PCG Forum

Join the debate on the Philidor Counter Gambit!

SPICE Records Requested by USCF

The Avalanche-Journal of Lubbock is reporting that the USCF has filed a court request to obtain computer records from the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence to determine if Susan Polgar and Paul Truong leaked confidential e-mails from the Executive Board in June.

NJ Futurity on "YouTube"

Atomic Patzer shot this video at the New Jersey Futurity International 2008.

Ferrero's Pix from Viking Quads

Steve Ferrero, who is editor of Atlantic Chess News, took these pictures at Saturday's Viking quads in Somerset.

Among others, you will see James Luxich, Louis Sturniolo, Sal Geraci, Patrick Mazzillo, Anna Matlin, and me.

My Pix from Viking Quads

These pictures were taken by me during yesterday's Viking quads at the Ramada Somerset.

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Two of the participants in quad one were Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero and Anna Matlin.

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In round two, Anna Matlin lost in the endgame to NM Victor Shen.

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Here is second round play in quad two.

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In the lobby, Patrick Mazzillo watches as Louis Sturniolo and James Luxich prepare to analyze Luxich's 15-move win against Sturniolo.

Viking Quads 7/26/2008

At today's Viking quads in Somerset, my score was 2-0-1. These are the games, including one in the third round that ended in a time scramble with many mistakes.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Paulsen Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Anna Matlin (USCF 1929), Somerset NJ 7/26/2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Ba7 7.Qe2 b5 8.Be3 d6 9.O-O Nd7 10.a4 Bxe3 11.Qxe3 bxa4 12.Rxa4 Ngf6 13.Nc3 h5 14.f3 h4 15.h3 Nh5 16.Rfa1 Nb8 17.e5 d5 18.Nb5 O-O

19.Nd6 Bd7 20.R4a3 Nc6 21.Rxa6 Rxa6 22.Rxa6 Nb4 23.Ra1 Nxd3 24.cxd3 f6 25.d4 fxe5 26.dxe5 Nf4 27.Kh1 Qg5 28.Rg1 Qg3 29.Qe1 Qg5 30.Nc5 Nh5 31.Nd3 Rb8 32.Qc1 Ng3+ 33.Kh2 Qd8 34.Qf4 Qe7 35.Qg4 Rb3

36.Nc5 Rxb2 37.Nxd7 Qxd7 38.Qxh4 Ne2 39.Ra1 Rb8 40.Re1 Nc3 41.f4 Qa7 42.f5 exf5 43.Nxf5 Re8 44.Nd6 Rf8 45.Qg3 d4 46.e6 Qe7 47.Ne4 Nd5 48.Ng5 Nf6 49.Rd1 Rd8 50.Rd3 Rd5 51.h4 Rd8 52.Qf4 Nh5 53.Qf7+ Qxf7 54.exf7+ Kh8 55.Ne6 Rb8 56.f8=Q+ Rxf8 57.Nxf8 Kg8 58.Ne6 Kf7 59.Nxd4, Black resigns.




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Round Two: Larsen's Opening

Steve Ferrero (USCF 1866) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Somerset NJ 7/26/2008

1.b3 b6 2.Bb2 Bb7 3.Nf3 e6 4.e3 f5 5.d4 Nf6 6.Nbd2 a5 7.a3 Be7 8.c4 O-O 9.Be2 Qe8 10.O-O d6 11.Ne1 Nbd7 12.Bf3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Qg6 14.Qg3 Qxg3 15.hxg3 e5

16.f3 Nh5 17.Kf2 f4 18.exf4 exf4 19.gxf4 Bh4+ 20.Ke3 Rae8+ 21.Ne4 Ng3 22.Rg1 Nf6 23.Nd3 Nfxe4 24.fxe4 Rxe4+ 25.Kf3 Rfe8 26.Kg4 g5 27.Rge1 h5+ 28.Kh3 Ne2 29.Rf1 Re3+ 30.Rf3 Rxd3


31.fxg5 Bxg5 32.Rxd3 Nf4+ 33.Kh2 Nxd3 34.Bc3 Re3 35.Bd2 Bf4+ 36.Kh1 Re2, White resigns.




