Below are the results from rounds 1 and 2 of our February Small Swisses event along with the tentative pairings for rounds 3 and 4, to occur on February 27th. The prizes for each section are as follows:
Sections One & Four : $80, $50, $30
Section Two: $60, $40, $20
Section Three: $50, $30
Section One
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Total |
| 1 | Pranav Jindal | B 7 | W 7 | W 2 | B 2 | |
| 1965p 30628884 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 |
| 2 | Chase Wang | B 8 | W 8 | B 1 | W 1 | |
| 1788 15015852 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 |
| 3 | Jialin Wu | B 6 | W 6 | W 4 | B 4 | |
| 1707 30410290 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 |
| 4 | Vedant Verma | W 5 | B 5 | B 3 | W 3 | |
| 1733 16994832 | 0.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 |
| 5 | Josen Kalra | B 4 | W 4 | W 6 | B 6 | |
| 1639 12615210 | 1.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 |
| 6 | Zelin Fang | W 3 | B 3 | B 5 | W 5 | |
| 1851 17083043 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 |
| 7 | Yash Shah | W 1 | B 1 | W 8 | B 8 | |
| 1717 30652191 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 |
| 8 | Cesar Tamondong | W 2 | B 2 | B 7 | W 7 | |
| 1688 12439091 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 |
Section Two
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Total |
| 1 | Venugopal Mani | B 6 | W 6 | B 2 | W 2 | |
| 1500 16419753 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 |
| 2 | Breakwell Loyalka | B 5 | W 5 | W 1 | B 1 | |
| 1526 31569521 | 1.0 | 1.5 | | | 1.5 |
| 3 | Yaniv Vinish | W 4 | B 4 | W 5 | B 5 | |
| 1516p 32105653 | 0.5 | 1.5 | | | 1.5 |
| 4 | Justin Dong | B 3 | W 3 | W 6 | B 6 | |
| 1598p 17212253 | 0.5 | 0.5 | | | 0.5 |
| 5 | Hugo Pu | W 2 | B 2 | B 3 | W 3 | |
| 1439 31093860 | 0.0 | 0.5 | | | 0.5 |
| 6 | Hayden Brongersma | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | |
| 1562 31240441 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 |
Section Three
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Total |
| 1 | Austin Chen | B 2 | W 2 | B 3 | W 3 | B 2 | W 2 | |
| 1373 31293249 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | | | 2.0 |
| 2 | Michael Sherrard | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | W 1 | B 1 | |
| 1300 12447368 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | | | 0.0 |
| 3 | Amogh Rao | B 4 | W 4 | W 1 | B 1 | B 4 | W 4 | |
| 1295 30949341 | | | | | | | 0.0 |
| 4 | Jeffrey Ungar | W 3 | B 3 | W 2 | B 2 | W 3 | B 3 | |
| 1202 16396743 | | | | | | | 0.0 |
Section Four
| # | Name/Rating/ID | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Total | | |
| 1 | Zelan Fang | W 8 | B 8 | W 2 | B 2 | | | |
| 882 30629764 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 | | |
| 2 | Daniel Jost | W 7 | B 7 | B 1 | W 1 | | | |
| unr. 32292327 | 1.0 | 2.0 | | | 2.0 | | |
| 3 | Evan Sobel | B 5 | W 5 | W 6 | B 6 | | | |
| 839p 31860044 | 1.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 | | |
| 4 | Lua Loyalka | W 6 | B 6 | W 5 | B 5 | | | |
| 813 31569531 | 0.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 | | |
| 5 | Tyler Middleton | W 3 | B 3 | B 4 | W 4 | | | |
| unr. 32301163 | 0.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 | | |
| 6 | Alon Doitel | B 4 | W 4 | B 3 | W 3 | | | |
| unr. 32252326 | 1.0 | 1.0 | | | 1.0 | | |
| 7 | Lucian Liu | B 2 | W 2 | W 8 | B 8 | | | |
| unr. 32275327 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 | | |
| 8 | Alfred Davis | B 1 | W 1 | B 7 | W 7 | | | |
| unr. 31939241 | 0.0 | 0.0 | | | 0.0 | | |
Below are the tentative round 1 and 2 pairings for our February double-round, quick-rated small Swisses in three sections (by rating). These pairings (or even groups) could change before the start of play Thursday, February 13th, but will be updated here if that is the case.
Section One
Section Two
Section Three
We enjoyed another full house at the club last Thursday, with 30 people participating in our free, unrated G/3+2 blitz tournament and with several first-time visitors to boot. Yash Shah proved his blitz mettle once again with 6.5 points out of 7 for clear first, followed a half point behind by Zelin Fang in sole second, while three others tied for third with five points: Alex Chin, Pranav Jindal and Venugopal Mani. Full results are in the attached image, congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who joined us for this event!
