight

Attached are the final results and prize distributions for our May Dual-Rated Swiss event. Congratulations to Alex Chin for his first place win and perfect score in the 1400+ section, to Hayden Brongersma and Yaniv Vinish for shared second and to Austin Chen and Josen Kalra for splitting the 1600-and-under prize. In the U1400 section, Di Lin and Neeraj Rao shared first place followed by David Tagatac and Cameron Troy in a tie for third. Note that Cameron claimed the U1200 prize in that section, leaving David with the $60 third prize (the U1400 section had two more paid entries than did the 1400+, hence the slightly larger prize fund).

The tournament was rated by US Chess earlier this week and the results are available here: https://www.uschess.org/msa/XtblMain.php?202505299942.0 (full cross tables for both sections are in the attached images).

Thank you to everyone who played in this event and to Sriram Rao for ably directing it. We’ll hold additional rated tournaments in July and September—as always, please let me know if you have a preference where format and/or time control are concerned.

Tonight we will hold another casual evening with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm–I hope to see many of you at the club then!

May Dual-Rated G/45;d5 Swiss in Two Sections, Round Four

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a US Chess dual-rated Swiss tournament in two sections beginning Thursday, May 8th, using the G/45;d5 time control and playing one game each evening over four successive weeks in May. Players will be grouped into two Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Swiss system tournament in two sections over four weeks, one game per evening
  • Rounds: May 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12); entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
  • Prizes: Each of the two sections will have two separate prize groups based upon rating, or four prize groups in total
  • Byes: One bye is available for rounds 1-3 with at least one day advance notice—no byes are available for round 4.
  • Register: Registrations close after the completion of Round 1
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

May Dual-Rated G/45;d5 Swiss in Two Sections, Round Three

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a US Chess dual-rated Swiss tournament in two sections beginning Thursday, May 8th, using the G/45;d5 time control and playing one game each evening over four successive weeks in May. Players will be grouped into two Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Swiss system tournament in two sections over four weeks, one game per evening
  • Rounds: May 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12); entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
  • Prizes: Each of the two sections will have two separate prize groups based upon rating, or four prize groups in total
  • Byes: One bye is available for rounds 1-3 with at least one day advance notice—no byes are available for round 4.
  • Register: Registrations close after the completion of Round 1
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

May Dual-Rated G/45;d5 Swiss in Two Sections, Round Two

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a US Chess dual-rated Swiss tournament in two sections beginning Thursday, May 8th, using the G/45;d5 time control and playing one game each evening over four successive weeks in May. Players will be grouped into two Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Swiss system tournament in two sections over four weeks, one game per evening
  • Rounds: May 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12); entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
  • Prizes: Each of the two sections will have two separate prize groups based upon rating, or four prize groups in total
  • Byes: One bye is available for rounds 1-3 with at least one day advance notice—no byes are available for round 4.
  • Register: Registrations close after the completion of Round 1
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events

May Dual-Rated G/45;d5 Swiss in Two Sections, Round One

The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a US Chess dual-rated Swiss tournament in two sections beginning Thursday, May 8th, using the G/45;d5 time control and playing one game each evening over four successive weeks in May. Players will be grouped into two Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. This tournament is suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:

  • Format: Swiss system tournament in two sections over four weeks, one game per evening
  • Rounds: May 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
  • Control: G/45;d5 (dual-rated game of 45 minutes per player plus a 5-second delay per move)
  • Entry Fee: $20 (PayPal: mark@drury.com; Venmo: @Mark-Drury-12); entire entry fee goes to the prize fund.
  • Prizes: Each of the two sections will have two separate prize groups based upon rating, or four prize groups in total
  • Byes: One bye is available for rounds 1-3 with at least one day advance notice—no byes are available for round 4.
  • Register: Please sign up in advance using the ‘Register’ button, above
  • Equipment: Boards, sets, clocks, score sheets and pens will be provided by the Menlo Park Chess Club (bring a digital clock if you own one)
  • Membership: All tournament participants must be current US Chess members for the duration of the event
  • Rules: Our tournament chess rules summary is mandatory reading if you’re new to tournament play
  • Info: For more information please send email to info@menloparkchess.club
  • Social: Join our Facebook group or email list to stay abreast of future club tournaments and events
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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