Pix from Marshall September Grand Prix

On Sunday, I snapped these photos at the Marshall Chess Club.

After School Chess at Public School 5

On Tuesday, I taught my first chess class at Public School 5 in Jersey City for 101 Discoveries.

The after school program runs for eight weeks.

Roller Coaster Ride for Knockouts

In week five of the United States Chess League, the match between the New Jersey Knockouts and the Carolina Cobras was a roller coaster ride, ending in a tie.

Take a look at the games from boards one, two, three, and four.

FIDE Mondays 9/26/2011

Last night, I won this game in a FIDE rated event at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Center Counter Defense

Jim West (FIDE 2113) - Edward Scher (FIDE 1981), Marshall Chess Club 9/26/2011

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bc4 b5 5.Bb3 c6 6.dxc6 Nxc6 7.Nf3 Bg4 8.d3 e5 9.O-O Bd6 10.Be3 O-O 11.Nbd2 Qc7 12.h3 Bh5


13.a4 e4 14.dxe4 Ne5 15.axb5 Rfd8 16.b6 axb6 17.Rxa8 Rxa8 18.g4 Bg6 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.f4 Bxb2 21.Qf3, Black resigns.

Marshall September Grand Prix, Day 2

This short game was played on Sunday at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Dutch Defense

Michael Layevskiy (FIDE 1979) - Jim West (FIDE 2113), Marshall Chess Club 9/25/2011

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4 5.Bd2 O-O 6.Bg2 a5 7.Nf3 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 b6 9.d5 Bb7


10.dxe6 dxe6 11.Qxd8 Rxd8 12.O-O Na6 13.Ng5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Nc5 15.Rfd1 Nfe4, draw.

Marshall September Grand Prix, Day 1

This game was drawn on Saturday at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (FIDE 2113) - Isuru Attanagoda (FIDE 1937), Marshall Chess Club 9/24/2011

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 a6 12.Bf3 Bd7 13.a4 Rb8 14.a5 Be6 15.Nd5 Nd7 16.c3 Kh8


17.g4 f5 18.Nd4 Nxd4 19.Bxd4 Bxd5 20.exd5 fxg4 21.Bxg4 Nf6 22.Be6 Qe8 23.Qa4 Nh5 24.Qxe8 Rbxe8 25.Ra4 Bxd4+ 26.Rxd4 Ng7 27.Rc4 Nxe6 28.dxe6 Rf5 29.b4 Rb5 30.Rc7 Kg7 31.Rb1 Kf6 32.c4 Rf5 33.Rxb7 Rc8 34.Rc1 Rxf4 35.c5 dxc5 36.bxc5 Ra4


37.Rf1+ Kxe6 38.Re1+ Kf6 39.Rb6+ Kf7 40.Rxa6 Rxc5 41.Ra7 Raxa5 42.Rexe7+ Kf6 43.Rf7+ Kg5 44.Rxa5 Rxa5 45.Rxh7 Ra4 46.Rb7 Kh5 47.Rb3 g5 48.Kg2 Rg4+ 49.Rg3 Rxg3+ 50.Kxg3 g4 51.h4 gxh3 52.Kxh3, draw.

Wu Wins "Game of the Week" in USCL

Christopher Wu of the New Jersey Knockouts won the "Game of the Week" award in the U.S. Chess League for his victory on board four against national master James Black.

"SonofPearl" Reviews "Endgame"

Here is a review of Frank Brady's Endgame from "across the pond."

Revamped Lineup Bears Fruit for NJKO

A revamped lineup bore fruit last night when the New Jersey Knockouts drew their match against the Manhattan Applesauce, in week four of the U.S. Chess League.

These are the games from boards one, two, three, and four.

Joel Benjamin Lecture Canceled

Important news from Dean Ippolito, LLC!
We appreciate your business.

Greetings!

