Gens Una Sumus!
"The art of treating the opening stage of the game correctly andwithout error is basically the art of using time efficiently."
Svetozar Gligoric
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
The Mike Franett Memorial has started. The early leaders with1.5 from 2 are IM Vinay Bhat, WGM Kamile Baginskaite and FM DavidPruess. Rounds are being held daily at the Mechanics' Institute andup-to-date standings and games can be found at the Mechanics' website underFranett Memorial on the front page. Players are fighting for IM norms,place prizes, and special awards for best opening novelty (donated by LawrenceTotaro), best game, and best endgame (donated by Ron Gross)
2) Arnold Denker 1914-2005
Arnold Denker has died at the age of 90. Born on February 20th1914 in New York City, Denker died January 2nd 2005 in his home in FortLauderdale after a brief struggle with brain cancer. Denker led a fullchess life. He was US Champion in 1944 and retained it in 1946 after beatingHermanSteiner in a match. In 1945 he played Botvinnik on top boardin the US vs USSR Radio match and then traveled to Moscow the followingyear for the return match over the
board where he played Smyslov. He was 3rd at Hastings 1945/46.His most important tournament was Groningen 1946 where he finished
10th.
Denker authored two editions of his best games - If You MustPlay Chess (1947) and My Best Chess Games 1929-1976 (1981). He also co-authored
The Bobby Fischer I Knew and other Stories with Larry Parr.During the last decades of his life he served as USCF Zonal President toFIDE, as a member of the USCF Policy Board and on the US Chess Trust. Hisproudest chess accomplishment may have been founding the Arnold DenkerHigh School Tournament of Champions.
Denker, who became an IM title in 1950 and received the HonoraryGM title from FIDE in 1981, was never a full-time professional. Hooperand Whyld in their Oxford Companion to Chess remark, " Denker was unfortunatein that he was perhaps at his best at a time when, because of war, littlechess was being play. and American chess was dominated by Fine andReshevsky."
3) University of Texas at Dallas wins Pan Am
Cindy Tsai, who has represented the United States in numerousinternational youth world championship and participated in the US Championship,has not had many opportunities to play since beginning her studies at Stanfordbut did extremely well at the recently concluded PAN AM intercollegiateheld in Wichita and organized by Mikhail Korenman. We are pleasedto see that after the terrible year suffered by the Raiders and 49ers,at least one Bay Area coach, Stanford's chess trainer Alex Yermolinsky,is no in danger of getting sacked!
Hi Alex and John,
Just wanted to update you on how Stanford did at the Pan-AmIntercollegiate Team Championships, which finished on the 30th in Wichita...I'm very proud
to report that the Stanford A team (average rating: 2160) made itinto the Final Four! We actually had our own little showdown against Yalein the last
round for the fourth spot. I scored an upset point against MattTraldi on board 2, but Pat Mihelich was upsetted on board 3.So we ended up tieing the
match since Anish Das Sarma won on board 4 and Nate Solonlost on board 1. We beat Yale on tiebreaks by almost 5 points to take the4th spot. Overall,
we tied for 7th, but lost to Catholic University of Peruon tiebreaks to finish 8th.
The President's Cup will be held in Lindsborg sometime in April.Not surprisingly, the other three teams are UTD, UMBC and Miami-Dade Community
College. UTD upsetted the pre-tournament favorite UMBC to take firstplace. There were several strong Canadian and Peruvian teams. The B Team,which had an average rating of 1850, scored some upset points, but finished16th out of 23 teams. The tournament was nicely organized by MikhailKorenman.
Personally, I had one of my best touranments in a long time by scoring5 out of 6-- I was winning in my two drawn games, including one againstGMBlehm.
Dan Ben-Moshe, who was first board on the B team, scoreda win against WGM Rohonvan from UMBC.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning of the return of Stanfordchess! I couldn't have imagined that this would have happened two yearsago... I chose Stanford, knowing that the Stanford club was at rock bottomafter the retirement or graduation of several masters, whereas Harvardand MIT had strong chess teams. Ironically, Harvard and MIT chess seemedto have declined, especially since neither of them participated this year.I'm very excited that this year we've considerably strengthened chess atStanford.
Happy New Year!
Cindy
4) Four way tie for first in North American Open
The North American Open, held December 26th to 29th in Las Vegasended in a tie for first between GMs Moiseenko, Akobian, Miton andSerper at 5-1. Tying for 6-11 at 4.5 were GMs Shabalov and Kudrin, IMs Milman,I. Ivanov and Sevillano and FM Tate.
MI and Bay Area players were very successful further down.
Under 2000 =1st Kofi Tatum 5/6
ThomasMaser 4.5/6
Under 1800 Jared Wood =2nd 5 out of 6
Under 1600 Davis Xu =1st 5.5/6
5) Lindsborg in the New York Times
Dr. Mikhail Korenman continues to amaze with his energy and abilityto promote chess. His most recent accomplishments (Lindsborg Open 1-2.Moiseenkoand Ibragimov) , Lindsborg Knockout (Onischuk winningahead of 15 other GMs and the 2005 PAN AM - see news item number 3above) were not only noticed by this Newsletter. The New York Times, onChristmas Day, ran a full page story with two photos on page A10! It'sa great pity that Mr. Korenman was not elected to the USCF Executive Boardlast year. His proven abilities to organize, attract national publicityand cultivate sponsors are qualities sorely lacking in the current ExecutiveBoard
In One Kansas Town, the End of the Year Game Is Chess
December 25, 2004
By STEPHEN KINZER
LINDSBORG, Kan., Dec. 21 - Fifteen chess grandmasters, includingpresent or former national champions from five European countries, arespending the last days of December in a windswept Kansas town that hassuddenly become a world chess center.
"I never thought it would go this far or get this big," said MikhailKorenman, a Russian émigré who has brought his passionfor chess to a most unlikely place.
Like countless other small towns across the Midwest, Lindsborg,which has a population of 3,500, is struggling to survive as rural lifebecomes more difficult and people move to cities or suburbs. Until a fewyears ago, it relied on its niche as Little Sweden, a place where touristscould buy Swedish crafts and eat pancakes with lingonberry sauce.
Swedish flags are still visible around town, but now the bannersalong Main Street say, "Welcome Anatoly Karpov School of Chess." The school, which Mr. Korenman runs, opened last year, paid for with donationsfrom local business people and a $216,000 economic development grant fromthe Kansas
Department of Commerce and Housing. It has already staged severalimportant competitions. This year, both the United States junior championshipand the Final Four collegiate championship were held here.
Mr. Korenman has brought Mr. Karpov, a former world championfrom Russia who is considered one of the best players of the last century,to Lindsborg three times. Mr. Karpov has given the school his officialsanction, something he has previously done only for schools in big citieslike Damascus and Istanbul.
In September, Mr. Karpov played an exhibition match here againstSusanPolgar, the first ever between former male and female world champions.For that event, which he billedas "Clash of the Titans," Mr. Korenman stageda parade through the center of town, complete with floats and a marchingband. Both players spent hours signing autographs and posing for pictures,he proudly recalled.
"If a kid here is interested in football, what he really wants isto see the Kansas City Chiefs or maybe Denver Broncos in real life," Mr.Korenman said. "The chance to meet and talk to a world champion in chessis also something special. It has an effect on these kids, believe me."
Mr. Korenman's enthusiasm, imagination and web of contacts havebeen crucial to the burgeoning appeal of chess here, but this is also atown that was ready to accept what he had to offer. Lindsborg's Swedishheritage has given it a cosmopolitan identity. It stages several festivalsevery year, and people here are used to welcoming outsiders.
