Chess Room Newsletter #986

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Tuesday Night Marathon Round 2 Report

by Abel Talamantez

Round 2 of the TNM saw the underdogs continue strong play, with Ilia Gimelfarb securing a draw against IM Elliott Winslow in a game he was likely winning. Sean Kelly also looked like he was in a winning position against Nathan Fong, but the UC Berkeley grad fought back to hold the position and also draw. Alex Chin fought hard all the way to the end of the night against FM Ezra Chambers, but Chambers got the win to stay on top with 2/2 in the section along with Nicholas Weng. Guy Argo had an exciting win against Kevin Sun giving him 1.5/2. 

FM Paul Whitehead chimes in at the conclusion of the Chambers-Chin game. TD Judit Sztaray getting in on some chess action with an extra rated game against William Thibault.

A strong group of nine players are tied in the under 1800 section with 2/2, which includes Marty Cortinas, Georgios Tsolias, Sebby Suarez and Christopher Dessert, who had a fine win against Teodoro Porlares. 

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

(2) Chambers,Ezra (2314) - Chin,Alex (1992) [B01]
MI Sep-Oct TNM 1800+ San Francisco (2.1), 14.09.2012

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Be2 Quite unambitious. White is content to have the more advanced center, not trying to take advantage of Black's queen bishop possibly getting in trouble. [A sharp line, recommended by Shaw in his repertoire book, is 4.Bb5+ Nbd7 (You don't want to fall for 4...c6? 5.dxc6 Bxd1?? 6.c7+ 1-0, Winslow-Childress, Mechanics' Wilkerson Memorial TNM, Feb 2020.) 5.f3 Bf5 6.Nc3 a6 7.Ba4 b5 8.Bb3 Nb6 finally recovering the pawn, but White still has significant pressure.] 4...Bxe2 5.Nxe2 Qxd5 6.0-0 Nc6! 0.72/21 [6...e6= 0.26/23 ] 7.c3 -0.28/20 [At least 7.Be3!+/- develops, plus keeps open the option of a knight to c3 attacking the queen. 0.72/21 ] 7...e5= Black has no problems. 8.dxe5

-0.84/20 [8.h3= -0.20/23 ] 8...0-0-0N -0.31/24 [Black could head for total equality or better: 8...Qxd1 9.Rxd1 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Nfd7 11.Nd2 0-0-0 12.Nb3 Bd6 13.Nbd4 Rhe8 14.b4 Nc4 15.Bxd6 Nxd6 White never found time for Nb5. ½-½ (43) Breja,S (2135)-Krajnak,M (2220) Slovakia 2002] 9.Qxd5=/+ This is fine as well. 9...Nxd5 10.e6!? 10...fxe6?! Black accepts a pawn weakness, which plagues him until the end. [10...f6 could round it up later;; But 10...Re8! takes advantage of a pin to capture it with the rook, again with the better side of the balance.] 11.Nd2 Not that White has anything here 11...g5?! But here the younger player gets a bit loose with his pawns. [11...Ne5 heads right away for d3.] 12.Nf3 [12.Ne4! is the better central outpost -- not as far into Black's position, but less assailable.] 12...h6 13.Ned4 Nxd4 14.Nxd4 Rd6 15.Nb5 [15.a4 first is sensible] 15...Ra6 16.Re1 Bg7 [16...Bc5!? (f2 could be a target)] 17.Kf1 Rd8 18.Re4 Rb6 [Unexpectedly 18...e5!? first could then send the knight to the edge.] 19.Nd4 Kd7?! 0.57/22 [Black should play 19...Bxd4!?=/+ -0.34/23 20.Rxd4 e5 leaves Black with some little plusses.] 20.Nb3+/= Ke7 21.h4 and sure enough, White hits those pawns, and stays focused until the end. 21...Rbd6? [%wdl 997,3,0] 3.17/18 [21...Bf6+/= 0.68/21 ] 22.Bd2? 0.60/20 [It's hard to say why Chambers didn't just take the pawn (with quite a won position): 22.hxg5+- [%wdl 997,3,0] 3.17/18 22...hxg5 23.Bxg5+ Bf6 and almost every bishop move still leaves White winning. ( 24.Bf4 might give Black some chance with the bishop for the knight but still)] 22...Kf6? Traffic jam on f6! 2.87/20 [22...Nf6!+/= 0.60/20 23.Re2 gxh4] And here the DGT board, sending the moves to the Internet, lost its way (but the scoresheets still provided the conclusion). 23.Rae1 Ne7?! 4.07/20 [23...Kg6 "unblocks the box" but it's still bad after 1.86/22 24.hxg5 (24.Rxe6+ Rxe6 25.Rxe6+ Kf5+/=) 24...hxg5 25.Rxe6+] 24.Be3 Nf5 25.hxg5+ hxg5 26.Bc5 Rc6 27.g4 Chin must be wondering what he did wrong (after such a promising opening)! 27...Nh4 28.Bd4+ Kf7 29.Bxg7 Kxg7 30.Nd4! wins the exchange when it's just a question of getting the rooks into Black's position. 30...Rxd4 31.Rxd4+- Kf6 32.Re3 Ng6 33.Ree4 b5 34.Rd3 Ne5 35.Rd2 Nc4 36.Rde2 Rd6 37.Kg2 Nb6 38.f4 Nd5 39.fxg5+ Kxg5 intending ...Nf4+. 40.Kg3 Kf6 41.Rh2 Kg7 42.Rf2 c5 43.c4 bxc4 44.Rxc4 Nf6 45.Rcf4 e5 A relaxed "higher rated player wins without effort" but with flaws and instructional moments. [and Alex resigned -- or maybe Ezra had played 45...e5 46.Rxf6! but it didn't make it to the scoresheets: 46...Rxf6 47.Rxf6 Kxf6 48.Kf3 is a classic king and pawn ending, where White's king easily heads for the queenside while Black has to first eliminate the outside passed pawn.] 1-0

