From West Orange with Lev

Lev Zilbermintz [pictured] sends the following Newark Gambit with notes.  It was played on Tuesday evening at the West Orange Chess Club.  The time control was game/100.

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Philidor Counter Gambit

Damon Garrett (USCF 1820) - Lev Zilbermintz (USCF 2117), West Orange NJ 1/29/2013 

To begin with, I arrived 7 minutes late because of taking a later bus than I usually do. Still, since I think fast, that is not a problem.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 b5 

This is the Newark Gambit, invented by me in 2003. It is very trappy and complicated. Many of its lines are not for the faint-hearted!

5.Bb3 

The Bishop Retreat Variation of the Newark Gambit Declined is usually played by those who wish to avoid the complications arising from the Newark Gambit Accepted after 5.Bxb5+ c6!

5...fxe4 6.Ng5 

White avoids going for the Knight Sacrifice Variation 6 Nxe5?!, preferring instead to hit the vulnerable kingside.

6...d5! 

Here my opponent spent 16 minutes on his next move.

7.Nc3 c6 

The move 7...Bb4?! is not good since the b5 and d5 pawns are vulnerable after 8.Bd2!

8.Ncxe4! Nf6! 

Black has to trade knights and buy time for his king to castle.

9.Nxf6+ Qxf6 10.dxe5 Qxe5+! 

This move delays White long enough for Black to finish development. Of course, 11.Kd2?? loses the knight, while 11.Kf1 blocks the rook. Thus, there is no choice but the text move.

11.Qe2 Qxe2+ 12.Kxe2 Bd6 

Now Black has leveled out the position.

13.h3? O-O 14.Be3 a5 15.c3 b4! 

At this point, I have 85 minutes on the clock left to my opponent's 60.

16.Bc2 h6 17.Nf3 Nd7 18.Rhd1 Ne5 19.Nxe5 Bxe5 20.Kd2? 

This move creates many problems. Safer was 20.Bd4! cutting off the power of the bishop on e5. Now, with the king on d2, this is no longer possible, since the f2 pawn is vulnerable.

20...Rb8 

White has 42:02 left; Black, 81 minutes.

21.Ba4 bxc3+! 22.bxc3 Rb2+ 23.Bc2 

The move 23.Kc1 fails to 23...Bxc3 24.Bxc6 Bf5! 25.Bxd5+ Kh8 with a winning attack.

23...Bf5 24.Rdc1 c5! 

Opening up the lines.

25.Bxc5 Rc8 

White has 34:23 left; Black, 79 minutes.

26.Ba3 Bxc3+ 27.Kd1 Rxc2! 28.Rxc2 Bxc2+, White resigns. 

At the end, White had 31 minutes left; Black, 1 hour and 8 minutes.

Westfield Quads 1/27/2013

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

Round Two: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Nicolas Checa (USCF 2149) - Jim West (USCF 2204), Westfield NJ 1/27/2013

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.a3 d6 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bf5 7.e6 fxe6 8.Nxe4 Bxe4 9.Ng5 Bf5 10.e4 h6 11.exf5 hxg5 12.fxe6 Qf6 13.Be2 Be7 14.O-O O-O-O

15.f4 gxf4 16.Bxf4 Qxb2 17.Bf3 Qd4+ 18.Qxd4 Nxd4 19.Bd2 Rdf8 20.Bg4 Nb3 21.Bg5 Kd8 22.Rxf8+ Rxf8 23.Bxe7+ Kxe7 24.Rb1 Nc5 25.g3 b6 26.h4 Rf6 27.Re1 Rg6 28.Bh3 Rxg3+ 29.Kh2 Rg6 30.Rf1 Nxe6

31.Re1 Rf6 32.Bg2 Kf8 33.Bd5 Nc5 34.Bc6 Re6 35.Rf1+ Ke7 36.Bd5 Rf6 37.Rg1 g6 38.h5 gxh5 39.Rg7+ Kd8 40.Rg8+ Ke7 41.Rg7+ Kf8 42.Rg8+ Ke7 43.Rg7+ Ke8 44.Rxc7 Rf2+ 45.Kg1 Ra2 46.Rxa7 Nd3

47.Ra6 Ne5 48.Rxb6 Rxa3 49.Rxd6 Ng4 50.Rc6 Ne3 51.Rc5 Nxd5 52.Rxd5 Rc3 53.c5 Ke7 54.Kf2 Ke6 55.Rxh5 Kd7 56.Rh7+ Kc6 57.Rh8 Rxc5 58.Rc8+ Kb6 59.Rxc5 Kxc5, draw.

