Tourney Results at Washington Avenue

[mural by art teacher Kenji Hasegawa]

On Monday, the winter 2015 session ended at Washington Avenue School in the after school enrichment class on chess, conducted by Enrich and Grow Academy and coached by me.

First place in the tournament went to Liam Kirby, trailed by Kiernan Smith in second and Chloe Thorn Leeson in third.

This trio received certificates, along with the chess medals that were handed out to all eight students.

Marshall Sunday Game/45 3/29/2015

On Sunday, once again, I finished with a score of 2-1-0 plus a half point bye in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: King's Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation

Paul Rachlin (USCF 1993) - Jim West (USCF 2204), Marshall Chess Club 3/29/2015

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Be3 f5 11.f3 f4 12.Bf2 g5 13.Nd3 Ng6 14.c5 Nf6 15.Kh1 h5 16.Rc1 g4

17.cxd6 cxd6 18.Nb5 g3 19.Bg1 gxh2 20.Bxh2 Rf7 21.Qc2 Ne8 22.a4 a6 23.Na3 Bf6 24.b4 Bh4 25.Nf2 Bg3 26.Nh3 Qh4 27.Rg1 Bxh2 28.Kxh2 Qg3+ 29.Kh1 Bxh3 30.Bxa6 Bd7 31.Rgf1 bxa6 32.b5 axb5 33.Nxb5 Rc8

34.Qb2 h4 35.Rxc8 Bxc8 36.Rf2 Bd7 37.Re2 Rh7 38.a5 h3, White resigns.

Marshall Saturday Game/60 3/28/2015

On Saturday, I finished with a score of 2-1-0 plus a half point bye in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

Charles Hua (USCF 1796) - Jim West (USCF 2215), Marshall Chess Club 3/28/2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 f5 4.d3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qd2 c6 7.Be2 h6 8.Bxf6 Bxf6 9.O-O-O Qa5 10.Rhe1 O-O 11.Kb1 Na6 12.h3 b5 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.g4 Be6

15.Rh1 b4 16.Na4 Qxa4 17.b3 Qa3 18.g5 hxg5 19.Nxg5 Nc5 20.Rhg1 Na4 21.c4 bxc3 22.Qc2 Bxb3 23.Qxb3+ Qxb3 24.axb3 Nc5 25.Kc2 Rab8 26.Rb1 Bxg5 27.Rxg5 Rxf2 28.Kd1 c2+ 29.Kxc2 Rxe2+ 30.Kd1 Rh2

31.Rg3 Rh1+ 32.Kc2 Rxb1 33.Kxb1 Rxb3+ 34.Kc2 e4 35.Rg5 exd3+ 36.Kd1 Rb1+ 37.Kd2 Ne4+ 38.Kxd3 Nxg5 39.Kc2 Rh1 40.Kd3 Rxh3+ 41.Ke2 a5 42.Kd2 a4 43.Kc2 a3 44.Kb1 Rh2 45.Ka1 Ne4 46.Kb1 Nc5 47.Ka1 Nb3+ 48.Kb1 a2#.

Tournament Results at Brooklake School

On Friday, the final class of the winter 2015 session took place at Brooklake Elementary School in the after school enrichment program on chess, coached by me on behalf of Enrich and Grow Academy.

Pooja Prabu won the tournament, followed by Brian Daniels and Gabriella Camacho in second and third places respectively.  These three players received certificates.

Medals were given to all nine students.

Pix from "Chess Mates" Super Swiss #1

At the Chess Mates blog, I have posted pictures from last weekend's tournament.

Chess News Roundup on "The Daily Show"

Watch the video of Chess News Roundup on The Daily Show.

Tourney Results at Gottesman RTW Academy

On Tuesday, the winter 2015 session ended at Gottesman RTW Academy in the after school enrichment class on chess, taught by me for Enrich and Grow Academy.

The results of the quad are:

1) Zack Ezra 2.5

2) Griffin Halper 2

3) Max Ezra 1

4) Ethan-Ryan Frantz .5

Certificates were awarded to the top three players.

All four students received medals.

FIDE Social Action Commission at Marshall CC

Please join us on Tuesday, March 24th, for a presentation from members of the FIDE Social Action Commission. 

The discussion will focus on their Smart Girl Program in Uganda and their Alzheimer's Chess Program. 

Refreshments will be provided. 

See the flyer for more details!

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

"Chess Mates" Super Swiss 3/22/2015

On Sunday, I finished with a score of 1-0-2 plus two half point byes in the tournament at Chess Mates which set a new attendance record with 36 players.

