It's Shulman-Kamsky tomorrow for the title!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Back rank mate practice
Nakamura-Shulman, 2010 U.S. Championship
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Black to play and win
Do these easy mating patterns have any practical application in grandmaster play? Well, it helps to be able to spot the pattern many moves in advance.
Here's a somewhat more difficult version of the same problem.
Here's a somewhat more difficult version of the same problem.
Nakamura-Shulman, 2010 U.S.
Championship
Sunday, May 23, 2010
2010 National Open in Las Vegas, June 11-13
This is the first year in a long long time that Chicago's Fred Gruenberg won't be running the show, but ex-Chicagoan Al Losoff will be carrying on the tradition. Local GMs Dmitry Gurevich and Mesgen Amanov will be among the masters giving workshops and holding simuls; GM Susan Polgar, GM Varuzhan Akobian, and IM Irina Krush and several other top players will also be there. (GM Arthur Bisguier, a really sweet fellow who's forgotten more about rook endings than the other players know, will be there, too.)
I hate Las Vegas; I love this tournament! The venue is South Point; I don't know whether the $50 room rates are still available, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
Friday, May 21, 2010
14th Annual USA Chess National Summer Chess Camp Tour
This national chess camp always gives young players a very professional day camp experience, and they do a good job teaching absolute beginners, advanced players, and the kids in between.
Three are three Illinois camps on their calendar:
- June 28-July 2 - Des Plaines, IL - DePaul University (O'Hare Campus)
- July 19-23 - Wheaton, IL - St. John Lutheran School
- July 26-30 - Mt. Prospect. IL - Saint Paul Lutheran School
(Disclosure: under previous ownership, USA Chess was a client of mine. I have no business association with the current owners.)
Best wishes to Eric Schiller
For many years, our friend Eric Schiller was one of Chicago's strongest masters and instructors; he now lives in Moss Beach, California.
1986 World Championship
Foreground left: PM Margaret Thatcher; Kasparov (head turned), Schiller (beard), Karpov
Eric organized the 1983 World Youth Team Championship at the University of Chicago, he's the author of more than one hundred (!) chess books, he was lord of the press room for two of the five Karpov-Kasparov matches, he was the chief arbiter for the Kasparov-Kramnik match, he edited the Illinois Chess Bulletin in the late 1980s, and (not least) he's the chess champion of Daily Kos. En passant, Eric also holds a Ph.D. in linguistics and is a Phish groupie.
Michael Aigner informs us that Eric is in a San Mateo hospital recovering from a serious infection that led to the amputation of one foot.
Eric, all of your Chicago Schachfreunde wish you a speedy recovery!
Cream of the crop for quad final
FM Mike Klein reports:
Saint Louis, May 20, 2010 – Four players have survived and advanced to the quad finals of the 2010 U.S. Championship, but the results of round seven do not tell the full story. Though a casual glance will show that the top three boards ended in draws, the uncompromising play brought the tournament to within a whisker of a large tiebreaker for the four-player round robin.
Board one was the first to finish, but the relatively peaceful draw between GM Yury Shulman and GM Alex Onischuk that qualified both for the quad did little to portend the action on the next two boards. “I had a little advantage, typical for a Queen’s Gambit Declined,” Shulman said.
GM Gata Kamsky, needing only a draw as White against GM Alex Shabalov to earn his spot, began shaking his head in disbelief when he overlooked the cunning defense 22…Bg6 at the end of a long variation. He had only considered 22…Kg8, which wins for White after 23. Qd5+. Though short on time, Kamsky gathered himself and found a way to capture several pawns whilst simultaneously weakening Shabalov’s king. “It was a pretty unpleasant scenario,” Kamsky said. “I was looking to minimize the damage.”
Kamsky then found what he called an “extremely strong defensive maneuver” – bringing his rook to the fourth rank to defend his king on the g-file. Black then ran low on time and after Shabalov whispered “draw,” Kamsky ran his clock down to 1:20 and agreed.
In the post-mortem, Kamsky rattled off a multitude of variations. In case of 16…b5, Kamsky prepared 17. Nfxe5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Qxe5 19. h4! with the dual threats of 20. Bxh5 and 20. Bf3. Shabalov nodded in quiet appreciation of the cute move.
