Chess Room Newsletter #977

Newsletter #977

July 17, 2021

Table of Contents

• Charles Bagby Memorial
• July TNM Live Report
• Thursday Night Marathon Report
• Tony's Teasers
• Events/Class Schedule
• FM Paul Whitehead's Column
• GM Nick de Frimian's Column
• Submit your piece or feedback

Charles Bagby Memorial Sunday July 18!!

Charles Bagby seated in the black suit with Arthur Stamer and Henry Gross standing behind

Join us this Sunday for the 20th Charles Bagby Memorial live at the Mechanics' Institute with four rounds USCF rated G/45;d5. The tournment starts at 10am with free street parking.

To register, please click HERE

WCM Allyson Wong will be the Chief TD along with Chess Director Abel Talamantez and Assistant TD Michael Hsu. We look forward to a great Sunday live at Mechanics' Institute!

Tuesday Night Marathon Round One Report

by Abel Talamantez

The Tuesday Night Marathon has returned to its seven-round, three-section format with 66 players. While the limited BART service, with trains not yet running past 9pm PT, is keeping some folks away for the time being, things are returning to normal. We have an increased turnout from our last TNM, and we look forward to regular public commuting options returning to full strength soon, helping facilitate more players joining us at the Mechanics' Institute building for chess once again.

In the top section, board 1 featured a battle of seasoned Mechanics' Institute veterans IM Elliott Winslow and Kristian Clemens. The game went long, and it appeared as if Clemens was going to hold the position in an enedgame with rook, knight, and pawns. However, a miscalculation led to a trading of material with Winslow getting the opposition in a king and pawn endgame to seal the win. A tough break for Kristian in an otherwise very well played game. Also with first round wins were NM Siddharth Arun, NM Christophe Bambou, Abhi Penagalapati, and Chelsea Zhou. Chelsea received a full point bye and would be paired with Juan Cendejas in an extra rated game, which was beautifully played by Juan. He responded to Chelsea's Sicilian with 2 b4!? He got the win, showing even the DGT technical manager extraordinaire still has solid game left in his tank.

IM Elliott Winslow and Kristian Clemens on board 1. Juan Cendejas vs Chelsea Zhou on board 5 and Adam Mercado and Joel Carron next to them on 6

In the under 2000 section, nine players go into week 2 with one point. The standout in this round was Albert Starr, who played very well in his upset of Luiz Uribe. Also among the point scorers were Mechanics' regulars Marty Cortinas rising youth Kevin Sun, who upset Glenn Kaplan. In the under 1600 section, 13 players are with one point. Among them are Valerie Jade and David Olson, as well as the up and comin young players Sebby Suarez, Andrew Ballantyne, and Issac Sterling. With 7 rounds of play, there is still ample opportunity for big moves in the standings. Also a big shoutout to Tobias Rex, who came back from a lost position against Sammy Agdamag to win the game. 

It was a fun atmosphere at the chess club, as we had the Annex open for post game analysis and skittles. It was great to see players analyzing their games after and play recreational chess once again in that room.

The Chess Annex ready for analysis and skittles

To watch the broadcast, please click HERE.

