Photos from Westfield Quads

At the Westfield quads on Sunday, I took these pictures.

The first two pix feature teammates of mine from the USATE 2009: Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero and my chess student Ziping Liu.

Next, there is a photo of blogger Polly Wright.

The final three shots show the games from the top quad: Boris Privman versus Mark Kernighan [round one], Mark Kernighan versus Bill Freeman [round two], and Bill Freeman versus Boris Privman [round three]. Everyone in this quad, including me, is a national master.

Masters of Facebook

This photo [courtesy of Peter DaSilva] appeared in The New York Times on Sunday with the following caption: The masters of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, left, and Chris Cox, preside over a five-year-old company that is nearing a milestone of 200 million users, double the number last August.

No wonder these two are successful!

Westfield Quads 3/29/2009

Nearly sixty players showed up in Westfield today for the game/45 quads where I finished with three draws. The top quad was comprised of four masters including myself. These are my games.

Round One: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Bill Freeman (USCF 2250) - Jim West (USCF 2217), Westfield NJ 3/29/2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.a3 Nc6 5.Qc2 d5 6.e3 Bf5 7.Bd3 Nxe5 8.Nc3 Nxd3+ 9.Qxd3 dxc4 10.Qxc4 Nxc3 11.Qxc3 Qd3 12.Bd2 O-O-O 13.Rc1 Bd6

14.Nf3 Qxc3 15.Bxc3 f6 16.Nd4 Bd7 17.f3 Rhe8 18.Kf2 Kb8 19.h4 Be5 20.Rhe1 Bxd4 21.Bxd4 b6 22.h5 h6 23.g4 c5 24.Bc3 Bc8 25.e4 Rd3


26.e5 Bb7 27.Re3 Rxe3 28.Kxe3 fxe5 29.f4 exf4+ 30.Kxf4 Re7 31.Re1 Rf7+ 32.Kg3 Kc7 33.Re8 Bd5 34.Re3, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2217) - Boris Privman (USCF 2252), Westfield NJ 3/29/2009

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 d6 5.a3 g6 6.d3 Bg7 7.Qc2 O-O 8.Nf3 a5 9. Be2 b6 10.O-O Bb7 11.Nbd2 Qd7

12.Bc3 Rfe8 13.b4 Nd8 14.bxa5 bxa5 15.Rfb1 e4 16.dxe4 Bxe4 17.Nxe4 Nxe4 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Nd2 Nc5 20.Bf3 Nc6 21.Ne4 Nxe4 22.Bxe4 Rab8 23.Bd5 Kg8 24.Qa4 Ne5 25.Qxd7 Nxd7 26.Bc6 Rxb1+ 27.Rxb1 Rb8 28.Rxb8+ Nxb8 29.Bb5 f6


30.Kf1 Kf7 31.Ke2 Ke6 32.Kd3 c6 33.Ba4 Kd7 34.Kd4 Na6 35.g4 Nc5 36.Bc2 Ke6 37.h4 Nd7 38.f4 f5 39.g5 Nc5, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Three: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2217) - Mark Kernighan (USCF 2203), Westfield NJ 3/29/2009

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 d6 3.c4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 Bf5 7.Nbd2 h6 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.O-O Re8 10.Re1 e4 11.dxe4 Nxe4 12.Nxe4 Bxe4 13.Bd3 Bf6 14.Bxf6 Qxf6 15.Bxe4 Rxe4 16.Qd5 Nc5 17.Rad1 a5 18.Rd4 Rae8 19.Rxe4 Rxe4 20.h3 Re8

21.Rd1 Qg6 22.Nh4 Qc2 23.Qd2 Qe4 24.Qd4 Qxd4 25.Rxd4 Ra8 26.Nf5 Kf8 27.Rd1 Ra6 28.Nd4 Ke7 29.Nb5 Rc6 30.Na7 Ra6 31.Nb5 Ne6 32.Nd4 a4 33.b4 Nxd4 34.exd4 a3 35.Re1+ Kf6 36.Re3 Ra4 37.Rb3 b6


38.Kf1 c5 39.dxc5 dxc5 40.bxc5 bxc5 41.Ke2 Ke5 42.Kd3 f5 43.Rb5 Kd6 44.Rb6+ Kc7 45.Rg6 Rb4 46.Rxg7+ Kb8 47.Re7 Rb2 48.Re2 Rb1 49.Kc3 Kb7 50.Re5 Rb2 51.Rxf5 Rxa2 52.Kb3 Ra1 53.Rxc5 a2 54.Ra5 Rg1 55.Rxa2 Rxg2 56.Kb4 Rh2 57.Ra3 Rxf2 58.Rg3 Rf6, draw.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 3/28/2009

Today I participated in a game/60 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club where I finished with a score of 2-0-2. Here are the games, including a draw that I swindled in the last round with only 11 seconds left on my clock!

