Monday, October 31, 2011

#914 Fish Memorial - Round 4

Round 4 of the Fish Memorial brought 3 more upsets, including my 1st rated-loss to an U1700 U1685 since November 10, 1990.

As in my recent defeats to Jo. Cohen and A. Chen, I was winning out of the opening.

Results:

Balakrishnan 0-1 Kernighan
Palakollu 0-1 K. Chen
Moldovan 0-1 Sturniolo
Mangion 1-0 Constantino
Senyatkin 1-0 Tomkovich
Renna 1-0 Mann
Mazzillo -+ Komunicky

Standings:

=1. Kernighan, Balakrishnan, K. Chen, Sturniolo 3.0
=5. Mangion, Senyatkin 2.5
=7. Moldovan, Palakollu, Renna 2.0
=10. Tomkovich, Constantino 1.5
=12. Komunicky, Mann 1.0
=14. Mazzillo, Ferrero 0.5 (wd)

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#913 Correspondence Update

Match Scores:

Italy 39 United States 26 (magic # for ITA is 2.5)



My games:
E12 Queen's Indian Defense
Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.0-0 d6 11.Nd2 Qe7 12.Qc2 (N) c5 13.a4! Nc6 14.Nb3! e5 15.d5 Na5 16.Nxa5 bxa5 17.Rfb1 Ba6 18.Rb2 Rab8 19.Rab1 Rxb2 20.Rxb2 e4 21.Bxe4 Bxc4 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Bxe4 Re8 25.Bf3 Ba6 26.h4 g5 27.Kh2 Kg7 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Kh2 Kf6 30.Kg3 Re7 31.Rb8 Rb7 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.c4 Ke5 34.Bd1 Ba6 35.Bb3 f6 36.f3 Bc8 37.Bc2 Ba6 38.Bd3 Bc8 39.Kf2 Bd7

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4 Nb2 39.Rd4

PGN of all the CZE-USA games
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Monday, October 24, 2011

#912 Lunna Wins Westfield Championship

Todd Lunna won the Westfield Chess Club Championship last night with a score of 3.5/4.

Richard Blank, Mauricio Camejo and Andy Chen finished a half-point behind.

After a win in round 3:

Robert Vinson 1203 - John Moldovan 1809
A80 Dutch Defense


... I had a chance to share 2nd place but lost the finale and ended-up tying for 6th:

John Moldovan 1809 - Andy Chen 1792
E67 King's Indian Defense
Fianchetto Variation

Highlight: Winning an Exchange in the opening.
Lowlights: Missing wins at moves 15, 19, 27, 28.


PGN of both games, with light notes.
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Sunday, October 23, 2011

#911 Fish Memorial - Round 4 Pairings

This week's (4th round) Sy Fish Memorial pairings are:

Balakrishnan-Kernighan
Palakollu-Chen
Moldovan-Sturniolo
Mangion-Constantino
Senyatkin-Tomkovich
Renna-Mann
Mazzillo-Komunicky
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Saturday, October 22, 2011

#910 Fish Memorial - Round 3

The upsets continued at the Sy Fish Memorial this week with Aleksey Senyatkin and Chris Constantino winning against Dan Komunicky and Pat Mazzillo while I drew top seed Mark Kernighan.

Praveen Balakrishnan defeated Lou Sturniolo to take a full point lead going into the penultimate round.

4th Sy Fish Memorial
Kenilworth, NJ
September 29th- November 10th, 2011

Standings after 3 rounds of 5

No.
Player
USCF
R1
R2
R3
Points
1
P. Balakrishnan
1997
W14
W5
W6
3.0
2
M. Kernighan
2261
W15
D3
D4
2.0
3
K. Chen
1959
W12
D2
D7
2.0
4
J. Moldovan
1801
-H-
W9
D2
2.0
5
S. Palakollu
1647
W10
L1
W11
2.0
6
L. Sturniolo
1534
W7
W13
L1
2.0
7
I. Mangion
2013
L6
W8
D3
1.5
8
G. Tomkovich
1659
D9
L7
-X-
1.5
9
C. Constantino
 938
D8
L4
W14
1.5
10
A. Senyatkin
unr.
L5
D11
W15
1.5
11
T. Mann
1511
-H-
D10
L5
1.0
12
J. Renna
1263
L3
W15
-F-
1.0
13
S. Ferrero
1960
-H-
L6
-U-
0.5
14
P. Mazzillo
1327
L1
-H-
L9
0.5
15
D. Komunicky
1534
L2
L12
L10
0.0

Java-replay & PGN for round 3.
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#909 Corr Update


