Marshall Saturday Game/50 6/9/2018

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

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Paul Kraft (USCF 1866), Marshall Chess Club 6/9/2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Qc7 8.O-O Be7 9.f4 b5 10.a3 O-O 11.Be3 Nbd7 12.Qf3 Nc5 13.f5 e5 14.Nde2 Bb7 15.Ng3 Rad8

16.Rad1 Nxb3 17.cxb3 Rd7 18.Rc1 Bc6 19.Nh5 Qb7 20.Nxf6+ Bxf6 21.Rfd1 Rfd8 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 Rc7 24.Rxc7 Qxc7 25.Qd1 g6 26.g4 gxf5 27.gxf5 Kh8 28.Kh1 Qe7 29.Bb6 Rg8 30.Rxd6 Bh4

31.Be3 Bg3 32.f6 Qb7 33.Qd5 Qc8 34.Bh6 Re8 35.Qxf7, Black resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Ed Kopiecki (USCF 2090) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 6/9/2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Be7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.O-O-O Nbd7 10.Bd3 b5 11.Rhe1 Bb7 12.Qg3 O-O-O

13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.Qxg7 Rdf8 15.Qg3 b4 16.Na4 Rhg8 17.Qf2 Nd7 18.Kb1 Kb8 19.c3 Nc5 20.Bc2 bxc3 21.Nxc3 Bf6 22.g3 h5 23.Re3 h4 24.Nb3 hxg3 25.hxg3 Rd8 26.Nxc5, draw.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Three: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Christian Goldammer (USCF 2081), Marshall Chess Club 6/9/2018

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 Bd7 10.Qf3 e5 11.Nde2 h6 12.Ng3 Bc6 13.Be3 Qc7 14.O-O Be7 15.Bxc5 dxc5 16.Nh5 O-O

17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Bd5 Rfd8 19.Kh1 Qb6 20.Rab1 Qb4 21.a3 Qa5 22.h3 Rab8 23.Rfd1 Be8 24.Qf2 Qc7 25.Ba2 Rd4 26.Nd5 Qc6 27.Qf3 b5 28.c3 Rxd1+ 29.Rxd1 c4 30.Bb1 Qd6 31.Bc2 Bc6 32.Nb4 Qc5 33.Nxa6 Qb6 34.Nxb8 Qxb8

35.Re1 Qb6 36.Qe3 Qb7 37.Qc5 Kh7 38.Qd6 Qb6 39.Re2 h5 40.a4 h4 41.axb5 Qxb5 42.Qb4 Qa6 43.Qa3 Qb6 44.b4 cxb3 45.Qxb3 Qa6 46.c4 Qa1+ 47.Bb1 Bg5 48.Qb2 Qa7 49.Qxe5 Bf6 50.Qd6 Qa1 51.Qd3 Be5 52.Ra2, Black resigns.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Eric Fleischman (USCF 2235), Marshall Chess Club 6/9/2018

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 Bd7 10.h4 Ne5 11.Bb3 Qa5 12.O-O-O Rfc8 13.Kb1 Nc4 14.Bxc4 Rxc4 15.Nb3 Qc7 16.Bd4 Be6 17.Rhe1 a6

18.e5 dxe5 19.Bxe5 Qc8 20.Nd4 b5 21.Nxe6 Qxe6 22.g4 b4 23.Nd5 Qxd5 24.Qxd5 Nxd5 25.Rxd5 Rac8 26.Bxg7 Kxg7 27.Rd2 R8c7 28.Re3 h5 29.Rg2 Rf4 30.b3 Kf6 31.gxh5 gxh5 32.Re4 Rxe4 33.fxe4 Rc5

34.Kc1 Re5 35.Re2 Ke6 36.Kd2 f5 37.exf5+ Kxf5 38.Rxe5+ Kxe5 39.c4 bxc3+ 40.Kxc3 Ke4 41.b4 e5 42.a4 Kd5 43.b5 axb5 44.axb5 Kc5 45.Kd3 Kxb5 46.Ke4 Kc6 47.Kxe5 Kd7 48.Kf5 Ke7 49.Kg5 Kf7 50.Kxh5 Kg7, draw.

Pix from FIDE Mondays 6/4/2018

Look at these pictures that I took on Monday at the Marshall Chess Club.