We regret to inform you that we will have to cancel the events scheduled for Saturday, September 24, 2011, due to low enrollment. This includes the 2:00pm kids quads, the 5:00pm lecture by GM Joel Benjamin, and the 8:00pm game/5 tournament. We are disappointed, but we hope to schedule more events like this soon.

Dean Ippolito
Dean Ippolito, LLC

Kasparov on TV in Brazil

Earlier this month, Garry Kasparov was the guest on a television show in Brazil.

Marshall September Under 2300

Yesterday I played this game in the under 2300 Swiss tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Trompowsky Attack

Michael Layevskiy (USCF 2069) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 9/18/2011

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3 Nbd7 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 g5 6.Bg3 Nh5 7.e3 Nxg3 8.hxg3 Bg7 9.Nbd2 c5 10.Bd3 cxd4 11.exd4 Nf6 12.Ne4 Nxe4 13.Bxe4 d5 14.Bd3 Bg4 15.Qa4+ Bd7 16.Qb3 Bc6 17.O-O-O Qa5


18.Rde1 Qa4 19.Ne5 Qxb3 20.axb3 e6 21.Nxc6 bxc6 22.Kc2 Kd7 23.Ra1 Bf6 24.Ra4 Bd8 25.Rha1 Bb6 26.b4 h5 27.Rh1 f5 28.Be2 g4 29.Rh4 Bd8 30.Rh2 Bc7 31.Ra1 Rh6 32.Rah1 Rah8 33.Kd3 Ke7


34.f4 gxf3 35.Bxf3 Bxg3 36.Rxh5 Rxh5 37.Rxh5 Rxh5 38.Bxh5 Bf4, draw.

Ray Rice Fascinated by Chess Strategy

Since he was 9 years old, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice has been fascinated by chess strategy.

Benjamin Clinic at DOCA Next Saturday

BREAKING NEWS from the Dean of Chess Academy and New Jersey Knockout Dean Ippolito...

We here at Dean of Chess Academy (http://deanofchess.com/) have an exciting event planned!

On Saturday September 24th, from 5pm until 8pm, grandmaster Joel Benjamin will be offering a three-hour clinic, where he will analyze games submitted by participants. GM Joel has won the U.S. Championship three times, and he hosts a weekly chess radio show "Game of the Week" on the Internet Chess Club.

This event will be a fundraiser for the New Jersey Knockouts, New Jersey's only professional chess team. Both Dean Ippolito and Joel Benjamin have been members of the Knockouts since the team's inception. DOCA is proud to host this unique instructional seminar, given by one of the leading chess teachers in the USA.

There will be a maximum of only 10 participants in the clinic, so Joel will have time to analyze each game thoroughly. Anyone age 14 and older is eligible to participate. If you are between 11 and 13 years old, you must be an experienced tournament player and must contact Dean directly for special permission to take part in this event.

The cost of GM Joel's clinic is only $75 (in advance) for the three-hour session, and $100 (space permitting) at the door. All funds will go to the Knockouts. Please sign up at DOCA. The Dean of Chess Academy is located at 3150 Rt. 22W, Branchburg NJ 08876.

Additionally, we will have a game/5 tournament immediately after the clinic. The game/5 will be a 6-round Swiss and is open to everyone. The entry fee is $20 to members and $30 to non-members.

The prizes are 40% of the total entry fees collected minus the TD fee for first place, 20% minus the TD fee will go to second, 10% minus the TD fee will go to third, 5% minus the TD fee will go to top Under 1600 (quick ratings used), and 5% to the top Under 1300.

The remaining 20% will help fund the New Jersey Knockouts.

Inventors Score Patent Victory Against NJKO

With a win on board four, the Philadelphia Inventors scored a patent victory against the New Jersey Knockouts, in week three of the United States Chess League.

Two PCG Games Analyzed by Fournier

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier analyzes my games as Black against national master Todd Lunna and candidate master Kavinayan Sivakumar.

