2022 ACT Junior Chess Championship

 Phong Huynh is the 2022 ACT Junior Chess Champion, after surviving a tense final day of the competition. Sharing the overnight lead with Masaki Horikawa on 5/6, both players lost their round 7 games to open the tournament right up. Richard Ji then took the lead on 5.5/7, but a round 8 draw with Dev Raichura (and a 2nd loss of the day to Horikawa), left Huynh, Ji and Muhammed Yunus tied for 1st on 6/8. As they had already played each other, it came to to games against other opponents. Both Huynh and Ji won their games, while Yunus missed a tactic against ACT Girls Champion Shriya Karthik and resigned material down. Under the tournament tie-break rules, Huynh was awarded the 1st place trophy due to his win over Ji earlier in the tournament.

The 15 player tournament was hard fought, in part due to relatively closeness of the field. There were few easy games (even after a loss or two) and all but Ji suffered at least 2 losses.

The Championship was the final event of the of the ACTJCL age championships. The winners of the other events were

• Under 8: Echo Feng
• Under 10: Max Mao
• Under 12: Charles Huang
• Under 14: Masaki Horikawa

Huynh,Phong - Ji,Richard [A21]
ACT Junior Championship, 29.09.2022

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Bb4 3. g3 Bxc3 4. bxc3 d6 5. d3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nge7 7. e4 b6 8. Ne2 O-O 9. O-O Be6 10. h3 Qc8 11. Kh2 f5 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. f4 Rb8 14. fxe5 Nxe5 15. Nf4 N7g6 16. Bd5+ Kh8 17. Nxg6+ Bxg6 18. d4 Rxf1 19. Qxf1 Nd7 20. Bg5 Qf8 21. Bc6 Qxf1 22. Rxf1 Rf8 23. Rxf8+ Nxf8 24. Be3 h6 25. c5 dxc5 26. dxc5 Ne6 27. cxb6 axb6 28. Kg2 Kg8 29. Kf3 Kf7 30. Bd5 Kf6 31. Be4 Ng5+ 32. Bxg5+ Kxg5 33. Bxg6 Kxg6 34. Ke4 h5 35. h4 Kf6 36. Kf4 g6 37. c4 c6 38. a4 c5 39. g4 hxg4 40. Kxg4 Kf7 41. Kg3 Kf6 42. Kf4 Kf7 43. Ke5 Ke7 44. Kd5 Kd7 45. a5 Kc7 46. axb6+ Kxb6 47. Kd6 1-0

Not sure what went right here

 Sometimes you reach the end of a game, and despite a positive result, you aren't exactly sure why. This happened to me in a recent game, albeit one that had missed chances for both sides. Maybe what went right was not getting hit with 30.Rxf6! which leads to a better position after 31. ... Bxf6 32.Rxf6 Rxf6 33.Ng4! Instead the 'automatic' 30.Bxf6 enabled me to exploit my advantage on the queenside, although even then, it was my turn to miss the winning tactic. Fortunately there was still enough to convert the ending into a full point.

Pearce,Tim - Press,Shaun [E81]
Gungahlin CC (3), 27.09.2022

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. f3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nc3 O-O 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Qd2 c5 8. d5 Qa5 9. Nh3 Nb6 10. Nf2 Bd7 11. Nfd1 Nc8 12. a4 e6 13. Ra3 exd5 14. cxd5 a6 15. Be2 Ne8 16. O-O Rb8 17. Ne3 Qc7 18. Ng4 b5 19. axb5 axb5 20. Nd1 b4 21. Ra1 f5 22. Nh6+ Kh8 23. Ne3 fxe4 24. fxe4 Nf6 25. Nc4 Bb5 26. Rf4 Qe7 27. Raf1 Bxc4 28. Bxc4 Nb6 29. Be2 Qe5 30. Bxf6 Bxf6 31. b3 Nd7 32. Kh1 Kg7 33. Ng4 Qc3 34. Qd1 Bg5 35. Rxf8 Rxf8 36. Rxf8 Kxf8 37. Qf1+ Kg7 38. Bc4 h5 39. Nf2 Ne5 40. Nd1 Qd4 41. Bb5 Qxe4 42. Bc6 Nxc6 43. dxc6 Qxc6 44. Nb2 Bf6 45. Nc4 d5 46. Qf3 Qa6 47. Ne3 Qa1+ 48. Nf1 Qd4 49. h3 c4 50. bxc4 Qxc4 51. Ne3 Qe4 52. Nxd5 Qxf3 53. gxf3 b3 0-1

