Boylston Chess Club's "getting to 2000" students publish in Chess Horizons

In the winter of 2010, Carey Theil led a Tuesday night "Making it to Expert" course for A-level players.

One of the instructive problems discussed led to some of the participants to write an article. That article is now available in the latest issue of Chess Horizons.

Check out this article by Ross Eldridge, Gregory Koch, Jason Rihel, and Carey Theil, entitled "Heroic King, Super Bishop", about an interesting endgame from the 2010 US Chess League Championships.

Early Bird Quad/Regular Quad This week!

The Boylston Chess Club has several events planned this week!

Early Bird Quad, Wednesday, August 3rd

Players organized into 4-player sections
3 Rounds (everyone in the quad plays everyone else)
Time Control: Game in 30 minutes
Entry fee $17 for Boylston Chess Foundation members, others $27
Prizes: $50 First place (guaranteed) for each quad
Registration: 5:45 to 6:00 Rounds: 6:00, rest ASAP

Thursday Night Swiss Starts Thursday, August 4th

4 Rounds (Swiss System Pairings)
2 Sections: Open and Under 1800 (Minimum 6 players to have an Open section.
Time Control: 40 moves in 90 minutes, then 20 minutes for the rest of the game
Entry fee: $17 to Boylston Chess Foundation members, others $27
Prizes: $240 based on 20 entries. Both sections $80 for 1st, $40 for 2nd
Registration: 6:30 to 6:55PM
Round 1 begins at 7PM

Quads, August 6th
Players organized into 4-player quads

3 Rounds (everyone in the quad plays everyone else)
Time Control: Game in 60 minutes
Entry fee $17 for Boylston Chess Foundation members, others $27
Prizes: $50 First place (guaranteed) for each quad
Registration: 9:15 to 9:55
Rounds: 10:00, 12:40, 3:00

$10 Open on Saturday

For those concerned about the typo in the $10 calendar notice:

If you want the $10 rate for the $10 Open on Saturday 7/30, you have until Thursday night to pay in advance by Paypal or by mail (we must get it before the event).

Sign up now and sign up often! The $10 Open is one of the cheapest and most popular chess events in New England.

US Chess League schedule announced!

Breaking news-- the USCL is back with the 2011 schedule.

This schedule is a special treat for local fans, as the Boston Blitz play the 2010 Champion New England Nor'easters on Opening Day, August 29th! They play a second time on 9/26.

Fans of the USCL will remember the dramatic conclusion the last time the Blitz and Nor'easters squared off. After an undefeated season, New England was on the verge of elimination in the Semi-Finals when Jorge Sammour-Hasbun blundered into Robert Hungaski's middle-of-the-board checkmate, securing the drawn match. Draw odds were in New England's favor, and they went on to win over Miami in the Final.

In fact, New England went undefeated all season, but in two matches they could not overcome the Boston Blitz, earning only a draw. This re-match will be one to watch.

Stay tuned for more details. Rumors are swirling that the Boston Blitz will actually be playing in Rhode Island this year, but no confirmation yet. The New England Nor'easters are likely to play again here at the Boylston Chess Club, but the details still need worked out.

Also not finalized-- the team rosters for both the Blitz and the Nor'easters are still in the works and are not due for a few weeks yet.

See the schedule here:

http://www.uschessleague.com/index.html

Esserman- Dispatch from Spain

IM Marc Esserman sends us this entertaining game from his recent tournament in Spain.

[Site "Montcada, Spain"]
[White "Esserman"]
[Black "Capellades"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C64"]
[WhiteElo "2439"]
[BlackElo "2222"]
[EventDate "2011.06.27"]
[SourceDate "2011.06.27"]

Annotations by IM Esserman
1. e4 e5

Hello everyone from Barcelona, Spain. I have been hoping to send a
Morra Gambit game back home but unfortunately, my opponents have played 1...
e5 seven games in a row! However, the opportunity finally presented itself to
play a Morra Gambit like gambit in this last game. After seven straight e5's,
you have to take your chances.

2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Bc5 4. c3 Qf6



5. d4 exd4 6. e5 Qg6 (6... Nxe5 7. Qe2 wins a piece, as defending the knight via d6 loses the king.) 7. O-O


Perhaps if more sicilians had cropped up in Europe, I would have
played the more standard 7. cxd4!

7... dxc3

Not quite dxc3 in the Morra gambit, but it will do!

