Thursday, April 30, 2020

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Tributes to Wesley Hellner

Read the many tributes to Wesley Hellner [pictured].

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Using Webcams to Prevent Chess Cheating

Organizers of Magnus Carlsen's on-line event have put in numerous safeguards.

Monday, April 27, 2020

Marshall Sunday Game/50 4/26/2020

On Sunday, I played this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Philidor Counter Gambit

snchin (Chess.com 1634) - JimWest (Chess.com 1855), Chess.com 4/26/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Nfd2 d5 6.c4 c6 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Qb3 Bxc3 9.Qxc3 Ne7 10.cxd5 cxd5 11.Be2 O-O 12.O-O Nbc6


13.Rd1 Qc7 14.f4 Rxf4 15.Nc4 Rf8, White resigns.


Sunday, April 26, 2020

Marshall Saturday Game/50 4/25/2020

On Saturday, I won this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

King's Indian Defense, Saemisch Variation

EthanKozowerjk (Chess.com 1655) - JimWest (Chess.com 1842), Chess.com 4/25/2020

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.e4 d6 4.d4 Nf6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 b6 7.Qd2 c5 8.d5 e6 9.O-O-O exd5 10.cxd5 a6 11.h4 h5 12.Be2 b5 13.Nh3 b4 14.Nb1 a5 15.Nf2 Re8 16.Qc2 Ba6


17.Bxa6 Nxa6 18.g4 Nc7 19.Bg5 Nb5 20.Rdg1 Nd4 21.Qd3 Qb6 22.Bxf6 Bxf6 23.gxh5 c4 24.Qd1 c3 25.hxg6 cxb2+ 26.Kd2 fxg6 27.Rxg6+ Kf7 28.h5 Rac8


29.Ng4 Be5 30.Nxe5 Rxe5 31.Rhg1 Rc2+ 32.Qxc2 Nxc2 33.Rg7+ Ke8 34.h6 Qf2+ 35.Kd3 Ne1+ 36.Rxe1 Qxe1 37.h7 Qxb1+ 38.Kc4 Qxa2+ 39.Kb5 Rh5, White resigns.


Saturday, April 25, 2020

Golf & Chess

The Phung sisters demonstrate the link between golf and chess.

Friday, April 24, 2020

Thursday Night Action 4/23/2020

On Thursday, I drew this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1826) - guoguo713_hoboken (Chess.com 1514), Chess.com 4/23/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Qc7 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 Nf6 6.O-O Be7 7.Nbd2 O-O 8.Nc4 b5 9.Bf4 d6 10.e5 bxc4 11.exf6 Bxf6 12.dxc4 Rd8 13.c3 e5 14.Bg5 Bxg5 15.Nxg5 Bb7 16.Bd5 Rf8 17.Qh5 h6


18.Ne4 Rad8 19.Rad1 Na5 20.Nf6+ gxf6 21.Qg6+ Kh8 22.Qxh6+ Kg8 23.Qg6+ Kh8, draw.


Thursday, April 23, 2020

Wesley Hellner 1944-2020

Learning how to play chess in the park and not by taking chess lessons, Wesley Hellner [pictured, right] had many wins and draws against higher rated players at the Marshall Chess Club.

Often in between rounds, Wesley accompanied the late Ed Kopiecki and myself for lunch at the bagel store on Sixth Avenue.

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Kasparov to Play in Nations Cup

Garry Kasparov will be among the players in an on-line chess competition.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Marshall Sunday Game/50, 4/19/2020

On Sunday, I played this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

greengummies (Chess.com 1540) - JimWest (Chess.com 1807), Chess.com 4/19/2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Nxd2 6.Nbxd2 Nc6 7.e3 Qe7 8.Be2 Nxe5 9.O-O d6 10.a3 Bxd2 11.Qxd2 O-O 12.Qc3 Re8 13.Rfd1 Bg4


14.Nxe5 Bxe2 15.Rd2 Qxe5 16.Qxe5 Rxe5 17.Rxe2 a5 18.Rc1 b6 19.Rec2 a4 20.Rc3 Kf8 21.f4 Re4 22.Kf2 f5 23.Kf3 h5 24.Rd1 g6 25.h3 h4 26.Rg1 Kf7 27.g4 hxg3 28.Rxg3 Rh8 29.Ke2 Ra8 30.Kd3 Rae8 31.Rc1 Rh8


32.Rcg1 Rh6 33.h4 Re6 34.Rh3 c5 35.Rb1 Re7 36.b4 axb3 37.Rxb3 Ra7 38.Rxb6 Rxa3+ 39.Kc2 Ke6 40.Kb2 Ra7 41.Rh1 Rd7 42.Kc3 Rhh7 43.Rg1 Rh6 44.Rh1, draw.