Here are some games from the round, annotated by GM Nick de Firmian

(1) Winslow,Elliott (2278) - Clemens,Kristian (1997) [D36]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.1), 13.07.2021
[Winslow,Elliott]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.cxd5 [6.e3 0-0 7.cxd5 exd5 (7...Nxd5!?) ] 6...exd5 7.Qc2 c6 8.e3 Nf8!? [8...0-0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.h3!? a) 10.0-0-0; b) 10.0-0 Nf8 11.h3!? (11.Rab1; 11.Rae1; 11.Bxf6!? Bxf6 12.b4) ; ] 9.Bd3 g6 10.0-0 [10.h3 Ne6 11.Bh4 (11.Bh6?? Ng8) 11...Ng7 12.g4? (12.0-0; 12.0-0-0!?) 12...h5!] 10...Ne6 11.Bh4 0-0 [11...Ng7!?] 12.Rab1 a5 13.a3 Ng7 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 Bf5 16.b5 Bxd3 17.Qxd3 Nf5 18.Bxf6 Bxf6 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.Rfc1 Nd6 21.Nd2 [21.e4!?] 21...Qd7 22.Rb2 Rfb8 23.Rxb8+ Rxb8 24.Na4 Qb7 25.Nc5 Qa7 26.g3 Be7 27.Ncb3 Rb6 28.Ra1 Qc7 29.Ra8+ Kg7 30.Nc5 Nb5 31.Ndb3 Bxc5 32.Nxc5 Qd6 33.Kg2 h5 34.Qc2 [34.h4] 34...Rb8 35.Ra6 Nc7 36.Ra7 Rb6 37.Qa2 Nb5 38.Rd7 Qf6 39.Qa8?! [39.Nd3!+/- Nd6 40.Ne5 Rb7 41.Rxb7 Nxb7 42.Qa6 Nd8 43.Qc8 h4 44.gxh4 Qxh4 45.Kf1!] 39...Nd6?! [39...Nxd4!= 40.exd4 (40.Qa1 Qf3+ 41.Kh3[] (41.Kg1?? Rb1+!! 42.Qxb1 Ne2+ 43.Kf1 Qh1+ 44.Kxe2 Qxb1-+; 41.Kf1 Qh1#) 41...Qf5+ 42.Kg2 Qf3+=) 40...Rb2 41.Nd3 Rd2[] 42.Nf4 Rxf2+ 43.Kxf2 Qxd4+= 44.Ke1 Qc3+] 40.Qa2 [40.Qd8 Ne4! (40...Qxd8 41.Ne6+ Kf6 42.Nxd8+-) 41.Qxf6+ (41.Nxe4 dxe4 42.Qxf6+ Kxf6=) 41...Kxf6 (41...Nxf6?! 42.Ra7!+/- (42.Re7+/-) ) 42.h3+/= Nxc5 43.dxc5 Ra6= 44.Kf3; 40.Rd8!? Ne4 a) 40...Rb2 41.Nd3 Ne4 (41...Rd2 42.Rh8; 41...Qf5!?) 42.Rg8+ Kh7 43.Rh8+ Qxh8 44.Qxh8+ Kxh8 45.Nxb2+/=; b) 40...Nc4= 41.Rh8?? Nxe3+ #4/0 ; c) 40...Nf5 41.Rb8 Rxb8 42.Qxb8 Nd6 43.Qb1; 41.Nd3 Nxf2[] (41...Rb3?? 42.Rh8) 42.Rh8[] Qf5= (42...Qe6= 43.Rg8+ (43.Qf8+ Kf6 44.Qd8+ Kg7=) 43...Kh7 44.Qf8?? Qf6-+ 45.Nxf2 Rb2) ] 40...Nc4?! [40...h4!=/+] 41.Qe2= [41.Rb7!? Rxb7 42.Nxb7 h4 43.Qe2 hxg3 44.hxg3 g5] 41...Rb2 42.Qf3= 0.00/0 Qxf3+ [42...g5; 42...Rc2; 42...Rd2] 43.Kxf3 Nd2+ [43...g5] 44.Kg2?! [44.Kf4 Ne4 45.Nxe4 dxe4 46.Kxe4 Rxf2 47.h4] 44...Nc4 [44...Ne4?! 45.Nxe4 dxe4 46.Re7] 45.e4? [45.Kg1; 45.Kf1; 45.Ne6+ Kg8 (45...Kh6) 46.Rd8+ Kh7 47.Ng5+ Kg7 48.Kg1 (48.Kf3; 48.Kf1) ] 45...dxe4? [45...Ne3+ 46.Kf3 Ng4 47.Kg2! (47.exd5 Rxf2+ 48.Ke4 cxd5+!-+ (48...Nf6+ 49.Ke3 Ng4+[] 50.Kd3 cxd5-/+) 49.Rxd5 Nxh2-+ (49...Re2+ 50.Kd3 Rxh2) ) ] 46.Nxe4= Ne3+ 47.Kf3 Nf5 [47...Nc2=; 47...Nf1=] 48.Ng5 Nh6 49.h3 =/+/= 0.12/0 49...Kf6 50.Ne4+ Kg7 51.g4 [51.Kf4 Re2 52.f3] 51...hxg4+?! [51...Rb3+! 52.Ke2 Rxh3 (52...hxg4; 52...Rb2+) ] 52.hxg4+/- /\Kf4, f3 52...Rc2? 53.Rc7?? [53.g5!+- Nf5 (53...Ng8 54.Nd6 Rd2 55.Rxf7+ Kh8 56.Rd7 Rxd4 57.Nf7+ Kg7 58.Rxd4 Kxf7 59.Rd6 Ne7 60.Ke4) 54.Rd8! (What I overlooked) and a classic mating net. 54...Ne7 55.Nf6 Rc3+ 56.Ke2 Rc2+ 57.Ke1 Rc1+] 53...Rc4 54.Rd7 Kf8 55.Kf4 f5?! [55...Nxg4 56.Kxg4 f5+=] 56.g5 Ng4

