2017 California's Women's State Chess Championship

After a long debate about whether to participate in the California's Women's State Championship or not, my desire to defend my title from the previous year was inevitable. Due to the overwhelming schoolwork, I wasn't playing active chess in 2016 and 2017. However, having participated in the US Amateur team west championship tournament a month prior to this event helped me to take some rust off and gain more confidence. Luckily, I was able to score 5.5/6 to win the tournament and defend my title.  Read more about my 2016 women's championship experience: https://uyangabyambaa.blogspot.com/2016/

Become the Back to back California's Women's State Chess Champion! March, 2017

Thank you Elizabeth Shaughnessy for organizing this wonderful event and giving out a generous prize fund!

Tournament Trophy with the name of the winner engraved

Studying some tactics before the event....

Result:

Pair | Player Name                     |Total|Round|Round|Round|Round|Round| 
 Num  | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post)       | Pts |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  | 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    1 | UYANGA BYAMBAA                  |4.5  |W  11|D   3|W   7|W   2|W   6|
   CA | 14271351 / R: 2218   ->2232     |N:C  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    2 | NATALYA TSODIKOVA               |4.0  |W  22|W  13|W   6|L   1|W   3|
   CA | 12634942 / R: 2197   ->2204     |N:C  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    3 | SAIKHANCHIMEG TSOGTSAIKHAN      |3.5  |W  15|D   1|W   5|W   4|L   2|
   CA | 16309084 / R: 2067P11->2087P16  |N:1  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    4 | RUI YANG YAN                    |3.5  |H    |W  21|W   8|L   3|W  13|
   CA | 15462690 / R: 1886   ->1894     |N:2  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    5 | LAUREN GOODKIND                 |3.5  |X    |W  19|L   3|D  13|W   9|
   CA | 12778910 / R: 1858   ->1849     |N:3  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    6 | TSEGMED MUNKHCHULUUN            |3.0  |W  20|W   9|L   2|W  10|L   1|
   CA | 16231142 / R: 2159P17->2132P22  |N:2  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    7 | SIMONA NAYBERG                  |3.0  |H    |W  12|L   1|W  20|D   8|
   CA | 14373224 / R: 1806   ->1822     |N:2  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    8 | BARBARA GOODKIND                |3.0  |W  16|D  20|L   4|W  12|D   7|
   CA | 12778604 / R: 1800   ->1795     |N:3  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    9 | JESSICA T LAUSER                |3.0  |W  23|L   6|W  15|W  16|L   5|
   KY | 12593821 / R: 1649   ->1641     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   10 | ELIZABETH SHAUGHNESSY           |3.0  |W  17|W  14|H    |L   6|H    |
   CA | 12254060 / R: 1528   ->1529     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   11 | BRENDA K MUNOZ                  |3.0  |L   1|L  17|W  14|W  15|W  16|
   CA | 13986033 / R: 1160   ->1154     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12 | KIMBERLY LIU                    |2.5  |H    |L   7|W  21|L   8|W  20|
   CA | 14268494 / R: 1842   ->1814     |N:4  |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   13 | TING LIANG                      |2.5  |W  18|L   2|W  17|D   5|L   4|
   CA | 12780639 / R: 1576   ->1582     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   14 | JACKIE COWGILL                  |2.5  |H    |L  10|L  11|W  23|W  17|
   CA | 14105570 / R:  950   -> 947     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   15 | FIANNA PAULINE MCCARTY-SNEAD    |2.0  |L   3|W  18|L   9|L  11|W  21|
   CA | 14948296 / R: 1000   ->1028     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   16 | ANA HATARIK                     |2.0  |L   8|W  23|W  19|L   9|L  11|
   CA | 15375065 / R:  949P13-> 939P18  |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   17 | TALLULAH ANTOI MCCARTY-SNEAD    |2.0  |L  10|W  11|L  13|W  25|L  14|
   CA | 14948301 / R:  626   -> 694     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   18 | CONSTANCE BRAND                 |2.0  |L  13|L  15|W  23|W  24|U    |
   CA | 16334238 / R: Unrated-> 662P4   |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   19 | VICTORIA ACOSTA-FEREZI          |2.0  |W  25|L   5|L  16|H    |H    |
   CA | 16121037 / R:  382P19-> 391P22  |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   20 | ENKHJIN ERDENEBILEG             |1.0  |L   6|D   8|H    |L   7|L  12|
   CA | 15616172 / R: 1446   ->1453     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   21 | RENATE OTTERBACH                |1.0  |H    |L   4|L  12|H    |L  15|
   CA | 14565208 / R: 1237   ->1199     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   22 | NATALIE BALDACCI                |1.0  |L   2|H    |H    |U    |U    |
   CA | 13115670 / R: 1132   ->1132     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   23 | MEDHA MUKHERJEE                 |1.0  |L   9|L  16|L  18|L  14|W  24|
   CA | 14774103 / R:  165P24-> 187     |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   24 | SARAH MCCARTY-SNEAD             |1.0  |H    |H    |U    |L  18|L  23|
   CA | 16025886 / R:  362P2 -> 100P4   |     |     |     |     |     |     |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
   25 | TERESA PROVENZANO               |1.0  |L  19|H    |H    |L  17|U    |
   CA | 16343473 / R: Unrated-> 100P2   |     |     |     |     |     | 

