Awonder Liang (photo: Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune)
Patzer doesn't shave, wears flannel shirt, finds photo in paper
(photo: Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune)
Jeff Vorva reports.Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A Basic Drawing Technique in King, Rook and Rook's Pawn v. King and Rook
Consider the following two positions which were inspired by Robert Moskwa's game at the Illinois Class with World Under 8 Champion Awonder Liang. White has just checked the Black king with his rook and Black has the choice of moving away from the White king and pawn with 1...Kd7 or towards them with 1...Kb6. The only difference is that the White rook is on c4 in the first and c3 in the second. Both positions are theoretical draws if Black makes the correct choice. See if you can figure out what the right move is in each case before you look at the analysis on my blog.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Illinois Class Championships: Classes A and B
Classes A and B were combined. 15-year-old Nathaniel Kranjc of Wheaton (a 2011 ICA Warren Scholar) won the tournament (and Class A) with a 4-0 score. Eight-year old David Peng of Northbrook (another 2011 ICA Warren Scholar, and one of several veterans of the just-completed World Youth Championships in Brazil) took clear second with a 3-1 score.
The winners of Class B were one of Chicago's finest, Dmitri Kosteris (adults can play chess, too!), Brian Harrigan of Indiana, and Rachel Ulrich of Wisconsin, a home-schooled sixth-grader. (Rachel and I compared our age-ten-ratings last year: divide her rating by two, and you'll get my original rating.)
Look for games on the ICA website in the next few days!
The winners of Class B were one of Chicago's finest, Dmitri Kosteris (adults can play chess, too!), Brian Harrigan of Indiana, and Rachel Ulrich of Wisconsin, a home-schooled sixth-grader. (Rachel and I compared our age-ten-ratings last year: divide her rating by two, and you'll get my original rating.)
Look for games on the ICA website in the next few days!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Nakamura clear second in London!
The tournament is over (Nakamura beat Adams, all other games drawn.) Final scores (unofficial):
Kramnik 16
Nakamura 15
Carlsen 14
McShane 13
Anand 9
Aronian 9
Short 6
Howell 4
Adams 3
Update: Nakamura won with the King's Gambit! The game is here. The final round report should appear here soon.
Tansel Turgut wins Illinois Class
ICCF Grandmaster Tansel Turgut knows something about over-the-board play, too, as evidenced by his victory in this past weekend's 2011 Illinois Class Championships with a 3½-½ score.
Dr. Turgut had a narrow escape in the final round against 8-year-old (!!!) Awonder Liang. It appeared to this kibitzer that Awonder (in clear first at the beginning of the round) had his esteemed opponent on the ropes at one point. But he lost, and tied for second with FM Albert Chow with 3-1 scores (Chow was undefeatedand beat NM Greg Bungo in the last round. Don't ask me what I was thinking when I wrote the last sentence: Chow and Bungo played a very correct draw, and I even played a small role in the post-mortem.)
In the skittles room, Awonder was disconsolate about his loss in an eight-year-old kinda way. But his father and siblings reminded him that he played very well, that he should be proud, and it's that only a game. (Useful advice for adults, too.) Dr. Turgut came to collect Awonder's signature on the scoresheet "so I can show other people someday that I beat a world champion." Adream Liang chimed in, "But he's already world champion!" Thus cheered up, Awonder started kibitzing my post-mortem:
I don't think it took Awonder more than two seconds to spot the shot. (Hint: leave your queen and rook en prise, and allow Black to capture a third piece with check.) What a phenomenal talent!
Thanks to the Orland Park Cultural Center, organizer Mikhail Korenman, and TD Sevan Muradian for a smooth and fun event.
A report on the other sections will follow: look for games on the ICA website in the next few days!
Edit: here are the crosstables!
Dr. Turgut had a narrow escape in the final round against 8-year-old (!!!) Awonder Liang. It appeared to this kibitzer that Awonder (in clear first at the beginning of the round) had his esteemed opponent on the ropes at one point. But he lost, and tied for second with FM Albert Chow with 3-1 scores (Chow was undefeated
In the skittles room, Awonder was disconsolate about his loss in an eight-year-old kinda way. But his father and siblings reminded him that he played very well, that he should be proud, and it's that only a game. (Useful advice for adults, too.) Dr. Turgut came to collect Awonder's signature on the scoresheet "so I can show other people someday that I beat a world champion." Adream Liang chimed in, "But he's already world champion!" Thus cheered up, Awonder started kibitzing my post-mortem:
Brock-Moskwa (variation)
White to play and win with style
White to play and win with style
(yes, 1.Bf4 and 1.Rf4 are good enough, but look for the coolest move)
I don't think it took Awonder more than two seconds to spot the shot. (Hint: leave your queen and rook en prise, and allow Black to capture a third piece with check.) What a phenomenal talent!
