Focus on what you do best

Some people are natural chess masters; others are born singers; I'm a gifted dead animal carcass remover.

Read "Roadkill Warrior" from Utter Wonder.

Sometimes you just have to go

Translation programs on the web often give amusing results. Consider this post about the rules of the game of chess from the Italian Blog Scacchierando. Under the section on draws, a Google translation of the page produces this gem:

When one of the King is found in "stall"

So apparently if you are losing the game, all you need to do is pick up your King off the board and take it to the toilet with you.

Obviously, the correct translation would have been something like 'When one of the Kings is in "Stalemate".'

Live Blogging: US Chess League - Week 4

Welcome chess fans to BCC Weblog coverage of the USCL. Tonight the Boston Blitz face off against their Eastern Division rivals the Baltimore Kingfishers.

BCC Weblog coverage of the USCL is brought to you by... well, it's not brought to you by anyone, actually. Hey, what do you expect; even the NHL has a hard time getting sponsors.

vs.

The Blitz broke through last week against the Carolina Cobras for their first win of the season and now find themselves tied for first with New York in the Eastern Division. While the Kingfishers stand a half-point behind, they look to pose a considerable challenge to the Blitz. Baltimore is starting a very strong and balanced line-up across all four boards, headed by IM Pascal Charbonneau and featuring 2300 players on both boards 3 and 4. The Blitz counter with GM Larry Christiansen and IM Josh Friedel up top; they are both 2-0 in these positions the last two weeks. On the lower boards, Boston faces significant rating gaps with NM Charles Riordan (in his debut match with the Blitz) and Ilya Krasik. Of course if ratings is all that mattered, they wouldn't play the games!

So, let's head out to the virtual boards on the ICC.

7:59pm: Before we take a look at the early positions, I want to offer my thanks to League Commissioner Greg Shahade for securing me an ICC login for the remainder of the season. As a result, starting this week I'll be able to watch and report on the GM games live. So, let's start out with the Christiansen-Charbonneau match-up. It's an open Sicilian; looks like Black is aiming for a Dragon, though White didn't go in for the sharp lines with queenside castling. To be honest, I really don't know any theory in this area, so I'm not going to be of much help on this one for awhile.

8:12pm: Enkhbat-Friedel looks a bit unorthodox, starting out 1.Nf3 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.Bf4 Bg4. I guess I'd call it some sort of a Chigorin Defense since White did eventually play c4.

After 1.Nf3 c5, Riordan chose to transpose into the Open Sicilian -- a quiet one so far with White fianchettoing the bishop on g2 and castling kingside. Black is calmly developing behind pawns on d6 and e6.

On Board 4 we have another opening I don't know much about. It's a Symmetrical English 1.c4 c5, but beyond that I can't tell you much more.

Let's watch for awhile and see what develops.

8:44pm: Krasik looks to be building a nice position on Board 4. On the downside he has an isolated pawn on c6 that might become weak at some point, but in compensation his two bishops are very active and on nice diagonals and they are cooperating well with his Rb8 in bringing pressure to White's queenside. Meanwhile, White's pieces seem fairly passive at the moment.

8:55pm: Larry is pushing the action on Board 1 with 15.e5. Beats the heck out of me how this break is going to turn out, but it certainly looks like we've reached the first real critical point in this game.

9:03pm: Pascal has offered a Knight sacrifice with 18...Nxe5!? Does it work?

9:14pm: A series of exchanges has ensued on Board 4, but it looks like White may have gotten the best of it. I'm not sure Black can save his Knight on c1 after 20.Rd2. If 20...Nd3, then 21.e4 looks strong.

9:23pm: Board 2 is looking a bit crazy. Friedel has his King stuck in the center on e2 and a pawn or two hanging, but he seems to be ignoring all that and just sending his pieces towards Black's kingside. If I was Black I guess I would think I was better, but I'd still be nervous. NOTE: I got the colors mixed up. Friedel was playing Black, not White.

Over on Board 3, everyone's keeping their pieces on their side of the board. No action to speak of yet.

9:30pm: Larry took the knight after trading a pair of bishops. Now let's see what Pascal thinks he has for the piece.

9:42pm: Krasik has been forced to give up a piece. I guess he's going to try to secure a couple of pawns as partial compensation, but things are definitely not looking good for the Blitz on Board 4.

9:57pm: Board 1 has stayed interesting -- Larry has given back the Knight and executed a series of exchanges that may leave him with a better minor piece ending (outside passer). But I'm not sure that he will come out a pawn ahead.

Board 2 is still crazy and Board 3 is going to be offered by prescription as an alternative to Ambien. Of course, time trouble is coming...

10:06pm: Krasik gives up; that's 1-0 Kingfishers. Meanwhile, Riordan's game is starting to pick up.

10:15pm: Friedel's done it again! He's managed to come out the other side of the complications up a piece in an ending. Look for a point for the Blitz coming soon. Note: My mistake -- actually Friedel came out on the losing side.

Larry and Pascal are in an ending, even material; Larry has the outside passed c-pawn vs. Pascal's passed e-pawn. I'm guessing its drawn with best play, but we'll see.

And suddenly on Board 3, Riordan's major pieces have become quite active.

10:24pm: Good news, bad news... Friedel scores the point, evening the score at 1 a piece. But Larry looks like he made a mistake. I don't know if he's lost, but he's definitely not coming out with more than 1/2 a point. Note: Make that bad news, bad news. Friedel actually lost; Kingfishers 2-0.

10:44pm: Board 3 is starting to look pretty drawish -- even pawns, opposite color bishops. It looks like Larry is going to have to find a way to salvage a draw to keep this match even. He's down a bishop now, but Black has only one pawn left -- an h-pawn and its the wrong color for the bishop. If Larry can trade the rooks it's a draw; if he can win or trade off the h-pawn, then R+B vs. R is also a theoretical draw. Note: Even a draw won't be enough for the Blitz. Sorry I had the Friedel game wrong.

11:16pm: Well, that's it. Riordan's game resolved into a bishops of opposite colors ending and was drawn. Larry, meanwhile, was forced to resign against Pascal. Final score: Kingfishers 3.5 Blitz 0.5.

It just wasn't the Blitz's night tonight. Against a strong balanced lineup like Baltimore's, Boston needed a strong showing on the top boards which they didn't get. Larry had his chances but went astray in the ending and Josh wasn't able to successfully maneuver his way through the complications. This esentially sealed the team's fate. If there's one ray of light in this lopsided loss, it was Riordan's solid play on Board 3 against a higher rated opponent.

Next week the Blitz will look for a rebound when they face the San Francisco Mechanics.

A Programming Note: Next week we'll be taking USCL coverage to a new level at BCC Weblog with the introduction of interactive commentary. Join Rihel and me next Wednesday as we follow the action in tandem. And hopefully next time I can keep the colors straight!

Surreal Chess

Link

A programming note...

Surf on by between 7-11pm EDT [GMT-4] for BCC Weblog coverage of week 4 of the US Chess League. Tonight, the first-place Boston Blitz take on the Baltimore Kingfishers. Follow the action on the ICC and here at BCC Weblog.

Naming Conventions

The international chess scene is not really my beat, but this one is local for at least some readers:

I was looking at the crosstable for the recently concluded Dutch Championship and began to wonder whether IM Spike Ernst ever opened 1.g4 with White. But then I thought, who cares, at least I know what Frito Nijboer's favorite snack food is.

Chess Racing

I'm not sure how The Closet Grandmaster missed this Aussie chess bit:

The AJC today received 3 late entries for the $600,000 Epsom Handicap and 1 late entry for the $600,000 Metropolitan. Gai Waterhouse has nominated the promising Chess Record, a winner of 4 of his only 7 starts, for the Epsom...

Read "Gai Enters Chess Record and Our Highlander in Sydney Features" from The Virtual Form Guide.

On Independent Coverage of the US Chess League

An Open Response to Ilya Krasik

I would like to thank Ilya for his comment to my post on the US Chess League match between the Boston Blitz and Carolina Cobras. The issues that he raises provide me the opportunity to share my perspectives on what I’ve been trying to do by offering coverage of the league.

