Andi Rosen reports on the Illinois Girls Championship

K-3 winner Caitlin Hong

See the ICA website for the story!  Also check out Eric Rosen's photos of the event.

How to cheat at chess (freeware version)

• Load the open source program Stockfish on your quad core at home; you now have a beast that will beat any human.
• Install GlaurungServer on the same machine.
• Download the Stockfish for iPhone app.
• Configure your app to talk to your home computer with Stockfish's "remote engine" interface.
• At your next tournament, use the toilet strategically.

And even if the connection with your home computer were to go down, there are several native iPhone apps (tChess and Shredder are both excellent alternatives to Stockfish) that offer master-level tactical advice.

Human nature being what it is, I would wager that a handful of unethical players are already doing this.  (Something similar may have been committed by a member of the 2010 French Olympiad team and two accomplices: bravo to the French Chess Federation for commencing a painful investigation.)  This is one reason for FIDE's cell phone ban.  If you know a tournament director who has worked major national events (we are fortunate to have more than our share of these good folk in Illinois), he or she may share some horror stories with you.  And these are the bad guys who were caught, bad guys using yesterday's technology.

So could someone please explain to me the wisdom of continuing to have big entry fee, big money class events for amateur players?  Amateurs include masters, too; most of us with ratings below USCF 2450 or so play for the love of the game.  I don't think this is as big an issue at higher levels, as strong players have an idea of what other strong players are (and aren't) capable of.

I should add that Stockfish is an amazing engine and that GlaurungServer (which I haven't bothered to test-drive) looks like it could be incredibly useful for serious (and ethical!) players (amateur and pro) who want to consult it during kibitzing sessions..

Escape from Snowmaggedon, part 2 - 1st North American Amateur Open

There's a five-round event at the North Shore Chess Center, 5500 W. Touhy, Skokie, this weekend (Friday night, Saturday & Sunday afternoons). 

No prizes to speak of, but this looks like a very cool event--the time control is particularly friendly to serious amateurs.  But note the qualifications before you show up!  You must have either an established FIDE rating (you can check here if you're not sure) or a USCF rating above 1599.

Details on the Illinois Chess Association website!

Escape from Snowmaggedon, part 1 - Greater Chicago Scholastic Championships in Wheeling

Four one-day scholastic events in Wheeling this weekend presented by the Kasparov Chess Foundation and Renaissance Knights. 

Details on the Illinois Chess Association website!

"Frank Brady's masterpiece"

My Facebook friend (and former USCF Executive Director) Al Lawrence reviews Frank Brady's Endgame for Chess Life.  Also, a previously-unpublished Fischer-Euwe draw surfaces.

Order your copy today!

Kavalek on Nakamura's victory

The veteran grandmaster annotates two games in the Caro-Kann Advance Variation from Wijk aan Zee: Nakamura's win with Black against Nepomniachtchi and Carlsen's win with White against Wang Hao.

Column is here!

Shayna Provine wins Illinois Girls' Championship

Shayna Provine & Cheryl Liu each scored an undefeated 3-1 in Saturday's event; held at Niles North High School in Skokie.  I have unofficial word that Shayna won on tiebreaks.  Congratulations!

Annie Xu scored an undefeated 4-0 to take the K-8 section; Maya Malecki and Rithika Kyaw shared second with 3-1 scores.

Caitlin Hong and Samantha Moyer split the K-3 honors with 3½-½.  Nuha Mosunder, Erin Costigan, and Isabella Rhee shared third with 3-1 scores.

Crosstables here;  Betsy Dynako directed for the Illinois Chess Association.   Organizer Andi Rosen is working on a story for ICA.

Nakamura wins! Nakamura wins!

Nakamura and Wang Hao drew in 22 moves this morning in the category 20 Tata Steel tournament in Wijk aan Zee. In the final position, Wang Hao could have won an exchange with 23.Bxb4?! cxb4!, but that would have left him in a passive position and given Nakamura a very strong pair of connected passed pawns, supported by the two bishops.

World Champion Vishy Anand, who trailed by half a point going into the round, also drew, against Nepomniachtchi. Nakamura thus won the tournament outright with the impressive score of 9-4 (6 wins, 6 draws, and a loss to Carlsen). Anand was second with 8.5. Aronian can tie with Anand if he succeeds in grinding out an endgame win against Smeets. Carlsen drew against Grischuk, finishing with 8 points.