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Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Scheveningen Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Victor Shen (USCF 2265), Somerset NJ 7/26/2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.Be2 a6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Be3 Be7 9.a4 O-O 10.Nb3 b6 11.Kh1 d6

12.f4 Bb7 13.Bf3 Rfe8 14.Rf2 Na5 15.Nxa5 bxa5 16.Rd2 Bc6 17.Bd4 e5 18.Be3 Rab8 19.b3 Qb7 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.exd5 exf4 22.Bxf4 Nd7 23.Qf1 Qb4 24.Bg4 Nf8 25.Bh3 Ng6 26.Rf2 Qe4 27.Rd1 Bh4 28.Bxd6 Rbd8 29.Bf5 Qe3 30.Rf3 Qb6

31.Bxg6 hxg6 32.Bg3 Bf6 33.d6 Qc6 34.Rxf6 gxf6 35.Qxf6 Qe4 36.Rf1 Rd7 37.h3 Re6 38.Qc3 Rdxd6 39.Bxd6 Rxd6 40.Qc7 Qe6 41.Qxa5 Rd5 42.Qe1 Qd6 43.Qe8+ Qf8 44.Qxf8+ Kxf8 45.Rf6 a5 46.c4 Ke7 47.Ra6 Re5 48.Rb6 Re1+ 49.Kh2 Rb1 50.Rb5 f5


51.c5 Ke6 52.Rb6+ Kd5 53.c6 Kd6 54.c7+ Kxc7 55.Rxg6 Rxb3 56.Ra6 Kd7 57.Rxa5 Ke6 58.h4 Kf6 59.g3 Rb2+ 60.Kh3 Rb3 61.Kg2 Rb2+ 62.Kh3 Rb3 63.Ra6+ Ke5 64.Ra5+ Kf6 65.Rb5 Ra3 66.Rb4 Kg6 67.Rf4 Kf6 68.h5 Kg5 69.h6 Kxh6 70.Rxf5 Rxa4, draw.

Maurice Ashley on CNN

In this CNN interview, GM Maurice Ashley describes chess as "intellectual martial arts."

Maurice Ashley is the only grandmaster that I have ever defeated with the Philidor Counter Gambit, although I drew against GM Pavel Blatny with the PCG as well.

Ashley also won this game against me at the Marshall Chess Club, mistakenly reported as taking place in Chicago.

GM Loses to Fajarowicz in Blitz

Here is a blitz game where a grandmaster loses to the Fajarowicz variation.

The Dark Knight of Chess

Had he lived, actor Heath Ledger was planning to take two years off to direct movies, including an adaptation of The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis.

Greater Pitman Open Chess Championship

Although not mentioned in the tournament life announcements at the USCF website, the 1st Annual Greater Pitman Open Chess Championship will be held at the Pitman Manor on Saturday, August 16th. Tournament details are available here.

Atomic Patzer's "YouTube" Channel

Chess blogger Atomic Patzer has revamped his blog to include a photo gallery, as well as a video Diaper with a bizarre ending from the Hamilton quads on June 14th of this year. You can find the same video and others at his YouTube channel.

The one called Post Mortem was shot at last month's Viking quads on June 28th. It shows Boris Privman and me analyzing my second round loss against Mauricio Camejo, with some assistance from Camejo and Andrew Ng, much to the consternation of Frank Romano in quad two.

In the background of Mike vs. Diamondback, you can see me playing against Kavinayan Sivakumar on June 22nd at the Dean of Chess Academy, a month ago. Yes, he is the same Diamondback whose e-mails have been featured at my blog in past entries!

Pix from Hamilton

Having lost his first two games yesterday, my third round opponent at Hamilton forfeited against me, giving me the opportunity to take these photos.

You will see shots of the Ray Dwier Recreation Center, the start of the contest between Dragan Milovanovich and Mark Kernighan, and analysis of a third round game from a lower quad.

Hamilton Quads 7/19/2008

At today's quads in Hamilton, I played this hard-fought draw.