Round Four: English Opening, Reversed Sicilian

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Boris Privman (USCF 2305), Rahway NJ 3/22/2015

1.Nf3 d6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O e5 5.d3 Ne7 6.c4 O-O 7.Nc3 c6 8.Bd2 d5 9.Qc1 Re8 10.Bh6 Bh8 11.e4 d4 12.Ne2 a5 13.h4 Nd7 14.Qd2 Nc5 15.h5 Bg4 16.hxg6 Nxg6

17.Nh2 Bxe2 18.Qxe2 Bg7 19.Bd2 Qd7 20.b4 axb4 21.Bxb4 Ne6 22.Rfb1 b5 23.cxb5 cxb5 24.a3 Rac8 25.Rc1 Rxc1+ 26.Rc1 Rc8 27.Qd2 Rc6 28.Bh3 Qc8 29.Rxc6 Qxc6 30.Bxe6 Qxe6 31.Kg2 h6 32.Qc2 f5

33.f3 fxe4 34.fxe4 h5 35.Qc5 h4 36.Qxb5 h3+ 37.Kg1 Qa2 38.Qd5+ Qxd5 39.exd5 Bf8 40.d6 Kf7 41.Nf3 Ke6 42.Ng5+ Kd7 43.Ne4 Kc6 44.Kh2 Bh6 45.Kxh3 Nf8 46.Kg4 Nd7 47.Kf5 Bg7 48.g4 Kd5 49.g5 Nf8 50.a4 Kc6

51.Nf6 Bh8 52.Kxe5 Nd7+ 53.Kxd4 Bxf6+ 54.gxf6 Nxf6 55.Ke5 Nd7+ 56.Ke6 Nf8+ 57.Ke7 Ng6+ 58.Ke8 Nf4 59.d7 Nxd3 60.Ba3, Black resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Five: King's Indian Defense, Averbakh Variation

Vladimir Polyakin (USCF 2100) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Rahway NJ 3/22/2015

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Bg5 h6 7.Be3 c5 8.d5 e6 9.dxe6 Bxe6 10.Qd2 Kh7 11.Rd1 Qa5 12.h3 Nc6 13.Nf3 Rad8 14.O-O Ne5

15.b3 Nxf3+ 16.Bxf3 Nd7 17.Nb5 Qxd2 18.Rxd2 Ne5 19.Be2 Nc6 20.Rxd6 a6 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Nc7 Nd4 23.Bxd4 Rxd4 24.Rd1 Rxd1+ 25.Bxd1 Be5 26.Nd5 Bxd5 27.exd5 Kg7 28.Kf1 Kf6 29.Ke2 Ke7 30.Kd3 f5

31.g4 f4 32.Ke4 Bd6 33.Bc2 Kf6 34.h4 a5 35.Bd3 b6 36.Bc2 g5 37.h5 Be5 38.d6 Bxd6 39.Kd5 Be5 40.Kc6 Bc3 41.Kxb6 Bb4 42.Kc6 Ke5 43.f3 Ba3 44.Kd7 Kf6 45.Ke8 Kg7 46.Ke7 Bb4 47.Ke6 Ba3 48.Kd5 Kf6 49.Kc6 Ke5 50.Kb5 Bb4 51.Kc6 Ba3, draw.

"Chess Mates" Super Swiss 3/21/2015

[photo by Errol Singh]

On Saturday, I played this game at Chess Mates.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Art Macaspac (USCF 2249) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Rahway NJ 3/21/2015

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.g3 e5 7.Nde2 Be7 8.Bg2 O-O 9.a4 Nbd7 10.a5 b5 11.axb6 Nxb6 12.O-O Bb7 13.Bg5 h6 14.Bxf6 Bxf6

15.Na4 Nxa4 16.Rxa4 Bc6 17.Ra2 Bb5 18.b3 Bxe2 19.Qxe2 Qb6 20.Rfa1 a5 21.Qd2 Bg5 22.Qd5 Rac8 23.Bf1 Rc5 24.Qd1 Rfc8 25.Bc4 g6 26.Qg4 Kg7 27.h4 Bd2 28.h5 g5 29.Qf3 Rxc4 30.bxc4 Rxc4 31.Qe2 Rd4

32.Rd1 Bc3 33.Rxd4 Qxd4 34.Ra3 Bb4 35.Rd3 Qa1+ 36.Kg2 Bc5 37.Rf3 Qa2 38.Qd3 a4 39.c3 Qe6 40.c4 a3 41.Qb3 Qg4 42.Qb7 Qxh5 43.Rf5 Qg6 44.g4 Qe6 45.Qa6 Qd7 46.Qa5 Qa7 47.Qd8 a2 48.Qf6+ Kh7 49.Qd8 Kg7 50.Qf6+ Kh7 51.Qd8 Kg7, draw.

Pix from Marshall March Under 2300

Last weekend, I photographed the players during the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

                                            Saturday

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

                                            Sunday

McHugh - Kaufman at "Inside Jersey"

The game from the USATE 2015 between NM Ted McHugh [pictured, top left] and GM Larry Kaufman [pictured, bottom right] is analyzed at Inside Jersey.

2 PCG Games at Lancaster Open

Sandy Breon played a couple of Philidor Counter Gambits at the Lancaster Open.