57.Nf6? [57.Nc5!? Ke8 58.Rd6 Nxf2! (58...Ke7 59.Rxg6 Rxd4+ 60.Kxf5+-) 59.Rxg6 Rxd4+ 60.Kxf5 Rd5+ 61.Ke6 Kf8 (61...Kd8? 62.Rg8+ Kc7 63.Rg7+ Kc8 (63...Kb6?! 64.Nd7+ Kb5 65.g6) 64.Nd7+/-) 62.Nd7+ Rxd7 63.Kxd7 Nh3=] 57...Nxf6 [57...Nxf2= 0.00/0 ] 58.gxf6 c5 59.Ke5 Rxd4 60.Rxd4 cxd4 61.Kxd4 Kf7 62.Ke5 f4 63.f3 g5 64.Kf5 g4 65.Kxg4

65...Kxf6?? [65...Kg6! 66.Kxf4 Kxf6= Basic lesson in opposion. But Clemens had seconds left, and his impulses failed him.] 66.Kxf4 Ke6 67.Kg5 Kf7 68.Kf5 Kg7 69.Ke6 Kf8 70.Kf6 Kg8 71.f4 Kf8 72.f5 Kg8 73.Ke7 1-0

(2) Argo,Guy (1928) - Arun,Siddharth (2253) [B15]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.2), 13.07.2021
[de Firmian]

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.f3!? The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit (where Black is "committed" to ...c6). 4...exf3 5.Nxf3 Bg4 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 Nf6 8.Be3 This move is a little slow for a gambit line. It would be a good move in a normal game, but here White has something to prove for the pawn. 8...Bd6 9.h3 Bh5 10.Bg5 Be7 11.g4 Bg6 12.Ne5 Bxc2?!

[Stockfish 13 just develops with 12...Nbd7 13.Nxg6 hxg6 14.Kg2 0-0-/+] 13.Qxc2? [White needs to be creative. 13.Nxf7!! Kxf7 14.Qe2! Qxd4+ 15.Kg2 Ke8 16.Rae1+/= /=] 13...Qxd4+ 14.Qf2? [14.Kg2 Qxe5 15.Bxf6 gxf6 16.Rae1 Qa5 17.Bxe6 fxe6 18.Rxe6 Nd7 19.Qe2 0-0-0-/+] 14...Qxe5 15.Bf4 Qc5 White has nothing in the coming endgame for the three pawns. 0-1

(3) Bambou,Christophe (2121) - Riese,Kayven (1900) [C01]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM: 2000+ San Francisco (1.3), 13.07.2021
[de Firmian]

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Bd3 c5 4.exd5 exd5 5.Nf3 c4 6.Be2 Nf6 7.0-0 Bd6 8.b3 cxb3 9.axb3 0-0 10.c4 b6 11.Nc3 dxc4 12.bxc4 Nbd7 13.Nb5 Bb8 14.Ba3 Re8 15.Nd6 Re6? [15...Bxd6! 16.Bxd6 Ne4! Double attack! 17...Nxd6 but also 17...Nc3 and 18...Nxe2+ (16...Bb7 17.Bf4 is still a solid advantage for White,with both bishops and pretty good pawns in the center.) 17.Bb4 (17.Be5 Nc3 18.Qe1 Nxe2+ 19.Qxe2 Bb7 20.Qd1 Qc8! readies removing both minor pieces with a strong major piece game, what with White's weak pawns.) 17...a5 18.Qc2 Bb7 19.Ba3 Ng5 20.Nxg5 Qxg5 21.d5 White still has both bishops but the pawns are somewhat compromised; Black isn't much worse.] 16.Nxc8 White cashes in for some material. [16.Nxf7! happens to be even stronger.] 16...Qxc8 17.Ng5 Rc6 18.Bf3 Bf4 19.Bxc6 Qxc6 20.Qf3 Qxf3 21.Nxf3 Rc8 22.g3 Bb8 23.Rac1 Ne4 24.c5 bxc5 25.dxc5 Ndxc5 26.Rfd1 Bd6 27.Rxd6 Nxd6 28.Rxc5 Ra8 29.Nd4 a5 30.Nc6 a4 31.Ra5 Rxa5 32.Nxa5 Nb5 33.Nc4 f6 34.Kf1 Kf7 35.Nd6+ Nxd6 36.Bxd6 Ke6 37.Ba3 Kd5 38.Ke2 Kc4 39.Bf8 g6 40.Bg7 f5 41.Ke3 a3 42.h4 a2 43.Ba1 h6 44.f3 g5 45.h5 Kd5 46.g4 f4+ 47.Kd3 Kc5 48.Ke4 Kc4 49.Bf6 Kb3 50.Kf5 Kc2 51.Kg6 Kd3 52.Kxh6 Ke2 53.Kxg5 Kxf3 54.h6 Ke4 55.h7 f3 56.h8Q f2 57.Qh1+ 1-0

(6) Starr,Albert (1609) - Uribe,Luiz (1856) [A00]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u2000 San Francisco (1.8), 13.07.2021
[de Firmian]

