Nevada Chess, Inc.

After having organized, directed, and played in hundreds of chess tournaments in more than 3 decades, I thought that I had seen just about every type of chess tournament. But I was wrong. The chess tournament at the first US Mind Sports Festival was like no other tournament that I have ever seen. Imagine playing in a chess tournament amidst other gamers playing a variety of strategy games. That is exactly what happened July 5-7 at the luxurious Palazzo hotel and casino in Las Vegas. The chess tournament was held in the center of the Lando ballroom, and we were literally surrounded by a Go tournament, a scrabble tournament, a mahjong tournament, and a Magic the Gathering tournament.

The chess began on Friday morning with a free simultaneous exhibition by chess expert Virgilio Reyes. It is impossible to say how many players Virgilio faced. Whenever a game finished, Virgilio graciously allowed a new player to take a seat and play. The exhibition lasted for several hours, but Virgilio did not lose a single game.

The main tournament was a five round swiss held in four sections. The players in the open section competed for cash prizes and a very unusual trophy: an artistic four level chess board. There were two titled players in the open section: FMs Tom Brownscombe and Nachum Salman. But by the end of round three, both masters had suffered an upset. So on Sunday morning experts Glenn Bidari and Jeffrey Gallegos battled for the tournament lead. Gallegos won a pawn, but Bidari had excellent compensation. But the compensation wasn’t good enough, and Gallegos secured the win. Gallegos and Bidari both won in the final round, leaving Bidari in clear second place with 4 points. And Jeffrey Gallegos won the trophy and the first place prize money with a score of 4.5.

Alex Stiger, rated only 1549, won the under 1800 section. And she did it despite starting the tournament with a half point bye in round one. She followed up her swiss gambit with four straight wins to take clear first place with 4.5 points. Michelangelo Barozzi and William Wijaya tied for second place in the under 1800 section with 4 points each. In the under 1400 section, Robert Lucero proved that chess coaches can also be successful competitors. Lucero, who is a high school chess coach, won the under 1400 section with 4.5 points. And Anthony McCarthy secured clear second place in the under 1400 section with 4 points. Paul Ventura won the under 1000 section with the tournament’s only perfect 5-0 score, and Karl Ulbrich earned clear second place in the under 1000 section with 4 points.

Of course, a tournament report is only written after the tournament is over. But even though the tournament is over, you haven’t missed all the action. The tournament sponsors provided live internet coverage of the event throughout the weekend. And you can find that coverage recorded on You Tube.  The featured game from round one can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glf2rj3om0Y, and the featured game from round 4 can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpJvcD_oM1g.

On behalf of all of the chess players who participated in the First US Mind Sports chess tournament, I would like to thank the tournament sponsors: 888 poker. Juan Jauregui of the Las Vegas Chess Club organized the tournament. Tom Brownscombe and Juan Jauregui served as the tournament directors. The sponsors were so pleased with the event that they plan to hold another one December 7&8. I will definitely be there, and I hope to see you there as well.

Tom Brownscombe

National Open 2013
With the 2013 National Open in the books, it is time for a small report on the performance of our local players. We had some big performances, and some even had a chance to play against some titled players.

On Thursday, June 6, there were two events. First, the simultaneous exhibition with GM Alexander Lenderman, last year’s National Open champion. In this event, our local players Jeff Gallegos, Stephen Barbre, Scott Raymond, and Karl Ulbrich participated, with Mr. Gallegos managing to score a draw.

The second Thursday event was the National Open Game in 10. The really nice part about this event is the opportunity of playing against titled players. Three of our local players participated: Ryan Phillips, Chad Badgett, and Royce Pereira.

Ryan’s performance was the most impressive. He scored 5 points in 8 games, and was tied for first on the U2100 prize. He would have most likely be the sole first place, but for a Fide Master forfeiting his last game, and thus allowing another player to tie Ryan. Also of note is that, Ryan played against not one, but two International Masters.

On the other hand, Chad played Israeli GM Victor Mikhalevski on the first round, and Royce played former U-12 World Champion, IM Daniel Naroditsky.

On the main event, we also had the participation of several local players. On the U2200 section, Jeff Gallegos, finished with 4 points out of 6. He tied 10th place to 14th, and earned a $97 prize. Also on the U2200 was Stephen Barbre, who scored 3.5 points out of 6.

The U2000 section had the biggest number of our local players. The best performance (again) came from Ryan Phillips. Ryan went undefeated, and scored 4.5 out of 6 points, good for a share of 7th to 12th place. For his performance, he earned a $234 prize.

Other players included, Jose Ramirez with 4 out of 6, shared 13th – 15th place, and a $40 prize; Francisco Vela, Todd Imada, and Cameron Patterson with a positive score of 3.5 out of 6. Scott Raymond also participated in this section.

On the U1800 section, we had John Paul Baligad, (Juan’s son), with 5 out of 6 points. This was good for a share of 3rd – 9th place, and a $400 prize. Participants also included Jonathan Zavala with 4.5 points, Rick Holden, and Neil Banerji, who scored a respectable 2.5 points while playing up a section.

On the U1600 section, we had Chris Reynolds with 4 points, Vivan Liu, Jonathan Mikolic with 3.5 points, Elliot Moskow, and Yoseph Debesai, who like Neil, played a section up.

On the U1400 section, local player Rocky Watson scored an even 3 out of 6, and so did Karl Ulbrich on the U1200 section.

In addition to the Game in 10, and the main event, local players also participated in other side events.On Saturday night, June 8, there was a Blitz sectional event. The 60 participants were divided in 5 sections, based on their highest rating.

On Section “A”, the highest in rating, included two Fide Masters, and a Woman Fide Master. Three local players participated. Patrick Lacey scored 9 out of 12 points, good for 3rd place. Paul Heinrich, and Hugo Santiago had even scores with 6 out of 12 points.

On the Section “C”, Royce Pereira was the winner with 10 out of 11 points.

The last event the Blitz Open, and U1900. This event took place on Sunday night, right after the main event.

On the Open section, local players Paul Heinrich scored a positive 8 points out of 14. Two of those games were against none other than the number 39 player in world Wesley So. Also in the Open section was Ryan Phillips, who also played IM Daniel Naroditsky.

In the U1900 section, local players Chad Badgett, and Royce Pereira fared quite well. There were 35 players in this section, and Chad came in 3rd place with 10 points out of 14, and Royce in 4th place with 9.5.

While the 2013 National Open is now over, do not forget that another big tournament is coming up. The Las Vegas Mind Sports International Festival will be held at the Palazzo Hotel on July 5 – July 7, and the Vegas Chess Club will organize the chess tournament.
By Liceu Pereira