FIDE Mondays 6/11/2012

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

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2208) - Amir Moazami (USCF 1952), Marshall Chess Club 6/11/2012

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.f5 Nxb3 10.axb3 Be7 11.Qf3 O-O 12.Be3 Bd7 13.O-O b5 14.b4 Qc7 15.g4 h6 16.h4 d5

17.exd5 Nxd5 18.Nxd5 exd5 19.g5 Kh7 20.c3 g6 21.f6 Bd6 22.Bf4 Bxf4 23.Qxf4 Qxf4 24.Rxf4 Rfe8 25.Kf2 Re5 26.Nf3 Rf5 27.Rxf5 gxf5 28.Nd4 Kg6 29.Nf3 Be6 30.Ke3 Re8 31.Kf4 Bc8 32.Ne5+ Kh5

33.Rd1 Bb7 34.Rd4 Kxh4 35.g6 fxg6 36.f7, Black resigns.

Westfield Quads 6/10/2012

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

Round Two: Philidor Counter Gambit

Brandon Nydick (USCF 2049) - Jim West (USCF 2216), Westfield NJ 6/10/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Nxe5 dxe4 7.Bc4 Qd6 8.Qh5+ g6 9.Bf7+ Ke7 10.Qh4+ Nf6 11.Bg5 Bg7 12.O-O-O Nc6

13.Qxe4 Kf8 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.Bb3 Bf5 16.Qe3 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxe5 18.Qh6+ Bg7 19.Qh4 Qxb2+ 20.Kd2 Qd4+ 21.Qxd4 Bxd4 22.Kc1 Bxf2 23.Rhf1 Be3+ 24.Kb1 Kg7 25.g4 Bxg4 26.Rf7+ Kh6 27.Re1 Rhe8 28.h3 Be6

29.Rxc7 Bxb3 30.cxb3 Bb6 31.Rxe8 Rxe8 32.Rxb7 Re3 33.Kb2 Rxh3 34.a4 Bd4+ 35.Ka2 a5 36.Rb5 Bc3 37.Kb1 Bb4 38.Kc2 g5 39.Rb6+ Kh5 40.Rb7 Kg4 41.Rf7 h5 42.Rf1 Rc3+ 43.Kb2 h4 44.Rg1+ Kh5 45.Rg2 h3 46.Rf2 g4 47.Rf5+ Kh4 48.Rf7 h2 49.Rh7+ Kg3 50.Rh5 Kg2 51.Ka2 h1=Q 52.Rh2+ Kxh2 53.Kb2 Qc1+ 54.Ka2 Rc2#.

Rahway Quad 6/9/2012

On Saturday, I finished the game/45 quad at Chess Mates with a score of 2-0-1.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2208) - Art Macaspac (USCF 2134), Rahway NJ 6/9/2012

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Nbd7 8.f4 Nc5 9.f5 Nxb3 10.axb3 Be7 11.Qf3 O-O 12.Be3 Bd7 13.O-O e5 14.Nde2 Bc6 15.Rad1 Rc8

16.g4 h6 17.Ng3 b5 18.Rf2 Qc7 19.Nh5 b4 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6 21.Nd5 Bxd5 22.Rxd5 Bh4 23.Rfd2 Rfd8 24.Qh3 Qe7 25.Bb6 Rd7 26.Qd3 Qg5 27.h3 Qf4 28.Qe3 Qxe3+ 29.Bxe3 Rdc7 30.Rxd6 Rxc2 31.Rxa6 Rc1+ 32.Kg2 Re1 33.Bf2 Bxf2 34.Rxf2 f6 35.Rb6 Rxe4

36.Rd2 Rc1 37.Rb8+ Kh7 38.Rdd8, Black resigns.

Results of Tourney at Center Grove School

Yesterday the final chess class in the spring session of the after school enrichment program, conducted by Enrich and Grow Academy and coached by me and colleague Joe Fortunato, took place at Center Grove School in Randolph. 

Of the two dozen students, the advanced half were taught by me in the school library; the beginners half, by Joe in one of the classrooms.

Here are the results of the tournament among my students.  Clear first place was won by Tristan Pudell-Spatscheck.  A tie for second place occurred between Matthew Park and Trevor Liss, which was broken when Matthew defeated Trevor in a playoff game.  All three students received medals.

Fournier Analyzes Alan Gu - Michael O'Connor

At Contre Gambit Philidor, Frederic Fournier analyzes the game between Alan Gu and Michael O'Connor, from the U.S. Amateur East tournament.

