It's all in the Gummi bears

(Thanks to flickr's coffeebeans77 for the image)

In his fine book, Practical Endgame Play - beyond the basics, Glenn Flear touches on the topic of the bathroom and chess (p. 383, NQE 15-17). I suppose you might say that Topalov more than touched on that in his 2006 match with Kramnik. I'd say it's fair game for a blog entry.

It crossed my mind that Gummi bears could be a super replacement for beverages if one seeks to minimize bathroom visits during games -- our club's bathroom is two floors up. The results so far are promising....

In round 4 of the ongoing ten round Paramount tournament, I had Black against Jon Lee, who was the sole leader in our six person section at 3-0. During play, I ingested a large sloth of Gummi bears in my efforts to help ward off a potential Jon Lee "10-0" train.

As the first time control (40 moves in 2 hours) approached, I found myself in some time pressure (a "Dog Bites Man" news headline). Minutes lost for a bathroom break would certainly have endangered my search for a winning line. Thanks to the Gummi bears, however, I did not have to visit the bathroom during the game, and I brought home the point (well, the monstrous f4 knight below helped, too).

After 33...Nf4

In round 5, Harold Dondis as Black outplayed me and achieved a better game (=+, I'd say). I hoped he wasn't on track to add to his 2-0 score against me from the mid-90's, building up nemesis status.

I began chewing up Gummi bears, and things rapidly turned around (how could they not?). My concentration seemed to improve, and after 16 h3:


Harold unexpectedly played 16...Nb8?

He made that move just before leaving the room -- leaving, in all likelihood, to go to the bathroom. I replied 17 b4! winning at least a pawn. However, Harold missed the threat and played 17...cxb4??, landing in a most grizzly situation after 18 Qxc8! winning his bishop for my b-pawn (18...Rxc8 19 Rxc8+ winning back the queen).

Try some Gummi bears next game -- they're Ursa Majorly delicious!

P.S. to Mike Griffin: You're right, I do win some games...but just bearly.

Astrachan by a nose

Ed Astrachan secured first place in the Paramount A-section by half a point over Evan Sonkin. Here are the final standings:

6.5 Ed Astrachan (1859)
6.0 Evan Sonkin (1864)
5.0 Ruben Portugues (1819)
4.0 Ken Ho (1726)
3.5 Jon Lee (1801)
0.0 Bill MacLellan (1600) w/d

The larger B-section continues to play each week; when they will end, nobody knows.

Paramounties make the turn

Here is an update on the standings of the Paramount A-section:

3.5/4 Ed Astrachan (1859)
4.0/5 Ruben Portugues (1819)
3.0/5 Evan Sonkin (1864)
2.5/5 Jon Lee (1801)
1.0/4 Ken Ho (1726)
0.0/5 Bill MacLellan (1600) - withdrawn

5 rounds down; 5 to go.

Paramount Participants

Fourteen players have turned out for this year's Paramount tournament (6-player 2-RR at slow time controls with adjournments possible). The A-section comprises the standard set of six players, but the B-section has been expanded to eight to accommodate all those who wanted to play. As tournament director Bob Oresick pointed out, the B-section at 14 games per participant is "...as a long as an interzonal match."

A-section

1.0 Ed Astrachan 1859
1.0 Ruben Portugues 1819
1.0 Jon Lee 1801
0.0 Evan Sonkin 1864
0.0 Ken Ho 1726
0.0 Bill MacLellan 1600

Tonight's parings: Astrachan-MacLellan, Lee-Sonkin, Portugues-Ho

B-section

1.0/1 Tony Cortizas 1573
1.0/1 Ted Gorcyzca 1409
1.0/1 Seth Lieberman 957
0.0/0 Frank Frazier 1653
0.0/0 Greg Hager 947
0.0/1 Adam Fletcher 1554
0.0/1 Bob Oresick 1487
0.0/1 Tony Scali 1118

Tonight's pairings: Cortizas-Gorcyzca, Fletcher-Lieberman, Scali-Frazier, Oresick-Hager

Notes from 2006 Paramount

One of the most fun tournaments for me in 2006 was the double-round robin Paramount, held at the Boylston Chess Club. I bring a highlight from my games, just to bring attention to the unique situations the Paramount can offer.

