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| The Fabulous 10s: Copper State International |
Copper State, Version 2!The second installment of Danny Rensch’s Copper State International was a big success, especially for norm hunters. The event was made possible by the generous support of John Lalonde and his Abstrax, Inc. playing site in Mesa, AZ. Mackenzie Molner made a 2nd GM norm with a superb score of 6/9 in the “A” group round-robin and what a bunch of games he played! In the “B” Swiss, numerous norms were made too. All the games posted here are from the Monroi website.  GM Timur Gareev (left) watches as Mackenzie Molner shows him the last round Bartholomew-Molner game that gave Mackenzie a GM norm Here’s Molner’s last round game, a romantic 19th century Evans Gambit! [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 GM Nigel Short did much to bring this opening back at top-level. Kasparov has also toyed with it. 4…Bxb4 As is well known, this gambit must be accepted. Declining gives white an edge. 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.O-O Bb6 9.cxd4 Nxd4 10.Nxd4 Bxd4 11.Nc3 Nf6 12.Bg5 c6 13.Rad1 Qe5 14.Bxf7 Kd8 15.Ne2 Bc5 16.Bf4 Qxe4 17.Qg3 Rf8 18.Nc3 Qf5 19.Rde1 d6 20.Qxg7 Nd7 21.Bg5 Kc7 22.Re7 Bd4 23.Qxf8 Qxg5 24.Ne4 Qf4 25.Qe8 Be5 26.Ng3 Kb6 27.Rxd7 Bxd7 28.Qxd7 Rf8 29.Bh5 d5 30.Qxh7 Qd2 31.Bf3 Bxg3 32.hxg3 Ka6 33.Qe7 1-0 Weirdly, earlier in the tournament Bartholomew playing black lost to Stopa in… a similar Evans. But in that game Stopa was dead lost and only Bartholomew’s time trouble made him go wrong. And from Round 3, a game that won Molner the brilliancy prize (this prize covered both A and B sections): [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 b5 5.dxe6 fxe6 6.cxb5 a6 7.bxa6 Bxa6 8.g3 Nc6 9.Nc3 Be7 10.e4 Qb6 11.Be2 Bxe2 12.Qxe2 Nd4 13.Nxd4 cxd4 14.Nd1 Qa5 15.Bd2 Bb4 16.f3 O-O 17.a3 Bxd2 18.Qxd2 Qa6 19.Qxd4 d5 20.e5 Nd7 21.Kf2 Rac8 22.Ne3 Nc5 23.Rae1 Nb3 24.Qd1 Qb7 25.f4 d4 26.Nc2 g5 27.Nb4 gxf4 28.g4 d3 29.Qf3 Qb6 30.Kg2 Nd2 31.Qxd3 Qb7 32.Kh3 Nf3 33.g5 Rcd8 34.Qa6 Nxg5 35.Kg4 Qf3 0-1 A very creative treatment in the Blumenfeld and an impressive relentless hunt of white’s king! More ChessA rout by IM Pruess playing black over a strong GM! [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Ne5 Nbd7 7.Nxc4 Qc7 8.g3 e5 9.dxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Bg2 g5 12.Bxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Qxe5 14.O-O Be6 15.a5 a6 16.e4 h5 17.Nd5 O-O-O 18.f4 gxf4 19.gxf4 Qg7 20.Nb6 Kc7 21.Qe2 Bb4 22.f5 Rd2 23.Qf3 Rg8 24.Qf4 Rd6 25.Qf3 Rd3 0-1 A last round rout by Pruess over the tournament leader GM Fridman! Fridman had been leading by a full point but this shocking defeat sent him back to a three-way tie for first. Fridman recovered and won the blitz playoff (over GMs Kacheishvili and Kekelidze). [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.f3 dxe4 As Pruess tells it, he wanted to see black play 3….e6 as he was in the mood to just play that closed game. In the game, Fridman goes a much riskier route (Fridman has even written about this in magazines) but gets annihilated! 3….Qb6!? is all the rage and favored by Georgian grandmasters. For example, the recent game annotated in New In Chess, Nepomniatchi – Jobava saw 3…Qb6!? 4. a4!? with insanity. 4.fxe4 e5 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bc4 Nd7 7.O-O Ngf6 8.Bg5 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Qb6 10.Nd2 Qxd4 11.Kh1 b5 12.Bb3 Be7 13.Rad1 Qb6 14.Qf5 Rd8 15.Nf3 g6 16.Nxe5! It’s so pleasing to land an elementary and decisive tactical blow like this versus a tough professional who competes in the top German Bundesliga! How often does it happen? Not often! Rf8 17.Qf4 Nxe5 18.Qxe5 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Ng8 20.Bxe7 Nxe7 21.Qd6 Rg8 22.Qd7 Kf8 23.Bxf7 Kxf7 24.Rf1 Kg7 25.Qxe7 Kh6 26.Rf3 1-0 Here’s a smooth effort by GM Amanov, a contender for best game prize. [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 dxc4 7.e4 g5 8.Bg3 b5 9.Be2 Bb7 10.O-O Nbd7 11.Ne5 Bg7 12.Qc2 h5 13.Nxd7 Nxd7 14.Rad1 e5 15.dxe5 Qe7 16.e6 Qxe6 17.Rd6 Qe7 18.Rfd1 Nc5 19.R6d2 Be5 20.b4 cxb3 21.axb3 Bxg3 22.hxg3 a5 23.e5 Qxe5 24.Bxb5 O-O 25.Bc4 Kg7 26.Re2 Qf6 27.Re3 Ba6 28.Bxa6 Rxa6 29.Rf3 Qg6 30.Qe2! Incredibly strong. The rook on a6 is tied to the knight on c5; the knight cannot move, but the queen by force picks up the knight! Black cannot defend it! Kg8 31.Qc4 1-0 And the actual winner of the Best Game prize was this nice game by veteran IM Nikolai Andrianov, coming off a three year period of no chess! His victim, talented young player IM Jacek Stopa, was one of the pre-event favorites by rating, but had a horrible start. He recovered somewhat in the 2nd half. [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.Nf3 e6 2.b3 b6 3.g3 Bb7 4.Bg2 f5 5.Bb2 Nf6 6.O-O Be7 7.d4 O-O 8.c4 Qe8 9.Nc3 Ne4 10.d5 Na6 11.Nd4 Qg6 12.Nxe4 fxe4 13.dxe6 c5 14.Nf5 Qxe6 15.Nxg7 Qc6 16.Nh5 Bg5 17.h4 Be7 18.e3 Rf7 19.Qd2 h6 20.Rad1 Rd8 21.Qc3 Kh7 22.Rd5 Qe6 23.Nf4 1-0 My own play was unconvincing. I made solid draws as black vs GM Yermolinsky and IM Altounian but early on I had an incredible miss, one that I definitely thought about after it was over. [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 g6 4.e3 Bg7 5.d4 cxd4 6.exd4 d6 7.d5 Ne5 8.Nxe5 Bxe5 9.Be2 Bd7?! 10.O-O Rc8?! 11.Be3 Qa5? This queenside demonstration greatly worsens black’s position, losing multiple tempi, and these are important tempi helping white with the break that he wants, c4-c5. 12.a3 Nf6? Leaving the bishop out to dry. 13.b4 Qc7 14.Rc1 a5 15.f4 White also had Nb5-d4 with a huge advantage. Bxc3 16.Rxc3 axb4 17.axb4 h5 18.Bd4 With this forever bishop, white is winning easily. Rg8 19.Re1 Kf8 20.Bf1 Bf5 21.Rce3 h4 Black is making rather aimless moves all over the board. Well, he has to, he’s almost in total zugzwang already. But an important principle comes to mind: if black has played very weakly so far (far below his published rating) he has to be good at something! And that something in this game is resourcefulness in lost games. Still, the position has put black well over the edge into losing territory. White’s next elementary tactical blow requires only a small amount of accuracy. 