Grudge Match in 1986

34 years ago, the world championship showdown between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov was called a grudge match.

Marshall CC August Classes

In August, the Marshall Chess Club is offering a whole new slate of classes.

15/10 PCG 7/28/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

SreihtV (Chess.com 1766) - JimWest (Chess.com 1836), Chess.com 7/28/2020

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.Nf7 Kxf7 13.Bc4+ Kg7 14.O-O-O Nc6 15.Qf4 Bd6

16.Bh6+ Kh8 17.Qg5 Qe7 18.Rhe1 Bd7 19.a3 Ng4 20.Rxe4 Qxg5 21.Bxg5 Rf8 22.f3 Nf2 23.Rde1 Nxe4 24.Rxe4 Bf5 25.Re8 Kg7 26.Rxf8 Kxf8 27.Bh6+ Ke7 28.Bg5+ Kd7 29.g4 Bg6 30.c3 Bxh2 31.f4 Be4 32.Kd2 Bg1

33.f5 Nxd4 34.cxd4 Bxd4 35.Be6+ Ke8 36.Bg8 h5 37.gxh5 Bxf5 38.b3 a5 39.h6 Kf8 40.h7 Kg7 41.Be3 Bxe3+ 42.Kxe3 Bxh7 43.Bxh7 Kxh7 44.Kd4 Kg6 45.Kc5 Kf5 46.Kb5 Ke4 47.Kxa5 Kd4 48.a4 Kc5

49.b4+ Kc6 50.b5+ Kc5 51.b6 cxb6#.

5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel

[image by Thunkspace]

Chess gets more difficult when you can use time travel to send your chess pieces into the past.

15/10 KIA 7/26/2020

King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1830) - spasovskilazo (Chess.com 1721), Chess.com 7/26/2020

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d3 d5 6.Nbd2 c5 7.e4 d4 8.a4 Nc6 9.Nc4 Nd7 10.Bd2 e5 11.c3 Rb8 12.cxd4 exd4 13.a5 b5 14.axb6 axb6

15.Bf4 Rb7 16.Nd6 Ra7 17.Rxa7 Nxa7 18.Qa4 Qc7 19.Nxc8 Qxc8 20.Qxa7 Rd8 21.Bh3 Qc6 22.Bxd7 Rxd7 23.Qb8+ Bf8 24.Ne5 Qc7 25.Nxd7 Qxd7 26.Bh6 Qd6 27.Qxf8+ Qxf8 28.Bxf8 Kxf8 29.Ra1, Black resigns.

15/10 Dutch 7/25/2020

Dutch Defense

JunaidSohail0099 (Chess.com 1814) - JimWest (Chess.com 1834), Chess.com 7/25/2020

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 a5 6.Nh3 O-O 7.O-O Ra7 8.a3 Bxd2 9.Nxd2 b6 10.e4 fxe4 11.Nxe4 Bb7 12.Nhg5 h6 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Ne4 Qf5 15.Nc3 Bxg2 16.Kxg2 Na6 17.b4 Raa8

18.bxa5 Qxa5 19.Qd3 Qf5 20.Qxf5 Rxf5 21.Nb5 d5 22.Rac1 dxc4 23.a4 c6 24.Nd6 Rd5 25.Nxc4 Rxd4 26.Nb6 Re8 27.Rxc6 Nb4 28.Rc4 Rxc4 29.Nxc4 Ra8 30.a5 Rc8 31.Nb6 Rc5 32.Ra1 Na6 33.Kf3 Kf7

34.Ke3 g5 35.Ra4 Rb5 36.Kd3 Rb2 39.Ke3 Rb3+ 40.Ke4 Nc5+, White resigns.

PogChamps

In PogChamps, all the participants are bad at chess.

Kasparov Backs Bitcoin

Garry Kasparov, who once called Bitcoin "fake money", is now a supporter of cryptocurrencies.

15/10 Hungarian 7/22/2020

Hungarian Defense

SpyderGambit (Chess.com 1802) - JimWest (Chess.com 1824), Chess.com 7/22/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 d6 3.Ne2 Nf6 4.Nbc3 Be7 5.d4 O-O 6.O-O exd4 7.Nxd4 Nc6 8.Nxc6 bxc6 9.f4 Be6 10.Be2 Qb8 11.f5 Qb6+ 12.Kh1 Bc8 13.Bf3 Ba6 14.Re1 Rfd8 15.Be3 Qxb2 16.Bd4 Qa3 17.Re3 Qa5

