2014 Chessexpress Player of the Year

Sometimes when trying to decide who is going to be the Chessexpress Player of the Year, I find a player who may have done well in one half of the year, does not do so well in the other. Or that they do well in a couple of events, but badly in others.
This year I am pleased to say I did not have this problem with my eventual choice. This years winner started the year with a high placing in the Australian Championships, and finished the year with as the best placed Australian player in the Australasian Masters. Along the way he became an International Master, beating Danish Champion Allan Rasmussen to score his final IM norm. He then had an impressive debut on the Australian Olympiad team, scoring an undefeated 7.5/9 on Board 5. He also won a number of important events in 2014, including the 2014 Australian Junior Championship and the George Trundle Masters in New Zealand.
Based on the overall quality of his results for 2014, I am pleased to announce that IM Anton Smirnov is the 2014 Chessexpress Player of the Year.

Another draw offer in the cricket

I mentioned this point a number of years ago, but the end of today's 3rd Cricket Test between Australia and India lets me mention it again.
With 5 overs to play, Australia realised that they were unlikely to dismiss the last 4 Indian batsmen to win the game, and agreed to end the game early. India were obviously in no position to win (being well short of the number of runs required) although the offer went to the Umpires rather than to the other team.
The ability to end games early in Cricket has been around for a while, and in a sense serves the same purpose as agreed draws in chess. In a sport where a draw is a common enough outcome, once both sides realise that a win is out of reach for both teams, then agreeing to that result is perfectly sensible.

This might hurt for a while

As the number of 26500+ players has increased over the years, the number of games by "Super GM 's" (to use an outdated term) has increased as well. As a result we get to see a lot more high quality games, but at the same time, there is an increased chance of seeing the absolute shocker. And as the player concerned is 2600+ this seems to magnify the size of any bad blunder, while giving a sliver of hope to the rest of us.
The most recent example of this is a 10 move loss by GM Qun Ma to IM Danny Reznikov in the Groningen tournament. Failing to analyse all checks and captures, Ma missed a queen sacrifice that left Reznikov ahead material. While Ma could have played on, albeit with a big disadvantage, he decided to end the game at that point. For Ma this is probably just one game in what will be a long career, but the nature of the loss (and blog posts like this) may make it hurt for at least a little while.

Ma,Qun (2621) - Raznikov,Danny (2494) [A33]
SFG 2014 Open A Groningen, (6.3), 27.12.2014

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e6 6. a3 Be7 7. g3 Qb6 8. Nb3 Ne5 9. e4 Nfg4 10. c5 Qxb3 0-1

2015 Australian Open

The 2015 Australian Open is only a few days away, and the field has just about reached the 100 mark. It is very strong at the top, with 9 GM's, 1 WGM, and 10 IM's. The organisers have done a fantastic job of attracting both players and sponsorship, with over $26000 in prizes for the Open and the Minor event.
The tournament is being held at the Castle Hill RSL Club in Sydney, and starts on the 2nd of January 2015. It is an 11 round event, and finishes on the 11th January 2015. There are 2 days with double rounds, and given the strength of the field, there will be IM and GM norms on offer in the top section.
If you still haven't entered the tournament (Open of Minor) you can do so at the tournament website. You will also be able to follow all the action from the tournament at the website, with live games, up to date results and I suspect a bit of social media on the side.

An Alekhine game - just because

Here is a nice attacking game from Alexander Alekhine, where he crushes former World Champion Emanuel Lasker. One interesting point from this game is how Alekhine was able to generate an attacking position after opening with the Queens Gambit. Most attacking players start with 1.e4, but Alekhine, Frank Marshal and even Kasparov felt that 1.d4 gave White better attacking chances.
In this game Alekhine is on top after centralising his pieces, although Lasker should have exchanged Queens when he had the chance. By not doing so not only did he leave Alekhine with a better position, it also meant that Alekhine was able to finish the game with a queen sacrifice.


Alekhine,Alexander - Lasker,Emanuel [D67]
Zuerich Zuerich, 1934

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bg5 Nbd7 6. e3 O-O 7. Rc1 c6 8. Bd3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Nd5 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 11. Ne4 N5f6 12. Ng3 e5 13. O-O exd4 14. Nf5 Qd8 15. N3xd4 Ne5 16. Bb3 Bxf5 17. Nxf5 Qb6 18. Qd6 Ned7 19. Rfd1 Rad8 20. Qg3 g6 21. Qg5 Kh8 22. Nd6 Kg7 23. e4 Ng8 24. Rd3 f6 25. Nf5+ Kh8 26. Qxg6 1-0

Quick Chess

One Christmas present given this year, was Quick Chess, which my wife picked up at Australian Geographic. It was a gift for our grand-nieces, who are just starting school.
Quick Chess is a 2-in-1 chess game, with a learning version of the game on one side of the board, and a full version on the other. In the Quick version, the game is played on a 6x5 board (only 1 of each piece+5 pawns), and the emphasis is on learning how the pieces move. All the pieces more normally, with the exception of pawns, who only move a single square. As well there is no en-pas, no castling and pawns only promote to captured pieces.
At first glance it looks like a useful way of introducing young children to chess. The smaller size of the board allows games to finish a lot quicker, and tactical ideas are more obvious. On the other hand it isn't that far removed from proper chess to make the game completely different, and the skills learnt in Quick Chess should be transferable to normal chess.
I also believe some national chess federations are looking at using Quick Chess as part of a beginners coaching system, so there may be a new generation of players whose training starts on the smaller board.

Hastings 2014

There are a couple of Christmas traditions that are followed in my house. One is my sons insistence on staying up late to catch the Boxing Day fixtures in the English Premier League. Another is to follow the traditional Hastings Christmas Congress. This years event starts on the 29th December  and runs through to the 6th of January. The organisers are already boasting of a stronger than usual turn out this year, and the entry list seems to be filled with plenty of GM's. As is a current tradition, the top seeds come from outside the host country, but there are a few English GM's lining up to give it a go.
If you wish to follow the tournament you can do so at the tournament website. The time difference between Australia and the UK may be a bit of a problem for live coverage, but I am sure by the time you wake up, the results from the days play will be available.

An early Christmas Game

On the night before Christmas I normally go hunting for games that are played on Christmas day, For this years effort I decided to find the earliest Christmas game in my database. I expected this to be a difficult task, as a lot of early games only have the year played, missing the day and month. Surprisingly I quickly found a game from 1837, between Von Bilguer and Von Heyderband un der Lasa.
I am guessing the game is an authentic Christmas game, as it is a bit of a horror. White drops a pawn on move 6 and never gets close to equality. On the other hand Black misses a couple of crushing moves, but at least doesn't blunder back. The game ends abruptly when White moves a piece en pris. Possibly both sides enjoyed some Christmas cheer before sitting down to play, but if the quality of the moves is anything to go by, it was White who enjoyed it the most.


Von Bilguer,Paul Rudolf - Von Heydebrand und der L,Tassilo [C00]
Berlin m1 Berlin, 25.12.1837

1. e4 c5 2. f4 e6 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Be2 d5 5. e5 Nh6 6. d4 Qb6 7. c3 cxd4 8. cxd4 Nf5 9. b3 Nfxd4 10. Nxd4 Qxd4 11. Qxd4 Nxd4 12. Bd3 Bc5 13. Nc3 O-O 14. Bb2 Nc6 15. O-O-O Bd7 16. h3 f5 17. g4 Ne7 18. Kc2 Rac8 19. Ba3 Bxa3 0-1

One check chess

A number of years ago I read about a variant of chess called "One check chess" (or 'first check chess') where the first player to give check wins. Apparently it did not last long as an alternative as Frank Marshall quickly found a forced win for White. Annoyingly a quick search has not turned up the winning moves, although I assume 1.Nc3 (threatening 2.Ne4 or 2.Nd5) seems to be an obvious start.
One possible improvement is 'Safe check chess' where the first player to give a 'safe' check wins. By safe check I mean a check that does not result in the immediate capture of the piece as a legal reply. This would rule out any kamikaze attacks by the knights, although if one side decides to "turtle" it may be difficulty to actually win the game.
A variant which still seems to have legs is "Three check chess". Three checks are required to win the game, and they can happen at any stage (ie non consecutively is fine). Here is an example game where White goes horribly wrong. 1.e4 e6 2.d4 Bb4+ 3.c3 Bxc3+ 4.Nxc3 Qh4 and Black will play a third check with the queen next move.  I suspect that this is the kind of chess variant that might be useful to know if you are embarking on a career as a chess hustler, as it is simple enough to entice the unwary, while giving you an edge if you know what you are doing.

Chess for fun or chess for blood

In a recent interview former World Champion Vishy Anand said that his "appetite for chess has recovered". Such a statement is not that uprising, as 2014 has been a particularly good year for him. However it is not clear from the interview which came first, the good results or the renewed enthusiasm. 

The idea that you play chess, even if you don't enjoy it, was first pointed out to me in a book by Reuben Fine that chronicled the lives of the worlds leading players throughout history. Salo Flohr was one of the leading players in the 1930's, but according to Fine, once he reached to top he felt the need to protect his reputation rather than strive for the ultimate prize. As a result he began to play risk free chess, which resulted in fewer losses,  but fewer wins as well. And while there was an argument that he could have played in the 1948 World Championship tournament (as a surviving participant of the 1938 AVRO event), he was replaced by Vasilly Smyslov. I can remember thinking at the time that this was a little sad that a promising career was curtailed by the necessity to make a living.

Of course the alternative is to do a Morphy or Fischer and just quit, or even a Lasker, taking long breaks from the game. At least in the case of Anand, his lack of passion for the game did not last that long, and he seems the better player for it. 

Visitors win Australasian Masters

A trio of visiting Grandmasters have tied for first on the 2014 Australasian Masters GM tournament, which concluded in Melbourne today. Going into the final round GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev and young Australian IM Anton Smirnov shared the lead on 5.5/8 but Vasily Papin defeated Smirnov in the last round , while Kazhgaleyev drew with IM Moulthun Ly. The win for Papin ended Smirnov's chance of a GM norm, and left him tied with Kazhgaleyev on 6/9. Joining them was GM Rustam Khusnutdinov, who defeated Luke Li.
The subsidiary IM tournament was also won by an overseas (although currently living in Australia) player with IM Kanan Izzat proving a convincing winner with 7.5/9. Yi Liu had a good event to tie for second with IM Igor Bjelobrk with 6.5/9.
Full details of the tournament, including a nice set of bulletins, can be found here

Very Nineteenth Century

From the 2014 ACT Rapidplay Championship comes the following game. It has a very nineteenth century feel about it, from the choice of opening, the early f4, and the sudden finish!


Guo-Yuthok,Sherab - Press,Harry [C27]
ACT Rapidplay, 20.12.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nge2 Nc6 5. O-O O-O 6. Kh1 d6 7. f4 a6 8. a4 Be6 9. Bxe6 fxe6 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. d3 Ng4 12. Ng3 Qh4 0-1

Basque Chess

The current World Mind Sports event in China has a number of different styles of chess, including the relatively new format of Basque Chess. In this format players play two games at once, against the same opponent, starting one game with black and the other with white. Players move on either board (when it is their turn), in a similar way to a clock simul. The idea is to cancel out the advantage of having the white pieces in the first game of a 2 game (or 4 or more) match.
While this format seems to be new, my knowledge of a similar type of game goes back at least 20 years. FM Craig Laird described to me a 4 (and possibly a 6) board variation of the game, which he said was played at his local club. To make it more fun it was played with a blitz time limit (G/5m) for all games. It was even tried at the Belconnen Chess Club 25 years ago, although the format tended to favour fitter (and taller) players! Adding the extra games did add an extra strategic dimension to the match, as you could afford to abandon a losing position to concentrate on your winning ones. It would not surprise me if it still is a thing in certain chess clubs, although the necessity of having extra equipment may have contributed to its lack of popularity.

