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Chess for All: Scholastic Chess at MI

This year has been a banner one for scholastic chess at Mechanics’ Institute (MI), despite most schools hosting classes remotely. So far, MI has organized two sponsored events, offering free participation to all students. 

On Saturday, March 13th, MI hosted a special 5-round scholastic tournament sponsored by the Thompson Family Foundation (TFF), an organization started by the family of Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson. Since the tournament did not require US Chess Federation membership, there were participants from our programs as well as the greater Bay Area. Afterwards, we held an online chess arena with special guests from the TFF and MI's chess community, including Mychel Thompson, Adam Cheyer, co-founder of Siri, Inc., and Seth Tarver from TFF. 

On Saturday, March 20th, MI held its annual signature free event -- the 2021 San Francisco Scholastic Chess Championship sponsored by the AO Dragge Foundation. This year's virtual tournament had 341 players, a significant increase over last year's 280 players. The 2021 event included both non-rated sections by grade level as well as US Chess Federation-rated sections by skill level. Players competed for individual and team awards, and students had the option to represent their schools or chess clubs.

Both of these events were live streamed via the MI Chess Club's Twitch channel, twitch.tv/mechanicschess, with commentary from Grandmasters and other celebrities. While all of these events were streamed live, students and parents can view the San Francisco Scholastic tournaments parts 1 and 2 on YouTube. If you missed the TFF special event, you can watch it here

The game of chess has its own universal language -- bringing people together from many different cultures and communities. MI's Scholastic Chess Club takes great joy in bringing all children together to compete in organized games. Special thanks to the Thompson Family Foundation and the AO Dragge Foundation for their support of scholastic chess in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area!

 

Posted on Apr. 12, 2021 by Abel Talamantez

MI Hosts Pan-Am Intercollegiate

The Mechanics’ Institute recently hosted the 2020-2021 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship, the foremost team championship event open to colleges and universities from North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean. Started in 1946, Mechanics’ Institute was honored to uphold the tournament's historic lineage by coordinating this year's event, which was online for the first time in its history.

The Pan-Am Intercollegiate, held from January 4-6, 2021, included 273 players and 61 teams. To ensure fair play, each player was required to use two cameras while playing. After nine rounds and three suspenseful days, Missouri's Webster University captured its 8th title in the last nine years, reclaiming it from Texas Tech University. Local powerhouse UC Berkeley finished in 7th place with an exceptional performance. 

Each year, the Pan-Am Intercollegiate connects people and cultures together from the Americas.  More than 20 countries were represented by the players. While Mechanics’ Institute showcased the event live on its Twitch channel, the Pan-Am was also broadcast live in Spanish by popular Mexican chess streamer WIM Ivette Garcia Morales, chess coach for the Universidad de Chihuahua.

Events such as the Pan-Am Intercollegiate inspire teamwork and a lifelong love of chess for young adults, particularly vital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mechanics’ Institute appreciates all of the students who played and the hard work by organizers and volunteers that helped make this global event a success.

For more information about Mechanics’ Institute and our chess activities, as well the  full event results, please follow this link: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/2020-2021-pan-american-intercollegiate-championship-online

Posted on Jan. 13, 2021 by Abel Talamantez

The Queen's Gambit and the MI Connection

The new Netflix series, The Queen's Gambit, has received largely positive reviews from critics and viewers. I have enjoyed the acting, the chess, the human drama and the music supporting the storytelling. Throughout the series, the beauty and power of chess shine and its powerful message about one individual's ability to change the world through kindness resonates.

In the first episode, we are introduced to the central character, 9-year old Beth Harmon, who is placed in an orphanage after the death of her mother in a car crash. Beth struggles to adapt to her new life as an orphan and as a student at the Methuen Home in Kentucky. She is highly intelligent but extremely lonely and withdrawn. When she is sent to the basement to clean erasers, she finds the school custodian, Mr. Shaibel, studying a chessboard. 