But before we start, I wanted to first respond to the implied suggestion that I am somehow trying to disguise my identity as a poster on BCC Weblog. This, I believe, is suggested in Ilya’s comment as well as those by JavaMaster and jim,s (For the record, I will point out that the comments of all three emanate from the same IP address. I will leave it up to each reader to interpret the meaning of this as they see fit.)

While I do use only my initials on the blog, this actually has more to do with branding within the chess blogosphere than any attempt to hide my identity. It provides an easy to remember, recognized moniker for other bloggers to use when linking to my posts or otherwise referring to me. This is actually quite common in the blogosphere – while we know the name of the person who was behind Man De La Maza, we all call him Don; the same is true of J’adoube, Tempo and many others. In fact, I’m quite sure that most of the frequent readers of the blog know my actual name. It probably takes only about a minute or two of searching around the web to figure it out. Ilya/JavaMaster/jim,s, since you might not be inclined to take that time let me make it easier for you. Here are four simple ways to get my name:

1. Check the list of Boylston Chess Club members. Look for people with the initials DG.


2. Ask the team captain of the Boston Blitz. He happens to be the President of the BCC and he certainly knows who runs the blog.


3. Click the link to the 2004 BCC Championship Weblog. Not only will you find my name listed numerous times, there’s also a picture or two to check out.


4. Click on the link under “Contact” on the sidebar and send an e-mail to BCCAdmin. I’ll be happy to send you my name.

To summarize, I am not hiding behind a pseudonym. I stand behind everything I write in this blog – good or bad, right or wrong – and I have always welcomed the criticisms of readers.

Now, let me start by reprinting Ilya’s comment unedited and in full:

Indeed the sound was off, and i played at the computer console for the last our because of lack of time. I was looking on the board which was maximized not on the small line on the bottom where i would see "DRAW". It was an exhausting game both physically and mentally as i had managed(again) to squander what was a winning game. Then i was worse and had to make precise moves not to lose in the time scramble that followed, and not to let my team down. I didnt feel that i took unnessary risks, although because of time pressure which sometimes got down to 30 sec, and nerves the game became marred in mistakes. Whoever is blogging here has no clue what's going on, both in terms of actual positions and also in terms of his personal attacks. I would only say that if you live in the Boston area and would really like to see what's going on, come down to MCC in Natick and support our team. Also, it is free to watch on ICC, www.chessclub.com (with the exception of live GM games).

As for the wise-ass blogger over here i would like to stress that he has no affiliation with our team in any shape or form and is simply acting like a bafoon out for silly publicity. I do not know why he decided to single one person out for the team's results but i can assure you that this is not the kind of attitude present on the team itself.

Because it is a new league, we are still learning and adjusting every week to changes that need to be made. I had wanted to have the sound on, so that we dont miss a move when it is made, however i was overuled because it was decided that it would be a distraction to other players. Of course when only one game remains the sound should be turned on and we will fix that. Take care

In order to respond to Ilya’s points, I would first like to establish a metaphor which I think will be helpful in understanding my perspective. Think of the USCL as Major League Baseball, both after all are sports leagues in the United States that are national in scope (let’s debate whether chess is a sport at another time, and yes I know there is still one Canadian team left in Baseball). Now think of the Boston Blitz as the Boston Red Sox – both are the teams that represent the region around Boston, Massachusetts. Ok, now I need you to keep an open mind. Think of USCL coverage in the chess blogosphere as equivalent to the sports pages of the Boston Herald, the Big Show on WEEI SportsRadio, and/or RemDawg’s color commentary during the games on NESN. You see, what I am experimenting with is establishing independent media coverage of the USCL – emphasis on the word “independent.” My posts to date have reflected several different approaches that I am trying, e.g., fan newsletter, straight reporting, real-time color commentary.

I am very intrigued by this concept and think it offers growth potential opportunities for both the USCL and the chess blogosphere. In fact, I have had discussions with league comissioner Greg Shahade about this very idea. We talked about recruiting bloggers to cover each of teams, providing bloggers “inside” access, and promoting this independent coverage on the USCL site. These are all things that probably won’t happen this year, but could be part of year two if we (the league and the blogging community) put some energy and focus into it.

Please keep this metaphor – Major League Baseball and its independent media coverage – in mind as I discuss Ilya’s specific comments. I will come back to it often.

Whoever is blogging here has no clue what's going on…in terms of actual positions…

While I’m not entirely sure what Ilya is saying here, I think he is suggesting that I am not a strong enough player to be commenting on these games and that my descriptions and assessments are incorrect. First, let’s deal with the facts. Based on ratings I am, in fact, not as strong a player as Ilya or anyone else playing for the Boston Blitz (or probably for any other USCL team for that matter). To underscore the point, let me share my one OTB encounter with Ilya which, as you’ll see, he won quite easily:

Krasik,I (2148) - DG (1981)
BCC April TNS Somerville, MA (2), 14.04.2005
D36: Queen's Gambit Declined: Exchange Variation: Main line (5 Bg5 c6 6 Qc2)

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.Nc3 e6 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Qc2 g6 7.Bg5 Be7 8.e3 Bf5 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 0-0 11.Bxf6 Bxf6 12.h4 Nd7 13.h5 Re8 14.hxg6 hxg6 15.0-0-0 Kg7 16.g4 Qe7 17.Rdg1 Bg5 18.Rh5 gxh5 19.gxh5

19...Kh6? [critical was 19...f6 20.Nh4 Qe6] 20.Nxg5 Qxg5 21.Rxg5 Kxg5 22.Qh7 Kf6 23.e4 Nb6 24.Qh6+ Ke7 25.e5 Rad8 26.Qf6+ Kd7 27.Qxf7+ Re7 28.Qf6 Rg8 29.Ne2 Rg2 30.Ng3 Re6 31.Qf7+ Re7 32.e6+ Kd8 33.Qf8+ Re8 34.Qf6+ Kc7 35.b3 Nc8 36.h6 Rh2 37.Qf7+ Re7 38.Qf4+ Kb6 39.Qf6 Rh7 40.Qd8+ Ka6 41.Qxc8 R2xh6 42.b4 Rf6 43.Qd8 1-0

However, it seems ridiculous to me to suggest that players with lower ratings are automatically disqualified from commenting and reporting on the games of high rated players. It’s the same as suggesting that Peter Gammons shouldn’t be able to write about baseball since he was never a major league ballplayer.

Further, most readers of the blog know they aren’t reading commentary from a master. I have never hidden my strength (or lack thereof) from the readers; in fact, I have posted about it (by the way, you’ll find a link in this post which provides a 5th way to find out my name). Are some of my assessments wrong? Probably, perhaps certainly, but they do reflect my best efforts and I do try to be honest about positions I don’t really grasp or understand. For example, in the post in question, I wrote, “It's too early for me to tell which way this one is going.” Further, the comment link allows any reader to share an alternative perspective.

So to summarize this section, I contend that 1) a chess player of any skill is entitled to provide independent commentary on the USCL and its games, 2) I have done nothing to hide from readers my actual skill level as a player, 3) my commentary reflects my best efforts, and 4) those with alternative views are welcome to contribute their perspectives.

…he has no affiliation with our team in any shape or form…

Thank you for making my point. What I am providing is INDEPENDENT media coverage of the Boston Blitz and the USCL – independent of the team, independent of the league. The sports reporters at the Boston Herald do not work for the Boston Red Sox, but they do report on the team. The talk show hosts on SportsRadio don’t work for the team either, but they give their opinions about them everyday.

Whether I am assuming the role of reporter, color commentator or editorialist, I am doing so out of my own interest and initiative. I don’t think any of the readers of this blog are confused on this point. Nor do I think that Goran or Michael’s readers believe that they are representatives of the league. But, just to be clear – my coverage is independent; it is not directed by the team or the league; I am not trying to represent myself as a member of the team or the league; I cultivate my own sources of information; the opinions I express are my own; I, and I alone, stand behind what I write. Is anyone still unclear on this?

… out for silly publicity.

We can certainly debate the merits of the modifier “silly” (after all, many people think it is “silly” for people like us to spend so much time on a “silly” game), but otherwise I’m guilty as charged on this one. My goal as a blogger is to produce content of quality and interest and thereby build a loyal (and hopefully, growing) readership. To that end, I am constantly experimenting with new concepts and ideas. Independent coverage of the USCL is one of those ideas.

