Marshall October Under 2300 10/14/2012

On Sunday, I finished with a score of 2-1-1 in the under 2300 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Dutch Defense

Vladimir Polyakin (USCF 2100) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 10/14/2012

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Nd2 a5 6.Ngf3 b6 7.O-O Bb7 8.Qc2 O-O 9.b3 Bxd2 10.Nxd2 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 d6 12.Bb2 Nbd7

13.e4 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Nxe4 15.Qxe4 Qe7 16.Rae1 Rae8 17.f4 Rf7 18.Qc6 Nb8 19.Qb7 Qd7 20.Qf3 Qc6 21.Re2 Qxf3+ 22.Rxf3 Rfe7 23.Rfe3 Kf7 24.g4 Nd7 25.Bc3 h5 26.h3 hxg4 27.hxg4 Nf6 28.Kg3 d5 29.Rh2 Ne4+ 30.Kf3 Nxc3 31.Rxc3 dxc4 32.bxc4 Rd7 33.Ke4 Rdd8 34.a4 Rh8

35.Rch3 Rxh3 36.Rxh3 c5 37.d5 exd5+ 38.cxd5 Re8+ 39.Kf5 Re1 40.Rb3 g6+ 41.Kg5 Rd1 42.Rxb6 Rxd5+ 43.Kh6 Rd4 44.Rb7+ Ke6 45.Kg5 c4 46.f5+ gxf5 47.gxf5+ Kd6 48.f6 Rd1 49.Rb6+ Kc5 50.f7 Rg1+ 51.Kh4 Rf1 52.Rb7 c3 53.Kg5 Kc6 54.Rb3 Rxf7 55.Rxc3+ Kd5

56.Rb3 Rc7 57.Kf4 Rc4+ 58.Ke3 Rxa4 59.Kd3 Ra2 60.Kc3 Kc5 61.Rb2 Ra1 62.Kc2 Rh1 63.Rb8 a4 64.Kb2, draw.

Marshall October Under 2300 10/13/2012

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

Round Two: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Johannes Gudmundsson (USCF 1746), Marshall Chess Club 10/13/2012

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Bg4 3.d3 e6 4.Nd2 Nd7 5.Ngf3 Ngf6 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Nxf3 Bd6 8.e3 Qe7 9.Be2 O-O 10.O-O e5 11.Nd2 Rfe8 12.e4 c6 13.Bf3 Bc5 14.a4 a5 15.Qc1 Qd6 16.Ba3 b5

17.exd5 Bxa3 18.Rxa3 b4 19.Nc4 Qc5 20.dxc6 Nb6 21.Nxb6 Qxb6 22.Ra1 Qd4 23.Qe3 Rad8 24.Qxd4 Rxd4 25.Rfe1 Kf8 26.Rac1 Nd5 27.Bxd5 Rxd5 28.Re4 f6 29.Rc4 Rc8 30.c3 bxc3 31.R1xc3 Ke7 32.Kf1 Kd6 33.c7, Black resigns.

Recap of Chess Class 10/13/2012

In yesterday morning's chess class, conducted by Columbia Academy at Caldwell College,  I taught the students how to keep score using algebraic notation. I also showed the symbols used in chess notation for equal, White is better, Black is better, check, checkmate, good move, bad move, winning move, losing move, risky move, and dubious move.

Then I discussed strategy, which is another word for planning. Because there are more possible moves in a game of chess than there are atoms in the universe, the human brain can not cope with such a high number. Playing an intelligent game of chess becomes impossible for us. But if we have a plan and follow it, chess is not only possible for us, it can be simple.

To illustrate one strategy out of dozens, at the demonstration board I presented a game by Anatoly Karpov as White where Karpov's simple strategy was to obtain a better king bishop than his opponent's queen bishop, because Karpov's bishop actively controlled the long diagonal while his opponent's bishop was passively placed.

For the last half hour, the students played chess while keeping score.

Next class, the students will bring their scoresheets. I will analyze their games at the demonstration board.

National Chess Day 2012

By a resolution of the 112th Congress, today is National Chess Day.

Preview Screening of "Brooklyn Castle"

Click here to buy tickets to a preview screening of the documentary film Brooklyn Castle.

View this update from producer Nelson Dellamaggiore, asking for your support.

Knockouts Lose to Arch Rivals

In week six of the USCL, the Saint Louis Arch Bishops had these words for the New Jersey Knockouts: "Show me!"

The Knockouts drew the game on board one.  But the Bishops were too strong on boards two, three, and four.

Support "Brooklyn Castle"

Matthew Lillard says support Brooklyn Castle.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Help us fund screenings of Brooklyn Castle for the communities, schools, parents, and kids affected by after school programs!

It's finally here!!!!! After many long hours of filming, editing, and appearances at countless film festivals (including our debut at SXSW this past March), Brooklyn Castle is now coming to theaters nationwide starting this October 19th!! It has been an absolutely incredible journey so far, and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Kickstarter community for helping fund our early creative vision and then turning it into reality. That's why we're turning to you again! We need your support more than ever, now that we're coming to theaters.

