Wednesday, January 31, 2018

ISABELLA LAI VS BERNARDO IGLESIAS:: CRITICAL POSITION // RESOLVED? // MAYBE // MAYBE NOT // BY STEVE STEPAK

 Isabella Lai vs Bernardo Iglesias
Cambridge, MA (BCC Polar Vortex, U1800 Section, R=3) 2018
CRITICAL POSITION
[BACKSTORY: I had already finished my game
scoring a total of 2.5/3. So I felt good that I 
would win some money. How much? Well
If Isabella won her game with Bernardo, She
too would have scored 2.5 points and we would
have tied for 1-2nd place. If Isabella drew or 
Bernardo won, I would have clear 1st place.
That is what prompted me to take a photo of
the position, with Bernardo to move, which
is provided above. Ooh! I thought, it looks like
Isabella might be able to pull a rabbit out of
the proverbial hat. Could she find the moves
to draw this game(?), or if Bernardo played
inaccurately, could Isabella actually win(?)!
This is the question facing all of us now, as
we look at the above position. Well I think
I have a resolution to my "issue" provided by
Suraj Ramanathan. Two "winning" lines are
provided below. What do you think?
Give us feedback on the BCC Blog!]
The best try is this: After Black's best move:
1.  . . .  Rd7; White should play:
2.e6 Re7; 3.Nf7+ Kg7; 4.Nxh8 Kxh8;
5.d5 Kg7; 6.Rf4 Nd6; 7.Kf1 Rc7; 8.Ke2 Rc5;
9.Rd4 Kf6; 10.Kf3 Nf5; 11.Rd1 Nxh4+;
12.Kg3 Nf5+ 13.Kf4 Nd6; 14.Kf3 Ke7;
15.Kf4 Rc8; 16.Ke5 Rf8
[STUDY THIS DIAGRAM]
THE QUESTION IS:
CAN WHITE HOLD
(MEANS DRAW)?
and the computer
(Houdini 4 Pro x 64B: 3408 Elo rating) gives
an evaluation of -1.68 which I would depict,
in the old style as -/+: good but not necessarily
winning, for Black, provided Isabella did
not mess up playing this position, or of course,
provided Bernardo did not make a serious
mistake from which he could not extricate
himself. Well, we shall never know but!!
I suggest taking the position resulting
from the move 2.e6 above and try to continue
to explore winning moves for Black or
drawing for White.)

Another way to play the position would be:
Instead of 2.e6, the rather dubious 2.d5?!:
So we have 1. . . . Rd7; 2.d5 Rxd5; 3.Nf7+ Kg7;
4.Nxh8 Rd1+ 5.Kh2 Rd3! 6.Rf7 Kxh8;
7.Rf8+ Kg7; 8.Rxe8 Rxc3 - + (Black's king
is better placed and his c-pawn will promote).

PHOTO: STEVE STEPAK

Monday, January 29, 2018

BCC LEGENDS OF CHESS: FRIEDRICH SAEMISCH // SURAJ RAMANATHAN 3.5 / OPEN SECTION // 1st / KELSEY LIU / DAVID MARTIN / ALEXANDER FANG MENG 3.0 / 1-3rd / U1800 SECTION // 32 PLAY //

