Category: Chess Tournaments

With a surprise visit from Professor Dumbledore (Tim Thompson), the Hogwarts Swiss saw magic and good competition by all 67 participating wizards. The six round event in three sections with a $900 prize fund concluded on August 27, 2024. In Harry’s Over 1600, Ethan Hsiao and Warren Zhang shared first place with scores of 4.5-1.5. It all came down to the last round, with the outcome depending on the results of the top three boards. Zhang and top rated Axel Muller had a hard fought draw on Board 1. This gave Hsiao, who had lost to Zhang in Round 5, a chance to share first with his win over the always tough Amin Zoghlami. Muller, Mladin Kolar, and Andersen Yang shared third place at 4-2.

The Hermione Under 1600 section saw some impressive rating gains by the top finishers. Renton Chandler took clear first with an impressive 5.5-0.5 score and raised his rating from 1266 to 1533. Roberto Argueta and Ryan Lu shared second at 4.5-1.5. Roberto raised his rating from 1030 to 1324 and Ryan went from 1322 to 1455. That’s nearly 700 rating points among the three of them and quite a magical potion we’d all love to discover! In the Ron Under 1000 section, Aron Rivin scored an outstanding 5.5-.5, especially considering this was his first USCF rated event. Alejandro Lopez and Dave Best shared second place with scores of 4-2.

We start the Mount Lowe Swiss on September 10.  Sign up by going to our Calendar.

If you’ve played at San Gabriel Valley Chess Club (SGVCC) it’s very likely you have played a member of the Daftuar family. First, there’s 10 year old Rohan, rated 1867, his eight year old sister Leya, rated 1357, and also dad Sumit, who only started playing last June and has a respectable 1200 rating. Mom Lilyn is part of the team too, helping with much needed transportation and sometimes getting the kids back home early when dad has a long game. It has become quite common to look at the pairings chart and see that all three won their games on a given night. In fact, at the Mount Lowe Swiss in October of 2023 this trio all won prize money. And don’t look now, but little brother Ojas has just started playing rated events.

This ability for everyone in a family to engage in the same activity is truly one of the unique aspects of chess. Unlike other sports or activities, age, gender, or size matter not. You don’t have to be the fastest or the strongest, just play good chess moves! At SGVCC we are pleased to have quite a few chess playing families. Plus, we discount our club membership dues by offering a family membership plan. So as they say, if you’re looking for a night out the whole family can enjoy, SGVCC is your place!

We got 2024 off to a great start with a record number of players at our first event this year! There was some great chess too, with battles in the last round to see who would prevail. Top seed Axel Muller won his first 4 games and then had to concede a draw against the very talented Ararat Bagdasarian, who defended a tough position. Although just ten years old, Bagdasarian is making a strong impression with a rating of 1946. He tied for second with veteran Arturo Armagnac, both scoring 4-1. It was Muller’s second straight clear first place finish. A National Master, he seems to be regaining his old form.

The under 1400 section saw the youngsters having their way. Garik Yegoryan (also 10!) posted an impressive 5-0 to take clear first. There was a log jam for second with four players going 4-1, which included Leya Daftuar and Ryan Lu (both age 8) Evan “Jet” Lew ( the “old guy” at age 13 ) and Patrick Harrigan of the CSU Northridge college team. The total prize fund was $600 and shared by the winners in both sections.

We start the Eaton Canyon Open, another 5 rounder in two sections, on February 13. And stay tuned for our Club Championship, a 7 round tournament with one Open section, starting March 19.