8. Nxc3 White's attack may be even more serious than in the morra gambit... Nge7 9. Re1 O-O (9... a6 10. Bd3 Qh5 11. Re4 Ng6 12. g4 Qh3 13. Bf1 wins the queen in amusing fashion)

10. Bd3 Qh5 (10... f5 11. exf6 Qxf6 12. Ne4 Qf5 will not save black after 13. Bg5 Kh8 14. Nf6 and the queen is again trapped, this time in the center of the board!)

The movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" teaches us not to bring our queen out too early, although the boy playing Josh in the park does not listen, much to the chagrin of his serious coach (and neither, for that matter, does Billy Collins, with his famous e4 e5 Qh5!?!?! on move two, or what he likes to call "Queen to Rook Five, how long can you stay alive, catdog!"

11. Ne4 Nxe5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Ng5 (The queen is getting tired.) Qf6 14. Bxh7+ Kh8 15. Bd3

Giving the f2 pawn, but with mate on h7.

15...g6 (15... Bxf2+ 16. Kh1 g6 17. Rf1 Qb6 18. Qf3 Bh4 19. Qh3) (15... Qxf2+ 16. Kh1 Qh4 17. g3 Qh6 18. Nxf7+) 16. Ne4 Qb6 17. Qf3 Kg7 18. Nxc5 Qxc5 19. Be3 Qd5 20. Qf4

Black's dark squares will prove critical, in addition to his lack of development brought about by not watching "Searching For Bobby Fischer".

20...Ng8 21. Rad1


21...f6 22. Bxg6 Qg5 23. Qxg5 fxg5

Finally the queen retires, but her career has been a failure.

24. Bc2 g4 25. Rd5 d6 26. Rg5+ Kf6 27. Rg6+ Kf7 28. Bd4 Bf5 29. Rg7#


Hopefully I will have more entertaining dxc3 games to post! 1-0

Seacoast Fishing

In the 1980's, the Batsford publishing house used varying numbers of diagonal stripes on the front lower left corner of books to indicate the intended audience. 1 stripe = Popular; 2 stripes = Competitive; 3 stripes = Master (Adidas in German).

For our club, those 3 levels could perhaps similarly loosely be designated as Weaver Adams (under 1800), Reubens-Landey (1800-2199), and Club Championship (2200+). Here's some solidly Weaver Adams category material, so the strong players are forewarned to lace up their Adidas sneakers and run screaming.

In June, I went to Relyea Chess' Seacoast Open in Portsmouth, NH, despite the fast G/65 time control (+5 second delay for digital clocks). Arriving at and leaving from the parking lot alongside eventual tournament co-winner, GM Alexander Ivanov, it was almost as if the Chess Force was with me. Unfortunately, those parking lot coincidences didn't bring me a great tournament result, but I did get into time trouble.
:-)

In round one as Black against Mike Parsons, I won a pawn and achieved some pressure, but I felt Mike was providing unexpectedly tough resistance for someone rated 400 points lower than I. He refused to collapse, and we both ended up in time trouble, struggling to avoid losing on time.

We both finished with incomplete scoresheets, and although right after the game I recorded the final position using piece-on-square notes like Kg8, I subsequently discovered that I had been so fried that I'd recorded two pieces on the same square. Anyway, my best reconstruction of events follows, which I am reasonably sure is what actually happened at the end of our game.

After 35 Kh4

Frustrated by my inability to force capitulation earlier and, as noted, concerned about possibly losing on time, I decided to pull back and try to force issues on my end of the board. I remember thinking that in our mutual time pressure I might be able to bamboozle Mike into exchanging queens, when in the simplified position the 5 second delay should allow an easier conversion of my extra pawn. That is why I played:

37...Qh6??

bamboozling MYSELF pretty effectively. I'm pretty sure Mike was even more time-pressed than I, so after:

36 g5 Qh7 37 Qe6+? (37 Qc8+ Kf7 38 g6+ forking Black's king and queen wins; 37 Qc8+ being a longer move for the queen, and thus harder to see when you think your flag is imminently going to fall, may explain Mike's choice of 37 Qe6+?) Kh8 38 g6 Qg8 39 Qxg8+ Kxg8 40 Kg5 Kh8

Mike finally lost the thread with:

41 h6?? gxh6 42 Kxh6 e4 0-1

One of the things I dislike about time-crammed tournament schedules is the greatly reduced chances to chat with your opponent after the game. In the Batman movie directed by Tim Burton (bear with me, dear reader), there is a scene where Batman is preparing to raise Vicki Vale and himself up to the top of a building using a hydraulic bat-something-or-other. He asks her how much she weighs, to which she responds, "108." The hydraulic device apparently has more trouble with their combined weight than Batman expected it to, and he remarks, "You weigh a little more than a hundred and eight." (Thanks, IMDb).

