Nevada Chess, Inc.

Nevada State Championship 2014

Four players qualified for this annual event,which returned to a 4 player format from 20 years ago. Elliot Liu and Mike Zaloznyy had qualified for winning the best 2 of 3 scores in the Southern Nevada Grand Prix, a series of spectacular tournaments at the Las Vegas Chess Center, Ernie Hong was the Reno Chess Club representative and Jerry Weikel, as last year’s vice-champion, qualified as well after David Lucky declined his invitation. The first round pairings were Zaloznyy-Weikel and Liu-Hong. The Reno players both lost their matches. Mike won a tactical miniature in game one and a minor piece ending in game 2 and won 2-0. Ernie Hong comments on his match,”Game 1 was the one where I sacced the kitchen sink trying to get a perpetual with Black. In game 2, I had white and earned a draw because Elliott’s advanced d-pawn was going to be lost. Elliott offered and I accepted in the double rook ending.” So his match ended 1.5-.5
On the 28th, Elliot and Mike sat down for game 1
and that was drawn after several hours of tense endgame play. Round two of the finals is tentatively scheduled for resumption on Friday, or Sunday at the Las Vegas Chess center back in Las Vegas

[Event “NV state ch.”]
[Site “Tonopah, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.27”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Zaloznyy, Mike”]
[Black “Weikel, Jerry”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A80”]
[Annotator “Trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “41”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 fxe4
5. Nxe4 d5 6. Ng3 Nf6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qd2 c5 9. Nf3 c4 10. Be2 Nc6 11. O-O b5 12.
a4 Ne4 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. axb5 exf3 15. Bxc4+ Kh8 16. bxc6 Qxd4 17. Qxd4 Bxd4
18. Bxe7 fxg2 19. Kxg2 Bxb2 20. Bxf8 Bxa1 21. Rxa1 1-0

[Event “NV state ch”]
[Site “Tonopah, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.27”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Weikel, Jerry”]
[Black “Zaloznyy, Mike”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B07”]
[Annotator “Trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “116”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f3 Bg7 5.
Be3 O-O 6. Qd2 e5 7. d5 c6 8. dxc6 Nxc6 9. Bc4 Na5 10. Bd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Nc4
12. Qc3 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 Be6 14. O-O-O Rc8 15. Ne2 Rc5 16. Rd3 Bxd5 17. Rxd5 Rxd5
18. exd5 Qa5 19. Kb1 Qxd5 20. Nc3 Qc5 21. Qe4 b5 22. Rd1 Rc8 23. Qd5 b4 24.
Qxc5 dxc5 25. Ne4 f5 26. Ng5 Bf6 27. Nh3 Rd8 28. Rxd8+ Bxd8 29. Kc1 Kf7 30. Kd2
Ke6 31. Kd3 Kd5 32. b3 e4+ 33. Ke3 Bc7 34. fxe4+ fxe4 35. g3 Be5 36. Ng5 Bd4+
37. Kf4 e3 38. Kf3 h6 39. Nh3 g5 40. Ng1 h5 41. h3 c4 42. g4 cxb3 43. axb3 h4
44. Ne2 Bb6 45. Nc1 a5 46. Nd3 Kd4 47. Ne1 Kc3 48. Ke2 Ba7 49. Kd1 Bb8 50. Nf3
e2+ 51. Kxe2 Kxc2 52. Nxg5 Kxb3 53. Nf7 Kc2 54. g5 b3 55. g6 b2 56. g7 b1=Q 57.
g8=Q Qd1+ 58. Ke3 Qd3+ 0-1

[Event “NV state ch”]
[Site “Tonopah, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.27”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Liu, Elliot”]
[Black “Hong, Ernie”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “E99”]
[Annotator “Trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “65”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. d4 {0} Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3
O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. O-O Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 10. Bd2 f5 11. Nd3 Nf6
12. f3 fxe4 13. fxe4 c5 14. Be3 a6 15. b4 b6 16. a4 Nd7 17. a5 cxb4 18. Nxb4
bxa5 19. Nc6 Nxc6 20. dxc6 Nf6 21. c5 dxc5 22. Bc4+ Kh8 23. Bxc5 Bg4 24. Qa4
Qd2 25. Bxf8 Rxf8 26. Rac1 Bh6 27. Bxa6 Bf4 28. Rc2 Bxh2+ 29. Kxh2 Qh6+ 30. Kg1
Bd1 31. Nxd1 Ng4 32. Rxf8+ Qxf8 33. c7 1-0[Event “NV state ch”]
[Site “Tonopah, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.27”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Hong, Ernie”]
[Black “Liu, Elliot”]
[Result “1/2-1/2”]
[ECO “B22”]
[Annotator “Trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “52”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5

Nd5 4. Bc4 Nb6
5. Bb3 Nc6 6. Nf3 c4 7. Bc2 d6 8. exd6 e5 9. O-O Bxd6 10. d4

Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3
12. Qxf3 exd4 13. Re1+ Be7 14. Be4 d3 15. Bg5 O-O 16. Bxe7

