Friday, February 23, 2018

#1292 Kernighan Wins Kenilworth Championship

LM Mark Kernighan won the 27th Kenilworth Championship held January 11th thru February 22nd. It is the 3rd club title in 4 years for Kernighan & his 4th overall.

I finished 2nd & the scored the biggest upset.

Gilberto Benitez was 3rd. Greg Tomkovich topped all U1800 players.


7th round results:

Gottlieb 0-1 Kernighan
Moldovan 1/2-1/2 Selling
McAuliffe 1/2-1/2 Benitez
Tomkovich 1-0 Ruales
Dovydaitis 0-1 McCorkell

Pelican: 1 point bye


Final Standings:

1. Kernighan 6.5
2. Moldovan 5.0
3. Benitez 4.5
= 4-5. Selling, Tomkovich 4.0
= 6-8. Pelican, McAuliffe, McCorkell 3.5
9. Gottlieb 2.5
10. Dovydaitis 2.0
11. Ruales 1.5
12. Abujawdeh 1.0 (withdrawn)

A crosstable, photos from the final round and notes to my game will follow.

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Wednesday, February 21, 2018

#1291 Missing Or Lost Pages


During the Kenilworth CC site's move to a new host in December many of my java-replay pages were lost or misplaced.

It will take some time to note what I need to move or re-upload and fix the problem.


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Saturday, February 17, 2018

#1290 Kenilworth Championship - Round 6 Annotations

My win over McAuliffe:
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1.e41,164,14354%2421
1.d4945,55855%2434
1.Nf3280,97656%2441
1.c4181,75256%2442
1.g319,67356%2427
1.b314,21954%2427
1.f45,88248%2377
1.Nc33,79051%2384
1.b41,75048%2380
1.a31,19654%2403
1.e31,06648%2408
1.d394550%2378
1.g466246%2361
1.h444653%2374
1.c342551%2424
1.h327856%2416
1.a410860%2468
1.f39046%2432
1.Nh38966%2508
1.Na34163%2485
Board 2. G/75+5 (delay). D41 Queen's Gambit, Semi-Tarrasch Defense. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 Nxd5 Thanks to frequent use by Vladimir Kramnik this is back in fashion but 4...exd5 , which I faced in round 4, remains best. 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 Be7 This is a favorite of Kenilworth member Bob Sherry. 6...c5 /\ ...cxd4 followed by ...Bb4+ is the norm. 7.Nf3 7.Qg4!? g6 Landgren - H. Karlsson : Stockholm 1994 8.Bc4N c5 9.Ne2 was an option. 7...c5 8.Bb5+ ?! Tsesarsky Bd7 9.Bd3! cxd4 For 9...0-0 see Karpov - Kegelij : simul, Kamp Lintfort 2004 & my 2011 draw vs. J. Demetrick. 10.cxd4 0-0 ≤10...Bb4+ 11.Bd2 Bxd2+ 12.Qxd2± Soulas - Alozy : correspondence, ICCF 2008 & Krumm - Heidrich : correspondence, Germany 2008 10...Qa5+ 11.Bd2 Bb4 12.0-0 Bxd2 13.Nxd2± Ererdem - Micoogullari : Manavgat 2015 11.0-0
11...Bc6N 11...Nc6 12.Bd2 Rc8 13.Rb1 was played in Cumming - Saint Louis : correspondence, ICCF 2012. 12.Re1 Bb4 This gains a tempo on my R but side-tracks a K-side defender. 13.Re2 13.Re3!± 13...Nd7 14.Qb3 a5 14...Qa5 was expected. 15.Bf4 Re8 16.Rc1 Rc8? Now I gain 2 pieces for a R. 16...Nf8 17.d5! exd5 18.exd5 Rxe2 19.Bxe2 Nc5 20.Rxc5 Bxc5 21.dxc6 Rxc6 White is close to winning. He has a material advantage & the B pair. 22.Bc4 22.Qxb7 Rb6 23.Qe4 22...Rb6? 22...Qe7± 23.Qc2 Rb4? 23...h6 24.a3?? This gives Black a chance to get back in the game.
24.Ng5!+- -> was right. 24...Rb6?? 24...Rxc4! 25.Qxc4 Qd1+ 26.Qf1 , when Black wins the a3P & creates connected passers, would have given Geoff chances to hold. 25.Ng5! Now I have a winning attack. Bd6? 25...Kf8 26.Nxf7 Qe7 26...Qf6 27.Ng5+ Kf8 27...Kh8 28.Qxh7# 28.Nxh7+ was little or no improvement. 27.Nxd6+ 27.Ng5+ Kf8 27...Kh8 28.Qxh7# 28.Qf5+ Qf6 28...Ke8 29.Qc8+ Qd8 30.Bf7+ Ke7 30...Kf8 31.Qxd8# 31.Qe6+ Kf8 32.Nxh7# 29.Nxh7+ Ke7 30.Nxf6 gxf6 31.Qe6+ 27...Kf8? This allows mate in 3. 27...Kh8 28.Nf7+ Kg8 29.Ng5+ Kf8 30.Qf5+ Ke8 31.Qc8+ Qd8 32.Bf7+ Ke7 would've held-out a number of moves longer. 28.Qf5+
&, rather than play to the bitter end, my opponent resigned. Time left - Moldovan 19:07, McAuliffe 15:27. Estimated time used - Moldovan 59:13, McAuliffe 62:53. Longest thinks: White - 7 minutes at moves 17, 25 & 26. Black - 8 moves for 25...Bd6? Despite the big mistake at move 24, this was my best game of the tournament. 28.Qf5+ Qf6 29.Qc8+ Ke7 30.Qe8# 1–0
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Moldovan,J1802McAuliffe,G16121–0
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#1289 Kenilworth Championship - Round 6 Photos