"Tactical Tal, Part I" by Lyudmil Tsvetkov

The author sends this e-mail.

Dear chess friends, 

Recently I wrote a book on Tal's tactics. 

You can find an article on the book, with some of the harder puzzles, missed by Tal himself, here: https://www.expert-chess-strategies.com/chess-tactic.html.

Most of the puzzles are easier to solve, though, with all of them being fascinating. 

That is an essential Tal quality - to make chess fascinating. 

The book is available on Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Tactical-Tal-Part-Lyudmil-Tsvetkov-ebook/dp/B07C16MSBW/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= as well as other Amazons, in both paperback and ebook versions. 

For people following the story with 'The Secret of Chess', below one more review by IM Gerard Welling: https://www.chess.com/blog/Swordfish55/review-the-secret-of-chess.

I hope very much you find this information useful and not too annoying. 

That is the life of chess authors. 

Best regards, 

Lyudmil

Substitute Teacher at Russian Museum

From 6pm to 7pm, today and next Thursday, I will be the substitute chess teacher for 101 Discoveries at the Museum of Russian Art.

"Fortune" Interview of Kasparov on AI

Jonathan Vanian interviews Garry Kasparov.

FIDE Mondays 6/4/2018

Last night, I played this game at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Brian Shoot (USCF 1900), Marshall Chess Club 6/4/2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6 3.d3 e6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O Nf6 7.Nbd2 Be7 8.Re1 O-O 9.a4 e5 10.Nc4 a5 11.c3 Be6 12.Qc2 h6 13.Bd2 Nd7

14.Ne3 Nb6 15.Nf5 Bf6 16.h4 Ne7 17.g4 Nxf5 18.exf5 Bd5 19.h5 Bc6 20.Be3 Nd5 21.Bd2 Re8 22.c4 Nb4 23.Bxb4 axb4 24.Nd2 Bxg2 25.Kxg2 d5 26.cxd5 Qxd5+ 27.Ne4 Be7 28.b3 b6 29.f3 Rad8 30.Rad1 Qd4 31.Qc4 Kf8

32.Qxd4 Rxd4 33.Nf2 Bh4 34.Re4 Bxf2 35.Kxf2 Red8 36.Rxd4 exd4 37.Re1 Re8 38.Rxe8+ Kxe8 39.f4 f6 40.Kf3 Kd7 41.Ke4 Kc6 42.g5 Kd6 43.g6 Kc6, draw.

Westfield Quads 6/3/2018

On Sunday, I drew all my games in the quads at Westfield.

Round One: Sicilian Defense, Sozin Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Liam Putnam (USCF 2110), Westfield NJ 6/3/2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.Bb3 Be7 8.Be3 O-O 9.O-O a6 10.f4 Qc7 11.Qf3 Bd7 12.f5 Nxd4 13.Bxd4 e5 14.Bf2 Bc6 15.g4 Rad8

16.g5 Nxe4 17.Nxe4 Bxg5 18.Qg4 Bh6 19.f6 Qd7 20.Qxd7 Rxd7 21.fxg7 Bxg7 22.Ng3 d5 23.Nf5 Re8 24.Nxg7 Kxg7 25.Bh4 Re6 26.Rf5 Rg6+ 27.Bg3 f6 28.Raf1 Kf7 29.Rxe5 Kg7 30.Ref5 d4

31.Rxf6 Rxf6 32.Be5 Rdd6 33.Rxf6 Rxf6 34.Bxd4 Kg6 35.Bxf6 Kxf6 36.Kf2 Ke5 37.Ke3 b5 38.c3 h6 39.Bg8 a5 40.b4 axb4 41.cxb4 Bb7 42.Bh7 Ba8 43.Bd3 Bc6 44.h4 Bd7 45.a3 Bc6 46.Be2 Bd7 47.Kd3 Bc6 48.Kc3 Ke4 49.Bh5 Ke3

50.Bg6 Bd7 51.h5 Bc6 52.Bf7 Bd7 53.Bg6 Bc6 54.Bf5 Be8 55.Bd3 Bc6 56.a4 bxa4 57.b5 Bb7 58.Bc4 a3 59.Kb4 Kd4 60.Bf7 Ba8 61.Kxa3 Kc5 62.Ka4 Kb6 63.Kb4 Bf3 64.Be8 Be2 65.Kc3 Bxh5 66.Bxh5 Kxb5, draw.

