Mark Diesen

     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.

[Event "US Open, Ventura CA"] [Site ""] [Date "1971.08.17"] [Round "9"] [White "Max Burkett"] [Black "Mark Diesen"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C17"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "1971.??.??"] {C17: French Defense, Winawer Variation} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 {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. Qg4 {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!} Ne7 6. dxc5 (6. Qxg7 {is inadvisable as black gets a slight advantage after} Rg8 7. Qxh7 {Or 7.Qh6} cxd4 8. a3 Qa5 {with the better game. White's best continuation is} 9. axb4 Qxa1 10. Nce2 Nbc6 {and black is better.}) 6... Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 Ng6 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Bb5 Bd7 {White is better.} 10. Bxc6 Bxc6 11. O-O Qc7 12. Re1 O-O-O {Risky play. 12...Qa5 is safer.} 13. Rb1 ( 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. Nxd4 Nxe5 15. Qg3 Ng6 16. Qxc7+ Kxc7 17. h5 Ne7 18. Bf4+ {White is better and went on to win.}) 13... Kb8 14. Bg5 Rdf8 {Intending 15...f6} 15. Qd4 h6 (15... f6 {After white's last move this doesn't work.} 16. exf6 gxf6 17. Bxf6 Rhg8 18. Be5) 16. Bh4 Rfg8 {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. Bg3 (17. Rb3 {renders black's plan innocuous.} Nf8 (17... Ne7 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Reb1 {with a decisive advantage.}) 18. Reb1 g5 19. Bg3 h5 20. h4 {White is in no real danger.}) 17... Ne7 18. Qb4 g5 19. Nd4 h5 20. f3 g4 {Black's attack looks much more dangerous than it actually is.} 21. Bh4 Ka8 ( 21... Rg7 {This is a pass to show why 21...Ka8 was necessary.} 22. Bxe7 Qxe7 23. Nxc6+) (21... gxf3 {also fails.} 22. Bxe7 Rxg2+ 23. Kh1 Ka8 24. Bd6 { and white is a piece up}) 22. Bxe7 Qxe7 23. f4 {Keeping the K-side closed.} g3 24. h3 Rc8 25. Re3 {This is not bad, but white would have done better to double Rs on the b-file with 25.Rb3} Rhg8 26. Nb3 {This passive move lets his advantage slip.} (26. f5 {going over to the attack would have served white quite well!} Rcf8 (26... exf5 27. Nxf5 Qe6 28. Rf1 Rcf8 29. Qf4 Bb5 30. Nd4 Qe8 31. Rff3 Bd7 32. Rxg3 {with what should prove to be a decisive advantage.}) 27. Rf1 Rc8 {Marking time is the real plan black has, but white just keep i, proving his position.} 28. fxe6 fxe6 29. Rf6 Rgf8 30. Ref3 Rb8 31. Rxf8 Rxf8 32. Rxg3 {etc.}) 26... Be8 27. Na5 {Fortunately for black he can ignore this attack on b7.} Rxc5 {Hoping for ...Rb5.} 28. Nxb7 {This is a game ending mistake!} (28. Qxb7+ Qxb7 29. Nxb7 Rc7 30. Nd6 {and the game can continue indefinitely.}) 28... Rb5 $19 {Refuting white's last move.} 29. Qxb5 Bxb5 30. Rxb5 Rb8 31. Nd6 Rxb5 32. Nxb5 Qb7 {White resigned.} 0-1