(3) Gimelfarb,Ilia (1752) - Winslow,Elliott (2269) [B22]
MI Sep-Oct TNM 1800+ San Francisco (2.2), 14.09.2012

1.e4 c5 2.c3 The quieter, less theory-intensive Alapin Variation stilll leads to interesting positions with winning chances for both sides. 2...Nf6 Black has other ways to play [like 2...d5 (which also tries to take advantage of White's not being able to hit the queen with Nc3)] 3.e5 Nd5 Like the Alekhine Defense, Black draws White's center pawns forward and hopes to take advantage of holes left. 4.Nf3 Nc6 5.Bc4 Nb6 6.Bb3 c4!? Sooner or later White will be compelled to trade off this pawn. 7.Bc2 d6 8.exd6 Qxd6 9.0-0 Bg4 10.Qe2 e6 [In the highest-level game played here White had his pawn problems: 10...0-0-0 11.Na3 Qe6 12.Qxe6+ Bxe6 13.b3 Bd5 14.bxc4 Nxc4 15.Nxc4 Bxc4 16.Re1 Bd3 17.Bxd3 Rxd3 18.Re3 Rd7 19.Ba3 e5 20.Bxf8 Rxf8 21.h4 f6 22.h5 Rfd8 23.Kf1 b6 24.g3 Kb7 25.Kg2 Ne7 26.Re4 Rd3 0-1 (57) Nakamura,H (2736)-Dubov,D (2699) Lindores Abbey Rapid, Final 8, chess24.com 2.06/0 ] 11.Na3 Qc5

