Chess Politics

As the federal government prepares to shut down at midnight, this senator needs to go back to square one.

Columbia Academy Videos from 9/21/2013

On Saturday, September 21st, I lectured at eprof for Columbia Academy on game 6 of the 1972 world chess championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky.

Briefly I discussed Reti-Tartakower, Vienna 1910.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Talks Street Chess

Earlier this week, Floyd Mayweather Jr. talked street chess on The Colbert Report.

Schreiber and Sarsgaard Join Fischer Film

Liev Schreiber and Peter Sarsgaard have joined the cast of Pawn Sacrifice, starring Tobey Maguire as Bobby Fischer.

Schreiber will play the role of defending world champion Boris Spassky [pictured, left].

Apparently GM William Lombardy [pictured, right], although not mentioned by name, will be portrayed by Sarsgaard.

Knockouts Hit Applesauce

The Manhattan Applesauce were hit hard by the New Jersey Knockouts, in week five of the U.S. Chess League.

Watch the action from ringside - boards one, two, three, and four!

"Brooklyn Castle" Airs October 7th on PBS

On October 7th, the documentary film Brooklyn Castle is scheduled to premiere on PBS.

Marshall September Under 2300 9/22/2013

Playing in the one day schedule on Sunday, I finished with a score of 2-0-2 in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Alisher Podavonov (USCF 2100) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 9/22/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.a4 Be6 10.f4 Qc7 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.Kh1 exf4 13.Bxf4 Ne5 14.a5 Rac8 15.Qd4 Rfe8

16.Bg5 h6 17.Bh4 Bc4 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.Nd5 Bxd5 20.Qxd5 Qc6 21.c3 Qxd5 22.exd5 Nc4 23.Bxc4 Rxc4 24.Rf2 Rce4 25.g3 Re1+ 26.Rxe1 Rxe1+ 27.Kg2 Rd1 28.Rd2 Rb1 29.h4 Bxc3 30.bxc3 Rxb3 31.Re2 Rxc3 32.Re8+ Kh7 33.Rd8 Rc5 34.Rxd6 Rxa5 35.Rd7 Kg6

36.Kf3 Kf6 37.Ke4 Ra4+ 38.Kd3 Rb4 39.Kc3 a5 40.h5 g6 41.hxg6 fxg6 42.Rd6+ Kf5 43.Re6 b5 44.Ra6 Rc4+ 45.Kd3 Ke5 46.Rxg6 Kxd5 47.Rxh6 Rg4 48.Rh5+ Kc6 49.Rh6+ Kc5 50.Rh5+ Kc6 51.Rh6+ Kd7 52.Rh7+ Ke6 53.Rh5 Rxg3+ 54.Kc2 Rg2+ 55.Kb1 Rg1+ 56.Kb2 Rg2+ 57.Kb1 b4

58.Rxa5 Kd6 59.Rb5 Rg4 60.Kb2 Kc6 61.Rh5, draw.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

George Berg (USCF 2104) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 9/22/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.O-O Nbd7 10.a4 b6 11.Re1 Bb7 12.Nd2 Bc6 13.Nc4 Qc7 14.Ne3 g6

15.g4 Nc5 16.Ned5 Nxd5 17.exd5 Bd7 18.Bh6 Rfe8 19.Re3 Bf8 20.Bxf8 Rxf8 21.b4 Nb7 22.Ne4 f5 23.gxf5 Bxf5 24.Rc3 Qd8 25.Qe2 a5 26.b5 Rc8 27.Rc6 Bd7 28.Rxc8 Bxc8 29.Ra3 Bf5 30.Ng3 Nc5 31.Be4 Qg5, White resigns.