While certainly not attributable to USCL coverage alone, I would have to say that, in general, what I am doing is working. BCC Weblog receives critical acclaim from readers and other bloggers, is frequently linked throughout the chess blogosphere and is growing its readership (almost 50% in just the last 3-4 weeks). Unlike the Boston Herald, I’m not trying to sell papers – I’ve not tried in any way to monetize the blog for the foundation. So what we are left with is publicity -- for the club and for the contributors.

My reputation as a blogger is shaped by the extent to which readers appreciate the content I provide them and/or find me to be a credible source of information. And it is definitely one of my goals to develop a strong reputation in the chess blogosphere; what’s wrong with that? Of course, it’s the readers that will decide.

Indeed the sound was off, and i played at the computer console for the last [h]our because of lack of time. I was looking on the board which was maximized not on the small line on the bottom where i would see "DRAW".

Now we can address the specific facts of the case at hand. Based on Ilya’s description of the events, which seems both reasonable and plausible, there is no doubt that my commentary regarding the draw offers did not accurately describe his experience or his actions. I am happy to report that fact in the blog (both through the comments on the original post as well as through what I am writing here). I am also quite comfortable in saying that with these facts in hand, I certainly no longer have support for the contention that he played “selfishly.” Consider that characterization withdrawn.

While I accept responsibility for this error, I think consideration of the context is necessary. I was watching the match on the ICC (this is quite clear from the post) and reporting the impressions and experiences of someone watching on the computer (not live). In addition, I was providing real-time play-by-play and had no means to investigate beyond what I could see on my screen before posting; that’s simply one of the limitations of this approach. In this context, I believe that my commentary (while wrong on the facts, in this particular case) was an accurate reflection of an ICC viewer’s experience. In fact, while this would not have been visible to Ilya, anyone who was watching his game on the ICC that night can confirm that my characterizations of the draw offers and “non-acceptances” were quite measured compared to many of the comments in the gallery. Quite simply, the virtual crowd was up in arms.

Second, given the seemingly strange occurrences on Board 4 during the match, I started investigating the next day to see if I could discover more about what happened. I emailed Greg Shahade on Thursday to see what he knew; his comments on the post were in response to that e-mail. I spoke to the team captain of the Boston Blitz on Thursday night. And when JavaMaster left a comment – “MR. DG i think you should shut your mouth because a lot of nonsense is coming out of it”. – I asked if he had any information to share. As I learned more about the actual circumstances, it was always my intent to do a follow-up post clarifying what happened and talking more broadly about some of the “technical” challenges facing the new league (I’ll probably save the broader topic for later in the season). In any case, Ilya’s comment and this piece render that post unnecessary.

In summarizing this section, let me repeat another of Ilya’s points, “Because it is a new league, we are still learning and adjusting every week to changes that need to be made”. This statement is absolutely true, not only for the league but also for those of us who chose to cover it.

Whoever is blogging here has no clue what's going on…in terms of his personal attacks

While I have no doubt that Ilya believes my post contains personal attacks on him, I actually do not agree with this characterization. Back to our baseball analogy, when the guys on SportsRadio complain that Mark Bellhorn "sucks" because he leads the league in strikeouts, I don’t believe they are making a personal attack on him. Instead, I contend that they are describing his performance (or lack thereof) on the field. In the same way, I believe what I wrote about Ilya were (negative) descriptions of his performance, but not personal attacks. I think some people will agree with this line of reasoning, others not. Feel free to decide for yourself.

As to the specific characterizations, as I said above I can no longer support the term “selfish.” However, while perhaps an overly harsh choice of words, I continue to stand behind “pathetic.” As a minor proof point for this consider Ilya’s own words – “i had managed (again) to squander what was a winning game.” Not withstanding Greg Shahade’s contention that no one could have been expected to do better under the circumstances, I believe fans can and should expect more. If Keith Foulke blows saves in the ninth, fans are entitled to boo and reporters to suggest that he be replaced, waived or traded. Management, of course, will do whatever they think is best for the team. I was certainly not suggesting that I could have done better (we’ve already established that I would have done worse). However, while a bit of hyperbole, my comment regarding a “trade to Vancouver” did intend to suggest that NM Riordan probably could, and ought to be given a try on Board 4. Unfortunately, the composition of the Blitz roster makes that somewhat difficult, but that’s a topic for another post I am working on.

The major piece of information which informed my “pathetic” opinion was this position after Black’s 82nd move of last week’s game:

With White to move, this is as dead a draw as dead can be against a player of reasonable skill level. I wouldn’t play out such a position against a B-player, never mind a Master. Yet, this game continued for 15(!) additional moves. Fair-minded people will differ on their opinion of this, but in my view this was an insult to the opponent as well as the game itself. It’s only my opinion; others should feel free to disagree.

While we are still on the topic of personal attacks, I thought I might point out that in their comments Ilya/JavaMaster referred to me as a "tool", "wise-ass" and "buffoon." I believe there is a metaphor about pots and kettles that might apply here.

I do not know why he decided to single one person out for the team's results

I think the baseball analogy works perfectly here. There are two outs in the ninth inning, the bases are loaded and your team is down by a run; if you strike out then you failed to deliver for your team. Even if Keith Foulke blew the save in the top of the ninth and Edgar Renteria hit into a double play with the bases loaded in the fifth, this doesn’t change the fact that you didn’t perform in the clutch.

There is no doubt that the Blitz have had a problem on Board 3 throughout the season. Nevertheless, in the last two weeks the outcome of the match has come down at the end of the evening to the result on Board 4.

****
Let me conclude by reiterating that, like the USCL, independent media coverage of the league is a work in progress. Like mainstream media coverage of Major League Baseball, we’ll always try our best but we’ll sometimes get it wrong. And like the local media coverage of the Boston Red Sox, we won’t always say things that the club or the players want to hear. In the world of sports, players are often encouraged not to read their own press clippings. This is certainly an option, but the good news is that the blogosphere is a highly interactive medium which provides opportunities for all to disagree, offer alternative perspectives or provide new information. The comment link awaits…

Duh!

According to e-ChessSets.com, travel chess sets are perfect for people who want to entertain themselves on a long trip.... The small size of the boards is also perfect for taking onto an airplane or using in a car or bus.

That must be why they call them "travel" sets. You can read the entire article if you wish, but why bother.

Evil in our midst

There has been plenty of straight reporting on the Robert Snyder case (see here, here [9/14 & 9/15], and here), but Chessdad64 moves the discussion forward by asking what if anything National and State Chess Associations and/or the scholastic chess community can do to protect kids from sexual predators.

2005 BCC Championship - 1st Round

This year's competitors:

FM Paul MacIntyre (2315)
FM Chris Chase (2302) - Update: Chose not to participate
NM Charles Riordan (2283)
NM Alex Cherniack (2279)
NM Vadim Martirosov (2239)
Matt Klegon (2037) - Update: Withdrew after Round 1
Kyle Clayton (1888)

Standings after Round 1:

1/1 - MacIntyre, Riordan, Martirosov
0/1 - Cherniack, Klegon (withdrawn), Clayton

Round 1 Games:

[Event "2005 BCC Championship"] [Site "Somerville, MA"] [Date "2005.09.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Klegon"] [Black "MacIntyre"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteELO "2037"] [BlackELO "2315"] [ECO "D30"]

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 Be7 6.e3 Ne4 7.Bxe7 Qxe7 8.Qb3 0-0 9.Nc3 c6 10.Bd3 dxc4 11.Bxc4 Nd6 12.Be2 Nd7 13.0-0 e5 14.dxe5 Nxe5 15.Qa3 Qf6 16.Nxe5 Qxe5 17.Rfd1 Nf5 18.Qb4 Re8 19.Rd2


19...Nxe3 20.Bf3 Nc2 21.Qc4 Nxa1 22.Re2 Be6 0-1

[Event "2005 BCC Championship"] [Site "Somerville, MA"] [Date "2005.09.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Cherniack"] [Black "Riordan"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteELO "2279"] [BlackELO "2283"] [ECO "A30"]

