Chess Room Newsletter #983

Newsletter #983

August 28, 2021

Table of Contents

• July/August TNM Live Report
• Bernardo Smith Memorial Report
• TD Corner
• Tony's Teasers
• Events/Class Schedule
• Submit your piece or feedback

Tuesday Night Marathon Round 7 Report

by Abel Talamantez

Veteran IM Elliott Winslow caught up to NM Siddharth Arun by winning his final round game against Kayven Riese to tie for 1st in the top section of the Tuesday Night Marathon. He won his final two rounds, matching Arun who took two half point byes in the final two rounds. Richard Liu finished in 3rd place with 4.5/7, which was a very impressive performance by the high school student, particularly considering he scored draws with the top 2 finishers and took 3 half point byes. 

In the under 2000 section, wins by Samuel Brownlow and Adam Stafford in the final round propelled them to a share of 1st place with Kevin Sun, who drew with Max Hao creating a three-way tie. 

In the under 1600 section, Isaac Sterling ran away with 1st place, securing the top spot last week a full point and a half ahead of the field and put his stamp on the event by winning the final round for a perfect 7/7. Iven Yarovoy finished in 2nd with 5.5/7 and David Nichol took 3rd with 5/7. 

Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank you to all the players who participated. The event concluded with the final game on Tuesday night with an exciting time scramble in a game between Chelsea Zhou and Kristian Clemens. Click on this link to watch: https://www.facebook.com/mechanicschess/videos/365311121810685

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

(4) Riese,Kayven (1900) - Winslow,Elliott (2278) [B99]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM 2000+ San Francisco (7.1), 24.08.2021

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 The old Main Line. [In the 1950s or so it supplanted 6.Be2; (and lesser moves, like 6.g3; and 6.f4 ); In the 1980s 6.Bg5 started to lose its head position in popularity thanks to 6.Be3 , the English Attack.; Or perhaps 6.f3 first, to avoid ...Ng4.; 6.a4 had its interesting adherents; Then more recently a return to 6.h3 , where all kinds of wonderful possibilities have been uncovered in the last few years. And even more recently the explosion in almost every move imaginable!; 6.Rg1; 6.Qf3; 6.Qd3; 6.Bd3; 6.a3] 6...e6 Both players keep to the traditional path. [6...Nbd7 , an old/new move, has captured attention and continues to be advanced. 7.Qe2!?] 7.f4 Be7 No Poisoned Pawn -- or Polugaevsky Variation for that matter! 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 Nbd7 [9...h6 Could be played here or anywhere earlier, but then 10.Bh4 Nbd7 it is well established that the most trouble comes from 11.Be2! The weakened h5-e8 diagonal actually matters in some lines.] 10.Bd3 [10.g4 is at least as often played, but Kayven has shown a preference for the smooth development with Rhe1 and possible knight sacs on d5 and/or f5.] 10...h6 11.Bh4 g5!? Known as the Browne System but really, it was earlier called the Kavelek Variation. The appeal is the e5-square as an outpost; the danger is, of course, the risk that White finds some breakthrough and mates Black all too quickly. 12.fxg5 Ne5 13.Qe2 Nfg4

14.h3 The more positional treatment. [14.Nf3!? hxg5 (14...Nxf3 keeps things more controlled but is less critical.) 15.Bg3 (15.Bxg5!? Bxg5+ 16.Nxg5 Qc5 17.Nf3!? (17.Nh3 b5!? "This has only been played a few times but it appears quite promising." Ftacnik in his Grandmaster Preparation opus on the Sicilian Defense for Black.) 17...Nf2 18.Nxe5 (18.Na4 Nexd3+!) 18...Nxd1! 19.Nxf7 is frightfully complicated.) 15...Bd7 (15...Nxf3) 16.h3 (16.Rdf1; 16.Rhf1) 16...Nf6 17.Nxe5 dxe5 18.Bf2 Bc6 19.Rhf1 Nh5 20.g3 0-0-0 is fine for Black.] 14...hxg5 15.Bg3 [15.hxg4 Rxh4 16.Nf3 Rxh1 17.Rxh1 Bf6 is the sort of game Black looks for in this line.] 15...Nf6 16.Nf3 Here Stockfish starts to express opinions. [>=16.Kb1 and indeed while it's been played a fraction of the time (less than 10%), it scores best.] 16...Nh5! 17.Bh2 Bd7 [17...b5!? "gives Black active prospects on both sides of the board" (Ftacnik).] 18.Kb1 [18.Rhf1!? White got a big, winning advantage before blundering deep in the game; 0-1 (69) Maiti,M (2016)-Winslow,E (2330) Berkeley 2016] 18...0-0-0 SF14 doesn't like it; [18...Nf4= keeps the balance. 19.Bxf4 gxf4] 19.Rhf1 Rh7

Other moves have been played, successfully even. 20.Qd2?!N Both players start showing uncertainty. [20.Qe3 looks best, when a pawn is lost -- but Black will always have at least somecompensation in dark square play. 20...Rg8 21.Be2 f6 22.Nxe5 dxe5 23.Bxh5 Rxh5 24.Bg3 Rf8 25.Rd2 Rh7 26.Rfd1 looks uncomfortable (note 26...Bc6 27.Nd5) ½-½ (61) Rein,A-Mueller,G Germany 1989] 20...Rg7 21.g4 Nf4 Black tried to find a way *not* to give up the pawn but in the end just allowed it to happen. 22.Bxf4 gxf4 23.Qxf4 Rh8 24.Qg3 [White should play 24.Nxe5+/- dxe5 25.Qg3] 24...Rgh7 [Black might try 24...Bf6!?+/=] 25.Rh1 [25.Nxe5+/- dxe5 26.Rf3] 25...Qc5 [Black was just missing the fairly obvious idea of putting the bishop well: 25...Bf6= feels stronger.] 26.Nxe5 Qxe5

