2024 World Chess Championship - Boy, that de-escalated quickly

 The 5th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship has just ended in a draw, but for many spectators, it was somewhat of an anti-climax. Chances of a decisive result started off close to zero after Gukesh played the Exchange Variation against Ding's French Defence, but things got spicy when Gukesh recaptured the wrong way on move 23. Given the speed of Ding's reply it looked as though he realised Gukesh had made a slight mistake, and he could start to push for a win. But instead of doing so, Ding seemed convinced the position was still equal and steered the game towards a drawn opposite coloured bishop eneding.

So after 5 games it is 2.5-2.5. Ding's strategy of nullifying Gukesh's opening prep with some offbeat opening choices seems to be paying off, but apart from game 1, he doesn't seem to be pushing for more than equality. He at least enjoys having White tomorrow, which may encourage him to be a little more aggressive.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C01]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (5), 30.11.2024

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 c4 7. Bc2 Bd6 8. Qe2+ Qe7 9. Qxe7+ Kxe7 10. O-O Re8 11. Re1+ Kf8 12. Rxe8+ Kxe8 13. Bg5 Nbd7 14. Nbd2 h6 15. Bh4 Nh5 16. Re1+ Kf8 17. g4 Nf4 18. Bg3 Nb6 19. g5 hxg5 20. Nxg5 Bd7 21. Ngf3 Re8 22. Ne5 Bxe5 23. dxe5 Nd3 24. Bxd3 cxd3 25. f3 Nc4 26. Nxc4 dxc4 27. Re4 Bc6 28. Rd4 Bxf3 29. Kf2 Bc6 30. Rxc4 Rd8 31. Rd4 Rxd4 32. cxd4 Bd5 33. b3 Ke7 34. Ke3 Ke6 35. Kxd3 g6 36. Kc3 a6 37. Kd3 Kf5 38. Ke3 Ke6 39. Kd3 Kf5 40. Ke3 Ke6 1/2-1/2

2024 World Chess Championship - Taking it easy

 The 4th game of the 2024 World Chess Championship ended in a fairly pedestrian draw, no doubt satisfying both players match strategies. Taking place immediately after yesterdays rest day, the position never ventured very far from equality, despite White's interesting opening idea of an early exchange of dark squared bishops. The only point of excitement (at least for online viewers) was whether Ding might play 29.Qc3?? (which loses to 29 ... Re1+). Once that did not happen, it was just a case of reaching the first time control before shaking hands.

The score now stands at 2-2, with 10 games still left to be played. Game 5 and 6 are being played over the weekend, with another rest day on Monday.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [A06]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (4), 29.11.2024

1. Nf3 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. b3 Bf5 4. Be2 h6 5. Ba3 Nbd7 6. O-O e6 7. Bxf8 Nxf8 8. c4 N8d7 9. Nc3 O-O 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b4 c6 12. Nd4 Bh7 13. Qb3 Ne5 14. a4 Rc8 15. a5 b6 16. Nf3 Nxf3+ 17. Bxf3 d4 18. Ne2 dxe3 19. dxe3 Be4 20. Rfd1 Qe7 21. Bxe4 Nxe4 22. axb6 axb6 23. Nc3 Rfd8 24. Nxe4 Qxe4 25. h3 c5 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5 bxc5 28. Rc1 Qe5 29. Qc2 Rd5 30. g3 f5 31. Kg2 Kh7 32. Qc4 Qd6 33. e4 Re5 34. exf5 Rxf5 35. Qe4 Qd5 36. Qxd5 Rxd5 37. Kf3 Kg6 38. Ke4 Rd4+ 39. Ke3 Rd5 40. Ke4 Rd4+ 41. Ke3 Rd5 42. Ke4 Rd4+ 1/2-1/2

2024 World Chess Championship - Gukesh fights back

 The 2024 World Chess Championship is tied 1.5-1.5, after Gukesh scored a win in round 3. World Champion Ding Liren chose a sharp line in the Queens Gambit (as Black), but chose a variation that was known to be somewhat risky. Posting his bishop on c2 (to threaten the pawn on b3) was a brave choice, but the constant threat of the bishop being trapped forced Ding to make a number of concessions. Eventually he reached a position where is miscalculated, resulting in having to give up the bishop for 2 pawns. This proved to be insufficient, and he lost on time in a losing position.

Tomorrow is a rest day, giving both players a chance to asses their match strategies. However, the odds now move back in Gukesh;s favour, as he has overcome the hiccup that was round 1, and now has some momentum behind him.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [D02]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (3), 27.11.2024

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Nc3 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. h3 Bf5 8. Qb3 Qb6 9. g4 Qxb3 10. axb3 Bc2 11. Bf4 h5 12. Rg1 hxg4 13. hxg4 Nbd7 14. Nd2 Rg8 15. g5 Nh5 16. Bh2 Rh8 17. f3 Ng7 18. Bg3 Rh5 19. e4 dxe4 20. fxe4 Ne6 21. Rc1 Nxd4 22. Bf2 Bg7 23. Ne2 Nxb3 24. Rxc2 Nxd2 25. Kxd2 Ne5 26. Nd4 Rd8 27. Ke2 Rh2 28. Bg2 a6 29. b3 Rd7 30. Rcc1 Ke7 31. