Sunday Game/50, Round 1, 12/29/2019

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

Round One: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Julian Lin (USCF 1711), Marshall Chess Club 12/29/2019

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 c5 5.Be3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 Nf6 7.Bb5+ Bd7 8.Qe2 Be7 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.O-O O-O 11.h3 Re8 12.Nd2 Nc6 13.N2b3 Bd6 14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.Qd3 Rac8

16.Nc5 Qe7 17.b4 Qe5 18.g3 Nh5 19.Bd4 Qg5 20.Kh2 f5 21.f4 Qg6 22.Rf3 Nxg3 23.Rxg3 Bxf4 24.Rag1 Bxg3+ 25.Rxg3 Qd6 26.Kg2 g6 27.Bc3 Qe7 28.Qxf5 Qe2+ 29.Qf2 Qe7 30.Qd4 Rf8 31.Qh8+ Kf7

32.Qxh7+ Ke8 33.Re3 Rc7 34.Rxe7+ Rxe7 35.Qxg6+ Rff7 36.Qxc6+ Kd8 37.Bf6 Rxf6 38.Qxf6 Ke8 39.Qxe7+ Kxe7 40.Kf3 Kd6 41.Ke3 Ke5 42.c3 Kd6 43.Kd4 Ke7 44.Kxd5 Kf6 45.a4 Kg5 46.b5 Kf6 47.a5 Ke7

48.b6 axb6 49.axb6 Kf6 50.b7 Kg5 51.b8=Q Kg6 52.Qf8 Kh7 53.Qf7+ Kh6 54.Qg8 Kh5 55.Ne6 Kh6 56.Qg5+ Kh7 57.Qg7#.

Saturday Game/50, Round 3, 12/28/2019

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

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Accelerated Fianchetto

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Richard Hallenbeck (USCF 1976), Marshall Chess Club 12/28/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 a5 9.f3 d5 10.exd5 Nb4 11.Nde2 Bf5 12.O-O Qc7 13.a3 Na6 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.Kh1 Rfd8 16.Qd2 Nc5 17.Ba2 Rac8

18.Nb3 Nxb3 19.Bxb3 b5 20.Qf2 Re8 21.Bb6 Qb7 22.Bxa5 Bf5 23.Rad1 Bd7 24.Rfe1 Kh8 25.Bb4 Ng8 26.Rd2 Bf6 27.Nd1 h5 28.Bc3 Kg7 29.Rde2 Bxc3 30.Nxc3 Bf5 31.Qd4+ f6 32.Qb4 Rb8 33.d6 e5

34.Ne4 Bxe4 35.fxe4 Red8 36.Bxg8 Rxg8 37.Rd1 Qd7 38.Red2 Rgc8 39.Qb3 Rc4 40.Qf3 Ra8 41.c3 Rc6 42.Rd3 Rd8 43.h3 Rb8 44.Rd5 Rc4 45.Kh2 g5 46.Qf5 Qxf5 47.exf5 Rcc8 48.d7 Rd8 49.g4 h4 50.Kg2 Kf7

51.Kf3 Ke7 52.Ke4 Rb7 53.R1d2 Rbb8 54.b3 Rb7 55.R2d3 Rbb8 56.Rd6 Rb7 57.Re6+ Kf7 58.Rdd6 Rdxd7 59.Rxf6+ Ke7 60.Rfe6+ Kd8 61.Rxd7+ Rxd7 62.Rxe5 Kc7 63.Rxb5 Rd1 64.f6, Black resigns.

