Friday, October 31, 2008

2 Share First at Marshall CC Championship

The Marshall Chess Club championship ended in a first-place tie between grandmasters Zviad Izoria and Giorgi Kacheishvili.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

World Champion Anand


By defeating Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik, Indian grandmaster Viswanathan Anand has become the 15th World Match Champion in chess history.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Deja Vu for NJKO

Last Halloween, the New Jersey Knockouts were eliminated from the USCL playoffs by the New York Knights in the final match of the regular season.

Tonight at 7:30, the NJKO will try to avoid the same fate when once again they face the Knights with a playoff spot at stake.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Chessboards by Ryan Roa

Ryan Roa has sent these photos of the chessboards that he made for the Red Badge of Courage ReVisited exhibition, taking place in Newark.



Monday, October 27, 2008

NJKO Bitten by Sharks

A week after being bitten by Cobras in the U.S. Chess League, the New Jersey Knockouts were bitten by Sharks. By a score of 3-1 on Wednesday night, Miami handed the NJKO their second straight defeat, jeopardizing New Jersey's chances of making the playoffs.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Viking Quads 10/25/2008


At yesterday's Viking quads in Somerset, I won these two games. In both contests, I used my opponents' weapons against them. Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero likes to play Larsen's Opening as White, and Kevin Chen has played the Philidor Counter Gambit as Black.

Round One: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Steve Ferrero (USCF 1918), Somerset NJ 10/25/2008

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 g6 3.f4 d5 4.e3 Bg7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 b6 7.O-O Ba6 8.Bxa6 Nxa6 9.Qe2 Nb4 10.d3 c5 11.a3 Nc6 12.Nbd2 Nd7


13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.e4 e6 15.Rae1 Qc7 16.f5 Qd6 17.f6+ Kh8 18.e5 Qb8 19.Qe3 Rg8 20.Qh6 Ncxe5 21.Ng5 Nf6 22.Rxf6 Rg7 23.Rxe5 Qxe5 24.Nxf7+ Rxf7 25.Rxf7 Qd4+ 26.Kh1, Black resigns.




* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Kevin Chen (USCF 1788) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Somerset NJ 10/25/2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe5 Nf6 6.Nc4 d5 7.Ne5 Bb4 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Be6 10.a3 Bxc3 11.bxc3 Nbd7 12.Bg5 Qe8


13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.Bh5 Qe7 15.Nxd7 Qxd7 16.Qe2 Bf7 17.Bxf7+ Rxf7 18.c4 f5 19.Rfd1 c6 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.c4 Kh8 22.cxd5 Qxd5 23.Qa2 Rd8 24.Qxd5 Rxd5 25.Rd2 Rc7 26.Kf1 Rc4


27.Ke2 Rdxd4 28.Rxd4 Rxd4 29.Ke3 Rd5 30.Rb1 b6 31.a4 Kg7 32.Rb5 Rd3+ 33.Kf4 Rd2 34.Kxf5 Rxf2+ 35.Kxe4 Rxg2 36.Kf3 Rxh2 37.a5 Rh6 38.Kg4 Rc6 39.Kh4 h6 40.Kg4 Rc4+ 41.Kg3 Rc5, White resigns.


Saturday, October 25, 2008

Marshall CC Championship Resumes

The Marshall Chess Club championship resumes today, with grandmasters Zviad Izoria and Giorgi Kacheishvili sharing the lead.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Video on Trap in PCG

Here is a video showing a trap in the Philidor Counter Gambit, where Black plays the inferior 4...Nf6, after the opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d4. Two better moves for Black are 4...Nc6 and 4...exd4.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Zilbermintz on Newark Gambit

[In the July-September 2008 issue of Atlantic Chess News, candidate master Lev Zilbermintz has written this article, under the title Newark Gambit: The Antidote To 4.Bc4 In The Philidor Counter Gambit – Part I.]

