Riddle of Bird - Morphy

Here is an article that tries to solve the riddle of Bird-Morphy, London 1858. It was one of three Philidor Counter Gambits won by Paul Morphy in his playing career.

Zilbermintz on Newark Gambit, Part II

[In the October-December 2008 issue of Atlantic Chess News, candidate master Lev Zilbermintz continues his previous analysis with Newark Gambit: The Antidote to 4.Bc4 in the Philidor Counter Gambit - Part II.]

Edward Kopiecki - Lev Zilbermintz, Blitz Match, Game 9 of 9
Marshall Chess Club, New York, 6/8/2003

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5!? 4.Bc4 b5 5.Bxb5+ c6 6.Bc4 fxe4 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5+ Kd7 9.Qxe5 Qe7 10.Qa5 g6 11.O-O Bg7 12.Bg5 Qd6?? 13.Qd8#.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5!? 4.Bc4 b5 5.Bxb5+ c6

A1) 6.Bd3

6...fxe4 7.Bxe4 d5 8.Nxe5 dxe4 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qxh8 Be6 12.Nc3 Qf6 13.Qxf6 Nxf6 14.Bg5 Nbd7 15.O-O-O O-O-O 16.Rhe1 Bd5 17.Nxd5 cxd5 18.f3 Re8 19.Rd2 Nh7 20 Bf4 g5 21.Bg3 Nhf6 22.Rde2 Bh6 23.Kd1 Kd8 24.c4 g4 25.cxd5 gxf3 26.gxf3 e3 27.Bh4 Kc7 28.f4 Nxd5 29.Bg5 Bg7 30.h4 Bxd4 31.h5 Nc5 32.h6 Kd6 33.Rh1 Nd3 34.b3Nf2+ 35.Rxf2 exf2 36.h7 Rh8, 0-1, IM Pugno –Zilbermintz, 3/30/2008, ICC 3 0 rated blitz.

6...fxe4 7.Bxe4 d5 8.Nxe5 dxe4 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 hxg6 11.Qxh8 Be6 12.O-O Qe7 13.Re1 Bg7 14.Qh7 Qf7 15.Rxe4 Nd7 16.Be3 Ndf6 17.Rxe6+ Qxe6 18.Qxg7 Qf7 19.Qh8 O-O-O 20.Qh3+ Kb8 21.Nc3 Ne7 22.Re1 Ka8 23.Qf3 Qg7 24.Bg5 Ned5 25.Bxf6 Qxf6 26.Nxd5 Qxf3 27.Nc7+ Kb7 28.gxf3 Kxc7 29.Re7+ Kb6 30.c3 Rd6, 0-1 in 55 moves on time, IM Walaa Sarwat (FIDE 2386) – Zilbermintz, 3 0 rated blitz, ICC, 12/27/2007.

A2) 6.Bc4

Here play divides into the following, after 6...fxe4:

A2.1) 7.Nxe5
A2.2) 7.Bxg8
A2.3) 7.Ng5
A2.4) 7.Bg5
A2.5) 7.Nfd2

We now follow the games with the most popular move order, that being: 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5+ Kd7.

The following game was played only five days after the invention of the Newark Gambit. Kedyk being a strong and ambitious master-level player, I figured my new gambit would surprise him. That is exactly what happened!! Here is the game.

Dmytro Kedyk (USCF 2344) - Lev Zilbermintz, Friday Rapids
Marshall Chess Club, 6/13/2003

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 b5!? 5.Bxb5+ c6 6.Bc4 fxe4 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5+ Kd7 9.Qf5+ Kc7 10.Qxe5+ Kb7 11.Bf4 Nf6 12.Nc3 Bb4 13.O-O Re8 14.Qg5 Na6 15.a3 Bd6 16.Bxd6 Qxd6 17.Qxg7+ Re7 18.Qg5 Ng4 19.Qh4 Bf5 20.Rfe1, and 0-1 eventually in time scramble.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 b5!? 5.Bxb5+ c6 6.Bc4 fxe4 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5+ Kd7 9.Qxe5 Bd6 10.Qxg7+ Ne7 11.Bg5 Qf8 12.Qxf8 Rxf8 13.Nd2 Bf4 14.Bxf4 Rxf4 15.O-O Ba6 16.Bxa6 Nxa6 17.Rae1 Rg8 18.Nxe4 Nd5 19.c4 Ndb4? [Here the correct move is 19…Nf6! which I did not find], Black lost in 50 moves, Yair-Zilbermintz, 5/29/2008, ICC, 3 0 rated blitz.

