15/10 PCG 9/29/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

gpmj3 (Chess.com 1885) - JimWest (Chess.com 1905), Chess.com 9/29/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 f5 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.d4 Be7 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Bxd8 8.O-O fxe4 9.Nxe4 Nf6 10.Ng3 Be7 11.Re1 Nd7 12.Nf5 Bf6

13.N5d4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Nb6 15.Bb3 Kd8 16.Nf3 Re8 17.Ng5 Bf5 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.Rxe4 Ke7 20.Bd2 Rad8 21.Bc3 Kd7 22.g3 Kc8 23.Rae1 Re7 24.Bxe5 Rde8 25.f4 Nd7

26.Kf2 Nxe5 27.fxe5 Rxe5 28.Rxe5 Rxe5 29.c3 Rxe1 30.Kxe1, draw.

15/10 PCG 9/28/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

HK49 (Chess.com 1742) - JimWest (Chess.com 1897), Chess.com 9/28/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Nf7 Qf6

8.f4 exf3 9.gxf3 Qxe6+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+, White resigns.

"The Queen's Gambit" Trailer

Watch the trailer for the Netflix series.

Another PCG with 6.e6 Nc6

Philidor Counter Gambit

Abzugspatt (lichess 2313) - ArnieChipmunk (lichess 2330), lichess 9/27/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Nc6

7.Nf7 Qf6 8.Bg5 Qxb2 9.Nd2 Bxe6 10.Nxh8 Bb4 11.Rb1 Qe5 12.Bh4 e3 13.fxe3 Qxe3+ 14.Be2 Bg4 15.Rxb4 Nxb4 16.Bf2 Nxc2+ 17.Kf1 Nf6

18.Bxg4 Nxg4 19.Bxe3 Ncxe3+ 20.Ke2 Nxd1 21.Rxd1 Ke7 22.Nf3 c6 23.Rb1 b6 24.Rb4 Nf6 25.Ne5 Rxh8 26.Nxc6+ Kd6 27.Nxa7 Re8+ 28.Kd3 Ra8 29.Nb5+ Kc5

30.Rb2 Ne4 31.Nc7 Ra3+ 32.Ke2 Rxa2 33.Ne6+ Kd6 34.Rxa2 Nc3+ 35.Kd3 Nxa2 36.Nd4 Nb4+ 37.Kc3, White resigns.

15/10 Sicilian 9/25/2020

Sicilian Defense, Sveshnikov Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1907) - akanbikandola (Chess.com 1747), Chess.com 9/25/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Na3 b5 10.Nd5 Bg7 11.c3 f5 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 O-O 14.Nce3 Be6 15.g3 Rc8 16.Bg2 f5

17.f4 exf4 18.Nxf4 Qb6 19.Qe2 Bf7 20.Nfd5 Qc5 21.O-O Rfe8 22.Rxf5 Ne7 23.Nxe7+, Black resigns.

15/10 KID 9/24/2020

King's Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation

jmfgjmfg (Chess.com 1953) - JimWest (Chess.com 1902), Chess.com 9/24/2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.g4 f5 11.f3 fxg4 12.fxg4 Rxf1+ 13.Kxf1 a5 14.Nd3 b6 15.Be3 Nc5 16.Nf2 h6 17.h4 Kh7

18.Kg2 Ng8 19.Kg3 Bd7 20.Qd2 Qe7 21.Rh1 Rf8 22.h5 g5 23.b3 Rf4 24.Bxf4 exf4+ 25.Kf3 Qe5 26.Ncd1 Nf6 27.Bd3 Kg8 28.Bc2 Qa1 29.a3 Qxa3 30.e5 dxe5, White resigns.