For many years, devotees of the Philidor Counter Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5!?, have had to contend with the annoying 4.Bc4 line, which develops the king’s bishop, targets the weakened black kingside, and prepares tactical tricks for White. It also discourages the capture 4...fxe4, for after 5.Nxe5! Black’s position begins to crumble. Of course, assuming the Black player knows what he is doing, it is possible to survive the tactical threats. Some games:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 d5 5.d4 dxc4 6.Qh5+ g6 7.Nxg6 hxg6 8.Qxh8 Kf7 9.c3 Bg7 10.Qh7 Nd7 11.Qh3 Ne5 12.Qg3 Nd3+ 13.Ke2 Nh6 14.h3 Nf5 15.Qh2 Bxd4 16.Be3 Be5 17.Qg1 Nxb2 18.Qc1 Qd3+ 19.Ke1 Nxe3, 0-1, Gerolt Unger - Ernst Grobe, ICCF World Championship, correspondence 1971.

However, the classic 19th century game P. Von Bilguer (the author of the Von Bilguer chess tome, which lasted until the 1920s!) - Tassilo Heybrandt und von der Lasa (usually known as von Lasa), Match 1, Berlin 1837 went:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 fxe4 4.Nxe5 d5 5.Qh5+ g6 6.Nxg6 Nf6 7.Qe5+ Be7 8.Nxe7 Qxe7 9.Qxe7+ Kxe7 10.Bb3 c6 11.0-0 Rg8 12.Rd1 Bh3 13.g3 h5! 14.d3?


h4! 15.Nd2 hxg3 16.hxg3 Bg4 17.Re1 Nbd7 18.Nf1 Rh8 19.Nh2 Rxh2 20.Kxh2 Rh8+ 21.Kg1 Bf3!, White Resigns
.

Now for some of the earliest games with the Newark Gambit. Be warned, though, that the original move sequence was 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 b5 (Latvian Gambit - Strautins Variation) 4.Bb3 d6 5.d4.

George Dinu (2295 ELO) - Petre B. Popescu
Bucharest, Romania, PBP Tournament, 1995
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 b5 4.Bb3 d6 5.d4 fxe4 6.Nxe5?! dxe57.Qh5+ g6?? 8.Qxe5+! Qe7 9.Qxh8 Be6 10.Nc3 Bxb3 11.axb3 Nf6 12.O-O Nbd7 13.Bg5 c6 14.Nxe4
which led to a 1-0 in 39 moves.

Ouwerkerk, NA – Zagt, A
Netherlands Theme Correspondence Tournament, 1982
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.Bc4 b5 4.Bb3 d6 5.d4 Nf6!?
(This is an interesting alternative to the stronger and more complicated 5…fxe4!. I include this game for its historical interest, as it was very poorly played. My opinion is that White panicked and did not see 9.Bd5!) 6.dxe5 Nxe4 7.Qd5 Qd7 8.Qxa8 Nc6 9.Qxc6?? (Best is 9.Bd5!, winning.) Qxc6 10.a4 b4 11.O-O Ba6 12.Nd4 Qb6 13.Nb5 dxe5 14.Be3 Bc5 15.Nd2 Nxd2 16.Bxd2 c6 17.Rad1 cxb5, 0-1.

Jean Hebrard - Christian Jester
Picardy Correspondence Championship, France, 1987
5...fxe4! 6.Nxe5?! dxe5! 7.Qh5+ Kd7 8.Qxe5 Bd6! 9.Qe6+ Kc6 10.Qd5+ Kb6 11.O-O Nf6 12.Qg5 Ng4! 13.Qxg7 Bxh2+ 14.Kh1 Be5!
[threatening ...Qh4+! with mate to follow –Editor] 15.Qg5 Qxg5 16.Bxg5 Bxd4, 0-1.

There exist three other games, played in 1983, 1987, and 1988. All transposed from the Strautins Variation of the Latvian Gambit. I will cover these three games in the Newark Gambit Declined.


