Sunday, September 21, 2014

BCC HOSTS HARRY LYMAN MEMORIAL // 39 PLAY // BRATTAIN / ABDI SHARE 1ST // ANTON BARASH 1ST U1950 // JUNIORS IMPRESS // 7 MASTERS PLAY //

HARRY LYMAN MEMORIAL
IN 2 SECTIONS
OPEN
CRITICAL GAME
NM Farzad Abdi, white vs NM Mika Brattain, Round 2: draw!
MASSACHUSETTS STATE CHESS CHAMPION
NM Mika Brattain scored 3.5 points to share
1-2nd place with NM Farzad Abdi.
Mika was +4 to 2443 rating for his result.
(Mika is ranked No. 1 for 18&U in MA
and No. 1 for 21&U and No. 11 overall.)
NM Farzad Abdi scored 3.5 points to share
1-2nd place with Mika Brattain. Farzad was
+18 to 2274 rating for his efforts.
Farzad is ranked No. 28 overall in MA.









FM Chris Chase scored 3 points to share
3-5th place with Sage and Kavi. Chris 
was +4 to 2396 rating.  Chris is ranked 
No. 13 overall in MA.
NM Professor Timothy Sage, Physics Department, 
Northeastern University, scored 3 points to share
3-5th place and up't his rating +8 to 2227.
Professor Sage is ranked No. 34 in MA overall.
Top 14&U in MA, 13 yr old Nithin Kavi scored 3 points 
to share 3-5th place in the Open Section with Chase 
and Sage. Nithin increased his rating +16 to 2116 and
remains 10th on the MACA U21 ranking.
IM David Vigorito, winner of the Lyman Memorial in 2008 and
2009 plays black vs Ryan Sowa in Round 1.
Long-time BCC player, living in Rhode Island,  (ranked No. 8 in RI overall)
NM Ben Goldberg faces off with IM David Vigorito in Round 2.
(David is ranked No. 6 in MA overall.)
NM Chris Williams vs Brandon Wu, (No. 6 in MA U14), Round 1.
(background): NM Farzad Abdi, black vs Conway Xu (No. 7 in MA U14);
Natasha Christiansen, black vs NM Ben Goldberg
U1950
CLASSICAL TRAINING PAYS OFF
13 yr old Anton Barash (No. 29 in MA 14&U) thinks deeply 
into the position and applies his chess tactics to extract
the maximum from the position. Here, in the
Lyman Memorial, Anton was poised and focused to
face 4 opponents and win 4 games to take clear
1st place in the U1950 section and be the only player
to score a perfect 4-0. Anton pushed his rating up
+51 to 1851.
Anton Barash, black vs Paul Becotte, Round 1.
(background): William Ravn vs Greg Ardini;
Boshen Li, black vs Alan Sikarov.
Anton Barash vs Niranjan Shankar (No. 19 in MA 11&U), Round 2.
Niranjan scored 2 points for a +83 to 1496 rating. (background):
Greg Ardini vs long-time BCC player Bob Sullivan.
GESTURES OF APPRECIATION
Anton Barash plays Imran Hendley in Round 3. Imran finished
the tournament with 3 points to share 2-4th place with Terrence
Fricker, and Mike Griffin (background): Bob Sullivan vs
Richard Kahn; Will Ravn vs Alan Sikarov.
Will Ravn had the advantage of the white pieces vs Anton
Barash, but did not find a way to stop the young lad.
Will finished with 2.5 points out of 4 to share 5-8th place with
Tom Shneer, Richard Kahn and Alan Sikarov. (background):
Imran Hendley vs Niranjan Shankar.
Bob Sullivan vs Tom Shneer. Tom finished the event with 2.5
points for a piece of 5-8th and a rating boost of +76 to 1616.
Way'ta go Tom! (background): David Zhou vs Imran Hendley;
Mike Griffin vs Alon Trogan.
SURPRISE: BATTLE OF ORANGES
91 +1 yrs young Harold Dondis (ranked No. 1 for 90+ in MA) (right) 
on the move vs his pensive 8 yr old opponent David Zhou 
(ranked No. 4 in MA 8&U)The game was drawn. (background): Richard 
Kahn vs Sammi Pan; Alan Sikarov vs Anthony DiNosse, Round 2.
9 yr old Sammi Pan (No. 40 in MA 11&U and No. 5 for females; 
No. 5 in MA 9&U and No. 1 9&U females)  plays Round 2.