GM Rohde Lectures Tonight at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club presents grandmaster Michael Rohde.

Grandmaster Michael Rohde will present his best and most instructive games of the recent 2012 Marshall Chess Club championship, a tournament Michael won together with international master Justin Sarkar.  It was GM Rohde's third Marshall Chess Club championship, following victories in 1990 and 1994.

GM Rohde has many tournament victories to his credit, including equal first in the 1981 and 1989 World Opens and equal first in the 1991 and 2007 U.S. Opens.  He displayed his teaching and writing skills with the "Game of the Month" column in Chess Life from 1991 to 2006.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

7pm

Lecture fee: members free, non-members $10

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

Brandon Nydick - Lev Zilbermintz

Yesterday Lev Zilbermintz [pictured, right front] played the PCG against Brandon Nydick [pictured, left front] at the quads in Westfield.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Brandon Nydick (USCF 2087) - Lev Zilbermintz (USCF 2117), Westfield NJ 1/27/2013

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.Nxh8+ Kg7 11.Bg5 Be7 12.O-O-O Nc6 13.Qf4 Nd5 14.Qf7+ Kxh8

15.Bxe7 Ncxe7 16.c4 Nb6 17.Qf6+ Kg8 18.c5 Nbd5 19.Qg5+ Kf7 20.f3 e3 21.Bd3 Nf6 22.Qxe3 Be6 23.g4 Bxa2 24.g5 Nfd5 25.Qe4 Ng6 26.h4 Ndf4 27.Bc2 Bc4 28.h5 Ne2+ 29.Kb1 Nf8 30.g6+ hxg6 31.hxg6+ Kg7 32.Qe3 Kg8 33.Qh6 Qf6 34.Rh5 Re8 35.Rg5 c6

36.Rh1 Nxd4 37.Be4 Rxe4 38.fxe4 Bd3+ 39.Ka1 Nc2+ 40.Ka2 Nb4+ 41.Ka1 Nc2+ 42.Ka2 Nb4+ 43.Ka1 Nc2+, draw.

Rahway Grand Prix 1/26/2013

On Saturday, I finished with a score of 1-0-3 in the grand prix tournament at Chess Mates.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Thomas Elberling (USCF 1976) - Jim West (USCF 2209), Rahway NJ 1/26/2013

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Ng5 Nxd4 7.Nf7 Qe7 8.Nxh8 Be6 9.Nd5 Bxd5 10.Bxd5 Nxd5 11.exd5 Qh4  12.O-O f4 13.Qd3 f3 14.Re1 Qg4 15.g3 Qh3 16.Qf1 Qf5 17.Rb1 Be7

18.Be3 Ne2+ 19.Rxe2 fxe2 20.Qxe2 O-O-O 21.Nf7 Qxf7 22.Bxa7 Qxd5 23.Qg4+ Rd7 24.Be3 Qxa2 25.Qd1 c5 26.b3 Qa6, draw.

My Winter Teaching Schedule

This is my winter teaching schedule, in the after school enrichment program on chess, through Enrich and Grow Academy.

Monday: Shongum Elementary School in Randolph;
Tuesday: Harrison Elementary School in Livingston;
Wednesday: Collins Elementary School in Livingston;
Thursday: Center Grove Elementary School in Randolph;
Friday: Hilldale Elementary School in Montville.

Results of Tournament at Collins School

Yesterday at Collins Elementary School, the final class of the fall 2012 session took place in the after school enrichment program on chess, conducted by Enrich and Grow Academy and coached by me.

The tournament winner was Peter Falchetta with 2 1/2 points.  Luke Wright, Lucas Zhu, and Alec Cotler tied for second through fourth with 2 points.  Medals were awarded to Peter Falchetta, Luke Wright, and Lucas Zhu.  

Alec Cotler chose to receive a book prize.  Additional chess books were given to Charlie Gibbs, Nicole Gitelman, Sam Israel, and Alyssa Falchetta.

