The best thing about tripled pawns is that there's three of them. Newly-minted Senior Master Eric Rosen got very nice play against e5 out of the opening (a Frenchified anti-Sicilian), but FM Keaton Kierwa made the most of his tripleton and was at least equal in this very interesting middlegame.
But White slips, after which Eric exploits the dominated Nb1 and the f2 weakness. (Why didn't Black play the immediate 35...Rxb1 winning a piece, you may ask? There's a good reason.)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Blaze 3½ - Dallas Destiny ½
Today's text (equally relevant to Grandmasters and Class E players): "For what is a man profited if he shall gain a whole rook and lose his own king"?
Even though Josh Friedel got his opponent's king to walk all the way out to f4 in the middlegame, it was relatively safe because of the locked pawn center, and it was White who was pressing Black. And this game could easily have gone the other way (the computer likes 45.h5!). But White succumbed to temptation with 47.Qc8+, after which GM Friedel demonstrated the error of gross materialism.
Even though Josh Friedel got his opponent's king to walk all the way out to f4 in the middlegame, it was relatively safe because of the locked pawn center, and it was White who was pressing Black. And this game could easily have gone the other way (the computer likes 45.h5!). But White succumbed to temptation with 47.Qc8+, after which GM Friedel demonstrated the error of gross materialism.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
"Maybe Teach Them Math, Science, and Chess"
Bonnie Trafelet for Chicago News Cooperative
But this New York Times article (James Warren is, I assume, not Helen's husband, but the former editor of the Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune?) is too good to pass up. Local teaching legend Shiva Maharaj is prominently featured.
This Sunday in DeKalb: Midwest Senior Open
Cut and pasted from the website. (Hmm, I'm 53 years old....)
One Day Only - New VenueSunday, October 23, 2011 American National Bank of DeKalb CountyCommunity Room, 1985 DeKalb AvenueSycamore, IL
An exciting event for the Age 50-plus crowd:
- 3 rounds, Game/75 minutes
- Sections: Open & Reserve (Under 1600)
- Additional prizes for top scores in Under 1800 in
- the Open Section and Under 1400 in Reserve Section
Playing Schedule:
- Rated by the US Chess Federation
- On-site registration: 9am - 9:20am
Money Stuff:
- Rounds: 9:30am, 12:50pm, 3:30pm (ending by 6pm)
- Modest $20 entry fee
Amenities:
- At least 70% of prize fund distributed as specified at site or available via advance request by electronic mail.
- For those wishing to arrive the night before, a $60/night hotel rate was arranged at the nearby NIU Student Center
(private or shared room); theater tickets available to one of several excellent local performances
- Refrigerator and microwave available at tournament site
Further Details:
- Site is on "restaurant row" with numerous lunch options
- With success of this preview event, it is hoped the Midwest Senior Open may grow into an annual multi-day, regional tournament -- your feedback is welcome
- Designed for comfort & convenience of mature players
- Reunite with old chess friends; make new ones!
- Completely handicap accessible
- Special assistance available upon request
- All equipment provided but you may bring your own
- Questions?
e-mail SeniorOpen@DeKalbChess.com
Monday, October 17, 2011
Midwest Class: C, D, and E!
Our own Robert Gorodetsky and Angelo Fleming of Indiana drew with each other in the first round, then swept their remaining games to finish equal first with 4½-½ in Class C. Ethan Brown and Souroush Kanideh, both of Illinois, tied with Michael Slosson of Indiana for third, all with 4-1.
Another local preteen, James Biondo (post-event rating 1566) and an adult who refused to be a victim, Talhah Chaudhry, split Class D honors, each scoring 4½-½. Ben Marks and Tiffany Madson divided third with 4-1.
Willam Wang of Illinois and Andrew Trattner of Wisconsin, tied for first in Class E, each with 4½-½. Jim Epley and Douglas Campbell, both of Illinois, tied for third with 4-1.
