Friday, November 30, 2012

Frederic Fournier Analyzes Lunna - West

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier analyzes my recent game as Black against Todd Lunna.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Pix from Hamilton Quads 11/24/2012

On Saturday, I snapped these photos at the quads in Hamilton.













Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Westfield Quads 11/25/2012

On Sunday afternoon, I drew this game at the quads in Westfield.

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Todd Lunna (USCF 2204) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Westfield NJ 11/25/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Qh5+ g6 8.Nxg6 Nf6 9.Qe5+ Kf7 10.Bc4+ Kg7 11.Bh6+ Kxh6 12.Nxh8 Bb4+ 13.c3 Qxh8 14.h4 Kg7 15.Qxc7+ Bd7 16.Qg3+ Bg4 17.Be6 Qf8 18.Bxg4 Bd6 19.Qh3 Nc6 20.O-O Kh8 21.Rae1 Re8


22.Bd7 Re7 23.Bxc6 bxc6 24.Qf5 Qg7 25.Re3 Re8 26.Rfe1 Rf8 27.Rxe4 Nxe4 28.Qxe4 Qf7, draw.


Monday, November 26, 2012

Rahway Swiss 11/25/2012

On Sunday morning, I finished with a score of 2-0-1 in the game/30 Swiss at Chess Mates.

Round Three: King's Indian Defense, Bayonet Attack

Art Macaspac (USCF 2162) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Rahway NJ 11/25/2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.e4 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 Nh5 10.Re1 f5 11.Ng5 Nf4 12.Bf1 h6 13.Nf3 fxe4 14.Nxe4 Bg4


15.Qb3 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Nfxd5 17.Qb3 Nf6 18.Nxf6+ Rxf6 19.Be3 Kh7 20.Rad1 Nf5 21.f3 Nxe3 22.Qxe3 Qf8 23.Bd3 a5 24.b5 b6 25.Be4 Rd8, draw.


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Hamilton Quads 11/24/2012

Yesterday I finished with a score of 1-0-2 at the quads in Hamilton.

Round Two: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Aravind Kumar (USCF 1990) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Hamilton NJ 11/24/2012

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.a3 Bxd2+ 7.Bxd2 Nxd2 8.Qxd2 Qe7 9.Qc3 O-O 10.Rd1 Re8 11.Rd5 b6 12.e3 Bb7 13.Be2 Rad8 14.O-O Nb8 15.Rd2 Bxf3 16.Bxf3 Qxe5 17.Qxe5 Rxe5 18.Rfd1 d6 19.b4 Nd7


20.Kf1 Nf6 21.Bc6 g5 22.Rd4 Kg7 23.h3 h5 24.Ke2 Rh8 25.g3 g4 26.h4 a5 27.R1d2 Rh6 28.Rf4 axb4 29.axb4 Ng8 30.Ra2 Ne7 31.Bg2 Ng6 32.Re4 Rxe4 33.Bxe4 Ne5 34.Ra7 c5 35.Bd5 cxb4 36.Rb7 Rf6 37.Rxb6 Kh6, draw.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

My ASE Class at Harrison Elementary School

On Tuesday the 27th, I will start teaching an after school enrichment class on chess, run by Enrich and Grow Academy, at Harrison Elementary School in Livingston.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Thursday, November 22, 2012

My Lecture @ "Contre Gambit Philidor"

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier provides a link to videos of my lecture at the Marshall Chess Club.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 11/18/2012

On Sunday, I won this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Philidor Defense

Fabio Botarelli (USCF 1880) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Marshall Chess Club 11/18/2012

1.Nf3 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Nbd7 4.e4 e5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.d5 O-O 7.Bc4 Nc5 8.Qe2 a5 9.O-O h6 10.Bh4 b6


11.h3 Nfxe4 12.Nxe4 Bxh4 13.Nxc5 bxc5 14.Nd2 f5 15.f4 e4 16.g4 Bf6 17.c3 g6 18.gxf5 gxf5 19.Qh5 Kh7 20.Kh2 Qe8 21.Qxe8 Rxe8 22.Bb5 Rg8 23.Bc6 Rb8


24.Nc4 Ba6 25.b3 Bxc4 26.bxc4 Rb2+ 27.Kh1 Rgg2, White resigns.