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 c5 3.g3 e6 4.Nf3 b6 5.Bg2 Bb7 6.0-0 a6 7.b3 Be7 8.Bb2 d6 9.d4 cxd4 10.Qxd4 Nbd7 11.Ne1 Qc7 12.e4 0-0 13.Nc2 Rfe8 14.Qd2 Rac8 15.Ne3 Qb8 16.Rfe1 Bf8 17.h3 b5 18.cxb5 axb5 19.Ng4 Nxg4 20.hxg4 b4 21.Nd1 Nc5 22.f3 Ba6 23.Nf2 Re7 24.g5 Rec7 25.Qe3 Nd7 26.Rac1 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Rxc1+ 28.Bxc1 Be7 29.f4 Bd8 30.Qd2 Bb6


31.Kh2 Qc7 32.Bb2 Qc5 33.Nd3 Qg1+ 34.Kh3 Be3 35.Qc2 Bc5 36.Nxc5 Nxc5 37.Qc1 Qf2 38.Qa1 Qe2 39.Kh2 Bd3 40.Kh1 Bxe4 0-1


[Event "2005 BCC Championship"] [Site "Somerville, MA"] [Date "2005.09.12"] [Round "1"] [White "Clayton"] [Black "Martirosov"] [Result "0-1"] [WhiteELO "1888"] [BlackELO "2239"] [ECO "B23"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.g3 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4 cxd4 6.Qxd4 Be6 7.Bb5+ Nc6 8.Nge2 Be7 9.Nf4 Nf6 10.Nxe6 fxe6 11.0-0 0-0 12.Bxc6 bxc6 13.Qe5 Qd7 14.Re1 Bc5


15.Qxe6+ Qxe6 16.Rxe6 Ng4 17.Nd1 Bxf2+ 18.Nxf2 Rxf2 19.h3 Rf6 20.Re2 Nh6 21.Bxh6 Rxh6 22.Kg2 Rf8 23.Rae1 Rhf6 24.Kg1 a5 25.Re8 Rf1+ 26.Rxf1 Rxe8 27.Rf3 Re1+ 28.Kf2 Rb1 29.Rb3 a4 30.Rb8+ Kf7 31.b3 Rb2 32.Ke3 Rxc2 33.bxa4 Rxa2 34.Rc8 Ra3+ 35.Kf2 Rxa4 36.Rxc6 Re4 37.Rd6 Re5 38.Rd7+ Kf6 39.Rd6+ Ke7 40.Ra6 Re6 41.Ra7+ Kf6 42.Rd7 Re5 43.Rd6+ Ke7 44.Ra6 Rg5 45.Kf3 Rg6 46.Ra7+ Ke6 47.Kf4 Rf6+ 48.Ke3 Rf7 49.Ra8 Rb7 50.Re8+ Re7 51.Rd8 Ke5 52.Kd3 Ra7 53.Re8+ Kf6 54.Kd4 Ra3 55.g4 Rxh3 56.Kxd5 Kg5 57.Re7 g6 58.Re4 Rh4 59.Ke6 Rxg4 60.Re5+ Kh4 61.Kf6 h5 62.Ra5 Kh3 63.Ra1 h4 64.Ra3+ Rg3 65.Ra4 Rg4 66.Ra2 Rg2 67.Ra4 g5 68.Kf5 g4 69.Kg5 Rb2 70.Ra3+ g3 71.Kh5 Rb5+ 72.Kg6 Kh2 0-1

The Name Game

Another day, another name for Susan Polgar's blog (and a significant improvement from the previous one)... Today's title: Susan Polgar Chess Blog.

Related Post: What's in a name?

Chabanon returns

After a "long summer", GM Chabanon has begun updating most of his blogging projects again. You can find links to all of them here.

Looking for signs of life

Courtesy of Thesaurus.com:

abeyant, asleep, barren, blah, bygone, comatose, conked, crashed, dead, defunct, departed, disengaged, do-nothing, dormant, down, dozing, draggy, dreaming, dull, exhausted, extinct, flaked out, gone, hibernating, idle, immobile, in dreamland, in repose, inactive, inert, indolent, inoperable, inoperative, jobless, latent, lazy, lethargic, limp, lost, low-key, lox, mothballed, motionless, napping, obsolete, on hold, ossified, out, out cold, passive, quiescent, quiet, reposing, resting, sacked out, sawing logs, sedentary, slack, sleeping, sleepy, slothful, slow, sluggish, slumbering, snoozing, snoring, somnolent, spent, stable, stagnant, static, sterile, still, tired, torpid, unconscious, unemployed, unoccupied, unprofitable, useless, wearied, worn, worn out.

This summer has obviously been hard on the chess blogosphere -- more and more links headed to the inactive lists and few coming back the other way:

• A long time resident of the sidebar has passed the 30-day mark -- My Chess. A bit of a surprise frankly, but hopefully he'll be back soon. Der Alter Goniff was all but "Goniff" and then snuck back in at the wire.
  
• Several blogs in the Other Chess Blogs list have also been quiet for awhile -- En Passant, World of Chess, Chess Morph, GM Maurice Ashley, Ginsta's Chess Blog, Adam's Chess Blog, Kyle's Chess Spot and JammingEcono's Chess and Politics Blog.
• The Extreme Chess Federation has evolved into LimeFlavored.com; while it was never clear if the original blog was actually about chess, the new site can hardly be considered a chess blog. As such, it has been removed.
• The Hooked Knight got the hook.


• Finally, one positive note - Riley's Chess Blog was recently updated after many months. Get your fix of Dayton, Ohio chess news while it's hot.

Jude Acers changes his name

Not really, but this video report from WBIR-TV News in Knoxville, Tennessee tells the story of Jude "Acres'" escape from the clutches of Hurricane Katrina. (Click the link in the green "Watch Video" box an inch or two above the picture of Jude).

Hat Tip: The Closet Grandmaster

Mystery Guest

I hope they decide soon...

Spam Spam Chess and Spam

After murderers, sex offenders, child abusers and the Kennedy's (oh wait, I've already mentioned murderers and sex offenders), are there really any lower forms of life than spammers?

Well, chess friends, I am sorry to say that I have found one that is a USCF Master. Worse yet, he's a local!

America Online Inc. won a $13 million judgment yesterday against a prominent spam gang in its first case filed under a law allowing seizure of spammers' assets....

One spammer, Braden M. Bournival, a 20-year-old chess champion from New Hampshire, cooperated with AOL in the investigation and agreed to surrender gold, cash and a 2003 Hummer H2 to the company....

The Internet provider said it will give property confiscated from Bournival to its subscribers -- the Hummer, which once bore a vanity tag reading "CASHOLA," $75,000 in cash and $20,000 in gold.

I looked up Bournival's tournament history to determine what basis they had for calling him a "chess champion." The most I could find is that he tied for first with GM Alexander Ivanov at this year's New Hampshire Open. I also looked to see whether he has ever played at the BCC. I couldn't find any evidence that he had, but he has played at Newburyport, MetroWest and Waltham, as well as major local tournaments like the Eastern Class, Pillsbury and Massachusetts Open.

On a tangentially related note, those of you using Blogger have a new tool at your disposal to combat comment spam. Check out word verification.

Update: Apparently Dennis M. is dealing with an entirely different type of comment spam.

Late Show Chess

It will probably come as no surprise to discover that David Letterman was no match for Gary Kasparov in chess. However, I would have loved to see a clip of Gary's stand-up routine.

Hat Tip: Recursive Hypocrisy.

Live Blogging: Blitz vs. Cobras

8:32pm: Evening chess fans! Welcome to week 3 of US Chess League Action. Tonight the 1-1 Boston Blitz face off against the Carolina Cobras. GM Christiansen is playing Board 1 again for the Blitz. Unfortunately the ICC doesn't let me watch that game live, so we'll focus on the other three boards.

On Board 2, IM Friedel is White against IM Schroer in a French Winawer. It looks like a strange variation to me, but I'll look it up and see.

On Board 3 - FM Hoekstra-FM Kelleher, a d-pawn opening has transposed into the g6 line of the Panov Attack. Queens are off the board and White is developing activity as Black piles up on the double IQPs. Looks like it will be an interesting battle.

