Chess and the Meaning of Life

Chess and the meaning of Life

Quoting from - Dr J Slobodzien and his Internet essay "Chess & the 7 Dimensions of Life" having chess as a metaphor representing the 7 dimensions of life:

7 - Dimensions of Life

1. Social / Cultural Dimension - I started seeing that your chess pieces are like family members and significant others in your life that you try to protect the best you can. We are all alike (black or white in chess) and we try to move and communicate in ways that will support our mutual goals. Unfortunately though, you end up losing the ones you love.

2. Medical/ Physical Dimension - In order to maintain a healthy body we must maintain a balance of moving (exercise), eating (our opponents pieces), and resting (knowing when not to move).

3. Mental/ Emotional Dimension - Chess forces us to think really hard about our actions, the consequences of our actions, and how our behavior affects others and the world around us. It also gives us opportunities to experience and deal with emotions - like anger, revenge, grief, and joy, etc.

4. Educational/ Occupational Dimension - Chess develops our attention span, concentration abilities, and memory - so that we can learn, be trained and skilled, and maintain satisfying work experiences.

5. Spiritual/ Religious Dimension - I didn't notice a spiritual side to chess until one of my pawns first got transformed (born-again) into a Queen. At that point, I realized that our weakest members in life have the potential to become our strongest heroes. Chess also develops our faith in a set of organized beliefs and practices much like religion.

6. Legal/ Financial Dimension - Chess teaches us that there are consequences for not obeying the law (not playing by the rules of the game). There are also rewards for logically and systematically making the right moves in life.

7. Self-Control/ Higher Power Control Dimension - Chess teaches us that even though we may follow all the rules, all of the time - we do not have total control of our destiny (who wins the game and who loses). As Thomas Huxley so eloquently put it in his famous quote above ("the player on the other side is hidden)."

More interesting stuff at:

http://searchwarp.com/swa305229.htm

What value to your life has chess provided?

What are your beliefs about chess and the meaning of life?

Please comment.

Mike Griffin 09/30/2008

$10 Open

Steven Winer (2430) won the open section of the September $10 Open on Saturday with 4 of 4 points. Carey Theil followed in second with 3.5. David Vigorito had a draw with Carey and a loss to Steven.

In the U1900 section, Mike Griffin (1758) ran the table for 4 of 4 points and a clear first place. Seth Lieberman was second with 3.0.

30 players entered the tournament, one of the most popular at the Boylston Club - a great bargin for your chess budget.

[You know, Tony, now that you mention it,
there are no smiling happy people in any of the photos.]

Boston Blitz vs. Philly Inventors

Time for my weekly preview of the Boston Blitz (3-2), this time up against the hapless Philadelphia Inventors 1-4. The Blitz have pounded on this team, leading the all time series 5.5-0.5! Furthermore, the Blitz are coming off a lopsided win against the best of the West, the San Francisco Mechanics, while the Inventors are still licking wounds from their run-in with the NJ Knockouts.

Here are the matchups. The Blitz have white on boards 1 and 3.

1. SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun: 2576 vs GM Sergey Kudrin: 2600
2. IM David Vigorito: 2431 vs FM Thomas Bartell: 2386
3. SM Denys Shmelov: 2446 vs IM Richard Costigan: 2288
4. NM Ilya Krasik: 2144 vs FM Matthew Bengtson: 2232

First, a few questions about the Blitz lineup this week. Usually, a few people are unavailable from week to week, forcing Phelps's hand in the lineup. I can only assume Larry or Eugene is unavailable this week for Board 1. Otherwise, I would think the Blitz would want to play what I consider to be their strongest lineup, the one that defeated the Mechanics last week: Christiansen, Sammour-Hasbun, Esserman, and Krasik. But perhaps they have specific matches in mind this week, as we'll see below. At any rate, since the Inventors are battling for last place, it probably doesn't matter-- this lineup still looks like a winner for the Blitz.

Before I go to a board-by-board breakdown, let me pause to ask-- where's Eugene? It seems that having him on the roster would be most useful to fill in when Larry or Jorge are unavailable, but so far, he is the only Blitz member not to play in any matches this year. The fact remains that as long as Larry and Jorge are available to play, Eugene doesn't fit too many Blitz rosters because of ratings concerns. I could also understand the 3-GM team if they had a very talented lower (but under) rated player that allowed the 3-GMs to play all at once (I count Jorge as a GM of course). As it stands, I wonder if adding a talented underrated player to help grant more flexibility on Board 4 instead of including Eugene this year would have been a better choice.

The Boards:

Board 1 Jorge has white against Kudrin. Jorge is coming off of his second Game of the Week Honors for his two-wave attacking victory over Pruess last week. GM Sergey Kudrin doesn't like to lose, but he also barely likes to win, having drawn most of his games for the Inventors. Interestingly, GM Kudrin has played THREE current members of the Blitz in a USCL matchup, all last year! He drew Eugene Perelshteyn with the White pieces in week 3, and he drew with Larry Christiansen with the Black pieces. In a twist, he also drew Marc Esserman when Marc played Board 1 for the Miami Sharks for the single match (the only one he played last year) against Philly. Kudrin doesn't lose much, and neither does Jorge. A draw looks almost inevitable here.



Board 2. IM Vigorito (Black) vs. FM Bartell (White). Following ratings alone, Vigorito must have a slight plus over Bartell. But let's look at their recent performances. Bartell just had a decent result at the NJ Open this month, getting nicked for two draws by 2200-level masters and a draw with eventual tournament winner Molner. David Vigorito probably hasn't been playing his best chess this year, but he did have a fairly decent New England Masters (only 1 loss in a strong field). In the New England Open, his only loss was to teammate Shmelov, but he suffered a couple of draws to both stronger and weaker players. However, IM Vigorito has drawn his two USCL games with ease (see: here or here), in one case, with a clearly superior position. Given that both have had solid but not spectacular recent performances, I'm going to predict a draw here as well, especially after wins start appearing on the lower boards.



Board 3. Shmelov (white) vs. Costigan (black). This is a rematch from last year, when Denys won but perhaps was worse early on (I haven't analyzed this, shooting gallery!). Historically, Shmelov has been great for the Blitz, while Costigan's record is mediocre at best. Looking at Shmelov's recent tournament results gives conflicting results-- A tie for first at the New England Open is offset by a poor performance in the Manchester, NH September Swiss, in which he coughed up two draws to players in this reporter's rating range (2000). Costigan, meanwhile, has only been munching on a steady diet of rapid tournaments. I have to like Shmelov's chances to reprise his victory over Costigan from last year, especially as the Blitz have proven themselves to be adept at preparing well for their opponents and showing good teamwork (securing draws where useful, for example).

Board 4. Ilya Krasik has Black against Bengtson. In an effort to make my poetry efforts tougher, Philly has a Costigan on Board 3 and a Bengtson on Board 4.

