Sunday, February 28, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/27/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

paultink (lichess 2240) - JimWest (lichess 2245), lichess 2/27/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nc3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bb4 9.a3 Bxc3+ 10.bxc3 O-O 11.Be2 c6 12.O-O Nbd7 13.f3 Qe8

14.Nxd7 Bxd7 15.c4 Qg6 16.Be3 Rae8 17.Qd2 Bf5 18.c3 exf3 19.Bxf3 Bd3 20.cxd5 Bxf1 21.Rxf1 Nxd5 22.Bg5 h6 23.Bh4 Ne3 24.Rf2 Qb1+, White resigns.


Saturday, February 27, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/26/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

CristianMartinezz (lichess 2196) - JimWest (lichess 2241), lichess 2/26/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.Bxg8 Rxg8 5.d3 Be7 6.Nc3 c6 7.Bd2 Na6 8.Qe2 Qc7 9.O-O-O f4 10.d4 Bg4 11.dxe5 dxe5 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 O-O-O


14.Ne2 Bb4 15.Bxb4 Nxb4 16.a3 Na6 17.Qg4+ Kb8 18.Rxd8+ Rxd8 19.Rd1 Rxd1+ 20.Kxd1 Nc5 21.Nc3 Qd7+ 22.Qxd7 Nxd7 23.Ke2 Kc7 24.Kf3 Kd6 25.Kg4 Ke6 26.Kf3 a5 27.Ke2 b5 28.Kd2 Nf6 29.Kd3 g5 30.f3 h5


31.Nd1 g4 32.hxg4 hxg4 33.Nf2 g3 34.Nh3 Nd7 35.Ng5+ Kf6 36.Nh3 Nf8 37.Ng1 Ng6 38.Ke2 Nh4 39.Kf1 Ke6 40.Ne2 Kd6 41.Nc1 a4 42.Nd3 c5 43.Ne1 c4 44.Ke2 Kc5 45.c3 Kd6 46.Kf1 Ke6 47.Nc2 Kd6 48.Nb4 Kc5


49.Nd5 Ng6 50.Ke2 Nh4 51.Kf1 Ng6 52.Ke2 Nh4 53.Kf1, draw.


Friday, February 26, 2021

Re-release of "Brooklyn Castle"


On March 5th, Brooklyn Castle will be re-released to theaters across the United States.

Watch the trailer.

Thursday, February 25, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/24/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

andreastampubolon (lichess 2070) - JimWest (lichess 2234), lichess 2/24/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nc3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Bb4 9.Bxf6 Qxf6 10.Qh5+ g6 11.Qh6 c6 12.a3 Bf8 13.Qe3 Bd6 14.f4 O-O 15.g3 Be6 16.Bg2 Nbd7 17.O-O Qe7

18.Ne2 Nf6 19.h3 Rac8 20.b4 a5 21.c3 axb4 22.axb4 Ra8 23.Qd2 Qc7 24.Ra2 Rxa2 25.Qxa2 Nd7 26.Ra1 Nb6 27.Qb3 Bxe5 28.fxe5 Nc4 29.Nf4 Bc8 30.Re1 Qb6 31.Qa2 Nxe5 32.Bxe4 Nf7 33.Bg2 Nd6


34.Qc2 Bf5 35.Qd2 Ne4 36.Bxe4 Bxe4 37.Kh2 Qa6 38.Ne6 Rf3 39.Qh6 Rf7 40.Qd2 Qd3 41.Qxd3 Bxd3 42.g4 Rf2+ 43.Kg3 Re2 44.Nc5 Rxe1 45.Nxd3 Re3+, White resigns.

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Anya Taylor-Joy is Awards Favorite

[photo by Charlie Gray]

Anya Taylor Joy [pictured] is favored to win a Golden Globes award for her role as Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit.