0.96/22 [11...Qf4!?= remains equal. 0.00/24 ] 12.d4?!N -0.31/23 [Predecessor: 12.h3 Bh5 (12...Bxf3 13.Qxf3 with b3 or b4 to come) 13.b4 cxb3 14.axb3 Be7 15.b4 Qd6 16.d4 0-0 17.Bd2 Rfc8 18.g4 1/2-1/2 (77) Bombek,P (2228)-Petenyi,T (2393) Slovakia 2011; 12.b3 is fine too, as ...Qh5 is no concern...] 12...cxd3=/+ 13.Bxd3 Rd8 0.49/24 [while here 13...Qh5= looks to damage White's pawns somewhere, with a bit of plus. -0.11/23 ] 14.h3? -0.82/23 [14.Be4+/= stays ahead. 0.49/24 ] 14...Bxf3-/+ 15.Qxf3 Ne5 16.Bb5+ The players head into a forcing line... 16...Qxb5! 17.Nxb5 Nxf3+ 18.gxf3 a6 19.Nd4 Bc5!? 20.Be3 Now Black neglected to give White's next proper credit. 20...Nc4? -0.16/25 [20...Na4-/+ -0.88/23 ; 20...Rd5-/+ also will turn out to be useful (while stopping White's idea).] 21.Nxe6!= fxe6 The only move [Much worse is 21...Nxe3? 22.Nxd8 Nxf1 23.Nxb7+-] 22.Bxc5 Nxb2?! [22...Rd5!? 23.Ba7 (23.Ba3? Nxa3 24.bxa3 0-0 White might be a pawn up for the moment, but it's Black with all the winning chances.) 23...Rf8 and Black is no worse. (or 23...0-0) ] 23.Rfe1! Kf7?! 1.19/22 [23...Kd7= 0.25/26 ] 24.Rab1+/- Nd3 25.Rxb7+ Kg6? After a few instances of "move A is bad, so I'll play move B and *really* be lost," it should be over... 4.97/21 [25...Kf6+/- is a better chance. 1.27/23 26.Be7+ Double Attack 26...Kf5 27.Re3! still favors White.] 26.Rxe6++- 26...Kf5 27.Rc6 The move Black missed. 27...Ne5 28.Rxa6 g5 8.11/21 [>=28...Rb8 5.08/24 ; Black wanted to play 28...Nxf3+ 29.Kg2 Nh4+ 30.Kg3 Rd3+ 31.Kxh4?? (31.Be3 and it's Black in danger of mate) 31...g5+ 32.Kh5 Rxh3#] 29.Kg2! So much for any problems for White! 29...Ra8 30.Rxa8 Rxa8 31.Rxh7 Rxa2 This should be an easy win. But as is often the case, the inexperienced player loses his way in the ending. 32.Be3 Rc2 33.Rh5?? Wasting no time getting in a pickle. 0.18/24 [Better is 33.Rc7+- , holding the best pawn and aiming for Rc5. 5.50/22 33...Kf6 34.Bd4] 33...Nf7!= And now ...Kg6 would even win! 34.f4 Kg6 35.Rxg5+ Nxg5 36.fxg5 Rxc3 Those diligent readers of the Newsletter will perhaps remember Weng-Mercado from last week, where (with a- and b-pawns for both sides) the very same unusual material happened. There Nicholas won easily; the big difference is there is no trading in the rook for all the kingside pawns (since the other pawns guarantee a win). Also, here, the unfortunate pawn on g5 gives Black's king some great squares. 37.Kg3 Kh5 38.Kg2 Kh4 39.g6?! Short on time (four minutes or so) White overlooks that this pawn is just lost. 39...Rc6 40.Bf4 [40.g7 keeps more tension. 40...Rg6+ 41.Kh2 Rxg7 42.f3 Rf7 43.Bf2+] 40...Rxg6+ 41.Bg3+ Kg5 42.f4+ Kf5 43.Kf3 Ra6 44.Bf2 Rh6 45.h4 Rh8 46.Bg3 Rh7 White offered a draw. Everybody looking at this game thought Black should keep playing! White was down to a few minutes while Black had almost an hour, and the "trend" was in his favor. But the honorable action is to accept -- and getting a half point was achievement enough! Well-played by Ilia (until the unfortunate ending)! 1/2-1/2

(4) Sztaray,Judit (807) - Thibault,William (983) [B51]
MI Sep-Oct TNM Extra Games San Francisco (2.36), 14.09.2012

