A beautiful queenside attack

I asked David Peng's teacher, Grandmaster Dmitry Gurevich, to take a quick look at my light notes to this game, played a week ago Saturday at Kings Island.  Dmitry wrote back, "Those 9 years olds like David and Awonder [Liang] are going to beat IMs and GMs soon... that's impressive.. scary :)) "

White: David Peng (2076)
Black: NM Charles Diebert (2234)
Kings Island Open, Mason, Ohio
November 10, 2012
Philidor Defense

I had the pleasure of witnessing most of this game from the adjoining board. David Peng is 9½ years old!

 1. e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.Bc4 e5 5.d5 Be7 6.Nge2 a5 7.O-O O-O 8.Ng3 Nc5 9.f3 Ne8 10.Be3 g6

Black isn’t satisfied with a draw against his young opponent, and is willing to take some risks to win. From that respect, the opening has been reasonably successful for Black. The knight on c5 is particularly well posted, and the pawn on a5 restrains White from playing b2-b4, evicting the knight. On the kingside, Black hopes to play ...f7-f5 at an appropriate time: perhaps Black could bring pressure to bear on White’s e4 square, then play ...f5xe4 in a way that White has to reply f3xe4, and the pressure will begin to get serious. Black has the clear idea of exchanging his bad bishop on e7 with ...Be7-g5. It’s not clear what the future holds for White’s bishop on c4: the d5 pawn secures a space advantage for White, but also blocks the a2-g8 diagonal.  

11. a3 a4 12. b4 axb3 13. cxb3 Bd7 

White to play

14. a4!?

Prophylaxis is the art of figuring out your opponent’s plans, then making a move (sometimes mysterious-looking!) that does something to frustrate your opponent’s schemes while advancing your own.

White wants to roll up Black’s queenside! But here’s the problem: if White plays an immediate b3-b4, the horsie hops to a4. With the support of the bishop on d7 and the rook on a8, it’s an excellent blockading piece. But if White plays a4 first, then the a4 square is denied to Black’s knight.

Objectively, Black has more than one adequate response to White’s plan, but I think 14.a4!? is an incredibly sophisticated move for such a young player to make. And for all I know, there may be three or four moves that are objectively better.

The immediate 14.b4 can be answered by the intermezzo 14…Bg5!? (the immediate 14...Na4 works, too) 15.Bxg5 Qxg5 16.Qc1 (but not 16.bxc5?! Qe3+ and Black is better) 16... xc1 17. Rfxc1 Na4 18.Bb5 Bxb5 19.Nxb5 Rc8 20.Rc4 f5 and Black has sufficient counterplay.

14... Bg5 15. Bf2 b6!?

15... Na6!? would be a creative response, as White has weakened the b4 square.

16. b4 Nb7?

And now White can continue with his plan virtually unimpeded. At the same time, it’s hard to fault Mr. Diebert for making what seems to be a very pragmatic decision: suffer for a few moves, then counterattack on the kingside. Instead, 16... Nxa4! allows Black to retain equality because of the fork trick on b5.

17. Qb3 Ng7 18. Bb5! h5

Or 18... Bxb5 19. Nxb5 with enduring pressure. (Allowing doubled pawns with 19. axb5!? also looks strong. )

19. Bc6 Rb8 20. Nb5 Qe7 21. a5 Bxc6

21... bxa5 22. bxa5 Nc5 23. Bxc5 Bxc6 24. dxc6 dxc5 is a better try for Black, which suggests that White may have played a4-a5 a bit prematurely.

22. dxc6 +-

White’s technique in the remainder of the game is excellent: no need to hurry in a position like this!

22…Nd8 23.axb6 Nxc6 24.Qc4 Qd7 25.bxc7 Rxb5 26.Qxb5 Qxc7

Diebert offers stiff resistance in a lost position: beating a master is hard work!

27.Qc4 Qd7 28.b5 Nd4 29.b6 Nge6 30.Rfb1 Rb8 31.Ne2 Nxe2+ 32.Qxe2 Nd4 33.Qc4 Nc6 34.Qa6 Rb7 35.Qa8+ Kg7 36. Rd1 Rb8 37.Qa4 Rb7 38.Ra2 Bd8 39.Rc2 Nd4 40.Qxd7 Rxd7 41.Bxd4 exd4 42.Rb2 Rb7 43.Rdb1 Kf6 44.Kf2 Ke6 45.Ke2 d5 46.Kd3 dxe4+ 47.Kxe4 Kd6 48.Rb3 Bf6 49.Ra1!

White has accurately evaluated that a couple checks and a pawn push is nothing to fear. 49…Re7+ 50.Kd3 Kc6 50... Re3+ 51. Kc2 d3+ 52. Kd2 and the rook on a1 is immune, even after Re2+ 53. Kxd3

51.Ra7 Re3+ 52.Kc4 Rc3+ 53.Rxc3 dxc3 54.Kd3 Kxb6 55.Rxf7 Be5 56.h3 Kc5 57.Rf8 Kb4 58.Kc2 g5 59.Rf5 Bf4 60.h4! 1-0 
 

White to play: what's the best plan?

