Thursday, February 28, 2019

Top NJ Team: West Orange Kings

The West Orange Kings [pictured] won the top New Jersey team prize at the USATE 2019.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Fischer and Dershowitz




Bobby Fischer told Alan Dershowitz, "I'm not a circus performer."

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

FIDE Mondays 2/25/2019

On Monday, I played this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Nura Baalla (USCF 1981) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/25/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e5 7.Nb3 Be7 8.f3 O-O 9.Qd2 Be6 10.O-O-O Nbd7 11.g4 b5 12.g5 Nh5 13.Nd5 Bxd5 14.exd5 Rc8 15.Bh3 Rc7 16.Na5 Nb8 17.Rhg1 f5 


18.gxf6 Bxf6 19.Bb6 Rxc2+ 20.Kxc2 Qxb6 21.Kb1 Nf4 22.Bf5 Kh8 23.Nc6 g6 24.Bg4 h5 25.Nxb8 Rxb8 26.Bd7 Kh7 27.Qc2 Bg7 28.Bf5 gxf5 29.Qxf5+ Kh8 30.Rxg7 Kxg7 31.Qg5+ Kh7 32.Rg1 Qc7 33.Qf5+ Kh8 


34.Qf6+ Kh7 35.Qf5+ Kh8 36.Qf6+ Kh7 37.Qg5 Qf7 38.Qh4 Rg8 39.Rc1 Rg7 40.a3 Qxd5 41.Qf6 Qf7 42.Qd8 Ne2 43.Re1 Rg1 44.Rxg1 Nxg1 45.Qb6 Nxf3 46.Qxa6 Qg6+ 47.Ka1 Nd4 48.Qxd6 Qxd6, White resigns.


Monday, February 25, 2019

Marshall Sunday Game/50 2/24/2019

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

Round One: Caro-Kann Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Ethan Kozower (USCF 1796), Marshall Chess Club 2/24/2019

1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 e5 4.Ngf3 Bd6 5.g3 Bg4 6.Bg2 Nf6 7.O-O dxe4 8.dxe4 Qe7 9.c3 O-O 10.Qc2 Nbd7 11.Nc4 Bc7 12.Ne3 Be6


13.Ng5 Bb6 14.Nxe6 Qxe6 15.b3 Rfd8 16.Nc4 Bc7 17.a4 a6 18.a5 h6 19.h3 Bb8 20.Be3 Bc7 21.Rfd1 Qe7 22.b4 c5 23.Rab1 cxb4 24.cxb4 Rac8 25.Qe2 Qe6 26.Rdc1 Nb8 27.Nb6 Bxb6 28.Bxb6 Rd6 29.Rxc8+ Qxc8 30.Rd1 Qd7 31.Rxd6 Qxd6 32.Bc5 Qd7


33.Kf1 Nc6 34.Ke1 Qe6 35.Qc2 Nd7 36.Be3 Nxb4 37.Qc8+ Kh7 38.Qxb7 Qb3 39.Qxd7 Nd3+ 40.Kd2 Nb2 41.Ke2 Qc4+ 42.Kf3 Nd3 43.g4 Ne1+ 44.Kg3 Nxg2 45.Kxg2 Qxe4+ 46.Kg3 Qc4 47.Qf5+ Kg8 48.Qxe5 Qf1


49.Qe8+ Kh7 50.Qxf7 Qg1+ 51.Kf3 Qh1+ 52.Ke2 Qxh3 53.Qf5+ Kg8 54.Qd5+ Kh7 55.Qe4+ Kh8 56.g5 Qh5+ 57.Qf3 Qg6 58.gxh6 Qc2+ 59.Kf1 Qb1+ 60.Kg2 Qg6+ 61.Qg3 Qe4+ 62.Kh2 gxh6 63.Bxh6 Qe6 64.Qg7#.



   *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Two: Pirc Defense

Sunny Yang (USCF 1916) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/24/2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Qd2 c6 6.O-O-O b5 7.f3 Nbd7 8.Bh6 Bxh6 9.Qxh6 Qa5 10.Kb1 b4 11.Nce2 Ba6 12.Nf4 Bxf1 13.Rxf1 O-O-O 14.Nge2 Rhg8


15.Nd3 g5 16.g4 Rg6 17.Qh3 Rh8 18.Qg2 h5 19.h3 hxg4 20.hxg4 Rgh6 21.Rxh6 Rxh6 22.Rh1 Rxh1+ 23.Qxh1 c5 24.Ndc1 c4 25.c3 bxc3 26.Nxc3 Nb6 27.Qh8+ Kd7 28.Qf8 Na4 29.Nxa4 Qxa4 30.Qxf7 Qd1 31.Qxc4 Qxf3


32.e5 Qe4+ 33.Nd3 dxe5 34.Qb5+ Ke6 35.Qc4+ Kd7 36.Qb5+ Ke6 37.Qc4+, draw.



