DCC November 2023 Report

And to think I had total faith in the accuracy of Artificial Intelligence.

The heading photo is an attempt to capture the social atmosphere of the DCC before the round starts, as players wait for the pairings to be posted. Friends chat, some casual blitz is played, and then...

  ... the serious USCF rated tournament games begin. 

I asked Microsoft Bing to write a paragraph or two about the DCC. Here is what it had to say: But first, if and when search engines become self aware, is "it" the proper pronoun :-) I would have also asked ChatGPT but didn't want to sign up. 

Quoting Bing: "The Denver Chess Club is a community of chess enthusiasts of all skill levels, from beginners to experienced players. The club is open to players of all ages and abilities and offers a variety of activities and events for its members, including weekly tournaments, casual play sessions, and chess lessons. It is one of the oldest and most active chess clubs in Colorado, and it has been around for many years 2  The club meets twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Hope Fellowship Christian Reformed Church 3  The club’s website provides information about upcoming events, tournaments, and other activities. If you’re interested in chess, the Denver Chess Club is a great place to meet other chess enthusiasts and improve your skills 1 "

"...a great place to meet other chess enthusiasts and improve your skills." Yeah, what Bing said :-)

And to think I had total faith in the accuracy of Artificial Intelligence. The opening sentences are true and the #1 link is accurate and beneficial other than saying we offer lessons.  The #2 link is not specifically about the DCC. We meet at a different location on Thursdays and the #3 link says we have "65 members and have been around since Feb. 21, 2023. with (0) events played." Where that comes from is a cyber mystery. At least the closing sentence is quite true.

Joe Ford (w) vs. Daniel Herman (b) It was good to see Joe back at the DCC. Home from the University of Chicago. It is thanks to Mr. Ford that we have our current location.

In the Tuesday night Premier section, Daniel Herman held Brian Wall to a draw in round 3 and won all his other games, to finish with 3.5 points and win the 1st place prize of 192 dollars.  Grayson Manuel benefited from a forced last round 1 point bye, to end up with 3 points, and that score won the 113 dollar 2nd place prize. Mr. Wall, Juan Brenes, and Vedanth Peesapty each finished with 2.5 points, all drawing their last round games. Mr. Brenes held NM Wall to a draw...again! Mr. Peesapty held the 156 point higher rated Evan McCormick to a draw. Consequently, they share the 3rd place prize of 78 dollars and 99 cents.

Juan Brenes vs. Vedanth Peesapaty.      Photo by Shirley Herman.

Notable is, after a 1st round bye, Mr. Peesapaty's points were all upsets against much higher rated players, The rating difference totaled up to 635 points!! Thus Vedanth also wins the 20 dollar Honorable Mention Upset prize. The 30 dollar Best Upset prize was won by Daniel Marmer for is 368 point win against Eamon Montgomery in round 1.  

Kristopher Zelkin (w) vs. Andrew Platt.

Kristopher Zelkin won all his games in the Tuesday night U1900 section to take clear 1st place and win 186 dollars with a perfect 4-0 score. After a 1st round bye, the youngster, Sai Dasari also won all his games to finish in 2nd place with 3.5 points, and that fine play won 111 dollars. 

Aaron Zimmerman (b) vs. Sai Dasari (w)

There was a massive five way tie for 3rd place. DCC Treasurer, Luis Jimenez, Andrew Platt, Michael Igoe, Aaron Zimmerman, and Abhijay Balamurugan all ended up with 3 points and each player won 15 dollars and 20 cents. Wyatt Wear won the 30 dollar Best Upset Prize for his big 638 point win against the strong Ricardo Bogaert in round 2. The 20 dollar Honorable Mention Upset prize was won by Shirley Herman, for her 374 point win over Mr. Igoe in round 1.