White to play

 

Ask your computer, and you will get a list of candidate moves with more-or-less meaningless evaluations.  (There are no immediate tactics in this position, and White is somewhat better, but nothing serious.)

I am by no means certain that the player of the White pieces (to be identified later today) came up with the best plan, but it was a very impressive plan!

Illinois Class results!

Final results and prizewinners are here on the Illinois Class website, and the event was rated almost immediately. Permit me be lazy and link to Keith Ammann's tournament report, which should be going up on the ICA website in the next day or so. Thanks to Keith Ammann, Wayne Clark, Maret Thorpe, Gary Jannsen, and the staff at Concordia University for a very smooth event at a very nice location!

"Check ... this out: Richards boasts first all-girls chess team lineup"

Members of Richards High School's girls chess club are from left, Kristina Huggins, Jessica Zavala, Juliet Lucente, Mady Doan, Caitlin O'Sullivan, Anne Sortino, Marial Rancel and Aminah Garcia; who are practicing at the school in Oak Lawn, IL on Wednesday November 14, 2012. | Matt Marton~Sun-Times Media

Story on the Sun-Times website. (Hat tip: Rob Eaman.)

Pobo on The Daily Show

!!!!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Katie Dellamaggiore & Pobo Efekoro
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Rolling the Rossolimo

David Peng's parents, Jenny and Bill, were kind enough to send along David's first-round game from Kings Island. I find it difficult to believe that a nine-year-old could play such a game.

 NM Kristopher Meekins of Ohio tries to outplay David strategically in the trendy Rossolimo Sicilian, but David more than holds his own. 19.g4?! is a critical decision by White: if Black doesn't capture en passant, White locks up the kingside and plays on the rest of the board (King's Indian players know this theme well).  So David keeps the game open: kingside attacks are stronger because that's where His Majesty lives.

White is still coping adequately until the moment after David poses the beautiful question 25...c4! Houdini suggests that White may still be slightly better after 26.Kh2, but even a master can easily go wrong in such a position.

Vanity: Kings Island Road Trip

GM Nikola Mitkov headed a contingent of Chicago players at this year's Kings Island Open. The site is a creaky but charming resort adjoining the amusement park in metro Cincinnati.

 This year's field was not as strong as last year's (most GMs chose to play in Detroit the week before), but still pretty darn strong. Once again, Kentucky GM Gregory Kaidanov took honors, splitting first with IM Goran Vojinovic of Ohio. Crosstables here! 

In Saturday's round three, I was playing next to nine-year-old David Peng, and I looked at his game almost as much as mine. As David was rolling up his second master of the event, I found myself thinking, "Is this kid already stronger than I am?" Wonder no longer: David's post-event rating is 2108, and mine is 2106. Even before his recent ratings jump, David was second only to Awonder Liang on the nation's top nine-year-old list. (As I noted a few days ago, both David and Awonder at age nine are substantially stronger than the twelve-year old Bobby Fischer. But this is a misleading comparison on many levels. Parents, chess is more than having a large number after one's name: you want your children to enjoy playing and enjoy learning. These young players simply love to play!)

***

Here are my games, not because they're particularly good, but because it's a blog. :-)  Constructive criticism is most welcome: that's how we get better!

Claire and I drove in Friday night: traffic was heavy, so I wound up taking a first-round bye (thanks to USCF Executive Director Bill Hall for conveying the message to Wayne Clark).

In round two, I was paired with fellow Chicagoan Tam Nguyen, who is on the cusp of a long-overdue National Master title.  I sacked a pawn for no particularly good reason and was fortunate to escape with a draw:

In round three, I was paired against the reigning Kentucky state champion, NM Davis Whaley.  Black made a Slav triangle and grabbed the Catalan gambit pawn.  At one point, I thought I had excellent wining chances, but the game fizzled out into a dead draw quickly.  Between Evanston and Kings Island, I had now drawn five consecutive games in eight days. (This after making a vow to myself not to offer or accept draws in unclear positions: sometimes there's nothing the players can do...)

Sunday morning, I won against NM Pappu Murthy of Ohio. 15...Nc7? is a cute idea, but the attempt to trap the bishop fails. The alert reader will probably notice several dozen faster wins that I missed (29.Qc4 with the idea of 30.a3 is one, Black's counterplay after 32.Nxd6 appears not be that fearsome, after all), but hey, I won. And yes, Black could have resigned a few moves earlier, but note that Black almost set up a kamikaze stalemate trap. (Queens and rooks are great for kamikaze missions, but monochromatic bishops are generally ineffective.)

