The Lakdawala Championships

This 7 round event starts on Wednesday, 2/25/09 at 7 PM, with 5 sections, plus at least one match. 2 half point byes are allowed, but no last round bye unless you notify TD by Rd 2 and then it would be irrevocable.  

Club Championship (16 players): Bruce Baker (2332), Ron Bruno (2307), Peter Graves (2252), Carl Wagner (2223), Todd Smith (2216), David Hart (2207), Dimitry Kishinevsky (2168), Ignacio Sainz (2095), Alejandro Garamendi (2092), John Funderburg (2080), Carey Milton (2065), Raoul Crisologo (2064), Brad Salz (2050), Manuel Herrera (2037),  Ben Barquin (2032)- Rd 1 bye, Thomas Fries (1985)  

6 Masters, 9 Experts, 1 Class A, who is almost an Expert. This is one of the strongest Club Championships we have ever had, it should be very exciting...All players have confirmed now, so this IS the final lineup.  

Reserve Championship (16 players): William Wijaya (1825), Fawsi Jose Murra (1744), Jerry Soelberg (1725), Datris Robinson (1720), Donald Klaas (1677), Brian Kelly (1676), Caley Anderson (1652), Anthony Harbone (1615), Hector Gonzalez (1613), Steve Perry (1582), Mike Friedel (1558), Tom Kuhn (1496), Morgan Fox (1489), Michael Ryan (1458), Larry Vikander (1450), Steve Gordon (1290),   

Women's Championship (6 players): Carolina Villarreal (1627), Rocio Murra (1607), Karen Kaufman (1556), Mayra Murra (1531), Maria Elena Villarreal (1445), Monica Ness (1214)

Fred Borges Open (21- players so far): Joseph McDougall (2113), Alejandrino Baluran (2048) -bye Rd 1, Lennart Mathe (2044), Paul Agron (2016), Mario Amodeo (2002), Fawsi Murra Jr (1987) bye Rd 1, Jeff Turner (1969), Dayne Freitag (1953), Jason Qu (1900)-Rd 1 bye,  Fausto Robles (1884), Fred Deleon (1871), Marty Lower (1865), Jens Lundell (1862), Damani Fair (1858), Robert Draper (1841), Saeid Abdoli (1818), David Delgadillo (1816), Buddy Morris (1814),  Ron Rezendes (1811), Chuck Ensey (1801), Erik Marquis (1587)  Plus Pejman Sagart (1958) is a house player

Fred Borges Reserve (14 players so far) (U1800): Fred Borges (1700),  Mark Lawless (1524), Robert Samuel (1500), James Coulston (1427) bye Rd 1, Michael Wang (1312), Fausto Robles Jr (1304),  Tom Lavoy (1303), Patrick Edwards (1233), Arnold Berlin (1214), Matt Souza (1190) bye Rd 1, David Tagatac (1032), Glenn Rose (983), Maria Murra (734), Alan Robles (unr)

Match Play (2 players): Joel Batchelor (1826) vs Shaun Sweitzer (1809)

Total # of Players so far: 75

Round 1 Results

Club Championship

Bd 1  Bruce Baker (2332) - Alejandro Garamendi (2092)  1-0

One of the better games in the Championship section. Alejandro was playing it close to the vest, parrying every one of Bruce's jabs, but towards the end he went astray as a Rook wandered too far from the the defence of his King in order to grab a pawn. I am not sure if Bruce set that pawn sac on purpose up as bait or not, but the end result was a brutal attack on the King that Alejandro could find no answer to. Returning to a boxing theme, it was as if Garamendi's hands were lowered to get in a body punch, but then his head was open for a haymaker from Bruce, who knows how to deliver a punch, he is one of the most dangerous attackers at the club as Rick has testified to many times.    

