2017 George Trundle

Auckland looks to be the place for chess over the next few weeks, with a couple of big events being held there. Starting the 9th of October is the Asian Seniors and Veterans, which is already attracting a large international field.
But before that, the annual George Trundle Masters is being held, with round 1 already finished. Once again the field for the IM tournament is a mix of top New Zealand  players, a couple of Australians, plus players from Brazil and Singapore. 
One player taking on both events is Australian GM Daryl Johansen. He has got off to a winning start in the George Trundle, beating FM Bob Smith in the only decisive game of the round. It was a pretty quick win as well, as can be seen below.
If you wish to follow the George Trundle, then the tournament links can be  found at the New Zealand Chess website. Rounds start at 1200 Canberra time, although the switch to daylight savings may change this by an hour.


Smith,Robert W (2230) - Johansen,Darryl K (2380) [E10]
George Trundle NZ Masters 2017 Auckland, NZL (1.2), 30.09.2017

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 c5 5. Nbd2 Nc6 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 dxc4 8. Nxc4 Bb4+ 9. Kf1 O-O 10. a3 Be7 11. Bd3 b6 12. Kg1 Bb7 13. Bc2 Rc8 14. Qd3 Nxd4 15. Nxd4 Be4 16. Qc3 Bxc2 17. Nxc2 b5 18. b3 bxc4 19. Bb2 cxb3 20. Qxb3 Qd2 21. Nb4 Ne4 22. Nd3 Rfd8 0-1

Old wine, new bottle

Learning tactics by playing through short games of chess is one coaching technique I've always been fond of. If you are working with a group, you can show a number of games in a short time, and normally not lose the interest of your students. You also just focus on one concept, if the game is quick enough, so you don't get side tracked by other issues.
So having a collection of quick games is always useful. One example is the game below, which I'm sure has been played a few times (or at least a version of it). This version was played at my local club the other night, and demonstrates the importance of looking at all checks and captures. If Black had been a little more cautious he would have realised that taking the biggest piece (normally the correct idea) was not best in this position. Instead he won the queen, but lost his king!


White - Black
Belconnen Chess Club Champs 26.09.2017

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Bg4 4. d4 Ne7 5. Nxe5 Bxd1 6. Bxf7# 1-0

Aronian ices World Cup

Lev Aronian has one the 2017 World Cup, after a convincing 2-0 win in the first playoff games, against Ding Liren. The 4 standard were all drawn, although Aronian did have winning chances in at least one game. However at rapid chess, Aronian played two excellent attacking games, winning both with direct assaults on his opponents king.
Both players have earned places in the upcoming Candidates tournament, but the win for the soon to be married Aronian gave him 120,000 first prize, which might pay for a very nice honeymoon.

Bad Karma

Hou Yifan must be thinking that some unseen hand is working against her, mainly for the amusement of others. After her infamous finish to the Gibraltar Masters (a deliberate loss to protest playing 7 female opponents in 9 games), she might have thought the issue was behind her. Bizarrely, her first 4 opponents at the Isle of Man Masters have also been female, including her round 1 random opponent. As some of the arbiting team at IOM also officiated at Gibraltar, I'm assuming they are making sure that the pairings for every round are (a) thoroughly checked and (b) explained in great detail to Yifan.

Wallace continues good form

One of the beneficiaries of the Isle of Man pairing system is IM John-Paul Wallace, who started the tournament with a win yesterday. It was against a higher seeded opponent, and shows he has continued his good form from last years event (where he scored a GM norm). So rather than slog his way through the early rounds hoping he plays strong enough players to keep his GM norms chances active, he has already collected one GM scalp, and is up against GM Emil Sutovsky in round 2.
In other games most of the top seeds won,  although one notable 'upset' was the win by Fabiano Caruana (2799) over Vladimir Kramnik (2803).

Bogner,Sebastian (2599) - Wallace,John Paul (2413) [A00]
Chess.com Isle of Man Open - Masters Douglas (Isle of Man) (1.33), 23.09.2017

