Sunday, July 31, 2011

Review of Harry Benson's Book

David Friedman writes a review of photographer Harry Benson's book on Bobby Fischer.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Summer Chess Academy in Cherry Hill

Next week, the second of three summer chess academies will be held at the Cherry Hill library [pictured].

At lunch time, students will travel to the Playdrome by bus for food and recreation.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Thursday Night Action 7/28/2011

This game ended in a draw on Thursday night at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Philidor Defense

Andre Harding (USCF 2014) - Jim West (USCF 2205), Marshall Chess Club 7/28/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bc4 Be7 5.d3 O-O 6.h3 Nc6 7.Be3 Na5 8.Bb3 Nxb3 9.axb3 a6 10.Qd2 Be6 11.g4 c6


12.g5 Nh5 13.d4 Nf4 14.Bxf4 exf4 15.Qxf4 f6 16.gxf6 Rxf6 17.Qe3 Rh6 18.Ke2 Kh8 19.Rag1 Qd7 20.h4 Bg4 21.Kd2 Rf8 22.Ng5 Bxg5 23.hxg5 Rxh1 24.Rxh1 Rf3 25.Qe1 Qf7 26.Kc1 Rxf2 27.Kb1 Qf4 28.g6 h6 29.Rg1 Bh5 30.e5 Bxg6 31.exd6 Bxc2+ 32.Ka2 Qd2


33.Qxd2 Rxd2 34.Rg2 Rxd4 35.Rxc2 Rxd6 36.Re2 Kh7 37.Re7 b5 38.Ne4 Rg6 39.Nc5 a5 40.Nd7 Rg2 41.Nf8+ Kg8 42.Re8 Kf7 43.Rc8 a4 44.bxa4 bxa4 45.Nd7 Ke7 46.Ne5 h5 47.Rxc6 h4 48.Ng6+ Kd7 49.Nxh4 Rxb2+ 50.Kxb2 Kxc6 51.Ka3 g5 52.Nf3 g4 53.Ne5+, draw.


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Pix from Marshall July Sunday Action

These are pictures that I took on Sunday at the Marshall Chess Club during the game/30 tournament.




Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ziping Liu - Michael Wu

Earlier this month, Ziping Liu won the following game at the Westfield quads.

Round Three: King's Indian Attack

Ziping Liu (USCF 1706) - Michael Wu (USCF 1788), Westfield NJ 7/10/2011

1.e4 c5 2.g3 e6 3.Bg2 d5 4.d3 Nc6 5.Nd2 Nf6 6.Ngf3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 dxe4 9.dxe4 Qc7 10.a4 b6 11.e5 Nd5 12.Nc4 Ba6 13.Nfd2 Rad8 14.Qe2 Nd4 15.Qe4 Nb4


16.c3 Ndc2 17.cxb4 Nxa1 18.b5 Bc8 19.Qb1 Rd4 20.Re4 Bb7 21.Rxd4 cxd4 22.Qxa1 Bd5 23.b3 Rd8 24.Ba3 f6 25.Bxe7 Qxe7 26.f4 Qc5 27.Qa3 Qxa3 28.Nxa3 Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Kf7


30.Nac4 fxe5 31.fxe5 Kg6 32.Kf3 Rf8+ 33.Ke2 Kg5 34.h3 g6 35.Nd6 h5 36.Nf3+ Kh6 37.Nxd4, Black resigns.


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

FIDE Mondays, Round 2

This game ended in a draw last night at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Vienna Game

Karan Bhatty (FIDE 2066) - Jim West (FIDE 2134), Marshall Chess Club 7/25/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Bc5 3.Nf3 d6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 6.Be2 O-O 7.O-O Re8 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bh4 Nc6 10.Nb3 Bb6 11.a4 a5


12.Nd5 g5 13.Nxb6 cxb6 14.Bg3 Nxe4 15.Bd3 Bf5 16.Qf3 Bg6 17.Rad1 Nxg3 18.Qxg3 Qf6 19.Bxg6 Qxg6 20.Rxd6 Re6 21.Rxe6 Qxe6 22.f4 Qd6 23.Qe3 Qe6 24.Qxe6 fxe6 25.fxg5 hxg5 26.Rf6 Rd8