Mr. Korenman arrived in 1999 to teach chemistry at Bethany Collegehere. His interest in chess has overtaken his interest in chemistry, andhe recently quit the college faculty to devote his full time to it. Thismonth Mr. Korenman is staging three tournaments in succession, with thelast ending on Dec. 30. A grandmaster who is playing, Anna Zatonskih,26, a former women's champion in her native Ukraine who is now one of thetop-ranked American women players, said Lindsborg had "a great reputation"among chess players.
"It's amazing what has happened here," Ms. Zatonskih said. "Youcan understand this kind of enthusiasm in New York, because there are 20grandmasters living there. But even in New York, there isn't this kindof huge attention to us and what we do."
Some local people are amazed, too.
"Here's a guy who lands here with his wife and starts this chessthing," said Jim Richardson, a local photographer. "We're all going,'Right, sure.' Next thing you know, Anatoly Karpov is in town."
"The Midwest still does have this inferiority complex," Mr. Richardsonsaid. "We really do think that things happen somewhere else. Now they'rehappening here. A world champion is coming down the street, and we're partof the bigger world."
This year the United States Chess Federation named Lindsborgas its "chess city of the year," a title that in past years it has givento large cities like New York,
Seattle and Miami. It also chose Mr. Korenman, who is 44, as its"chess organizer of the year."
6) USCF Executive Board Elections
The January 10 deadline for filing for the 2005 USCF Executive Boardelections is looming. On that note we will start to take a look at someof the issues that are likely to become lightning rods in the upcomingcampaign. One that is going to be near the front is the present Board'sanimosity towards America's Foundation for Chess which has sponsored theUS Championship since 2000.
In Newsletter #223 I wrote:
“Since then the AF4C has done a fantastic job of running the USChampionship, one of the core responsibilities of the USCF, without anyexpense to the USCF.” A reader writes in: "Well that was a bit ofan understatement. The USCF MAKES MONEY on the US Championships. The AF4C pays the USCF $7,500 for each event. The idea was that theUSCF would be able to “afford” to send a representative Unfortunately noneof the USCF Executive Board made it to La Jolla."
Former USCF President John McCrary adds:
"It is worth noting that the prize fund of the US Championship wasalmost equal to USCF's positive bottom line, but the former was achievedby only a
few wealthy donors; by contrast, the latter required over 85,000members and a volunteer Executive Director. However, USCF President BeatrizMarinello reportedly told the Board that she sees " no need to negotiatenow" with AF4C. She did not send a statement for the US Championship program,and canceled her personal appearance there. She did send a statement tobe read at the Final ceremony, but I noted that it avoided any referenceto even the possibility of enhanced cooperation between the entities."
7) John McCumiskey resigns from Cal Chess Board
December 25, 2004
Public Letter of Resignation to CalChess Board
Dear CalChess Board members,
In late October and early November I contemplated resigning from theCalChess Board because my workload at CSUS kept me from attending scheduledmeetings. At that time, I was asked to stay on the board, but recent eventshave caused me to reconsider my position.
Last weekend I was informed about the withdrawal of the original lawsuitagainst Richard Peterson. At another time during the weekend, I was informedabout the new legal strategy that had been devised to recover the $26,000that had been taken. Further, I was informed that Peterson had made a settlementoffer and it had been rejected. None of this information was provided tome through the normal communication channels of the CalChess Board, butinformally by two board members.
While I understand the reasoning behind these decisions and that theremay have been a need to make them quickly and without Board input, I findit unacceptable that I, as a CalChess Board member, was not notified immediatelyafterward, nor was Board input solicited. To date, I have not receivedany official word from CalChess President Elizabeth Shaughnessy about:
the status of the Peterson lawsuit;
the change in legal strategy;
an offer of a settlement.
The only news from Elizabeth regarding these issues was Peterson's requestfor a restraining order on December 22, 2004 which had been denied. Unfortunately,Peterson's two e-mail messages of December 23, 2004, have been more informativethat anything I have received in an official capacity from CalChess. Iconsidered resigning immediately when I heard about all of this last weekend,but I decided it would be wiser not to act on a snap judgement. However,after a week of thinking about it, I have not changed my mind. My problemis not with any individual on the CalChess Board nor with the situationsthat are being dealt with. The problem is not being given timely informationabout CalChess operations and lack of Board input.
Effective immediately, I resign from the CalChess Board. Even thoughI will no longer be a member of the CalChess Board, I will continue tobe an active organizer and tournament director in CalChess. This lettermay be distributed to anyone who requests to see it.
Sincerely,
John P McCumiskey
Mr. McCumiskey's resignation was the second in the past few months bya well-known Bay Area chess worker (Michael Aigner was the other) in atrend that does not bold well for CalChess.
8) Here and There
Kudos to FM Eric Schiller for producing the first electronicissue of the CalChess Journal. Go to http://www.calchess.org/and look on the upper right-hand corner of the front-page.
The 31st Eastern Open, held over the Christmas holidays in WashingtonD.C. was won by GM Alexander Ivanov with a score of 7 from 8, goodfor $1500.
IM Stanislav Smetankin was second at 6, earning him $1000.
All those who have followed Bobby Fischer's career remember that1958 was a breakout year for him. The famous trip to the Soviet Union andlater Yugoslavia, where he played in the Interzonal and qualified for theCandidates tournament, is well known.
Newsletter reader Rusty Miller has sent in an article from theAugust 1958 Washington Chess Letter that sheds further light on Bobby'sfirst trip to Europe. Larry Finley, a chess-playing high schoolstudent from Lake Oswego, Oregon, in Europe for the summer and reportingabout his adventures for the Portland paper the Oregon Journal, befriendedBobby and wrote about it. Bobby and his sister Joan had a few daysin Belgium before flying on to Moscow, and Larry heard that Bobby wouldbe spending the weekend in Brussels. The World's Fair was being held thereand Larry, who was working as a guide, offered to show Bobby and his sisteraround. Finley mentions that the Soviet exhibit with its emphasis on technologyand big machines was a hit with Bobby.
He concludes his report by noting that they played a game at the endof Bobby's stay which Fischer won easily.
Congratulations to MI member Shivkumar Shivaji who had an excellentresult in Lindsborg a few weeks ago. Shiv played a strong field and defeatedIM Anna Zatonskih (the second time in six months) and FMs John Bickand Movses Movsesian while drawing with GM Nikola Mitkovand IM Ron Burnett. His only losses were to GM Yury Shulmanand IMs Jesse Kraai and Renier Gonzalez.
Newsletter #226, 01/12/2005
As for the principles of how to improve your game, they can be statedvery simply:
a) Immerse yourself in chess culture
b) Analyze your own games, avoiding self deception
c) Play in the best tournaments you can get
And that's it.
Nigel Davies
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
The past week has been a busy one at the Mechanics'. Last night wasthe start of the nine round Winter Tuesday Night Marathon. It isstill possible to enter this FIDE-rated event with a half point bye forthe first round.
IM Vinay Bhat leads the Michael Franett Memorial, a 12-playerIM norm roundrobin, with 6.5 from 8 followed by FM David Pruesswith 5.5. Complete standings and games can be found at http://www.chessclub.org/Franett05.html. Here is the most critical game so far in the race for first place.