Starigrad (ICC 2028) – Lev Zilbermintz (ICC 2128), Internet Chess Club, 5 0 minutes blitz, June 2004

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 b5!? 5.Bxb5+ c6 6.Bc4 fxe4 7.Nxe5 dxe5 8.Qh5+ Kd7 9.Qxe5 Bd6 10.Qxg7+ Ne7 11.Bg5 Qf8 12.Qxf8 Rxf8 13.Nc3 Nf5 14.O-O-O Ba6 15.Bxa6 Nxa6 16.Nxe4 Be7 17.Bxe7 Nxe7 18.c3 Nc7 19.Nc5+ Kc8 20.f3 a5 21.Rde1 Ned5 22.c4 Nf4 23.g3 Ng6 24.f4 Na6 25.Ne4 Kc7 26.a3 h6 27.Nc3 Rad8 28.Rd1 Rfe8 29.Kc2 Re3 30.d5 Nc5 31.dxc6 Rxd1 32.Rxd1 Kxc6 33.b4 axb4 34.axb4 Nd7 35.Kd2 Re8 36.Ra1 Kb7 37.c5 Nf6 38.b5 Ne4+ 39.Kd3 Nxc3 40.Kxc3 Ne7 41.Re1 Nd5+ 42.Kd2 Rxe1 43.Kxe1 Nc3 44.g4 Nxb5 45.h4 Nd4 46.h5 Ne6 47.g5 hxg5 48.fxg5 Nxg5 49.Kd2 Kc6 50.Ke3 Kxc5 51.Kf4 Nh7 52.Kf5 Kd6 53.Kg6 Nf8+ 54.Kf7 Nh7 55.Kg7 Ng5 56.h6 Ke6 57.h7 Nxh7 58.Kxh7, draw.

We’ll continue with our discussion of the Newark Gambit: The Antidote To 4.Bc4 In The Philidor Counter Gambit – Part III in our next issue of Atlantic Chess News!

Dumont Chess Mates Library

The Dumont Chess Mates library has a wide range of chess books, including my first edition on the Philidor Counter Gambit.

Marshall Chess Club Quad 12/21/2008

Against blogger Polly Wright [pictured above, playing White against Bora Yagiz in round two], I was fortunate to draw this contest in last night's game/30 quad at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (USCF 2214) - Polly Wright (USCF 1730), Marshall Chess Club 12/21/2008

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 Qd8 10.f4 d6 11.Be2 Bd7 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.a4 Qc8 14.h3 b6

15.Rf2 Nd8 16.Rd2 Bc6 17.Nd4 Ba8 18.g4 Nc6 19.g5 Nd7 20.Nd5 Re8 21.Bg4 e6 22.Nc3 Nxd4 23.Bxd4 e5 24.fxe5 Bxe5 25.Be3 Qc7 26.Ra3 Nc5 27.Bf3 Qe7 28.Qf1 Bg7 29.Qg2 Bc6


30.Nd5 Bxd5 31.Rxd5 Bxb2 32.Ra2 Bg7 33.c4 Nxe4 34.Bxe4 Qxe4 35.Qxe4 Rxe4 36.Bf2 Rxc4 37.Rxd6 Rbc8 38.a5 Rc1+ 39.Kg2 Be5 40.Rd7 bxa5 41.Rxa5 Bf4 42.Raxa7 Rf8 43.h4 Rc2 44.Kf3 Be5 45.Rd3 Rb2 46.Bg3 Bxg3, draw.

Pix from Yesterday's Hamilton Quads

I took these pictures yesterday at the Hamilton quads.

Here are two photos of NM Dragan Milovanovic, playing in quad one against national masters Michael Thaler and Mark Kernighan respectively.

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In quad two, Tim Hall has White against Rahul Swaminathan while Kevin Dresher has Black against Greg Nolan.