2014 ACT Rapidplay Championship

The traditional end of year ACT Chess tournament, the ACT Rapidplay Championship is being held on Saturday 20th December 2014, in City Walk, Canberra City. It is a 7 round swiss played with a time limit of G/15m. Entries are being taken from 10:30am and the first round is at 11am. Entry fees are $10 ($5 for juniors). The event sponsors are Chicken Gourmet and King O'Malley's and the prize pool is normally over $300.
This event is a popular one on the Canberra scene, and provides one last opportunity for chess before Xmas. Normally 30 to 40 players take part in the beautiful outdoor setting in the centre of Canberra, and already a number of strong Canberra players (including at least one IM) have indicated that they will be playing.
Entries will be taken on the day, and it the tournament is open to all players.

What the what? - Episode 27

The 2014 London Chess Classic has finished in a 3 way tie for first place. Anand, Kramnik and Giri all scored one win and 4 draws to tie for first on 7 points, using the 3-1-0 scoring system. Anand won the title on countback as his win was scored with the Black pieces. Further down the table Nakamura scored 6 points (+1=3-1) while Adams and Caruana scored 4 points each, although Adam's single win relegated Caruana to last place on countback.
Of course it is kind of weird to see the final standings  the way they are (at least to me). In this instance the 'football' scoring system did not encourage decisive results, with 66% of the games drawn (NB this is not a comment on the quality of the games). Half the players finished in first place which is another oddity,while the player that lost 3 out of 5 games finished ahead of the player who only lost 1.
But rather than point the finger at the scoring system I think this is more a function of the small size of the field, and the limited number of rounds. Unless you have either big round robins (8 players or more) or double rounds (or even quadruple like tournaments of the past), you will get results like this, no matter who you invite.

Puccini's Brilliancy

Young Australian player Jack Puccini is representing his country at the Under 16 World Youth  Chess Olympiad, currently taking place in Hungary. For the first half of the tournament he has been holding down top board, while IM Ari Dale finished playing in the London Chess Classic FIDE Open. But despite being outrated in almost all his games, he has started the event with 3/4, and is performing at 2400+. Along the way he picked up a brilliancy prize for his destruction of the Serbian Board 1 in round 3.


Puccini,Jack - Radovic,Luka [B87]
World Under 16 Olympiad, 15.12.2014

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bg5 Be7 8. Bb3 b5 9. Qf3 Qc7 10. e5 Bb7 11. exd6 Bxd6 12. Qe3 Be5 13. O-O-O Nbd7 14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. f4 Bxc3 16. Qxe6+ Kd8 17. bxc3 Re8 18. Qf7 h6 19. Bxf6+ gxf6 20. Be6 Bc6 21. Bxd7 Bxd7 22. Rxd7+ Qxd7 23. Rd1 Ra7 24. Rxd7+ Rxd7 25. Qxf6+ Kc7 26. Qxa6 1-0

Happy Birthday Junta Ikeda

Having published a loss by IM Junta Ikeda yesterday, it is only fair that I publish a win, seeing that today is his birthday. Ikeda, who turns 23, has been a fixture on the Canberra chess scene for over a decade, as well as being one of Australia's rising young talents. He won his first open weekender in 2004 (the Vikings Weekender), and has won a number of major events in Australia and Japan (where he studied for a year). Despite moving to a level where chess study tends to preclude a weekly chess schedule he has continued to support the local Canberra chess scene by playing the Canberra weekend events, the ACT Championships, and other FIDE rated tournaments.
Today he showed his resilience as a  player, rebounding from yesterdays loss in the Australasian Masters. Facing top seed GM Murtas Kazhgaleyev he started with Larsen's Opening (1.b3) reaching the kind of middlegame he favours. He then began some patient manoeuvring, probing for weakness in his opponents position, until a tactical oversight allowed him to execute a quick attack to end the game.

Ikeda,Junta - Kazhgaleyev,Murtas [A01]
Australasian Masters, 15.12.2014

1. b3 e5 2. Bb2 d6 3. c4 Nf6 4. e3 g6 5. d3 Bg7 6. Nd2 O-O 7. Ngf3 Re8 8. Qc2 a5 9. a3 c5 10. Be2 Nc6 11. O-O Ng4 12. h3 Nh6 13. Ne4 f5 14. Nc3 g5 15. Nd5 f4 16. Nh2 Nf5 17. Bh5 Rf8 18. e4 Nfe7 19. Bc3 Bd7 20. Nf3 Nxd5 21. exd5 Ne7 22. Nd2 Nf5 23. Ne4 Nh4 24. g3 Nf5 25. g4 Nd4 26. Bxd4 exd4 27. f3 Be5 28. a4 Rc8 29. Rf2 Rc7 30. Qd2 b6 31. Rh2 Bc8 32. Qg2 Bf6 33. Kf2 Re7 34. Re1 Re5 35. Rhh1 Be7 36. Qh2 Kg7 37. Rhg1 Bd7 38. Rg2 Qa8 39. Kg1 Kh8 40. Kh1 Rg8 41. Rge2 Qf8 42. Nxd6 Rxe2 43. Nf7+ Kg7 44. Qxe2 Bf6 45. h4 gxh4 46. g5 Bxg5 47. Qe5+ 1-0

Mighty Max

The 2014 Australasian Masters has got off to a combative start, with 70% of the games ending decisively, after 2 completed rounds. The first round was particularly brutal, with no draws happening at all.
Unfortunately for the local players, most of the pain has been inflicted on them (and sometimes by them). The notable exception has been IM Anton Smirnov, who is the only player to start with 2 wins. He is followed by a trio of overseas GM's on 1.5, as well as Australian Max Illingworth, who inflicted this beating on Canberra IM Junta Ikeda.

Illingworth,Max - Ikeda,Junta [D31]
Australasian Masters, 14.12.2014

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Nd7 5. e4 dxe4 6. Nxe4 Ngf6 7. Bd3 c5 8. Qa4 Nxe4 9. Bxe4 cxd4 10. O-O Bd6 11. Bg5 Qc7 12. c5 Bxc5 13. Rac1 Qd6 14. Rfd1 O-O 15. Nxd4 Nb6 16. Qc2 h6 17. Ne2 Qc7 18. Be3 f5 19. Bf3 e5 20. Bxc5 Rf6 21. Bxb6 Qxb6 22. Qc7 e4 23. Rd8+ Kh7 24. Bh5 Rc6 25. Rxc6 Qxc6 26. Nf4 Qxc7 27. Bg6# 1-0

Tricky Mickey

Michael Adam's has been one of the worlds top players for the last 25 years, winning his first British Championship in 1989, and qualifying for his first Candidates (PCA) Match in 1993. He has been the top English player for most of that period, with Nigel Short his closest challenger in terms of playing strength.
Now in his 40's, he still has the chops to match it with the world's top players. In 2013 he won Dortmund ahead of Kramnik and Caruana, and has finished near the top of most events he has played in recently.
His is in the field of the 2014 London Chess Classic and started the event with a win over World No. 2 Fabiano Caruana. The game is a pretty wild one, with Adams sacrificing a piece for a kingside attack. While the sacrifice did not yield immediate dividends, the exposed nature of Caruana's king meant that Adams was able to keep generating threats and prevent Carauana from consolidating. Eventually a heavy piece ending was reached,  where Adam's passers counted for more than Caruana's piece, and after some accurate moves at the ened, Adam's scored the full point.


Adams,Michael (2745) - Caruana,Fabiano (2829) [C90]
6th London Classic 2014 London ENG (1.2), 10.12.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 d6 9. c3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 11. Nbd2 Nc6 12. Nf1 h6 13. Ne3 Re8 14. a4 Be6 15. h3 Bf8 16. Nh2 b4 17. Bb3 Rb8 18. Bc4 bxc3 19. bxc3 d5 20. Bxa6 Qa5 21. c4 Qxa6 22. exd5 Bxd5 23. cxd5 Nb4 24. Ra3 Nfxd5 25. Neg4 f6 26. Nf1 Rbd8 27. Ng3 c4 28. Nxh6+ gxh6 29. Qg4+ Kh8 30. dxc4 Ne7 31. Qh5 Ng8 32. Nf5 Qb7 33. Rg3 Qh7 34. Nh4 Ne7 35. Ba3 Nbc6 36. Kh2 Bg7 37. Bxe7 Nxe7 38. Rd1 Qg8 39. Rb1 Rb8 40. Rd1 Red8 41. c5 Rxd1 42. Qxd1 Rb4 43. Qd7 Rxh4 44. Qxe7 Rd4 45. c6 Qf8 46. Qb7 Rb4 47. Qd7 Rd4 48. Qb7 Rb4 49. Rc3 f5 50. Qd7 Rd4 51. Qe6 Rd6 52. Qxd6 Qxd6 53. c7 e4+ 54. g3 Bxc3 55. c8Q+ Kh7 56. Qxc3 f4 57. gxf4 Qxf4+ 58. Qg3 Qd2 59. Qc7+ Kg6 60. Qb6+ Kh7 61. Qb7+ Kh8 62. Qa8+ Kg7 63. Qxe4 Kf6 64. Qf3+ Kg6 65. Kg2 Qa2 66. Qe4+ Kf6 67. Qf4+ Kg6 68. Qd6+ Kg7 69. Qe5+ Kh7 70. a5 Qg8+ 71. Kh2 Qf7 72. Qe4+ Kg7 73. a6 1-0

When Masters get bored

For some being a professional chess player would be the ultimate career, for others it may well be a nightmare. One of the worries I would have trying to be a full time chessplayer (apart from lack of ability) is that it would eventually become a boring grind, like almost every other profession.
Of course you may be able to change at least some aspects of your day, by changing your regular opponents (by playing simuls or exhibitions) or even deciding to play different openings. I suspect this may have happened a lot in the distant past, with positional players like Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch or even Capablanca trying gambit lines (eg Latvian or Kings) to liven proceedings.
An example is the following game by Rubinstein. Despite forging 1.d4 into a great attacking weapon, he decides to wheel out the Kings Gambit in this game. He even plays it in a pretty risky manner, offering Hromadka an exchange at one point. After Hromadka declines the offer Rubuinstein gets the upper hand, and finds a brilliant tactical finish starting with 25.Qb6. Unlike most days, when he went home to the wife after work he could accurately describe his day as 'exciting'


Rubinstein,Akiba - Hromadka,Karel [C30]
Maehrisch Ostrau Maehrisch Ostrau (4), 1923

1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4 Nc6 6. d3 Bg4 7. h3 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nd4 9. Qg3 Qe7 10. fxe5 dxe5 11. Kd1 c6 12. a4 Rg8 13. Rf1 h6 14. Ne2 O-O-O 15. Nxd4 Bxd4 16. c3 Bb6 17. a5 Bc7 18. Be3 Kb8 19. Kc2 Ka8 20. Rf3 Nd5 21. Bg1 Nf4 22. Qf2 Bb8 23. g3 Nxh3 24. Rxf7 Qd6 25. Qb6 Rd7 26. Bc5 Rxf7 27. Bxd6 Rf2+ 28. Qxf2 Nxf2 29. Bc5 1-0

2014 Australasian Masters

The next couple of months look like they will be busy ones for a number of Australian chess players. Apart from the upcoming Australian Open, there is the 2015 Australian Junior Championships (for the younger players) and the 2014 Australasian Masters. This tournament, which has a GM and an IM section, starts on the 13th December, at the Box Hill Chess Club in Melbourne. Both tournaments are 10 player round robins, with GM and IM norms on offer.
Top seeds in the GM events are Murtas Kazhgaleyev from Kazakhstan, Vasily Papin from Russia, and Max Illingworth from Australia. Rustam Khusnutdinov is the third overseas GM taking part, while the rest of the field consists of the young guns of Australian chess.
At this stage I am not sure which website will be hosting coverage of the tournament, but I am assuming it will be the Box Hill Chess Club website, who covered the event in previous years. The rounds start at 4:00 pm (apart from rounds 2 and 9), and all games will be shown live.