Fascinated, she begins learning the piece movements by watching Shaibel play. As she gets more curious about the game, Shaibel begins to teach her more, including notation. Soon, her genius surpasses the skills of her instructor. Shaibel invites the director of the high school chess club to observe Beth's game skills. Impressed, the school's chess director requests her to play simultaneous chess with the high school's club.

As she defeats challenger after challenger, Beth is poised to enter the world of tournament play. Since she does not have the money to play her first event in her home state of Kentucky, she is forced to borrow the money for the entry fee. Thus begins her journey into the competitive chess world.

Based on the book, The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis, this story about a chess prodigy who learns the game in humble circumstances has connections to the Mechanics' Institute's (MI) chess club. Tevis was born and raised in San Francisco's Sunset district before moving to Kentucky with his family. The novelist also played chess at MI. Longtime MI chess club member Kenn Fong remembers Tevis as an enthusiastic chess club member who played in the North vs. South chess matches (between Northern and Southern California). Fong made a mention of this in an article he contributed to in MI's chess newsletter on December 6, 2019

Currently, The Queen's Gambit is on the Netflix top 10 most watched series. The chess world has been buzzing about a show that presents chess in such an accessible and meaningful way. Beth's journey takes her all the way to the top of the chess world, breaking down barriers from sexism to addiction, to childhood trauma and finding connections. The story is a marvelous depiction of the psychology and transcendental nature of chess, depicting the joy and love of chess for its own sake in a way that would make any chess aficionado proud.

Abel Talamantez is Mechanics' Institute's Chess Room Director. He can be reached at  [email protected] or by phone at 415-393-0110.

 

Posted on Nov. 17, 2020 by Abel Talamantez

MI Wraps Up Successful Blitz Tournament of the Americas

Dr. Judit Sztaray contributed to this post.  

On August 15, Mechanics' Institute (MI) wrapped up a highly successful Blitz Tournament of the Americas on Chess.com. Organized by MI in partnership with KmadaChess and Chess Sin Fronteras, the free event connected masters from across the Americas and brought several diverse communities together through chess. The tournament's mission is to build new relationships and partnerships while showcasing top chess players from the Western Hemisphere.  

Through MI's collaborative partnerships and social media channels, 91 players--nearly all masters--participated. The group included 9 Grandmasters (GM) and 13 International Masters (IM) representing 15 different countries, 20 of which were female players. The event was broadcast on MI's Twitch channel and also globally, including Women's International Master (WIM) Ivette Garcia Morales and GM Josh Friedel

Since this was a blitz event that included many titled players, the action was fast and furious. In the end, GM Juan Carlos Obregon Rivero from Cuba won the series with a score of 8/9. GM Conrad Holt took second place with a score of 7.5/9 and IM Andrew Hong and FM Kyron Griffith tied for third place with a score of 7/9. MI Trustee and former two-time U.S. Champion GM Patrick Wolff turned in a fine performance, including a victory over second place finisher GM Conrad Holt. 

Women's Grand Master (WGM) Lisandra Teresa Ordaz Valdes (Cuba) was the top female finisher with 6/9 and Ann Lindsay Chumpitaz Carbajal (Peru) scored 5.5/9. Women's participation was significant during this event as females comprised more than 20% of the field. 

MI is grateful to the team at KmadaChess and to Juan Cendejas from Chess Sin Fronteras for their collaboration and partnership in this outstanding free event. Thanks to all the players for their time and to all who helped promote the tournament. Once again, the MI chess community and its supporters turned a highly successful gathering and into an enjoyable forum for chess players to socialize, participate, and compete. 

