Chess Room Newsletter #974

New Thursday Night Marathon Rounds 1&2 Report

by Abel Talamantez

The first two rounds of the new Thursday Night Marathon online format finished on Thursday, and we have a strong turnout of 44 players, including 2 GM's, 2 IM's, an FM and 2 NM's. This is an 8-round event with a time control of G/35+5, with two games played per evening over four weeks. We are broadcasting the Thursday Marathon live with commentary, so we may bring both the Tuesday and Thursday Marathons to all viewers online.

Since this is an open section tournament, the first two rounds were about underdogs looking for big upsets. GM Alex Lenderman, GM Gadir Guseinov, IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla, and FM Max Gedajlovic got through the first two rounds unscathed and go to next week 2/2. The two national masters in the tournament, NM Mike Walder and NM Tom Maser fell victim to mouse slips in their first round games. IM Elliott Winslow also faced a tough battle in round 1 against Paul Krezanoski resulting in a draw. Eight players remain with perfect scores headed into rounds 3 & 4 next Thursday night. 

For full standings, please visit the event page here: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/first-new-thursday-night-marathon-online. Watch the broadcast of all the action that evening by clicking HERE.

SwissSys Standings. NewThNM: Open

TD Corner

Chess Etiquette Revisited

by Abel Talamantez

As we get back to live over the board play, it stands to reason there will be a little rust from both players and tournament directors regarding rules and expectations. Experiencing the first four rounds of the TNM, we have seen quite a few actions from players that reminds us the importance of going over some rules again. For your information and entertainment, here are some things that have caught our attention that players should be aware of. We will also make this announcement prior to the next rounds of the TNM as well as the Addison Memorial this weekend. 

1. Scoresheets must remain on the table at all times. Here is the USCF rule: 15A. Manner of keeping score. In the course of play each player is required to record the game (both the player’s and the opponent’s moves), move after move, as clearly and legibly as possible, on the scoresheet prescribed for the competition. Algebraic notation is standard, but descriptive or computer notation is permitted. The player must first make the move, and then record it on the scoresheet. The scoresheet shall be visible to the arbiter (tournament directors) and the opponent throughout 40 US Chess Federation’s Official Rules of Chess, V 7.1 Edition 7-19-19 the game.

I saw a player grab their scoresheet after making a move, and leave the table with the scoresheet in hand to go observe another game. The player had not realized they had done this, and did not know the rule, so I just informed the player without incident and gave a warning. The scoresheet must remain at the table, visible to the players and arbiters at all times.

2. No photos inside the playing hall, especially from parents! This should be obvious, but sometimes parents are not aware of the larger implications in trying to get that action photo of their child in the middle of a game. Taking a photo of a position could raise suspicion of cheating, as it is possible to analyze the position from a picture and give advice if a child leaves the playing hall. Please ask the arbiter to take a picture, or take one at the start of the game with the erbiters permission.

3. Do not inform other players it is their move. Here is the associated rule: 20E2. Unsolicited advice. Ruling on unsolicited advice can be difficult. The giver deserves a penalty, but what of the recipient? The director’s task is to prevent a player from benefiting from advice but also not unduly penalize the player for another’s offense. We saw some players let their friends know it was their move in the game, which should never be done as it can constitute helping. Players should play their own game and not interfere in the games of others. A player will receive a warning for this, and would be subject to additional penalties including forfeit of their game. 

4. No analyzing games in the playing hall that are going live. Here is the rule: 20F. Analysis in the playing room prohibited. No analysis is permitted in the playing room during play or during adjourned sessions. See also 1C2, Director discretion; 21F, Player requests for rulings; and 21K, Use of director’s power. I warned two players who were following the action of one of the games of the TNM on the big screen in the room not to discuss the game. Even though it was clearly away from the action, there were other games going on in the room and even body language and pointing can suggest information about a position. Please do not discuss the positions of live games inside the playing hall, and players in active games should not discuss ANY games.

5. Don't stand to close to games you are spectating. The applicable rule that gives arbiters broad discretion is here: 20G. Annoying behavior prohibited. It is forbidden to distract or annoy the opponent in any manner whatsoever. A director, upon a complaint by the opponent, has discretion to determine whether any particular behavior is in violation of this rule and to impose penalties. See also 1C2, Director discretion; 21F, Player requests for rulings; and 21K, Use of director’s power. I saw quite a few players spectating other games where they stood way to close, which as almost every player knows can be quite a distraction. Give a respectable distance when observing games, trying as much as possible to be out of the immediate view of the players playing the game. 

