Managing emotions during play

Chess players can learn a lot from golfers and tennis players. Number 2 seed Andy Murray just made it to the Wimbledon quarterfinals by beating the unseeded Fernando Verdasco the hard way (4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5).  The New York Times reports:

Murray struggled with Verdasco’s aggressive left-handed serve, which regularly topped 130 miles an hour and hit the lines.

Murray double-faulted on set point to lose a tightly fought first set, but he seemed to get back on track by breaking Verdasco in the third game of the second and took a 3-1 lead.

Then things got ugly for Murray and his fans. Verdasco won five straight games, and Murray failed to convert three break-point chances to lose, 6-3. When it was over, Murray was loudly cursing and scolding himself as he sat during the changeover.

“I was up, 3-1, and then made some bad mistakes, poor choices on the court,” Murray said.

A few years ago, that might have been the end for Murray, whose emotions so distracted him that he could not right his game. But a more mature Murray, a Murray with a major championship under his belt, did not panic.

“When you’ve been in that position a lot of times, you know how to think through it and not get too far ahead of yourself,” Murray said. “I definitely didn’t rush when I went two sets-love down. I slowed myself down, if anything, and that was a good sign.”

As Andy Murray understands, games against lower-rated players don't win themselves.  In my last tournament game—house player at the CCC Preview Open at IIT—I almost lost to Philip Linninger (his pre-event rating was 864, mine was 2070).  I was probably busted when Philip's flag fell: will post the game when I find the misplaced scoresheet.

Tennis and chess are played by humans: we try to minimize our unforced errors, but we will make them on occasion.  If you find yourself in a pawn-down endgame this weekend after having already lost your first round, keep fighting!  (But don't equate fighting spirit with lashing out wildly...it's a difficult balance.)

Greater Chicago Chess Classic - $18,000 in prizes this weekend!

As always, cut and pasted from my inbox...Fred Gruenberg never stints on exclams.

The Greater Midwest Classic 

$18,000 Guaranteed to U2200 players! 

July 5-6-7, 2013 

Hyatt Regency O'Hare $99/room rates 

Register online at http://www.nachess.org/classic 

Simul with Grandmaster Sergey Kudrin! Blitz Tournament! Raffle Prizes! Beginning a new tradition in Chicago and Putting the Fun Back into Chess!

U2200 (FIDE rated): Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; 1951-2100 - $400-200-100; 1800-1950 - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200

U1800: Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; Top 1551-1700 - $400-200-100; Top 1400-1550 - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200

U1400: Overall - $1500-1200-1000-700; 1151-1300 - $400-200-100; 1150 and below - $400-200-100; Biggest Upset - $200 6R-SS

Game-90 + 30/sec Fri: 12pm and 5:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am & 3:30pm each day. On-site reg: 9:30-11:30am Fri or 8:30-9:30am Sat. Limit 2 byes. Last rd. bye must commit prior to start of Rd 3.

Side Events: Grandmaster Simul (9am Fri), Blitz Tournament Game-3 + 2/sec increment (8:30pm Sat).

FREE raffle prizes before round 6 with free entry, free room and free airfare to 2014 tournament.

Site: Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, IL 60018. HR: $99/night – call 847-696-1234 and ask for CHESS rate. Reserve by June 1. Discounted parking – only $5. 10 minute walk from CTA Blue Line. FREE hotel shuttle from/to O’Hare airport. Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, less than one mile away. Entries for main event: If postmarked or online by 06/01 $89; $109 online or postmarked by 06/15; $129 thereafter. Re-entry $50. $25 to play up 1 section only; Credit Cards onsite OK. No checks onsite. Mail entries to: North American Chess Association (payable to), 4957 Oakton St., Suite 113, Skokie, IL 60077.

Register online at http://www.nachess.org/classic. Other info: Boards, sets, and clocks provided. None for skittles. Must use organizer provided equipment. Chess store onsite. July rating supplement used. Questions: sevan@nachess.org or 847-423-8626. Organizers: Sevan A. Muradian, Glenn Panner and Fred Gruenberg. Register online: http://www.nachess.org/classic

A trap in the King's Indian?