Chess can be cruel, as Keith Amman discovered in this final-round game against Alexander Breydburd from Class E:
34.Qd4! would have been a killer. But White ate a rook, which made winning surprisingly hard. 38.Qc5! would have done the trick.
Steve Immitt, Wayne Clark, and Jeff Wiewel directed for the Continental Chess Association.
Another local preteen, James Biondo (post-event rating 1566) and an adult who refused to be a victim, Talhah Chaudhry, split Class D honors, each scoring 4½-½. Ben Marks and Tiffany Madson divided third with 4-1.
Willam Wang of Illinois and Andrew Trattner of Wisconsin, tied for first in Class E, each with 4½-½. Jim Epley and Douglas Campbell, both of Illinois, tied for third with 4-1.
Chess can be cruel, as Keith Amman discovered in this final-round game against Alexander Breydburd from Class E:
34.Qd4! would have been a killer. But White ate a rook, which made winning surprisingly hard. 38.Qc5! would have done the trick.
Steve Immitt, Wayne Clark, and Jeff Wiewel directed for the Continental Chess Association.
Midwest Class - More child-on-adult violence
This is getting ridiculous: ten-year-old Adream Liang of Wisconsin tied for first with Rick Lutzke, both with 4½. David Paykin took third with 4-1.
Midwest Class - Expert / A
Thirteen-year-old cheesehead Alexander Velikanov earned his National Master title in style by winning the Expert Section with 4½-½. Sedrick Prude, Dane Mattson of Wisconsin, and Robert Keating of Iowa tied for second with 4-1.
Eleven-year-old Alex Bian of Lincolnshire (one of our Warren Junior Scholars) won the Class A section with a perfect 5-0 score. Locals Rafeh Qazi and Robert Moskwa tied for second with 4-1 to complete the Illinois sweep.
For those of unfamiliar with tournament chess: this is not a scholastic event!
Eleven-year-old Alex Bian of Lincolnshire (one of our Warren Junior Scholars) won the Class A section with a perfect 5-0 score. Locals Rafeh Qazi and Robert Moskwa tied for second with 4-1 to complete the Illinois sweep.
For those of unfamiliar with tournament chess: this is not a scholastic event!
Midwest Class Championsips results-Master Section
This weekend's results are in from Wheeling!
Bulgarian Grandmaster and opening theoretician Atanas Kolev won the top section of the 20th Midwest Class Championship with a 4½-½ score. Kolev beating GM Dmitry Gurevich and Illinois Co-Champ Aun Thant Zin in rounds 3 and 4, and drawing Seth Homa of Michigan (who finished second with 4-1) in the final round. This section was a tough one for the most of the locals: Aun Thant Zin did beat GM Nikola Mitkov in round 3, and Mitkov and Gurevich were paired with each other in the last round.
Age is catching up with 96-year-old Erik Karklins. He lost all his games in the Expert Section: when he got a bye in round 4, he used the opportunity to play up to the Master Section, and beat NM James Ellis of Iowa.
Senior Master Eric Rosen
Congratulations (yet again) to Niles North senior Eric Rosen, who went to Texas this weekend and won the Dallas Open.
Eric's post-event rating is (unofficially) 2404, which makes him a Senior Master. Congratulations!
Eric's post-event rating is (unofficially) 2404, which makes him a Senior Master. Congratulations!
Friday, October 14, 2011
Illinois Chess Association Banquet Honoring Andrew Karkins
Please join us (this means you!) on Sunday, November 6th, from 1 to 4 p.m., at Buca di Beppo in Lombard. Andrew Karklins will be receiving the Natalie Broughton Lifetime Achievement Award. Preregistration is required: more info and online ticket link here.
The meal at last year's banquet was excellent: generous helpings (similar to Maggiano's), but more affordable. I am on a diet, so there will be much more for others to eat.
The meeting will be preceded by the Illinois Chess Association's annual meeting (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), open to all ICA members and pretty much anyone not carrying a Molotov cocktail.
The meal at last year's banquet was excellent: generous helpings (similar to Maggiano's), but more affordable. I am on a diet, so there will be much more for others to eat.