With this extremely impressive and gutsy performance, Nakamura establishes himself as a member of the world elite. The last time an American won a tournament of this caliber was Gata Kamsky's win at the 2007 World Cup. To find the last time an American other than Kamsky won a remotely comparable tournament, you'd have to go back a very long time, maybe to Yasser Seirawan's victory at Haninge 1990. Congratulations to Hikaru Nakamura on his well-deserved win of one of the strongest tournaments ever!

One round left

In the Tata Steel super-tournament, Nakamura and Kramnik drew a very dull game today. Anand, White against Giri, by his own admission played badly and was lucky to escape with a draw. Going into the final round, Nakamura leads with 8.5 points, followed by Anand (8), Aronian and Carlsen (both 7.5) (standings, cross-table). The leaders' last-round pairings are Wang Hao (5.5)-Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi (5.5)-Anand, Aronian-Smeets (4), and Grischuk (4)-Carlsen. Nakamura's performance rating thus far is about 2900.

You can follow the last-round games live tomorrow morning at the tournament website, as well as (just) Wang Hao-Nakamura live at chessgames.com. Unfortunately for us night owls, the games start at 5 a.m. Central Time. Go Naka!

"Another good day at the office...."

GMHikaru tweets:

Another good day at the office, but there are still two incredibly important rounds left!!

Today Nakamura beat another young star, Jan Nepomniachtchi of Russia.  (Jan's surname only looks unpronounceable: Alex Yermolinsky says it quite naturally on ICC.). Hikaru leads Anand by ½, Aronian (who has two Dutch GMs to play) by 1, and Carlsen and Kramnik by 1½.   This top group is in fine form, with performance ratings from Carlsen's 2795 to Nakamura's 2906.  

Details on Chess Life Online, ChessBase, and ChessVibes, among many fine sites.

Kenny Rogers warned us not to count our ELO when we're sitting at the table, but Nakamura is now #7 in the world on the live ratings list, and within one win of the #5 spot!

Here you go, Sevan

Sevan Muradian is very proud of having ground out a draw against Matt Pullin, GreenCastleBlock of YouTube fame.  Good play, but you might need some caffeine to avoid falling asleep:

"Nakamura close to a career-best triumph in Wijk aan Zee"

Read GM Ian Rogers at Chess Life Online.

And don't count your chickens....!

A trap in the Benko Gambit

A lot of players don't want to face the pressure that Black gets on the a and b files in the main lines of the Benko Gambit (1. d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5!? 4.cxb5 a6), so they decline the gambit with something like 4.Nf3, 4.Qc2, or 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6. The Bosnian-Dutch GM Ivan Sokolov essayed such a line against super-GM Vassily Ivanchuk at the Olympiad last year, but ended up on the wrong end of a miniature. Sokolov tried 4.Qc2 bxc4 5.e4 d6 6.Bxc4 g6 7.b3??, a move that had been played in previous games by several players, including Sokolov himself. Ivanchuk rudely awakened him with 7...Nxe4!, and suddenly Sokolov was the one playing a gambit, since 8.Qxe4? Bg7 would spear White's rook. After 12.Qe2, White seemed to have some compensation, since his pin on the e-file made it hard for Black to castle. However, Sokolov didn't help his cause with the caveman-like 13.h4?, allowing Black to plant his knight powerfully on e5. Ivanchuk then wrapped up the game in just 12 more moves.

"Carlsen shows his win against Nakamura"

Video at ChessVibes.

Nakamura is still co-leader: play resumes tomorrow!

Blogger in action

January 2011 Rapid
Clockwise from top left: NM Frederick Rhine,
Jiri Kabelac, Dmitri Sergatskov and Paul Gafni. 

NM Frederick Rhine emerged from retirement to win the January 2011 Evanston Chess Club Rapid this Saturday.  See his first-person report below.

OK, that's one master back in action: we look forward to seeing  NMs David Rubin and Marvin Dandridge in future Evanston events! ;-)

Hector Hernandez remembers Ricardo Szmetan

I knew how strong Ricards was, but I did not realize that he was both the 1986 Illinois champion and the winner of one of Helen Warren's Midwest Masters invitational events.  

Full article on the ICA website.

New York Times review of Frank Brady's Endgame

It's hard to imagine anyone better qualified than Frank Brady, author of Profile of a Prodigy, to tell the sad story of Bobby Fischer's life after chess.  Brady's second biography of Fischer, Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - from America's Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness, just received a strongly positive review from Janet Maslin of the New York Times.

That a mentally ill person became the best in the world (and arguably the best ever) at a game which requires sober judgment is an amazing feat.  I'd prefer to focus on Fischer's achievements.  But I'll also be preordering the book!