The best-scoring line against the King's Indian Defense is the flexible 5.h3! 0-0 6.Bg5! In Mega Database 2013, White scores a gaudy 64.6% in 2938 games! That is better than he does against garbage like the Englund Gambit, where he only scores 57.7% in 1280 games in the main line (1.d4 e5? 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7) - although White does get 66.8% with 4.Qd5!, almost forcing Black to make his pawn sac permanent with 4...f6, when White's best-scoring line is 5.exf6 Nxf6 6.Qb3 d5 7.Bg5! (82.7%, but with a tiny sample size - only 27 games). But I digress.

The 5.h3 0-0 6.Bg5 line also sets a little trap: Black's most natural and thematic move, 6...e5, is here a blunder, dropping a pawn to 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Qxd8 Rxd8 9.Nd5! GM Yury Shulman in his lecture at the North Shore Chess Center last year discussed a 1996 game in which he fell into this trap. Though disgusted with himself, he played on as though nothing had happened. He went on to roll his 2460-rated opponent like a joint, as NM Marvin Dandridge would say:

Where did White go wrong? According to Houdini 3, the natural 11.Nxc7 was already a small inaccuracy, and 12.Nd5 a more serious one. After 12...h6! White had to surrender his dark-squared bishop for Black's knight. This is a big positional concession, as Black's unopposed dark-squared bishop will be a holy terror once it sets up camp on c5. Black already had sufficient compensation for his accidentally sacrificed pawn, and White's game went downhill from there. (Note that all numerical assessments in this and the following game are by Houdini 3.)

How should White play? As I say, Houdini says that 11.Nxc7 is already a little inaccurate. But 11.0-0-0, White's most successful move (3-0 in Mega 2013), is actually a blunder. As I indicate in my notes to the above game, Houdini then analyzes 10...Rf8 11. Nxc7 Nxe4! as leading to equality. White's best move is instead 11.Rd1!, threatening to win a piece with 12.Nxf6+. Note that unlike the similar 11.0-0-0 it does not leave f2 vulnerable to a knight fork. After 11.Rd1!, Black must lose a tempo with 11...Rf8, and now 12.Nxc7 Rb8 13.f3! leaves White with an advantage that Houdini assesses as +1.32.

This line is seen in the following game. Incidentally, the note to Black's 9th move is very interesting. Houdini considers 9...Nbd7, dropping the c-pawn and leading to a position where White has a +1.32 advantage, inferior to surrendering the exchange with either 9...Nxd5 10.Bxd8 Nf6 (+0.94) or 9...Rxd5 10.cxd5 Ne4 (+1.09).

Sacking the house

The following game is a bit sloppy, but the conclusion is entertaining. I'm now 149-0-0 on GameKnot. The streak will end very soon. Seriously.

Register today for $4 parking at CCC Preview Open

Just a reminder to Chicago Chess Center supporters about this Saturday's Preview Open at the Illinois Institute of Technology: Today is the last day to reserve $4 all-day visitor parking on campus! (Parking is $12 without a visitor pass.) To get this rate, you must send your entry to info@chichess.org by midnight tonight.

The CCC Preview Open is 4/SS, G/45 + d5. Rounds will begin at 10 AM and 12:15, 2 and 3:45 PM. Entry is $25, $15 for CCC members, and the prize fund is $300 based on 30 entries. On-site registration and check-in will be open from 9 to 9:55 AM in the Faculty Club Lounge, lower level of Hermann Hall, 3241 S. Federal St., Chicago. Parking is across Federal Street in visitor lot B5. (If you have reserved parking, ignore the pay station in the parking lot: we'll give you a pass to put on your dashboard at registration.) Sets and duplicate scoresheets will be provided; please bring clocks.

