#1211 Garden State Chess League Game

On Thursday night, I played in Westfield's Garden State Chess League victory over Hamilton.

Here is my game against Ed Sytnik:

[Event "Garden State Chess League 2016-17"]
[Site "Kenilworth, NJ"]
[Date "2017.03.02"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Moldovan, John"]
[Black "Sytnik, Ed"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[WhiteElo "1786"]
[BlackElo "1700"]
[Annotator "Moldovan, John"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2016.10.04"]
[EventType "team-tourn"]
[EventRounds "7"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[Source "The Chess Coroner: post #1211"]
[SourceDate "2017.03.05"]
[SourceVersion "1"]
[SourceVersionDate "2017.03.05"]
[SourceQuality "1"]
[WhiteTeam "Westfield"]
[BlackTeam "Hamilton"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 {He wants to discuss the Q's Gambit again, instead of an Indian? Okay!} 3. c4 e6 {No Slav?...} 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 {... & no Ragozin, either? That suits me just fine.} 6. Nc3 c6 7. Qc2 {I've had this position 52x before!!} O-O 8. e3 Nbd7 9. Bd3 Re8 {This is imprecise.} ({>= the} 9... h6 $1 10. Bh4 Re8 {he played in the 2009-10 season.}) 10. O-O (10. h3 h6 $140 11. Bf4 $1 {, as in my 2008 USATE win over Scheinbach, is a good alternative.}) 10... h6 {[#]} 11. Bh4 (11. Bf4 $142 $1 $14 Nh5 $140 $2 12. Nxd5 $1 Nxf4 (12... cxd5 $4 13. Bc7 $18 {Roebuck - Hickey : Nice 1938}) 13. Nxf4 $16 {Nedeljkovic - Van Steenis : YUG-NED match, Utrecht 1950}) 11... Nf8 ({RR} 11... b6 $143 $6 {Moldovan - P.T. Boris : Westfield, Quads 3/15/2015} 12. Rac1 $14 ({or} 12. Rfe1 $14)) 12. Rab1 Bg4 (12... Ne4 $142 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. b4 a6 {H. Mueller - Glass : Vienna 1931}) 13. Ne5 Bh5 14. h3 (14. b4 $142 $14 {Lechleitner - A. Mueller : Bayern 1998}) ({or} 14. Bf5 $146 {+/=}) 14... N6d7 {[#]} 15. Nxd7 $146 ({Previously seen here were} 15. Bxe7 Qxe7 16. Nxd7 Qxd7 17. b4 $11 {Ferry - Wiltshire : Clarkston 1997}) ({&} 15. Bg3 Nxe5 16. Bxe5 Bd6 17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Rfc1 Bg6 19. b4 Bxd3 20. Qxd3 $11 {Jovanic - Banic : Portoroz 2004}) 15... Qxd7 16. Bf5 (16. Bxe7 $142 Qxe7 17. b4) 16... Qd8 (16... Bg6 $142 $1 17. Bxg6 {Safest.} ({After} 17. Bxd7 Bxc2 18. Bxe7 Rxe7 19. Rbc1 Bg6 20. Bg4 f5 21. Bf3 f4 {White has to try} 22. Bxd5+ $5 (22. exf4 $143 Ne6 $15) 22... cxd5 23. Nxd5 Rd7 24. Nxf4 $44) 17... Nxg6 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. b4 Nh4) 17. Bg3 Bg6 18. b4 Bd6 (18... Bxf5 $142 19. Qxf5 a6 20. a4 Nd7 $11) 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Rfc1 (20. b5 $142 $14) 20... a6 {[#]} 21. Ne2 (21. Bxg6 $142 Nxg6 22. a4 Rec8 23. Ne2 $14) 21... Qf6 $6 (21... Bxf5 $142 22. Qxf5 Nd7 $11) 22. Ng3 $6 (22. Bxg6 Nxg6 23. a4 $14) 22... Bh7 $6 (22... Nd7 $142 23. Bxg6 fxg6 $11) 23. Bxh7+ Nxh7 24. Nh5 (24. a4 $142 $14) 24... Qg5 25. Nf4 {[#]} Re4 $2 (25... Rec8 $142 $11) {Now the long-delayed minority attack is very strong. My pieces are perfectly placed for it. Black's aren't. Only his Q, which is watching d5, is remotely involved in the action.} 26. a4 Nf8 (26... Qd8 $142) 27. b5 axb5 28. axb5 Rc8 29. Qb3 $6 (29. bxc6 $142 Rxc6 (29... bxc6 $143 30. Rb6) 30. Qa2) 29... Ne6 $4 {[#]} (29... Ng6 $142 30. bxc6 bxc6 (30... Rxc6 $143 31. Nxd5 Nh4 32. g3 Nf3+ 33. Kg2 Nxd4 $1 34. Qa2) 31. Qb7 Rf8 32. Nxg6 fxg6 $16) 30. Nxe6 $4 ({We missed} 30. Nxd5 $1 $18 Qxd5 $140 $2 31. Qxd5 cxd5 32. Rxc8+ Kh7 33. Rb8 {after which White will emerge an Exchange & 2 Ps to the good.}) 30... Rxe6 {Black offers a draw.} 31. bxc6 {White declines.} bxc6 $6 (31... Rg6 $142 32. g3 Rgxc6 33. Rxc6 bxc6 $11) 32. Qb7 Rce8 $2 (32... Qd8 $142 $14) 33. Rxc6 Rxc6 $6 (33... Qf5 $142) 34. Qxc6 Re6 $2 {The losing move.} (34... Rd8 $142 $16) 35. Qc8+ $18 Kh7 36. Rb8 {[#]} Rxe3 $2 (36... Kg6 $142 37. Qc2+ Qf5 38. Qxf5+ Kxf5 39. Rb7 Ke4 40. Rxf7 g6) ({not} 36... Rg6 $143 $2 37. Qh8# (37. Qg8#)) 37. fxe3 ({Not} 37. Qg8+ $4 Kg6 38. fxe3 Qxe3+ 39. Kh1 {as} Qc1+ {forces a draw.}) 37... Qxe3+ 38. Kf1 $2 {This lets Black get in several spite checks.} ({After the simple} 38. Kh1 Qe1+ 39. Kh2 {he has to throw-in the towel.}) 38... Qf4+ 39. Ke1 Qe4+ 40. Kd1 Qxd4+ 41. Kc1 Qg1+ 42. Kb2 Qd4+ (42... Qxg2+ {allows} 43. Qc2+ Qxc2+ 44. Kxc2) 43. Qc3 {[#] &, after picking-up his Q, my opponent resigned.} 1-0