Monday, April 20, 2020

Atwood Variation in PCG

After the opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Nh6, George Atwood [pictured] introduced the move 7.g3, rehabilitated by "ArnieChipmunk" in this post.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Arena Blitz Victory with PCG

"ArnieChipmunk" sends a link to this Philidor Counter Gambit.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

Marshall CC Town Hall Meeting via Zoom

The Board of Governors has agreed that, at this time, the Marshall Chess Club will remain closed indefinitely.

Because members have many questions, the club will hold a town hall meeting on Wednesday April 22nd at 7pm.

The meeting will be conducted via Zoom.

After remarks from the Board of Governors, they will host a question and answer period.

The meeting will conclude with a chess lecture by club member - and twice Canadian chess champion - grandmaster Pascal Charbonneau.

Register in advance for this meeting at
https://columbiauniversity.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYldOmvrD0sGNdAxO5uMBHDSolVNF7qoa4b.

If you have questions for the Board of Governors to answer, e-mail them to bryanq@marshallchessclub.org.

Friday, April 17, 2020

Thursday Night Action 4/16/2020

On Thursday, I drew this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Sicilian Defense, Paulsen Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1832) - Jec5 (Chess.com 1634), Chess.com 4/16/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Qc7 6.O-O Nf6 7.c4 d6 8.Nc3 g6 9.Be3 Bg7 10.Rc1 O-O 11.f3 Nbd7 12.b3 b6 13.Qd2 Bb7 14.Rfd1 Ne5 15.Bf1 Rfd8 16.Qf2 Rab8 17.g3 Ba8 18.Bh3 Qe7


19.Bg2 d5 20.cxd5 exd5 21.exd5 Nxd5 22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.h3 Rbc8 24.Rxc8 Rxc8 25.Nf5 gxf5 26.Rxd5 b5 27.f4 Nc6 28.Rc5 Qd7 29.Qc2 Ne7 30.Rxc8+ Nxc8 31.Kh2 Nd6 32.Qd2 Qc7 33.Bd4 Bxd4 34.Qxd4 Qe7


35.Qd5 Qd8 36.h4 Qb6 37.h5 h6 38.Kh3 Qc7 39.Qa8+ Kg7 40.Qxa6 Ne4 41.Bxe4 fxe4 42.Qxb5 e3 43.Qe2 Qc1 44.Kg2 Qc6+ 45.Kh2 Qc1 46.Kg2 Qc6+ 47.Kh2 Qc1 48.Kg2, draw.


Thursday, April 16, 2020

PCG with 4.Bc4, 5.Ng5, 6.d5

In a previous post, I gave the line in the PCG with 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.d5 f4 7.h4 Nb8.  

Yesterday I played this game at 15/10.

Philidor Counter Gambit

Adog2 (Chess.com 1776) - JimWest (Chess.com 1834), Chess.com 4/15/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.d5 f4 7.h4 Nb8


8.g3 fxg3 9.fxg3 Be7 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qxh6 Bf8 12.Nf7 Bxh6 13.Nxd8 Bxc1 14.Ne6 Bxe6 15.dxe6 Bxb2 16.O-O Bxa1 17.Rf7 Bd4+ 18.Kg2 Bb6 19.Nc3 Nc6 20.Nd5 O-O-O 


21.Nf6 Rdf8 22.Bd5 Rxf7 23.exf7 Nd8 24.Ng8 Nxf7 25.Bxf7 Kd7 26.g4 h6 27.Kf3 g5 28.h5 c6 29.Ke2 Bd8 30.Kd3 b5 31.Kc3 a5 32.Kd3 c5 33.Ke3 b4 34.Kd2 a4 35.Kd3 Kc6


36.Bc4 Kd7 37.Bb5+ Ke6 38.Bc4+ Kd7 39.Bb5+ Kc7 40.Bc4 Kb6 41.Bf7 Kb5 42.Bc4+ Ka5 43.Be6 Kb5 44.Bf7 Rh7 45.Be8+ Ka5 46.Kc4 Rh8 47.Bf7 Kb6 48.Kd5 Kc7 49.Be6 Rh7 50.Bf5 Rh8 51.Be6 Rh7 52.Bf5 Rh8 53.Be6, draw.


