Wednesday, September 30, 2009

K-K Photos and Videos

Alejandro Melchor of Barcelona has sent an e-mail, advising me that photos and videos of the recent Kasparov - Karpov match can be found at facv.org.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Kimberly Ding - Ziping Liu

On Sunday, in a game/90 quad at the Dean of Chess Academy, Ziping Liu finished with a score of 1-1-1. He drew this game in the last round. White missed 48.Kb5! which wins.

Round Three: Pirc Defense

Kimberly Ding (USCF 1682) - Ziping Liu (USCF 1753), Branchburg NJ 9/27/2009

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be3 O-O 6.Bc4 c6 7.O-O Bg4 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.Qd2 e5 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Bxf3 Qc7 13.Rad1 Rfd8


14.Qe2 Nf8 15.Rxd8 Rxd8 16.Rd1 Ne6 17.Rd2 Nd4 18.Qd1 Nxf3+ 19.Qxf3 Rxd2 20.Bxd2 Qd7 21.Bg5 Ne8 22.Be3 b6 23.Qe2 Nc7 24.Kf1 Ne6 25.Nd1 Kf8 26.Qd2 Ke8 27.Ke2 Nd4+ 28.Bxd4 Qxd4 29.Qxd4 exd4 30.Kd3 Kd7 31.c3 c5 32.cxd4 Bxd4 33.f3 Kd6


34.Nc3 Ke5 35.g3 a6 36.b3 Bxc3 37.Kxc3 b5 38.Kd3 f5 39.exf5 Kxf5 40.f4 h6 41.Ke3 c4 42.bxc4 bxc4 43.Kd4 c3 44.Kxc3 Ke4 45.Kb4 Kf3 46.Ka5 Kxg3 47.Kxa6 Kxh3 48.Kb6 g5 49.f5 g4 50.f6 g3 51.f7 g2 52.f8=Q g1=Q+ 53.Kb5 Qb1+, draw.


Monday, September 28, 2009

Lecture on Zurich 1953 at Marshall CC

Tomorrow, at the Marshall Chess Club, Pieter Bierkens will lecture on two victories by former world champion Max Euwe, from the 1953 candidates tournament in Zurich. This series is based on The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games.

Bierkens will analyze Geller - Euwe and Euwe - Najdorf. The lecture begins at 7:30pm and is free to club members ($10 non-members).

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 9/26/2009

Yesterday, in a game/45 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club, I finished with a score of 2-2-1.

In the above photo, TD Steve Immitt makes an announcement before round one, as GM Michael Rohde enters the room. Rohde won his first four games, before losing to tournament winner IM Justin Sarkar in the final round.

Here is my drawn game. In what looked like a winning position, I took a draw because I had less than 20 seconds on my clock.

Round Five: Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

Jim West (USCF 2211) - Aaron Landesman (USCF 2140), Marshall Chess Club 9/26/2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Ne5 11.Bb3 Qa5 12.O-O-O Rfc8 13.Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nb3 Qa6


16.e5 Ne8 17.exd6 Qxd6 18.Qe2 Qe6 19.Nc5 Rxc5 20.Bxc5 Qc6 21.Qxe7 Be6 22.Rd8 Rxd8 23.Qxd8 Bf6 24.Be7 Bxc3 25.bxc3 Qb5+ 26.Bb4 b6 27.Qe7 h5 28.Re1 a5 29.a4 Qxa4 30.Rxe6 fxe6 31.Qxe6+ Kg7 32.Qe5+ Kg8 33.Be7 Qc6 34.Ba3 Qd7


35.c4 Qd1+ 36.Kb2 Qd7 37.Qd5+ Qf7 38.Kb3 Nc7 39.Qd8+ Kh7 40.Bb2 a4+ 41.Ka3 Ne8 42.Qd4 Qe7+ 43.Ka2 g5 44.hxg5 Qf7 45.g4 hxg4 46.fxg4 Qg8 47.Qd3+ Qg6 48.Qd7+ Kg8 49.Qd5+ Kh7 50.Qf5 Nd6


51.Qd7+ Kg8 52.Qd8+ Ne8 53.Qd5+ Kh7, draw.