22.Rxe7 One way to win. Another elementary win is 22. Qe2 and e7 collapses. I am not sure why I did not look at the obvious 22. Qe2. After 22. Qe2 black has to resign. 22…Qxe7 23.Rxe7 Kxe7 24.Qe1+ Ne4 25.Bd3 25. c5! wins. 25. c5! Rge8 26. Qxh4+ Kf8 27. cxd6 and black collapses. The text also wins. 25…Rge8 26.Qxh4+? What a bad move! The first simple miss. 26. Bxe4 Kf8 (forced) 27. Qxh4 Rxe4 28. Bf6! Ke8 and now do you see it? I thought black’s king was running so I didn’t go for this line, but here white wins easily. The answer is the nice quiet move 27. Qh7! (I overlooked this) and the threat of Qg8+ and Qxf7 is unstoppable and wins immediately. 26…Kd7 Black takes his chance to run in another direction but this should have been hopeless. For some reason, I started playing quickly for no reason and let him totally escape. Quite an upsetting turn of events. From this point forward, my calculation ability was non-existent! 27.c5! Of course. White is still winning. So far, so good. 27…dxc5 28.Bb5+? White doesn’t understand that better is 28. bxc5! Nxc5 29. Bb5+ Kd6 30. g4! and wins. For example, 30…Bd7 31. Qf6+! (this is why white needs to get the black knight away from e4!) 31…Kc7 32. Bxc5! and wins. 28…Kd6 29.Be5+?? A terrible blunder. If white had paused a little, there are two wins remaining. Win 1. 29. Bxc5+ Nxc5 30. Qf6+ (this resource was never on my radar) 30…Kxd5 31. Bxe8 Rxe8 32. Qxf7+ and wins. Win 2. 29. bxc5+ Nxc5 30. g4! and wins decisive material. 29…Rxe5 What am I doing? 30.fxe5 Kxd5 31.g4? Yet another terrible move blitzed out. 31. Qe7 keeps good winning chances. For example, 31. Qe7 cxb4 32. Qxf7+ and white will also pick up b4 and should convert the win. 31…Be6 Now all the wins have disappeared. What an amazing number of bad blunders to not win! 32.Qe7 cxb4 33.Bd3 Kxe5 34.Qxb4 Nd6 35.Kf2 Bc4 36.Qe1 Kd5 37.Qe3 Bxd3 38.Qxd3 Ke6 39.h4 Rc4 40.Kf3 b5 41.h5 gxh5 42.gxh5 Nf5 43.Qd8 Rh4 44.Qe8 1/2-1/2 In a later round I played another little talented kid and played better, but only won one rating point. That’s the problem playing little kids. [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.f4 a6 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 d5 6.d3 Nf6 7.e5 Nd7 8.Bg2 Be7 9.O-O O-O 10.g4 b5 11.Qe1 b4 12.Ne2 f6 13.exf6 Nxf6 14.g5 Nh5 15.Qh4 g6 16.Ng3 Ng7 17.Bd2 Bd6 White never took his chance to play c2-c3 or c2-c4 in the early stages of the game, moves he needed to get chances. 18.h3 Ra7 19.Nh2 h5! Stopping the obvious threat of Nh2-g4. Now white’s king side pawns are fixed awkwardly. 20.Nf3 Raf7 21.Ne2 Nf5 22.Qf2 Qc7 23.Nh4 Nxh4 24.Qxh4 Nd4! Simple chess. The f4 point collapses and the game. 25.Nxd4 cxd4 26.Rf2 Bxf4 27.Bxf4 Rxf4 28.Qg3 h4 29.Qh2 Qe5 30.Rxf4 Rxf4 31.Kh1 Qxg5 32.Rg1 Qf6 33.Re1 Kg7 34.Qg1 Rf2 35.Qh2 Qf4 36.Qxf4 Rxf4 37.Rc1 e5 38.c4 dxc3 39.bxc3 Bf5 40.cxb4 Rxb4 41.Bxd5 Bxd3 42.Re1 Rb1 0-1 In the fourth round, I was astounded to see this discredited opening appear: [Event "2010 COPPER STATE INTERNATIONAL"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Qb6? Amazing brinkmanship but unplayable! Joel Benjamin annotated the game Hess-Lapshun in US Chess Online but both players were not familiar with that. Ravichandran had apparently consulted some other theory source. Ravichandran said after the game he wanted to catch white by surprise with this. Well, it’s a shock for sure. White starts out responding in the best way. 6.e5! Correct. 6…Bc5 Black blitzed this out; he has no choice. 7.Be3!? This move is not bad. Hess found the more forcing 7. e4-e5! and now Lapshun lost miserably with 7…Ng8. The f2 pawn is untakeable. For fun, look at 7. e5! Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 (8. Kd2 Qe3 mate would be embarrassing!) 8…Nd5 9. Nd6+ Ke7 10. Nxd5+ exd5 11. Qd5 Rf8 12. Bg5+f6 13. exf6 gxf6 14. Qe5+!! and forced mate! For completeness, 7. e5! Bxf2+ 8. Ke2 Ng4 9. h3! Ng4 and now white goes on a king walk to win: 10. Nd6+! Ke7 11. hxg4 Qf2+ 12. Kd3 Nc6 and now white can win a brilliancy prize: 13. Nf5+!! exf5 14. Nd5+ Kf8 15. Be3! and wins! If black put his king on f8 in this line, white can vary with 13. Nce4! and wins a piece. I asked Ravichandran after the game and he said he intended 7….a6. Apparently his theoretical source points to that. Well, it’s the best move! Pruess said after the game (separately) he was concerned about the 7…a6 resource since 8. Nd6+ is not clear. Some junior at the tournament ran 7….a6 through an engine and told me later on that 7…a6 8. Qf3! (a resource not seen by Pruess but known to his opponent) is strong. Computer power! Nevertheless, 8. Qf3 Nd5 9. Nxd5 exd5 10. Nc3 Bb4! and black can fight on with a worse, but defensible, position. What did we learn? Not much, except that black in this game was successful with the early brinkmanship! 7…Nd5 8.Nxd5 exd5 9.Nf5? A big lemon. White must have miscalculated something. After the strong 9. Nb5! white can still fight for an edge. 9…Bxe3 10. fxe3 Qxe3+? 11. Qe2 is terrible for black. He loses after, e.g., 11…Qxe2+ 12. Bxe2 Na6 13. Nd6+ Ke7 14. O-O Rf8 15. Nf5+ and wins. Needless to say, taking on e3 is not forced. 10..O-O 11. Qd4! leaves white with an edge but again black can defend. Another example line: 9. Nb5! O-O 10. Bxc5 Qxc5 11. Qd2 a6 12. Nd6 Nc6 13. O-O-O with a white plus. Qxb2 10.Nxg7 At this stage, it was impossible to realize the computer recommendation of 10. Bd4 is stronger with equal chances. Kd8 11.Bg5+? The real losing move. White must have been totally disoriented and thinking about earlier missed chances. After this white is just dead. 11. Be2 Bxe3 12. fxe3 and white can play that position and have good prospects to draw. 11. Be2 Bb4+? is bad: 12. Kf1 and black can’t take on e5 due to Bd4. Kc7 12.Bf4 Qc3+ A lethal intermediate check well known to Sveshnikov lovers, this occurs in many early Be6 lines of the Sveshnikov forcing white to do acrobatics. 13.Bd2 The problem is that 13. Ke2 Qc4+ 14. Kf3 Qe4+ 15. Kg3 Bxf2+! wins. 13…Qxe5 14.Be2 Qxg7 15.O-O d6 16.Bf3 Be6 17.c4 dxc4 18.Qa4 Nd7 19.Qb5 Rab8 20.Ba5 b6 21.Qc6 Kd8 22.Rad1 bxa5 0-1 So this dubious variation is marginally playable and in the game above, even netted black a quick victory! It seems a little unjust.