27.Rxe6 Rd1+ 28.Kf2 Rb1 29.Rg6+ Kf7 30.Rxg5 Rxb2 31.Rb5 Rxc2+ 32.Kg3 Rc3+ 33.Kh4 Rc4+ 34.g4 Rxa4 35.Rxb6 Rb4 36.Rxb4 axb4 37.Kg5 Kg7 38.h4 b6 39.Kf4 Na5 40.Nd2 b3 41.g5 b2 42.h5 Nc4 43.Nb1 b5 44.Kf5 Nd6+ 45.Ke6 Ne4 46.g6 b4


47.Kf5 Ng3+ 48.Kg5 Ne4+ 49.Kf5 Ng3+ 50.Kg5 Ne4+ 51.Kf5, draw.


Monday, July 25, 2011

Marshall Ambassador Award to Ippolito

In a unanimous vote, international master Dean Ippolito is the recipient of the 2011 Frank J. Marshall Ambassador Award from the U.S. Chess Federation.

It will be presented at the annual USCF awards luncheon held on August 6, 2011 during the U.S. Open in Orlando FL.

Ippolito joins such well-known chess names as grandmasters Maurice Ashley, Gregory Kaidanov and John Fedorowicz as recipients of this prestigious award.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 7/24/2011

In today's game/30 Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club, I finished with a score of 3-1-1.

Round Two: Nimzovich-Larsen Attack

Lamel Mc Bryde (USCF 2076) - Jim West (USCF 2205), Marshall Chess Club 7/24/2011

1.Nf3 d6 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 Nbd7 4.d4 g6 5.Nbd2 Bg7 6.e4 O-O 7.Bd3 e5 8.d5 Nc5 9.h3 Nxd3+ 10.cxd3 c6 11.dxc6 bxc6 12.Nc4 Be6 13.Ne3 Qa5+ 14.Qd2 Qxd2+ 15.Nxd2 Bh6


16.Ndc4 Bxe3 17.Nxe3 Nh5 18.g3 f5 19.Ba3 c5 20.Nd1 fxe4 21.dxe4 Nf6 22.Nc3 Nxe4 23.Nxe4 Bd5 24.Nxd6 Bxh1 25.Bxc5 Bg2 26.h4 a5 27.Nc4 Rfe8 28.Ke2 Bd5 29.Ne3 Be6 30.Bb6 a4 31.b4 h5 32.a3 Bb3 33.Rc1 Rac8 34.Bc5 Red8


35.Nc4 Rd4 36.Bxd4 Bxc4+ 37.Rxc4 Rxc4 38.Ba7 Rc3 39.Bb8 Rxa3 40.Bxe5 Rb3, White resigns.



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

Round Five: Pirc Defense

Jim West (USCF 2205) - Alex Eydelman (USCF 2046), Marshall Chess Club 7/24/2011

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 c5 6.dxc5 Qa5 7.Bd3 Qxc5 8.Qe2 Nc6 9.Be3 Qa5 10.O-O O-O 11.h3 Nd7 12.Qe1 Nc5 13.a3 Nxd3 14.cxd3 b5 15.Rc1 Bd7


16.d4 e6 17.d5 exd5 18.exd5 Ne7 19.Nd4 Nf5 20.Nxf5 Bxf5 21.Qd2 Rfe8 22.Rfe1 Rac8 23.Bd4 a6 24.Bxg7 Kxg7 25.Qd4+ Kg8 26.g4 Bd7 27.Rxe8+ Rxe8 28.Ne4 Re7 29.Nf6+ Kf8 30.Nxh7+ Ke8 31.Qh8#.


Saturday, July 23, 2011

"Me & Bobby Fischer" at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club presents a special viewing of Me & Bobby Fischer, a documentary about Bobby and his Icelandic bodyguard with footage never before seen about Fischer!