Here are the final results:

Final Standings

#

Name

Fed

Rd 1

Rd 2

Rd 3

Rd 4

Rd 5

Rd 6

Rd 7

Rd 8

Rd 9

Total

T-Sonneborn

1

GM Juan Carlos Obregon Rivero

CUB

W58

W39

W25

W3

W12

W5

W18

L2

W11

8.0

44.5

2

GM Conrad Holt

USA

W83

W32

W79

L24

D6

W25

W19

W1

W5

7.5

37.25

3

IM Andrew Hong

USA

W34

W28

D9

L1

W47

W20

D4

W30

W16

7.0

37

4

FM Kyron Griffith

USA

W44

L5

W58

D46

W36

W26

D3

W18

W12

7.0

35

5

GM Andres Felipe Gallego

COL

W13

W4

W14

W19

W24

L1

W10

D12

L2

6.5

38.5

6

GM Enrico Sevillano

USA

W7

D40

W30

W9

D2

D19

L11

W36

W21

6.5

36.25

7

FM Kelvin Sánchez

VEN

L6

W84

W45

W8

L23

W29

D21

W24

W26

6.5

30.25

8

GM Aramis Alvarez

CUB

W62

W15

L23

L7

D37

W77

W64

W19

W9

6.5

29.25

9

NM Kirk Ghazarian

USA

W56

W17

D3

L6

D15

W34

W27

W10

L8

6.0

32.5

10

CM Sriram Krishnakumar

USA

W72

D18

W11

W16

W20

D24

L5

L9

W29

6.0

31

11

IM Christopher Woojin Yoo

STP

W47

L25

L10

W38

W52

W28

W6

W23

L1

6.0

29

12

FM Anish Vivekananthan

RUS

W37

D27

W40

W23

L1

W48

W24

D5

L4

6.0

28.75

13

NM Kevin Pan

USA

L5

W44

W28

D32

W40

D46

L14

W53

W36

6.0

27

14

FM Javier Benitez Lozano

MEX

W68

W49

L5

L17

W63

W35

W13

L16

W25

6.0

26.5

15

WGM Lisandra Ordaz

CUB

W59

L8

D48

W75

D9

L21

W45

W31

W23

6.0

25

16

FM Dachey Lin

USA

W64

L19

W52

L10

W83

W59

W25

W14

L3

6.0

24

17

FM Alberto Salazar

NIC

W88

L9

W60

W14

L25

W50

L23

W48

W33

6.0

23.5

18

FM Guannan Song

CAN

W70

D10

D74

W80

W50

W23

L1

L4

W30

6.0

23.25

19

NM Linden Li

USA

W76

W16

W36

L5

W34

D6

L2

L8

W41

5.5

25.75

20

FM Ladia Jirasek

USA

D38

W42

W22

W26

L10

L3

L37

W56

W39

5.5

25.75

21

GM Dmitry Gurevich

USA

L45

W68

W83

L47

W49

W15

D7

W37

L6

5.5

22.75

22

WIM Ann Lindsay Chumpitaz Carbajal

PER

D61

W86

L20

L40

W38

L36

W43

W63

W53

5.5

19.75

23

IM Abhimanyu Mishra

USA

W54

W45

W8

L12

W7

L18

W17

L11

L15

5.0

27

24

GM Patrick Wolff

USA

W73

W52

W46

W2

L5

D10

L12

L7

D32

5.0

24

25

NM Jeevan Karamsetty

USA

W67

W11

L1

W37

W17

L2

L16

W51

L14

5.0

23.5

26

IM Greg Shahade

USA

W51

D74

W27

L20

W32

L4

D53

W34

L7

5.0

22.25

27

NM Marcos Ortiz

NIC

W69

D12

L26

D70

W41

W31

L9

L33

W51

5.0

21

28

NM Gabriel Sam

USA

W31

L3

L13

W43

W70

L11

L51

W45

W49

5.0

20.5

29

NM Conrado Diaz

USA

U---

W54

L34

W42

W51

L7

W49

W47

L10

5.0

20.5

30

IM Carlos Andres Perdomo

USA

D86

W38

L6

W39

D31

W56

W46

L3

L18

5.0

20.25

31

WFM Fiorella Contreras Huaman

PER

L28

W64

W62

D74

D30

