7 Grandmasters to Play in 2015 NJ Open

                                    Joel Benjamin

                                   Alexander Stripunsky

                                   Michael Rohde

                                   John Fedorowicz

                                   Maxim Dlugy

                                   Alexander Fishbein

                                   Mackenzie Molner

The above seven grandmasters will be playing in the 2015 New Jersey Open.

"Pawn Sacrifice" Motion Poster

View the motion poster for Pawn Sacrifice.

Gender Gap in Chess

[photo by Willis Ryder Arnold]

At the New Yorker Open in 2011, I lost games to WFM Hana Itkis and WFM Amanda Mateer.

So I know firsthand that there is no gender gap in playing strength.

"Chesmate"

According to its co-creator Selin Sonmez:

"Chesmate is designed to play chess and socialize with anyone at anytime and anywhere you like!  It can be a great tool for you to meet new people who desire to practice or learn chess.  You can check out our website and leave your e-mail to be one of the first to know when we launch our product!"

Westfield Quads 7/26/2015

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

Round Three: French Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Michael Yen (USCF 2139), Westfield NJ 7/26/2015

1.e4 e6 2.d3 c5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3 g6 5.Bg2 Bg7 6.O-O Nge7 7.Nbd2 d6 8.a4 Rb8 9.Re1 a6 10.c3 b5 11.axb5 axb5 12.h4 b4 13.Qc2 Qc7 14.Nc4 O-O 15.Bd2 Bd7

16.h5 Rb7 17.h6 Bh8 18.Bf4 e5 19.Bd2 Rfb8 20.Reb1 Be6 21.Ng5 Bxc4 22.dxc4 bxc3 23.bxc3 Rb6 24.Bf1 Bf6 25.Nf3 Kf8 26.Rxb6 Qxb6 27.Ng5 Kg8 28.Nf3 Na5 29.Qd3 Nc8 30.Bh3 Na7 31.Kh2 Be7 32.Bg5 Bf8

33.Rd1 Qb3 34.Bf1 Qa2 35.Rd2 Qa3 36.Rc2 Nc8 37.Bc1 Qa4 38.Qe2 Nb3 39.Bg5 Ne7 40.Ra2 Qd7 41.Bh3 Qc7 42.Rb2 Nc6 43.Qc2 Nba5 44.Rxb8 Qxb8 45.Bd7 Qb7 46.Bxc6 Qxc6 47.Kg2 Qb7 48.Qd3 Qb3 49.Nd2 Qa2

50.Bf6 Nb3 51.Nxb3 Qxb3 52.Bg7 Qb6 53.Bxf8 Kxf8 54.Qd5 Ke7 55.Qa8, draw.

Rahway Swiss 7/25/2015

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

Pix from Marshall Masters 7/21/2015

During Tuesday's tournament at the Marshall Chess Club, I took these pictures.

Garry Who?

Garry Kasparov's name has been removed from the record book of a Russian sports club.

Marshall Masters 7/21/2015

On Tuesday, I finished with a score of 1-2-1 in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Sveshnikov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Ryan Ruiz (USCF 2162), Marshall Chess Club 7/21/2015

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5 6.Ndb5 d6 7.Bg5 a6 8.Bxf6 gxf6 9.Na3 b5 10.Nd5 f5 11.c3 Bg7 12.exf5 Bxf5 13.Nc2 O-O 14.Nce3 Be6 15.g3 f5 16.Bh3 Ne7 17.Nxe7+ Qxe7 18.O-O Kh8

19.Qh5 Qf7 20.Qxf7 Rxf7 21.a4 Rb8 22.axb5 axb5 23.Ra6 Bf8 24.Rfa1 Rbb7 25.Ra8 Kg7 26.f4 e4 27.Kf2 b4 28.c4 Kg6 29.b3 Bg7 30.Rd1 Bf8 31.Rda1 Bg7 32.Rd1 Bf8, draw.

Gata Kamsky Wins 8th NY International

At the Marshall Chess Club, celebrating its 100th anniversary, the 8th New York International was won by GM Gata Kamsky [pictured].

Rahway Swiss 7/19/2015

11 players showed up at Chess Mates on Sunday for the game/30 tournament.

"Pawn Sacrifice" on Facebook

With less than two months to go before its release date of September 18th, Pawn Sacrifice is on Facebook.

NJ Players at 2015 U.S. Junior Championship

Two New Jersey players, IM Akshat Chandra [pictured, left] and FM Arthur Shen [pictured, right], finished in the top three at the 2015 U..S. Junior Championship.

From ICC 4.0 with Lev

Candidate master Lev Zilbermintz [pictured] sends this game, played at the Internet Chess Club.

Philidor Counter Gambit

JOKER (ICC 2148) - Lev Zilbermintz (ICC 2132), Internet Chess Club 6/2/2015

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Nh6 7.c4 Bb4+ 8.Nc3 d4 9.Qa4+ Nc6 10.a3 e3 11.Nf7 Qf6 12.axb4 Qxf2+ 13.Kd1 Bxe6 14.Nxh8 dxc3

15.Be2 O-O-O+ 16.Kc2 Qxe2+ 17.Kb3 Qxc4+ 18.Ka3 cxb2 19.Kxb2 Qd4+ 20.Kb1 Bf5+ 21.Ka2 Nxb4+ 22.Kb3 Be6+ 23.Ka3 Qc3+, White resigns. 

Pix from Sunday Game/60 7/12/2015

On Sunday, I photographed the players during the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Private Instruction at Marshall CC Website

Recently the Marshall Chess Club revamped its website which now includes a private instruction page.

Searching for "Bobbi" Fischer

In a post at Aeon magazine, Hana Schank [pictured] asks, "Why don't more women play chess?"

Kasparov: Jeb Bush Loses to Hillary Clinton

In Garry Kasparov's opinion, Jeb Bush is the only Republican candidate that Hillary Clinton can defeat.

Marshall Sunday Game/60 7/12/2015

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

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Daniel Hung (USCF 2043) - Jim West (USCF 2201), Marshall Chess Club 7/12/2015

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.Bh6+ Kxh8 12.Bxf8 Nc6 13.Be7 Qxe7 14.Qxe7 Nxe7

15.h3 b6 16.O-O-O Bb7 17.Rg1 Rd8 18.c3 Nf5 19.Re1 Nd6 20.g4 Nd5 21.c4 Nf4 22.b3 a5 23.Re3 Rf8 24.Kd2 c5 25.d5 a4 26.bxa4 Ng6 27.Kc3 Rxf2 28.Kb3 Ba6 29.Rc3 Ne5 30.a3 Nf3 31.Rxf3 Rxf3+ 32.Kc2 Rxa3

33.Kb2 Rf3 34.Bg2 Nxc4+ 35.Kc2 Ne3+ 36.Kd2 Nxg2 37.Rxg2 Rd3+ 38.Ke1 Rxd5 39.Rf2 Kg7 40.Rd2 Rxd2 41.Kxd2 Kf6 42.Ke3 Ke5 43.h4 Bc8 44.g5 Bg4 45.h5 Bxh5 46.g6 Bxg6 47.a5 bxa5 48.Kd2 Kd4 49.Ke1 e3 50.Ke2 Bd3+ 51.Ke1 a4 52.Kd1 a3, White resigns.

Rahway Swiss 7/11/2015

On Saturday, I tied for first place with Srihari Nesamani [pictured, right] in the tournament at Chess Mates.

Pix from Marshall July Grand Prix

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

                                           Saturday

                                            Sunday