Nxe7 17. Nd2 Qd7 18.
Bxb7 Rab8 19. Ba6 Qa4 20. Bxc4 Nxc4 21. Nxc4 Qxc4 22. Rxe7

Rxb2 23. Rd7 d2 24.
Qe3 Qe6 25. Qxe6 fxe6 26. Rd1 Rxa2 1/2-1/2

Zaloznyy, Mike (2252) vs FM Liu, Elliott (2323)NV State Championship Final | ?
| 28 Sep 2014 | Round 172543[Event “NV State Championship Final”] [Site “?”]
[Date “2014.09.28”] [Round “1”] [White “Zaloznyy, Mike”] [Black “FM Liu,
Elliott”] [Result “1/2-1/2”] [WhiteElo “2252”] [BlackElo “2323”] [ECO “A40”]
[Opening “Queen’s Pawn: Modern”] 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 O-O 5.e4 d6
6.Be2 Na6 7.O-O e5 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.Qxd8 Rxd8 10.Bg5 Nc5 11.b4 Ne6 12.Rad1 Re8
13.Bh4 a5 14.b5 Nc5 15.Nd2 c6 16.h3 a4 17.g4?! (17.Rc1 Be6 18.Rfd1) 17…Ne6
18.Bg3 Nf4 $15 19.Kh2 Be6 20.Rfe1 h5 21.g5 Nd7 22.Bf1 Nc5 23.Nf3 Red8 24.bxc6
bxc6 25.Rxd8+ Rxd8 26.Bxf4 (26.Rb1 Ncd3 27.Rb6 Bxc4 28.Rxc6 Ne1 29.Nxe1 Bxf1
30.h4 Rd2 31.Nxa4 Rxa2) 26…exf4 27.e5 Bf5 (27…a3 28.Nb1 Bf5 29.Nc3) 28.Ne2
(28.a3) 28…Nd3 29.Rd1 Rb8 (29…Rd7 30.Ned4 Nxe5 31.Be2 Nxf3+ 32.Nxf3 Rb7 $19)
30.Ned4 Nxf2 31.Nxc6 Nxd1 (31…Rb2 32.Rd2 a3 33.Ne7+ Kf8 34.Nxf5 Ne4 35.Rg2
gxf5 36.c5 Nxc5 37.Bc4 Ne4) 32.Nxb8 Bf8 (32…Ne3 33.Be2 Bb1 34.a3 Bf8 35.c5
Bxc5 36.Nd7 Bxa3 37.Nb6 Bc2 38.Ne1 Bb3 39.Bb5 Be7 40.Bxa4 Bxa4 41.Nxa4 Bxg5)
33.Nd4 Bb1 34.Nd7 Ne3 35.Be2 Bxa2 36.c5 Bd5 (36…a3 37.c6 Bd5 38.c7 Bb7 39.Bf3
Bc8 40.Nb6 a2 41.Nb3 Be6 42.c8=Q Bxc8 43.Nxc8 Bc5 44.Be2 Kg7 45.Nd6 Bd4 46.Bd3
h4 47.Nc4 Nd5) 37.c6 (37.Nf6+ Kg7 38.Nxd5) 37…a3 (37…Bxc6 38.Nxc6 a3 39.Nd4
a2 40.Nb3 Bb4 41.Kg1 Nc2 42.Bc4 Bc3 43.Kf2) 38.Nf6+ Kg7 39.Nxd5 a2 40.Nb3 Nxd5
41.Bc4 Nb6 42.c7 Bb4 43.e6 (43.Kg2 Bc3 44.e6) 43…Bd6 44.Na1 f6 45.Bxa2 f3+
46.Kg1 fxg5 47.e7 Bxe7 48.Be6 Bc5+ 49.Kf1 Kf6 50.c8=Q Nxc8 51.Bxc8 Ke5 52.Nb3
Be3 53.Na5 Kf4 54.Nc6 g4 55.hxg4 hxg4 56.Bxg4 (56.Nb4 g3 57.Nd3+ Ke4 58.Ne1)
56…Kxg4 57.Ne5+ {#d}
1/2-1/2

Las vegas Chess Center

The Back to school tournament is
over at LVCC. Dan Durham and Glenn shared first in the open with three points each and
Tony ran away with the first in the Under section. Thanks to everyone!
This coming Sunday we will have our regular schedule but next week we will be
closed due to the State Championship in Tonopah, if you want to play on the team
or if you want to arrange transportation to the event let us know.
Here the cross table:
open

No. Name Rate Pts Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4
1 Durham,Dan 2331 3.0 W12 W4 L2 W12
2 Bidari, Glenn Cyru 2204 3.0 W11 L3 W1 W4
3 Barbre, Stephen Ph 2160 2.5 -H- W2 -U- W7
4 Zaloznyy, Mike Y 2228 2.0 W5 L1 W7 L2
5 Lazarus, Barry J 2020 2.0 L4 W8 W11 -U-
6 Santiago, Hugo 2110 1.0 -U- -U- -U- W11
7 Jauregui, Juan Pab 1979 1.0 -H- D11 L4 L3
8 Curcuru, John 2000 0.5 -H- L5 -U- -U-
9 Raymond, Scott Gre 1898 0.5 -U- -U- -U- D10
10 Trivett, John 1827 0.5 -U- -U- -U- D9
11 Mikolic, Jonathan 1644 0.5 L2 D7 L5 L6
12 Reyes, Virgilio T 2107 0.0 L1 -U- -U- L1
Under

No. Name Rate Pts Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4
1 Mccarthy, Anthony 1764 3.5 W7 D8 W2 W3
2 Pedersen, Lars 1828 3.0 W19 W13 L1 W8
3 Hubler, Joseph M 1702 2.0 -H- W19 W14 L1
4 Santiago, Naomi Yo 1648 2.0 -H- -H- -U- W9
5 Graves Esq, Michae 1644 2.0 W31 L9 -U- W19
6 Santiago, Diego Au 1510 2.0 -H- -H- -U- W20
7 Monaghan, Aidan Ja 1214 2.0 L1 -U- W33 W23
8 Baligad Jr, Juan S 1809 1.5 W20 D1 -U- L2
9 Dease, Daniel J 1790 1.5 -H- W5 -U- L4
10 Soriano, David 1200 1.5 L13 -U- D23 W24
11 Leung, Eric 1812 1.0 -U- -U- W18 -U-
12 Lacsamana, Jose A 1735 1.0 W29 -U- -U- -U-
13 Baligad, John Paul 1734 1.0 W10 L2 -U- -U-
14 Holden, Rick 1712 1.0 -U- W27 L3 -U-
15 Teves, Reymundo A 1672 1.0 W30 -U- -U- -U-
16 Nguyen, Ky Quoc 1642 1.0 -U- -U- -U- W28
17 Liu, Vivian Xiao 1590 1.0 -U- -U- -U- W26
18 Luong, Jonathan 1581 1.0 -U- W23 L11 -U-
19 Willoughby , Joseph 1432 1.0 L2 L3 W29 L5
20 Debesai, Yoseph G 1405 1.0 L8 -U- W32 L6
21 Gonzales Jr, Robin 1282 1.0 -U- -U- W34 -U-
22 schweikert,micaja 548 1.0 -U- -U- -U- W34
23 Castaneda, Julio 1769 0.5 -U- L18 D10 L7
24 Nguyen, Cuong Q 1800 0.0 -U- -U- -U- L10
25 Mikolic, Jonathan 1644 0.0 -U- -U- -U- -U-
26 Nguyen, Phap Quoc 1518 0.0 -U- -U- -U- L17
27 Johnson, Marc Dyla 1479 0.0 -U- L14 -U- -U-
28 Johnson,lukas 1279 0.0 -U- -U- -U- L16
29 Klatt, Russell W 1205 0.0 L12 -U- L19 -U-
30 Duncombe, John 900 0.0 L15 -U- -U- -U-
31 Matveev, Valentin 898 0.0 L5 -U- -U- -U-
32 Blair, Rolf 600 0.0 -U- -U- L20 -U-
33 Ko, Chin 600 0.0 -U- -U- L7 -U-
34 Monzon, Leon 600 0.0 -U- -U- L21 L22
Extra