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

2 PCG Games 2/22/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

E4cebolaE4 (Chess.com 1969) - JimWest (Chess.com 1943), Chess.com 2/22/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bc4 Nc6 5.c3 fxe4 6.Ng5 d5 7.Bb5 Be7 8.h4 Bxg5 9.hxg5 Nge7 10.dxe5 Bf5


11.f4 exf3 12.gxf3 O-O 13.Na3, White resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Philidor Counter Gambit

Kayrosas (lichess 2316) - JimWest (lichess 2228), lichess 2/22/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.dxe5 Bb4 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.bxc3 Nge7 9.e6 O-O 10.Qh5 h6 11.Nf7 Qe8


12.Bxh6 Bxe6 13.Bxg7 Kxg7 14.Qh6+ Kxf7 15.Be2 Bf5 16.Bh5+ Bg6, White resigns.


Monday, February 22, 2021

Global Chess League

Tech Mahindra Ltd. has announced the launch of the Global Chess League.

Sunday, February 21, 2021

10/5 Caro-Kann 2/20/2021

Caro-Kann Defense, Exchange Variation

JimWest (lichess 2229) - SergeyCool (lichess 2130), lichess 2/20/2021

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 Qc8 8.Nd2 e6 9.Ngf3 Be7 10.O-O O-O 11.Ne5 Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Bh5 13.Rae1 a6 14.a4 Bg6 15.Bxg6 hxg6 16.h3 Ne8 17.Nf3 Nd6


18.Bxd6 Bxd6 19.Ne5 Bxe5 20.Rxe5 Qc6 21.Rfe1 b5 22.axb5 axb5 23.h4 Qc4 24.Qd1 Ra2 25.h5 Rxb2 26.hxg6 fxg6 27.Qg4 Qxc3 28.Qxe6+ Kh7 29.R5e3 Qxe1+ 30.Rxe1 Rfxf2 31.Qh3+ Kg8, Black resigns.

Saturday, February 20, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/19/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

Estolog (lichess 2177) - JimWest (lichess 2237), lichess 2/19/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.dxe5 fxe4 5.Ng5 d5 6.e6 Bc5 7.Nf7 Qf6 8.f3 exf3 9.Qxf3 Bxe6 10.Qxf6 Nxf6 11.Nxh8 Nbd7 12.Bd3 Ne5 13.Bf4 Nxd3+ 14.cxd3 O-O-O 15.Ng6 hxg6 16.Nc3 c6

17.Be5 Ng4 18.d4 Nxe5 19.dxe5 Bd4 20.O-O-O Bxe5 21.g3 Bxc3 22.bxc3 Bf5 23.Rde1 Be4 24.Rhf1 b5 25.Rf7 Rd7 26.Rxd7 Kxd7 27.Kd2 a5 28.Ke3 Kd6 29.Rf1 Bf5 30.Kf4 b4 31.g4 Be4 32.Rc1 c5 33.h4 c4


34.cxb4 axb4 35.h5 gxh5 36.gxh5 b3 37.axb3 cxb3 38.Ra1 b2, White resigns.


Friday, February 19, 2021

Diana Lanni and Beth Harmon

[photo credit: Daily Mail]

Was Diana Lanni [pictured] the inspiration for Beth Harmon in The Queen's Gambit?

Thursday, February 18, 2021

15/10 PCG 2/17/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

yellowchesstiger (Chess.com 1998) - JimWest (Chess.com 1953), Chess.com 2/17/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bc4 f5 4.d4 Nc6 5.Ng5 Nh6 6.O-O f4 7.Ne6 Bxe6 8.Bxe6 Nxd4 9.Bc4 Qd7 10.Bxf4 Nxc2 11.Bxh6 Nxa1 12.Be3 b5 13.Be2 c6 14.Nc3 Be7 15.Bg4 Qc7 16.Be6 Qa5 17.Qxa1 Kd8 18.Qd1 Kc7


19.f4 Raf8 20.fxe5 Rxf1+ 21.Qxf1 Rf8 22.exd6+ Bxd6 23.Qd1 b4 24.Nd5+ cxd5 25.Bxd5 Kb8 26.h3 Bc5 27.Bxc5 Qxc5+ 28.Kh2 Qf2 29.Qa4 Qf4+ 30.Kh1 Qc1+ 31.Kh2 Qf4+ 32.Kh1 Qf1+ 33.Kh2 Qf4+, draw.


Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Garry Kasparov at IMPROVATE Conference

Garry Kasparov spoke about the connection between chess and artificial intelligence.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/15/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

TheLizardKing (lichess 2089) - JimWest (lichess 2252), lichess 2/15/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Nf6 6.Bc4 d5 7.Bb3 Bxf5 8.Bf4 c6 9.c4 Bb4+ 10.Nc3 O-O 11.O-O h6 12.Nh3 Bxc3 13.bxc3 Nbd7 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Bd6 Re8 16.Nf4 Nb6 17.Bc5 Kh7


18.a4 g5 19.Nh5 Nxh5 20.Qxh5 Bg6 21.Qg4 h5 22.Qg3 Kh6 23.Ba3 Qb8 24.Bd6 Qc8 25.Rac1 Nc4 26.Bd1 h4, White resigns.


Monday, February 15, 2021

10/5 KIA 2/14/2021

King's Indian Attack

JimWest (lichess 2253) - ahmad5555 (lichess 2210), lichess 2/14/2021

1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 Bg4 4.d3 c6 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.O-O e6 7.c3 Bd6 8.Qc2 Qe7 9.e4 dxe4 10.dxe4 Ne5 11.Nxe5 Bxe5 12.Nc4 Bc7 13.a4 O-O 14.h3 Bh5 15.Be3 b6


16.Bg5 e5 17.Ne3 Bg6 18.Nf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 h6 20.Bh4 Qe8 21.Bxf6 gxf6 22.Qe4 Rc8 23.Qxc6 Qe7 24.Qe4 Bb8 25.Rfd1 Rc5 26.Rd3 Rfc8 27.Qe3 Kg7 28.b4 R5c7 29.Rad1 Qe8 30.b5 Rc4 31.Bc6 Qf8


32.Rd7 Qa3 33.Bd5 Rxc3 34.Rxf7+ Kg8 35.Rxf6+, Black resigns.


Sunday, February 14, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/13/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

Clever_Destroyer (lichess 2109) - JimWest (lichess 2254), lichess 2/13/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Bd3 fxe4 5.Bxe4 d5 6.Bd3 e4 7.Bb5+ c6 8.Ne5 cxb5 9.Qh5+ g6 10.Nxg6 Nf6 11.Qe5+ Kf7 12.Nxh8+ Kg7 13.Bg5 Be7 14.O-O Kxh8 15.c3 Nc6 16.Bxf6+ Bxf6 17.Qg3 Be6 18.Nd2 Qe7


19.Nb3 Rg8 20.Qe3 Bg5 21.f4 exf3 22.Qxf3 b6 23.Rae1 Qd7 24.Qe2 Nd8 25.Qe5+ Qg7 26.Qxg7+ Kxg7 27.Re5 Bf6 28.Re3 Rf8 29.Rg3+ Kh8 30.Nd2 Bg7 31.Rxf8+ Bxf8 32.Nf3 Bd6 33.Ne5 Nf7 34.Nxf7+ Bxf7


35.Rf3 Kg7 36.Re3 a5 37.a3 b4 38.axb4 axb4 39.cxb4 Bxb4 40.Rb3 Ba5 41.Rg3+ Kf6 42.Rf3+ Ke7 43.Re3+ Kd6 44.Rh3 Bg6 45.Rh6 Ke6 46.Rh3 Kf5 47.Re3 Kf4 48.Kf2 Be4 49.Rb3 Bc2 50.Re3 Be4 51.Rb3 Bg6 52.Re3 Bb1