Round Two: Alekhine Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Dragan Milovanovich (USCF 2237), Hamilton NJ 7/19/2008

1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.exd6 cxd6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bd3 Bg7 8.Nge2 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.O-O e5 11.d5 Ne7 12.b3 f5 13.f4 Nd7 14.Rc1 exf4 15.Nxf4 Ne5

16.Be2 g5 17.Nh5 N7g6 18.Nxg7 Kxg7 19.Nb5 f4 20.Bd4 a6 21.Nc3 Kg8 22.c5 g4 23.cxd6 Qh4 24.Bxe5 Nxe5 25.Qd4 Qf6 26.Rcd1 f3 27.Rf2 Bd7 28.Bf1 Rae8 29.Ne4 Qg6 30.g3 Bf5 31.Nc5 Bc8


32.d7 Nxd7 33.Nxd7 Bxd7 34.d6 Qf6 35.Qd5+ Re6 36.Bc4 b5 37.Qb7 bxc4 38.Qxd7 cxb3 39.axb3 Rd8 40.Qa4 h5 41.Qxa6 Rdxd6 42.Qa8+ Kg7 43.Rc1 Re7 44.Qa1 Red7 45.Qxf6+ Kxf6 46.Rb2 Rd2 47.Rxd2 Rxd2 48.Rb1 Ke5


49.b4 Kd5 50.b5 Kc5 51.b6 Rd8 52.b7 Rb8 53.h3 Kc6 54.hxg4 hxg4 55.Rb4 Rxb7 56.Rxg4 Rb2 57.Rf4 Rg2+ 58.Kf1 Rxg3 59.Kf2 Rh3 60.Rxf3, draw.

Results of Kudrin Simul

On Sunday, June 29th, GM Sergey Kudrin gave a 20-board simultaneous exhibition at the Greater Somerset County Chess Club in Belle Mead, finishing with a record of 19-1-0.

As reported at the GSCCC website:

His lone defeat came at the hands of Alex Romayev who delivered checkmate to the grandmaster after an oversight by the GM. Alex won a book prize and will most certainly remember this game for a long time! Fun was had by all. GM Kudrin also took the time to answer questions from the audience.

Solitaire Chess

The July 2008 issue of Chess Life features a Philidor Counter Gambit in the Solitaire Chess column by Bruce Pandolfini.


Black could have improved on 19...Ne8 by 19...d5 20.Nd6+ Bxd6 21.Bxd6 Rff7 (21...Re8 22.Be5 Rf7? 23.Ne4! Pandolfini) 22.Be5 g4 23.h4 Ne8 24.g3 Rxf1+ 25.Rxf1 Qe7 with only a slight advantage for White.

Box Moves

If you have ever felt the urge to punch your opponent during a game of chess, you might be interested in chessboxing as seen in this video.

Photo Gallery from NJ Futurity

Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero took these photos at the New Jersey Futurity International 2008, held at the Dean of Chess Academy from July 7th through 11th.


Here tournament organizer Michael Khodarkovsky presents the winner's prize to GM Sergey Erenburg.

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NM Mackenzie Molner ponders his position against IM Dean Ippolito who eventually won the game.

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NM Evan Ju lost to IM Milos Scekic who played brilliantly.

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IM Alfonso Almeida Saenz lost this game to GM Sergey Erenburg who drew his fellow grandmasters while defeating everyone else.

NJ Futurity Recap

Not only did GM Sergey Erenburg win the New Jersey Futurity International 2008, he also was awarded the brilliancy prize for his victory against IM Dean Ippolito.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 7/13/2008

Playing in a Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club today, I had a final score of 2-0-2, drawing the first two contests at game/30 and winning the next two at 30/90 followed by game/60. Here are the games. My third round opponent won the Under 1600 section at last week's World Open in Philadelphia.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Sozin Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Uri Feld (USCF 1719), Marshall Chess Club 7/13/2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 Na5 7.Bb3 e6 8.Be3 a6 9.O-O Be7 10.f4 Qc7 11.Qf3 b5 12.f5 e5 13.Nde2 Nxb3 14.axb3 Bb7

15.g4 b4 16.g5 bxc3 17.gxf6 Bxf6 18.bxc3 O-O 19.c4 g6 20.Bh6 Bg7 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.f6+ Kg8 23.Qe3 Qc5 24.Qxc5 dxc5 25.Nc3 Rfd8 26.Nd5 Rd6 27.Ra5 Bxd5 28.cxd5 Rc8 29.c4 Kf8


30.Kg2 Ke8 31.Kg3 Kd7 32.Kg4 h6 33.h4 Rb6 34.Rf3 Kd6 35.Rc3 Ra8 36.Ra3 a5 37.h5 g5 38.Rf3 Raa6 39.Kg3 Ra7 40.Kg4 Raa6 41.Kg3, draw.