Wednesday, April 15, 2020

NJ Fundraiser on April 19th

[photo by Sheila Nadiminti]

The on-line chess tournament will benefit the Summit Medical Group.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Book Review of "Chess and the Law"

Book Review: 'Chess and the Law: An Anthology of Anecdotes and Analogies'

Andrew J. Field's book about the intersection of chess and American law is a treat for chess fans and members of the legal set.

B | April 13, 2020 at 01:23 PM

When I was young I spent many weekends at the Dallas Chess Club testing my mettle against all sorts of people at the club, and later by participating in chess tournaments across the state. Back then, before the Internet, on any night the club was open you could encounter people from all sorts of backgrounds and professions. For instance, I met students, grocery clerks, cabbies, truck drivers, printers, professional gamblers, newspaper columnists, plumbers, computer programmers, college economics professors, members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, engineers, doctors, diamond brokers, psychologists, many lawyers and even a judge or two.

For some reason, this devilishly simple game that takes 30 minutes to learn and a lifetime to master is irresistible to members of the legal set. Andrew J. Field, another chess-playing lawyer, and the author of a great new book, “Chess and the Law: An Anthology of Anecdotes and Analogies,” published in 2019, has a theory about why the Royal Game has so much appeal for people trained in the law.

“I think attorneys and judges are naturally drawn to the game of chess because the contest resembles litigation and the outcome is dictated by the rules,” Field said.

“Chess and the Law” covers the intersection of both subjects in numerous anecdotes and examples, such as the two former world chess champions, Paul Morphy (recognized as world chess champion before the title was designated by a governing body) and Alexander Alekhine (the fourth FIDE World Chess Champion), who were both trained as lawyers!

Before Field became an author (his first book is, “Mainliner Denver: The Bombing of Flight 629,” (published in 2005), he earned his J.D. from Vermont Law School, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, 1989, was a law clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (1989-90); served as the deputy district attorney for Arapahoe County, Colorado (1991-94); was a law clerk for the Idaho Supreme Court (1994-95); was a staff attorney (criminal law specialist) for the Colorado Court of Appeals (1995-2011); was a staff attorney and reporter for the Model Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, Colorado Supreme Court (2011-15). He has also been admitted to practice in Colorado (inactive status) and Massachusetts (retired status).

In his 279-page, “Chess and the Law,” Field eschews writing about the rules of chess. Nor does his book contain any diagrams, strategies or suggestions about how to get better at the game. However, he does present many fascinating and sometimes amusing anecdotes about the history of American law’s meetings with chess. The book is loaded with interesting stories involving U.S. presidents, Supreme Court justices, appellate practice, criminals, evidence, confessions and sentencing … all involving chess!

“My favorite anecdote in the book is the story of William Russ and Frances Dayton,” Field said.

I know quite a bit about the history of the game and its most celebrated players and tournaments, but was unfamiliar with this shocking and strange tale from 19th century America that Field recommended. It’s a crazy story about chess problems (a specialized area of chess study), bibliomania, an unpublished chess opus, unrequited love, attempted murder and a failed suicide attempt … all the elements necessary for a great Lifetime movie!

There are many other interesting stories in Field’s book. Some of my favorites were the ones where prisoners confessed their guilt to their chess partners while playing the game, and wound up with longer or more severe sentences as a result!

Besides the interesting but unlikely subject matter, I also like how Field’s book is the organized — there are just four types of entries:

     * Accounts of chess-related crimes, lawsuits and agency actions.
     * Anecdotes about attorney- and judge-players of note.
     * Comments on law journal articles that use chess as an analogy.
     * Chess-themed quotes and quips from judicial opinions.

The other thing I like about the book is that most of the entries are short, so you can put it down mid-page and not miss a beat the next time you pick it up again, which makes it a perfect nightstand reader.

Field says that when he began researching the book, it wasn’t to be a serious endeavor.