Thanks to my style of boring opponents to death, I had a chance to Swiss-Gambit my way into the Under 2300 prize in the final round. NM James Mills of Indiana had other ideas. 15.Ne5!? is interesting: I think I was right to take on d4, but 16...Nf8 is too passive: better 16...Rac8. 18...Bg5!? is my attempt to deal with the coming incursion on c6. I saw White's beautiful 23rd move coming, but didn't appreciate its force until it was too late: 23...f5? is just psychological collapse. A nice win by Mr. Mills!

Now that you've seen all the weaknesses in my play, come exploit them this weekend at the Illinois Class in River Forest!

Shulman & Amanov win Michigan Chess Festival

The field at last weekend's Michigan Chess Festival in Troy was ridiculously powerful: Grandmasters Sam Shankland, Alexander Shabalov, Yury Shulman, Victor Mikhalevski, Sergey Kudrin, Ben  Finegold, and Mesgen Amanov.

The two Illinois grandmasters, Shulman and Amanov, were the only players to win their first four games.  They drew each other in the final round, and nobody caught them.  And our Carl Boor didn't win any cash, but he was the top finisher under 2400, losing only to GM Shabalov. Excellent road trip, gentlemen!

International Master Irina Krush used day one of the event as the warmup for the Women's World Championship, giving her the dubious distinction of having been in Detroit and Siberia in the same week. Tomorrow, Krush faces Alexandra Kosteniuk in round one.

Crosstables here!

Grove Avenue Game/30 in Barrington this Saturday

This Chess without Borders event has scholastic and adult sections with options for rated and unrated play.  Details on ICA website.

Game/60 event at North Shore Chess Center this weekend

Details on ICA website.

USCF membership offer

Just got this U.S. Chess Federation membership offer in my mailbox: works for new members and current members!  But you've got to pull the trigger this month.

Dear Fellow Chess Enthusiast,

The USCF is embarking on the most significant growth campaign in our 75 year history. But we can’t do it without you. 

To help us show strength and stability to our new partners we are looking to grow and to show our members have made a long-term commitment to chess. So we are making this special Premium Membership offer.

Buy 2 Years of Premium Membership and You’ll Receive the 3rd Year Free

This Premium Membership Offer includes 36 issues of Chess Life, now in full color, mailed to you each month.

Visit www.uscfdues.org/342CLpromoE or Call 800-903-8723 to take advantage of this offer.

This Offer applies to Adult Membership categories only. 36 months can be added to current memberships.

Offer expires Friday, November 30, 2012 at 12:00 midnight Central Standard Time. You may be eligible for other membership promotions. Check the link above.

Thanks for your support. Together let's grow chess across America.

Ruth Haring, President

United States Chess Federation

Jonathan Safran Foer on Bobby Fischer

Slate published a selection from an essay on Bobby Fischer by Jonathan Safran Foer, taken from the recent collection Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame.  (One of the co-editors of this book is Jonathan's brother Franklin Foer, the former editor of The New Republic).

Fischer's struggles with mental illness and his renunciation of his ethnic Jewish identity are well-known. It's an interesting and important subject, but not a very pleasant one, and not directly relevant to chess. The paradox of Fischer seems ripe for a novel, so it should be interesting to listen to a young American novelist with a personal stake in this conversation weigh in.

Foer writes:

A Jew wrote The Natural, but has there ever been a natural Jew? Free-spiritedness, joie de vivre, ease in the world—these are not what we do. We do scrappiness, resilience, hard work, self-questioning, self-consciousness, self-destruction, and unflappable will. This applies especially to our athletes, many of whom were not given the best of genetic toolboxes. Most great Jewish athletes have at least this in common: they overcome God’s gifts.

Not a jock, and not a Jew by any definition richer than heredity, Bobby Fischer was the quintessential Jewish Jock. He worked harder than any of his peers. He attempted to conceal his insecurity behind an ego built for 20, and his self-love behind self-hatred behind self-love. And perhaps more than any human who has ever lived, he kvetched [....]

I agree with Foer that Fischer outworked his competitors.  Despite the title of Frank Brady's first biography, Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy,  young Bobby was not a prodigy in the sense  of amazing achievements by age 12  (Reshevsky, Karjakin, and Carlsen in chess, Mozart in music, Pascal and Ramanujan in math).  I know several children under ten who are probably significantly stronger than the twelve-year-old Bobby; from what I've seen of Fischer's 1955 games, I'm fairly certain that one of these young players is at least two orders of magnitude stronger.  

Fischer the teenager is quite another story.  (See Wikipedia for a quick recap of his rise in the years 1955-59.)  As Kasparov has argued, a genius for hard work is a kind of genius. Fischer at age 16 (ranked by Jeff Sonas as second only to Kasparov among the sixteen-year-old players of the last century) was already an order of magnitude stronger than the 14-year-old U.S. Champion, who was in turn several classes stronger than the promising preteen. If we only knew what Bobby did in these years—Jack Collins provides some clues—and what he did prior to his next quantum leap (1968-1970), we'd know much more about the best pedagogical methods for genius.