"Chess Mates" Championship, Round 1

Last night, I won this game at Chess Mates in the club championship.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Michael O'Connor (USCF 1859) - Jim West (USCF 2208), Rahway NJ 6/6/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.f3 Bd6 9.Bg5 O-O 10.fxe4 Qe8 11.Qd2 dxe4 12.O-O-O Be6

13.Bxf6 gxf6 14.d5 Bc8 15.Nc4 f5 16.Qg5+ Qg6 17.Qxg6+ hxg6 18.Nxd6 cxd6 19.Ne2 Nd7 20.Nf4 Ne5 21.Ne6 Rf7 22.h3 Bd7 23.Be2 Rc8 24.g4 fxg4 25.hxg4 Rf2 26.Nd4 Bxg4 27.Bxg4 Nxg4 28.Rh4 Nf6 29.Rdh1 Kf7 30.c3 a6 31.Ne6 Rf5

32.Rf4 Rxf4 33.Nxf4 g5 34.Ne6 Rg8 35.Rg1 g4 36.c4 b5 37.cxb5 axb5 38.Nf4 Ra8 39.Kb1 Rc8 40.Rc1 Rxc1+ 41.Kxc1 g3 42.Kd2 Nxd5 43.Ng2 Kf6 44.b3 b4 45.Ke2 Ke5 46.Ne1 Nc3+ 47.Kf1 Nxa2 48.Nc2 d5 49.Kg2 Kf4 50.Nd4 Nc1

51.Nc6 Nxb3 52.Nxb4 d4 53.Nd5+ Ke5 54.Nb6 d3 55.Kxg3 Kd4 56.Kf2 e3+ 57.Ke1 Nd2 58.Na4 Nf3+ 59.Kd1 e2+ 60.Kc1 e1=Q+ 61.Kb2 Qb4+, White resigns.

FIDE Mondays 6/4/2012

This game was played on Monday night at the Marshall Chess Club. 

In time trouble, my opponent misplayed a winning position.

Round One: Philidor Counter Gambit

Paul Rachlin (USCF 1927) - Jim West (USCF 2208), Marshall Chess Club 6/4/2012

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.Nf7 Kxf7 12.Bc4+ Kg7 13.Bf4 Nc6 14.Qg5+ Kh8 15.Be5 Bg7 16.O-O-O Bd7 17.f3 Qf8 18.Kb1 Re8

19.Rhf1 h6 20.Qf4 e3 21.Qxe3 b5 22.Bb3 a5 23.a3 a4 24.Ba2 b4 25.Rfe1 Bf5 26.Qf4 Bxc2+ 27.Kxc2 b3+ 28.Bxb3 axb3+ 29.Kb1 Nxe5 30.dxe5 Nd7 31.Qxf8+ Nxf8 32.f4 c5 33.Re4 Ne6 34.Rc4 Bf8 35.Rd5 Nd4 36.Kc1 Kg7

37.g4 Kg6 38.h4 Kf7 39.f5 Nf3 40.Rd7+ Kg8 41.e6 Ne5 42.Re4 Nxd7 43.exd7 Rd8 44.g5 hxg5 45.hxg5 Rxd7 46.f6 Rd5 47.g6 Bh6+, White resigns.

Marshall June Under 2300

Playing in the one day schedule on Sunday at the Marshall Chess Club, I finished the under 2300 tournament with a score of 2-0-2.

The first two games had a game/30 time control.

These last two games were played at 30/90, followed by game/60.

Round Three: Philidor Counter Gambit

George Berg (USCF 2144) - Jim West (USCF 2208), Marshall Chess Club 6/3/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng5 Nf6 6.f3 Qe7 7.Ne6 Bxe6 8.fxe6 Qxe6 9.fxe4 Qxe4+ 10.Qe2 Qxe2+ 11.Bxe2 d5 12.Be3 Nbd7 13.Bf3 c6 14.Nd2 Bd6 15.O-O O-O 16.Rae1 Rae8

17.Bf2 Rxe1 18.Rxe1 Re8 19.Rxe8+ Nxe8 20.Bg3 Bxg3 21.hxg3 Kf7 22.Kf2 Nd6 23.g4 Kf6 24.Kg3 Kg5 25.Be2 Ne4+ 26.Nxe4+ dxe4 27.c4 Nf6 28.Bd1 b5 29.cxb5 cxb5 30.b4 a6 31.a4 bxa4 32.Bxa4 Nxg4 33.d5 Ne3 34.Bb3 Nf5+ 35.Kf2 Kf4 36.Bc4 Ke5 37.Bxa6 Kxd5

38.Bb7+ Kd4 39.b5 e3+ 40.Kf3 Nd6 41.Ba6 Nc4 42.Ke2 h5 43.Bc8 Nb6 44.Bb7 g5 45.g3 h4 46.gxh4 gxh4 47.Bg2 Na4 48.Kf3 Nb6 49.Bf1 Nd5 50.Kg4 Kc5 51.Kxh4 Nc3 52.Kg3 e2 53.Bxe2 Nxe2+ 54.Kf2, draw.

