3rd Imre Konig Memorial Coming Up
Thanks to the generosity of Tibor Weinberger, the Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club of San Francisco will be holding the Third Imre Konig Memorial on September 22-23. The event, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the death of International Master Konig, the first top-rate player to reside in San Francisco, will be held as a seven-player round-robin, featuring a rapid chess time control of Game in 25 minutes, with a 15-second increment from move one.
The invited players consist of the top six rated players from the Bay Area—Grandmasters Sam Shankland, Nick de Firmian, Vinay Bhat, Jesse Kraai and Walter Browne, and International Master Daniel Naroditsky.
The last player, Grandmaster Emil Anka of Hungary, pays respect to Konig’s ancestry as an international cosmopolitan who was born in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Kula, in today’s Serbia.
Konig studied in Vienna and improved his game in its chess cafe milieu, being particularly influenced by Richard Reti. Like the Czech, he earned a reputation as a fine author with his Chess from Morphy to Botvinnik: A Century of Chess Evolution serving as a useful instructional guide to several generations of chess players.
Konig was not only a fine writer, but also an excellent player, who twice represented Yugoslavia in Chess Olympiads. He is fondly remembered by Mechanics’ old-timers for his Old World courtliness and generosity of spirit in sharing his chess wisdom. The Mechanics’ Institute is honored to pay tribute to his memory.
Nuts and Bolts:
The 3rd Imre Konig Memorial - honoring the 20th anniversary of his passing.
Confirmed Participants
1. GM Emil Anka
2. GM Vinay Bhat
3. GM Walter Browne
4. GM Nick de Firmian
5. GM Jesse Kraai
6. IM Daniel Naroditsky
7. GM Sam Shankland
Prizes: 1. $2000 2. $1500 3. $1000 4. $900 5. $800 6. $700 7. $600
Time Control: Game in 30 minutes plus a 15 second increment starting from the beginning of the game,
i.e. a 60 move game will give you 45 minutes of thinking time and a 30 minute break between rounds.
Round Times: September 22 (Saturday) 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm; September 23 (Sunday) 10am, noon, 2pm
Prize Ceremony: Sunday 4pm
Players will be expected to keep score until they have less than five minutes on their clock and which point they may stop - even if they later go back over 5 minutes due to the increment.
This event is not FIDE or USCF rated.
Games will be broadcast on Chess.com, in live chess. There will also be live analysis onsite on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday only, this commentary will be viewable online here. Following the model of the London Chess Classic we have chosen seven players giving one bye each round. The person who is free will provide commentary, along with IMs Pruess and Donaldson. The idea behind this event is to host a fun but competitive tournament that will honor the late IM Konig and be spectator friendly.
The 3rd Imre Konig Memorial - honoring the 20th anniversary of his passing.
Confirmed Participants
1. GM Emil Anka
2. GM Vinay Bhat
3. GM Walter Browne
4. GM Nick de Firmian
5. GM Jesse Kraai
6. IM Daniel Naroditsky
7. GM Sam Shankland
Prizes: 1. $2000 2. $1500 3. $1000 4. $900 5. $800 6. $700 7. $600
Time Control: Game in 30 minutes plus a 15 second increment starting from the beginning of the game,
i.e. a 60 move game will give you 45 minutes of thinking time and a 30 minute break between rounds.
Round Times: September 22 (Saturday) 10am, noon, 2pm, 4pm; September 23 (Sunday) 10am, noon, 2pm
Prize Ceremony: Sunday 4pm
Players will be expected to keep score until they have less than five minutes on their clock and which point they may stop - even if they later go back over 5 minutes due to the increment.
This event is not FIDE or USCF rated.
Games will be broadcast on Chess.com, in live chess. There will also be live analysis onsite on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday only, this commentary will be viewable online here. Following the model of the London Chess Classic we have chosen seven players giving one bye each round. The person who is free will provide commentary, along with IMs Pruess and Donaldson. The idea behind this event is to host a fun but competitive tournament that will honor the late IM Konig and be spectator friendly.
There will be light refreshments served throughout the event.
Players are expected to be present at 9:30 am on September 22 for the drawing of lots and group photo.
Players are expected to be present at 9:30 am on September 22 for the drawing of lots and group photo.