ORIGINAL NEWARK GAMBIT GAMES:

Edward Kopiecki - Lev Zilbermintz
Blitz Match, Game 4 of 9
Marshall Chess Club, New York, June 8, 2003
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 b5!?


5.Bxg8 Rxg8 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Qxd8+ Kxd8 8.Nc3 b4 9.Bg5+ Ke8 10.Nd5 Bd6 11.O-O-O f4! 12.Rhe1 Kf7 13.h3 h6 14.Bxf4 exf4 15.e5 c6 16.exd6 cxd5 17.Re7+ Kg6, White’s flag fell.


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

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

New Jersey vs. Miami

The New Jersey Knockouts will be opposed by the Miami Sharks tonight, starting at 7:30, in the United States Chess League.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Hamilton Photos

Here are a pair of pix from Saturday's quads in Hamilton.


The first photo shows national masters Dragan Milovanovic and Boris Privman (quad one) analyzing a position, while candidate master Greg Nolan (quad two) watches.


Meanwhile, in quad two, Rahul Swaminathan plays against Richard Harry.

Monday, October 20, 2008

How Howard Wins

A couple of schach jock Howard Stern's chess games were featured in The New York Times on Sunday. Stern's game as Black in the Budapest Gambit has been analyzed by Michael Goeller at his blog The Kenilworthian.

In the print edition of the Times, the following game was included although it was omitted from the electronic one.

English Opening

Howard Stern (ICC 1600) - Anonymous (ICC 1600), Internet Chess Club

1.c4 c6 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 e5 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.d3 Bb4 7.Bd2 Nc6 8.Nf3 O-O 9.O-O e4 10.dxe4 dxe4


11.Ng5 Bxc3 12.Bxc3 Re8 13.Qxd8 Nxd8 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nxe4 Kg7 16.Rac1 Be6 17.a3 Nc6 18.Nd6 Re7 19.Bxc6 bxc6 20.Rxc6 Rd8 21.Rfc1 Bd5 22.Nf5+ Kf8, Black resigns.


Sunday, October 19, 2008

Hamilton Quads 10/18/2008

Mark Kernighan and I tied for first place, with identical scores of 1-0-2, in the top quad at Hamilton yesterday. Here are my games.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Dragan Milovanovic (USCF 2249) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Hamilton NJ 10/18/2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Neg5 exd4 7.Nxd4 Qe7+ 8.Be3 Nf6 9.c3 Ng4 10.Qd2 Nxe3 11.Qxe3 h6


12.Qxe7+ Kxe7 13.Ngf3 c6 14.Bd3 Kf6 15.O-O Nd7 16.Rfe1 Nc5 17.Bc2 Bd6 18.b4 Ne6 19.a4 Nxd4 20.Nxd4 Bd7 21.Re3 g6 22.a5 Rae8 23.a6 Rxe3 24.fxe3 b6 25.Rf1+ Kg7 26.e4 c5 27.bxc5 bxc5 28.Nf3 dxe4 29.Rd1 exf3 30.Rxd6 Be8 31.gxf3 Rf8


32.Be4 Rf6 33.Rd5 Rxa6 34.Rxc5 Kf6 35.Kf2 Bd7 36.Rc7 Bf5 37.Ke3 Bxe4 38.fxe4 Ra2 39.h4 a5 40.Rc6+ Kf7 41.h5 Rg2 42.Ra6 gxh5 43.Rxh6 Rg5 44.Kf4 Rc5 45.e5 Rxc3 46.Rxh5 Rc1 47.e6+ Kxe6 48.Rxa5, draw.




* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Two: Petroff Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Mark Kernighan (USCF 2236), Hamilton NJ 10/18/2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 5.d3 Nf6 6.d4 Bf5 7.Bd3 Bxd3 8.Qxd3 c6 9.O-O Be7 10.Re1 O-O 11.Nc3 d5 12.Bg5 Re8 13.Re2 Na6 14.Rae1 Nc7


15.Ne5 Bb4 16.Ng4 Be7 17.h3 Ne6 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.g3 Be7 20.Qf5 Bd6 21.h4 Qb6 22.Qd3 Re7 23.h5 h6 24.Rxe6 Rxe6 25.Rxe6 fxe6 26.Qg6 Qc7


27.Nxh6+ Kf8 28.Qh7 gxh6 29.Qh8+ Kf7 30.Qxa8 Bxg3 31.fxg3 Qxg3+ 32.Kf1 Qf3+ 33.Ke1 Qg3+ 34.Kd2 Qf4+ 35.Ke2 Qg4+ 36.Kd3 Qf3+ 37.Kd2 Qf4+ 38.Ke2 Qg4+ 39.Kd3 Qf3+ 40.Kd2 Qf4+, draw.




* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Three: Pirc Defense

Boris Privman (USCF 2236) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Hamilton NJ 10/18/2008

1.d4 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f4 O-O 6.Nc3 c6 7.Nge2 e5 8.O-O Bg4 9.Be3 Nbd7 10.h3 Bxe2 11.Qxe2 Qe7 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.f5 gxf5 14.Rxf5 Qb4 15.Rb1 Nb6 16.a3 Qc4


17.Qf2 Nfd7 18.Bf1 Qe6 19.b3 Bh6 20.Bxb6 Nxb6 21.a4 Rad8 22.a5 Bd2 23.Nd1 Bxa5 24.b4 Bxb4 25.Rxb4 Rxd1 26.Kg2 Qh6 27.Rxe5 Rd2 28.Be2 Rfd8 29.Rh5 Qxh5 30.Bxh5 Rxf2+ 31.Kxf2 Rd2+ 32.Be2 Rxc2


33.Ke3 c5 34.Rb5 Rc3+ 35.Kd2 Rxg3 36.Rxc5 Rxh3 37.Rc7 Rh6 38.Rxb7 Rd6+ 39.Ke3 Rd7 40.Rb8+ Kg7 41.Bg4 Nc4+ 42.Kf4 Rc7 43.Be2 Nb6 44.e5 Nd7 45.Ra8 Nf8 46.Re8 Ng6+ 47.Kg3 Re7, White resigns.


Saturday, October 18, 2008

NJKO Snakebitten

The New Jersey Knockouts lost their match against the Carolina Cobras, on Monday night in the U.S. Chess League.

Friday, October 17, 2008

92nd Annual Marshall CC Championship

Tonight, at 7:30, the 92nd Annual Marshall Chess Club Championship begins. It is a nine-round Swiss tournament that will be played over the next two weekends.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Thousand Points and Counting

When I started giving chess lessons to Ziping Liu in June 2006, his USCF rating was only 631. After his performance at the ICA Fall 2008 Open, Ziping's rating stands at 1655, more than a thousand points higher! His two best games on Sunday were played as Black.

Round Two: Pirc Defense

Joel Pruzansky (USCF 1870) - Ziping Liu (USCF 1624), ICA Fall 2008 Open 10/12/2008

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 c6 8.e5 dxe5 9.dxe5 Nd5 10.Nxd5 Qxd5 11.Qxd5 cxd5


12.Bb5+ Nc6 13.Be3 O-O 14.Bc5 Rfe8 15.O-O-O e6 16.c4 Red8 17.cxd5 exd5 18.Bd6 a6 19.Ba4 b5 20.Bb3 d4 21.Kb1 Bf8 22.Bd5 Rac8 23.Bxc6 Rxc6 24.Rxd4 Bxd6 25.Rhd1 Kf8 26.exd6 f5 27.b3 Kf7 28.Kb2 Rd7 29.g4 Ke6