If you'd rather leave your car at home, Hermann Hall is a convenient seven-minute walk from the 35th-Bronzeville-IIT Green Line 'L' station (exit at north end of platform) and just five minutes from the 35th Street Rock Island Line Metra station. Inbound Metra trains arrive at 9:39 AM -- how's that for timing? It's a great option if you're coming from Auburn-Gresham, Beverly or Morgan Park. (Remember to tell your conductor you're going to 35th -- it's a flag stop.)

See you Saturday!

A trap in the Ruy Lopez, Open Variation

The following game illustrates an unusual line against the Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Nxe4 6.Re1!? Objectively, it gives White no advantage. But after a couple of seemingly minor inaccuracies Black, a player of near FIDE Master strength, found herself on the wrong end of a miniature. Note that a similar line is possible as a means of avoiding the "Berlin Wall": 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.0-0 Nxe4 5.Re1. That line has a little more bite, and was recommended by Larry Kaufman in his 2004 book The Chess Advantage in Black and White.

ADDENDUM: For essentially the same trap against the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez, see Collins-Spanton, Hastings 2009. But see Valenti-Lanzani, Milan 2004, where Black successfully deviated and drew.

Red Wedding in Moscow

So why is GM Nakamura re-enacting the Red Wedding in the Tal Memorial?  His victims include four fellow top-ten players: Caruana, Kramnik, Karjakin, and Anand.

Lots of coverage on the web: Chess Life Online is a good place to begin.

Chicago Chess Center Preview Open at IIT on Saturday, June 29th

Chicago Chess Center Preview Open 

06/29/2013 

Illinois Institute of Technology - Chicago

4/SS, G/45 + d5, in two sections if 24 or more entrants. Room 007, Hermann Hall, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3241 S. Federal St., Chicago. 

Rounds: 10 AM, 12:15, 2, 3:45 PM. 

Entry fee: $25 ($15 members). Prizes: $300 in prizes based on 30 entries. Seven-minute walk from 35th-Bronzeville-IIT Green Line 'L' station (exit at north end of platform); five-minute walk from 35th Street Rock Island District Metra station. Off-street parking in campus lot B5 (Federal Street between 31st and 33rd streets) $4 with advance registration by Wednesday, June 26; please mention parking when you register. 

Registration: RSVP to info@chichess.org; mail checks to Chicago Chess Center, c/o William Brock, 230 W. Monroe St., Suite 330, Chicago, IL 60606, or pay on day of event. On-site registration in Faculty Club Lounge, 9–9:45 AM. Sets and duplicate scoresheets provided; please bring clock. More info: www.chichess.org.

"On Peak Tournament Performance"

Check out this great article by FM Carl Boor on chess.com.

2013 Illinois Open: Labor Day Weekend in Oak Brook!

A State Championship Event

30 Grand Prix Points

Aug 31 - Sep 2, 2013

2013 Illinois Open State Championship

Oak Brook, IL

6SS, G/90, 30 sec. inc., (2-day option, rds 1-3 G/45 d5).
Doubletree Hotel, 1909 Spring Rd., Oak Brook, IL 60523, (866) 812-3959, $95 room rate if reserved by 8/16, mention Illinois Chess Association block of rooms when registering. An Illinois Chess Tour Event. Prize Fund $7,000 b/150 paid entries.
In 2 sections, Open and Reserve. Open Section: $1,050-$735-$525 U2400 $490-$350-$245 U2200 $335-$260 U2000 $245-175. Reserve (U1800) Section: $700-$490-$350 U1600 $280-$210 U1400 $210-$140 U1200 $140-$70.
Unrateds qualify for top prizes only. $20 bookseller prize given to all participants finishing with 3.5 pts or more. EF: $94 USPS received by 8/26 and on-line by 8/30 6 PM, $115 at the door by 11:30 AM on 8/31 or 10:30 AM on 9/1.
Free to Illinois GMs, IMs, FMs. $5 discount to current ICA members for IL Open only (ICA annual dues $15 regular, $10 scholastic - obtain membership at www.il-chess.org).
Register online at www.chessforlife.com by 8/30 6 PM, or mail checks payable to Chess For Life, LLC to Chess For Life, c/o Tim Just, 37165 Willow, Gurnee, IL 60031 must be received by 8/26.
No phone entries. $20 extra to play up in Open Section with rating of 1799 and below.
Re-entries $50 with appropriate byes. 3-Day Schedule Saturday-Sunday 12 Noon and 6 pm, Monday 11 am and 4 pm. 2-Day Schedule Sunday 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm, then merge with 3-day schedule at 6 pm, Monday 11 am and 4 pm.
Half-point byes ok all rounds, must commit by end of round 2.
Maximum 2 half-point byes. On-site registration 10-11:30 Saturday, 9-10:30 Sunday, Entries after that may be given ½ point byes for round 1.
Advance entries posted at www.chessforlife.com. Boards, sets, and clocks not provided, please bring your own.
All special rules, details, and tournament conditions are subject to change without notice and will be posted ASAP at the site/on-line.
Scholastic side event on 8/31, details and registration at www.chessforlife.com.
Info only: 847-773-7706 (before 6 PM).

