#1270 New Year's Eve Quads In Rahway

On Sunday, I will be directing the New Year's Eve Quads at Chess Mates Academy:

Dec. 31   New Year’s Eve Quads

3-RR. G/40 d5. Chess Mates Academy, 75 E. Cherry St., Suite 11, Rahway, NJ 07065. EF: $25, $20 Westfield CC members. Prizes: $60 to first in each section. Register: 12:00-12:25 p.m. Rounds: 12:30, 2:15, 4:00 p.m. Contact: jpmoldovan@gmail.com. Note: Please bring a chess clock.

This event, which should end by 5:30 p.m., was designed to give Westfield's players a low-cost, 1-day alternative to the tournaments being run in Manhattan & Cherry Hill this week/weekend.

Parking in the lot across the street (behind The Waiting Room) is free on Sundays.

#1269 Happy Holidays

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

#1268 Ending My Ties With Chess Mates

I have decided to end my association with Chess Mates Academy, effective January 1st.

The time had come. I last directed there on July 15th. Since then I've had to abort 6 tournaments due a lack of turnout and scrap 1 after a mass player exodus.

The latter was yesterday. It was an epic, tragic-comedy. 6 kids refusing to play in the scheduled event because they didn't want to face lower-rateds or their friends and an adult showing-up 20 minutes after all the others had gone.

I am getting old. I am tired and depressed. Trying to save the country will do that to you. So will watching the Alain Vigneault-coached New York Rangers.

#1267 Westfield CC Closed Tomorrow & On New Year's Eve

The Westfield Chess Club will be closed tomorrow, Sunday, December 24th and next Sunday, December 31st.

Its next tournament will be G/45 Quads on Sunday, January 7th, 2017, at 1 p.m.

#1266 New Kenilworth Officers & Trustees

The Kenilworth CC elected 3 new officers at its annual Business Meeting on Thursday:

 Secretary David Lazarus

 Webmaster Paul Gottlieb

 Trustee Pat Mazzillo

Those re-elected include: President John Moldovan, Vice President Greg Tomkovich, Treasurer/Tournament Director Geoff McAuliffe.

Trustees Bob Sherry and Howard Osterman round-out the list of club officials.

#1265 Slav Exchange Miniature

On Thursday night I won the following, 13-move Slav Exchange miniature in Kenilworth:

[Event "Kenilworth Non-Rated Tournament (Extra)"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.11.30"] [Round "2"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "X., Amnesh"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D13"] [WhiteElo "1802"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "25"] [EventDate "2017.11.30"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1265"] [SourceDate "2007.12.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.12.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 2 G/55+5 (delay) D13 Queen's Gambit Slav Defense Exchange Variation (by transposition 5...cxd5)} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 ({A switch from the} 4. Qb3 {that I've used extensively (30x!!) in the past 5 years.}) 4... Bf5 $6 (4... dxc4 $142 5. a4 Bf5 {Slav Accepted}) (4... e6 {Semi-Slav}) (4... a6 { Chebanenko's V.}) (4... g6 {Schlechter's V.}) ({or} 4... Qb6 {Suechting's V.}) 5. cxd5 cxd5 ({For} 5... Nxd5 6. Qb3 Qb6 7. Nxd5 {see my 2009 win over Kruglyak.}) 6. Qb3 b6 $4 {Diagram [#]} (6... Bc8 $142 7. Bf4 Nc6 8. e3 e6 $14 { Komnenic - Piasetski : Rome 1990}) ({or} 6... Qb6 $5 7. Nxd5 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 e6 9. Qb3 Nc6 $14 {C. Torre - Opocensky : Marienbad 1925.}) ({For} 6... Qd7 $2 { see my 2012 win over Senyatkin.}) 7. e4 $3 $18 Nxe4 $2 (7... dxe4 8. Ne5 Be6 9. Bb5+ Nfd7 {Dziadyk - Mazurkov : Kiev 2004} 10. Qc2 $146 a6 (10... f5 $143 $2 11. Bf4) 11. Qxe4 axb5 12. Qxa8 b4 13. Nb5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Bd7 {was a better try. }) ({For} 7... Bg4 $2 {see my 2011 win over Mann.}) ({Also bad are:} 7... Be6 $2 $146 8. exd5 Nxd5 $2 9. Bb5+ Nd7 10. Nxd5) ({&} 7... Bxe4 $2 8. Nxe4 dxe4 $146 (8... Nxe4 $143 $2 9. Bb5+ Nd7 10. Ne5 Nef6 {Stelter - Raikhmann : Duesseldorf 2000} 11. Qf3) 9. Bb5+ Nfd7 10. Ne5 e6 11. d5 {Beil - Sedy : Plzen 2001}) 8. Nxe4 $1 (8. Bb5+ $143 $146 Bd7) 8... Bxe4 $2 (8... dxe4 {loses to} 9. Ne5 Be6 10. Bb5+ Nd7 11. d5 Bf5 {Schoch - Moen : correspondence, ICCF 2012} 12. g4 $1 $146 a6 13. Bc6) ({Best, per the engines, is the piece-foresaking} 8... a6 $146 9. Ng3 Bg4 10. Ne5 Bc8) 9. Bb5+ Nd7 10. Ne5 e6 (10... Bf5 11. Qxd5 Be6 12. Bxd7+ Qxd7 13. Qxa8+ Qd8 14. Qxa7 {is little or no better.}) 11. Bxd7+ Ke7 $146 (11... Qxd7 $142 12. Nxd7 Kxd7 13. f3 Bg6 {(Khudolev - R. Williams : correspondence, ICCF 2014) or resigns.}) {Now I have a forced mate.} 12. Bg5+ $1 f6 (12... Kd6 {holds-out a few moves more:} 13. Rc1 Bc2 $8 14. Qxc2 Qxg5 15. Qc7+ Ke7 16. Bc6+ Kf6 17. Qxf7#) 13. Qa3# {[#] Time left - Moldovan 43:55, Amnesh X. 47:12 Estimated time used - Moldovan 12:10, Amnesh X. 8:48 Longest thinks: White - 8 minutes for 8.Nxe4 Black - 3 minutes for 7...Nxe4?} (13. Qb4# {also wins.}) 1-0

#1264 Over 1800 Again!

I drew expert Roshan Idnani (2066) at the November 19th Westfield Grand Prix and am again > 1800.

Here is the game:

[Event "Westfield Grand Prix"] [Site "Westfield, NJ"] [Date "2017.11.19"] [Round "1"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Idnani, Roshan"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "E99"] [WhiteElo "1791"] [BlackElo "2066"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.11.19"] [EventType "swiss"] [EventRounds "4"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1264"] [SourceDate "2007.12.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2007.12.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 9 G/40+5 (delay) E99 King's Indian Defense Benko's Variation (11.g4)} 1. Nf3 Nf6 ({In our previous games, he opted for} 1... c5 {(twice)}) ({&} 1... d5) 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 ({I expected} 3... d5) 4. d4 (4. e4 {(Kupchik - Marshall : Lake Hopactcong 1926), discounting the Gruenfeld & inviting an Accelerated Dragon transposition (4...} c5 5. d4 cxd4 6. Nxd4 d6 7. Be2 Nc6 {), is good}) ( {but} 4. g3 {(Isaacson - Cambell : Lakeland 1856!!) seems premature, due to} c6 $1 {+ ...d5.}) 4... O-O $1 {The most flexible reply.} 5. e4 (5. Bg5 {(Karlin - Najdorf : m/2, Warsaw 1934) is okay.}) 5... d6 6. Be2 (6. h3 {(Cochrane - Bonnerjee : Calcutta 1855!!) is the main alternative.}) 6... e5 7. O-O (7. d5 { was considered.}) 7... Nc6 8. d5 (8. Be3 Ng4 9. Bg5 f6 10. Bc1) ({&} 8. dxe5 { are playable.}) 8... Ne7 9. Ne1 Nd7 ({For} 9... Ne8 {see my 2009 loss to Hueckel.}) 10. f3 f5 11. g4 $5 {(?! Maric) A new move for me.} ({For} 11. Nd3 { see my 2014 draw vs. C. Sadler.}) 11... f4 {?! Golubaev [#]} (11... Kh8) ({or} 11... Nf6 {is usually seen.}) 12. h4 {! Giplis, Golubaev} Kh8 ({Is} 12... Bf6 13. g5 Bg7 14. Nd3 h6 15. Kf2 Kf7 {any better?}) 13. Nd3 {(?!)} (13. Kg2 $142 { /\ Rh1 Liushnin - Suto : correspondence, ICCF 2005}) ({or} 13. Rf2 {(! Lukacs) /\ Rh2 Sunye - Di Berardino : Sao Paulo (zt) 2005}) 13... Ng8 $1 14. Qe1 $2 ( 14. g5 $142 $1 $146 h6 15. Kf2 hxg5 16. hxg5 Qxg5 17. Rh1+ Bh6 18. Ke1 $44) 14... Bf6 15. g5 Be7 $1 $146 (15... Bxg5 $143 $6 16. hxg5 Qxg5+ 17. Kh1 Qh5+ 18. Kg1 {1/2-1/2 Ehmsen - Koch : Kiel 2012}) 16. Kg2 (16. Kf2 $142 h6 17. Rh1 hxg5 18. hxg5+ Kg7 19. Qg1 Bxg5 20. Ke1 $15) 16... h6 17. Rh1 Kg7 18. gxh6+ Nxh6 19. Bd2 Nf6 20. Qg1 Nh5 21. Be1 {[#]} Kh7 $2 (21... Nf7 $142 $17) 22. Bf2 Ng3 $2 (22... c6 $142 $11) 23. Bxg3 fxg3 24. Kxg3 Bxh4+ $2 (24... Bd7 $142 $14) 25. Rxh4 Qg5+ 26. Rg4 Bxg4 $6 (26... Nxg4 $142 27. fxg4 Rh8 $16) 27. fxg4 Rf7 $2 (27... Kg7 $142 $16) 28. Rf1 $2 (28. Qc1 $142 Qxc1 29. Rxc1 $18) 28... Raf8 $2 (28... Kg7 $142 29. Rxf7+ Nxf7 $14) 29. Rxf7+ Rxf7 $2 (29... Nxf7 $142 $16) 30. Qc1 $18 Qxc1 {Black offers a draw. White accepts. Game drawn by agreement. Another bad opening but I'm over 1800 again! (1802) Time left - Moldovan 16: 20, Idnani 10:50 Estimated time used - Moldovan 26:10, Idnani 31:40 Longest thinks: White - 2 minutes (6x) Black - 9 minutes for 16...h6} (30... Qxc1 31. Nxc1 {[#]} Re7 32. Nb3 $18 {Komodo 11} (32. Nd3 $18 {Houdini 6})) 1/2-1/2

#1263 Under 1800 Again

In the Westfield G/45 Quads on October 1st I played 3 terrible games, went 1-2 and fell under 1800 again.