Mike, you played a lot better than your rating of 1333!


In round 3 I had Black against unrated Dakota Smith. I once again fell into time pressure, but was pushing forward for checkmate from a position at least like the following with respect to the salient features of the position. It may even have been the exact position, but it just doesn't feel 100% familiar.

Some time earlier I was already watching for stalemate possibilities, but as the clock relentlessly ticked down I had shifted into "If he moves the rook along the 1st rank, I will play h2 mate. If he moves the rook off the 1st rank, I will play 1...Re1 mate."

Clearly 1...h2 is mate regardless of what White plays, but if this really was the position, with my clock ticking down, I might not have noticed that.

So when Dakota played:

1 Rc3!

moving his rook off the first rank, I slammed out:

1...Re1 most-definitely-NOT-mate???

Through my earplugs I eventually became aware that something was wrong, and took back my illegal move. I saw 1...Rxc3 stalemate, so instead played:

1...Kf3

before abruptly realizing I had already touched the rook, and immediately offered a draw because of the stalemate described, which was accepted.

Dakota offered to let me make the king move, but I stressed to him that it is touch move. I wasn't sure if, as a new player, he knew that.

While writing this blog entry, I realized that instead of 1...Rxc3?? stalemate, there is actually 1...Rf3!! winning. To avoid 2...h2 mate, White must play 2 Rxf3+, after which 2...Kxf3 3 Kh2 Kf2 4 Kxh3 g1=Q (or g1=R) wins without further ado.


I am sure the Reubens-Landey regulars are quivering in fear at the prospect of facing me, seeing these game fragments of mine.  Vive the Weaver Adams one-stripers!

Weaver Adams winners: Ken Ho, Mike Griffin, and Khikmet Sadydov

Ken Ho, Mike Griffin and Khikmet Sadykov each completed the Weaver Adams tournament with 3 of 4 points and so became BCC U1800 co-champions for 2011.



That means they will have their names added to the coveted Weaver Adams Trophy designed by Mike Griffin.

And it means they move on to the Reubens Landey, the U2200 championship which begins on Monday, July 11.

There were 10 players in this year's Weaver Adams:
[double click for better legibility]

____________________________________________

BCC members who are rated between 1800 and U2200 are invited to play in the Reubens Landey, the winner of which becomes the U2200 club champion, and is invited to play with the masters in the annual BCC championship in September.

Reubens/Landey BCF Qualifier

• Mon, July 11, 6:30pm – 11:00pm
• Boylston Chess Club (map)
• 4 Rounds Swiss System
  
• Time Control 40 moves in 90 minutes, then rest of the game in 20 minutes
  
• Open to BCF members rated 1800-2200 (June supplement)
• Entry fee: $20
• Winner receives free entry into the BCF Championship beginning on 9/12.
  
• Registration: 6:15 to 6:55
• Round 1 begins at 7:00 PM

Rybka banned from computer champs; stripped of all its titles

In shocking chess news-- Rybka, the famous computer program that has dominated the top of the computer chess championships for years, has been stripped of its titles and banned from future competitions.

The problem stems from the complex question of whether Rybka's programming was taken from other, older software-- in short, whether Ryba's basic functions were stolen off other programs.

On the one hand, the fact that Rybka beats other programs means it must be at least a little different than other engines. On the other hand, this could be just a matter of a few tweaks here and there without any substantially new ideas.

The whole issue of the 'copyright' and 'ownership' of source code is a murky one -- very often, free programs already exist whose main purpose is to be modified, tinkered, and enhanced. Stripping Rybka of the titles, at this point, does not appear to be any kind of legal determination about whether Rybka was stolen from others. Instead, Rybka is in violation of the Computer Championship rules, which requires entrants to be unique creations and any adaptations of other's code must be disclosed.

I don't expect this to go away anytime soon, however! Rybka is a commerical success, while the programs it supposedly is borrowed from, Crafty and Fruit, among others, are not. Like I said, the world of computer program property rights is a murky one, but I wouldn't be surprised, with real dollars on the line, for this issue to make it to court in some form.

At any rate, Rybka isn't considered the strongest program anymore. After trying to find a good upgrade engine to my older copy of Fritz, I discovered Houdini may be the best engine around. A free computer program, I put it to work on some positions I thought Fritz was handling badly-- and I was blown away with the speed and the accuracy Houdini possessed.

But don't expect Houdini to appear at the computer championships anytime soon-- it is also considered a derivative work. Too bad that the strongest computer program may not be called the champion. But that doesn't mean we can't use it to improve our analysis.

One last thought-- my favorite comment about this issue:

"Humans have been using computers to cheat at chess, so it is only natural that computers would start using humans to cheat at chess."