#1210 Boy Scouts Tournament In Cranford Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I will be directing the 4th Annual Munsee District Boy Scouts' Chess Tournament at the Cranford Community Center, 220 Walnut Ave, Cranford, NJ 07016.

All boys and girls who are Boy Scouts, Adventurers or Explorers and know how to play chess can play in the event. Sign-in is between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. Non-scouts are also welcome.

This non-rated event is sponsored by Renna Media, which is supplying trophies & White Castle, which will be providing lunch!

For registration details and more info, double-click on the image below.

#1209 Kenilworth CC Closed Tonight

Tonight's Kenilworth CC meeting has been canceled, due to an impending winter storm.

The 5th round of the Club Championship will be played next week (February 16th).

#1208 New URL For Westfield CC Web Site

The new URL for the Westfield CC's web site is www.westfieldchessclub.org

westfieldchessclub.com went offline this morning, as expected, and no longer belongs to the club.

I was unable to update there & refused to pay domain ransom to the notorious Brandon Grey Internet Services which apparently scammed other club officials prior to 2015.

The problems only came to light 6 days ago. Pat Mazzillo & I are sorry for whatever inconvenience has resulted.

#1207 Kenilworth Championship Starts Tonight!

The 26th Kenilworth Chess Club Championship starts tonight!

Registration ends at 8:25. Games will begin at 8:30.

Additional details below.

 

Tournament Rules:

• NON-RATED
• 5 to 7 rounds. 2 sections: Championship & Reserve.
• The Championship Section will be a 6 to 8 player Round-Robin. Participants will include the top 4-6 rated players entered plus the 2016 Kenilworth CC Champion. The 2016 Reserve Section winner may also play in this section, if he so chooses.
• The Reserve Section will be a Swiss or RR & be the same length as the Championship Section.
• G/75 with 5 second delay time control.
• Rounds will commence at 8:30 p.m. on January 12, 19 & 26 + February 2 & 9. If 6th & 7th rounds is necessary, they will be played on February 23rd & March 2nd.
• Postponed games from Rounds 1-5 will be made-up on February 16. Postponed games from rounds 6-7 would be made-up on March 9.
• Cost: $10 entry fee + dues + $5 anti-forfeit deposit = $35 for most players.
• KCC membership is required. Dues for 2016 are $10 for age 17 or less, $10 for those age 65+, $20 for everyone else.
• Prize Fund: 100% of EF returned.
• Prizes per section, b/6 players: 1st $30, 2nd $20, 3rd $10.
• Register with Treasurer Geoff McAuliffe before 8:25 p.m. on 1/12 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
• Late-joins allowed prior to round 2, at the TD's & Club President's discretion. For example: The late-joiner would make an even number of players in a section.
• The Tournament Committee reserves the right to make changes as are deemed necessary for the good maintenance of the tournament.