Round One: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Darren Lustig (USCF 1835) - Jim West (USCF 2217), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 e5 4.dxe5 Ne4 5.Nbd2 Bf5 6.Nxe4 Bxe4 7.e3 Nc6 8.Bd3 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 dxe5 10.Qxd8+ Rxd8 11.O-O f6 12.b3 Bb4 13.Bb2 a5 14.Rfd1 O-O

15.h3 Rxd1+ 16.Rxd1 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ Nxd8 18.Kf1 Kf7 19.Ke2 Ke6 20.Kd3 Nc6 21.a3 Bc5 22.Nd2 f5 23.f3 g6 24.Nb1 f4 25.exf4 exf4 26.Ke4 g5 27.Nd2 Ne7 28.Nf1 Nf5 29.Bc1 h6 30.Bb2 b6 31.Bc1 Bd6


32.Nh2 Nh4 33.Ng4 h5 34.Nf2 Nxg2 35.Nd3 Nh4 36.b4 axb4 37.axb4 Nf5 38.c5 bxc5 39.bxc5 Ng3+ 40.Kd4 Ne2+ 41.Kc4 Be7 42.Bd2 h4 43.Nf2 Ng1 44.c6 Nxf3 45.Ba5 Bd8 46.Kd3 Ne5+ 47.Ke4 Nxc6 48.Bd2 Ne5 49.Bc3 Nc4 50.Kf3 Bf6, White forfeits.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2217) - Souvik Roychoudhury (USCF 1944), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2009

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.c3 Bd6 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.O-O Qd7 8.Re1+ Nge7 9.Nbd2 O-O-O 10.b4 Ng6 11.Qa4 Nf4 12.Bf1 Kb8 13.b5 Ne7 14.Ba3 Bxa3 15.Qxa3 Bxf3 16.Nxf3 Qg4 17.Kh1 Neg6

18.Re3 Rhe8 19.Rae1 Rxe3 20.Rxe3 Qd7 21.Ne5 Nxe5 22.Rxe5 Ng6 23.Re3 Re8 24.Qc1 Rxe3 25.Qxe3 Qe7 26.Bd3 Qxe3 27.fxe3 Kc8 28.g3 Nf8 29.Kg2 h6 30.Kf3 Kd7 31.c4 dxc4 32.Bxc4 Ke7 33.e4 Nd7 34.Ke3 Nf6 35.Be2 Ne8

36.e5 f6 37.Bf3 b6 38.Bc6 fxe5 39.dxe5 g6 40.Bxe8 Kxe8 41.Ke4 Ke7 42.Kd5 h5 43.h4 Kd7 44.e6+ Kd8 45.Ke5 Ke7 46.a3, Black resigns.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Frank Paciulli (USCF 1864) - Jim West (USCF 2217), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 Nf6 6.Nxf6+ gxf6 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.Be3 Qxd1+ 9.Rxd1 Bg4 10.Be2 Nc6 11.Nh4 Bd7 12.Bh5+ Kd8 13.Bg4 Bd6 14.Nf5 Bxf5 15.Bxf5 Ke7

16.c4 Nd4 17.Bxd4 exd4 18.Rxd4 Kf7 19.O-O Rae8 20.Rfd1 Re5 21.Be4 Rhe8 22.Bd5+ Kf8 23.Kf1 Bb4 24.g3 c6 25.Bf3 Re1+ 26.Kg2 Bc5 27.Rd7 Rxd1 28.Bxd1 Re7 29.Rd3 a5 30.Bh5 Kg7 31.Bg4 Kg6 32.Rd7 f5 33.Rxe7 Bxe7 34.Bf3 a4


35.Bd1 b5 36.cxb5 cxb5 37.f4 Bc5 38.Kf3 Bd4 39.b3 axb3 40.Bxb3 Kf6 41.h3 b4 42.Bc2 h6 43.g4 fxg4+ 44.hxg4 Bc3 45.Ke4 Bd2 46.f5 Bc3 47.Kd3 Be1 48.Kc4 Ke5 49.Bd1 h5 50.gxh5 Kxf5 51.Kd5 Kf6 52.Kd6 Kg7 53.Ke7, draw.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Four: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2217) - Kavinayan Sivakumar (USCF 2002), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2009