53.g3+ Kg4 54.Kg2 Be4+ 55.Kf2 h5 56.Rb3 Kh3 57.Rb5 Kg4 58.b4 Bd3 59.Rxd5 Bxb4 60.Re5 b5 61.Ke3 Bc4 62.Re4+ Kg5 63.h4+ Kg6 64.Re5 Be1 65.Kf4 Bd2+ 66.Ke4 b4 67.Rc5 Bf1 68.d5 Bg2+ 69.Kd3 Bc3


70.d6 Kf6 71.Rxh5 Ke6 72.Rh6+ Kd7 73.Kc4 Be5 74.Kxb4 Bxd6+ 75.Kc4 Bxg3 76.h5 Bf4 77.Rh7+ Kd6 78.h6 Be4 79.Rg7 Bxh6 80.Rg4 Bd5+ 81.Kd4 Bc1 82.Rg6+ Be6 83.Rg1 Bb2+ 84.Kd3 Be5 85.Ke4 Bf6


86.Rd1+ Ke7 87.Re1 Kf7 88.Rb1 Kg6 89.Rg1+ Kf7 90.Rh1 Kg6 91.Rg1+ Kf7 92.Rh1 Kg6 93.Rg1+, draw.


Saturday, February 13, 2021

Presidents Week Winter Workshop


Next week, from February 15th to 19th, grandmasters Irina Krush, Giorgi Kacheishvili, and Tamaz Gelashvili are offering daily on-line workshops.

Students can register by day or for the full week.  All classes begin at 10am and are broken up into small groups by skill level: beginner (500-1000), intermediate (1000-1400), and advanced (1400+).  Daily on-line matches/arenas will be created for workshop participants as an independent (optional) activity during the afternoon and are free of charge. 

There is a 40% sibling discount for a second sibling when both attend the same class.  Please e-mail gmschoolny@gmail.com for any questions, or if you would like to take advantage of this option. 

For complete details and to register, visit the GM Chess Workshops page.

Friday, February 12, 2021

25 Years Ago Wednesday


On February 10th in 1996, Garry Kasparov lost a game to Deep Blue.

Thursday, February 11, 2021

10/5 Budapest 2/10/2021

Budapest Gambit, Fajarowicz Variation

KINGPARSA2020 (lichess 2178) - JimWest (lichess 2247), lichess 2/10/2021

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d6 3.c4 e5 4.dxe5 Ne4 5.Nbd2 Nc5 6.exd6 Bxd6 7.b3 O-O 8.Bb2 Re8 9.e3 Nc6 10.a3 a5 11.Be2 b6 12.O-O Bb7 


13.Nd4 Nxd4 14.exd4 Ne4 15.Nxe4 Bxe4 16.Bf3 Qf6 17.Bxe4 Rxe4 18.Re1 Rae8 19.Qd2 Qf4, White resigns.


Wednesday, February 10, 2021

15/10 KIA 2/9/2021

King's Indian Attack

JimWest (Chess.com 1966) - rooftopJippy (Chess.com 2000), Chess.com 2/9/2021

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b6 3.Bg2 Bb7 4.O-O e6 5.d3 c5 6.e4 d6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.a4 Nbd7 9.c3 O-O 10.Qc2 Rc8 11.Re1 a6 12.Nc4 b5 13.axb5 axb5 14.Na5 Ba8 15.Bd2 Qb6


16.Qb3 Rb8 17.Bf4 Rfc8 18.e5 dxe5 19.Nxe5 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Bd6 21.Bxa8 Rxa8 22.Nc4 Rxa1 23.Rxa1 bxc4 24.Qxb6 Bxe5 25.dxc4 Ne4 26.Qb7, Black resigns.