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 11/17/2012

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

Round Two: Caro-Kann Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2209) - Michael Layevskiy (USCF 1994), Marshall Chess Club 11/17/2012

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 g6 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Nbd2 O-O 9.O-O Nh5 10.Be3 Re8 11.Qc2 e5


12.dxe5 Nxe5 13.Nxe5 Bxe5 14.Nf3 Bg7 15.h3 a6 16.Rfe1 Nf6 17.Bd4 Rxe1+ 18.Rxe1 Bd7 19.Qb3 b5 20.a3 Be6 21.Qc2 Bd7 22.Qd2 Nh5 23.Bxg7 Kxg7 24.Bc2 Nf6 25.Qd4 Rc8 26.Bd3 h6 27.Nd2 Qc7 28.Re3 Qc5 29.Qxc5 Rxc5 30.Nb3 Rc8 31.Nd4 Kf8 


32.g4 Re8 33.Rxe8+ Kxe8 34.Kg2 Ke7 35.Kg3 Kd6 36.Kf4 Be8 37.Ke3 Bd7 38.f4 h5 39.g5 Ne8 40.h4 Ng7 41.b4 Bc8 42.Nb3 Bf5 43.Nd4 Bxd3 44.Kxd3 Ne6 45.Ke3 Ng7 46.Kf3 Nf5 47.Nxf5+ gxf5 48.Ke3 Kd7 49.Kd3 Ke7, draw.


Monday, November 19, 2012

My Lecture at Marshall CC in Hi Def

My lecture on the Philidor Counter Gambit, at the Marshall Chess Club, can be seen in high definition, as parts one, two, three, and four.

Many thanks, to Hannibal and Jermaine respectively, for the original videos and the hi def videos!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Recap of Chess Class 11/17/2012

On Saturday morning, in the chess class conducted by Columbia Academy at Caldwell College, students handed in their homework assignments. All but one had the correct answer 1.Qd6 which forces checkmate in two moves. The other student liked 1.Rb1, forcing checkmate in three moves, which is the natural move from the diagrammed position. In fact, 1.Rb1 is what most masters including myself would have played in a real game, as opposed to a composition where counterintuitive moves are the key.

At the demonstration board, I analyzed two recent endgames of mine from a tournament at the Marshall Chess Club. The first ending featured opposite colored bishops; the second, rooks and minor pieces. Ninety percent of endings with opposite colored bishops are drawn, even when one player has an extra pawn. Bobby Fischer once drew such an ending when he was two pawns down! Rook and minor piece endings can sometimes be won by sacrificing an exchange (rook for minor piece), as happened in a variation from my game.

The class finished with a practical session. We will meet again in two weeks. There is no class next Saturday, due to the holiday weekend.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Video of Katie & Pobo on "The Daily Show"

On November 8th, Katie Dellamaggiore and Pobo Efekoro appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Friday, November 16, 2012

My LinkedIn Profile

You can find my profile under "chess teacher" at LinkedIn.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

"Village Chess Shop" Closed

After 40 years, the Village Chess Shop on Thompson Street has closed.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Katie and Alexis on "Starting Point"

"I drink Brass Monkey and I rock well/
I got a Castle in Brooklyn - that's where I dwell."
Brass Monkey (Beastie Boys)

Watch Katie Dellamaggiore and Alexis Paredes on Starting Point.

Read Kenneth Turan's review of Brooklyn Castle.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Marshall November Under 2300, Day 2

On Sunday, I finished the under 2300 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club with a score of 3-0-1.