Regarding our rated quads which begin this week, many people let me know that there is no school in some local districts the week of February 17-21, with many players (parents and/or kids) being out of town on the 20th, so I have rescheduled the quads to occur on February 13th, February 27th and March 6th, with the week of the 20th being another casual night with a lecture and informal blitz tournament. If you wish to play in our quads please register asap on the website: https://menloparkchess.club/event/february-double-round-quick-rated-quads-round-one/.
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.
I’m finally getting round to posting the results from last week’s impromptu G/5;d5 blitz tournament, which saw a return to action for Adithya Karavadi, the club’s first champion. Welcome back, Adithya, and congratulations on your perfect 5/5 score in this event. Following Adithya by a single point in a 3-way tie for second were three club stalwarts who frequent the top of our wall charts: Yash Shah, Adam Ferrell and Cesar Tamondong. Well played, all of you, and thank you to everyone who joined us for this tournament (full results are in the attached image).
We’ll hold another casual evening tonight with a lecture beginning at 6:30pm followed by another free, unrated blitz tournament round 7pm. Note that we only have about 10 registrations for our rated quads beginning next week so unless that number picks up considerably we may postpone or cancel the event (the start date doesn’t work for some people, regrettably): https://menloparkchess.club/event/february-double-round-quick-rated-quads-round-one/. Regards,
Mark Drury
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold US Chess quick-rated, double-round quads and/or 6- or 8-person 3-round Swiss sections over three consecutive weeks beginning Thursday, February 13th, using the G/20;d5 time control and playing two games against each opponent during the same evening, one as white and one as black. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. No byes will be available for this event so if you are unable to play all three weeks (February 13th, 27th and March 6th) please do not register. (Note that February 20th occurs during a “ski week” for local schools so we’ll hold a casual evening then.) These quads are suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:
- Format: Double-round quads and/or small Swiss tournaments over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
- Rounds: February 13th, 27th and March 6th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
- Control: G/20;d5 (quick-rated game of 20 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: First place in each quad receives $50, second place receives $30, any ties will split the cash prize(s)—Swiss sections will offer three prizes
- 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
- 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
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold US Chess quick-rated, double-round quads and/or 6- or 8-person 3-round Swiss sections over three consecutive weeks beginning Thursday, February 13th, using the G/20;d5 time control and playing two games against each opponent during the same evening, one as white and one as black. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. No byes will be available for this event so if you are unable to play all three weeks (February 13th, 27th and March 6th) please do not register. (Note that February 20th occurs during a “ski week” for local schools so we’ll hold a casual evening then.) These quads are suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:
- Format: Double-round quads and/or small Swiss tournaments over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
- Link: https://menloparkchess.club/event/february-double-round-quick-rated-quads-round-one/
- Rounds: February 13th, 27th and March 6th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
- Control: G/20;d5 (quick-rated game of 20 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: First place in each quad receives $50, second place receives $30, any ties will split the cash prize(s)—Swiss sections will offer three prizes
- 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
- 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
The Menlo Park Chess Club will hold US Chess quick-rated, double-round quads and/or 6- or 8-person 3-round Swiss sections over three consecutive weeks beginning Thursday, February 13th, using the G/20;d5 time control and playing two games against each opponent during the same evening, one as white and one as black. Players will be grouped into quads or small Swiss sections based upon rating to keep things as competitive as possible. No byes will be available for this event so if you are unable to play all three weeks (February 13th, 27th and March 6th) please do not register. (Note that February 20th occurs during a “ski week” for local schools so we’ll hold a casual evening then.) These quads are suitable for experienced players as well as newer US Chess members seeking to establish an over-the-board rating. Details follow:
- Format: Double-round quads and/or small Swiss tournaments over three weeks, two games per evening against the same opponent, one as white and one as black
- Rounds: February 13th, 27th and March 6th—games begin promptly at 7:00pm
- Control: G/20;d5 (quick-rated game of 20 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: First place in each quad receives $50, second place receives $30, any ties will split the cash prize(s)—Swiss sections will offer three prizes
- Byes: No byes are available for this event
- Register: Please sign up in advance using the button/link found here
- 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
- 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
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.
I am belatedly posting the results from our 7-round G/3+2 blitz tournament of last week, which saw several of the first-time visitors from the previous week return for another chance at glory and/or revenge. Alex Chin ended up alone in first place with a perfect 7/7, with Hayden Brongersma in sole second a point behind and Pranav Jindal and Josen Kalra sharing T-3 with 5 points. Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone who joined us last week!
Apparently, and somewhat humorously, a couple people tried to let me know last Thursday that a first-time visitor was engaging in a running monologue during his games and I thought they were implicating another new person with whom I was playing a casual game. In any case, apologies I didn’t get the message and didn’t hear the person in question but I’ll be certain to keep an eye and an ear out for this behavior Thursday, when we’ll play another free, unrated Swiss of some kind.
Lastly, I will share the details for our next rated event tomorrow or Thursday at the latest, but expect it to be a quick-rated tournament beginning on February 13th. More to come soon!