The meeting will be preceded by the Illinois Chess Association's annual meeting (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), open to all ICA members and pretty much anyone not carrying a Molotov cocktail.
An interesting endgame moment from Shulman-Bhat
After 50.Kf3: Black to play
I don't want to try to anticipate what the master annotators at the Blaze Blog will have to say. But at the very end of this game, it's a fair question as to whether Black found the best move.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
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?
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?
Board 3: Young ½ - Naroditsky ½
Board 3 was potentially a problem for Chicago: the young prodigy Naroditsky is the author of Mastering Positional Chess. 24...a5! looks strong to me, and a few moves later, White's c5 pawn fell.
But IM Angelo Young (no slacker at positional play) held on for the draw.
But IM Angelo Young (no slacker at positional play) held on for the draw.
Board 1: Shulman ½ - Bhat ½
I really don't understand the opening on Board 1. Usually in the Leningrad Variation of the Nimzoindian, Black will trade the Bb4 for the Nc3 to double White's c-pawns. But Bhat played ...e6xd5 and deferred capturing on c3. Strange to this amateur's eyes, but the proof is in the results. It was Yury who had to force the draw with White.
Blaze 2½ - San Francisco Mechanics 1½
The Chicago Blaze are now 7-0!
On Board 2, Grandmasters Jesse Kraai and Mesgen Amanov played a sharp Catalan that fizzled out into a draw:
On Board 2, Grandmasters Jesse Kraai and Mesgen Amanov played a sharp Catalan that fizzled out into a draw:
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Point-count chess
The object of the game is checkmate, so all point-count systems are rules of thumb at best. But the "primitive" values we teach beginners are surprisingly useful: bishops and knights are worth 3 pawns, the rook is worth 5 pawns, and the queen is worth 9 pawns.
Some years ago, IM (now GM) Larry Kaufman slightly revised these rules of thumb based on empirical data. I just happened across the article today while looking up something else: it's still fascinating.
To summarize Kaufman's improved rules of thumb: bishops and knights are worth 3¼ pawns (but add ½ pawn for the bishop pair), rooks are still worth 5 pawns, and the queen is worth 9¾ pawns.
Some years ago, IM (now GM) Larry Kaufman slightly revised these rules of thumb based on empirical data. I just happened across the article today while looking up something else: it's still fascinating.
To summarize Kaufman's improved rules of thumb: bishops and knights are worth 3¼ pawns (but add ½ pawn for the bishop pair), rooks are still worth 5 pawns, and the queen is worth 9¾ pawns.
Blaze match begins in a few minutes
Tonight the Blaze face off against the San Francisco Mechanics: Brad Rosen previews the match here. Mechanics first board Jesse Kraai went to Shimer College: I knew him back when he had a flowing mane of hair and I wasn't quite bald.
Carlsen wins Bilboa in blitz playoff
...and Hikaru Nakamura, bizarre round nine loss notwithstanding, takes third on tiebreaks. A deserved win for Carlsen (who beat the red-hot Ivanchuk twice in regulation play) and a bittersweet step forward for Nakamura.
Coverage in the usual places....
WhyChess (all games available via drop-down box)
What tactic is more basic than pins and forks?
Dan Heisman (whose Chess Cafe column is wonderful reading for beginners and their teachers) has argued that teaching beginners to count is the indispensable first step in teaching tactics.
Blog contributor Vince Hart, who has been working with the Prospect High School chess team for the past nine years, emphasizes piece safety with his team, and points us to a wonderful Heisman column on the subject.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Bilboa Round 9: Vallejo 1 - Nakamura 0
Nakamura flagged on move 40 in a slightly superior position: he thought he had made the time control, and stepped away for a glass of juice.
As Carlsen beat Ivanchuk today, a win would have brought Nakamura into a tie for first.
Three decisive games today!
As Carlsen beat Ivanchuk today, a win would have brought Nakamura into a tie for first.
Three decisive games today!
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