1.b4 Albert entertains with complications from move one! 1...d5 2.e3 e5 3.Bb2 Nd7 4.b5 Ngf6 5.c4 Bd6 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nc3 White has gotten queenside play with his favorite opening. 7...N7f6 8.g3?! This leaves a lot of loose white squares for the black knights. 8...Bg4 9.Be2 Bxe2 10.Ngxe2 Nb4 11.0-0 Nd3 12.Qc2 Nxb2 13.Qxb2 Qd7 14.a4 Qh3 15.f3! Ensuring the safety of the white king. 15...h5 16.Rf2 0-0-0 17.Qb1 Rhe8 18.Qf1 Qe6

19.e4? [19.a5~~] 19...Bc5-+ winning material 20.d4 exd4 21.Nf4 Qb3 22.Nd3 22...Nd7? [22...dxc3 23.Nxc5 Qb4-+ Is an extra pawn and full control for Black] 23.Nxc5? [23.Nd5!+- It's not easy to notice the threat of 24.Nc1 trapping the black queen, but there it is.] 23...Nxc5-/+ 24.Nd5 d3 25.Rd2?!-+ Qc4 26.Rc1 Qd4+ 27.Kg2-+ Nb3? [27...f5; 27...b6; 27...Kb8; 27...g5] 28.Rxc7+= Kb8 29.Rxd3

29...Qxa4? [29...Qb2+ 30.Qf2 Qxf2+ 31.Kxf2 Rxd5 32.exd5 Kxc7 33.Rxb3 Re5+/=] 30.Rxf7+- Rc8 31.Rc3 Now it is White in control with a strong extra pawn 31...Rxc3 32.Nxc3 Qd4 33.Nd5 Rc8 34.Qb1 Qd2+ 35.Kh3 Nd4 36.Qb4 Qxb4 37.Nxb4 Ne6 38.Re7 Ng5+ 39.Kg2 Rc4 40.Rxg7! Nxe4 41.fxe4 Rxb4 42.Rg5 h4 43.gxh4 Rxe4 44.h5 Re7 45.h6 The advanced h-pawn wins the game. 45...Re2+ 46.Kg3 Re3+ 47.Kg4 Re4+ 48.Kh5 Re8 49.h7 1-0

(17) Rex,Tobiah (1013) - Agdamag,Samuel (1586) [A26]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u1600 San Francisco (1.10), 13.07.2021
[de Firmian]

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Nge2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d3 The Botvinnik System of the English. 8...Ne8 9.h3 f5 10.exf5 gxf5 11.f4 Nf6 12.Be3 Qe8 13.Qd2 Qg6 14.Nd5 Nxd5 15.Bxd5+ Kh8 16.Kh2 Ne7 17.Bg2 c6 18.d4 e4 19.Nc3 Rg8 20.Rae1 Bf6 21.Bf2 d5 22.c5?! Black gets an edge now. It was better to make an open file on the queenside with 22. cxd5. 22...Be6 23.Nd1 Rae8 24.Ne3 Qg7 25.Rd1 Bf7-/+

26.Nxf5?? Black is better but this is just a blunder. 26...Nxf5 27.g4 Nh4?! [27...e3! or; 27...h5! would pour on the pressure] 28.Bxh4 Bxh4 29.g5 h6 30.Rg1 e3 [30...Bh5] 31.Qe2 Bf2 32.Bf3 The best practical try. 32...Bxg1+ 33.Rxg1 hxg5 34.Qd3 Qf6 35.f5 Qh6 36.Rg3 Qh4 [36...g4!] 37.Bg4 Bh5 38.Kg2?! Bxg4 [38...e2] 39.hxg4 Kg7 [39...e2 Stockfish is already finding mate in 7 for Black...] 40.f6+ Kf7! 41.Qb3

41...Rh8?? Almost anything else just wins for Black, being a whole rook up. [41...e2! (well, the fastest mate); 41...b5; 41...b6; 41...Qxg3+ 42.Kxg3 e2] 42.Qxb7+ Amazingly Black is lost now. It is mate in 4 no matter what. 42...Ke6 43.Rxe3+ Kxf6 44.Rf3+ Kg6 45.Qf7+ Black resignes as 46. Rf6 will be mate. A tragic turnaround for Sam and a lucky escape for T. Rex 1-0

New Thursday Night Marathon Rounds 7&8 Report

by Abel Talamantez 

Broadcast setup from the Mechanics' Institute

The final two rounds of the Thursday Night Marathon produced the matchup everyone had been waiting for - the matchup in round 7 of the two GM's Gadir Guseinov and Alex Lenderman again showed that GM Guseinov is a standard of play above many. He put Lenderman in a very tough position right away, and although Lenderman found the right moves to continue on, the pressure eventually became insurmountable, with Guseinov winning material and the game. Guseinov would go on to defeat Austin Mei in the final round in a very interesting game to win the Thursday Night Marathon with a score of 7.5/8. IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla defeated IM Elliott winslow in round 7 and then survived a great game played by Cailen Melville in round 8 to get a draw in a losing position. It was still enough for Dhulipalla to finish with 6.5/8 and clear 2nd place.