***

If Fischer considered himself "not a Jew by any definition richer than heredity," why did he expend so much energy calling that presumably tenuous identity into question?  As the author of Everything Is Illuminated knows well, Fischer was born in mid-Holocaust.  To be raised by a fellow traveler of the Communist Party of the USA, and to come of age in New York City in the years after the Rosenberg trial, all at a time when American anticommunism far too often had an antisemitic undercurrent: that particular environment might make the most rational person a bit paranoid.  More so if that person is also "wired" a bit differently than you and I are. Perhaps Fischer shared characteristics with those on the Asperger end of the autism spectrum. Or perhaps he suffered from organized paranoia—compare Judge Schreber and John Forbes Nash, whose antisemitism was a function of their mental illness. If so, then a measure of compassion is certainly in order.  

Some of the things that Fischer said in the last decades of his life were unspeakably vile, and one cannot help but sympathize with the revulsion underlying Foer's curt observation, "With Jews like this, who needs Nazis?"  But some of us are old enough to remember a very different Fischer.

Evanston Tri-Level results

26 players played four games in a day and were done by 5 p.m.: very nice format, Maret!  The multiple sections produce quad-like pairings: nobody is overmatched, and every game is a challenge for both players.

FM Albert Chow and NM Ken Wallach tied for first in the Gold Section with 3-1 scores.  Vito Vitkauskas and Bill Brock tied for third with 2½-1½.

Raul Dhiman won the Silver Section 4-0; Michael Wishner took clear second with 3-1, and Julian Bendelac, Brandon Zborowski, and Matthew Ylinen took third with 2 points.

Lorenzo Sampson swept the Bronze Section 4-0, Adam Wallach (chip off the block) took second with 3-1, and Keith Ammann and Nate Tracy-Amoroso split third.

Crosstables here!

All Grade: team results

I'll be honest: I didn't even know this was a team event, too!  The top three finishers in each school determine the team results.  Full recap of prizewinners on the Illinois Chess Teachers website.

The All Grade is a premier event on the elementary calendar, and a relatively minor event on the high school calendar.  Still, it's impressive to see Benet Academy of Lisle finish ahead of Chicago's Whitney Young.  I would not have expected this, even though Zinski and Kranjc of Benet were the top two seeds, simply because of Whitney Young's depth.  Should be an interesting scholastic season!

K-1

1. McKenzie (Wilmette)
2. Indian Trail (Highland Park)

2nd Grade

1. Indian Trail (Highland Park)
2. Metcalf (Normal)
3. Wheaton Christian Grammar (Wheaton)
3. Avery Coonley (Downers Grove)

3rd Grade

1. Benjamin Elementary (Bloomington)
2. Indian Trail (Highland Park)
3. Decatur School (Chicago)

4th Grade

1. Ramona (Wilmette)
2. Dr. Howard Elementary (Champaign)
3. Avery Coonley (Downers Grove)

5th Grade

1. Dr. Howard Elementary (Champaign)
2. Indian Trail (Highland Park)
3. Alexander Graham Bell (Chicago)

6th Grade

1. Dunlap Middle School (Peoria)
2. South Loop (Chicago)
3. Prairie School (Barrington)

7th Grade

1. Dunlap Middle School (Peoria)
2. Wheaton Christian Grammar (Wheaton)
3. Thomas Middle School (Arlington Heights)

8th Grade

no team results

High School

1. Benet Academy (Lisle)
2. Whitney Young (Chicago)
3. Richwoods (Peoria)

All Grade - high school results

The high schoolers play in one combined section at the All Grade.  There was a tie for first between Nathaniel Kranjc (1946) and Penny Xu (1906), who won their first three games and drew the final round to score 3½-½ each.

Maximilian Zinski, Jimi Akintonde, Joey Bikus, Roshan Shankar, and Philip Parker-Turner tied for third in the 26-player field, all with 3-1 scores.

Crosstable here!

All Grade - 8th grade results

Anshul Adve (1886) was the class of the 10-player eighth-grade section, winning all four of his games.  Alex Feygin (1637) took clear second with 3-1.

Again, MSA crosstable is here.

All Grade results - 7th grade

Congratulations to Nicholas Bartochowski (1594), who swept the 24-player seventh-grade section 4-0.  Daniel Bronfeyn, Andrew Fei, Blair Hu, Jeff Bikus, Jack Thain, Yilang Li, and Mihir Bafna were in a massive pileup  for second at 3-1.

MSA results here!

Two consecutive music videos?

Via ChessBase, in an article announcing a May 2013 supertournament. Let's hope Hikaru Nakamura gets an invite.

Eminem or Vanilla Ice?

We link; you decide. Ben Rothschild raps Morphy vs. Count and Duke.

Hat tip to Carl Boor

2012 Illinois Tour standings

Here are the complete standings with one event to go, the 2012 Illinois Class.