Here is where Ilya should avert his gaze if he doesn't want to see what I am going to predict.

Surprise, surprise. I think Ilya is going to win this week. Bengston has not been stellar on Board 4 for Philly, and he has played in zero USCF touranments since 2006. Ilya has been putting together a decent season for the Blitz on Board 4, has shown excellent preparation for his opponents, and has now compiled a 1.5 out of 3 record that certainly should have been 2 out of 3. I should also mention his last tournament, in August, was a good result, including a draw with Foygel. I fully expect to see Ilya win this week, cementing the victory for the Blitz against the Inventors. To predict anything other than a win for Ilya (despite the spike in commenting a predicted Ilya loss brings with it) would be just dishonest to facts as laid out before me, folks.

I still fully expect him to show off his special brand of lively invective in our comments section this week, so stay tuned!

GM Ken Rogoff is a McCain advisor.

The Master's Table: Boylston Chess Club A Team (left to right) NM Marc Lonoff, GM Ken Rogoff, NM Larry Tapper, FM Chris Chase (sitting), NM Dan Harrington, and IM Norman Weinstein at the Boylston Chess Club, YMCU (Young Men's Christian Union) Building... Boston, circa 1975

Photo: Steve Stepak ?

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Dylan Loeb McClain wrote about GM and Harvard Economics Professor Ken Rogoff who at one tlme played at and for the Boylston Club:

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By Dylan Loeb McClain
Published: September 26, 2008

Could a grandmaster be part of the next administration? Possibly.
Kenneth S. Rogoff, a professor of economics and public policy at Harvard University, is an adviser to the Republican presidential nominee, Senator John McCain. He is also a grandmaster. Rogoff said that he has known Senator McCain for years.
...
Rogoff said an understanding of chess had helped him learn economics: "The whole logic of game theory, which is a big part of economics, came easily to me."

...
Knowing chess also helped him in his career, he said. "I was the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund from 2001 to 2003, and you are involved in a lot of high-stakes negotiations," he said, "and chess teaches you to think about what the other person is thinking."
He stopped playing competitively in 1980, but before he stopped, he was one of the country's most promising players. ...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/27/arts/chess27.php

30 second poetic summary of B.B.'s 3-1 win over S.F.

1. Last week Larry lost his queen.
Thought his opponent was pretty mean.
This week -- Bhat?
Splat.

2. Pruess prudently punctured Jorge's 1st Jorrible Attack.
Pruess proudly pointed to his pawns -- sacked?
Pruess plainly pummeled by Jorge's 2nd Jorrible Attack.
Probably preset path when Jorge's opponents have Black?

3. Marc outflanked Shank.
Landed up a pawn.
The game was drawn.


4. There once was a player named Krasik
Whose opponent said, "Rook? Let's Sackik."
The sack was unsound,
The king danced around,
Fell into perpetual check-ik.

Preview-- S.F. Mechanics vs. Boston Blitz

Wednesday night has some compelling individual matchups when the S.F. Mechanics take on the Boston Blitz in Week 5. It also features the classic battle of differing team strategies -- top heavy teams like the Blitz vs. balanced 2300-2400 rated teams like the Mechanics.

Here are the lineups:
S.F. Mechanics (3.5-0.5) vs. Boston Blitz (2-2)
1. IM Vinay Bhat, 2481 vs. GM Larry Christiansen, 2670
2. IM David Pruess, 2479 vs. SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, 2576
3. NM Sam Shankland, 2364 vs. NM Marc Esserman, 2307
4. NM Daniel Naroditsky, 2321 vs. NM Ilya Krasik, 2144

Boston is coming off what appears to be their most lopsided loss since the 3-1 drubbing in the 2006 Playoffs against the NY Knights, a long time ago.

1. GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1/2-1/2 2. IM Irina Krush (NY) vs IM Igor Foygel (BOS) 1-0 3. NM Charles Riordan (BOS) vs FM Robert Hess (NY) 1/2-1/2 4. Matthew Herman (NY) vs NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) 1-0

However, a closer look at last week's match suggests a much tougher battle than the final score indicates. Larry's early piece blunder (see: Benjamin vs. Christiansen), in addition to making us all feel better about our own blunders (my own occuring as recently as last night), also destabilized the rest of the Blitz's boards, forcing Denys and Charles to overstep in sharp positions. (see: Shmelov vs. Ippolito and Molner vs. Riordan.) In short, it increased the pressure on the lower boards to come up with full points against staunch opposition.

Boston must be careful to shake off these last losses and play with a short memory and renewed vigor. Several factors play in Boston's favor. As a long-time professional chess player, Larry's play will be uneffected by last week's crash-and-burn; he has seen it all before. Jorge can anchor any team's Board 1, and he is just a shark in the Board 2 position. Newcomer Marc Esserman fits into the Blitz's team makeup perfectly -- underrated at 2307 after obtaining two IM norms this year, including an impressive one in Miami two weeks ago (for more, read: Esserman's take on Miami). Underrated players anchoring Boards 3 and 4 were keys to the Blitz's last year success (and key to the top heavy lineup strategy), when Denys Shmelov and Chirs Williams took up the reigns of the bottom boards.

However, the Mechanics are a young and dangerous team, with their top boards born in the 80s and their bottom boards born in the 90s! Youngsters = hunger + underrated + continual improvement + crazy and dangerous games.

Let's look at a Board by Board breakdown.

Board 1. Bhat vs. Larry C. In last year's San Fran match, Larry captured the Game of the Week with his very fine victory over the one time Boston local GM Patrick Wolff Christiansen-Wolff 2007. Meanwhile, Bhat was on Board 2 last year, and scored a victory over Bill Kelleher. Bhat-Kelleher 2007. My database is silent on any games these two may have played-- I can't find any previous games. So how can we decide what might happen? Looking at Bhat's 2007 record reveals that not a single game was drawn and he won most. But this is Board 1, and Bhat's opponent is one of the US's best GMs. I'll predict a draw after Larry steers a rabid attack into calmer waters. This will be a good result for the freefalling Blitz.

Board 2. Sammour-Hasbun has White vs. Pruess. David Pruess has had a string of mediocre (for him) tournaments this summer that pulled his rating from the verge of 2500. He also had a ho-hum 2007 season. Jorge is one of the fiercest players in the league and is the reigning 1st-team All Star for Board 2. They are also playing this week at a faster time control, which only adds to Jorge's advantage. Prediction: Jorge brings home a needed point for the Blitz.

Board 3. Shankland vs. Esserman. What happens when two up-and-comers face off on the critical Board 3? A bloodbath. Sam's league record is excellent with an 83% winning percentage, mostly on Board 4. This year he is holding Board 3 nicely, as well, with wins over Philly's Costigan last week and Miami's Galofre the week before. He has also been playing well recently over the board, including a first place win over the Labor Day weekend against other masters. I've already discussed Marc's exploits. I'll go ahead and predict that Marc and Sam will scrap and punch and claw until their bare kings are dancing around each other. Draw.