I suggest players take a look at the USCF rulebook online HERE. These rules and all the others are there to protect the integrity of games and are for the benefit of all players. Please seek out an arbiter if there is something that you feel is compromising to the game or player experience.

Games from the National Open from TNM Players

The National Open concluded last weekend in Las Vegas, and we had a strong presence of Mechanics' players there. FM Kyron Griffith achieved his third and final IM norm, and Sebby Suarez won the under 1300 section. The winner of the event on tiebreaks went to IM Arthur Guo from Georgia, who played the 2020 US Cadet Championship we organized online. His winning the Edmondson Cup was quite an achievement, considering there were over 20 GM's in attendance. 

We wanted to showcase the games from some of our players from the National Open. Here they are. FM Kyron Griffith annotated his own game, with the others annotated by GM Nick de Firmian. Full results from the National Open can be found here: https://www.vegaschessfestival.com/live/results/

(4) Ardito,Andrew (2280) - Biyiasas [A24]
National open 2021 https://lichess.org, 0006

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.c4 0-0 5.Nc3 d6 6.d3 This modest line of the English Opening is less aggressive than 6. d4 with a King's Indian Defense. Many players just like the position with White though - it's like a Sicilian reversed. 6...e5 7.Bg5 h6 8.Bd2 Nc6 9.Qc1 Kh7 10.h4?! White needs to play on the queenside instead of the kingside. 10. Rb1 and 11. b4 is in order. 10...Bg4 11.Nh2 Be6 12.h5?! Aggressive and scary, but not truly worth the pawn sacrificed. 12...Nxh5 13.Bf3

(5) Tyler Hansen - Sebastian Suarez [B01]
Las Vegas National Open 2021 Chess.com (8), 20.06.2021

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd8 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bc4 a6 6.h3 This move is a little slow. White should get an edge in this opening with normal developing moves. 6. Nf3 would be better. 6...b5 7.Bb3 c5?! 8.dxc5?! [8.Qf3! Ra7 9.dxc5 would be clearly better for White] 8...Qxd1+ 9.Nxd1 e6 10.Be3 Bb7 11.Nf3 Nbd7 Now Black gets the pawn back and reaches a level endgame. 12.Nc3 Bxc5 13.Bxc5 Nxc5

Giving back the pawn with check, but starting a winning attack in the ending. 74.Rxh7+ Kb6 75.b4 a4 76.b3 Rg2+ 77.Nb2 Rff2 winning the knight. The rest is easy. 78.bxa4 Rxb2+ 79.Ka1 Ra2+ 80.Kb1 bxa4 81.Rh5 Rab2+ 82.Kc1 a3 83.Rxa3 Rbc2+ 84.Kd1 Rb2 85.Kc1 Be4! 86.Ra1 Rbc2+ 87.Kb1 Rg1# A great endgame struggle from Sebby, who is quickly improving in each

(6) GM Vorontsov,Pavlo - FM Griffith,Kyron [D30]
National Open 2021 Las Vegas (7), 18.06.2021
[FM Griffith,Kyron]