Pruess (2394) - Bhat (2410)
Michael Franett Memorial San Francisco (6), 2005
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.Nf3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d5 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Ndb5a6 8.e4 Nb4 9.Bg5 f6 10.Bxf6 Qxd1+ 11.Rxd1 axb5 12.Rd8+ Kf7 13.Rxc8 Kxf614.a3 Na2 15.e5+ Kxe5 16.f4+ Kxf4 17.Be2 Nxc3 18.bxc3 Ke5 19.Rf1 b4 20.axb4Ra1+ 21.Bd1 Nd7 22.Rf7 Nf6 23.Rcxf8 Rxf8 24.Rxf8 Ne4 25.Rc8 Kf4 26.Rf8+Ke5 27.Rc8 Rc1 28.Rb8 Rb1 29.Rc8 Rc1 30.Rb8 Nxc3 31.Kd2 Rxd1+ 32.Kxc3 Rd733.Kc4 Kd6 34.Rh8 h6 35.Kd4 Kc6+ 36.Ke3 Re7 37.Ke4 Kb5 38.Ke5 Kxb4 39.Kd6Rf7 40.Rh7 b5 41.h4 Kc3 42.g4 b4 43.g5 hxg5 44.hxg5 b3 45.g6 Ra7 46.Rh3+Kb4 47.Rh4+ Ka3 48.Rf4 b2 49.Rf7 Rxf7 0–1
The 5th Annual Bob Burger Open held this past Saturday featuredplenty of upsets. IM Ricardo De DeGuzman was defeated by SlovakMaster Peter Zavadsky in round four and Zavadsky was defeated inturn by Anthony Rozenvasser in the last round. Rozenvasser's 5-0score puts him very close to earning his USCF Master title. Tying for secondat 4 in the 44-player field were Zavadsky, Victor Ossipov, Keith McDanieland Sam Shankland. Anthony Corrales directed for the MI.
2) USCF EB Candidates
The January 10 deadline has passed and 9 Candidates have collected their30 signatures and paid a $250 filing fee to run for the USCF ExecutiveBoard. Four spots are open on the Board for the nine Candidates. Bauer,Shutt and Shaughnessy are incumbents, Goichberg is aformer EB member. Tanner, John and Sloan have runbefore but not been elected. There are two new faces running. Joel Channingis a businessman from Florida and a member of the USCF Chess Trust. InternationalMaster Gregory Shahade is by far the strongest chessplaying memberof those running for office. The past few years he has cut back on hisplaying to start up and run the New York Masters, a weekly tournament featuringparticipation from many Grandmasters. This event has been consistentlysuccessful in attracting a variety of sponsors, an area where the USCFhas always had difficulty. The mail ballot election, in which all USCFmembers age 16 and over are eligible to vote, will be this summer. Ballotswill appear in Chess Life.
Randy Bauer
Joel Channing
Bill Goichberg
George John
Steve Schutt
Greg Shahade
Elizabeth Shaughnessy
Sam Sloan
Robert Tanner
3) Nakamura vs. Polgar Chess Exhibition
17-year-old U.S. Chess Champion Hikaru Nakamura and World Women'stop-ranked Grandmaster Susan Polgar have agreed to play a uniqueexhibition game during the Millennium Chess Festival on February 26, 2005,in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, it was announced today.
The unique annual event is called the GM Dinner / Exhibition Match,and features two grandmasters playing each other from separate rooms beforea live audience with moves relayed by radio. As they play, the GMs explainfor the audience what they are thinking about and why they are choosingcertain options. For the average casual player it is an opportunity forinsight into the amazing mind of a chess grandmaster. (The GMs play on?wallboards? that allow the audience to follow along with the moves he/sheis discussing.)
This year's event, the fourth in a popular series started in 2002 atthe Millennium Chess Festival, features two very famous players:
GM Susan Polgar was a child prodigy in her native Hungary, and becamethe first woman to earn the men's chess Grandmaster title. She taught hertwo younger sisters how to play and they also became grandmasters (theyoungest, Judit, now ranked #9 on the world men's rankings list.). Susanwon her 4th World Championship title in 1996 before retiring to have afamily. Now a U.S. citizen she returned to chess in 2004 to lead the USAto a first-ever medal in the prestigious World Chess Olympiad. Inaddition to the team Silver medal, Susan also captured 2 additional individualGold medals and 1 Silver medal including best overall performance of theWomen?s Olympiad bringing her total medal count to 10 (5 Gold, 4 Silverand 1 Bronze). In addition, she has a 56 consecutive Olympiad gamescoring streak without a single loss (this is comparable to Joe DiMaggio'sincredible 56-game hitting streak in baseball). In fact, she has neverlost a single game in the Olympiads.
GM Hikaru Nakamura last month won the U.S. Chess Championship, at justage 17. At age 10 years and 2 months, he became the youngest American master,shattering Bobby Fischer's record. He was born in Japan and now livesin New York. Nakamura is regarded by many experts as the best Americantalent since Bobby Fischer to have a chance to one-day challenge for theWorld Championship. He is known for hyper-aggressive and imaginative tacticalplay and has been shooting up the world rankings. On January 1, 2005,Hikaru for the first time broke through the world?s top 100 ranking.
The GM Dinner / Exhibition Match will take place Saturday, February26, 2005, at 7:30pm, at the Millennium Chess Festival at the Ramada PlazaOceanfront Resort, 57th & Atlantic Street, in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The Millennium Chess Festival (Feb 25-27) is sponsored by the consultingfirm of Booz Allen Hamilton and is presented by Beach Events and the cityof Virginia Beach.
The Festival also includes the main tournament, in which many GMs andother players of all strengths will compete in various class sections,plus other special events including a lecture by Susan Polgar and a Fischer-RandomChess blitz tournament.
For more information, see http://www.geocities.com/millenniumchessfestival
Contact: Tom Braunlich
[email protected]
(918)749-3163
4) Pal Benko My Life, Games and Compositions wins BCF Award
BRITISH CHESS FEDERATION
BOOK OF THE YEAR 2004
The choice this year came down to two books of contrasting but greatmerit. The first is:
My Great Predecessors 2 by Gary Kasparov Everyman £25.00continues the high standard established in volume 1, which won last yearsBook of the Year Award. Indeed if anything it is even better as Kasparovis on more familiar ground as he met and played most of the champions discussedin the second volume, which considers Euwe, Botvinnik and Smyslov and Tal,with vignettes on Bronstein and Keres. He is particularly good on his earlycoach and mentor, Botvinnik writing with great sympathy about that remarkablemans strengths and weaknesses. As before the book is beautifully produced.
The second book is quite different as it concentrates at great length-668 pages in all-on one player.Pal Benko My Life, Games and CompositionsGM Pal Benko and IM Jeremy Silman Siles Press £31.50. It is furthersubtitled Opening Survey by IM John Watson and Foreword by GMSusan Polgar.
This is a remarkable work. Silman explains that he was dissatisfiedwith the conventional best game collections and wanted to create a chessbiography of a man that he "admired, who was part of chess history, whoplayed many beautiful games, and who lived a colourful life that transcendedmere chess concerns-life death struggles, sexuality, financial stabilityetc". All this and more can be found here and the book paints a vivid pictureof Benko's eventful life and times by means of interviews, photographsand stories of the personalities met on the way.
The chess side is also very well covered with 138 annotated games, adescription of the evolution of the Benko Gambit by the founder himselfand a 132 page survey by John Watson on Benko's contribution toopening theory. Last but not least, the book includes 91 pages on Benko'sworldwide reputation as a problem and end game study composer.
No wonder, then, that this book is one of the heaviest chess books thejudges have seen- but it is also one of the best.The choice then was adifficult one; but the judges unanimously selected the Benko volume asit exemplified a new and refreshing approach to chess biography. Gary canconsole himself that he has another 3 volumes coming out in his My GreatPredecessors series, which will surely be in contention for the Book ofthe Year award in the future.