Board 4. Krasik has White against Naroditsky. Oh, no! What shall I say about this game?
Let's start with Krasik's USCL picture:

Somebody in this picture is caught in some headlights this week, and the person behind the wheel of the oncoming car is a 13 year old, World U12 Champion. Daniel Naroditsky isn't even allowed to drive, of course, but check out this brute-tastic victory from last week. Or this one from the week before. But it isn't all doom and gloom for Krasik and the Blitz-- Naroditsky is still a bit uneven, as in this game from three weeks ago, and last season he struggled a bit (he was 12!). I still think this game is going to be more like those first two and not like the third one. It doesn't help that it will only be 5:00PM on the Pacific Coast when this game is played-- no chance for Ilya to draw the game out past Daniel's bedtime! Ilya can be crafty, to be sure, but I still can't justify predicting anything other than a loss.

So, to sum up-- hard games on all the boards. A draw is a fair and just result, but all the boards are in the balance this week, and it could go either way.

Chess Knowledge

Chess Knowledge

It's 1970 and Harry Lyman would always take some time out for a then 18 year old Mike Griffin to review something. I brought to him a knight sacrifice in the Dutch-Peruvian variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined that went like:

1. d4 d5
2. c4 e6
3. Nc3 Nf6
4. Bg5 c5
5. cxd5 cxd4
6. Qxd4 Be7
7. e4 Nc6
8. Qd2 Nxd5

During our analysis an excited Harry said "I think you have something here." He got up and returned with an index card to write down our analysis. I was proud that Harry felt this was such a feasible idea that it made it into his personal chess archive.

Most strong players of those days had their own personal archive of openings on index cards. Jackie Peters lugged around a thick 3 ring binder breaking down his openings ,analysis, and percentage of performances against rivals in his records.

How did/and does the distribution of chess knowledge get to chess players? 200 years ago one learned to be good at chess by playing against good players in the divans of France, England, Germany, or the US. Although there is evidence that chess books have been around since about 650 AD and publishing picked up in the 1400'ds, dissemination of chess information was slow. In the early 1800'ds newspapers started publishing chess columns. In 1851 the first international tournament occurred in London won by Adolf Anderson. Chess was becoming popular but only a few dedicated folks mastered chess in this information starved environment. A clique of masters would travel from one international tournament site to another and they became the creators of the current chess theory. Many of them wrote for various newspapers and tournament books and so information out to the public broadened. In the very early 1900'ds, legend has it that a young mediocre player Akiba Rubinstein disappeared from his school studies to figure out the secrets of chess by himself to return as a strong player (kind of like the Michael De La Maza story). But records show Gersz Salwe coached him.

I think the 1909 and 1914 Saint Petersburg tournaments (where the first "official" grandmasters played) is a good milestone for the beginning of type of environment that passed on chess information for most of the rest of the last century: tournament chess books, chess newspaper articles, people could make a non gambling living playing chess and became professional and international celebrities. Openings like The London System, Cambridge Springs, Carlsbad, are names of openings/formations related to the tournament's name, where practically every participant would try their twist on a particular opening at the tournament. Clearly these masters were on the bleeding edge of chess theory had a feel for what was new in chess. The rest of the world tried to wrest information from their games and publications.

In early in the last century in the Boston area, many players like Harlow Daly would visit the Boston Public Library and hand copy interesting games from the newspapers. And so it went in the US, there were a handful of classic books by world champions; tournament books; magazines like the American Chess Bulletin, Chess Life, Chess Review, becoming Chess Life and Review, New in Chess among others. In 1933 Ruben Fine edited a US version of Modern Chess Openings. Local papers of major cities had their chess columns. Fred Reinfeld and I.A. Horowitz in the middle of the century began turning out many mediocre books aimed at the beginner and middle strength player, although they did write a few gems. In 1966 the Chess Informant came to life to become a major contributor. Chess information to the public was expanding.

The government of the Soviet Union sponsored chess and the biggest chess system known to man evolved organizing play, teaching, and developing chess theory. In time, emages would spread knowledge throughout the world.

The Fischer era had an infusion of British and Australian chess books into the US in addition to domestic publishing. People were saying that more chess books were published than all other games combined. Still what was published was usually behind what was current theory. Masters that occasionally traveled widely would pick up ideas, sometimes the hard way, and could apply them when they came back home with great effect. Active players in major urban areas had the advantage to be involved in a large pool of the chess population, as compared with someone in an exurb who had to rely on correspondence chess to face talent. The index card was the major storage device of most player's personal chess knowledge.

Then BOOM everything changed when the PC and Internet arrived. Chess players no longer have to be near a city that had a chess environment to play challenging games or play correspondence chess; today everyone has equal access to the Internet and computers. Milestones, for the average strength chess player, are 1986 for the 386 processor and computer programs that were beginning to consistently beat good chess players; and 1992 with the introduction of the Internet Chess Server (ICS) and other online resources. Today you also have the chess databases with millions of games and many thousands of other chess related sites on the web. My personal estimate is that there are 60K to 80K people playing chess on the internet every day. Immediately everyone can see what grandmasters are playing. Now we are able to enter a position onto a board and quickly call up all the games in a database that have had this position and select what games you want to play through, in order to see how the masters handle a specific position. And with our own games we can store them into a database and have the PC analyze for blunders and make recommendations; our own personal coach. We can analyze our opponents games and cook up surprises. No longer do we have a chess knowledge vacuum; it's information overload. We are in chess pig heaven.

Do you have any interesting chess knowledge stories? Please comment. Mike Griffin 09/23/2008

http://members.cox.net/cpetroff/FICS/

Dutch-Peruvian Gambit of the QGD

14th annual BU Open 2008

The BU Open is coming up.

Mark your calendar and preregister!

The Boston University Chess Club

in association with the

Boylston Chess Foundation

presents

the 14th annual

Boston University Open

Chess Tournament


Saturday, November 1, 2008

George Sherman Union, Boston University. 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

[ Click Here for Directions ]

Time Control: 4-SS; G/60
Rounds Time: 10:00, 12:30, 2:45, 5:00

Tournament Sections:
Open - 1st & 2nd / Top under 2200
U1900 - 1st & 2nd
U1600 - 1st & 2nd l/ Top under 1200

Prize Info:
Cash Prizes: based on Entries. In past years the prize fund has been more than $1000 and the first prize around $300. Allan Ong Prize for the top undergraduate BU college student: Trophies for 3 player teams: Top college / Top high school / Top elementary or middle school.

