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    SGVCC Excels at SCCF Inter-Club Championship

    The Southern California Chess Federation (SCCF) organized an exciting inter-club competition at the San Diego Chess Club on February 16, 2025. San Gabriel Valley Chess Club sent two teams of four players each to take part in the ten team competition. The format was four rounds with a Game 45 minute/5 second delay time control. In team events you add up and then divide the ratings of the team members to create a rating for the team itself.

    It was tough competition with the top rated San Diego A Team boasting a 2170 average. SGVCC sent an A Team rated 2057 and a B Team rated 1914. In the first round, our B Team beat the much higher rated ICEA Team (2099) and our A Team beat La Palma Chess Club (1906), a club that has been around at the same location in Orange County since the 1970’s! Round two got tougher for our heroes when our B Team had to face the formidable San Diego A Team, but our A Team drew its match against the San Diego B Team (2030). Round 3 saw our B Team once again rise to the challenge by drawing the North County A Team (2020) and our A Team drawing the higher rated ICEA Team.

    So it all came down to the final round. Our A Team came up short against the San Diego A Team (who went undefeated) but our B Team beat the North County B Team and secured a three way tie for second place! There were also some outstanding individual performances by our members. Ararat Bagdasarian scored 3.5 out of 4 and raised his rating to 2064. Ethan Hsiao and Kaiwen Yu also posted plus scores of 3 out of 4 and Derek Li held held NM Alex Wang (2325) to a draw in round one to help preserve the win over the ICEA Team.

    It was great to have a local team event again and hopefully there will be more. Many thanks to SCCF for coordinating (especially Irina Nizmutdihova), the San Diego Club for hosting and all our SGVCC parents who took everyone there! Check out the additional photos, standings and commentary at this link.

    Team A: L/R Karl Tolentino, Warren Zhang, Ethan Hsiao, Ararat Bagdasarian
    Team B: L/R George Huang, Evan Lew, Derek Li, Kaiwen Yu

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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
    2025 Calendar

    Following is a list of our recent and upcoming tournaments:

    EventDatesLocationLinks
    The New Year Swiss1/27/25 – 2/24/25San MarinoRegister | Standings
    San Gabriel Game/45Feb. 15San GabrielRegister | Standings
    San Marino Swiss3/10/25 – 4/7/25San MarinoRegister | Standings
    San Gabriel Game/45March 22San GabrielRegister | Standings
    San Gabriel Game/45April 26San GabrielRegister | Standings
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    Chess Tournaments
    Experience Counts at Holiday Swiss!

    Experience Counts at Holiday Swiss!

    The five round Holiday Swiss concluded on December 10 and drew 64 players. The Under 1700 Section, with 29 players, was like its own tournament. When the dust settled it was Irwin Landau (92 years young!) who collected the top cash prize of $150 with an undefeated score of 4.5-0.5. After starting out with four straight wins, he was trying for a fifth but had to concede a draw against Desmond Weisenberg in a complicated Rook and Bishop versus Rook ending after Weisenberg invoked the fifty move rule. A native New Yorker and former editor of Consumer Reports, Irwin has been playing chess since the age of 12 and was a member of the Manhattan Chess Club when Bobby Fischer played there. An unassuming man despite all his accomplishments and proximity to chess history, he’s been a mainstay of SGVCC since our move to Altadena. With so many saying chess is a game for the young he reminds us that experience does count. Axel Muller won the Over 1700 Section with a score of 4.5-0.5 and top honors in the Under 1000 Section were shared by Daylen Riggs and Caden Chwang, each with 4-1.  Check out the final standings here.