 GM Alejandro Ramirez (center) recycles girls
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Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:20:58 +0000 |
| Joanna Liu Wins Girls Nationals U8! |
  Believe it or not, the CalChess Scholastics were not the only major chess championship held last weekend. Three Bay Area girls flew to Columbus, Ohio to play in the All-Girls Nationals, hosted by the Kasparov Chess Foundation. They competed against 210 of the best girls around the country, and even managed to bring home a first place trophy! Congratulations to 2nd grader Joanna Liu (1410) of Weibel Elementary for taking winning the U8 division with 5.5 out of 6! She worked hard for her trophy, facing five of the top 10 in the final standings, including a pair of challenging 1300s. Joanna's proud coach Ted Castro writes that she was "doing 4-5 hours of training every week to make sure that she gets better and better" (plus 4 hours of play and coaching at Weibel). Practice makes perfect! As the photos prove, Joanna insisted on wearing her lucky old Weibel team shirt in Ohio. (Thanks to her parents for the photos above.) Two other local girls both scored 4.0/6 to finish in the top 10. 3rd grader Alisha Chawla, also from Weibel, played up and took home the 10th place trophy in the difficult U10 section, losing only to the top two rated players. 2nd grader Alanna Song received the 8th place trophy in U8. Well done!
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Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:58:00 +0000 |
| 1.Mesa Blancas: Gran Maesto Kurajica, Bojan 2517 elo Negras:Jose Maria 1695 elo |
| Todo aficionado, alguna vez en su vida quiere enfrentarse a un GM. Es un recuerdo inolvidable. Jose Maria tuvo en Honor de jugar contra el Ganador del Toneo y el mas fuerte de los 2 GM que hubo en el torneo. Y encima le sacaron una foto, ya que era el saque de honor. Yo seré un flipado, pero si fuera Jose Maria guardaria esa planilla con oro en paño. Play chess online  |
Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:56:00 +0000 |
| Ortiz Perez, Hector (2010) vs. Arroyo Palacios, Jose Maria (1695) |
Play chess online  |
Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:49:00 +0000 |
| Alfiles de distinto color con piezas mayores (2) |
El Supertorneode Linares nos trae un magnífico ejemplo de un tema que ya comentamos en un artículo anterior: las posiciones de medio juego con alfiles de distinto color y piezas mayores. Sobre todo en posiciones con damas (dama, torre y alfil contra dama, torre y alfil o dama, dos torres y alfil contra dama, dos torres y alfil) el bando que posea la iniciativa y posibilidades de ataque podrá adquirir la ventaja. Tener el rey más seguro es, por tanto, una cuestión absolutamente fundamental en estas posiciones.
Es muy importante asimilar bien estos conceptos, puesto que este tipo de posiciones aparecen con cierta frecuencia. He comprobado que mis alumnos entienden perfectamente las ideas que hemos referido pero, sin embargo, lo que realmente les cuesta trabajo es identificar estas posiciones una vez que aparecen en el tablero. Si no reparamos que tenemos una de esas posiciones en el tablero no seremos capaces de aplicar los planes correctos (seguridad del rey propio, búsqueda de la iniciativa, actividad de nuestras piezas, etc) Veamos ahora el ejemplo que nos ofrece el Supertorneo de Linares, de la mente siempre creadora de Grischuk. 
A. Grischuk - B. Gelfand 28...Df7 29.Te3
Siguiendo al regla de buscar la máxima actividad con todas nuestras piezas y de buscar posibilidades de ataque contra el rey enemigo, Grischuk comienza el paso de la torre por la tercera fila. Rh8 30.Dh4 gxh5 
Ahora, con la columna g semiabierta, la torre será especialmente efectiva.
31.Tg3 Ad5 32.a5 f4 33.Tg7 Df5 34.De7 De4 35.Df6 
1–0 Podéis ver la partida completa en el visor. Play chess online
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Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:57:00 +0000 |
| Zierk Survives Upset Parade at Denker Qualifier |
 (Fpawn poses between two students, 2nd place Daniel Liu and 1st place Steven Zierk.)
The Bay Area Chess Regional Championship & Denker Qualifier attracted nearly 200 players to the Santa Clara Hyatt Regency on a warm and sunny March weekend. Many of Northern California's top juniors participated in the High School division, either hoping to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational for High School State Champions in Irvine this summer or playing just for the sake of strong competition. Although only high school students could claim the prestigious top prize, an amazing 33 out of 54 players were younger than 9th grade. Due to the skewed attendance numbers, the high school championship turned into an epic battle between teenagers and a talented pool of elementary school kids. Would experience or youth prevail? The first round on Saturday morning was marked by a parade of 300 to 400 point upsets: 6th grader Richard Yi (1596) beat a 2010, 5th grader Russel Bik (1531) beat a 1802, 12th grader Bryan Petersen (1481) beat a 1832, 3rd grader Michael Wang (1446) beat a 1832 and 5th grader Daniel Song (1239) beat a 1743. Typically the upset winner was the younger and lower rated player; a few elementary school kids lost to even younger opponents! Some semblance of order was restored in the second round, although occasional upsets continued all weekend. Two names to watch for in the future are 3rd grader Michael Wang (now rated 1707!) and 6th grader Richard Yi, who both played up almost every round and combined for six upsets in the tournament. Despite the wave of surprises, the highest rated players still finished near the top. Top rated FM Steven Zierk (2420) took on the role of 600 lb gorilla by squishing anyone in his path for a 6-0 score. Needing merely a draw in the final round, Steven ground down his opponent with technique that has become his trademark. The most intriguing pairing of the weekend matched Steven, the 2008 Denker qualifier, against last year's representative, Evan Sandberg (2167). Black quickly achieved a comfortable position in the Qa5 line of the French Winawer, although it took nearly 60 moves to convert the full point. Play chess online
The talented and rapidly improving 6th grader Daniel Liu finished alone in second place at 5-1. He faced five of the seven players rated above 2000 in the tournament, winning three games and drawing the other two! Daniel's rating jumped a whopping 70 points to 2052. Kudos on an awesome performance--and for becoming an Expert! Four players tied for third place at 4.5 each: 3rd grader Samuel Sevian, 11th grader Nicholas Karas, 11th grader Evan Sandberg and 4th grader Vignesh Panchanatham. Evan had a respectable result, gaining 3 rating points but leaving him at 2196, just shy of master. If Steven declines to participate in the Denker Invitational, it appears that Nicholas and Evan would need a playoff to determine who earns the right to represent CalChess. The competition for the high school teams was as tight as possible. In fact, the race came down to the final game, pitting five-time state champion Saratoga High against newcomer Dougherty Valley High (San Ramon). Saratoga finally prevailed, but the message was deliver  ed loud and clear: the CalChess Scholastics K-12 team competition will be fierce this year! In addition to Saratoga and Dougherty, I expect to see strong teams from Mission San Jose High (Fremont) and Monta Vista High (Cupertino).