30.Re1+ Kf6 31.g5+ Kf7 32.Red1 Ke6 33.Ka3 Rcxd6 34.Rxd6+ Rxd6 35.Rxd6+ Kxd6 36.Kb4 Kd5 37.a4 bxa4 38.bxa4 Ke4 39.Ka5 Kxf4 40.Kxa6 Kxg5 41.a5 f4 42.Kb6 f3 43.a6 f2 44.a7 f1=Q 45.a8=Q Qf2+ 46.Kc7 Qc5+ 47.Kd7 Qf5+ 48.Kd6 Qxh3


49.Qa5+ Qf5 50.Qa2 h5 51.Qg2+ Kf6 52.Qb2+ Kg5 53.Qg2+ Kh6 54.Qd2+ Qg5 55.Qf2 Qf5 56.Qe3+ g5, and drawn in ? moves.




* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Three: Pirc Defense

Eve Zhurbinskiy (USCF 1770) - Ziping Liu (USCF 1624), ICA Fall 2008 Open 10/12/2008

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 Nc6 6.Nge2 e5 7.dxe5 Nxe5 8.f4 Nc6 9.O-O Bg4 10.Be3 Qd7 11.Qd2 Bh3 12.Rad1 Bxg2 13.Kxg2 O-O-O


14.a3 h5 15.h4 Rhe8 16.Qd3 Qe7 17.Nd4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Bh8 19.Rfe1 a6 20.Bxf6 Bxf6 21.Nd5 Qe6 22.Nxf6 Qxf6 23.Qd4 Qxd4 24.Rxd4 Rd7 25.Kf3 Rde7 26.Re3 f5 27.Rc4 c5


28.e5 b5 29.Rcc3 Kb7 30.b3 dxe5 31.Rxc5 e4+ 32.Ke2 Rc8 33.Rec3 Rec7 34.b4 Rxc5 35.bxc5 Kc6 36.Ke3 Kd5 37.c6 Rxc6 38.Rxc6 Kxc6 39.Kd4 a5 40.c3 Kd6


41.c4 b4 42.axb4 axb4 43.c5+ Kc6 44.Kc4 e3 45.Kd3 b3, White resigns.


Wednesday, October 15, 2008

My Lecture at Dumont

On Monday evening, I gave a one-hour lecture at the Dumont Chess Mates club. I sold more than a dozen copies of my book The Philidor Countergambit. Most of the lecture focused on the 4.Nc3 with 6.Neg5 line in the PCG.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

World Championship Match


In Bonn, Germany, the world championship chess match begins today between Vladimir Kramnik and Viswanathan Anand.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Battle for 2nd Place

In the eastern division of the U.S. Chess League, the New Jersey Knockouts and the Carolina Cobras are tied for second place. Tonight, at 7:15, they square off against each other.

You can follow the games in progress on the Internet Chess Club.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

ICA Fall 2008 Open

I just got home from playing at the ICA Fall 2008 Open in Hackensack, where I took these photos in round three.


GM Sergey Kudrin defeated NM Igor Yeliseyev.

Eve Zhurbinskiy lost to Ziping Liu.


Bloggers Polly Wright [Castling Queen Side] and Tom Stanics [Atomic Patzer] played to a draw.

I finished the tournament with a score of 2-1-1. Both of my games as White were difficult wins in minor piece endings.

Round One: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Eyal Koren (USCF 1677), ICA Fall 2008 Open 10/12/2008

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bd3 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.Re1 Re8 8.Bg5 Nc6 9.c3 h6 10.Bh4 Bg4 11.Nbd2 Nd7 12.Bxe7 Rxe7 13.Qb3 Nb6 14.h3 Be6 15.Re2 Qd6 16.Rae1 Rae8


17.Qc2 Bd7 18.Rxe7 Rxe7 19.Rxe7 Nxe7 20.Ne5 g6 21.Nxd7 Qxd7 22.Nf3 Nc6 23.Qe2 a6 24.Ne5 Nxe5 25.Qxe5 Qd6 26.Qxd6 cxd6 27.b3 Kg7 28.g3 a5 29.a4 g5 30.Bf5 Kf6 31.g4 h5 32.f3 h4 33.Kf2 Ke7 34.Ke3 f6


