Mount Wilson Open
05/09/23 – 06/06/23
NO ROUND ON MAY 30th
A four round event in 3 sections: Premier/1800+, Reserve/1200-1800, and Booster/Under 1200. We will not have a round on May 30 due to the Annie Wang Simultaneous Exhibition.
Register here. Standings here.
Fun Fact! SGVCC member Tim Thompson is an Astronomy & Science speaker at Mount Wilson Observatory.
Following is a list of our recent and upcoming tournaments:
Mount Wilson Open
05/09/23 – 06/06/23
NO ROUND ON MAY 30th
A four round event in 3 sections: Premier/1800+, Reserve/1200-1800, and Booster/Under 1200. We will not have a round on May 30 due to the Annie Wang Simultaneous Exhibition.
Register here.
Standings and tentative pairings here.
Annie Wang Lecture & Simultaneous Exhibition
May 30, 2023
International Master and WGM Annie Wang will take on all challengers in a Simultaneous Exhibition at the SGVCC on Tuesday, May 30. There will be a short lecture starting at 6:30 pm and the games will begin at 7:00 pm. Rated 2450, and the No. 4 female player in the United States, Annie makes her return to the San Gabriel Valley CC where she rose from child prodigy (National Master at age 11) to the US Junior Girls Champion in 2021. Entry fee to play is $25 per person. Reserve your place in advance by registering here.
For more info contact John Wright at (626) 864-5744, or by email at [email protected] .
Summer Fun 2!
06/13/23 – 07/18/23
NO ROUND JULY 4th
We kick off summer with the first of our two scheduled events. This will be a 5 Round event in two sections (over 1600 and under 1600). Register here: https://caissachess.net/online-registration/index/2799
End of Summer
07/25/23 – 08/21/23
Another 5 Round event in multiple sections. Details to follow.
Feel free to contact us with any questions.
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.
We are pleased to announce that International Master Annie Wang will conduct a simultaneous exhibition on May 30, 2023 at our SGVCC location in Altadena.
International Master Annie Wang started playing chess at the age of five, after encountering the game in a local park. Since then, she has won many local, state, national, and international titles. In 2013, at the age of 11, Annie became the US’s youngest-ever female National Master, breaking Irina Krush’s longstanding record. A few years later, she won the Girls’ Under 16 section of the 2017 World Youth Chess Championships with a score of 10.5/11 and a performance rating of 2589. Annie was the runner-up at the 2018 U.S. Women’s Championship and the winner of the Open section at the 2019 Pan American Junior Chess Championships. More recently, Annie became the 2021 US Girls’ Junior Champion and qualified for a spot on the 2022 US Women’s Olympiad team. Today, Annie is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studies computer science.
Annie will give a lecture starting at 6:30p.m. and the Simul games will start at 7:00. The costs is $25 per player and you can pay at the door (cash or check only). But due to the anticipated interest we recommend you register in advance (please ignore the bye request section, this is not a tournament). Register: here
Contact John Wright at [email protected] or at (626) 864-5744 for more information.
San Gabriel Valley Chess Club is a non-profit corporation under IRC Section 501(c)(7). As such, all monies collected or any donations received are used for the benefit of our members. All Board members serve as volunteers without compensation. Please contact us if you would like to donate to SGVCC!
We are pleased to announce our first Club Championship, a seven round event in one Open Section starting March 21, 2023. The winner will have their name engraved on our new Perpetual Trophy, a large Loving Cup style trophy that will show the winners for many years to come. We will also have engraved plaques for top Expert, Class A-E, Unrated, and Under 1000. Each plaque will have the SGVCC Logo and the winners name. We encourage you to register early as we will likely have to cap entries at 70. You can sign up at the link on our Calendar page. For further information contact me at [email protected].
Tentative pairings and standings here: https://caissachess.net/live/2502
John Wright, SGVCC President
On March 1, 2023, the San Gabriel Valley Chess Club Board of Directors presented a Certificate of Appreciation to Laura K. Nystrom, who served as Secretary of the Club and was a founding member of the Board of Directors. Laura’s vision of “chess for all” was embodied in the Club Website that she designed and maintained. The Website not only helped to boost the Club’s membership but also served as a resource for the larger chess community. There you could find everything from chess classes for kids to the doings of the burgeoning “LA Chess Social” scene.
Laura also provided much needed guidance in 2020 when the Club had to close down in Sierra Madre due to COVID after we had only been open four weeks. Her background as a Public Information Officer was essential in helping to establish best practices and the eventual re-launch of the Club in October of 2021 in Altadena. She is stepping down from the Board to focus on her very busy work life and return to graduate school and we wish her all the best. Her many contributions will live on.
Hey Folks- Check out our own Karl Tolentino playing blitz with Nakamura recently. Took place at this Culver City coffee shop Laura has featured in our LA Chess Social Blog. Quite the scene down there these days!
John
First Time (second half of the video, first person was ~expert strength):
Second Time (second half of the video, first person was master strength):
IM Robert Shlyakhtenko showed he’s a tough guy to beat at his Simultaneous Exhibition on November 29, 2022. Facing 23 adversaries ready to make their mark he went 22-1, giving up only one loss against Expert Leo Wang. Despite our collective thumping everyone was appreciative that Robert visited the Club. The Simul was preceded by a very instructive lecture where Robert went over one of his many impressive wins. Special thanks to Senior TD Phil Chase for arranging Robert’s visit.