Captions to follow.
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Friday, February 16, 2018

#1288 Kenilworth Championship - Round 6 Results

In round 6 of the Kenilworth Championship, I defeated Geoff McAuliffe:


Round 6 Results:

Pelican 0-1 Kernighan.
Moldovan 1-0 McAuliffe
Benitez 1-0 Dovydaitis

1/2 point byes: Selling, Tomkovich, Gottlieb, McCorkell
1 point bye: Ruales


Standings, after 6 of 7 rounds:

1. Kernighan 5.5
2. Moldovan 4.5
3. Benitez 4.0
4. Selling 3.5
= 5-6. Tomkovich, McAuliffe 3.0
= 7-9. Pelican, Gottlieb, McCorkell 2.5
10. Dovydaitis 2.0
11. Ruales 1.5
12. Abujawdeh (withdrawn) 1.0

Photos, notes to my win & round 7 pairings to follow.

Post updated 2/21 @ 12:16 a.m.
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Thursday, February 15, 2018

#1287 Kenilworth Championship - Round 5 Annotations

My draw versus Kernighan:
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Board 1. G/75+5 (delay). A48 King's Indian Defense vs. London System. 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.Bf4 Bg7 4.Nbd2 d6 This is okay but 4...c5! ∆5.e3 cxd4! 5...d6 was played in Alekhine - Euwe : London 1922 6.exd4 d5 , transposing into an Exchange Caro-Kann. 5.e4 Nbd7 This may be inaccurate. 5...0-0 C. Watson - Euwe : London 1922 & 5...Nc6 (Auffenberg - Chirkov : Weymouth, ENG 1968) are good alternatives. 6.Bc4 c6
A rare reply. Castling is usual & the engine recommends 6...c5 Sukandar - Richards : Melbourne 2014. 7.Qe2N Already a new move. Previously seen here were: 7.0-0 0-0 8.Re1 Vink - Kerstens : Hengelo 1997 7.Bb3 Wagle - Kirschner : Schoeneck 2002 & 7.h3 d5 8.Bd3 Qa5 9.c3 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Burch - Coburn : England 2010 7...d5 7...0-0 /\ ... Nxe4! & 7...Nh5 8.Be3 e5 were options. 8.Bb3 Now the game takes-on a Gurgenidze CK character. 8.exd5 cxd5 9.Bd3 9.Bb3 a5= 9...Nh5 10.Be3 Qc7 is of little or no improvement. 8...dxe4 9.Nxe4 Nxe4 10.Qxe4 Nf6 11.Qe2
11...0-0?! 11...a5 12.a4 Bg4 13.c3 13.Bxf7+ Kxf7 14.Ne5+ Ke8 15.Nxg4 Nxg4 16.Qxg4 Qxd4= 13...Nd5 14.Bg3 Qb6= 12.0-0 12.h3 preventing the following. 12...Bg4 Black is a tempo down vs. 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Bf4 dxe4 6.Nxe4 Nd7 7.Bc4 Ngf6 8. Nxf6+ Nxf6 9.0–0 0–0 10.Qe2 Bg4 (D. Mann - Athens : correspondence, IECG 1998, with transposition) but White's extra move (Bb3) is of no benefit. 13.Rad1 Nd5 14.Bg5 h6 15.Bc1 ≤15.Bh4 Bf6! 16.Bg3 a5 15...Qc7 16.h3 Bxf3 17.Qxf3 e6 18.Rfe1 Rad8 19.c3 Rd7