“At the outset, I was uncertain whether there really were many connections between chess and the law and undertook my research purely for self-amusement,” Field said. “But as my research began to get deeper I discovered that there was an overwhelming amount of information, and that winnowing down the selections might actually be the harder task.”

Just like the law, there is a vast literature for chess: newspaper accounts, magazines devoted to chess, and tens of thousands of books on the Royal Game. In order to write his book, Field says he used all of these sources and many others.

“I used a variety of research tools including online electronic legal databases, Google PDF scans of books from the 1800s, telephonic interviews and a wide survey of contemporary chess literature for starting points to rabbit holes I could crawl into for more material,” Field said.

“Chess and the Law” is a welcome addition to the existent literature of both subjects and a treat for chess fans and members of the legal set. I highly recommend it!

Monday, April 13, 2020

Marshall Sunday Game/50, 4/12/2020

On Sunday, this game was played in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

French Defense, Exchange Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1829) - EthanKozowerjk (Chess.com 1583), Chess.com 4/12/2020

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 b6 9.Nbd2 Ba6 10.Bxa6 Nxa6 11.c3 c5 12.Re1 Nc7 13.Ne5 Ne6


14.Nc6 Qc7 15.Nxe7+ Qxe7 16.Nf3 Kh8 17.dxc5 bxc5 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Qxd5 Rad8 20.Qe5 Qg6 21.Qe4 Qf6 22.Rad1 Nf4 23.Rxd8 Rxd8 24.Qe5 Nh3+ 25.Kf1 Rd2


26.Qe8+ Kh7 27.Qe4+ Kh8 28.gxh3 Rxb2 29.Re2 Qxc3 30.Rxb2 Qxb2 31.Qe8+ Kh7 32.Qxf7, Black forfeits.


Sunday, April 12, 2020

Marshall Saturday Game/50, 4/11/2020

On Saturday, I won this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1812) - greengummies (Chess.com 1506), Chess.com 4/11/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Qa5 11.O-O-O Rfc8 12.Bb3 Ne5 13.Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nb3 Qc7 16.Bd4 a6


17.Bxf6 exf6 18.Qxd6 Qxd6 19.Rxd6 Be6 20.h5 Rac8 21.hxg6 hxg6 22.Rhd1 R4c6 23.Rxc6 bxc6 24.Nc5 Kf8 25.Nxa6 f5 26.Nc5 Bxc3 27.Nxe6+ fxe6 28.bxc3 Ke7 29.exf5 exf5 30.Rd4 Rh8 31.g4 Rb8+ 32.Rb4 Rd8 33.gxf5 gxf5


34.a4 Ra8 35.Kb2 Kd6 36.Kb3 Kd5 37.Rb7 Ra5 38.Kb4 Ra6 39.a5 Kd6 40.Rh7 Ke5 41.Rh4 Ra8 42.Rc4 Rb8+ 43.Kc5 Ke6 44.Ra4 Kd7 45.a6 Ra8 46.a7 Kc7 47.Ra6 Kb7 48.Ra1 f4 49.c4 Kc7 50.Kd4 Kb6


51.c3 c5+ 52.Ke4 Kc6 53.Kxf4 Kb7 54.Ke4 Re8+ 55.Kd5 Rd8+ 56.Kxc5 Rc8+ 57.Kb5 Ka8 58.f4 Rc6 59.Rf1 Rf6 60.f5 Kb7 61.Kc5 Kxa7 62.Kd5 Kb6 63.Ke5 Rf8 64.f6 Kc6 65.Ke6 Re8+ 66.Kf7 Re3 67.Rd1 Rf3


68.Kg7 Rxc3 69.f7 Rg3+ 70.Kf8 Rg4 71.Re1 Kd7 72.c5 Ra4 73.c6+ Kxc6 74.Ke7 Ra7+ 75.Kf6 Ra3 76.f8=Q Rf3+ 77.Ke7 Rxf8 78.Kxf8 Kd7 79.Kf7 Kd6 80.Kf6 Kd5 81.Kf5 Kd4 82.Kf4 Kd3 83.Re8 Kd2


84.Kf3 Kd1 85.Re2 Kc1 86.Ke3 Kb1 87.Kd3 Kc1 88.Rd2 Kb1 89.Kc3 Ka1 90.Kb3 Kb1 91.Rd1#.