John Moldovan won last year. Other past Champions include LM Scott Massey (who has won the title 12x!!), Rene Ray (1996), FM Steve Stoyko (2005, 2006, 2007), LM Mark Kernighan (2008, 2015), IM Yaacov Norowitz (2009), LM Arthur Macaspac (2010, 2012), NM Ken Chieu (2011) and IM Praveen Balakrishnan (2013, 2014).

Round by round coverage of the tournament will be posted on the KCC Tournaments Blog and/or the Chess Coroner Blog.

For stories of past championships, see the 2005 Club Championship website, 2006 Championship website, the Chess Coroner Blog and the KCC Tournaments Blog.

#1206 Queen's Gambit Miniature

This afternoon, I won a 7-move Queen's Gambit miniature at lichess.org.

6.Ne5!! is a theoretical novelty & the correct ECO code for the game is D21.

#1205 Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays to all my chess friends, acquaintances and readers.

#1204 Westfield CC Closed Today & Next Sunday

The Westfield Chess Club will be closed today, Sunday, December 25th, & next Sunday.

Its next tournament will be G/45 Quads on Sunday, January 8th, 2017.

#1203 Chess Mates' New Year's Eve Quads

On Saturday, December 31st Rahway's Chess Mates will be running G/45 Quads.

Registration starts at 12 noon. The first round is at 12:30.

 

Chess Mates New Year's Eve Quads

3-RR. G/40 d5. 75 East Cherry Street, Suite 11, Rahway, NJ 07065. EF: $25, $20 members. Prizes: $60 to 1st in each section. Register: 12 noon-12:25 p.m. Rounds: 12:30, 2:15, 4:00 p.m. Information: email John at chessmatesnj@gmail.com.

#1202 Today's Chess Mates Tourney Canceled

Today's tournament at Chess Mates has been cancelled, due to wintry weather & travel concerns.

G/45 Quads on December 31st have been added to the schedule:

Chess Mates New Year's Eve Quads 

3-RR. G/40 d5. 75 East Cherry Street, Suite 11, Rahway, NJ 07065. EF: $25, $20 members. Prizes: $60 to 1st in each section. Register: 12 noon-12:25 p.m. Rounds: 12:30, 2:15, 4:00 p.m. Information: email John at chessmatesnj@gmail.com.

#1201 REPLAY TEST

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"]
[Site "Kenilworth, NJ"]
[Date "2016.06.30"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Moldovan, John"]
[Black "Damodaran, Ram"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A38"]
[WhiteElo "1839"]
[Annotator "Moldovan,John"]
[PlyCount "75"]
[EventDate "2016.06.02"]
[Source "Moldovan, John"]
[SourceDate "2016.07.04"]