6) Here and There
The annual Rilton Cup, held in Stockholm over the New Year waswon by GMs Sergey Volkov and Evgeny Gleizerov of Russia andthe Swede
Emanuel Berg with 7 from 9. The Bay Area's Nick deFirmianwas among those tied for fourth at 6.5.
The January 2005 FIDE shows some changes at the top with Bulgaria'sVeselinTopalov moving into the number three spot the most prominent.GaryKasparov showed how tough it is to pick up points when you are ratedover 2800. His 7.5 from 10 score in winning the Russian Championship nettedhim only 5 rating points while he dropped 14 in the European Club Championship.Meanwhile Viswanathan Anand picked up 5 in the Chess Olympiad. Ibelieve the 18 point gap is the narrowest ever between these players. Ifresults were only counted in for the past few years Anand would be numberone.
1. Kasparov – 2804
2. Anand – 2786
3. Topalov – 2757
4. Kramnik – 2754
5. Leko – 2749
6. Morozevich – 2741
7. Adams – 2741
8. Svidler – 2735
9. Bacrot – 2715
10. Shirov – 2713
The US has five players in the top 100 - Onischik is =46 at 2652to top the list. Others are:Seirawan at 69 (2631), Kaidanovat 71 (2629), Goldin at 73 (2628) and Nakamura at 99 ( 2613).The US Championship which ended close to the FIDE rating deadline was notcounted and will be included on the April list as will two other Nakamurasuccesses - the Western States Open ( 3.5 from 4 vs. 2550 GMs plus twoother wins) and the match with Karjakan (4.5-1.5).With these eventscounted he should be in the 2640s, close to 2650.
Top ten women:
1. Z. Polgar - 2577
2. Xie Jun – 2573
3. Koneru – 2512
4. Chiburdanidze – 2509
5. Zhao Xue – 2502
6. Zhu Chen – 2494
7. Stefanova – 2491
8. Kosteniuk – 2490
9. Xu Yuhua – 2487
10. Cramling – 2481
Zsuzsa Polgar returns to the list and takes the top spot afterher great result in the Olympiad. Notice the huge gap between the top twoand the rest.
Other US players in the top 50 include: Irina Krush at #17 (2466)and Anna Zatonskih at #29 (2435).
Newsletter #227, 01/19/2005
"Chess, like any creative activity, can exist only through the combinedefforts of those who have creative talent, and
those who have the ability to organize their creative work."
Mikhail Botvinnik
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
IM Vinay Bhat has won the Michael Franett Memorial. Bhathas 8.5 from 10 with one game remaining with IM Ricardo DeGuzman.The race for second has yet to be decided. FM David Pruess justmissed the IM norm by half a point and finished with 7.5 points from 11games. Mongolian IM Odondoo Ganbold has 5 from 8 with three gamesremaining. Standings and games played to date can be found at http://www.chessclub.org/Franett05.html.
IM Odondoo Ganbold and Batchimeg Tuvshintugs are the top seedsin the 70-player Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Night Marathon. It'sstill possible to enter the 9 round event with byes for the first two rounds.
Tonight the MI Wednesday Night Blitz will be held at 7pm.
2) Victor Frias 1956-2005
One of America's friendliest International Masters, Victor Frias, passed away this past Saturday, January 15, at the age of 48 in New Yorkafter a brief illness. Born February 10, 1956, in Santiago, Chile, Victor represented his birthplace in three Olympiads (1976, 1978 and 1984)but played most of his chess in the United States, his homeland for thelast twenty years of his life. Awarded the IM title in 1982 Victor wasfor at least a decade one of the strongest International Masters in theworld. His peak FIDE rating of 2530 attests to his strength.
Victor played very little the last part of his life. Bay Area chessfans will remember his second place finish in the 1997 San Francisco Internationalorganized by Jim Eade. His final event, a rapid tournament on LongIsland last April, saw him go 3-1, drawing GMs Hikaru Nakamuraand Alexander Stripunsky.
Besides being a very strong player Victor was a longtime coach. Hismost successful job was helping GM-to-be Ilya Gurevich win the WorldJunior Championship on tiebreak from Alexey Shirov. GM PatrickWolff was another Samford Scholar that Frias worked with extensively.Victor led many US delegations to World Youth, World Junior and Pan AmericanChampionships. He coached at Dalton Academy, managed the Marshall ChessClub and directed the Yonkers Projects Chess Club Program. Despite allof his considerable chess accomplishments Victor will be best rememberedby his many friends for his love of life and sharp wit. He may have onlylived 48 years but he burned the candle brightly.
Victor was cremated on January 17. A memorial service will beheld Saturday, January 22, 2005 at the Marshall Chess Club in Manhattanat 1:00pm He is survived by his wife, Zoe Ann Tiltonand two sons, Camilo and Pablo.
Victor was never a great opening specialist. He didn't particularlylike opening books and stopped playing before laptop computers became requiredfor professionals. I remember him telling me once that Larsen's Best Gameswas the book that influenced him the most. He was a particularly good endgameplayer and frequently outplayed strong players in this phase of the game.The following game is a good example.
Frias (2515) - Wojtkiewicz (2575) [E32]
San Francisco Mechanics San Francisco (5), 1997
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 0-0 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.Qxc3 b6 7.Nf3Bb7 8.g3 d6 9.Bg2 Nbd7 10.0-0 c5 11.Rd1 Rc8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 14.dxc5Rxc5 15.b4 Rc7 16.Qd4 Qe7 17.Qxd6 Qxd6 18.Rxd6 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Rxc4 20.Bb7Rb8 21.Ba6 Rc3 22.Kf1 Kf8 23.Ke1 Nd5 24.Rd7 Rc7 25.Rxc7 Nxc7 26.Bd3 Ke727.Rc1 Kd7 28.f4 f6 29.Kf2 Rc8 30.Kf3 Nd5 31.Rxc8 Kxc8 32.Bc4 Nc7 33.Kg4Kd7 34.Kh5 Ke7 35.Kg6 Kf8 36.e4 a6 37.h4 a5 38.bxa5 bxa5 39.a4 Ne8 40.Bxe6Nd6 41.Bd5 Nc8 42.Kf5 Nb6 43.Bb3 Nd7 44.Bc4 Nc5 45.Bb5 Kf7 46.h5 Ke7 47.e5fxe5 48.Kxe5 Ne6 49.Kd5 Nf8 50.Kc5 Ne6+ 51.Kb6 Nd4 52.Kxa5 1-0
3) The battle of the Dmitrys: 2004 US Championship
Senior Master Dmitry Zilberstein of Fremont was in tremendousform the first seven rounds of the US Championship with a scoreof 4-3 versus 6 GMs and 1 IM, but then he faced the other Dmitry in thetournament. The following notes are based on those that Dmitry Gurevichgave immediately after the game while doing commentary for the ICC andspectators at the event. Incidentally our Dmitry won a special prize forhis brilliant win over GM Alexander Ivanov in a game that is appearingin chess magazines around the planet. I just saw it featured in LarryChristiansen's report in the German monthly Schach.
Gurevich - Zilberstein [D38]
US Champ, 2004
1.c4 e6 2.Nf3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3
I saw that Dmitry played well against my normal Catalan (4.g3) andso decided to try something different
4...Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bxf6 Qxf6 8.Qa4+
I adopted this system of play after analysing a game of my studentIgor Tsyganov who played it against Georgi Kachieshvili.
8...Nc6 9.e3 0-0 10.Be2 Be6 11.0-0 a6
The idea is to be able to play ...Bd6 without being bothered by Nb5.
