The Neil Falconer Blitz Tournament

The Neil Falconer Blitz Tournament was held on Sunday, July 31st at the Mechanics’ Institute of San Francisco.

The U.S. Chess Trust and the Mechanics’ Institute were co-sponsors of the event.

Mr. Falconer has been a more than generous donor to both institutions over the years.

The Trust has set aside $1,000 to hold blitz tournaments in honor of Trust donors. This was the first of what we hope to be a series of events.

The tournament had $650 in prizes and had 21 paid entries (Three International Masters had free entry fee).  It ended in a four-way tie between International Masters DeGuzman, and Donaldson, and FMs Buscara and Kotlya.

U.S. Chess Trust President, Jim Eade, had a chance to say a quick hello to Neil during the event and he confessed that he had never been a good blitz player.

“Of course,” he added, “In those days we played 10 seconds a move.” I asked him how you knew when your 10 seconds was up, and he said, “We counted!”

The time control for this event was 4 minutes with a 2 second increment.

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