          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Three: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Wesley Hellner (USCF 1921), Marshall Chess Club 2/24/2019

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.f4 Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.Nf3 e6 7.O-O Be7 8.Bxc6 Bxc6 9.Ne5 O-O 10.d3 Rc8 11.Nd2 b5 12.a4 b4 13.Nxc6 Rxc6 14.Qe2 Nd7 15.e4 d4 16.Nc4 f6


17.a5 f5 18.e5 g6 19.Bc1 Qe8 20.Bd2 Nb8 21.Ra4 Na6 22.Qf3 Qd7 23.g4 Nc7 24.gxf5 Rxf5 25.Kh1 Qd5 26.Raa1 Qxf3+ 27.Rxf3 Nd5 28.Raf1 Kf7 29.Kg2 Rc8 30.Kh3 Rh5+ 31.Kg2 Rf5 32.Rh3 Kg7 33.Rhf3 Rcf8 34.Kg3 Kg8


35.R3f2 Kg7 36.h3 Rh5 37.R2f3 Rhf5 38.R3f2 Kf7 39.Ra1 Rh5 40.Rf3 Rb8 41.Rff1 Rf5 42.Rf3 Ke8 43.Kf2 Kd7 44.Ke2 Rbf8 45.Raf1 Kc6 46.R1f2 Kd7 47.Rf1 Kc6 48.R1f2 Kd7 49.Rf1 Kc6, draw.



          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Four: Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

Danny Goodman (USCF 2108) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/24/2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Nbd2 Nc6 6.Qc2 d5 7.cxd5 Qxd5 8.e3 Bxd2+ 9.Bxd2 Nxd2 10.Qxd2 Qxd2+ 11.Kxd2 Bg4 12.Bb5 Bxf3 13.gxf3 O-O-O+ 14.Kc2 Nxe5


15.Be2 Rd6 16.Rad1 Rhd8 17.f4 Nc6 18.a3 Rxd1 19.Rxd1 Rxd1 20.Bxd1 Kd7 21.Kd3 Kd6 22.Bb3 f6 23.Bg8 h6 24.Ke4 a5 25.Bd5 f5+ 26.Kxf5 Kxd5 27.Kg6 Ne7+ 28.Kxg7 Nf5+ 29.Kg6 Nd6 30.Kxh6 b5 31.Kg6 b4 32.axb4 axb4 33.h4 c5


34.h5 c4 35.h6 c3 36.bxc3 b3 37.h7 b2 38.e4+ Kxe4 39.h8=Q b1=Q 40.Qe5+ Kf3+ 41.f5, draw.


Sunday, February 24, 2019

More Photos from USATE 2019, Round 6

Enjoy more photos, taken by Eric Dluhos, from round six of the USATE tournament.










Saturday, February 23, 2019

Pix from Thursday Night Action 2/21/2019

During Thursday's tournament, I snapped these photos at the Marshall Chess Club.










Friday, February 22, 2019

Thursday Night Action 2/21/2019

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

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Zachary Thayer (USCF 1423) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/21/2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 c6 5.Ng5 d5 6.exd5 cxd5 7.Bb5+ Nc6 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.O-O Bd6 10.Bxc6+ bxc6 11.Re1 O-O 12.Nf3 Qc7 13.Bg5 e4


14.Nd4 Bxh2+ 15.Kf1 Be5 16.dxe4 fxe4 17.Bxf6 Rxf6 18.Qd2 Ba6+ 19.Nce2 Raf8 20.f3 Bxd4 21.Qxd4 exf3 22.gxf3 Rxf3+ 23.Kg1 Bxe2 24.Rxe2 Qb6 25.Qxb6 axb6 26.Re6 R3f6 27.Rae1 Rxe6 28.Rxe6 Rf6 29.Re8+ Kf7 30.Rh8 Kg6