18.Ne2 Bxe2 19,Qxe2 c5 20.Bc3 Qb6 21.e5 dxe5 22.Bxa8 Rxa8 23.Bxe5 Nd5 24.Rb3 Qc6 25.c4 Nf6 26.Rab1 h6 27.Rb8+ Rxb8 28.Rxb8+ Kh7 29.Rc8 Qb7 30.Bg3 Qxc8 31.Qxe7 Qxf5 32.h3 Qf1+ 33.Kh2 Qxc4

34.Bxc7 Qxa2 35.Qxc5 Qa6 36.Bb8 Qb6 37.Bxa7 Qxc5 38.Bxc5 g6 39.g4 h5 40.g5 Ne4 41.Be7 Kg7 42.h4 f6 43.Bxf6+ Nxf6 44.gxf6+ Kxf6 45.Kg3 Kf5 46.Kf3 g5 47.hxg5 Kxg5 48.Kg2 h4+ 49.Kh3 Kh5

50.Kg2 Kg4 51.Kh2 h3 52.Kg1 Kg3 53.Kh1 h2, stalemate.

15/10 Sicilian 7/21/2020

Sicilian Defense

JimWest (Chess.com 1825) - cake777 (Chess.com 1657), Chess.com 7/21/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 b6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Bb7 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.O-O Qc7 8.Bb3 Nf6 9.Re1 Bd6 10.h3 O-O 11.Bg5 Be5 12.Qd2 h6 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Rad1 Nc6

15.Nxc6 Bxc6 16.Qd6 Qxd6 17.Rxd6 Rac8 18.e5 Be7 19.Rd3 Rfd8 20.Ne4 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 f6 22.exf6 Bxf6 23.c3 Rc6 24.Kf1 d5 25.Re2 b5 26.a3 a5 27.f4 a4 28.Ba2 g6 29.g4 Kf7 30.f5 Rcd6 31.fxe6+ Ke7 32.Kg2 Rxe6 33.Rxe6+ Kxe6

34.Kf3 Ke5 35.Re3+ Kd6 36.Re2 Rf8 37.Kg2 Kc5 38.Bb1 d4 39.cxd4+ Bxd4 40.Bxg6 Kc4 41.Bf5 Kb3 42.Be6#.

Marshall CC Chess Day Message

July 2020

Dear Fellow Members of the Marshall Chess Club:

What started as a spontaneous suggestion to the Board (back in March) that we consider closing the club in advance of the possible pandemic seems, in hindsight, to have been fortuitously, if unexpectedly, prescient. We are now, as I write this, concluding our 130th consecutive day of closure. More than one third of a calendar year has passed, and it seems so much longer even than that.

Today is also International Chess Day, and as social media and online platforms (including our own) continue fighting to keep chess at the forefront of our minds, we still all struggle daily with the loss of playing in person, over the board, and, as some now call it “offline!” It’s difficult to imagine life as we have known it returning any time soon, and this holds true at all scales, from geopolitical maneuvering to the smaller, kinder conflicts within the confines of our modest Club. Chess may be a mighty test of wits, skill, and determination, but it is no match for a global pandemic.

Let me be straightforward—I can foresee no imminent reopening of the Club. Even with social distancing, protective shields, and gallons of hand sanitizer, the intimate nature of chess presents risks that at the present time are too significant to regard frivolously. I’m sure some of you know of the St. Louis Chess Club’s reopening on 22 June, and its closure three weeks later due to a diagnosis of COVID-19 for one of its employees. They have since reopened, but they hold no tournaments and have full, hour-long sanitizations of the club four times per day. Chances are that there will be another case, and another. In NYC the daily exposure to others is a way of life (as opposed to the far less dense city of STL). While I cannot speak for every member of the Board—nor, certainly, for every member of the Club—I personally cannot countenance the responsibility of running a venue in which contagion is highly likely.

Meanwhile, our online programming continues apace. We have many tournaments for all levels and at varying time controls. Classes and workshops abound, and of course there is always casual play to be found in every corner of the Internet. We all hope that this period of tremendous hardship will be behind us soon; until then, we hope that you will all be kind to the Marshall, renew your membership (if possible), and join us online whenever (and wherever) you can.

With gratitude, and with best wishes for a safe and healthy remainder of the summer,

Noah Chasin
President, Board of Governors of the Marshall Chess Club

International Chess Day 2020

Happy International Chess Day 2020!