No. Name Rate Pts Rnd1 Rnd2
1 Saran, Ishan 1459 1.0 W6 -U-
2 Brooks, Matthew 1320 1.0 W7 -U-
3 Soriano, David 1300 1.0 W8 -U-
4 Nguyen, Ky Quoc 1642 0.0 -U- L5
5 Johnson,lukas 1279 0.0 -U- W4
6 Johnson, Rhomer An 1150 0.0 L1 -U-
7 Saran, Shivam 1097 0.0 L2 -U-
8 Matveev, Valentin 898 0.0 L3 -U-

Clark County Chess Club
Memorial Open 2014

Already, three rounds have played so far in this event. Juan Baligad leads with 3 points. In round one, Danny Quinones defeated Paco Vela and Jose Ramirez won with a mating attack with his rooks over Ryan Phillips upsets. In round two, Dan Dease destroyed Yoseph Debesai, Todd Imada whipped Paco’s French Defense. In round three last night, Scott Raymond defeated Virgil Reyes in a Spanish Game. Yoseph Debesai looked to be playing his immortal game against Paco Vela and had a half hour edge on the clock, but with 2, yes thats two seconds left, Paco mated Yoseph in one. Allen Reaves seemed to be holding Ryan Phillips, but he too got mated in short order. Durias Petersen refuted Jose Ramirez piece sacrifice to to win. Lots of visitors, especially, in round one.

Here are a few games so far.

[Event “Memorial Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.11”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Ramirez, Jose”]
[Black “Phillips, Ryan”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “A45”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “71”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. d4 Nf6 2. e3 c5 3. Bd3 Nc6 4. c3 d6 5.
Nf3 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. e4 O-O 8. h3 cxd4 9. cxd4 Nb4 10. Nc3 Nxd3 11. Qxd3 Bd7
12. Be3 Rc8 13. Rac1 Qa5 14. a3 a6 15. Rfe1 Qh5 16. Nh2 Rfd8 17. Bd2 e5 18. d5
g5 19. Qg3 g4 20. hxg4 Nxg4 21. Qxg4 Qxg4 22. Nxg4 Bxg4 23. Na4 b5 24. Nb6 Rb8
25. Rc6 Bf8 26. Rec1 Rb7 27. R1c3 Rdb8 28. Rg3 Rxb6 29. Rxg4+ Kh8 30. Bg5 h6
31. Bf6+ Kh7 32. Rc7 R6b7 33. Rc6 Rb6 34. Rc3 b4 35. Rcg3 bxa3 36. Rg8 1-0

[Event “Memorial Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.11”]
[Round “1”]
[White “Vela, Paco”]
[Black “Quinones, Daniel”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “D25”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “62”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Be6 4. Nc3 Nf6
5. Nf3 h6 6. Ne5 c6 7. Nxc4 Bxc4 8. Bxc4 e6 9. O-O b5 10. Be2 Nbd7 11. Bf3 Rc8
12. b3 Qb6 13. Bb2 Be7 14. Qe2 Nd5 15. Rfd1 N7f6 16. Rac1 O-O 17. g3 Nxc3 18.
Rxc3 Rc7 19. e4 Rfc8 20. Rcc1 c5 21. d5 exd5 22. exd5 Ne8 23. Be5 Bd6 24. Bg4
Rd8 25. Ba1 Re7 26. Qc2 Rc7 27. Qf5 c4 28. bxc4 bxc4 29. Bd4 Bc5 30. Rxc4 Nd6
31. Bxc5 Rxc5 0-1

[Event “Memorial Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.18”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Imada, Todd”]
[Black “Vela, Paco”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C10”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “49”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7
5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Bd3 Be7 8. O-O O-O 9. Re1 b6 10. Bg5 Bb7 11. c3 h6
12. Bh4 c5 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Qe2 Be7 15. Rad1 Qc7 16. Bg3 Qc5 17. Be5 Rad8 18.
Nd4 Qc8 19. f3 Nd7 20. Bg3 Nc5 21. Bb1 Bf6 22. Be5 Nd7 23. Qc2 Rfe8 24. Qh7+
Kf8 25. Bd6+ 1-0

[Event “Memorial Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.09.25”]
[Round “3”]
[White “Raymond, Scott”]
[Black “Reyes, Virgil”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C88”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “104”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6
5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. Nd5 Bg4 10. c3 Na5 11. Bc2 Nxd5
12. exd5 f5 13. h3 Bh5 14. d4 e4 15. g4 fxg4 16. hxg4 exf3 17. gxh5 Qd7 18. Re6
Qe8 19. Qd3 Qxh5 20. Rxe7 Qg4+ 21. Kf1 Qg2+ 22. Ke1 Qg1+ 23. Qf1 Qg4 24. b3
Rae8 25. Rxe8 Rxe8+ 26. Be3 Qh5 27. Qd3 g6 28. Kd2 Qxd5 29. Re1 Nc6 30. Bf4
Rxe1 31. Kxe1 Kg7 32. Qe4 Qf7 33. Bg5 d5 34. Qe3 a5 35. Bd1 Qf5 36. Bh6+ Kf6
37. Qxf3 b4 38. Kd2 Ne7 39. Bf8 bxc3+ 40. Kxc3 Nc6 41. Qxf5+ Kxf5 42. Bf3 Ke6
43. Bg4+ Kf7 44. Bc5 h5 45. Bf3 Kf6 46. Bxd5 Nd8 47. b4 axb4+ 48. Bxb4 h4 49.
Kd3 Ne6 50. Bxe6 Kxe6 51. Ke3 g5 52. f3 Kd7 1-0

And here is the standings so far

No. Name Rate Pts Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3
1 Baligad, Juan S. 1855 3.0 W19 W10 W15
2 Phillips, Ryan 2094 2.0 L12 W14 W13
3 Reyes, Virgilio 2046 2.0 W13 W12 L7
4 Peterson, Durias 2098 1.5 L5 -H- W12
5 Curcuru, John 2000 1.5 W4 -H- -U-
6 Imada, Todd 1904 1.5 -H- W11 -U-
7 Raymond, Scott Gre 1826 1.5 -U- -H- W3
8 Baligad, John Paul 1805 1.5 -U- -H- W18
9 Dease, Daniel J 1769 1.5 -H- W17 -U-
10 Quinones, Daniel 1624 1.5 W11 L1 -H-
11 Vela, Francisco 2009 1.0 L10 L6 W17
12 Ramirez, Jose 1839 1.0 W2 L3 L4
13 Reaves, Allen Reaves 1455 1.0 L3 W19 L2
14 Miranda, Edgardo 1834 0.5 -H- L2 -U-
15 Hubler, Joesph 1702 0.5 -U- -H- L1
16 Teves, Reymundo 1683 0.5 -H- -U- -U-
17 Debesai, Yoseph G 1372 0.5 -H- L9 L11
18 Johnson, Lukas 1279 0.5 -U- -H- L8
19 Ulbrick, Karl 1096 0.5 L1 L13 -H-
20 Trivett, John 1805 0.0 -U- -U- -U-

Elliot Lui and Mike Zaloznyy will play for the title of Nevada State Champion after defeating Ernie Hong and Jerry Weikel in round 1 in Tonapah.