2014 Lidums Australian Young Masters

The Lidums Young Masters is now in its 4th year as one of the premier junior events in Australia. Interestingly, as the tournament gets older so do the participants, with the age limit pushed up to Under 25 years for this years event. And while the top section remains a closed round robin, the other events have been expanded into swiss tournaments, with the Junior Masters being split into an open and an under 1600 section.
Having the top section as a round robin makes sense, as there are very few round robin events held in Australia, junior or otherwise. The downside of this (although I personally don't think it is much of one) is that some players might miss out on either qualifying through strength, or not get invited, due to tournament considerations. If I remember correctly there was a bit of a blow up a couple of years back, when one prominent player did not get invited, resulting in vigorous discussion on various Australian chess forums.
The tournament began today, and results are available from the tournament website. You can watch the games from the top section live, although I have yet to find games from the other tournaments. However I was able to get a copy of the round 1 clash between the top 2 seeds, which I can show you here.


Izzat,Kanan - Morris,James [C68]
Australian Young Masters, 08.12.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. c3 Qd3 8. hxg4 hxg4 9. Nxe5 Bd6 10. Nxd3 Bh2+ 1/2-1/2

London Chess Classic Rapidplay - Ari's day out

Young Australian IM Ari Dale is competing in the 2014 London Chess Classic Rapidplay, and his first day was certainly a memorable one. He started the event with 4 wins from 4 games, including a win against one of modern chess' legendary players, GM John Nunn. As a reward for this victory his round 5 opponent was former World Champion Viswanathan Anand. In the game (shown below) Dale played a Gruenfeld against Anand's 1.d4, a particularly gutsy choice as Anand had just had his knowledge of this opening tested by non other than Magnus Carlsen.
In fact it turned out to be a good choice, as Dale was equal for most of the game, only coming unstuck when he lost a bishop to a pin down the d file. But having played an international field so far, his opponent for the first round of todays play turns out to be fellow Australian IM John Paul Wallace. If this was Wimbledon, such a match up would not be surprising, but in such a big swiss, so far from home, such pairings are at least amusing.

Anand,Viswanathan - Dale,Ari [D94]
London Chess Classic Rapidplay (5.8), 06.12.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. e3 O-O 6. Bd2 c5 7. dxc5 Na6 8. cxd5 Nxc5 9. Bc4 a6 10. a4 Nfe4 11. O-O Bg4 12. Be1 Rc8 13. Be2 Qb6 14. Nd4 Bxe2 15. Qxe2 Nxc3 16. bxc3 Rfd8 17. e4 e6 18. a5 Qd6 19. f4 e5 20. fxe5 Qxe5 21. Bh4 Rd7 22. Rae1 Re8 23. Bg3 Qe7 24. d6 Qd8 25. Qc4 Nxe4 26. Nc6 bxc6 27. Rxe4 Rxe4 28. Qxe4 Bf8 29. Qc4 c5 30. Qd5 Bxd6 31. Rd1 Qxa5 32. Bxd6 h5 33. Qe5 Kh7 34. Rf1 Qb6 35. Bxc5 1-0

Staunton - you hacker

Howard Staunton, English Chess Master, Shakespearean Scholar, illegitimate offspring of nobility, has had a reputation of being a somewhat dour player. I'm not sure whether this reputation is accurate, although there is a notion that he was a 'positional' player, before such things became fashionable.
However, when presented with an opportunity he could certainly go the hack. An example of this comes from the London Tournament of 1851. He plays an opening beloved by hackers, the Scotch Gambit, and is happy to surrender a couple of pawns for a lead in development. His opponent then chooses the wrong way to defend and suddenly Staunton is threatening to win material and/or checkmate his opponent. Given that the games in this tournament were untimed, I am a little surprised that his opponent allowed such an elementary checkmate at the end, but it is possible he was simply choosing the 'gentlemen's way out'.


Staunton,Howard - Brodie,Alfred [C44]
London knockout London (1.1), 27.05.1851

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Bb4+ 5. c3 dxc3 6. O-O Qf6 7. e5 Qe7 8. a3 cxb2 9. Bxb2 Bc5 10. Nc3 d6 11. Nd5 Qd8 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Bxg7 Bg4 14. Re1+ Nge7 15. Nf6# 1-0

2014 ACTJCL Transfer Championship - This Sunday

The 2014 ACT Junior Chess League's Transfer tournament is on this coming Sunday. This annual event has been running for a decade or so, and always attracts a big field. While most of the players are juniors, the event is open to teams of all ages, with adult teams just as welcome as kindy ones.
It is being held at Campbell High School, Trealor Cres, Campbell (just next to the Australian War Memorial). Registration opens at 12:30pm, and the cost is $10 per player (eg $20 per team). As an added incentive, there will be free pizza provided as part of the prize giving ceremony.
The standard rules of Transfer (Bughouse) apply, including 'drop for mate'. It normally runs for 11 rounds, and apart from trophies for the winners, there will be additional prizes on offer for whoever the organisers thinks deserve it (oldest team, best parent child, and best team outfit have all been awarded in the past).

The School Chess Championship

I am not sure how many schools do this, but Amaroo School gives students a day off school to play in their school's Chess Championship. This has been held for the past 3 years and it normally attracts a field of between 60 and 80 players. In fact it would attract more players, but space an equipment limitations restrict the total number of entries.
The 2014 edition was held today, with 66 players taking part. Amaroo is a K-10 school, but entry is restricted to 4th grade and above. While the bulk of the entries came from the 4,5 and 6 graders, there was still a healthy entry from the high school students. My role at the event was the arbiter, and it was one of the easiest school event I have ever run in my 30 years of chess. A lot of the credit must go to Belinda Robertson, and the chess program she has run at the school over the last 6 years. All the students who took part who both familiar with the laws of chess, and more importantly, familiar with how chess tournaments are run. Before we started there was a thought we might only have time for 5 rounds, but due to the knowledgeable field, we played the full 7 rounds by 1pm, leaving plenty of time to pack up and hand out prizes.
Rarely for a school event there were no disputes, no one cried, and I only had to answer a couple of queries. I was a little bit gentle with the new FIDE 'Illegal move' loses Rapidplay rules, by implementing a '2 strikes and you're out' system, and even then players had the option of not reporting the first illegal move to me. I did get suckered by one player who innocently asked me if you could mate with K+B v K. Thinking he was about to make a draw claim I said no, but he then used this information to sacrifice his bishop for his opponents last pawn, before claiming the draw!
The winner of the event (on countback after a 3 way tie) was Vivian Lam, who also won last year. In fact each of the 3 editions of the championship have been won by a female student, which is another reason it is a rather special event.

2014 London Chess Classic

It might be a long way from Canberra, but the London Chess Classic is still an important event on my radar (and one day I might even get to visit). This year sees the return of the 'classic' tournament, with the main event being a 6 player RR. This years field consists of Caruana, Anand, Nakamura, Giri, Kramnik and Adams. But before they sit down to play chess at long time controls, they are all taking part in the Rapidplay Open that precedes their tournament. There is also a 9 round FIDE Rated Open, a conference on Chess in Schools, and a number of other side events.
The best place to find out more information on the event is at the tournament home page. I've spotted a number of Australian players in the entry list (IM John Paul Wallace, IM Ari Dale and Derek Yu) and I am sure a few others might pop up at the last minute. The whole thing runs from the 6th December through to the 14th, and based on the number of entries for the supporting events, it should be a huge success.

And then there were 2

While Vladimir Kramnik seemed to have a little difficulty in coming to grips with the nuances of the swiss tournament, Anish Giri was more at home in the Qatar Masters, reeling off 6 wins from 6 games. In doing so he has taken a point and a half lead over everyone, with one exception, Vladimir Kramnik. Having drawn his first 2 games, Kramnik has climbed back to the top board after 4 straight wins. This has set up the rather juicy Kramnik v Giri pairing in tonight's round. Kramnik has the white bits for this game, and as I write this they are just getting into a Catalan middle game.
I'm not sure what Kramnik thought of the experience of playing in the middle tables of a tournament, but it seems that he wanted to get out of there pretty quickly. An clear example of this was his 5th round game against Sanan Sjugirov. The game only lasted 25 moves and looked like 'hack v hack'. In the end Sjugirov tries to finish of Kramnik with a piece sac, but it turned out that Kramnik was the one with the mating attack.


Kramnik,Vladimir (2760) - Sjugirov,Sanan (2673) [A05]
Qatar Masters Open Doha (6.2), 01.12.2014

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c6 4. d3 Bg4 5. O-O Nbd7 6. Qe1 e5 7. e4 Bd6 8. h3 Bh5 9. Nh4 O-O 10. g4 Bg6 11. g5 Nh5 12. exd5 cxd5 13. Nxg6 hxg6 14. Bxd5 Nf4 15. Bxf4 exf4 16. h4 Qc8 17. Qe4 Qxc2 18. Nc3 Qxb2 19. Qxg6 Bc5 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. Bb3 Bxf2+ 22. Nxf2 f3 23. Ne4 Qd4+ 24. Kh1 Qb2 25. Nf6+ 1-0

A successful Movember

After

Before

For the last 7 years I have tormented friends and family by participating in the annual Movember fundraiser. If you are unfamiliar with the concept, the idea is to spend November growing a moustache. You start on November 1, and do not shave your upper lip until December 1.
This year was a very successful fundraising month for me, with a large number of donations. I also managed to grow a mo good enough to make the finals of the Canberra Movember judging, in the Ulti-Mo section. I did not win this year, but next year some creative clothing might be enough to put me over the top.
I was not the only chessplayer taking part btw. IM Guy West also took part, and Michael Freeman braved the Northern Territory heat to grow his own tache.
But all weird things come to an end, and I spent the morning hacking off my months growth. I wont scare you with the pics taken during my facial hair surgery, but I will give you the classic before and after shots.

King of the lounge room

Getting into competitive chess can be tough, especially if you start as an adult. There is a pretty big step between playing with your friends, and turning up to a rated competition where everyone is super serious. As I have noted preciously, this can turn into a big disincentive for new players, as getting beaten in every game can be discouraging, no matter how close you came to winning.
One piece of advice I give to new players is not to worry about their initial tournament results. The rider I attach to this is that even if they don't win any competition games, they will learn enough to at least beat their casual chess opponents. "King of the lounge room" is a term I have coined to describe this.
I do like to quantify things though, so I do wonder what skills you need to be "King of the lounge room". Based on what I have seen over the years, being alert enough to capture pieces for free, and knowing when to capture the last moved piece is a pretty good place to start. I would also throw in a couple of basic checkmating ideas, namely Q+B mating patterns (ie target f7) and Q+N mating patterns. At this level I don't think openings really matter (e4, Nf3, B somewhere is normally fine), but endgame knowledge does help. Nothing too in depth, but certainly knowing when to push your passers, and how to promote them, would provide plenty of 'fluky' wins. Mating with K+Q v K is also helpful, although I have seen enough 'accidental' checkmates to make me wonder if it is essential.
Feel free to suggest other skills in the comment section, noting that this is for players whose ambitions don't extend much beyond bragging rights over a few beers.