BCC LEGENDS OF CHESS
4SS / G60 / 5" DELAY IN 2 SECTIONS
OPEN SECTION
3 FOR 3 + 1/2 POINT BYE LAST ROUND!
SURAJ RAMANATHAN: CLEAR 1ST!
BRAVO SURAJ: +18 TO 2170
ON THE ROAD TO 2200!
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Suraj Ramanathan vs Lawrence Tu, Round 1.
Joe Perl, Esq., black vs David Milliern (BCC Asst TD)
Round 1. Joe scored 3 points to share 2-5h place.
NM Chris Williams plays Timothy Bromley, Round 3.
Chris scored 3 points to share 2-5th place.
Jake Garbarino held NM Williams to a
draw in the last round to claim a piece
of 2nd-5th place with 3 points.
Lewis Tu scored 3 point to share
2-5th place and a +42 to 1898 rating!
Bravo, Lewis!
U1800 SECTION
Kelsey Liu, black vs Jeffrey Liu, Round 2. Kelsey was undefeated
with 2 wins and 2 draws for 3 points to share 1-3rd place and a
+13 to 1730 rating. Brava, Kelsey!
(background): Alexander Fang Meng vs Bob Oresick;
David Martin vs Ryan Donnelly;
Zhipeng Chen, black vs Lydia Shen
Kelsey engineers her endgame against Alexander Fang Meng 
in Round 4: draw! Alexander was also undefeated with 2 wins 
and 2 draws to share 1-3rd place for a +59 to 1623 rating.
Bravo, Alexander. [Eyes on the board: David Martin, sitting
and Mr. Liu, proud father of Kelsey intensely observe.]
CLOSE UP
KELSEY - MENG: ENDGAME!
SO FAR: NO MISTAKES!
David Martin, black vs Steve Stepak, Round 1: draw!
David was undefeated with 2 wins and 2 draws for 3 points
to share 1-3rd place. Bravo, David!
(background): Thomas King, black vs Kelsey Liu;
Bob Oresick plays Will Wisdom.
SCENES FROM
AROUND THE HALL
NM Professor Alejandro Botta, black vs Eric Feng, Round 4.
Alexander Fang Meng, black vs BCC Veteran Robert
Holmgren, Round 1.
ALWAYS A NEW BEGINNING
BCC JUNIORS
KIDS: ALWAYS CURIOUS!
GOOD MORNING AMERICAN CHESS!
DOWN TO THE WIRE
BLITZ CHESS!
Bernardo Iglesias, Chief Event TD plays white
vs Donnelly in an extra game.
TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION:
BERNARDO IGLESIAS CHIEF TD
NATASHA CHRISTIANSEN ASST TD
DAVID MILLIERN ASST TD
PHOTOS: STEVE STEPAK

Sunday, January 28, 2018

February Educational Chess Clinic with Jacob Rasin


banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.




 
DateFebruary 20, 21, 22, 23, 2018
Event Format9:00am to 12:30pm each day
Registration2/20, 9:00am onsite
Round Times9:00am to 12:30pm each day
DescriptionThis program invites young chess players who already have a complete understanding of the rules of chess to come and develop their abilities. With a combination of lecture, question/answer and guided cooperative learning, the instructor will cover essential elements of the game: Tactics, Strategy, Openings, Middlegames, Endgames, Problems. Students will develop their memory, visualization ability, attention span, critical thinking skills, as well as their sense of fairness and good sportsmanship — all while having fun!
 .

Who can join? School-age children, K-12, who are interested in improving at chess and maturing from motivated beginners to skilled intermediate players.
How much does it cost? Club membership is required for participation (Junior: $120/yr; $67/6 months; Family: $180/yr; $100/6 months). Participation fee: $160; $120 per child, if two or more per family. For first-time Club members, the fee is reduced to $125. Please make checks payable to the Boylston Chess Foundation and please pay on site.

 .

Registration: Located in the renovated former Ellis School building, there is plenty of room at our pristine site. Reservation is not required. Just show up to unit B103, at 40 Norris Street the morning of the first day, before or around 9:00 a.m.! Use the right-side door of the building.
 .

About the instructor: A master of the game and a Boylston Chess Club member for over 25 years, Jacob Rasin has been a professional chess teacher for over 35 years in the Soviet Union and the United States. 1978-1989, Jacob served as head coach at the Pioneers Palace of the Leningrad Province; 1982-1985, he had the additional assignment of training Soviet grandmasters and international masters. Since 1990, he has taught privately and at schools in the Boston area. His students have won dozens of scholastic state championships and medals, and more than ten national championships in various brackets. Jacob has directed the School Break Program since 1994.
 .

For more information, call Jacob Rasin at home after 9pm (617) 783-6307; cell (857) 225-1297 or email boylstonchess@gmail.com



Milesstones Sunday

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.