Meanwhile the Northern Nevada team defeated the Southern team by a score of 11-9 after the Southern team was forced to spot the North 6 points when 3 of our players did not show up.  Full results are below

Name	Rate	Pts	Rnd1	Rnd2	Rnd3	Rnd4
Zaloznyy, Mike Y	2251	2.0	W4	W4	A2	A2
Liu, Elliott Jl	2323	1.5	W3	D3	A1	A1
Hong, Ernie	2129	0.5	L2	D2	-U-	-U-
Weikel, Jerry	2125	0.0	L1	L1	-U-	-U-

Team	Pts	Name	Rate	Rnd1	Rnd2
NORTH	0.5	Casten, Frederick	2017	L11	D11
NORTH	1.0	Fischer, George E	1887	D13	D13
NORTH	0.5	Peterson, David No	1855	D14	A14
NORTH	0.0	Wheat, Bob	1815	L12	L12
NORTH	1.0	Herald, Matthew B	1780	W15	L15
NORTH	1.0	Chung, Kevin	1719	W16	L16
NORTH	1.0	Pease, Andrew	1343	W17	L17
SOUTH	1.5	Reyes, Virgilio T	2072	W4	D4
SOUTH	2.0	Lazarus, Barry J	2067	W7	W7
SOUTH	1.0	Mccarthy, Anthony	1869	D5	D5
SOUTH	0.5	Pedersen, Lars	1789	D6	A6
SOUTH	1.0	Dease, Daniel J	1751	L8	W8
SOUTH	1.0	Hubler, Joseph M	1702	L9	W9
SOUTH	1.0	Klatt, Russell	1216	L10	W10

The Nevada Chess Board of Directors has voted to hold the 2015 Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship at the Learning Village in downtown Las Vegas. The Learning Village is the regular meeting place for the Las Vegas Chess Center and the site of several recent weekend chess tournaments including the Las Vegas Open. More information about the 2015 Nevada State Scholastic Chess Championship will be posted soon.

Las Vegas Open 2014

The third of the grand prix series was once again held at the

Las Vegas Chess Center and Timur Gareev won a thousand dollar

first prize with a 4.5/5 score. But Elliott Liu and Mike

Zaloznyy won on Grand prix points in the best two of three

tournament results. This writer has put together the point

totals for a later time. IM Dionosio Aldama and Mike Zaloznyy

took second with 4/5. Barry Lazarus and John Curcuru shared

the U2200 prize.
Paco Vela won the Under 2000 section with a nice clean score

of 5. He was never in any trouble in any of his games and

finally cracked the 2000 barrier. John Paul Baligad was second

with 4/5 and Jose Ramirez and Naomi Santiago took home money

for a tie at third place. Jonathon Luong won the Under 1600

section with a clean 5/5, and this is fresh from a victory in

the National Open. Diego Santiago took second place here, and

Audrey Grigore was third. Lucas Johnson won the U1400 prize.

In the U1200 section, David Soriano was first with 3.5 and

second tied were S. Gupta, Richard Zhou and John Duncombe.

There was lots of great chess! Gareev was in trouble in the

last round, yet won. Paco Vela never had a lost position. But

I was impressed with Mike Zaloznyy’s marathon game with what

looked like at one point, a lone queen versus 2 rooks and 2

pawns. It reminded me of a game this writer won with luck in a

1976 match game. And it is 50 moves without a capture to get

the draw as eventually, it was a queen versus 2 rooks.

Although I culled a lot of games, for now, enjoy these

nuggets.

[Event “Las Vegas Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.08.24”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Baligad, John Paul”]
[Black “Vela, Francisco”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “C01”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “79”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3.

exd5 exd5 4. Bd3 Bd6
5. Nf3 Ne7 6. O-O Bg4 7. h3 Bh5 8. c3 Nbc6 9. Be3 Qd7 10. Nbd2

O-O-O 11. b4 Nf5
12. Re1 Nxe3 13. Rxe3 Ne7 14. Qc2 Bg6 15. Ne5 Bxe5 16. Rxe5 f6

17. Re2 Bxd3 18.
Qxd3 Qf5 19. Qg3 Ng6 20. Rae1 h5 21. Qf3 Qxf3 22. Nxf3 Kd7 23.

g3 Rhe8 24. Kf1
Ne7 25. h4 Nf5 26. Rxe8 Rxe8 27. Rxe8 Kxe8 28. Ke2 Nd6 29. Ng1

Ne4 30. a3 Nxc3+
31. Kd3 Ne4 32. Nh3 g5 33. hxg5 fxg5 34. Ke3 Ke7 35. f3 Nxg3

36. Nxg5 Kf6 37.
f4 Ne4 38. Nf3 Kf5 39. Ne5 Nd6 40. a4 {and on for another 20

moves or so.} 0-1

[Event “Las Vegas Open”]
[Site “?”]
[Date “2014.08.23”]
[Round “2”]
[White “Imada, Todd”]
[Black “Dease, Dan”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B18”]
[Annotator “Dan”]
[PlyCount “48”]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h5

7. Nf3 e6 8. Bd3
Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Nf6 10. Bd2 Nbd7 11. O-O Be7 12. Rfe1 Qc7 13. c4

O-O-O 14. Ng5 Ng4
15. Nxf7 Nxf2 16. Qg6 {?!} Ng4 17. Nxd8 {?} Qxg3 18. Nxe6 Qf2+

19. Kh1 Qxh4+
20. Kg1 Qh2+ 21. Kf1 Qh1+ 22. Ke2 Qxg2+ 23. Kd1 Nf2+ 24. Kc1

Qxg6 0-1

[Event “Las vegas Open”]
[Site “LV, NV”]
[Date “2014.08.24”]
[Round “5”]
[White “Zaloznyy, Mike”]
[Black “Lazarus , Barry”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “B27”]
[Annotator “trivett,John”]
[PlyCount “25”]
[TimeControl “900+5”]

