Unofficial: GMs Robson, Friedel, Mitkov win 2013 Chicago Open

GM Nikola Mitkov held up the local honor this year. Here's his very nice win in the money round (finished just a few minutes ago).

ADDENDUM: The cross-tables for the event are available here.

A new way to lose

In my video "Sicilian Defense: The Most Useful Trap You've Never Seen," I explained in my delightfully nasal voice that White in the Sicilian can drop a piece to d5-d4 in at least five different ways. My opponent today found a sixth. Yes, 29...Qxd4+ and mate next was an improvement.

An old chestnut

Here's another version of a common type of opening trap. Another unusual example is Fernandez-Garbarino, Copa Clarin 2001, which went 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d3 Nf6 4.Bg5 d4 5.Ne4?? Nxe4! 0-1. Hard to believe that White was rated 2264!

My opponent "improved" over Kostopoulos-Kerimov, 2001, which continued 7...Qa5+ 8.Bd2 Bxd1 9.Bxa5 dxe5 10.Bb5#! In the final position, my opponent resigned in light of 11...Nf6 12.Nxh8 Nxe4 13.Be3, when White will be a knight up even if Black succeeds in trapping the beast on h8.

Board 4: the move of the match (Byambaa 0 - Schmakel 1)

Is it correct?  I have no clue, but I do know that Black's 18th move is très cool, and shows a desire to fight for the full point.  Normally one does not wish to move pawns in front of one's castled king.  Especially not two squares.  Especially not the g-pawn. Especially not when the players have castled on opposite sides. Especially when one creates a lever that helps the enemy open lines to your king.

But rules of thumb are made to be broken: chess is a very concrete game. The idea is known from the Browne System of the Najdorf.  The e5 square is worth a lot: Black gets a horsie on c4 and a bishop on f6 soon afterwards.  So you could say that Black is attacking White's queenside with 18...g7-g5!?

And Sam Schmakel of Whitney Young must have been planning this shocker some moves earlier: otherwise, why 16...Qd8?

Frederick's Sicilian traps video, embedded

This should work....

Sicilian Defense traps - YouTube video

I just uploaded my third video on opening traps to YouTube. To find all my videos (three so far) search for "Chicago Chess Blog."

Sicilian Grand Prix with 5.a3!?

The former Sicilian player in me says "thanks for the tempo!"  But our own Matt Pullin and Michael Goeller of the Kenilworth (NJ) Chess Club are both pretty smart, so I'll suspend judgment.


 
Matt mentions that the late Billy Colias had played this line: does anyone have these games?

That’s All, Folks!

Blaze draw division-leading Sluggers to end a down-and-up season

IM Florin Felecan

NM Eric Rosen

The Chicago Blaze finished their 2009 USCL season on November 4 with a 2-2 draw against the division-leading Seattle Sluggers, capping off a late-season mini-surge that gave the team a respectable 4-6 record on the year after a poor start in the first half of the schedule.

With the Blaze officially eliminated from playoff competition by Miami’s draw against Boston the previous week, the pressure was off the Chicago squad, and they were relaxed going into the final round against the heavily favored Sluggers. That and the good turnout of fans at the Holiday Inn Skokie created a festive atmosphere for the night that helped the team hold the Pacific Northwest powerhouse.

One of the Blazers who took full advantage of the circumstances was IM Florin Felecan, who scored his first USCL victory against FM Slava Mikhailuk in a 28-move Sicilian Rossolimo.

It took NM Eric Rosen a few more moves to prevail over NM Joshua Sinanan in a Closed Sicilian, but prevail he did, and the two wins secured the draw against Seattle.

As always, here are the games:

1. GM Gregory Serper (SEA) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 1-0
2. IM Florin Felecan (CHC) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0
3. FM Marcel Milat (SEA) vs IM Mehmed Pasalic (CHC) 1-0
4. NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs NM Joshua Sinanan (SEA) 1-0

Thanks for the umpteenth time to our Celebrity Tournament Director for the night Betsy Dynako, who has been a godsend to the Blaze the past two years. Also attending the game was IM Angelo Young, who, though he wasn’t scheduled to play that night and wasn’t feeling well, came out to cheer his teammates.

Though the season is over for the Blaze, the USCL playoffs have been exciting and rife with upsets, including the elimimation of the Seattle Sluggers and the New Jersey Knockouts, the teans with the best records in their divisions. The championship match will take place on December 7, when the Miami Sharks of the Western Division meet the New York Knights of the East.