The CalChess State Scholastics Weekend

By Alan M. Kirshner, Ph.D.

(Go directly to a few of Richard Shorman's photographs.)

I am a perfectionist and that means I will never be happy no matter how many players attend my tournaments, nor how many compliments I receive for a job well done. However, I was the closest I have come to being completely satisfied with the 1999 California State Scholastic Championships. I held this yearâs tournament on the weekend of March 26 through March 28 at the Santa Clara Convention Center. This was the same venue as last yearöbut in a different setting. Instead of a number of rooms set aside for different divisions with a total of 13,000 square feet, this year I held the tournament in one large area of 50,000 square feet. I was even able to obtain about 7,000 square feet for a parent/skittles room, albeit, I could use more space for this waiting area.

Once again we broke the record on player attendance with 776 registered. Last year, 730 players signed-up for this competition. We have almost doubled the number of players since Tom Dorsch and I obtained the tournament due to Ray Orwigâs retirement three years ago. Ray, who is the coach of the many time State Champion Team of Saint Markâs of San Rafael, ran the Northern California Championship for 11 years. Tom withdrew his sponsorship and help this year due to other commitments. So I ran the Championships alone this year and will do so again for one more year. Next year, 2000, we will celebrate the 25^th anniversary of this tournament. I thought this would be the ideal time to step down and let someone else deal with any future Y2K+ problems.

This year, I placed the entries on the internet so people could check. I must admit that this was a more trying task then I had imagined, but most people appreciated my effort. I know that some individuals would have preferred the entries grouped by divisions, however, more computer savvy individuals were able to sort them in Excel. Maybe next year I will be able to get some help on data entry and provide the entries in a number of different formats. Also new this year were the commemorative pins I provided each player.

I added an eighth division this year, K-8 Under 850. This means that all the sections, but the Kindergarten and High School (K-12) had Junior Varsity sections. In each of the eight divisions I awarded a minimum of 15 individual trophies. Well, not exactly. All Kindergarten players received a trophy. When a tie occurred at place 15, rather then use tie breaks leaving some children with the same score without an award, I gave trophies down to the next place. In a few divisions the number of trophies I awarded went into the mid-20âs. I awarded medals for best grade level and best rating performances. Next year, I will provide trophies for these awards. All the individual winners also received a deluxe copy of the excellent learning program, Chess Mentor. I was happy to have Chess Mentor as our sponsor this year.

In all the divisions, except the Kindergarten, I awarded five school team trophies and one club team trophy. The top four players on the winning team received medals or trophies. Next year, I intend to increase the number of club team awards and provide plaques for the winning team members and their coach.

I started the weekend with a Friday night blitz tournament. I held it at the Santa Clara Marriott, our official hotel. I could not reserve enough rooms at the Westin Hotel that is attached to the Convention Center. They had booked three other conventions that weekend. The Marriott is a beautiful hotel with a free shuttle to Great America, but none to the airport or to the Convention Center. The lack of transportation caused some of our parents problems. I also could not get the Convention Center for the blitz and so I paid for a room at the Marriott. Less then 40 individuals played that night. Hans Poschmann directed this warm-up tournament. Julius Mercardo of Bishop OâDowd High School defeated David Brown of Bellermine High School in a playoff game for the championship trophy as they had equal scores in the main tournament.

I considered canceling the blitz for 2000 because of the miniscule turnout. After I was able to get the Convention Center to toss in a Friday night room free for next yearâs championships (April 7-9), I decided to keep the three year old blitz tradition alive.

Saturday morning at 7 AM saw all the directors and helpers scrambling to get the massive exhibit hall ready for the onslaught of players for the 10 AM opening round. I was amazed how fast all the color coordinated chessboards and signs for the eight divisions got set up. By 9 AM we had the helpers in their red T-shirts, under the expert direction of Stephanie Blatt, stationed at the doors and monitoring the four telephone banks in our area of the Convention Center. Last year, we had 20 false 911 calls during the tournament. This year we had none. The parent volunteers also did a beautiful job controlling the children entering and leaving the playing area. They even set up a system where they kept the younger children by the doors until their parents retrieved them to go to the skittles/waiting area. To put it bluntly, there would be no California Chess State Scholastic Championship if it were not for all these beautiful volunteers. I wish I could name each one in this article, but the list of names alone would fill this magazine. So besides the red T-shirts and tournament pins they got to keep, I would like to once again express my everlasting gratitude to all of youöoh, and I hope you will volunteer again next year. :0)

I would like to thank all the tournament directors by name, however. I can at least fit them into a paragraph. Thank you, thank you, thank you: Allan Fifield (Chief TD), Hans Poschmann, Richard Koepke, Riley Hughes, Kurt Jacobs, David Gross, Doug Shaker, Robert Lee, Bonnie Yost, Steve Seegmiller, Peter Brett, Steve Simler, Nick Ayala, Rob Nicholson, Dennis Alfaro, Sujay Roy and Bob Blatt.