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Bc4 Nxd4 7.Qxd4 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Re1 c6 10.a4 Kh8 11.Bg5 Ne8 12.Bxe7 Qxe7 13.Rad1 Be6 14.e5 d5 15.Bd3 g6 16.a5 Ng7 17.Na4 Bf5 18.Qc3 Bxd3 19.Rxd3 Ne6 20.b4 Rae8 21.g3 Kg8 22.h4 f6 23.exf6 Rxf6 24.Nc5 Qf7 25.Nxe6 Rfxe6 26.Rxe6 Rxe6 27.Rf3 Qe7 28.h5 g5 29.Qd4 a6 30.Qg4 h6 31.Kg2 Kg7 32.c4 Re4? (...dxc4 33.Qxc4 Re4) 33.Qf5 Rxc4? 34.Qg6+ Kh8 35.Qxh6+ Kg8 36.Qg6+ Kh8 37.Qh6+ Kg8 38.Qg6+ Kh8 39.Rf5 Qe4+ 40. Kh2  1-0                              

Bd 2  John Funderburg (2080) - Ron Bruno (2307)  1/2-1/2

I don't have this game, maybe Ron, John or Cyrus (if he has it) can send it to me. It looked like a pretty cool game where each player had an advanced passed pawn deep the the other's territory. I am awarding a best game prize of $10 in each round, but I need to have the game for it to qualify.    

Bd 3  Peter Graves (2252) - Carey Milton (2065)  1-0

Carey lost a pawn early (move 17) and then another one on move 48. Normally this doesn't phase Carey at all, who often seems to have the attitude that "pawns just get in the way", but against a focused and determined County Champion, Carey could not get back in the game no matter what he tried. Last Saturday Carey won a game against Peter, who is well aware how dangerous Carey can be when given any chances. This time Peter traded down into a Rook ending and skillfully pressed the point home.   

Bd 4  Raoul Crisologo (2064) - Carl Wagner (2223)  0-1

The Longest Game of the Night (by far), Carl won with Bishops of opposite colors and extra two pawns. Sometimes that is still a draw, but the masters tell me if the pawns are separted by more than two files, it is a win. Both Carl and David Hart mentioned this "rule" to me separately, so I guess it is one of those "common" knowledge things that masters know cold and lower rated players like myself are a little unclear about. Raoul can be commended for fighting hard the whole game and Carl for squeezing out a technical win with precision. Carl played his beloved Benko Gambit and got a nice position from it.

Bd 5  Todd Smith (2216) - Brad Salz (2050)  1-0

Brad was doing OK, but in time pressure he overlooked a skewer that lost the exchange and it went downhill from there.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0-0 Nge7 5.Re1 a6 6.Bf1 g6 7.c3 Bg7 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4 d5 10.e5 0-0 11.b3 Nf5 12.Bb2 f6 13.Na3 fxe5 14.dxe5 Bd7 15.Nc2 Re8 16.Ne3 Nxe3 17.Rxe3 Rc8 18.Re1 Ne7 19.Bd3 Nc6 20.h4 Ne7 21.h5 Nf5 22.hxg6 hxg6 23.Bc1 Rf8 24.Bg5 Qb6 25.Nh4 Be8 26.Qg4 Rc3 27.Rad1 Qa5? 28.Bd2 d4 29.Bxc3 dxc3 30.Nxg6 Bxg6 31.Qxg6 Qb6 32.Bc4 Qxf2+ 33.Kxf2 Nh4+ 34.Qf6 Bxf6 35.Bxe6+ Kg7 36.exf6+ Rxf6 1-0

Bd 6  Manuel Herrera (2049) - David Hart (2207)  0-1

Manuel could have possibly fought on a little longer in this game, but faced with material and positional weaknesses against a solid master, he showed respect and tipped his King over. 