Registration Information
Entry Fee:

• $15 for BU students (BUID),
• $20 if check received by Oct. 30,
• $20 by email by Oct. 30, $30 for all others at site
  
• Registration -
• Onsite: 9:00 - 9:45 am
  Mail: Check payable to: BU Chess Club. Mail Entry to:

BU Open Entry, c/o Robert Oresick -

871 Commonwealth Ave., Boston University, Boston, MA 02215.

Inquiry: Phone: 617 794 -1200 E-mail: oresick@bu.edu
USCF membership required.

Kenilworth Chess Club annotates KO vs Blitz

For the Blitz fans, a nice set of annotations from the Kenilworth chess club is linked below.


Blitz-Knockouts annotated


Some food for thought:

1. Given Larry's early blunder, should Shmelov have allowed the draw anyway? Several of us watching at the BCC thought Shmelov's 17. Qe1! was a shocker, and maybe?! a good decision based purely on the chess position. A quick draw would have put a lot of pressure on Charles (and Marc) to pull out 1.5. On the other hand, see point 2.

2. How much of Charles's late game decision-making was due to the match score? If Denys had accepted the draw, does Charles take "safer" routes to steer the team to a tied match? Where might those safer paths have been?

3. Does Marc Esserman's game contribute to Smith-Morra Gambit Theory? Will his next opponents be willing to accept the gambit after what looked like an effortless victory for Marc's Smith-Morra?

Boylston Chess Club Weblog Posting

Hello everyone,

In response to the constant ugly bickering that our comment section has become, all comments are now moderated until further notice.

There will be some lag between your comment and when it becomes accepted. I apologize to those considerate regulars who post frequently, but under the current conditions, I have to delete or edit nearly every other post. I no longer have the patience to patrol the schoolyard non-stop.

Here are my hidden predictions, revealed!

1. Marc wins. Take the missing letters now bolded below and arrange.


Here are the rosters this Week:

1. GM Joel BenjaMin 2644 vs. GM Larry ChristIansen 2670
2. IM DeAn Ippolito 2500 vs. SM DenyS Shmelov 2446
3. NM MackeNzie Molner 2397 vs. NM Charles RioRdan 2326
4. Jayson Lian 2142 vs. NM MarC Esserman 2307


2. The letters after the carriage returns spell "Shmelov upsets Dean":

Since the boards look very evenly matched, I think most people might think a draw.
However, there is a difference on board 4, where I think it is clear that
Marc has a distinct ratings advantage over his opponent. Marc has also been
eating up the competition lately, having a strong New England Masters tournament
last month. Marc barely missed an IM norm, with a disappointing last day
obliterating his chances after good draws against the top board Kritz and also IM
Voshva, who was having a good event as well.

Up on the top board, Joel and Larry square off in a classic battle. Where should I
put my money? My database shows these two, as you might expect, have
split their matches very evenly over the years. We must also consider they they
enjoyed a huge success at the Curacao tournament last month. Looking at the game
they played in that event is not informative, however. On Wednesday, when they
square off on Board 1, I predict they will go all out. Will Larry be happy to

draw, given the Black pieces and the makeup of the other boards? Or will Larry
eye the slight Blitz underdogs on boards 2 and 3 and press harder for a win in
an otherwise even or a slightly worse position? We certainly know Larry can
notch a win on Board 1 against anyone, even with the Black pieces.

3. In the White Space, in white text, I wrote "Larry is going to draw." You could see this by highlighting the white space with your cursor.



I THINK LARRY IS GOING TO DRAW, but who really knows. I'm not Nostradamus!






If Board 2 were a arm wrestling match, the Knockouts would have a huge advantage.
Remember, though, that Shmelov has been very good to the Blitz over the chessboard.


4. I misspelled some letters below. The correct letters spell Molner.


What about Board 3? Charles has been busy with Law School, so his chess playing has been on the backburner. NM Molner, however, has been only so-so in his US Chess League history while Charles has pulled out soMe tOugh wins when the BLitz needed him iN the past. Games But, Watch out, Charles. A closEr look shows Molner's 3.5 out of 9 history is mostly due to a poor 2006 season. Last year he impRoved a lot Molner's USCL history. This season, Molner is 1.5 out of 3, losing only to the strong IM Voshva.


So there you have it. My predictions of course are not affiliated with the Boston Blitz, and I am only making them in good fun. Good luck to the Blitz this week.

Chess and Meter Maids

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/archive/x223018899/Parking-Control-Officers-meter-maids-live-a-life-with-few-dull-moments

Chess and Meter Maids

The phone rings and Bernardo Iglesias' voice is at the other end. The mass transit T Red Line has an interruption in service and there is a bus shuttle between Park & MIT stations. This is commuting death: shuttles can add an hour each way on to the commute to the club. When this occurs players south of Boston are hard pressed to make it to the BCF tournament.

Although we urban warriors prefer mass transit we adapt using Plan B which is Griffin Taxi Service (aka Dad's Taxi): I drive my car. We contact south shore players that might be interested in playing and we rendezvous at the Quincy Adams train station and carpool to Somerville. Typically Bernado and Scott Didham are passengers, in his playing days Mikhail Derazhne also occasionally went with us.

Several years ago when the BCF moved from Clarendon street in Boston, one reason why we chose Elm Street in Somerville was because of improved automobile parking as Boston parking had been getting more sparse and expensive. One of the many squares of Somerville, Davis Square, has many parking lots and on the street parking, albeit 90% of the spots have a parking meter with a two or three hour limit.

Consequently the most critical non chess factor of many players participating at a BCF tournament is to REMEMBER TO FEED THE METER! Game 60 time controls seem to have a more synchronous interval to the meter schedule, while non whole hour time controls make the task more complex. Invariably while one is decompressing after a game the last thing to come to mind is the meter; therefore you get a $30 ticket attached to your windshield. It happens to everyone sooner or later.

Somerville has some of the best looking, most persistent, madly maniacal meter maids in the world. They say chessplayers have good memories, but these meter maids are aware of the time status of all the cars parked in their responsibility; because invariably the moment you are out of time they nail you with a ticket. It always seems you are only five minutes late when you finally do remember that your other time has expired, and rush out to your car, to sadly realize you've been tagged again???

Do you have any Meter Maid or chess commuting stories?

Please Comment. Mike Griffin 09/16/2008

Highly recommended: is the new article in Chess Cafe where they are reprinting a modernized version of Paul Morphy authored articles written for the NY Ledger newspaper in 1859 to 1860: http://www.chesscafe.com/skittles/skittles.htm

Plus: How to convert your car into dad's taxi and get an ROI:
http://gizmodo.com/5043316/dads-cab-family-taxi-meter-will-make-your-children-cringe

Week 4-- New Jersey KOs vs Boston Blitz

Wednesday night's KOs vs. Blitz match is fast upon us. You know what that means--- it is time for me to preview the match, make a few predictions, and stir up the masses of comments.