1.d4 Nf6 Somehow I still haven't lost yet. I knew this would be a tough pairing though because I had lost to Vorontsov before and with white that time. He plays every opening on the face of the planet and every variation of every opening (not sure how that is possible??) so my prep consisted of watching basketball. 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Bg5 I had this weird feeling he would play this once I had played d5. I had lost my file on this line so all I knew was that I should take on c4 and aim to play c5. 4...dxc4 5.Qa4+ this was weird and I was pretty sure it was bad. I saw no reason not to just continue with my Nd7, a6, c5 plan. In fact I think it expedites this plan for me. 5...Nbd7 6.Nbd2 a6 7.Qxc4 c5 [7...b5 8.Qc6 I thought that this could get unpleasant quickly] 8.Bxf6 gxf6 [8...Qxf6 I saw that this was possible but I thought it contradicted my plan a little bit. 9.Ne4 Qf5 and black is fine] 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.g3 Qb6 I wasn't sure where I wanted to put my king, so I decided to go grab a pawn and figure it out later. He has wasted a good amount of time in the opening so I felt somewhat justified in grabbing this one. 11.e3 Qxb2 12.Rb1 Qa3 13.Bg2 b5 14.Qe4 Rb8 15.0-0 Bb7 16.Qh4 Again, I couldn't find a plan to get myself safe in the long-term so I decided to grab another pawn for my troubles. The bonus of getting this second pawn is not so much the material advantage, but more so my a and b pawns can be pushed to create counterplay later 16...Qxa2 17.Nb3 Be7 18.Nfd4 f5 19.Qh6 Bf8? based on a miscalculation 20.Qh5 Nf6 21.Qd1? The grandmaster blunders back. The line we both missed was: [21.Qh4 Bxg2 22.Ra1! (22.Qxf6? Bxf1 23.Rxf1 Rg8 is fine for black) 22...Qb2 23.Rfb1 Qc3 24.Qxf6 and the point is now there is no longer a Rf1 for me to take in the desperado exchange.] 21...Nd5? [21...Bxg2 22.Kxg2 Qa3 extraditing the queen is more important than anything else] 22.Qd3? [22.Nxe6! fxe6 23.Qd4! Rg8 24.Qe5! is what the engine spots and white is regaining his material with interest] 22...Nb4! it is imperative to spot 25...Qxb1 or else this continuation would be losing for black 23.Qc3 Rc8 24.Nc6 Rg8 25.Nxb4 Qxb1! and the computer gives 0.00 in this position... of course 26.Nc6 b4! The only winning move, but a fairly obvious one in the moment. We know that white wants to play Nba5 and cannot afford to trade queens. This in-between move pokes the queen to c4 and now Qa2 comes with a pin on the b3 knight. Also the pawn on b4 supports a Qc3 escape at some point for us. 27.Qc4 Qa2 28.Ra1 Qb2 29.Rc1 Be7 30.Nba5 Bxc6 31.Nxc6 b3 white has a bind but no way forward so we can use this time to advance our passer 32.Rd1 [32.Rf1 I actually expected this strange looking move because it prevents Qc2 on account of Qxa6] 32...Qc2 now a6 can't be taken due to the rook on d1 33.Qxc2 now the win is easy for me [33.Qd4 Rxc6 34.Qd7+ Kf8 35.Bxc6 b2 will do the trick but still requires black to be accurate] 33...bxc2 34.Rc1 Bd6 The last finesse. The plan is to play Kd7 Rc7 Rgc8 and white is helpless and will lose more material. Bd6 prevents both Ne5+ and Rd2+ in this plan. This was my highest rated win in classical chess to date (2540 FIDE)! 0-1

Tony's Teasers

Here is a mate in 3 from longtime Mechanics' Institute employee Tony Lama. This should occupy a good chunk of your time this weekend!

White to move and mate in 3. Kenneth Howard, 1930.

Mechanics' Institute Events Schedule

The Mechanics' Institute will continue to hold regular and online events. Here is our upcoming schedule for players:

June 24- July 15: NEW Thursday Night Marathon; USCF online rated, 8 rounds, G/35+5 - Online: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/first-new-thursday-night-marathon-online 

June 26: IM William Addison Memorial; 1-day USCF rated; 4 rounds, G/45;d5 - Live @ Mechanics' :https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/20th-addison-memorial-tournament-g45-person

July 13-August 24: Tuesday Night Marathon Live; 7 rounds, FIDE & USCF rated, G/120;d5 - Live @ Mechanics': https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/tuesday-night-marathon-2021-jul-aug-person

Mechanics' Institute Class Schedule

Click HERE to see our full slate of specialty chess classes, we offer something for everyone!

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Scholastic Bulletin

The scholastic news will be covered in a dedicated, monthly publication:
Scholastic Chess Bulletin

Please click the following LINK to read our latest edition.
All of us at Mechanics' Institute would like to thank you for your support of our scholastic chess programming.

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GM Nick de Firmian's Column

Las Vegas Chess Festival: Mechanics Members Make Their Showing

Last weekend saw the resounding return of live chess in the United States with over a thousand live participants at the National Open in Las Vegas. It was an amazing scene to see so many chess players in one huge room again, quickly giving everyone the feeling that the pandemic is fading away and that life is returning to normal.

We saw Kyron Griffith scoring well with his usual resourcefulness. He has proven he can come back from daunting odds online in the shorter time control. It is another thing playing classical chess where the time control is slow and blunders much rarer. He reached a pawn down bishop ending against grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan. Any normal player would need a great struggle to draw the game, but we are talking Kyron here. We show now this game and a last round game to decide a share of first place between Hans Nieman (who was a regular at the MI a few years ago) and one of the pre-tournament favorites. We should have a couple other MI member games elsewhere in our newsletter.