DateSunday, February 4, 2018
Event Format3SS
Time ControlG/55 d5
SectionsTBA
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF Members, $5 more if not registering online
PrizesTBA
Registration9:30am - 9:45am
Round Times10:00am, 12:50 pm, 3:00pm
DescriptionOpen to all players born in 1997 or earlier.
Accelerated pairings may be used. Free parking on Sundays!
All games will finish in time for the Super Bowl!
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List






Feb Quads

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.

 
 
 
DateSaturday, February 3, 2018
Event Format3RR
Time ControlG/65 d10
SectionsPlayers will be arranged into quads by rating
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF Members, $5 more if not registering online
Prizes$$80 First place in top quad, $$50 First place in each of the other quads
Registration9:15am - 9:45am; ABSOLUTELY NO ONSITE REGISTRATION AFTER 9:45AM
Round Times10:00am, 1:15pm, and 4:00pm
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List





Feb Thurs Night Swiss

banner:  Tony Cortizas, Jr.




 
 
 
DateThursdays, February 1, 8, 15, 22
Event Format4SS
Time Control40/90, SD/20 d10
SectionsOpen & U1900
Entry Fee$35, $20 for BCF Members, $5 more if not registering online
Prizes$300 based on 25 entries: 1st $125, 2nd $75; U1900 1st $60, 2nd $40
Registration6:30pm - 7:00pm
Round Times7:15pm
Entry ListCurrent Pre-Registration List


Wednesday, January 24, 2018

WINNING WITH BLACK: CAPABLANCA GAMBITS A PAWN FOR INITIATIVE: SIMPLE CHESS CONCEPTS FOR BEGINNERS











[Event "Moscow"][Date "1925.11.25"][Round "12"][Result "0-1"]

[White "Fyodor Ivanovich Dus Chotimirsky"][Black "Jose Raul Capablanca"][ECO "A48"]
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.d4 g6 3.e3 Bg7 4.Bd3 O-O 5.O-O d6 6.e4 Nbd7 7.h3
c5 8.c3 e5 9.dxe5 dxe5 10.a4 Qc7 11.Na3 c4 12.Nxc4 Nc5 13.Qe2
Nxd3 14.Qxd3 Rd8 15.Qe2 Be6 16.Na3 h6 17.Re1 a6 18.Qc2 Bd7
19.Be3 Bc6 20.Nd2 b5 21.axb5 axb5 22.f3 Nh5 23.Rad1 Bf8
24.Nab1 Bd7 25.Nf1 Nf4 26.Ng3 b4 27.Ne2 g5 28.Nc1 Rdc8 29.c4
b3 30.Nxb3 Ba4 31.N1d2 Bb4 32.g3 Ne6 33.Qd3 Rd8 34.Qe2 Rab8
35.Rf1 Bxd2 36.Nxd2 Bxd1 37.Qxd1 Rxb2 38.Qc1 Ra2 39.Rf2 Rd3
40.Nf1 Raa3 41.f4 Rac3 42.Qe1 exf4 43.gxf4 Nxf4 44.Bxf4 gxf4
45.Qe2 f3 46.Qa2 Rc1 47.Rxf3 Rxf3 48.Qg2+ Rg3 0-1