Tuesday, July 26th at 7:30pm

Free for members, $10 guest fee

Marshall Chess Club
23 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone 212-477-3716
Fax 212-995-9281
http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Friday, July 22, 2011

Zilbermintz @ "Contre Gambit Philidor"

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier provides a link to the blitz game between Maraj Daftani and Lev Zilbermintz.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Kasparov on Fischer in "The Telegraph"

Garry Kasparov's article on Bobby Fischer in The Telegraph is a rehash of "The Bobby Fischer Defense" in The New York Review of Books.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Daftani - Zilbermintz

Candidate master Lev Zilbermintz, as Black, defeats NM Maraj Daftani in this game of blitz chess. Zilbermintz's comments can be found at Unorthodox Chess Openings.

Philidor Counter Gambit

Maraj Daftani (QC 2326) - Lev Zilbermintz (QC 2051), East Orange NJ 7/16/2011

1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Bxf5 6.d5 h6 7.Nxe4 Bxe4 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Qe2 Qe7 10.Qb5+ c6 11.dxc6 Bd3+ 12.Be3 Bxb5 13.Bxb5 bxc6 14.Bd3 Qf6 and Black wins.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011

FIDE Mondays, Round 1

Last night, I won this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (FIDE 2134) - Nelson Farber (FIDE 1982), Marshall Chess Club 7/18/2011

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.f4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 c5 7.O-O b6 8.a4 Bb7 9.Na3 Nc6


10.Qe1 d5 11.Qh4 Ne4 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Ng5 Nf6 14.Bd3 e6 15.Rf3 h6 16.Bxg6 hxg5 17.fxg5 Rh8 18.gxf6+ Kg8 19.Qg5 Kf8 20.Bxf7, Black resigns.


Monday, July 18, 2011

Marshall July Grand Prix, Day 2

On Sunday, I swindled a draw from a lost position at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (FIDE 2134) - Frank Paciulli (FIDE 1944), Marshall Chess Club 7/17/2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9.Be3 O-O 10.f4 Qc7 11.a3 Nbd7 12.f5 e5 13.Nde2 Bb7 14.Ng3 Rac8 15.Nh5 Nxh5 16.Qxh5 Nf6 17.Qf3 Qd7


18.g4 Rxc3 19.bxc3 Nxe4 20.Qh3 Qc6 21.Rad1 Nxc3 22.Rd2 Qh1+ 23.Kf2 Bh4+ 24.Qxh4 Qf3+ 25.Kg1 Qxe3+ 26.Qf2 Qe4 27.Qg2 Qxg2+ 28.Rxg2 Bxg2 29.Kxg2 Ne2 30.Kf3 Nd4+ 31.Ke4 Nxb3 32.cxb3 Rc8 33.Rd1 Rc6 34.Kd5 Rb6 35.Rc1 Kf8


36.Rc8+ Ke7 37.Rc7+ Kf6 38.h4 h6 39.b4 g6 40.fxg6 fxg6 41.Rh7 Rb8 42.Ra7 h5 43.gxh5 gxh5 44.Rxa6 Rd8 45.Rb6 Kf5 46.Rxb5 Kf4 47.Rb7 Ra8 48.Rf7+ Kg3 49.Kxd6 Rxa3 50.Kxe5 Kxh4


51.Kd5 Kg3 52.Rg7+ Kf3 53.Rg1 h4 54.Rb1 h3 55.b5 h2 56.b6 Ra8 57.b7 Rh8 58.Kc6 Kg2 59.Rb2+ Kg3 60.Rxh2 Kxh2 61.Kc7 Kg3 62.b8=Q Rxb8 63.Kxb8, draw.


Sunday, July 17, 2011

Marshall July Grand Prix, Day 1

On Saturday, my opponent blundered a piece in a slightly inferior endgame at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (USCF 2205) - Isuru Attanagoda (USCF 1935), Marshall Chess Club 7/16/2011

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.O-O O-O 9.Nb3 Qc7 10.Be2 d6 11.f4 Rd8 12.Bf3 a6 13.a4 Na5 14.Nxa5 Qxa5 15.Ra3 Be6 16.Rf2 Qb4


17.Nd5 Bxd5 18.exd5 Qa5 19.Qd2 Qxd2 20.Rxd2 b5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Rb3 Rdb8 23.Rd4 Nd7 24.Rdb4 Ra2 25.c3 Ra5 26.Be2 Nf6 27.Rxb5 Rbxb5 28.Rxb5 Rxb5 29.Bxb5 Nxd5 30.Bd2 Kf8


31.Kf2 Bh6 32.g3 e5 33.Kf3 f5 34.c4 Nc7 35.Ba5 e4+ 36.Ke3 Bg7 37.Bxc7, Black resigns.