20.h4 Qd8 21.h5 g5 22.Bc2 Nf6 23.Re5 Rd5? 23...Re8= 24.Bb3?! 24.Qe2 24...Rd7 25.Qh3 Nd5 26.Re4 Nf6 26...c5! 27.dxc5 Nf4 28.Qf3 Rxd1+ 29.Qxd1 Qxd1+ 30.Bxd1 Nd3 31.Be3 Nxb2 27.Ree1 Qc7 Time check: White has 26 minutes left vs. Black's 18. 28.Bc2 Rfd8 29.Rd3
29...c5 Black finally (some 25 moves late!) gets in his thematic break & eliminates White's space advantage. 30.dxc5 30.Be3?? cxd4 31.Bxd4? loses to Rxd4! 32.Rxd4 Rxd4 33.cxd4 Qxc2 30...Rxd3 31.Bxd3 Qxc5 32.Be2 Qa5 Black offers a draw. 33.a3 White declines but his outside majority & B pair are only illusory advantages. Qa4 34.Qf3 b6 35.Rd1 Rxd1+ 36.Bxd1 Qe4 This forces a Q trade. 37.Qxe4 Nxe4
38.Kf1 Bf8?! 38...f5! 39.Bf3 Nf6 40.Be3 Bd6 41.Bd4 Nd7?! 41...e5= 42.Ke1!? 42.Bc6 e5 43.Bxd7 exd4 44.cxd4 wins a P but creates an opposite Bs ending. 42...Bc5 This forces a trade of Bs. 43.Bxc5 Nxc5 43...bxc5! 44.Kd2 Kf8 45.Bc6
45.b4 Nd7 46.Kd3 Ke7 47.Kc4 but Kd6 48.Kb5 Kc7 49.Ka6 Kb8 gets Black to the Q-side in time. 45...e5? 45...Ke7 46.b4 Kd6 46...Na6!? 47.bxc5+ Kxc6 48.cxb6 axb6= was right. 46.Ke3 46.g4! Ke7 47.b4 Ne6 48.Ke3± would have given White winning chances. 46...f5! 47.Bd5? 47.b4= 47...Ke7? 47...Na4 48.g3?? 48.b4 48...Nd7? 48...Na4-+ 49.Kd3?? 49.Bb3 49...Nf6-+
Black offers a draw. White accepts. Game drawn by agreement. Time left - Kernighan 0:40, Moldovan 6:14. Estimated time used - Kernighan 78: 25, Moldovan 72:46. Longest thinks: White - 9 minutes for 3.Bf4. Black - 7 minutes for 6...c6. ½–½
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Kernighan,M2252Moldovan,J1802½–½
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#1286 Kenilworth Championship - Round 5 Photos




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Saturday, February 10, 2018

#1285 Kenilworth Championship - 5th Round Results

In round 5 of the Kenilworth Championship, I drew LM Mark Kernighan.


5th round results, by board number:

1. Kernighan 0-1 Moldovan
2. Selling 1/2-1/2 McAuliffe
3. McCorkell 0-1 Benitez
4. Pelican 1/2-1/2 Tomkovich
5. Ruales 0-1 Gottlieb

Dovydaitis: 1 point bye.