Rahway Swiss 9/21/2013

On Saturday, I played this game in the tournament at Chess Mates.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Paul Joseph (USCF 1966), Rahway NJ 9/21/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 d5 4.Nbd2 Nc6 5.g3 Nf6 6.Bg2 dxe4 7.dxe4 e5 8.O-O Be7 9.Re1 O-O 10.c3 h6 11.Qc2 Be6 12.a4 Qd7

13.Nf1 Rad8 14.Ne3 Ng4 15.Nxg4 Bxg4 16.Be3 Qe6 17.Nd2 Rd7 18.f3 Bh5 19.Nf1 Rfd8 20.Rad1 Na5 21.Rxd7 Qxd7 22.Bf2 Qd3 23.Qxd3 Rxd3 24.g4 Bg6 25.Ne3 Bg5 26.h4 Bxe3 27.Bxe3 b6 28.h5 Bh7 29.Bf1 Rd8 30.Be2 c4 31.Rd1 Rxd1+ 32.Bxd1 Kf8

33.Kf2 Ke7 34.g5 hxg5 35.Bxg5+ Kd6 36.Be3 f6 37.Kg3 Bg8 38.h6 gxh6 39.Bxh6 Bf7 40.Bf8+ Ke6 41.f4 exf4+ 42.Kxf4 Be8 43.Bg4+ Kf7 44.Bb4 Bxa4 45.Bxa5 bxa5 46.Be2 Bb3 47.Ke3 Ke6 48.Kd4 Kd6 49.Bxc4 Ba4

50.Bg8 Bc6 51.c4 Bd7 52.c5+ Kc6 53.Bd5+ Kc7 54.Ke3 Bb5 55.Kf4 Bd7 56.Kg3 Be8 57.Kg4 Bg6 58.b3 Kb8 59.Kf4 Kc7 60.e5 fxe5+ 61.Kxe5 Be8 62.Kd4 Bd7 63.Kc4 Be8 64.b4 axb4 65.Kxb4 Bd7 66.Ka5 Be8 67.Ka6 Bd7 68.Kxa7 Be8, draw.

Three PCG Games Analyzed by Fournier

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier [pictured] analyzes my games as Black against Suhas Kodali, Ed Kopiecki, and Max Weinstein.

FIDE Mondays 9/16/2013

On Monday evening, I played this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Jonathan Ritter (USCF 1585), Marshall Chess Club 9/16/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 h6 6.Bg2 Bd6 7.O-O Nf6 8.Re1 e5 9.c3 d4 10.cxd4 cxd4 11.Nc4 O-O

12.Nxd6 Qxd6 13.Bd2 Be6 14.Nh4 Qd7 15.f4 Bh3 16.Qe2 exf4 17.gxf4 Kh8 18.e5 Bxg2 19.Qxg2 Rg8 20.Kh1 Nd5 21.e6 fxe6 22.Ng6+ Kh7 23.Qe4 Nf6 24.Nf8+ Kh8 25.Nxd7 Nxe4 26.Rxe4 Rae8 27.Rae1 Re7 28.Nc5 e5 29.fxe5 g5 

30.Nb3 Rge8 31.e6 Kg7 32.Nxd4 Nxd4 33.Bc3 a6 34.Bxd4+ Kg6 35.a4 Kh5 36.a5 g4 37.Bc5 Rg7 38.Re5+ Kg6 39.e7 h5 40.Rf1 h4 41.Rf8 g3 42.Rxe8 g2+ 43.Kg1 h3 44.Rh8 Rf7 45.Rxh3 b6 46.axb6 a5 47.e8=Q a4 48.Rg3+ Kh6 49.Qh8+ Rh7 50.Be3#.

Free Chess Class Tomorrow @ eprof

Tomorrow, from 9am to 10am, I will teach a chess class for Columbia Academy at eprof.com. The topic is "Piece Values."  

This introductory class is free. The eight week course begins on Saturday, September 28th.

Steve Ferrero 1962-2013

On Tuesday, Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero [pictured, at the USATE 2013] passed away suddenly from an apparent heart attack, the same medical condition that took the life of Steve's father at an early age.

Steve was not just my editor and teammate, he was my friend. When Bobby Fischer died, it was Steve who called me on the phone to break the news to me.