Saturday Game/50, Round 1, 12/28/2019

On Saturday, this game was played in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Royal Buchanan (USCF 1908), Marshall Chess Club 12/28/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 Qa5 9.f3 d6 10.Qd2 Bd7 11.O-O-O a6 12.h4 h5 13.Kb1 b5

14.Nxc6 Bxc6 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Bh6 Bxd5 17.Bxd5 Rb8 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.g4 hxg4 20.fxg4 Nxg4 21.h5 Rh8 22.hxg6 fxg6 23.Qg5 Qd7 24.Rhg1 Ne5 25.Bf7 Rh6 26.Qxe5+ dxe5 27.Rxd7 Kxf7 28.a3 Rh4

29.Rf1+ Rf4 30.Rh1 Ke6 31.Ra7 Rb6 32.Rh7 Rxe4 33.Raxe7+ Kf5 34.Rh1 Rd6 35.Rf1+ Rf4 36.Re1 Rd5 37.Rf7+ Kg5 38.Re7 Kf6 39.Re8 Rf5 40.Rf8+ Ke7 41.Ra8 Rf6 42.Ra7+ Ke8 43.Rh1 Rf8

44.Rxa6 Rd7 45.Rxg6 Re7 46.Rb6 e4 47.Rb8+ Kf7 48.Rf1+ Ke6 49.Rbxf8 e3 50.Re1 Kd7 51.Rf3 e2 52.Rf2 Kc6 53.Rfxe2 Rxe2 54.Rxe2 Kc5 55.Re4 b4 56.Rxb4 Kc6 57.c3 Kc7 58.a4 Kd7 59.a5 Ke7 60.a6 Kf7 61.a7 Kg8 62.Rb7 Kh8 63.a8=Q#.

Thursday Action, Round 3, 12/26/2019

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

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Thomas Lay (USCF 1476), Marshall Chess Club 12/26/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9.Be3 O-O 10.f4 Bb7 11.e5 dxe5 12.fxe5 Ne4 13.Nxe4 Bxe4 14.Qg4 Bg6 15.Rad1 Qc7

16.Nxe6 fxe6 17.Qxe6+ Kh8 18.Rxf8+, Black resigns.

Thursday Action, Round 1, 12/26/2019

On Thursday, I played this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Richard Major (USCF 1680) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 12/26/2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Be2 Bd6 9.O-O O-O 10.Bg5 Qe8 11.Bxf6 gxf6 12.Bh5 Qe7 13.Ng4 f5 14.Ne5 f4 15.Nh1 Nc6

16.Nxc6 bxc6 17.Re1 Qg5 18.Be2 Kh8 19.g3 Bd7 20.h4 Qg7 21.Kh2 e3 22.f3 fxg3+ 23.Kg2 Qh6 24.Rg1 Qxh4 25.Kf1 Bh3+ 26.Rg2 Bxg2+, White resigns.

Jersey City Global Charter School Invitational

"British Theatre Guide" Review of "Ravens"

Philip Fisher reviews Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer.

Chess Game as Nonverbal Argument

If chess is a nonverbal language, then chess players and lawyers have a lot in common when it involves winning an argument, per Mark Kende.

Under 2400, Round 4, 12/22/2019

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

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Sveshnikov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2202) - Che Dixon (USCF 1836), Marshall Chess Club 12/22/2019

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 Be6 11.c3 Be7 12.Nc2 f5 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.Nce3 Be4

15.Bd3 Bxd5 16.Nxd5 Bg5 17.h4 Ne7 18.Be4 Nxd5 19.Bxd5 Be7 20.Qf3, Black resigns.

Under 2400, Round 2, 12/21/2019

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

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Ian Nicholson (USCF 1834) - Jim West (USCF 2202), Marshall Chess Club 12/21/2019

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.Nf4 h6 12.Nh5+ Kg6 13.Qg3+ Kh7 14.Bf7 Bg4

15.Qh4 Bxh5 16.Bxh5 Nxh5 17.Qxe4+ Kg7 18.Qg4+ Kh7 19.Qe4+, draw.