10/5 Sicilian 9/23/2020

Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

JimWest (lichess 2175) - myhsnom1230 (lichess 2035), lichess 9/23/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.f4 b5 9.e5 dxe5 10.fxe5 Nfd7 11.Bxe6 fxe6 12.Nxe6 Qb6

13.Nd5 Qxe6 14.Nc7+ Kf7 15.Nxe6 Kxe6 16.Qg4+ Kf7 17.O-O+ Ke8 18.Qxg7 Rf8 19.Bg5 Rxf1+ 20.Rxf1 Bxg5 21.Qg8+ Ke7 22.Qxg5+ Ke6

23.Qg8+ Kxe5 24.Qxc8 Ra7 25.Qh8+ Kd6 26.Qxh7 Nc6 27.Qd3+ Kc7 28.Rf7 Nce5 29.Qg3 Kb6 30.Qe3+ Kb7 31.Qxe5, Black resigns.

15/10 KIA 9/22/2020

Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1892) - anatolij56 (Chess.com 1730), Chess.com 9/22/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 d5 4.Nbd2 Nc6 5.g3 Qc7 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.e5 Ng4 10.Qe2 f6 11.exf6 Bxf6 12.h3 Nh6 13.Nf1 Nf7 14.c4 Bd7

15.Ne3 Nd4 16.Nxd4 cxd4 17.Ng4 dxc4 18.Nxf6+ gxf6 19.dxc4 Ne5 20.b3 Bc6 21.Bf4 Qf7 22.Bxc6 bxc6 23.Rad1 c5 24.Rd2 d3 25.Qe3 Qh5 26.Bxe5 fxe5 27.Qxe5, Black resigns.

USCF Online Rated Events @ Marshall CC

Play USCF Online rated tournaments.

Intellectual Hustle

[photo by Patrick McMullan]

That is how actor John Leguizamo [pictured] describes chess at Washington Square Park.

CNBC Interview of GM Maurice Ashley

Cory Stieg interviews grandmaster Maurice Ashley.

"Chess Forum" Perseveres During Pandemic

Owner Imad Khachan talks to Elle McLogan of CBS2.

WOCC Reopening Status

A message from West Orange Chess Club president John Hagerty

To all: 

I spoke to Juan Pintado (the West Orange Recreation Department activities manager) today about the possibility of the chess club returning to the Katz Center in the near future. I also mentioned that we would comply completely with whatever safety protocols the town would insist we do. 

Nevertheless, unfortunately, it appears that we may have to wait until the beginning of next year to be allowed back in. Juan hopes that this could change to an earlier date but at this point in time no groups (and this even includes groups that want to rent the place for private events) are being allowed to use the building until further notice. 

I wish that I had better news but we have to "weather the storm". Try to keep your head in the game by playing USCF online chess, USCF correspondence chess, Chess.com events and other chess gaming websites. I assume that USCF rated private matches can still be played as well. 

On a related note, it appears that the Garden State Chess League (GSCL) will be played this season as an online competition. Consult Lev Zilbermintz (the league`s president) at polyanker@gmail.com for further details.  

In closing, I will check back with Juan in early January 2021 if I do not hear from him sooner. 

Sincerely, 

John M. Hagerty 

WOCC president

From Ukrainian World Tourney with Lev

Philidor Counter Gambit

Vladislav Bytchek (FIDE 2203) - Lev Zilbermintz (FIDE 2006), Ukrainian World Tournament 9/16/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Nxe4 Be7 8.Qg4 g6 9.Ng5 Nf6 10.Qa4+ c6 11.Nf7 Qb6 12.Nxh8 Ne4

13.Be3 Qxb2 14.Qd4 Bf6 15.Qxb2 Bxb2 16.Nd2 Bxa1 17.Nxe4 dxe4 18.Nf7 Bxe6 19.Nd6+ Ke7 20.Nxb7, draw.

15/10 KIA 9/15/2020

Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1903) - HK49 (Chess.com 1730), Chess.com 9/15/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d3 Nc6 4.g3 d5 5.Nbd2 Nf6 6.Bg2 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.e5 Nd7 9.Re1 b5 10.Nf1 a5 11.h4 b4 12.Bf4 a4 13.a3 Bb7

14.h5 h6 15.N1h2 Re8 16.Ng4 Qb6 17.Qd2 Bf8 18.Bxh6 gxh6 19.Nxh6+ Bxh6 20.Qxh6 Ndxe5 21.Nxe5 Nxe5 22.Rxe5 f5 23.Rxf5, Black resigns.