{318MB, Fritz11.ctg, USER-BF45D6A2CE} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4

cxd4 4. Qxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Qa4 Bg7 7. e5 Ng8 8. Bf4 Nh6 9. h3 O-O 10. O-O-O

Qb6 11. Nd5 Qxf2
12. Be3 Qg3 13. Rd2 1-0

Event Summary
Event 2014 LAS VEGAS OPEN (201408246392)
Location LAS VEGAS, NV 89101
Event Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Sponsoring Affiliate LAS VEGAS CHESS CENTER (A6035600)
Chief TD ALAN R LOSOFF (10311110)
Chf. Assist. TD JUAN PABLO JAUREGUI (13822398)
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24 Rated:

2014-08-24
Stats 5 Section(s), 56 Players
The ratings shown on this page are not official published

ratings and may change from time to time. Using them for

pairing purposes in tournaments should only be done if this

has been advertised in all advance publicity and is announced

to all players at the tournament.

Sections
HINT: * Click on a Section Name to see the cross table for

that Section, or
* Click on “Show All Sections” to see the cross tables for

all sections at once.

Section 1 OPEN
Section 2 UNDER 2000
Section 3 UNDER 1600
Section 4 UNDER 1200
Section 5 EXTRA GAMES

Section 1 – OPEN
Section Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24

Rated: 2014-08-24 Re-Rated: 2014-08-26
Stats 5 Rounds, 20 Players; K Factor: F Rating Sys: R

Tnmt Type: S
Time Control: G/90;+30

————————————————————–

————–
* Click on a Pairing Number to see the Player’s Opponents.
* Click on a Player’s Name for more information about the

Player.
Crosstable data is NOT SHOWN in tiebreak order and does not

reflect any distribution of trophies or prize monies.
Crosstable data is shown as reported to the USCF by the

Tournament Director. Please contact the TD to report any

crosstable errors.
Note: The information below the “Total Pts” score shows the

highest norm earned in this event.For more information on

norms, see The USCF Title System.
————————————————————–

————–
Pair | Player Name

|Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3

| 4 | 5 |
————————————————————–

————–
1 | TIMUR GAREYEV |4.5 |W 11|W 9|W

5|D 2|W 4|
NV | 13262157 / R: 2702 ->2704 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
2 | DIONISIO ALDAMA |4.0 |W 16|D 3|W

6|D 1|W 5|
CA | 13557810 / R: 2522 ->2528 | |B |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
3 | MIKE Y ZALOZNYY |4.0 |W 8|D 2|W

10|D 4|W 7|
NV | 12842929 / R: 2251 ->2274 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
4 | ELLIOTT JL LIU |3.0 |H |W 19|W

14|D 3|L 1|
NV | 12661521 / R: 2323 ->2326 | | |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
5 | DAN DURHAM |3.0 |W 12|W 7|L

1|W 11|L 2|
NV | 11326111 / R: 2312 ->2319 | |W |B |B

|W |W |
————————————————————–

————–
6 | GLENN CYRUS BIDARI |3.0 |D 13|W 18|L

2|D 9|W 10|
NV | 12580248 / R: 2205 ->2208 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
7 | BARRY J LAZARUS |3.0 |X |L 5|W

16|W 15|L 3|
NV | 12525897 / R: 2067 ->2081 | | |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
8 | JOHN MICHAEL CURCURU |3.0 |L 3|L 16|B

|W 19|W 14|
NV | 12659361 / R: 2000 ->2008 | |B |W |

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
9 | EDWARD WILLIAM FORMANEK |2.5 |X |L 1|D

15|D 6|D 11|
NV | 10349257 / R: 2237 ->2229 | | |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
10 | NACHUM SALMAN |2.5 |D 19|W 15|L

3|W 13|L 6|
NV | 11173764 / R: 2203 ->2200 | |B |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
11 | PATRICK LACEY |2.5 |L 1|W 12|W

17|L 5|D 9|
NV | 12758639 / R: 2146 ->2158 | |B |W |B

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
12 | HUGO OSMAR SANTIAGO |2.5 |L 5|L 11|D

19|B |W 17|
NV | 14842497 / R: 2110 ->2095 | |B |B |W

| |W |
————————————————————–

————–
13 | SCOTT GREGORY RAYMOND |2.5 |D 6|L 17|W

18|L 10|W 16|
FL | 13197836 / R: 1898 ->1928 | |B |W |W

|B |B |
————————————————————–

————–
14 | RONALD JOSEPH GROSS |2.0 |W 20|H |L

4|H |L 8|
NV | 10442435 / R: 2200 ->2200 | |B | |W

| |B |
————————————————————–

————–
15 | JOSHUA QUINT |1.5 |W 17|L 10|D

9|L 7|U |
ME | 12951914 / R: 2096 ->2089 | |W |B |W

|B | |
————————————————————–

————–
16 | VIRGILIO T REYES |1.5 |L 2|W 8|L

7|D 17|L 13|
NV | 12455050 / R: 2072 ->2052 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
17 | JUAN PABLO JAUREGUI |1.5 |L 15|W 13|L

11|D 16|L 12|
NV | 13822398 / R: 2066 ->2037 | |B |B |W

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
18 | JOHN TRIVETT |1.5 |H |L 6|L

13|H |D 19|
NV | 12530950 / R: 1827 ->1807 | | |W |B

| |W |
————————————————————–

————–
19 | JONATHAN C MIKOLIC |1.5 |D 10|L 4|D

12|L 8|D 18|
NV | 13973393 / R: 1661 ->1701 | |W |B |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
20 | JUAN PABLO JAUREGUI |0.0 |L 14|U |U

|U |U |
NV | 13822398 / R: 2066 ->2037 | |W | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are

now being shown for events in the *Total Pts* column.It may

take a week for a recently rated event to have norms computed

for it.