12.Rfc1 Bd6
The battle lines are drawn. White will attack on the queenside andBlack the kingside. The late Tigran Petrosian handled the White side ofsuch positions with great understanding.
13.a3 Ne7 14.Qd1
A multi-purpose move. I strengthen my Kingside and free a4 for theKnight.
14...Rad8 15.Na4 Bc8 16.Nc5 c6
More direct was 16...g5 when I planned 17.e4
17.b4
Here it was very difficult to choose between the move which I playedlaunching a minority attack and 17.Qb3 Bxc5 18.Rxc5 which is very appealingsince Black's attacking Bishop has been exchanged off.
17...g5 18.g3
A preventive move. Now if 18...g4 I have 19.Nh4.
18...Nf5 19.Ne1
Another prophylactic move designed to stop ...h5.
19...Kg7
In view of what occurs Black might consider the immediate 19...h5 butafter 20.Bxh5 Kg7 21.Bg4 Rh8 22.Qf3 I see no clear compensation for thepawn.
20.Bh5
Radically stopping ...h5 by occupying the square.
20...Bc7 21.a4
White continues with his queenside attack and is getting ready to playb5.
21...Nd6 22.Bg4
Trading Bishops blunts Black's attack. White is counting long termon his superior structure.
22...Bxg4 23.Qxg4 Qe7 24.Ned3 Bb8 25.Qh3 Rfe8 26.Ra2 f6 27.Rac2Qf7
The critical position of the game. Here at first I thought I was muchbetter. All my pieces look good but how to improve them? Then I realizedthat I couldn't and that if I didn't immediately undertake active operationsI might soon be worse. Another factor in choosing the following courseof action was that my opponent was down to less than 10 minutes to reachmove 40 while I had 25.
28.Nxa6 bxa6 29.Rxc6
For the sacrificed piece I have two pawns and the promise of a thirdcoming. Objectively I am no better but it is a difficult psychologicalmoment for my opponent who must adapt to the changed circumstance. Previouslyhe had a very solid structure (...c6, ...d5) but now it's an extra piecebut a loose position.
29...Qb7?
Dmitry immediately blunders. Instead 29...a5 30.bxa5 Nc4 31.a6 wascritical.
30.Nc5 Qxb4?
This was the fatal error but easy to explain as Dmitry wanted to justifyhis previous move. Instead he had to return with his Queen: 30...Qf7.
31.Ne6+ Rxe6 32.Qxe6 Ne4 33.Kg2 Kg6 34.Rc8 Qd2 35.R1c2 Qa5 36.Rxd8Qxd8 37.Rc8 Qd6 38.Rg8+ 1-0
4) Here and There
IM Melik Khachiyan was the easy winner of the Western ClassChampionship held January 15-17 in Los Angeles. Khachiyan beat IMTim Taylor and GM Amir Bagheri to take first with a score of5.5 from 6. IM Enrico Sevillano lost in round two but then won fourgames in a row to take second with 5 points. Tying for third at 4 in the27-player Open section were Bagheri, Taylor and FM Michael Casella.205 players competed in the multi-section event organized by Bill Goichberg'sContinental Chess Association.
Correspondence IM Simon Fitzpatrick died last August at 51 aftera long struggle with cancer. A Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at the Universityof Western Australia, Simon did his Doctorial studies at the Universityof Washington in the mid-1970s and was quite active in the Seattle chessscene.
De Faria - Fitzpatrick
ICCF 1997
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.cxd5 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd1 exd5 7.Qxd5Bd7 8.Nf3 Nf6 9.Qd1 Bc5 10.e3 Qe7 11.Be2 0-0-0 12.0-0 g5 13.Qc2 g4
14.Nd2 Kb8 15.a3 Rc8 16.b4 Bd6 17.Nc4 Bc7 18.Bb2 Ne5 19.Nd2 Rhg820.Rac1 Bc6 21.b5 Bxh2+ 23.Kxh2 Qe5+ 24.g3 Qh5+ 25.Kg1 Bxf3 26.Nxf3 gxf3
27.Ne2 Rxc2 28.Be5+ Qxe5 29.Rxc2 fxe2 0-1
USCF Election News: The ballots will be in the June 2005issue of Chess Life. Eligible voting members are those USCF members onJune 30, 2005 who are 16 or older as of June 30, 2005 and who reside inthe United States. USCF members who are eligible to vote but do not receiveChess Life as a membership benefit
must request a ballot by mailing a request for a ballot, includingtheir date of birth and a self-addressed stamped envelope, to the USCFoffice by June 15th, 2005.
The following minature by 75-year-old San Francisco IM Walter Shipmanappeared not too long ago in IM Jack Peters' column in the LA Times.
IM Walter Shipman - IM Kong Deng
Dutch A80
American Open Los Angeles, 2004
1.d4 f5 2.Bg5 h6 3.Bh4 g5 4.e4 Rh7 5.Qh5+ Rf7 6.Bxg5 hxg5 7.Nf3fxe4 8.Nxg5 Nh6 9.Nc3 c5 10.0–0–0 cxd4 11.Rxd4 Qa5 12.Rd5 Qb6 13.Rf5 1–0
Newsletter #228, 01/26/2005
"You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5,and the path leading out is only wide enough for one."
Mikhail Tal
IM Vinay Bhat won the Michael Franett Memorial with theconvincing score of 9 from 11. Tying for second and third at 7.5 were IMOdondoo Ganbold and FM David Pruess. The latter just missedmaking his final IM norm by half a point. Youngsters Nicolas Yapand Matthew Ho held their own against higher-rated and more experiencedopposition. The Category 3 ( 2311 FIDE) tournament was particularly hard-foughtwith only 14 draws from 66 played.
Other scores: 4-5. IM DeGuzman and FM Stein 6.5; 6. NM Yap 6; 7.NM Ho 5.5; 8. NM Aigner 5; 9. FM Lobo 4.5; 10. WGM Baginskaite 3.5; 11.WFM Batchimeg 3; 12. FM Thornally 1.5.
Go to http://www.chessclub.org/Franett05.html for the crosstable andall games from the event. STEIN - DeGuzman (best game), Thornally-BAGINSKAITE(best opening) and Ho-GANBOLD (best ending) were selected by GM Alex Yermolinskyand NM Stephen Brandwein for special prizes.
Tuvshintugs Batchimeg, Igor Margulis, Victor Ossipov, Lazar Shnaidermanand Igor Traub are tied for first with perfect scores after three roundsof the Mechanics' Institute Tuesday Night Winter Marathon. A half pointback are IM Odondoo Ganbold and FM Frank Thornally.
2) The Andrew I Knew
The Andrew I Knew
By Don Schultz
The Andrew I knew went by the name of Arnold. His real name was Andrew,but an Uncle kept calling him Arnold and it stuck. Family, the chess worldand everyone always called him Arnold and few knew that was not his name.
“Hello Don, this is Arnold” - Over the last quarter century, Arnoldwould call me at every few days and these were the words I first heard.I’ll never hear them again and, each time my telephone rings, I will thinkof Arnold.
Yes, I will miss him, but I will also look back with pleasure at thefun time of the past, how fortunate I was to have as my friend: “The ManChess Loved”
When I think of Arnold, I think of the press rooms of the great worldchampionships of the eighties. Typically you would see, surrounded by journalists,Arnold and a few of his friends such as Tal and Najdorf holding court.There were no computers to help the press, only the candid discussion amongthese giants of the chess world.
