Results of NJ Futurity International 2007

At the recently completed New Jersey Futurity International, current NJ state champion Evan Ju and former NJ state champion Tommy Bartell just missed norms for international master.

Ju - Zaichik

This game, played yesterday, won the biggest upset prize at the New Jersey Futurity International in Parsippany. The player of the white pieces is New Jersey state champion Evan Ju.

NM Evan Ju (FIDE 2173) - GM Gennadi Zaichik (FIDE 2473), New Jersey Futurity International 7/11/2007

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bg5 Bd7 7.Qd2 Rc8 8.f4 Nxd4 9.Qxd4 Qa5 10.e5 dxe5 11.fxe5 e6

White usually plays 12.O-O-O in this position.

12.exf6 Qxg5 13.Ne4 Qh6

Black should have played 13...Qa5+ 14.c3 Rg8 15.Rd1 Bc6 with 16...Rd8 to follow.

14.Rd1 Bc6 15.fxg7 Bxg7 16.Nd6+ Kf8 17.Qb4 Qe3+ 18.Be2 a5

This is a winning position for White. Simplest is 19.Qxa5, preferred by Fritz8. Ju's continuation is also good enough.

19.Qh4 Bxb2 20.Rd3 Qc1+ 21.Bd1 Rg8 22.Rf1 Be8 23.Nxc8 Rxg2 24.Qd8 Rxc2 25.Qd6+ Kg7 26.Rg1+, Black resigns.

New Jersey Futurity International

Today is the final day in the New Jersey Futurity International, taking place at the Sheraton Hotel in Parsippany.

Hamilton Quads Rescheduled

Originally scheduled for July 21st, this month's Hamilton Chess Club Quads have been moved forward one week to July 14th.

Chess in Raymond Chandler's "The High Window"

Chess is a literary motif in Raymond Chandler's The High Window which features detective Philip Marlowe.

At the conclusion of the novel, there are these memorable lines:

It was night. I went home and put my old house clothes on and set the chessmen out and mixed a drink and played over another Capablanca. It went forty-nine moves. Beautiful and remorseless chess, almost creepy in its silent implacability.
When it was done I listened at the open window for a while and smelled the night. Then I carried my glass out to the kitchen, and rinsed it and filled it with ice water and stood at the sink sipping it and looking at my face in the mirror.
"You and Capablanca," I said.

Chess in Rex Stout's "Gambit"

Those of you who enjoy a good murder mystery, as well as chess, should consider getting hold of Rex Stout's Gambit which features the famous armchair detective Nero Wolfe and his sidekick Archie Goodwin.

It is obvious to me that the Gambit Club is a fictionalized version of the Marshall Chess Club. This is Archie Goodwin giving directions on how to get there: Headed south on Sixth Avenue....I kept going, clear to Twelfth Street, turned left, stopped half way down the long block, and focused on a four-story brick building....A brass plate to the right of the door, nice and shiny, said Gambit Club.

Except for the fact that Sixth Avenue is now known as Avenue of the Americas, if Archie Goodwin had turned left on Tenth Street (instead of Twelfth Street) he would have arrived at the Marshall Chess Club!

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 7/7/2007

Today I competed in a game/45 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club where I finished with a record of 3-1-1. My only loss came to the birthday boy, international master Jay Bonin, who received his present from me when I hung a piece. Here are my three victories.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Zachary Young (USCF 1870) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 7/7/2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bd3 fxe4 5.Bxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 9.Qe5+ Kf7 10.Nxh8+ Kg7 11.Bh6+ Kxh8 12.Bxf8 Nc6 13.Be7 Qxe7 14.Qxe7 Nxe7 15.Nd2 Bf5 16.O-O-O Rd8

17.Nc4 Ng4 18.Rd2 b5 19.Ne3 Nxe3 20.fxe3 Nd5 21.Re2 Bg4 22.Ree1 Rf8 23.h3 Bh5 24.g4 Bg6 25.Kd2 Rf3 26.a3 a5 27.h4 b4 28.h5 Be8 29.Rhf1 Bb5 30.Rg1 bxa3 31.bxa3 Rf2+ 32.Kc1 Ba4, White resigns.



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Round Two: French Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Eigen Wang (USCF 2007), Marshall Chess Club 7/7/2007

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.O-O Bg4 7.Re1+ Nge7 8.c3 Qd7 9.Nbd2 O-O-O 10.b4 Rde8 11.Qa4 Kb8 12.b5 Nd8 13.Ba3 Ne6

14.Ne5 Bxe5 15.dxe5 h5 16.Nb3 Ng6 17.Na5 Ne7 18.f3 Bf5 19.Bxf5 Nxf5 20.Nc6+ bxc6 21.bxc6 Qc8 22.Rab1+ Ka8 23.Rb7 Qxb7 24.cxb7+ Kb8 25.Qd7 Nh6 26.Qxd5 Rd8 27.Qb3 Rd3 28.Bc1 Nf5 29.Qc4 Rhd8 30.a4 g6 31.a5 Kxb7 32.Qb5+ Ka8 33.Qc6+ Kb8 34.a6 Kc8 35.Qb7+ Kd7 36.Qb5+ Kc8 37.Qb7+ Kd7 38.Qxa7 Ke8 39.Qb7 R3d5 40.Ba3 Ne7 41.a7 Ra5 42.Bxe7 Kxe7 43.Qb4+ Rc5 44.Ra1 Ra8 45.Qb7, Black resigns.