Providing White an opportunity to head for a static, passive position. 27.Qxe5?! Long diagonal or not, White should keep the queens on. 27...dxe5 28.Bf1 Bc6 29.Bg2?! [29.Rh2; 29.Rg1] 29...f5!? Black plays to confuse White. 30.gxf5 exf5 31.Nd5 f4 32.c4?! [32.Bf3!=] 32...Bd8! Black has compensation in his passed pawn and two bishops, staying now as they do out of reach of White's knight. 33.Rd3 Bd7 34.b4 Rg7 35.Bf1 Rhg8 36.Rf3? Loses the game. [36.Be2!=/+ keeps from collapsing.] 36...Rg1 37.Rxg1 Rxg1 38.Kc2 Be8 Note the bishops on e8 and d8. 39.h4

Curiously even this passed pawn is a sort of liability; White tries to give it away and activate his rook and bishop, but Black sees through that. 39...Bh5! [39...Bxh4? 40.Rh3=] 40.Bh3+?! Clogging the h-file. [40.Rf2-/+] 40...Kb8-+ 41.Rc3?!

[41.Rf1 Rg3 42.Be6] 41...Bxh4? Note the bishops on h5 and h4. [41...Rh1 sets up ...f3 and wins immediately.] 42.c5 Bd1+ 43.Kb2 intending c6. 43...Be1 And now there they are on e1 and d1! 44.Rd3 [44.Rc1 wouldn't be a whole lot better after 44...Bd2 45.Rb1 f3!] 44...Be2 Black is clearly winning. 45.Ra3 Bd2

...Bc1+ is the strong threat. [45...f3] 46.Ra5 [46.Kc2 Be1! (46...Bc1 47.Rc3 is messy.) ] 46...Bd3 Threatening mate! 47.Nc3 Rg3 48.Bd7?! Bxc3+ Leave it to the computer to point out all the better moves Black had. 49.Kxc3 Bb5+ Kd4. Weighted Error Value: White=0.68/Black=0.32 0-1

(5) Weng,Nicholas (2013) - Bambou,Christophe (2121) [B01]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM 2000+ San Francisco (7.2), 24.08.2021

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 The old main line, still the most common. [Nowadays one sees Tiviakov's 3...Qd6; and the anti-commital 3...Qd8] 4.d4 Nf6 5.Bd2 [And here, much more common is 5.Nf3; while 5.Bc4 may or may not transpose.] 5...Bg4!? To take f3 from White's knight. [Mostly one sees 5...c6 to provide the universal hideout on c7 for the queen. (Note that she can get there from a5,d6, and d8 -- so there are a lot of transpositions!) 6.Bc4 when there is a slight problem -- if Black continues with the orderly development so popular in the Center Counter, 6...Bf5 then 7.Nd5!? creates doubled pawns for Black. Double-edged!] 6.f3 Bd7 [6...Bf5!? continues to be provocative, encouraging g2-g4.] 7.Bc4 [7.f4!? is the computer suggestion, still looking for Nf3] 7...Qb6! 8.Nge2 White rolls with the times and keeps developing. 8...e6 9.Bb3 as played by Anand against van Wely, Wijk aan Zee 2013, but more pertinent plans have overtaken it in practice. [9.0-0 is most popular, and it's hard to see why it hasn't scored as well.; The fairly rare 9.a4!?+/= looks to harass the queen and has done the best.; while 9.Be3!? reorganizes to patch up the dark squares and has done well.] 9...Be7 [9...Nc6 10.Be3 Na5 11.0-0 Nxb3 12.axb3 Black took the time to eliminate a bishop for a knight; Anand found an interesting way to reorganize: 12...Be7 13.Nf4 0-0 14.Re1 Rfd8 15.Nd3 Qd6 16.Bf2 Bc6 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.fxe4 f5?! 19.exf5 exf5 20.c4 and out of nowhere, the center was all White pawns. 1-0 (37) Anand,V (2772)-Van Wely,L (2679) Wijk aan Zee 2013.] 10.Be3 0-0 11.Qd2

11...c5!?N Black doesn't let passivity infect him, and attacks White's key point in the center. [In the one game to have reached this position, Black prepared such play with 11...Na6 12.0-0 Rfd8 13.Bf2 c5 14.Qf4 Rac8 15.d5 exd5 16.Nxd5 Nxd5 17.Bxd5 Bf6 0-1 (38) Orlovska,M (2021)-Ramiro Ovejero,J (2370) Cambados 2008. It worked out well but the knight seems a bit lost on a6.] 12.d5?! [Stockfish 14 settles on 12.0-0-0=] 12...exd5=/+ Black comes out of the central play well. 13.Bxd5 [13.Nxd5 Nxd5 14.Qxd5 (14.Bxd5 Qxb2 15.0-0 Bc6 Black is fine with his extra pawn) 14...Be6 15.Qe4 Bxb3 16.Qxe7 Na6!-/+ takes nice advantage of White's loose position (and here the knight on a6 does just fine). 17.axb3 Rae8 18.Qg5 h6 19.Qf4 Nb4! 20.0-0-0 Qg6! 21.Rd2 Qa6! Quite a complicated line! But Black's attack is worth more than the piece.] 13...Rd8

