Saturday, July 31, 2010

Chess, Football, and Hockey










At the training camp of the New England Patriots, running back Laurence Maroney compared chess and football in the following way: "Chess can help with football because the one thing about chess, you’re not moving for right now, you’re moving to set up moves later on."

This reminds me of a quote by the great hockey player Wayne Gretzky: "I skate to where the puck is going to be."

Friday, July 30, 2010

Photos from Hamilton Quads 7/24/2010

These pictures were taken by me on Saturday at the Hamilton quads.






Thursday, July 29, 2010

PCG Endgame @ "Chess.com"

Here is analysis at Chess.com of my endgame against David Hua.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Hua - West @ "Contre Gambit Philidor"

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier gives a link to my game as Black against David Hua. From the diagram, instead of 32...Re8, I might have played 32...Nxe4 33.Rxe4 b5 with better drawing chances than in the game.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Babaev Lecture Tonight at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club presents grandmaster Rashad Babaev.

"The King's Indian Defense"

Grandmaster Rashad Babaev, the 2009 National Chess Champion of Azerbaijan, is internationally recognized as one of the leading experts on the King's Indian Defense. In his first lecture at the Marshall, GM Babaev will analyze the main lines of this quintessential opening, explain the underlying ideas, and demonstrate typical middle game plans.


Among GM Babaev’s accomplishments are tournament victories at the Dubai International (1995), Verdun International (2002), Moscow Open (2003), Madrid Open (2005), and Barcelona Open (2005). He has been the trainer of the National Youth Chess Team of Azerbaijan for seven years.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

7:00 PM

Lecture fee: members free, non-members $10
Marshall Chess Club
23 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone 212-477-3716

Fax 212-995-9281
http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Monday, July 26, 2010

Rahway Grand Prix 7/25/2010

Only 9 players showed up for Sunday's grand prix game/45 Swiss at Chess Mates in Rahway. But it was a strong field that included 2 international masters, 2 FIDE masters, 1 national master, and 3 candidate masters.

Round Five: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Arthur Macaspac (2128), Rahway NJ 7/25/2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.f5 e5 10.Nde2 Nxb3 11.axb3 h6 12.Ng3 Be7 13.Nh5 Nxh5 14.Qxh5 Bd7 15.Be3 Bc6 16.O-O Bg5


17.Bxg5 Qxg5 18.Qe2 h5 19.Rad1 Rd8 20.Rf3 h4 21.h3 Rh6 22.Rfd3 Rf6 23.Nd5 Bxd5 24.Rxd5 g6 25.fxg6 Qxg6 26.Qd3 Qg3 27.Qxg3 hxg3 28.R5d3 Rg6


29.c4 b6 30.b4 Rc8 31.b3 Ke7 32.Ra1 Ra8 33.Rf1 Rh8 34.Ra1 Ra8 35.Rf1 Rh8 36.Ra1, draw.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

Hamilton Quads 7/24/2010

At Saturday's quads in Hamilton, I drew this game.

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

David Hua (USCF 2119) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Hamilton NJ 7/24/2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 9.Qe5+ Kf7 10.Bc4+ Kg7 11.Nf4 h6 12.Be6 Bb4+ 13.c3 Nc6 14.Qf5 Qe8 15.Bxc8 Nxd4


16.Ne6+ Qxe6 17.Bxe6 Nxf5 18.Bxf5 Bc5 19.Be3 Bxe3 20.fxe3 Rhe8 21.Ke2 Re5 22.g4 Rb5 23.b4 a5 24.a3 Re5 25.c4 Ne8 26.c5 Nf6 27.Rhc1 h5 28.h3 hxg4 29.hxg4 Kh6 30.Rc4 axb4 31.Rxb4 Rxc5 32.Bxe4 Re8 33.Bxb7 Rc3 34.e4 Nxg4 35.Rh1+ Kg5