"Computer Chess" at Sundance Film Festival

Computer Chess, a film by Andrew Bujalski, is premiering at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Pix from Marshall Game/45 1/20/2013

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

Recap of Chess Class 1/19/2013

On Saturday morning, at Columbia Academy in East Hanover, I lectured on the Game of the Century, played by Bobby Fischer when he was 13 years old, as a tribute to Fischer on the fifth anniversary of his death in January 2008 at age 64. It took place during the 1956 Rosenwald Memorial, a tournament which started at the Manhattan Chess Club, continued at the Marshall Chess Club, and ended back at the Manhattan Chess Club.

The game opened as a King's Indian Defense before transposing to a line in the Gruenfeld Defense. International master Donald Byrne, playing the white pieces, made the mistake of neglecting his kingside development while moving his queen bishop and queen again and again, in violation of the opening principle stating that you should move each piece only once until you have completed your development.

Fischer, playing the black side, punished Byrne with several brilliant moves including a knight sacrifice on a4 which could not be accepted and a queen sacrifice on b6 which had to be accepted to avoid checkmate by Philidor's Legacy - smothered mate by the knight. To his credit, Donald Byrne did not resign and allowed Fischer to checkmate him with rook and minor pieces, probably because Byrne sensed that the game would go down in history as one of the greatest ever played.

Marshall Chess Club Swiss 1/20/2013

On Sunday, I played this game in the game/45 tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2218) - Leo Bykhovsky (USCF 1845), Marshall Chess Club 1/20/2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.f4 Nc6 9.Be3 O-O 10.Qf3 Qc7 11.O-O Nxd4 12.Bxd4 b5 13.a3 Bb7 14.f5 e5 15.Bf2 Rfe8

16.g4 h6 17.h4 d5 18.exd5 Bc5 19.g5 hxg5 20.hxg5 Bxf2+ 21.Rxf2 e4 22.Qg2 e3 23.Rf3 Ne4 24.g6 Nd6 25.Qh2 e2 26.Re1 Qb6+ 27.Kg2 Kf8

28.f6 gxf6 29.Qh8+ Ke7 30.Qxf6+ Kd7 31.gxf7 Rg8+ 32.fxg8=Q Rxg8+ 33.Rg3 Rxg3+ 34.Kxg3 Qe3+ 35.Kg2 Nc4 36.Bxc4 bxc4 37.Qf3 Qg5+ 38.Kf2 Bxd5 39.Qxd5+, Black resigns.

Rahway Grand Prix 1/19/2013

Yesterday I drew this game in the grand prix tournament at Chess Mates.

Round Three: Philidor Defense

Jim West (USCF 2204) - Boris Privman (USCF 2227), Rahway NJ 1/19/2013

1.e4 d6 2.d4 e5 3.Nf3 exd4 4.Qxd4 a6 5.Bg5 Nc6 6.Qd2 Nf6 7.Nc3 Be7 8.O-O-O O-O 9.h3 b5 10.Kb1 Be6 11.Bd3 Ne5

12.Nxe5 dxe5 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Nd5 Bg5 15.Qc3 Bxd5 16.exd5 Qd6 17.h4 Bh6 18.g4 Bf4 19.Be4 Rad8 20.Qd3 g6 21.h5 Kg7 22.hxg6 hxg6 23.Rh3 Rh8 24.Rdh1 Qc5 25.Qf3 Rdg8 26.a3 Qd4

27.Rxh8 Rxh8 28.Rxh8 Kxh8 29.Qe2 b4 30.axb4 Qxb4 31.c3 Qb6 32.f3 a5 33.Qc4 Kg7 34.Qc6 Qxc6 35.dxc6 Kf6 36.Kc2 Ke6 37.b4 axb4 38.cxb4 Be3 39.b5 Bb6 40.Kb3 Kd6 41.Kc4 Ke6 42.Bd5+ Ke7 43.Be4 Kd6

44.Bd3 Ke6 45.Be4 f5 46.gxf5+ gxf5 47.Bd3 Ba7 48.Bc2 Bg1 49.Bd3 Bb6 50.Bc2 Ba5 51.Bd3 e4 52.fxe4 f4 53.Be2 Kd6 54.Bf3 Bb6 55.Bg2 Ke5, draw.

Pix from Westfield Quads 1/13/2013

These pictures were taken by me on Sunday during the Westfield quads.

5 Years Ago Today

Five years ago today, the death of Bobby Fischer was reported to the world.