         
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Round Four: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2208) - Ed Frumkin (USCF 2007), Marshall Chess Club 6/3/2012

1.b3 d5 2.Bb2 Bg4 3.d3 e6 4.Nd2 a5 5.a3 Nc6 6.Ngf3 Nf6 7.h3 Bh5 8.g3 Bd6 9.Bg2 Qe7 10.O-O O-O

       
11.Qe1 e5 12.e4 dxe4 13.dxe4 Rfe8 14.Nh4 Bc5 15.Nf5 Qf8 16.Nc4 Nd4 17.g4 Nxc2 18.Qc1 Nxa1 19.Qxa1 Bxg4 20.hxg4 Nxg4 21.Nxe5 Nxe5 22.Bxe5 f6 23.Bxc7 Bxa3 24.Rd1 a4 25.bxa4 g6 26.Bd6 Bxd6 27.Nxd6 Re5 28.f4 Rea5 29.Qa2+ Kg7 30.Qb3 Qe7

31.e5 Rxa4 32.exf6+ Qxf6 33.Bxb7 Ra1 34.Bxa8 Qd4+ 35.Kg2 Rxd1 36.Qf7+ Kh6 37.Qf8+ Kh5 38.Bf3+, Black resigns.

Rahway Quad 6/2/2012

Alexander Crump [seated left] won Saturday's game/45 quad at Chess Mates. Besides myself, the other players were Mina Awad [seated right] and Lev Zilbermintz [standing].

Round One: Larsen's Opening

Jim West (USCF 2208) - Lev Zilbermintz (USCF 2098), Rahway NJ 6/4/2012

1.b3 g5 2.Bb2 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6 5.e3 Bg7 6.Ne2 Be6 7.d3 Qd7 8.h4 h6 9.Nd2 Na6 10.Nf3 g4 11.Nfd4 c5 12.Nxe6 fxe6 13.Qd2 O-O-O 14.O-O-O Rhf8 15.Rhf1 Nc7

16.Qa5 Na6 17.Nf4 Qc7 18.Qxc7+ Nxc7 19.Be5 Nfe8 20.Bxg7 Nxg7 21.Ng6 Rfe8 22.Ne5 h5, draw.

Alan Gu - Michael O'Connor

This PCG, which took place at the U.S. Amateur East 2012, features queenside castling by both players.

Round Five: Philidor Counter Gambit

Alan Gu (USCF 1791) - Michael O'Connor (USCF 1864), U.S. Amateur East 5/28/2012

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 f5 4.Nc3 fxe4 5.Nxe4 d5 6.Ng3 e4 7.Ne5 Nf6 8.Bg5 Nbd7 9.c3 Bd6 10.Nxd7 Bxd7 11.Nh5 Qe7 12.Be2 O-O-O 13.Qb3 Qf7 14.Ng3 Rdf8 15.O-O-O Ng4

16.Bxg4 Bxg4 17.Rdf1 Bf4+ 18.Bxf4 Qxf4+ 19.Kb1 Qf7 20.h3 Bf5 21.Ka1 Bg6 22.f3 Qf4 23.Ne2 Qe3 24.Ng3 exf3 25.Qxd5 fxg2 26.Qxg2, and drawn in ? moves.

Mate the Mets

Last night, Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in the history of the New York Mets.

The team's closer Frank Francisco likes to play chess.

June Events at "Chess Mates"

The Chess Mates championship starts next Wednesday June 6th.  The tournament is a four round Swiss, with a time control of game/90.  You must be a club member to participate.  The entry fee is $25.  Play starts at 7pm, each Wednesday in June.  First prize is $100 guaranteed, with $50 prizes for second place and under 1800.  Trophies will also be awarded.

Beginning on June 23rd, Chess Mates will run a grand prix tournament on one Saturday every month.  Owner Art Macaspac has named the event after his aunt Dr. Luvizminda Machan.  There will be ten grand prix points at stake.  The entry fee is $40 for non-members and $30 for members.  The event is a four round Swiss, with the first game starting at 1:30pm.  The prize structure is as follows: first place $200, second place $150, third place $100, and fourth place $50.  Trophies will go to the top players under 2200, under 1800, under 1400, and under 1000.

Also beginning in late June and lasting to early September, nine weekly summer camps for all ages will be held at Chess Mates.  Camp 1 will take place from June 25th through June 29th.  The instructors will be national master Art Macaspac and life master Jim West.  All told, Art and I will instruct four of the camps.  The remaining five camps will be instructed by grandmaster Leonid Yudasin and national master Art Macaspac.  The fee for a weekly camp is $400 for non-members and $350 for members. You can also sign up on a daily (rather than weekly) basis at a cost of $90 for non-members and $80 for members.