DCC August 2024 Report

Note that GM Giri is calling chess players athletes.

I frequently refer to tournament chess as a sport, mainly because it is certainly more of a competition than a game. I do not mean to disparage pastime games. After all, doing that is better than watching television or listening to some politician tell lies :-) But anyone who plays USCF rated chess knows firsthand that it is about as competitive as competitive can get. Being bigger, faster, and stronger are major factors in other sports. In chess the only real physical factor is stamina. If you think staying focused over a three hour USCF rated tournament game for prize money is not tiring and stressful, you haven't played tournament chess.

Yes, another room shot. I can't help myself :-) The following photos are "Faces of the DCC" by Phil Brown and Shirley Herman.

I first came to the DCC's current location early in 2014. Walking into the best location the DCC has ever had and seeing only three tables and 12 players was a shock.  Thanks to Chris Peterson we have DCC News Archives, so I pulled up some selective quotes from back then to show how far the DCC has come. I admit I am tooting my own horn :-) 

Richard Shtivelband in full focus mode. 

The very first DCC report was the 2014 DCC Year End Tournament. Which was a wall of text that included this line. Quoting myself: "I would like to get the average attendance up to more than 40 players per week". No pictures. No games section. 

01/2015 This month we had 37 players with an average attendance of 24 players each week. Promotion line: "Greater attendance means more equitable pairings and additional cash prizes." Still no pictures. No Games section. 04/2015 "... but having 32 players in the room, as we did the 3rd week, made a much more vibrant round. Our average for the month was still only 28" Chris Peterson has added a heading photo. 

Griffin McConnell has been through a lot in his young life, yet several brain surgeries have not diminished his spirit in the least.

Skipping ahead to 03/2016 "...our average for the month was 36 players per week" The first week "... there was over 40 players in the playing room, standing around talking, or playing blitz, or looking at a game, the vibe of the room felt great." I think the increase in attendance was entirely due to these DCC reports :-) Chris Peterson has taught me how to add pictures. Still no games section. 

"Love playing chess with people I meet in the park. Really hard to find thirty two of them willing to take part, though." Not knowing this gentleman's name i resorted to Chess jokes and one liners  TD Peter Barlay has informed me that this is CJ Cox. 

02/2017 "I was ecstatic when we had 54 players for the 1st week of February", with "an average attendance of 44 players for the month." "This is the intensity of the right here, right now, over the board game, that just isn't there when playing online." A Games section has been added. 01/2018 "...get a load of these numbers. 83 individual players over the course of the month, with an average of 56 players playing each week." We introduce our current sections: Open, U1900, U1500 "The room was full of exuberant, energetic chess players having a good time."

05/2019 Quoting GM Anish Giri "...the chess I’m playing right now is absolutely a sport, and I consider myself and my opponent's athletes." Then speaking about the "fierce competition" in Russian chess schools, "... the mentality of their athletes is a little bit different to those from western countries." Note That GM Giri is calling chess players athletes. 

Sofiia Gainullina is serious about her game. 

I'll continue this DCC History summary next month and now get on with who won what in the DCC 2024 August Tuesday and Thursday night tournaments. In the Tuesday night Premier section, Eamon Montgomery was back again in 1st place. His 3.5 final score won 170 dollars and 42 cents. Only Griffin McConnell held Eamon to a last round draw.  With a round 3 bye, Griffin tied for 2nd place with Alex Steger, who had lost to Griffin in round 2 but won all his other games. They share the combined 2nd and 3rd place prize money with each player winning 85 dollars and 21 cents. The 30 dollar Upset Prize was won by Sikander Baker-Nagar when he had to have played a really good game against Richard Shtivelband, arguably DCC's best player. 

Looks like a winning position for Rhett Langseth. 

Kristopher Zelkin and Mason Brady ruled the Tuesday night U1900 section. After player each took a 1st round bye, then they both won their next three games. Notably, Mr. Brady's wins were all big upsets. Totaling up to a 571 point rating difference. They share the combined 1st and 2nd place prize of 263 dollars and 48 cents. I'll have everyone know that I held Mr. Zelkin to a draw in a Thursday night game :-) 

Third place was shared by Cole Strong, Will Evans, and Tyler Poole. Cole upset the strong Jeff Nohrden in round 1 and Tyler had two big and one small upset wins. Each player won 21 dollars and 96 cents. The 30 dollar U1900 Upset Prize was won by Thomas Welborne (1123) for his round 1 win over Abhijay Balamurugan (1510) Mr. Welborne also had a nice last round upset win against John Rose (1304)

I also don't know this young man, so another Chess jokes and one liners . "When I was learning chess, I once tried to move my castle first.  Bit of a rookie error."... and Mr. Barlay also informed me that this is Caleb Pena.  

