What is zugzwang?

For the answer to this question, see the Kavalek column.

We take turns in chess: first White moves, then Black, then White....  Usually, "having the move" is a big advantage: if both sides are threatening mate, you would like it to be your move!  

Whoever moves first, wins

I hope it's my turn!

This is particularly true in the opening: when we speak of tempo (plural "tempi"), we're often talking about getting  your pieces into battle more quickly than your opponent does.  Having the move can only help!  If you look at the three Marshall Defense traps that Frederick posted earlier this week, you'll see that White gained one or more tempi by forcing Black to recapture the d5 pawn, then retreat the recapturing piece.  If you move four pieces out with your first moves and I've only moved one piece out, then you've gained three tempi on me!  It's a little more complicated than that, but this gives you an idea....

But sometimes (more frequently than most chessplayers realize), having the moving is a burden, not a privilege.

White to play

A complicated position!

I remember trying to explain the king and rook versus king mate to elementary students.  They found this position difficult, so I asked their parents to help.  The parents were confused, too!

First, let's pretend it's Black's move:

• How many legal moves does Black have?
• In each case (heh!), can you find White's best reply?

Now let's look at the position with White to move:

• What is the fastest way for White to win?

And now...let's (temporarily) CHANGE THE RULES OF CHESS so that you don't have to move when it's your turn!  (Instead, either player can just say "pass" and skip a turn.)

• With White to play, what is the fastest way for White to win this position?

One could ask the very same series of questions about another complicated position:

White to play

Another complicated position!

(Remember that the White pawns generally travel "up" the page (or in this case, the screen) and Black pawns travel "down": the queening square for the d6 pawn is d8.)

No answers for the time being: try to figure this out yourselves!

Not your typical checkmate in three moves

A recent Huffington Post column by GM Lubomir Kavalek used one of my favorite chess problems to illustrate the concept of zugzwang.  (I like it so much that I've posted it on the blog once before!)  The author of this problem is the nineteenth-century French playwright Alfred de Musset.

 de Musset

White to play and checkmate in three moves

A Trap in the Marshall Defense #3

Here is yet another trap in the Marshall Defense, one that I have pulled off many times. I learned of it from Lev Alburt's column in Chess Life. Some Marshall players vary from the normal 3...Nxd5 with 3...Qxd5?! After 4.Nc3, they usually continue with 4...Qa5 a la the Scandinavian Defense. (Note that after the better 4...Qd8, White should play 5.Nf3 rather than 5.e4?!, which allows Marshall's idea 5...e5!) After 4...Qa5, 5.Bd2! is strong, intending to follow up with e4 and Nd5, for example 5...Bf5?? 6.e4! Bg6 7.Nd5 and Black resigned in Steller-Reig, Stroebeck 1982. About 90% of my Internet opponents instead find 5...Qb6, forking White's b and d pawns, and after 6.Nf3! they dive in with 6...Qxb2?? 7.Rb1 Qa3 8.Nb5!, when the queen has no way to guard c7.

A Trap in the Marshall Defense #2

I invented another trap in the Marshall Defense to the Queen's Gambit. Continuing from the line given in the previous post (4...Nc6?!), White can vary with 6.d5!? Then 6...Nb8! is best. Most of my opponents on the Internet, however, have played 6...Nxe4?, expecting 7.dxc6? Qxd1+ 8.Kxd1 Nxf2+ 9.Kel Nxh1. However, 7.Be3! (guarding the f-pawn and threatening 8.dxc6) refutes this. Black loses the queen knight after 7...Nb4 8.Qa4+, or the king knight after 7...Nb8 8.Qa4+.

A Trap in the Marshall Defense #1

Frank Marshall, the U.S. Champion from 1909 to 1936, had some important ideas in the openings. The gambits named for him in the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5!?) and Semi-Slav (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6 4.e4 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Bb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxd4 7.Bxb4 Qxe4+) remain theoretically critical even today. The defense to the Queen's Gambit named for him (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6) has been less successful. It is never seen today in high-level play, though it remains a mainstay among lower-rated players.