Tuesday, February 9, 2021

10/5 Sicilian 2/8/2021

Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

JimWest (lichess 2232) - alexmtlai (lichess 2117), lichess 2/8/2021

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 O-O 8.Qd2 Nc6 9.Bc4 e6 10.O-O-O d5 11.exd5 exd5 12.Bb3 Re8 13.Kb1 a5 14.a4 Nb4 15.Bh6 Re5 16.Bxg7 Kxg7 17.Rhe1 Qe7


18.Rxe5 Qxe5 19.h3 Qg3 20.Ncb5 Bd7 21.c3 Nc6 22.Re1 Nxd4 23.Nxd4 Rb8 24.Re2 Qd6 25.g4 b5 26.g5 Nh5 27.Nxb5 Bxb5 28.axb5 Rxb5 29.Qd4+ f6 30.Qa7+ Kf8 31.Qa8+ Rb8 32.Qxd5 Qxd5 33.Bxd5 Nf4 34.Rd2 fxg5

35.Be4 Nxh3 36.Rh2 Nf4 37.Rxh7 Kg8 38.Ra7 Rb5 39.Kc2 Ng2 40.Bxg6 Ne3+ 41.Kd3, Black forfeits.


Monday, February 8, 2021

15/10 London 2/7/2021

London System

taher_rahgooy (Chess.com 2034) - JimWest (Chess.com 1973), Chess.com 2/7/2021

1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Nf3 O-O 5.Be2 c5 6.c3 cxd4 7.exd4 d5 8.h3 Nc6 9.O-O Bf5 10.Nbd2 Ne4 11.Re1 Nxd2 12.Qxd2 h5 13.Bd3 Bxd3 14.Qxd3 e6 15.a4 a6 16.Re2 Rc8 17.Rae1 Na5


18.Ne5 Nc4 19.Qg3 Nxe5 20.Bxe5 Bxe5 21.Rxe5 Kh7 22.Qd3 Kg7 23.Qg3 Rh8 24.R5e3 Qc7 25.Qg5 Qd8 26.Qe5+ Qf6 27.Qd6 Rhd8 28.Qb4 Rd7 29.Rf3 Qe7 30.Qb3 Rdc7 31.Qd1 b5 32.axb5 axb5 33.Qb3 Rb8 34.Rc1 Rbb7


35.Re3 Rc4 36.Qd1 b4 37.b3 Rxc3 38.Rexc3 bxc3 39.Rxc3 Rb4 40.Qd2 Qb7 41.Qe3 Qb8 42.g3 Rb6 43.h4 Kh7 44.Kg2 Rb4 45.Kh3 Qa7 46.Rd3 Qa1 47.Qf3 Kg7 48.Kg2 Qe1 49.Qe3 Qxe3 50.fxe3 f5 51.Kf3 Kf6


52.Kf4 e5+ 53.Kf3 e4+, White resigns.


Sunday, February 7, 2021

10/5 PCG 2/6/2021

Philidor Counter Gambit

Chesscrab2 (lichess 2256) - JimWest (lichess 2229), lichess 2/6/2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Neg5 exd4 7.Nxd4 Bb4+ 8.c3 Qe7+ 9.Be3 Bc5 10.Bd3 Bxd4 11.cxd4 Nf6 12.Qc2 Nc6 13.Bb5 Bd7 14.O-O O-O 15.Rfe1 Qd6 16.h3 Rae8


17.a3 h6 18.Nf3 Ne4 19.Bxc6 Bxc6 20.Ne5 Bd7 21.Rac1 c6 22.Nxd7 Qxd7 23.Qa4 a6 24.b4 Nd6 25.Qb3 Nf5 26.Qc3 Nxe3 27.Rxe3 Rxe3 28.Qxe3 Re8 29.Qg3 Re4 30.Rd1 Qe7 31.Kf1 Kh7 32.f3 Re6 33.Re1 Rxe1+ 34.Qxe1 Qxe1+ 35.Kxe1 Kg6


36.g3 Kf5 37.Ke2 h5 38.h4 g6 39.a4 b6 40.Ke3 a5 41.bxa5 bxa5 42.Kd3 Ke6 43.g4 Kd6 44.Ke3 c5 45.dxc5+ Kxc5 46.gxh5 gxh5 47.f4 d4+ 48.Ke4 Kc4 49.f5 d3 50.f6 d2 51.f7 d1=Q 52.f8=Q Qe2+, White resigns.