14.Qc1?! [14.0-0-0=/+ shouldn't be too bad: 14...Bc6 15.Nf4 g5!? 16.Qe1! gxf4 17.Bxf4 Kf8 when it's White sacrificing a piece for a strong initiative. (17...Bf8? 18.Qg3+ Bg7 19.Bc7) ] 14...Nc6 [14...Bb5! stops castling for now 15.Bb3 Bxe2 16.Nxe2 Bd6-/+ as in the game.] 15.0-0 Nd4 [15...Bd6 and ...Be5 first perhaps.] 16.Nf4?! [16.Bc4 Bf5 17.Ng3 Bxc2 18.Nce4 isn't really promising enough.] 16...Bd6 Black just keeps improving his pieces' positions, and White gets into more and more trouble. 17.Re1 [17.Kh1-/+ Bxf4 18.Bxf4 Bb5 19.Nxb5 Nxd5] 17...Qc7

[17...Re8-+ ...Bxf4 is the strong threat. 18.Be4 Nxe4 19.fxe4 Qd8 (19...Bxf4 20.Bxf4 Bc6 is also problematic for White.) 20.Bxd4 cxd4 21.Ncd5 Bc6 22.Qd2 Rc8 At least White has d5 for a knight, but the computers make this excellent for Black otherwise.] 18.Ne4! White was worried (pacing the room even) but fights back, and sets a trap. 18...Nxd5?! [18...Bf5 19.Nxf6+ (19.Nxd6 Rxd6) 19...gxf6 20.c4 Nc2 21.Nh5 fights back with a mess; 18...Nxe4!? 19.fxe4 Ba4 20.b3 Bc6 White has his share of central control, but not quite equality.] 19.Nxd5=/+

19...Bxh2+?! Now Black will be off-balance. [19...Qc6!= 20.c4 Bf8 followed by ... Be6.] 20.Kh1+/= Qe5 21.Bxd4! Qxd5!

[Much worse is 21...Qxd4 22.Qg5+-] 22.Bxg7!+/- The game turns! Quite surprising to see that it's Black's dark squares that end up in trouble. 22...Kxg7 23.Kxh2 Rac8? [Black needed to cover those squares better: 23...Qh5++/= 24.Kg1 Qe5] 24.Qf4+- +- Now that White has gotten there, the problems become insurmountable, in practice certainly as well as in fact. 24...Qh5+ [24...Qf5 25.Qg3+ Qg6 26.Qe5+ Kg8 27.Nf6+ Kf8 28.Rad1 and in the end, it's the original weaknesses in Black's camp (the bishop on d7, the pawn on c5) that cost him. 28...Be6 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 30.Qxc5+] 25.Kg1 Rc6 26.Rad1!

An annoying pin! 26...Rg6 27.Kf2 Safety first (avoiding any ...B/Qh3 tries) but also with a devious attacking idea -- which in fact comes to fruition. Note that Black's taking the h-pawn made this possible. 27...c4 28.Rh1 Qa5

29.Rxh7+!! A nice, classic deflection sacrifice! Black falls apart. 29...Kxh7 30.Qxf7+ Kh6 31.Rh1+ Qh5 32.Qf4+ Rg5 33.Qxg5+ A superlative comeback by Nicholas from an uncomfortable position! And Bambou is to be credited for his sophisticated early play, until he was lured away by the h-pawn. 1-0

(1) Mercado,Adam (1879) - Uzakbaev,Nursultan"] (1513) [B15]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u2000 San Francisco (7.11), 24.08.2021

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6?! 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 e6 6.Nf3 White is a tempo up over a usual French Defense since Black played ...c6 and then ...c5. 6...h6 7.Bd3 c5 8.0-0 Nc6

9.f5! Charging ahead while Black lags in development. The risk for White is that the central pawn chain becomes weak. 9...cxd4? [Black needed to play 9...exf5 10.Bxf5 cxd4 11.Nxd5 Nc5 which avoids any big trouble] 10.fxe6 dxc3

11.exf7+! Much better to take the pawn than the knight! White gets a ferocious attack. 11...Ke7 12.Qe1? many other moves are winning, but this allows Black a chance 12...Nc5 [12...cxb2! 13.Bxb2 (13.Qh4+ Kxf7! works for Black despite the riskly appearance) 13...Qb6+ 14.Kh1 Qxb2 15.Qh4+ g5 16.Nxg5 Ndxe5! looks dangerous but seems quite ok for Black] 13.Bg6 [13.Nh4!] 13...Be6

[13...cxb2!] 14.b4! A shot from the other side of the board gives Black too much to handle. 14...Na4 15.b5 Nb4?! [15...Qb6+ 16.Be3 Qxb5 17.Rb1 Qa5 18.Rxb7+ Kd8 19.Nd4 Nxd4 20.Qh4+ Kc8 21.Re7! gives White too many threats] 16.a3 Now White gets the piece back along with the raging attack. Black is done for. 16...Nxc2 17.Bxc2 Nb6 18.Nd4 Bxf7 19.e6 Qb8 20.exf7+ Kd7 21.Qe6+ Black resigns. It seems Adam was in a very violent mood for this round! 1-0

(2) Perlov,Daniel (1555) - Stafford,Adam (1473) [D09]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u2000 San Francisco (7.7), 24.08.2021

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 The aggressive Albin Counter Gambit. Always good for a lively game. 3.dxe5 d4 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.g3 Be6 6.b3 [A better way to defend the c-pawn is with the developing 6.Nbd2] 6...Qd7 7.Bg2 Bh3 8.0-0 Bxg2 9.Kxg2 0-0-0 10.Bb2 Bc5 [Black should consider 10...h5; or 10...Nge7] 11.Qc2 [11.a3!] 11...f6 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.Na3 Rhe8 [13...h5 14.h4 Rhe8] 14.Rad1 Qe7 15.Nb5 [15.Qf5+! Kb8 16.Nb5 gets rid of the powerful black d-pawn and gets a clear advantage] 15...Qe4!