Section 2 – UNDER 2000
Section Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24

Rated: 2014-08-24 Re-Rated: 2014-08-26
Stats 5 Rounds, 19 Players; K Factor: F Rating Sys: R

Tnmt Type: S
Time Control: G/90;+30

————————————————————–

————–
* Click on a Pairing Number to see the Player’s Opponents.
* Click on a Player’s Name for more information about the

Player.
Crosstable data is NOT SHOWN in tiebreak order and does not

reflect any distribution of trophies or prize monies.
Crosstable data is shown as reported to the USCF by the

Tournament Director. Please contact the TD to report any

crosstable errors.
Note: The information below the “Total Pts” score shows the

highest norm earned in this event.For more information on

norms, see The USCF Title System.
————————————————————–

————–
Pair | Player Name

|Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3

| 4 | 5 |
————————————————————–

————–
1 | FRANCISCO VELA |5.0 |W 14|W 10|W

5|W 2|W 6|
NV | 12736038 / R: 1968 ->2027 | |W |B |W

|B |B |
————————————————————–

————–
2 | JOHN PAUL BALIGAD |4.0 |W 6|W 3|W

9|L 1|W 5|
NV | 13320372 / R: 1809 ->1888 | |W |B |W

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
3 | JOSE E RAMIREZ |3.5 |W 17|L 2|D

13|W 8|W 9|
NV | 12747114 / R: 1837 ->1849 | |B |W |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
4 | NAOMI YOALI SANTIAGO |3.5 |D 18|W 7|W

11|L 6|W 12|
NV | 14940503 / R: 1648 ->1742 | |B |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
5 | JUAN S BALIGAD JR |3.0 |W 19|W 16|L

1|W 12|L 2|
NV | 12511221 / R: 1847 ->1853 | |W |B |B

|W |W |
————————————————————–

————–
6 | LARS PEDERSEN |3.0 |L 2|W 19|W

15|W 4|L 1|
CA | 11096182 / R: 1789 ->1806 | |B |W |B

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
7 | RICHARD D WADE |2.5 |D 9|L 4|L

8|W 15|W 17|
NV | 12484882 / R: 1844 ->1815 | |W |B |B

|W |W |
————————————————————–

————–
8 | MICHELANGELO BAROZZI |2.5 |H |L 11|W

7|L 3|W 10|
NV | 14310376 / R: 1800 ->1806 | | |B |W

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
9 | JOSE A LACSAMANA |2.5 |D 7|W 15|L

2|W 11|L 3|
NV | 12533325 / R: 1675 ->1714 | |B |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
10 | ANTHONY G MCCARTHY |2.0 |W 11|L 1|L

12|W 17|L 8|
NV | 12829865 / R: 1869 ->1839 | |W |W |B

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
11 | EDGAR KHACHATRYAN |2.0 |L 10|W 8|L

4|L 9|B |
NV | 15374041 / R: 1873 ->1829 | |B |W |W

|B | |
————————————————————–

————–
12 | DANIEL J DEASE |2.0 |L 16|W 14|W

10|L 5|L 4|
NV | 12745558 / R: 1751 ->1745 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
13 | KRIS P JUDKINS |1.5 |L 15|W 17|D

3|U |U |
NV | 12301170 / R: 1872 ->1850 | |B |W |B

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
14 | TODD IMADA |1.0 |L 1|L 12|U

|H |H |
NV | 12565658 / R: 1885 ->1854 | |B |W |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
15 | EDDY D SCHUCK |1.0 |W 13|L 9|L

6|L 7|U |
NV | 12045320 / R: 1727 ->1706 | |W |B |W

|B | |
————————————————————–

————–
16 | JARED L RICH |1.0 |W 12|L 5|U

|U |U |
NV | 12902871 / R: 1683 ->1695 | |B |W |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
17 | CHRISTOPHER JESNESS |1.0 |L 3|L 13|B

|L 10|L 7|
NV | 15485865 / R: Unrated->1300P4 | |W |B |

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
18 | MICHAEL TIMOTHY GRAVES ESQ |0.5 |D 4|U |U

|U |U |
NV | 12758314 / R: 1604 ->1613 | |W | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
19 | TIM C GALIMA |0.0 |L 5|L 6|U

|U |U |
NV | 12706608 / R: 1676 ->1653 | |B |B |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are

now being shown for events in the *Total Pts* column.It may

take a week for a recently rated event to have norms computed

for it.

Section 3 – UNDER 1600
Section Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24

Rated: 2014-08-24 Re-Rated: 2014-08-26
Stats 5 Rounds, 12 Players; K Factor: F Rating Sys: R

Tnmt Type: S
Time Control: G/90;+30

————————————————————–

————–
* Click on a Pairing Number to see the Player’s Opponents.
* Click on a Player’s Name for more information about the

Player.
Crosstable data is NOT SHOWN in tiebreak order and does not

reflect any distribution of trophies or prize monies.
Crosstable data is shown as reported to the USCF by the

Tournament Director. Please contact the TD to report any

crosstable errors.
Note: The information below the “Total Pts” score shows the

highest norm earned in this event.For more information on

norms, see The USCF Title System.
————————————————————–

————–
Pair | Player Name

|Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3

| 4 | 5 |
————————————————————–

————–
1 | JONATHAN LUONG |5.0 |W 11|W 8|W

4|W 2|W 5|
NV | 14506182 / R: 1599 ->1690 | |B |W |B

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
2 | DIEGO AURI SANTIAGO |4.0 |W 10|W 3|W

7|L 1|W 4|
NV | 14940483 / R: 1510 ->1604 | |W |B |W

|B |B |
————————————————————–

————–
3 | AUDREY GABRIELLE GRIGORE |3.5 |H |L 2|X

|W 5|W 6|
NV | 14153905 / R: 1425 ->1443 | | |W |

|B |B |
————————————————————–

————–
4 | CODY WALL-EPSTEIN |3.0 |W 5|W 7|L

1|W 8|L 2|
NV | 13777934 / R: 1496 ->1519 | |W |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
5 | JEFFERY ADAM PATTERSON |2.0 |L 4|W 6|W

8|L 3|L 1|
NV | 13401783 / R: 1400 ->1390 | |B |W |B

|W |W |
————————————————————–

————–
6 | LUKAS JOHNSON |1.5 |L 9|L 5|H

|X |L 3|
NV | 12715818 / R: 1279P10->1205P13 | |B |B |

| |W |
————————————————————–

————–
7 | MARC DYLAN JOHNSON |1.0 |W 12|L 4|L

2|F |U |
NV | 13038428 / R: 1535 ->1511 | |B |W |B

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
8 | KEVIN GOLCHIN |1.0 |X |L 1|L

5|L 4|U |
CA | 15460081 / R: 1470P9 ->1385P12 | | |B |W

|W | |
————————————————————–

————–
9 | SOURAV GUPTA |1.0 |W 6|U |U

|U |U |
NV | 13371850 / R: 1193 ->1223 | |W | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
10 | ROBERT L TURNER |0.0 |L 2|F |F

|U |U |
NV | 12698895 / R: 1483 ->1467 | |B | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
11 | JOSEPH EUGENE WILLOUGHBY |0.0 |L 1|U |U

|U |U |
NV | 15213720 / R: 1469 ->1458 | |W | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
12 | YOSEPH G DEBESAI |0.0 |L 7|U |U

|U |U |
NV | 13656600 / R: 1444 ->1424 | |W | |

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are

now being shown for events in the *Total Pts* column.It may

take a week for a recently rated event to have norms computed

for it.