Over at Krasik-NM Samsa, it is Black with the IQP in a game which started as a QGD Exchange Variation. It's too early for me to tell which way this one is going.

8:42pm: As I suspected, Friedel's 11.Kd2 is a novelty. Two other games continued with Bd2; instead, Josh has developed the bishop to a3 -- sacrificing the a-pawn but keeping the Black king in the center for now.

9:08pm: Kelleher either sacked or lost a pawn, so now he is down two pawns. It looks like he ought to be able to regain at least one on the d-file, but I'm guessing that he's playing for a draw now.

9:17pm: GM Christiansen takes out IM Milman and scores a point for the Blitz. I still can't see the moves on the ICC so I can't tell you how it went it down.

9:30pm: After 16...g6 the kibitzers like Friedel's chances. Black has severly weakened his dark squares and, of course, he no longer has a dark squared bishop to cover them. Meanwhile, Kelleher finds himself in an ending down a passed d-pawn.

10:00pm: Hoekstra made it look easy grinding Kelleher down in the ending, so the score is now tied at one game a piece. Friedel continues to look good and I still have no clue about Board 4 (although Black's doubled rooks on the c-file are at least visually impressive).

10:08pm: That was scary! Apparently there was a mouse slip or a relay error, but for a minute it looked like Friedel just hung his queen for nothing. Now it looks like they are taking back the move and giving Black a 2-minute time bonus. I'm not sure what the USCL rules are regarding mouse slips.

10:15pm: Well, they still haven't taken back the move on Board 2 and Friedel's clock continues to run. This might be very bad news. Friedel was clearly winning and planned to move his queen to e3, but it landed on d3 instead. Black happily played cxd3.

10:21pm: They just put the Board 1 game up for examination. Milman played a Ruy Lopez - Delayed Exchange Variation against Christiansen. Later in the game he sacrificed both his knights for a mate or perpetual that just wasn't there. So he resigned.

10:27pm: Samsa is down to 1:10 on Board 4; Krasik still has about 16 minutes. Still nothing on Friedel's board. Either he's lost or there's some big conference going on with league officials.

10:31pm: Phew! GM Christiansen just commented on ICC that they did give Friedel a takeback and they are now resetting the position and times. 24.Qe3, now on the board!

10:36pm: The position on Board 4 is getting crazy but it looks like Krasik might have the better of it.

10:58pm: Friedel scores the point with a nice attack. Its now 2-1 Blitz. Again it comes down to Krasik on Board 4.

11:02pm: Krasik is up a pawn in an ending and only needs a draw, but both players are under a minute on the clock.

11:09pm: What the heck!!?! Samsa offered a draw and Krasik played on. A draw would have sealed the win the Blitz! Ilya better not lose now or he'll have some 'splaining to do.

11:16pm: Another draw offer by Carolina refused!! Which team is he playing for?

11:28pm: Well the position is an obvious draw at this point. I have no idea why Krasik is continuing to play on. In any case, I'm not staying up to watch anymore. The Blitz are going to win 2.5-1.5. As for Mr. Krasik, let me just say I've never witnessed a more selfish display in a team event. After last week's collapse and this pathetic exhibition, I say trade him to Vancouver for anything you can get. Maybe I'll feel differently in the morning.

Panning for gold

Here are a few nuggets from around the 'sphere:

The Closet Grandmaster has an interview with a former Sydney chess player who chose to leave the tournament circuit:

I didn't want to keep spending all my weekends playing old men, narrow minded chess kids and teenage chess punks.

That's a pretty good description of the BCC on many days, I'm sorry to say.

Jens at Pawn In The Game published a letter by IM Andrew Martin which raises interesting questions about Susan Polgar's recent Guinness world record breaking simul.

The Knights Errant have a sequel! Sancho has rode up alongside of Don again and as Sir Chubalot and Sir Semisolid they have formed the Knights of the Round Bottoms.

Another Chess Rapper

From "DJ Muggs, Gza Get Their Chess Game Up With Grandmasters" at BallerStatus.net:

On Sunday (August 21), DJ Muggs gave selected media the first preview of his upcoming album, entitled DJ Muggs vs. Gza: Grandmasters, a collaborative album between the Cypress Hill's Muggs and Wu-Tang's Gza.

As far as the title and theme of the project, it's a reference to chess, a favorite pastime of the Genius....

"The highest level of the chess masters is the Grandmaster. The highest level of the DJ or the emcee is the Grandmaster -- it's synonymous with both," Muggs explained.

Genius? After this, someone is going to have to work hard to convince me that our culture isn't destined for the trash heap of history.

BCC Sept. TNS Rd. 1 - Part 3

So let's finish up on this position from last week's Thursday Night Swiss (here for the first time? Read Part 1 and Part 2).

After 5...Qf4

During the game I was really uncertain as to the assessment of this position. White certainly has opportunities to go wrong, but I thought that he might find a move that either forced me take a perpetual check or even worse, trade my a & b-pawns for his d & e-pawns leaving a major piece ending where he had the outside passer. After engaging with CD and Sancho in the comments to Part 2, I'm beginning to feel that Black might be better after all. Nevertheless, there are still several things which aren't clear to me. Once you're done reading this feel free to submit the position to your silicon chess friends and see what they have to say.

With the clocks running, I focused my attention on two moves for White -- Rg1 and Kf2. After 6.Rg1 there seem to be two ideas for Black:

1. During the game I was planning on 6...Qxf3+ 7.Rg2 Qd5. Black has threats against a couple Black pawns as well as ideas like Rc4 or Rc2 followed by doubling on the c-file. On the other hand, White may double his rooks on the g-file, forcing Black to keep his queen on the h1-a8 diagonal. In the end, I suspect that this is probably better for Black (though I'm not sure).
2. A second idea suggested by CD is 6...Qxf3+ 7.Rg2 axb5 8.Qxb5 Rc6 9.Rag1 Rg6 10.Qf1 Rc8 -/+, but I'm not sure about this as White has other defensive ideas like 9.Kg1 and 9.Qf1 and possibly alternatives to 10.Qf1.

After 6.Kg2 I originally thought that Black would have to take the draw starting with 6.Qg4+, but now I think that 6...Qxd4 7.bxa6 bxa6 8.Qxa6 Qxd5 may be feasible. Sure White has an outside passer, but his King is in the open and his pawn structure is a mess. I think Black, with his more actively placed pieces, probably has good chances of piling up on f3 or f2.

Now on to two moves I didn't spend much time on during the game. 6.Rfe1 fails to 6...Qxf3+ 7.Kg1 Rc2 8.Rf1 Re8! (a nice idea which CD suggested in a different position) and I don't think White can do much to stop Re6-g6.

6.Rfd1 is another matter since in the line above Rc2 can be answered by Rd2. Maybe 6...Qxf3+ 7.Kg1 axb5 is a better approach, but I'm not sure.

Well, as I promised, I don't have all the answers. Nevertheless, I think this was a very instructive position in terms of needing to see beyond the superficial tactic (2.Nxd5) in order to evaluate the position properly. My evaluation of the original position? I'm guessing that when all is said and done it will turn out that Black is better after 5...Qf4. Therefore, in the original position I believe Black is equal to slightly better after 1...Na5! and White probably should have chosen 2.Qd3 instead of 2.Nxd5. So now someone can turn on their computer and let us know the "truth."

What happened in the game? Unfortunately for my opponent, he played the worst plausible move on the board:

6.bxa6?? Qxf3+ 7.Kg1 Rc6! and White resigned.

Final Position

It's not mate in every line as CD suggested, but it is in some and in the others White wins significant material. I'll leave it as an exercise to the Knights to work out the wins after 7.Rfe1, 7.Rfd1, and 7.Rfc1.

Chess in Schools

Deb is worried that she's going to be bored at her new school in Japan, so she's putting together "a list of things I could do at school instead of work":

9. Learn how to play internet chess. Write philosophical treatise on how black and white chess pieces symbolize the increasingly multicultural experience of mid-western Americans.