In addition, Steve was an expert chess player.  At the USATE 2008, Steve scored a perfect 6 points on board four, defeating a Woman International Master along the way.

His favorite defense was the Latvian Gambit.  I would always kid Steve that the Latvian Gambit is less playable than the Philidor Counter Gambit.  But, in at least one game, Steve had the last word.

Knockouts Download Vibe

Against the New Jersey Knockouts, in week four of the U.S. Chess League, the Los Angeles Vibe were...well, downloaded!

Tune in the games on boards one, two, three, and four.

Pix from Rahway Swiss 9/14/2013

On Saturday, I snapped these photos at Chess Mates.

Rahway Swiss 9/15/2013

On Sunday morning, I finished with a score of 1-1-0 plus a full point bye in the game/30 tournament at Chess Mates.

Round Two: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Rishi Rajendran (USCF 1931), Rahway NJ 9/15/2013

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bh4 Bg4 9.Nbd2 c5 10.dxc5 Bxc5 11.c3 d4

12.Bxf6 Qxf6 13.Ne4 Qc6 14.Nxc5 Qxc5 15.cxd4 Qb6 16.b3 Nc6 17.d5 Nd4 18.Bh7+ Kxh7 19.Qxd4 Bxf3 20.Qd3+ Kg8 21.Qxf3 Rad8 22.Rfd1 Rfe8 23.g3 Qa5 24.a4 Re5 25.d6 Qb6 26.Rd3 Re6 27.Rad1 Kf8

28.h4 Rf6 29.Qg2 Rd7 30.R1d2 Kg8 31.Qe4 Re6 32.Qf3 Rf6 33.Qg4 Rdxd6 34.Rxd6 Rxd6 35.Rxd6 Qxd6 36.Qc8+ Kh7 37.Qxb7 Qe6 38.b4 a6 39.b5 a5 40.Qc6 Qe1+ 41.Kg2 Qb4 42.b6 f5 43.b7 h5 44.Qd5 g6

45.Qc6 Qb1 46.Qc7+ Kh6 47.Qf4+ g5 48.hxg5+ Kg6 49.b8=Q, Black resigns.

Rahway Swiss 9/14/2013

On Saturday, I finished with a score of 2-0-2 in the game/45 tournament at Chess Mates.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2204) - Taran Idnani (USCF 1814), Rahway NJ 9/14/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d3 d6 4.g3 Nf6 5.Bg2 g6 6.O-O Bg7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Re1 Bd7 9.c3 Ng4 10.Qc2 Nge5 11.a4 a6

12.Nxe5 Nxe5 13.f4 Nc6 14.Nc4 b5 15.axb5 axb5 16.Rxa8 Qxa8 17.Nb6 Qb7 18.Nxd7 Qxd7 19.Bd2 b4 20.Qa4 Qc7 21.e5 Rc8 22.Bxc6 Qxc6 23.Qxc6 Rxc6 24.cxb4 cxb4 25.Bxb4 dxe5 26.fxe5 Rb6 27.Bc3 Rb3 28.d4 e6 29.Ra1 Bf8 30.Ra8 Kg7

31.Kf1 Bb4 32.Rb8 Bxc3 33.Rxb3 Bxd4 34.Rb5 f6 35.exf6+ Kxf6 36.g4 Be5 37.h3 h5 38.Ke2 hxg4 39.hxg4 Bd4 40.g5+ Kf7 41.Kd3 e5 42.Ke4 Ke6 43.b4 Bc3 44.Rb6+ Kf7 45.b5 Ba5 46.Rf6+ Kg7 47.b6 Kh7 48.b7 Bc7 49.Rf7+ Kg8 50.Rxc7 Kh8 51.b8=Q#.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Aaron Jacobson (USCF 1975) - Jim West (USCF 2204), Rahway NJ 9/14/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.f5 Nc5 14.f6 gxf6 15.gxf6 Bf8

