Reuters Article on Magnus Carlsen

Several Norwegian kings have been named Magnus. Tomorrow there will another, when grandmaster Magnus Carlsen becomes the highest rated player in the world.

Here is an article from Reuters on the new king of chess.

Photo Gallery from DOCA Quads 12/27/2009

Here are ten photos from Sunday's quads at the new Dean Of Chess Academy. I took the first three. The remaining seven were taken by Steve Ferrero and Dawn Ippolito, using Steve's camera. Meanwhile, Dean Ippolito was winning his first four games at the Eastern Open in Washington DC.

Women's Chess in Tucson, Arizona

The New York Times had a recent article about women's chess in Tucson, where Alexandra Kosteniuk gave a simultaneous exhibition.

DOCA Quads 12/27/2009

There were no quiet draws for me, in Sunday's game/90 quads, at the new Dean of Chess Academy. All three games were hard fought.

Round One: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Anna Matlin (USCF 2053), Branchburg NJ 12/27/2009

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 d5 3.f4 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.e3 O-O 6.a4 c5 7.Qc1 Nc6 8.Bb5 Bd7 9.Bxc6 Bxc6 10.O-O Rc8 11.Ne5 d4 12.Na3 Qd5


13.Nxc6 Rxc6 14.Nc4 Rd8 15.d3 Rcc8 16.e4 Qd7 17.Qe1 Ne8 18.e5 f5 19.Qh4 Nc7 20.Rae1 Qe6 21.h3 Kf7 22.Kh2 h5 23.Nd2 Rh8 24.Nf3 Bh6 25.Bc1 Nd5 26.Bd2 b6


27.b4 Nxb4 28.Bxb4 cxb4 29.Nxd4 Qd5 30.e6+ Ke8 31.Qf2 Bg7 32.Nf3 Qc5 33.Qg3 Rh6 34.Nh4 Kd8 35.Nxg6 Bc3 36.Re2 Kc7 37.Qg5 Rxg6 38.Qxg6 a5 39.Qxh5 b5 40.axb5 a4 41.Qf3 a3 42.Qc6+ Qxc6 43.bxc6 Kxc6


44.g4 Kd5 45.gxf5 a2 46.Re4 a1=Q 47.Rxa1 Bxa1 48.Rxb4 Rxc2+ 49.Kg3 Rc3 50.Rb7 Rxd3+ 51.Kg4 Bf6 52.Rd7+ Ke4 53.Ra7 Rd1 54.Ra4+ Ke3 55.Kh5 Rg1 56.h4 Rh1 57.Kg6 Rxh4 58.Ra3+ Kxf4 59.Ra4+ Ke5 60.Ra5+ Kd6 61.Ra6+ Kc5 62.Ra5+ Kb6 63.Rd5 Rg4+ 64.Kf7 Re4


65.Rd7 Re5 66.Rxe7 Bxe7 67.Kxe7 Rxf5 68.Kd6 Rf1 69.e7 Rd1+ 70.Ke6 Re1+ 71.Kd7 Rd1+ 72.Ke6 Re1+, draw.

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

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Kavinayan Sivakumar (USCF 2061) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Branchburg NJ 12/27/2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 Nf6 6.Nxf6+ gxf6 7.Bd3 Be6 8.Qe2 Nc6 9.Be3 Qd7 10.a3 O-O-O 11.O-O-O Kb8 12.Bb5 e4 13.Nd2 d5 14.h3 a6 15.Ba4 Be7 16.Bb3 Na5


17.Ba2 Qb5 18.Qxb5 axb5 19.Nxe4 Bxh3 20.Rxh3 dxe4 21.Rdh1 f5 22.Rxh7 Rhe8 23.Rf7 Nc6 24.Rhh7 f4 25.d5 fxe3 26.fxe3 Bg5 27.Rxc7 Bxe3+ 28.Kb1 Rh8 29.Rxb7+ Ka8 30.b4 Rxh7 31.Rxh7 Nd4


32.Re7 Ne2 33.Bb3 Bd2 34.c4 e3 35.Bd1 Nc3+ 36.Kc2 Nxd1 37.Kxd1 bxc4 38.Rc7 c3 39.Rc5 Re8 40.Ke2 Rg8 41.d6 Rd8 42.Rc6 Kb7 43.b5 Rxd6 44.Rxd6 c2 45.Rc6 c1=Q 46.Rxc1 Bxc1


47.g4 Bxa3 48.Kxe3 Kb6 49.Ke4 Kxb5 50.g5 Bb2 51.g6 Kc6 52.g7 Bxg7, draw.