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Majur Juac (USCF 2202) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Marshall Chess Club 11/11/2012

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd3 b5 11.Rhe1 Bb7 12.Qg3 O-O-O


13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Qxg7 Rdf8 15.Qg3 b4 16.Nb1 Rhg8 17.Qf3 d5 18.e5 Ne4 19.Nd2 Nc5 20.Kb1 Nxd3 21.cxd3 Qb6 22.N4b3 Kb8 23.g3 a5 24.Qe3 Qxe3 25.Rxe3 a4 26.Nd4 Rc8 27.Re2 Ba6 28.N2f3 a3 29.bxa3 bxa3 30.Rc2 Rxc2 31.Kxc2 Rc8+ 32.Kb3 Rc7


33.Rd2 Rb7+ 34.Kc2 Kc7 35.Kd1 Kd7 36.g4 Bb4 37.Nb3 Rc7 38.Ng5 Bxd2 39.Kxd2 Ke7 40.Nxh7 Rb7 41.Kc3 Bxd3 42.Ng5 Bb1 43.Nf3 Bxa2 44.Nfd2 Bxb3 45.Nxb3 a2 46.Na1 Rb1 47.Nc2 a1=Q+, White resigns.


Monday, November 12, 2012

Marshall November Under 2300, Day 1

On Saturday, I was lucky to draw this game in the under 2300 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: English Opening

Steve Hrop (USCF 2041) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Marshall Chess Club 11/10/2012

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.O-O e6 6.d3 Nge7 7.Nc3 O-O 8.Bd2 d5 9.Rb1 b6 10.a3 Bb7 11.cxd5 Nxd5 12.Nxd5 Qxd5 13.b4 cxb4 14.axb4 Qd7 15.Qa4 Rfd8 16.Rfc1 Nd4


17.Qxd7 Rxd7 18.Nxd4 Bxg2 19.Nxe6 Bb7 20.Nc7 Rc8 21.Nb5 Rxc1+ 22.Rxc1 a6 23.Nc3 Bxc3 24.Rxc3 f5 25.f3 Kf7 26.Bf4 Ke6 27.Kf2 Rd4 28.Rc7 Rd7 29.Rxd7 Kxd7 30.Ke3 Bc6 31.Kd4 a5 32.bxa5 bxa5


33.Ke5 a4 34.Bc1 Ke7 35.e4 Bb5 36.d4 Be2 37.Kf4 Bd3 38.d5 Bc4 39.Ba3+ Kd7 40.h4 Bb3 41.h5 fxe4 42.fxe4 gxh5 43.Ke3 Ke8 44.Kd4 Kf7 45.e5 Kg6 46.Kc5 Kf5 47.Kd6 Ke4 48.Ke6 Bxd5+ 49.Kf6 Kf3 50.Kg5 Kxg3 51.Kxh5 Kf4


52.Kh6 Kxe5 53.Kxh7 Kd4 54.Kg6 Kc3 55.Kf5 Kb3 56.Be7 a3 57.Bxa3 Kxa3, draw.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Recap of Chess Class 11/10/2012

Last Saturday's chess class, conducted by Columbia Academy, at Caldwell College was postponed until yesterday due to the hurricane. Students found the right move ...Qh6# on their homework assignments except that they wrote the move incorrectly as Qh6# leaving out the three dots. Remember to preface the move with three dots when it is played by Black.

At the demonstration board, I presented an instructive endgame illustrating the superiority of the bishop over the knight when there are pawns on both sides of the board. In the game, Bobby Fischer showed excellent technique, which is the ability to convert an advantageous position into a winning position and then to convert the winning position into a win. Fischer put his opponent Mark Taimanov in Zugzwang by gaining tempos with his bishop while Taimanov's knight was unable to gain tempos in return. The ability to gain tempos is an advantage that bishops have over knights. Zugzwang means that you are obligated to make a move, and your only remaining moves are losing moves. If the rules of chess allowed you to pass and not make a move, you could never lose such a Zugzwang position.

The class concluded with a practical session during which the players kept score. All games were adjourned at the end of the class and will be resumed next week.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

"BFATW" at British Documentary Awards

The film Bobby Fischer Against the World has been named best cinema documentary at the British Documentary Awards.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Knights Ride NJKO Out of Playoffs


In week ten of the U.S. Chess League, the New Jersey Knockouts found themselves eliminated from the postseason after drawing their match against the New York Knights, who advanced to the eastern quarterfinals.

The games were played at full tilt on boards one, two, three, and four.