Now Black guards the d-pawn and has equal chances in the ending 16.Qxe4 Rxe4 17.Rfe1 a6 18.Na3 Rde8?! [18...Bb4 19.Nd2 Re6 20.Nc2 Bc3 is a more active continuation] 19.Nc2 Rxe2 20.Rxe2 Rxe2 21.Bxd4 [Here 21.Rd2! Rxd2 22.Nxd2 leaves White with the advantage as the black d-pawn is weak being so close to the white king] 21...Nxd4 22.Ncxd4?! [Better to take with the other knight - 22.Nfxd4 Bxd4 23.Nxd4 Rxa2 24.Ne6] 22...Rxa2 23.Rd3?! Ng4?! [23...Ne4! 24.Ne6 Rxf2+ 25.Kh3 Be7 26.Nxg7 Rb2 puts White in real trouble] 24.Ne6! Be7 [24...Rxf2+? 25.Kh3 threatens both the knight and mate on d8] 25.Rd2 Rxd2 26.Nxd2 Bf6 27.h3 Ne5 We have reached an endgame of even material. The battle is just getting started. 28.Ne4 Kd7?! offering the h-pawn to get the black knight in the corner. An aggressive and interesting idea, but White has a good continuation. 29.Nxf6+?! [29.Nf8+ Ke7 30.Nxh7 is just good for White] 29...gxf6

30.Nf8+? now Daniel plays into Adams idea and this just doesn't work for Black. 30...Ke7 31.Nxh7

31...Nxc4! [31...Kf7 trapping the knight is also good. Adam makes use of the white knight being out of play to win on the queenside.] 32.f4 [32.bxc4 a5 just runs and makes a queen. Neither the white king or the white knight can get back to stop the a-pawn.] 32...Nd2 33.b4 c5! once again trying to get a passed a-pawn, 34. bxc5 a5 just queens. White is in a desperate situation. 34.Kf2 cxb4 35.Ke2 Ne4 36.g4 b3 37.Kd3 b2?! This makes winning much more difficult. With [37...a5! Black can defend the advanced b-pawn while the knight on e4 cannot be taken due to queening.] 38.Kc2 Nf2?! [38...Kf7 39.g5 f5 40.Kxb2 Kg7 wins easily] 39.Kxb2?! [39.g5! would be a good try 39...f5 40.Nf6 Nxh3 41.Nd5+ gives White serious drawing chances] 39...Nxh3 40.g5 fxg5?! giving White serious chances again for a draw [40...f5! wins the f-pawn for free] 41.fxg5 Kf7 42.Kb3 Kg6 43.Nf6? [43.Nf8+! Kxg5 44.Ne6+ Kf6 45.Nc5 would win a pawn and make a draw] 43...Nxg5 44.Nd7 Ne6 45.Kb4 Kf7 46.Ka5 Ke7 now Black is in control again 47.Nb8 Nc7? [47...Nc5! 48.Kb6 Nd7+! 49.Kxb7 Nxb8 wins] 48.Kb6! Kd6 49.Kxb7 a5 50.Nc6 a4 51.Kb6 a3

52.Nb4? The last mistake. White could draw with [52.Nd4 a2 53.Nc2 Nd5+ 54.Ka5 Kc5 55.Ka4 Nb4 56.Kb3] 52...Nd5+ 53.Kb5 Nxb4 54.Kc4 a2 55.Kb3 a1R White resigned. A great endgame struggle! Both players probably learned a lot from playing this game. 0-1

(3) Sterling,Isaac (1236) - Zirbel,Dominic (1481) [D02]
Mechanics' Jul-Aug TNM u1600 San Francisco (7.10), 24.08.2021

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 c5 4.0-0 Nc6 5.d4 A Grunfeld Reversed! That's quite a good and aggressive opening for White. 5...Bf5 6.c3 [6.c4! dxc4 7.Qa4 would put Black under pressure.] 6...e6 7.Nh4 Be4 8.f3 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.b3 cxd4 11.cxd4 Rc8 12.Bb2 Nb4 13.Na3?! [Just the natural 13.Nc3 followed by 14. a3 would make Black's knight move seem useless] 13...a6 14.e4 dxe4 15.fxe4 e5?!

This is a lot of action, but not the right time. Black should get developed and castled before opening the center. 16.Qf3?! [16.Nc4! exd4 17.e5 would be trouble for Black] 16...Rc7? [16...Nc6! 17.dxe5 Bxa3 18.Bxa3 Nxe5] 17.dxe5! Now Black is in trouble, having lost control of the central squares. 17...Bc5+ 18.Kh1 Nh5 19.Rad1 Qg5?!

Black is threatening to win with 20...Nxg3+ 20.g4! The only move to keep the advantage. This wins a piece and stops the Black threats. 20...Qh4 21.gxh5 Rxh5 22.h3 g5 23.e6! f6

24.Bxf6! White crashes through with a mating attack. Black never gets a chance to play ...g4 to trouble the white king. 24...gxf6 25.Qxf6 Nc6 26.Qg6+ Ke7 27.Qf7# Nice attack from Isaac! 1-0

Here are the final results:

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Bernardo Smith Memorial Report

by Abel Talamantez

The Mechanics' Institute held its first two-day FIDE rated weekend event in over a year and a half with the 15th Bernardo Smith Memorial. We had 47 players in total, which was an outstanding turnout considering the event was held on the same weekend as the Central California Open in Fresno. Special shoutout to Mechanics' player Cailen Melville, who won the under 2100 section there and $1000. We will forgive his choice of event last weekend. 

