Sacramento Team Championship Round 4

The Sacramento Chess Club Team Championship is the most popular event of the year, attracting some players on Wednesday nights who play in few other local tournaments. This year, there are eight teams of 6 players (plus 3 alternates) with an average rating under 1750 each week. The teams play a round-robin over seven weeks from February 4 until March 18.

The list of top board players is impressive: masters Zoran Lazetich, James MacFarland, Steven Ross, Jimmy Heiserman and your blogger are joined by three others rated above 2000. It is special to see so many of the active chess players in the Sacramento region turn out for this tournament.

After four rounds, two teams have separated themselves from the field. The UC Davis Knights are 4-0 with NM Heiserman and three other players rated over 1800. However, the strength of the Knights lies on the bottom boards, where they field several unrated players. Jamshid Alamehzadeh's B-Nam team trails close behind at 3.5-0.5, featuring NM MacFarland and two 1900s. Tied for third place at 2-2, but unfortunately well out of contention, are Elk Grove (my team) and Warriors (Joe Birt's team with NM Ross).

TEAM STANDINGS (after round 4)

1. UC Davis Knights 4.0 MP, 18.5 GP
2. B-Nam 3.5 MP, 14.5 GP
3. Elk Grove 2.0 MP, 14.5 GP
4. Warriors 2.0 MP, 14.0 GP
5. UC Davis Bishops 1.5 MP, 11.0 GP
6. Zoka Zoki Academy 1.0 MP, 9.0 GP
7. King Hunters 1.0 MP, 7.5 GP
8. Daze Knights 1.0 MP, 5.0 GP