Twenty-two people played in our Impromptu Blitz #36 last week, a G/5;d2 affair over six rounds and, when the final flag fell, Pranav Jindal and David Flores tied for first place with five points each out of six. Breakwell Loyalka had another good result and sat alone in third with 4.5 points, followed by three of the club’s typically strong blitz players at 4.0 points. Full results are in the attached image, congratulations to all of our top finishers and thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun, free event.
Tonight is another casual evening with a free lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by another free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Next week we commence our four-week rated Swiss event with the G/45;d5 time control and four rounds over four consecutive weeks in two sections. A couple spots remain if you’d like to join us for this event:
Just a quick update to let you know we will hold a typical “casual” chess evening tonight, with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by a free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Also, if you haven’t yet registered for our rated tournament beginning May 8th please do so asap at https://menloparkchess.club/event/may-dual-rated-g-45d5-swiss-in-two-sections-round-one/. I look forward to seeing many of you this evening! Regards,
Apologies for the short notice (and the long message) but I am out of town today and next Thursday and will not be at the club either evening, regrettably, but we still plan to meet for casual play and Frisco’s lecture beginning at 6:30pm. If some of you are able to arrive early, round 6:15pm or so, to help set up the room that would be great. Having a few people help put away all the chess sets and boards round 8:45pm or earlier is also important, given the desk attendant, Harold, is typically ready to march out the door at 9pm sharp.
The chess equipment (boards and pieces) are in the usual cabinet in the Willow Room–Harold and several members know where it is stored. Note that the club chess clocks won’t be available this evening given they are at my home so please bring your clock or download one of the free apps onto your phone if you would like to play timed games tonight. Next week the club clocks will again be available.
Another scheduling change is that for our dual-rated G/45;d5 event, which will now begin May 8th and not next week. Sriram and I were looking at our calendars and it simply makes more sense to run that event in May, when we wouldn’t need a protracted break between rounds. I’ll follow up with everyone who has registered thus far with more details and will ask about continued interest in participating, bye requests, possible entry fee refunds and the like.
Lastly, we held one of our oddest impromptu blitz tournaments last week with a double-round G/1+5 (game in 1 minute with a 5-second increment) affair and, suffice to say, reviews were mixed on the time control. It was too short for an enjoyable blitz experience yet too long to warrant the double-round format, with sentiment seeming that most were glad to have tried it but don’t wish to do so again. When all eight rounds were finished Hayden Brongersma stood atop the field of 22 with 7 out of 8 points, followed a half point back by perennial wall chart-topper Pranav Jindal. Yash Shah and Liam Liu shared third at 6 points while relative newcomer Di Lin was alone in fifth at 5.0. Full results are in the attached image, thank you to everyone who slogged through this event with us and know that we’ll stick to more conventional blitz formats in the future. Regards,
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