    Axel Miller (R) versus Evan “Jet” Lew (L) in the final round
    92-year-old (!) Irwin Landau
    Daylen Riggs
    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 Tournaments
    Holiday Swiss

    Holiday Swiss
    11/12/24 – 12/10/24

    This is a five round event in three sections. It starts November 12 and ends December 10. Two half-point byes are available. Either the November Supplement or a players most recent “live” regular rating will be used at the TD’s discretion. There is one round each Tuesday night and games start at 6:45 pm. The Club opens at 6:00 pm. Time control is Game/90 minutes with a five second delay. The entry fee is $35 and should be paid online. Total prize fund to be determined based on entries. Advance registration is required. If you have trouble registering online contact us and we can register you. Advance registration closes at 5:00 pm on November 12. All players must be SGVCC members and have current USCF memberships. You can join our renew your SGVCC dues online at our website or in person. You can join after the first round has started but you must contact the TD per below. You can renew or join the USCF at our registration link. We meet at Altadena Community Church in Heicher Hall, located at 943 East Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91101. For more information contact TD John Wright at 626/864-5744 or at wright.john82@yahoo.com.

    Register here.

    Standings here.

    Chess Tournaments
    December 17 Blitz & Fischer Random events

    Blitz event
    12/17/24

    USCF rated blitz! Eight to nine rounds depending on turnout. For more information contact TD John Wright at 626/864-5744 or at wright.john82@yahoo.com.

    Register here.

    Standings here.

     

     

     

    Chess 960 (a.k.a. Fischer Random Chess) Tournament (unrated)
    12/17/24

    A SGVCC First!  In this chess variant, the starting arrangement of the pieces on the back rank is randomized before the start of the game.  For more information on the rules of chess 960, see here .  There will also be a brief review of the rules prior to revealing the starting position of round 1.

    Tournament Format: Players will be divided by skill level into round-robin groups of 4 or 5 or 6 people (TBD, depending on the number of entrants).  Groups of 4 will play their games with a time control of G/20 d5.  Groups of 5 or 6 will play their games with a time control of G/12 d5.  A registration fee of $10 will fund prize pools to be distributed to the first and second place finishers of each group.

    Advance registration is strongly encouraged.

    Register here.

     

    Chess Tournaments
    Mount Wilson Draws 62 Players

    Mount Wilson Draws 62 Players

    The Mount Wilson Challenge concluded June 4, 2024, with tough competition in both sections. Rohan Daftuar and Axel Muller tied for first place with 4-1 in the over 1400 section. Five players tied for third place, including Mladen Kolar, Forest Sherwood, Kevin Ludwig, Kaiwin Yu and Haig Amloyan. Renton Chandler was clear first in the under 1400 section with a score of 4.5 out of 5. Haoxuan Huang took second at 4-1. And, just like in the top section, another five-way tie for third place with Andrew Chang, Leya Daftuar, Annie Liu, Lawrence Preciado and Daylen Riggs sharing the honors. Congrats to all!

    We start Summer Fun 3, a six round tournament, on June 11. See our Calendar for a registration link.

    Chess Tournaments
    4th Altadena Swiss

    This is a four round event in three sections. It starts October 8 and ends October 29.  Total prize fund to be determined based on entries. One half-point bye is available and any additional byes will be 0 point byes.  Either the September Supplement or a player’s most recent “live” regular rating will be used at the TD’s discretion. There is one round each Tuesday night and games start at 6:45 pm. The Club opens at 6:00 pm. Time control is Game/90 minutes with a five second delay.   The entry fee is $30 and should be paid online. Advance registration is required. If you have trouble registering online contact us and we can register you. Advance registration closes at 5:00 pm on October 8. All players must be SGVCC members and have current USCF memberships. You can join our renew your SGVCC dues online at our website or in person.  You can join after the first round has started but you must contact the TD per below.  You can renew or join the USCF at our registration link. We meet at Altadena Community Church in Heicher Hall, located at 943 East Altadena Drive, Altadena, CA 91101. For more information contact TD John Wright at 626/864-5744 or at wright.john82@yahoo.com.

    Register here.

    Standings here.

    SGVCC will be closed November 5 in observance of Election Day.

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