Saturday, July 16, 2011

Hungaski Reception & Lecture at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club presents a reception and lecture honoring international master Robert Hungaski.

IM Robert Hungaski won the 4th New York International with a score of 8 out of 9 points, a FIDE performance of 2761 and wins over four grandmasters. The victory earned Robert his second GM norm. He was also awarded this year’s brilliancy prize for his win over GM Alexander Shabalov. Robert will present and analyze games of the tournament and will answer questions.

Friday, July 22, 2011.

Reception at 7:00pm.

Lecture at 7:30pm.

Free to Marshall Chess Club members, guest fee $10.

Refreshments will be served.

Marshall Chess Club
23 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone 212-477-3716
Fax 212-995-9281
http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Friday, July 15, 2011

Enrich and Grow Academy

This spring, I taught an after school chess class on Mondays for Enrich and Grow Academy.

In the fall, I am scheduled to teach chess classes on Tuesdays and Fridays for the same company.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Chess Class at Museum of Russian Art

Yesterday and next Wednesday at 4pm, I am the substitute coach for a chess class at the Museum of Russian Art in Jersey City, as part of the 101 Discoveries program.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Pix from Marshall July Under 2300

Last weekend, I took these pictures at the Marshall Chess Club during the under 2300 tournament.






Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Bobby Fischer Book Flip

[photo by Harry Benson]

Take a look at the Bobby Fischer Book Flip.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Marshall July Under 2300, Day 2

On Sunday, I won this game in the under 2300 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Philidor Counter Gambit

Kyle Moon (USCF 2075) - Jim West (USCF 2205), Marshall Chess Club 7/10/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 c6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.O-O f4 7.d4 Qc7 8.g3 b5 9.Bd3 Bg4 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.gxf4 Nbd7


12.Nxb5 cxb5 13.fxe5 Nxe5 14.Bxb5+ Ke7 15.Nxe5 Bxd1 16.Bf4 Qc5 17.Nc6+ Kf7 18.Ne5+ Kg8 19.Bc4+ Qxc4 20.Nxc4 Be2 21.Nd2 Bxf1 22.Kxf1 h6 23.Ke2 Kh7 24.f3 Bc5 25.a3 Nh5 26.Be3 Bxe3 27.Kxe3 Rhc8


28.c4 a5 29.b3 g5 30.e5 Nf4 31.Ne4 Rab8 32.Rb1 Rxc4 33.bxc4 Rxb1 34.Kd4 Rb3 35.c5 Rxa3 36.c6 Rd3+ 37.Kc5 Ne6+ 38.Kb6 Rxf3 39.c7 Nxc7 40.Kxc7 Re3, White resigns.


Sunday, July 10, 2011

Marshall July Under 2300, Day 1

This game was played on Saturday at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2205) - Jack Hutton (USCF 2002), Marshall Chess Club 7/9/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 h5 7.d3 Qf6 8.Nbd2 Ne7 9.Nc4 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Qxf3 11.gxf3 Ng6 12.Be3 O-O-O 13.Kh1 Be7 14.Rg1 Rhg8 15.Rab1 Bf6


16.b4 Nf4 17.Bxf4 exf4 18.e5 Be7 19.a4 Rd5 20.Rge1 g5 21.Re4 f5 22.exf6 Bxf6 23.Rbe1 Bc3 24.Rb1 Bd4 25.Kg2 c5 26.b5 g4 27.fxg4 hxg4 28.hxg4 Rxg4+ 29.Kf3 Rh4 30.bxa6 bxa6 31.Rxf4 Rxf4+ 32.Kxf4 Bxf2


33.Rh1 Bd4 34.Rh6 Kb7 35.Na5+ Ka7 36.c4 Rd7 37.Nc6+ Kb7 38.Nxd4 Rxd4+ 39.Ke3 Rd7 40.a5 Re7+ 41.Kd2 Re5 42.Rf6, draw.