The last qualifier for the finals would come down to board two. GM Larry Christiansen, a veteran of decades of championships, needed to win as he began the round one half point behind defending champion GM Hikaru Nakamura. Known for his attacking style, Christiansen built up a strong center and spatial advantage. “I was guardedly optimistic,” Christiansen said. Nakamura was not content playing passively and struck with the strange-looking thrust 8…g5. World Champion GM Viswanathan Anand, calling in from Spain live during the on-air commentary, questioned the move. “I’m not sure if Nakamura knows how to (play solidly),” Anand said. “But he doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure.”
As the game petered out into a pawn-up endgame for Christiansen, the crowd at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis gathered around the monitors. Players who generally left the club after their games stayed to see the result. GM Maurice Ashley, commentating on the game, saw Christiansen move his rook around to press for the win. “You’re going to sit here and you’re going to suffer young man,” Ashley said of Christiansen’s mindset. Eventually, too many pawns were traded and Nakamura held on to qualify.
“Basically I just forgot my preparation, but even so the result was pretty good,” Nakamura said. “I made some inexactitudes, as they say,” said Christiansen. “It’s kind of a letdown. The real tournament is over. It’s hard to get psyched up now.”
The four players advancing to the finals are also the top four seeds. They also all enter the event with five points. “Everyone is in even conditions,” Shulman said. “Whoever will have some luck on his side will win the tournament. I’m still considered the underdog.” Nakamura agreed and cited himself, Kamsky and Onischuk as having all the pressure.
The players now enter a rest day before the quad begins on Saturday. Shulman said he plans to attend a St. Louis Cardinals game, while Kamsky looked forward to the human chess match planned for the street outside the club. After rebuffing WGM Jennifer Shahade’s preference to see Kamsky as an f-pawn, the grandmaster said, “I prefer to be a knight because knights get to hop all over the place.”
Nakamura also planned to rest on Friday, at least from chess. “I think I’m probably going to go out and buy some furniture for my apartment,” he said. Nakamura moved to downtown St. Louis less than two weeks ago.
Six players entered the round with 3.5/6 and were mathematically alive, but their chances were dashed when Shabalov could not convert against Kamsky. The most disappointed was surely GM Alex Stripunsky, who would have qualified for the playoff as he beat GM Jesse Kraai. GM Alex Yermolinsky held a draw against GM Ben Finegold on board five. GM Robert Hess rebounded from several losses to take out struggling GM Varuzhan Akobian, who remains the highest-rated player in the country never to win the U.S. Championship, though he remains younger than most of the field.
In the tournament’s subplot of making grandmaster norms, IM Irina Krush is now within sight of her second norm. She took out GM Aleksandr Lenderman in round seven to get back to plus one. The two players share the same coach, but that did not prepare her for the opening. Krush said she was shocked to see Lenderman play the Grunfeld Defense. She is assured of a norm with one point in the final two games.
After tomorrow’s rest day, the top four players begin their three-round event on Saturday, while the rest of the field will play two more games starting on the same day.
“We deserve a little break,” Kamsky said, the relief evident.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
human cluster, part two
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Round 5: A near miss for Dmitry
Dmitry Gurevich was probably winning this game, but Vinay Bhat defended well to halve the point....
Round 5, U.S. Championship: A brilliant draw
I think Shulman came very close to knocking off Nakamura brilliantly, but any commentary is far beyond my ability. Pop some popcorn and enjoy the the fireworks that begin on move 16!
Round 4: Another Shulman win
After beating Hess, Yury is now one of the leaders. He has White against Hikaru Nakamura: the game begins at 2 p.m. today.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Chicago Chess Meetup Group
Looks good: many of my friends are among the meetup group leaders!
If you're looking for casual or serious play, check it out!
Meetup.com 'Chess' from duc nguyen on Vimeo.
Kamsky vs. Nakamura at U.S. Chess Championship - 2 p.m. today
Follow all the action live, beginning 2 p.m. Central at uschesschamps.com!
Second Round Whittles Field of Perfection Down to Two
By FM Mike Klein
St. Louis, May 16, 2010
Chess fans will not have to wait much longer for the strongest matchup of the 2010 U.S. Championship, as the top two seeds will face each other in round three. Both GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Gata Kamsky, the first and second seeds of the tournament, won again today to push their totals to 2-0. They are the only players with perfect scores, and tomorrow Kamsky will have White.