Section 4 – UNDER 1200
Section Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24

Rated: 2014-08-24 Re-Rated: 2014-08-26
Stats 5 Rounds, 5 Players; K Factor: F Rating Sys: R

Tnmt Type: S
Time Control: G/90;+30

————————————————————–

————–
* Click on a Pairing Number to see the Player’s Opponents.
* Click on a Player’s Name for more information about the

Player.
Crosstable data is NOT SHOWN in tiebreak order and does not

reflect any distribution of trophies or prize monies.
Crosstable data is shown as reported to the USCF by the

Tournament Director. Please contact the TD to report any

crosstable errors.
Note: The information below the “Total Pts” score shows the

highest norm earned in this event.For more information on

norms, see The USCF Title System.
————————————————————–

————–
Pair | Player Name

|Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3

| 4 | 5 |
————————————————————–

————–
1 | DAVID O SORIANO |3.5 |D 4|W 2|D

3|B |D 4|
ME | 15484966 / R: 1131P2 ->1169P6 | |B |W |W

| |W |
————————————————————–

————–
2 | SOURAV GUPTA |3.0 |B |L 1|W

5|L 4|W 3|
NV | 13371850 / R: 1223 ->1185 | | |B |W

|B |W |
————————————————————–

————–
3 | RICHARD ZHOU |3.0 |W 5|W 4|D

1|H |L 2|
NV | 14740430 / R: 1058 ->1106 | |B |W |B

| |B |
————————————————————–

————–
4 | JOHN DUNCOMBE |3.0 |D 1|L 3|B

|W 2|D 1|
NV | 14270075 / R: 879P12-> 993P16 | |W |B |

|W |B |
————————————————————–

————–
5 | RHOMER ANTHONY JOHNSON |2.0 |L 3|B |L

2|H |H |
NV | 12511853 / R: 1117 ->1065 | |W | |B

| | |
————————————————————–

————–
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are

now being shown for events in the *Total Pts* column.It may

take a week for a recently rated event to have norms computed

for it.

Section 5 – EXTRA GAMES
Section Date(s) 2014-08-22 thru 2014-08-24
Processed Received: 2014-08-24 Entered: 2014-08-24

Rated: 2014-08-24 Re-Rated: 2014-08-26
Stats 1 Rounds, 8 Players; K Factor: F Rating Sys: R

Tnmt Type: S
Time Control: G/90;+30

—————————————————-
* Click on a Pairing Number to see the Player’s Opponents.
* Click on a Player’s Name for more information about the

Player.
Crosstable data is NOT SHOWN in tiebreak order and does not

reflect any distribution of trophies or prize monies.
Crosstable data is shown as reported to the USCF by the

Tournament Director. Please contact the TD to report any

crosstable errors.
Note: The information below the “Total Pts” score shows the

highest norm earned in this event.For more information on

norms, see The USCF Title System.
—————————————————-
Pair | Player Name |Total|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 |
—————————————————-
1 | JOHN MICHAEL CURCURU |1.0 |W 6|
NV | 12659361 / R: 2008 ->2009 | |B |
—————————————————-
2 | LUKAS JOHNSON |1.0 |W 7|
NV | 12715818 / R: 1205P13->1227P14 | |W |
—————————————————-
3 | AIDAN JAMES MONAGHAN |1.0 |W 8|
NV | 12438296 / R: 1217 ->1226 | |B |
—————————————————-
4 | RHOMER ANTHONY JOHNSON |1.0 |W 5|
NV | 12511853 / R: 1065 ->1120 | |B |
—————————————————-
5 | ROBERT L TURNER |0.0 |L 4|
NV | 12698895 / R: 1467 ->1425 | |W |
—————————————————-
6 | CHRISTOPHER JESNESS |0.0 |L 1|
NV | 15485865 / R: 1300P4 ->1300P5 | |W |
—————————————————-
7 | DAVID O SORIANO |0.0 |L 2|
ME | 15484966 / R: 1169P6 ->1120P7 | |B |
—————————————————-
8 | DERREK, RAMON SPILSBURY |0.0 |L 3|
NV | 14885975 / R: 925P5 -> 908P6 | |W |
—————————————————-
Note: Performances satisfying the requirements for norms are

now being shown for events in the *Total Pts* column.It may

take a week for a recently rated event to have norms computed

for it.

Minutes of Nevada Chess Membership Meeting
Meadows School  4/26/2014

Present were Dan Conver, Gale Winds and Allen Magruder.  Due to lack of a quorum no official business was conducted but the ballots were counted.  Charles (Tony) Chinnici and Jerry Weikel won election to the board.

Minutes of Nevada Chess Board Meeting
Las Vegas Chess Center 4/27/2014

Board members present were Alan Losoff, Jon Trivet, Allen Magruder, Alan Losoff and Tom Brownscombe. Juan Jauregui was present as an observer.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Election results were certified.  Motion: Defer election of officers until the new board members can be contacted.  Secretary Alan Losoff will manage the officer elections. Passed 5-0.

Jaun Jauregui is appointed the chair of the Nevada Clearing House. Passed 5-0. Alan Losoff will notify USCF.

Allen Magruder distributed the financial report. We have a balance of $5,500 with a net operating income for the year of $170.  A few items are still pending.

The $50 increase in TD fees that had been approved for the State Scholastic tournament was not included in the TD’s Checks. Those TDs present agreed to donate the $50 to Nevada Chess.  The tournament was financially about the same as last year: break even or slight loss.

Alan Losoff and Juan Jauregui would like to bid the 2015 State Scholastic at the Las Vegas Learning Center.  The following motion was made:  Nevada Chess will put the 2015 State Scholastic tournament up for bids with a bidding deadline of August 1, 2014.  Passed 4-0, Losoff abstaining. This will be posted on NevadaChess.org.