Kasparov v Habu

Yesterday Garry Kasparov made one of his rare returns to OTB chess, playing a 2 game rapid match with Japanese FM Yoshiharu Habu. While Former World Champion V FM does not sound like much of a match up, Habu is also the strongest Shogi player in the world. He also one of Japan's strongest chess players, but his earnings and recognition from Shogi far exceeds what he would receive as a chess professional.
The 2 game match was played with a time limit (25m+10s), and Kasparov won 2-0. In the first game Habu lost a couple of pawns in the middlegame, in part due to a weakened pawn structure. The second was a lot closer, and was one of the games where White seems to be ok right up until the point he was not. Probably the decisive mistake came on move 40 when a pair of rooks were exchanged, leaving Kasparov with the better R+P ending.


Habu,Yoshiharu (2415) - Kasparov,Garry (2812) [B06]
Dwango Habu vs Kasparov Rapid Match 2014 Tokyo JPN (2), 28.11.2014

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be3 a6 5. Qd2 Nd7 6. h4 h6 7. O-O-O b5 8. Nh3 Ngf6 9. f3 Nb6 10. Nf4 b4 11. Nce2 Nc4 12. Qd3 Nxe3 13. Qxe3 c6 14. Kb1 Qb6 15. Qd2 h5 16. e5 dxe5 17. dxe5 Nd5 18. Nxd5 cxd5 19. Qxd5 Ra7 20. Qd4 Qc7 21. Nf4 Bxe5 22. Nd5 Bxd4 23. Nxc7+ Rxc7 24. Rxd4 a5 25. Rd5 Ra7 26. Bb5+ Kf8 27. Rhd1 Kg7 28. Bc4 Be6 29. R5d4 Bf5 30. Bd3 Be6 31. Bc4 Bf5 32. Bd3 Rc8 33. Bxf5 gxf5 34. b3 Rac7 35. R1d2 e6 36. Kb2 Kf6 37. Rd6 Ke5 38. Ra6 Rc5 39. Ra7 R8c7 40. Rxc7 Rxc7 41. a3 Kf4 42. axb4 axb4 43. Rd4+ Kg3 44. Rxb4 e5 45. Rc4 Re7 46. b4 e4 47. fxe4 fxe4 48. b5 e3 0-1

Not according to plan

Having gushed a little about Kramnik's decision to play in the Qatar Masters, I can see why he might be having second thoughts about the whole excursion. Normally the first round of any swiss is a bit of a massacre, but for such a strong event like the Qatar Masters, this isn't always the case.
For Kramnik, used to knowing his opponents (and their openings) in advance, Stelios Halkias (2519) might have been a bit of an unknown quantity. Doubly so when Halkias played the Evans Gambit, still a popular choice for club hackers, and the odd World Champion (G. Kasparov).
It turned out to be an inspired choice, as Kramnik never got more than equality in the game, and Helkias was possibly a bit better when he went for a draw by repetition. As a result of the slow start Kramnik ends up on Board 31(!) for the second round, and it may be a few rounds before he catches up with the leaders.


Halkias,Stelios (2519) - Kramnik,Vladimir (2760) [C51]
Qatar Masters Open Doha (1.2), 26.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Be7 6. d4 Na5 7. Bd3 d6 8. dxe5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Nf6 10. O-O O-O 11. Qc2 Nd7 12. Nxd7 Qxd7 13. e5 g6 14. Nd2 b6 15. Nf3 Bb7 16. Be4 Bxe4 17. Qxe4 Qc6 18. Qg4 Rad8 19. Bg5 Qc5 20. Qh4 Nc6 21. Rae1 h5 22. Re4 Rd3 23. Rc4 Qd5 24. Bxe7 Nxe7 25. Rxc7 Nf5 26. Qc4 Qxc4 27. Rxc4 Re8 28. Re1 Rd5 29. h3 Kf8 30. g4 hxg4 31. hxg4 Ng7 32. Rc7 Re7 33. Rc8+ Re8 34. Rc7 Re7 35. Rc8+ Re8 1/2-1/2

2014 Qatar Masters

The 2014 Qatar Masters starts this evening. It is billed as the strongest Open for 2014, and the field does look very strong. The top half of the 154 player field is rated above 2520, and the top 14 players are all 2700+. The event is offering a first prize of $25,000 and with a total prize pool of $100,000 it is no surprise that the tournament has attracted a stellar field.
Top seed is Anish Giri, just ahead of surprise entrant Vladimir Kramnik. While his participation in this event has been known for quite a while, it has been a long time since he has played an Open Swiss. While some of the top players will occasional play in an event like Gibraltar, Kramnik has previously not been part of this group. Of course the overall strength of the field might help him avoid the problem of playing an uneven strength field, but even then, it will be interesting to see how he copes with preparing for unfamiliar opponents.
Australia has one participant in the tournament IM Rishi Sardana, although WIM Emma Guo will also be there, but only as a spectator. Home page for the tournament is http://www.qatarmastersopen.com/ and you can find links to live coverage, games and results from there.

Know the classics

In yesterdays post I mentioned the game Selzniev v Alekhine from 1921, which contained a similar idea to Anand's exchange sacrifice against Carlsen. This game was used as an example of the exchange sacrifice in  Euwe's and Kramer's "The Middle Game Volume 1". Annotating the game, the authors said the sacrifice (20 ... Rb4) was perfectly sound as in return for the material lost Black has (a) A protected passed pawn, (b) the two bishops, (c) White's weak a and c pawns as targets and (d) the c5 square. Alekhine himself thought this was in fact worth more than the exchange.
Nonetheless it took quite a while for Alekhine to covert his position into a winning one. He had to trade one advantage (position) for another (material), but in doing so he was able to retain enough of an edge to eventually wear his opponent down.


Selezniev,Alexey Sergeevich - Alekhine,Alexander [A47]
Triberg-A Triberg (3), 09.07.1921

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 b6 3. g3 Bb7 4. Bg2 d6 5. O-O Nbd7 6. Bf4 h6 7. Nc3 c5 8. d5 b5 9. Ne1 a6 10. a4 b4 11. Ne4 Nxe4 12. Bxe4 g6 13. c4 bxc3 14. bxc3 Bg7 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. c4 O-O 17. Qc2 a5 18. Nf3 Qc7 19. Bd2 Ba6 20. Bd3 Rb4 21. Bxb4 cxb4 22. Nd2 Nc5 23. Nb3 Nd7 24. c5 Bxd3 25. exd3 dxc5 26. Rfe1 Ne5 27. Re3 Rc8 28. Rc1 Qd7 29. d4 Ng4 30. Re4 c4 31. Nc5 Qf5 32. Qe2 b3 33. Rxg4 b2 34. Qxb2 Qxg4 35. Rxc4 h5 36. Qc2 h4 37. Qd3 Rd8 38. f3 Qh5 39. Qe4 hxg3 40. hxg3 Qg5 41. Kg2 Qd2+ 42. Kh3 Bf6 43. Rc2 Qh6+ 44. Kg2 Kg7 45. g4 Rh8 46. Kf2 Rb8 47. Ke2 Rb4 48. Rd2 Qh2+ 49. Ke3 Qg1+ 50. Ke2 Bxd4 51. Nd3 Rb1 52. Nc1 Bc3 53. Qxb1 Qg2+ 54. Kd3 Qxd2+ 55. Kc4 Qd4+ 56. Kb3 Ba1 57. Ka3 Qc5+ 58. Ka2 Bf6 59. g5 Qxd5+ 60. Nb3 Qxg5 61. Qe1 Qg2+ 62. Qd2 Qxf3 63. Qxa5 g5 64. Qe1 Qc3 65. Qxc3 Bxc3 66. a5 Bxa5 67. Nxa5 g4 68. Nc4 g3 69. Nd2 Kg6 70. Kb2 Kf5 71. Nf3 Kf4 72. Ng1 Ke3 73. Kc2 Kf2 74. Nh3+ Kf1 0-1

2014 World Championship - Carlsen Wins

Magnus Carlsen has retained his World Championship title, with a win over Viswantahan Anand in the 11th game of their match. The final score of 6.5-4.5 (predicted here) was closer than the 2013 Match, which Carlsen won by a 3 point margin.
Game 11 saw Anand try and play more aggressively, after the by now familar Ruy Lopez Berlin Variation. Sensing that this was his final chance Anand played an exchange sacrifice on Move 27. While both players criticised the decision after the game, the idea did have an historical precedence, being played by Alekhine against Selesniev in 1921. In the current game Carlsen was able to find enough tactics to neutralise Anand's hoped for counterplay, and then win the subsequent endgame.
With this win Carlsen holds the title for the next 2 years. The next candidates tournament is 18 months away, and while Anand is eligible to play in that event, most of the early money is going on Fabiano Caruana to be Carlsen's next challenger.


Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) [C67]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (11), 23.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Bd7 10. Nc3 h6 11. b3 Kc8 12. Bb2 c5 13. Rad1 b6 14. Rfe1 Be6 15. Nd5 g5 16. c4 Kb7 17. Kh2 a5 18. a4 Ne7 19. g4 Ng6 20. Kg3 Be7 21. Nd2 Rhd8 22. Ne4 Bf8 23. Nef6 b5 24. Bc3 bxa4 25. bxa4 Kc6 26. Kf3 Rdb8 27. Ke4 Rb4 28. Bxb4 cxb4 29. Nh5 Kb7 30. f4 gxf4 31. Nhxf4 Nxf4 32. Nxf4 Bxc4 33. Rd7 Ra6 34. Nd5 Rc6 35. Rxf7 Bc5 36. Rxc7+ Rxc7 37. Nxc7 Kc6 38. Nb5 Bxb5 39. axb5+ Kxb5 40. e6 b3 41. Kd3 Be7 42. h4 a4 43. g5 hxg5 44. hxg5 a3 45. Kc3 1-0

A 'blogworthy' game

One of the juggling acts you have to perform when writing a blog is decide what is content worthy of publishing. It is a little easier writing a chess blog, as chess has a built in ranking system which attaches importance to players, tournaments or games, based on the ratings of the subjects. So news about the World Championship is going to be a big deal no matter what happens, but more local events have to be judged a little more closely.
This also goes for the games I publish on the blog. I usually try and publish at least one game a week, as the front page only keeps the last 7 articles posted. I try and keep the choice fairly broad but I do have 2 distinct biases. One is games from Super GM events and matches, especially from players I like (such as Aronian or Svidler). The other is of course my own games, as essentially this is a blog about what I find interesting in chess.
Apart from what I find myself, I also get helpful suggestions from chess playing friends. Often at Street Chess or the ANU Chess Club a game is finished with a suggestion to 'put it on your blog'. 'Bloggable' or 'blogworthy' are other adjectives attached to games in which the winner is particularly proud. Usually I need to independently confirm that the game is indeed publishable, although I will sacrifice quality for curiosity.
For today's game I am actually choosing one of my own, played on Saturday at Street Chess (G/15m). It was an opening that I usually am on the black side of (The Two Knights) but I decided to try it from the other side of the board. 8.Qf3 is unusual but sound, although 8. ... Rb8 is considered the best reply. The idea behind Nc4-a3 was to try and pick up the exchange, but it left the c pawn unprotected, allowing the tactical shot 15. Nc5 Black thought for quite a while trying to find a way out of the mess, but failed to find a escape route. She decided to resign at that point only to be met with the annoying 'I think I will put that on my blog'


Press,Shaun - Chibnall,Alana [C58]
Street Chess, 22.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Qf3 h6 9. Ne4 Nd5 10. Bd3 Nf4 11. Nbc3 Nxd3+ 12. cxd3 Ba6 13. O-O Bxd3 14. Re1 Nc4 15. b3 Na3 16. Nc5 1-0

2014 World Championship - Games 9 & 10

It seems that the early excitement has passed in the 2014 World Championship Match, and we are seeing a slow slide to a Carlsen victory. Both games 9 and 10 were drawn, with Anand not putting Carlsen under any serious pressure. There was some excitement in Game 10 when Carlsen allowed Anand to make a seemingly strong pawn push, but Anand passed up the opportunity, deciding to play it safe. Once this moment passed Carlsen had no trouble equalising and a draw was agreed on move 32.
Tomorrow sees Game 11 and it may be this is where the match ends. Anand needs to try something to claw back his point deficit, but in doing also gives Carlsen greater winning chances. On the other hand there is a school of thought (espoused by the denizens of Street Chess) that Anand may be happy to finish with -1, as a way of saying that he is still a credible threat to Carlsen. I lean towards the former scenario btw.


Anand,Viswanathan (2792) - Carlsen,Magnus (2863) [D97]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (10), 21.11.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Na6 8. Be2 c5 9. d5 e6 10. O-O exd5 11. exd5 Re8 12. Bg5 h6 13. Be3 Bf5 14. Rad1 Ne4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. Qc1 Qf6 17. Bxh6 Qxb2 18. Qxb2 Bxb2 19. Ng5 Bd4 20. Nxe4 Rxe4 21. Bf3 Re7 22. d6 Rd7 23. Bf4 Nb4 24. Rd2 Re8 25. Rc1 Re6 26. h4 Be5 27. Bxe5 Rxe5 28. Bxb7 Rxb7 29. d7 Nc6 30. d8Q+ Nxd8 31. Rxd8+ Kg7 32. Rd2 1/2-1/2

2015 Australian Junior Chess Championship - Early birds

The 2015 Australian Junior Championship is starting in a little under 2 months. Currently there are 74 entries for all events, but that number will grow substantially in the next few weeks. One important milestone coming up is the cut-off for early entries. To take advantage of the early bird discount entries need to be received by the 3rd of December 2014, and paid for on the 6th. After that the entry fee goes up by $20 for most events. If you are planning to book accommodation through the organisers, you will also need to get onto this early, as space at the tournament venue (Canberra Grammar School) is limited.
Full information on the tournament, including online entry forms and accommodation booking forms, are available at the tournament website www.ajcc.com.au

Grischuk wins Petrosian Memorial

With all the attention being focussed on the current World Championship match. the 2014 Petrosian Memorial ended up being a little overlooked. The early news was the 3-0 start by Alexander Grischuk, and in a 7 round event, this proved to be decisive. He beat Peter Leko in the 5th round to go to +4 and finished with 2 draws, to score 5.5/7. His final round draw against Vladimir Kramnik allowed Kramnik to take second place on 4.5/7, half a point ahead of Gelfand and Aronian.
While Aronian's result continued a run of 'not quite top' finishes, he did manage to play a nice final round game. After an aggressive opening by Black, the game quickly reached an ending where Aronian increased his advantage with a few nice tactical moves. It eventually ended in a charge of pawns where Black was always winning, the interest in being exactly how he did it.

Inarkiev,Ernesto (2688) - Aronian,Levon (2797) [C65]
Petrosian Memorial 2014 Moscow RUS (7.4), 11.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. c3 O-O 6. O-O Re8 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Be7 9. Re1 d6 10. Nbd2 g5 11. Bg3 g4 12. Nh4 Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Bxh4 14. Bxh4 Qxh4 15. d4 f5 16. Ng3 f4 17. Qd3 Kg7 18. d5 fxg3 19. hxg3 Qg5 20. dxc6 Bf5 21. Qe3 b6 22. Qxg5+ hxg5 23. Rad1 Rh8 24. Bc4 a5 25. b3 Rh6 26. Bd5 Rah8 27. Kf1 Bc2 28. Rd2 Rh1+ 29. Ke2 Rxe1+ 30. Kxe1 Rh1+ 31. Ke2 Rc1 32. c4 a4 33. bxa4 Bxa4 34. Rb2 Kf6 35. Kd2 Rd1+ 36. Ke2 Rd4 37. Rd2 b5 38. Ke3 Rxd2 39. Kxd2 bxc4 40. f3 Kf5 41. Kc3 gxf3 42. gxf3 g4 43. Be4+ Kg5 44. Kxc4 Bd1 45. Kd3 Bxf3 46. a4 d5 47. Bxf3 gxf3 48. a5 e4+ 49. Kd2 d4 50. a6 e3+ 51. Kc2 f2 52. a7 f1Q 53. a8Q Qc4+ 54. Kb2 e2 55. Qd8+ Kg4 56. Qh4+ Kf3 57. Qf4+ Kg2 58. Qe4+ Kg1 59. Qb1+ Kf2 60. Qf5+ Ke1 61. Qg6 Kd1 62. Qg4 Qc3+ 63. Ka2 Kc1 64. Qxe2 Qc2+ 65. Qxc2+ Kxc2 0-1

2014 World Championship Game 8

Game 8 of the 2014 World Championship match saw a lot of home preparation from Magnus Carlsen, although this failed to catch out Viswanathan Anand. While the game was drawn in 41 moves, it only lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes, showing how much up it was prepared beforehand. Possibly the most interesting part of the game was when Carlsen appeared to doze off, resulting in a number of excited twitter posts from people following the match online.
With 4 games to go, the odds of Carlsen retaining his title increase. He still holds a one point lead and could just cost to victory by drawing the remaining games, which is the exact scenario Bobby Fischer campaigned against in 1975. Of course this relies upon his opponent not being able to come up with something in the next 4 games. Possibly Game 10 will be the be indicator of Anand's frame of mind, as it is the next game he has white. Of course if Carlsen comes out of the rest day with a win in Game 9, then everyone will be packing their bags for an early departure.

Anand,Viswanathan (2792) - Carlsen,Magnus (2863) [D37]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (8), 18.11.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. a3 Nc6 9. Qc2 Re8 10. Bg5 Be7 11. Rd1 Qa5 12. Bd3 h6 13. Bh4 dxc4 14. Bxc4 a6 15. O-O b5 16. Ba2 Bb7 17. Bb1 Rad8 18. Bxf6 Bxf6 19. Ne4 Be7 20. Nc5 Bxc5 21. Qxc5 b4 22. Rc1 bxa3 23. bxa3 Qxc5 24. Rxc5 Ne7 25. Rfc1 Rc8 26. Bd3 Red8 27. Rxc8 Rxc8 28. Rxc8+ Nxc8 29. Nd2 Nb6 30. Nb3 Nd7 31. Na5 Bc8 32. Kf1 Kf8 33. Ke1 Ke7 34. Kd2 Kd6 35. Kc3 Ne5 36. Be2 Kc5 37. f4 Nc6 38. Nxc6 Kxc6 39. Kd4 f6 40. e4 Kd6 41. e5+ 1/2-1/2

2014 World Championship Game 7

Game 7 of the 2014 World Championship  ended in a draw after 122 moves, and over 7 hours of play. Anand played the Berlin Defence as black, but Carlsen was clearly prepared for this. Despite being a pawn down Carlsen had plenty of play, and most commentators (and computers) gave him an advantage. Anand then made the brave decision to sacrifice a bishop for 2 pawns and defend a R+N+2P v R+4P ending, with all the pawns on the same side of the board. Anand was confident he could build a fortress with his rook and pawns, and so it turned out. However Carlsen kept probing for a weakness, as the game went on and on. Eventually all the pawns came off, leaving a R+NvR ending, which was duly drawn (but not always).
Both players will take something away from this game, with Anand being able to defend a position most players could not, while Carlsen will hope the effort tires Anand out just that little bit more.


Carlsen,M (2863) - Anand,V (2792) [C67]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (7), 17.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. O-O Nxe4 5. d4 Nd6 6. Bxc6 dxc6 7. dxe5 Nf5 8. Qxd8+ Kxd8 9. h3 Ke8 10. Nc3 h5 11. Bf4 Be7 12. Rad1 Be6 13. Ng5 Rh6 14. g3 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 Rg6 16. h4 f6 17. exf6 gxf6 18. Bf4 Nxh4 19. f3 Rd8 20. Kf2 Rxd1 21. Nxd1 Nf5 22. Rh1 Bxa2 23. Rxh5 Be6 24. g4 Nd6 25. Rh7 Nf7 26. Ne3 Kd8 27. Nf5 c5 28. Ng3 Ne5 29. Rh8+ Rg8 30. Bxe5 fxe5 31. Rh5 Bxg4 32. fxg4 Rxg4 33. Rxe5 b6 34. Ne4 Rh4 35. Ke2 Rh6 36. b3 Kd7 37. Kd2 Kc6 38. Nc3 a6 39. Re4 Rh2+ 40. Kc1 Rh1+ 41. Kb2 Rh6 42. Nd1 Rg6 43. Ne3 Rh6 44. Re7 Rh2 45. Re6+ Kb7 46. Kc3 Rh4 47. Kb2 Rh2 48. Nd5 Rd2 49. Nf6 Rf2 50. Kc3 Rf4 51. Ne4 Rh4 52. Nf2 Rh2 53. Rf6 Rh7 54. Nd3 Rh3 55. Kd2 Rh2+ 56. Rf2 Rh4 57. c4 Rh3 58. Kc2 Rh7 59. Nb2 Rh5 60. Re2 Rg5 61. Nd1 b5 62. Nc3 c6 63. Ne4 Rh5 64. Nf6 Rg5 65. Re7+ Kb6 66. Nd7+ Ka5 67. Re4 Rg2+ 68. Kc1 Rg1+ 69. Kd2 Rg2+ 70. Ke1 bxc4 71. Rxc4 Rg3 72. Nxc5 Kb5 73. Rc2 a5 74. Kf2 Rh3 75. Rc1 Kb4 76. Ke2 Rc3 77. Nd3+ Kxb3 78. Ra1 Kc4 79. Nf2 Kb5 80. Rb1+ Kc4 81. Ne4 Ra3 82. Nd2+ Kd5 83. Rh1 a4 84. Rh5+ Kd4 85. Rh4+ Kc5 86. Kd1 Kb5 87. Kc2 Rg3 88. Ne4 Rg2+ 89. Kd3 a3 90. Nc3+ Kb6 91. Ra4 a2 92. Nxa2 Rg3+ 93. Kc2 Rg2+ 94. Kb3 Rg3+ 95. Nc3 Rh3 96. Rb4+ Kc7 97. Rg4 Rh7 98. Kc4 Rf7 99. Rg5 Kb6 100. Na4+ Kc7 101. Kc5 Kd7 102. Kb6 Rf1 103. Nc5+ Ke7 104. Kxc6 Rd1 105. Rg6 Kf7 106. Rh6 Rg1 107. Kd5 Rg5+ 108. Kd4 Rg6 109. Rh1 Rg2 110. Ne4 Ra2 111. Rf1+ Ke7 112. Nc3 Rh2 113. Nd5+ Kd6 114. Rf6+ Kd7 115. Nf4 Rh1 116. Rg6 Rd1+ 117. Nd3 Ke7 118. Ra6 Kd7 119. Ke4 Ke7 120. Rc6 Kd7 121. Rc1 Rxc1 122. Nxc1 1/2-1/2

GM Ian Rogers speaks!