36.Rb5+ Re5 37.Rxe5+ Nxe5 38.Rf1 Nd7 39.Rf5+ Kg6 40.Rf3 Rc2+ 41.Kd1 Rb2 42.Bd5 Nb6 43.Bf7+ Kg7 44.e5 Rb5 45.e6 Nd5 46.Be8 Rb1+ 47.Kc2 Re1 48.Bc6 Nf6 49.Bd7 Re5 50.a4 Rd5


51.Kc3 Nxd7 52.Rf7+ Kg6 53.Rxd7 Re5 54.Rxc7 Rxe6 55.Kb4 Kf6 56.Kb5 Re1 57.Rc5 Ke6 58.Kc6 Ke7 59.Kc7 Ke6 60.a5 Ra1 61.Rb5 Rc1+ 62.Kb7 Kd7 63.Rd5+ Ke6 64.Rb5 Kd7 65.a6 Rc7+ 66.Ka8 Rc1 67.Kb8 Rc8+ 68.Ka7 Rc1 69.Rb4 Kc7


70.Rb7+ Kc8 71.Kb6 Rb1+ 72.Ka7 Rc1 73.Rb3 Kc7 74.Rh3 Rb1 75.Rc3+ Kd7 76.Ka8 Rb2 77.a7 Rb1 78.Rc7+ Kxc7, stalemate.


Saturday, July 24, 2010

The Claim of the Century

FIDE master Dylan McClain [pictured], chess columnist for The New York Times, summarizes the life of Bobby Fischer, as well as the claim against the former world champion's estate by a nine-year-old girl who may not be Fischer's daughter.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Joseph - West @ "Contre Gambit Philidor'

Frederic Fournier provides a link to my game as Black against Paul Joseph.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Ziping Ties for First in Scholastic

On Sunday, Ziping Liu tied for first place in the Westfield Summer Scholastic, with a score of 2-0-1.

Round One: Pirc Defense

Aaron Jacobson (USCF 1264) - Ziping Liu (USCF 1728), Westfield NJ 7/18/2010

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bd3 O-O 6.Be3 Ng4 7.Bd2 e5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Bc3 Re8 10.h3 Nf6 11.d5 Ne7 12.Ng3 c6 13.Bc4 a5 14.a4 Qc7 15.Qd3 Nd7


16.b4 cxd5 17.exd5 Nb6 18.Bb5 Rd8 19.bxa5 Nbxd5 20.Bd2 e4 21.Qxe4 Bxa1 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Bxd5 Bxd5 24.Qh4 Bxf3 25.gxf3 Re8 26.O-O Qxc2 27.Bg5 Nf5 28.Nxf5 Qxf5 29.Rxa1 Rxa5 30.f4, and 0-1 in ? moves.


Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Photos from "Chess Mates" 7/18/2010

These pictures were taken by me, during Sunday's game/45 Swiss at Chess Mates.





Tuesday, July 20, 2010

2nd Annual DOCA FIDE Invitational

The 2nd Annual DOCA FIDE Invitational tournament will take place at the Dean of Chess Academy.

The rounds are scheduled as follows.

August 13- 7:30pm
August 14 - 11am, 3:30pm
August 15- 11am, 3:30pm
August 21- 11am, 3:30pm
August 22- 11am, 3:30pm

These are the pairings.

Round 1
2-9 Steve Ferrero v. Daniel Zhu
1-10 Dean Ippolito v. David Grasso
5-6 Rohan Shah v. Matthew O’Brien
3-8 Rahul Swaminathan v. James West
4-7 Kevin Chen v. Andy Walker

Round 2
10-6 Grasso v. O’Brien
9-3 Zhu v. Swaminathan
7-5 Walker v. Shah
1-2 Ippolito v. Ferrero
8-4 West v. Chen

Round 3
6-7 O’Brien v. Walker
4-9 Chen v. Zhu
5-8 Shah v. West
3-1 Swaminathan v. Ippolito
10-2 Grasso v. Ferrero

Round 4
2-3 Ferrero v. Swaminathan
9-5 Zhu v. Shah
1-4 Ippolito v. Chen
8-6 West v. O’Brien
10-7 Grasso v. Walker