My games:
E12 Queen's Indian Defense
Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.0-0 d6 11.Nd2 Qe7 12.Qc2 (N) c5 13.a4! Nc6 14.Nb3! e5 15.d5 Na5 16.Nxa5 bxa5 17.Rfb1 Ba6 18.Rb2 Rab8 19.Rab1 Rxb2 20.Rxb2 e4 21.Bxe4 Bxc4 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Bxe4 Re8 25.Bf3 Ba6 26.h4 g5 27.Kh2 Kg7 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Kh2 Kf6 30.Kg3 Re7 31.Rb8 Rb7 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.c4 Ke5 34.Bd1 Ba6 35.Bb3 f6 36.f3 Bc8 37.Bc2 Ba6 38.Bd3 Bc8

D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.O-O Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2 h5 37.g5 Kg6 38.h4

PGN of all the CZE-USA games
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

#908 Zhao Xue Dominates At Nalchik

Zhao Xue has clinched first place with 2 rounds to spare at the Women's Grand Prix tournament in Nalchik, Russia.

Her 8.5/9 score leads the field by a remarkable 3.5 points!!

official website
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

#907 Fish Memorial Games

Nine games from the Sy Fish Memorial's opening and 2nd rounds have been uploaded in Java-replay and PGN.


After 24.Qe4
Black to win


After 21...Qf4
White to win
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Monday, October 17, 2011

#906 Fish Memorial Pairings

Here are the pairings for round 3 of the Fish Memorial:

1. Sturniolo - Balakrishnan
2. Kernighan - Moldovan
3. Chen - Mangion
4. Mann - Palakollu
5. Tomkovich - Renna
6. Constantino - Mazzillo
7. Komunicky - Senyatkin

Steve Ferrero withdrew.
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#905 Lunna, Blank Lead Westfield Ch.

LM Todd Lunna & Expert Richard Blank lead the Westfield Chess Club Championship at its halfway point, with 2-0 scores.

Experts Jonathan Cohen, Mauricio Camejo and Alexander Ilnytsky are a half-point back.

Westfield Chess Club Championship
Westfield, NJ
October 16 & 23, 2011

G/90

No.
Name
USCF*
Points
R1
R2
1
Lunna, Todd W
2208
2.0
W13
W6
2
Blank, Richard All
2099
2.0
W14
W8
3
Cohen, Jonathan D
2105
1.5
W7
D5
4
Camejo, Mauricio
2019
1.5
D9
W12
5
Ilnytsky, Alexander
2001
1.5
W10
D3
6
Fleysher, Leonid
1973
1.0
W15
L1
7
Moldovan, John
1809
1.0
L3
W15
8
Chen, Andy
1792
1.0
W11
L2
9
Jacobson, Aaron
1783
1.0
D4
D13
10
Mazzillo, Patrick
1327
1.0
L5
W14
11
Vinson, Robert D
1183
1.0
L8
-B-
12
Jacobson, Brandon
1165
1.0
-B-
L4
13
Chatsky, Samuil
1764
0.5
L1
D9
14
Wu, Jiang-Ming
1775
0.0
L2
L10
15
Deng, Leon Y
1543
0.0
L6
L7

* = Current rating.
October supplement used for pairings & prize distribution.


I am tied for 6th-12th after dropping the opener:

John Moldovan 1809 - Jonathan Cohen 2105
D36 Queen's Gambit
Exchange Variation

Highlight: 11.Nxd5!! +-, winning 2 pawns in the opening.
Lowlight: Blundering a full point away with 42.Qe1?? -+


... and struggling to beat a young C player, who played very well until move 35, in the nightcap:

Leon Deng 1543 - John Moldovan 1809
A84 Dutch Defense

Highlight: Setting a trap with 33...d5! =+ and watching it succeed.

PGN of both games, with light notes.

The event, which concludes next week, is missing 2-time defending champion LM Peter Radomskyj but is stronger, from top to bottom, than in recent years, as just 4 of the 15 participants are rated <1764.


P.S. - Here's my guess on the pairings for round 3: Lunna-Blank, Camejo-Cohen, Ilnytsky-Fleyscher, Mazzillo-Chen, B. Jacobson-Moldovan, Vinson-A. Jacobson (I should be playing Bob but don't think the brothers would be matched), Wu-Chatsky, + a 1 pt. bye for Deng.
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Friday, October 14, 2011

#904 Fish Memorial Update

Praveen Balakrishnan and Lou Sturniolo lead the Kenilworth Chess Club's Sy Fish Memorial after 2 upset-full rounds of play.