Nakamura began gaining a useful spatial advantage against recent high-school graduate GM Robert Hess, who was last year’s Cinderella story at the championship. Hess claimed he had no idea what opening to prepare for. In the middlegame, Hess said he felt he could not stand by and allow the White f-pawn to advance. He began operations on the queenside with 15…b5, and Nakamura admitted to analyzing variations that included the move, but “somehow I overlooked …b5 itself,” adding, “it might be the best move as far as practical chances.” But in the end Hess’ open c-file was for naught and Nakamura used his queenside pawn phalanx to win the endgame.
Kamsky kept pace by coyly jettisoning his b-pawn for a nebulous initiative against GM Melikset Khachiyan. Kamsky said the pawn was not “poisoned” but he thought he had positional compensation. While Khachiyan had a chance to lock up the position, as many players would against a higher-rated opponent, he said he only came to St. Louis to play for wins. Kamsky agreed. “That’s why we play chess." he said. "We fight. We don’t just take the easy way out.”
Nakamura and Kamsky last played at the 2009 U.S. Championship, where they played an exciting 35-move draw that ended with a repetition of position. As GM Maurice Ashley explained in the commentary, this year is especially exciting since the duo might have to face each other twice, once in the Swiss and once in the quad finale, a la the two USA-Canada men’s ice hockey meetings at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
For the second day in a row, more than half of the games produced a winner. This time seven of the 12 games ended decisively.
GM Alex Yermolinsky got his first point of the event by defeating rising star GM Ray Robson, who has started 0-2. This seemed to be a case of experience being more useful than young energy and calm nerves. Yermolinsky played a rare …d5 pawn thrust that he once used in a rapid game against elite player Michael Adams at a World Championship.
Robson labored over the decision whether to accept the sacrifice, and when he did, all of his opponent’s pieces rushed into the attack. “I saw …Bxc2, and it didn’t look good (for me), but I didn’t know what else to do,” Robson said.
“When people tell me White can just take the pawn and live to tell the tale, I’m not arguing,” Yermolinsky said. He said he guessed a person could use a computer to check the validity of the idea. “But I’ve got other things to do in life than check every variation with a computer.”
The round also featured a pair of throwback openings, as two Benonis and two King’s Indian Defenses delighted any chess fans that relish hypermodern opening systems and the 1990s. Kamsky’s victory was on the Black side of a King’s Indian, and GM Larry Christiansen also used the opening to hold GM Alexander Onischuk to a draw.
The Benoni did not fare as well. While GM Joel Benjamin drew GM Gregory Kaidanov as Black, GM Varuzhan Akobian as White swiftly checkmated GM Jesse Kraai.
“Whenever you think you’re better and you’re not, you’re going to make some mistakes,” Kraai said. He said he was still bothered by his draw in round one against GM Alex Shabalov. Thinking he should have played on for a win, Kraai could not sleep well.
Onischuk, Christiansen and Akobian, all now with 1.5/2, are also joined by GM Jaan Ehlvest and IM Irina Krush, who drew to equal the score. Two other players have one win and one draw. Shabalov defeated GM Ben Finegold and GM Sergey Kudrin won against GM Vinay Bhat.
In other action, youngsters IM Sam Shankland and GM Aleksandr Lenderman battled down to king versus king before agreeing to peace, while GM Alex Stripunsky dispatched GM Dmitry Gurevich.
The 2010 U.S. Chess Championship is open to the public and will feature grandmaster commentary by GM Maurice Ashley and WGM Jennifer Shahade. Live Spectators can access the event by purchasing a membership to the CCSCSL, which costs just $5/month for students and $12/month for adults.
The championship quad finale will take place May 22-24 and will culminate with the $10,000 U.S. Championship Blitz Open at 8 p.m. on Monday, May 24, an event that will feature U.S. Championship competitors and some of the top players from across the country.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Altounian-Shulman, U.S. Championship Round 2
This game highlights a major practical disadvantage of the French Defense at the international level: if White only wants a draw, it can be very hard to win. In this game, Altounian is facing one of the world's strongest practitioners of the French, and he chickens out with the Exchange Variation.
If you want to play the French against an amateur like me, this is less of a worry: check out John Watson's Play the French
.
.Gurevich-Stripunsky, U.S. Championship Round 2
Dmitry is off to a rough start: in this game, he had a nice position in a messy Chigorin Defense. But the tournament format encourages risk-taking, and Dmitry's winning try backfired. He has White against Ray Robson tomorrow.
Friday, May 14, 2010
2010 Chicago Open - Memorial Day Weekend!
And you can check out the results of past years' events here.