Thursday Action, Round 2, 12/19/2019

On Thursday, I played this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Mark Trosman (USCF 1387) - Jim West (USCF 2202), Marshall Chess Club 12/19/2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bxe7 Nxe7 7.exd6 exf3 8.dxe7 Qxe7+ 9.Kd2 fxg2 10.Bb5+ c6 11.Re1 Be6 12.Bc4 Qb4+ 13.Nc3 Qxc4 14.Qh5+ g6 15.Qh3 O-O

16.Rxe6 Rxf2+ 17.Ne2 Na6 18.Rg1 Rd8+ 19.Ke1 Rf1+ 20.Rxf1 gxf1=Q+ 21.Kxf1 Rf8+ 22.Ke1 Nc7 23.Re5 Qf7 24.Qb3 Qxb3 25.axb3 Re8 26.Rxe8+ Nxe8 27.Nf4 Kf7 28.Nd3 Nd6 29.Nc5 b6 30.Na6 c5 31.b4 cxb4 32.Nxb4 Ke6

33.Nc6 a5 34.Nd4+ Kd5 35.Nf3 Nf7 36.h4 b5 37.Ng5 Nxg5 38.hxg5 Ke5 39.Ke2 Kf5 40.Kd3, White resigns.

Thursday Action, Round 1, 12/19/2019

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

Round One: Nimzovich-Larsen Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Liam Murphy (USCF 1801), Marshall Chess Club 12/19/2019

1.Nf3 f5 2.b3 Nf6 3.Bb2 d6 4.d3 e5 5.g3 g6 6.Bg2 Bg7 7.O-O O-O 8.c4 Nc6 9.Nbd2 Qe8 10.a3 h6 11.b4 Bd7 12.b5 Ne7 13.a4 g5 14.c5 Ng6 15.cxd6 cxd6 16.Ne1 d5

17.e4 dxe4 18.dxe4 f4 19.Nd3 g4 20.gxf4 exf4 21.e5 Nh7 22.Bxb7 Rd8 23.Re1 Bxb5 24.Qb3+ Kh8 25.axb5 Ng5 26.e6 Nh3+ 27.Kh1 g3 28.Bxg7+ Kxg7 29.hxg3 fxg3 30.Rxa7 Qe7 31.Qa3 Qf6 32.Bf3+ Kh8

33.e7 Rxd3 34.exf8=Q+ Nxf8 35.Qxd3 g2+ 36.Kxg2 Nf4+ 37.Kf1 Nxd3 38.Re3 Nf4 39.Re8 Qd6 40.Rxf8+ Qxf8 41.Ra8 Kg8 42.Rxf8+ Kxf8 43.b6, Black resigns.

Food for Thought

[photo by Lindsay Howerton-Hastings]

According to Wikipedia:
The origin of the name chess pie is unknown, but many theories have been proposed. It could be a derivation of "cheese pie", the combination of eggs, butter, and sugar making a custardlike filling that is similar in texture to British cheesecakes and lemon curd; it could be named after the town of Chester, England; it could be from a piece of furniture used prior to home refrigeration called a "pie chest", in which pies were stored; or it could have come from a mangling of "It's just pie”/"It's jes' pie".

GM Nakamura to Lead NY Marshalls

Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura will lead the New York Marshalls in the Pro Chess League 2020.

WOCC Teams for USATE 2020

If you are interested in playing on one of the West Orange Chess Club sponsored teams in the 2020 U.S. Amateur Teams East tournament, e-mail Lev Zilbermintz at polyanker@gmail.com.

You can also e-mail John Hagerty at buickchess@gmail.com, or call John at 973-736-3433 between the hours of 10am and 9pm.

Carlsen: Number One in Fantasy Soccer

Magnus Carlsen is first among 7.2 million fantasy soccer players.

"Ravens" as Cold War Proxy

[photo by Manuel Harlan]

James Fitzgerald reviews Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer.

Thursday Action, Round 3, 12/12/2019

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

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Taimanov Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Marija Mozlin (USCF 2068), Marshall Chess Club 12/12/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.Be3 Nf6

7.Bg5 Qa5+ 8.Bd2 Qd8 9.Bg5 Qa5+ 10.Bd2 Qd8, draw.