Saturday, September 26, 2009

Kasparov 9, Karpov 3



Garry Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov by a score of 9 to 3, in their match at Valencia.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Ferrero's Games from Hamilton 9/19/2009

Here are Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero's winning games from Saturday's quads in Hamilton.





Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ferrero's Photos from Hamilton 9/19/2009

Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero had a perfect 3-0-0 score at the Hamilton quads on Saturday. Ferrero also found time to snap these photos.







Tuesday, September 22, 2009

K-K Match Starts Today



The match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov starts today in Valencia, Spain.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Searching for Paul Nemenyi

In today's Los Angeles Times, columnist Peter Nicholas searches for Bobby Fischer's father. Was he Paul Nemenyi, pictured above to the right of Fischer?

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Hamilton Quads 9/19/2009

Yesterday, at the Hamilton quads, I drew the following game.

Round Three: Petroff Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Mark Kernighan (USCF 2222), Hamilton NJ 9/19/2009

1.e4 e5 Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.d3 Nf6 7.Bg5 Qxe2+ 8.Bxe2 Be7 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.O-O-O h6 11.Bh4 Bf5 12.d4 Nb4 13.Rd2 Ne4


14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Bxe7 Kxe7 16.a3 Nd5 17.Re1 Kf6 18.Bd1 Bf5 19.Nh4 Bd7 20.g3 Rhe8 21.Rde2 Rxe2 22.Rxe2 g5 23.Ng2 Re8 24.Rxe8 Bxe8 25.Kd2 Ke6 26.c3 Nf6 27.h4 Bc6 28.Bb3+ Ke7 29.Ne3 Be4 30.hxg5 hxg5 31.f4 gxf4 32.gxf4 c6


33.Bd1 Nd5 34.Nxd5 Bxd5 35.Ke3 Kf6 36.b4 Kf5 37.Be2 b6 38.Bh5 c5 39.dxc5 dxc5 40.Bd1 Ke6 41.Bc2 Bc4 42.Kf3 Bd5+ 43.Kg4 Kf6 44.Bd3 Be6+ 45.f5 Bd7 46.Kf4 cxb4 47.cxb4 Bc8


48.a4 Bd7 49.a5 bxa5 50.bxa5 Bc8 51.Bc4 Bxf5 52.Bxf7 Kxf7 53.Kxf5 Ke7, draw.


Saturday, September 19, 2009

Cobras Bite Dust

In week three of the U.S. Chess League, the Carolina Cobras bit the dust in their match against the New Jersey Knockouts.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Charbonneau to Lecture at Marshall CC

On Tuesday, September 22nd, grandmaster Pascal Charbonneau will be the guest lecturer at the Marshall Chess Club, where the New York Knights play their USCL games via the Internet. Charbonneau will discuss the triumphs and travails of the Knights in the United States Chess League.

In addition to being the 2005 MVP in the USCL, Charbonneau is a two-time Canadian chess champion [2002 and 2004]. He has been a member of the Canadian Olympiad team since 2000 and defeated GM Viswanathan Anand at the 2006 Olympiad.

The lecture begins at 7pm and is free to club members [$10 non-members].

Thursday, September 17, 2009

"VCN" On-line

For more than three years, the vachess.org website had not been keeping current its on-line index of newsletters. Earlier this month, the index was updated to include issues of Virginia Chess Newsletter from mid-2006 to the present.

At long last, I am able to see my article on the Philidor Counter Gambit in the 2006 #4 issue!

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Pix from Westfield Quads 9/13/2009

Near the start of Sunday's quads in Westfield, I took these pictures.

Wearing the red cap, Kavinayan Sivakumar pays his entry fee to Patrick Mazzillo. Tournament director Peter Radomskyj inputs data on the computer.

NM Yaacov Norowitz chats on his cell phone. Norowitz finished first in quad one, with two wins and a draw.

Players gather around, as TD Peter Radomskyj announces the pairings for round one.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Case Solved

The case of mistaken identity at TWIC has been solved!