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. h3 Be6 8. Nbd2 Re8 9. b4 Bb6 10. a4 a6 11. Bxe6 Rxe6 12. Re1 d5 13. Qc2 h6 14. Rb1 Qe8 15. Nf1 Rd8 16. Be3 Bxe3 17. Nxe3 Ne7 18. c4 dxe4 19. dxe4 Qc6 20. Nf5 Nc8 21. c5 Kh7 22. b5 axb5 23. axb5 Qe8 24. Ne3 Kg8 25. Nc4 b6 26. Qc3 bxc5 27. Ncxe5 Nd6 28. Qxc5 Nfxe4 29. Qc2 Rxe5 30. Nxe5 Qxe5 31. Qxc7 Rc8 32. Qb6 Rc5 33. Rb4 f5 34. Qd8+ Kh7 35. b6 Qf4 36. Rf1 Rc1 37. Rxe4 Nxe4 38. Rxc1 Qxc1+ 39. Kh2 Qf4+ 40. Kh1 Qc1+ 41. Kh2 Qf4+ 42. Kh1 Nxf2+ 43. Kg1 Qe3 44. Kh2 Qe5+ 45. Kg1 Qe1+ 46. Kh2 f4 0-1

Double header

I almost got the top board pairing of the Isle of Man tournament correct, although it was Kramnik v Caruana on Board 2, rather than Carlsen v Kramnik on Board 1. However it looks as though the randomised pairing experiment isn't that bad, with the mix of 'interesting' pairings providing a change from the usual top half v bottom half massacre of most large swisses. What will be interesting of course is the ripple effect of the first round pairings throughout the rest of the tournament.
Along with the IOM event, I'm also up late to watch the World Cup Final between Lev Aronian and Liren Ding. At the time of posting 30 moves have been played, and the position is pretty equal. Unlike the cut throat nature of swiss events, I expect this match will be a little more sedate, with both players happy to avoid risks, hoping their opponent goes astray instead.

So much for my predictions

Having tipped a MVL v So Final in the 2017 World Cup, I've woken up to the news that neither of those players have qualified. It will be an Aronian v Liren Ding final instead, after both of those players won their rapidplay playoffs.
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave looked to have one foot through the qualifying door after beating Aronian in their first playoff game, but a gutsy piece sacrifice in the next game paid off for Aronian, and he evened the score. Four more draws meant the match went to  'Armageddon' where Aronian managed to win the Q v R ending.
So and Ding only saw one decisive game, but this was enough for Ding to go through to the final. So had one final chance to pull level, but in the final rapidplay game, Ding was happy to hold the position (rather than push for more), and the game finished in a draw.


Aronian Levon (ARM) (2799) - Vachier-Lagrave Maxime (FRA) (2789) [A50]
World Cup 2017 Tbilisi (38.1), 21.09.2017

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 c5 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 e6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nge2 O-O 8. Ng3 a6 9. a4 h5 10. Bg5 Qc7 11. Qd2 exd5 12. cxd5 Nh7 13. Bh6 h4 14. Bxg7 Kxg7 15. Bc4 hxg3 16. hxg3 Rh8 17. e5 Qe7 18. O-O-O Nd7 19. exd6 Qxd6 20. Ne4 Qe5 21. d6 g5 22. Rhe1 b5 23. Bd5 Rb8 24. f4 Qd4 25. Qe2 Qb4 26. Qh5 1-0

GM Anton Smirnov

By scoring 7/9 (finishing equal first) in the Anogia GM tournament,  16 year old Anton Smirnov has scored his third GM norm, which is enough for him to earn the GM title. Canberra born Smirnov needed to win his last round game against FM Antoine Favarel (FRA) and for a lot of the game it looked very touch and go. Smirnov decided to launch a kingside attack, and while trying to defend Favarel misplayed the position (36. ... Rd3??) allowing Smirnov to secure the point, and the title.
Smirnov now becomes Australia's 7th Grandmaster, and the third in recent years. Already a mainstay of the Australian Olympiad team, he may even be challenging for the number 1 spot in Australia;s 2018 team, which may be an all GM outfit for the first time in history.


Smirnov,Anton (2508) - Favarel,Antoine (2357)
2nd Capablanca Memorial GM Anogia (9.1), 19.09.2017

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. O-O O-O 9. Bb3 d6 10. h3 Bd7 11. Re1 Rfc8 12. Nd5 Re8 13. Nxc6 Bxc6 14. Bd2 Qd8 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. Qf3 e6 17. c3 a5 18. Rad1 Be5 19. Qe3 b5 20. a3 Qc7 21. f4 Bg7 22. Qf2 Qb7 23. Bc2 e5 24. f5 d5 25. f6 Bf8 26. h4 dxe4 27. h5 Red8 28. Be3 b4 29. axb4 axb4 30. hxg6 hxg6 31. Rb1 bxc3 32. bxc3 Qd7 33. Qh4 Qf5 34. Rf1 Qh5 35. Qxh5 gxh5 36. Rf5 Rd3 37. Bxd3 exd3 38. Rg5+ Kh7 39. Rf1 Ra2 40. Rxh5+ Kg6 41. Rg5+ Kh7 42. Rf2 Ra1+ 43. Kh2 Be4 44. Rg4 Bg6 45. Rb2 Ra8 46. Rh4+ Kg8 47. c4 Rc8 48. c5 e4 49. g4 Rc6 50. Rb8 Rxf6 51. Bd4 Kg7 52. g5 Be7 53. Rhh8 d2 54. Rbg8# 1-0