The following game shows a nice trap that is often seen. After 3.cxd5! Nxd5, Marshall's idea was that the natural 4.e4?! Nf6 5.Nc3 e5! gives Black a reasonable game, since after 6.dxe5 Qxd1+, Black regains the pawn with 7.Nxd1 Nxe4 or 7.Kxd1 Ng4. Instead, 4.Nf3! prepares e4; on 4...Bf5, 5.Qb3 is awkward to meet. 4...Nc6, as in the game below, is inferior, but popular on the Internet. White's 5.e4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bg4 7.d5! set a trap, which Black fell into with 7...Ne5?, allowing 8.Nxe5!, a pseudo-queen sacrifice that wins material by force. After 9.Bb5+, Black's best was the abject 9...Nd7 10.Bxd7+ Qxd7 11.Nxd7, leaving White a piece up in the endgame. Black's 9...c6? was even worse. After 11.cxb7+, Black resigned in the face of 11...Kd8 12.Nxf7# or 11...Nd7 12.bxa8(R)+ Qd8 13.Bxd7#.

Another $5 Swiss at the Evanston Chess Club this Saturday!

Details here!

Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave., Evanston, IL 60202

Evanston Chess Presents:
Jun 12, 2010
9:00am-5:00pm

Swiss Groups, 3SS G/70

Multiple Sections, USCF Regular Rated

ICA President Tom Sprandel and his wife Marie will be emulating Kerouac this summer (but Tom will still be running the ICA show via phone and the Intertubes).  If he's not too busy with last-minute packing, you may have a chance to wish Tom bon voyage!

Victor Mikhalevski quiz from the 2010 Chicago Open

The Israeli GM presents several of his positions from the Chicago Open and asks you to find the best move. 

Statistics utility for USCF members

Wayne Zimmerle wrote this nifty application to access your records in the U.S. Chess Federation's Member Services Area.

Works like a charm!

2010 Chess Camps: Chess Education Partners

The kids are getting out of school soon, and Chess Education Partners has wonderful camps taught by masters to keep their mischievous minds (ages 6 to 14) occupied:

• June 14-18 - Hinsdale
• June 21-25 - Latin School, Chicago
• June 28-July 2 - Mount Prospect (with GM Nikola Mitkov!)

Follow this link for more information!

"A Parent's Perspective on the Chicago Open"

Mark Schein shares his impressions at Chess Life Online.

The Check Is in the Mail

Interesting correspondence game by Dr. Tansel Turget of Decatur, who is a strong over-the-board player and an extraordinarily deep correspondence player.

Noah's Ark on the Kingside?

In the previous post, I mentioned the silly trap 1.e4 c5 2.Bb5?! a6 3.Ba4?? b5 4.Bb3 c4 and Black wins a piece. As you can see from the game below, the mirror image of this on the kingside is also a trap - but for Black! Pushing all the pawns in front of your king is dangerous!

Noah's Ark Trap

If you play the Sicilian on the Internet, sooner or later you'll run into someone who plays 1.e4 c5 2.Bb5?! a6 3.Ba4?? against you, losing the bishop after 3...b5 4.Bb3 c4. The Noah's Ark Trap in the Ruy Lopez (supposedly called that because of its antiquity) is a slightly more sophisticated version of this. The game below shows Endre Steiner falling into it against Capablanca at Budapest 1929. White's 5.d4 is considered inferior to 5.0-0, 5.c3, and 5.Bxc6+ if White is playing for a win. After Capablanca's 6...Nxd4! 7.Nxd4 cxd4, it is a little awkward for White to regain his pawn, as Steiner discovered to his chagrin. He could have done so safely with 8.Bd5 Rb8 9.Qxd4, or played 8.c3, when after 8...dxc3 he could choose between gambitting a pawn with 9.Nxc3!? and forcing a draw with 9.Qd5 (threatening both the rook and Qxf7#) Be6 10.Qc6+ Bd7 11.Qd5 Be6 12.Qc6+. Instead, poor Steiner fell into the trap with 8.Qxd4??, allowing Capa to trap his bishop with 8...c5! 9.Qd5 Be6 10.Qc6+ Bd7 11.Qd5 c4!