   

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

Taran Idnani (USCF 2152) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Westfield NJ 6/3/2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nb3 e5 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Be2 Nbd7 9.O-O O-O 10.a4 b6 11.Be3 Bb7 12.Bd3 Qc7 13.Qe2 Rfc8

14.Rac1 Nf8 15.f3 Ng6 16.Qf2 Bd8 17.Nd2 d5 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.Nxd5 Bxd5 20.Be4, draw.

          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

Round Three: Pribyl Defense

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Peter Radomskyj (USCF 2200), Westfield NJ 6/3/2018

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 5.Bd3 e5 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.dxe5 dxe5 8.h3 Bxf3 9.Qxf3 Nbd7 10.Bd2 Qc7 11.f5 b5 12.O-O Bc5+ 13.Kh1 h5

14.Be3 Qb6 15.Bxc5 Qxc5 16.Qf2 Qxf2 17.Rxf2 Nc5 18.b4 Nxd3 19.cxd3 Rd8 20.Rd1 h4 21.a4 a6 22.axb5 axb5 23.Ra2 O-O 24.Ra6 Rc8 25.d4 exd4 26.Rxd4 c5 27.bxc5 Rxc5 28.Nd5 Rc1+ 29.Kh2 Nxd5 30.exd5 Rc4

31.Rxc4 bxc4 32.Rc6 Rd8 33.Rxc4 Rxd5 34.Rxh4 Rxf5, draw.

IM Zlotnikov Lecture at West Orange CC

International master Mikhail Zlotnikov [pictured] will be giving a lecture at the West Orange Chess Club on Tuesday June 12, 2018 at 8pm.

We will ask for a $10 donation per attendee.

Those attending the lecture who are West Orange residents, in addition to those who are under 18 and over 65 from any town, will be asked for a $5 donation.

For more information, please contact club president and tournament director John Hagerty at buickchess@gmail.com.

Or alternatively call him at 973-736-3433 between the hours of 10am and 10pm.

Pix from Memorial Day Madness 5/28/2018

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

FM Nathan Resika at Carnegie Hall

On June 2nd, FIDE master Nathan Resika [pictured] will perform at Carnegie Hall.

Warrior of the Mind

The Warriors’ Key Chess Piece Is Also a Chess Fanatic 

NBA playoff series are chess matches. So it’s a good thing that Klay Thompson really, really loves chess.

By Ben Cohen 
Updated May 30, 2018 11:56 a.m. ET 
Oakland, Calif. 

After a recent Golden State Warriors game, Klay Thompson opened the Chess with Friends app on his phone. He wanted to show a match he was playing against teammate Andre Iguodala to someone he’d never met waiting for him outside the locker room. Thompson thought Magnus Carlsen might be able to offer some assistance. 

Magnus Carlsen is the best chess player in the world, according to the official rankings of the sport’s governing body. Klay Thompson introduced himself to Carlsen as the best chess player on the Warriors, according to the official rankings of Klay Thompson.

 “Based on loose facts,” he said, “but whatever.”

 Thompson plays chess as often as he plays basketball: almost every day. “It’s a great game,” he said. He owns multiple chess boards at home. He carries a magnetic chess set on road trips. And he juggles several chess games on his phone, which is a problem for Thompson: He’s not good at chess on his phone.

 “In person, I’m real nice,” he said. “On the phone, I’ll make a couple moves, put my phone down for a couple of days, forget my strategy and think: Why the hell did I do that?”

 He added: “You can learn a lot about someone playing chess.”

His childhood friend Seth Tarver, who now works for Thompson’s foundation, knows his chess habits better than anyone and offered this scouting report about Thompson’s game: “One thing about Klay is that he’s at his best when you back him into a corner. He’ll be playing loose, but once I show I’m a threat, he can really lock in.”

Which means Thompson plays basketball the way he plays chess.

The Warriors were down 3-2 in Game 6 of the 2016 conference finals when he scored 41 points to rescue their season. It was a once-in-a-lifetime game. Until it happened again. The Warriors were down 3-2 in Game 6 of the conference final last week when Thompson scored 35 points and sparked another epic comeback. Golden State wouldn’t be in the Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers for the fourth consecutive season without him.

Thompson is their rook. He’s the quietly crucial piece of this potential Warriors dynasty.