Round 5
6-9 O’Brien v. Zhu
7-8 Walker v. West
4-2 Chen v. Ferrero
5-1 Shah v. Ippolito
3-10 Swaminathan v. Grasso

Round 6
2-5 Ferrero v. Shah
9-7 Zhu v. Walker
1-6 Ippolito v. O’Brien
3-4 Swaminathan v. Chen
10-8 Grasso v. West

Round 7
6-2 O’Brien v. Ferrero
7-1 Walker v. Ippolito
4-10 Chen v. Grasso
8-9 West v. Zhu
5-3 Shah v. Swaminathan

Round 8
2-7 Ferrero v. Walker
4-5 Chen v. Shah
1-8 Ippolito v. West
3-6 Swaminathan v. O’Brien
10-9 Grasso v. Zhu

Round 9
6-4 O’Brien v. Chen
9-1 Zhu v. Ippolito
7-3 Walker v. Swaminathan
2-8 Ferrero v. West
5-10 Shah v. Grasso

Monday, July 19, 2010

"Chess Mates" Game/45 Swiss 7/18/2010

20 players participated in Sunday's game/45 Swiss at Chess Mates, where I finished with a score of 3-2-0. Here is my best game.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Paul Joseph (USCF 1855) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Rahway NJ 7/18/2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Nf7 Qf6 8.Qe2 Bxe6 9.Nxh8 Nc6 10.c3 O-O-O 11.Be3 Bxe3 12.fxe3 Nh6 13.Nd2 Rxh8


14.h3 Nf5 15.Qf2 h5 16.O-O-O h4 17.Nb3 Rd8 18.Nc5 Bf7 19.Bb5 Ng3 20.Qxf6 gxf6 21.Rhe1 Ne5 22.Kc2 c6 23.Bf1 Rg8 24.Rd2 b6 25.Nb3 c5 26.Rf2 Nd3


27.Bxd3 exd3+ 28.Kxd3 c4+ 29.Kd4 Ne4 30.Rfe2 cxb3 31.axb3 Nc5 32.c4 Nxb3+ 33.Kc3 dxc4 34.Rf1 Nc5 35.Rf4 Rd8 36.Rd2 Re8 37.Re2 Bh5 38.Re1 b5 39.Rxh4 Na4+ 40.Kc2 Bg6+ 41.Kc1 Nc5 42.Re2 Bd3 43.Rf2 f5


44.Rd4 Nb3+ 45.Kd1 Nxd4 46.exd4 Rd8 47.Rf4 Be4 48.h4 Rxd4+ 49.Kc1 Rd3 50.h5 Rg3 51.h6 Rxg2 52.Rh4 Rg8 53.Kd2 Rh8 54.Ke3 a5 55.Kd4 Bd3 56.Kc5 b4 57.Kb5 c3+ 58.Kxa5 cxb2, White resigns.


Sunday, July 18, 2010

2010 USCL Edition of "ACN"

Here is the 2010 United States Chess League edition of Atlantic Chess News.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Pix from DOCA Friday League

Last night, I visited the Dean of Chess Academy for the drawing of lots to determine colors at next month's 2nd Annual DOCA FIDE Invitational tournament. I drew number eight, which means I will get four Whites and five Blacks. These are the ten players who will participate.

Dean Ippolito (FIDE 2458)
David Grasso (FIDE 2168)
Steve Ferrero (FIDE 2153)
Jim West (FIDE 2090)
Rahul Swaminathan (FIDE 2085)
Kevin Chen (FIDE 2071)
Rohan Shah (FIDE 1818)
Daniel Zhu (FIDE unrated)
Matthew O'Brien (FIDE unrated)
Andrew Walker (FIDE unrated)

While at DOCA, I snapped these pictures.

International master Dean Ippolito and Eric Citron plan to publish the first issue of The Chessplayer magazine, on or about September 15th. Citron is the editor of Diamond Nation magazine and an avid fan of the New York Mets.