I received an e-mail from The Week in Chess explaining how the error occurred. Although each player is supposed to have a unique identifier, the software program at TWIC tends to select the weaker player whenever there are two persons with the same first initial and last name. Since Jonathan West's FIDE rating [1970] was lower than mine [2162], it chose him instead of me.

The corrected crosstable appears in issue 775.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Westfield Quads 9/13/2009

At yesterday's Westfield quads, my final score was 2-1-0. I won this game in the last round.

Round Three: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Gregory Nolan (USCF 2181) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Westfield NJ 9/13/2009

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Qd3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Nxd2 6.Nxd2 Nc6 7.Ngf3 Qe7 8.a3 Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.e3 d6 12.Rc1 O-O 13.Be2 a5 14.Bf3 Rb8 15.O-O b6


16.Bc6 Qc5 17.Bd5 a4 18.Qc2 Bd7 19.Rfd1 Rfe8 20.Rd4 Re5 21.Rcd1 b5 22.Rf4 Rf8 23.h3 b4 24.axb4 Qxb4 25.Rh4 h6 26.Rxh6 Bf5 27.e4 gxh6 28.exf5 Re1+ 29.Kh2 Rxd1 30.Qxd1 Qxb2


31.Qg4+ Qg7 32.Qf3 Qf6 33.g4 Rb8 34.Kg2 Rb3 35.Qe2 Qe5 36.Qd2 Kg7 37.g5 Qxf5 38.gxh6+ Kh7 39.f3 Rd3 40.Qe2 Qg5+, White resigns.


Sunday, September 13, 2009

Ippolito Endgame in "NY Times"

Today's chess column in The New York Times shows the winning technique in a couple of difficult endgames.

International master Dean Ippolito's recent win, with king and two knights versus king and pawn, is one of the endings.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Pix from 2009 NJ Open

Beneath the lamp, IM Dean Ippolito prepares for his first round game with the white pieces. With 5 points, Ippolito won the title of 2009 New Jersey State Champion.

Tournament director Ken Thomas watches Paul Joseph and Ilya Zhurbinskiy, as they set up an unusually large chessboard for their third round game. Zhurbinskiy won the Under 1900 section on tie-breaks.

TD Ken Thomas addresses the players before round five.

The 2009 U.S. Amateur East Champion, Sandi Hutama, plays his game as Black in the sixth round.

Tim Hall studies his position during the final round.

NM Dragan Milovanovic listens to an announcement near the start of round six.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Inventors Brained by NJKO

The Philadelphia Inventors took a punch to the head from the New Jersey Knockouts, in round two of the U.S. Chess League.

In her debut with the NJKO, Anna Matlin [pictured above] was awarded the Week 2 Upset Prize for her victory against Rahul Swaminathan.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Ippolito is 2009 NJ State Champion

According to tournament director Ken Thomas, IM Dean Ippolito is the 2009 New Jersey State Champion. There are no co-champions.

FM Tommy Bartell, who won the tournament on tie-breaks, now resides in Philadelphia.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Two Stoyko Games from 2009 NJ Open

At Chess Life Online, IM Dean Ippolito has annotated his victory against FM Steve Stoyko, from the 2009 New Jersey Open.

Stoyko's win against Steve Pozarek can be found at The Kenilworthian.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

2009 NJ Open, Day 3

The 2009 New Jersey Open ended yesterday in a 3-way tie for first place, with 5 points out of 6, by GM Michael Rohde, IM Dean Ippolito, and FM Tommy Bartell. Since Rohde is a resident of New York, the New Jersey State co-champions are Ippolito and Bartell, pictured with their trophies next to tournament director Ken Thomas. Both Ippolito (3 times) and Bartell (4 times) have won or shared the title more than once.

I finished the tournament with a score of 2-2-2, drawing twice on day three. Here are the games.