At chess meetings, Arnold had a little trick that few ever realized.It was always pre-planned and always worked though used sparingly for justthe right debates. Here is how it worked. During the debate, Arnold wouldremain quiet. Then suddenly he would jump up, rush to the mike, pay noaddition to those waiting to be recognized and bypassed them in line. Hewould shout in the microphone: “This is a disgrace, I can’t believe youare even thinking of doing this; I’m getting out of here.” He would thenturn and head for the door. Always, before he reached the door someonefrom the opposition would say” “Wait Arnold, don’t leave, we will workthis out, how about . . .”
When I think of Arnold, I think of Gabriel Schartzman whom we bothmet at the chess Olympiad in Thessalonika, Greece in 1988. Gabriel, then12 years old, came to us and said: “Hello, my name is Gabriel Schwartzmanand I am a chessplayer, Would you like to see some of my games.” “Sure,”we said. Well, we were so impressed that we arranged for a match betweenGabriel and Arnold in Florida. Gabriel and his family later became lifelongfriends of ours. Gabriel also became the youngest grandmaster in the world,He went to the U of Florida, studied business administration and has achievedgreat success as an American businessman. He and his parents are now enjoyinga life in Florida they would never have realized had they stayed in Romania.Both Arnold and I take great satisfaction in having had something to dowith that.
Another time, Rhona Petroysan, widow of former world champion TigranPetroysan asked Arnold if he could help her move to the States. Arnoldand I discussed this and decided the easiest way was to find an Americanchessplayer for Rhona to marry. We decided our friend Donald Stone wasthe perfect person. “What are you nuts?” were Stone’s immediate reply toour request. We were a bit taken back by this since Donald , who was inhis late seventies, always responded to a call for help when it involvedthe game he loved. Nevertheless, we weren't about to be put off so easily.Stone continued: “I’m only a B player. I've been married before and vowedI’d never do it again. I’m too old.” We listened to all these attemptsby Stone to avoid his responsibility but remained undeterred. Finally ourpersistence succeeded: “Okay” he said, “Is she pretty?” We gave Rhona andDonald the information they needed in order to get in touch with each other.But, the marriage never took place as Rhona found a way to enter the U.S.through more conventional means.
Arnold’s second passion was going to the race track. He and I wouldsit indoors watching the odds change, suddenly he would jump up and rushaway to place his bet. He’d return and say in a loud voice to me: “I betten big ones on number five,” heads would turn to see who the big bettorwas. What they didn’t realize was ten big ones meant ten bucks which iswhat Arnold and I generally would bet on any race.
Upon leaving the track, I’d generally drop Arnold off at his apartmentand head home. Arnold would call Teresa to let her know I’m on my way.When Teresa answered, she would immediately say: “Okay Arnold, how muchmoney did you almost win today?” You see Arnold would never lose; he wouldwin or almost win.
Another time as I was about to leave my seat, Arnold said to me: “Don,I was up all night handicapping this race and number six can’t lose, takemy word for it.” Now Arnold was an excellent handicapper, so I left andbet on six. I returned to my seat and looked over at Arnold still studyingthe race. He turned and said: “Gosh, how did I miss this look at that fourhorse, I’m betting big bucks on him.” Arnold jumped up, left and bet onthe four horse. Of course the four horse won and the six horse came inlast.
In many ways, Arnold was the most impatient man I ever knew. He wouldnever wait for a red light. Whether in Buenos Aires, New York or Paris,Arnold would rush across the street weaving left and right dodging carslike any football star rushing downfield on a hundred yard run.
Arnold and I didn’t always agree. One time we had a serious argument.Finally Arnold got up, left my hotel room and slammed the door. I rushedto the door opened it up and called to Arnold; “Okay, we will do it yourway.” He turned, smiled and said: “See it always works!”
3) FIDE
This and the following section on the USCF (4) might offer more on chesspolitics than Newsletter readers want to see, but I would argue that thestakes for International and American chess are higher than they have everbeen. Chess on the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds, more kids areplaying than ever before and some serious groups (AF4C, HB Foundation)are getting involved, but the USCF and FIDE are both disfunctional organizations.Chessplayers need to educate themselves on the issues and remember to votein the USCF EB elections this summer.
Many have no doubt read about Garry Kasparov's recent decision to dropout of the Prague Agreement after much frustration of the organizationof his match with Kazimzhanov. The following is a response to IMTony Saidy by GM Yasser Seirawan who has done much to try to patch up theschism in the chess world.
Dear Tony
Thanks for forwarding. I had read Kasparov’s statement at theChess Base website. Reading Golubev’s comments provided an interestingcontrast. So, Kasparov is out of the picture. I guess a lotof folks at FIDE will be happy. Now they can get back to their committeemeetings and help WADA with its lists of banned drugs that must be controlled. Kramnik can breathe easier. He won’t have to exhaust himself defendinghis title for another five years. And those who criticized Kasparov’sinclusion will be mighty pleased. Apathy, the greatest force in theuniverse, wins again!
Personally, I think it a very sad day for chess when the greatest playerever, gives up playing for the highest honor. For well over two years,since December 2002, I saw this day coming. I saw how incompetentOmuku was. Later, when his corruption was revealed, he was forcedto resign. I have seen how Makro and others behave at FIDE and Irealized that organization is a colossal under-achiever. I have seenthe brazen lies and dirty dealings of our FIDE representatives Doyle andKelleher and knew that they would support the status quo. And fordecades I’ve witnessed how the leaders of the USCF are more interestedin advancing their personal agendas then they are in helping chess growand blossom. What a collective embarrassment for the chess world.
Unfortunately, chess has not reached its low mark. I’ve watchedhow the most talented players from around the world have given up chessto earn a living in the public and private sectors. New teen talentswill always be found. When they in turn move on from chess, new teentalents will emerge. Chess is on a downward spiral and it will, sadto say, continue unless new leaders step forwards. I’ve tried tobring new people into chess and whether it is the USCF’s leaders or FIDE’s,the knee-jerk reaction has been to say to them, “Go away. We aredoing fine without you!” Remarkable but true. While we areall poorer for where we stand today, the real losers are the players andfans.
Yasser
4) USCF
Kalev Pehme was recently fired as editor of Chess Life by a 5-2 voteof the USCF Executive Board (Marinello, Hanke, Shutt, Shaughnessy and Bauervoted to fire Pehme, Schultz and Brady against). Glenn Peterson has beennamed acting editor. The USCF was in the process of conducting a searchfor a new editor but it now appears this may be delayed until after theExecutive Board elections in August.
Evaluating Chess Life editors is not easy to do. The magazine you readis one way to judge but doesn't factor in what sort of resources were madeavailable to the editor. How many pages did the budget allow? What sortof staff support was there? What was the funding for contributors? Theanswers to all these questions need to be factored in. Readers may havedifferent tastes but no one can fault Kalev Pehme on fulfilling two majorobligations of every editor. Under his direction Chess Life came out ina timely fashion, more so than any other editor in recent memory. Thisfact was no doubt appreciated by the many organizers that place tournamentannouncements in Chess Life. Readers of the magazine probably enjoyed thatstories were current and not recaps of events they had read about on theInternet 6 months ago. Mr. Pehme, while producing issues promptly, wasalso successful in avoiding the horrible. Little mistakes did creep inhere and there but nothing close to disastrous. Judging his performancecompared to past editors it would appear he fell from grace with the currentEB for political rather than performance related issues.
The direction of the USCF and in particular the question of how to attractsponsors is coming to the front as a major issue in this year's USCF ExecutiveBoard elections. The mail ballot election, in which all USCF members age16 and over are eligible to vote, will be this summer. Ballots will appearin Chess Life. Don't forget to vote!