Judit has been on a roll lately. This game was bound to be a good battle. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ A good way to avoid the myriad variations of the Open Sicilian. You have to be Mike Walder to play those well. 3...Nc6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Qe2 e5 I like this move by Black which firmly stakes out the center and prepares to develop the dark-squared bishop. The d5 square is slightly weak, but there are now no worries about White pushing the e-pawn to cause trouble. 6.c3 a6 7.Bxc6! Playing for development as Morphy would do. White could also retreat the bishop and play a kind of Ruy Lopez position. 7...Bxc6 8.d4

8...d5? breaking too early with White developed. [8...cxd4! would force White to play a gambit with 9.Rd1 since (9.cxd4? Bb5 skeweres the queen and rook) ] 9.exd5 Bxd5 10.Qxe5+ Netting a clear pawn at least. 10...Ne7 11.Bg5?! [11.dxc5 Bxf3 12.gxf3 Qd5 13.Qe4 is clearly better for White] 11...Bxf3 [11...f6! 12.Qg3 fxg5 13.Re1 leaves White some compensation for a piece but not enough.] 12.Bxe7! not giving Black any second chances for a fork with f7-f6 12...Qxe7 13.Qxe7+ Bxe7 14.gxf3 cxd4 15.cxd4 White is a pawn up but Black can win it back since d4 is weak. 15...Rd8 [15...0-0-0!] 16.Rd1 Bf6 17.Nc3 Rxd4? Capturing with the wrong piece - 17...Bxd4 was equal. It looks like it doesn't matter, but Judit finds a neat tactical trick. 18.Rxd4 Bxd4 19.Re1+! This intermediate check before attacking the black bishop swings the game to a big white advantage. The black king must hide on f8 since going to the d-file lets white pin and win the bishop. 19...Kf8 20.Rd1 Bf6 [20...Bxc3? 21.Rd8+ Ke7 22.Rxh8] 21.Rd7 The invasion on the seventh rank wins a pawn. Meanwhile it takes some time for the Black rook to get out. 21...h5 22.Rxb7 Rh6 23.Nd5 g5? 23...Bd8 was needed. Black stops checkmate with the last move, yet now White wins with the right idea. 24.Rb6! Kg7 forced [24...Bg7 25.Rb8#] 25.Nxf6! Rxf6 26.Rxf6 Kxf6 27.Kf1 Well evaluated. White has doubled pawns on the kingside but it doesn't matter. The thing that counts is that White has an extra pawn on the queenside in the king ending. 27...Kf5 28.Ke2 Kf4 29.b4 Ke5 30.Ke3 f5 31.a4 Kd5 32.Kd3 g4 33.f4 h4 34.b5! a5 [34...axb5 35.axb5 Kc5 36.b6 Kxb6 37.Kd4 Kc6 38.Ke5 is an easy win as the white king mops up the black pawns] 35.b6 Kc6 36.b7 Kxb7 37.Kd4 Kc6 38.Ke5 Kc5 39.Kxf5 Kb4 40.Kxg4 Kxa4 41.f5 White queens 41...Kb3 42.f6 a4 43.f7 a3 44.f8Q Black resigns. 1-0

(5) Fairchild,JP. (1177) - Hack,Richard (1543) [A87]
MI Sep-Oct TNM u1800 San Francisco (2.17), 14.09.2012

1.d4 f5 Richard has developed a liking for the imbalanced Dutch Defense. 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 d6 7.Nc3 Classical play by both sides in this Leningrad Variation. (Note - the name of the variation has survived even though the city is back to its rightful name of St. Petersburg.) 7...Qe8 8.d5 a5 9.Nb5 looks aggressive but 9...Na6 Black defends c7 with this fine developing move. The black knight probably wanted to go to a6 even if it didn't have to defend c7. 10.Ng5

The white knights are hopping around! 10...c6?! It was probably better to kick the other knight first with 10...h6. Now both white knights can focus on the soft e6 square. 11.Nd4?! [11.dxc6! bxc6 12.Nd4 Bd7 13.Nde6! is a clear advantage for White] 11...cxd5! 12.Nde6?! 12...Bxe6?! [12...h6! wins a pawn since White must play 13.Nxg7 (13.Nxf8? hxg5 leaves the white knight trapped on f8) 13...Kxg7 14.Nf3] 13.Nxe6 Rf7 14.Bxd5 [14.cxd5!] 14...Nxd5 15.Qxd5 Qc8? [15...Qc6! keeps material even] 16.Ng5! e6 The best defense. Better to give up a pawn than the exchange. 17.Nxe6?