Round Five: Sicilian Defense, Taimanov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - David Hua (USCF 2080), NJ Open 9/7/2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qc7 5.Nc3 e6 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 b5 8.O-O Bb7 9.Bf4 e5 10.Nd5 Qb8


11.Nxc6 Bxc6 12.Be3 Qb7 13.Qh5 d6 14.Rad1 g6 15.Qe2 Bxd5 16.exd5 f5 17.f4 e4 18.Bd4 Bg7 19.Bxg7 Qxg7 20.c4 Nf6 21.cxb5 O-O 22.bxa6 Qa7+ 23.Kh1 Qxa6 24.Qxa6 Rxa6 25.a3 Rb8 26.Rf2 Ng4 27.Re2 Rb3 28.Rc1 Rab6


29.h3 Nf6 30.Rc8+ Kg7 31.Rc7+ Kh6 32.g4 fxg4 33.hxg4 Nxg4 34.Bxe4 Rxb2 35.Rxb2 Rxb2 36.Kg1 Nf6 37.Bg2 Rb5 38.Rc4 Nxd5 39.Rd4 Nc3 40.Rxd6 Ra5 41.Kf2 Rxa3 42.f5 Ra5 43.fxg6 hxg6 44.Rc6 Rf5+ 45.Ke1 Nb5 46.Rxg6+ Kxg6 47.Be4, draw.



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

Round Six: Dutch Defense

George Maxfield (USCF 2003) - Jim West (USCF 2200), NJ Open 9/7/2009

1.c4 f5 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 a5 6.Bg2 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.Nc3 O-O 9.Qb3 Qc8 10.Rad1 Kh8 11.Nb1 Bxd2 12.Nbxd2 d6 13.Ne1 Nbd7


14.Bxb7 Qxb7 15.Nd3 e5 16.d5 e4 17.Nf4 Nc5 18.Qc3 Rae8 19.Nb3 Nxb3 20.Qxb3 Nd7 21.Qc3 Nc5 22.b3 Re7 23.a3 e3 24.f3 Rfe8 25.Ra1 a4 26.b4 Nb3 27.Ra2 b5 28.Rc2 Nd2 29.c5 Nxf1 30.c6 Qb6 31.Kxf1 Kg8


32.Rc1 Re5 33.Rd1 Kf7 34.Rd4 g6 35.Nd3 R5e7 36.Rh4 h5 37.Rd4 Kg8 38.Rh4 Kf7 39.Ke1 Qb8 40.Kf1 Rh8 41.Rf4 Qg8 42.Nc1 Qg7 43.Qxg7+ Kxg7 44.Na2 Re5 45.Nc3 Rb8 46.Rh4 Kh6 47.Rd4 g5 48.h4 gxh4 49.Rxh4 Re7 50.Kg2 Rg7 51,f4 Rg4


52.Rh3 h4 53.Rxh4+ Rxh4 54.gxh4 Kh5 55.Kh3 Kg6 56.Kg3 Kh5 57.Kh3 Kg6 58.Kg3, draw.


Monday, September 7, 2009

2009 NJ Open, Day 2

At the 2009 New Jersey Open, I am losing my early games as Black and winning my late games as White. Here is last night's victory.

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Joseph Manuli (USCF 1644), NJ Open 9/6/2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.f4 O-O 9.Qf3 Qc7 10.f5 e5 11.Nde2 Nbd7 12.Bg5 b5 13.O-O Bb7


14.Bxf6 Nxf6 15.Ng3 a5 16.a4 Qc5+ 17.Kh1 b4 18.Nd5 Nxd5 19.exd5 f6 20.Rad1 Ba6 21.Rfe1 Ra7 22.Ne4 Qb6 23.g4 Bc8 24.Bc4 Bd7 25.b3 Qd8 26.Qe3 Rc7 27.Ra1 Qb8 28.Re2 Be8 29.c3 Bf7 30.cxb4 Qxb4 31.Qc3 Qb6 32.Qd3 Rfc8 33.h4 Qb4 34.Rc2 h6


35.Rf1 Be8 36.g5 Bxa4 37.gxf6 Bd8 38.fxg7 Rxc4 39.Rxc4 Rxc4 40.bxc4 Bb3 41.f6 Bxf6 42.Nxf6+ Kxg7 43.Qh7+, Black resigns.