NM Tenzing Shaw and GM Nikola Mitkov lead the Open section with 22 points.  GM Dmitry Gurevich is right behind with 21½ points, and NM Jonathan Kogen and NM Sam Schmakel remain with striking distance of the title at 21 points.

Jim Froehlich seems very close to clinching the Reserve title at 28 points.  Joe Delay (23) and Michael Penway (22) are most likely battling for second.

And here are the leaders in the Reserve Scholastic section:

Andrew Fei										29.0
Maximilian Zinski										23.5
David Peng										22.0
Jason Daniels										21.0
Akshay Indusekar										20.0
Caeley Harihara										20.0
Ethan Brown										19.0
Aydin Turgut										18.5
Aakash Meduri										18.0

You still have time to change your fate (or, less dramatically, move up a couple notches in the standings): enter the Illinois Class!

Free tix for teachers in the trenches

We get email...

Dear Bill,

Great to catch up. As I mentioned, the new chess/education documentary "Brooklyn Castle”  is coming to the Landmark Century beginning this Friday November 2. We have just had a generous donor agree to underwrite the cost to give Free Tickets to Brooklyn Castle to any public school teacher in greater Chicago. Can we get your help in spreading this word to teachers and administrators (public, charter, archdiocese)?

Here are the details:

Brooklyn Castle will play at the Landmark Century

2828 North Clark Street, Chicago IL  60657

Visit this page

 for showtimes. 

From Friday, November 2 through Thursday, November 8, Chicago area teachers can get 1 free ticket by showing their valid Teacher Identification or Union ID Card at the box office. 

Brooklyn Castle follows the successes and challenges of IS 318 in Brooklyn, NY, the most successful middle school chess team in the nation. While working to excel at the chess board, the students and teachers face another major hurdle as cutbacks to after school programs threaten the very existence of their program. It's an inspiring story of what it takes to be a champion, on the chess board, and in life. The film opened in New York City to major press support from such diverse outlets as the the Today Show and the Hollywood Reporter, Sports Illustrated and Teen Vogue. You might like to see the review in the New York Times. Teachers might also like this one from Salon.com. 

We hope this generous gift will help us expand awareness of the importance of after school programs, and of chess in education.

I thank you for the consideration and appreciate the support,

Yours truly,

Robert McLellan

------------------------------------------------

Robert McLellan

Director of Marketing

United States Chess Federation

rmclellan@uschess.org

Direct line: (865) 332-0382 or (818) 469-2063

The Halloween Gambit

Here's a game with that scariest of openings, the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?!). It may be dubious if Black responds perfectly. But if not, White gets frightening attacking chances:

The Tomb Game

For Halloween, I present one of the most horrifying games ever - and played in the Halloween Open, no less. I refer, of course, to the dreaded Tomb Game: Harper-Zuk, Halloween Open 1971. If White's position doesn't give you nightmares, nothing will.

A trap in the London System

In the game below, 4...e5!, forking White's knight and bishop, wins a piece since Black's pawn, seemingly hanging, is indirectly guarded by ...Qa5+. My inspiration for this trap was NN-Pandolfini, a Kan Sicilian with the same motif: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bf4?? e5! The concept was also seen in Zaitsik-Zichulidze, Tiflis 1976 , which is the same as my game, but with colors reversed and White having the extra move g3.

"Early chess editors of the Chicago Tribune"

If you have any interest in Chicago history or chess history, go read this delightful post from the delightful blog (new to me!) A Chess Reader.

Take a bow, blogger!

Louis Uedemann Photo 1904

SDN-002332, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago History Museum.

Illinois Class Championships: Time running out for discounted entry

This is the last week for early entry in the Illinois Class Championships on Nov. 17 and 18! Register before Saturday to enter for $50 ($25 for the rated beginners' open on Nov. 17). Free entry for FIDE-titled players also expires Saturday, so send your requests to badbishoptmts@gmail.com. Play for $2,000 in guaranteed prizes and for 20 Grand Prix points and FIDE rating in the Master/Expert section.

Free parking on-site and a free shuttle from the nearest 'L'/Metra station. Also, register for the ICA Annual Meeting and Buffet Luncheon and celebrate the career of Jim Brotsos, winner of this year's Broughton Award for outstanding service to Illinois chess.

6th grade results - All Grade

Continuing the All Grade box scores by section (see last night for earlier posts)....

Matthew Stevens (1965) won the 32-player sixth-grade section, running the table with 4-0.  Akhil Kalghatgi and Maxwell Jong tied for second with 3½-½: Maxwell gained 89 rating points despite getting Black three times in four games. Jonathan Tan, Rishi Narayanan, Miranda Liu, Jacob Zhou, Ricky Roman tied for fourth with 3-1 scores. 

Here's the MSA crosstable and PlyCount report.