Thanks to über-organizer Salman Azhar and his army of volunteers from Bay Area Chess for hosting a smooth and enjoyable tournament. The only complaint was about the lighter than expected attendance. Tournament directors John McCumiskey and Tom Langland had light work this weekend; it was a warm-up for the "Big One" on April 17-18. Parents and players: If you haven't already signed up for the CalChess Scholastics, make sure to register soon!  |
Fri, 26 Mar 2010 17:34:00 +0000 |
| The Monday Questions (2) for GM Gawain Jones |
1. Please introduce yourself (name, age, nationality, etc.)! 2. What is your role in the chess world? 3. How did you develop your chess talent as a kid? 4. Who had a profound influence on your chess development? 5. What are your favourite sports besides chess? 6. What would be your advice for young people? 7. What has your main concern in life besides chess? 8. What is the best chess game you played? 9. What’s your connection with ‘Developing Chess Talent’? 10. What question do you miss and what would be your answer?
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Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:49:02 +0000 |
| Denker Qualifier FAQ |
 (Group photo of prize winners at 2009 Denker Invitational in Indianapolis. Local hero Evan Sandberg is in front row at the right.)The 35th CalChess Scholastics will be held at the Santa Clara Convention Center (near Great America) on April 17-18. This year, there is a second worthy scholastic event for top players to consider: the Denker Qualifier at the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara on March 19-21. The Denker Qualifier doubles as the K-12 section of the Bay Area Chess Regionals. Why are there two state championships? Last year, CalChess made the unfortunate decision to schedule the state scholastics on the same weekend at the National High School Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The High School Nationals have never drawn a large crowd from the Bay Area, although sometimes a few elite players attend with the goal of bringing home a national title (like Michael Zhong in 2007). My students at Saratoga High School also achieved some success, finishing as high as 3rd place team in the country. In order to allow top players a (theoretical) chance to attend the National High School Championship and still have a chance to represent CalChess at the Denker Invitational this summer, there will be two separate events, one in March and one in April. However, only the winner(s) of the April championship may call themselves state champs. What is the Denker Invitational?  The Denker is a prestigious invitational tournament open only to high school state champions each year. There are approximately 50 invitees, one for each state (two for California). Named after the late Grandmaster Arnold Denker (photo at right), the field includes many experts and usually tops out in the mid 2200s, with maybe one or two players above 2300. Only juniors currently in grades 9 through 12 are eligible; younger players cannot qualify. Recent Northern California representatives were: Evan Sandberg (2009), Steven Zierk (2008), Nicolas Yap (2007) and Daniel Schwarz (2006). The invitational takes place each August at the US Open, held in different places each year all around the country. This year is a bit special because the location will be in Irvine, Southern California. The dates are July 31 through August 3. After completing six rounds in the Denker, players may choose to also play in the 6-day schedule of the US Open. That's 15 games of chess (each up to 5-6 hours) in 9 days. Most likely, I will play in the more leisurely 9-day schedule of the US Open. Who should play in the Denker Qualifier? Technically speaking, any student in K-12 may enter the Denker Qualifier, although a minimum rating of 1200 is needed for those in elementary or middle school. Very few, however, have a realistic chance to qualify. Generally speaking, only high school students rated over 2000 have a decent chance to win. Seven high school players are rated over 2000: FM Steven Zierk, NM Gregory Young, NM Rohan Agarwal, Evan Sandberg, Hayk Manvelyan, Nicholas Karas and Arthur Liou. Players younger than 9th grade may play for practice, but cannot qualify for Denker even if they win. I suggest that you should play in the Denker Qualifier on March 19-21 if you fall into one of the following categories:
I expect most players to choose the 2-day schedule (three G/60 then three more G/120). Those who prefer slower time controls and are free on Friday night can play the 3-day schedule (three G/90 then three more G/120). The two schedules will merge in round 4. Note: based on early entries, the 3-day schedule is significantly stronger with nobody rated under 1800. Which tournament will be stronger? I predict that the March event may actually be tougher than the official state championship in April, for the following three reasons:
Click here for the advance entry list posted at the Bay Area Chess website. As of March 10, there are 28 entries in the Denker Qualifier. (2-day schedule: 10 players, median rating 1888. 3-day schedule: 18 players, median rating 1763.) Only three of the seven eligible high school students rated above 2000 have entered so far. However, there are seven elementary school kids rated above 1800 who have chosen to play up. Make sure to register for the Denker Qualifier before the entry deadline on Wednesday, March 17! (St. Patrick's Day) Follow this link to the Bay Area Chess online payment system.  |
Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:47:00 +0000 |
| The chess queen’s tweets (and videos) |
For quite a while now Alexandra Kosteniuk has had her own website, www.kosteniuk.com, where lots of information can be found about the glamourous World Champion, or “chess queen”, as she likes to be called as well. This is also the name of her Twitter account, where she’s pretty active as well, as you can see. Yesterday she tweeted:
which referred to this video, edited by her sister Oxana, about her win against Magnus Carlsen at the World Blitz Championship in November last year. On YouTube, Kosteniuk’s account is also chess queen. More of such videos can be found there. Update: Perhaps we gave the wrong impression that Alexandra Kosteniuk is mainly concerned with her own popularity, but in fact she’s also known for popularizing chess, especially among kids. We haven’t come across many chess players active on Twitter yet. Some famous personalities in other sports have been using the new medium, such as Shaquille O’Neal, Lance Armstrong and Nelson Piquet. Except for Alexandra Kosteniuk, the chess world’s celebrities don’t seem ready for Twitter yet. Perhaps this will change in 2010. There’s already a good way to play chess through Twitter and Dutch GM and ChessVibes commentator Dimitri Reinderman is even using it for book reviews! This site, ChessVibes, automatically posts links to all articles, and I’m still trying to add more “real” tweets on a regular basis, but I must admit that I’m still not used to it yet. But perhaps I can do some more during the Corus Chess Tournament which starts next Saturday. For a list of chess fans using Twitter, look here. Update: as David Korn noted, Natalia Pogonina has even more activity and followers than Alexandra Kosteniuk. In fact, Pogonina immediately replied to us with a tweet:
Well, what can I say? Clearly I’m still a complete layman as far as Twitter is concerned. And so I’ll just ask another question, which can be replied to with Twitter or below: which other GMs are active Twitter users? |
Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:00:25 +0000 |
| LA DAMA SACRIFICADA |
| Esta es la mejor partida del torneo de Martorell de este año,me salio una partida de las que cuando terminas te sientes orgulloso de ti mismo. Play chess online 1059957570  |
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:02:00 +0000 |
| EL APRENDIZ DE BRUJO |
| ESTA PARTIDA LA JUGE AYER EN UN TORNEO POR INTERNET Y TENGO QUE RECONOCER QUE MI JUEGO A MEJORADO CON LAS CLASES QUE ESTOY RECIBIENDO DEL MI OCAMPO,GANE A RIVALES DE MUCHO MAS ELO HACIENDO UN BUEN PAPEL EN EL TORNEO. Play chess online 1059957570  |
Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:20:00 +0000 |
| Miniaturas actuales |