A position to know

 

White to play

An interesting position was reached during round 3 of the 2022 ACT Junior Championship. White was trying to hold a rook and pawn ending 2 pawns down, when an opportunity suddenly presented itself. As the king is almost stalemated, White had the chance to force a draw by playing Rf3+. If the rook is captured the game ends immediately, while if the king retreats to e5, then White can check on e3, wither pushing the king to the d file or back to the f file. With the king on the d file, the rook can now keep the king away from the pawns, and White can hold a draw. If the king returns to the f file, more checks drive the king behind the pawns, where checks from the side (after a move like Rb3 for White) also reach a drawn position.

Sadly for White, he  missed the stalemate trick and after that Black was able to win in the end. 

2022 ACT Under 14 Chanpionships

 Today saw the finish to the 2022 ACT Under 14 Championships. The field of 21 players was a mixture of established junior talent, and enthusiastic newcomers.  In the end the tournament was dominated by Masaki Horikawa and Charles Huang, who tied for 1st on 5.5/6. The subsequent playoff game was drawn, meaning that Horikawa won the Under 14 trophy on countback. As this event was combined with the Under 12 Championship, Huang collected that prize, meaning he has won the ACT Under 8's, 10's 14's and now the 12's over the last few years.

While some of the field was there for serious competition, the real highlight for most were the endless games of bughouse played between the rounds. Normally I frown on such frivolity as a chief arbiter, but as pretty much did the same thing when I was a junior I decided to let it slide this one time. There was even an informal bughouse event at the end of the day, with the tournament winners (Horikawa and Huang) teaming up together to win that as well.

Try and avoid this

 This example probably falls under the heading of "Do as I do, not as I say". I've always told young players to spend their time on understanding openings, rather than simply memorising moves. On the other hand, when I was young, I spent a lot of time memorising lines, especially lines which contained a number of traps. If White had followed my example, but not my advice, they may not have had their queen trapped so quickly. 

White - Black
Street Chess, 24.09.2022

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. fxe5 Nxe4 5. Qf3 Nc6 6. Nxe4 Nd4 7. Qc3 dxe4 8. Be2 Bb4 9. Qc4 Be6 0-1

Advertising

 This years AFL grand Final has been run and done, with the Sydney Swans getting smashed by Geelong. During (or after) the coverage, I did see an advertisement for an insurance company which had a bit of chess in it. AFL legend Kevin Sheedy was one of the players, although the game was halted when someone ran through the game, smashing board, table, pieces etc. I'd post a link but I can't find one at the moment. 

If anyone does have a link, please post in the comments section.

2022 ACT Teams Championship

 After a break of a few years, the 2022 ACT Teams Championship is being held on Sunday, 23rd October, at Campbell High School. It will be a team of 4 tournament, played with a time limit of G15m+5s. It will be FIDE rated (Rapid) and there will be 7 rounds. Cost for the team is $10 per player, with trophies and medals being awarded. The last time it was held (in 2019) there were 10 teams, and hopefully this year will see more players (especially given the larger numbers at each of the clubs).

One interesting innovation this year is that a teams average rating is based on Boards 2,3 and 4 (and not board 1). The average limit is 1700, but this rule means you can have a strong board 1 player without forcing the team to have a lower rated board 4 (or even 3 and 4). The idea is to encourage some 'creative' recruitment, or simply to get the higher rated ACT players to turn out.