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In the lower quads, bloggers Atomic Patzer and Diamondback play White at adjoining boards.

Hamilton Quads 12/20/2008

At today's Hamilton quads, I drew the following game.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Sveshnikov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2214) - Dragan Milovanovic (USCF 2264), Hamilton NJ 12/20/2008

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 f5 11.c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 O-O 14.Nce3 Bd7 15.g4 e4 16.Bg2 Re8 17.Qc2 Rc8

18.Bxe4 Bxg4 19.Nxg4 f5 20.O-O-O fxe4 21.Rhg1 Kh8 22.Kb1 Nd4 23.Rxd4 Bxd4 24.Nh6 Qd7 25.Qd2 Bg7 26.Nb6 Qe6 27.Nxc8 Rxc8 28.Ng4 b4 29.c4 Qxc4 30.Ne3 Qd4 31.Qxd4 Bxd4 32.Rd1 Be5


33.Ng4 Bf4 34.Nf6 Rf8 35.Nxe4 Bxh2 36.Nxd6 Rxf2 37.Ne4 Re2 38.Rd4 a5 39.Nd2 Be5 40.Rd5 a4 41.Nc4 Bf6 42.Rb5 Be7 43.Ne5 b3 44.axb3 axb3 45.Nd3 Bf6, draw.

Kasparov Starts Solidarity Movement

On Saturday, Garry Kasparov launched a new anti-Kremlin movement called Solidarity. The next day, at least 90 demonstrators were detained by police in Moscow.

Fischer Movie Goes to Scrapheap

Due to the economic downturn, Universal Pictures has scrapped its plans to film Bobby Fischer Goes to War.

Cherry Hill Scholastic Tournament

Not advertised in Chess Life because it is unrated, a scholastic event called the Greater South Jersey Individual Championship Tournament will take place on December 20th in Cherry Hill.

Best Games from Dumont Chess Mates

These are the two best games, as judged by me, from the 2008 Dumont Chess Mates Club Championship. In the open section, Newark Sleepless Knights president Jess Ragaza gets outplayed. In the under 1700 section, 8-year-old Nicholas Katz upsets his higher rated opponent.

Round Two: Albin Counter Gambit

Jess Ragaza (USCF 1828) - Mark Schwarcz (USCF 1900), 2008 Dumont Chess Mates Club Championship

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.dxe5 Qxd1+ 5.Kxd1 Nc6 6.f4 f6 7.exf6 Nxf6 8.h3 Be6 9.e3 0-0-0+ 10.Ke1 Bb4

11.Bd2 Rxd2 12.Kxd2 Ne4+ 13.Kc2 Ng3 14.Rh2 Bf5+ 15.e4 Nxe4 16.Nxe4 Bxe4+ 17.Kc1 Rd8 18.Nf3 Bd6 19.Nd2 Bxf4 20.g3 Bxg3 21.Re2 Bd3


22.Rg2 Re8 23.Nf3 Bf4+ 24.Nd2 Re1#.




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Round Four: King's Indian Attack

Edward Spielman (USCF 1600) - Nicholas Katz (USCF 1176), 2008 Dumont Chess Mates Club Championship

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 Nf6 4.d3 Bc5 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O Bg4 7.Be3 Bxe3 8.fxe3 O-O 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Qxf3 Nb4 11.Na3 d5 12.exd5 Qxd5 13.Qxd5 Nbxd5 14.e4 Ne3 15.Rf2 Nxg2 16.Kxg2 Rad8


17.Nc4 Rfe8 18.Na5 b6 19.Nc6 Rd6 20.Nxa7 c6 21.a4 Ra8 22.Nxc6 Rxc6 23.b4 Rc7 24.c4 Rca7 25.Rfa2 Nd7 26.Ra3 Nb8 27.a5 bxa5 28.Rxa5 Rxa5 29.Rxa5 Rxa5 30.bxa5 Na6


31.Kf3 Kf8 32.Ke3 Ke7 33.d4 Kd6 34.d5 h6 35.Kd3 Kc5 36.Kc3 g6 37.g4 f6 38.h4 g5 39.h5 Nb8 40.d6 Kxd6 41.Kb4 Kc6, White resigns.