 En el ajedrez actual no tenemos ocasión de encontrar partidas muy cortas (conocidas como miniaturas) en el ajedrez magistral. Antiguamente era muy frecuente, pero el desarrollo de la teoría de aperturas y la cantidad de información de la que se dispone en la actualidad ha tenido como consecuencia que la mayoría de jugadores adquieran con un poco de trabajo una buena preparación en el terreno de las aperturas. Conforme disminuye el ritmo de juego en una competición los errores florecen con más facilidad. Veamos un par de miniaturas de los desempates jugados a ritmo de semirrápidas en la Copa del Mundo que se disputa en Rusia. La primera fue jugada entre Shirov (blancas) y Fedorchuk. La segunda pertenece a Navra (blancas) y Shabalov. Play online chess Play chess online  |
Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:03:00 +0000 |
| El rey berlinés |
 En los últimos años la variante Berlinesa de la apertura Ruy Lopez goza de bastante fama, con la confianza que han depositado en ella jugadores muy fuertes, siguiendo la estela de Kramnik, que se la planteó exitosamente al mismísimo Kasparov. Claro que uno de los problemas para las negras es la pérdida de la posibilidad de enrocar, que hace que en algunas líneas el rey quede algo expuesto. En la Copa del Mundo, que se disputa en Rusia y que reúne a grandes jugadores, hemos podido ver hoy una partida en la que la situación delicada del rey negro en el centro ha resultado decisiva. Ha sido una Berlinesa planteada en la partida Inarkiev - Eljanov, que ha supuesto un brillante triunfo para el primero de ellos.  En la posición del diagrama podemos ver como el avance de los peones blancos resulta muy peligroso para las negras. Inarkiev ha proseguido con su avance para tratar de llegar hasta el rey negro. 23.f6 Ta7 24.g5 Th7  25.e6 Las blancas conseguirán ahora que las torres puedan llegar a crear amenazas contra el monarca enemigo. fxe6 26.g6 Th6 27.Txe6+ Rd7 28.fxg7 Axg7  29.Cg5! Nada podrán hacer ya las negras para frenar el ataque rival. 29...Th5 30.Tf7+ Rd8 31.Txa7 Txg5+ 32.Rf1 Ab5+ 33.Re1 1–0 Podéis ver la partida completa en el visor. Play chess online  |
Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:03:00 +0000 |
| FIDE Master Tanuj Vasudeva, Youngest in USA! |
 Here is a kid who trots around the world with his father, having discovered the fountain of youth at the chessboard. He brought home medallions of gold and silver from his conquests in far away lands such as Argentina and Turkey. At home, he has become a veteran of adult tournaments, playing in them since his sixth birthday. While playing, he is a wizard who may checkmate before you know what hit you! His infectious smile brightens any room that he enters, earning attention from 500s and 2500s alike. He was ranked #1 in the nation for age 7 and currently checks in at #2 for age 8. Now he is #1 in the Americas and #2 in the World, both under age 8.To those of us who know him well, his name is simply Tanuj. To everyone else, his name now comes with a  set of initials: FM Tanuj Vasudeva. As in FIDE Master, a lifetime title in the World Chess Federation. By winning the Pan American Championship Under 8 in Argentina this summer, he automatically became the youngest FM in USCF history and currently the youngest in the world. Not skipping a beat, Tanuj followed up 9-0 at the Pan Am with an even more impressive silver medal at the World Yo uth Under 8 in Turkey. Thanks to his father Tarun for the photos from Turkey at left and right. Tanuj became the Bay Area's third medalist in as many years at World Youth, behind FM Danya Naroditsky (gold in Under 12 in 2007) and IM Sam Shankland (bronze in Under 18 in 2008).
For a sample of Tanuj's playing style, check out this ruthless attacking game from the final round of the World Youth. His opponent is Hamzah Amier of Malaysia. Play chess online  |
Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:02:00 +0000 |
| The Fabulous 00s: 2009 USCL Week 9 Opening of the Week |
USCL Week 9 Opening of the Week (OOTW)USCL Week 9 action sees a Caissic Horror Show brought out of the storage closet for Halloween! Charbonneau, Pascal (NY) -Enkbhat, Tegshsuren (BAL) Fugly Caro Advance 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. g4? LOL! This move is not good! White ‘forgets’ to play the mainline 4. Nc3 first covering e4. An ideal risky line in USCL fast time limit play unless black knows it (nightmare scenario).  LOL! 4…Bd7?! LOL again! Black submits to white’s bully-boy ploy and transposes inadvisedly into an old Bronstein-Petrosian 1959 USSR Ch. game. Note his game is not at all bad here, but students of the Nezhmet-Mackenzie Wars (striking similarities to TV’s Clone Wars) know that black should pop into the juicy square with 4… Be4! 5. f3 Bg6 and white is hurting in all variations. For example, 6. h4 h5 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 e6 and ewww. Or, 7. Ne2 hxg4 8. Nf4 Bh7 9. fxg4 e6 10. Nc3 c5! and black is faster. The nice thing is that black doesn’t have to do anything special, white’s problems are all self-inflicted with the 4. g4? lunge. Consult the above link for full gory details. 5. c4 Na6!? A nice inventive move. Black starts to redeem himself after the misstep last move. After the plausible but passive 5… e6 6. Nc3 Ne7 7. c5 (White might be better off not doing this) 7…b6! 8. b4 a5 9. Na4 Nc8! 10. Rb1 axb4 11. Rxb4 bxc5 12. dxc5 here Petrosian played 12…Qc7? and missed a great shot, namely: 12… Na6! 13. Bxa6 Qa5!! exploiting white’s uncoordinated army. After 14. Bd2 Qxa6 black is just better. In the game Petrosian held on and drew, but Bronstein stood better with the space advantage (USSR Ch. Tbilisi 1959). 6. cxd5 After 6. Nc3 the move 6…Be6!? is very interesting. For example, 7. Nh3 dxc4 8. Nf4 Qd7 9. Nxe6 Qxe6 10. f4 g6 11. b3 h5 12. f5 gxf5 13. Bxc4 Qg6 14. gxf5 Qg2 15. Rf1 Nb4 and it’s anybody’s game. Not for the faint of heart. Even so, 6. Nc3 might be stronger; note black’s big improvement on move 6 in the game.  Knight Jump! Do it! 6… cxd5?! Boo! Black doesn’t follow through on his nice last move! Indicated was the logical and aesthetic knight jump 6…Nb4! exploiting the early g2-g4 opening of the c6-h1 diagonal. If 7. e6 (7. Qb3 Nxd5 8. Qxb7 Rb8 9. Qxa7 Nb4 10. Na3 Bxg4 11. Bd2 e6 and black is all right) 7…fxe6 8. Nf3 cxd5 and black is fine. Another humorous line: 7. Nc3 Qb6!? (7…Nxd5 is dead equal) and black can always take on d5 with the knight later. This game was just one big set of black missed opportunities. 7. Nc3 e6 8. h4 h5 9. gxh5 Nh6 Here, the immediate 9…Qc7 10. a3!? Nc7!? makes sense, rerouting right away the problem knight on a6. 10. Bd3 Qb6 11. Nge2 Nc7 12. a3 a5? Last chance to be competitive with 12…O-O-O! unclear. 13. Na4 Qa7 14. Rg1 Bb5 15. Bc2 We’re far afield of the opening now, but just notice that the simple 15. Bxb5+ Nxb5 16. Bxh6 Rxh6 17. Rc1 leaves black with a completely dreadful game. This is just to highlight that black drifted while white was purposefully developing. 15…Nf5 16. Bxf5 exf5 17. Ng3 Bd7 18. Be3 b5 19. Nc5 Bxc5 20. dxc5 Qa6 21. Rc1 O-O-O 22. c6 Be6 23. Qd4 g6 24. Bg5 Rde8 25. Well, I hope next time we see the juicy 4…Be4! on the board! In Other Week 9 NewsI see Jan van de Mortel won Game of the Week with an interesting Dragon vs Bartholomew. The variation as a whole does not have a good reputation. I am still a fan of 14. Rc1! and am a) surprised Bartholomew did not play it and b) wondering how Jan would improve if Bartholomew had played it. The full move order being 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.0-0-0 Nxd4 10.Bxd4 Be6 11.Kb1 Qc7 12.Nd5 Bxd5 13.exd5 Rfc8 14.Rc1!. This inquiry, coupled with the Caro weirdness we looked at in this article and also in the “refutation post” referenced above, propels my “findings” onto center stage for future USCL duels. Or, does it? :O Concluding RemarksThank you Internet, for enabling the USCL and other chess online . The next image shows what the world would be like without the Internet.  What if the World Had No Internet?       |
Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:49:05 +0000 |
| RIP Jerry Hanken (1934-2009) |
