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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):

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.

(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!

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.

 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).

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.