If you're an experienced player above USCF/FIDE 1900 and you care more about playing top-notch opponents than winning big cash prizes, you should seriously consider the Open Section. It's 9 rounds (which means that FIDE norms may be available, depending on your pairings), from May 27-31. Of course, if you have a 2700+ performance in the tournament, you could come home with $10,000! But I prefer to keep my expectations reasonable: I would be disappointed to score less than 3 points out of 9, and I'll be ecstatic if I score 4½ points.
Now if you care about chess and the chance to win up to $5,000, there are six strong class sections: Under 2100, Under 1900, Under 1700, Under 1500, and Under 1300. CCA makes reasonable efforts to keep overrated "sandbaggers" out of class sections, but please be aware that there's usually an underrated prodigy or two who you'll have to contend with. So please keep your expectations reasonable, and have fun playing chess!
In all of these sections, you can choose between 4-day, 3-day, and 2-day schedules. I strongly recommend playing in the 3-day or 4-day: young players in particular will learn much more at the slower time control. Young players (especially those close to the top of their section) should seriously consider playing up one section: a player rated 1510 will find the Under 1700 section challenging, but a 1650 player may want to opt for the Under 1900 section. For those mature enough to deal with losses, the experience of playing strong competition is worth more than the slim chance of winning big bucks. (For most players, however, playing up TWO sections is too much.)
Finally, the two-day Under 1000 section is ideal for beginners.
Please note that Illinois Chess Association membership is required for all Illinois residents! You can join ICA when you enter online here before May 24th!
US Championships begin today!
Live coverage begins at 2 p.m. today at www.saintlouischessclub.org.
While virtually all of the top players are familiar to Chicagoans, we've got two local heroes representing us this year:
GM Yury Shulman has White today against GM Vinay Bhat
GM Dmitry Gurevich (below right) has Black today against GM Larry Christiansen (below left)
...should be an interesting game... (photo Betsy Dynako)
You can compete vicariously by forming a fantasy chess team at the USCF web site (only a couple hours left!)
And you'll find coverage of yesterday's opening ceremony at Chess Life Online.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Two more Anand interviews
Although they're on the French site Europe Echecs, the interviews are in English. (Anand is fluent in English, Spanish, and (I would assume!) Tamil, and speaks more-than-passable German; don't know if he does French, too.)
Interesting tidbit from the first interview: Anand did miss the ...h6+! drawing idea in game 8 (he saw the move, but didn't understand its significance during the game). More analysis of game 8 here by GM Robert Fontaine at chessanytime.com.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Chicagoland tournaments this weekend!
Saturday 5/15/10:
McHenry Area Swiss
Orland Park Scholastic
Sunday 5/16/10:
Knights Quest #53
Details on the Illinois Chess Association's tournament page (as always!).
McHenry Area Swiss
Orland Park Scholastic
Sunday 5/16/10:
Knights Quest #53
Details on the Illinois Chess Association's tournament page (as always!).
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
World Championship tactics
This position could have occurred in today's game if White had played 41.Rxa8:
Topalov-Anand, game 12 (variation after 41.Rxa8)
Black to play and win
Hint: Black's Christmas list might include eliminating a certain defensive piece, then clearing the way for yet another piece, no matter the cost.
Anish Giri explains at ChessBase. Interactive board here.
"Half Day takes it all the way"
The five-member team from Half Day School in Lincolnshire are coming home with the first place trophy in the K5 Championship Division at the just concluded National Elementary Championships. The top four scorers--Alex Bian, Conrad Oberhaus, James Wei and Jack Xiao--whose points are counted toward the team total, collectively had just two losses in the whole tournament. All four are 2010 ICA Warren Scholars.
Andi Rosen reports on the ICA website. (Currently on home page: I'll add a permalink later.)
Now would be a good time to donate to the Warren Junior Program!
Vishy rules Sofia!
I was not-so-discreetly checking chesspro.ru on my iPhone during a business meeting today....
Congratulations to Anand, and applause to both players for an entertaining match with minimal intrigue.
World Championship game 12
Going on right now: it's a good one!
Today's winner is World Champion: if it's a draw, tiebreaks on Thursday.
Today's winner is World Champion: if it's a draw, tiebreaks on Thursday.
World Championship tactics
Anand-Topalov
2010 World Championship
After 61.Rc3 (Black to move)
Please find a good move for Black!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Last of a generation
In 1950, FIDE awarded the modern grandmaster title to 27 players. Andor Lilienthal, the last survivor among the original grandmasters, died last week at the age of 99.