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Round Four: Pirc Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Dale Hammer (USCF 2055), Marshall Chess Club 7/7/2007

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Bd3 Na6 7.e5 Nd7 8.Ng5 Nb6 9.h4 c5 10.h5 cxd4

11.hxg6 fxg6 12.Rxh7 Nc5 13.Bxg6 Rf5 14.Qh5 Be6 15.Bxf5 Qe8 16.Rxg7+ Kxg7 17.Nxe6+ Nxe6 18.Qh7+ Kf8 19.Bxe6 dxc3 20.Qg8#.

Ferrero Plays Larsen's Opening

This game took place in the final round of Saturday's Viking Quads in Mount Arlington, New Jersey. The player of the white pieces is Steve Ferrero, editor of Atlantic Chess News. I myself have played Larsen's Opening on occasion. It is a good weapon to have in your arsenal, especially against opponents who play "book" openings.

[All notes by Jim West]

Steve Ferrero (USCF 1837) - Ari Minkov (USCF 1955), Mount Arlington NJ 6/30/2007

1.b3 e6 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.Nf3

I prefer 3.f4 with a Bird's Opening formation.

3...c5 4.c4

Here I would have played the flexible 4.e3; e.g., 4...d5 5.Ne5, or 4...Nc6 5.Bb5.

4...Nc6 5.d4 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Bb4+ 7.Nd2??

White had to play 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Nxc6 Nxc3 9.Qd2 dxc6 10.Bxc3 with an equal position. The game move should have lost to 7...Nxd4 8.Bxd4 Ne4 9.Be3 Bxd2+ 10.Bxd2 Qf6 11.f3 Qh4+ 12.g3 Nxg3.

7...Ne4?! 8.N4f3 O-O 9.a3 Nxd2 10.Nxd2 Be7 11.b4 b6 12.g3 Bb7 13.Bg2 Na5

It appears that Black is playing for a draw, as he now begins to swap pieces.

14.Bxb7 Nxb7 15.O-O d5 16.cxd5 Qxd5 17.Nf3 Rfd8 18.Qxd5 Rxd5 19.Rfd1 Rad8 20.Rxd5 Rxd5 21.Rc1 Rd7 22.Kf1 Bd8 23.Ke1 Rc7 24.Rxc7 Bxc7 25.Ne5 Bxe5 26.Bxe5

The exchange of pieces has left White with the slight endgame advantage of bishop versus knight.

26...b5 27.Bc7 Kf8 28.Kd2 Ke7 29.Kc3 Kd7 30.Bb8 a6 31.Kd4 f6 32.f3 Kc6 33.e4 Nd8 34.e5

White shows that he does not understand this ending. He starts putting his pawns on the same-colored squares as his bishop when he should be doing the exact opposite.

34...f5 35.Bd6 Nf7 36.Be7 g6 37.h3 h5 38.f4 Kd7 39.Bf6 Kc6 40.Be7 Kd7, draw.

World Open Results

The final standings of the 35th annual World Open can be found at monroi.com.

In the under-1400 section, my chess student Ziping Liu finished with a record of 5-3-1, good enough for 25th place out of 143 entrants.

Ippolito - Tanaka

Yesterday, in round six of the World Open at King of Prussia, another two-time New Jersey state champion, international master Dean Ippolito, defeated Christian Tanaka of California.

IM Dean Ippolito (FIDE 2437) - Christian Tanaka (FIDE 2106), World Open 7/3/2007

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6

The fianchetto with g3 and Bg2 has been Ippolito's favorite system against the King's Indian Defense.

6.O-O c5 7.Nc3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 a6 9.b3 Qc7 10.Bb2 Nc6 11.Rc1 Bd7

12.Nd5 Qd8 13.Nxf6+ Bxf6 14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Bxf6 exf6 16.Qd4 Qe7

In this position, White usually plays 17.e3. Ippolito tries something different.

17.Rc2 Rfd8 18.Rd1 Rd7 19.Rcd2 Bxg2 20.Kxg2 Rad8 21.Kg1 Qe5

The point behind White's 17.Rc2 has become clear, as he is tripled up on the semi-open file against Black's backward d-pawn. White soon captures it by force.

22.c5 d5 23.e4 Kf8 24.exd5 Qxd4 25.Rxd4 f5 26.d6 Kg7 27.b4 Kf6 28.a4 Rc8 29.Rc4 Ke6 30.Rc2 h6

Now Ippolito shows fine technique in winning this endgame.

31.Kf1 g5 32.Re2+ Kf6 33.a5 Kg6 34.Re7 Rcd8 35.Rxd7 Rxd7

White's queenside pawns are about to crash through decisively.

36.b5 axb5 37.a6, Black resigns.