It was noted that the current state champion may not be a resident by the time of the play offs.  Motion: In the case of the Nevada Champion being ineligible or unable to defend the runner up is automatically seeded into the championship. Passed 5-0.

Tom Brownscombe reported on the Southern Nevada Qualifiers. Two have already been held, and the 3^rd will be the Las Vegas Open on August 22-24 at the Las Vegas Chess Center.  The 2 spots are still wide open.

The State Championship will be in Tonapah on September 27-28.  Jon will make arrangements with the hotel. Nevada Chess will pay for the rooms for the 4 qualifiers and a TD. Alan Losoff volunteered to be TD for no fee except expenses.  The team challenge will be on Saturday, and there will be a state Blitz,  Quick or Action Championship on Sunday.  It has yet to be decided. So far Blitz, G/15 and G25+5 have been suggested. In any case it will be an official Nevada Championship.  Approved 5-0.

Alan Losoff will attempt to schedule an election meeting for Thursday 5/1/2014 with the Las Vegas members meeting at Clark County Chess Club and the Northern Nevada members joining us by phone or Skype.

The meeting was adjourned.

On the weekend of April 25-27, 48 chess players came to the Learning Village, located at the corner of Fremont Street and 8th Street in downtown Las Vegas, to compete in the Mantis Downtown Chess Fest. This five round swiss system chess tournament was named in honor of the fire breathing preying mantis sculpture located next door at the entrance to Container Park. The tournament had four rating based sections and featured four chess masters playing in the open section: Tom Brownscombe, Ronald Gross, Rockwell Shah, and Mike Zaloznyy.

After two rounds, the masters were leading the tournament. So in round three they started playing each other. The board one game between Rockwell Shah and Mike Zaloznyy was a very close affair that turned into a rook and pawn ending that featured competing passed pawns on opposite sides of the board. Shah was able to stop Zaloznyy’s passer, but an inaccurate king move by Zaloznyy allowed Shah’s passed pawn duo to go all the way for the win. On board two, the game between Brownscombe and Gross was even closer. Brownscombe pressed on the kingside, but he was not able to break through. Gross had some space on the queen side, but he was not able to create a breakthrough. So the board two game ended in a draw, leaving Shah in clear first place after three rounds. And then this confrontation occurred on board one in the fourth round:

FM Brownscombe,Tom (2221) – Shah,Rockwell (2344) [B01]
Mantis Open (4.1), 27.04.2014
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nf3 Bg4 4.Be2 Nf6 5.0–0 Nbd7 6.h3 Bh5 7.d4 Qd6 8.c4 c6 9.Nc3 a6 10.a4 e6 11.Be3 Qb4 12.d5 exd5 13.cxd5 Bc5 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.Nd4 15…Qxb2 16.Bxh5 Qxc3 17.Rc1 Qa3 18.Nc2 Qxa4 19.Bxc5 Nxc5 20.Re1+ Nce4 21.Qd6 Rd8 22.Qe6+ Kf8 23.Qxf7# 1–0

In the fifth round, Brownscombe sacrificed a bishop on h2 against Hugo Santiago. But he was only able to get a perpetual check. The draw on board one gave the players on boards two and three an opportunity to compete for first place. On board three, Earl Salazar developed a powerful attack against the exposed king of Ron Gross. Salazar was on the verge of achieving a checkmate or winning Ron’s queen. But Gross generated enough counter play to stave off defeat and turn the tide in his favor. When the dust settled, Gross had an extra bishop and an easily won endgame. On board two, Shah won a pawn and converted his extra material into an endgame victory. This left a four way tie for first place in the open section with Tom Brownscombe, Ronald Gross, Hugo Santiago, and Rockwell Shah sharing first place with 3.5 points each and splitting the prize money equally. Juan Jauregui and Jonathan Mikolic split the prize for the top scoring player rated under 2000 in the open section with 2 points each.

The Mantis Downtown Chess Fest was the second tournament in the southern Nevada state championship qualifier series. The first tournament was the Presidents’ Day Open, and the final tournament will be held in the summer. Players who play in the open section of two or more of these tournaments can combine their scores to create a qualifying score. The two players with the top qualifying scores will be invited to represent southern Nevada in the 2014 Nevada State Chess Championship. After two tournaments, Tom Brownscombe and Hugo Santiago have the top two qualifying scores with 6.5 points each. But with another qualifying tournament still to be played, any player who has scored at least two points in either of the first two qualifying tournaments has a chance to surpass Brownscombe and Santiago. Here is the list of players who are in contention (with their best score from either of the first two qualifying tournaments):

Elliot Liu 5; Patrick Lacey 4; Virgilio Reyes, Rockwell Shah, Ronald Gross 3.5; Mike Zaloznyy, Joshua Quint, Barry Lazarus 3; Damir Trtanj, Juan Jauregui, Glenn Bidari, Earl Salazar, Ryan Phillips 2.5; Scott Raymond, John Trivett, Jeffery Gallegos, Alejandrino Baluran, Jonathan Mikolic 2.

In the under 1900 section, Edgar Khachatryan had a strong start with four straight victories. This was enough for Edgar to secure clear first place, even though Jason Cruz defeated Khachatryan in the final round. Cruz tied for second place in the under 1900 section with Alan Losoff, who is best known in the chess world as the lead organizer of the Las Vegas International Chess Festival. Losoff had a rough day on Saturday, drawing with Cruz and losing to Khachatryan. He was so discouraged by these results that he almost withdrew from the tournament. But Losoff’s perseverance led to fourth and fifth round wins against John Currell and Todd Imada and an equal share of the second and third place prize money with 3.5 points.

In the under 1600 section, the ladies showed their mettle. Vivian Liu started the tournament with a half point bye in the Friday night round. She then proceeded to win four straight games to secure first place in the under 1600 section. Audrey Grigore continued to demonstrate the ladies’ superiority in the under 1600 section by scoring 3.5 points to take second place. Antonio Artuz rounded out the list of prize winners in the under 1600 section by taking third place with 3 points. Jonathan Luong won the under 1300 section with 4 points. Max Jackel took second place in the under 1300 section with 3.5 points, and Rhomer Johnson was third with 3 points.

All of the players would like to thank the Las Vegas Downtown Project for supporting this event. Juan and Sabrina Jauregui organized the tournament on behalf of the Las Vegas Chess Center. Tom Brownscombe and Juan Jauregui directed the tournament. For complete tournament results for all players, including all rating changes, please visit the member services area of the US Chess Federation website. And for more information about other Las Vegas Chess Center events, please browse the Las Vegas Chess Center website.