All Grade - 5th grade results

Finally, a section without a clear winner: Nathaniel Sobery, Tej Rai, and Jeremy Margolin tied for first with 4½-½. Marissa Li, Adithya Chandramouli, Rithvik Musuku, and Daniel Leung tied for fourth with 4 points, and Zamaan Sami Qureshi and Brent Young each scored 3½-1½.  Again, some pretty good players were not among the prizewinners in this 43-player section.

MSA results here and PlyCount report here.

4th grade - another tough section

Alex Yasumoto (1265) won all five games in the 46-player fourth-grade section, winning his game against top seed Shreya Mangalam (1501) in the fourth round.  Shreya tied with Emmett Madigan, David Wallach, Aayan Patel, Edward Zhang, Jason Li for second with 4 points. Alan Wang, Shashank Hirani, Ryan Wong each scored 3½-1½.

In several of these sections, I'm seeing some pretty good players who are not among the top finishers....

Again, here are the MSA crosstable on the USCF site and the organizers' results on PlyCount

.

Shark tank (3rd grade section, All Grade)

Brian Hope Gong (1364) won the 47-player third-grade section with a perfect 5-0. 

Michael Jeffrey Geohas, Advaith Prabu, William Zhu, Suraj Ramanathan, and Jack Bradley tied for second with 4 points, closely followed by Adam Pastor, Jonah Karafiol, Fredrich Yuan, and Sahil Raj Conjeevaram with 3½-1½.

MSA crosstable here, organizer report here.

2012 All Grade: 2nd grade

Congratulations to Stefan Musikic (1377), who won the 2nd-grade section with a clean 5-0 score. Jai Mahajan and Patrick Rao tied for second with 4 points; Pierce McDade and Elijah Davis shared fourth with 3½ points.

Again, here are the links to the MSA crosstable and organizer results.

2012 Illinois All Grade results: K-1

280 young players made it all the way to West Chicago yesterday for the 2012 All Grade Championship.

Results for the 26-player kindergarten / first grade section:

Aaron Gan won with a perfect 5-0 score. (Aaron's post-tournament rating is a tentative 1147, about the same as my rating in 6th grade. Hmm.)

Samuel Pastor, Ashley Geohas, and Kamalesh Kumar Sureshkumar tied for second with 4-1. Nathan Lee and Zach Lichtman tied for fifth with 3½-1½.

USCF crosstable here and organizer results here.

The Ronen Horror Blunder Show!

Just in time for Halloween, Israeli GM Ronen Har-Zvi gives us Part I of The Ronen Horror Blunder Show!, a terrifying collection of blunders in 2012 by super-GMs like Carlsen, Aronian, Topalov, and Gelfand. If you thought your blunders were bad, wait till you see the whoppers produced by the 2700+ crowd. Good stuff.

An aside: Har-Zvi became famous, 10 years later, for having introduced a stunning novelty in the 3.Bb5+ Sicilian, 16...d5!!, in Rublevsky-Har-Zvi, 1993, a game that does not appear in the databases, nor in Chess Informant. Somehow that game, and 16...d5!!, remained unknown to almost everyone until 2003, when the move was "reintroduced" in Delchev-Ivanchuk and other games. Another fun fact: after 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+, 4...Nxd7 is played much less often than the stock 3...Qxd7, but scores better. GM John Fedorowicz, at his lecture at the North Shore Chess Center earlier this month, revealed that 3...Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Nxd7 is his favorite line against 3.Bb5+. Then there's 3...Kxd7??!, played in the eight-move draw Kochyev-Levin, 1992, but somehow that one hasn't caught on.

Jim Brotsos to receive 2012 Broughton Award

More info later (I'm running out the door): please join us on Saturday, November 17th, at 1 p.m. to honor Jim for a lifetime of service to Illinois chess!

Alumni Room, Koehneke Community Center, Concordia University, River ForestSaturday, Nov. 17, 1:00 PM

Brooklyn Castle opens in Chicago on November 2nd

Take your mind off the election, and see something more edifying...

Email from USCF:

Dear Chess Enthusiasts, 

The new award-winning documentary "Brooklyn Castle” is coming to the big screen in Chicago! Brooklyn Castle follows the successes and challenges of IS 318 in Brooklyn, NY, the most successful middle school chess team in the nation. While working to excel at the chess board, the students and teachers face another major hurdle as cutbacks to after school programs threaten the very existence of their program. It's an inspiring story of what it takes to be a champion, on the chess board, and in life. 

The film opened in New York City to major press support from such diverse outlets as the New York Times, NBS's Today Show, Sports Illustrated and Teen Vogue. It's great news for competitive chess and we hope you will support it when it opens in your area. And tell your friends, family, teachers, co-workers, they'll love it. Bring a group. 

As one reviewer put it:
"... it honestly makes no difference if you don’t even know the rules of chess and have never visited New York; this is a story about human potential and the lingering possibilities of the American dream." 

 Brooklyn Castle begins playing on Friday, November 2 at the Landmark Century Cinema 2828 North Clark Street, Chicago IL 60657 Visit this page to buy your tickets in advance. 
 