35.Kd3 Kd8 36.Kc2 Kc7 37.Be6 Kc6 38.Kd3 Kc7 39.b4 axb4 40.cxb4 Nxa4 41.Bxd5 Nb6 42.Ke4 Nxd5 43.Kxd5 Kd7 44.b5 b6 45.f4 gxf4 46.Ke4 f3 47.Kxf3 Ke6 48.Ke4 d5+ 49.Kf4 Kf7 50.Kf5 Ke7 51.g5 fxg5 52.Kxg5 Ke6


53.Kg6 Ke7 54.Kf5 Kd6 55.Kf6 Kd7 56.Ke5 Ke7 57.Kxd5 Kd7 58.Ke5 Ke7 59.Kf5 Kd6 60.Kg4 Kd5 61.Kxh4 Kxd4 62.Kg5 Kc4 63.h4 Kxb5 64.h5 Kc4 65.h6 b5 66.h7 b4 67.h8=Q Kb3 68.Kf4 Kc2 69.Ke3 b3 70.Qc8+ Kb1 71.Kd2 b2 72.Qb7 Ka2 73.Kc2, Black resigns.




* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Round Three: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Lev Zilbermintz (USCF 2010), ICA Fall 2008 Open 10/12/2008

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 d5 3.e3 g6 4.f4 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nh5 6.Qc1 Bg4 7.Be2 e6 8.Bxg7 Nxg7 9.O-O Qf6 10.Nc3 Bxf3 11.Bxf3 c6 12.Na4 Nd7 13.Qb2 Qxb2 14.Nxb2 O-O 15.c4 Nf5 16.cxd5 exd5 17.Bg4 Kg7


18.Bxf5 gxf5 19.Rf3 Rg8 20.Raf1 Kf6 21.Rh3 Rg7 22.Rh6+ Ke7 23.Rh5 Rag8 24.Rf2 Kf6 25.d4 Kg6 26.Rg5+ Kf6 27.Rxg7 Kxg7 28.Rf3 f6 29.Rg3+ Kf7 30.Rxg8 Kxg8 31.Nd3 b6 32.Nb4 Nb8 33.Kf2 a5 34.Nd3 Na6 35.Ke2 Kf7 36.Kd2 Ke7 37.Kc3 Kd6


38.a3 c5 39.dxc5+ bxc5 40.Ne1 Nc7 41.Nf3 Nb5+ 42.Kb2 Ke6 43.g3 Nd6 44.b4 Nc4+ 45.Kb3 axb4 46.axb4 Nxe3 47.bxc5 Kd7 48.Kb4 Nc2+ 49.Kb5 d4 50.Kc4 Ne3+ 51.Kxd4 Ng4 52.Kc4 Ne3+ 53.Kb5 Kc7 54.Nd4 Nf1


55.c6 Ne3 56.Kc5 h5 57.h4 Ng4 58.Nb5+ Kc8 59.Kb6 Ne3 60.Na7+ Kd8 61.c7+ Ke7 62.c8=Q Nd5+ 63.Kc5 Ne3 64.Nc6+ Kf7 65.Qd7+ Kg6 66.Qe8+ Kh6 67.Qxe3 Kg6 68.Qe7 Kh6 69.Qxf6+ Kh7 70.Ne5 Kg8 71.Qf7+ Kh8 72.Ng6#.


Saturday, October 11, 2008

PCG with 6.Neg5 @ Chess.com

At my other blog, Jim West Talks Chess, I have posted an entry on the line 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Neg5 in the Philidor Counter Gambit.

Friday, October 10, 2008

No Knockout Punch for NJKO

Although they had their opponents on the ropes in a couple of games, the New Jersey Knockouts failed to deliver the knockout punch against the Queens Pioneers on Monday night, in the United States Chess League.