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Jed Hall (USCF 1409) - Sandy Breon (USCF 1730), Lancaster PA 3/14/2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Bxf5 6.c4 h6 7.Nh3 Nf6 8.Nc3 Be7 9.g3 c6 10.d5 O-O 11.Bg2 Nbd7 12.Bf4 Nc5 13.O-O Qd7

14.dxc6 bxc6 15.Bxh6 Bxh3 16.Be3 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 d5 18.cxd5 cxd5 19.Bd4 Rad8 20.Ne2 Ne6 21.Rc1 Nxd4 22.Nxd4 Rc8 23.Qd2 Ng4 24.h3 Ne5 25.b3 Nd3 26.Rxc8 Qxc8 27.f3 Bc5

28.Ne2 exf3 29.Rxf3 Rxf3 30.Kxf3 Qf5+ 31.Nf4 Qe4+ 32.Kg4 Ne5+, White resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Five: Philidor Counter Gambit

Craig Clearwater (USCF 1685) - Sandy Breon (USCF 1730), Lancaster PA 3/15/2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.Nc3 c6 7.Ncxe4 dxe4 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.Nf7+ Ke8 10.Nxh8 Be6 11.Bg5 Nd7 12.a3 Nxe5 13.Be2 Be7 14.Bf4 Bf6 15.O-O-O Ne7

16.Rd6 Bd5 17.c4 Nxc4 18.Bxc4 Bxc4 19.Rdd1 g5 20.Bd2 g4 21.Bc3 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Nd5 23.Rd4 Bd3 24.c4 Nf6 25.Re1 Kf8 26.f3 gxf3 27.gxf3 Re8 28.fxe4 Bxe4 29.Rf1 Kg7 30.Rd6 Rf8 31.Re6 Bd3 32.Rf3 Bxc4

33.Rd6 Bd5 34.Rf2 Kxh8 35.Rdxf6 Rxf6 36.Rxf6, draw.

Marshall March Under 2300 3/15/2015

On Sunday, I drew this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: King's Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation

Akira Nakada (FIDE 2011) - Jim West (FIDE 2066), Marshall Chess Club 3/15/2015

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 O-O 6.Nf3 e5 7.O-O Nc6 8.Be3 Re8 9.d5 Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.Bxd4 Nxe4 12.Bxg7 Kxg7 13.Nxe4 Rxe4 14.Bd3 Re8 15.f4 f5 16.Re1 Bd7

17.Rxe8+ Qxe8 18.Qe1 Qxe1+ 19.Rxe1 Kf7 20.Kf2 a5 21.Kf3 b6 22.h3 h5 23.h4 Re8 24.Rxe8 Bxe8 25.a3 Ba4 26.Ke3 Ke7 27.Kd4 Be8 28.b4 axb4 29.axb4 Ba4 30.c5 bxc5+ 31.bxc5 Bb3 32.Bc4 Bc2 33.g3 Be4 

34.Bb5 Bf3 35.cxd6+ cxd6 36.Bc6 Be4 37.Kc4 Bf3 38.Kb5 Be4 39.Kb6 Kd8 40.Bb7 Kd7, draw.

Marshall March Under 2300 3/14/2015

On Saturday, I won this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: French Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (FIDE 2066) - Jose De Villa (FIDE 1794), Marshall Chess Club 3/14/2015

1.e4 e6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 c5 4.Ngf3 Nf6 5.g3 Be7 6.Bg2 O-O 7.O-O Nbd7 8.e5 Ng4 9.Re1 Qc7 10.Qe2 Nh6 11.Nf1 Nf5 12.c3 Bd8 13.Bf4 Re8 14.h4 Nf8 15.h5 h6 16.N1h2 Bd7

17.g4 Nh4 18.Nxh4 Bxh4 19.Nf3 Qd8 20.Nxh4 Qxh4 21.Bg3 Qe7 22.f4 Nh7 23.Qf2 Bb5 24.Bh4 Qc7 25.c4 dxc4 26.dxc4 Bxc4 27.Rec1 Ba6 28.Qxc5 Qd7 29.Rd1 Qa4 30.Qd4 Qc2 31.Rd2 Qc7 32.Rad1 Rac8

33.Qxa7 Qc4 34.Qf2 Qxa2 35.g5 hxg5 36.fxg5 Qa5 37.g6 fxg6 38.hxg6 Qxe5 39.gxh7+ Kh8 40.Rd8 Qh5 41.Rxe8+ Rxe8 42.Bf3 Qf5 43.Rd8 Rxd8 44.Bxd8 Qb1+ 45.Kh2 Qf5 46.Bh4 e5 47.Bd5 Qxf2+ 48.Bxf2 Kxh7 49.Bg3 g6 50.Bxe5 Kh6

51.Kg3 Kg5 52.Be4 b5 53.Bd3 Kh5 54.b4 Kg5 55.Bg7 Kh5 56.Bf6 g5 57.Bf5 Bb7 58.Bd7 Kg6 59.Bd8 Ba6 60.Kg4 Kf7 61.Kxg5 Kf8 62.Kf6 Kg8 63.Ke5 Kf7 64.Kd6 Bb7 65.Bxb5 Be4 66.Bh4 Kf8 67.Be7+ Kf7 68.Bg5 Kf8 69.Bc4 Ke8 70.b5 Bb7 71.b6, Black resigns.