Pre-game prepwork was nothing new for me, but I had never had an adjourned game in 15 years of tournament chess. In Clayton-Rihel, Paramount 2006, I had my first adjourned position, and I was able to turn a depressing loss into a miracle draw, thanks to my home analysis and a little luck.

The following position occured at move 40, when Kyle sealed his 41st move.

Clayton- Rihel adjourned position
White to move

For those playing along at home, this position looks hopeless for Black on almost all White moves. Up a pawn, White cruises with almost any queen move (Fritz calls it +4.7), and I thought about calling Kyle to resign on the spot. Yet, there was one move that looked natural enough to play over the board -- the simplifying 41. Qxg7. When analyzing at home, I saw a faint glimmer of hope in this line.... just a faint one. Given the tense time scramble we had just played, I gave Kyle a 20% chance of playing that very move. When we reconvened later in the week, I vowed that I would resign on the spot if Kyle had sealed any normal move other than 41. Qxg7.

When I sat down over the board and ripped open the sealed move, I was so thrilled to see 41. Qxg7 that I immediately left the board, canceled my dinner plans, and sat down to defend a bad position with my last idea, one cooked up from home.

After the moves, 41.Qxg7 Kxg7 42.Kg2 Nb1 43.Bxc4 Nxc3 44.Kf3 Kf6 45.g4 g5 46.fxg5 hxg5 47.h5 Ke5 48.Ke3 Nd1 49.Kd2 Nf2 50.Be2 Ne4+ 51.Ke3 Nd6 52.Bd3 Nf7 53.Bc4 Nh6, we have reached the following new position:

Clayton-Rihel after 53...Nh6

My idea in full bloom. The whole point of my previous moves was to work my knight to h6, where it hits the pawn on g4 and blockades the position together with my king. This situation was not forced, but even Fritz will often let it happen. I love this position because 1) I worked out this exact idea at home, 2) Without adjournments, I doubt I would have come up with such a cool blockade over the board and 3)Fritz still gives White a large winning advantage, all the way to the end of the game, when a draw is certain.

Kyle tried for many more moves, but cannot make progress:

54.Kf3 Kd4 55.Bb3 Kd3 56.Be6 Kd4 57.a4 Ke5 58.Bb3 Kd4 59.Bc2 Ke5 60.Bd1 Kd4 61.Be2 Ng8 62. Bb5 Nh6 63.Bd7 a5 64.Be6 Ke5 65.Bb3 Kd4 66.Bd1 Ng8 67.Bb3 Nh6 68.Ba2 Ke5 69.Bc4 Kd4 70.Bb5 Ke5 71.Bd7 Kd4 72.Bf5 Ng8 73.Bh7 Nh6 74.Bg6 Ng8 75.Bf7 Nh6 76.Bb3 draw agreed.

Of all my chess games, this one ranks as one of my absolute favorites. It was also a great moral victory (a moral draw?) for me and turned my tournament around. I went on to finish well, including a nice win against FIDE Master Chris Chase.

So, come and play this Monday!

Of the utmost importance

This Monday is the start of a very unique event on the Boylston Chess Club calendar. The 8th Annual Paramount, an original brainchild of former BCC president Bryan Clark, is a 10-week double round robin at slow time controls. Players are formed into groups of six by rating and each competitor plays their five other opponents once as White and once as Black. The groups ensure that players get consistently competitive opponents throughout the course of the tournament (unlike some Swisses where a win against a player rated 400 points below you is often followed by a game against a player 400 points above).

Since your schedule is known for the tournament after the first round, pre-game preparation can take on added significance. What does your opponent play against your favorite opening and will he stick with it this time or try to change things up? Also, the time controls of 40/2, SD/50 are the longest on the current BCC schedule and provide the opportunity for adjournments. Rather than ruining a well played game by being forced to blitz through the endgame at the end of the night, you just might get the opportunity to study the position in depth at home and return later to realize the fruits of your effort.

Your usual monthly Swiss will always be there, so why not try out something different? Play the Paramount!

Monday, March 5 – May 7: 8th Annual Paramount 10 Rounds, 2RR, Players divided into six player sections by rating; 40/2, SD/50; Entry fee: $24, $17 to BCF members; Prizes: 50% EF Registration: 6:00 to 6:45 PM Rounds at 7PM.