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

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Alexander Katz (USCF 2047) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Branchburg NJ 12/27/2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Ng5 Nf6 7.Nc3 d5 8.g4 Nc6 9.Be3 h5 10.Bh3 hxg4 11.Bxg4 g6 12.Nh3 Nxg4 13.Qxg4 Bxf5 14.Qf4 Rxh3 15.Nxd5 Qd6 16.Nxc7+ Kd7 17.Qxd6+ Bxd6 18.Nxa8 Rh8 19.a3 Rxa8


20.c4 Rh8 21.b4 a6 22.c5 Rxh2 23.O-O-O Rxh1 24.Rxh1 Be7 25,Rh7 Ke6 26.Kc2 g5 27.Rh6+ Kd7 28.Kc3 Nd8 29.a4 Be6 30.b5 axb5 31.axb5 Bd5 32.Rh1 Ne6 33.Ra1 Bf6 34.Kb4 Kc7


35.Rd1 Nf4 36.Bxf4+ gxf4 37.Rh1 e3 38.Rh7+ Kc8 39.fxe3 fxe3 40.Kc3 e2 41.Kd2 Bc4 42.c6 bxc6 43.bxc6 Bxd4 44.Re7 Bf2 45.Rxe2 Bxe2 46.Kxe2 Bb6 47.Kd3 Kc7 48.Kc4 Kxc6, draw.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 12/26/2009

More than 50 players showed up for yesterday's game/60 Swiss at the Marshall Chess Club, where my final score was 3-1-0.

Round Two: Dutch Defense

Miguel Garcia (USCF 1931) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 12/26/2009

1.d4 e6 2.Nf3 f5 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.c4 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 7.Qb3 a5 8.Bf4 O-O 9.O-O Bxc3 10.bxc3 Qc8 11.Rab1 Ne4


12.c5 a4 13.Qa3 bxc5 14.dxc5 Nc6 15.Nd4 Nxd4 16.cxd4 Bc6 17.f3 Nf6 18.Bg5 Qa6 19.Bxf6 Rxf6 20.e4 fxe4 21.fxe4 Raf8 22.Qe3 Rxf1+ 23.Rxf1 Rxf1+ 24.Bxf1 Qa8 25.Bg2 h6 26.h4 Qe8


27.Qf4 e5 28.Qxe5 Qxe5 29.dxe5 Kf7 30.Bh3 a3 31.Bf1 Ke6 32.Kf2 Kxe5, White resigns.

Magnus Carlsen Interview in "Time"

[photo by Associated Press]

GM Magnus Carlsen, who will soon be number one on the FIDE rating list, is interviewed in Time magazine.

Barnes - Morphy on "YouTube"

I had the following game in mind when I played the PCG against Steven Sinding at the USATE 2000.

Review of "Nummer twaalf"

Here is a review, from Art in America magazine, of Guido van der Werve's Nummer twaalf.

"Sun Star" Boo-boo

In response to Friday's post about Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck starring in the movie version of Bobby Fischer Goes to War, blogger Michael Goeller of The Kenilworthian has sent me an e-mail. He writes that the article in the Sun Star Cebu is "poorly researched and has its facts wrong." Goeller thinks that their journalist "misread this news item."

One point in Goeller's favor is that the Sun Star Cebu got director Kevin Macdonald's first name wrong and misspelled his last name.

More Pix from Marshall CC Championship

These pictures were taken by me on Sunday, the final day of the Marshall Chess Club championship. The tournament was won by IM Alex Lenderman, who earned his fourth GM norm.

Marshall CC Championship, Day 4

Sunday was the final day of the Marshall Chess Club championship, won by GM-elect Alex Lenderman. I had a quick win in the last round.

Round Nine: Dutch Defense

Ed Frumkin (FIDE 2017) - Jim West (FIDE 2159), Marshall Chess Club 12/20/2009

1.c4 f5 2.d4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.O-O a5 7.Nc3 Bb4 8.Bd2 O-O 9.b3 Qe7


10.Ne5 Bxg2 11.Kxg2 d6 12.Nd3 Bxc3 13.Bxc3 Nbd7 14.f3 e5 15.Qc2 Rae8 16.Rae1 e4 17.Nf2 Rf7 18.Bb2 exf3+ 19.exf3 Qxe1 20.Rxe1 Rxe1 21.Qxf5 Re2 22.Qb1 Ng4, White resigns.

Marshall CC Championship, Day 3

For players like me in the four day schedule, yesterday was day three of the Marshall Chess Club championship.

