IM Mark Diesen was born in Buffalo, New York on September 16, 1957 and passed away at the age of 51 in Conroe, Texas on December 9, 2008.
He was awarded his IM title in 1976 after winning the World Junior Championship ahead of such noted players as Lubomir Ftacnik and and Oleg Romanishin. He was also the Louisiana State Champion in 1986, 1987 and 1988.
His father, Carl Diesen, was a strong tournament player in the mid-1940s, which resulted in strong family support for Mark's chess career.
Diesen was a student of Grandmaster Lubosh Kavalek who, at the time, was one of the top-rated GM’s in the world. Diesen was a player with a positional style that made him a difficult opponent to face for even the most experienced IMs and GMs. Among the top players he defeated in his short career were Larry Evans, Borislav Ivkov, John Nunn and Eugenio Torre.
Diesen’s only appearance in the US Championship was in 1980, but he had to withdraw after three rounds.
He was well on his way to becoming Grandmaster when in 1980 he began having drug problems. To his credit he overcame the problem and completed his college education. He was to return to chess off and on, but never seriously.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, he had a degree in Chemical Engineering and after abandoning chess he worked as a reservoir engineer for Shell Oil, Pennzoil and Noble Energy. He was married with three daughters.
His opponent in the following game from the 1971 US Open that was held in Ventura, California was Max Burkett who won the New Mexico State Championship in 1960, 1961, and 1963. In 1960, he won the New Mexico Open.
In the 1971 US Open, Walter Browne and La y Evans tied with 10 out of 12. According to tradition they were co-champions although Browne had the better tie-breaking points.
Burkeyy finished with a 6-6 score and tied for places 165-208 (out of 402). Diesen score 7.5-4.5 and finished in places 54-86.
The game is well played, but not flashy and it shows the kind of chess ordinary players are capable of.
On the March 1971, annual USCF rating list Burkett was an Expert (2106) while Diesen at 1816 was a class behind (Class A). On the 1972 USCF annual rating list Burkett's rating had slipped and was 1943 (Class A) while Diesen's had risen to 2056 (Expert).
You can view a 130 page pdf booklet by Jack Spence on the tournament HERE.
Max Burkett–Mark Diesen0–1C17US Open, Ventura CA917.08.1971Stockfish 16
C17: French Defense, Winawer Variation 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.c3 b4 Named
after Szymon Winawer, this move was pioneered by Nimzovich and, especially,
Botvinnik beginning in the 1940s. By pinning the N, white is forced to resolve
the central tension. White normally clarifies the situation for the moment
with 4.e5, gaining space and hoping to show that black's B is misplaced. 4.e5 c5 5.g4 The main line is 5.a3. The text is rarely played, but it is one of
the most tactically complicated lines in the Winawer...one wrong move can lead
to instant disaster! e7 6.dxc5 6.xg7 is inadvisable as black gets a
slight advantage after g8 7.xh7 Or 7.Qh6 cxd4 8.a3 a5 with the better
game. White's best continuation is 9.axb4 xa1 10.ce2 bc6 and black is
better. 6...xc3+ 7.bxc3 g6 8.f3 c6 9.b5 d7 White is better. 10.xc6 xc6 11.0-0 c7 12.e1 0-0-0 Risky play. 12...Qa5 is safer. 13.b1 13.h4 was played in Zelcic,R (2455)-Medic,M (2250) Bled 1997. The fact that
white has the option of playing on either side of the board indicates that he
has the more advantageous position. d4 14.xd4 xe5 15.g3 g6 16.xc7+ xc7 17.h5 e7 18.f4+ White is better and went on to win. 13...b8 14.g5 df8 Intending 15...f6 15.d4 h6 15...f6 After white's last move
this doesn't work. 16.exf6 gxf6 17.xf6 hg8 18.e5 16.h4 fg8 An
amazing concept. Diesen has envisaged a long plan of advancing on the K-side.
Engines don't think highly of the concept, but in practice it's going to work
out quite well! 17.g3 17.b3 renders black's plan innocuous. f8 17...e7 18.xe7 xe7 19.eb1 with a decisive advantage. 18.eb1 g5 19.g3 h5 20.h4 White is in no real danger. 17...e7 18.b4 g5 19.d4 h5 20.f3 g4 Black's attack looks much more dangerous than it actually is. 21.h4 a8 21...g7 This is a pass to show why 21...Ka8 was necessary. 22.xe7 xe7 23.xc6+ 21...gxf3 also fails. 22.xe7 xg2+ 23.h1 a8 24.d6
and white is a piece up 22.xe7 xe7 23.f4 Keeping the K-side closed. g3 24.h3 c8 25.e3 This is not bad, but white would have done better to
double Rs on the b-file with 25.Rb3 hg8 26.b3 This passive move lets his
advantage slip. 26.f5 going over to the attack would have served white
quite well! cf8 26...exf5 27.xf5 e6 28.f1 cf8 29.f4 b5 30.d4 e8 31.ff3 d7 32.xg3 with what should prove to be a decisive advantage. 27.f1 c8 Marking time is the real plan black has, but white just keep i,
proving his position. 28.fxe6 fxe6 29.f6 gf8 30.ef3 b8 31.xf8 xf8 32.xg3 etc. 26...e8 27.a5 Fortunately for black he can ignore this
attack on b7. xc5 Hoping for ...Rb5. 28.xb7 This is a game ending
mistake! 28.xb7+ xb7 29.xb7 c7 30.d6 and the game can continue
indefinitely. 28...b5-+ Refuting white's last move. 29.xb5 xb5 30.xb5 b8 31.d6 xb5 32.xb5 b7 White resigned. 0–1
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