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.Nf3 dxc3 6.Nxc3 d6 7.0-0 g6 8.Qe2 Bg7 9.Rd1 Bg4 10.h3 Bxf3 11.Qxf3 0-0 12.Qe2 Qa5 13.Be3 Ne5 14.Bc2 Rac8 15.Bb3 a6 16.a4 Qb4 17.Bd5 Nc4 18.Rac1?! (18.Bd4 would keep White alive according to Fritz 18...e5 19.Na2 Qxa4 20.b3) 18... Nxe3 19.fxe3 Nd7 20.Na2 Qb6 21.b4 Bh6 22.Kf2 Nf6 23.a5 Qa7 24.Rd3?! Rxc1 25.Nxc1 Nd7 26.Bb3 Ne5 0-1 

Bd 7  Dimitry Kishinevsky (2168) - Ben Barquin (2037) 0-1

This may have been the most interesting game, I am not sure if it is the best game yet, I am still looking them all over. It was the only true upset in this section. We can always count on Dimitry to play interesting games. The game went back and forth according to Fritz, but at one point Dimitry lost the thread and his game unravelled. Possibly he is a bit rusty from not playing in the Markowski, sort of like the football teams that get a pass in the first round of the playoffs are rusty while the wild card teams are, well, wild, energized and hungry.   

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 e6 5.Bg2 dxc4 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.0-0 Be7 8.a4 0-0 9.e4 (last book move) Qa5 10.Bd2 Bb4 11.Qe2 e5 12.Qxc4 Re8 13.Ng5 Re7 14.Rfe1 exd4 15.Nd5?! (Fritz rec 15.Qxd4 Bc5 16.Nd1) 16.Nxd5 Bxd2? (16..Rxe1+ is better) 17.Rxe7 Bxg5 18.dxc6?? (18.Re8+ Nf8 19.b4 with solid plus for White) Bxe7 (the Bishop has captured a Bishop, a Knight and a Rook in the last 3 moves, not too shabby and it's still on the board) 19.cxb7 Bxb7 20.Bxb7 Rd8 21.Qxd4 Bf6 22.Qc4 Ne5 23.Qb5 Qd2! 24.Be4 g6 25.Kg2 Ng4 0-1

(25..Ng4 26.Rf1 Ne3+ 27.Kf3 Nxf1 28.Qxf1 Rd4 is one possible continuation) 

Bd 8  Tom Fries (1985) - Ignacio Sainz (2095)  0-1

Tom made a slightly passive move 22.Nc1 instead of trading Knights on c5 and Ignacio made him pay by move 33 when Rc3 won the pawn on c4. Then Ignacio proved that not all Rook endings are drawn by using his King to win another pawn. (Chuck's comment)

Notes by Ignacio... 

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Qe7 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Nf3 Ne4 7.0-0 Bxd2 8.Nbxd2 Nxd2 9.Qxd2 d6 10.e4 e5 11.d5 Nb8 12.Ne1!? 0-0 13.Nd3 a5 14.f4 Nd7 15.Rac1 b6 16.b4?! (16.f5 f6=) axb4 17.Nxb4 (17.Nc5 Nc6 18.Qe8 f5 19.f6)  Bb7 18.Nd3 Ra5 19.Rc2 Rfa8 20.fxe5 dxe5 21.h4 Nc5 22.Nc1 (22.Nxc5 Rxc5) Bc8 23.Kh2 Bd7 24.Qe3 f6 25.Rc3 Bg4 26.Bf3 Qd7 27.Qe2 h5 28.Bxg4 Qxg4 29.Qxg4 hxg4 30.Re1 Ra3 31.Rxa3 (31.Rc2 Kf7) Rxa3 32.Re2 Rc3 33.Nb3 Rxc4 34.Nxc5 Rxc5 35.Kg2 Kf7 36.Kf2 Ke7 37.Rb2 Rc4 38.Re2 Kd6 39. Ke1 Rc3 40.Kf2 Kc5 41.Rd2 Rf3+ 42.Kg2 Re3 43.Rc2+ Kd6 44.h5 Rxe4 45.h6 gxh6 26.Rc6+ Kxd5 0-1