Round Six: Dutch Defense

Jason Margiotta (FIDE 1992) - Jim West (FIDE 2159), Marshall Chess Club 12/19/2009

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 a5 6.a3 Bxd2+ 7.Nxd2 O-O 8.Ngf3 a4 9.O-O d6 10.Qc2 Qe8 11.e4 fxe4 12.Nxe4 Qg6 13.Nh4 Qh6 14.f4 Nc6 15.Rad1 Bd7


16.Nxf6+ Qxf6 17.Nf3 Be8 18.d5 Bg6 19.Qe2 Nd8 20.Nd4 exd5 21.cxd5 Re8 22.Qc4 Re7 23.Rde1 Bf7 24.Qc3 b6 25.Rxe7 Qxe7 26.Nf5 Qf6 27.Qxf6 gxf6 28.Rc1 Ra7


29.Nxd6 cxd6 30.Rc8 Kf8 31.Rxd8+ Ke7 32.Rb8 Rc7 33.Rxb6 Rc1+ 34.Kf2 Rc2+ 35.Kf1 Rc1+ 36.Kf2 Rc2+ 37.Kf1, draw.

Today's Hamilton Quads Cancelled

Atomic Patzer has sent me an e-mail, advising that today's quads in Hamilton have been cancelled because of the predicted snow storm. You might want to contact TD Ed Sytnik at his cell phone number 609-351-2437 before driving to Hamilton.

Crowe and Affleck in Fischer Movie

According to an article in Sun Star Cebu, Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck will star in the movie version of Bobby Fischer Goes to War.

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Yesterday, astronaut Greg Chamitoff resigned his game against Earth. Here is the final position. Chamitoff had the white pieces.

Lenderman 5-0 at Marshall CC

Recently, GM-elect Alex Lenderman has been almost perfect.

In late November, Lenderman won the National Chess Congress 2009 in Philadelphia on tie-breaks. A week later, he won the ICA Early Winter 2009 Open in Hackensack, with a 4-0 record. Now, after the first weekend of the Marshall Chess Club championship, he leads the tournament at 5-0.

Lenderman is still a GM-elect because FIDE is undecided whether to accept one of his three GM norms where it appears that last-round pairings, not involving Alex, were made to favor players seeking norms.

2009 Board Two All Stars in USCL

GM Boris Gulko and IM Dean Ippolito are 2009 Board Two All Stars, on the first and second teams respectively, in the United States Chess League. They play for the New Jersey Knockouts, who finished with the best record in the league this year.

Photos from Marshall CC Championship

These photos were taken by me during the first weekend of the Marshall Chess Club championship.

Marshall CC Championship, Day 2

This 86-move marathon was the last game to finish tonight at the Marshall Chess Club championship.

Round Five: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (FIDE 2159) - Nelson Farber (FIDE 1979), Marshall Chess Club 12/13/2009

1.b3 Nf6 2.Bb2 g6 3.f4 Bg7 4.Nf3 d6 5.e3 O-O 6.Qc1 b6 7.a4 Bb7 8.Be2 c5 9.O-O Qc7 10.Na3 a6 11.Nc4 Nbd7


12.h3 Bc6 13.Qe1 b5 14.axb5 axb5 15.Na3 Qb7 16.d3 Nd5 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Qd2 b4 19.Nc4 Rxa1 20.Rxa1 Ra8 21.Qc1 Nc3 22.Kf2 Nxe2 23.Kxe2 Bxf3+ 24.gxf3 Rxa1 25.Qxa1+ f6 26.Qa5 Nb8 27.Qa4 Qd7 28.Qa8 Nc6


29.Nb6 Qxh3 30.Qxc6 Qg2+ 31.Kd1 Qf1+ 32.Kd2 Qf2+ 33.Kc1 Qe1+ 34.Kb2 Qc3+ 35.Kb1 Qe1+ 36.Ka2 Qxe3 37.Qe4 Qxe4 38.dxe4 h5 39.Nd5 h4 40.Ne3 Kh6 41.Kb2 h3 42.Kc1 Kh5 43.Nf1 Kh4 44.e5 f5 45.Kd2 h2 46.Nxh2 Kg3 47.Nf1+ Kxf3 48.exd6 exd6 49.Ne3 Kxf4 50.Ke2 Ke4


51.Nc4 d5 52.Nd6+ Ke5 53.Nf7+ Kd4 54.Ng5 Kc3 55.Kd1 c4 56.bxc4 dxc4 57.Ne6 b3 58.cxb3 cxb3 59.Kc1 b2+ 60.Kb1 Kd2 61,Kxb2 Ke3 62.Kc1 f4 63.Kd1 Ke4 64.Ke2 Kf5 65.Nd4+ Kg4 66.Kf2 g5 67.Nf3 Kh5 68.Nxg5 Kxg5 69.Kf3 Kf5


70.Kf2 Ke4 71.Ke2 Kd4 72.Kf3 Ke5 73.Kf2 Kf5 74.Kf3 Kg5 75.Kf2 Kg4 76.Kg2 f3+ 77.Kf2 Kf4 78.Kf1 Kg3 79.Kg1 Kg4 80.Kf2 Kf4 81.Kf1 Ke3 82.Ke1 Kd3 83.Kf2 Ke4 84.Kf1 Ke3 85.Ke1 f2+ 86.Kf1 Kf3, stalemate.