Since my last predictions were so sensitive, this week I am going to hide the predictions in various ways until the night of the match. If you've ever read Godel,Escher,Bach, by Douglas Hofstadler (I highly recommend it for nerdtastic reading fun!), you might be able to decipher some of my predictions. Or, if you are paying close enough attention....

Here are the rosters this eek:

1. GM Joel Benjain 2644 vs. GM Larry Christansen 2670
2. IM Den Ippolito 2500 vs. SM Deny Shmelov 2446
3. NM Mackezie Molner 2397 vs. NM Charles Riodan 2326
4. Jayson Lian 2142 vs. NM Mar Esserman 2307

Since the boards look very evenly matched, I think most people might think a draw.
However, there is a difference on board 4, where I think it is clear that
Marc has a distinct ratings advantage over his opponent. Marc has also been
eating up the competition lately, having a strong New England Masters tournament
last month. Marc barely missed an IM norm, with a disappointing last day
obliterating his chances after good draws against the top board Kritz and also IM
Voshva, who was having a good event as well.

Up on the top board, Joel and Larry square off in a classic battle. Where should I
put my money? My database shows these two, as you might expect, have
split their matches very evenly over the years. We must also consider they they
enjoyed a huge success at the Curacao tournament last month. Looking at the game
they played in that event is not informative, however. On Wednesday, when they
square off on Board 1, I predict they will go all out. Will Larry be happy to

draw, given the Black pieces and the makeup of the other boards? Or will Larry
eye the slight Blitz underdogs on boards 2 and 3 and press harder for a win in
an otherwise even or a slightly worse position? We certainly know Larry can
notch a win on Board 1 against anyone, even with the Black pieces.



I THINK LARRY IS GOING TO DRAW, but who really knows. I'm not Nostradamus!











If Board 2 were a arm wrestling match, the Knockouts would have a huge advantage.

Remember, though, that Shmelov has been very good to the Blitz over the chessboard.


What about Board 3? Charles has been busy with Law School, so his chess playing has been on the backburner. NM Molner, however, has been only so-so in his US Chess League history while Charles has pulled out sone tuugh wins when the Biitz needed him ip the past. Games But, Watch out, Charles. A closar look shows Molner's 3.5 out of 9 history is mostly due to a poor 2006 season. Last year he imptoved a lot Molner's USCL history. This season, Molner is 1.5 out of 3, losing only to the strong IM Voshva.


So there you have it. My predictions of course are not affiliated with the Boston Blitz, and I am only making them in good fun. Good luck to the Blitz this week.

The Match...

Got to play now... we got the poster...

Quads

A Quad tournament is where you get to play a round robin with three players close to your strength, a three round tournament.

Swiss tournaments are the norm in the US, but excluding class specific swisses, you are going to face people variably stronger or weaker than you.

In an Open Swiss, masters arrive knowing that they might only have one super difficult game, the last round, and will face weaker players gradually getting stronger throughout the other rounds.

Some players take a strategic first round 1/2 point bye to make easier work in the tournament: sleep in, one less game to work thru.

For strong players: play slightly weaker players longer than they would with normal entry.

And for weaker players the plus is: not get a random one point bye thus wasting unscheduled time waiting for the next round.

Usually monthly the BCF has one weekend Quad (game 60) runs all day, and could have as many as 3 Wednesday night "Early Bird" Quad tournaments (G/30) that go from 6pm to 9:30pm.

The Quad is a cool format because you are going to play three challenging games against like strength players. If you come to BCF Quads on a regular basis you will be facing many of the same players as you did in the previous quad.

So you can prepare for these games, and the games take on a higher level of enjoyment and quality.

Chess, unlike in the rest of life, it is morally ok and very satisfying to seek and exact vengeance.

What would your ideal chess tournament be?

How do you feel about strategic byes?

Please Comment.

Mike Griffin 09/09/2008

Boston Blitz fall to Dallas Destiny 1.5-2.5

The Boston Blitz fell tonight to the Dallas Destiny in a heartbreaker of a match.
Not Blitz's Destiny
Perhaps someone can assess for me the timing of when the games ended, because that will perhaps explain some of the decisions in the other games. Also, let's see how my prognostications went.

On Board 1, Jorge didn't appear to get too much out of the opening, (Sammour-Hasbun vs Kuljasevic), although visually his passed d-pawn and Bishop protected on e7 later in the game looks impressive at first glance. But first glances can be deceptive, and I think Black as a clear plus in the late stages of the game

The position after 25...Qc8



The problem here to my mind is that the Bishop on e7 is now practically out of the game and leaves a bunch of dark squares weak behind it (see the a7-g1 diagonal). The Knight and Queen quickly exploit that diagonal plus the outpost on d3 to force a draw. More analysis will be needed(I'd like to hear Jorge's take, of course), and I believe Black has some time trouble, but I thought 30.Qxf2 instead of Nxf2 was a way to play for a win.

I had predicted a win for Jorge, but I didn't get it. I could possibly get half credit, but the Blitz wanted a win not a draw on Board 1 tonight, and Black could have maybe pressed more at the end?! 0 prediction points for me.

Board 2 I know I mischaracterized David's game1 draw in my last post, but perhaps even he will agree that this time he held a pretty safe and comfortable draw throughout this game. Bartholomew-Vigorito White had only minimal chances to open the Kingside, and David put the kibosh on any funny business. How did I do? Well, I predicted a draw, but I thought maybe it would have been tougher than this. 0.9 prediction points for me.

On Board 3, Shmelov-Schneider, I understand Denys wanted to play against the French and opened with 1.e4. I thought in the early part of the game Denys had maybe a slight plus, but shortly after 16.g3, Black had a bunch of annoying pins that kept White from doing anything. After Black wins the f-pawn with 21...Nxg3, White's rook activity maybe compensating just enough. Black does seem to throw away winning chances later in the endgame, and I wonder if anyone can clarify for me if Black already knew that a draw would win the match?! For example, 41...Rxd5 just immediately allows a drawn 3 vs 2 on the same side rook and pawn endgame.

I predicted a draw, and that is what we got. 1.0 prediction points for me.

Board 4. Much has already been written about my prediction for Board 4, and I am sorry to say that I was right Zorigt-Krasik (1.0 points for me.) I am sorry because I am definately rooting for the Blitz and want them to win. I am also sorry because I didn't mean to be picking on Ilya, but I wanted to predict something to get this coverage going, and it was my honest assessment. Credit to Chris Bird who rightfully predicted a tactical slugfest with chances for both sides. White's early initiative failed to overly impress me(again with the visuals instead of the goods) and I thought White was slowly drifting into at least an equal position, if not a worse one. White was also under the gun with the clock, according to the timestamps I was getting on-line. But Ilya made one crucial misstep in the following position after 32. Qe2:


Ilya, eager to get his own attack on, played 32...a5?, overlooking the strong 33.Bb5!. It is hard to blame Ilya, this is a good move with deep enough implications that white had to find quickly. Now, 33....Bc6 looks like the only try (else bxc3 is an immediate threat), but 34.Bxc6 Rxc6 (34...Qxc6? lets the Bishop on c3 hang when White has time to defend b2 and the b-file) 35.e5. The point is that if 35... dxe5? 36. bxc3! bxc3+ 37.Nb3 and Qxe5 is going to do it. Trickier to see is that after 35....d5, 36.Qg2! threatens to penetrate on those weakened dark squares (again with the weak squares behind the Bishop), and Black will probably have to contort his position to the breaking point to stop it. Also see how the Bishop on c3 is oddly trapped there. So after 35.e5, perhaps the best is to play 35...a4, trying to keep Black's attack alive... this is beyond what I want to cover now. Unfortunately, after 33...Bxe4, Black's position quickly crumbles.

Well, I had fun making my predictions (final score this week 2.9 out of 4), and thinking about the results. Please feel free to add or detract from my observations.

Good luck to the Blitz next week. I'll try to keep posting, so stay tuned.

Jason Makes Week 3 USCL Blitz predictions

Tonight, The Boston Blitz come into their match 2-0 against the 1-1 Dallas Destiny. Everyone who followed the USCL last year knows that Dallas defeated Boston in the Finals to take the coveted 1st place honors. The big sparks in that matchup came in the game between Jorge Sammour-Hasbun and IM Kuljasevic, which was voted a well deserved Game of the Year, when Jorge repelled Kuljasevic's savage piece sacrifice with creative play of his own.

Game of the Year

How will this match-up play out this year? Here are the lineups:

Boston
1. SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun: 2576
2. IM David Vigorito: 2431
3. SM Denys Shmelov: 2446
4. NM Ilya Krasik: 2144

Dallas
1.IM Davorin Kuljasevic: 2528
2.IM John Bartholomew: 2488
3.FM Igor Schneider: 2396
4.WFM Bayaraa Zorigt: 2217


On Board 1, how can I go against Jorge's impressive play? In week one, he played a beautiful game against New York Knights Alexander Shabalov, in a game that not only won game of the week but will likely be a strong contender for game of the year honors. Shabalov-Sammour-Hasbun,Game of the Week. However, Kuljasevic is a tough opponent with an excellent USCL record of 75%. Still, I have seen Jorge play, and I must predict Boston Blitz 1.0 - Dallas Destiny 0.0

Board 2 poses a tough call. David Vigorito is a USCL newcomer this year, after being passed up for last year's roster. He held a comfortable draw in Week 1. John Bartholomew is a strong player who just passed the 2500 mark at this year's World Open. Although he continues to play strong chess, he has not been playing very much (two events this year by my count), and his record in the league is a so-so 46%. Still, he gets the White pieces and plays 1.Nf3 -- watch out! I'm going to predict this one turns into a draw after David saves a tricky position. Boston Blitz 1.5- Dallas Destiny 0.5

Board 3 has Denys Shmelov vs. Igor Schneider. Denys is a fantastic Board 3 for the Blitz, and he has only lost two games (in the playoffs) by my count. Igor has just climbed back over the 2400 mark, but he has been playing even less than Bartholomew. Denys has a slight tendancy to cough up some draws, however, and I am going out on a limb to call this one a draw. Boston Blitz 2.0 - Dallas Destiny 1.0

Board 4 has Ilya Krasik face off against FM Bayaraa Zorigt. One of the Blitz mainstays, Ilya has been the go-to anchor Board 4 for the Blitz in the past, although he was mostly replaced by an in form Chris Williams last year. Although Ilya won his game against the Knights in week one,

Krasik-Rosenberg Week 1

I think it is safe to say that his opponent provided great help. I don't know anything about Zorigt except that she beat Chris Williams last year in the key Final game. She also took down a strong Arizona player, Warren Harper (2300+) last week. I predict that Zorigt is going to do the same to Krasik this week, thus tying the match. Boston Blitz 2.0-- Dallas Destiny 2.0

Tune in tonight to see one of the exciting matches of the year. Later this week, I'll recap how my predictions have succeeded or failed.

Come to the BCF Annual Meeting

An Invitation to:

The Boylston Chess Foundation's

.

Annual Meeting / Election

of Officers and Board of Directors

.

for 2008/2009

October 21, 2008 @ 7pm

Boylston Chess Club, 240B Elm Street, Davis Square, Somerville, MA

Open to all BCF members but only those who have been members for at least 30 days prior to the meeting (9/21/08) can vote for nominees.

A good opportunity to renew your membership!

Take the time to attend. The Club can't function without your support and participation.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Tony Scali, BCF Clerk,
ascali62@verizon.net or
(617) 776-0878

Chess sets

One of the perks of playing at the BCF is that you don't have to lug a set with you. The BCF has plenty of triple weighted sets with boards all waiting for you to show up and use. Also there are many analog clocks at the club; so you don't need a clock either. Although many people bring their digital chess clocks.

Occasionally players will bring their personal set and board and use it. Eric Godin has a particular board he prefers to play with, while Tom Sifter brings a beautiful wooden set whenever he plays at the BCF.

Personally I have four chess sets: my oldest son gave me a beautiful wooden set as a present about a dozen years ago and this is my primary playing and practice set.

I also have a common plastic set, that was my original primary set, but that set has been "bughoused" : the black pieces are the same color but the white pieces are three varying shades of white. This happened to my set several years ago at the Quincy Chess Club when a group of us played bughouse into the wee hours of the morning; only to find the next day, or a week, or sometime later; that your set is not quite the same. In fact that specific night is recalled as "The Great Bughouse Fiasco" to this day. Players sets now contain pieces that are dissimilar. Andy Gunderson now marks the felt bottoms of any set he acquires with a common symbol so he easily re-collect his set by turning over to recognize his pieces if bughouse breaks out.

In addition I have a replica of the Isle of Lewis set which I occasionally use with family, because the human figures give a realistic look to the battle (christmas gift). Another christmas gift is my Red Sox/Yankee chess set which I have left in its original package unopened; perhaps it will accrue in value for the estate. A game with this set would look more like the bench clearing brawl of May 20, 1976 when Bill Lee injured his shoulder fighting Mickey Rivers. Since the Yankees and the Sox have had many other bench clearing incidents, I guess they are the most appropriate two ball teams to use if you would wanted a baseball figurines chess set.

In order to create a Boston Blitz vs New York Knights chess set, we would have to increase roster size but it would be cool to play a chess game with figurines of chess players. A bench clearing brawl between the Blitz and the Knights would have to include a Lemans Start and rendezvous at Hartford until the internet technology is perfected to allow e-dope slaps and e-shoves.

