#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

#1199 Kenilworth Champion!!

 

I won the 2016 Kenilworth Chess Club Championship last night!

After opening with a loss to Ed Selling, I rebounded with victories over LM Mark Kernighan & Bob Sherry, to gain a share of the lead, then got away with hanging my Queen against Greg Tomkovich. Having the tiebreaks, I was able to wrap-up the title with a 17-move draw against Geoff McAuliffe.

Joe Renna was the Reserve Section winner.

Games to follow.

#1198 Kenilworth Club Championship Starts Tonight

A reminder: The 25th annual Kenilworth Chess Club Championship starts tonight.

Here are the tournament details:

• NON-RATED
• 5-RR.
• 2 sections: Championship & Reserve
• G/75 with 5 second delay time control.
• Rounds will commence at 8:30 p.m. on March 17, 24 & 31 + April 14 & 21.
• Postponed games from Rounds 1-3 will be made-up on April 7th. Postponed games from rounds 4-5 or 4-7 will be made-up on April 28th
• 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.
• Prizes: Trophies to winners of each section. Other trophies (based on the number of participants) to be awarded.
• Register with Treasurer Geoff McAuliffe during our 3/3 and 3/10 meetings or before 8:25 p.m. on 3/17 @ Kenilworth Community Center, 575 Boulevard, Kenilworth, N.J.
• The Tournament Committee reserves the right to make changes as are deemed necessary for the good maintenance of the tournament.

Past Champions include LM Scott Massey (who has won the title 12x), Rene Ray (1996), FM Steve Stoyko (2005-2007), LM Mark Kernighan (2008, 2015), IM Yaacov Norowitz (2009), LM Arthur Macaspac (2010, 2012), NM Ken Chieu (2011) and FM Praveen Balakrishnan (2013, 2014).
9 players took part in last year's event.

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.

Post updated 3/25/2016 @ 2:32 p.m.

#1197 Reminder: Balakrishnan Simul Tonight In Kenilworth

FM/SM Praveen Balakrishnan will be giving a simul at the Kenilworth Chess Club tonight. The exhibition will begin at 8:15.

The participation fee is $5. Proceeds will go toward refreshments.

#1196 TODAY'S WESTFIELD G/60 CANCELED

#1195 Chess Mates Closed Tomorrow

Chess Mates has canceled tomorrow's classes and will be closed all day.

They will re-open Wednesday evening.