In the top section, FM Baasansuren Erdene won sole 1st place with 4.5/5, winning his final round game against Advay Bansal and getting help from Abhinav Penagalapati, who defeated Christophe Bambou, whom he was tied with headed into the final round. Abhinav finished in sole 2nd place with that win at 4/5 and Christophe and Alan Finkelstein finished tied for 3rd with 3.5/5. 

In the 1600-1999 section, Teodoro Porlares had an outstanding tournament, surviving a time scramble and a few long games to take clear first with 4.5/5. Neil Bhaduri and Greg Zhou shared 2nd and 3rd place with 3.5/5. 

In the under 1600 section, Kian Jamali was tops in the section with 4.5/5 and clear 1st, followed by Jashith Karthi and Axel Joseph, who finished at 3.5.5. 

It was a fun event and great to see many familiar faces. All sections were FIDE rated. We look forward to the next big weekend event next month with the Howard Donnelly Memorial, information can be found here: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/20th-donnelly-memorial-championship-person-fide-g120d5 

Here are the final standings:

SwissSys Standings. 20th Smith Memorial Championship: Open

#	Place	Name	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total	Prize
1	1	FM Baasansuren Erdene	2294	W16	W4	W2	D3	W10	4.5	300.00
2	2	Abhinav Penagalapati	2096	W7	W13	L1	W8	W3	4.0	200.00
3	3-4	Christophe Bambou	2099	W11	W15	W5	D1	L2	3.5	87.50
4		Alan Finkelstein	2025	W18	L1	W10	D6	W12	3.5	87.50
5	5-7	NM Michael Aigner	2206	H---	W8	L3	D7	W13	3.0
6		Theodore Coyne	2136	D10	D17	W14	D4	H---	3.0
7		Sricharan Pullela	1919	L2	W16	H---	D5	W15	3.0	75.00
8	8-12	Nicholas Weng	2006	W14	L5	W15	L2	D11	2.5
9		Aditya Naganath	1979	H---	L10	W13	L12	W17	2.5
10		Advay Bansal	1929	D6	W9	L4	W11	L1	2.5
11		Rithwik Narendra	1927	L3	W18	W17	L10	D8	2.5
12		Sadia Qureshi	1900	L13	H---	W18	W9	L4	2.5
13	13-15	Nathan Fong	2049	W12	L2	L9	W14	L5	2.0
14		Adway Sane	1874	L8	B---	L6	L13	W18	2.0
15		Nikunj Oza	1851	B---	L3	L8	W17	L7	2.0
16	16	Lucas Lesniewski	1966	L1	L7	H---	L18	B---	1.5
17	17-18	Max Hao	1922	H---	D6	L11	L15	L9	1.0
18		Alan Bokiev	1886	L4	L11	L12	W16	L14	1.0

SwissSys Standings. 20th Smith Memorial Championship: 1600-1999

#	Place	Name	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total	Prize
1	1	Teodoro Porlares	1749	W13	W6	H---	W8	W4	4.5	200.00
2	2-3	Neil Bhaduri	1471	L11	B---	D7	W12	W10	3.5	100.00
3		Greg Zhou	1389	W9	D5	D11	D7	W8	3.5	100.00
4	4-7	Vikrant Ganesan	1546	L7	W13	W6	W11	L1	3.0	25.00
5		Kevin Sun	1521	W14	D3	H---	H---	D7	3.0	25.00
6		Nursultan Uzakbaev	1446	W15	L1	L4	W14	W11	3.0	25.00
7		Anish Dara	1420	W4	D11	D2	D3	D5	3.0	25.00
8	8-10	Adam Mercado	1793	H---	W12	W10	L1	L3	2.5
9		Stephen Parsons	1543	L3	W15	H---	L10	W14	2.5
10		Aaron Craig	1416	H---	W14	L8	W9	L2	2.5
11	11	Jeff Andersen	1643	W2	D7	D3	L4	L6	2.0
12	12-13	Tom Boyd	1631	H---	L8	W15	L2	U---	1.5
13		Ross Gordon	1527	L1	L4	L14	W15	H---	1.5
14	14	Adam Stafford	1662	L5	L10	W13	L6	L9	1.0
15	15	Lisa Willis	1583	L6	L9	L12	L13	U---	0.0

SwissSys Standings. 20th Smith Memorial Championship: Under 1600

#	Place	Name	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Total	Prize
1	1	Kian Jamali	1283	W7	W10	W3	W6	D4	4.5	200.00
2	2-3	Jashith Karthi	1429	W5	D6	W12	D3	H---	3.5	100.00
3		Axel Joseph	unr.	W11	W4	L1	D2	W9	3.5	100.00
4	4-6	Dominic Zirbel	1481	D9	L3	W10	W12	D1	3.0
5		Andrew Imbens	1288	L2	W8	W11	L9	W12	3.0	50.00
6		Danny Cao	896	B---	D2	W9	L1	D8	3.0	50.00
7	7-9	John Chan	1546	L1	L9	W13	W10	H---	2.5
8		Adithya Chitta	1260	L10	L5	B---	W11	D6	2.5
9		Tobiah Rex	1178	D4	W7	L6	W5	L3	2.5
10	10-11	Albert Starr	1500	W8	L1	L4	L7	B---	2.0
11		Michelle Hamdani	unr.	L3	B---	L5	L8	W13	2.0
12	12-13	Andrew Ballantyne	1467	H---	W13	L2	L4	L5	1.5
13		Joshua Hua	157	H---	L12	L7	B---	L11	1.5