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Round Two: London System

Eigen Wang (USCF 2064) - Jim West (2200), Marshall Chess Club 7/13/2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 g6 4.Bf4 Bg7 5.h3 O-O 6.e3 c5 7.Be2 cxd4 8.exd4 d5 9.O-O Nc6 10.Nbd2 Ne4 11.Re1 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 f6 13.Rad1 Qa5 14.b4 Qb6 15.b5 Na5 16.Bd3 Re8 17.Bh6 Bd7

18.h4 Nc4 19.Bxc4 dxc4 20.a4 Bg4 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.Qf4 Bxf3 23.Qxf3 Rad8 24.h5 e5 25.dxe5 Rxd1 26.exf6+ Qxf6 27.h6+ Kxh6 28.Qxf6 Rexe1+ 29.Kh2 Rh1+ 30.Kg3 Rd3+ 31.Kg4 Rd7 32.Qf8+ Rg7 33.Qf4+ g5 34.Qf6+ Rg6 35.Qf8+ Rg7 36.Kf5 Rd1 37.Kf6 Rdd7


38.g4 a6 39.b6 a5 40.f3 Rdf7+ 41.Qxf7 Rxf7+ 42.Kxf7, stalemate.




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Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Taimanov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Molson Hart (USCF 1549), Marshall Chess Club 7/13/2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Be3 a6 8.N5c3 b5 9.Nd5 Rb8 10.Be2 Nf6 11.Nbc3 Be7 12.O-O O-O 13.a3 Be6

14.f3 Nh5 15.Qd2 Re8 16.Rad1 Bf8 17.Kh1 Qh4 18.Bf2 Qd8 19.g4 Nf6 20.Be3 Nd7 21.Rg1 Na5 22.b3 Nc6 23.Bg5 Qc8 24.Be3 Nc5 25.g5 Bxd5 26.Nxd5 Re6 27.Bf1 Rg6 28.Rg3 Ne6 29.Bh3 Qd8 30.Bf5 Ncd4 31.Bxg6 fxg6 32.Bxd4 Nxd4


33.c3 Ne6 34.b4 Rc8 35.Rg4 Rc4 36.a4 bxa4 37.Qa2 Rc6 38.Qxa4 Qc8 39.Qb3 Kh8 40.Ra1 Qb7 41.Qd1 Be7 42.h4 Bd8 43.Qd3 a5 44.bxa5 Nc5 45.Qb1 Qa6 46.Rg2 Qc4 47.Qf1 Qxf1+ 48.Rxf1 Bxa5 49.Ra2 Bd8 50.Ra8 Ne6 51.Rb1, Black resigns.




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Round Four: Dutch Defense

Payam Parhami (USCF 2018) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 7/13/2008

1.d4 f5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e6 4.Nf3 a5 5.O-O b6 6.c4 Bb7 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 O-O 9.Rc1 Bxc3 10.Bxc3 Ne4 11.Nd2 Nxc3 12.Rxc3 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 d6 14.e3 Nd7


15.Qf3 Qe7 16.Qc6 Rac8 17.f4 Nf6 18.e4 Qd7 19.Qxd7 Nxd7 20.Re3 Rfe8 21.Rfe1 Kf8 22.Kf3 Nf6 23.h3 fxe4+ 24.Nxe4 Nxe4 25.Kxe4 Kf7 26.f5 exf5+ 27.Kxf5 Rxe3 28.Rxe3 g6+ 29.Kg5 h6+ 30.Kf4 Rd8 31.d5 Rd7 32.h4 Re7 33.Rxe7+ Kxe7 34.g4 Kf6 35.g5+ hxg5+ 36.hxg5+ Ke7


37.Ke4 Kd7 38.Kd4 Kc8 39.Kc3 Kb7 40.Kb3 Ka7 41.Ka4 Ka6 42.b3 Ka7 43.Kb5 Kb7 44.a3 Kb8 45.Kc6 Kc8 46.a4 Kd8 47.c5 bxc5 48.Kb5 Kd7 49.Kxa5 c6 50.dxc6+ Kxc6 51.b4 d5 52.b5+ Kb7 53.b6 c4 54.Kb5 c3 55.a5 c2 56.a6+ Kb8 57.Kc6 c1=Q+ 58.Kxd5 Qxg5+, White resigns.