The event is being organised by IA Alana Chibnall ( alanachibnall@hotmail.com  ) and teams can enter by contacting her. If you don't have a team and want to play anyway, you can still enter, and extra teams will be formed on the day.

 

Apparently 2.c4 doesn't win instantly

 Following the latest opening theory I tried to finish tonight's game with 2.c4. Instead my opponent decided to resist for a few more moves, but eventually the pawer of the c pawn did the business.

Press,Shaun - Cheng,Larry [E65]
Gungahlin CC (6), 20.09.2022

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nf3 d6 6. Nc3 c5 7. O-O e6 8. Bg5 Qc7 9. Nb5 Qb6 10. a4 a6 11. dxc5 Qxc5 12. Qxd6 Ne4 13. Qxc5 Nxc5 14. Nc7 Ra7 15. Be7 b6 16. Bxf8 Kxf8 17. Nb5 axb5 18. axb5 Rc7 19. Ra8 Nbd7 20. b4 Ne4 21. Rd1 Ke7 22. Nd4 Bb7 23. Nc6+ Bxc6 24. bxc6 Ndf6 25. b5 Nc3 26. Rd2 Nce4 27. Rc2 Nc5 28. Rb8 Na4 29. Rb7 Kd8 30. Rxc7 Kxc7 31. Ra2 Nc3 32. Ra7+ Kc8 33. Rxf7 1-0

Activity not age

 Former World Champion Garry Kasparov had a tough time of it in the Chess 960 event in St Louis, finishing with a single draw over 9 games. He did acknowledge that the main reason for his showing was a lack of recent activity. 

Usually a decline in ability is attributed to the effects of aging, but it is more likely that simply playing less is the real culprit. Both Korchnoi and Smyslov were able to play high level chess well into their 70's, outlasting much younger players who had retired earlier.

The JB Generation Cup is currently running, pitting new stars against old. Although the younger generation looks to have the upper hand, 53 year old Vasyl Ivanchuk did strike a blow for the seniors, with a good win over Anish Giri.

Ivanchuk,Vasyl (2678) - Giri,Anish (2740) [E51]
Julius Baer Generation Cup | Prelims chess24.com (3.1), 18.09.2022

1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. e3 O-O 6. a3 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 c5 8. Bb2 Re8 9. Be2 Nc6 10. O-O Na5 11. cxd5 exd5 12. dxc5 Ne4 13. Qc2 Bf5 14. Rfd1 Nd6 15. Bd3 Bxd3 16. Rxd3 Ndc4 17. Rad1 Rc8 18. Rxd5 Qe7 19. Ng5 g6 20. h4 Rcd8 21. Bc1 h6 22. Nf3 Rxd5 23. Rxd5 Qe4 24. Qxe4 Rxe4 25. Nd4 Rxh4 26. f3 Rh5 27. e4 Rxd5 28. exd5 h5 29. f4 Kf8 30. Kf2 b6 31. c6 Ke7 32. f5 Ne5 33. Bg5+ f6 34. Bxf6+ 1-0

Grumpy old man

 In looking for articles for this blog, I usually have a few rough guidelines. They should be about chess (but not always), I should find them interesting (even if you do not), I try and avoid 'clickbait' (which I can usually do), and there should be at least one game on the front page.

So I went looking for an interesting game from recent events, and have run into an issue. While a lot more chess is being played and recorded than at any time previously, there is a lot more chaff to sift through. A lot of the online games (even played by strong players) are decided by blatant mistakes, or attempts to trick opponents into pre-moving the wrong response. This is both a function of the time controls (blitz or bullet), but also due to the method of play. In the case of a couple of OTB events I looked through, the data seemed incomplete, in that there were an enormous number of games lasting less than 10 moves, but finishing in unclear positions. I assume data entry issues in this case.