SwissSys Standings. 20th Smith Memorial Championship: Extra Games in the Smith Memorial

#	Place	Name	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Total
1	1-2	Nikunz Oza	1851	W2	U---	1.0
2		Abel Talamantez	1800	L1	W5	1.0
3	3-4	JUDIT SZTARAY	853	U---	D4	0.5
4		Joshua Hua	157	U---	D3	0.5
5	5	Albert Starr	1500	U---	L2	0.0

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TD Corner

by Abel Talamantez

We had a situation during the Bernardo Smith Memorial where there was uncertainty to the organizers (Mechanics' Institute staff) on the result of a game. A very common thing we are starting to see, and I imagine it is happening in many areas with live over-the-board play with many new players playing for the first time, is newer and/or younger players learning to notate. While it is required to notate, there is some flexibility and TD discretion on this, as there is an understanding that there is a learning curve for newer or younger players. Two issues that result from this are first, how do you reconcile the unfair advantage a player not notating has with regards to the clock (since they are not taking time to notate). Secondly, what happens when there is a dispute regarding the result? Here are our answers.

The FIDE rule is here: 8.1 In the course of play each player is required to record his own moves and those of his opponent in the correct manner, move after move, as clearly and legibily as possible, in the algebraic notation (See Appendix C), on the scoresheet prescribed for the competition. 

In the case of a player not knowing or is learning to notate, we lean on the USCF rule a bit and give some discretion for newer players. Here is the USCF rule regarding players unable to keep score:

15A1. Players unable to keep score. a. Players determined by the director to be unable to keep score due to physical handicaps may have assistance in scorekeeping as described in 35F, Rules for visually impaired and disabled players, and should be excused from scorekeeping if such assistance is unavailable. b. Players determined by the director to be unable to keep score for religious reasons may be excused from scorekeeping or permitted to have assistance as in 35F, Rules for visually impaired and disabled players, at the director’s discretion. c. Beginners who have not learned to keep score may be excused from scorekeeping, at the director’s discretion. Players excused from scorekeeping are not entitled to make claims that require scoresheets; those who have assistance retain such rights. TD TIP: Directors often deduct time from the clocks of players at the start of the game whom they excuse from keeping score (the most common example would be that of a player excused from keeping score for genuine religious reasons). Their opponents will need to give up thinking time in order to keep score, which the excused player need not do. A good rule of thumb is to deduct 5% of the total game time allotted for each individual player, up to 10 minutes, from the player’s clock that is excused from keeping score.

So in the case if a player unbale to keep score, we can deduct time at the start of the game following the USCF good rule of thumb, to make up for the fact that the notating player is taking time to notate. What we usually do is make a player mark on a scoresheet that a move has been played with a checkmark. This at least keeps track of the number of moves and imposes a requirement to mark the scoresheet. This however does not allow for draw claims, as we need recorded moves for that. We do explain to newer players the value and necessity of notating, which leads to the next case.

When there is a dispute on the result, the scoresheet is absolutley key. Also, the scoresheet is the property of the organizer, not the player. Here is the FIDE rule, which is also the USCF rule:

8.3 The scoresheets are the property of the organisers of the event.

This also comes to play when a player on their own time asks to see the opponents scoresheet to correct notation. A player may refuse to allow that (not typically done), but the organizer may allow it and the player must comply. More importantly, the scoresheet is used as the determinant of a result. 

8.7 At the conclusion of the game both players shall sign both scoresheets, indicating the result of the game. Even if incorrect, this result shall stand, unless the arbiter decides otherwise. 

I've seen cases where players refuse to sign scoresheets, which I consider bad sportsmanship and I personally don't understand why someone wouldn't unless there was a physical incapacity or inconvenience to do do. In those cases however, I'll sign the scoresheet to verify the result and let things go.

Things get complicated however when it is uncertain what the result of a game was, or if there are two differing accounts as to what happened. In the case of last weekend, there was confusion on our part as to the result of a game, because the result was not marked and neither player kept score. We contacted both players and the result was verified, but Judit and I once had a situation where two players disputed the result of a game, and one player had notated while the other did not. Since the result was marked and that scoresheet signed, that result stood, despite the fact that playing the gane out on the scoresheet suggested the result may have been different than was marked. 

So please, keep accurate notation and make sure the correct result is marked before signing. We encourage players to take the time after the game to get a signature on the scoresheet, or at least have the TD sign and verify. For mor einformation on the FIDE and USCF rules, follow these links:

https://www.fide.com/FIDE/handbook/LawsOfChess.pdf

http://www.uschess.org/docs/gov/chessrules/US_Chess_Rule_Book-%20Online_Only_Edition_v7.1-1.2.11-7.19.19.pdf

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Tony's Teasers

Tony challenges you to solve this problem, 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:

Mechanics' Institute September ThNM Online. September 2-September 16, 6:30PM PT.  6 Games G/35+5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/thursday-night-marathon-online-sep-2021

Mechanics' Institute September/October TNM: FIDE Rated. September 7-October 19, 6:30PM PT.  Games G/120;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/tuesday-night-marathon-2021-sep-oct-person

Mechanics' Institute August Quads: September 11, 3PM PT. 3 Games G/30;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/mechanics-championship-quads

20th Howard Donnelly Memorial Championship: FIDE Rated. September 18-19, 9AM PT. 5SS G/120;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/20th-donnelly-memorial-championship-person-fide-g120d5

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 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 22: Tal – Botvinnik 1961

Their return match in 1961 was a triumph for “Mr. Soviet Chess” (Mikhail Botvinnik( over the “Magician from Riga” (Mikhail Tal).  The final score of +10 -5 =6 meant that Botvinnik had now won the World Championship three times, while drawing twice and losing twice. 