 Capablanca offers a pawn on 11. . . . c4!
Why? to free up the c5 square for his N . . . 
12. . . . Nc5, hitting the B on d3 and a double
attack on white's pawn on e4 . . . nice!
[White plays Qe2, guarding both, but . . . ]
Capablanca grabs the initiative with the series of
moves: 13. . . . Nxd3; 14.Qxd3 Rd8; 15.Qe2 Be6;
putting a double attack on white's knight on c4!
Nice?  Yes.  So effortlessly: this is like ballet!
Capablanca re-deploys his queen-s bishop to c6
hitting White's pawn on e4, forcing White to play
20.Nd2 . . . and after 20. . . . b5:
CRITICAL POINT IN GAME
The question is: can White play Bxf4?
If White gives up his queen's bishop, dark
squares around the White king will be weak and
black's king's bishop will spring to action with . . . Bc5+
and White's king is in a cross-fire leading to mate
or loss of material. [One might also, from visual
inspection question White's move 22.f3 weakening
White's king position. The point is, could White
stand not to make this move?]
Simple and powerful: Capablanca notices that
White's queen is not guarded on the c-file so
by playing 26. . . . b4 he secures a wedge into
White's queen-side position, at the same time
opening up the a4-e8 diagonal for his queen's
bishop on d7. [This kind of play is most instructive
for the beginner. Not really complicated or "deep"
it just takes total advantage of obvious White 
weaknesses in Dus Chotimirsky's position.
Go Capa! Keep the pressure on. Don't let up for
a moment. No wasted moves here.]
Now we see that after 27. . . . g5, if White had chosen
to capture Black's knight on f4 there would become
a black pawn on f4 controlling g3 and e3 squares,
squashing White's king into oblivion. So, white
played the rather passive and sad move 28. Nc1 . . . ;
Black now counters with 28. . . . Rc8; adding to the
pressure on the c-file with Black's pawn now becoming
most prominent in counter-attack. [Note, White's Queen
is still unprotected!]
After Black plays: 31. . . . Bb4; the game is quite
decided. White's piece are tied up in knots. 
Capablanca weaves a web of confusion.  White's
king seems "naked" of protection and Black's
pieces are optimally stationed; and notice that Black's 
king is totally safe. White has no counter-play 
in sight, against Black's king.
White runs but cannot hide and must lose material.
Note that White played 32.g3 to boot Black's knight 
back to e6 freeing up the e2 square for the queen.
No matter, White's pawns are weak and the position
is hopelessly lost.
Now Black's rook invades White's position with
tempo, attacking the bishop on e3.
40.  . . . Raa3; [Note that Black's rooks, doubled
on the 6th rank attack the g-pawn in front of White's
king, made week by 22.f3 move. Now everything
is hanging, so to speak. White is in zugzwang,
essentially running out of good moves because
all of his pieces are defending critical squares in
front of White's king and dare not move without
disastrous results.]
DENOUEMENT
Now, 46. . . . Rc1 is the best move. Why? We note
the key weak spot in White's position is "g3" and
now we see that White's knight on f1 is pinned and
no longer covers this square. So Black threatens
. . . Qg3+ when the roof collapses in White's house.
White might have resigned here but played on just
for "fun" . . . 
Essentially, White has absolutely no moves
to forestall checkmate. So Fyodor resigned.
This game is another example of Capablanca's
"pure" play. Pure and simple, efficient and elegant.
Bravo Capa!
Final comment. I am convinced that, especially for the amateur
and the beginner, playing out master games plus playing tournament
games, writing down the moves and looking over the game for "missed
opportunities" are the correct combination of action to success.
Reliance on "super" computers like Stockfish, Kommodo, Rybka,
and other commercial software packages, though "deadly" accurate
really don't allow the human brain to acquire the simple chess techniques
which may produce wins, and more often draws, but fewer loses.
[I find, that without a chess computer, I must force my brain to
engage in the finding of a "good" move or understanding why
the players made such moves, good or bad. With a chess program,
I found I got lazy.  The computer move was fascinating, but my brain
did not find the move, a silaion chip did.  And,
note in the above game, we have a few basic chess techniques which
Capablanca used to secure his win: sacking a pawn for initiative; knight forks,
attacking opponent's Queen to gain positional penetration, noticing the
condition of pieces [like White's unguarded queen on the c-file for black's
move. . . b4]; and then more simple "tactical" conditions like invasion into
opponent's position with major pieces aiming at weakly guarded pawns
and finally the fatal pin on White's knight on f1.  Playing over this game,
as many times as one might, is so satisfying, like watching a ballet.
Each of Capa's moves has a simple and powerful purpose. All of his pieces
coordinate, working together to create threats on both sides of the board.
This is chess at its best: a learning experience and a beautiful journey
to victory. [Confession of a chess analyst: I got rid of my computer and
my Rybka chess program. Now I just have the printed games on the
chessgames.com website to use, as well as Chess Informant  
and other printed material, especially gems like
to guide me. [No, this is not a promo for Mark Dvoretsky who I met over a 
decade ago in programs at Harvard and BCC lecture series in the '90s. Sadly, 
Mark died September 26, 2016, at the age of 68.]
MATERIAL PREPARED BY 
STEVE STEPAK