On to the results (if you are interested in the complete results you can go to http://calchess.webjump.com/Results.html):

K-12 Championship (High School): For the second straight year, in round 6, Vinay Bhat (2423) defeated Jordy Mont-Reynaud (2343) for first place and the right to represent Northern California in the Denker Tournament of State High School Champions. Last year, Vinay was still in Junior High School. Andy Lee (2119) went undefeated with 5.5 out of 6 to take second. Eight players tied for third place in this division of 141 people. It is a good possibility that I will have a High School Junior Varsity Division next year. The top school team was Berkeley High School easily topping last yearâs winner, The College Preparatory School of Oakland, by 19.0 to 16.5 points. Chess for Juniors from Huntington Beach won the best club trophy with 19.5 points to the Berkeley Chess Schoolâs 16 points.

K-8 Championship (Junior High School): Keith Yost (1781) of the Fresno Chess Academy, and last yearâs K-6 State Champion, drew his team mate, Chris Pascal (1677), to get 5.5 points and first place. A five-way tie ensued for second placeöChris Pascal, Akash Deb (1615), Robert Wei (1347), Samuel Kwok (1227), and Derek Hwang (1010). Hopkins Junior High School of Fremont took its fifth team championship defeating St. Marks of San Rafael who also previously had four titles. Chess For Juniors once again defeated the Berkeley Chess School to take the club trophy back to Southern California.

K-8 Under 850 (Junior High School JV): We had a tie for first in this division with Alicia Fulk (792) and Ahmad Moghadam (752) both obtaining 5.5 points. They became our first champions in this new section. A five way tie resulted for the third spotöMichael Fischer (692), Alexander Kwan (841), Zev Wisotsky (unrated) Tony Roca (820), Jayodita Sanghvi (788). Hopkins Junior High School also took home the first place trophy in this division with Biggs Middle School second. The club trophy went to a new club from Santa Cruz--the Paladin Club.

K-6 Championship (Elementary School): I doubt anyone would have predicted the outcome in this division. A fair number of the US Chess Federationâs Top 50 in the 9-10 & 11-12 age groups contested for first place: Cory Evans (1925), Alexander Karnazes (1541), Wesley Chen (1300), Alen Melikadamyan (1727), Ankit Gupta (1286), Daniel Schwarz (1496). However, they had to sit back and watch Michael Pearson from the Chess Club of San Mateo County win all his six games and take the title. The annual competition for the team championship in this section continues to be between Weibel Elementary School and Mission San Jose Elementary School both of Fremont. Each year, less then two points separate the winner and the battle comes down to the last round. In 1995 Mission won. In 1996 it was Weibelâs turn. Mission came back in 1997. Weibel took the title in 1998. This year Missionâs T-shirts that said, "The Real Northern California Champion" proved valid with their 16 to 14.5 victory over Weibel. Chess For Juniors went home with another first place club trophy.

K-6 Under 750 (Elementary School JV): Ben Laufer (722) and Sean Blume (unrated) both went undefeated (6-0) to become the co-champions. Ilia Talalai (670) also went undefeated, but had a draw in round 4 to get 5.5 and third place. St. Marks of San Rafael, who tied with Weibel last year, had a clear victory this year with a strong 20 points. The Berkeley Chess School defeated Chess For Juniors in the club competition 19.5 to 15.

K-3 Championship (Primary School): Alexander Setzepfandt (1236), one of last yearâs Primary School Junior Varsity champions, became the 1999 California Chess Primary School Champion winning all five of his games. Michael Cambareri (1220) and David Serbin (882) tied for second with 4.5-.5. Weibel Elementary School of Fremont defeated Mission San Jose Elementary School of Fremont 12 to 8 to tie the all time wins in this division 4 to 4. The Berkeley Chess School defeated the Newport Beach Chess Club 17 to 13.5 to obtain the club trophy.

K-3 Under 600 (Primary School JV): Three players won all five of their games in this divisionöJessica Hsueh (unrated), Hans Tsai (unrated) and Elliott Jardin (unrated). Jessica and Hans are both from Weibel and their 10 points helped their school team win this division with 18 points over Argonaut Elementary School of Saratoga (13.5 points). The Berkeley Chess School defeated Chess for Juniors 16 to 13.5 for the club trophy.

Kindergarten: Twenty-six kindergarten and pre-schoolers showed their maturity during five rounds of chess and they all received trophies. In his first tournament ever, Tau Jeng of Fremont, drew Tony Chen (917) from Salt Lake City, Utah and won first place with 4.5-.5. Sean Bowe (839), Tatsuro Yamamura (620) and Alan Hwang (unrated) tied for second place with 4-1. There is no team trophy in the Kindergarten Division. Only one school fielded enough players to constitute a team, in any case. Weibel Elementary School with eight kindergarten competitors seemed to be ready for next yearâs team competitions.

I hope you will join us in 2000 on April 8-9 at the Santa Clara Convention Center to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the California Chess State Scholastic Championships.

Read about the 1998 California Chess State Scholastics.

A few of Richard Shorman's photos from the 1999 championships. Click on the photo to view an enlarged version.

Allan Fifield, Chief TD for the 1999 CalChess State Scholastics.	Jessica Matto, Ass't TD in Kindergarten, between rounds	A player contemplates her next move	TD Bonnie Yost checks over a game.
Who is happier--Alex Setzepfandt or his mom?		Senior Master Vinay Bhat wins his second High School Championship.	Elizabeth Shaughnessy and her daughter enjoy the many victories of the Berkeley Chess School children.