GM Guseinov and GM Lenderman doing battle with commentary by GM Nick de Firmian, FM Paul Whitehead and Chess Director Abel Talamantez

Perhaps the game of the round was the matchup in round 8 between FM Max Gedajlovic and GM Alex Lenderman. Max fought bravely and aggressively, obtaining an advantage positionally. After reaching the middle game in a worse position, Lenderman offered a draw which Gedajlovic, after some thinking, declined. He showed the mettle of a player looking to go next level in pressing on in a winning position despite the opposition. It is always a gamble, as the lower rated player is trying to maintain an advantage and fighting against the calculating abilities and expeirence of a seasoned GM. Lenderman pressed on, finding opportunities to complicate the position, and after putting Gedajlovic in time pressure, created enough chaos in the position to get the win desite being the exchange down for much of the endgame. It was a great game to watch, and we will have annotations for the final rounds of the ThNM in the next newsletter. Kudos to Max for going for the win, but kudos as well to Lenderman for staying cool when things got hot. 

Special shoutout to Mechanics' regulars Cailen Melville and Jonah Busch for an outstanding performance in this event, as well as Marina Xiao. She will be a force to bre reckoned with in the coming years.

Full standings are below, final standings are pending fair play review.

To watch the broadcast, click HERE.

SwissSys Standings. New Thursday Night Marathon: Open

#	Name	Handle	ID	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Total
1	GM Gadir Guseinov	gguseinov	17343590	2651	W12	W10	W7	W2	W4	D8	W3	W9	7.5
2	IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla	swarnapuri	30100858	2523	W30	W19	W9	L1	W17	W7	W15	D5	6.5
3	GM Alex Lenderman	alexanderl	12787646	2703	W23	W18	H---	H---	D9	W4	L1	W7	5.5
4	Sina Mohammadi	sina101	14116846	2163	W24	W22	W6	W15	L1	L3	D18	W19	5.5
5	Cailen Melville	mangonel	14006141	1940	F34	L14	X40	W36	W24	W27	W22	D2	5.5
6	Jonah Busch	kondsaga	12469525	1934	W14	W34	L4	D23	L27	W30	W12	W18	5.5
7	FM Max Gedajlovic	mmsanchez	14947382	2213	W32	W13	L1	W16	W29	L2	W10	L3	5.0
8	NM Michael Walder	flightsoffancy	10345120	2157	L13	W25	W32	W19	W18	D1	D9	U---	5.0
9	Austin Mei	titanchess666	16090452	2149	W33	W11	L2	W12	D3	W20	D8	L1	5.0
10	Jeff Andersen	zenwabi	11296106	1643	W37	L1	W34	W33	H---	H---	L7	W24	5.0
11	Akshaj Pulijala	loltheawesomedude	16497860	1531	W26	L9	W14	D27	L16	W23	W28	D17	5.0
12	Marina Xiao	programmingmax	16380642	1481	L1	W37	W44	L9	W34	W29	L6	W20	5.0
13	Casimir Dudek	thechesskid2021	30101045	1284	W8	L7	X17	L18	W21	D19	D20	W22	5.0
14	Kevin Thompson	acalbear	13110777	1120	L6	W5	L11	L28	X38	W21	X29	W27	5.0
15	IM Elliott Winslow	ecwinslow	10363365	2278	D31	W39	W46	L4	W35	W16	L2	U---	4.5
16	Nathan Fong	nathanf314	13001390	2004	W25	H---	W20	L7	W11	L15	H---	H---	4.5
17	Robert Smith	maturner	12463327	1853	W40	X46	H---	H---	L2	L22	W33	D11	4.5
18	Callaghan McCarty-Snead	doctorbanner	14948275	1700	W43	L3	W24	W13	L8	W35	D4	L6	4.5
19	Ethan Mei	erm999	16090467	1585	W41	L2	W36	L8	W42	D13	W27	L4	4.5
20	Aaron Nicoski	kingsmasher35	12797931	1789	W36	D35	L16	W41	W23	L9	D13	L12	4.0
21	William Kelly	wkelly	30161947	1677	H---	H---	L33	W38	L13	L14	X41	W32	4.0
22	Bryan Hood	fiddleleaf	12839763	1574	W38	L4	H---	H---	W33	W17	L5	L13	4.0
23	Ethan Sun	sfdeals	16964125	1488	L3	W43	W42	D6	L20	L11	D30	W33	4.0
24	Sarvagnya Brahmanapally	bsarvagnya	16466227	1323	L4	W26	L18	W44	L5	W34	X25	L10	4.0
25	Aditha Chitta	adichi	16695036	1185	L16	L8	L26	W39	X41	W42	F24	W31	4.0
26	Jonathan Rice	ricejonathanc	30205348	unr.	L11	L24	W25	L34	W36	L33	X40	W30	4.0
27	Fong Kevin	chessappeals	17254586	1783	H---	W31	D35	D11	W6	L5	L19	L14	3.5
28	NM Tom Maser	talenuf	10490936	1900	L35	F33	W37	W14	H---	H---	L11	U---	3.0
29	Jason Ochoa	barok44	12440572	1759	X46	W40	H---	H---	L7	L12	F14	U---	3.0
30	Michael Xiao	swimgrass	16380636	1363	L2	D41	W39	L35	W32	L6	D23	L26	3.0
31	Paul Krezanoski	pjkrizzle	16897133	1346	D15	L27	F41	H---	U---	W40	W37	L25	3.0
32	Ivan Zong	ivanzong	30131397	1335	L7	W38	L8	L42	L30	W44	W39	L21	3.0
33	Sean Wu	dum2020areeews	16802870	1220	L9	X28	W21	L10	L22	W26	L17	L23	3.0
34	Pratyush Bhingarkar	greenninja2019	30015889	1165	X5	L6	L10	W26	L12	L24	W42	L36	3.0
35	Katherine Sunny Lu	2nf31-0	16425316	1085	W28	D20	D27	W30	L15	L18	U---	U---	3.0
36	Bruce Hedman	bruce_hedman	17344551	1055	L20	W45	L19	L5	L26	L39	W43	W34	3.0
37	Arumin Ravisankar	aruminchess	30025152	869	L10	L12	L28	L40	W39	W38	L31	X43	3.0
38	Victor Beauchamp	greatboomer	30154650	807	L22	L32	X45	L21	F14	L37	X44	W42	3.0
39	Ishan Goteti	aurex79	17016988	615	W45	L15	L30	L25	L37	W36	L32	B---	3.0
40	JJ Ziebart	tomatosoupgirl	30166361	1072	L17	L29	F5	W37	W44	L31	F26	U---	2.0
41	Adithya Shankar Katepalli	2021adi	30153861	824	L19	D30	X31	L20	F25	H---	F21	U---	2.0
42	Jimolee Gray	grayj43	30172836	unr.	H---	H---	L23	W32	L19	L25	L34	L38	2.0
43	Thomas Cunningham	banjotom	12923340	971	L18	L23	H---	U---	H---	H---	L36	F37	1.5
44	Cleveland W Lee	Vincitore51745	12814843	unr.	H---	H---	L12	L24	L40	L32	F38	U---	1.0
45	James Hamlett	james_hamlett_IV	12374510	1561	L39	L36	F38	U---	U---	U---	U---	U---	0.0
46	Jerry Li	figsnoring	16551291	1015	F29	F17	L15	U---	U---	U---	U---	U---	0.0

SwissSys Standings. New Thursday Night Marathon: Extra Games

#	Name	Handle	ID	Rating	Rd 1	Total
1	Paul Krezanoski	pjkrizzle	16897133	1346	W2	1.0
2	Aditha Chitta	adichi	16695036	1185	L1	0.0

 

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Tony's Teasers

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

White to move and mate in 2

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Mechanics' Institute Events Schedule

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

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

July 18: Charles Bagby Memorial; 4 rounds, USCF rated, G/45;d5 - Live @ Mechanics': https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/20th-bagby-memorial-championship-g45-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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FM Paul Whitehead's Column

[email protected]

Finishing Tactics from the World Championship Matches 20: Smyslov – Botvinnik 1958

After losing the title a year earlier, Botvinnik exercised his right to a rematch (under FIDE rules at the time) and came out slugging – he won the first three games and ultimately the contest by the score of +7 -5 =11. 

The players were not at their best: both came down with the flu, and both were prone to strange mistakes and lapses:

Smyslov – Botvinnik, 3^rd Match Game 1958.  

Here the World Champion made the elementary blunder 1.Ne5? losing 2 pieces for a rook and ultimately the game after the simple 1…Rxc3! 2.cxb7+ Kxb7 3.Rxc3 Bxe5.

Even more surprising was what happened here:

Smyslov – Botvinnik, 15^th Match Game 1958.

Black was enjoying his position so much (he’s very close to winning) he “forgot” about the clock and lost on time!

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1. Botvinnik – Smyslov, 2^nd Match Game 1958.

White moves.  Win a little something.

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2. Smyslov – Botvinnik, 5^th Match Game 1958.

White moves.  Surprise!

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3. Smyslov – Botvinnik, 9^th Match Game 1958.

Black moves.  What’s your defensive task?

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4. Botvinnik – Smyslov, 14^th Match Game 1958.