Christopher Cox dominated the Tuesday night U1500 section. Taking 1st place with a perfect 4-0 score, and taking home 164 dollars and 67 cents. Leaving Bhaskar Rajagopal, JR. Moss, and Ryan Dunagin to share the combined 2nd and 3rd place prize. With each player winning 54 dollars and 89 cents. William Trout (1002) won the 30 dollar U1500 Upset Prize when he won against Mr. Rajagopal (1391) in round 1. Mr. Trout also had a last round upset draw against Richard Lundstrom (1334)  

Thursday night TD Weston Taylor playing on Tuesday night. Niall Case is on the left.

In the Thursday night Premier section Daniel Herman and Alex Steger each finished with 3.5 points and they share the combined 1st and 2nd place prize of 168 dollars and 88 cents. Mr. Steger certainly earned his share of the pot by winning against Richard Shtivelband in the last round. They don't call it the money round without reason. Alex also won against the higher rated DCC Treasurer, Luis Jimenez. Mr. Herman's half point was also taken from NM Shtivelband, whom I'm sure will come roaring back in September. Turpana Molina took 3rd place and won 36 dollars and 19 cents by upsetting higher rated Rhett Langseth and Mr. Jimenez. who I'm sure will also be looking for revenge in the DCC September tournament. 

Rhett Langseth (b) vs. Ben De Guire (w)

Ben DeGuire won the 20 dollar Premier Upset prize by also upsetting Mr. Langseth. So, I believe Rhett and Luis will be playing for more than prize money in June :-) The 36 dollar and 19 cents U1900 prize was taken by Joseph Pleso, who had a nice 198 rating point difference win over Forrest Lundstrom in round 3. Playing as a house player, I made a draw against the strong  Kristopher Zelkin in round 3. Just so y'all know :-)

Thursday night attendance is not bad, but we would like to see 30-40 players instead of 20 -30. Like it's said, the more the better.

The Thursday night U1600 and Unrated section was won by Enrico Moss, with three wins and a round 2 bye. Mr. Moss takes home 96 dollars and 50 cents. Three players share the combined 2nd and 3rd place prize. Three points won 48 dollars and 25 cents for TD Weston Taylor, Nick Hvidza (1014), and Spencer Jordan. Mr. Hvdiza's score included a big round 2 Upset win against Mr. Taylor (1224), and a small upset win against Glen Holguin (1049) in the last round. Mr. Holguin, in turn, won the 20 dollar U1600 Upset prize for his win over John Rose in round 2. 

Enrico Moss making a move against Spencer Jordan.

We continue to see new players at both DCC locations. Let me just add that we have room for even more players at both locations. If you are a casual player who enjoys the game, USCF rated chess is the next level. Playing online or with friends or strangers is all well and good but playing for prize money and rating points is the real thing.  

Thanks to Shirley Herman and Phil Brown for the photos used in this report. Thanks as always to the Tournament Directors: Phil Brown, Peter Barlay, Sikander Baker-Nager, Weston Taylor, and Luis Jimenez. 

Thanks especially to all the DCC Tournament players. Thanks to Chris Peterson for the DCC webpage and Dean Clow for caissachess software. Without either, these DCC reports would not be possible. All of you have made the DCC what it is today... Super duper :-)

There is not much of a Games Section this month, as only two games were posted on DCC Games. Neither one of which met NM Peterson's criteria for a Best Game. As follows: 

1. The game should be decisive. Especially if the game was not submitted to me, I cannot award a single prize to a game that ended in a draw.
2. Being fond of tactical complexity, I want to see a game that has tactics.
3. I also wanted to select an inspiring game. This means it can inspire people to better their play with the lessons learned in the game.
4. I was not overly concerned with the accuracy of play as we are humans and the computer makes fools of us all.
5. Finally, I was looking for a real struggle. A game where both players were putting their all into winning the game.

Chris also says: "With all that said, I also don’t want to keep selecting the same winners every time. To win consecutive best game prizes, the game must be exceptionally spectacular.

So then, I'll diagram the two games that were submitted for what it's worth. Chris explains why neither one was selected for the Best Game prize: "The problem is the blunders and large material imbalance heavily overshadow any of the nuances of the positions." 

1) Enrico Moss vs. Andrew Robichard (here would usually be the day and round) Instead there is "Round undefined of import". I have no idea what that means. Anyway after 41...Kg6-h6, White has mate in 2.      

 2) Richard Shtivelband vs. Sikander Baker-Nager Tuesday. Round 1. After 35... Rb8-b6 Do you see why Mr. Shtivelband resigned? 

Thanks again to all,

J.C. MacNeil