1.b3 e5 2.Bb2 Nc6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 Be7 5.a3 O-O 6.d3 d5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Nf3 Bf6 9.Qc2 Bg4 10.Nbd2 Re8 11.Be2 Qd7 12.O-O Rad8 13.b4 a6 14.Rac1 Bf5

15.Ne4 Bxe4 16.dxe4 Nb6 17.b5 axb5 18.Bxb5 Re6 19.Rfd1 Qe7 20.Rxd8+ Qxd8 21.Rd1 Qe7 22.h3 h6 23.Nh2 h5 24.Nf1 g6 25.Ng3 Na7 26.Bf1 Rc6 27.Qb3 Qe6 28.Qxe6 Rxe6 29.f4 exf4 30.Bxf6 Rxf6 31.e5 Rc6 32.exf4 f6


33.Ne4 fxe5 34.fxe5 Kf7 35.Ng5+ Ke7 36.h4 Nd7 37.Re1 Rc3 38.a4 Nc6 39.Bb5 Rc5 40.e6 Nf8 41.g3 Nd4 42.Re4 Nxb5 43.axb5 Rxb5 44.Kg2 Rb6 45.Rc4 c6 46.Re4 Rb2+ 47.Kf3 Rd2 48.Kf4 Rd6


49.Ke5 Nxe6 50.Rb4 Nxg5 51.Rxb7+ Rd7 52.Rb6 Nf7+ 53.Ke4 Rc7 54.Kf4 Kf8 55.g4 hxg4 56.Kxg4 Kg7 57.h5 gxh5+ 58.Kxh5 c5 59.Kg4 c4 60.Kf4 c3 61.Rb1 Nd6 62.Ke3 c2 63.Rg1+ Kf7 64.Kd2 Ne4+ 65.Kc1 Nf2 66.Rf1 Ke6 67.Rxf2 Ke5 68.Rxc2 Rxc2+ 69.Kxc2, draw.

PCG at "Chess Cafe"

Here is an article on Paul Morphy, written by Tim Harding at Chess Cafe. It includes analysis of one of the most famous games in the Philidor Counter Gambit, namely Staunton and Owen versus Morphy and Barnes.

Nummer twaalf

Guido van der Werve's film Nummer twaalf, featuring a game between the filmmaker and GM Leonid Yudasin that was played on a chess piano at the Marshall Chess Club, is currently on exhibition in the Netherlands.

Madman Genius

Liz Garbus is working on a documentary for HBO titled Madman Genius. It centers on Bobby Fischer, described by Garbus as "sort of the Muhammad Ali of chess." The film is in pre-production, with shooting to start probably this spring.

Tewksbury Students Finish 4th

At the New Jersey Elementary Chess tournament, held on March 1st at Brookdale Community College, a team from Tewksbury Township schools finished in fourth place. They were coached by NM Scott Massey.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 3/22/2009

In my game against Jason Margiotta, played yesterday at the Marshall Chess Club, I nearly walked into 41.Rxh6?? Rc3#.

Round Three: Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2217) - Jason Margiotta (USCF 1819), Marshall Chess Club 3/22/2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Qd6 6.a4 Bg4 7.h3 Bh5 8.d3 O-O-O 9.Nbd2 f6 10.Nc4 Qd7 11.Be3 Bf7 12.Nfd2 Bb4 13.Qe2 Bxd2 14.Nxd2 f5

15.exf5 Qxf5 16.Qg4 Qxg4 17.hxg4 Nf6 18.f3 Rhe8 19.Rfe1 Rd7 20.Bg5 h6 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Ne4 Rd4 23.Nxf6 Re6 24.Ne4 Bg6 25.Kf2 Bxe4 26.Rxe4 Rxe4 27.dxe4 Kd7 28.Rh1 Rg6


29.Rh5 Ke6 30.Ke3 a5 31.c4 Kd6 32.Kd3 b6 33.b3 Ke6 34.c5 bxc5 35.Kc4 Kd6 36.Rf5 Re6 37.Rf8 Kd7 38.Kxc5 Rd6 39.Rh8 Rd3 40.Rh7+ Kd8


41.Kxc6 Rxb3 42.Rd7+ Ke8 43.Rd5, Black resigns.