[Event "Westfield G/45 Quads"] [Site "Westfield, NJ"] [Date "2017.10.01"] [Round "1"] [White "Sloan, Jed"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C01"] [WhiteElo "1769"] [BlackElo "1809"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2017.10.01"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1263"] [SourceDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Quad 5, Board 9. G/40+5 (delay). C01 French Defense, Exchange Variation.} 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 {Already I'm in a bad mood. I spent the entire summer playing the Modern Defense to avoid this joy-killer & am now stuck with it.} ({I would have preferred a Winawer (} 3. Nc3 Bb4 {)}) ({& accepted Tarrasch's} 3. Nd2) 3... exd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 ({I was going to answer} 5. Nf3 {with} Nb4 $5 ({For } 5... Bg4 {see my 2008 win over JasonP.})) 5... Bd6 6. h3 {Another annoying move. Now I can't play ...Bg4 & have to settle for the more passive ...Bf5 or . ..Be6.} Nge7 7. Ne2 ({I expected} 7. Nf3) 7... Bf5 $5 {This should've been delayed.} (7... O-O 8. O-O Bf5 $5 {Hannewald - Kirschbaum : Kranenburg 2005} ({ or simply} 8... Ng6 $146 {=}) 9. Bxf5 $140 Nxf5 10. Qb3 $146 a6 $1 $11 11. Qxb7 $4 (11. Qxd5 $4 Bh2+ $19 {is too obvious.}) 11... Na5 $19 {was a good alternative.}) 8. Bxf5 Nxf5 9. Qb3 {[#] Now I lose a P instead of sacking 1.} Nce7 $1 $146 ({Previously seen here were:} 9... Qd7 10. Qxd5 O-O-O 11. Qf3 f6 ( 11... Rhe8 $142 $44) 12. O-O $14 {Strashok - Evchin : Lvov 2001}) (9... O-O 10. Qxd5 (10. Qxb7 $143 $2 Qe8 $17) 10... Qd7 $44 {Taraswinee - Sithalatchumi : Chennai 2011}) 10. Qxb7 Rb8 $2 {This just throws a 2nd P away.} (10... O-O $142 $44) 11. Qxa7 Ra8 12. Qb7 O-O ({Black realizes that on} 12... Rb8 {White has} 13. Qa6 $16 {avoiding a draw. So he makes lemonade.}) 13. O-O (13. Qb5 $142) 13... Qd7 14. Qb3 Rfe8 15. Nf4 (15. Qd1 $142) 15... c6 $2 (15... Nh4 $142 $44) 16. Qc2 Qc7 17. Nd3 Ng6 18. b3 $2 (18. Qd1 $142 $16) 18... Nfh4 19. f4 (19. Qd1 $142) 19... Nf5 $2 (19... Re4 $142 $44) 20. Ne5 Ng3 21. Rf3 Ne4 $2 {[#]} (21... Nh5 $142 $44) 22. c4 $2 (22. Nd2 $142 $16) 22... Nh4 23. Rf1 Ng3 $2 (23... Nf5 $142 $17) 24. Rd1 $4 (24. Rf2 $142 $15) 24... f6 25. Nd3 $2 (25. Bb2 $142 $5) 25... Ne2+ $2 (25... Re2 $142 26. Rd2 Rae8) 26. Kh1 $2 (26. Kf1 $142 Ng3+ 27. Kf2 Re2+ 28. Qxe2 Nxe2 29. Kxe2) 26... Nxf4 $4 (26... Ng3+ $142 27. Kh2 Re2 $19 28. Rd2 $140 (28. Bd2 $143 Rxg2#) (28. Nd2 Rxg2#) 28... Nf1+) 27. Bxf4 Bxf4 28. cxd5 cxd5 $2 (28... Be3 $142 $44) 29. Qxc7 Bxc7 30. Nc3 {[#]} Bb6 $2 (30... Nf5 $142 $16) 31. Nc5 Rec8 $2 (31... Ba7 $142) 32. N5a4 $4 (32. b4 $142 $18) 32... Ba7 (32... Ba5 $142 33. Nxd5 Rc2) 33. Nxd5 Rd8 $4 (33... Rc2 $142 34. Ne3 (34. Nf4 $2 Bb8 $11) 34... Re2 35. Re1 Rxe1+ 36. Rxe1 Bxd4 $16) 34. Ne7+ $18 Kf7 35. Nc6 Rd5 36. Nxa7 (36. Nc3 $142 Rg5 37. Rd2) 36... Rxa7 37. Nc3 Rd8 (37... Rg5 $142 38. Rd2 Rc7) 38. d5 Rad7 (38... Nf5 $142) 39. b4 Nf5 40. Rd3 Ne7 (40... Nd6 $142) 41. Rad1 (41. a4 $142) 41... Nc8 (41... Nc6 $142 42. b5 Ne5) 42. a4 Nd6 43. Rd4 (43. a5 $142) 43... Rc7 (43... Nf5 $142) 44. Ne4 Ra7 (44... Nf5 $142 45. d6 $1 Ra7 46. Nc5 Nxd4 47. Rxd4 Raa8) 45. Nxd6+ Rxd6 46. a5 Rb7 47. Rc1 Ke7 48. Rc6 $6 (48. Rc5 $142) 48... Kd7 49. a6 $6 (49. Rc2 $142) 49... Rc7 $2 (49... Rb6 $142) 50. Rxd6+ Kxd6 51. b5 Kc5 52. Ra4 (52. Rc4+ $142 $1 Kxc4 53. b6) 52... Kb6 $2 (52... Ra7 $142 53. d6 Kb6) 53. a7 Rxa7 54. Rxa7 Kxa7 55. d6 1-0 [Event "Westfield G/45 Quads"] [Site "Westfield, NJ"] [Date "2017.10.01"] [Round "2"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Mundayat, Abinav"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B36"] [WhiteElo "1809"] [BlackElo "1798"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2017.10.01"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1263"] [SourceDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Quad 5, Board 9. G/40+5 (delay). B36 Sicilan Defense, Accelerated Dragon Maroczy Bind (by transposition - 6.e4).} 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 ({I've practically worn out} 4. e3) ({but} 4. g3 {is a good alternative.}) 4... cxd4 5. Nxd4 g6 6. e4 Bg7 {[#]} 7. Be2 $2 {Falling into a trap.} (7. Be3 Ng4 $140 { Breyer's Variation.} (7... d6 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O {is the main line.}) 8. Qxg4 Nxd4 9. Qd1 {is best.}) ({If White wants to avoid the N trade he should go} 7. Nc2) 7... Nxe4 $1 8. Nxc6 Nxc3 9. Nxd8 Nxd1 10. Nxf7 Nxf2 (10... Kxf7 $142 11. Kxd1 d6 $17 {Ionescu - Moraru : Baile Tusnad 2005}) 11. Nxh8 $2 (11. Rf1 Kxf7 12. Rxf2+ Ke8 13. Bf3 $15 {(Roehrkasten - Krensing : Verden 2006) is the best try.}) (11. Nd6+ $6 exd6 12. Kxf2 {saddles Black with doubled Ps but} O-O+ 13. Bf3 {Nogly - Brockmann : Hamburg 1995} d5 $1 $146 {keeps him well-ahead.}) 11... Nxh1 12. Nxg6 hxg6 13. Be3 Bxb2 14. Rb1 {[#]} Bc3+ $146 (14... Be5 15. Kd2 {was played in Kirste - Skibbe : Germany 2002.}) 15. Kf1 (15. Kd1 $142) 15... Be5 16. Kg1 Ng3 (16... d6 $142) 17. hxg3 Bxg3 (17... b6 $142 $17) 18. Bf3 (18. Bd3 $142) 18... a6 $2 (18... Rb8 $142 19. Bxa7 Ra8 20. Bf2 (20. Bxb7 $143 $5 Rxa7 21. Bxc8 Rxa2 22. Rd1 Ra7) 20... Bxf2+ 21. Kxf2 Rxa2+ 22. Ke3 Ra7 $17) 19. Bxb7 $2 (19. Be4 $142 $44) 19... Bxb7 20. Rxb7 Rc8 21. c5 Rc6 {[#]} 22. Rb6 $4 {This leads to a lost ending.} (22. Rb4 $142 a5 23. Re4 $17) 22... Rxb6 23. cxb6 Kd8 24. Kf1 Kc8 $4 (24... d5 $142 $19) 25. Ke2 $4 (25. a4 $142 $17) 25... Kb7 $19 26. Kd3 Be1 27. Ke4 Ba5 28. Bg5 e6 $6 (28... Bb4 $142) 29. Ke5 Bxb6 30. Kf6 $2 (30. g4 $142 Kc6 31. Kf6 Bd8+ $140 $4 32. Kxg6 Bxg5 33. Kxg5 d5 34. Kf6 d4 35. g5 d3 36. g6 d2 37. g7 d1=Q 38. g8=Q $17) 30... Bd8+ 31. Kxg6 Bxg5 32. Kxg5 d5 33. Kf4 Kc7 34. Ke5 Kd7 35. Kd4 Kd6 36. g4 e5+ 37. Ke3 Ke6 0-1 [Event "Westfield G/45 Quads"] [Site "Westfield, NJ"] [Date "2017.10.01"] [Round "3"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Ajith, Aayush"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "1809"] [BlackElo "1790"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "80"] [EventDate "2017.10.01"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1263"] [SourceDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.12.03"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Quad 5, Board 9. G/40+5 (delay). D91 Gruenfeld Defense, Seirawan's Variation.} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 {Is he going to play a K's Indian, a Gruenfeld or Benoni?} 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 ({An immediate} 4. Bg5 {was an option.}) 4... Bg7 5. Bg5 c6 { This is somewhat inferior.} (5... Ne4 $142) ({or} 5... dxc4) 6. Bxf6 {For some reason, I always seem to select 2nd-rate continuations against the ...c6 lines. See, for example, my 2006 loss to Tomkovich & recent games vs. Albert Tang & Benitez (2017 KST).} (6. cxd5 $142 cxd5 (6... Nxd5 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 $14 { Kaposztas - Kanya : Salgotarjan 1978}) 7. Qb3 Nc6 8. e3 e6 ({IMO} 8... O-O $143 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qxd5 {Levin - Knorr : Ventnor City 1939}) 9. Bd3 $14 {Mohaupt - Schwertfeger : correspondence, E. Germany 1964}) ({ECO, however, recommends} 6. e3) 6... Bxf6 7. cxd5 (7. e3 $142 O-O {Sanguinetti - R. Flores : Santiago 1959} 8. Rc1) 7... cxd5 8. Qb3 (8. e3 $142 O-O 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O {Lasut - Bobula : Krynica 1998}) 8... e6 (8... Nc6 9. Qxd5 Qb6 10. Qb5 Bxd4 11. Nxd4 Qxd4 {(Dizdar - Vogel : Berlin 1995) is playable.}) 9. e3 O-O 10. Bd3 Nc6 { [#] I thought this position was in my favor but the engines say it's on the south side of =.} 11. h4 $6 (11. O-O $142 $11 {B. Maksimovic - Sekularac : Yugoslav Ch., Kladno 1992}) 11... b6 $6 $146 (11... h5 $142 {Limberg - Pfeiffer : Germany 2011}) 12. O-O-O $6 (12. h5 $142 $36) 12... a6 (12... h5 $142 13. Kb1 a6) 13. Rdg1 $6 {[#]} (13. h5 $142 g5 14. h6 $1 $11 {/\ Qc2}) 13... b5 (13... h5 $143 14. g4 $1 hxg4 $8 15. Rxg4 e5 $8 16. Rgg1 exd4 (16... e4 $4 17. Qxd5 Qxd5 $8 (17... Ne7 $143 18. Qxa8 ({or simply} 18. Qxd8 Rxd8 19. Bxe4 Rb8 20. h5) 18... exd3 19. Qb8) (17... Bb7 $2 18. Rxg6+ $1 Bg7 $8 19. Rxg7+ $1 Kxg7 $8 20. Rg1+ Kf6 21. Qxe4) 18. Nxd5 exd3 (18... exf3 $143 19. Nxf6+ Kg7 20. Nd5) 19. Nxf6+ Kg7 (19... Kh8 $143 $2 20. h5) 20. Nh5+ $18) 17. Nxd4 Nxd4 18. exd4 Bxd4 19. Kb1 Be6 (19... Bxf2 $2 20. Rg2 Bd4 21. Nxd5 $16) 20. Qd1 ({or} 20. Ne2 Bxf2 $8 (20... Bg7 $2 21. h5 $16) 21. Rg2 Be3 $8 22. Bxg6 $1 d4 23. Bf5+ Kh8 $8 24. Bxe6 fxe6 $8 25. Qxe6 $11) 20... Bg7 (20... Bxf2 $2 21. Rg2 $16 Bxh4 $4 22. Qh5 $1 $18) 21. h5 $44 {->} d4 22. Ne2 Qd5 23. Nc1) ( 13... e5 $142 $1 14. Qxd5 Nb4 $1 15. Qxd8 $8 (15. Qxa8 $2 Nxd3+ $17) 15... Nxd3+ 16. Kd2 Rxd8 17. Kxd3 exd4 18. Nxd4 Bf5+ 19. Ne4 Rd6 $1 20. g4 Bxe4+ 21. Kxe4 Re8+ 22. Kd3 (22. Kf3 Bxd4 23. exd4 Rxd4 24. Rd1 Rb4 25. b3 Ree4 26. g5 Rxh4 27. Rxh4 Rxh4 $15) 22... Bxd4 23. exd4 Red8 24. Rd1 Rxd4+ 25. Ke2 Re8+ 26. Kf3 Rb4 27. b3 Ree4 28. Rd8+ Kg7 29. h5 Rf4+ 30. Ke3 Rbe4+ 31. Kd3 Re6 $15) 14. g4 $2 (14. h5 $142 $11) 14... Bd7 (14... b4 $142 15. Ne2 a5 $17) 15. g5 Be7 ( 15... Bg7 $142 16. h5 Qa5 $15) 16. h5 b4 17. Ne2 Na5 18. Qd1 Rb8 19. hxg6 fxg6 $8 (19... hxg6 $143 $4 20. Ne5 $18) 20. Nf4 Rxf4 $4 (20... b3 $142 21. a3 Bd6 $11) 21. exf4 b3 22. a3 Nc4 $2 {[#]} (22... Qc7+ $142 23. Kb1 Nc4) 23. Qe2 $4 ( 23. Rxh7 $3 $18 Kxh7 $140 (23... Bf8 24. Rgh1 Bg7 25. Bxc4 {is little or no better.}) 24. Rh1+ Kg7 25. Rh7+ $3 Kxh7 (25... Kf8 $142 26. Qh1 Bxg5 27. Nxg5 $18) 26. Qh1+ Kg8 27. Bxg6 {& # in 2 would've wowed the crowd.}) 23... Qa5 ( 23... Bxa3 $142 $1) 24. Kb1 $4 (24. Bxc4 $142 dxc4 $44 25. Qe5) 24... Bxa3 $3 25. bxa3 Qxa3 $4 (25... Nxa3+ $142 26. Kb2 Nb5 $19) 26. Bxc4 $4 (26. Ne5 $142 $17) 26... dxc4 27. Qb2 Qb4 $4 (27... Qa5 $142 28. Rc1 Qf5+ $19) 28. Rc1 e5 $2 (28... Bc6 $142 $44) 29. Rc3 $2 (29. Qc3 $142 $18) 29... Bf5+ 30. Kc1 a5 31. Nxe5 Rc8 $4 (31... a4 $142 32. Rxc4 a3 33. Rxb4 axb2+ 34. Kxb2 Rxb4 $16) 32. Kd2 $4 (32. Qa1 $142 $18) 32... a4 33. Ra1 Ra8 $2 (33... Be6 $142 $16) 34. Qa3 $4 (34. Nc6 $142 Qd6 (34... Qb5 $143 $2 35. Ne7+ Kf7 36. Nxf5 Qxf5 37. Rxc4 Qxf4+ 38. Kc3) 35. Rxc4 Qxf4+ 36. Kc3 $18) 34... Qxa3 35. Rxa3 b2 36. Rc1 bxc1=Q+ (36... c3+ $142 37. Raxc3 a3 $15) 37. Kxc1 Rd8 $2 (37... c3 $142 38. f3 Kf8 39. Ng4 Rd8 40. Rxc3 Rxd4 $11) 38. Rxa4 Rxd4 {Black offers a draw.} 39. Rxc4 {White declines.} Rxc4+ 40. Nxc4 Kg7 $14 {[#] but Black, who was in severe time pressure, made several mistakes & eventually lost.} 1-0

