Thursday Action, Round 3, 6/6/2019

On Thursday, I won this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Three: Falkbeer Counter Gambit

Nazzareno Bertini (USCF 1672) - Jim West (USCF 2204), Marshall Chess Club 6/6/2019

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 e4 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.d3 Bb4 6.Bd2 e3 7.Bxe3 O-O 8.a3 Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Nxd5 10.Bd2 Re8+ 11.Kf2 Qf6 12.Qf3 Nxc3 

13.Re1 Rxe1 14.Bxe1 Nc6 15.Ne2 Nxe2 16.Bxe2 Bd7 17.Bd2 Re8 18.Re1 b6 19.Bd1 Rxe1 20.Kxe1 h6 21.h3 Qe7+ 22.Kf2 Qxa3 23.Qd5 Qd6 24.Qxd6 cxd6 25.c3 Kf8 26.Bf3 Ke7 27.Bd5 Nd8 28.g4 Bc6 29.Bf3 Bxf3 30.Kxf3 Ne6

31.d4 d5 32.Ke3 g6 33.Kd3 b5 34.Ke3 f5 35.Bc1 a5 36.Ba3+ Kf7 37.Bd6 h5 38.g5 Ke8 39.h4 Kd7 40.Ba3 Kc6 41.Be7 Nc7 42.Kd3 a4 43.Bb4 Na8 44.Kd2 Nb6 45.Kc2 Nc4 46.Bf8 Ne3+ 47.Kd2 Ng2 48.Ke2 Nxf4+ 49.Kf3 Ne6 50.Bb4 Nc7

51.Kf4 Na6 52.Ba3 b4 53.cxb4 Kb5 54.Ke5 Nxb4 55.Kf6 f4 56.Bc1 Nd3 57.Bd2 a3 58.Kxg6 a2 59.Bc3 f3 60.Kxh5 f2 61.g6 f1=Q 62.g7 Qf7+ 63.Kh6 Qg8 64.h5 Kc4 65.Ba1 Nb4 66.Kg6 Qe6+ 67.Kh7 Qf5+ 68.Kh6 Qf7

69.Kh7 Qxh5+ 70.Kg8 Nc2 71.Bb2 a1=Q 72.Bxa1 Nxa1 73.Kf8 Qh6 74.Kf7 Qxg7+ 75.Kxg7 Kxd4 76.Kg6 Ke3, White resigns.

Thursday Action, Round 1, 6/6/2019

On Thursday, this game was played in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: Sicilian Defense

Donald Uzoma (USCF 1770) - Jim West (USCF 2204), Marshall Chess Club 6/6/2019

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Nc3 a6 4.a4 Nf6 5.Bc4 e6 6.d3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Nc6 9.Bf4 Nd4 10.e5 dxe5 11.Bxe5 Bd6 12.Nxd4 cxd4 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Ne4 Qe7 15.Qh5 h6

16.g4 Bf4 17.h4 g6 18.Qc5 Qxh4 19.Qxd4 e5 20.Qd6 Qh2+ 21.Kf1 Qh1+, White resigns.

Cranford Dramatic Club Auditions: "Chess"

Open auditions: June 12th and 13th at CDC Theatre.

Donald Carrelli 1981-2019

Donald Carrelli [pictured], who won the under 1900 section at the New Jersey Open in 2010, was killed in a tragic accident.

Marshall Weekend Open 6/2/2019

On Sunday, I won this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation

William O'Brien (USCF 1749) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 6/2/2019

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.g4 b5 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.g5 Nd7 13.f5 Nc5 14.f6 gxf6 15.gxf6 Bf8 16.Rg1 b4

17.Nd5 exd5 18.exd5 Bd7 19.Re1+ Kd8 20.Nc6+ Bxc6 21.dxc6 Qa5 22.c7+ Kxc7 23.Bg2 Qb6 24.Qh5 Rd8 25.Bd5 Nd7 26.Qxf7 Bh6+ 27.Kb1 Rhf8 28.Qe7 Rde8 29.Qxh7 Rxe1+ 30.Rxe1 Rxf6

31.Qd3 Bf4 32.Qc4+ Qc5 33.Qb3 Bxh2 34.Bg2 Be5 35.Rd1 Rf2 36.Bh3 Rd2 37.Rf1 Qd5 38.Qxd5 Rxd5 39.a3 bxa3 40.bxa3 Rb5+ 41.Kc1 Bb2+ 42.Kd1 Ne5 43.a4 Ra5 44.Rf4 Rd5+ 45.Ke2 Bc3