He doesn’t seem to mind that he’s an understated All-Star who will never get the glory of Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant. He prefers it that way. Golden State coach Steve Kerr calls Thompson “the most low-maintenance guy on earth.”

Everyone on the Warriors understands his value to their bid for a third championship in four years. His talents fit this team. They don’t need another ballhandler, and he scores the most points in the league off screens. They do need a ball-stopper, and he defends the other team’s best guard. The Warriors are perfect for Thompson, and he is perfect for the Warriors.

But there is nothing about Klay Thompson that screams chess player. This is someone who simply missed practice the day before he erupted for 60 points in 29 minutes. Why? Because he was sleeping. It was more characteristic of Thompson when the Warriors were in New York and he gave one local television station a man-on-the-street interview to discuss his thoughts about…scaffolding. He was identified by his name and occupation: “NBA player.” He might be the spaciest NBA player of his generation.

This is another classic Klay Thompson story. It was the end of the fourth quarter of a tie game in 2012, and the Warriors had the ball and could’ve held it for the last possession. Thompson was completely oblivious to the time, score and situation, though, and he launched a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left. Any chess player would’ve identified it for what it was: a blunder. The shot was inexcusable even before Thompson missed it, and Golden State’s horrified coaches attempted to explain why as he walked back to the bench.

“My bad,” Thompson said. “I’ll make it next time.”

The roots of his fascination with chess were also unexpected. It started in seventh-grade in Portland, Oregon. Riverdale Grade School’s chess teacher, Carl Haessler, a local securities broker who is also a United States Chess Federation Life Master and five-time Oregon state champion, taught his students to be cerebral. “I’m big on the Socratic method,” he said.

He wanted them to know how to think rather than what to think. “How to look down at this thing of all these pieces going every which way,” he said, “and cut out the white noise, look at what’s relevant, assess the position, come to a conclusion, make a plan based upon that conclusion and then make specific moves that fit the plan.”

This is not what Thompson was expecting from chess class.

“I took it as an elective just to waste time,” he said.

The other thing he was not expecting was that he would become obsessed with chess.

“And then I realized, wow, this is actually really fun,” Thompson said. “Just for an hour, to be with your friends, hang out and play chess. It was probably the best class I’ve ever had.”

What he appreciates most about chess are the moments when he can feel the advantage tipping. That sense is familiar to anyone who has watched the Warriors use a sliver of an opening to destroy other teams over the last four years. “I just love how there can be so many swings,” Thompson said, “and it can take one move to mess up the whole flow.”

Thompson is still with his friends, hanging out and playing chess. They abide by the rules of pickup basketball. There is no clock, and the winner of one match getting the advantage of playing white in the next match is their equivalent of make it, take it.

Tarver used to lose so often that he spent time studying why he was losing. “He knows some good tactics,” Tarver said. “I had to learn on the fly. I learned through him beating me.”

He stopped losing soon enough, and he declined to reveal too much about his current strategies against Thompson because they play nearly every day.

“I don’t know who’s better now,” he said. “He’ll probably tell you it’s him.”

Except if they’re playing on their phones. They’re evenly matched in person, when Thompson can devote his full attention to a physical chessboard even as his English bulldog, Rocco, attempts to play with him. But he gets so distracted online that Tarver has to nudge Thompson in person to make a move with his phone.

He’s not the only person who talks chess with Thompson. At one Warriors dinner this season, enough players and coaches were discussing chess that Golden State decided it would be a good idea to invite Carlsen to meet with the team. As it turned out, the reigning world champion is a maniacal NBA fan. He flew to Houston for the conference finals against the Rockets, and the Warriors arranged for Carlsen to have tickets. (Carlsen woke up Tuesday morning and watched Game 7 from Norway.)

Thompson was impressed by Carlsen. “That guy’s smart,” he said. “Understatement that he’s smart. He’s a genius.” And he took advantage of the opportunity to request advice on his openings. “He said he’d sit down and teach me some things one day,” Thompson said.

Thompson, who once compared Ping-Pong games with Roger Federer, thought better of challenging maybe the greatest chess player of all time.

“He’d play blindfolded and backward,” Thompson said, “and still beat me.”

Elite Chess Players Live Longer

A new study reveals that elite chess players live up to 14 years longer than the general population.