15/10 Philidor 9/14/2020

Philidor Defense

DeepLouis (Chess.com 1888) - JimWest (Chess.com 1899), Chess.com 9/14/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Qc2 Be7 5.d4 Nbd7 6.h3 O-O 7.Nbd2 c6 8.Be2 Qc7 9.g4 exd4 10.cxd4 Re8 11.O-O Bf8 12.Bd3 g6 13.Re1 Bg7 14.Nf1 Nf8 15.Ng3 d5

16.e5 N6d7 17.b4 Qb6 18.a4 Ne6 19.a5 Qxb4 20.Ba3 Qxa5 21.h4 Qd8 22.h5 Ng5 23.Nh2 Nf8 24.f4 Nh3+, White resigns.

15/10 Sicilian 9/13/2020

Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1908) - BetelgeuseFive (Chess.com 1840), Chess.com 9/13/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Qa5 7.Qd2 Nf6 8.f3 d6 9.Bc4 a6 10.Bb3 Bd7 11.O-O-O Rc8 12.Kb1 b5 13.h4 h5 14.Rhe1 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Bc6

16.e5 dxe5 17.Bxe5 e6 18.Qf4 Ke7 19.Bd6+ Ke8 20.Bxe6 fxe6 21.Rxe6+ Kf7 22.Re7+ Kg8 23.Be5 Rf8 24.Qg5 Be8 25.Nd5 Bf7 26.Bxf6 Bxf6 27.Nxf6+ Kg7 28.Nd5 Rh7 29.Nc3 Rc8 

30.Rdd7 Kg8 31.Rxf7 Rxf7 32.Qxg6+, Black resigns.

15/10 Dutch 9/12/2020

Dutch Defense

Nortbrew (Chess.com 1735) - JimWest (Chess.com 1901), Chess.com 9/12/2020

1.c4 e6 2.g3 f5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nc3 a5 5.e4 fxe4 6.Nxe4 Be7 7.d4 Bb4+ 8.Bd2 Bxd2+ 9.Qxd2 Nxe4 10.Bxe4 O-O

11.Nf3 d5 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg8 14.h4 dxc4 15.Qc2 Rf5 16.Qxc4 Qd5 17.Qxc7 Qxh1+ 18.Ke2 Qxa1 19.Qxc8+ Rf8 20.Qxe6+ Kh8 21.Qg6 Qxb2+ 22.Ke3 Qxf2+ 23.Kd3 Qf5+, White resigns.

15/10 PCG 9/11/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

tanidual (Chess.com 1811) - JimWest (Chess.com 1896), Chess.com 9/11/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Qh3 Qf6 9.Nc3 Qxf2+ 10.Kd1 Nf6 11.Be2 Qd4+ 12.Ke1 Qf2+ 13.Kd1 Qf5 14.Rf1 Qxh3 15.Nxh3 Be7

16.Rxf6 Bxf6 17.Nxd5 Bd8 18.e7 Bxe7 19.Nxc7+ Kd8 20.Nxa8 Bxh3 21.gxh3 Nc6 22.Bf4 Rf8 23.Bg3 Bf6 24.c3 Be5 25.Ke1 Kc8 26.Rd1 Kb8 27.Nb6 axb6 28.Rd5 Bxg3 29.hxg3 Kc7 30.Bg4 Rf7 31.Ke2 h5 32.Be6 Re7 33.Bg8 Rg7

34.Be6 Nd8 35.Rxd8 Kxd8 36.Bd5 Re7 37.Ke3 Kc7 38.b4 g5 39.Bxe4 h4 40.gxh4 gxh4 41.Kd4 Rg7 42.Bd5 Rg3 43.Be6 Kd6 44.Bf5 b5 45.c4 bxc4 46.Kxc4 Ra3 47.Kb5 Rxa2 48.Kb6 Rf2 49.Bc8 Rf7 50.Bxb7 Ke5

51.Bc8 Rf4 52.b5 Rb4 53.Kc5 Rxb5+ 54.Kxb5 Kf6 55.Kc5 Kg7 56.Kd5 Kh8, draw.

