With an undefeated score of 4.5-0.5, top seed Karl Tolentino won clear first place in the SGVCC’s Summer Fun 2 upper section. The 5-round event ended July 18, 2023. Runner-up at 4-1 was Leo Wang. Arthur Zhang was best under 1900 at 3.5-1.5 and Derek Li, Benjamim Teng and Darren Wang tied for best under 1700 at 2.5-2.5. Jocelyn Fan won the best under 1500 section with a score of 4-1. Runners-up in that section with a score of 3.5-1.5 were Alex Behzadi, David G. Faulkner, and Evie Hsing. Chasen Chwang took top honors in best under 1000 with a score of 3.0-2.0. Congrats to all!
We kick off September with another Mount Lowe tournament, a six round event in two sections. Pictured left is a photo of the historic Mount Lowe Railway (circa 1900) that started in Altadena, not far from the Club, and traversed the San Gabriel Mountains. Full tournament details are can be seen at the registration link below.
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!
National Master Karl Tolentino is San Gabriel Valley Chess Club’s 2023 Club Champion. He scored an impressive 6.5 out of 7 rounds in a field of 53 players. The event ran from March 21 to May 2 with an awards ceremony held on May 9. Club President John Wright presented Karl with the SGVCC Champions Cup, a perpetual trophy that now bears his name, as our first Club Champion. Karl has been SGVCC’s top rated player since it reopened in Altadena in October of 2021 and has finished first in 10 of the 14 events we have held. His dedication to SGVCC is most appreciated and he is a very deserving Champion!
Engraved plaques were also given to Best in Rating Class winners. They were as follows:
– Linus Eisenberg, Best Class B and clear second place; – Henry Castro, Best Expert and Nathan Gan, Best Class A and co-third place; – Ashley Lin, Best Class C; – Derek Li, Best Class D; – Jon Serrano, Best Class E; and – Leya Daftuar, Best under 1000.
Local FIDE Master David Bassett donated $50 for an Upset Prize Award for most cumulative upset points. Joshua Sang was the winner, gaining 100 rating points for his effort.
Congratulations to all the winners! Our 2024 Club Championship will start in March of next year.
Hello SGVCC Members – We’ll start the New Year Open, a six round tournament, on January 3, 2023. There will be three sections and the last round ends on February 7th. A registration link with more details is below. The Club is closed on December 20 and 27. On behalf of your SGVCC Board, thanks to our players, parents, and volunteers for a great year. Membership is open to all chess enthusiasts and we hope to see a lot of new faces in 2023!
Congrats to NM Larry Stevens who only gave up a draw in his march to first place in the Capablanca Open. “Mr. e4” scores a nice win over top seed NM Axel Müller along the way. The event only had 8 participants and we are hoping more of you will join us for the 5 round Euwe Open that starts on September 17th. It will be played at our usual LiChess SGVCC Site. You need to join SGVCC at that site and let us know if you need any assistance.
Our upcoming match against Borba Gato Chess Club of Brazil is tentatively set for Friday, July 16, at 7:00 p.m. The match is played on Chess.com and you can find updated info on Season 3 of Club League at our Chess.com San Gabriel Valley CC site. Just click on the Club link and then “ News.”
The pairings will be finalized on Tuesday evening, so for the moment these pairings you find there are preliminary.
The winner and the top <1800 player will get prizes. Since we might resume over the board chess games soon again we probably won’t have time for a tiebreaker this time.
Some of the players joining our online tournaments live too far away to join us for OTB tournaments and some players might not be ready yet for indoor meetings. If there is some demand I am more than happy to continue to offer online tournaments. We might have to opt for another time though. Please let me know what you think and send an email to: [email protected]
