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    SUPPORT EATON FIRE VICTIMS
     
     

    Please join us in showing our support for Altadena Community Church (ACC) and San Gabriel Valley Chess Club (SGVCC) members who lost so much. On the evening of January 7, the ACC caught fire about 10:30 PM. It had been SGVCC’s home since October of 2021. Sadly, it burned to the ground, leaving its staff and congregants without jobs or their place of worship. ACC had a long tradition of supporting many community groups in its Heicher Hall that adjoined the Church. These included not only SGVCC but also a choral and folk dancing group. Pastor Paul, facility manager Susannah Mills, and their staff had been so supportive of SGVCC. The fire also destroyed the homes of at least four SGVCC members.

    Below are links to four Go Fund Me pages that we hope you will consider. Every small amount helps.

    Support Altadena Community Church After the Eaton Fire

    Help Mar & Craig Rebuild Their Lives After Fire Loss

    Help the Carroll-Chandlers Rebuild After Eaton Fire Disaster

    Susannah’s home destroyed in the LA fires

     

    Chess Club News Chess Tournaments
    Getting Started with Chess Tournaments

    When you first open our Webpage you will see a reference to “Your home for tournament rated games.” So what does that mean? In general this refers to any tournament sanctioned by U.S. Chess, the national organization in the United States with over one hundred thousand members. The term “rated” means that the results of the tournament are submitted to U.S. Chess. San Gabriel Valley Chess Club (SGVCC) is an affiliate of U.S. Chess and authorized to hold such tournaments. Everyone who plays in their first such event is considered unrated. Once you have completed your first tournament you get a “rating.” It is a 3 or 4 digit number that reflects how you have performed in rated tournaments and is used to match you against players of similar strength. One of the big differences between a rated event and a non-rated one is that you use a chess clock and also must write down your moves using what is called chess notation. But wait before you say this is not the Club for me!

    One of our goals at SGVCC is to help those who have never played in a rated tournament get started. This includes showing you how to join U.S. Chess, use a chess clock, and learn chess notation. We have a playing area where we can help you practice before jumping into a tournament. Joining U.S. Chess and playing in your first event places you in a very special class of chess players. It shows that you want to make the move from casual or online player to more serious chess and it is a step worth taking!

    Our Calendar feature has a list of our upcoming tournaments and events. Here’s a short guide on how to better understand it. You will see that most of our tournaments are over a five or six week period and say, for example, “Six Rounds.” A round refers to a game and we play one round (or game) each Tuesday evening. Players do not have to play every week and can usually miss two rounds or weeks if their schedule requires. Also, rated games are slower than what you are likely used to and can last from one to three hours. Kids and adults play in the same tournament and many of the kids at our Club are among our strongest players. Each tournament listed also has a registration link. If you have already played in rated tournaments then registering should be familiar to you. But, if this is your first time considering joining a tournament and you have more questions please reach out to us through our Contact Us tab. Remember, all of us here at SGVCC were once just starting out too. So, drop us a line or just come by the Club to check it out!

     

     

    Chess Club News Chess Tournaments
    Altadena Swiss Draws 55 Players

    Altadena Swiss Draws 55 Players

    With an undefeated score of 4.5-0.5, Axel Muller won clear first place in the upper section of the 3rd Altadena Swiss. After beating Expert Will Webster in Round 3, Muller delivered a lethal mating attack from an exchange down position in Round 4 against top rated Julian Colville. The 5-round event ended November 28, 2023. Runners-up at 4-1 were Darren Wang and Derek Li. Li was fresh off his undefeated 8-0 performance in the under 2000 section of the American Open. In the under 1200 section there was a 3-way tie between Miller Brown, Timothy Everett and Renton Chandler, who all won decisive games in the final round. Congrats to all!

    Chess Club News Chess Tournaments
    December Rapid Chess

    Think you’re the fastest? Join us in December for Rapid chess! This is a 4-round event in 3 sections, with Rounds 1 and 2 on December 5 and Rounds 3 and 4 on December 12.  The time control is Game 40 with 5 second delay in all sections. The sections are over 1700, under 1700 and under 1200.  You play two games each night against different opponents. The rounds starts at 6:45 and the next round starts immediately after all games are finished. All games will finish by 10:00 pm.

     

    The entry fee is $30 and should be paid online. No byes are allowed.

    Register here

     

    Chess Club News Chess Tournaments
    Julian Colville Wins Mount Lowe Swiss

    Julian Colville Wins Mount Lowe Swiss

    With an undefeated score of 5.5-0.5, top seed Julian Colville of Los Angeles won clear first place in the Mount Lowe  upper section. Julian is a rising local talent, having just turned 13 and already rated 2148. He plays an exciting brand of chess and his games always attract a crowd!  The 6 round event ended October 10, 2023 and drew 57 players with a prize fund of $750. Runner-up at 4.5-1.5 was Axel Muller. Frank Fan, Craig Vieregg and Rohan Daftuar shared third place/best under 1800 and David Peral was best under 1600. Andrew Chang won the under1400 section with a score of 5.5-0.5 and Sumit Daftuar was clear second at 5-1. Leya Daftuar and Ishan Pradbu shared third and Renton Chandler took best under 1000. 

    Congrats to all!

     
     
    Julian Colville
     
    Chess Club News
    SGVCC Adds New Online Sustaining Memberships

    We are pleased to announce that you can now join or renew your SGVCC membership online. As a recognized 501(c)(7) non-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Service, Club dues help us keep a small reserve as most of the entry fees we collect go towards our overhead costs and prize money. We are also offering a new discounted rate for those that elect to sign up for automatic membership renewal (see details on our Home Page). This will really benefit the Club and prevent us from having to send so many reminders. Since our opening in March of 2020 SGVCC has offered 9-10 rated events each year, rated blitz, and simuls by top players, all thanks to the support of our members.

    And we will still continue to accept memberships in person at the Club where you can pay by cash, check, or by using the new QR code on our application. Thank you for your support of San Gabriel Valley Chess Club!

    Chess Club News
    The Return of Annie Wang
    A view of the Simul from the catbird seat

    International Master Annie Wang took some time away from her studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to give a lecture and exhibition at San Gabriel Valley Chess Club (SGVCC) on May 30, 2023. A local chess prodigy who grew up in nearby La Canada, she took on a strong field of 30 players, winning all but one game. Before the games, Annie gave a lecture where she highlighted a win against a Grandmaster and offered some helpful practical advice on facing stronger opponents. She also provided an interesting insight into how chess can help other activities, noting that chess teaches you to sit and problem solve, which has been a helpful skill in her computer science studies at MIT.

    Lecture before the Simul

    Due to the large number of players, the action at the boards went late into the night. At about 11:15 p.m. there were still twelve players battling it out, including some youngsters who had school the next day! So, a decision was made to have Annie finish those games with a chess clock where each side would have one minute with a two second increment. The result was a rather exciting finale as the spectators followed her from board to board as she took on the remaining players.

    A Gripping Bullet Chess Finish!

    And so were we not only able to finish before midnight, but those remaining players can now say they played Annie Wang one-on-one in a blitz game! A nice memory and we hope it won’t be the last time we see Annie back at SGVCC. A special thanks as well to all who participated and helped organize this very special event.

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