16.Rg1 b4 17.Nce2 Bb7 18.Ng3 O-O-O 19.Bh3 Kb8 20.Nb3 d5 21.Nd2 Bh6 22.Qh5 b3 23.c3 bxa2 24.Kc2 a1=Q 25.Rxa1 Bxd2 26.Kxd2 Nb3+ 27.Ke2 Qc4+ 28.Kf2 Nxa1 29.Rxa1 Qb3 30.Qe5+ Ka8 31.c4 dxc4

32.Bg4 Rd2+ 33.Ne2 Qxb2 34.Qxb2 Rxb2 35.Rd1 Bxe4 36.Ke3 Bd5 37.Nf4 Rb5 38.Nxd5 exd5 39.Bf3 Rd8 40.Kd4 Ka7 41.Re1 Rd7 42.Bg4 Rc7 43.Bf3 c3 44.Bxd5 c2 45.Bc4 Rb4, White resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Three: Caro-Kann Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2204) - Jennifer Acon (USCF 1981), Rahway NJ 9/14/2013

1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5 4.Ngf3 Qc7 5.g3 g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.O-O Ne7 8.Re1 O-O 9.c3 h6 10.Qe2 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Nxf3 Nd7 13.a4 a5

14.h4 Rae8 15.Bh3 Nc5 16.Qc2 f5 17.exf5 Nxf5 18.Bg2 Nxd3 19.Qxd3 e4 20.Qc2 exf3 21.Bf4 Be5 22.Bxe5 Rxe5 23.Bxf3 Kg7 24.Bg2 Rfe8 25.Qd2 Qe7 26.Rxe5 Qxe5 27.Kf1 Kf6 28.Re1 Qxe1+ 29.Qxe1 Rxe1+ 30.Kxe1 Ke5

31.Kd2 d4 32.Kd3 dxc3 33.Kxc3 g5 34.hxg5 hxg5 35.Kc4 Kd6 36.Be4 Nh6 37.f4 gxf4 38.gxf4 Ng4 39.b4 axb4 40.Kxb4 b6 41.a5 c5+ 42.Kb5 bxa5 43.Kxa5 Nf6 44.Bc2 Kd5 45.Bb3+ c4 46.Bxc4+ Kxc4, draw.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Taimanov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2204) - Alice Dong (USCF 2061), Rahway NJ 9/14/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nb5 d6 6.Bf4 e5 7.Be3 a6 8.N5c3 Nf6 9.Bc4 Be7 10.Nd5 Nxd5 11.Bxd5 O-O 12.Nc3 Bg5 13.Qd2 Bxe3 14.fxe3 Ne7 15.O-O-O Qc7

16.Kb1 Rb8 17.Bb3 Rd8 18.Rhf1 Be6 19.Rf2 b5 20.Rdf1 Bxb3 21.axb3 Rf8 22.Nd5 Nxd5 23.Qxd5 Rbc8 24.Rd1, draw.

"Broadway World" Review of "The Machine"

[photo by Stephanie Berger]

At broadwayworld.com, Jonathan Mandell reviews The Machine.

Thursday Night Action 9/12/2013

On Thursday, I finished with a score of 2-1-1 in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Juan Sena (USCF 2238) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 9/12/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.f5 Nc5 14.f6 gxf6 15.gxf6 Bf8

16.b4 Na4 17.Nxa4 bxa4 18.a3 Bb7 19.Rg1 O-O-O 20.Rg3 Kb8 21.b5 d5 22.bxa6 Bh6+ 23.Kb2 dxe4 24.Qh5 Qb6+ 25.Ka1 Rxd4 26.Qe5+ Ka7 27.Qxd4 Qxd4+ 28.Rxd4 Bd5 29.Bc4 Bf4 30.Bxd5 Bxg3 31.hxg3 Rd8 32.Rxe4 Rxd5 33.Rxa4 Rf5 34.Rh4 h5 35.Kb2 Kxa6

36.Kb3 Rf3+ 37.Kb4 Rxg3 38.Rxh5 Rf3 39.Rh6 e5 40.Rh5 Rxf6 41.Rxe5 Kb6, and draw in ? moves.

Here is the final position.