{Board 1  G/55+5 (delay)  A38 English Opening  Symmetrical Defense  (by
transposition - 7.c4)} 1. e4 $5 {I thought about playing e3 but decided to
take a full leap.} c5 2. Nf3 g6 {The Hyper-Accelerated Dragon, something I've
never used or played against.} 3. d3 (3. c3 Bg7 $140 (3... d5 4. exd5 Qxd5 {
is another way to play.}) 4. d4 {is probably best but, since my foe likely
knows that better than I do, let's try a K's Indian Attack.}) 3... Bg7 4. g3
Nc6 5. Bg2 e5 (5... d6 {is more flexible.}) 6. O-O Nf6 {This is fine} ({
but I prefer} 6... d6 {with the options of ...Nge7 & ...f5.}) 7. c4 {On 2nd
thought... let's play an English.} (7. Nc3 {makes a Closed Sicilian.}) (7. Nbd2
{remains a Reti.}) 7... O-O 8. Nc3 d6 9. h3 {This is the most common move in
the position. It prepares a possible Be3 & stops ...Bg4.} Be6 {Diagram [#]} ({
Instead of copying with} 9... h6 {Black breaks the symmetry.}) 10. Nd5 $146 ({
There have been 3 games with} 10. Be3) ({2 with} 10. Kh2) ({1 with} 10. Bg5) ({
& 1 with} 10. Ng5) 10... Qd7 11. Kh2 Rfe8 {This misplaces the R & leaves f6
weak.} (11... Rab8 $142 12. Bg5 $140 Ne8 $11) (11... h6 $2 {loses a P to} 12.
Bxh6 $1 $16 {/\} Bxh6 $2 13. Nxf6+ Kg7 14. Nxd7 $18) 12. Bg5 ({Here} 12. Bh6 $6
{is neutralized by} Nxd5 ({Again, not} 12... Bxh6 $4 13. Nxf6+ $18) 13. Bxg7
Nc3 14. bxc3 Kxg7) 12... Bxd5 13. cxd5 Nd4 14. Nxd4 cxd4 (14... exd4 $142) 15.
Qd2 (15. Rc1 $142 $1 Rac8 $140 $6 (15... Rec8 {, clearing e8 for the N, is
right.}) 16. Qf3 $1 $16) 15... Rac8 16. f4 $6 (16. Rfc1 $142 $14) 16... Nh5 $2
(16... exf4 17. gxf4 Qa4 $11 {/\ ...Rc2 would have restored the balance.}) 17.
f5 $2 (17. Bf3 $1 exf4 (17... h6 $143 18. Bh4) (17... f6 $6 18. Bg4 Qe7 19. Bh4
) 18. Bxh5 $1 fxg3+ 19. Kxg3 Be5+ 20. Bf4 gxh5 21. Bxe5 Rxe5 22. Qh6 {/\ Rf6
would have given me a clear plus.}) 17... f6 18. Bh6 (18. Bh4 g5 19. Bf3 gxh4
20. Bxh5 hxg3+ 21. Kxg3 Re7 {was little or no better.}) 18... g5 (18... Bxh6
$142 19. Qxh6 Qg7 {&, with the veiled attack on g3, White is forced into} 20.
Qxg7+ Kxg7 $11) 19. Bxg7 Nxg7 20. Rac1 Rc7 $2 {This lets me take control of
the c-file.} (20... Red8 $142 $11 {as Ram suggested in the post-mortem.}) 21.
Rxc7 Qxc7 22. Rc1 Qd7 23. Qb4 h5 24. Bf3 $6 (24. Qc4 {keeps a firm grip on the
position.}) 24... Rd8 (24... Rc8 $142 25. Rxc8+ $140 ({or} 25. Rc4 Rc7 26. Be2)
25... Qxc8 $14 26. Qxd6 $6 h4 $1 $44 27. Qxf6 $4 Qc2+ 28. Bg2 hxg3+ 29. Kxg3
Nh5+ $19) 25. Qc4 h4 $2 (25... Rf8 $142 $16 26. Qc7 $140 Qxc7 27. Rxc7 Rf7) 26.
Qc7 $6 (26. gxh4 $142 gxh4 27. Qc2) 26... hxg3+ 27. Kxg3 Ne8 $4 (27... Kf7 $142
$16) {Now White wins.} 28. Qxd7 Rxd7 29. Rc8 Kf8 30. Bh5 Re7 31. Kg4 {Black is
reduced to P moves. His K & R are bound to the pinned, twice-attacked N.} b6
32. Bg6 a6 33. Kh5 b5 34. b4 {Zugzwang!} Kg7 {Instead of throwing in the towel,
Ram sends the steed to the glue factory.} 35. Bxe8 Ra7 36. Rd8 a5 37. Rd7+ Rxd7
38. Bxd7 {Black resigns.    Time left - Moldovan 13:49, Damodaran 33:15
Estimated time used - Moldovan 44:21, Damodaran 24:55    Longest think by
White - 6 minutes for 18.Bh6  Longest think by Black - 4 minutes for 16...Nh5?}
(38. Bxd7 {After} axb4 39. Bxb5 Kh7 40. Be8 Kg7 41. Bg6 Kg8 42. Kh6 Kf8 ({or}
42... Kh8 43. Bf7) 43. Kh7 Ke7 44. Kg7 {Black has to shed Ps.}) 1-0

#1200 Stoyko Wins U.S. Senior Championship

FM Steve Stoyko has won the U.S. Senior Championship, on tiebreaks over IM Mark Ginsburg.

Stoyko, 7-time N.J. State Champion and 3-time Kenilworth Chess Club Champion, drew GM Alexander Ivanov in round 4 and defeated FM Karl Dehmelt in round 5.

photo credit: Michael Goeller