White moves.  Not difficult, but be accurate.

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GM Nick de Firmian's Column

The Old Man and the Chessboard

In Hemingway’s famous novel about an aging fisherman, the protagonist battles for days to reel in a great marlin. Ultimately he wins the battle against the marlin, but fails when encountering too many sharks that eat the marlin tied to his boat and steal his hard-earned victory.

The Grand Croatian Chess Tour saw the return of the great Garry Kasparov to the chess board. He too ran into a bunch of sharks who stole all his points, and in eighteen rounds of blitz chess against the young top players of today Kasparov scored only two and a half points. This disappointing showing is usually done by an amateur who gets to play with the pros, and that player is often labeled the “fish” of the tournament. It was painful to see how a great champion can fall.

“The old get old and the young get stronger” sang Jim Morrison. So perhaps we must resign ourselves to playing worse chess as we age. Here we have some good news for those who wish to defy the march of time. Second place in this same tournament went not to one of the young sharks, but to 51 year old Vishy Anand. Anand is of course a former world champion and was a rival to Kasparov in the 1990’s. It was inspiring to see him vanquishing players half his age. The rest of us may take solace that excellence at chess isn’t just about age, but about staying motivated and dedicated to the game.

(1) GM Kasparov,Garry - GM Vachier-Lagrave,Maxim [A30]
Grand Chess Tour Croatia, 11.07.2021

This game was played in the second to last round, with MVL in first place. Despite having a terrible tournament Kasparov is determined to show the leader what championship chess is. 1.Nf3 c5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 b6 4.Bg2 Bb7 5.Nc3 g6 6.0-0 Bg7 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Bxg2 9.Kxg2 This hedgehog position out of an English Opening is just a tad better for White. 9...Qc8 10.b3 Qb7+ 11.f3 d5 MVL makes the center break instead of sitting back on the first three ranks as most Hedgehog players do. This equalizes space in the center, but Black lags in development in the resulting open position. 12.cxd5 Nxd5 13.Nxd5 Qxd5 14.Be3 Nc6 15.Nxc6! Qxc6 16.Rc1

The pawn structure is symmetrical but White is first to sieze the open files. It's hard to make good use of this edge yet Kasparov does so. 16...Qe6 17.Qd3 0-0 18.Rfd1 h5 [18...Rfd8?? 19.Qxd8+ Rxd8 20.Rxd8+ Bf8 21.Bh6 leads to a quick mate] 19.Bf2 Bf6 20.Qc4 Qxc4 21.Rxc4 Rfd8 22.Rxd8+ Rxd8 23.Rc7 a5? Black could have tried a more active defense with [23...Rd2 24.Rxa7 Rxe2 25.Kf1 Rc2 26.Bxb6 Rxh2] 24.Be3! stopping infiltration of the black rook 24...Rd6 25.Rb7 Now White will win a pawn. 25...Bd4 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Kf2 Accurate play. Now if 27...Rd2 28. a4 defends the white pawns and attacks two of the black ones. 27...a4 28.Rxb6 Rd2 29.bxa4 Rxa2 So Kasparov is a pawn ahead in a rook ending against the leader. In his championship days he would have converted this advantage, but now he runs into trouble against a stout defense. 30.Rb4?! [30.Ra6 Would be a better placement for the rook since it could help the a-pawn advance a couple of squares. Defending the pawn from b4 means the white king must come over to help before it marches further.] 30...Ra3! This is an instructive move. MVL cuts off the path of the white king to come to the a-pawn. 31.h4 Kg7 32.Ke1 Ra2! I hope you guessed this move. It is the same reason as on move 30, to keep the white king out of the queenside battle. If the white king moves the queenside then the white e-pawn is undefended. 33.Kf2 Ra3 34.Re4 Kf6 35.Rf4+?! [Now is the time to try 35.Ke1! Ra2 36.Kd1 and head to the queenside] 35...Ke6 36.g4?! deciding to advance on the kindside, but this gives white poor pawn structure. 36...hxg4 37.fxg4 f6 38.h5?! This last impatient move throws away the remaining winning chances. 38. e3 would have cut off the black rook on the third rank. 38...gxh5 39.gxh5 Rh3 40.a5 This positon shows a very interesting point in the struggle, and helps explain the great result of MVL and bad result of his opponent. White has been pressing to win for 30 moves but now loses the dangerous a-pawn. (The h-pawn is closer to the black king and thus not such a danger to queen,) The position suddenly goes to even material and White is in danger of losing a second pawn when the black king and rook surround it. Kasparov spent all his time trying to win, yet suddenly he must defend. 40...Ra3! 41.h6 Rxa5 42.Rh4 Ra8 Just in time the black rook come back to stop the h-pawn. Kasparov was down to 7 seconds on the clock. 43.Ke3 Ke5 And here Kasparov lost on time. He can make a draw even when he loses the h-pawn, but his form was so bad that he couldn't make the good moves in time. A horrible and undeserved loss, but that's what happens. The winning player makes use of all the chances and the loser can't handle the "unfair" changes of fate. 0-1