 The venerable chess master Jerry Hanken passed on to a higher chess board on October 1, succumbing to complications of diabetes. He was 74. Jerry was best known as a correspondent for Chess Life magazine and Chess Life Online, mixing in human interest stories with tournament results. He would interview not only with the Grandmasters, but also winners of the lower class sections. His byline included the title "Original Life Master," referring to the old days when masters earned a 2200 floor by playing 300 games. Everywhere he went, Jerry would spread his infectious enthusiasm for the royal game. For more information about the life of Jerry Hanken, check out the two obituaries written by former USCF President Bill Goichberg and close friend Randy Hough. Or read Jerry's final online article about the Pacific Coast Open in July. To close, I wish to share a funny--and true!--personal story about Jerry Hanken. As he grew older, his chess playing strength deteriorated sharply from a peak of about 2350. He would lose to 1800 and 2000 rated kids with alarming frequency, yet his rating remained stuck at 2200 because of the floor. (Aside: Jerry still showed flashes of his old brilliance. In fact, he defeated teenage FM Daniel Yeager, rated 2388, in his next to last tournament.) Back in 2005, the Saratoga High School chess team and I traveled to play at the Western Class Championships held at a hotel near LAX airport. After seeing my round 3 pairing, white against Hanken, I boldly informed my teenage charges that, should I lose this game, I would jump out of the hotel room window. There was absolutely no way I could afford to go down against the old man without losing face before my students! The game started out with a boring Bird's Opening (1.f4) setup. Perhaps I showed some of my overconfidence because the aggressive play on the kingside (9.h4) was not justified. The alert sacrifice 16... Nxg3 allows black to force a draw by repetition, but I had little interest in a peaceful result with an old man. Yet by move 26, I was practically mated and would have had to resign after 26... Rf2+ 27.Kg1 Ne2+. Very embarrassing indeed! My students followed the game in the hotel room using Fritz and knew the end was near. Even Caissa saw my desperate situation. At the last possible moment, I set a subtle trap--and Jerry unwittingly walked right into it. After the seemingly reasonable 26... Nf3+, I replied with a stunning queen sacrifice to turn the tables! The Fritz evaluation changed from -6 to +7 in a single move. And with this fateful move, Jerry Hanken snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Poor guy! Returning to the hotel room, my students immediately became quiet. One quickly moved in front of the window, just in case I was a man of my word. Expecting me to be depressed, another started to express his sympathies. The chessboard on the floor showed my hopeless position. Little did they know that, by the grace of Caissa, I had won! Always a fan of queen sacrifices (he called them "parting with the lady"), Jerry illustrated the final combination in his magazine article. More than once since then, he told people how he saved my life. Thank you Jerry, for your infectious love of chess, your tireless efforts on behalf of the USCF and, of course, for saving my life! RIP YHR. Play chess online  |
Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:50:00 +0000 |
| Danya Scalps GM in Holland |
 As a former World Champion, FM Danya Naroditsky struts his stuff at tournaments all around the planet. After a mixed performance in Philadelphia at the biggest Open in the World, the young star flew across the Pond to play in the Leiden Open in Holland, where he now has 4.0 out of 5. He struck gold in his round 5 game against Ukrainian Grandmaster Yuri Vovk (2567). After a lightning kingside combination that began with 50.Qg5 and ended with 54.Rc5, Danya finally could claim his first ever GM scalp. Congratulations!Play chess online  |
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:49:00 +0000 |
| FESTIVAL CON LA BIRD |
| Esta partida es de las mejores que he jugado en los dos ultimos años ,es de aquellas que salen cuando estas inspirado y te encuentras bien para jugar Play chess online! 1059957570  |
Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:49:00 +0000 |
| HEINOLA 2ªPARTE |
Play chess online! 1059957570  |
Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:26:00 +0000 |
| 10 straight for Murrow HS |
 State's chess kings are from Brooklyn's Murrow High School for 10th year in a row BY Veronika Belenkaya DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER Tuesday, March 10th 2009, 4:00 AM How do they do it? The legendary chess team at Edward R. Murrow High School is at it again, nabbing its 10th straight New York State championship last week. Coach Elliot Weiss said he doesn't stock his team with young Einsteins. The secret to the team's success is good, old-fashioned practice and the detailed analysis of the game. "There's a lot of instruction and practice, practice practice - three hours twice a week. We play one or two tournaments a month and the kids play chess online against other players," said Weiss, who's been coaching at Murrow since 1981. Many of the students on the team of 27 could barely play chess before joining the team. "Some knew how to move the pieces, but that takes no more than five minutes," he said. "If you really get into it, within two years, you could be a very strong chess player." One such player is Jian Ting Li, who signed on with the team as a freshman with no knowledge of the game. "I didn't know how to play when I joined," confessed Li, 18. Four years later, the senior is one of the team's top players. "I won my first competition, first place, in 11th grade," said Li, crediting his coach with the success. "He goes over our games, every single tournament. He finds mistakes, so we can improve on them. He plays games with us every week; sometimes, he plays eight games simultaneously." Weiss' detailed explanations are what sets the Murrow team apart from other schools. "You can find the best move and do it, but not always understand why. I explain what's the theory involved in what you're trying to do," Weiss said. "Most of the moves make sense and, if they don't, I explain why." Here is the full article.  |
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:31:00 +0000 |
| Aquarium not working on Windows 7 x64 build 7048 |
|
Isn't the priority wrong here. What you want the thing to do should have priority. For a chessplayer: 1. Browsing the Internet. Your browser need to handle java, javascript, silverlight (twic), and flash so you can play through games in the browser. For me Internet Explorer and Firefox seems to manage all tasks. 2. Handle e-mail. No special needs. 3. A chess databaseprogram. Chessbase and Chess Assistant are superior to others here so you need one of these. 4. A playingprogram. These made for Windows seems to have more feature than for other systems. 5. Playing chess online. ICC and Playchess seems like the best at the moment. Now you can start thinking of an OS, and the answer is obvious for a non pc-specialist. Then buy a PC/Laptop with the OS pre installed. Odd Gunnar |
Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:25:24 GMT |
| ICC has more tools than the Sears hardware department |
when i play a game of chess online, i honestly appreciate the opponents time. especially when they are rated higher than me and i challenge them, i feel like they are taking their time to play me, even though its probably a waste, and i appreciate it. because of this, i have an automatic response which pops up as soon as my game has ended. something to the effect of “thanks for playing a game, i hope you had fun.” i also want to kind of remind people that this is a game, a fun way to pass the time, it signifies nothing. my (and your) ICC rating means nothing to anyone. its the superfluous nipple of numbers, there but no real purpose. it amazes me the weird replies i get after a game. after i lose, usually they write and say “yes, i had a great time!” of course you did, you won. its odd they say it though, it’s almost like “yeah, you suck, i loved it!” i have yet to have someone say they had a good time after they lost. i have had people who won and then told me how i suck and they are great, bullies and trash talkers. really? is your life so miserable beating someone online in a game is all you have? grow up, beat your wife and dog and children, and have a nice life. sorry about your penis. when they lose, i’ve gotten “fuck you,” i’ve been put on no play lists, accused of cheating, and had some other not too nice responses. my tag is chainsmoke, and i get a large number of people who send me the “smoking is bad for you, stop smoking” messages. really? you think i should? thanks doc, this is the first i’ve heard that smoking is bad, i guess i will quit now cause you said to. i just have to start first. i am always suspect of the guys who play a 5 minute or less blitz game, and take up to 10 seconds for each of the first 5 or 6 moves. i can only imagine some kid or guy sitting with his “beat the sicilian” book open, furiously flipping pages to