Pulling the trigger

It takes a certain amount of intestinal fortitude to sacrifice a piece against a Grandmaster. Even strong masters can be faint of heart at the critical moment, as Kevin Bachler explains:

Tough nuts to crack

A trap in the Three Knights Game

After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6, White's 3.Nc3 invites Black to play the Four Knights Game with 3...Nf6. If Black doesn't want to do that, 3...g6 is an alternative. But Black has to be vigilant after 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5!? Bg7 6.Bg5! Correct is the counterintuitive 6...Nce7!, when Black will drive back White's pieces with ...c6 and ...h6. For a famous example where this strategy succeeded, see Gufeld-Petrosian, USSR (ch) 1969. The natural 6...Nge7? on the other hand (see diagram), is a bad mistake. After 7.Nxd4!, Black is in big trouble. Black drops the queen after 7...Nxd4? 8.Bxe7. Best is 7...f6!, when Black loses a pawn but can play on. What happens after 7...Bxd4?? Black found out in the following game.

A trap in the Richter-Veresov

The Richter-Veresov Attack (1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bg5 or 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5) is the mirror image of the Ruy Lopez. It's generally considered harmless, but, as I discovered in an Internet blitz game today, that doesn't mean that Black can afford to be careless. After 3...Bf5 4.f3, White hopes to expand in the center with 5.e4. Black's most popular response is 4...Nbd7; 4...Bg6 and 4...c6 are also playable. If I got this position again, I'd probably play 4...c5, which is a little unusual but scores well. I was surprised to discover that the natural 4...e6 is a fatal blunder! After simply 5.e4! (see diagram) White wins a piece, e.g. 5...dxe4 (5...Bg6 6.e5 is similar) 6.fxe4 and now (a) 6...Bxe4 7.Nxe4 Nxe4?? 8.Bxd8; (b) 6...Bg6 7.e5 h6 8.Bh4! and Black's usual rejoinder, 8...g5, is illegal; (c) 6...h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.exf5; (d) 6...Bg4 7.Bxf6! and White will end up a piece ahead after either 7...Qxf6 8.Qxg4 or 7...Bxd1 8.Bxd8. In our illustrative game, Black resigned after 7.Bxf6; in my blitz game, I soldiered on with 7...Qxf6 8.Qxg4 Qxd4 with a dead-lost position that I eventually won.

I was surprised to learn that Milan Vukevich, who later immigrated to the United States and became an International Master, once played 4...e6?? in a Yugoslav Championship! His opponent responded with 5.Qd2?? and eventually drew.

Rated Beginners' Open on November 17th

This event, at Concordia University in River Forest, is a good event for beginners from ages 6 to 96 (sorry, Erik Karklins, you're too strong, if not too old, to play).

ICC RATED BEGINNERS' OPEN

Koehneke Community Center, Concordia University, River Forest

Saturday, Nov. 17
5/SS, G/30 + d5

Open to players rated under 1200 or unrated. U.S. Chess Federation membership is required. To become a member, visit the USCF website or choose the appropriate option in the registration cart.

Sets will be provided; if you have a clock, bring it.

Schedule: Rounds at 10 and 11:15 AM, 1, 2:15 and 3:30 PM

Prizes: Trophies for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, top U800 and top unrated

Entry Fee: $25 before Nov. 3, $30 before Nov. 15, $35 on site

Registration: To register in advance using a credit or debit card or Paypal, use the online shopping cart. To register by mail, send checks payable to the Illinois Chess Association to ICC RBO, 6021 N. Wickwood Road, Peoria, IL 61614. On-site registration (cash or check only) will be available from 9 to 9:45 AM.

Of course, the Illinois Class Championships will also be held concurrently at the same River Forest site.

***

Note for newbies: "5/SS" means (very roughly) that you'll be playing five games, and that winners play winners and losers play losers (no one is eliminated).  

"G/30 + d5" means that each player has thirty minutes to make his or her moves for the game, and that you're guaranteed at least five seconds to make a move, no matter how many moves you make. But if you run out of time, your opponent will probably be able to claim a win.

Now all the National Tournament Directors in Illinois will post comments about how I didn't get this quite right. But I think this is kinda close! 

Evanston CC Tri-Level on November 3rd

Another email cut-and-paste.

$5, such a deal.  I'll use this as my warmup for Kings Island, which will in turn be my warmup for the Illinois Class 

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

Evanston Chess Presents:

November 3, 2012, 9:00am-5:00pm

Tri-Level, 4SS G/40 delay 5

Three Sections, USCF Dual Rated

Our guest master will be FM Albert Chow

Section Gold: 1700 and over

Section Silver: 1200 - 1699
Section Bronze: Under 1200 and Unrated

1600 - 1699 may play up to Gold.