Natural, but wrong. 17. Qxd6 is clearly better for White. 17...Nc7?! [17...Nb4! 18.Qxd6 Ra6 19.Qd8+ Qxd8 20.Nxd8 Rd7 21.Bg5 h6! 22.Bh4 g5 would win a piece for a couple pawns] 18.Nxc7 Qxc7 19.Be3 [The slow developing 19.Rb1 would keep the extra pawn for White.] 19...Bxb2 20.Rab1 Ba3 21.Rxb7? After having played a fine game Fairchild miscounts. The black rook is pinned on f7 but it won't be after 21...Qxb7 22.Qxd6? compounding the mistake, though it doesn't matter much [22.Qxb7 Rxb7 (no more pin from the white queen) is an easily winning rook up ending.] 22...Bxd6 An interesting game ended by an unfortunate tactical mistake. 0-1

Watch the broadcast by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DYzFI9H1hY

Here are the current standings headed into round 3 next week:

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Thursday Night Marathon Report

by Abel Talamantez

The final two rounds of the Thursday Night Marathon online finished with the defending champion coming out on top once again. GM Gadir Guseinov won both games, defeating a game FM Ezra Chambers in round 5 and winning round 6 against Sheel Dandekar to take 1st place with 5.5/6. Guseinov was playing with fire a bit in the final round, as he allowed Dandekar to achieve an even position in the endgame. But Dandekar, rated 2034, had only seconds on his clock, and got mated in the time scramble. 

The game of the tournament was played by FM Max Gedajlovic, who defeated IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla in round 5 to help him take clear 2nd with 5/6. The game is annoated below by GM Nick de Firmian. 

(1) FM Max Gedajlovic (MMSANCHEZ) (2290) - IM Bala Chandra Dhulipalla (Swarnapuri) (2436) [D31]
Live Chess Chess.com, 17.09.2021

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6 A trendy move now. 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 Transposing into a version of the Exchange Variation makes sense for White with the pawn on a6. 5...Nf6 6.e3 c5 Black seeks active play in the style of a Tarrasch. Reasonable, yet White gets a target on d5. 7.Nf3 c4 8.Ne5 b5 9.a3 Bb7

10.g4! Black has expanded on the queenside so White charges up on the kingside. The g-pawn can kick the knight on f6 at some opportune moment. 10...Nc6 11.Bg2 Na5?!+/- [11...Nxe5 12.Bxe5 Ne4 would be just a slight edge for White] 12.g5! Ne4 13.Nxe4 [13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Qh5 g6 15.Qg4 is also good] 13...dxe4+/- 14.Qc2 [14.Qh5 g6 15.Qg4 is again a good plan] 14...Nb3?!+/- The black knight looks good here but doesn't do much. 15.Rd1 Qd5 16.f3! Suddenly the game is opening up and Black is in trouble on the long diagonal. 16...Qe6 [simply losing is 16...exf3? 17.Bxf3] 17.fxe4 f6 18.d5! Qb6 19.Ng4?! giving Black a chance [19.gxf6 gxf6 20.Nc6! is simply winning with the power of the two white bishops along with the great control of the central squares] 19...fxg5 20.Bxg5 Qg6! Black is still in big trouble but this makes a fight of it. White has to worry about the pieces on the g-file. 21.h4 Bd6 [21...h6 22.Ne5! Qd6 23.Bf4 is easy] 22.0-0! The key move to mobilize the white pieces and get the king to (relative) saftey. 22...Nc5 [Probably Black should have tried 22...h6 though 23.Bf4! saves the piece and consolidates with the extra center pawns] 23.Nf6+! A hard shot! Black has no way to recover here. 23...Kd8 [23...gxf6 24.Rxf6 Qg7 25.Rxd6 is materially and positionally winning for White] 24.Qc3! h6 25.e5 The action is happening as both sides take pieces. The big difference is the fully develped white pieces and central control. 25...hxg5 26.exd6 gxf6 27.Rxf6 Qg7 28.Rdf1! 28...Kc8 [no better is 28...gxh4 29.Rf8+! Qxf8 30.Rxf8+ Rxf8 31.Qg7 Nd7 32.Bh3 with mate in a few moves] 29.Qa5 striking from the other side of the board too 29...Kb8 30.Rf7 Qxf7 Black resigned 1-0