David Grasso and Steve Stoyko get ready to study an opening variation, while Kevin Chen looks on.

After the drawing of lots, the Friday night league games took place. Here, IM Justin Sarkar has Black against NM David Grasso, while Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero defends against FM Steve Stoyko.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Energetic Chess Player

This video shows an energetic chess player.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Photos from Marshall July Grand Prix

These photos were taken by me on Sunday, during the Marshall July Grand Prix.






Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Thaler - West @ "Contre Gambit Philidor"


At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier prefers 7...Nf6, instead of my 7...Qd6 against NM Michael Thaler. Fritz8 evaluates both moves as equal for Black. After 7...Nf6, White can force a draw by 8.Nf7 Qe7 9.O-O Rg8 10.Ng5 Rh8 11.Nf7, etc. The move 7...Qd6 keeps the game alive.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Chess, Poker, and Baseball










In The Economist, WGM Jennifer Shahade "thinks that chess and poker rely on similar skills."
On page 45 of Diamond Nation, Dawn Ippolito compares baseball and chess. Dawn's husband, IM Dean Ippolito, will be opening a second Dean of Chess Academy in Flemington NJ, tentatively scheduled for October.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Marshall July Grand Prix 7/11/2010

Yesterday I played in the one day schedule of a FIDE rated tournament at the Marshall Chess Club, breaking even with a score of 1-1-2. Here are the draws.

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Michael Thaler (USCF 2298) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 7/11/2010

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.Bf7+ Ke7 9.Bxg8 Rxg8 10.Bg5+ Ke8 11.Qh5+ g6 12.Qxh7 Rg7 13.Qh8 Be6 14.O-O Nd7


15.Bf4 Nxe5 16.Bxe5 Qe7 17.Bxg7 Qxg7 18.Qxg7 Bxg7 19.Rfe1 Kf7 20.Rxe4 Bf5 21.Rf4 Kg8 22.Re1 Bxc2 23.h4 Rd8 24.Re7 Bxd4 25.Rff7 Be4 26.Rd7 Rxd7 27.Rxd7 Bxb2 28.Rxc7 a5 29.a4 Bc6 30.g4 Be5 31.Re7 Bf6 32.Rc7 Bxh4 33.Rc8+ Kg7


34.Ra8 Bxa4 35.Rxa5 Bc6 36.g5 b5 37.Ra7+ Kf8 38.Rc7 Be4 39.Rc5 Bf5 40.Rxb5, draw.



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

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Delayed Alapin

Ildar Salakhutdinov (FIDE 2291) - Jim West (FIDE 2090), Marshall Chess Club 7/11/2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.h3 Nc6 5.Bd3 g6 6.Bc2 Bg7 7.d4 O-O 8.d5 Nb8 9.Bf4 Qb6 10.b3 Qa6 11.a4 Rd8 12.Bd3 Qa5 13.Bd2 c4 14.b4 Qc7 15.Bc2 e6 16.dxe6 Bxe6 17.Bf4 Nc6 18.Ra3 Ne5 19.O-O b6


20.Bh2 Nxf3+ 21.Qxf3 a6 22.Rd1 Rab8 23.g4 Ne8 24.Qe3 a5 25.b5 Rbc8 26.Kg2 Qc5 27.Qxc5 Rxc5 28.f4 Rc7 29.Nd2 f6 30.Nf3 Bf7 31.Nd4 Bf8 32.Raa1 Rdd7 33.Rd2 d5 34.e5 fxe5 35.fxe5 Ng7 36.e6 Nxe6 37.Nxe6 Bxe6 38.Bxc7 Rxc7 39.Re1 Bf7


40.Bd1 Bg7 41.Rc2 d4 42.cxd4 Bxd4 43.Bf3 c3 44.Re4 Bg7 45.Kf2 Bb3 46.Bd1 Bf8 47.Ke2 Bxc2 48.Bxc2 Re7, draw.