As a result, the match was drawn 2-2, leaving the NJKO tied for second place, a game behind the Pioneers in the eastern division.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Another 1st Place Tie

My chess student, 13-year-old Ziping Liu of Berkeley Heights, continued his streak of first place ties on Saturday, with a score of 3-0-1, in the NY October Under 1600 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

In September, Ziping tied for first place in the under 1600 section at the New Jersey Open and in quad three of the Viking Last Saturday Quads, both held at the Ramada Somerset.

Round Two: French Defense

Ziping Liu (USCF 1574) - Ken Cohen (USCF 1412), Marshall Chess Club 10/4/2008

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.Ngf3 Ne7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Nbc6 9.c3 b6 10.e5 Qc7 11.Qe2 Ba6


12.Nf1 h6 13.h4 Kh7 14.Bf4 Rad8 15.N1h2 Nc8 16.Ng4 Qe7 17.Qd2 h5 18.Nf6+ Bxf6 19.exf6 Qd7 20.Bh6 Rfe8 21.Bg7, Black resigns.


Wednesday, October 8, 2008

King Me

Ryan Roa, an artist based in the New York/New Jersey area, is creating three handmade chess boards, out of plywood and 2x4's, that will be displayed as part of an interactive installation King Me. Viewers will be able to sit and engage in games of chess throughout the duration of the exhibition. The installation will be be a part of the Red Badge of Courage ReVisited exhibition, sponsored by the Newark Arts Council, curated by Omar Lopez-Chahoud, at 570 Broad Street, 9th Floor, Newark, NJ, running from October 26-November 30, 2008, opening Sunday October 26th from 6-8 p.m.

The last two days of the exhibition (November 29th and 30th), an open tournament will be held and played on the three boards, where a small cash prize will be awarded to 1st through 3rd place winners. In addition, each winner will also receive one of the three chess boards as a plaque. For further information or to sign up for the tournament, please visit http://www.ryanroa.com/kingmeinformation.html.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Greater Somerset County Quads 10/5/2008


Seated in the above photo is David Grasso, analyzing with Atlantic Chess News editor Steve Ferrero, while assistant tournament director Charlie Miller looks on.

Grasso was the winner of the top quad on Sunday, at the Dean of Chess Academy in Branchburg. The unadvertised quads were run by the Greater Somerset County Chess Club.

Here is the final round game that clinched first place for Grasso.

Round Three: Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - David Grasso (USCF 2173), Branchburg NJ 10/5/2008

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O f6 6.d4 exd4 7.Nxd4 c5 8.Nb3 Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Bg4 10.f3 Bd7 11.Be3 b6 12.Nc3 O-O-O 13.a4 a5 14.Nd5 Ne7 15.c4 Ng6 16.Nc1 Be6 17.b3 Bd6 18.Ne2 Kb7


19.Ndf4 Bf7 20.Nxg6 hxg6 21.Bf4 Be7 22.Nc3 g5 23.Bg3 c6 24.h3 Rd4 25.Bf2 Rxd1+ 26.Rxd1 Rd8 27.Rxd8 Bxd8 28.Bg3 Kc8 29.Kf2 Kd7 30.Ke3 Be7 31.Bh2 Be6 32.g4 Bd6 33.e5 Be7


34.Ke4 Bg8 35.Ke3 Bh7 36.Ne4 f5 37.e6+ Kd8 38.gxf5 Bxf5 39.Be5 Bxe6 40.Bxg7 Bxh3 41.Bh6 Bf5 42.Bg7 Kd7 43.Be5 Bd8 44.Bf6 Bxf6 45.Nxf6+ Ke7 46.Ne4 Bxe4 47.Kxe4 Kf6


48.Ke3 Ke5 49.Ke2 Kd4 50.Kd2 Ke5 51.Ke3 Kf5 52.Ke2 g4 53.fxg4+ Kxg4 54.Ke3, draw.