46.Be6 Rd2+ 47.Kf1 Rxc2 48.Rh4 Rc1+ 49.Ke2 Re1+ 50.Kf2 Nd3+ 51.Kg3 Rxe6 52.Rc4+ Nc5 53.Rxc3 Re4 54.Kf3 Rxa4 55.Ke3 Rh4 56.Rc2 Rh3+ 57.Kf4 a5 58.Kg4 Rb3 59.Kf5 a4 60.Kf6 Re3

61.Kf5 a3 62.Kf4 Re4+ 63.Kf3 Ra4 64.Ra2 Nd3 65.Rc2+ Kd7 66.Rh2 Ne5+ 67.Ke3 Ng4+ 68.Kd2 Nxh2 69.Kc3 a2 70.Kb3 Ra8 71.Kc3 a1=Q+ 72.Kd3 Ra4 73.Kc2 Ra3, White resigns.

Marshall Weekend Open 6/1/2019

On Saturday, I played this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: Sicilian Defense, King's Indian Attack

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Ashutosh Gajbinkar (USCF 1807), Marshall Chess Club 6/1/2019

1.Nf3 c5 2.g3 Nc6 3.Bg2 g6 4.O-O Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.e4 Nge7 7.Nbd2 d6 8.a4 O-O 9.c3 b6 10.Qc2 Bb7 11.Re1 Qc7 12.Nc4 Rae8 13.h4 d5

14.exd5 Nxd5 15.h5 e5 16.h6 Bh8 17.Ng5 Nd8 18.a5 f6 19.axb6 axb6 20.Ne4 Nf7 21.Ra7 Ra8 22.Rxb7 Qxb7 23.Ned6 Qc6 24.Nxf7 Rxf7 25.Bxd5 Qxd5 26.Nxb6 Qc6 27.Nxa8 Qxa8 28.Be3 Qd5

29.Qa4 f5 30.Qc4 Qxc4 31.dxc4 Rc7 32.Rd1 Bf6 33.Rd5 Rb7 34.Rxc5 Rxb2 35.Rc8+ Kf7 36.Rc7+ Kg8 37.Bc5 Rc2 38.Be7 Bxe7 39.Rxe7 e4 40.Rg7+ Kh8 41.Rc7 Kg8 42.c5 Rxc3

43.c6 e3 44.fxe3 Rxe3 45.Rg7+, Black resigns.

NM Lipman Wins WOCC Championship

Congratulations to national master Vladimir Lipman [pictured] on winning the 2019 West Orange Chess Club Championship!

In winning his first WOCCC, he defeated sixteen time WOCC champion NM Peter Radomskyj in their second tiebreak game.

Thursday Night Action 5/30/2019

On Thursday, I won this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round One: English Opening, Symmetrical Variation

David Cesarini (USCF 1747) - Jim West (USCF 2211), Marshall Chess Club 5/30/2019

1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 e6 6.O-O Nge7 7.Re1 O-O 8.a3 d5 9.cxd5 Nxd5 10.e4 Nxc3 11.bxc3 b6 12.Bb2 Bb7 13.d4 cxd4 14.cxd4 Rc8 15.Rc1 Qd7

16.Ne5 Nxe5 17.dxe5 Qxd1 18.Rexd1 Rxc1 19.Rxc1 Rc8 20.Rxc8+ Bxc8 21.f4 h5 22.Kf2 Bf8 23.Ke3 Bc5+ 24.Kf3 Kf8 25.Bf1 Ke7 26.h3 Bd7 27.g4 hxg4+ 28.hxg4 a5 29.Bd3 b5 30.f5 gxf5 31.exf5 exf5 32.gxf5 b4 33.axb4 Bxb4

34.f6+ Ke8 35.Ke4 a4 36.Kd4 a3 37.Ba1 Be6 38.Bc4 Kd7 39.Bxe6+ Kxe6 40.Kc4 Ba5 41.Kb3 Bc7 42.Kxa3 Bxe5 43.Bb2 Bxb2+ 44.Kxb2 Kxf6 45.Kc2 Ke5 46.Kd1 Kf4 47.Kd2 Kf3 48.Kd3 f5 49.Kd4 f4, White resigns.

Analysis of Morgan - West @ "Chess.com"

At Chess.com, William Guskind [pictured] analyzes my PCG against Wyatt Morgan.