For more detailed discussions about this issue, try this link:

http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/rybka-disqualified-and-banned-from-world-computer-chess-championships/

Grand Prix- Halfway point Leaders

35 players participated in the 6th Grand Prix event at the Boylston Chess Club, shuffling the leaderboard at the halfway point. (Click to enlarge).

In the U2400 section, Chris Chase has reclaimed the lead with 7.5 points. Tian Rossi, who has only played in two Grand Prix events is still in the lead in the U2200 section with 7.5 points. However, Jason Rihel, in the U2000 category, has 9.5 points and would overtake Chris and Tian if other contenders rise up. Indeed, at this time Terrance Fricker and Harold Dondis trail the U2400 and U2200 leaders by only 1.5 points and would claim those prizes if they can get ahead.

Robert Holmgren appears to have an insurmountable lead in the U1800 category, with 17 points. However, Mike Griffin is hanging tough with 10.5 points, and the current leaders of the U1600 and U1200 categories could also overtake Robert in some circumstances.

Just like at the top, the bottom has lots of action still in play. The U1600 section is a tie between David Martin and Mark Neale, with 11 points each, but Steve Stepak is on pace with 10 points. The U1400 section is still wide open! At just 3.5 points, Allen Wang is in the lead, but lots of players (including several in the U1200 category) are waiting just behind with 2-3 points. One breakout event from any of them would boost them ahead.

Finally, Thomas DeMartino has taken a huge lead in the U1200 section, with 14.5 points. He was only under 1200 for the briefest of moments at the start of the year-- he has soared +600 points in six months and is now over 1800. One of the quirks of a year-long grand prix event like this-- your starting rating category may not reflect your rating at the end of the year!

With over 80 players participating in at least one Grand Prix, we at the BCC are pleased with this event and hope you are, too.

New England Nor'easter Robert Hungaski 1st at New York International

New England Nor'easter Board 1 star IM Robert Hungaski, who trekked weekly to the Boylston Chess Club during the Nor'easter's championship run, secured his second GM norm by storming to clear first in the New York International.

Details can be found at:
http://main.uschess.org/content/view/11266/632

Great job!

Grand Prix #6 This Saturday, June 25

Just a friendly reminder that our 6th Grand Prix event is this Saturday, June 25th at the Boylston Chess Club.

This is the cheapest chess tournament around, at only $7.00 for members and $10.00 for non-members. Four rated games available for less than $2.00 a game-- you can't even get a deal like that from the Harvard Square blitz hustlers!

If you are planning to go to the World Open, this would be a great warm-up. There is also still plenty of opportunity in each rating class to catch the leaders and claim the year-end prizes. Don't miss out.

Esserman in Barcelona, Spain

Marc's next European event is in Spain, where he will be 17th on the wallchart:

http://chess-results.com/tnr45000.aspx?lan=2

This event is coming on the heels of his Italian event, where he finished with 6 points in a big logjam for 3rd place with several IMs and GMs. That result was good enough for a 2500+ performance rating and a handful of rating points edging Marc close to the 2460 mark. Those who watched the live games knows that Marc is playing very dynamic chess right now (lots of exchange sacs in 9 rounds!), and he had several chances in the Italian tournament to fight for a 1st-2nd place performance. Also, by our count, he is 7/8 with the Black pieces during this trip.

Watch Esserman LIVE

IM Marc Esserman is ranked 26th on the wall chart of the Forni di Sopra tournament in Italy. You can watch his progress LIVE here:

http://www.scacchierando.net/dblog/articolo.asp?articolo=2308

Ignoring the fact he is in the Italian Alps, Marc has started the tournament with the Black side of a French Defense.

They will be broadcasting the games LIVE all week, so stay tuned for Part II of Marc's European Adventure, especially when that Medias Kings elite tournament spits out 3-GM draws, as you know it will eventually.

Stepak on Tal

Steve Stepak wrote this appreciation of Mikhail Tal.

[editor's note: To read it more clearly, please click on each column once to separate it and then once again to enlarge it.]

Esserman in Europe

Bolyston Board and Boston Blitz member IM Marc Esserman is chesstouring Europe this summer. We will try to follow him via the Interwebs.

His first leg was to the International Chess Festival in Wunsiedel, Germany. After winning his first 4 rounds and taking the sole lead ahead of three GMs, the Germans started to notice:

(See halfway down the page under US-Boy Esserman)
http://www.wunsiedel-schachfestival.de/

In the final three rounds against the strongest tournament participants, Marc managed 3 draws, enough for 2nd place and an 11 point ELO rating gain, pushing Marc over the 2450 milestone. Only IM Stopa was able to pull ahead and take clear first place.