Retribution

Apparently if you mess with Blogshares, they mess with you:

Boylston Chess Club Weblog suffered a huge setback with several analysts urging their clients to ditch the stock as it suffered a public relations disaster. The exact nature of customer dissatisfaction was not known... Boylston Chess Club Weblog share price dropped from B$184.72 to B$81.28.

Blitz seek rebound after disappointing draw

The U.S. Chess League's Boston Blitz are still licking their wounds after squandering a golden opportunity to score their first match win last week against the Philadelphia Masterminds -- a team they out-rated 2378 to 2292 (see my "play-by-play" coverage here).

While all eyes were originally on Board 1 for GM Larry Christiansen's debut, the match came down to Board 4 where Ilya Krasik chose to forgo a chance for a relatively easy draw and instead pursued complications which led to his demise. You can see the critical position and read the gory details of what happened in the league's match report.

This outcome raises interesting questions about week-to-week team construction in the USCL. While the Blitz were able to put a 2600-rated GM on Board 1, the 2400 average team rating rule forced them to include a non-Master on Board 4. You can see a similar pattern with the line-ups of other teams as well. Those teams without ratings monsters at the top are able to field a more balanced line-up with strong masters from top to bottom. It will be interesting to see which strategy prevails in the end.

For this week's action the Blitz are competing with largely the same players as last week. Only on Board 3 is there a change, where FM Bill Kelleher replaces FM Paul MacIntyre. The Carolina Cobras counter with IM-elect Milman, IM Schroer, FM Hoekstra, and NM Samsa. As a result, the Blitz have a rating advantage on the top two boards and a disadvantage on 3 and 4.

While currently tied for second in the Eastern Division, the Blitz will look to gain ground on a Philadelphia team that is facing an average 88 point rating deficit against the Baltimore Kingfishers. However, to date, ratings differences have been of little concern to the Masterminds.

Schedule permitting, I am planning to provide "live" coverage of the Blitz vs. Cobras match on Wednesday Night (the games begin at 7pm EDT [GMT-5]). Here's hoping that Larry has another quick win, since as a guest on the ICC they don't let me view the GM games live.

Championship Season Redux

Last week I announced the start of Championship Season here at the Boylston Chess Club. Just to prove how few club members actually read this blog, not one left a comment indicating that I got just about everything wrong in that post.

I was mildly suspicious about the 1st round being scheduled for Labor Day, especially since the final rounds of the New England Open were also being played last Monday. But, heh, that's what the BCC website said (and still does, for that matter). In any case, the Championship and Hauptturnier start tonight.

I was also wrong about not qualifying for the Championship. It turns out that there were a sufficient number of unclaimed spaces by the club masters that everyone who scored > 50% in the Reubens-Landey was offered an invitation. Unfortunately, for the reason mentioned earlier -- adjournment fatigue, I chose to decline.

So what did I get right? Just that there will be some coverage of the Championship here at BCC Weblog. I spoke to Bernardo and he will be forwarding me the game scores from each round. In addition, it's possible that Bob will post updates on the Haup. Stay tuned.

Jude Acers alive and well

Read this post at rec.games.chess.politics.

Hat Tip: Jim Eade's Chess Journal

BCC Sept. TNS Rd. 1 - Part 2

So here's some analysis on the position I posted on Friday. But first, thanks to CelticDeath (CD) and Tony for playing along in the comments. As you'll see they ultimately found much of what I'm planning to share today. Of course, there are still some problems left to solve.

Second, a disclaimer: I plan to share mostly what I was thinking about during the game and a few things my opponent and I looked at during the post-mortem. I haven't submitted the position to Fritz since I think this makes a more useful exercise without computer assistance. As a result, I'm sure their are flaws in some of the lines or assessments. Your improvements and opinions are welcome, but please don't berate me with stuff like "you patzer, Fritz claims White is better by .16 pawns in the final position." If you prefer closer-to-the-truth analysis, I suggest you read The Chess Mind (not that Dennis depends on computers for his analysis, but that he is a much better player than me and therefore his analysis is of higher quality).

Black to move

OK, let's start with the three retreating moves for the Knight. I instantly rejected 1...Nd8 since it breaks the communication between the rooks and virtually all the squares it might move to next are already occupied by other black pieces. I don't think I gave 1...Na7 much of thought either -- while it does attack the pawn on b4, after 2.a4 it looks pretty silly in the corner with nowhere to go. That leaves 1...Nb8 which does have a few positive attributes. For example: 1)if White maneuvers his c3-Knight to c5 Black might be able to play b6 since the Nb8 covers a6; 2) if White gets that same Knight to b6 Black might be able to extricate it with Nd7 (after moving the Rc8 of course); and 3) the Knight might be able to redeploy itself through d7 to b6 to c4. All that said, 1...Nb8 is a fairly passive move and I'm quite sure that if it is indeed the best move for Black then White clearly has some advantage in the diagrammed position.

Obviously not satisfied with any of those options, I focused my energies on 1...Na5. My immediate reaction was not pleasant -- "it just drops a pawn to 2.Nxd5." But as I looked deeper, I saw that there was much more to this particular variation. So let's see how the game progressed:

1...Na5!?

We'll call it interesting for now until we reach a firmer conclusion about its merits. Black threatens to invade at b3 and c4. If White opts to avoid the tactics beginning with 2.Nxd5 then the most plausible continuation is something like 2.Qd3 Nc4 3.a4 -- during the game I assessed this position as slightly better for Black (and certainly no worse).

2.Nxd5

At first blush this certainly looks like it wins a pawn. However, from the Black side I was able to generate an alternative perspective -- for a pawn I was going to be able turn my bishop which was functioning as a pawn back into a bishop. So in some sense I was giving up two pawns for a bishop, a trade that makes sense most of the time. Of course, the tactics needed to work also.

2...Bxd5 3.Qxa5 Bxf3 4.gxf3

White is still up a pawn, but this forcing sequence has left his kingside pawn structure a shambles and Black with the initiative.

4...Qg5+

I'm fairly certain this is better than CD's suggestion of Qh4 since White's response is forced, leaving him no time to get his Queen back into the game.

5.Kh1 Qf4

This leads to the next critical position (which Tony also reached in his analysis). Black is attacking a couple of White pawns and there are perpetual check opportunities in the air.

After 5...Qf4

Questions:

1. What is White's best move at this point (include the expected continuation)?
2. Given your choice, what is your assessment of the position in the second diagram?

No bonus question this time. Both CD and Tony answered correctly that this game started as a French Defense - Advance Variation.

Again, no computers please.

Remember

Strange Attraction

Dan claims he doesn't like chess, yet he seems drawn to it (like a moth to a flame?):

...after breakfast I watched a chess game for a bit. I've never really liked it. It's too cold and calculated, mere strategy. The unbegun game itself is fascinating. Order, and so many possibilities. After the pieces start to move, the paths narrow, choices dwindle, and you are eventually consigned to a certain fate. It's like picturebooks packed away irretrievably as you move on. It's kind of sad. Or at least that's how it always strikes me. I wonder why I always end up friends with the chess players then.

BCC September Thursday Night Swiss Rd. 1

Here is an interesting position from my tournament game last night at the club:

Black to move

Questions:

1. What is Black's best move (include the expected continuation)?
2. Given your choice, what is your assessment of the position in the diagram?

Bonus Question: What opening was played in this game?

I had to work this out OTB, so no computers please.

Foreign Relations

As has been discussed before, BCC Weblog has a much greater following outside the club than from its own members. Recently, I have been thinking about launching another marketing campaign with the membership to raise awareness and the theme I have been contemplating is something like this:

Chess players all over the world read BCC Weblog.

What about you?

For example, I could put together a flyer with flags from all the different countries that visit the blog surrounding the text above and list the URL below. A similar e-mail is another idea.

In any case, with these ideas swirling in my head I had one of those "not everything is random, there must be someone directing these things" moment when I discovered that BCC Weblog was mentioned twice in foreign language blogs (foreign to me, not the bloggers. Come to think of it, what a parochial term that is) in the past two days.

From Italy: Quattro link interessanti - From France: It's a wonderful life...

