Tournament Advice, Links, & Schedule for Feb-Mar 2010

This is a quick summary of the updated the Tournament advice page... See http://bayareachess.com/events/advice for details.

1. We are at the start of the Scholastic "Championship season" of chess kicking off with Age Level Championship on Feb. 14th in San Mateo by Dr. Kirshner (info - online reg).

2. If you are over 13 years old or prefer longer time controls, you may participate in the 36th Annual People's tournament on Feb.13-15 or 14-15 in Concord (register - flyer - map).

3. There is only one opportunity for our signature Swiss and Quads on Feb 20 at Bay Area Chess Center in San Jose (reg online - more info - flyer (kids | regular) - map).

4. Spring Open on March 6-7 in San Jose uses G/90 time controls for 6 games over 2 days (register - flyer- map).

5. Regional Championship & Denker Qualifier is March 19-21 in Santa Clara but most sections are one day only. (info - online reg - flyer - map).

If you have any questions, please ask Zarina or I (seriously! :)).

++SA

New Year NorCal welcomes 2010

I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour—his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear… is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle—victorious. ~ Vince Lombardi

The final results are in... See www.BayAreaChess.com/events/10/101.php.

++SA

NorCal New Year Open Homestretch

"And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within." [Eric Liddle in Chariots of Fire (the movie)].

1. Master/Open: IM Shanky and FM Zildzic are tied for the top spot with 3.5 each. They are raring to face each other in the next round. FM Zierk, the next youngest Master Samuel Sevian, old veteran Pupols, and NM Andy Lee are close with 3 points each.


2. Expert Section: Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo continues his domination with 3.5 points. Oza, Yeh, and Gaffagan are all with 2.5 points and already player Simon.

3. Section A: Brian Wai leads the pack with 3.5 points with Julian Lin, Robert Russo, Kyle Hui, and Andrew Chen close behind at 3 points each.

4. Section B: Hunter Klotz-Burwell is on a hunt for the title with 3.5 points with Antonio Rabadan and Teri Lagier 1/2 point behind.

5. Section C: Harold (Jim) Parker and Kevin Hui drew their last round to tie for first place with 3.5 points each. Richard Yi, Justin Wang, Leland Yu, and Mark Dolson are close behind with 3 points.

6. Section D & E: Abraham Adberstein continues his dream run in his first tournament with a perfect record followed by our local prodigy Josiah Stearman with 3.5 points. Kory Hui, Tyler Russo, Jothi Ramesh (from Washington) and David Adberstein with 3 points each.

See standings and pairings at bayareachess.com/events/results

NorCal New Year Open at Santa Clara

Upsets ruled at NorCal as the 3-day version started on New Years Day.

1. Master Open Section is holding a 5-way tie at 1.5 points with NM Arjoe B Loanzon, Ankit ^ Gupta, Yian Liou, Samuel Sevian, and FM Steven C Zierk.

2. Expert Section has Simon Rubinstein-salzedo in clear first with 2.0 and Nikunj Chandr Oza is just behind him with 1.5 points.

3. Section A has Michael G Da Cruz in clear first with a perfect 2.0 and and Julian Lin is just behind him with 1.5 points.

4. Section B has 4-way tie with 1.5 points between Daniel Ho, Antonio Rabadan, Phil Ploquin, Salman Azhar, and Teri Lagier!

5. Section C has 3-way tie with 1.5 points between Justin Wang, Arvind Sankar, and Mark G Dolson.

Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them

One of coaches, Chuck Dupree, sent me an informative article from New York Times. Please see

this link to read it. Even though the article is not about chess, it is all about what we are doing here... but at a much higher level with more challenging goals.

Your thoughts?

++SA

Reporting live from Taipei

NorCal Open is Fast Approaching

NorCal New Year Championship is FAST approaching!


Prize Fund: Over $6,000 b/129 - GPP 30 - A Bay Area Chess Special Event

If you haven't already registered, please do so by clicking on the link provided.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Bay Area Chess Kids dominate Dallas

I am half-way around the world in Malaysia following the results of two of my favorite players in the National Grade Level Championship.

* In 1st grade, Solomon Ge tied for 7th place and Josiah Stearman secured 17th place.

* In 3rd grade, Anirudh Seela tied for 12th place and Amit Sant finished with a positive score.

* 4th grade was dominated by Cameron W who tied for 2nd place while Vignesh Panchanatham and Jeffrey Tao tied for 6th place. Alvin Kong and Siddharth Banik tied for 16th ad there were many others with a plus score. Way to go in one of the toughest Grades at the Grade Levels.

* 5th grade saw Kesav in 2nd place, Allan Beilin tied for 5th place, and Armaan Kalyanpur tied for 22nd place.

* In 6th grade Kyle Shin in fourth place and Daniel Liu tied for 8th place.

Did I miss second grade? No! I wanted to reserve Rayan Taghizadeh's perfect score and total domination to bring home another championship. I still remember Rayan's dad driving him all the way from Foster City to my home and Ted Castro and I being awed by his ability to recall his games. Rayan and I have played twice and I was fortunate to win both times. However, I don't think I will be able to catch up with him now. Way to go Rayan... we are all very proud of you and thankful to your parents for investing their time and money in your development.