Former USCF President John McCrary writes:
The fundamental problems for USCF are these two:
1) Our old membership is aging and being insufficiently replaced;
2) There is a huge boom in chess interest in our culture, but USCF lacks
the resources to tap into that boom. ( I just saw a new major TV commercial
mentioning chess.)
Unfortunately, some are now trying to argue that if the budget is balanced
on existing revenues, that achievement, however, laudable, will be
sufficient. I firmly feel, however, that unless our lagging membership
trends are reversed, in a few years we will be balancing a much smaller
budget for a shrunken organization.
My suggested solution has been to develop working relationships withmajor
sponsors. Only then can we correct our membership trends by creatinga new
system of positive feedback, with seven-figure fund-raising, to replacethe
current system of negative feedback with diminishing resources whichlead
to more diminishing resources, etc. Much of my effort as President( at my
own expense of thousands of dollars) was devoted to trying to createsuch
relationships with major sponsors for the long-term future.
Keep in mind that the US Championship fund of over $250,000 was raisedby
only a few sponsors, but it nearly equaled USCF's budget surplus that
required the entire USCF membership to create! Yet, AF4C, when theytried
to initiate talks for larger involvement with USCF, had the door slammed
rudely in their faces last summer and fall, by officers who refusedeven to
call them to talk or just to be courteous. I fear they may soon jointhe
ranks of previous sponsors who have concluded that working with USCF's
bizarre political/Internet culture is impossible. Yet, without sponsorship
the USCF has no long-term hope. Just look at the demographics.
regards, John McCrary
USCF Members Certified as Candidates for 2005 Election to USCF ExecutiveBoard-in order as a result of the drawing
1. Robert Tanner
2. Sam Sloan
3. Bill Goichberg
4. Greg Shahade
5. George John
6. Elizabeth Shaughnessy
7. Steve Shutt
8. Randy Bauer
9. Joel Channing
This information was provided by Don Schultz, USCF Secretaryafter the drawing.
5) CalChess
Dear CalChess Coach,
The president and board of CalChess invite you to attend a coaches meetingat Fort Mason, San Francisco, room C355 on Sunday January 30, 2005 from2:30
to 5:30 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the 2005 CalChessScholastic State Championships which will take place at the Herbst Pavilionat Fort Mason, San Francisco, on May 6, 7, and 8, 2005. I will email anagenda of the meeting nearer to the date.
We expect the meeting to be collaborative as opposed to confrontationalso there will be no votes taken on issues though if there is a strong sensein the room for a particular change we will certainly give it strongconsideration.
Larger chess programs are requested to have just one person as theirspokesperson. In the days following this meeting the CalChess scholasticcommittee will draw up a rules and regulations statement which will becirculated by email for comment to all the participants. The final draftwill be issued shortly after all comments on the first draft have beenreviewed.
Thank you all for your work with children. I hope you will come andhelp shape the future of CalChess State Scholastic Championships. We willbuild on our fine tradition and carry it forward.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Shaughnessy, President, CalChess.
6) Here and There
"Dear John
I am writing to you regarding a new web site that I think will beof great interest to your members in terms of improving their chess andraising some money
for your club. The website is called www.improveyourchess.com andis dedicated to improving the play of all players up to 2000 grading orso.
As you will see when you visit the site, players like Jennifer Shahade,our Associate Director (United States) and John Watson recommend us veryhighly.
The site is not due to take off until February, but as you willsee we are making special offers to early responders who indicate an interestin joining our
Chess Gym. In return for any of your members joining the gym wewill donate $5 to your club, an offer that will be open until February.
A great deal of work has gone into the gym and we are confidentthanks to the help from average club players and grandmasters alike thatit will make a significant contribution to the world of chess.
I do hope you can forward this message to your members and I thankyou in anticipation.
Yours in chess,
Tony Kosten
Grandmaster
Editor
PS We will donate the $5 even if your members come in
on a cut price subscription
goto:www.improveyourchess.com to guarantee becoming a winner.
The following marathon from the second group in Wijk aan Zee saw Stefanovatwice saddled with the dreaded Irish pawn center (tripled pawns) as dubbedby the late Tony Miles.
Cheparinov - Stefanova
Corus Chess 2005 Wijk aan Zee (8), 2005
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4 Bb78.Nc3 b4 9.Nd5 Nd4 10.Nxd4 Bxd4 11.c3 bxc3 12.bxc3 Ba7 13.d4 Nxd5 14.exd5exd4 15.Re1+ Kf8 16.d6 cxd6 17.Qh5 Qf6 18.Bg5 Qg6 19.Qxg6 hxg6 20.Re7 d521.Rxd7 Bc6 22.Rc7 Be8 23.g3 Bb6 24.Rb7 Ba5 25.Bxd5 Bxc3 26.Rab1 Rh5 27.h4Rxg5 28.hxg5 Rd8 29.Bc4 d3 30.Rb8 Rxb8 31.Rxb8 d2 32.Bb3 Ke7 33.Rb7+ Bd734.Kf1 a5 35.Ke2 Kd6 36.f3 f6 37.Bc2 fxg5
38.g4 Bc6 39.Rb8 Kc5 40.Rc8 Kd6 41.Bd1 Kd7 42.Rh8 Ke7 43.Kd3 Bb444.Rg8 Kf6 45.Rc8 Bd7 46.Rb8 Be6 47.Rb7 Bf7 48.Rb6+ Ke7 49.Ra6 Be6 50.Kd4Bf7 51.Ra7+ Kf6 52.Rc7 Ba3 53.Rc2 Bb4 54.Rc6+ Ke7 55.Ke4 Ba3 56.Rb6 Bb457.Rb5 Kf6 58.f4 gxf4 59.g5+ Ke7 60.Rb7+ Kf8 61.Kxf4 Bd5 62.Rb6 Bf7 63.Ke5Ke7 64.Rb7+ Kf8 65.Rc7 Ba2 66.Rb7 Bf7 67.Ke4 Be6 68.Kd4 Bf7 69.Kd3 Be670.Ke3 Bd5 71.Rd7 Be6 72.Rd8+ Ke7 73.Rh8 Ba2 74.Rh7 Kf8 75.Rh1 Ke7 76.Rh7Kf8 77.Kd3 Be6 78.Rh4 Ke7 79.Ke2 Bf5 80.Ke3 Kd6 81.Rh8 Be6 82.Rh7 Bf5 83.Rxg7Ke5 84.Rc7 Bb1 85.Rb7 Bf5 86.Rb5+ Ke6 87.Kd4 Bb1 88.Bb3+ Kd6 89.Rb6+ Kc790.Ra6 Bf5 91.Bd1 Bb1 92.Re6 Kd7 93.Rf6 Kc7 94.Kc4 Kd7 95.Kb3 Bf5 96.Kc4Bb1 97.Rf1 Bf5 98.Kd5 Be7 99.Rg1 Be6+ 100.Ke5 Bf5 101.Rg2 Bb4 102.Kd5 Ke7103.Re2+ Kd7 104.Rh2 Be6+ 105.Kd4 Bf5 106.Rh1 Kd6 107.Rh8 Bc5+ 108.Kc3Bb4+ 109.Kd4 Bc5+ 110.Kc4 Bb4 111.Re8 Bd7 112.Ra8 Ke5 113.Kd3 Kf4 114.Rd8Bf5+ 115.Kc4 Kxg5 116.Kd4 Kf4 117.Rh8 Kg5 118.Rh1 Kf4 119.Rf1+ Kg5 120.Ke3Kf6 121.Kd4 Kg5 122.Ke3 Kf6 123.Kd4 Ke6 124.Bb3+ Kd6 125.Bd1 Bc5+ 126.Kc4Bb4 127.Kd4 Bc5+ 128.Kc4 Bb4 129.Rh1 Be4 130.Rf1 Bd5+ 131.Kd4 Be6 132.Kd3Ke5 133.Ke3 Bf5 134.Rh1 Bc3 135.Rh8 g5 136.Re8+ Kd6 137.Rd8+ Ke6 138.Re8+Kf6 139.Rf8+ Kg6 140.Rg8+ Kf6 141.Rf8+ Kg6 142.Kf3 Bb4 143.Rg8+ Kf6 144.Ra8g4+ 145.Kg3 Bd6+ 146.Kh4 Bb4 147.Ra6+ Ke5 148.Kg3 Kd4 149.Ra8 Be6 150.Rd8+Ke4 151.Re8 Kf5 152.Bxg4+ Kg5 153.Rxe6 Bc3 154.Rc6 Bb4 155.Bd1 1–0
The State of Nebraska has contributed many brilliant minds of nationalrenown, but it now appears that this State has been holding out on us,for within its borders resides a chess genius of no mean ability as evidencedby his records, which speak for themselves. The winner of the Minor ChessTournament, held at Pasadena, California during the latter part of August1932, while the Major Tournament was in progress, was Mr. Howard E.Ohman, Assistant Pastor of the First Central Congregational Churchof Omaha, Nebraska.