US Amateur Team Chess Championship

US Amateur Team Championship West (USATW) is one of my favorite tournaments of all times! It is very unique in a way that the winners are determined by the score of the entire team. Team tournaments are simply so much fun! Every USAT was so memorable for me. With three times I participated with different teams, we won the top female prize, top college prize and a big victory of winning the whole tournament and obtained the National Title.

• 2013 USATW,  played for board 3 -  Our team won the entire tournament after defeating Princeton University in the playoff!
• 2014 USATW, played for board 1 - I formed all girls team with my female students and we won the top female team prize!
• 2017 USATW, played for board 2 - I formed a college team from UC Berkeley and we won the top college team prize!

2017 US Amateur Team Championship West   

Despite the intense coursework at Cal, I decided to form a team at the US Amateur Team Championship West in Santa Clara, CA to represent the school.

at Cal vs UCLA game, 2016

Find results here: https://www.bayareachess.com/events/17/0218sp/

Although our team average rating wasn't that high, we overperformed and tied for 4th place overall including winning the top college team prize! Congratulations to all our wonderful team members!

Team "Golden Bears"

Playing on board 2

Our Team /from left/ : Max, Daniel, Ganesh, Uyanga and Ata

Well done! Go Bears!

2013 US Amateur Team Championship: Norcal House of Chess Kings and Queen wins the National title!
 

The champion watch!

Our victory was an incredible journey. First, we won the US Amateur Team West tournament to qualify in the semi-final. 

Team "Norcal House of Chess Kings and Queen"

The Queen of " the Norcal house of chess Kings and Queen"

Yes, we did it! Won the West championship and qualified for the playoff!

Read more: http://www.uschess.org/content/view/12101/221/

After winning the semi-final match, we faced against team from Princeton University in the final playoff.

playing our playoff match!

US Chess Life Magazine, August 2013 issue features us!

Congratulations Norcal House of Chess Kings and Queen for the winning the US Amateur National Chess Championship! Well done! 

2015 US Chess League, San Francisco Mechanics

Fall 2015 was incredible. I was playing the best chess of my life at that time, partly because I was off from school. It was a free semester for me since I was going to start Berkeley in spring 2016. An academic free environment gave me an opportunity to focus solely on my chess. I was winning all tournaments I entered and my rating reached its peak. I was very motivated to break 2300 USCF.

American Open during Thanksgiving weekend, LA

In addition, this was my last season to play in US Chess League team (USCL ), representing San Francisco Mechanics Chess Club. Read about my previous post about USCL: https://uyangabyambaa.blogspot.com/2012/04/san-francisco-mechanics-uscl-united.html

2015 Roster (March Rating List)

1.	GM Daniel Naroditsky	2712
2.	GM Vinay Bhat	2570
3.	IM David Pruess	2416
4.	IM John Donaldson	2411
5.	FM Cameron Wheeler	2391
6.	FM Andy Lee	2378
7.	FM James Critelli	2376
8.	FM Vignesh Panchanatham	2344
9.	NM Siddharth Banik	2243
10.	FM Rayan Taghizadeh	2224
11.	WFM Uyanga Byambaa	2168

• Manager: John Donaldson
• Assistant Manager: Payam Afkham-Ebrahimi

 http://uschessleague.com/player.php?p=uyanga-byambaa


See games: Week 2 http://uschessleague.com/games2015/costellobyambaa15.html
Week 4: http://uschessleague.com/games2015/byambaadurham15.html
Week 8: http://uschessleague.com/games2015/byambaahe15.html
Wildcard Round: http://uschessleague.com/games2015/byambaatiglon15.html
Quarterfinals:  http://uschessleague.com/games2015/byambaasanchez15.html

It was a successful last season. I was very happy with my overall performance and contribution to the team.

John Donaldson wrote in Mechanics Newsletter:

"The Mechanics’ 2015 US Chess League run was ended last Tuesday night in the quarter-finals when they were defeated by Western Division top seed Dallas by a score of 2½-1½. Uyanga Byambaa won for the M.I. on board four, defeating her opponent in 22 moves. This was Uyanga’s second playoff win and she finished the season with a 3½-1½ score, good for a 2343 performance rating.