#1262 Alisa Melekhina Lecture In Westfield Tomorrow

The Westfield Chess Club

Westfield YMCA
220 Clark St.
Westfield, NJ 07090

is proud to host

A lecture and book signing by FIDE Master Alisa Melekhina

author of
 

Sunday, September 10
12 noon

prior to our G/45 Quads.

There is a $5 admission charge to view the lecture.

The lecture fee will be refunded for those who play in the 2:00 p.m. tournament.

#1261 KST - Round 14 Annotations

My lousy, last round win over Jun Tang.

Notes updated 9/9/2017 @ 3:48 a.m.

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.31"] [Round "14"] [White "Tang, Jun"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B08"] [WhiteElo "1389"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2017.09.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1260"] [SourceDate "2017.06.01"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.09"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1 G/55+5 (delay) B08 Pirc Defense (by transposition - 4...Nf6)} 1. d4 g6 {Once more! Why mess with success?} 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e4 {This, without question, is more testing} ({than the} 3. Bf4 {he played in week #6.}) 3... d6 (3... c6 $143 4. c4 {although a transposition into a Classical K's Indian would likely follow.}) 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. Nc3 {[#]} (5. Qe2 {, retaining the option of reinforcing d4 with c2-c3, is more flexible.}) 5... O-O (5... Nxe4 $143 6. Bxf7+ $1 Kxf7 7. Nxe4 Rf8 8. h4 Kg8 9. h5 $14 {Wo. Fischer - Butu : correspondence, ICCF 1979}) (5... c6 {/\ ...d5} 6. Bb3 $14 {Aronin - Volovich : Moscow Ch. 1961}) (5... Nc6 6. d5 Nb8 (6... Ne5 $143 7. Nxe5 dxe5 {Tal - Illetsko : Radio Simul, Prague 1960} 8. Be3 $14) 7. h3 $14 {Sommerville - Nicholson : London 1973}) (5... Bg4 $2 6. e5 $1 dxe5 7. Bxf7+ $1 Kf8 (7... Kxf7 $4 8. Nxe5+ $18 {Palermo - Farah : Buenos Aries Ch. 1964}) 8. Bb3 $16 { Whitaker - Rundell : Tulsa 1931}) (5... Nc6 6. d5 Nb8 (6... Ne5 $143 7. Nxe5 dxe5 8. Be3 $14) 7. h3 $14) 6. O-O (6. Qe2 $142 {Schapiro - Buerger : England-USA, cable match 1924}) ({or} 6. Bb3 {(Gunsberg - Bauer : Amsterdam 1889!!) avoiding the aforementioned fork-trick.}) 6... Bg4 (6... Nxe4 $1 { Now that White has castled, taking on e4 becomes appropriate.} 7. Nxe4 ({or} 7. Bxf7+ Rxf7 8. Nxe4 h6 $1 $11 {(stopping Neg5) Kholmov - Khodos : 30th USSR Ch., Yerevan 1962}) 7... d5 8. Bd3 dxe4 9. Bxe4 Nd7 $11 {(Koch - Kohler : Bad Oeynhausen 1938) is a good alternative.}) 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nc6 {White has the B pair. Black has play against d4.} 9. Ne2 e5 ({The engine & Bg7 prefer} 9... Nd7 10. Rd1 Na5 11. Bd3 c5 12. c3 Nc6 13. Be3 (13. Bc2 Qb6 14. dxc5 dxc5 $1 15. Rxd7 $140 $2 Ne5) 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 {Arepyev - Malin : Voronezh 2014} e5 $11) 10. c3 $6 (10. d5 $142 Nd4 (10... Ne7 $143 11. Ng3 {Upelnieks - Petran : Komarno 1997}) 11. Nxd4 exd4 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 $14 {Navarro - Jimenez : Linares 2016}) 10... Nd7 (10... exd4 $142 $1 11. cxd4 Qe7 $11 {Deisach - McTavish : Toronto 1992}) 11. Be3 $6 {[#]} (11. d5 $142 Ne7 12. Ng3) 11... a6 $6 $146 (11... exd4 $142 $1 12. Nxd4 (12. cxd4 $143 Nce5 $1 13. dxe5 Nxe5 14. Bxf7+ Rxf7 15. Qg3 Nc4 $15) 12... Nce5 13. Qe2 Nxc4 14. Qxc4 Re8 $11) 12. Rad1 (12. Rac1) 12... Qe7 $2 (12... exd4 $142 13. Nxd4 (13. cxd4 $143 Nce5 $1 14. dxe5 Nxe5 15. Bxf7+ Rxf7 16. Qg3 Nc6) 13... Nce5 14. Qe2 Nxc4 15. Qxc4 Re8) 13. Qg3 (13. Bd3 $142 $14) 13... Kh8 (13... exd4 $142 14. Nxd4 (14. cxd4 $143 Qxe4) 14... Nxd4 15. Bxd4 Qxe4 16. Rfe1 $44 Qc6 17. Bd5 Qb5) 14. f4 $6 {[#]} (14. Bd3 $142 $14) 14... exf4 $2 (14... exd4 $142 15. cxd4 Qxe4 16. Nc3 $44 Qc2) 15. Rxf4 (15. Nxf4 $142 Nf6 (15... Qxe4 $143 16. Bd3 Qe8 17. Nd5) 16. Nd5 $16) 15... Nf6 16. Qf3 Na5 $2 (16... Rae8 $142 17. Ng3 (17. Rf1 $2 Nxe4 18. Rxf7 Rxf7 19. Qxf7 Nxc3 $1 $17) 17... d5 $1 $11) 17. Bd3 Nh5 18. Rg4 Rae8 19. Bg5 f6 20. Bh4 Qd7 $2 (20... c5 $142 $11) 21. Ng3 (21. Bf2 $142 $16) 21... Nxg3 22. Rxg3 $2 (22. Bxg3 $142 $14) 22... g5 {[#]} 23. e5 fxe5 $2 (23... gxh4 $142 24. Qh5 f5 $17) 24. Qh5 $2 (24. Qe4 $142 Bh6 25. Bxg5 Bxg5 26. Rxg5 Rf4 27. Qe2 $16 ) 24... e4 25. Bc2 $4 (25. Rxg5 $142 exd3 26. Rxa5 $11) 25... gxh4 $19 26. Rg4 Qf7 $5 (26... d5 $142) 27. Qxh4 (27. Qxf7 $142 Rxf7 28. Bxe4) (27. Qxa5 $143 $2 Qf2+ 28. Kh2 Qxc2 29. Qxc7 Rg8) 27... Qf6 $2 ({Much} 27... d5 $142) 28. Qg3 ( 28. Bxe4 $142 Bh6 (28... Qxh4 $143 29. Rxh4 Bh6 $1 30. b4 Nc6 31. Kh1) 29. Bd3 (29. Qg3 $143 $2 Nc4)) 28... d5 {[#]} 29. Qxc7 Qf2+ (29... Nc4 $142) 30. Kh1 ( 30. Kh2 $143 Bh6) 30... Rf7 31. Qxa5 Qxc2 32. Re1 $2 (32. Rg1 $142) (32. Qxd5 $143 $2 Qxd1+ 33. Kh2 Be5+ $1 34. Rg3 Bxg3+) 32... Qf2 33. c4 (33. Rg1 $142) 33... dxc4 ({Much} 33... Bxd4 $142) 34. Rgxe4 Rxe4 35. Qd8+ $2 (35. Rxe4 $142) 35... Rf8 {White resigns. Time left - Tang 8:03, Moldovan 21:25 Estimated time used - Tang 49:57, Moldovan 36:30 Longest thinks: White - 6 minutes for 31...Qa5 Black - 7 minutes for 31...Qf7!?} 0-1

#1260 KST - Round 14 Photos

Captions to follow.

#1259 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 14 Results

14th round results, by board number:

1. J. Tang 0-1 Moldovan
2. Kernighan 1-0 Mazzillo
3. McAuliffe 1-0 Ruales
4. An. Tang 0-1 Tomkovich
5. Dovydaitis 0-1 Selling

Final Standings:

1. Moldovan 15.5
2. Kernighan 13.0
3. McAuliffe  10.5
4. Tomkovich 9.0
5. Mazzillo 8.0
6. Camejo 6.5
= 7-8. Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
9. McCorkell 5.0
= 10-13. Selling, Benitez, Al. Hu, Gottlieb 3.0
14. Al. Tang 2.5
= 15-18. An. Tang, Lowey, J. Tang, Scarola 2.0
= 19-21. Pelican, Renna, Levanda 1.0
= 22-23. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 24-26. E. Singh, Touhey, Dovydaitis 0.0

More photos & my game will follow.

#1258 Hamilton Quads 8/26/2017

On Saturday I split 2 games in the Hamilton Quads.

Notes to the Ahuja game updated 9/10/2017 @ 6:32 a.m.

[Event "Hamilton Quads (Section 3)"] [Site "Hamilton, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.24"] [Round "1"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Ahuja, Shikhar"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B41"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [BlackElo "1757"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2017.08.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1258"] [SourceDate "2017.08.29"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.09.10"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1 Time Control: 40/80+15/30... B41 Sicilian Defense Kan Variation (by transposition - 7.e4)} 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. a3 $5 {(?! HIARCS 14's opening book)} (6. e4 $142 Bb4 $140 7. Qd3 {Holub - Barta : Prague 1955}) (6. g3 $5 Qc7 7. Bg2 Qxc4 8. Bf4 $44 {(Friedman - Bodisko & Friedman - Charmov : correspondence 1975) does not impress.}) 6... b6 (6... d5 $142 7. cxd5 Nxd5 {Holm - Sznapik : Nordic Team Tournament, Oslo 1983} ) 7. e4 {[#] This is the 3rd time in 10 days that I've transposed from the Symmetrical English to an Open Sicilian.} Qc7 (7... Bb7 $5 {Skreno - Likavsky : Ilichevsk 2002} 8. e5 $140 $146 Ng8 $1 {was an option.} (8... Ne4 $143 $6 9. Nxe4 Bxe4 10. Qg4 $14)) 8. Be2 (8. Be3 $1 Bb7 9. f3 d5 $140 $4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 {(Barrio - Hernansanz : Eibar 2013) is precise.}) 8... Bb7 9. Qd3 (9. f3 d5 $140 $2 {As in the previous note, this "freeing" move is mistaken.} 10. cxd5 exd5 {Ernst - M. Carlsson : Swedish Championship, Gavle 1982} 11. Bg5 $16 {(TN) was a good, more solid alternative.}) 9... d6 {/\ ...Nbd7 + either 11... Ne5 or 11...Nc5. So, White has to find a way to prevent &/or neutralize both.} 10. f4 Nbd7 11. Nb3 (11. b4 $142 {Queimadelos - S. Kovacevic : Pedrido 2004 but I was worried about weakening c4.}) 11... Be7 12. Be3 O-O 13. O-O {[#] These Hedgehog positions are very demanding & not my cup of tea but I didn't think a draw-offer was in order.} Rac8 $146 (13... Rfd8 14. Rad1 Rab8 15. Kh1 Bc6 16. Nd2 Nc5 17. Qc2 {was played in Jacobsen - Nogues : London 1927.}) 14. a4 (14. Rad1 $142) 14... Qb8 15. a5 Nc5 16. Nxc5 bxc5 17. Bf3 Bc6 18. g4 { /\ 19.g5, dislodging the Nf6 & relieving some of the pressure against e4.} h6 { [#]} ({Of course} 18... Qxb2 $4 {loses to} 19. Rfb1) {We've played well to this point but have used an inordinate amount of time - 42:24 for me, 49:50 for my foe.} 19. Rfd1 $6 {Indecisive.} ({A full K-side commitment with} 19. h4 {would've maintained the balance.}) 19... Nh7 {Now Black is better.} ({Daniel Girsh's} 19... Nd7 {was a good alternative:} 20. Qe2 Rfd8 (20... g5 $143 $6 21. Rf1 $11) 21. Qf2 Bf6 (21... g5 $6 22. Rf1 $11) 22. h4 Bxc3 23. bxc3 Nf6 24. Qg2 Qa8 25. g5 hxg5 26. hxg5 Nxe4 $15) 20. Qe2 $2 (20. Rab1 $142 $15) 20... f5 $2 ( 20... Rfd8 $142 $17) 21. exf5 Bxf3 22. Qxf3 exf5 23. Nd5 Bf6 $2 (23... Rce8 $142 $11) 24. Nb6 $2 {[#]} (24. g5 $142 $16) 24... fxg4 $4 (24... Rce8 $142 $11 ) 25. Qd5+ $18 Kh8 26. Nxc8 Rxc8 27. Qxd6 Qxb2 28. Qxa6 Re8 $2 (28... Rg8 $142) 29. Rab1 $2 ({Much} 29. Qb5 $142 $1 Rxe3 (29... Qxb5 $143 30. cxb5 Bxa1 31. Rxa1 Rxe3 32. a6) 30. Qxb2 Bxb2 31. Rd8+ Nf8 32. Rxf8+ Kh7 33. Ra2 Bd4 34. Kf1) 29... Qe2 $6 (29... Qa3 $142 30. Bf2 Bd4 31. Bxd4 cxd4) 30. Re1 Qd3 {[#]} ( 30... Qf3 31. Bxc5 {was little or no better.}) 31. Bf2 $6 {This covers g3} ({ but} 31. Bxc5 $142 Rxe1+ 32. Rxe1 Bd4+ 33. Bxd4 Qxd4+ 34. Kh1) 31... Rf8 32. Qe6 (32. Qc6 $142 Qxc4 33. Qd6 {/\ Rb8}) 32... Bd4 33. Bxd4 Qxd4+ 34. Kh1 $6 ( 34. Qe3 $142 $1 Qxc4 35. Ra1) 34... Qf2 $2 (34... Qc3 $142 35. Qxg4 Nf6 36. Qg2 Qxa5) 35. Qxg4 Rxf4 (35... Nf6 $142 36. Qg2 Qxf4) 36. Qg3 Qd4 37. Rg1 $6 (37. a6 $142 Qxc4 $140 38. Rb8+ Rf8 (38... Nf8 $143 39. a7) 39. a7) 37... Ng5 38. Rbd1 $4 {[#]} (38. a6 $142 $18) 38... Qe4+ $2 (38... Ne4 $142 $1 39. Rxd4 Nxg3+ 40. hxg3 Rxd4 41. a6 Rd7 $16) 39. Qg2 Qxc4 40. Qd5 $2 (40. Qb7 $142 $18) 40... Qxd5+ $2 (40... Qa6 $142 $16) 41. Rxd5 $18 Nh3 $2 (41... Ra4 $142 42. Rxc5 Ne4 {& White has to show technique.}) 42. Ra1 {Now, the win is easy.} Rg4 {Threat: 43...Nf2 mate.} 43. Rd2 {Defending.} c4 44. a6 c3 45. Rc2 {Black resigns. Time left - Moldovan 28:08 (for 10 moves), Ahuja 27:00 (for 11) Time used - Moldovan 81:52, Ahuja 83:00 Longest thinks: White - 8:48 for 9.Qd3, Black - 12:12 for 17...Bc6 Game length - 2:44:52} ({After} 45. Rc2 Kh7 {/\ 46.Rxc3?? Nf2 mate} (45... Rc4 46. a7 Rc8 (46... Nf2+ 47. Rxf2 c2 48. a8=Q+ Kh7 49. Rxc2 Rxc2 50. Qe4+ Kg8 51. Qxc2 $18 {->}) 47. Rxc3 $1 ({or simply} 47. a8=Q Rxa8 48. Rxa8+ Kh7 49. Rxc3 $18) 47... Rxc3 48. a8=Q+ Kh7 49. Qe4+ $18 {->} Kg8 (49... g6 50. Qe7+ Kg8 ({or} 50... Kh8 {etc.}) 51. Ra8+ Rc8 52. Rxc8#) (49... Kh8 50. Ra8+ Rc8 51. Rxc8#) 50. Qe6+ Kh8 (50... Kf8 51. Ra8+ Rc8 52. Rxc8#) 51. Ra8+ Rc8 (51... Kh7 52. Qf5+ g6 53. Qf7#) 52. Rxc8+ Kh7 53. Qe4+ g6 54. Qe7#) (45... Rf4 46. a7 Nf2+ 47. Rxf2 Rxf2 48. a8=Q+ $18 {->}) (45... Rg5 46. a7 Kh7 47. a8=Q $18) 46. a7 {a8Q follows.}) 1-0 [Event "Hamilton Quads (Section 3)"] [Site "Hamilton, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.24"] [Round "2"] [White "Chapovsky, Boris"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C04"] [WhiteElo "1778"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "91"] [EventDate "2017.08.24"] [EventType "tourn"] [EventRounds "3"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1258"] [SourceDate "2017.08.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1 Time Control: 40/80+15/30... C04 French Defense Guimard Variation} 1. e4 e6 (1... g6) ({&} 1... c6 {were considered.}) 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 {[#]} 4. Ne2 $5 {Something I've never seen before. However, the move dates back to Aaltio - E. Haag : Budapest 1959.} dxe4 {This is okay but} (4... e5 $1 5. exd5 $140 Qxd5 6. dxe5 {Connolly - DeKok : Viborg 1979} Bg4 $1 $44 {was a more vigorous & thematic response.}) 5. Nxe4 Nf6 6. Nxf6+ Qxf6 7. c3 $146 ({There have been 9 games with} 7. Be3 {. Crawley - Sorensen : Politiken Cup, Copenhagen 1987 was the 1st.}) 7... Bd6 $6 (7... e5 $142 $1 8. d5 $140 Bc5 $3 9. dxc6 $4 Qxf2+ 10. Kd2 Bf5 $19 {threat: 11...Be3 mate, 11...0-0-0 mate and 11...Rd8 mate.}) 8. Ng3 O-O 9. Ne4 (9. Nh5 $143 $2 Qh4 $15) 9... Qg6 10. Nxd6 cxd6 {[#] I thought my 3-step lead in development was worth more than White's B pair but, apparently, it's not.} 11. Qd3 e5 (11... f5 $142 $11) 12. d5 $6 ( 12. Qxg6 $142 hxg6 13. dxe5 dxe5 14. Bc4 Bf5 15. Bg5 $14) 12... Ne7 (12... Bf5 $142 13. Qg3 (13. Qb5 $2 Ne7 14. Qxb7 Rfe8 $17 {/\ ...Rab8 + ...Nxd5}) 13... Ne7 14. Qxg6 Bxg6 15. c4 b5 $1) 13. Qg3 $2 (13. Qxg6 $142 hxg6 14. c4 $11) 13... Qxg3 (13... Qe4+ $142 14. Be2 Qxd5 $17) 14. hxg3 Nxd5 15. Bd2 (15. f3 $142 Be6 16. g4 $15) 15... Be6 16. O-O-O Rac8 17. Kb1 Rfd8 (17... h6 $142 18. Be2 f5 19. Bf3 Rfd8 20. Bc1 Rc5 $17) 18. Bd3 h6 19. f3 {[#]} Nf6 $6 (19... f5 $142 $17) 20. g4 e4 $6 (20... d5 $142 21. g5 hxg5 22. Bxg5 d4 $15) 21. Be2 $6 ( 21. Bc2 $142 exf3 22. gxf3 Nh7 23. Be3 $11) 21... Bc4 $2 (21... Re8 $142 $15 22. g5 $140 exf3 $1 23. Bxf3 Bf5+ 24. Kc1 hxg5 25. Bxg5 Ne4) 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23. g5 hxg5 24. Bxg5 exf3 25. gxf3 Rc5 26. f4 $6 (26. Bxf6 gxf6 27. Rd4 $44) 26... Rf5 27. Rd3 {[#]} d5 $4 (27... Rd7 $142 28. Rdh3 $140 Kf8 29. Rh8+ Ng8 $15) { Now White wins.} 28. Rdh3 $18 Kf8 29. Re1 Kg8 30. Re5 $1 Rxg5 $8 31. fxg5 Ne4 { Resigns was an option.} 32. Rd3 Nc5 33. Rdxd5 Rxd5 34. Rxd5 b6 35. Kc2 Ne6 36. b4 Kh7 37. c4 Kg6 38. c5 bxc5 39. bxc5 f6 40. gxf6 Kxf6 41. c6 Ke7 42. Rd7+ Ke8 43. Kc3 a6 44. Kc4 g5 45. Kd5 Nf4+ 46. Kd6 {Black resigns. A rare loss in the Guimard, just my 3rd in 13 tournament games (+7-3=3). Minutes left - Chapovsky 56 (for 9 moves), Moldovan 25 (for 10) Minutes used - Chapovsky 54, Moldovan 85 (for 10) Longest thinks: White - 6 minutes for 27.Rd3, Black - 7 minutes for 21...Bc4? Game length - 2:19 I skipped round 3.} 1-0

#1257 KST - Round 13 Annotations

My 1st place-clinching draw vs. Life Master Mark Kernighan:

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.24"] [Round "13"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Kernighan, Mark"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B54"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [BlackElo "2231"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1257"] [SourceDate "2017.08.25"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.25"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1 G/55+5 (delay) B54 Sicilian Defense (by transposition - 6.e4)} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. Nc3 (4. d5 exd5 (4... b5 {is Blumenfeld's Gambit}) 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 {gives Black fewer options & is probably best but I'd rather have an English or Sicilian than test his Modern Benoni.}) 4... cxd4 (4... d5 { & a Tarrasch QGD is another way to play.}) 5. Nxd4 d6 (5... d5 $142 {as in my 2009 draw vs. Mangion}) (5... Nc6 {as in my 2010 loss to Sherry}) (5... Bb4) ({ &} 5... a6) 6. e4 a6 ({For} 6... Nc6 {see my 2015 GSCL win over Minkov.}) ({For } 6... Nbd7 {see my round 12 win over Dovydaitis.}) 7. Be3 Be7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O {[#]} Nc6 ({For} 9... Nbd7 {see our 2009 Kenilworth Championship game.}) 10. Qd2 Bd7 11. Rad1 (11. Rfd1 {, /\ Rac1 (anticipating ...Qc7) + Bf1 & Qf2, was a good alternative. For example:} Rc8 12. Nxc6 Bxc6 13. f3 Qc7 14. Bf1 b6 15. Rac1 Qb8 16. b4 Rfd8 17. Qf2 Nd7 18. Rb1 Bf6 19. Bd4 b5 20. cxb5 axb5 21. a4 bxa4 22. b5 Bxd4 23. Qxd4 Bb7 24. Nxa4 d5 25. exd5 Bxd5 26. Qe3 Qd6 27. Rbc1 {½-½ Zaichik - Yudasin : Atlantic Open, Washington 2002}) 11... Qc7 12. Nxc6 $146 (12. f4 $142 $14) (12. f3 $14) ({&} 12. Rc1 $14 {Kernighan (Yeritsyan - V. Stefansson : Prague 2016, by transposition)} Ne5 $140 13. h3 $1 Nxc4 $2 14. Bxc4 Qxc4 15. Nd5 exd5 16. Rxc4 dxc4 17. f3 $16) 12... Bxc6 13. f3 Rfd8 14. Bd3 (14. Bd4 $142) 14... d5 15. exd5 exd5 16. Qf2 $2 {[#]} (16. cxd5 $142 Bxd5 ( 16... Nxd5 $2 17. Bxh7+ $1 $14) 17. Qf2 $11) 16... dxc4 $2 (16... d4 $142 $1 17. Bxd4 Rxd4 $1 18. Qxd4 Bxf3 $1 19. Qh4 $8 {Kernighan} Qc5+ 20. Kh1 Bxd1 21. Rxd1 (21. Rxf6 $143 g6 22. Nd5 Bxf6 23. Qxf6 Re8 24. Qc3 Re6 25. Nf6+ Rxf6 26. Qxf6 Ba4) 21... g6 $15) 17. Bxc4 Qe5 ({Of course, if} 17... Bxf3 {then} 18. Bxf7+ Kxf7 19. Qxf3) 18. Rfe1 Rxd1 19. Rxd1 Bd6 20. g3 Qe7 21. Nd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Rxd5 Qe6 24. Qd2 Bc7 25. Kg2 (25. Rd7 $142 {right away.}) 25... Re8 {[#]} 26. Rd7 $2 {Now this is big mistake.} (26. Bf2 $142 Qe2 $140 $6 27. Qb4 $14 ({or} 27. Qxe2 Rxe2 28. Rc5 $11 Bb6 $4 29. Rc8+ Bd8 30. Rxd8+ Re8 31. Rxe8#)) 26... Bb6 $2 ({We missed} 26... Ba5 27. Qd5 $8 Qxd5 $8 (27... Qxe3 $4 28. Qxf7+ Kh8 29. Qxg7#) 28. Rxd5 Rxe3 29. Rxa5 Re2+ 30. Kh3 Rxb2 {winning a P} 31. g4 Rb6 $17) 27. Bxb6 Qxb6 28. Rd6 Qb5 29. Rd8 g6 30. Rxe8+ Qxe8 31. Kf2 Qe6 32. Qd8+ Kg7 33. Qd4+ Kg8 (33... f6 34. Qb4 b5 {was playable}) ({but} 33... Kh6 $143 $2 34. Qe3+ Kg7 35. Qxe6 fxe6 36. Ke3 Kf6 37. Ke4 e5 $8 38. Kd5 Kf5 39. h4 $14) ({&} 33... Qf6 $4 34. Ke3 $18) 34. Qd8+ Kg7 35. Qd4+ Kg8 {White offers a draw. Black accepts. Game drawn by agreement. Time left - Moldovan 5:20, Kernighan 2:02 Estimated time used - Moldovan 52:35, Kernighan 55:53 Longest thinks: White - 7 minutes for 20.g3, 6 minutes for 12.Nxc6 & 26.Rd7? Black - 10 minutes for 4..for .cxd4, 9 minutes for 16...dxc4? With the draw I clinched 1st place & free entry into the NJ Open but due to scheduling & traveling issues I'm not sure if I'll be able to play.} (35... Kg8 36. Qd8+ { is a 3-fold repetition.}) 1/2-1/2

#1256 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 13 Results

13th round results, by board number:

1. Moldovan 1/2-1/2 Kernighan
2. Lowey 1/2-1/2 McAuliffe
3. Tomkovich 1-0 Ruales
4. Mazzillo 0-1 An. Tang
    Mazzillo 1-0 McCorkell
5. Pelican 0-1 Selling
6. Dovydaitis 0-1 J. Tang

Standings after round 13 of 14:

1. Moldovan 14.5
2. Kernighan 12.0
3. McAuliffe  9.5
= 4-5. Tomkovich, Mazzillo 8.0
6. Camejo 6.5
= 7-8. Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
9. McCorkell 5.0
= 10-12. Benitez, Al. Hu, Gottlieb 3.0
13. Al. Tang 2.5
= 14-18. Selling, An. Tang, Lowey, J. Tang, Scarola 2.0
= 19-21. Pelican, Renna, Levanda 1.0
= 22-23. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 24-26. E. Singh, Touhey, Dovydaitis 0.0

No photos this week.
My 1st place-clinching draw will follow.

#1255 KST - Round 12 Annotations

My wins over Joseph Dovydaitis & Mike Lowey.

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.17"] [Round "12.1"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Dovydaitis, Joseph"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B54"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1255"] [SourceDate "2017.08.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1.1 G/55+5 (delay) B54 Sicilian Defense} 1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d6 { This leads to an inferior Sicilian.} ({I expected} 3... d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. d4 { & a Tarrasch QGD.}) 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. e4 Nbd7 7. Be3 a6 8. Be2 Nc5 { This is premature.} ({Completing the Hedgehog setup with} 8... b6 9. O-O Bb7 $14 {, etc., was best.}) 9. f3 Be7 10. O-O (10. Qc2 $142 $16) 10... O-O 11. Qd2 {[#]} b6 $4 {This weakens c6, loses a P & the game.} (11... Qc7 $142 12. b4 Ncd7 $14 {Pyatkova - Abdrakmanova : Obninsk 2007.}) 12. b4 $146 (12. Nc6 $143 Qc7 13. Nxe7+ Qxe7 14. b4 Ncd7 15. a3 {Kokeny - Bakos : Celldoemoelk 2011.}) 12... Ncd7 (12... Nb7 $142 13. Nc6 Qc7 14. Nxe7+ Qxe7 15. Bxb6 Bd7) 13. Nc6 Qe8 $8 14. Rfd1 Ne5 $2 (14... d5 $142 15. e5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 Bxb4 17. Bxb6 dxc4 18. a3 Be7 19. Bxc4 Bb7) 15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 16. Qxd6 Qxd6 17. Rxd6 Ned7 (17... Ne8 $142 18. Rd2 Rb8) 18. Rad1 Rd8 $2 {[#]} (18... Rb8 $142) 19. Bxb6 $1 (19. e5 $142 Ne8 20. R6d2 Rb8 21. c5) 19... Bb7 $2 {This loses a R, not just an Exchange.} ( 19... Re8 $142) ({Of course, if} 19... Nxb6 $2 {then} 20. Rxd8+ Ne8 21. Rxe8#) 20. Bxd8 Rxd8 21. e5 $1 Nd5 $2 (21... Rf8 $142 22. exf6 Nxf6 {or resigns.}) ( 21... Nxe5 $143 $2 22. Rxd8+ Ne8 23. Rxe8#) 22. cxd5 exd5 (22... Bc8 $142 23. dxe6 fxe6) 23. Nxd5 Bc8 (23... Kf8 $142 24. Nb6 g5) 24. Ne7+ Kf8 25. Nxc8 Ke8 26. Nb6 (26. Bxa6 $142) 26... Ke7 (26... Nxb6 27. Rxd8+ Ke7 28. Bxa6 {was no better.}) 27. Rxd7+ Rxd7 28. Rxd7+ Ke6 29. Rd5 (29. f4 $142) 29... f5 30. Bxa6 f4 31. Bc8+ Kf7 32. Rd6 Ke7 33. Nd5+ Kf7 34. e6+ Kg6 35. e7+ Kg5 36. e8=Q g6 37. Qe5+ Kh6 38. Qxf4+ (38. Be6 g5 $8 39. Bf7# {was fastest.}) 38... Kg7 39. Rd7+ Kg8 40. Qf7+ Kh8 41. Qxh7# {Black checkmated. Time left - Moldovan 34:30, Dovydaitis 1:46 Estimated time used - Moldovan 25:55, Dovydaitis 56:34 Longest thinks: White - 3 minutes for 7.Be3 Black - 7 minutes for 21...Nd5?} 1-0 [Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.17"] [Round "12.2"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Lowey, Mike"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D13"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [BlackElo "1596"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1255"] [SourceDate "2017.08.19"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.19"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1.2 G/55+5 (delay) D13 Queen's Gambit Slav Defense Exchange Variation} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5 cxd5 (4... exd5 $142 {freeing the Bc8.}) 5. Nc3 Bd7 (5... Nc6 $142 6. Bf4 Bd6) 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. e3 Nf6 8. h3 {To preserve my d.s. B against ...Nh5.} Qa5 $146 {/\ ...Ne4} (8... a6 $142 9. Be2 Rc8 10. Rc1 Bb4 $14 {Storslett - Erikstad : Tromsoe 2001}) 9. a3 $2 (9. Bd3 Nb4 $140 ({or} 9... Ne4 10. Bxe4 dxe4 11. Ng5 Qa6 (11... f5 $143 12. O-O) 12. a3 $16) 10. Be2 $16 {was right.}) 9... Ne4 10. Rc1 $2 {[#]} (10. Qb3 {would have maintained the balance.}) 10... a6 $2 ({Black could have won a P & forced an ending with} 10... Bxa3 $1 11. bxa3 (11. Qb3 $143 Bd6 12. Bxd6 Nxd6 13. Be2 $17) (11. Ra1 $4 Bxb2 $1 12. Rxa5 Bxc3+ $19) 11... Nxc3 12. Qd2 Ne4 13. Qxa5 Nxa5 $15) 11. Qc2 $2 (11. Nd2 $142 $14 {breaking the pin & threatening to trade on e4.}) 11... Nd6 $2 {A strange move.} (11... Rc8 $142 12. Nd2 $8 Nxc3 13. Qxc3 Qxc3 14. Rxc3 f6 $11) {Now White gets a clear advantage.} 12. Bd3 h6 (12... b5 $142) 13. O-O Be7 14. Rfe1 $6 (14. b4 $142 $1 Qxa3 $140 $4 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. Ra1 Qxb4 17. Rfb1 $18) 14... f5 (14... O-O $142) 15. Nd2 (15. b4 $1 Qxa3 $140 $4 16. Ra1 Nxb4 17. Qd2 Qb3 18. Reb1 Nc4 19. Bxc4 Qxc4 20. Ne5 Qc8 21. Ng6 $18 {was a good alternative.}) 15... g5 (15... Qd8 $142) 16. Bh2 b5 $2 (16... O-O $142 $16 ) 17. Nb3 $18 Qb6 $2 (17... Qd8 $142 18. Nc5 Bc8) 18. Nc5 Nc4 $2 (18... Bc8 $142) 19. Nxd7 Kxd7 {[#]} 20. Bxf5 $3 Rhf8 $2 (20... Qb7 $142 21. Nxd5 Rac8) ( 20... exf5 $143 $2 21. Nxd5 Qb7 22. Qxf5+ $40) 21. Nxd5 $1 Qd8 (21... Qb7 $142) 22. Nxe7 Nxe7 23. Be4 (23. Bg4 $142) 23... Ra7 (23... Rc8 $142) 24. Red1 Qc8 $2 (24... Ke8 $142) 25. d5 (25. Qe2 $142) 25... e5 $2 (25... exd5 $142 26. Bxd5 Ke8) 26. d6 Nc6 27. b3 N4a5 $2 (27... Kd8 $142 28. bxc4 Na5) 28. g4 $6 { Black resigns. Time left - Moldovan 32:18, Lowey 17:37 Estimated time used - Moldovan 25:02, Lowey 39:43 Longest thinks: White - 4 minutes for 9.a3? Black - 7 minutes for 14...f5?} (28. Bf5+ $142 Rxf5 29. Qxf5+ Kd8 30. Qf8+ Kd7 31. Qf7+ Kd8 32. d7 Rxd7 33. Bxe5) 1-0

#1254 KST - Round 12 Photos

Captions to follow.