L27

W35

L15

W52

5.0

19.75

32

CM Vyom Vidyarthi

USA

W81

L2

W33

D13

L26

L39

W68

W64

D24

5.0

19

33

IM Elliott Winslow

USA

L46

W87

L32

W44

L53

W69

W50

W27

L17

5.0

17.5

34

FM Andy Lee

USA

L3

W85

W29

W79

L19

L9

W70

L26

W56

5.0

16

35

WCM Alice Lee

USA

W57

L36

L41

W81

W78

L14

L31

W73

W50

5.0

15

36

FM Balaji Daggupati

USA

W63

W35

L19

D77

L4

W22

W39

L6

L13

4.5

19.75

37

NM Jorge de Jesus Perez Marimon

CUB

L12

W82

W53

L25

D8

W40

W20

L21

U---

4.5

19.25

38

WFM Munkhchuluu Tsegmed

MNG

D20

L30

W61

L11

L22

W66

W40

L39

W59

4.5

17.75

39

NM Michael Aigner

USA

W71

L1

D70

L30

W66

W32

L36

W38

L20

4.5

17.5

40

IM Ali Farahat

USA

W90

D6

L12

W22

L13

L37

L38

W54

W58

4.5

16.25

41

NM Oscar Jesus Roldan Luna

MEX

L79

W72

W35

L48

L27

D76

W75

W59

L19

4.5

15.25

42

CM Nabí Isaías Pérez Torres

MEX

W50

L20

L80

L29

L44

W82

W69

D65

W64

4.5

14.25

43

WIM Tania Regla Hernandez Alvarez

CRI

U---

D75

D78

L28

D61

W55

L22

W76

W65

4.5

14

44

CM Mauricio Marrujo

VEN

L4

L13

W90

L33

W42

L45

W66

D58

W63

4.5

13.25

45

CM Rohan Rajaram

USA

W21

L23

L7

W60

L59

W44

L15

L28

W67

4.0

16.5

46

FM Josiah Stearman

USA

W33

W77

L24

D4

W74

D13

L30

U---

U---

4.0

16.5

47

NM Siddharth Arun

USA

L11

W66

W73

W21

L3

D53

D48

L29

U---

4.0

16

48

CM Ryan Amburgy

USA

L49

W61

D15

W41

W77

L12

D47

L17

U---

4.0

15.5

49

FM William Alfaro

NIC

W48

L14

W59

L50

L21

W54

L29

W68

L28

4.0

14.5

50

CM Daniel Herman

USA

L42

W67

W51

W49

L18

L17

L33

W70

L35

4.0

14

51

IM Benjamin Gongora Montes

MEX

L26

W69

L50

W76

L29

W67

W28

L25

L27

4.0

13.5

52

IM Alvaro Blanco

MEX

W60

L24

L16

W67

L11

W73

L56

W62

L31

4.0

13

53

FM Marco Zapata Ferrada

CHL

U---

W90

L37

W73

W33

D47

D26

L13

L22

4.0

12.5

54

WCM Anika Rajaram

USA

L23

L29

W85

L59

W71

L49

W60

L40

W70

4.0

11.5

55

FM Jorge Arturo Vega Garcia

MEX

U---

U---

U---

U---

W86

L43

W61

W75

W68

4.0

10.5

56

WCM Claudia Munoz

USA

L9

L60

W69

W89

W80

L30

W52

L20

L34

4.0

10

57

NM César Arturo García Rosas

MEX

L35

L63

L67

W90

L68

L58

W82

W69

W76

4.0

7.5

58

CM Advay Bansal

USA

L1

W71

L4

L78

L76

W57

W67

D44

L40

3.5

12.25

59

NM Abhishek Mallela

USA

L15

W81

L49

W54

W45

L16

D63

L41

L38

3.5

11.75

60

WCM Alexandra Naira Prado Serrano

BOL

L52

W56

L17

L45

L81

W85

L54

W84

D62

3.5

9.75

61

NM Helen Montiel

PRY

D22

L48

L38

D62

D43

L75

L55

W87

W84

3.5

9.75

62

NM Alejandro Waldo

MEX

L8

D78

L31

D61

L69

W71