see what the next move should be. really, i dont trust half of them and usually think they are cheating when that happens. one guy actually put me on his no play list because i open with 1d4. we would start, i would play 1 d4, he would abort. twice this happened, then he sent me a message saying “you are on my noplay list, i dont waste time with boring 1d4 players.” i hope he doesnt play some of those boring grandmasters at some of those boring tournaments. then there is the guys rated higher than me who play me in a rated game, they win, then they keep on challenging me, over and over, i guess to show me how they can beat someone rated 300 points lower then they are. usually by the 4th game (yes, i keep on playing, i dont care) i make retarded moves on purpose, then resign, and they keep on challenging me to a rated game. i play, lose, wash, rinse, repeat, until they get bored or annoyed or realize i’m not even playing, then i end up on a no play list. i didnt challenge them, i wasnt wasting thier time, why put me on a no play list? saves me the time to put them on the list, i guess. there is a small town’s worth of people who put their queen en pris, i take it, they ask for a takeback, a draw, abort the game, get angry when i dont do anything, and then disconnect. it just strikes me as scary how many people on the other side of the screen appear to have their whole life wrapped up in it, how they seem to define themselves by their ICC rating or how well they play chess. there are some way cool folks, more than the pathetic mental cases, but the fagtards seem to be the ones who really stick out, come to the surface, have the presence. i gotta say, i think i like them for the same reason i have to watch “i love money 2″ or any of the vh1 reality shows. amazing how humans can act and be and still manage to live so many years. you would think they would have been weeded out by now, but oh no. they are out there. and playing chess on ICC.       |
Tue, 10 Feb 2009 21:39:11 +0000 |
| The Fabulous 00s: North American Open 2008 |
Let’s see my 7th round game vs GM Slavko Cicak. Shortly after this interesting game concluded, we could both be found at the Bally’s poker table. GM Varuzh Akobian could be spotted at the next table over. GM Slavko Cicak - M. Ginsburg Round 7 NAO Las Vegas 12/28/08. Sicilian Defense, 3. c3 4. Bc4 irregular 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. Bc4!? A pet line of Cicak’s that he employed in a prior round (not known to me at the time of this game).
Position after 4. Bc4!? 4…e6 After lengthy reflection I could not work out the ramifications of 4… Nxe4!? 5. Qa4+ Nc6 6. Bxf7+ Kxf7 7. Qxe4. But more insight reveals the surprising 7…Qd7! overprotecting the light squares (less convincing is 7… h6 8. O-O e5 9. Na3 Qf6) and black is fully confident with the bishop pair. For example, 8. O-O Qf5 9. Qe3 e5 10. Re1 Be7 11.d4 exd4 12. cxd4 Be6 13. Nc3 cxd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd4 15. Qxd4 Rhc8 and black is fine! I am not sure if this approach has been seen in prior play. Objectively 4. Bc4 cannot yield anything. 5. Qe2 Be7 6. d4 cxd4 7. cxd4 d5 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. e5 Ne4 10. O-O O-O 11. Bd3 Black faces no particular problems after 11. Nc3 Nxc3 12. bxc3 Bd7 13. Bd3 Na5. After the text, black must find a promising pawn sacrifice since 11….f5?! looks weakening.
Position after 10. Bd3. Time for black to fight back. 11… Nb4! 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Qxe4 Bd7 14. Qe2 During the game I was more concerned about 14. Nc3 Bc6 15. Qg4, but after the careful 15… Kh8! black is OK. For example, White can get tricky offering a piece: 16. Rd1 Rc8 17. Be3 Nd5 18. Ne4 h6 19. Bg5! Bxg5 (clearly 19…hxg5? is not possible due to the queen and knight mate) 20. Nfxg5 Qb6! 21. b3 Qb4! 22. h4 Rc7 and black has enough counterplay. 14… Bc6 15.Be3 After 15. Nc3 Rc8 16. Be3 h6 17. Rfd1 Nd5 18. Rac1 Qa5 19. Bd2 Nxc3 20. bxc3 Bd5! black has plenty of Gruenfeld-like compensation. 15… Bxf3! It’s a shame to get rid of black’s beautiful bishop, but the shattering of white’s pawns leads to full compensation in all lines. 16. gxf3 f5! 17. f4 What else? And with this move white offered a draw. It’s card-playing time! A sample continuation is 17… Rc8 18. Nc3 Qd7! (the most accurate; less good is 18…Qa5) 19. Rac1 Rfd8 20. Rfd1 Nd5 21. Qf3 Nxc3 22. Rxc3 Rxc3 23. bxc3 b5! and black keeps full compensation with an iron light square blockade. It’s almost impossible for white to undertake anything.
Position after 17. f4 - Final Position 1/2-1/2
Mark Diesen Memorial Articles Available!
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Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:45:53 +0000 |
| Saint Louis Swiss 8 Game |
| I played good against Daniel, was 2 pawns and then learnt some psychological aspects of the game in the process! how to never stop calculating the situations and fear not the tactical positions. Daniel saw great tactics at the end which I didnt in my clouded euphoric state and engraved my doom with a cute checkmate.. Heres the very interesting game. Play chess online! |
Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:48:00 +0000 |
| Annotated Standard Game |
Play chess online! Against Kevin (USCF 2000) I could have played a bit better. Hunger was gnawing at my core and it became hard to concentrate on the game at times. Excuses! Excuses! :) However, it was helpful to go over the game after the game and I learnt a few things from him. Getting busier at work. Attended Cardiovascular Dynamics Society conference on the weekend. I will be attending the Molecular Biophysics Retreat on Oct 12-13. I am working on a Circulation paper and have to work on proposal exam. Chess is sure to take a backseat for some time to come! However, I continue to solve tactics problems almost everyday from CTART3.0 I have solved the Level 1 problems and I am now working on Level 2 problems. I will repeat each Level problems until I achieve 90% pass rate at that level. I have passed Level 1 with about 93% and I have success rate of 83% in Level 2 problems. I have solved a total of 300 problems so far. |
Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:47:00 +0000 |
| SCORM |
Here’s Wikipedia definition of SCORM:-
What has this got to do with chess? Nothing! I’m doing research on E-Learning system on a future project that involves SCORM compliancy. Just thinking how cool it is to have an online learning system involving chess that is SCORM compliant. It is the holy grail of all E-Learning system but many e-Learning platforms do not have SCORM compliancy because of the technical difficulty in building it. That’s what most my programmer friends tell me anyway. Almost all online chess learning system (that I’ve looked at) have no SCORM compliancy at all. That’s a pity as it means those systems are proprietary making the content limited to only that one site. Completing this project With SCORM compliancy I don’t have to worry about the content. I just concentrate on building the engine of the learning platform and leave it to other chess teachers/coaches to worry about coming out with good content. I think there is already quite a number of chess coaches qualified to teach but good online teaching tools that these teachers can use are quite rare and scarce. If you are a programmer who has some experience with SCORM, do tell me about it via email. Viewed 919 times by 186 viewers |
Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:36:23 +0000 |
| Primera victoria para Kramnik en el Mundial de Ajedrez |
Parecía que Kramnik ya no tenía ninguna oportunidad, pero hoy nos ha sorprendido con su maravillosa partida. Anand jugó una Defensa Nimzoindia, que anteriormente había jugado en otras ocasiones. Se complicó demasiado y empleo mucho tiempo en analizar las posiciones. Kramnik lanzó ataques constantementes, y tras un potentísimo ataque, Anand no tuvo mas remedio que rendirse en el movimiento veintinueve. El resultado actual es de 6-4 a favor de Anand. Si Anand gana medio punto más, se proclamará vencedor del Match de Ajedrez disputado en Bonn, pero hay opciones de un desempate el día 2 de noviembre. A continuación la partida entre Kramnik y Anand: 1.d4 Cf6 2.c4 e6 3.Cc3 Ab4 4.Cf3 c5 5.g3 cxd4 6.Cxd4 0–0 7.Ag2 d5 8.cxd5 Cxd5 9.Db3 Da5 10.Ad2 Cc6 11.Cxc6 bxc6 12.0–0 Axc3 13.bxc3 Aa6 14.Tfd1 Dc5 15.e4 Ac4 16.Da4 Cb6 17.Db4 Dh5 18.Te1 c5 19.Da5 Tfc8 20.Ae3 Ae2 21.Af4 e5 22.Ae3 Ag4 23.Da6 f6 24.a4 Df7 25.Af1 Ae6 26.Tab1 c4 27.a5 Ca4 28.Tb7 De8 29.Dd6 1–0
Play chess online!
