U.S. AMATEUR TEAM

The 16th annual U.S. Amateur Team Championship West, held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles last weekend, produced its closest finish ever as four teams tied for first. All four racked up 5-1 scores, winning four matches and tying two. By a mere 1/4 tiebreak point, “Censure Countergambit” (Robert Hurdle, John Wilson, Sharon Burtman, John Williams and Robert Bryan) claimed the top prize.

The core of the team had competed in the USAT West for the last 10 years, often contending but never winning. This year, their balanced lineup of two masters and three experts edged a bevy of “stacked” teams. They will represent the West in the telephone playoff, scheduled March 27-28, against the winners of the USAT East, South and MidWest regionals for the title of 1999 U.S. Amateur Team champions.

“Who’s on First, Watson Second” (state co-champion Cyrus Lakdawala, IM John Watson, Mike Nagaran, Art Gramata and James Mahooti) finished second. “Impeachable Defenses” (Valdis Saulespurens, Joey Waxman, Eric Ferguson and Randy Higa) took third, and “Off My Knight” (state co-champion Levon Altounian, Andrew Krasnov, Karl Yee and Eric Lorber) settled for fourth.

Richard Borgen of “Mars Attacks” scored 5 1/2- 1/2, yielding a draw only to GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, to win the Board One prize. Other individual stars were Gregg Niemi of “Men in Black,” 5 1/2- 1/2 on Board Two; Robert Richard of “Three Masters and a Ringer,” 5 1/2- 1/2 on Board Three; Ed Townsend of “Three Masters and a Ringer” and Bruce Weiner of “Pro-fessors of Chess,” each 6-0 on Board Four; and Elsagov Shaham of “Gufeld Chess Academy,” 4 1/2-1 1/2 as best alternate.

The tournament owes much of its charm to the silly team names and costumes chosen by some teams. “Three Amigos . . . and a Gringo” (Gary Hill, Pablo Macias, Jacob Gonzalez and Miguel Fernandez) won a special prize for their colorful sombreros. Unfortunately, this was an off year for witty team names. I think that “When Euwe Bishop on a Star” won mostly because it did not refer to Monica Lewinsky.

For the second straight year, the sponsoring Southern California Chess Federation suffered a financial loss. Although the USAT offers no cash prizes, the SCCF must pay for hotel rental, tournament directors’ fees and publicity expenses. The turnout of 59 teams (252 players), identical to the 1998 disaster, fell at least $1,500 short of breaking even. The dropoff in attendance followed many years of steady growth and three straight years with more than 80 teams.

The Scholastic Amateur Team Championship, in only its second year, succeeded in attracting 21 teams. “AAA Bishops,” (Grigor Karoglanyan, Aleksan Maymaryan, Edgar Zardanyan and Arutyun Arzoumanian), a team from Nshan Keshishian’s All American Assn., scored an impressive 5 1/2- 1/2 to earn top team honors. Max Landaw achieved the best individual result, scoring a perfect 6-0 on Board One.

LOCAL NEWS

The Wilshire Chess Society will run its monthly tournament Feb. 28 in the Community Room (third floor, near the food court) of the Westside Pavilion, Pico at Overland in Los Angeles. Each entrant plays three 45-minute games against similarly rated opponents. Register at the site at 10 a.m., or call Michael Jeffreys at (310) 473-6291.

Vanessa West scored a perfect 5-0 to win the rated section of the St. Irenaeus Spring Scholastic Feb. 13 in Cypress. Enddy Dumbrique and Derek Kleve tied for second place at 4-1. In the non-rated section, Chris Weidel (grades 6-8), Leanne Watson (grades 4-5) and Melinda West (grades 2-3) took top prizes. Joe Hanley directed the 36-player tournament.

The 10th annual Mountain Team Chess Challenge begins its season March 24. The event features weekly matches between teams representing Crestline, Running Springs and Lake Arrowhead. To join a team, call Don La Suer at (909) 867-4994 or at (909) 867-2698.