(1) GM Khachiyan,Melset - FM Griffith,Kyron [B15]
National Open, 19.06.2021

1.e4 c6 Kyron's beloved Caro-Kann 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ exf6 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Be2 0-0 8.0-0 Bg4 9.h3 Bh5 10.Nh4! Bxe2 11.Qxe2 g6 12.Re1 Nd7 13.Bh6 Re8 14.Qxe8+ Qxe8 15.Rxe8+ Rxe8 16.Kf1

Khachiyan has played the opening well and has just a slight edge in the endgame, but the kind grandmasters like. The white queenside pawns are more mobile than the black kingside pawns. 16...Re4 17.Nf3 f5 18.Re1 f6 19.Bd2 Kf7 20.c4 c5 21.Bc3 cxd4 22.Bxd4 Rxe1+?! White is slightly better in this ending with the 3 vs 2 pawn advantage on the queenside. The rook exchange simplifies the position which makes it easier for White to press the edge. 23.Kxe1 a6 24.Ke2 Ke6 25.b3 Ne5 26.Be3 Nxf3?! simplifying again 27.Kxf3 g5 28.Bd4 Now White's advantage is clear with only bishops left and the doubled black f-pawns. 28...h5 29.Ke2 Be5 30.Kd3 [of course not 30.Bxe5? fxe5 fixing the black pawns] 30...Bc7 now White should advance slowly starting with 31. f3, but Khachiyan thinks he can charge ahead immediately. 31.c5?! 31...Kd5! Excellent defense from Kyron. Giving away one of the doubled pawns to centralize the king. 32.Bxf6 g4 33.b4 Bf4 34.Bd8 Be5 35.f3 gxf3 36.gxf3 Bd4 37.a4 Bf2 38.Ba5 Bd4 39.Bb6 Bf2 40.Ba7 tricky 40...Be1 [40...Bg1? 41.c6! Bxa7 42.c7 queens] 41.b5 axb5 42.axb5 Bb4 43.c6 bxc6 44.b6 Bc5! This accurate defensive move stops b6-b7 and equallizes the game. Melset continues to play for the win. He should have know better against this opponent. 45.Kc3 Bf2 46.Kb3? c5! 47.Ka4 [since 47.b7? c4+ wins the bishop on a7] 47...c4 48.Kb5? White is in trouble now, but the best defense was to retreat with the white king to stop the c-pawn. 48...c3 49.Bb8 Be3 stopping 50. Bf4 50.b7 c2 51.Bg3 c1Q 52.b8Q Qc4+ 53.Ka5 Bd2+ Everything is even in this queen and bishop endgame, but White is getting mated after 54. Kb6 Qc6+ 55. Ka7 Be3+ 56. Qb6 Qxb6+. Great cool headed play by Kyron against a grandmaster opponent. 0-1

(2) GM Nieman,Hans - GM Nyzhnyk,Illya [E73]
National Open, 19.06.2021

Young Hans Nieman was a regular at the Mechanics' Instiute some years ago when he was developing his chess game. He has since become a grandemaster. In the last round he faced off with one of the top ranked players in the tourament, Illya Nyzhnyk, who has won this event before. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Be3 c6 7.Qd2 e5 8.0-0-0 Aggressive play by Hans. 8...Qe7

9.d5?! This locks up the center when White had some options on the d-file. Better was to shore up the kingside squares with [9.f3] 9...cxd5 10.cxd5 Ng4! Black gains the bishop pair with this early knight sortie. 11.Bxg4 Bxg4 12.Nge2 Bd7 13.Kb1 b5! Well done by Nyzhnyk! He delays development to start the queenside attack. This works because of the closed center. 14.Rc1 b4 15.Nd1 Bb5 16.g4 Nd7 17.Ng3 [17.h4 was to be considered] 17...a5 18.Bg5?! Bf6! Black is happy to trade off the dark-squared bishops. This works well with the central pawn chain. 19.Be3 [19.Bh6 Rfc8 works well; 19.Bxf6 Qxf6 leaves Black strong on the dark squares] 19...Rfc8 20.g5 Bg7 21.h4 Rxc1+ 22.Qxc1 22...f5! Black doesn't forget about the kingside. This advance allows more control of the central squares. 23.gxf6 Nxf6 24.Qd2 Ng4 25.h5 Qf7 26.hxg6 hxg6 27.Re1?! This last inaccuracy allows Black a nice maneuver soon. The white rook should have stayed on the h-file. 27...Rc8 28.Bb6

28...Nh2! The black pieces all come into play with decisive effect. 29.Rh1 Nf3 30.Qe3 Qf4! White resigned. There are too many threats, starting with 31...Nd2+ and 32...Rc1 mate. Thus Nyzhnyk tied for first. We expect Hans to start winning these last rounds with a little more experience. 0-1

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Solution To Tony's Teaser

1. Ba1!!  cxd5  2. Nc3  dxc4  3. Nd5#

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