#1253 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 12 Results

12th round results, by board number:

1. Moldovan 1-0 Dovydaitis
    Moldovan 1-0 Lowey
2. Mazzillo 0-1 Tomkovich
3. McCorkell 1/2-1/2 Gottlieb
4. Scarola 1-0 Benitez
    Kernighan 1-0 Benitez
5. Scarola 0-1 McAuliffe
6. Ruales 0-1 Selling

Standings after round 12 of 14:

1. Moldovan 14.0
2. Kernighan 11.5
3. McAuliffe  9.0
= 4-5. Tomkovich, Mazzillo 7.0
6. Camejo 6.5
= 7-8. Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
9. McCorkell 5.0
= 10-12. Benitez, Al. Hu, Gottlieb 3.0
13. Al. Tang 2.5
14. Scarola 2.0
15. Lowey 1.5
= 16-21. Selling, Pelican, An. Tang, Renna, J. Tang, Levanda 1.0
= 22-23. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 24-26. E. Singh, Touhey, Dovydaitis 0.0

Photos & my games to follow.

#1252 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 11 Results

Another very light turnout. Only 8 players showed and just 3 games were played. I was ill and had to sit-out.

Thanks to Geoff McAuliffe and Pat Mazzillo for supplying info & results.

11th round results, by board number: 

1. Scarola 0-1 Kernighan
2. Ruales 0-1 McAuliffe
3. Renna 0-1 Tomkovich

Standings after round 11 of 14:

1. Moldovan 12.0
2. Kernighan 10.5
3. McAuliffe  8.0
4. Mazzillo 7.0
5. Camejo 6.5
= 6-8. Tomkovich, Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
9. McCorkell 4.5
= 10-11. Benitez, Al. Hu 3.0
= 12-13. Al. Tang, Gottlieb 2.5
14. Lowey 1.5
= 15-20. Pelican, An. Tang, Renna, J. Tang, Levanda, Scarola 1.0
= 21-22. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 23-25. E. Singh, Touhey, Dovydaitis 0.0

No round 11 photos or games.

#1251 KST - Round 10 Annotations

My loss to Jun Tang and win over Luis Ruales.

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.03"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Tang, Jun"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A02"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [BlackElo "1389"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "81"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1251"] [SourceDate "2017.08.04"] [SourceVersion "2"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.05"] [SourceQuality "1"] {#1 of 2 simultaneous games Board 1 G/55+5 (delay) A04 Bird's Opening} 1. e3 c5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Nf3 Nf6 (3... g6 {preventing the game's b3, is a good alternative.}) 4. b3 e6 5. Bb2 Bd6 $5 ({Random game fragment:} 5... Be7 6. Bb5 Qc7 7. O-O a6 8. Bxc6 Qxc6 9. Ne5 Qc7 $11 {Moldovan - Sokolosky : G/7, Kenilworth 9/11/2008}) 6. Nc3 $146 (6. Bb5 {was played in Pashkin - Gorynin : Nizhnij Novgorod 2014.}) 6... O-O 7. Nb5 {(?!)} (7. Be2 $142 a6 8. O-O) 7... Bb8 {[#]} 8. Be2 $2 (8. g3 $1 a6 9. Nc3 {would've maintained the balance.}) 8... a6 9. Na3 b5 $2 (9... d5 $142 $15) 10. c4 bxc4 ( 10... b4 11. Nc2 a5 {which I expected} 12. d4 cxd4 13. Ncxd4 Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Ba7 {is also fine.}) 11. Nxc4 Bc7 (11... d5 $142 12. Nce5 Ne7) 12. O-O d5 $2 (12... Bb7 $142 $11) 13. Nce5 Nxe5 14. Nxe5 $2 (14. fxe5 $142 Nd7 15. Rc1 $14) 14... d4 $2 (14... Bb7 $142 15. Bf3 Nd7 $11) 15. Bf3 Nd5 $8 16. exd4 Qd6 $4 {[#]} ( 16... cxd4 $142 17. Nc6 Qd7 18. Rc1 Nxf4 19. Ba3 Bd6 $8 20. Ne5 Bxe5 $8 21. Bxf8 Rb8 22. Ba3 f6 $14) 17. dxc5 $2 (17. Ba3 $18 Bb6 $140 $2 18. Nc4 { would've won.}) 17... Qxc5+ 18. d4 Qd6 19. Bxd5 $2 (19. g3 $142 $16 { consolidating.}) 19... Qxd5 20. Qf3 Bb7 21. Qxd5 Bxd5 22. Rac1 Bd6 $6 (22... Rfc8 $142 $11) 23. Nd7 Rfd8 24. Nb6 Rab8 25. Nxd5 exd5 26. f5 $14 f6 (26... a5 $142 $14) 27. Rc6 a5 28. Re1 $6 (28. Bc3 $142 $16) 28... Bb4 $2 (28... a4 $142 29. Re3 Bf4 $14) 29. Ree6 Rdc8 30. Kf2 Rxc6 31. Rxc6 Bf8 (31... Re8 $142) 32. Kf3 $2 (32. Bc3 $142 $16) 32... a4 33. Rc3 Rb4 $4 {[#]} (33... Bb4 $142 34. Re3 Bd6 35. h4 Kf7 $14) 34. Ke3 $4 ({Missed win #2:} 34. Ba3 $1 $18 Rxd4 $2 35. Rc8 {threatening mate & winning a piece.}) 34... Rb8 35. Rd3 (35. Kf3 $142) 35... Re8+ (35... g6 $142) 36. Kf3 Rb8 37. Bc1 axb3 $6 (37... Rc8 $142 38. Be3 g6 $14 ) 38. Rxb3 Ra8 $2 (38... Rc8 $142 39. Be3 g6) 39. a3 $2 (39. Rb5 $142 $1 Rxa2 ( 39... Rd8 $143 $2 40. a4 $18) 40. Rxd5 $16) 39... Ra4 40. Ke3 Rc4 $6 (40... g6 $142 41. Bb2 Bd6 42. fxg6 hxg6 43. h4 $14) 41. Rc3 $4 {&, rather than wait for 41...Rxc3+, I immediately resigned. Time left - Moldovan 13:41, Tang 21:48 Estimated time used - Moldovan 44:44, Tang 37:32 Longest thinks: White - 4 minutes for 28.Re1?! & 37.Bc1 Black - 6 minutes for 37...axb3?!} (41. Bd2 $142 $16) 0-1 [Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.08.03"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Ruales, Luis"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A40"] [WhiteElo "661"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "62"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1251"] [SourceDate "2017.08.04"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.08.04"] [SourceQuality "1"] {#2 of 2 simultaneous games Board 2 G/55+5 (delay) A40 Modern Defense} 1. d4 g6 2. g4 $5 {[#] This Grob-like move is very unusual but seems quite playable.} d6 3. Bf4 $2 $146 {Overlooking the attack on g4.} ({Tactical defense, with} 3. Bg2 $1 Bxg4 $140 $2 (3... Bg7 $11) 4. Bxb7 {Winning an Exchange} Nd7 5. Bxa8 Qxa8 6. f3 {, was the correct follow-up.}) 3... Bxg4 4. h3 Bd7 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. e3 (6. Qd2 $142 {but, even then, White has little, if any, compensation for his loss.} ) 6... Nf6 7. Bg2 Qc8 (7... Nc6 $142 {straight-away}) 8. Nf3 (8. Nge2 $142 { keeping the Bg2's view un-obstructed.}) 8... O-O 9. Nh4 $2 (9. Qd2 $142 $17) 9... Nc6 (9... c5 $142 {but Black is already winning, regardless.}) 10. Qe2 Re8 (10... e5 $142 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Bh2 e4) 11. O-O-O e5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Bg5 Bc6 {[#]} 14. f3 $2 (14. Rdg1 $142) 14... Qe6 $2 ({Much} 14... Nh5 $142) 15. b3 $4 (15. f4 $142 Bxg2 16. Qxg2 Nc4 17. f5) 15... Ned7 (15... h6 $142 16. Bf4 (16. Bxf6 $143 Qxf6 17. Rd4 Nd7) 16... Nh5 17. Bh2 Nd7) 16. Rd3 $2 (16. e4 $142) 16... Nc5 17. Rd4 (17. e4 $142) 17... Nfd7 (17... Nh5 $142) 18. Rhd1 Bxd4 ( 18... h6 $142 19. Bf4 g5) 19. Rxd4 (19. exd4 $142 Qxe2 20. Nxe2 Rxe2 21. Bf1 Ree8 22. dxc5 Nxc5 23. Kb2) 19... a5 (19... Qe5 $142 20. Bf4 $140 Qf6 21. Bg3 ( 21. Qf2 $143 Ne6) 21... Ne6 22. Rd3 g5) 20. a4 (20. e4 $142) 20... Kg7 $2 ( 20... Qe5 $142) 21. Rf4 $2 (21. e4 $142) 21... Qxe3+ {[#]} 22. Kd1 $2 (22. Qxe3 $142 Rxe3 23. Rxf7+ Kxf7 24. Bxe3) {Now I win more material.} 22... Qxe2+ ( 22... Qxc3 $142 {but trading Qs isn't bad & I still pick-up a piece.}) 23. Nxe2 f6 {White's cleric is trapped.} 24. Nf5+ $2 ({>= resigns or} 24. Rg4 fxg5 25. Rxg5) 24... gxf5 25. h4 $2 (25. Bh4 $142 Rxe2 26. Kxe2 Ne6 27. Rc4 (27. Rxf5 $2 Nd4+) 27... Ne5 28. Rc3) 25... fxg5 26. hxg5 {At this point I blundered in & lost the other game.} Ne5 27. Rh4 $2 (27. Rxf5 $142) 27... Bxf3 28. Rh6 $2 { This leaves the Bg2 hanging & endangers the R.} (28. Bxf3 $142 Nxf3 29. Rf4) 28... Bxe2+ 29. Kxe2 Nf7+ 30. Kf3 $2 {This drops the R, instead of an Exchange & P.} (30. Kf2 $142 Nxh6 31. gxh6+ Kxh6) 30... Nxg5+ 31. Kg3 Kxh6 {White resigns. Time left - Ruales , Moldovan Estimated time used - Ruales , Moldovan Longest thinks: White - 6 minutes for 24.Nf5+ Black - 3 minutes for 15...Ned7 & 16...Nc5} 0-1

#1250 KST - Round 10 Photos

Masters Mauricio Camejo & Mark Kernighan faced-off for the 3rd time in the event.

Jun Tang & Luis Ruales, waiting for me to put down the camera & resume play.

(I answered 25.Nxd5 += & 16...Nc5 -+.)

Mike Lowey & Geoff McAuliffe also played their 3rd game.

#1249 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 10 Results

It was a surprisingly slow night. Only 9 players showed & just 4 games were played.

10th round results, by board number: 

1. Moldovan 0-1 J. Tang
2. Ruales 0-1 Moldovan
3. Camejo 0-1 Kernighan
4. Lowey 0-1 McAuliffe


Standings after round 10 of 14:

1. Moldovan 12.0
2. Kernighan 9.5
= 3-4. McAuliffe, Mazzillo 7.0
5. Camejo 6.5
= 6-7. Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
8. Tomkovich 5.0
9. McCorkell 4.5
= 10-11. Benitez, Al. Hu 3.0
= 12-13. Al. Tang, Gottlieb 2.5
14. Lowey 1.5
= 15-20. Pelican, An. Tang, Renna, J. Tang, Levanda, Scarola 1.0
= 21-22. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 23-25. E. Singh, Touhey, Dovydaitis 0.0

Photos and my 2 games to follow.