More on Grandmaster Lilienthal in the ChessBase obituary and Wikipedia article; also see Kasparov's appreciation in My Great Predecessors, Part 4
. Frederick Rhine tells me that Lilienthal was one of the last surviving players (and by far the strongest player) with a Morphy number of 3.
. Frederick Rhine tells me that Lilienthal was one of the last surviving players (and by far the strongest player) with a Morphy number of 3.
There was a moment of silence in Lilienthal's honor before Game 11 of the World Championship yesterday.
MCA FIDE Futurity XI - after the first weekend
In the advanced duffers' event, Gaddiel Tan takes the early lead. The handicappers' consensus is that I am old and tired and have no chance to keep up with him.
DGT North American Chess Clock
If price is not an issue, I'd still buy the Chronos Chess Clock
. But if you're too cheap to spend more than $100 on a Chronos (that's the story of my life), or if you're the parent of an absent-minded genius who tends to lose things, the $40 DGT North American is an excellent option.
. But if you're too cheap to spend more than $100 on a Chronos (that's the story of my life), or if you're the parent of an absent-minded genius who tends to lose things, the $40 DGT North American is an excellent option.
The DGT supports both the "traditional" delay and the more recent bonus (Fischer) mode common in international play and in local events like the 2009 Illinois Open. Unlike the Chronos, the DGT North American cannot be used to crush the skull of your opponent. The DGT's light plastic housing is more convenient, but probably somewhat less durable. The settings seem somewhat easier to master than the Chronos's settings.
I used them this weekend, liked them, and bought two from Sevan Muradian. If I played a lot of blitz, I would go for the Chronos, but the DGT North American seems ideal for tournament play.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
National champions!
Congratulations to the team from Lincolnshire's Half Day School, winners of the National Elementary (K-5) Championships in Atlanta, Georgia, this weekend. Team members Alex Bian and Conrad Oberhaus tied for second overall, while James Wei tied for seventh and Jack Xiao scored +3 to finish 38th in a 272-player field. Good job!
And congratulations to Anshul Adve of Champaign's Countryside School, who also tied for seventh.
P.S. All these young Illinois players are fourth-graders and eligible to compete in next year's event (except for Jack Xiao, who's a third-grader...)
And congratulations to Anshul Adve of Champaign's Countryside School, who also tied for seventh.
P.S. All these young Illinois players are fourth-graders and eligible to compete in next year's event (except for Jack Xiao, who's a third-grader...)
No. Name Gr Team St Rate Pts 1 Beilin, Allan 5 CARN01 CA 1833 6.5 2 Arora, Mayhul 5 WASTEV WA 1541 6.0 3 Bian, Alex 4 ILL004 IL 1806 6.0 4 Zhao, Art 4 CASTMK CA 1693 6.0 5 Oberhaus, Conrad 4 ILL004 IL 1676 6.0 6 Ishikawa, Takayuki 4 NYBROW NY 1488 6.0 7 Lim, Michael 5 NJG002 NJ 1742 5.5 8 Viswanadha, Kesav 5 CAC018 CA 1916 5.5 9 Jacob, Andrew 5 TXLAUR TX 1641 5.5 10 Wang, Patrick 5 WASTEV WA 1716 5.5 11 Adve, Anshul 4 ILCSID IL 1622 5.5 12 Yu, Justin J 5 WAB004 WA 1636 5.5 13 Wei, James 4 ILL004 IL 1805 5.5 14 Gianatasio, Michael 5 FLB001 FL 1710 5.5 15 Goldstein, Ben 4 NYDALT NY 1533 5.5 16 Tao, Jeffrey 4 CAS047 CA 1599 5.5 17 Kalyanpur, Armaan 5 CAMSJE CA 1594 5.5 18 Santoyo, Edgar A 5 TXBAP1 TX 1467 5.5
...
38 Xiao, Jack 3 ILL004 IL 1426 5.0
Friday, May 7, 2010
This weekend's feature event
...even more important than that silly little match in Sofia, is the 26th North American Masters, held in the same location as the MCA FIDE Futurity. I stopped by the site early and said hello to organizer Sevan Muradian and the nattily-dressed Jon Burgess.
Kibitzers welcome. Don't forget about Mom!
MCA FIDE Futurity XI begins tonight...