Special shououts go to Bryan Hood and Casimir Dudek, who both had strong tournaments, and to Katherine Sunny Lu, who is a rising player whom we will be looking forward to following her progress. 

Here are the tentative final standings, pending cpmpletion of the fair play review. Watch the live broadcast of the round here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXHxNbsipw

SwissSys Standings. September 2021 Thursday Night Marathon Online: Open

#	Name	ID	Rating	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Total	Prize
1	Gadir Guseinov	17343590	2563	W11	W18	W2	D3	W4	W6	5.5
2	Max Gedajlovic	14947382	2264	X13	W5	L1	W6	W3	W8	5.0
3	Bala Chandra Prasad Dhulipalla	30100858	2475	W12	W7	W4	D1	L2	W11	4.5
4	Ezra Chambers	15191101	2314	W19	W8	L3	W11	L1	W13	4.0
5	Bryan Hood	12839763	1574	W22	L2	W20	W16	D8	H---	4.0
6	Sheel Dandekar	12604772	2034	W9	W23	D14	L2	W7	L1	3.5
7	Matthew Chan	12541333	1658	W24	L3	D9	W22	L6	W17	3.5
8	Casimir Dudek	30101045	1649	W21	L4	W12	W14	D5	L2	3.5
9	Katherine Sunny Lu	16425316	1390	L6	W26	D7	D12	D10	W16	3.5
10	Robert Smith	12463327	1853	L14	W15	H---	H---	D9	D12	3.0
11	Joseph Flowers	12691490	1494	L1	W17	W25	L4	W14	L3	3.0
12	Aaron Craig	12872385	1451	L3	W24	L8	D9	W15	D10	3.0
13	Charles James	12448028	1426	F2	H---	D15	W24	X18	L4	3.0
14	Austin Jin	17144712	1318	W10	D16	D6	L8	L11	W19	3.0
15	Ian Liao	16738735	1161	D16	L10	D13	W19	L12	W21	3.0
16	Kevin M Fong	17254586	1750	D15	D14	W19	L5	D17	L9	2.5
17	Stephen Sikes	13058987	1339	L18	L11	W21	W20	D16	L7	2.5
18	Stewart Katz	12458563	1856	W17	L1	H---	H---	F13	U---	2.0
19	Jimolee Gray	30172836	1442	L4	W21	L16	L15	W24	L14	2.0
20	Alex C Durig	12729479	1290	H---	H---	L5	L17	L21	W24	2.0
21	Rehaan Malhotra	30118209	1055	L8	L19	L17	W25	W20	L15	2.0
22	Victor Beauchamp	30154650	889	L5	B---	X23	L7	U---	U---	2.0
23	James Hamlett	12374510	1561	W26	L6	F22	U---	U---	U---	1.0
24	Bruce Hedman	17344551	1087	L7	L12	X26	L13	L19	L20	1.0
25	Cleveland W Lee	12814843	524	H---	H---	L11	L21	U---	U---	1.0
26	Francisco Ostolaza	30266747	unr.	L23	L9	F24	U---	U---	U---	0.0

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Tony's Teasers

Tony challenges you to solve this problem, white to move and mate in 4.

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Mechanics' Institute Events Schedule

Don't Miss our Exciting Upcoming Events!!

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

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

20th JJ Dolan Memorial Championship: USCF Rated. October 2, 10AM PT. 4SS G/45;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/2021-jj-dolan-memorial-championship-g45-person

Mechanics' Institute October Quads: October 9, 3PM PT. 3 Games G/30;d5: https://www.milibrary.org/chess-tournaments/mechanics-championship-quads

 

Mechanics' Institute Class Schedule