After 37...bxa6 38.c6, White will queen a pawn. This positional game is a good example of how to win by playing simple chess.

Bartell - Shulman

In the first round of this year's World Open at King of Prussia, two-time New Jersey state champion Tommy Bartell upset grandmaster Yury Shulman in a symmetrical English Opening.

First, Shulman sacrificed a pawn for dubious compensation. Then, he placed his knight on a central square where it was awkwardly pinned. The resulting exchange of pieces left Bartell with a pair of outside passed pawns and an easily won rook-and-pawn ending.

All things considered, Shulman would rather have been in Philadelphia!

NM Tommy Bartell (FIDE 2403) - GM Yury Shulman (FIDE 2667), World Open 6/30/2007

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 c5 5.O-O Nc6 6.Nc3 d6 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bd7 9.Nc2 O-O

10.Bd2 Qc8 11.Rc1 Bh3 12.e4 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 a6

Through move 13, this game has followed Korchnoi-Beliavsky, Moscow 1975 which was won by Black in 58 moves. Bartell now varies from Korchnoi's 14.Qe2.

14.Ne3 b6 15.f3 Qb7 16.Ncd5 Nd7 17.Bc3 Nde5 18.b3 e6

Nimzovich would have approved of Bartell's maneuver with 16.Ncd5. Even though the knight can be chased with 18...e6, Black is left with a weak d-pawn in a Maroczy bind formation.

19.Nf4 b5 20.Qe2 Rfd8 21.Rfd1 Qb6 22.Nh3 bxc4 23.Nxc4 Nxc4 24.Qxc4 d5

I suppose Shulman figured that he might as well sacrifice the d-pawn, now that the Maroczy bind has been broken. A better move is 24...Rac8 with an equal position.

25.exd5 exd5 26.Rxd5 Rxd5 27.Qxd5 Rd8 28.Qg5 h6 29.Qf4 Qb5 30.Nf2 Ne5 31.a4 Qb8 32.Ne4 f5 33.Nc5 Re8

Usually a centralized knight is an asset. But here, Black's knight on e5 is so badly pinned that it only enables White to swap down into a winning endgame.

34.Bxe5 Qxe5 35.Qxe5 Rxe5 36.Nxa6 Re2+ 37.Kh1 Re3 38.Nc5 Bd4 39.b4 Ra3 40.a5 Be3 41.Rc2 Kf7 42.Kg2 Ke7 43.Kf1 Bxc5 44.Rxc5 Rxf3+ 45.Kg2 Rb3

46.Rb5 Kd6 47.a6 Kc7 48.Rb7+ Kc8 49.b5 g5 50.b6 Rb2+ 51.Kf1 f4 52.gxf4 gxf4 53.Rc7+ Kd8 54.Rh7 Rxb6 55.a7, Black resigns.

This game was an inauspicious start to the tournament for Shulman, and another defeat of a grandmaster by Bartell.

Ferrero Plays Latvian Gambit

This past weekend, at the Viking Quads in Mount Arlington, Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero won a game with the Latvian Gambit. About to lose a pawn, his opponent sacrificed a piece unsoundly and then made matters worse by swapping down into a hopeless endgame.

Round Two: Latvian Gambit

Alexander Katz (USCF 1768) - Steve Ferrero (USCF 1837), Mount Arlington NJ 6/30/2007

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Nxe5 Qf6 4.d4 d6 5.Nc4 fxe4 6.Nc3 Qg6 7.Ne3 c6 8.Be2 Nf6 9.O-O d5 10.f3 exf3 11.Bxf3 Bd6 12.Qe2 O-O 13.Bd2 Na6

I played this move with the idea of provoking a3 and posting the knight to e6 via c7. [Ferrero]

Already Black stands better. White did not play aggressively enough. For example, he could have considered 7.Nd5. Another possibility was to play 8.f3. [West]

14.Rf2 Bd7 15.Raf1 Rae8 16.a3 Nc7 17.g3 Ne6 18.Nexd5 cxd5 19.Nxd5 Nxd4 20.Qc4

I don't believe this is best. [Ferrero]

It is as good a move as any in this lost position. On 20.Nxf6+ Qxf6 21.Bd5+ Kh8, White is busted. [West]

20...Nxf3+ 21.Rxf3 Be6 22.Nxf6+ Rxf6 23.Qb5 Rxf3 24.Rxf3 Re7 25.Qd3 Bc5+ 26.Kg2 Qxd3 27.Rxd3 Rd7 28.Rxd7 Bxd7 29.Kf3 Bc6+ 30.Kg4 Kf7 31.b4 Bd4 32.c4 b5 33.cxb5 Bxb5 34.Bc1 Kf6 35.Kf4 Bc6 36.g4 g5+ 37.Kg3 Be5+ 38.Kf2 Bxh2 39.Ke2 Bb5+ 40.Kd1 Bd7 41.Kc2 Bxg4 42.a4 Bd7 43.b5 Bd6 44.Be3 Bb8 45.Kd2 Bf4 46.Bxf4 gxf4 47.Ke2 Kf5 48.Kf3 h5, White resigns.