Today everyone brings a fairly decent chess set with them to tournaments. It's uncommon that people arrive without a set. Probably 25 years+ ago I saw John Curdo playing a strong player with a Milton Bradley hollow piece set on a checker board?!

What would your favorite chess set consist of?

Please Comment Mike Griffin 09/04/2008

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/08/29/its_hub_nyc_chess_match_with_trash_talk_fans_logos/?s_campaign=8315

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Cherniack-Ivanov, N. E. Open Rd 6 Photo

Congratulations, Alex!

Alex Cherniack - New England Open Co-Champion, 2008

Alex Cherniack, New England Open Co-Champion, 2008

Alex’s Excellent Adventure, or The Triumph of Mr. Magoo

The Boylston Chess Club’s own NM Alex Cherniack has achieved one of the very coveted honors available to New England chess players this Labor Day weekend, 2008. His name will be immortalized on the New England Open Championship trophy on a small plaque that will sing his praises until Kingdom Come.

I (Paul MacIntyre) and Libardo Rueda roomed with Alex this weekend, and our perspectives on chess were changed by the experience. Once we thought that great tournament victories were achieved by parabolically approaching perfection. By the end of the weekend, Libardo was explaining to me that chess was just a game of chance guided by freak accidents.

I have nothing but respect for Alex Cherniack’s chess game, and have been blown away by his skills on a number of occasions. At a recent Continental Open, he brilliantly smashed GMs Wojo and Kudrin in succession playing darn near perfect chess. This tournament result, one of his best, was won in a most ironic fashion.

Before his last round, Alex’s performance had already caused me to equate his play with that of a chessic Mr. Magoo,

that nearsighted cartoon master of serendipity who is able to blithely walk off a building and somehow step onto a randomly swinging girder hurtling through the air, only to be deposited softly on the sidewalk unharmed.

Alex started off with a good game in Round 1 paired down against expert Steve Brudno, who he beat efficiently enough. There followed his only loss which came in Round 2, an unpleasant one to FM Bill Kelleher who won following the simple formula, “pin and win.” In Round 3 Alex won against expert Sherif Khater, which required Sherif’s cooperation, but it was a relatively solid performance in which Alex was never lost.

In Round 4 Alex was paired as Black against IM Vigorito. Alex played the Dutch Stonewall as Black, which against a player of Vigorito’s aesthetic sense is the equivalent of a “Yo’ Momma!” Dave confidently applied the thumbscrews, depriving Alex of all counterplay, until the following position was reached, assessed by Fritz at +– (4.12).

Round 4, Vigorito–Cherniack, White to make his 38th move.

Both 38.ef and 38.Nf4 preserved a large, winning advantage. However, Vigorito opted for 38.gf?? and saw nearly his entire advantage evaporate when Alex uncorked 38. . . .Rg8+ 39.Kf2 Rg6! when, in improbable Magoo fashion, Black is holding on just fine. Vigorito took me aside and said he was going to have to kill himself, but I applied my suicide hotline skills and he is still alive and well.

Our hero was up to his old tricks again when he was given the White pieces to play local legend John Curdo in the fifth round. Alex had been talking about aggressive ways of dealing with John’s Dutch defense, and indeed he stirred up the position and even decided to send his knight on a pre-castling raid to munch early on John’s f-pawn:

Round 5, Cherniack–Curdo after 13. Nxf5??

Kids from the scholastic tournament were undoubtedly sniggering as they anticipated Black’s fairly obvious reply, 13. . . . Qa5+ picking up the Knight. Here Alex finds himself giving a full piece to Curdo, who also has plenty of those open lines he loves. Dead as a doornail, right? Not! Alex managed to brew up an initiative similar to the wine he now brews in his cellar, putting Curdo under the influence and eventually netting a full point from this situation. Have a look at the game, appended at the end, if you’re into Ripley’s Believe it or Not! “Oh Magoo, you’ve done it again!”

As if to test the level of abuse our chessic Magoo could take and still come out unscathed, Alex was paired against none other than GM Alexander Ivanov in the last round. Ivanov had drawn early and somewhat inexplicably with IM Igor Foygel in Round 5, but nonetheless could still have offered Alex a draw and left with sole first and the New England Open Title. But Noooooo! He had to play to crush Alex. Word was that Ivanov was sick of giving up rating points to lower rated players in such situations, and was hoping to boost his rating high enough to get invited to the U.S. Closed Championships. “The best laid plans . . .” In the following position, in time trouble, Ivanov decided to apply a hammer-like “coup de grace” to our rubberized hero and played to grab two minor pieces for the rook . . .


Round 5, Cherniack–GM Ivanov after 26.d6

Ivanov played 26. . . .Rf3 27.Rf3 Re4, whence Alex Cherniack snapped the trap shut with 28 Qd5 winning the pinned Knight at f7 with checkmate to follow quickly. Ivanov resigned after 28. . . . Qc6 29. Qf7+. I guess Alex was lying low and, as he likes to say, “keeping his powder dry” for the right moment!

All joking aside, a hearty congratulations to NM Alex Cherniack for his fabulous accomplishment!

(Games below.)

Alex Cherniack - Steven Brudno [A65]New England Open (1), 30.08.20081.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.f3 d6 6.Be3 c5 7.d5 e6 8.Qd2 exd5 9.cxd5 a6 10.a4 b6 11.Nge2 Nbd7 12.Ng3 Ne5 13.Bh6 Ne8 14.h4 Bxh6 15.Qxh6 Qf6 16.h5 Qg7 17.Qd2 f5 18.hxg6 hxg6 19.exf5 Bxf5 20.Be2 Nc7 21.Nce4 Bxe4 22.Nxe4 Qf7 23.Nxd6 Qf4 24.Qxf4 Rxf4 25.0-0-0 Rxa4 26.Ne4 Kg7 27.Kb1 Rd8 28.d6 Ne6 29.Rd5 Nf7 30.g3 Rd4 31.Rd1 Rxd1+ 32.Bxd1 a5 33.f4 Nd4 34.Bg4 Nh6 35.Bh3 Nhf5 36.g4 Nh6 37.g5 Nhf5 38.d7 Kf7 39.Nf6 Ne7 40.Rd6 Black's flag fell 1-0

Alex Cherniack - Bill Kelleher [D30]New England Open (2), 30.08.20081.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.Nbd2 Nbd7 6.Bd3 Bd6 7.0-0 0-0 8.b3 e5 9.cxd5 cxd5 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Qe2 Bg4 12.Bb2 Re8 13.h3 Bh5 14.Rac1 Ne4 15.g4 Nxg4 16.hxg4 Bxg4 17.Kg2 Re6 18.Rg1 Bb4 19.Nf1 Rg6 20.Ng3 Nd2 21.Bxg6 Bxf3+ 22.Qxf3 Nxf3 23.Bxh7+ Kxh7 24.Kxf3 Rc8 25.Rh1+ Kg8 26.Bd4 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Be7 28.Nf5 Bf6 29.Bxa7 b6 30.Ng3 g6 31.Rc6 Qa8 32.Rxb6 d4+ 33.Ne4 Qxa7 34.Nxf6+ Kg7 35.Rd6 dxe3 36.fxe3 Qxa2 37.b4 Qa8+ 38.Nd5 Qb8 39.Rc6 Qh2 40.Rc5 g5 41.b5 Qd6 0-1