W81

L52

D60

3.5

9.5

63

CM Anthony Rozenvasser

USA

L36

W57

L77

W87

L14

W81

D59

L22

L44

3.5

8.75

64

WIM Rochelle Wu

USA

L16

L31

W82

D66

W75

W74

L8

L32

L42

3.5

8.75

65

FM Lenin González Arroyo

MEX

U---

U---

U---

U---

W85

W87

W76

D42

L43

3.5

7.75

66

WIM Thais Castillo Morales

CRI

U---

L47

W91

D64

L39

L38

L44

W72

W75

3.5

7.25

67

FM Gustavo Hector Garza Ramo Maass

USA

L25

L50

W57

L52

W88

L51

L58

W71

L45

3.0

8

68

NM Manas Paldhe

IND

L14

L21

L87

W86

W57

W83

L32

L49

L55

3.0

7.5

69

NM Vanessa Descarrega Zacarias

VEN

L27

L51

L56

W72

W62

L33

L42

L57

W89

3.0

7.5

70

WCM Omya Vidyarthi

USA

L18

W91

D39

D27

L28

W84

L34

L50

L54

3.0

6.75

71

CM Nelson Muñoz

PAN

L39

L58

L81

W82

L54

L62

W89

L67

W87

3.0

4

72

WCM Bitia Esther Cruz Castro

HND

L10

L41

L84

L69

L82

W89

W87

L66

W78

3.0

4

73

CM Pranav Senthilkumar

USA

L24

W88

L47

L53

W87

L52

W84

L35

U---

3.0

4

74

GM Michael Rohde

USA

W85

D26

D18

D31

L46

L64

U---

U---

U---

2.5

10

75

NM Rodrigo Del Puerto

ARG

U---

D43

W86

L15

L64

W61

L41

L55

L66

2.5

7.25

76

NM Victor Emmanue Aguilar Mosivais

MEX

L19

L83

W88

L51

W58

D41

L65

L43

L57

2.5

6.75

77

NM Kevin Yang

USA

W87

L46

W63

D36

L48

L8

U---

U---

U---

2.5

6.75

78

NM Ismael Roberto Acosta Perez

CUB

L80

D62

D43

W58

L35

U---

U---

U---

L72

2.0

7.5

79

NM Vinesh Ravuri

USA

W41

W80

L2

L34

U---

U---

U---

U---

U---

2.0

6.5

80

NM Enrique AlfonsoFonseca Manrique

MEX

W78

L79

W42

L18

L56

U---

U---

U---

U---

2.0

6.5

81

NM Victor Salomon Vargas Sotelo

ECU

L32

L59

W71

L35

W60

L63

L62

U---

U---

2.0

6.5

82

WFM Carolina Torres Hernandez

HND

U---

L37

L64

L71

W72

L42

L57

U---

W85

2.0

5

83

NM Jason Metpally

USA

L2

W76

L21

W84

L16

L68

U---

U---

U---

2.0

4.5

84

WFM Miriam Parkhurst Casas

MEX

U---

L7

W72

L83

W89

L70

L73

L60

L61

2.0

4

85

WIM Andrea Ortez

SLV

L74

L34

L54

L88

L65

L60

B---

W89

L82

2.0

1

86

WCM Patricia Castillo

DOM

D30

L22

L75

L68

L55

W88

U---

U---

U---

1.5

3.5

87

CM Clarence Lehman

USA

L77

L33

W68

L63

L73

L65

L72

L61

L71

1.0

3

88

NM Javier Omar Gonzalez Carrillo

MEX

L17

L73

L76

W85

L67

L86

U---

U---

U---

1.0

2

89

IM Navarro Mónica Segura

VEN

U---

U---

B---

L56

L84

L72

L71

L85

L69

1.0

0

90

NM Michael S Walder

USA

L40

L53

L44

L57

U---

U---

U---

U---

U---

0.0

0

91

WFM MarjoireJ. Bocangel

PER

U---

L70

L66

U---

U---

U---

U---

U---

U---

0.0

0

 

 

Posted on Sep. 10, 2020 by Abel Talamantez