Pix from Marshall CC December Open

These pictures were taken by me during round three of yesterday's Marshall CC December Open, at the Marshall Chess Club.

Jerry Monaco defeated Steven Khais.

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Here are two photos of Jason Margiotta, who lost to NM Boris Privman.

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George Berg held IM Jay Bonin to a draw.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 12/14/2008

Playing in the one-day schedule of today's Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club, I finished with a score of 2-0-2, drawing my games as White and winning my games as Black.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (USCF 2214) - Jake Miller (USCF 1921), Marshall Chess Club 12/14/2008

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 a5 9.f3 d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Nde2 a4 12.Nxa4 Nfxd5 13.Bf2 Rxa4 14.Bxa4 Bxb2 15.Bb3 Qa5 16.O-O Rd8

17.Rb1 Nc3 18.Nxc3 Rxd1 19.Nxd1 Bf6 20.Ne3 Nc6 21.Nc4 Qc7 22.Nb6 Bd4 23.Nxc8 Bxf2+ 24.Rxf2 Qxc8 25.Rd1 Na5 26.Rfd2 Qc5+ 27.Kh1 Nxb3 28.axb3 Kg7 29.h3 e6 30.c4 Qb4 31.Rd3 b5 32.cxb5 Qxb5 33.Re3 h5 34.Rdd3 Qc6


35.h4 Qc1+ 36.Kh2 Qc7+ 37.Kh3 Qc1 38.b4 f5 39.Rxe6 Qh1+ 40.Kg3 f4+ 41.Kf2 Qxh4+ 42.Kg1 Kf7 43.Rdd6 g5 44.Re4 Qg3 45.Rdd4 h4 46.Rd7+ Kf6 47.Rh7 Kg6 48.Ree7 Kf6 49.Re2 Kg6 50.Rh8 Kg7 51.Ree8 Kf7 52.Rhf8+ Kg7, draw.

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Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Ilan Kreitner (USCF 2000) - Jim West (USCF 2214), Marshall Chess Club 12/14/2008

1.e4 e5 2.d4 d6 3.Nf3 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.h4 Bc5 7.Bf4 Ne7 8.g4 O-O 9.Bg3 c6 10.Nc3 Qb6 11.Rh2 Qxb2 12.Ncxe4 Bb4+ 13.Nd2 Bxd2+ 14.Kd2 Qb4+ 15.c3 Qb2+ 16.Kd3 c5

17.f3 c4+ 18.Ke3 Qxc3+ 19.Ke2 Nbc6 20.Rc1 Qb2+ 21.Ke1 Qb4+ 22.Rd2 h6 23.Be2 c3 24.Rdc2 hxg5 25.hxg5 Nd4 26.Qd3 Bd7 27.Rd1 Nxc2+ 28.Qxc2 Ba4, White resigns.

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Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Daniel Vulis (USCF 1991) - Jim West (USCF 2214), Marshall Chess Club 12/14/2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Nh5 g6 9.Nxf6+ Qxf6 10.Be2 Bd6 11.Be3 O-O 12.Qd2 Nc6 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.g4 Rb8 15.O-O-O c5

16.c4 cxd4 17.Bxd4 Bf4 18.Bxf6 Rxf6 19.Rhf1 c6 20.Kc2 Bxd2 21.Rxd2 Be6 22.Kc3 Rbf8 23.cxd5 cxd5 24.Bb5 e3 25.Re2 exf2 26.h3 h5 27.Bc6 Rc8, White resigns.

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Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2214) - George Berg (USCF 2101), Marshall Chess Club 12/14/2008

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 Bb7 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Nfd7 13.Qh5 Nc6 14.Rad1 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Qc7

16.Rxf7 Rxf7 17.Bxe6 Raf8 18.Bxf7+ Rxf7 19.e6 Rf8 20.exd7 Qxd7 21.Bxg7 Qc6 22.Qe2 Rf5 23.Bd4 Rg5 24.Rd2 Bc5 25.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 26.Kh1 Bxg2+ 27.Qxg2 Rxg2 28.Rxg2+ Kf7 29.a3 Qe3 30.Ne2 h5 31.Ng1 Qe4 32.h3 Qd5 33.c3 Qe4, draw.