Saturday, April 11, 2020

PCG Draw in Team Match

Because it was a team match, Black took the draw although winning in the endgame.

Friday, April 10, 2020

Thursday Night Action 4/9/2020

On Thursday, I played this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

Elephant Gambit, King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1847) - numismaticsandchess (Chess.com 1477), Chess.com 4/9/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 3.d3 Bd6 4.Nbd2 d4 5.g3 Ne7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbc6 8.Nc4 Be6 9.Nxd6 cxd6 10.Ng5 Bd7 11.f4 h6 12.Nf3 f5 13.exf5 Nxf5 14.c3 dxc3 15.Qb3+ Kh8 16.bxc3 Rb8


17.Re1 Qf6 18.fxe5 Nxe5 19.Nxe5 dxe5 20.Rf1 Qd6 21.Ba3 Qxd3 22.Bxf8 Qe3+ 23.Kh1 Rxf8 24.Qxb7 Bc8 25.Qe4 Qc5 26.Qb4 Qxb4 27.cxb4 Re8 28.Rac1 Ne3 29.Rf7 Be6 30.Rxa7 Nxg2 31.Kxg2 Bd5+ 32.Kg1 e4


33.Re1 e3 34.b5 e2 35.b6 Kh7 36.a4 Bc4 37.Rc7 Bd3 38.Rd7 Ba6 39.Rd2 Rb8 40.a5 Rc8 41.Rdxe2 Bxe2 42.Rxe2 Rc1+ 43.Kg2 Ra1 44.Rb2 Rxa5 45.b7 Rf5 46.b8=Q, Black resigns.


Thursday, April 9, 2020

Nesting Chess Pieces

The chess pieces nest within one another, like a Russian Matryoshka doll.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Marshall Sunday Game/50, 4/5/2020

On Sunday, 34 players participated in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

King's Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation

EthanKozowerjk (Chess.com 1609) - JimWest (Chess.com 1847), Chess.com, 4/5/2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 Nbd7 8.h3 Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 10.Be3 Ne8 11.O-O f5 12.Bxc5 dxc5 13.Rad1 Nd6 14.Nd2 b6


15.Nb5 fxe4 16.Nxd6 cxd6 17.Nxe4 Bf5 18.Bd3 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 a4 20.g3 a3 21.b3 Qd7, draw.


Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Marshall Saturday Game/50, 4/4/2020

On Saturday, I won this game in the Marshall Chess Club on-line tournament.

French Defense, Exchange Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1869) - Vote_Trump (Chess.com 1463), Chess.com 4/4/2020

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.O-O Bf5 7.Re1 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 O-O 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bh4 c6 11.Bg3 Bxg3 12.hxg3 Qd6 13.c3 Nd7 14.Nbd2 Rae8


15.Re2 Nc8 16.Rae1 Rxe2 17.Rxe2 Ne7 18.Kf1 Re8 19.Nh4 Nf8 20.Nf5 Qd7 21.Nxe7 Rxe7 22.Nb3 Rxe2 23.Qxe2 Ne6 24.a4 g6 25.a5 Kf7 26.f3 Kf8 27.Kf2 Kf7 28.Nd2 Nc7 29.Nb3 Ne6 30.Qe3 Kg7 31.Nd2 Nc7


32.Qf4 g5 33.Qe3 Qe8 34.Nb3 Qxe3+ 35.Kxe3 b6 36.axb6 axb6 37.f4 Kg6 38.Kf3 h5 39.fxg5 fxg5 40.Nc1 Kf5 41.Nd3 Ne6 42.Nb4 Nd8 43.b3 Ke6 44.c4 dxc4 45.bxc4 c5 46.d5+ Kd6 47.Nc2 Nf7 48.Ke4 Ne5 49.Na3 Nd7


50.Kf5 h4 51.g4 Ke7 52.Kxg5 Ne5 53.Kxh4 Nxc4 54.Nxc4 b5 55.Ne3 c4 56.Kg3 c3 57.Nc2 Kd6 58.Kf4 Kxd5 59.g5 Kc4 60.g6 Kd3 61.g7 Kxc2 62.g8=Q b4 63.Qa2+ Kd3 64.Qb3 Kd2 65.Qxb4 Kc2 66.g4, Black resigns.



Monday, April 6, 2020

Brayin' Games

While in self-isolation, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays chess against a donkey.