Uyanga was also the winner of the 44th Annual Carroll Capps Memorial. She defeated International Master Vladimir Mezentsev and drew with National Master Siddarth Banik, finishing with a score of 5½-½. Mezentsev was second at 5-1 with Banik third at 4½.

This performance brought Uyanga’s rating to a personal best of 2275, which makes her the top-rated female in the Bay Area, ahead of Woman Grandmaster Nadiya Ortiz (2243), National Master Asritha Eswaran (2239) and Natalya Tsodikova (2164)."

At the same weekend, I entered  two day tournament at Mechanics, 44th Carroll Capps Memorial. After defeating International Master Mezentsev, I secured a first place.

The publication of CalChess, Northern California’s US Chess Federation affiliate

Winter 2016:

The 44th Carroll Capps Memorial Tournament

October 7th & 8th, 2015 Prize Winners:
1st Place: Byambaa – $250.00
2nd Place: Mezentsev – $160.00
Tied for Best under 2200, Best Under 2000, and Best Under 1800: K. Padmanabhan, Melville, Viswanathan, and Acharya – $59.25 each
Tied for Best under 1600 and Best under 1400: Jiang, Lingannagari, and N. Ayinala – $51.00 each

#	Name	Rtng	Post	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Tot
1	Uyanga Byambaa	2267	2292	W18	W12	W2	D3	W11	W4	5.5
2	Vladimi Mezentsev	2449	2445	W21	W17	L1	W5	W3	W9	5.0
3	Siddharth G Banik	2261	2267	W19	W13	W8	D1	L2	W11	4.5
4	Karthik Padmanabhan	2040	2051	H---	W15	D9	W6	W17	L1	4.0
5	Cailen J Melville	1801	1810	L15	W24	W18	L2	W20	W8	4.0
6	Arul Viswanathan	1796	1810	W26	L8	W14	L4	W18	W13	4.0
7	Venkatagi Acharya	1684	1762	W31	D9	W17	L11	H---	W22	4.0
8	Derek C Slater	2143	2123	W20	W6	L3	W12	D9	L5	3.5
9	Steven Gaffagan	2066	2061	W14	D7	D4	W13	D8	L2	3.5
10	Akshay Padmanabhan	1999	1989	H---	W22	L11	W15	H---	H---	3.5
11	Ashik Uzzaman	1989	1999	H---	W23	W10	W7	L1	L3	3.5
12	Rico Adkins	1810	1809	W25	L1	W19	L8	H---	H---	3.0
13	Kevin F Dooley	1785	1769	W27	L3	W20	L9	W16	L6	3.0
14	Nicholas Jiang	1376	1431	L9	W16	L6	W23	H---	H---	3.0
15	Arnav Lingannagari	1332	1466	W5	L4	W21	L10	H---	H---	3.0
16	Nihar Ayinala	1066	1216	U---	L14	W26	W25	L13	W27	3.0
17	Nikunj C Oza	2000	1970	W24	L2	L7	W19	L4	H---	2.5
18	Andy Xiong	1578	1577	L1	W26	L5	W22	L6	D19	2.5
19	Ethan Boldi	1498	1501	L3	W27	L12	L17	W26	D18	2.5
20	Mateo Step Hansen	1388	1419	L8	W31	L13	W21	L5	H---	2.5
21	Bruce Ricard	1598	1550	L2	W25	L15	L20	H---	H---	2.0
22	Shree Ayinala	1572	1545	H---	L10	D23	L18	W24	L7	2.0
23	Ashleann Chen	1494	1469	H---	L11	D22	L14	H---	H---	2.0
24	Agnes Zhiyi Wang	1366	1352	L17	L5	W27	L28	L22	W29	2.0
25	Ethan Cheng	1337	1296	L12	L21	W31	L16	H---	H---	2.0
26	Ahyan Zaman	1137	1126	L6	L18	L16	W30	L19	W31	2.0
27	Renate Otterbach	1101	1076	L13	L19	L24	W31	H---	L16	1.5
28	Guy R Robertson	1453	1475	U---	U---	U---	W24	U---	U---	1.0
29	Sankar Ayinala	1121	1117	U---	U---	U---	U---	W31	L24	1.0
30	Vasan Padmanabhan	970	951	U---	U---	U---	L26	U---	U---	0.0
31	Nicholas Boldi	820	791	L7	L20	L25	L27	L29	L26	0.0

One of my favorite games with Evan's Gambit!

NM Uyanga Byambaa (2190) vs WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia (2292)

2015 Reno Larry Evans Memorial Open, Reno NV

One of my favorite games with Fried Liver Attack!

NM Uyanga Byambaa vs NM Robert Hatarik

2014 US Amateur Team Championship West, Santa Clara, CA