Measuring the Chess Blogosphere

Susan Polgar's post on the top 30 Chess Blogs has generated some conversation and a lot of confusion. Unfortunately, the initial post did not mention that the rankings were simply the first thirty names off the Blogshares Chess Industry list (this has since been changed). As a result, Satish got all excited about being named the 3rd best chess blog by Susan Polgar. Sorry friend, of course we all still like your blog.

Now I don't want to get into a long discussion here about what the Blogshares list measures (you can read my comment to Susan's post and/or read more about Blogshares if you wish). What I will say is that Blogshares measures something derivative of the number of other blogs which link to you. It's not simply a link count (like Technorati) since it assigns more value to a link from a blog with more links and, somewhat strangely, it assigns more value if the linking blog has fewer outbound links. Michael Goeller also points out (in the comments to Susan's post) that you can easily manipulate your Blogshares valuation by creating a large set of interlinking blogs. He mentions Magnifichess as a particularly egregious example of this. Even Satish's valuation is influenced by this effect -- more than 10% of his Blogshares value comes from links from his other blogs (But to be fair to him, 37 of his 39 links are independent and I am certainly not suggesting that he has been trying to manipulate the system).

Links certainly have value and I would argue that cross-linking is critical to the development of virtual communities like the Chess Blogosphere or more specifically, the Knights Errant. And most of you know that I actively promote this cross-linking both on BCC Weblog and across the Chess Blogosphere. To a large extent this explains BCC Weblog's ranking on the Blogshares list. But, please please please, don't confuse these kind of rankings with measures of popularity, readership or quality. BCC Weblog is not the most read chess blog and neither is Susan Polgar's or Satish Talim's. As to the subject of quality, well that's obviously a subjective decision. I have my own favorites and while I'm not going to list them here, you probably know who they are if you've been reading this blog.

What we can do, to some extent, is measure readership in terms of unique visitors to a blog. I've spent a few hours collecting as much data as I could on all the chess blogs I have listed. Before I present it however, I must mention a number of caveats:

• Most chess blogs don't have publicly available stats. Therefore, these lists only include those that do. If you know your own stats for the periods mentioned below and want me to add them to the list, leave them in a comment to this post or e-mail me.


• There are all sorts of apples to oranges problems in comparing these numbers, e.g., different counters count differently (on this blog SiteMeter and Extreme Tracking virtually never agree) and September 7th in Australia only partially overlaps with September 7th in New York.


• Some counters only provide seven days of detail in their free versions. Therefore, I have month of August data for fewer blogs and in some cases I needed to use five days of data to project the full-week number.


• The Daily Dirt Chess Blog does not have public stats. However, Mig has stated in the past that he receives 5,000 unique visitors a day. I have opted to accept his self-reported number. It is possible that this number reflects visitors to his entire site and not just the blog. However, even if only 20% of those visitors are to the blog (and I suspect the percentage is much higher), he would still have the most widely read chess blog by a wide margin.


• Some people exclude their own visits to their blogs, others don't. At BCC Weblog, my visits are excluded, but those of other contributors are not.


• Visits based on a single day should be taken with a grain of salt. Several blogs had unusually "good" days on 9/7 including BCC Weblog, J'adoube and especially Satish Talim (who had more visits on 9/7 than in the entire preceding week).

With all that mind, here is what I came up with:

Unique Visits - Month of August 2005

Daily Dirt Chess Blog - 150,000
The Chess Mind - 7,600
Open Chess Diary - 5,120
BCC Weblog - 2,210
The Closet Grandmaster - 2,010
Temposchlucker - 1,033
Chess News and Events - 884
Dennis M's Chess Site - 725
Shakmaty Bereolos - 609
Satish Talim - 305
Art of Chess - 290
2004 BCC Championship - 150
Chess Game in Colour - 145

Unique Visits - Week of 8/31-9/6/2005

Daily Dirt Chess Blog - 35,000
The Chess Mind - 1,896
Open Chess Diary - 1,538
The Closet Grandmaster - 679
BCC Weblog - 639
Chess News and Events - 354
Temposchlucker - 303
J'adoube - 230
Shakmaty Bereolos - 195
Dennis M's Chess Site - 167
Dread Pirate - 161
Art of Chess - 139
Nezha - 109
Satish Talim - 89
Patzer's Mind - 85
Matagala - 81
El mon de Caissa - 74
Druss - 52
Chess Game in Colour - 32
2004 BCC Championship - 23

Unique Visits - September 7, 2005

Daily Dirt Chess Blog - 5,000
Open Chess Diary - 312
The Chess Mind - 265
BCC Weblog - 167
Satish Talim - 97
J'adoube - 81
The Closet Grandmaster - 81
Temposchlucker - 60
Shakmaty Bereolos - 48
Chess News and Events - 39
Dread Pirate - 30
Art of Chess - 27
Dennis M's Chess Site - 21
Patzer's Mind - 19
Nezha - 18
Druss - 12
El mon de Caissa - 9
Matagala - 9
2004 BCC Championship - 3
Chess Game in Colour - 2

Nawlins Chess History

Chessdad64 had a chance to sit down with Jean Troendle, the proprietor of Cajun Chess, at last weekend's Illinois Open. Based on that talk, he shares with us the History of Chess in New Orleans pre-Katrina.

On a related note, ChessBase News has finally caught up with the Jude Acers/Hurricane Katrina connection. Their story is mostly a rehash of things which have been reported elsewhere (especially at Chessville). Everyone continues to be encouraged by the fact that Jude is listed as alive on the Gulf Coast News site. However, actual contact with him would certainly make many of us feel a whole lot better.

Blitz take early lead vs. Masterminds

It's US Chess League Night at the ICC and here at BCC Weblog. Tonight the Boston Blitz are facing off against the Philadelphia Masterminds. The buzz in Boston has been all about GM Larry Christiansen's debut on Board 1 for the Blitz.

And an auspicious start it was as Larry easily dispatched FM Rogers in 24 moves on the Black side of an Italian Game. Both players managed to open up their opponent's castled king positions. However, it cost Rogers a bishop to do so, while Christiansen did it for free. Meanwhile, Larry's attack came a bit quicker and there was nothing left for White to do but resign.

With Boston leading 1-0 the other three games are still in progress at this moment. On Board 2, the Blitz's IM Josh Friedel looks to have the better of it against NM Carl Boor. He is up an exchange in an endgame, though it looks like he still has some work to do to bring the point home.

Board 3 is not so promising for the good guys. FM Paul MacIntyre is down a pawn in a double rook and minor piece ending (queenless middle game?) vs. IM Richard Costigan and his opponent's pieces look much more active. Finally, Boston's Ilya Krasik looks to be holding his own against NM Elvin Wilson on Board 4. Playing white, he is down a pawn with each player having a queen, rook and dark squared bishop remaining. In compensation, white has a cramping pawn on e5 that may lead to some kingside attacking chances (though that same pawn currently makes his bishop bad). It will be interesting see how this one turns out.

My projection at this point -- a 2.5-1.5 victory for the Blitz. Stay tuned.

Update (10:47 pm): Friedel secures the point for Boston on Board 2. I guess he didn't have much more work to do at all.

Update (10:58 pm): MacIntyre goes down -- a two pawn deficit in a rook ending with three of his four remaining pawns lined up in a row on the e-file -- sadly amusing actually. This leaves the match hanging on Board 4 where Krasik's pawn disadvantage has been eliminated. It now looks as if black is trying to liquidate the remaining pawns on the queenside to increase the chances of a draw.

Update (11:09 pm): Apparently not! Wilson is playing aggressively for the win and looks like he might get it. That's it! What a comeback by the Masterminds to secure a drawn match. A disappointing outcome for the Blitz who squandered an opportunity for their first win of the season. Final Score -- Boston Blitz 2 - Philadelphia Masterminds 2.

See you next week for more US Chess League action when the Boston Blitz take on the Carolina Cobras.

Banned! Revisited Again

There are bloggers (people like me who find interesting things on the web and post them for your consideration and pleasure) and there are journalists (people who actually do the hard work and digging to determine whether something is true or not). Sometimes they are one and same, sometimes not. And, oh by the way, a large number of people in the traditional media who claim to be journalists are definitely not.