Isle of Man 2017

The Isle of Man tournament has really taken off in the last decade, and is now challenging events like Gibraltar and the Iceland Open for the title of 'Best Open' in the world. This years event starts on Saturday, and has boosted it's prestige even further, with the news that World Champion Magnus Carlsen is taking part. In fact the tournament field contains 4 World Champion's, or 5 if you count Ilyumzhinov's bonkers scheme to declare Shirov as a former World Champion. The top 14 seeds are rated above 2700, and its GM's all the way down to seed 59.
The only Australian player in the field is IM John Paul Wallace, although I did note Bill Egan's name in the minor, but it his is English namesake, rather than the Canberra resident.
The tournament begins on Saturday 23rd September, and is a 9 round swiss. Apparently the pairings for the first round are totally random, so it might be worth tuning in to the first round, just to see a surprisingly early Carlsen v Kramnik match up!

Board games ranked

This Deadspin article about the ranking of board games is too good to pass up. Not so much the article actually, but the totally Not Safe For Work comments that follow it. You have been warned.

Tournament features

John Winkelman (previously featured in this blog here), returned from a recent trip to the United States bearing gifts. They were a number of tournament brochures from various large US chess opens, which he thought might be of interest to me. They of course were, not because I planned to enter any of them, but as an insight into how events in the US are structured.
While a lot of the entry fees, conditions and prizes are similar to Australia, there were a few things that caught my eye. In no particular order they were

• Free entries for GM's and IM's have an equivalent amount deducted from any prizes won.
• Tournaments are in sections, but there are a lot more sections (I assume a lot more players as well
• Entry in the top section often costs more for lower rated players
• The longer the event the more half point byes you can take (up to 4 in 9 round events!)
• Players bring their own boards and clocks (none supplied by organisers)
• 2 and 3 day schedules for weekend events (1-2-2 or 3-2 rounds)
• Online ratings used for unrated players

The tournament information was generally printed on thick card (rather than the fancier brochures we use in Australia) which to me seems easier to distribute.
Some of the ideas might be useful in Australia (eg the use of online ratings to seed unrateds), but I can't see the whole "bring your own set" idea catching on.

2017 World Cup - Who's Next

The 2017 World Cup schedule is pretty tough, especially if your'e one of the players who keeps going to tie-breaks. So far there hasn't been a scheduled rest day, meaning that a win in regulation is the only way you can get a day off.
Tonight sees the start of the quarter finales, is as good a time as any to try and predict a winner. Firstly, with all the previous upsets, the reaming top half is a little stronger than the bottom half, and that is where I think the eventual winner will come from. As I write this, Aronian has already defeated Ivanchuk in that bracket, although he was going to be one of my picks anyway. The other pairing in that half is Vachier-Legrave against Svidler, and while Svidler has the experience of getting to this stage in 5 World Cups, I think MVL will win, and go on to play Aronian.
In the bottom half I think So and Liren Ding will progress, with So winning the semi-final. But I think the eventual winner will come from the top half, with MVL just shading Aronian, and then going on to beat So in the final!

The world's most famous two-mover?

White to play and checkmate in two moves

Here is a puzzle described by Hubert Phillips as "possibly the world's most famous two-mover". An interesting claim, in part because I'm note sure anyone else has bothered to keep a list of such things. Also, as these words were written in 1932 (and the puzzle was first published in 1905), I am wondering whether more recently published puzzles could now claim that title.
As with most two movers, this only has a passing resemblance to a 'real' chess position, and the composer has left plenty of false trails to catch the over confident.

It's a trap - part 2

A number of years ago I posted this, concerning a trap in the Scotch Gambit. Tonight at the Belconnen Chess Club, I got to see what happens if both sides realise what is really going on, at least up until a point.
Black avoided the sometimes played 6. ... Resigns, and White knew that retreating the Bishop from h6 is also trouble. But Black failed to spot how strong White's attack was, possibly thinking that 13. ... Bf5 was enough to save the day. Of course it wasn't, and White ended up with the quickest win of the night.