The information shown above is based on information in USCF records prior to publication of the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids.)
As such, the information shown above is subject to change and any URLS may not yet be activated or may refer to other events.
Please check the TLA in Chess Life (or Chess Life for Kids) for any corrections, updates or other changes.
In special cases, changes that are made after the publication of Chess Life may be found on the Tournament Listings by State page.
Sponsoring Affiliate: T5009961, ILLINOIS CHESS ASSOCIATION.

Tell the TD you heard about this event via TLA Mail or saw it on the USCF website. TLA ID: 11555

Crushing the Kopec

In the Kopec System against the Sicilian, White plays 3.c3 and the odd-looking 4.Bd3!?, intending to drop the bishop back to c2, followed in due course by d4. I've faced it many times in blitz games, always finding it a bit annoying. I'd usually play ...e5 at some point and we'd end up in a Ruy Lopez-type position, which I'm not used to defending as Black. During this correspondence game, I consulted the database and discovered that Black scores much better with 5...Bg4! Often he plays ...e6 and ...d5, setting up a French-type pawn structure where he has already developed his light-squared bishop outside the pawn chain.

This game gives me a 122-0-0 score on GameKnot and a rating of 2015.

On Time Management

A noted economist once observed "If you never miss a flight, you are spending too much time sitting in airports."  The theory goes like this:  Suppose that by always leaving for the airport 2 hours before your flight, you  would average sitting 1 1/2 hours in the airport, but you would never miss a flight.  On the other hand, if you always left for the airport 1 1/2 hours before your flight, you would average 1 hour sitting in the airport, but you would miss 1 flight in 10 and you would have to wait 2 1/2 hours for the next flight.  By choosing the first option you would be spending 5 extra hours waiting before flights in order to avoid a single 2 1/2 hour wait as the result of a missed flight.  Ignoring the financial cost of missing your flight (which is exactly the kind of unrealistic assumption that noted economists are noted for making), the optimal time to leave for the airport is the one where you aren't spending any more extra time waiting before flights than the occasional missed flight would cost you,

Although it may not be possible to precisely determine the optimal time to leave, the noted economist's point is that if you never miss a flight, you can be pretty sure you haven't chosen it.

I tell the players I coach "If you never get in time trouble, you are probably moving too quickly."  My logic is the same as the economist's.  The more you think, the better moves you make and the more points you score.  Therefore, unused time costs you points.  On the other hand, time trouble also costs you points because you don't have adequate time to think and by using more time, you increase the risk of time trouble.  Your optimal average thinking time per move would be the one where your average point cost for unused time is equal to your average point cost for time trouble.  Move at a slower than optimal rate and points lost to time trouble outweigh points gained by thinking longer.  Faster than optimal and vicey-versey.   For a player who plays blitz well, the optimal average thinking time might result in time trouble once every three games while once in ten games might be the optimal for someone else.

Although there is no way to be sure that you have actually hit the optimal average thinking time, if you never  find yourself in time trouble you can be pretty sure that you can get closer to optimal by increasing your thinking time.