Hamilton Quads 3/21/2009

Yesterday, at the Hamilton quads, I started playing a Pirc against NM Mark Kernighan [pictured above, as White, in his second round game against NM David Grasso]. But the game turned into a defense resembling a Ruy Lopez!

Round Three: Pirc Defense

Mark Kernighan (USCF 2203) - Jim West (USCF 2217), Hamilton NJ 3/21/2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bf4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 O-O 6.Bc4 Nc6


7.d5 e5 8.Bg5 Ne7 9.Qd2 a6 10.a3 b5 11.Be2 Rb8 12.Bd3 Bg4 13.Qe3 Bd7 14.h3 c5 15.O-O c4 16.Be2 Qb6 17.Qd2 a5 18.Qe1 h6


19.Bxf6 Bxf6 20.Nh2 Bg7 21.Bg4 f5 22.Bf3 g5 23.Nd1 Ng6 24.Ne3 Nh4 25.exf5 Nxf3+ 26.Nxf3 e4 27.Nd2 Bxb2 28.Nxe4 Rbe8 29.Rb1 Rxe4 30.Rxb2 Rxf5 31.Qc3 Rfe5 32.Kh2 Qd4


33.Qxd4 Rxd4 34.c3 Rf4 35.Rfb1 h5 36.a4 bxa4 37.Rb7 Be8 38.Kg1 g4 39.hxg4 hxg4 40.g3 Rfe4 41.Rc7 a3 42.Ra1 a4 43.Rxa3 Kf8 44.Ra1 Re7 45.Rxc4 Rxc4 46.Nxc4 Rc7 47.Nxd6 Bd7


48.Ra3 Rc5 49.c4 Ke7 50.Nb7 Rxc4 51.Re3+ Kf6 52.f3, draw.

Monmouth Chess School and Club

After reading this article, I have added the Monmouth Chess School and Club to my link list.

Improvements for Black in Treger - West

At his Contre Gambit Philidor blog, Frederic Fournier provides a couple of links to recent posts of mine that include games where I successfully played the PCG.

The above diagram shows the position after Yefim Treger's 15.Rxe4. I played the incorrect 15...Bf5 16.Ra4 a6 after which Treger missed the win of a pawn by 17.Rb1. On move fifteen, Black could have improved by 15...b5, 15...g6, or even 15...Bd7 with the idea of 16...Bc6.

Walter Tevis Interview

Did you know that Walter Tevis planned to write a sequel to The Queen's Gambit? Listen to his 1983 interview!

Philidor, the Composer

Besides being the leading chess player of his age, Philidor also composed operas.

Larsen's Opening @ Chess.com

At Jim West Talks Chess, I have posted my win with 1.b3 against Yevgeni Margulis.

Frank Brady's Introduction on "YouTube"

Here, in two parts, is club president Frank Brady's introduction to the Bobby Fischer symposium, held at the Marshall Chess Club.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 3/14/2009

Finishing with a score of 2-1-1, I won this game in yesterday's game/60 Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Ilan Kreitner (USCF 2000) - Jim West (USCF 2217), Marshall Chess Club 3/14/2009

1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Nxe4 Be7 8.Ng3 Bxe6 9.Bb5+ c6 10.Qe2 Qd7 11.Bd3 Nf6 12.O-O Kf7


13.Nh5 Bg4 14.Nxf6 Bxe2 15.Nxd7 Bxf1 16.Ne5+ Ke6 17.Kxf1 Kxe5 18.Nd2 Nd7 19.Nf3+ Ke6 20.Bf4 g6 21.h4 Kf7 22.Bh6 Bf6 23.c4 Nc5 24.Be2 d4 25.Ng5+ Bxg5 26.Bxg5 h6 27.Bf4 Ne6 28.Be5 Rhe8 29.f4 Rad8 30.Rd1 Kg8 31.Bd3 g5


32.Bf6 Nxf4 33.Bxd8 Rxd8 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.g3 Nxd3 36.Rxd3 c5 37.Kf2 Kg7 38.Ke2 Kg6 39.a4 b6 40.Kf3 Kf5 41.b3 g4+ 42.Ke2 Rh8 43.b4 Rh2+ 44.Kf1 Rb2 45.bxc5 bxc5 46.Ra3 a5 47.Ra1 Rb4, White resigns.