Sherif Khater - Alex Cherniack [D32]New England Open (3), 31.08.20081.d4 e6 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c4 d5 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Nc3 Nc6 7.Be2 Be7 8.0-0 0-0 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.b3 a6 11.Bb2 Be6 12.Rc1 Qe7 13.Na4 Ba7 14.Nd4 Bd7 15.Nxc6 Bxc6 16.Bd4 Bxa4 17.Bxa7 Rxa7 18.Qd4 Raa8 19.Qxa4 Rac8 20.Bf3 Rc7 21.Qd4 Rd8 22.h3 h6 23.Rfd1 Rxc1 24.Rxc1 Qa3 25.Rc2 Qa5 26.Qd2 Qb6 27.Qd4 Qxd4 28.exd4 Rd7 29.Rc8+ Kh7 30.Rc5 Kg6 31.Kf1 Kf5 32.Ke2 Ke6 33.Kd3 Kd6 34.g4 Rd8 35.h4 g5 36.h5 b6 37.Rc2 Ng8 38.Bd1 Re8 39.Re2 Rxe2 40.Bxe2 Ne7 41.Ke3 b5 42.a4 Kc6 43.axb5+ axb5 44.f4 f6 45.fxg5 fxg5 46.Bd3 Kb6 47.Bg6 Ka5 48.Kd3 Kb4 49.Be8 Ng8 50.Bd7 Nf6 51.Bc6 Kxb3 52.Bxb5 Nxg4 53.Be8 Nf6 54.Bf7 g4 55.Be6 g3 56.Ke3 Kc3 57.Bf7 g2 58.Kf2 Kxd4 59.Kxg2 Ke3 0-1

Dave Vigorito - Alex Cherniack [A92]New England Open (4), 31.08.20081.d4 e6 2.c4 f5 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 0-0 6.0-0 d5 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 Ne4 9.Ne5 Nd7 10.Nd3 Ndf6 11.Nf3 Bd7 12.Nfe5 b6 13.f3 Nd6 14.c5 Nf7 15.Be3 Nxe5 16.dxe5 Ne8 17.Bd4 b5 18.a4 Nc7 19.e3 Qc8 20.f4 Be8 21.Rf2 Qb7 22.b4 h6 23.Qd1 g5 24.Bf1 Bg6 25.Rfa2 Rf7 26.Nc1 bxa4 27.Qxa4 Bd8 28.Nb3 Nb5 29.Bxb5 Qxb5 30.Qxb5 cxb5 31.Ra6 Re7 32.Bc3 Be8 33.Nd4 Kf7 34.Rd6 Bc7 35.Raa6 Bd7 36.Rxd7 Rxd7 37.Nxe6 gxf4 38.gxf4 Rg8+ 39.Ng5+ hxg5 40.e6+ Ke7 41.exd7 gxf4+ 42.Kf2 fxe3+ 43.Kxe3 Kxd7 44.Kd4 f4 45.Kxd5 Rg5+ 46.Ke4 Rh5 47.Rxa7 Kc6 48.Ra6+ Kb7 49.Ra2 f3 50.Rf2 Rh3 51.Kf5 Rxh2 52.Rxf3 Rh5+ 53.Ke6 Rh6+ 54.Kd5 Rh5+ 55.Ke4 Rh4+ 56.Kd3 Rc4 57.Rf7 Kc6 58.Bd4 Rxb4 59.Ke4 Bd8 60.Ra7 Ra4 61.Rxa4 bxa4 ½-½

Alex Cherniack - John Curdo [A86]New England Open (5), 01.09.20081.d4 f5 2.c4 Nf6 3.g3 d6 4.d5 c6 5.Bg2 e5 6.dxe6 Bxe6 7.Nd2 d5 8.Nh3 dxc4 9.Nf4 Bd5 10.Nxd5 cxd5 11.Nxc4 Nc6 12.Ne3 d4 13.Nxf5 Qa5+ 14.Bd2 Qxf5 15.Qb3 Qd7 16.0-0 Bc5 17.Rfc1 Bb6 18.a4 Na5 19.Bxa5 Bxa5 20.Rc5 Bb6 21.Rb5 Rb8 22.a5 Bc7 23.Rxb7 Rxb7 24.Qxb7 0-0 25.Qxa7 Qd6 26.Rc1 Bb8 27.Qb7 Qe6 28.Bf3 g5 29.Rc5 h6 30.Bd5 Nxd5 31.Qxd5 Qxd5 32.Rxd5 Bc7 33.b4 Rb8 34.Rxd4 Be5 35.Rc4 Bd6 36.Rc6 Bf8 37.Rc4 Rxb4 38.Rxb4 Bxb4 39.a6 Bc5 40.Kg2 g4 41.f3 h5 42.h3 gxh3+ 43.Kxh3 Kf7 44.f4 Be3 45.g4 hxg4+ 46.Kxg4 Kf6 47.Kf3 Ba7 48.e4 Kg6 49.Kg4 Kf6 50.e5+ Kg6 51.f5+ Kf7 52.f6 Ke6 53.Kg5 1-0

Alex Cherniack - Alexander Ivanov [A21]New England Open (6), 01.09.20081.c4 e5 2.Nc3 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.e3 f5 6.d4 e4 7.f3 exf3 8.Bxf3 Nf6 9.Nh3 0-0 10.Nf2 c5 11.0-0 Nc6 12.b3 Bd7 13.Bb2 Qe7 14.Qd2 Rae8 15.Rae1 h5 16.Nd5 Nxd5 17.cxd5 Nd8 18.dxc5 Bxb2 19.Qxb2 Bb5 20.cxd6 Qxd6 21.e4 fxe4 22.Nxe4 Qb6+ 23.Kg2 Bxf1+ 24.Rxf1 Rf5 25.Qd2 Nf7 26.d6 Rxf3 27.Rxf3 Rxe4 28.Qd5 Qc6 29.Qxf7+ 1-0

Hauptturnier begins Monday, Sept 8

If you weren't invited to play in the BCC Championship, don't feel bad -- register for the hauptturnier.

You play in a ten member RR under the same format as the championship and you can observe the championship games. The top ten by rating will be entered; if more than ten register, we may have a second section.

Entry fee is $20 and entrants must be current BCF members.
.......

Mondays September 8- November 10:

BCF Championship & Hauptturnier

RR; 30/90 G/45 Rounds: 7PM