As a result I came up short, but I have also resisted the urge to return to an earlier time. As an avid book collector (and reader), I appreciate more and more the printed word, in so much as there is a degree of quality control before publication. Having just started to read Keres' book on the 1948 World Championship, I am struck by the amount of description he has put into every game, versus the somewhat sterile centipawn evaluation that newer players are familiar with.  

Of course this makes me sound like a grumpy old man (hence the title), but for newer players, grabbing an older tournament book and playing through the games and notes still has a lot going for it.

Upcoming Junior Events

 If you live in Canberra (or close enough to it) and are a junior player, then there are a number of events coming up.

The 2022 ACT Junior Championship is being held between the 26th and 30th September. It is being run in different age groups, but the format is designed to allow younger players to play more than one event. (Fun fact: I played in the 1982 ACT Junior Championship, my first serious event)

The following week is the Spring Bootcamp, which is a week of coaching and chess. On this case the events are Lightning, Rapid and Standard, and the schedule allows players to play in 1, 2 or all 3 events.

You can register for the Championship here, and for Bootcamp, here.

Theory v Practice

 The new version of the FIDE Laws of Chess are to be published soon, and will go into effect on the 1st January 2023. As a member of the FIDE Rules Commission, I have been involved in a bit of proofreading, hopefully to eliminate any glaring errors in both language and meaning.

This stands in stark contrast to my experiences earlier in the day. Visiting one of the Canberra schools i coach at, I had a number of interesting rules explained to me by 5 and 6 year old chess players. The main thing they had in common was that the 'rules' allowed my opponents to escape from fairly dicey positions. One example was having played Qh4+ (as Black) to attack the White king on e1, I was told that my queen could be captured by h2-h4, as that's how pawns move. When I tried to explain the correct rule I was told 'No, this is the real rule'

Chest

 For anyone who has tried to teach young kids how to play chess, the clip below is amazingly accurate.

2022 ACT Women's Championship

 WFM Alana Chibnall is the 2022 ACT Women's Champion, after winning todays tournament with a perfect 7 from 7. 25 players took part in the tournament, which has returned to the ACT chess calendar after a gap of 8 years. The tournament was a 7 round Rapid, with a time control of 15m+5s.

Tied for 2nd place were Shriya Karthik and Jo Mason, who finished 5.5, drawing their Round 6 game, after both losing to Chibnall earlier in the tournament. Unrated newcomer Kenisha Gaind won the Best Under 14 Years player, while 7 year old Echo Feng finished in a tie for 5th, and won the Best Under 12 Years player. With Gain picking up a medal for the Under 14 title, Claire Bradbery was the best Unrated player.

The tournament was sponsored by the ACT Junior Chess League, and all the players had an enjoyable day. There was a good mix of adult and junior players, with a number of players playing in there first non-school tournament. There were also a couple of players returning after a break of a number of years, including Jo Mason who tied for 2nd.

It is hoped that next years event will be a two day weekend event, with a longer time control, and a bigger prize pool. This year's tournament showed that such events can be successful, and with the ACT's reputation as the home of high quality events, a well funded Women's weekend event could be another such event.

Spring Bookfair

 For those looking for good second hand chess books (in Canberra), this years Lifeline Bookfair has a good selection. There were around 30 books for sale when I passed through this morning, including a number that I already have in my own collection. I grabbed a couple of books (including a 2nd Edition of Basic Chess Endings by Reuben Fine), but I left plenty on the table. There was even at least one more box of books under the table, but the rules of etiquette frown on 'accidently' knocking it over!

The only issue for this year is that prices on some books have gone up. This may to be discourage commercial re-sellers from buying in bulk, or simply to reflect a fairer value, so it may be a more expensive trip if you decide to go. The Bookfair runs across the weekend, so there is still time to add to your collection.

B+N v K

Moving on from the short games at the Olympiad, I decided to have a look at the longer ones. While waiting for the round to finish, I did witness a number of interesting endings, including R+B v R, N+R v R, and in the following game, K+N+B v K. 