Standings after round 5 of 7:

1. Kernighan 4.5
2. Moldovan 3.5
= 3-5. Benitez, Selling, McAuliffe 3.0
= 6-7. Pelican, Tomkovich 2.5
= 8-10. Gottlieb, McCorkell, Dovydaitis 2.0
11. Abujawdeh (withdrawn) 1.0
12. Ruales 0.5

Photos & notes to my game will follow.
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Saturday, February 03, 2018

#1284 Early Start For Tomorrow's Westfield Quads


A reminder: Tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday.

So, the Westfield Quads will be starting at 10:35 a.m.

Registration begins at 10.
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#1283 Kenilworth Championship - 4th Round Annotations

Here is my win over Tomkovich:
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Board 2. G/75+5 (delay). D35 Queen's Gambit, Exchange Variation. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 For 4...Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 7.Rb1 see Anand's Tata Steel win over Hou Yifan. 5.Bg5 Be7 6.Qc2 6.e3 ∆Bf5? 7.Bxf6! Bxf6 8.Qb3± (Ghitescu - Benites : Reykjavik 1957) was a good alternative. 6...0-0 ≤6...Nc6 Attacking the unprotected d4P. 7.e3 Nb4? Sakharov - Lutikov : Kiev 1960 8.Qb3± 7.e3
7...Be6 This looks a bit suspect as the B can become subject to Ne2-f4. For 7...Re8 & 7...h6 8.Bh4 b6! see my archives. 8.Bd3 h6 9.Bh4 Nbd7 10.Nge2! 10.Nf3 would have transposed into my 2012 USATE draw vs. P. Balakrishnan. 10...Rc8 11.0-0 c5 12.Rac1 12.Nf4! ∆c4 Jolowicz - Hoefer : Langenwang 1993 12...Qb6 13.Rad1 cxd4 14.exd4 Bg4 15.Be2 Kanko - Vayrynen : Naantali 1997 12...cxd4 13.exd4 Bd6? 14.Nxe6 fxe6 15.Qe2± Feliciano - Dias : Osasco 2012 12...a6 13.Rad1 c4 Vrolijk - Vuckovic : Prague 2016 14.Bg6! 13.Bg6! 12...cxd4 12...c4 13.Bf5 Bd6 would have equalized. 13.Nxd4 Nc5
14.Nxe6N Grabbing the B pair. 14.Qb1 Nfd7 15.Bxe7 Qxe7 16.Bf5 was played in Banusz - Ladanyi : Budapest 2001 but 14.Bf5 was best of all. 14...fxe6 This reinforces d5 but weakens his e6 & g6 squares. I expected 14...Nxe6 looking to dissolve the isolonus with ...d4. 15.Bg6 Nce4 16.Qd3 Nc5 16...Nxc3 17.Rxc3 Rxc3 18.Qxc3 Qc8 17.Qb1 17.Qd4 or 17.Qe2 17...Ncd7 17...Ng4= 18.Rcd1? 18.Bg3 18...Ne5 19.Bc2 Stubbornly holding onto the 2 Bs. 19.Bg3 Nxg6 20.Qxg6 19...Nc4 20.Ne2 Moving the steed avoids threats such as 20.a3? Nxa3 21.bxa3 Rxc3 20...Qb6
21.Nd4?! 21.Nf4! ∆g5 22.Ng6 Rf7 23.Nxe7+ Rxe7 24.Bb3 ≤21.Bb3?? Nxe3!-+ 21...Nxb2 21...Ng4 22.Bxe7 Qc7 23.g3 Qxe7 Not 21...Qxb2? 22.Nxe6± 22.Nxe6 Qxe6? 22...Nxd1 23.Nxf8 Nc3 23...Nxf2?? 24.Ng6+- 24.Qxb6 axb6 25.Ng6 Bd6= was right. 23.Qxb2 White has a textbook setup against the isolated d-pawn: control of d4 + pressure against d5. b6 23...Rc4 24.Bg3 Bd6 24.Bb3 Rc5 25.Rd4 Rd8? 25...g5 26.Bg3 Ne4± 26.Rfd1?? Missed win #1. 26.e4+- ∆Nxe4 27.Re1 Bxh4 28.Rexe4 Bxf2+ 29.Kxf2 26...Kh8? 26...g5 27.Bg3 Ne4 27.Qb1 27.h3± 27...Qc6?? 27...g5 28.Bg3 Ne4 28.Qf5? Missed win #2. 28.e4+- taking advantage of the pins against the Nf6 & Pd) 5, + the weaknesses at e7 (loose B) & d8 (insufficiently protected R). 28...Rc1 29.h3! Rxd1+ 30.Rxd1 Qc5? Now I trade 1 advantage (the B pair) for another & pick-up the d5P. 30...Qd7± 31.Bxf6 Bxf6 32.Rxd5 Rxd5 33.Bxd5!+- /\ 34.Qe6 + 35.Qg8#. Not 33.Qxd5 Qxd5 34.Bxd5 & an opposite Bs ending. 33...Qc1+ 34.Kh2 Qc7+ 35.g3 Qe5?
35...Qd6 &, although the light squares around Black's K are very weak, White still has work ahead. 36.Qc8+ Kh7 37.Bg8+ This wins the enemy's Q but even 37.Qg8+ Kg6 38.Bf7+ Kg5 38...Kf5 39.Qh7+ g6 39...Kg5 40.Qg6# 40.Qxg6# 39.Qh7 which forces mate in 2. 37...Kg6 38.Qc2+ Qf5 38...Kh5 39.Bf7+ g6 39...Kg5 40.Qg6# 40.Qxg6# 39.Bh7+ Black resigns. Time left - Moldovan 19:34, Tomovich 44:38. Estimated time used - Moldovan 50:02 (not including 8:39 in-transit), Tomovich 33:37. Longest thinks: White - 4:17 for 14.Nxe6. Black - 6 minutes for 21...Nxb2. Not my best game but it was good enough to give me a chance to tie for 1st next week. 39.Bh7+ Kxh7 39...Kh5 40.Qxf5+ Bg5 40...g5 41.Qg6# 41.Qg4# 41.Qg6# 41.Qg4# 39...Kg5 40.Qxf5# 40.Qxf5+ 1–0
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Moldovan,J1802Tomkovich,G16181–0
No photos this week, due to my late arrival.
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#1282 Kenilworth Championship - 4th Round Results