Arps,Jan-Phillip - Luo,Ricky [C50]
Belconnen Club Championship, 12.09.2017

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Be7 5. c3 dxc3 6. Qd5 Nh6 7. Bxh6 O-O 8. Nxc3 gxh6 9. Qh5 d6 10. Qxh6 Bf6 11. h4 Qe7 12. Ng5 Bxg5 13. hxg5 Bf5 14. O-O-O Bg6 15. Nd5 1-0

2017 Belconnen Club Championship

The 2017 Belconnen Club Championship begins tomorrow evening (Tuesday 12 September), at the Belconnen Chess Club, on Hayden Drive, University of Canberra. This is Canberra's only FIDE rated club event this year, so provides a good opportunity to either improve your international rating, or get one for the first time.
The tournament runs for 7 weeks, and is playing with a slightly faster time limit of 60m+30s per move. FIDE changed the rules regarding time control for rated events, so players over 2200 are no longer excluded, but at the same time, games involving players above the 2200 mark are not rated.
If you are planning to play, entries will be taken from 7pm, with the first round starting at 7:15

Carlsen gets hacked

Magnus Carlsen started the World Cup with 4 from 4, befitting his number 1 seeding. However the first game of the third round didn't go according to plan, as he got hacked by Xiangzhi Bu from China. Carlsen played the Bishops Opening, and Bu sensibly played the Black side like a Ruy Lopez. He even went as far as playing a Marshall Gambit type sacrifice, and after Carlsen accepted, went nuts on king side. Carlsen could have taken an immediate draw after the sacrifice on h3, but decided to play for a win instead. However this blew up in his face, not so much because of his position, but that he spent so much time working out what to do. As a result, he got into severe time trouble and played a couple of second best moves. Bu gave him one chance at the end, but after Carlsen missed it, the upset was on the scoreboard.
In other weird news, Anton Kovalyov (CAN) walked out of the tournament after getting into an argument with the organisers over his choice of attire. He had worn shorts for the first two rounds, but was told that this was unacceptable just before the third round was due to start.  He then exchanged words with tournament organiser Zurab Azmaiparashvili, was apparently called a 'gypsy', and then left. Normally he may have decided to appeal to the FIDE appointed appeals committee over Azmai's actions, but FIDE appointed Azmai as the chairman of the appeals committee, so that option seemed pointless. (As an aside, being on a FIDE appeals committee is a sweet gig, and is used as part of the FIDE reward and patronage system, so Azmai's appointment makes sense, but only from that point of view)


Carlsen,Magnus (2822) - Bu,Xiangzhi (2710) [C55]
FIDE World Cup 2017 Tbilisi GEO (3.1), 09.09.2017

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. O-O O-O 6. Bb3 d6 7. c3 Be6 8. Re1 Qd7 9. Nbd2 Rab8 10. Bc2 d5 11. h3 h6 12. exd5 Nxd5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Rxe5 Bd6 15. Re1 Bxh3 16. gxh3 Qxh3 17. Nf1 Rbe8 18. d4 f5 19. Bb3 c6 20. f4 Kh7 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22. Re3 Rxe3 23. Bxe3 g5 24. Kf2 gxf4 25. Qf3 fxe3+ 26. Nxe3 Qh2+ 27. Kf1 Rg8 28. Qxf5+ Rg6 29. Ke1 h5 30. Kd1 Kh6 31. Nc2 h4 32. Ne1 h3 33. Nf3 Qg2 34. Ne1 Qg4+ 35. Qxg4 Rxg4 36. Nf3 Rg1+ 37. Nxg1 h2 0-1

Maximum Haulage

The Canberra Lifeline Bookfair is on this weekend, and if you are looking for chess books, there are plenty to be had. I got in nice and early this morning (along with a few other collectors), and I'm pretty sure this year saw the biggest chess collection I can remember. There were a number of familiar titles, but there were also a few surprises. Someone donated quite a large number of Informators, including a No. 1, which I snapped up. Curiously there were a few books on the Laws of Chess, so I grabbed those as well, as they contained snapshots of the Laws for the years they were published.
Even the Board Games section had more than the usual amount of chess stuff, and I saw one shopper snap up every chess set she could fine. I found a Pavilion Talking Electronic Chess Computer for $8, adding to my growing collection of chess computers at home.
When I left there were plenty of books on the table, so you should be able to get something if you drop in over the weekend.

Today's Google Doodle

Today's Google Doodle commemorates Sir John Cornforth, who won a Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975. Of course in the chess community he is was also known as a strong player, competing in the 1936 Australian Championship, as well as the first Australian Correspondence Chess Championship. Today is the 100th anniversary of his birth, and he passed away in 2013. Apart from an obituary I posted at the time, there was a very good article about his chess life written by Paul Dun in a recent issue of Australian Correspondence Chess Quarterly.

Know the Classics - Pirc Edition

The Pirc/Modern is often a system that aggressive players have some difficulty with. As Black's strategy is to sit back and wait till White over reaches, White can fall into the trap of playing too cautiously. If that happens, Black has already scored a small victory, as White is out of their comfort zone.
My personal preference is to take it head on, aiming for an early Bh6. Over the years there have been a number of crushing wins for White in this line, and they are worth studying. Probably the most famous was Kasparov's win over Topalov at Wijk aan Zee in 1999. Kasparov was not afraid to leave his queen out on h6, even after Topalov castled queenside, as he was busy getting his other pieces across to the queenside. Of course Kasparov's choice of opening in itself was not winning, as he needed to find 24. Rxd4!! but he did get a position where such an attack was possible.


Kasparov,Garry (2812) - Topalov,Veselin (2700) [B07]
Hoogovens Wijk aan Zee (4), 20.01.1999

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. Be3 Bg7 5. Qd2 c6 6. f3 b5 7. Nge2 Nbd7 8. Bh6 Bxh6 9. Qxh6 Bb7 10. a3 e5 11. O-O-O Qe7 12. Kb1 a6 13. Nc1 O-O-O 14. Nb3 exd4 15. Rxd4 c5 16. Rd1 Nb6 17. g3 Kb8 18. Na5 Ba8 19. Bh3 d5 20. Qf4+ Ka7 21. Rhe1 d4 22. Nd5 Nbxd5 23. exd5 Qd6 24. Rxd4 cxd4 25. Re7+ Kb6 26. Qxd4+ Kxa5 27. b4+ Ka4 28. Qc3 Qxd5 29. Ra7 Bb7 30. Rxb7 Qc4 31. Qxf6 Kxa3 32. Qxa6+ Kxb4 33. c3+ Kxc3 34. Qa1+ Kd2 35. Qb2+ Kd1 36. Bf1 Rd2 37. Rd7 Rxd7 38. Bxc4 bxc4 39. Qxh8 Rd3 40. Qa8 c3 41. Qa4+ Ke1 42. f4 f5 43. Kc1 Rd2 44. Qa7 1-0

The Perils of Prediction

At the time I was off to bed last night, I had chalked up a win for GM Alex Fier against higher rated GM Etienne Bacrot in the 2017 World Cup. When I awoke this morning, the win had turned into a draw. It was a lucky escape for Bacrot, and might explain why they drew so quickly in Game 2.
Meanwhile Australian IM Anton Smirnov continues to impress, holding GM Sergey Karjakin to another draw, and sending the match into tie breakers. At this stage there are already a few matches that will continue tomorrow, but like Smirnov, almost all of them are via the draw-draw path. Only Vladimir Fedoseev has bounced back from losing the first game to even the match, but I am sure there will be a few more as the round goes on. Of the tournament favourites, Svider, Giri and Nakamura are already through to the second round, while Number 1 seed Magnus Carlsen is still trying to overcome bottom seed FM Oluwafemi Balogun from Nigeria.

Draw for Smirnov

The first round of the 2017 FIDE World Cup is underway, and a few of the early results have come in. Significantly for Australia, IM Anton Smirnov has drawn his first game against GM Sergey Karjakin. The opening was a fairly sharp line of the QGD (with Bf4) but eventually simplified into a heavy piece ending that was drawn on move 30. The two players return to the board tomorrow, with Karjakin having the advantage of the white pieces.
Most of the other games to finish have ended in draws, with a few highly rated players (Ivanchuk, Radjubov) taking the peaceful route. So far there has only been one real upset, with Sambuev (CAN) cracking GM Yi Wei, but Alex Fier (BRA) is looking good against Bacrot (FRA) and that may also end in a win for the lower rated player.

Three Puzzles

Here are 3 puzzles to put your mind to, with 2 of them being related to chess, to some degree.

1. How many distinct ways can 6 knights be placed on a 4 by 4 chess board, so that no knight attacks another knight? (And by distinct, rotations don't count as a separate solution)
2. How many ways can N Queens be placed on a NxN chess board so that no queen attacks another queen? (NB There has been a flurry of reporting suggesting a solution to this problem will win you $1,000,000. In fact the prize is for solving the P v NP problem, of which this is just one example of an NP problem)
3. N students are playing a variant of 'Duck, Duck, Goose'. In this variant, Student 1 goes around the ring of players (which now excludes Student 1), announcing Duck N-1 times, and Goose the Nth time. Student 1 then sits out while the 'Goose' repeats the process. Who is the last student to be the Goose?