NM Mark Kernighan, Kevin Chen and I are tied for 3rd, a half-point back.

4th Sy Fish Memorial
Kenilworth, NJ
September 29th- November 10th, 2011

Standings after 2 rounds of 5

No.  Name                   USCF  Points  R1   R2
 1   Balakrishnan, Praveen  1997   2.0    W12  W7
 2   Sturniolo, Lou         1534   2.0    W6   W9
 3   Kernighan, Mark        2261   1.5    W15  D4
 4   Chen, Kevin            1959   1.5    W8   D3
 5   Moldovan, John         1801   1.5    -H-  W13
 6   Mangion, Ian           2013   1.0    L2   W10
 7   Palakollu, Samritha    1647   1.0    W14  L1
 8   Mann, Ted              1511   1.0    -H-  D14
 9   Renna, Joe             1263   1.0    L4   W15
10   Ferrero, Steve         1960   0.5    -H-  L2
11   Tomkovich, Gregory     1659   0.5    D13  L6
12   Mazzillo, Pat          1327   0.5    L1   -H-
13   Constantino, Chris      938   0.5    D10  L5
14   Senyatkin, Aleksey      ---   0.5    L7   D11
15   Komunicky, Dan         1534   0.0    L3   L8

Nine of the 13 games played so far will follow, along with the 3rd round pairings.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

#903 Fish Memorial Resumes Thursday

The Sy Fish Memorial Swiss resumes Thursday night.

If you need to take a bye, please let TD Geoff McAuliffe know before the next round is paired.

Late joins will be accepted until the end of round 2.

Round 3 will be played on October 20th. Round 4 is 10/27. The event concludes November 10th.
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Monday, October 10, 2011

#902 CZE-USA Update

The Czech Republic still leads its correspondence match against the U.S., 13-11. There hasn't been a change in at least 16 days.

My games:
E12 Queen's Indian Defense
Nimzo-Hybrid Variation

1.d4 e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Nc3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 0-0 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.0-0 d6 11.Nd2 Qe7 12.Qc2 (N) c5 13.a4! Nc6 14.Nb3! e5 15.d5 Na5 16.Nxa5 bxa5 17.Rfb1 Ba6 18.Rb2 Rab8 19.Rab1 Rxb2 20.Rxb2 e4 21.Bxe4 Bxc4 22.Bh7+ Kh8 23.Qe4 Qxe4 24.Bxe4 Re8 25.Bf3 Ba6 26.h4 g5 27.Kh2 Kg7 28.hxg5 hxg5 29.Kh2 Kf6 30.Kg3 Re7 31.Rb8 Rb7 32.Rxb7 Bxb7 33.c4 Ke5 34.Bd1 Ba6 35.Bb3 f6 36.f3 Bc8 37.Bc2 Ba6



D38 Queen's Gambit
Ragozin Defense

1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 6.Bg5 0-0 7.Qb3 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 c6 9.e3 b6 (N) 10.Bd3 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Ne5 c5 13.Ng4 Nc7 14.dxc5 bxc5 15.0-0 Qd7 16.Nxf6+ gxf6 17.Bxf6 Rfb8 18.Qc2 Qe6 19.Bh4 Qe4 20.Qxe4 dxe4 21.Bg3 Rb7 22.Rab1 Rxb1 23.Rxb1 Nd5 24.c4 Nb6 25.Bc7 Nxc4 26.Rb5 Rc8 27.Rxc5 Nb2 28.g4 Nd3 29.Rg5+ Kf8 30.Bd6+ Ke8 31.Ra5 Rc6 32.Bg3 a6 33.Ra4 Re6 34.Rc4 Kf8 35.Kf1 Kg7 36.Ke2



PGN of all the CZE-USA games
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Wednesday, October 05, 2011

#901 Kenilworth Teams In Action Tomorrow

The Kenilworth Karpovs and Kenilworth Kortchnois will open their 2011-12 Garden State Chess League seasons tomorrow night against the DOCA Knights and Essex County College.

Here are the home teams' expected lineups:

Karpovs - 1. FM Steve Stoyko 2251, 2. Dr. Richard Lewis 1820, 3. Max Sherer 1797, 4. Joe Demetrick 1661

Kortchnois - 1. NM Richard Mattern 2114, 2. Dr. Ian Mangion 2013, 3. Greg Tomkovich 1659, 4. Dr. Geoff McAulffe 1644

KCC members not listed above are encouraged to attend the matches and make themselves available, if necessary.

Chess Mates and 2-time defending champion Hamilton will also be playing.
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