Pix from Westfield Quads 9/11/2011

These pictures were taken by me during Sunday's quads in Westfield.

Gulko and Sneed Tonight at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club proudly presents “Lessons with a Grandmaster”, a talk and book-signing by grandmaster Boris Gulko and Dr. Joel Sneed.

Grandmaster Boris Gulko is a living chess legend. The only person to win both the USSR and U.S. Championships, he is one of the few players with a positive record (including three victories) against former world champion Garry Kasparov.

Dr. Joel Sneed is a Marshall Chess Club member and GM Gulko's student. During the last year his rating improved from 1613 to 1825 USCF. Joel teaches psychology at Queens College and Columbia University.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

7:00 pm

Marshall Chess Club
23 West 10th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone 212-477-3716
Fax 212-995-9281
http://www.marshallchessclub.org/

Westfield Quads 9/11/2011

A minute of silence was observed before the start of Sunday's quads in Westfield, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Todd Lunna (USCF 2226) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Westfield NJ 9/11/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.f3 Bd6 9.fxe4 O-O 10.Be2 Nxe4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Be3 Be6 13.Qd2 Bxe5 14.dxe5 Qxd2+ 15.Bxd2 Nc6 16.Bc3 Rad8


17.Rf1 Rxf1+ 18.Bxf1 Nd4 19.Bxd4 Rxd4 20.b3 Kf7 21.Rd1 Rxd1+ 22.Kxd1 Bg4+ 23.Kd2 Ke6 24.Ke3 Kxe5 25.b4 Be6 26.a3 g5 27.g3 h6 28.Bg2 Bd5 29.Bf1 b6 30.Bb5 c6 31.Bf1 c5 32.c3 cxb4 33.cxb4 a5 34.Be2 axb4 35.axb4, draw.

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

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Kavinayan Sivakumar (USCF 2173) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Westfield NJ 9/11/2011

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Nf6 6.Nc3 d5 7.f3 h6 8.Ne6 Bxe6 9.fxe6 Bb4 10.fxe4 O-O 11.Bd2 Bxc3 12.Bxc3 Nxe4 13.Qe2 Nc6 14.O-O-O Qd6 15.Be1 Rae8 16.g3 Rxe6 17.Bh3 Ref6


18.Rf1 Rxf1 19.Bxf1 Qf6 20.Qb5 Qd6 21.Bg2 Rb8 22.c4 Nf6 23.cxd5 Ne7 24.Bb4 Qd8 25.Re1 Nexd5 26.Bd2 c6 27.Qd3 Qf8 28.Bh3 Re8 29.Rf1 Qe7 30.Re1 Qf7 31.Rxe8+ Qxe8 32.Bf5 Qe7 33.g4 Kh8 34.h4 Ng8 35.g5 Nb4 36.Qc4 Nd5


37.Bd3 Ne3 38.Qa4 hxg5 39.hxg5 Qxg5 40.b4 Qg1+ 41.Kb2 Nd5 42.Bc3 Nxc3 43.Kxc3 Qa1+ 44.Kc2 Qxd4 45.Qa5 Nf6 46.Qf5 Qd7 47.Qc5 Qf7, draw.

Knockouts Sent Flying by Kingfishers

The New Jersey Knockouts were sent flying by the Baltimore Kingfishers, in week two of the U.S. Chess League.

Here are the games from boards one, two, three, and four.

"NY Times" Review of "BFATW"

The documentary film Bobby Fischer Against the World is reviewed by A. O. Scott in The New York Times.

Five Tie for NJ State Title

[photo by Kevin Chen]

This year's New Jersey Open ended in a seven-way tie for first place.

But two of the players, Tommy Bartell (Pennsylvania) and Saurabh Deshpande (Texas), are not residents of New Jersey.

According to the website of tournament director Ken Thomas, the five players who tied for the 2011 NJ state title are Dean Ippolito, Ed Allen, Dragan Milovanovic, Mikhail Zlotnikov, and David Hua.