Thanks to the Orland Park Cultural Center, organizer Mikhail Korenman, and TD Sevan Muradian for a smooth and fun event.
A report on the other sections will follow: look for games on the ICA website in the next few days!
Edit: here are the crosstables!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Boris Becker on tennis and chess
When do you play cat-and-mouse? When do you go for the kill? Tennis players can learn a lot from chess players, and chess players can learn a lot from tennis players. So thinks Boris Becker.
Here's an entertaining miniature that Nigel Short played against Boris a few days ago. Becker never got to use his backhand, er, his queenside pieces.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Reality TV for übergeeks
There's a bit more info in this ChessBase article.
Kasparov: "The Risks of the Reset"
You won't often find this lefty recommending links to Heritage Foundation talks, but here's one. You'll find the Q&A here.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
My favorite chess app for the iPhone / iPad
As of now, it's tChess Pro version 1.7.1. I've been using it on the iPhone for almost three years: the interface is easy and intuitive, the features are nice, and the playing engine is reasonably strong. (I lost the first game I played against it, and many more since then.) There may be stronger engines, but tChess is snappy!
There's a dual core option on the iPad 2: not sure how many ELO this would add. But if you're looking for raw strength, the iPhone and iPad are the wrong platforms.
Most of these screenshots are from my iPad, with the exception of one iPad screenshot grabbed from the developer's website. But the iPhone look and feel is very similar: I don't feel all thumbs with this GUI even on a tiny screen (compare my ChessBase 1.1 hatefest, which was essentially a rant about ChessBase's GUI.)
I'm about to start a new game.
Grr...only a draw. (Trust me, I wasn't going to show you a screenshot with my usual rating of 1650.) And tChess was not set to play at full strength.
I can find out that the game was a Marshall Attack, ECO code C89.
Perhaps I should look at a Fischer game instead. Or I could look at the game that one of my Industrial League teammates just sent to me. Or I could open a database of my own games. Or I could play through the tournament game I just played on my iPhone, identify my gross tactical blunders, and email the game score to myself. (My biggest complaint: tChess Pro does not support any variations within PGN. It really should.)
You can have up to 25 PGN files on the device: before I started this review, I had twenty on my iPhone. One can copy and paste PGN into tChess, and perform some basic editing on PGN headers. Even the ChessBase of twenty years ago had far more advanced database features, but the ease of accessing the game you've forgotten is a delight.
I've never cared for 3D representations of the chess board: if I want 3D, I'll get out a set. But some folks think this is cool.
Frustrated by your ratings history? Delete and create a new player profile.
This app is well worth $7.99!
There's a dual core option on the iPad 2: not sure how many ELO this would add. But if you're looking for raw strength, the iPhone and iPad are the wrong platforms.
Most of these screenshots are from my iPad, with the exception of one iPad screenshot grabbed from the developer's website. But the iPhone look and feel is very similar: I don't feel all thumbs with this GUI even on a tiny screen (compare my ChessBase 1.1 hatefest, which was essentially a rant about ChessBase's GUI.)
I'm about to start a new game.
Grr...only a draw. (Trust me, I wasn't going to show you a screenshot with my usual rating of 1650.) And tChess was not set to play at full strength.
I can find out that the game was a Marshall Attack, ECO code C89.
Perhaps I should look at a Fischer game instead. Or I could look at the game that one of my Industrial League teammates just sent to me. Or I could open a database of my own games. Or I could play through the tournament game I just played on my iPhone, identify my gross tactical blunders, and email the game score to myself. (My biggest complaint: tChess Pro does not support any variations within PGN. It really should.)
You can have up to 25 PGN files on the device: before I started this review, I had twenty on my iPhone. One can copy and paste PGN into tChess, and perform some basic editing on PGN headers. Even the ChessBase of twenty years ago had far more advanced database features, but the ease of accessing the game you've forgotten is a delight.
Frustrated by your ratings history? Delete and create a new player profile.
This app is well worth $7.99!
Another reason to enter the Illinois Class Championships this weekend
Join us this coming Saturday and Sunday at the Orland Park Cultural Center.
Details here!
Enter online here!
Hat tip Brad Rosen.
London Round 4: Anand 0 - Nakamura 1 !!!