A good chess player always makes his excuses pre-event: I haven't played for months and I'm rusty!
Step by this weekend to say hello and kibitz at the Skokie Holiday Inn. Thanks to Chris Baumgartner and MCA for organizing the event for us fish. Details here. The format is very cool: it's a 9-round round robin: five games this weekend and four more in June.
| MCA FIDE Futurity XI | FIDE | USCF |
Brock, Bill |
2007 | 2009 |
| Tutush, Dusan | 1962 | 2028 |
| Stone, George | 1926 | 1773 |
| Blackman, William | 1848 | 1897 |
| Penway, Mike | 1591 | |
| Delay, Joe | 1699 | |
| Vecanski, Dragomir | 1732 | |
| Cohen, Fredric | 1777 | |
| Robledo, Mark, Jr. | 1987 | |
| Tan, Gaddiel | 2049 |
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Still thinking about Tuesday's game
....and endings with bishops of opposite color.
In his Internet Chess Club commentary, GM Har-Zvi mentioned the famous Flohr-Bothvinnik game from the 1955 Soviet Championship as a wonderful example of the principles behind opposite-color bishop endings. It's not so important who has more pawns; it's more important to have more than one threat, ideally on opposite sides of the board.
Flohr-Botvinnik, USSR (ch), 1955
Black to play and win
An unpleasant memory
The endgame reached in today's Game 9 of the World Championship was painful for us Anand fans: Anand missed more than one clear win, and had to settle for a trivially drawn two rooks plus f-pawn vs. queen ending. It was doubly painful for me, as I once had a winning version of the same ending against my friend Tam Nguyen. I should have lost, but Tam was feeling merciful....
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Harikrishna Variation, continued
Topalov-Anand
World Championship, Game 8, May 4, 2010
Black to play resigned
When Anand resigned, many of the spectators were mystified. Can you figure out how White wins by force?
Many of your questions will be answered by the analysis at ChessVibes (which references Sergey Shipov's analysis session with special guest Garry Kasparov).
Many of your questions will be answered by the analysis at ChessVibes (which references Sergey Shipov's analysis session with special guest Garry Kasparov).
A critical position
MrHat notes that after 54.Kg5, Anand could have defended with 54....Bd3 55.g4 Ke8 56.f4 Kd7.
How do you evaluate the position after 57.f5? (The question mark is for you, not for the move.)
White to play
How do you evaluate the position after 57.f5? (The question mark is for you, not for the move.)
The Harikrishna Variation
"TomCruise" on the Internet Chess Club (GM Pentala Harikrishna) analyzed the position after White's 44th move long before it occurred in the game.
Black has two moves that don't lose material immediately: 44....Be8 and 44...gxh5. Which move would you make?
Anand found the drawing move, but went wrong later. This position may become a classic in endgame books.
Topalov-Anand
World Championship, Game 8, May 4, 2010
After 44.h5: Black to play
Black has two moves that don't lose material immediately: 44....Be8 and 44...gxh5. Which move would you make?
Anand found the drawing move, but went wrong later. This position may become a classic in endgame books.
"....just like in the movies"
MrHat opines on Black's best move in the following position:
Topalov-Anand, 2010 World Championship
Game 8, May 4, 2010
Black to play after 41.Bd4+
cute tactical sideline from today's game
Monday, May 3, 2010
The perils of Pauline
White to play and win
Here's a cute tactic (based on a possible variation from an Anand-Topalov game a few days ago; the same combination was relevant in the Shirov-Dominguez game from this year's Corus).
How Did I Do So Well?
I received a lovely e-mail today (actually a few weeks ago: I overlooked Vince's entry during tax season!--BB) from the Chicago Industrial Chess League which read as follows:
All,
Please join me in congratulating Vince Hart from Excaliburs on being this year's North Division MVP. Vince went 6-0-2 on the season with multiple incredible wins. This resulted in +102 rating points, which is especially impressive at the level Vince is.
Once again... Great job, Vince! Please share your method with the rest of us...
Jim Thomson
North Division Chairman
I really wish I could share my method, but I am not really sure why I beat Robert Morris, Florin Inumerable, and Yuri Fridkin who sport CICL ratings of 2211, 2223, and 2189. I don't really think that I am that good.