While no longer active as a player Grandmaster Ian Rogers is still heavily involved in the chess world. He is still a sought after journalist, writing for a number of publications  around the world (including the Canberra Times), and is also a well respected coach and trainer.
Just as importantly for Australian chess he spent a lot of his career promoting chess in this country, both as a player and a journalist. And even in retirement (as a player) he is still carrying out this role.
Just today he gave an interview on ABC Classic FM. The host, Margaret Throsby, spent an hour talking with Ian about chess, chess history, his mown career, and the current state of World Chess. Interspersed throughout the interview was music chosen by Ian, starting with "Smoke gets in your eyes", which he sais was a tribute to his early years playing at the Melbourne Chess Club.
Even if you missed the interview, you can hear it again, either as a podcast or in streaming format at http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2014/11/17/4130036.htm Do to copyright restrictions you may miss out on all the music, but the rest of the interview more than makes up.

2014 Vikings Weekender - IM Moulthun Ly wins

IM Moulthun Ly has won the 2014 Vikings Weekender, with an undefeated 6/7. He finished half a point ahead of IM Anton Smirnov, with IM Junta Ikeda in third place on 5. Ly and Smirnov were tied for first on 5 points going into the final round, but Smirnov drew with Ikeda, while Ly defeated Michael Kethro. Alana Chibnall and Andrey Bliznyuk shared the Under 2000 prize, after a hard fought last round game. Dillon Hathiramani finished an outstanding tournament by tying  for 4th place and winning the Under 1700 prize.
In the Minor tournament (Under 1600) , Tim Pearce was the runaway winner with 6.5/7. Bill Egan finished in 2nd place on 5.5, ahead of a group of players on 5. Cam Cunningham took the Under 1200 prize with an impressive 5/7, while young William Rumley won the Under 900 prize with 3.5/7. Newcomer Yafei Zhang shared the Best Female prize with Aniska Jain, both on 3/7.
Overall the tournament could be considered a success. Numbers were up on last years tournament, and with 3 current Olympiad players taking part, it did not want for strength. For an arbiters point of view it was one of the easiest events I have run, as there were no disputes or problems, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Internet coverage was trouble free, with the dgt boards showing all the games from the top 2 boards, and the results being posted to the net in a timely fashion.
Full results from both tournaments are available via http://members.iinet.net.au/~shaunpress/ The final two games from the tournament are also available under the live games link.


Ly,Moulthun - Chibnall,Alana [C63]
2014 Vikings Weekender (6.2), 16.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. d3 fxe4 5. dxe4 Nf6 6. O-O d6 7. Nc3 Be7 8. a3 Bg4 9. Qd3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 O-O 11. Qd3 Kh8 12. Bc4 Nh5 13. Qd1 Qe8 14. Nd5 Bd8 15. Qg4 Nd4 16. c3 Ne6 17. g3 c6 18. Ne3 Rf6 19. Nf5 Bc7 20. Qh3 Qg6 21. Nh4 Qe8 22. Be2 g5 23. Nf5 Nhg7 24. Bg4 Qg6 25. Be3 Rd8 26. Rad1 Nf8 27. Nxg7 Qxg7 28. Bf5 h6 29. Kh1 Bb6 30. Bc1 Nh7 31. f4 exf4 32. gxf4 Rdf8 33. c4 Re8 34. b4 Kg8 35. Bb2 1-0

2014 World Championship Match Game 6

Game 6 of the 2014 World Championship match will probably go down as a 'game for the ages', but not in a good way. On move 26 both players seemed to overlook the advice (from CJS Purdy) that your should look at 'all checks and captures', and produced an astonishing double blunder. After 26. Kd2 Anand missed 26. ... Nxe5 27.Rxg8 Nxc4+ 28.Kd3 Nb2+ when the knight escapes and he recaptures on g8 with a couple of pawns in the bag. Instead he though for a minute before playing 26. ... a4 and Carlsen avoided any further danger with 27.Ke2 It was only after playing his 26th move did Anand realise what he had missed, and this probably affected his play for the rest of the game. Although Carlsen was only a little better after this, he quickly improved his position and Anand resigned on move 38.
After the first half of the match Carlsen lead 3.5-2.5.  And once again momentum seems to have shifted, with Carlsn getting a clear boost from this game. While mistakes of this nature have occurred in previous World Championship matches, the shift to fewer games does make it harder to recover from.


Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) [B41]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (6), 15.11.2014

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. c4 Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. Qd3 Nc6 8. Nxc6 dxc6 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. e5 Nd7 11. Bf4 Bxc3+ 12. bxc3 Kc7 13. h4 b6 14. h5 h6 15. O-O-O Bb7 16. Rd3 c5 17. Rg3 Rag8 18. Bd3 Nf8 19. Be3 g6 20. hxg6 Nxg6 21. Rh5 Bc6 22. Bc2 Kb7 23. Rg4 a5 24. Bd1 Rd8 25. Bc2 Rdg8 26. Kd2 a4 27. Ke2 a3 28. f3 Rd8 29. Ke1 Rd7 30. Bc1 Ra8 31. Ke2 Ba4 32. Be4+ Bc6 33. Bxg6 fxg6 34. Rxg6 Ba4 35. Rxe6 Rd1 36. Bxa3 Ra1 37. Ke3 Bc2 38. Re7+ 1-0

2014 Vikings Weekender - Day 1

After 4 rounds of the 2014 Vikings Weekender, IM's Moulthun Ly and Anton Smirnov share the lead with 3.5/4. Smirnov got off to a slow start, drawing his first round game with Canberra junior Dillon Hathiramani, before winning his next 3. Ly started with 2 wins before drawing his third round game with Jason Hu. In round 4 he took a share of the lead, beating previous leader IM Junta Ikeda in a game that went right down to the wire. Ikeda shares third place with Alana Chibnall and Jason Hu.
In the Minor event (Under 1600) Shay Keinan is the sole leader on 4/4. Close behind are Jamie-Lee Guo and Tim Pearce, who draw there top board clash in the final round of the day.
The tournament has attracted a good field of 60 players, with 22 in the Open and 38 in the Minor. Clearly the battle for the top prizes should be between the 3 IM's but a there are a couple of other players in the field capable of causing an upset.
Results from the tournament are available at http://members.iinet.net.au/~shaunpress/ Just click on the links to take you to the tournament required. Live coverage of the top 2 boards is also available from this page.


Ly,Moulthun - Ikeda,Junta [B42]
2014 Vikings Weekender (4.2), 15.11.2014

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Bc5 6. c3 d6 7. O-O Nf6 8. Be3 O-O 9. Nd2 Nbd7 10. N2b3 Ba7 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Bg5 Ne5 13. Rad1 Ng6 14. Kh1 h6 15. Be3 d5 16. Nf3 Bb8 17. e5 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bxe5 19. Bxh6 Bxh2 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Kxh2 e5 22. Kg1 e4 23. Bb1 Rh8 24. Qe3 Ng4 25. Qg3 Qg5 26. Rfe1 Qh5 27. Kf1 Kf8 28. Qd6+ Kg7 29. Qg3 Kf8 30. Qd6+ Kg8 31. Qg3 Qg5 32. Ke2 Bd7 33. Nd4 Qe5 34. Qxe5 Nxe5 35. Rh1 Kg7 36. f3 f5 37. Kf2 Kf6 38. b3 Rac8 39. Rxh8 Rxh8 40. Ne2 exf3 41. gxf3 Bc6 42. Nf4 Rh2+ 43. Ke3 Rb2 44. Ne2 Ke7 45. Nd4 Kf6 46. Bxf5 Rxa2 47. Bc2 Bd7 48. Rh1 Nc6 49. Rh6+ Ke7 50. Rh7+ Kd6 51. Bf5 Bxf5 52. Nxf5+ Ke5 53. Nd4 Na5 54. Rh6 1-0

2014 Vikings Weekender - Day 0

The 2014 Vikings Weekender begins tomorrow. So far 52 players have pre-registered for the tournament, and with further entries expected tomorrow, both divisions (Open and Under 1600) should see a healthy turnout. Top seeds for the Open are Australian Olympians IM Anton Smirnov, IM Moulthun Ly and IM Junta Ikeda.
The tournament will have healthy prize fund with the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club sponsoring the $1000 1st prize in the Open, O2C sponsoring the $500 1st prize in the Under 1600 event and other sponsors providing junior and female prizes. It is not too late to enter, and you can do so at the venue, Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club, Ricardo St, Waniassa, ACT.
There will be live coverage of at least the top board, and possibly the top 2 boards. Last minute testing of my wireless DGT system has shown problems with slow wireless routers, but I still have a wired solution as a backup. The address for the live games is http://members.iinet.net.au/~shaunpress/games/tfd.htm and I will have tournament pairings and results up at http://members.iinet.net.au/~shaunpress/Vikings2014

2014 World Championship Game 4

After the excitement of games 2&3, the 2014 World Championship slowed down a little bit with a solid draw in Game 4. In a much more positional games, both players were vary careful to keep their positions safe, and at now stage did either player have a clear advantage. The game ended in a draw by repetition, after both sides had exhausted any practical winning chances.
So after 4 games the match is tied 2-2, which was the same score in the 2013 match. However in that match all the games were drawn, while so far this match has shown both strengths and weaknesses from both players. If there is going to be change in the rest of the match, it may well come from Carlsen's openings, as the perception is that he has not been focussing on tht part of the game as strongly as Anand. So far the idea of getting a playable middle game has been good enough, but he may need to take that extra step to ensure he keeps his title.


Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) [B40]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (4), 12.11.2014

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. O-O Nf6 7. d4 Be7 8. Be3 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bg4 10. Qd3 Qd7 11. Nd2 O-O 12. N2f3 Rfe8 13. Rfe1 Bd6 14. c3 h6 15. Qf1 Bh5 16. h3 Bg6 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. Nxc6 bxc6 19. c4 Be4 20. Bd4 Nh7 21. cxd5 Bxd5 22. Rxe8+ Rxe8 23. Qd3 Nf8 24. Nh4 Be5 25. Bxd5 Qxd5 26. Bxe5 Qxe5 27. b3 Ne6 28. Nf3 Qf6 29. Kg2 Rd8 30. Qe2 Rd5 31. Rxd5 cxd5 32. Ne5 Qf5 33. Nd3 Nd4 34. g4 Qd7 35. Qe5 Ne6 36. Kg3 Qb5 37. Nf4 Nxf4 38. Kxf4 Qb4+ 39. Kf3 d4 40. Qe8+ Kh7 41. Qxf7 Qd2 42. Qf5+ Kh8 43. h4 Qxa2 44. Qe6 Qd2 45. Qe8+ Kh7 46. Qe4+ Kh8 47. Qe8+ Kh7 1/2-1/2

2014 World Championship Game 3

Game 3 of the 2014 World Championship Match saw Viswanathan Anand immediately strike back after his loss in round 2. Anand chose a much more aggressive strategy in this game, playing a very sharp opening line that left with a passed pawn on c7 after 14 moves. This forced Carlsen to calculate very accurately in the position, as one misstep would have seen drop material. Anand was aided by the fact that this was all covered by his opening preparation, up to move 26! In the end Carlsen chose the wrong plan, and was forced to surrender an exchange to avoid the loss of a piece. However the piece was still falling off the board a few moves later, forcing Carlsen to resign.
The win has put paid to the worries that Anand was going to collapse after Game 2, and has put some real fight into the match. Clearly playing for sharper positions has delivered better results for Anand (both here and in 2013) and so now it is Carlsen who needs to look at his match strategy.