Yesterday, GMHikaru tweeted, "The single most important thing in life is to believe in yourself regardless of what everyone else says" After Nakamura's disastrous showing in the Tal Memorial in Moscow, this blogger was one of the doubters. It is good to be proven wrong!
In the first four rounds of this event, Nakamura has drawn Kramnik, beaten Aronian, lost to Carlsen, and beaten Anand. That's +1 against the top four players in the world.
In the Classical King's Indian, White's kingside attack arrives first. Indeed, in the position after move 21, it looks like Nakamura is about to get swept off the board.
But Black is attacking White's king! If Black breaks through, Black will bring pain. The biggest win in Hikaru's career?
More to follow!
In the first four rounds of this event, Nakamura has drawn Kramnik, beaten Aronian, lost to Carlsen, and beaten Anand. That's +1 against the top four players in the world.
In the Classical King's Indian, White's kingside attack arrives first. Indeed, in the position after move 21, it looks like Nakamura is about to get swept off the board.
But Black is attacking White's king! If Black breaks through, Black will bring pain. The biggest win in Hikaru's career?
More to follow!
Monday, December 5, 2011
So maybe AAPL isn't incredibly overvalued?
I've belonged to the iPhone cult for several years. The iPad that I've owned for two days is kinda nice, too. Look for chess software reviews in coming weeks....
One problem with the iWorld is that it's not flash-friendly, and we're using ChessFlash to present games. Advice would be appreciated!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Fish Men
Coming next May 26 to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago: Fish Men, a play about chess hustlers in Washington Square Park in New York.
Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago event at Rickover Naval Academy
Mike Cardinale of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago and Michael Biela (principal of Rickover Naval Academy, a CPS school on the Senn High School campus) hosted a 5-round game/20 event today that drew about 280 players.
I had to leave before the awards ceremony, so I don't have final standings. Unofficially, Abdel Raoul took clear first in the top section with a perfect 5-0. I saw him drop a Fried Liver on Abraham Cornejo in Round 4 and win with good endgame technique.
And here are a few photos of the action in the Senn/Rickover cafeteria. (An iPhone doesn't do the space justice: one would need a wide-angle lens.)
I had to leave before the awards ceremony, so I don't have final standings. Unofficially, Abdel Raoul took clear first in the top section with a perfect 5-0. I saw him drop a Fried Liver on Abraham Cornejo in Round 4 and win with good endgame technique.
And here are a few photos of the action in the Senn/Rickover cafeteria. (An iPhone doesn't do the space justice: one would need a wide-angle lens.)
Mark your calendars for the next YCF event on January 21st, at De La Salle Institute /
St. Columbanus,
3434 S. Michigan Avenue.
London Chess Classic underway
Chicago Blaze manager Daniel Parmet is working the event, and Illinois Chess Association President Tom Sprandel is in London. Maybe we can get some inside info....
The nine grandmasters (including the world's top four: Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Kramnik) played a fun exhibition game against "the rest of the world" on Twitter. The geniuses won easily, but they missed an amazing combination (checkmate or win of queen) in the position below:
Follow this link for the answer, the entertaining game, and the notes.
Follow Round 1 (right now!) at the official site, WhyChess, The Week in Chess, or your favorite paid provider.
The nine grandmasters (including the world's top four: Carlsen, Anand, Aronian, Kramnik) played a fun exhibition game against "the rest of the world" on Twitter. The geniuses won easily, but they missed an amazing combination (checkmate or win of queen) in the position below:
Black to play and win quickly
Follow this link for the answer, the entertaining game, and the notes.
Follow Round 1 (right now!) at the official site, WhyChess, The Week in Chess, or your favorite paid provider.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Schein-Friedman award
If you're one of the top juniors in the country in your age group, don't overlook this opportunity!
Anand on Fischer
World Champion Viswanathan Anand. Photo: Amit Bhargava/AP
...and other topics in The Guardian.
The London Chess Classic begins tomorrow!
Chicago Latino Championships
Eliza Blancas (age 92) vs. Elizabeth Rivera (age 6)
Keith Ammann informa para la Asociación de Ajedrez de Illinois.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Author, author!
Shiva Maharaj showed me this cute study the other day. I figured out that the theme was domination, but could not find the main line.
So whose study is it? I'll guess Kasparyan. (Duh: the obvious guess.) But if someone with the van der Heijden database would clue me in, I'd appreciate it and will amend to give credit.
So whose study is it? I'll guess Kasparyan. (Duh: the obvious guess.) But if someone with the van der Heijden database would clue me in, I'd appreciate it and will amend to give credit.
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