One of the things that I think has helped my game a great deal is working with high school students. Several of the players I coach are very aggressive and always want to attack, but I have been trying to explain to them that an attack is much more likely to be successful for the player who has an advantage in development and that they should be wary of opening up a position when their opponent’s pieces are well developed. In my game with Florian Inumerable, I saw the opportunity for an interesting exchange sacrifice and even though I could not calculate all the possibilities, I relied on the fact that Florian had wasted a little too much time in the opening. Neither of us played flawlessly thereafter, but I think I won mostly because my position was easier to play.
Did Anand miss a win?
Anand-Topalov
2010 World Championship, Game 7
White to play
Anand played the sensible 42.Qb7+. ChessVibes quotes Shipov's cool idea 42.Qa4! (42...d2? 43.Qc2+ wins). But 42...Qd5+ 43.Kf1 Qe6 44.Qa2! (pinning the c-pawn) and now FireBird suggests 44...Kf7! (relieving the pin: it's important for Black to control the e3 square).
Story & more at ChessVibes.
Chicago Industrial Chess League event this Saturday!
Wow, lots of tournaments this weekend! (I'm playing in one of two invitational events in Skokie that I haven't even mentioned yet....) Find out more about the Chicago Industrial Chess League here!
CICL Individual Tournament
To be played Saturday May 8 starting at 9:00am at the Thai Buddhist Temple, vic. 75th & Harlem in Chicago
Format: 3 round Swiss tournament, with multiple sections as neededTime Control: G/60Time & Date: Arrive by 8:45am sharpon Saturday May 8. Rounds expected to be at 9:10am, 11:10am and 2:10pm.Location: Wat Dhammaram (The Thai Buddhist Temple), 7059 W. 75th Street, Chicago, IL 60638-593475th St just east of Harlem (Rt. 43).Entry Fee: nonePrizes: $30 for 1st place and $20 for 2nd place of each section. (But only for 1st place if the section has less than 7 players). All prizes are only in gift certificates or trophy (your choice).. If the value of a prize is less than $10 due to ties, cash only may be issued. Only members of the CICL are eligible for prizes..Registration: Please pre-register by sending email to TD Tony Jasaitis with Chess Tournament in the subject line.If unrated, please provide an estimate of rating.Eligibility: This tourney is open to all CICL members, and also open to all potential, future CICL members. You must be 16 years of age or older to play in this tournament. USCF membership is not required.Ratings: Games are rated by the CICL for CICL members. Games add to CICL members' Centurion game count. Games are not rated by the USCF. Where reasonable, paring of unrated players will be avoided to hep them get ratings quicker.Chess equipment: Please bring a chess set and chess clock..Note; the TD's top priority is the Playoffs Tournament.
World Championship: another great game today
Game drawn; Anand leads, 4-3. Topalov played a known Exchange sac, uncorked a novelty, then increased the sacrifice to a full piece (for a monster d-pawn). Anand consolidated, but Topalov retained enough counterplay to draw.
Annotations at ChessBase.
Annotations at ChessBase.
A famous Capablanca combination
To warm up your brain before watching the World Championship Monday morning! Game 7 begins 7 a.m. Chicago time.
Capablanca-Tanerow, New York 1910
White to play and win
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Free scholastic event next Saturday, May 8, at Bateman School!
Details are here: if your child would like to play, please follow the instructions! Bateman School is in the Irving Park neighborhood.
I've heard nothing but good things about the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago events.
Nice game/30 minutes event on Southwest Side next Saturday
If 63rd and Central-ish is your neck of the woods, there may be a place for you next Saturday, May 8, at A Place for Us.
Details, as always, on the ICA Tournament Calendar.
World Championship, Games 4-6
With the match half over, the score in Sofia, Bulgaria , is 3½ points for World Champion Viswanathan Anand and 2½ ponts for former champ Veselin Topalov. In games 5 and 6, both Anand and Topalov played at an extremely high level. But if you're an amateur like me, you don't have to feel guilty about skipping these very interesting draws.
But Anand's sudden and brilliant attack win in Game 4 is fascinating: please don't skip that! Everyone's favorite teenage Dutch GM of Nepalese/Russian ancestry, Anish Giri, annotates on ChessBase. (Interactive board here.)
More free English-language coverage at the official site and here:
- The Week in Chess
- US Chess Online
- ChessBase (round 6 and round 5)
- Dejan Bojkov's blog
- ChessVibes (game 6 and game 5)
And there's good gossip as always at The Daily Dirt.
Tomorrow is a rest day: play continues at 7 a.m. Chicago time on Monday, May 3, with Anand having White a second consecutive time.
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