13 yr old Alan Sikarov (No. 30 in MA 14&U), new face at the BCC
plays in the U1950 Section.
RECREATION AT THE BCC
Pre-tournament activities: study group.
Alan Sikarov, Alon Trogan (No. 26 in MA 14&U) and Anton Barash.
SECOND STUDY GROUP
Chess promotes learning: Jason Tang, Michael Yu, 
Brandon Wu and Eric Feng check out the position
in a lightening fast structural analysis.
POST-MORTEN: ADVANTAGE I-PHONE
Lunchtime: NM Farzad Abdi discusses the position with
NM Chris Williams, holding an i-phone with a 3400 rating
chess program. (background): David Zhou, Boshen Li, Niranjan
Shankar, Imran Hendley and Mr. Shankar, Niranjan's dad,
in the Skittles Room of the Boylston Chess Club.
PHYSICS, GENETICS AND CHESS
Future scientist, 11 yr old Michael Yu, describes
the behavior of the electron clouds surrounding
an atom of uranium 235. [Or is it the chemical
structure of the microtubules of of the
cytoskeleton in cellular cytoplasm?]
THE SCIENCE OF CHESS
11 yr old Michael Yu (No. 16 in MA 14&U), with the
black pieces had a winning position on the board
by move 30 vs Nithin Kavi, in Round 1. In
post-mortem analysis of this game, it was
clear that Michael will keep in mind, Bobby
Fischer's adage: passed pawns must be
pushed, next time he has connected passers
running down the a and b files!
And of course, we all know: in chess,
timing is everything. Michael had threats on
both sides of the board each of which was lethal
to white's position. No worries, Michael is a
fast learner!
OPEN SECTION
Veteran MACA player Scott Didham tries his hand
at playing the King's Indian Defense vs MA Chess
Champion Mika Brattain in Round 1.
12 yr old Eric Feng, (No. 11 in MA 14&U) plays white vs
Mike Griffin in Round 1. Eric was 1.5 for 3 and a +18 to
1863 rating for the day's performance.
Carissa Yip (No. 1 11 yr old in MA) observes the positions in the Open
Section: NM Farzad Abdi vs Jesse Nicholas; NM Ben Goldberg vs Scott
Didham, Jason Tang vs NM Professor Sage; and Nithin Kavi vs Nathan
Smolensky in Round 3 action.
ENDGAME TIME
Ed Astrachan vs 11 yr old Brandon Wu (No. 6 in MA 14&U): draw!
U1950 SECTION ACTION
No. 1 7 yr old in MA and No.3 U8, Derek Jin plays
Paul Becotte in Round 4. Derek won this game
for 2 points overall. Paul had 1 point out of 4.
16 yr old Tom Shneer (No. 61 in MA 18&U) engages David Ferreira
in Round 2.
DETERMINATION IS PART OF THE MIX
One must never underestimate the will to win as part
of the ingredients for collecting the full point in a
tournament chess game. Here Veteran Mike Griffin's
facial expression suggests that Mike is trying to squeeze
water out of a rock. Well, Mike squeezed 3 out of 4
watery points in this tournament. Bravo, Mike!
EYES ON THE FUTURE
10 yr old Niranjan Shankar digs deeply into
the position. He is learning to calculate to
bring about tactical advantage. He will become
a chess master before his 18th birthday.

 THOUGHTFUL MAN
Veteran chess player Victor Oppenheimer, member, Harvard
Chess Club, who knew and admired Harry Lyman, came over
to the BCC just to hand over his entry-fee as a donation to the
Club.  Thank you for remembering the Harry Lyman legacy!
PARTING SHOT
NM Ben Goldberg plays black vs IM David Vigorito,
under the watchful eye of the portrait of Harry Lyman.
Harry was a man to be emulated. He would have 
enjoyed being a part of this tournament, played in his
honor, if only because of the enthusiasm of the players.
BERNARDO IGLESIAS TD
PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK

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