You can see Marc in the winner's circle to the left in this picture:



You can see the crosstables here:

http://www.wunsiedel-schachfestival.de/meisterturnier/turnier_index_meister.htm

If you are trying to navigate the crosstable, the format is pairing #,color,score. So for example, "43w1" means the player faced #43 with the White (weiss) pieces and score 1 point. The "s" means the player had black (schwarz).

Good luck to Marc on this tour. We'll have to ask him later how many Smith-Morras appeared in Wunsiedel!

Slideshow of 80th Mass Open photos (5/29/11)

Enjoy.

Steven Winer lecture, Wednesday June 8th, 7PM

The Boylston Chess Club Presents
The 2011 Master Lecture Series


Wednesday, June 8th, 7PM


Senior Master Steven Winer

“Learning from Your Chess Mistakes”



At a rating of 2437, Senior Master Steven Winer is currently ranked #87 in the United States. In 1999, Steven won the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, and he has been chess champion of Vermont many, many times. He was also a member of the inaugural US Chess League Boston Blitz team back in 2005-2006. Steven will lecture on practical examples of how to turn those painful losses into future sparkling victories.

A simultaneous exhibition will promptly follow the lecture (at least 6 players).


WHERE: Boylston Chess Club, 240 Elm St. Room B9, Somerville (Davis Sq. T stop)
ADMISSION: Lecture: FREE for Boylston members, $10.00 for non-members.
Simul: $5.00 for members, $10.00 for non-members.

Caption Contest from the 2011 Mass Open

Channeling Glickman's original version of the chess blog, I present the following photo caption contest. The photo is of Carissa Shiwe Yip at this weekend's 2011 Mass Open Championship. The photo was taken by Tony Cortizas, Jr. and is my favorite of the bunch he took from this event. More photos to come in a follow-up report on the tournament.

Weaver Adams -- U1800 Boylston Chess Club Championship -- Mon June 6

It's Adams time again -- Weaver Adams 2011

The Weaver Adams Qualifer is the first part of the Boylston Chess Club championship cycle.

You may play if you are rated under 1800 in the June 2011 supplement and a BCF member (you can join or renew at the start of the tournament.) The prize is the championship title and entry into the Reubens Landey

Players rated between 1800 and 2200 in the June supplement may play in the Reubens Landey (U2200 championship) in July. The prize is the U2200 championship title and entry into the BCC Championship.

Players rated 2200 and above in the June supplement will be invited to play in the BCC Championship.

..................

The winner of the Weaver Adams tournament will have his name added to the trophy Mike Griffin created:

..................................................

Mon, June 6
6:30 pm – 11:00 pm

• 1 Section for Boylston Chess Foundation members

(of course you may join or renew at registration)
rated under 1800 (June supplement)

• 4 Rounds (Swiss System Pairings)

• Time Control: 90 minutes for 40 moves, then 20 minutes for the rest of the game

• Entry Fee: $20

Winner receives free entry into the Reubens/Landey U2200 - 1800 BCF Championship beginning on July 12

• Registration: 6:30 – 6:55 PM

• Round 1 begins at 7:00

..................................................

Weaver Warren Adams was born on April 28, 1901 in Dedham, Massachusetts. An American chess master, he participated in the U.S. Championship in 1936, 1940, 1944, 1946 and 1948. He won the Massachusetts State Championship in 1937, 1938, 1941 and 1945. In 1939, he wrote a book entitled "White to Play and Win." After publication he played in the U.S. Open at Dallas. He did not win a single game as White (3 losses and 1 draw) and won all his games (4 games) as Black! Weaver Adams won the 49th U.S. Open, held in Baltimore, in 1948. He also wrote "Simple Chess", "How to Play Chess", and "Absolute Chess." He passed away in Cedar Grove, New Jersey in 1963.

..............

Below is a photograph taken in Hastings on 28 December 1950. Lord Dunsany (standing on the right) is watching the first-round game between Alan Phillips and Weaver Adams.

...............

Chess Fever and The Great Chess Movie

The Boylston Chess Club library has recently acquired a DVD transfer of Chess Fever, a 1920s silent film starring Capablanca, and The Great Chess Movie, a documentary that interviews Fischer, Korchnoi, Karpov, etc.

While the Great Chess Movie is fine and interesting, the real gem is Chess Fever. This silent film is hilarious, and a "chess widow's" chance encounter with the World Champion Capablanca ends the film with a funny surprise.

Read more about chess fever here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015673/

and more about the Great Chess Movie here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Chess_Movie