Would this ever end?

Tal hardly sparkled in 1961, but heavy drinking and heavy smoking, plus a kidney operation will slow down even the most talented genius.  The games were tense and hard fought, but seemed to lack that glamorous pizzazz Tal usually brought to the table.  Full credit must go to Botvinnik for de-clawing his wild opponent. 

Tal said: “I think I lost to him because he beat me!” A neither here-nor-there statement of fact, and a cheeky tongue-in-cheek acceptance of one’s fate.

Tal brought back to life the Advance Variation 3.e5 against the Caro-Kann Defense, and the following position arose five times in the match after 3…Bf5 4.h4:

In this position Botvinnik played 4…h6 three times, and 4…h5 and 4…c5 once.  Why not 4…e6?

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1. Tal – Botvinnik, 2^nd Match Game 1961.

White moves.  Precision needed.

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2. Botvinnik – Tal, 7^th Match Game 1961.

White moves.  Dispel all hope.

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3. Tal Botvinnik, 8^th Match Game 1961.

White moves.  Do you see the follow-through?

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4. Tal – Botvinnik, 12^th Match Game 1961.

White moves.  A classic theme.

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5. Tal – Botvinnik, 14^th Match Game 1961.

Black moves.  Extrication needed.

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6. Botvinnik – Tal, 21^st Match Game 1961.

White moves.  It’s all over.

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GM Nick de Firmian's Column

Sinquefield Cup

The strongest tournament of the year in the United States is close to the finish. The Sinquefield Grand Chess Tour in St. Louis is like a grand slam tournament in tennis – an event with top players and highest quality games.  These relatively rare American round robin classical tournaments are special events, often with historical significance.  The great New York tournaments of the 1920’s are very well remembered and players today love to play through the games those events. Capablanca, Lasker and Alekhine battling the other top players of a century ago produced a trove of chess classics. In the 1980’s and 90’s the great international round robin tournaments in the US were the Pan-Pacific events organized by the Mechanics’ Institute. These are well and fondly remembered by our club players to this day.

Yet St. Louis has the great advantage over the rest of the country with its billionaire sponsor Rex Sinquefield, who has transformed top level American chess. The current Sinquefield Cup has world top players Maxim Vachier-Lagrave, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Peter Svidler and six other top grandmasters. The new “Sinquefield” age has many American players at the top of the world rating list, and hence the Americans are placing well, with Caruana, So and Lenier Dominguez pushing for the top spot. The leader though (at this writing) is the Frenchman, Vachier-Lagrave, who would gain further top status with a victory here.

We may be forgiven for rooting for our local hero, Sam Shankland. Unfortunately Sam is not winning this event, being stuck behind the leaders after a slow start. He will probably finish even in rating points, yet we hoped for more after his recent successes. Below we give a game of his against Mamedyarov and the encounter between So and Svidler.

(1) Shankland,Sam - Mamedyarov,Shak [C65]
Sinquefield Cup, 22.08.2021

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Our man Sam decides not the allow the "Berlin" endgame that arises after 4. 0-0 Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 4...Bc5 5.c3 d5 6.exd5 Qxd5 7.Bc4 Qd8 8.Bg5 h6 The white bishops are active so Shak decides to push this one back. As usual he plays actively and dosen't worry much about his pawns going forward causing loose pawn structure. 9.Bh4 g5 10.Bg3 e4 11.Qe2 Qe7 12.dxe4 Nxe4 13.Nbd2 Nxg3 14.Qxe7+ Bxe7

15.fxg3!? Sam makes the unusual capture away from the center. This opens the f-file which he makes good use of. 15...Bf5 16.0-0 Bg6 17.Bb5!? Another creative choice, planning to give up both bishops and play with two knights. 17...0-0-0 18.Bxc6 bxc6 19.Nb3 Rd5 20.Rae1 Bf6 21.Nfd4 [21.Nh4!? gxh4 22.Rxf6 was also a good continuation.] 21...Bxd4+ 22.Nxd4 White has made Black trade one of the bishops, so there is not the worry of playing against the dreaded bishop pair. This position is just a slight edge for White. 22...Kb7 [22...c5 23.Nc6! gives the knight some good squares] 23.Nb3 Kb6?! [23...Rhd8! would have kept it close to equal] 24.c4! Rd7?! not the best square due to Sam's reply 25.a4! White now threatens 26. a5+ followed by a knight fork on c5. 25...a5 26.Rf6 Ra8 27.Re5! The white rooks pressure the queenside. White will win a pawn now. 27...Rd1+ 28.Kf2 Ra6 29.Rb5+ Ka7 30.Rxa5 Rxa5? Black needed to play 30...Rb1 to fight for a draw. This gives the white knight a tempo and Sam wins two pawns now. 31.Nxa5 Rd2+ 32.Kf3 Rxb2 33.Nxc6+ Ka8 34.Ne5! Bc2 35.Nxf7 both sides take pawns, but White stays ahead by two of them 35...h5 36.Nxg5 Bd1+ 37.Ke3 Re2+ 38.Kd4 Rxg2 39.a5 Rxh2 40.Ne6 h4 41.Nxc7+ Kb8 42.Nb5 hxg3 43.a6! Advancing the a-pawn gets it closer to queening and here also threatens 44. Rf8 mate. 43...Rh8 Black resigned after playing this move. White picks up the g-pawn with 44. Rg6 and wins without effort on the queenside. A powerful performance by Sam against one of the world's top players. 1-0