White was winning in the late middlegame, but gave Black drawing chances once the ending was reached. However Black missed the best moves, and as his position crumbled, decided to sacrifice his last two pieces for the remaining pawns, hoping to escape in a B+N ending. However, White knew exactly how to play this, and only took 21 moves to checkmate Black. For those who have never played this ending, it is well worth studying the approach that White used, as real life positions can be different from text book positions usually given in ending manuals.

Berend,Fred (2307) - Gerena Rivas,Eliam (2102) [A45]
44th Olympiad Chennai 2022 Mahabalipuram, Chennai (10.1), 08.08.2022

1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 c5 3. d5 Qb6 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Bd2 Qb6 6. e4 d6 7. f4 e5 8. f5 Qd8 9. Nh3 Be7 10. Nf2 a6 11. a4 g6 12. g4 Ng8 13. Qc1 h6 14. Ncd1 b6 15. Ra3 Nd7 16. Be2 Nf8 17. Ne3 Bd7 18. Qa1 Bc8 19. Nc4 Qc7 20. Qb2 Rb8 21. Rb3 Nd7 22. O-O Ngf6 23. fxg6 fxg6 24. Rb1 Bd8 25. Qc1 O-O 26. Bxh6 Rf7 27. Bd2 Nh7 28. g5 Be7 29. h4 Qd8 30. Bg4 Kh8 31. Be6 Rg7 32. Qf1 Nhf8 33. Bg4 Rh7 34. Qh3 Qe8 35. Qg3 b5 36. Na5 c4 37. Nxc4 Nc5 38. Nxe5 Nxb3 39. Rxb3 Bb7 40. Bc3 Kg8 41. Ned3 Bc8 42. axb5 Rxb5 43. Nb4 Bd7 44. Nxa6 Rxb3 45. cxb3 Qc8 46. Nb4 Qc5 47. Kg2 Rf7 48. Bxd7 Nxd7 49. Ng4 Bf8 50. Nc6 Bg7 51. Nh6+ Bxh6 52. gxh6 Kh7 53. Nd8 Re7 54. Ne6 Qb5 55. Nf4 Nf8 56. h5 gxh5 57. Qg5 Rf7 58. Bf6 Qd7 59. Nxh5 Ng6 60. Bg7 Qe7 61. Qxe7 Nxe7 62. Nf6+ Kg6 63. Nd7 Ng8 64. Nf8+ Kh5 65. Ne6 Nxh6 66. Bf8 Rb7 67. Bxd6 Rxb3 68. Bf4 Nf7 69. Kf2 Kg4 70. Ke2 Rb2+ 71. Kd3 Kf3 72. d6 Rb7 73. e5 Rd7 74. Kd4 Kg4 75. Ke4 Ra7 76. Be3 Ra5 77. Nc5 Ra8 78. d7 Nd8 79. Kd5 Kf5 80. e6 Nxe6 81. Nxe6 Kf6 82. Bd4+ Ke7 83. Nc5 Rg8 84. Kc6 Rd8 85. Kc7 Rxd7+ 86. Nxd7 Ke6 87. Kc6 Kf5 88. Kd5 Kf4 89. Nc5 Kf5 90. Be5 Kg5 91. Ke4 Kg4 92. Bf4 Kh4 93. Nd3 Kh5 94. Kf5 Kh4 95. Nf2 Kh5 96. Bg3 Kh6 97. Ne4 Kg7 98. Bh4 Kf7 99. Nd6+ Kg7 100. Bg5 Kh7 101. Kf6 Kg8 102. Kg6 Kf8 103. Bh4 Kg8 104. Be7 Kh8 105. Nf5 Kg8 106. Nh6+ Kh8 107. Bf6# 1-0

This is big

 The decision by Magnus Carlsen to withdrew from the 2022 Sinquefield Cup is big news, but the supposed reason behind it is definitely bigger news. Carlsen himself was very careful not say more than the minimum, but online commentators have been freely speculating about what happened in game against Hans Neimann.