31.a4 c5 32.Kg2 Rf4 33.b3 d4 34.Kg3 Rf6 35.Re8 Rd6 36.Re2 Kf6 37.Kg4 Rd5 38.Rf2+ Kg6 39.Rd2 h5+ 40.Kh4 Kh6 41.c4 Rd6 42.Rd3 g5+ 43.Kg3 Kg6 44.Kf3 Re6 45.Kg2 g4 46.Kf2 h4 47.b4 Kf5 48.bxc5 bxc5


49.Rb3 Ra6 50.Rb5 Rxa4 51.Rxc5+ Kf4 52.Rc8 Ra2+ 53.Ke1 Ke3 54.Re8+ Kd3 55.c5 g3 56.Kf1 h3 57.c6 Ra1+ 58.Re1 g2+ 59.Kf2 Rxe1 60.Kxe1 g1=Q#.



          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Two: Ruy Lopez

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Justin Sarkar (USCF 2399), Marshall Chess Club 2/21/2019

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.c3 a6 5.Ba4 d6 6.d4 Bd7 7.d5 Nce7 8.Bxd7+ Qxd7 9.c4 Bh6 10.Bxh6 Nxh6 11.Qd2 Ng4 12.h3 Nf6 13.Nc3 O-O 14.O-O Nh5


15.Ne2 f5 16.exf5 Qxf5 17.Ng3 Qf4 18.Nxh5 Qxd2 19.Nxd2 gxh5 20.Ne4 Nf5 21.Rac1 Rad8 22.Rfe1 Rd7 23.Rc3 Rg7 24.b4 Nh4 25.Rg3 Rf4 26.Rxg7+ Kxg7 27.c5 Nf5 28.g3 Rf3 29.cxd6 cxd6 30.Rc1 Rd3


31.Rc7+ Kg6 32.g4 hxg4 33.hxg4 Nh6 34.Nxd6 Rxd5 35.Nxb7 Nxg4 36.Rc6+ Kg5 37.Nc5 h5 38.Rxa6 h4 39.Ra3 Kf4 40.Ne6+ Kf5 41.Nc5, draw.



          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Three: King's Indian Defense

Rushaan Mahajan (USCF 2071) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 2/21/2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 O-O 5.Bg5 d6 6.e3 h6 7.Bh4 g5 8.Bg3 Nh5 9.Qc2 Nxg3 10.hxg3 e6 11.Bd3 f5 12.e4 Nc6 13.exf5 Nb4 14.Qd2 Nxd3+ 15.Qxd3 exf5 16.O-O c6


17.Rfe1 Qf6 18.Rad1 Bd7 19.c5 Rae8 20.cxd6 Qxd6 21.d5 Rxe1+ 22.Nxe1 Re8 23.dxc6 Rxe1+ 24.Kh2 Qxd3 25.cxb7 Re8 26.Rxd3 Bc6 27.Re3 Rb8 28.Re6 Bxb7 29.f4 gxf4 30.gxf4 Kf7 31.Rd6 Bxc3 32.bxc3 Be4 33.Rxh6 Rg8 


34.Rh7+ Rg7 35.Rxg7+ Kxg7 36.Kh3 a5 37.g4 fxg4+ 38.Kxg4 Kf6 39.f5 Bxf5+ 40.Kf4 Ke6 41.c4 Bb1 42.Ke3 Bxa2 43.Kd4 Kd6 44.c5+ Kc6 45.Kc3 Kxc5 46.Kb2 Bc4 47.Ka1 Kb4 48.Kb2 a4 49.Ka1 a3 50.Kb1 Bb3 51.Ka1 Kc3 52.Kb1 a2+ 53.Ka1, draw.



          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Four: French Defense, Exchange Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Mark De Dona (USCF 1996), Marshall Chess Club 2/21/2019

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.O-O Bg4 7.Re1 Nbc6 8.c3 Qd7 9.Nbd2 O-O-O 10.b4 h5 11.Qa4 h4 12.b5 Nb8 13.Ba3 Bxa3 14.Qxa3 Ng6 15.Re3 Bxf3 16.Nxf3 Qg4 17.h3 Qh5 18.Rae1 f6


19.Bxg6 Qxg6 20.Re7 Rhe8 21.Qc5 Rxe7 22.Rxe7 c6 23.Qxa7 Qb1+ 24.Kh2 Qxb5 25.a4 Qb2 26.Rxg7 Nd7 27.Qa8+ Kc7 28.Qa5+ Kc8 29.Qa8+ Kc7 30.Qa5+ Kc8, draw.