Nicholas Brookins (w) vs. Mark Fischer (b)

In the Tuesday Night U1500 section, Sumanth Kaja, Nick Sagerer, and Nicholas Brookins all ended up with 3 points and they share the combined 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize of 372 dollars and 99 cents. Mr. Brookins also won the 30 dollar Best Upset prize for his 656 point win over Mark Fischer in the last round. In addition to also winning the 20 dollar Honorable Mention Upset prize for his round 2 win against Tom Needham. Gaining USCF rating points is all well and good, but winning prize money means free food:-) 

 We would also like to fill up the background room on Thursday nights.

The DCC Thursday night tournament had our usual registration of around 40 players with 20 -30 playing each week. We have room for double that number...just saying :-)  I am happy to say at both DCC locations we are seeing new players regularly. 

Kenzie Moore (w) vs. Daniel Herman (b)

In the Thursday night Premier section, Daniel Herman was held to a draw by Brian Wall in round 3 and again by Kensie Moore in round 4. Meaning NM Herman did not take clear 1st place for once :-) He and Mr. Moore both ended up with 3.5 points and they share the combined 1st and 2nd place prize of 115 dollars and 68 cents.  Juan Brenes held NM Wall to a last round draw... again. Therefore they share the 3rd place prize of 24 dollars and 78 cents. 

Luis Jimenez (w) vs. Rocco Degeest who is standing.

Youngster Rocco Degeest lost to much higher rated Mr. Brenes and DCC Treasurer, Luis Jimenez, but two wins won a share of the 24 dollars and 78 cents U1900 prize. Will Wolf won the other half with two upset wins. Notably a last round win against 216 points higher rated John Sutton, which also won the 20 dollar Premier Upset prize for Mr. Wolf.

Sam Slack (b)  vs. Brian Hood (w)

In the Thursday night U1600 and Unrated section Unrated Sam Slack gave up a draw to Alex Barraza in round 3 but won all his other games to take the 66 dollar and 10 cents 1st place prize. Don Henry finished with 3 points that included a big round 3 Upset of Shirley Herman. Thus winning the 2nd place prize of 49 dollars and 58 cents.  

Don Henry (w) vs. David Barthold (b)

Mr. Barraza and Thwayne Johnson share the 24 dollar and 78 cents 3rd place prize with 2.5 points. Johnathan Lovell won the same amount for the U1600/U1300 prize. Brian Hood won the 20 dollar U1600 Upset prize with a big 460 point win against Tyler Poole in round 3.  

Shirley Herman (b) vs. Johnathan Lovell (w)

4) Daniel Herman vs. Brian Wall Thursday. Round 3. Brian says, "After being under pressure all game I finally equalize. It is hard to find a move for Daniel due to the threats of..." (see answer below)

5) Brian Wall vs. Grayson Manuel Thursday. Round 2. Instead of 10. Bg2 as played in the game, what would have been a better move? (see answer below)

7) Vedant Margle vs. Brian Wall Thursday. Round 1. After 7...e7-e6.How does Vedant win a crucial pawn? Brian says, "I offered a draw shortly thereafter." A rare oversight by NM Wall.

8) Shirley Herman vs. David Wise Thursday. Round 2. After 28... b5-b4. I don't know how Ms. Herman missed the computer line that would have given her more than a half pawn advantage :-)

9) Jeff Manuel vs. Gera Cruz Tuesday Round 1 In this position Black played 27...f4-f3. What did Mr. Cruz overlook?

      Brian Wall's answer to diagrams #3 - #6 

3)"After 14 ... Bf5!!  15 Nxf5  Rxf5 then a check on the e-file will be awkward since Daniel has 5 pieces on their original back rank squares. After 14 ... Bf5!!  15 g3  Be4!!  16  gxf4  Rxf4 the pressure down the f-file is worth more than a piece. Daniel has weak pawns and backward development. Instead of all this I allowed Daniel his h4-g3-Bg2-O-O regrouping and walked away with nothing."

Thanks again to all,

,J.C. MacNeil