Anand,V (2792) - Carlsen,M (2863) [D37]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (3), 11.11.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bf4 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7. c5 c6 8. Bd3 b6 9. b4 a5 10. a3 Ba6 11. Bxa6 Rxa6 12. b5 cxb5 13. c6 Qc8 14. c7 b4 15. Nb5 a4 16. Rc1 Ne4 17. Ng5 Ndf6 18. Nxe4 Nxe4 19. f3 Ra5 20. fxe4 Rxb5 21. Qxa4 Ra5 22. Qc6 bxa3 23. exd5 Rxd5 24. Qxb6 Qd7 25. O-O Rc8 26. Rc6 g5 27. Bg3 Bb4 28. Ra1 Ba5 29. Qa6 Bxc7 30. Qc4 e5 31. Bxe5 Rxe5 32. dxe5 Qe7 33. e6 Kf8 34. Rc1 1-0

Closed Sicilian - Still doing the job

Of the recent changes to my opening repertoire, I am finding the Closed Sicilian the opening that is collecting me the greatest number of points. I normally get a comfortable position after the first 10 or so moves, and then I can normally whip up some sort of king side hack. Lately a few opponents have cottoned on to the fact this is now my main anit-Sicilian weapon, and seem a little more prepared.
The game below is an example of this. For the first part of the opening my opponent follows theory, but around move 10 plays a couple of moves that seem a little slow. On the other hand my impulsive  15. h4 forced me to think, as Ne5 caused problems for the bishop on h6. It was only after I spotted the chance to sacrifice my queen on e7 (beginning with 18.Nc4) that I was happy with my position, although in my initial analysis I did not spot the rook hanging on b8 and just planned to pick up lots of wood for the queen. In the end I played the same idea a couple of moves later, and my opponent walked into a mate.


Press,Shaun - Badrinarayan,Sankeertan [B26]
Swiss Festive Fun, 11.11.2014

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. d3 e6 6. Be3 d6 7. Qd2 Nge7 8. Nge2 Nd4 9. O-O O-O 10. Nc1 Re8 11. Nd1 Rb8 12. c3 Ndc6 13. Bh6 Bh8 14. Ne2 Qa5 15. h4 Ne5 16. Ne3 Qb5 17. Rad1 f5 18. Nc4 Nxc4 19. dxc4 Qxc4 20. Qxd6 Qxe2 21. Qxb8 Qxb2 22. Qc7 Qxc3 23. Qxe7 Rxe7 24. Rd8+ Kf7 25. Rf8# 1-0

2014 World Championship Game 2

Magnus Carlsen scored the first win of the 2014 World Championship match, with a nice win over Viswanathan Anand. Anand played the Berlin Defence against Carlsen's Lopez, a solid choice, but one that gave Carlsen the simple positions he excels at.  14.Ra3 was an interesting idea by Carlsen, and one that caused Anand some difficulty in meeting. In fact Anand did not seem sure quite how to play against Carlsen's kingside attack, and by the time he avoided the direct threats, his position was compromised. The game ended with a blunder by Anand (34 ... h5??) but most commentators were already predicting a Carlsen win by that stage.
'Ominous' was the term used by Mark Crowther at TWIC, and this seems apt. In both games Anand has lost his way in simplified positions, seemingly playing the kind of game that better suits Carlsen. Before the match I thought that Anand was going to continue his strategy from the second half of the 2013 match (taking the game to Carlsen), but he has not done this so far. Today is a rest day, but I suspect there will be little rest as Anand and his team look at the best strategy for the remaining games.


Carlsen,Magnus (2863) - Anand,Viswanathan (2792) [C65]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (2), 09.11.2014

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. O-O d6 6. Re1 O-O 7. Bxc6 bxc6 8. h3 Re8 9. Nbd2 Nd7 10. Nc4 Bb6 11. a4 a5 12. Nxb6 cxb6 13. d4 Qc7 14. Ra3 Nf8 15. dxe5 dxe5 16. Nh4 Rd8 17. Qh5 f6 18. Nf5 Be6 19. Rg3 Ng6 20. h4 Bxf5 21. exf5 Nf4 22. Bxf4 exf4 23. Rc3 c5 24. Re6 Rab8 25. Rc4 Qd7 26. Kh2 Rf8 27. Rce4 Rb7 28. Qe2 b5 29. b3 bxa4 30. bxa4 Rb4 31. Re7 Qd6 32. Qf3 Rxe4 33. Qxe4 f3+ 34. g3 h5 35. Qb7 1-0

2014 World Championship Game 1

The first game of the 2014 World Championship Match between champion Magnus Carlsen and challenger Viswanathan Anand has ended in a hard fought draw. The game began with 1.d4 and Carlsen played the Gruenfeld Defence. Anand chose 5.Bd2 and maintained a slight edge into the middlegame. However Carlsen had a position where he does well in and slowly the game went to equal and then slightly in Carlsen's favour. Probably the key moment was on move 43 when Carlsen chose Re2, when Re3 posed the challenger more problems.The position was then equal and the game was drawn in a few more moves.
As an opener for the World Championship match this was an interesting game, with both sides taking something from it. For Anand the opening could be considered a success, and holding the final position a plus, while Carlsen showed that he will try and wring every advantage out of the position. Hopefully the rest of the match will contain similar fighting games.

Anand,V (2792) - Carlsen,M (2863) [D85]
WCh 2014 Sochi RUS (1), 08.11.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bd2 Bg7 6. e4 Nxc3 7. Bxc3 O-O 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. Nf3 Bg4 10. d5 Bxf3 11. Bxg7 Kxg7 12. gxf3 Ne5 13. O-O-O c6 14. Qc3 f6 15. Bh3 cxd5 16. exd5 Nf7 17. f4 Qd6 18. Qd4 Rad8 19. Be6 Qb6 20. Qd2 Rd6 21. Rhe1 Nd8 22. f5 Nxe6 23. Rxe6 Qc7+ 24. Kb1 Rc8 25. Rde1 Rxe6 26. Rxe6 Rd8 27. Qe3 Rd7 28. d6 exd6 29. Qd4 Rf7 30. fxg6 hxg6 31. Rxd6 a6 32. a3 Qa5 33. f4 Qh5 34. Qd2 Qc5 35. Rd5 Qc4 36. Rd7 Qc6 37. Rd6 Qe4+ 38. Ka2 Re7 39. Qc1 a5 40. Qf1 a4 41. Rd1 Qc2 42. Rd4 Re2 43. Rb4 b5 44. Qh1 Re7 45. Qd5 Re1 46. Qd7+ Kh6 47. Qh3+ Kg7 48. Qd7+ 1/2-1/2

2014 World Championship under way

The 2014 World Championship started a little under an hour ago in Sochi Russia. Game 1 has seen Magnus Carlsen meet 1.d4 with a Gruenfeld Defence. Anand countered with the relatively rare 5.Bd2 line in the exchange variation. As I type this the game has reached move 13, with 3 sets of minor pieces traded off. The players have castled on opposite sides of the board, and Carlsen is looking to open up lines on the queenside, against Anand's king. I suspect that Carlsen is already happy with the position in front of him, as it gives him greater 'grinding' chances. While I think this game will still be drawn, if there is a result it will be in Carlsen's favour.
There are plenty of places to follow the games online, but for now I am trying http://live.fide.com/sochi/index.php  It seems pretty quick, although I have not tested the live feed.

On the attack - Part 2

This is the 2nd game I saw this week that featured a nice attack. It was played in the final round of the ANU Spring Swiss (and the ANU Chess Club), and helped determined second place in the tournament. Adrian de Noskowski chose a slightly unusual line in the Nimzo-Indian, although there are plenty of games from GM practice. After he chose the bishop manoeuvre Bg5-h4, Black seized the initiative with g5, Ne4 and Qf6. 11 ... h5 looked double edged, but after 12.h4 Black never looked back, with his well placed queen targeting weak points everywhere. 21 ... Qxe3! was a nice find, and after that White was unable to avoid losing material.


De Noskowski,Adrian - Press,Harry [E23]
05.11.2014

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qb3 c5 5. dxc5 Nc6 6. Nf3 O-O 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Bg3 Ne4 10. e3 Qf6 11. Rc1 h5 12. h4 g4 13. Nd2 Nxg3 14. fxg3 Qe5 15. Ne2 d6 16. cxd6 Qxd6 17. Rd1 Rd8 18. Qc2 Qe5 19. Qb3 a5 20. a3 a4 21. Qc2 Qxe3 22. c5 Ne5 23. axb4 Nd3+ 24. Qxd3 Qxd3 25. Nc3 Qxg3+ 26. Ke2 Rd3 27. Nf3 gxf3+ 28. Kxd3 fxg2+ 29. Kc2 gxh1Q 0-1

On the attack - Part 1

During the last week I saw a couple of nice attacking games. The first was played at the Hjorth Open in Melbourne, by Alana Chibnall. The game started as a Center-Counter, not normally noted for attacking play on either side, but the fireworks start at move 11. White sacrificed a piece on e6, and after Black took the piece, the attack really took off. Regaining material with interest, White then proceeded to push Black back and back, and by move 30 the game was essentially over. While Black may have had a better defence at move 12 this game shows that at this level (1900), creativity often beats accuracy!


Chibnall,Alana - Dizdarivich,Mehmet [B01]
Hjorth Memorial, 03.11.2014

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. Nf3 Qxd5 4. Nc3 Qa5 5. h3 Bf5 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Bd6 8. Re1 O-O 9. d3 c6 10. Nd4 Nbd7 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nxe6 fxe6 13. Rxe6 Bc5 14. Rxf6+ Kh8 15. Rxf8+ Rxf8 16. d4 Bd6 17. Bd3 Bf7 18. Ne4 Bb8 19. Ng5 Bg8 20. Qe2 Qc7 21. f4 Qd6 22. Be3 h6 23. Nf3 Re8 24. Ne5 Nf8 25. Bc4 Bd5 26. g5 Qe6 27. Bxd5 cxd5 28. Qh5 Re7 29. f5 Qg8 30. f6 Rxe5 31. dxe5 Bxe5 32. f7 Qh7 33. g6 Qxg6+ 34. Qxg6 Nxg6 35. Bc5 Bxb2 36. Re1 1-0

2014 Petrosian Memorial

The 2014 Petrosian Memorial almost began without me noticing. Squeezed in between 2 Grand Prix events, and the World Championship Match, it kind of just appeared. Organised in memory of Tigran Petrosian (9th World Champion) it is being held in Moscow, and is a successor to the Tal Memorial.
While it is a strong 8 player round robin, it does provide a little bit of variety with Morozevich, Liren and Inarkiev joining familiar faces like Aronian, Kramnik and Grischuk.
The tournament began yesterday evening (Canberra time), but the only decisive result was Grischuk over Inarkiev. Tonight the most interesting game might be between Morozevich and Aronian, although at this level I'm pretty sure all the games will have something to watch for.
Live coverage from the event is being carried by Chess24, including a video stream. The tournament page, which looks very stylish, is here.  It is worth paying a visit, not just for the tournament coverage, but also for the background on Petrosian, and the history of the tournament itself.