Mr. Ohman won the Tournament, mentioned above, in which several Stateand Sectional Champions were entered, including Irving Spero, a formerchampion of Ohio, to whom Mr. Ohman lost his only game. The final scorebeing 9 won, 1 lost, and 1 draw. The draw being with Professor Bateman.Some short time ago Mr. Arthur Dake of Portland, Oregon, and a chessexpert of considerable reputation, paid Omaha a visit, and of course nothingwas more natural than for Mr. Dake and Mr. Ohman should exchange complementsin three informal sets of ten games in all.
Mr. Dake managed to win 5 to 3, with 2 drawn games. Mr. Ohman had aclear win in the last game, but made an oversight that cost him a pieceand the game; otherwise the final score would read, 4 to 4 with 2 draws.At any rate, the score actually made reflects great credit to winner andloser, alike.
Still later, and to convince possible skeptics that no fluke existed,Mr. Ohman won the City Championship by the remarkable score of 26 wins,none lost, with 2 drawn. And believe it or not, this makes the seventeenthstraight year that Mr. Ohman has won the Championship of Omaha!! As a fittingclimax, he also defeated the winner of the Class B Tournament by the scoreof 4 wins, with none lost.
Texas Chess Magazine 1933
Newsletter #229, 02/02/2005
"You sit at the board and suddenly your heart leaps. Your hand tremblesto pick up the piece and move it. But what Chess teaches you is thatyou
must sit there calmly and think about whether it's really a goodidea and whether there are other better ideas."
Stanley Kubrick
The Mechanics' will be hosting the 5th Annual HenryGross Memorial this Saturday. Round one of the five round G/45 event startsat 10am.
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club News
NM Igor Margulis is alone in first after four rounds of theWinterTuesday Night Marathon with a 4-0 score. Tied for second at 3.5 inthe nine round event are IM Ganbold Odondoo, NMs Batchimeg Tuvshintugs,Nicolas Yap and Russell Wong and Experts Victor Ossipov,Larry Snyder and Igor Traub.
Berkeley Class A player Steven Svoboda sends the following excitinggame against fellow Marathon regular Arthur Dembling.
Svoboda, S - Dembling, A [E28]
Fall Marathon, 2004
annotations by Donaldson
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 c5 6.e3 b6 7.Bd3 Bb78.f3 0-0 9.Ne2 Nc6 10.Bd2?!
This commits the Bishop to a passive square. The main line runs 10.0-0Na5 11.e4 Ne8 12.f4 f5 or 12...Ba6 13.f5 f6 . Note Black must prevent thef-pawn coming to f6; 13...Bxc4? 14.Bxc4 Nxc4 15.f6 Nxf6 16.Bg5 with a crushingattack.
10...d6
More energetic is 10...Na5 11.Ng3 (11.0-0 Ba6) ...Ba6 12.Qe2 d5 13.cxd5Bxd3 14.Qxd3 Qxd5 15.0-0 Qc4 with good play.
11.0-0 Na5 12.Ng3 Ba6 13.Qe2 Rc8 14.d5 e5?
This gives White a free hand. A better try is 14...Qd7!?
15.Nf5 Re8 16.e4 Nb3?
Necessary was 16...Nh5. Black cannot allow Bg5, pinning the Knight,in the Saemisch.
17.Bg5! Nxa1 18.Qf2!?
Possible was 18.Rxa1but Svoboda has bigger game in mind!
18...Rc7?!
Black had to try something radical like 18...h6 19.Bxh6 (19.Bh4 Kh720.Rxa1 g6 21.Ne3 g5 22.Bg3 Nh5) 19...Nh5.
19.Qh4 h5
This doesn't work well and neither does 19...Nb3 20.Nxg7! At this pointit is hard to suggest improvements.
20.f4!
20.Rxa1 was possible but the text is more to the point.
20...Bc8 21.Ng3?!
21.Nxg7 Kxg7 22.fxe5 wins immediately.
21...Bg4 22.h3 Qd7
On 22...exf4 then 23.Rxf4 Bd1 24.Bxf6 gxf6 25.Rxf6, with Nf5 coming,is decisive.
23.f5
If 23.fxe5 then 23...Nh7!. 23.Bxf6 gxf6 24.hxg4 Qxg4 25.Qxg4+ hxg426.Rxa1was also possible.
23...Nh7 24.hxg4 f6
Maybe 24...Nb3 25.gxh5 (25.Nxh5 f6 26.Be3 with g5 coming isn't so clear.)25...Nxg5 26.Qxg5 f6 had to be played.
25.Be3 Nb3 26.gxh5 Qe7 27.h6
Now the second wave of the attack picks up.
27...Ng5 28.Nh5?
28.hxg7! Qxg7 29.Nh5 won on the spot.
28...Qd8?
28...gxh6! and Black is still alive.Now White finishes the job.
29.Nxg7 Rxg7 30.hxg7 Kxg7 31.Qh5 Rg8 32.Kf2 Rh8 33.Qg6+ Kf8 34.Bxg5fxg5 35.f6 Rg8 36.Qh6+ Kf7 37.Qh7+ Kf8 38.f7 1-0
2) Matthew Ho wins 2005 Falconer Award
San Jose high school student Matthew Ho is the 2005 Falconeraward winner. Ho, who represented the United States in the World YouthChampionships in Greece last fall, received $2259, matching his 2259 ratingon the December 2004 USCF rating list. Previous recipients of theFalconer, given to the top player in Northern California under 18, includeNicolasYap, Michael Pearson and Vinay Bhat (3 times). This award ismade possible by the generosity of longtime MI Trustee Neil Falconer.
3) Ursula Foster (1927-2204)
Recently MI regular Mark Kastor asked me why he hadn't seen UrsulaFoster at any recent tournaments. I found the sad answer at the USCF websitein the section for remembering recently deceased members. Many Californiaplayers will remember Ursula for her love of the game and good cheer.
A lengthy obituary appears on the Modesto Bee website..http://www.modbee.com/local/story/8982645p-9876591c.html
4) Shulman-Miton match in Oklahoma
The Berry brothers of Stillwater are at it again. Frankand Jim Berry, who have run the North American Open for over a decade,and grown it into one of the strongest Labor Day tournaments in the UnitedStates will be sponsoring a match between young Polish 2600 GM KamilMiton and GM Yury Shulman of Brooklyn who recently tied forthird in th
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