15/10 PCG 7/18/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

NMR1717 (Chess.com 1691) - JimWest (Chess.com 1824), Chess.com 7/18/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d3 c6 5.Nc3 Nf6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.h3 a5 8.a4 Na6 9.Qe2 h6 10.Bd2 Nc5 11.Ba2 fxe4 12.dxe4 Be6 13.O-O Bxa2 14.Rxa2 O-O

15.Rd1 Qe8 16.Raa1 Qf7 17.Be3 Ne6 18.Bb6 Nf4 19.Qd2 Nd7 20.Be3 Nxg2 21.Kxg2 Qxf3+ 22.Kh2 Nf6 23.Rg1 Qh5 24.Rg3 Kh7 25.Rag1 Rg8 26.Rg6 Qxg6 27.Rxg6 Kxg6 28.f4 exf4 29.Bxf4 Rad8 30.Qg2+ Kh7

31.Ne2 Rgf8 32.Be3 Nd7 33.Nf4 Rf6 34.Nh5 Rg6 35.Qd2 Ne5 36.Qxa5 Rf8 37.Ng3 Rf3 38.Nf5 Rxe3 39.h4 Nf3+ 40.Kh3 Rxe4 41.Nxe7 Rxh4#.

15/10 Budapest 7/17/2020

Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

cilqa (Chess.com 1701) - JimWest (Chess.com 1830), Chess.com 7/17/2020

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ne4 4.Nf3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Nxd2 6.Nbxd2 Nc6 7.e3 Qe7 8.Be2 O-O 9.O-O Bxd2 10.Qxd2 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Qxe5 12.Qd4 Re8 13.Bf3 d6 14.b3 a5 15.Rad1 Qxd4 16.exd4 Rb8 17.Rde1 Bd7

18.d5 b6 19.h3 f6 20.g4 h6 21.Be4 Kf8 22.Bg6 Rxe1 23.Rxe1 Be8 24.Bf5 Rd8 25.a4 Bf7 26.f4 Re8 27.Be6 g6 28.f5 gxf5 29.gxf5 Re7 30.Kf2 Bh5 31.Re3 Rg7 32.Bc8 Re7 33.Be6 Rg7 34.Bc8 Rg5 35.Bd7 Bd1

36.Ke1 Bc2 37.Kd2 Bxf5 38.Bb5 Rg2+, White resigns.

Weekend Game/75 at Marshall CC

The Marshall Chess Club is replicating their weekend-long classical tournaments with the on-line weekend G/75, Friday-Sunday.

This is a 5-SS event with byes possible.

Even the round times are similar to their OTB schedule, Friday @ 7pm, Saturday/Sunday at 12 noon & 3pm.

Registration for GSCL 2020-2021

15 July 2020

To all team captains and organizers:

It is time to begin registration for the 2020-2021 Garden State Chess League season. I would rather do it sooner than later so there is enough time to arrange a meeting either in-person if West Orange Chess Club reopens, or via Zoom, or via email. Thus, I would like to ask the team captains if they are willing to participate in the 2020-2021 Garden State Chess League season.

Please keep in mind that due to the coronavirus, it may be necessary to hold GSCL matches on lichess.org via the Internet. This avoids long trips, keeps people safe and allows everyone to play in the GSCL. We have already demonstrated that running GSCL online is possible and can be done smoothly.

Having said that, I look forward to hearing from the team captains and organizers about their interest in participating in the 2020-2021 Garden State Chess League season.

Once I hear from all, I will set up a Zoom meeting with all captains. Cabinet members, please send me dates and times when you are available on Zoom.

Thank you.

Stay safe and healthy.

Lev Zilbermintz
President of Garden State Chess League

Tani Adewumi on CBS News

The nine-year-old hopes to become the youngest grandmaster in chess history.

In Morphy's Footsteps

How often does a player have the opportunity to win a game by simply following the moves of Paul Morphy?

Philidor Counter Gambit

Aryanjoshi03 (lichess 2159) - JimWest (lichess 2159), lichess 7/13/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 f5 4.d4 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bd6 9.Nh5 O-O 10.Qd2 Qe8 11.g4 Nxg4 12.Nxg4 Qxh5 13.Ne5 Nc6 14.Be2 Qh3 15.Nxc6 bxc6 16.Be3 Rb8

17.O-O-O Rxf2 18.Bxf2 Qa3 19.c3 Qxa2 20.b4 Qa1+ 21.Kc2 Qa4+ 22.Kb2 Bxb4 23.cxb4 Rxb4+ 24.Kc3, White resigns.

15/10 Dutch 7/12/2020

Dutch Defense

Oleksii44 (Chess.com 1811) - JimWest (Chess.com 1860), Chess.com 7/12/2020

1.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.Bd2 b6 6.e3 Bb7 7.Bd3 a5 8.a3 Bxc3 9.Bxc3 Ne4 10.Bxe4 Bxe4 11.d5 Qe7 12.Qd4 O-O 13.O-O-O Na6

14.Nd2 Nc5 15.f3 Nd3+ 16.Kb1 e5, White resigns.