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Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:03:57 +0000 |
| 2nd Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament |
 Dear College Chess Players of the Americas, It is time for the Second Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament. Based on your feedback, we have streamlined the registration process this year. Since you are playing on ICC and using your ICC handles, we will use only your ICC ratings for pairings. That eliminates you having to make an additional USCF rating entry. The tournament is free with no entry fee. To register, go to www.chessclub.com/activities/CCLinfo.html. You will find: Individual Online Championship is to be held in October. Games are played online on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM EST. The dates for 2008 are: Round 1 -- October 19 Round 2 -- October 26 Round 3 -- November 2 Round 4 -- November 9 Round 5 -- November 16 Time Control is 90 minutes per side with 30-second increment. To sign up, please fill out the form below: First name: Last name: College name: As you can see, it is very simple and quick with only three lines to fill in. If you are not an ICC member, then you can join ICC at the above link. Then, you can return and register. You need to do that fairly soon. The College Chess Committee believes that playing chess online will keep you sharp for when you do play at USCF OTB tournaments. We are fortunate to have Jon Haskel (jon@bocachess.com) back as our TD for the third consecutive year. He has directed me to tell you that: 1. Registration cut-off is midnight PST on Friday, October 17. 2. Maximum of two 1/2 point byes allowed. Last round byes must be requested prior to the start of the round 4 games. 3. The pairings will be available sometime late on Saturday, October 18 at the College Chess League website www.collegechess.org. 4. Go to the College Chess League website each week to see results posted and the new pairings. Please forward this email on to others that you know in the college chess community. It is very difficult for us to maintain a comprehensive database. The number one complaint that we receive about participation in college chess tournaments is “I didn’t know anything about the tournament.” The annual online college team tournament will begin in at the end of January. We look forward to seeing you online and having fun this year! Best regards, Jim Stallings Chair, College Chess Committee Susanpolgar.blogspot.com  |
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:46:00 +0000 |
| 2nd Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament |
 Dear College Chess Players of the Americas, It is time for the Second Annual Duncan Oxley Memorial Tournament. Based on your feedback, we have streamlined the registration process this year. Since you are playing on ICC and using your ICC handles, we will use only your ICC ratings for pairings. That eliminates you having to make an additional USCF rating entry. The tournament is free with no entry fee. To register, go to www.chessclub.com/activities/CCLinfo.html. You will find: Individual Online Championship is to be held in October. Games are played online on Sunday afternoons at 3 PM EST. The dates for 2008 are: Round 1 -- October 19 Round 2 -- October 26 Round 3 -- November 2 Round 4 -- November 9 Round 5 -- November 16 Time Control is 90 minutes per side with 30-second increment. To sign up, please fill out the form below: First name: Last name: College name: As you can see, it is very simple and quick with only three lines to fill in. If you are not an ICC member, then you can join ICC at the above link. Then, you can return and register. You need to do that fairly soon. The College Chess Committee believes that playing chess online will keep you sharp for when you do play at USCF OTB tournaments. We are fortunate to have Jon Haskel (jon@bocachess.com) back as our TD for the third consecutive year. He has directed me to tell you that: 1. Registration cut-off is midnight PST on Friday, October 17. 2. Maximum of two 1/2 point byes allowed. Last round byes must be requested prior to the start of the round 4 games. 3. The pairings will be available sometime late on Saturday, October 18 at the College Chess League website www.collegechess.org. 4. Go to the College Chess League website each week to see results posted and the new pairings. Please forward this email on to others that you know in the college chess community. It is very difficult for us to maintain a comprehensive database. The number one complaint that we receive about participation in college chess tournaments is “I didn’t know anything about the tournament.” The annual online college team tournament will begin in at the end of January. We look forward to seeing you online and having fun this year! Best regards, Jim Stallings Chair, College Chess Committee |
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:26:00 +0000 |
| Efforts to Encourage Chess Teaching |
 With Susan's new blog template in full operation and her career still going strong with chess promotion I'm glad to see that she still remembers where the uninformed minds still remain. I don't mean to get down on the education system in the U.S. but it is all too often that teacher, principals, administrators, and school board members have no clue that chess is so valuable in education. Anyway, I'm debating on getting Susan to Kentucky. Her presence has done wonders for chess in Texas and I think a few events here in KY (tournaments or seminars) would be a big kick in the pants to local efforts. HMMM ... the Chessvine.com and Susan Polgar Foundation team up to increase chess online and off ... it has a nice ring to it. mwahahaha :}~ |
| A couple of new websites |
| Over the last 6 months I've registered on so many chess related websites that I've begun to lose track of which ones they are. Some are sites I intend to use frequently (eg chessworld.net), some infrequently (www.fics.org) and some hardly at all (www.chesscube.com). Here are 2 more websites, which you can check out at your leisure. The first is www.chess.com For a long time this site barely did justice to its prime net position, but over the last year it underwent a revamp. It is a hybrid game/information site, and at this stage I tend to use the latter service. You search on chess services (clubs, coaches, tournaments) that are near you, and it also has a calendar of events, which I've used to publicise Street Chess. It supports both turn based chess (think CC) as well as 'live' chess (think FICS), although the latter is buggy and comes with a health warning. Click on the button to visit.  Play Chess Online! The second site that I've just discovered is www.yourchess.net It advertises itself as the first web 2.0 chess portal. At this stage I've checked out the front page, which looks nice, but have yet to register. When I do I'll bring you more news. |
2008-08-29T23:15:00.002+10:00 |
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We formulated ten questions related to Developing Chess Talent and every Monday we’ll ask them to an interesting personality in the chess world.
I want to enjoy life and make sure that the decisions I make keep me and the people I care about happy.
Alexandra Kosteniuk keeps on looking for ways to popularize chess online, while simultaneously working on the “brand Kosteniuk”. The reigning Women World Champion (probably helped by her husband here and there) has her own website and YouTube channel and seems to be the 
Well almost nothing..