In any case, we have found one such journalist/blogger in our midst -- J'adoube wasn't willing to take at face value GM Larry Evans' assertion that a school in Alabama had banned chess in 1998. He did some leg work and filed this report on the truth about Oak Mountain Intermediate School and chess.

Job well done!

Related Posts: Banned! - Banned! Revisited

Too funny not to steal

Hat Tip: Blogshares

Wall Street Chess

Swedish telecommunications giant TeliaSonera confirmed [a week ago] Monday that they have purchased Norwegian mobile phone company Chess/Sense.

Read "Chess sale final" from Aftenposten (Norway).

Yankees Suck!

Oops! Wrong sport...

In the inaugural match of the U.S. Chess League on August 31st, the Boston Blitz scored a 2-2 tie with their dreaded foes from the Big Apple, the New York Knights. You can read a detailed report here. Apparently the key game for Boston was IM Eugene Perelshteyn's 1st board win over GM Alex Stripunsky (it was awarded Game of the Week by the league).

I thought a bit of bait and switch was going on with the roster since two of the players who played for the Blitz (FM Bill Kelleher and Expert Ilya Krasik) were not mentioned in Paul MacIntyre's newsletter piece. I have since learned that there are all sorts of rules regarding roster size and player replacements during the season. In addition, the team competing each week must have an average rating of 2400 or less (with some exceptions) which explains why many teams have Experts playing Board 4.

In the first round, the Blitz ran afoul of another league rule:

Controversy was abound before the first move had even been played, as the Boston Blitz' second board, IM Igor Foygel, had to cancel at the last minute due to a family emergency. This meant that the Blitz would have to find a replacement, and so they called on team member Paul MacIntyre. Things looked even more grim for Boston as a last second cancellation also results in a time penalty, and so MacIntyre began this game with 60 minutes whereas [IM Jay] Bonin had 90 minutes to start.

Paul overcame the time deficit and drew the game.

Championship Season

The 2005 BCC Championship and the Hauptturnier kicked off tonight with 1st round action. This year I am not playing in either event – the Championship because I didn’t qualify and the Haup because I just don’t have enough time right now for adjournments (and based on the Reubens-Landey, all I do is adjourn).

Needless to say, internet coverage of this year’s Championship will pale in comparison to 2004. However, I do plan to post the standings as the event progresses and the un-annotated game scores which Bernardo puts together each week. Hopefully, I’ll have time to annotate a couple of the more interesting encounters.

Chess Ceiling

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Full-contact chess

I'm going to need our resident karate master's opinion on the reasonableness of this analogy:

Few similarities exist between the game of chess and the sport of submission grappling. Although if you break them both down to their end goal -- earning a check mate -- they're not very different at all.

...when you consider that, in both chess and submission grappling, the two opponents are trying to outwit and outmaneuver one another, it's not hard to make a tangible connection.

"Part of the game is getting to a check mate position where the other guy has no chance of gaining an advantage," said sensei Larry Keith, the head instructor at the Dynamic Full Contact Club in Roseburg.

Read "A full-contact chess match" from The (Roseburg, Oregon) News-Review.

Peering up at the ocean

Our newest Knight hails from a major city built below sea level and not currently covered by water. Please welcome DutchDefence, henceforth known as the Wooden-Shoed Knight.

Land of Chess Gardens

It appears that Chess Gardens are sprouting up all over Ohio. In addition to Westlake (see pictures here), this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer mentions another one in Eton. A follow-up article sets the scene at the Eton Chess Garden's "weekly alfresco chess lesson[s]."

Truth or Consequences

Gene Venable sums up the Needleman affair (did the big, bad Grandmasters conspire against the puppy-eyed youngster in the Continental Open rapid tiebreaks? My view -- even if they did, who cares!) and along the way he takes Chessbase and chess journalism in general to task [ChessWatch 8/31/2005, "The Truth about Chess Journalism"]:

Just exactly what [chess] web site is the equivalent of, say, the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times? In other words, where do you go to get objective, reliable, unspun information?

The New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times -- objective? reliable? unspun? What fantasyland does he live in?

Banned! Revisited

In the comments to my previous post on this topic, CelticDeath (apparently finding 5 minutes reprieve from baby care and foolishly failing to use it to catch up on his sleep) mentioned a letter from the "Evans on Chess" column in the September 2005 edition of Chess Life. Here is the letter and Larry Evans' response:

Chess Banned At My School!
Anonymous, Northwest Louisiana

Q. I have a master's degree in biology and serve as a substitute science teacher at a small private high school that has some remarkably gifted students. I have also played chess for 42 years, though never good enough to make an impression on the outside world. Nonetheless, I feel as though chess has greatly enriched my life and I started letting some of my students play at breaks, or when we finished work, or on their off day. The game caught on and is immensely popular. Their biggest thrill is to beat me (although they don't realize how minor an accomplishment that is). Some of the older students want to start a club and one parent bought five sets for them to use.

Then the administration issued a policy forbidding all forms of board games. I went to a meeting with a set I bought for $3.99 in 1972 and gave a five-minute talk on what value I placed on the game and why. I said I played at least 4000 games on this set, then asked how many of their kids would be playing their $40 video games in 30 days, much less in 30 years.

I knew what I was up against when one of the do-gooder's voiced her objection. Chess, she pointed out, was inappropriate under the new No Child Left Behind Act because there are definite winners and losers, and educators need to see that everyone succeeds!? I told them next year's football season would be interesting under that philosophy. Ignorance never loses an argument and in this case I was definitely on the losing side. The ban stood. Hopefully this is an isolated case, but I'd like to know if others have run into this type of resistance.

A. Alas, this idiocy also happens elsewhere. In 1998, for example, Oak Mountain Intermediate School in Shelby County, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham) banned chess (because it's too competitive!) but had two baseball stadiums with night-lights for evening play.

This flies in the face of more and more schools adding chess as an elective. "I have, in my years of teaching, been fortunate enough to see how beneficial chess is to kids. It's absorbing, it's intellectually productive ... it's just the best tool to teach good decision making." -- Jim Celone, a New Haven, Connecticut math teacher whose after-school chess classes every Friday are wildly successful.

Two thoughts from this quarter:

1. I guess we shouldn't be so worried about Grand Ayatollah Sistani's proclamations forbidding chess. We seem to have enough problems at home.
   
   
2. While Maverick Philosopher's original post was undoubtedly a poke at the politically-correct left (as Michael Goeller pointed out), both of the cases cited above occurred in the solidly red Deep South.

If the Teletubbies played chess

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Banned!

Maverick Philosopher reports that Berkeley, California has banned chess in its public schools. Plausible or do you think he is pulling our leg?

To my mind, anything is plausible in Berkeley.

Easy come, easy go

Ginsta's time on the sidebar did turn out to be short and so his link can now be found in the Inactive listings under Other Chess Blogs. Should he start posting again, I'll be happy to move him back to the front page.

In other linking notes:

• Two long inactive blogs came back from the dead -- Art of Chess and Bungalow Bill have both been moved to the Active listings though I don't think either really offers content with a particularly broad appeal

• UnderNetChess moved in the opposite direction from Active to Inactive

• On Board for Chess went 404 and was removed from Classic Chess Blogs

• I added Chess Collector to the sidebar. My French still isn't particularly good, but I really enjoy this blog and try to read it everyday

• Speaking of the sidebar, I have two additions waiting in the wings: 1) Quando has indicated that he's going to link here when he figures out how to add new links without screwing up his blog. He hasn't had any luck so far, but when he figures it out I'll be happy to cross-link to Caissa's Confabulations; 2) I like BlueEyedRook a lot and hope to contact him about cross-linking

• It's the dog days of summer for the Questers and some of them must have been overcome by the heat. I've moved Knightwiz, SilverDragon and Zeon into hiatus. Is the Hooked Knight far behind?

• I've added the two new Knights which Tempo recently introduced. However, since neither has linked to the rest of the group yet, I would consider them on probationary status

A life against the odds

...life is a miserable chess match and I lost my queen shortly after birth.

Read "The quixotic quest for reciprocity" from Beyond Heaven Entertainment.

Chess, web services, netbeans

This is all gibberish to me, but I thought some of you programmers out there might be interested in Geertjan's work on a Chess web services client implementation.