THE VISION
Brooklyn Castle is a film that has sparked discussions about the important role after school programs play in the lives and development of school kids across the country. While the film is coming to theaters, we also need to ensure our film reaches the audiences that have the most at stake in this issue: the communities, schools, teachers, and of course the kids who have the most to gain (and lose) from after school programs. Towards that end, we intend to use your funding to help us realize additional community screenings of Brooklyn Castle. This includes:
•Rental of movie theaters/screening locations for special community screening events in cities across the U.S.
•Transportation to get viewers to the screening, shipping costs for prints and travel costs, so the filmmakers and Brooklyn Castle's subjects can attend.

WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
In addition to helping fund a larger rollout of the film to communities across the U.S. that might not otherwise see it, your funding support also plays another role - spreading the word. Through regular campaign updates that we plan to distribute to Kickstarter supporters, we hope to find partners and supporters across the U.S. who not only care about the critical issues of after school programs in their communities, but who can help us spread the word so that as many people see Brooklyn Castle as possible. Join us! Go see Brooklyn Castle on 10/19 and, in the meantime, donate whatever you can afford to make sure the film gets seen by as many people as possible. Whatever the amount, please know that your support will play a critical role in helping us spread the word about this amazing film to the people that need to see it.

Thanks so much!

Katie and Nelson Dellamaggiore + Brian Schulz

To learn more about the project and join our update list, please visit www.brooklyncastle.com.

In theaters October 19, 2012.

Marshall October Grand Prix 10/7/2012

On Sunday, this game was played at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Center Counter Defense

Jim West (FIDE 2091) - Mitch Fitzko (FIDE 2085), Marshall Chess Club 10/7/2012

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Be2 Bf5 7.O-O Nbd7 8.Be3 e6 9.Qd2 Be7 10.Bf4 Qb4 11.a3 Qa5 12.b4 Qd8 13.b5 O-O

14.bxc6 bxc6 15.h3 c5 16.Rfb1 Nb6 17.Rd1 cxd4 18.Nxd4 Bc5 19.Nxf5 exf5 20.Qxd8 Raxd8 21.Be5 Ne4 22.Nxe4 fxe4 23.a4 Rxd1+ 24.Rxd1 Nxa4 25.Ra1 Re8 26.Bxg7 Kxg7, draw.

Marshall October Grand Prix 10/6/2012

On Saturday, I drew this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Ben Goldstein (USCF 1736) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 10/6/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 c6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.O-O f4 7.d4 Qc7 8.dxe5 dxe5 9.h3 a5 10.a3 Na6 11.Qe2 h6 12.Nh4 g5 13.Ng6 Rh7 14.Nxf8 Kxf8

15.b4 g4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.f3 Bd7 18.b5 cxb5 19.Nxb5 Bxb5 20.Bxb5 Nh5 21.Rd1 Qb6+ 22.Kh2 Rg7 23.Bb2 Nc7 24.Bxe5 Qxb5 25.Bxg7+ Nxg7 26.Qxb5 Nxb5 27.a4 Nc3 28.Rd7 b5 29.axb5 Nxb5 30.Rd5 Nc7 31.Rdxa5 Rd8 32.Ra7 Nge6

33.R1a5 Kg7 34.Rc5 Nxc5 35.Rxc7+ Nd7 36.c4 Kf6 37.Rc6+ Ke5 38.Rxh6 Nf6 39.g3, draw.

My Chess Class at Caldwell College

Here are recaps of my Saturday morning chess class, conducted by Columbia Academy, at Caldwell College.

In the September 22nd class, I explained how each piece moves and gave the value of each piece. A pawn is worth 1, a knight 3, a bishop 3 and a quarter, a rook 5, and a queen 9. The king is priceless. Those are the piece values at the start of the game. Your goal, as the game develops, is to increase the value of your own pieces, while at the same time decreasing the value of your opponent's pieces. The name for this process is positional chess. I also discussed tactics and strategy. Tactics are the weapons that you use to carry out your strategy. Planning ahead is strategy. On the demonstration board, I showed two games: the first by Paul Morphy as Black, illustrating tactics; the second by Bobby Fischer as White, illustrating strategy. 

In the September 29th class, I taught the King's Indian Attack for White and the King's Indian Defense for Black. At the demonstration board, I showed a game won by Bobby Fischer, using the King's Indian Attack and finishing with a brilliant queen sacrifice. Next Saturday, I will start teaching how to play the middlegame, now that students know how to make it past the opening without any disadvantage. If chess is a war game, then the middlegame is when the fighting takes place, usually near the center of the board. To play the middlegame successfully, a player must combine tactics with strategy. I will give examples of tactics involving pins, forks, double attacks, discovered checks, and more. In a future class, I will focus on strategic planning in the middlegame. 

The topic for the October 6th class was tactics, which are the weapons that you use to carry out your strategy. These include pins, forks, skewers, double attacks, and discovered checks. At the demonstration board, I showed a combination by Mikhail Tal involving three different tactics: double attack by the queen, pin by the rook, and fork by the knight. I pointed out how Tal's pieces cooperated with each other in this winning combination. Piece coordination is important in chess. In the next class, I will focus on strategy, which is planning for the future. Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen can see as many as 15 moves ahead! For most chess players, 5 moves ahead is normal, as you aim for positions from which tactics flow naturally.

Book Review: "The Queen of Katwe"

Anna Clark reviews The Queen of Katwe by Tim Crothers.

Pix from Westfield Quads 9/30/2012

During Sunday's quads in Westfield, I took these pictures.