Crouching Rhino, Hidden Dragon

Twenty-four hardy souls braved snow, ice and bitter cold to play in the Evanston Rapids (game/29) on Saturday, January 22 at the Levy Senior Center. Enterprising (read "dubious") play and a little luck gave yours truly a 5-0 sweep in my first rapid tournament ever, and my first OTB tournament of the millennium! (Yes, you read that right; my last OTB tournament was in 2000, which purists will tell you is part of the prior millennium (1001-2000).) Theodore Mercer, Jr. and Jiri Kabelac tied for second at 4-1. Kabelac missed a draw in a king and pawn ending against me in round 4, with both of us having seconds left and playing on the 3-second increment.

Other notable results include Brian Harrigan of Indiana and Chad Hirsch, who both scored 3-2 and gained a boatload of rating points. Harrigan played the top three finishers, scoring 1-2 against us, and went from 1385 to 1505. Hirsch, rated just 1292, downed two 1600s and a 1700, gaining 166 rating points. The crosstable is here. (Don't ask me why the USCF claims I had a provisional quick rating of 2201 going into the tournament - unless they took my 2201 "slow" rating and used that as a guesstimate of my quick rating.) Mariano Acosta, a Life Master at standard time controls, was one of four players who took a half-point bye in the first round. Unfortunately, his loss to Sergatskov in round 3 took him out of contention, although he won his other games.

Thanks to über-organizer Maret Thorpe for organizing and directing the event, and for inviting me to be the guest master. It was great fun.

In Round 5, I offered a draw on move 1 to Dmitri Sergatskov, figuring that if he accepted I'd win the tournament outright and if he declined, he was apt to become overconfident. He decided to play on, and equalized easily with 5...d5!, a trick I hadn't seen before. At move 10, any sane person would have played 10.Bd2, e.g. 10...Bxd2+ 11.Qxd2 Qd6= Mareco-Gil. Garcia, Buenos Aires 2005 (1/2-1/2, 21). Perhaps because Bill Smythe was in the tournament, I preferred the zany 10.Ke2?! Sergatskov promptly blundered with 11...c5?, allowing 12.Nxf5! with an unusual variant of the fork trick (12...Bxf5 13.dxe4). He tried a different line, but this led to an ending where he had no compensation for my extra pawn. After 29.Rxd6!, he resigned in light of 29...Rxd6 30.Be5 Kc7 31.Rd1, when White will trade off on d6 and reach a bishop ending with three extra pawns.

Big win for Nakamura

© Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau

After 7 of 13 rounds, Nakamura takes the sole lead in Wijk aan Zee!  Anand is in clear second, while Kramnik and Aronian are tied for third.

GMHikaru tweets:

Another exciting win today against Smeets! Tomorrow the tournament really begins as I play the big dogs in succession!

47 minutes ago via web

More at ChessBase and ChessVibes.

K-12 Girls' Championship next weekend in Skokie!

2011 Illinois State K12 Girls Chess Championship Tournament Date: Jan 29, 2011

Niles North High School
9800 Lawler Avenue
Skokie, Illinois
(East Cafeteria and Commons)

Format: 4-round G45 swiss.
USCF rated; USCF membership is required.
Sections: K-3, K-5, K-8, Championship (open to K12; anyone rated 1000 or more must play in Championship section)

Prizes: Trophies to top 5 individuals in each section; winner of championship section earns invitation to play in the 6-player round robin invitational girls tournament the weekend of March 26-28. (If the winner would otherwise qualify by rating, the player with the highest score not otherwise qualified will receive the invitation).

Check-in: 9 to 9:30
First round: 10 a.m. Other rounds ASAP.

Entry fee: $25 if received by Jan. 21; $35 by Jan. 28. No on-site entries.
Send entries to Andrea Rosen, 8214 Keystone Avenue, Skokie, IL 60076. Checks should be made payable to the ICA Warren Program.
--- or ---
Register and pay online (http://www.il-chess.net/goto.php?a=shop).

Other: Sets and clocks will be provided by North American Chess Association.

Hotel: Comfort Inn, 9333 Skokie Boulevard, Skokie, 847-679-6200.
Group rate $94.99/night, includes full hot buffet breakfast, must reserve by January 3. When making reservation, be sure to ask for Illinois Chess Association rate.

Net proceeds will benefit the Niles North High School chess club and the ICA Warren Program. For more information, contact: warrenprogram@il-chess.org