15/10 Sicilian 9/10/2020

Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

JimWest (Chess.com 1916) - Joloida11 (Chess.com 1821), Chess.com 9/10/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 a5 9.f3 a4 10.Nxa4 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Bxd5 Rxa4 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Bb3 Ra8 15.Qxd8 Rxd8 16.c3 Bf5 17.Kf2 h5

18.Rhd1 Bf6 19.Rxd8 Rxd8 20.Rd1 Ra8 21.Bd4 e5 22.Be3 Kg7 23.Rd6 Rc8 24.Bh6+ Kxh6 25.Rxf6 c5 26.Rxf7 c4 27.Ba4 Rd8 28.Ke1 Rb8 29.b3 Bc2 30.Kd2 cxb3 31.axb3 Bxb3 32.Bxb3 Rxb3 33.Kc2 Ra3 34.Kb2 Ra5

35.c4 h4 36.Rb7 Rc5 37.Kb3 Rc8 38.Re7 Rb8+ 39.Kc3 Ra8 40.c5 Ra2 41.c6 Rxg2 42.c7 Rg1 43.Kd3 Rc1 44.Ke4 Kg5 45.Kd5 Kf6 46.Re6+ Kf7 47.Rc6, Black resigns.

PCG Article in NIC Yearbook 136

In New in Chess Yearbook 136, Arne Moll (FIDE 2217) has written an article on the Philidor Counter Gambit.

15/10 KID 9/8/2020

 King's Indian Defense

Harysusanto (Chess.com 1765) - JimWest (Chess.com 1911), Chess.com 9/8/2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3 O-O 5.e3 d6 6.a3 Nbd7 7.Be2 e5 8.O-O e4 9.Nd2 Re8 10.b4 Nf8 11.Rb1 h5 12.Bb2 Bf5 13.d5 h4 14.Nb5 h3 15.g3 N8h7 16.Nd4 Bd7

17.b5 Ng5 18.a4 b6 19.Nc6 Qc8 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Rb3 a5 22.bxa6 Rxa6 23.c5 Rxa4 24.cxb6 cxb6 25.Rxb6 Ra1 24.Qc2 Rxf1+ 25.Bxf1 Bg4 26.Rb8 Qd7 27.Rxe8+ Qxe8

28.Bb5 Qa8 29.Bf1 Qa1 30.Qb1 Nf3+ 31.Nxf3 Qxb1, White resigns.

"NY Times" Article on GM Nakamura

[photo by Thomas Wehle]

Fueled by grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura [pictured], a chess fever is sweeping Twitch.

15/10 PCG 9/6/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

RadeSolak (Chess.com 1806) - JimWest (Chess.com 1909), Chess.com 9/6/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxe7 Qxe7 7.Nfd2 Bxf5 8.Bc4 Nf6 9.O-O d5 10.Bb3 Nc6 11.c4 Nxd4 12.cxd5 O-O-O 13.Nc3 e3

14.fxe3 Qxe3+ 15.Kh1 Bg4 16.Qe1 Qxe1 17.Raxe1 Nxb3 18.Nxb3 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Rxd5 20.Rf7 Rd7 21.Rf4 Rd1 22.Rxd1 Bxd1 23.Rf7 Bxb3 24.axb3 g6 25.h4 a5 26.Kh2 b6 27.Kh3 Kb7 28.Kg4 Kc6 29.Kg5 Kd6 30.g4 c5

31.Rf6+ Kd5 32.Rxb6 Re8 33.Ra6 Re5+ 34.Kf4 Re4+ 35.Kf3 Rb4 36.Rxa5 Rxb3+ 37.Kf4 Rxb2 38.Ra7 h6 39.Rd7+ Kc4 40.Rg7 g5+ 41.hxg5 hxg5+ 42.Kxg5 Rg2 43.Kf4 Kc3 44.Re7 c4 45.g5 Kc2 46.Re3 c3

47.Rg3 Rxg3 48.Kxg3 Kd2 49.g6 c2 50.g7 c1=Q 51.g8=Q Qg1+, White resigns.