Betsy Dynako covers the Chicago Open

Photos and story at Chess Life Online.

Tatev Abrahamyan earned an IM norm at the Chicago Open

Photo: Betsy Dynako for Chess Life Online

Chicago Open class sections - Illinois winners

Chess is not all about the Benjamins (there are much easier ways to make much more money), but when a class player wins a large prize, that usually means the player has made exceptional improvements in his or her game.  Here are some local players who did very well this weekend:

In the Under 1000 Section, Jim Nowak tied for third with a score of 5.5.  $366.67: nice!

In the Under 1300 Section, Evanston Township High School grad Ashok Raife won a cool $4,000 towards his college education with a very impressive 6.5.  Jack Mallers, Dimitar Stanatov, and Imtiaz Al Garcia scored 6 points and took home $1,500 apiece.  Kyle M. Frapolly and Santiago Mata scored 5.5, good for $533.34 to each.

In the Under 1500 section, Todd M. Scarlett and Christian Kavouras earned $2,500 apiece for their 6-1 score.  Adele Padgett (who tied for first in the Illinois Girls Invitational), Rob Eaman of CICL fame, and Alexander Bologna each won $650.

In the Under 1700 section, Eric Emer won $1,675 for his 6-1 score; Robby Hecht, Benjamin Hutter, and Jeremy Berman won $500 each, finishing tied at 5.5.

In the Under 1900 section, Gwayne Lambert won $3,333.34 (nice!) for his undefeated 6-1 score; Hazim Malkoc and Oleg Trivonov took home $640 for 5.5.

And in the Under 2100 section, Matthew Wilber, Andrew Hubbard, and Mark Robledo Jr. each took home $1,075 for their 5.5 score.  (I have to play Mark on Friday: hmm.)

Congratulations to our local prizewinners and to all who played well!

2010 Illinois Open State Championship, September 4-6 in Oak Brook

More info here!

The Illinois Chess Association will be offering conditions to Illinois GMs and IMs.

6th Annual Yury Shulman Chess Camps

The 2008 U.S. Champion and second-place finisher in the 2010 U.S. Championship is offering three separate day camps:

• June 14-18, Barrington
• July 12-16, Barrington
• August 2-6, Palatine

You'll find a link to registration and contact info at this link.

Erik Karklins is my hero

The elder Mr. Karklins is 95 years old, and he scored 5-2 this weekend in the Under 2100 section, winning $150!  Erik closed out the event with three straight wins against players with ratings solidly above 1900.

I believe Erik Karklins will now become the top Illinois player over age 65--he's spotting the field thirty years!

Congratulations to Loek Van Wely!

The Dutch grandmaster recently wrote an article for New in Chess about his American travels: playing in US events was a good way to spend time with special Facebook friends, but not an especially good way for unlucky Loek to make money (I'm paraphrasing from memory).

This Memorial Day weekend, however, Van Wely won six games and drew three: 7.5 points was good for 10,000 and clear first in the Chicago Open!

The event was strong enough to attract attention in Armenia.  (Translation here.)

My general impression: aside from tournament visitor Yury Shulman (who's been doing his part lately), we in Chicago need to up our level of play to compete with the rest of the world.  GM Mesgen Amanov was the top local finisher with 6 points out of 9.

Among local juniors in the Open Section, Adarsh Jayakumar drew GMs Ehlvest and Lein, and could have drawn GM Finegold (coulda woulda shoulda), NM Eric Rosen dropped IM Daniel Fernandez.  Tommy Ulrich had an even score after five rounds and gained a ton of rating points.

I scored 2 points out of 7 and appear to have gained a few points!

More results from the other sections as soon as I recover from my "chess hangover."  Full results here!