29th North American Masters

The 29th North American Masters just wrapped up at the North Shore Chess Center; Sevan Muradian reports on Chess Life Online. Both co-champions scored an IM norm: it's Eric Rosen's second norm, and Tom Bartell has earned the title. You can download the games on the North American Chess Association website.

It takes two to "Tango"

My opponent in the following game found a new way to lose a pawn as White against the Black Knights' Tango (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6!?). He began with 3.d5!?, which IM Richard Palliser calls "The Lunge" in his book on the opening, tango! At first blush, the move looks strong. White hopes to chase Black's knights with his pawns and force them back in disarray, à la Borochow-Fine, Kujoth-Fashingbauer, Marshall-Rogosin, and various games in the Halloween Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nxe5?! Nxe5 5.d4). Something like that did happen in Tate-Orlov, 1995. But if Black plays correctly, White gets little or no advantage with 3.d5. 3.Nf3 and 3.Nc3 are much more commonly seen, and more successful in practice.

White's 4.Qc2 was not in the spirit of The Lunge. White should continue his aggression with 4.e4 (when 4...Nxe4?? 5.Qd4 wins for White) or even Tate's 4.f4!?, offering the c-pawn as a gambit (4...Nxc4 5.e4). White's 7.a3? was an unfortunate theoretical novelty. Another passive, time-wasting move, it dropped a pawn to the simple tactic 7...Bxd2+ 8.Nxd2 exd5 9.cxd5 Nxd5! The lost pawn should have been the extent of the damage. Surely no one would be so naïve as to take the knight, which would give me the choice of two mates in two, or a mate in four? To my astonishment, my opponent fell into it hook, line, and sinker. I'm now 110-0-0 on GameKnot, with an Orwellian 1984 rating.

Krakatoa!

Yet another of my Internet opponents provides a fine example of how not to play chess: play passively, castle into a strong attack, and never develop your queenside. Predictably, mate ensues. I'm now 95-0-0 on GameKnot. It looks like I'll be able to get to 100-0-0 before I start giving up points.

In playing this game, I was inspired the following slaughter by GM Atalik of a QGD, Marshall Defense(!), which I saw in Valeri Bronznik's excellent book 1.d4 - Beat the Guerrillas!

Unofficial: GMs Robson, Friedel, Mitkov win 2013 Chicago Open

GM Nikola Mitkov held up the local honor this year. Here's his very nice win in the money round (finished just a few minutes ago).

ADDENDUM: The cross-tables for the event are available here.

The double-pawn advantage, redoubled

It is not fun to defend a Bishop's Opening against one of its foremost practitioners, GM Nikola Mitkov. Even GM Vladimir Georgiev, who knew very well what to expect, has serious problems....

We're all taught that when in doubt, we should make pawn captures towards the center.  Consider the diagram below: White has two sets of doubled pawns, and no central pawns at all, as he's captured away from the center twice.  Yet White's rooks both sit on semi-open central files.  Who has the pressure?

Not so drawish

GM Mesgen Amanov and IM Florin Felecan are not only two of the strongest players in Illinois, they're two of the nicest people in Chicagoland chess.  Over the board, however, no quarter is given or expected.

Opposite-color bishop endings are not nearly as drawish as some assume they are, especially when a pair of major pieces remain on the board,  Make the enemy bishop irrelevant, and you're attacking with an extra piece!  In achieving this end, a well-timed pawn sacrifice is useful: activity trumps materialism.

Grünfeld Defense, Russian Variation, Hungarian Defense

5.Qb3 is the Russian Variation.  I am old enough to remember the "Hungarian" 7...a6!? as a wild cutting-edge idea by some Hungarian players in the 1970's.  (Wikipedia attributes its popularization to Leko, but the name was coined before Leko was born.)  As a couple repertoire books recommend this move, you should expect to face it if you play 5.Qb3 as White.

Sam Schmakel was ready (or at least ready enough) and wins a nice game.

Crunch

From tonight's round: you can follow on Monroi.  Hmm, Yury Shulman makes me want to switch to 9.Nh4.