Womens Championship

Bd 9  Mayra Murra (1513) - Carolina Villarreal (1627)  1-0

Bd 10  Rocio Murra (1607) - Maria Elena Villarreal (1445)  0-1  

Bd 11  Monica Ness (1214) - Karen Kaufman (1556)  1-0

Bye:  Maria Murra (1531)

Reserve Championship  

Bd 13  William Wijaya (1825) - Hector Gonzalez (1613)  1-0

Bd 14  Steve Perry (1582) - Fawsi Jose Murra (1744)  0-1

Bd 15  Jerry Soelberg (1725) - Mike Friedel (1558)  1-0

Bd 16  Tom Kuhn (1496) - Larry Vikander (1450)  1/2-1/2 

Bd 17  Donald Klaas (1677) - Morgan Fox (1489)  1-0

Bd 18  Michael Ryan (1458) - Brian Kelly (1676)  0-1

Bd 20  Steve Gordon (1290) - Anthony Harbone  (1615) 0-1

Bye: Datris Robinson (1720), Caley Anderson (1652) [or Julian Rodriguez (1656)??]  

Fred Borges Open Section

Bd 21  Joseph McDougall (2113) - Marty Lower (1865)  1/2-1/2

Bd 22  Jens Lundell (1862) - Lennart Mathe (2044)  0-1

Bd 23  Paul Agron (2016) - Damani Fair (1858)  1-0

Bd 24  Robert Draper (1841) - Mario Amodeo (2002)  1-0

Here was a fabulous game and a nice upset by Bob. We start with a "boring" Caro-Kann, but it doesn't stay that way very long! And the game has a beautiful ending...Mario was very impressed with Bob's play, he said he hasn't been crushed like this in years!

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 dxe4 4.Nc3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Bg4 (last book move) 7.Be3 e6 8.0-0 Be7 9.Qe1 Nbd7 10.Qh4 Bxf3 11.Rxf3 Nd5 12.Qh3 Nxe3 (Black has the advantage here) 13.Rxe3 Nf6 14.Ne2 c5 15.Bb5+ Nd7 (15...Kf8 was better and mentioned by both players after the game. Mario didn't realize how much trouble about to rain down on his King) 16.d5! exd5 17.Nf4 a6? (after this move Black is lost...so better was 17...d4 18.Re4 a6 19.Bxd7+ Qxd7 but still with big advantage for White) 18.Nxd5 axb5 19.Rae1 0-0 20.Nxe7+ Kh8 21.Qxh7+!! Kxh7 22.Rh3#       

Bd 25  Jeff Turner (1969) - Saeid Abdoli (1818)  1-0 

Bd 26  David Delgadillo (1816) - Pejman Sagart (1958)  1-0

Bd 27  Dayne Freitag (1953) - Buddy Morris (1814)  1/2-1/2

Bd 28  Erik Marquis (1587) - Fausto Robles (1884)  0-1

Byes: Alejandrino Baluran (2048), Fawsi Murra Jr?? (1987), Jason Qu (1900), Alfredo Deleon (1871), Ron Rezendes (1811), Chuck Ensey (1801)    

Fred Borges Reserve Section

Bd 30  Tom Lavoy (1303) - Fred Borges (1700)  0-1

Bd 31  Mark Lawless (1524) - Patrick Edwards (1233)  1-0

Bd 32  Arnold Berlin (1214)  - Robert Samuel (1500)  1/2-1/2

Bd 33  Michael Wang (1312) - Alan Robles (unr)  1-0

Bd 34  David Tagatac (1032) - Fausto Robles Jr (1304)  1-0

Bd 35  Glenn Rose (980) - Maria Murra (934)  1/2-1/2        

Byes: James Coulston (1427), Matt Souza (1190)

Match Play:  Shaun Sweitzer (1809) - Joel Batchelor (1826)  1-0