Thursday Action, Round 1, 12/12/2019

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

Round One: Philidor Defense

Danny Inzinga (USCF 1719) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 12/12/2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nc3 d6 3.e4 Nbd7 4.Nf3 e5 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Bc4 O-O 7.Qd2 c6 8.h4 b5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.Bd3 b4 11.Na4 Qa5 12.b3 Ba6 13.O-O Rfd8 14.Qe2 Bxd3 15.cxd3 h6 16.Be3 Ng4

17.Bc1 Nc5 18.Nxc5 Bxc5 19.Bb2 f6 20.Nh2 Nxh2 21.Kxh2 Bd4 22.Rfc1 c5 23.Bxd4 Rxd4 24.Rc4 Rad8 25.Rd1 Rxc4 26.dxc4 Rd4 27.Rd2 Qd8 28.Rxd4 Qxd4

29.Qg4 Qxf2 30.Qc8+ Kh7 31.Kh3 Qe3+ 32.g3 Qxe4 33.Qxc5 h5 34.Qd5 Qxd5 35.cxd5 Kg6 36.g4 hxg4+ 37.Kxg4 f5+ 38.Kf3 Kf6 39.Ke3 Ke7 40.Kd3 Kd6 41.Kc4 f4 42.h5 f3 43.Kd3 Kxd5, White resigns.

Fundraiser for NM Juan Sena

[photo by Eric Dluhos]

Donate to "GoFundMe" for national master Juan Sena [pictured, right].

Judit Polgar Interview in "The Atlantic"

Julie Beck interviews grandmaster Judit Polgar and international master Anna Rudolph.

Review of "Ravens" in "The Guardian"

[photo by Tristram Kenton]

Stage critic Michael Billington reviews Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer.

Op-Ed by Garry Kasparov

In Garry Kasparov's opinion, the United States is in a battle to avoid becoming the latest member of the post-truth world.

Game Over for "Ravens"?

Marianka Swain thinks so.

Thursday Action, Round 3, 12/5/2019

On Thursday, I finished with a score of 2-2-0 in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Kyle Anderson (USCF 1925), Marshall Chess Club 12/5/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bg7 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Be3 Nf6 7.Bc4 O-O 8.Bb3 d6 9.f3 Bd7 10.Qd2 Qa5 11.O-O-O Rfc8 12.Kb1 Ne5 13.h4 h5

14.Bg5 Kf8 15.Bh6 Nc4 16.Bxg7+ Kxg7 17.Bxc4 Rxc4 18.Nb3 Qc7 19.g4 hxg4 20.h5 Rxc3 21.bxc3 a5 22.hxg6 fxg6 23.fxg4 Qc4 24.e5 Nxg4 25.exd6 exd6 26.Qxd6 Bf5 

27.Qe7+ Qf7 28.Rh7+, Black resigns.

Thursday Action, Round 1, 12/5/2019

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

Round One: Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - James Kolodny (USCF 1665), Marshall Chess Club 12/5/2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bg4 6.h3 Bxf3 7.Qxf3 Nf6 8.d3 h6 9.Nd2 Bc5 10.Nc4 Qe7 11.Be3 O-O

12.a4 Nh7 13.Bxc5 Qxc5 14.Qe3 Qxe3 15.Nxe3 Ng5 16.Nc4 f6 17.Na5 Rab8 18.Ra3 c5 19.Nc4 Ne6 20.Rc1 Nd4 21.Kf1 Nc6 22.Ne3 Ne7 23.a5 Rfd8 24.Rca1 Nc8 25.Rc3 c6 26.Rxc5 Nd6 27.Nc4 Nxc4 28.Rxc4 Rd7

29.Ra3 Kf7 30.Rb3 Rdd8 31.Rcb4 Rd7 32.Rb6 Rc7 33.Rxa6, Black resigns.