Sunday Game/50, Round 4, 5/26/2019

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

Round Four: Sicilian Defense, Alapin Variation

Jon Jacobs (USCF 2274) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 5/26/2019

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 Nf6 4.e5 Nd5 5.Nf3 Nc6 6.Bc4 e6 7.cxd4 d6 8.O-O dxe5 9.dxe5 Be7 10.Qe2 Qc7 11.Nc3 Nxc3 12.bxc3 Bd7 13.Bd3 Na5 

14.Ng5 Bxg5 15.Bxg5 h6 16.Bd2 Rc8 17.Rab1 b6 18.Rb4 Bc6 19.f4 g6 20.Rd4 h5 21.Rd6 Rd8 22.Be3 Kf8 23.Bd4 Nb7 24.Bc2 Rg8

25.Rxd8+ Nxd8 26.Rd1 Nb7 27.Qf2 Bd5 28.Bb3 Bxb3 29.axb3 Kg7 30.Ra1 Na5 31.Qa2 Nc6 32.Bf2 Rd8, draw.

Sunday Game/50, Round 3, 5/26/2019

On Sunday, I drew this game in the tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

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

Jim West (USCF 2200) - Jay Bonin (USCF 2389), Marshall Chess Club 5/26/2019

1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5 3.Nd2 g6 4.Ngf3 Bg7 5.g3 e5 6.Bg2 Ne7 7.O-O O-O 8.Re1 Nd7 9.b3 Re8 10.Bb2 d4 11.Rf1 c5 12.a4 Nc6 13.Nc4 Nb6 14.Nfd2 Bh6

15.Nxb6 axb6 16.Nc4 Be6 17.Bc1 Bxc1 18.Qxc1 Kg7 19.f4 f6 20.fxe5 Nxe5 21.Nxe5 fxe5 22.Qd2 Qe7 23.h4 h6 24.Rae1 g5 25.hxg5 Qxg5 26.Qxg5 hxg5 27.Rf2 Rf8 28.Ref1 Rxf2 29.Rxf2 b5 30.axb5 b6

31.Bf3 g4 32.Bg2 Ra5 33.Rf1 Rxb5 34.Ra1 Ra5 35.Rxa5 bxa5 36.Kf2 Kf6 37.Ke1 Ke7 38.Kd2 Kd6 39.Kc1 Kc6 40.Kb2 Kb5 41.Bf1 Kb4 42.Be2 Bd7 43.Bd1 a4 44.bxa4 Kxa4 45.c3+ Ka5 46.cxd4 cxd4

47.Kc1 Kb4 48.Kd2 Ka3 49.Be2 Kb2 50.Bd1, draw.

Sunday Game/50, Round 2, 5/26/2019

This game was played in Sunday's tournament at the Marshall Chess Club.

Round Two: King's Indian Defense

Wesley Hellner (USCF 1912) - Jim West (USCF 2200), Marshall Chess Club 5/26/2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.d5 Nbd7 8.O-O Nc5 9.Qc2 a5 10.Bg5 h6 11.Bd2 Ne8 12.Ne1 f5

13.f4 exf4 14.Bxf4 fxe4 15.Be3 Rxf1+ 16.Bxf1 Bf5 17.g3 Qe7 18.Ng2 g5 19.Be2 b6 20.Rf1 Bh7 21.a3 Nd3 22.Bg4 Kh8 23.Be6 Bf6 24.b3 Ng7 25.Bg4 Rf8 26.Nb5 Ne5 27.Be2 Nf3+ 28.Kh1 Nf5 29.Qd1 Nxe3 30.Nxe3 Bg7 31.Nc2 Kg8

32.Ncd4 Nxd4 33.Rxf8+ Kxf8 34.Nxd4 Bxd4 35.Qxd4 Qg7 36.Qf2+ Kg8 37.Bg4 Kh8 38.Be6 Bg8 39.Qf5 Bh7 40.Qf2 Bg6 41.h3 Qe7 42.g4 Kg7 43.Kg1 Qf6 44.Qxf6+ Kxf6 45.Kf2 e3+ 46.Kxe3 Ke5

47.b4 axb4 48.axb4 Be4 49.Bf7 b5 50.cxb5 Bxd5 51.Be8 Bc4 52.Bc6 d5 53.Kf2 Kd4 54.Be8 Kc3 55.Ke3 d4+ 56.Kf2 d3 57.Bc6 d2 58.Bf3 Bb3 59.Ke3 d1=Q 60.Bxd1 Bxd1 61.Ke4 Kxb4 62.Kf5 Kxb5

63.Kg6 c5 64.Kxh6 c4 65.Kxg5 c3, White resigns.