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    Chess Tournaments
    2023 Calendar

    Following is a list of our recent and upcoming tournaments:


    Club Championship
    03/21/23 – 05/02/23

    A seven round event! Trophies to the winner and other top finishers.

    You can still enter this event with one or even two half-point byes.
    Register:
    here.

    Standings and tentative pairings: here


    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.


    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 $20 per person. Reserve your place in advance by contacting John Wright at (626) 864-5744, or by email at [email protected] .


    Summer Fun 2!
    06/18/23 – 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 multiple sections. Details to follow.


    SGVCC Rated Blitz
    07/25/23

    Think you’re the fastest? A special night of rated blitz chess.


    End of Summer
    08/01/23 – 08/29/23

    Another 5 Round event in multiple sections. Details to follow.


    Feel free to contact us with any questions.

    Chess Club News
    Play in the SGVCC Championship!

    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].

    The “perpetual trophy” will list Club Champions for many years to come. It’s at the workshop waiting to be engraved.
    “There can be only one!”
    A sample plaque with our Club Logo. Each “Best in” rating Class and the Champion will receive one.

    Tentative pairings and standings here: https://caissachess.net/live/2502

    John Wright, SGVCC President

    Chess Club News
    SGVCC Recognizes Laura K. Nystrom

    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.

    Laura K. Nystrom
    Chess Club News
    NM Tolentino Plays Blitz vs Super GM Nakamura

    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):

    Chess Feature
    IM Shlyakhtenko Shows His Prowess!

    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.

    Leo Wang saves the day with our only win!
    Chess Club News Chess Tournaments
    Happy Holidays from SGVCC!
    Holiday OTB Chess Club in Pasadena
    PLAY IN THE NEW YEAR OPEN

    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!

    https://caissachess.net/online-registration/index/2154

    Chess Club News
    Win a $15 Amazon Gift Card!

    We are seeking photos of our club’s Featured Players, those who place in the Top 6 of the last tournament played. Every six weeks or so we update Section 03 of our website with featured player cards. Player cards include the player name, player photo and player rating. This is your chance to support the club with your photography skills, help improve our website and earn a $15 Amazon Gift Card! Please send all photos no later than Sept. 30, 2022.

    Terms & Conditions:

    1. If a player is under the age of 18, you must obtain & provide written parental consent for use of the photo by San Gabriel Valley Chess Club for use on the club website.
    2. You may submit a picture of yourself.
    3. Name of player must not include “Karl”
    4. You must use the contact form on this website to tell us which player you’d like to submit a photo of, and also to which email we send your $15 Amazon Gift Card!

    To opt-out of the Featured Player list, please Contact Us with your request and the player’s name.

    LA Chess Social
    Chess Club News
    Chess Social!

    (via @chess_social) — Today the Los Angeles Chess Social announced the July event will be held at Griffins of Kinsale in South Pasadena! “As usual, there will be ooooodles of chess, some new live music acts, adult liquids and food!” the announcement, which was sent via email explained. “Chess games will be held on the lower floor, but we may be able to grab some tables outside as well! This may be the last meet at Griffin’s for a while as a remodel is coming, so don’t miss out!”

    • Griffins of Kinsale  [1007 Mission St. South Pasadena 91030]
    • July 30th, 2022
    • 8:00pm-12:30am
    • 18+
    • $10 Suggested Donation

    Please bring a mask!

    2022 San Gabriel Valley Open Chess Tournament
    Chess Club News
    Exciting Finish to SGVCC Open!

    The SGVCC Open drew 40 players and concluded on June 14, 2022. NM Karl Tolentino was the winner, but it took a last round win over front runner Alam LaCombe to seal the deal. The early story was the outstanding performances of Leo Wang (1849) and Manu Prasad (1590), who both upset higher-rated players and found themselves leading the field with perfect 3-0 scores. Leo Wang is the younger brother of local legend IM Annie Wang and had upset Tolentino while Prasad took down two strong 1900 players. Their Round 4 battle (Photo 1) ended in a draw, leaving them in a three-way tie with LaCombe at 3.5.

    2022 San Gabriel Valley Open Chess Tournament
    Karl Tolentino (L) and Alan LaCombe (R) battle for first place in Round 6

     But never count out the top players! Round 5 saw LaCombe beat Wang and Tolentino stop Prasad, setting up a last round game between them. Fittingly, it was the last game of the night and hard fought (see photo).

    All eyes were on Leo Wang (foreground) and Manu Prasad (background) after they starred 3-0 and faced each other on Board 1.

    So it was Tolentino clear first at 5, LaCombe, Wang and Craig Vierregg tied for second at 4.5. Vierreg continues to turn in good results and improve his rating, having risen to 1764 since first coming to SGVCC last October with an old 1517 rating. Other notable results were Rohan Daftuar, best U1400 with 4 and new members Neel Deshpande and Omkar Kanse winning best U1000 with 2 points each. 

    Our latest event, Summer Fun, is currently underway and attracted a new record 51 players. Check out the standings at https://caissachess.net/live/1625.

    LA Chess Social
    Chess Club News
    Summer Kickoff Party at Old Towne Pub!
    LA Chess Social has announced the next chess social! At this “Summer Kickoff Party” there will be the oodles of casual chess, live music, catered food, and libations! This is for adults age 21 and over only. Organizers say the music will be especially unique and fantastic, with special guests Inflatable Planet and White Jagg!

    Where? Old Towne Pub (66 N Fair Oaks Ave. Pasadena 91103)
    When? June 24th, 2022
    Time? 8:00pm-1:00pm