1100 - 1199 may play up to Silver. 
Published USCF Regular Rating determines eligibility.
Unrated players may be placed up at TD discretion.

Please pre-register if you plan to attend.

Our last tournament had record attendance and we had to turn players away. Our space is limited and we will cap attendance at 52 players. Priority will be given to players who pre-register by email to enter@evanstonchess.org before 7 p.m. on November 2 and arrive at the tournament before 9:20 a.m. on November 3. Thanks for your understanding and support.

From time to time Evanston Chess pays one or more titled players to play in our events. We usually do not pair them against each other. Even if they should lose (it does happen) we may pair them with the highest score groups.

Four rounds. Digital clocks are required and will be set to G/40 plus 5 seconds delay. Accelerated or decelerated pairings at TD discretion. Sections may be combined at TD discretion.

Registration from 9:00 to 9:30 AM. Players must check in by 9:30 am; players who arrive late will receive a half-point bye for the first round. First Round 9:45 am, last round over roughly 5:00 pm. No Lunch Break: We need to be finished by 5:00 PM, so there will be no extra time between rounds for lunch.

You may take one half-point bye in any round but the last.

Entry fee is $5, please pay cash (no checks) at the door. Masters and Experts play free.

Pre-registration is encouraged: Help us start on time. Send name, USCF number, and telephone number to enter@evanstonchess.org

Junior players (under fourteen years) rated 900+ are welcome. Sorry, but we do not accept junior players rated under 900. Must be accompanied by a parent throughout the event.

Bring clocks. -- Wheelchair accessible. No Smoking.

A great teaching position

White to play and win: Rovner-Kamyschev, 1947

Something is missing in Chicago . . .

Last year, I ran some numbers. More than one-third of Chicagoland residents live in the city of Chicago itself. About one-quarter of all U.S. Chess Federation members in Chicagoland live in the city. Yet in 2010, 90 percent of all open, rated chess competitions in Chicagoland took place in the suburbs. In 2011, it was a little better: 87 percent. But out of 18 events held in Chicago, that's counting 12 that were kids-only scholastics.

There were more than twice as many open, all-ages chess events held in Moline in 2011 as there were in Chicago.

It's been 22 years since Jules Stein's Chicago Chess Center on Southport Avenue closed its doors, 34 years since the Chicago Chess Club, going nearly nine decades strong, left the Loop and faded away. Now, of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the United States (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Atlanta and Boston), only Chicago is without a primary metropolitan chess club serving the center city as well as surrounding areas.

Along with Bill Brock, Albert Chow, Chris Christmas, Alyse Hammonds and Hector Hernandez, I'm working to establish a new Chicago Chess Center, because we think a world-class city deserves a full-time chess center, and we think it should be in the city.

We want to create a welcoming, attractive and comfortable gathering place for chess players of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels. We intend to provide a regular schedule of chess classes. We plan to serve players in the city as well as the suburbs with a full calendar of rated tournament chess. And we hope to become the focal point of an active, vibrant and expanded chess scene, a place where the benefits of chess are accessible to everyone, where anyone can walk in off the street and find a game and a community.

This costs money.

We're looking to raise $100,000 so that we can secure a site, build it out, open our doors and know that we won't have to worry about whether we can pay the rent in our first year of operation. Early stability is key to making the Chicago Chess Center a viable and enduring civic and cultural institution. Speaking solely for myself, I'd love to see us raise $40,000 in the next 30 days so that we can be open for business in early 2013.

That's where you come in, dear reader. Your generosity will provide the regularly scheduled instruction and training. Your generosity will provide the central site where chess players from all over Chicagoland -- and beyond -- can gather and establish a learning and playing community. Your generosity will help curious beginners and experience-seekers to see chess as an enjoyable and beneficial activity that everyone can participate in and to discover that chess competence is within their reach. Your generosity will create a place where parents know they can bring their children for high-quality chess instruction in a safe and friendly environment. And your generosity will bring Chicago back into the company of America's top-shelf chess cities. It's you who will make all this possible by becoming a founding member of the Chicago Chess Center.

But donations aren't all we're asking for. We'd also like to ask you to help us spread the word. Tell your fellow chess players -- casual, serious and in between -- but also tell educators, civic boosters, patrons of culture, business owners, board members of other nonprofits. To make it easier, we've created a Facebook page that you can connect to and share with others. You can also sign up for our mailing list to receive announcements and updates on our progress. And if you'd like to get more directly involved, you can give your time -- particularly if you have experience with nonprofit finance and governance, business administration or community outreach. Send a secure message through our website, or e-mail us directly at info@chichess.org.

Let's change those numbers!



Chicago Chess Center NFP Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

The Hon. George N. Leighton turns 100

George Neves Leighton, retired federal judge, former assistant state attorney general, onetime president of the NAACP and a longtime Class A player, turns 100 years old today.

Happy birthday, Judge Leighton.

Move-ordered

In this game, our victim gets tricked into an opening he isn't prepared to play.