(2) So,Wesley - Svidler,Peter [A37]
Sinquefield Cup, 19.08.2021

Wesley So is afraid of no one in the world. He meets the great Peter Svidler, eight time Russian champion. Yet Wesley has no respect. 1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 Nc6 We start out with a symmetrical English Opening, which is a rather quite, positional beginning. Don't be fooled though, So is out for blood. 5.Nf3 e5 This Botvinnik set-up against the English was popularized by Swedish GM Tom Wedberg 40 years ago. Now it is very popular. Black is a bit weak on the light squares and strong on the central dark squares. 6.a3 a5 7.d3 Nge7 8.Nd2!

Instread of routinely castling Wesley keys in on the important central d5 square. This knight maneuver is the most effective plan here for White. 8...d6 9.Nf1 0-0 10.Ne3 Rb8 11.Rb1 Nd4 12.Bd2 Bd7 13.0-0 Bc6?! Usually you want to keep your fianchettoed bishop near your king. Here though the trade will highlight Black's light square weakenesses. 14.b4 axb4 15.axb4 cxb4?! A concession giving Black an isolated b-pawn which White can target. 16.Rxb4 Bxg2 17.Kxg2 Qd7 18.Ned5 Nec6 19.Rb6 White has great squares on the queenside. Black doesn't have anything to target in the white camp. May as well try for a kingside advance yes? 19...f5 20.f3 keeping pawns on white squares and slowing any Black plans on the kingside 20...Rf7 21.Be3 h5 22.Qd2 Ne6 23.Rfb1 Kh7 24.h4 f4?! It was hard to resist this move - it goes forward and seems to attack things on the kingside. The drawback is that White now gets another great square for a knight. The black bishop is a bad piece as it only runs into the black pawns and can't fight the white knights. 25.gxf4 exf4 26.Bf2 Ncd4 27.Bxd4! Trading this good bishop for a knight allows So to complete his strategy of completely controlling the central light squares. 27...Bxd4 28.Ne4!

The two fantastic white knights dominate from the middle of the board. Black cannot capture the rook on b6 due to the royal fork on f6. If 28...Be5 White has 29. Rxd6!, again because of the knight for on f6. After looking for a bit, Svidler resigned, not seeing any good way to continue. This was another powerful performance by Wesley So, making Svidler look almost like an amateur. 1-0

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Solution to FM Paul Whitehead's Column

1. Tal – Botvinnik, 2^nd Match Game 1961.

White simultaneously wins a piece and the dangerous b-pawn with 1.Qa4! 1-0.  If 1…Qxa4 2.Bxa4 Nb6 3.Bxb3 Kf7 4.Ba4 Ke7 5.Bc6 +- Or 1…Qe1+ 2.Bf1 Nc7 3.Qxb3 +-.

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2. Botvinnik – Tal, 7^th Match Game 1961.

White squelched all hope with 1.R1a4! 1-0. The twin threats of 2.Rb4# and 2.R7a5# are just too much for black.

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3. Tal Botvinnik, 8^th Match Game 1961.

The splendid 1.Nd7+! 1-0 wins in all variations: If 1…Kc7 2.b6+ then 3.cxb7 +-. The pretty line arises after 1…Bxd7 2.cxd7 Rd8 and now 3.Rc8+! Rxc8 4.Ra8+! is a sequence worth remembering.

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4. Tal – Botvinnik, 12^th Match Game 1961.

White used the “desperado” tactic 1.Qxh8! to go ahead the Exchange after 1…Rxh8 2.Bb2! when the black queen is lost. Careful technique brought Tal the full point: 2…Qxf3+ 19.gxf3 Ng6 20.h4 Ngxe5 21.h5 Nf7 22.f4 Nd6 23.Rb3 Ne4 24.Ke1 Rh6 25.Be2 Be8 26.Rd3 Nf6 27.Bxd4 Nxd4 28.Rxd4 Bxh5 29.Rd3 Rh7 30.Rdh3 Bg6 31.Rxh7+ Nxh7 32.Rh6 Nf8 33.Rh8 Nd7 34.Rg8 Bf7 35.Rg7 Be8 36.Re7 Kd8 37.Rxe6 Bf7 38.Rh6 Ke7 39.Bd3 Be6 40.Rh5 Nf6 41.Rg5 1-0.

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5. Tal – Botvinnik, 14^th Match Game 1961.

Ignoring white’s threats, black boldly counter-attacked with 1…Rxb2! 2.Nf5+ Kf6 3.Nxh6 Rdd2! White sidestepped with the clever 4.Kg1 Rxf2 5.Rf1 but black still kept the jump on him with 5…Rxf1+ 6.Kxf1 Kg7! and the lost minor piece was regained. After 7.Rxa7 Kxh6 8.Rxf7 the players split the point 1/2-1/2.

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6. Botvinnik – Tal, 21^st Match Game 1961.

The match ended not with a bang, but a whimper: 1.d6+ 1-0. If 1…Kb7/c6 then 2.Be4+ Or 1…Kd8 2.Rxf8+.

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Solution To Tony's Teaser

1. Qb3!!  Rxb3  2. Ne3#

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