Happy birthday, Gary Lane

In these modern, always connected to the internet times, there is no excuse for missing a birthday. Once you start using a calendar app on your phone/tablet/pc any social network you are connected to will happily remind you of the 4 or 5 friends/acquaintances/people you accidentally 'friended' on facebook who are having a birthday on any particular day.
It turns out that today's birthday boy is Gary Lane, the Australian (formerly English) IM. Gary fills an interesting niche in the chess world, being noted as more as chess playing author, rather than a professional who writes the occasional book.  That is not to overlook that he is still a very strong player on the Australian circuit, but his fame does rest with his books and columns.
One column he regularly writes is "Gary Lane's Agony Column" for Kingpin magazine. This is a kind of humorous antidote to the more serious "What do I do next?" kind of columns seen in other forums, although it should be noted that Gary himself writes such a column for Chess Cafe.
The latest column has just come out (the day before his birthday it seems) and contains the usual mix of satire, biting wit and bizarre positions. Hidden inside is some serious chess (usually in the form of a brilliant but overlooked combination) but the main focus seems to be taking the P.
So if you are looking for a break from serious chess study, I highly recommend having a look at Gary's Agony Column for a little light relief.

2015 O2C Doeberl Cup

The website for the 2015 O2C Doeberl Cup has just gone live, which means registrations are open for next years events. There have been some changes from the 2014 tournament, the most significant being a change of venue.
Despite the fantastic support that the Woden Tradies Club gave the tournament, they are unable to host next years event. So the tournament is being shifted to University House, at the Australian National University. This venue is well known to a generation of Canberra juniors, as it has been the venue for the ANU Schools Chess Championship for the last 20 years. The Premier is being held in the spacious Great Hall, while the other tournaments will be held in adjoining conference areas. As an added bonus there is accommodation on site, and the venue is within walking distance of Canberra City.
While it is unlikely that the event will match the numbers for this year, the new venue and facilities will make it a very attractive tournament. As in past years there will be a limit on the number of places available in each event, so I recommend entering early. All the tournament details, as well as online entry forms are available at http://www.doeberlcup.com.au/

(Note: I am a paid official for this event)

How do you bounce back from this?

I saw two very interesting games from the 2014 Hjorth Open currently running at the Melbourne Chess Club . Both involved Tony Davis, and demonstrate the agony and ecstasy of chess.
The first is quick enough that you can almost play it in your head. Tony Davis v Chris Wallis 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4 5.exd5 Qxd5 6.Qd2?? Bxc3 7.bxc3 Ne4 0-1 (White loses the bishop on g5).
But having lost that disaster Davis recovered a few moves later to beat IM Ari Dale in a game that combined cool defence with an eye on the counter attack. As a result he is tied for third place on 4/5 and still has a good chance of picking up a prize.


Dale,Ari - Davis,Tony [D10]
Hjorth Open, 02.11.2014

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Bf4 Nc6 5. e3 Nf6 6. Nc3 a6 7. Bd3 e6 8. Rc1 Be7 9. Nf3 O-O 10. Ne5 Bd7 11. O-O Rc8 12. Qf3 b5 13. Qh3 g6 14. Bh6 Re8 15. f4 b4 16. Ne2 Ne4 17. Rxc6 Rxc6 18. Ng3 f5 19. Bxe4 dxe4 20. Nxe4 Rc2 21. Qg3 Bh4 22. Qh3 Bb5 23. Bg5 Bxg5 24. Nxg5 Re7 25. Rf3 Qc7 26. Qh6 Rxb2 27. h4 Qc2 28. Rg3 Rb1+ 29. Kh2 Qd1 30. Rf3 Qg1+ 31. Kh3 Rb2 0-1

World Championship Match - just a week away

Only a week to go until the 2014 World Championship Match begins. After his surprise win n the 2014 Candidates Tournament, former World Champion Viswanathan Anand is looking to regain his title from Magnus Carlsen. The match is being held in Sochi, Russia, utilising a spare venue left after the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Unlike the previous Carlsen v Anand match, I believe this will be a little more exciting. Anand isn't shackled by being the defending champion, and the last few games of the last match showed that taking the game to Carlsen is probably the way to go. On the other hand Carlsen had a very ordinary Olympiad, and was eclipsed by Caruana in St Louis, but I suspect he will be back in form by next week.
I am tipping Carlsen to retain his title, but only by a 2 game margin. I think Carlsen's willingness to spend as much time at the board as possible will be the deciding factor, with a couple of grinding endgame wins on the menu.
The tournament website is http://www.sochi2014.fide.com/. The opening ceremony is on the 7th of November, with the first game on the 8th.

The very first tournament?

For various historical reasons, the London Tournament of 1851 is generally considered the first international chess tournament in history. Before that, chess was either played casually, or as matches between players.
But it shouldn't be a surprise that there were tournament events organised prior to 1851. While not attracting the stellar field of the London event, they would certainly match the definition of a tournament, at least in a rough sense.
The earliest such tournament I could find was held in London in 1788. While mainly consisting of English players, the star attraction, and event winner, was Philidor. The tournament records (from Chessbase) show that he played in the vast majority of games, so I wonder if it was a series of short matches involving Philidor, with a few side games between the other participants.
From this event I have chosen one such side game, between Bowdler and Conway. It is a game of that time, as Bowdler  disregards material to focus on a mating attack, while Conway obliges by taking everything, and getting mated.


Bowdler,D - Conway,M [C23]
London London, 1788

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Bc5 3. d3 c6 4. Qe2 d6 5. f4 exf4 6. Bxf4 Qb6 7. Qf3 Qxb2 8. Bxf7+ Kd7 9. Ne2 Qxa1 10. Kd2 Bb4+ 11. Nbc3 Bxc3+ 12. Nxc3 Qxh1 13. Qg4+ Kc7 14. Qxg7 Nd7 15. Qg3 b6 16. Nb5+ cxb5 17. Bxd6+ Kb7 18. Bd5+ Ka6 19. d4 b4 20. Bxb4 Kb5 21. c4+ Kxb4 22. Qb3+ Ka5 23. Qb5# 1-0

ICCS 2014

The 2014 International Conference Chess in Schools (ICCS) was held in Armenia a couple of weeks ago. As in any good academic conference there was a mixture of speeches, social activities, but most importantly, paper presentations. The main topic was chess in the educational system, covering both the practical aspects, as well as assessing the benefits of chess in the classroom.
The conference papers and presentations are available from the conference website. Most of the papers are short enough to be easily digestible, so if you are involved in mainstream classroom teaching, it may provide a new source of information to assist you in your work.And if you aren't teaching chess in class (but want to), it may provide supporting evidence for you request to the school principal for chess classes during school hours.

A board of chess players?

While idly chatting away at a chess coaching class, the topic of collective nouns came up (as it does from time to time). It occurred to me that I was not aware of a collective noun for chess players, or if I was, I had forgotten it. My initial suggestion was a 'set' of chess players, an obvious reference to a chess set.
Looking online I found at least one reference to a 'board' of chess players. This can be taken to refer to either the chess board, or a group similar to a board of management. Unkind souls may even use an alternative spelling and describe the group as 'a bored of chess players'. The same source also mentions a 'brood' of chess players, but I find this less appealing.
Nonetheless, I find both choices unimaginative, but at the same time cannot think of anything better than my initial suggestion. Possibly an 'asylum' of chess players might work, but this may be more suited to a private joke than public presentation.

Failing upwards

Despite some very sketchy chess, I managed to finish equal first in the latest tournament at Belconnen Chess Club. I won a few lucky games, lost one pretty horrible effort, and had some last round results go my way. Finding a game worth showing was difficult, as they all seem to have their flaws, but in the end I picked my win from last week. I missed a clear win on move 21, and at one point after that my opponent was even better. But a combination of luck and the randomness of the position meant I was able to regain the advantage and eventually win the game.


Kethro,Michael - Press,Shaun [A80]
Belconnen FDK, 21.10.2014

1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. h4 d5 6. Nf3 Qd6 7. Bf4 Qb4+ 8. Nbd2 c6 9. h5 Ne4 10. hxg6 hxg6 11. Rxh8+ Bxh8 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Ne5 Bxe5 14. dxe5 Qxb2 15. Ke2 Be6 16. Qh1 Nd7 17. Qh8+ Nf8 18. Rd1 O-O-O 19. Qg7 Qxc2 20. Qxe7 Bc4+ 21. Ke1 Qd3 22. Qxd8+ Qxd8 23. Nxc4 Qh4 24. Nd6+ Kb8 25. Bg3 Qh1+ 26. Ke2 Qh5+ 27. f3 Ne6 28. Nc4 Qg5 29. Kf2 exf3 30. gxf3 f4 31. exf4 Nxf4 32. e6 Qc5+ 33. Ne3 g5 34. Rd8+ Kc7 35. Rd7+ Kc8 36. Rf7 Nxe6 37. Rf6 Qa5 38. Ng4 Qxa2+ 39. Kf1 Nd4 40. Rf8+ Kd7 41. Ne5+ Ke7 42. Rb8 Qe2+ 43. Kg1 Nxf3+ 44. Nxf3 Qxf3 45. Rxb7+ Ke6 46. Bf2 a5 47. Ra7 a4 48. Ra5 a3 0-1

Chess has been solved, apparently.

"Person invents improved version of chess" is a familiar and yet somehow boring headline that I see quite often these days. The latest version that this headline has been applied to is XYQ4, which seems to deal with the issue of reliance on learning and memory by making everything random.
But what is truly special about this version it that it seems to have been built on an entire erroneous basis. In this article the games creator, Damien Sommer, thinks chess is broken because "Chess is either a draw or White wins. There is no situation where Black wins". Now this claim fails on both a practical level, where Black wins quite a number of chess games that I have witnessed, and on a theoretical one. No such proof exists of the outcome of a perfectly game of chess, and for Sommer (or the reporter) to make a claim like this is difficult to understand. This is even pointed out in the comments to the liked article!
I suspect this variant will go the way of the other versions of "New Chess", attracting a brief level of interest before fading away. But having said that, I have a version you might be interested in ....

Does Tournament Theory apply to chess?

I was recently pointed in the direction of an area of Economics called "Tournament Theory" (thx Leron Kwong). It is a theory in personnel economics (human resource management) that tries to explain that rewards (pay and compensation) is not based on additional productivity, but on the relative difference between individuals.
The situations it tries to explain do appear in chess, but I wonder if this is coincidental. For example, normally  tournaments are structured so that 1st prize is significantly larger than 2nd prize (normally twice as much). But the winner of a tournament is not normally twice as good as the player that came second. So the reason for the difference is not based on performance, but on tournament ranking. This also occurs on the field of business, where the President of a company earns a great deal more than Vice-Presidents.
As this theory was only first proposed in the early 1980's, chess practice clearly pre-dates it. I assume that the method of dividing up prizes in a chess tournaments probably arose through trial and error, before a model that the majority of players seemed happy with was developed.
Nonetheless, there may be some ideas that chess could use. I have seen events where 1st prize greatly exceeds the other prizes (1st $1000, 2nd $100), and this seems to have skewed the performance of the top players. Given that one of the goals of tournament theory is to maximise the effort of the tournament participants, it may turn out that there is a theoretical "better way" to divide up prize money in events.

(NB I know a number of economists read this blog, so if I have got anything wrong on this topic, feel free to correct or expand)

Many versus Few

White to play and win

As I get older I am suffering the affliction of increased confusion, especially at chess. It is particularly noticeable when I am faced with a position with lots of scattered pieces on the board. I had an example today where I was material up , but my opponent had  knights, bishops and rooks scattered around the board. Trying to keep track of all the threats turned out to be quite difficult, and I felt fortunate to eventually swap enough pieces off and win the ending.
The position on the right is much more to my liking. While there are plenty of bits on the board, they are all focused on a very narrow set of targets. White is trying to queen a pawn, Black is trying to stop this, and so the play is pretty direct. Of course calculation is required (and quite deep calculation), but it is of a specific type.