(2) GM Anand,Vishy - GM Nepomniachtchi,Ian [B46]
Grand Chess Tour Croatia, 11.07.2021

Here Anand meets the current challenger to the chess throne, Nepomniachtchi, who will have the title match with Magnus in November. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Qf3 d5 8.Qg3 f5!? As he often does, Nepo chooses an imbalanced position. 9.exf5 exf5 10.Bf4 Nf6 11.Be2 Ra7 12.0-0 Kf7 13.Rad1 h6 14.Be5 g5 15.Rfe1 Bg7 16.Bf1 Re7 17.Bd4 Rhe8

Despite the unorthodox treatment of this Sicilian Black has all the pieces out and equal chances. 18.Rxe7+ Qxe7 19.Qd3 f4 20.a3 a5 21.Na4 Bg4 22.f3 Bd7 23.Nc5 Bc8 24.Qc3 g4 25.Nd3 gxf3 26.gxf3 Nd7 playing for the attack on the g-file 27.Bxg7 Rg8? The pin gets the bishop back, but Black had to first play [27...Qe3+ 28.Nf2 then 28...Rg8] 28.Kh1 Rxg7 29.Qxc6! This looks risky but it's good. 29...Qg5 30.Bh3 Carefully defending against the mating threats, which is especially hard to do in blitz. 30...Nb6 31.Bg4! This makes use of the forking defense against the double capture on g4. White is now well ahead. 31...Bxg4 32.fxg4 Kg8 33.Nf2 Rg6 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Re1 Rg7 36.b3 Nd7 37.Qe6 Nf6 38.Re5 Qg6 39.Qf5 Rc7 40.Qxf4 Rxc2 41.Re7+ Kh8 42.Re6 Kg7 43.h3 Qf7

44.Qe5! leaving the white knight hanging allows Anand to press the attack. 44...Qf8 45.Re7+ Kg8 46.Qe6+ Kh8 47.Rf7 Qxf7 48.Qxf7 Rxf2 The white queen is too strong for the black rook and knight. Vishy wraps it up efficiently. 49.Kg1 Rf4 50.Qg6 Rf3 51.Qxh6+ Kg8 52.Qg6+ Kf8 53.Kg2 1-0

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Solutions to FM Paul Whitehead's Column

1. Botvinnik – Smyslov, 2^nd Match Game 1958.

1.Nc6! was a cute little move, and white won a pawn after 1…Bxc6 2.Qxc4+ d5 3.Qxc6. Black was faced with an impossible defensive task (3…Rxb4 4.Nxd5 wins) and succumbed quickly: 3…Rd8 4.Qb6 Qe7 5.Qd4 Qd6 6.Rfe1 Rfe8 7.Rxe5 Rxe5 8.b5 Ne6 9.Qa7 d4 10.Ne4! 1-0. If 10…Rxe4 11.Qa8+.

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2. Smyslov – Botvinnik, 5^th Match Game 1958.

1.Kd3!! 1-0. Threat: 2.b4# which black can only delay, but not stop.

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3. Smyslov – Botvinnik, 9^th Match Game 1958.

1…g5! Hiding the king behind the attacking h-pawn saves the day.  The game petered out to a draw after 2.Bxg5 Qd6 3.Rh4 Nf6 21.Bxf6 Qxf6 22.Rxg4+ Kh8 23.Kb1 Rg8 24.Rb4 a5 25.Rb6 Bxc3 26.bxc3 Rab8 27.Rxb8 Rxb8+ 28.Ka1 Rg8 29.Qe3 Rg4 30.a3 Re4 31.Qd3 Qe5 32.Kb2 Re3 33.Qd4 Qxd4 34.cxd4

Kg7 35.Rg1+ Kf7 36.h6 Rh3 37.Rg7+ Kf6 38.Rh7 Rh4 39.Kc3 Rh3+ 40.Kb2 Rh4 1/2-1/2

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4. Botvinnik – Smyslov, 14^th Match Game 1958.

1.f4! 1-0. But not 1.c8=Q? which only leads to a draw after 1…Rxc8 2.Kxc8 Kxf2. After 1.f4 white can simply push his f-pawn and sacrifice his rook if need be for the h-pawn.

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Solution To Tony's Teaser (Thanks Jon Frankle)

1. Rb7!!  Bxb7  2. Bxb7# or 1. Rb7, Ke4  2. Nf6# or.. 1. Rb7  any bishop move not Bxb7, Rb5 or Rd7# with discovery

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