At this stage I will not comment on whether the implied reason for withdrawing was valid, but I will point out that accusations of outside assistance seem to carry more weight if they come from a top 10 player than if they come from a lower rated player. Wesley So received a very quick hearing after his game against Petrosian in the online World Club Cup, but other cases have either taken longer to decide, or have been dismissed as 'sour grapes'.

Noting that all this has happened in the last 24 hours, it may be a few days or weeks before the full story comes out. 

The Draw Master

 In the 2006 Chess Olympiad I went through the event with 1 win, 3 losses and 9 draws(!). On reflection this was probably too many draws, and I should have made a greater effort to convert my advantages. 

However this was topped by a player at a recent schools event I ran. The player in question drew his first 6 games, and was well on his way to a 7th draw when his opponent instead lost on time. What was remarkable about these draws were that they were all stalemates and I'm pretty sure the player in question was winning in each position. As some of you might now suspect, they seemed to be K+Q v K positions that 'went wrong'. Certainly the two positions I observed fitted this description, and I assume the others did as well.

Sinquefield Cup 2022

 The 2002 Sinquefield Cup started with one decisive game, and 4 draws. The one decisive game involved Magnus Carlsen and Ian Nepomniachtchi , and resulted in another victory for Carlsen. Having gone through the game a few times, I'm still not sure what really happened, as Carlsen's position did not look appreciably better, until Nepo kind of fell apart. If I had to criticise a move 23 ... c5 did not look right to me, although Stockfish thinks it is perfectly fine. The problem I had with this move was that it created a target for White to aim at, and eventually Black misplayed the defence. Of course just sitting on the position might have resulted in a different set of problems for Black, and a different kind of conclusion.

Carlsen,Magnus (2861) - Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2792) [D35]
Sinquefield Cup chess24.com (1.4), 02.09.2022

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 Nbd7 8. h3 Be7 9. g4 Be4 10. Be2 Qb6 11. Qb3 Qxb3 12. axb3 Bg6 13. Nh4 Bb4 14. Nxg6 hxg6 15. f3 Nf8 16. Kf2 Ne6 17. Bg3 Ke7 18. h4 a6 19. Kg2 Rad8 20. Bf2 Bd6 21. Bd3 Bb8 22. Na4 Bd6 23. Be1 c5 24. Nxc5 Nxc5 25. dxc5 Bxc5 26. Bd2 Rhe8 27. b4 Bb6 28. b5 a5 29. Bxa5 Bxa5 30. Rxa5 Kd6 31. Kf2 Re7 32. Rd1 Rh8 33. g5 Nd7 34. Ra4 Nc5 35. Rg4 Kc7 36. Bb1 Re5 37. Ba2 f6 38. gxf6 gxf6 39. Rxd5 Rxd5 40. Bxd5 Nd3+ 41. Kg3 Ne5 42. Rf4 Rd8 43. b6+ 1-0

Getting fit playing chess

 Alan Turing once invented a version of chess called 'Round the House Chess'. After you moved you had to run around the outside of the house, and if you returned before your opponent had moved, you had another move (and another run). A good way to keep fit, but apparently not the only one.

Someone has invented a version of chess called "Chesst". Every time you capture an opponents piece, you have to do a set number of push-ups, based on the 'point value' of each piece. (Pawn = 1, Rook = 5 etc).  Possible modifications include making your opponent do the push-ups as punishment for having pieces captured, and adding a pushup penalty for being in check. An even crueller version would be to replace push-ups with burpees.

Of course you can go the other way, and simply play chess while getting fit. Blindfold chess while cycling as a pair, or in a group is one such possibility. Another variant is while one player is thinking, the other is doing sit-ups (or even rowing), and swapping over when a move is played. For this I would certainly recommend using a chess clock, although this may lead to a trade off between losing on time and wearing your opponent out.