#1248 KST - Round 9 Annotations

My loss to Alex Hu:

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.07.27"] [Round "9"] [White "Moldovan, John"] [Black "Hu, Alex"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A03"] [WhiteElo "1814"] [BlackElo "1823"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "58"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1248"] [SourceDate "2017.07.29"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.29"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1 G/55+5 (delay) A03 Bird's Opening (by transposition - 4.f4)} 1. g3 Nf6 2. Bg2 d5 3. d3 (3. Nf3 {is more flexible.}) 3... e6 4. f4 (4. Nd2 c5 5. e4 { Pirc - Matanovic : Staunton Memorial, Birmingham, ENG 1951}) (4. c4 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Bd7 $140 6. Qxc4 Bc6 7. Nf3 {Mella - Norve : Norway 1992}) ({& the Reti-joining} 4. Nf3 {were good alternatives.}) 4... Bc5 $1 ({For} 4... Be7 { see my 2011 draw vs. Sherry.}) 5. Nf3 Nbd7 6. c3 (6. e3 $142 O-O 7. O-O { M. Ali - Wei : Australian Open, Mount Buller 2004, though the Bc1 would object. }) 6... O-O 7. d4 Bd6 8. O-O c5 9. e3 (9. Ne5 $142 $11) 9... b5 $1 10. Ne5 Bb7 11. Nd2 b4 $6 (11... a5 $142 $15) 12. Ndf3 $2 $146 (12. Nxd7 $142 $1 Nxd7 { Spicak - Smola : Rewal 2011} (12... Qxd7 $143 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Nb3 Bd6 15. cxb4) 13. cxb4 cxb4 14. Nc4 $11) 12... bxc3 13. bxc3 cxd4 (13... Ne4 $142 $17) 14. cxd4 Qc7 15. Qa4 Nb6 16. Qa5 (16. Qb3 $142 $15) 16... Ne4 $6 (16... Qe7 $142 $17) 17. Ba3 f6 18. Rfc1 Qe7 19. Bxd6 Qxd6 20. Nd3 Nc4 21. Qe1 Qa3 22. Bf1 (22. Rab1 $142 $1 Ba6 23. Rb3 $1 {Hu} Qxa2 24. Rb4) 22... a5 (22... Rab8 $142 $15) 23. Rc2 $2 (23. Nc5 $142 $1 Nxc5 24. Rc3 Qb4 25. dxc5 Qxc5 26. Nd2 $44) 23... Ba6 24. Rac1 Ncd6 $2 (24... Rfb8 $142 $17) 25. Nc5 $2 (25. Nd2 $142 $1 $11 Bxd3 $140 26. Nb1 Qb4 27. Bxd3) 25... Bxf1 26. Kxf1 Nc4 27. Nxe6 $4 (27. Kg1 $142 $8 Nxe3 (27... Nxc5 $143 28. dxc5 Qxc5 29. Qf2) 28. Re2 Nf5 29. Nxe4 Qxf3 30. Nc5 $17 {with chances to hold in Black's time pressure.}) 27... Nxe3+ 28. Kg1 Nxc2 29. Qe2 $2 ({I intended} 29. Rxc2 Qxf3 30. Nxf8 Kxf8 31. Qe2 { only to discover that Black has a N on e4 & comes out a piece ahead.}) 29... Qxc1+ {White resigns. Time left - Moldovan 10:08, Hu 4:32 Estimated time used - Moldovan 42:17, Hu 52:53 Longest thinks: White - 7 minutes for 27.Nxe6?? Black - 5 minutes for 9...b5 & 12...bxc3 This was my 1st loss in 22 games covering 4 months!} 0-1

#1247 KST - Round 9 Photos

Captions to follow.

#1246 Kenilworth Summer Tournament - Round 9 Results

9th round results, by board number: 

1. Moldovan 0-1 Alex Hu
2. Mazzillo 1-0 Kernighan
3. Audrey Hu 1-0 Jun Tang
4. Dovydaitis 0-1 Vinson
    McCorkell 1-0 Vinson
5. Lowey 0-1 McAuliffe
    McAuliffe 1/2-1/2 Lowey
6. Scarola 0-1 Tomkovich
7. Anthony Tang 1-0 Benitez
8. Ruales 0-1 Gottlieb


Standings after round 9 of 14:

1. Moldovan 11.0
2. Kernighan 8.5
3. Mazzillo 7.0
4. Camejo 6.5
= 5-7. McAuliffe, Au. Hu, Vinson 6.0
8. Tomkovich 5.09. McCorkell 4.5
= 10-11. Benitez, Al. Hu 3.0
= 12-13. Al. Tang, Gottlieb 2.5
14. Lowey 1.5
= 15-19. Pelican, An. Tang, Renna, Levanda, Scarola 1.0
= 20-21. Constantino, Ruales 0.5
= 22-25. E. Singh, Touhey, J. Tang, Dovydaitis 0.0

Photos and the autopsy of my first loss in 22 games (covering 4 months) to follow.

Registration has closed.

#1245 McCorkell Annotates

Jack McCorkell has annotated his game vs. LM Mark Kernighan for us:

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.07.20"] [Round "8"] [White "McCorkell, Jack"] [Black "Kernighan, Mark"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C37"] [WhiteElo "1455"] [BlackElo "2219"] [Annotator "McCorkell, Jack & Deep Fritz 14 x64 (60s)"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "McCorkell, Jack"] [SourceDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.21"] {C37: King's Gambit Accepted: Salvio Gambit} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 {The CLASSICAL VARIATION} 4. Bc4 ({It is too late to halt Black's kingside advance with} 4. h3 {Murey-Kosashvili, Tel Aviv 1999, continued} Nc6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. d4 d6 7. Bc4 h6 8. a3 Nf6 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 Nh5 $17 {Nick DeFirmian, MCO}) ({KGA CLASSICAL VARIATION ->} 4. h4 $1 g4 5. Ne5 $1 {the key position of the KIESERITZKY GAMBIT - White moves the knight several times but gains the g4 pawn or the one on f4, at times losing the e4 pawn. The pawn push to h4 weakens White's kingside (in some variations a black knight comes to g3 via h5), but Black's king is also in a rather precarious positon. As a result the continuations that result are tactically complex and have strategic possibilities for both players. Black can continue with 5...d6, sacrificing the g4 pawn in exchange for good piece play after 6. Nxg4 Nf6, 7. Nxf6 Qxf6, or he can play classical - notes from COE, New In Chess} Nf6 6. d4 d6 7. Nd3 Nxe4 8. Bxf4 {The key position of the Classical Variation of the KGA. It seems to go against common sense to concede the e4 pawn for the one on f4: in addition Black has an extra pawn and an active knight on e4. Nonetheless, White receives good compensation: Black's kingside has many weaknesses, the g4 pawn, even though a material advantage, has the negative quality of restricting black activity on the wing, and perhaps Black would be better off without it(as in the case in the 5 ... d6 variation). In addition, White's rooks on e1 and f1 will exert unpleasant and ongoing positional pressure. This is also the case in variations in which the queens are exchanged. Black almost always castles queenside. White sometimes castles queenside too, and on other occasions he moves the king to d2 or otherwise to f2. In conclusion, after 8 ... Qe7 or 8 ... Bg7, the position is dynamically balanced. - notes from Chess Openings Essentials, New In Chess, GM Komarov, GM Djuric and IM Pantaleoni}) 4... g4 5. Ne5 {SALVIO GAMBIT, Nick DeFirmian - MCO, is interesting} ({the MUZIO GAMBIT alternately continues} 5. O-O $5 gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 7. e5 $6 (7. c3 $1 Nc6 8. d4 Nxd4 9. Bxf7+ Qxf7 10. cxd4 Bh6 11. Nc3 d6 12. Nd5 Be6 13. Nxf4 Bxf4 14. Bxf4 O-O-O 15. d5 Bd7 16. Qc3 Qf6 $11 {ECO}) 7... Qxe5 8. Bxf7+ (8. d3 $2 Bh6 9. Nc3 Ne7 10. Bd2 Nbc6 11. Rae1 Qf5 12. Nd5 Kd8 13. Qe2 b5 $1 14. Nxe7 Qc5+ 15. Rf2 Nxe7 $1 $17 {Korchnoi}) 8... Kxf7 9. d4 Qxd4+ 10. Be3 Qf6 11. Bxf4 Ne7 $17 {BCO - Kasparov and Keene)} (11... Nc6) 12. Nc3 Nf5 13. Ne4 Qg6 14. g4 Be7 15. Kh1 Nh4 {(Shussler-Akvist, Sweden 1976)} 16. Qe3 Qc6 $13 (16... Kg8 $1 17. Be5 b6 {intending ... Bb7-/+})) 5... Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nh6 {The LAST BOOK MOVE - Fritz} (6... Nc6 {is an interesting SALVIO GAMBIT continuation - Nick DeF} 7. Bxf7+ {7. Nxf7 is too dangerous} Ke7 8. Nxc6+ dxc6 9. Bb3 Nf6 10. d3 {the position is approximately even - Nick DeFirmian, MCO}) 7. Qe1 Qf6 8. d4 d6 {Black threatens to win material: d6xe5} 9. Qf2 $4 {the position is going down the drain} (9. Nd3 $142 Qxd4 10. Bb3 $15) 9... dxe5 $19 10. dxe5 Qxe5 11. Nc3 c6 (11... Be6 $5 {keeps an even firmer grip} 12. Bxe6 fxe6 13. Bxf4 $19) 12. Bxf4 Qh5 13. Qd4 (13. Re1 Nd7 $19) 13... Rg8 14. Rd1 Be7 (14... Nd7 {might be the shorter path} 15. e5 Be7 16. e6 $19) 15. Ne2 Be6 (15... Nd7 $142 $5 {makes it even easier for Black} 16. Ng3 Qh4 17. Ke2 $19) 16.Bxe6 fxe6 17. Ke1 Nf7 (17... Rg6 $142 $5 18. Qh8+ Ng8 $19) 18. Bxb8 $17 Rxb8 (18... Qa5+ 19. c3 Rxb8 20. Qd7+ Kf8 21. Nf4 $17) 19. Qd7+ Kf8 20. Nf4 Qa5+ 21. c3 (21. Ke2 $5 Rg6 22. Nxg6+ hxg6 23. Qxe6 Qb5+ 24. Rd3 $17) 21... Rg6 $1 {Black is still ahead} 22. Nxg6+ hxg6 23. Qxe6 Qg5 24. Rf1 $4 {(mercy suicide) but even a better move would not have saved the game} ({Deep Fritz 14 x64:} 24. Rd2 Re8 25. Qb3 {-2.22/28}) ({Deep Fritz 14 x64:} 24. Rd7 Rd8 25. Rxd8+ Nxd8 26. Rf1+ Kg7 27. Qd7 Qc1+ 28. Kf2 Qxb2+ 29. Kg1 Qb6+ 30. Kh1 Qc5 31. Qd4+ Qxd4 32. cxd4 c5 33. dxc5 Ne6 34. c6 bxc6 35. e5 c5 36. Kg1 Bg5 37. Rb1 c4 38. Rb7+ Kh6 39. Kf2 c3 {-1.55/29}) (24. Ke2 {Deep Fritz 14 x64:} Re8 25. Qd7 Qf4 26. Rd4 Bg5 27. Rhd1 c5 28. Rc4 Qe3+ 29. Kf1 Ne5 30. Qd6+ Kg7 31. Rxc5 Rf8+ 32. Qxf8+ Kxf8 33. Rxe5 Qf4+ {-3.14/21}) (24. Rd7 $142 Rd8 25. Rxd8+ Nxd8 26. Rf1+ Kg7 27. Qd7 Qc1+ 28. Kf2 Qxb2+ 29. Kg1 $17) 24... Qe3# 0-1

#1244 KST - Round 8 Annotations

My wins over Anthony Tang & Joe Renna plus McCorkell-Kernighan:

[Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.07.20"] [Round "8.1"] [White "Tang, Anthony"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "E92"] [WhiteElo "1731"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "52"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1244"] [SourceDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1.1 G/55+5 (delay) E92 King's Indian Defense Petrosian System (7.d5)} 1. d4 g6 2. c4 Nf6 ({A switch from the} 2... Bg7 {& Modern Defense I played against Tomkovich in week 2.}) 3. Nc3 Bg7 (3... d5 {& a Gruenfeld was considered but I quickly re-gained my senses.}) 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 {This prevents the ultra-theoretical 7...Nc6 & slows the game's pace but yields the c5 square.} a5 {[#] Black safeguards the aforementioned outpost before bringing a N there.} 8. O-O {White usually delays castling & retains options} ({with} 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 g5 $140 (9... Na6 $142 10. Nd2 Nc5) 10. Bg3 Nh5 11. Nd2 Nxg3 $2 (11... Nf4 $11 {(Bielicki - Pilnik : Mar del Plata 1962) is right.}) 12. hxg3 $14 {Lapiccirelli - Orlando : Bernate 1999.}) 8... Nbd7 ( 8... Na6 {may be more accurate.}) 9. Ne1 (9. Bg5 {/\ meeting} h6 {with} 10. Be3 {(Evrard - Charlier : correspondence, France 1952) was still possible.}) 9... Nc5 {MegaBase classifies this position as E92 but it could easily be filed under E94, with the Classical lines.} 10. f3 (10. Qc2 Nfd7 11. Be3 {(Buerger - Koltanowski : London 1932) is a reasonable alternative.}) 10... Nh5 11. Nd3 ( 11. g3 $142 Bh3 12. Rf2 {Huss - Mascarinas : Suhr 1990}) 11... b6 (11... Nxd3 12. Bxd3 Nf4 13. Bc2 {(Vasiliu - Smokina : Sovata 1997) is okay but improves the position of White's light-squared B.}) 12. a3 Bd7 {[#]} (12... f5 13. Be3 { F. Schoenfeld - H. Schmidt : Germany 1998} (13. Nxc5 $142 bxc5 14. exf5) 13... Nf4 $1 $11 14. Nxf4 $140 exf4 15. Bxf4 fxe4 16. fxe4 Bd7 $44 {is playable.}) 13. b4 $2 $146 {This drops a P.} (13. Nxc5 $142 $146 bxc5 14. g3 {.}) (13. b3 Nf4 14. Rb1 {was played in Peev - Kots : Odessa 1968.}) 13... Nxd3 {Removing the b4 guard to take advantage of the pin against a3.} 14. Qxd3 $2 {This allows ...Nf4 with tempo.} (14. Bxd3 $142) 14... axb4 15. Nb5 Nf4 16. Qc2 bxa3 $2 (16... f5 $142) 17. Bxa3 (17. Rxa3 $142 Rxa3 18. Nxa3) 17... f5 18. Bb4 $4 ( 18. Bd3 $142 $17) 18... Rxa1 19. Rxa1 {[#]} Bxb5 $4 (19... fxe4 $142 $19 20. fxe4 Nxg2 $3 21. Kxg2 $140 Qg5+ 22. Kh1 ({Returning the piece with} 22. Bg4 { is of no assistance.}) 22... Rf2 23. Rg1 Rxh2+ $3 24. Kxh2 $8 Qh4+ 25. Kg2 $8 Bh3+ 26. Kf3 ({or} 26. Kh1 Bf1#) 26... Qf4#) 20. cxb5 Qg5 21. Bf1 $8 (21. g3 $143 $2 fxe4 $19 22. Qxe4 Nxe2+ 23. Qxe2 e4) 21... fxe4 22. fxe4 $4 (22. h4 $8 Qxh4 23. Be1 $8 Qg5 24. Qxe4 $8 $17 {was required.}) {Now Black a winning attack.} 22... Nh3+ 23. Kh1 $8 Nf2+ 24. Kg1 $8 Qe3 $1 25. Be2 {This allows a flashy finish but there was no defense.} (25. h3 Nd1+ 26. Kh2 Rxf1 $19 27. Rxd1 $140 {Otherwise White is a piece-down.} Qf4+ 28. g3 $8 Rf2+ 29. Qxf2 $8 (29. Kg1 Qxg3+ 30. Kh1 Qh2#) (29. Kh1 Qf3+ 30. Kg1 Qg2#) 29... Qxf2+ 30. Kh1 $8 Qf3+ ) (25. g3 Nd1+ 26. Kg2 Qf3+ $19 27. Kh3 $8 Qxf1+ 28. Kg4 (28. Kh4 Bf6+ 29. Kg4 $8 h5#) (28. Qg2 Nf2+ 29. Kh4 $8 Bf6#) 28... Ne3+ 29. Kg5 (29. Kh4 Bf6#) 29... Qf6#) (25. Bc4 {An. Tang} Ng4+ {Albert Tang} 26. Kh1 $8 Qf4 27. g3 $8 Nf2+ 28. Kg1 (28. Kg2 $8 Qf3+ 29. Kg1 $8 Qh1#) 28... Qf3 $19) (25. Qxc7 Nh3+ 26. Kh1 Qg1#) 25... Nh3+ 26. Kh1 $8 Qg1+ $1 {[#] &, instead of letting me deliver smothered mate, Anthony resigned. Time left - Tang 36:56, Moldovan 30:40 Estimated time used - Tang 20:14, Moldovan 26:30 Longest thinks: White - 4 minutes for 22.fxe4 Black - 3 minutes for 11...b6 & 22...Nh3+} (26... Qg1+ $1 27. Rxg1 Nf2#) 0-1 [Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.07.20"] [Round "8.2"] [White "Renna, Joe"] [Black "Moldovan, John"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "A41"] [WhiteElo "1459"] [BlackElo "1814"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "60"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1244"] [SourceDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 1.2 G/55+5 (delay) A41 Modern Defense Colle System} 1. d4 g6 {11 for 11! } 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. e3 d6 4. Bd3 ({For} 4. Be2) ({&} 4. c4 {see my wins against Kruglyak (KST 2009) & Vinson (KST 2012).}) 4... Nd7 5. O-O ({If} 5. b3 { Black has} e5 $1 6. Bb2 $140 Ngf6 $1 {Ferragut - Ravelo : San Cristobal 2012} 7. dxe5 Ng4 $11) 5... e5 (5... Ngf6 {makes a K's Indian.}) 6. dxe5 Nxe5 {[#]} 7. Nxe5 $146 ({Previously seen here were} 7. Nbd2 {1/2-1/2 Dibala - Stric : Slovakia 2008}) ({&} 7. Be2 Ne7 8. c3 O-O 9. Nxe5 Bxe5 10. Nd2 d5 $11 {Verich - Plummer : correspondence, LSS 2013}) 7... dxe5 {This lets White force an ending.} ({If this had been a rated or must-win game, I would've opted for} 7... Bxe5 8. Nd2 Bg7 {or varied earlier.}) 8. Bb5+ c6 (8... Bd7 9. Qxd7+ Qxd7 10. Bxd7+ Kxd7 {was another way to play.}) 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. Bc4 Ke7 {/\ ...Be6 } ({The engine prefers} 10... f5) 11. e4 ({Sacking an Exchange with} 11. b3 $1 e4 $140 (11... Be6 $2 12. Ba3+ Ke8 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Nd2 $16) 12. Ba3+ Ke8 13. Nd2 $5 (13. c3 $11) 13... Bxa1 14. Rxa1 $44 {was a very interesting alternative.}) 11... Be6 12. Bd3 ({I wanted} 12. Bxe6 Kxe6) ({& expected} 12. Nd2) 12... Bh6 $5 {Looking to trade-off my bad B is positionally desirable} ({ but} 12... Nf6 {, retaining a 2-step lead in development, was safer.}) 13. Nd2 Nf6 14. b3 Nd7 15. Ba3+ Ke8 {[#]} (15... Kd8 $142 16. Nc4 Bf8) 16. Bc4 $4 ({ Joe intended} 16. Nc4 $11 {but touched the light-squared B & had to move it.}) 16... Bxd2 $19 17. Bxe6 {Trying to make lemonade.} fxe6 18. Rad1 Bc3 (18... Bg5 $142) 19. Rd6 c5 (19... Nf8 $142) 20. Rfd1 Bd4 (20... Nf6 $142 $1 21. Bxc5 $140 $2 (21. Rxe6+ $143 $2 Kf7 22. Red6 Bd4) 21... Nxe4) 21. Kf1 $2 (21. c3 $142 Ke7 22. Rxd7+ Kxd7 23. Bxc5) 21... Rf8 22. f3 Ke7 (22... Nf6 $142 23. Rxe6+ (23. c3 $143 Nxe4 $1) 23... Kf7 24. Rd6 Rac8) 23. Rxd7+ Kxd7 24. Bxc5 $2 (24. c3 $142) 24... Rfc8 25. b4 $2 (25. Bxd4 $142 exd4 26. Rxd4+ Ke7 27. Rd2) 25... b6 (25... Ke8 $142) 26. Bxd4 exd4 27. Rxd4+ Ke7 28. c4 Rd8 29. Rxd8 Rxd8 30. Ke2 Rd4 { White resigns. Time left - Renna 36:53, Moldovan 38:17 Estimated time used - Renna 20:37, Moldovan 19:13 Longest thinks: White - 4 minutes for 16.Bc4?? Black - 3 minutes for 19...c5} 0-1 [Event "Kenilworth Summer Tournament"] [Site "Kenilworth, NJ"] [Date "2017.07.20"] [Round "8.2"] [White "McCorkell, Jack"] [Black "Kernighan, Mark"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C37"] [WhiteElo "1455"] [BlackElo "2219"] [Annotator "Moldovan,John"] [PlyCount "48"] [EventDate "2017.06.01"] [EventRounds "14"] [EventCountry "USA"] [Source "The Chess Coroner #1244"] [SourceDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceVersion "1"] [SourceVersionDate "2017.07.21"] [SourceQuality "1"] {Board 2.2 G/60 C37 King's Gambit Salvio's Gambit (5.Ne5)} 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 g5 {[#]} 4. Bc4 $6 ({Kieseritsky's} 4. h4 g4 5. Ne5 $44 {may White's only satisfactory continuation.}) 4... g4 5. Ne5 ({The engines say} 5. O-O { Muzio's Gambit} gxf3 6. Qxf3 Qf6 {is -/+.}) 5... Qh4+ 6. Kf1 Nh6 7. Qe1 (7. d4 $142 $15) 7... Qf6 (7... Qxe1+ $142 8. Kxe1 d6 9. Nd3 f3 10. gxf3 gxf3 $17) 8. d4 d6 {[#]} 9. Qf2 $4 $146 (9. Nd3 $142 Qxd4 10. Bb3 $15 {A. Leonard - G. O'Brien : correspondence, LSS 2008}) 9... dxe5 10. dxe5 Qxe5 11. Nc3 c6 $2 ({ Much} 11... Be6 $142) 12. Bxf4 Qh5 13. Qd4 Rg8 14. Rd1 Be7 15. Ne2 Be6 $6 ( 15... Nd7 $142) 16. Bxe6 fxe6 17. Ke1 Nf7 $2 (17... Rg6 $142 $19) 18. Bxb8 Rxb8 19. Qd7+ Kf8 20. Nf4 Qa5+ 21. c3 Rg6 22. Nxg6+ hxg6 23. Qxe6 Qg5 {[#]} 24. Rf1 $4 (24. Rd7 $142 $17) 24... Qe3# {White checkmated. Time left - McCorkell 6: 52, Kernighan 6:56} 0-1

#1243 KST - Round 8 Games

Replays & notes to follow.

#1242 KST - Round 8 Photos

Robert Vinson vs. Pat Mazzillo

Mark Kernighan vs. Alex Hu

■ Audrey Hu vs. Joseph Dovydaitis □

Jun Tang (□ near right) played Gilberto Benitez while Anthony Tang (center right) faced the tournament leader.

■ Greg Tomkovich vs. Luis Ruales □

■ Bob Sherry and Paul Gottlieb □ played a non-tournament game.

Joe Scarola vs. Anthony Tang

Jack McCorkell vs. Mark Kernighan, the last game of the night.

See post #1245 to play through it.