15/10 Ruy Lopez 7/11/2020

Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1853) - 7sergio77 (Chess.com 1676), Chess.com 7/11/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.O-O Bd6 6.d4 Bg4 7.dxe5 Bxf3 8.Qxf3 Bxe5 9.c3 Qf6 10.Qxf6 Nxf6 11.Nd2 Ng4 12.Nf3 Bd6 13.h3 Ne5 14.Nxe5 Bxe5 15.Be3 O-O-O

16.f4 Bf6 17.e5 Be7 18.Rfd1 f6 19.exf6 Bxf6 20.Kf2 Rd5 21.Rd2 Rhd8 22.Rad1 Rxd2+ 23.Rxd2 Rxd2+ 24.Bxd2 c5 25.b3 b5 26.a4 c6 27.c4 Bd4+ 28.Kf3 Kd7 29.f5 Kd6 30.Ke4 Ke7 31.Be3 Bxe3 32.Kxe3 Kf6 33.Kf4 g6

34.fxg6 hxg6 35.h4 b4 36.g4 a5 37.h5 gxh5 38.gxh5, Black resigns.

15/10 Sicilian 7/10/2020

Sicilian Defense, Lowenthal Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1849) - santosh_sahu (Chess.com 1747), Chess.com 7/10/2020

1.Nf3 c5 2.e4 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.Bc4 Bb7 7.Nc3 Ne7 8.O-O h6 9.Be3 Ng6 10.Qf3 Qf6 11.Qxf6 gxf6 12.Rad1 h5

13.Bxf7+ Kxf7 14.Rxd7+ Ke6 15.Rxb7 Nf4, Black resigns.

15/10 PCG 7/9/2020

Philidor Counter Gambit

stickySpy (Chess.com 1724) - JimWest (Chess.com 1843), Chess.com 7/9/2020

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.dxe5 dxe5 6.Qxd8+ Nxd8 7.Nxe5 fxe4 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.O-O Bd6 10.f4 Be6 11.Bb3 O-O 12.Nb5 a6 13.Nxd6 cxd6 14.Nc4 Bxc4 15.Bxc4+ d5 16.Bb3 Kh8 17.Be3 Nc6

18.Rad1 Rad8 19.c3 Rd7 20.h3 Na5 21.Bc5 Rc8 22.Bd4 Nxb3 23.axb3 h5 24.Rfe1 Re8 25.g3 Kg8 26.Kf2 Kf7 27.Be5 Re6 28.Rd4 Rb6 29.Bxf6 gxf6 30.Rexe4 Rxb3 31.Re2 Re7 32.Red2 Rd7 33.c4 h4

34.R4d3 hxg3+ 35.Kxg3 Rxd3+ 36.Rxd3 Ke6 37.cxd5+ Rxd5 38.Rxd5 Kxd5 39.Kg4 Ke6 40.h4 a5 41.h5 b5 42.h6 Kf7 43.Kf5 a4 44.h7 Kg7 45.h8=Q+ Kxh8 46.Kxf6 b4 47.f5 a3 48.bxa3 bxa3 49.Ke7 a2

50.f6 a1=Q 51.f7 Qa3+ 52.Ke8 Kg7, White resigns.

Marshall CC Classes & Tournaments

You can register at the Marshall Chess Club website.

15/10 Sicilian 7/7/2020

Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

JimWest (Chess.com 1839) - Zhou_Fang (Chess.com 1772), Chess.com 7/7/2020

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 g6 7.f3 Bg7 8.Be3 a6 9.Qd2 O-O 10.h4 Bd7 11.O-O-O b5 12.Bb3 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 a5

14.Nd5 a4 15.Nxf6+ exf6 16.Bd5 Rc8 17.h5 Qc7 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.g4 Rfe8 20.g5 fxg5 21.Bxg7 Kxg7 22.c3 a3 23.Qxg5 axb2+ 24.Kb1 Rh8 25.Qe7 Be6 26.Qxc7 Rxc7 27.Rxh8 Kxh8 28.Bxe6 fxe6 29.Rxd6 Rxc3 30.Rxe6 Rxf3 31.Rxg6 Re3

32.Rb6 Rxe4 33.Rxb5 Kg7 34.Kxb2 Kf6 35.Rd5 Ke6 36.Rd3 Re5 37.a4 Rd5 38.Rc3 Kd6 39.Kb3 Rc5 40.Rh3 Kc7 41.Kb4 Rg5 42.Rh7+ Kb8 43.a5 Rg4+ 44.Kb5 Rg5+ 45.Kb6 Rg6+ 46.Kb5 Rg5+ 47.Kb4 Rg4+

48.Kc3 Rg3+ 49.Kd4 Rg4+ 50.Ke3 Rg3+ 51.Kf4 Ra3 52.Rh5 Kb7 53.Ke4 Ka6 54.Kd4 Ra4+ 55.Kc3 Rxa5 56.Rxa5+ Kxa5, draw.