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.
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.
Impromptu Blitz #43 Results & August Quads Postponement
We had another good turnout at the club last week with several first-time visitors joining us for the lecture and free blitz tournament. After seven rounds of G/3;d3 schadenfreude Hayden Brongersma stood alone atop the wall chart with a perfect 7-0 score, followed a point behind by Pranav Jindal in sole second, while we dropped down to 4.5 points to pick up the four-way tie for third between Gabe Sanchez, Josen Kalra and juniors Austin Chen and Surya Raghav. Two other young players, Cameron Troy and Max Cheung, also had excellent results in this event, foretelling the inevitable changing of the chess guard, as it were. Full results are in the attached image and thank you to everyone who joined us for this fun, free tournament.
At present we have just eight people registered for our August quick-rated quads so I plan to postpone that event some number of weeks, perhaps into early September (the 4th or 11th). We could proceed if we get 4-8 more registrations this week so I’ll make the final call tomorrow, Wednesday, and I apologize for the uncertainty round our schedule. Note that if we do proceed with the rated event we’ll also have a skittles room open for those who wish to play casual games or even a concurrent, unrated blitz event. As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I hope to see many of you at the club this week.
Mark Drury
Impromptu Blitz #42 Results & No Chess Meeting July 17th & 24th
We enjoyed a very large turnout at the club last night, with no fewer than 8-10 first-time visitors and almost as many more who were joining us for just the second or third time, and 38 people partook of seven rounds of G/3;d3 blitz as we spilled out of our normal playing room into the hall with two additional tables. Perennial blitz favorite Pranav Jindal returned after a short hiatus to share equal first at 6.0 points with first-time visitor Sanat Singhal, who appeared to be headed for a 7-0 sweep until he ran afoul of Hayden Brongersma’s knight fork in the waning seconds of their final-round game, a victory which elevated Hayden to sole third at 5.5 points. Four strong players, including juniors Austin Chen and Jiaming Zhao, tied for 4th place with 5.0 points, leaving a very large contingent to gnash their teeth at 4.0 points and below. I never seem to have the presence of mind to ask all the new visitors how they learned about the club but word is clearly getting out and it’s wonderful to see so many new faces at these casual events.
In other chess news, club stalwart Cesar Tamondong had a fantastic result over the July 4th weekend, winning sole first place with 5.5/6 in the U1700 Senior Reserve Section of the 27th Annual Sacramento Chess Club Championship. Well done, Cesar—you’ll be an A player again before long!
I also wanted to pass along one final reminder that I’ll be out of town the next two Thursdays, July 17th and 24th, and the chess club will not meet those evenings, regrettably. It turns out there are more than enough volunteers to cover for me while I am out of town so I think this will be the final time we cancel a club meeting due to my absence. Have a great couple weeks and I hope to see many of you at the club July 31st (for another casual evening and blitz tournament). Regards,
Mark Drury
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
Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 5-6
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, September 25th, 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: September 25th, October 2nd and 9th—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
Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 3-4
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, September 25th, 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: September 25th, October 2nd and 9th—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
Autumn Double-Round Quick-Rated Quads, Rounds 1-2
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold a double-round, quick-rated event beginning Thursday, September 25th, 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: September 25th, October 2nd and 9th—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
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.
Impromptu Blitz #40 Results
Twenty people took part in last week’s free, 7-round G/3;d3 blitz tournament, with several new visitors and some returning players in the mix. Alex Su and Yoyo He shared first place with 6.0 points out of 7, first-time visitor Vishesh Agrawal took sole third with 5.0 points and a raft of players tied for fourth at 4.0. This G/3;d3 time control seems to be working for us, with little in the way of complaint, but we’re always willing to try something different if earlier arrivals at the club have a request.
We will meet tonight, July 3rd, for a lecture and another free blitz tournament and will do the same the following week, July 10th, before taking two weeks off for a summer break of sorts. In August the tentative plan is to hold double-round quick-rated quads or small Swisses over 3-4 weeks, as we’ve done in the past, but please let me know if you’d prefer some other format which might work with our ~7-9pm time constraint. I hope to see many of you at the club this evening! Regards,
Mark Drury