In round 4 of the Kenilworth Championship, I defeated Greg Tomkovich (with my trusty QGXV) and moved into 2nd place.

4th round results, by board number:

1. McAuliffe 0-1 Kernighan
2. Moldovan 1-0 Tomkovich
3. Selling 1-0 McCorkell
4. Gottlieb 0-1 Benitez
5. Dovydaitis 1-0 Ruales

Pelican: 1/2 point bye.


Standings after round 4 of 7:

1. Kernighan 4.0
2. Moldovan 3.0
= 3-4. Selling, McAuliffe 2.5
= 5-8. Benitez, Pelican, Tomkovich, McCorkell 2.0
= 9-11. Abujawdeh (withdrawn), Gottlieb, Dovydaitis 1.0
12. Ruales 0.5

Notes to my game will follow.
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Thursday, February 01, 2018

#1281 Mikell's Plot To Perform At The USATE




Featuring Michael O'Connor
 

Will be performing at the Parsippany Hilton
1 Hilton Court
Parsippany, NJ 07054

On Saturday, February 17th,  from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Prior to the 48th annual U.S. Amateur Team East chess tournament.

The concert is open to the public.

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#1280 Kenilworth Championship - Round 3 Results

In round 3 of the Kenilworth Championship, I won by forfeit.


3rd round results, by board number:

1. Kernighan 1-0 Selling
2. McAuliffe 1-0 Pelican
3. Tomkovich 1-0 Benitez
4. Moldovan +- Abujawdeh
5. McCorkell 1-0 Ruales
6. Gottlieb 1-0 Dovydaitis

Standings after round 3 of 7:

1. Kernighan 3.0
2. McAuliffe 2.5
= 3-5. Moldovan, Tomkovich, McCorkell 2.0
= 6-7. Selling, Pelican 1.5
= 8-10. Benitez, Abujawdeh, Gottlieb 1.0
11. Ruales 0.5
12. Dovydaitis 0.0

No games or photos this week.
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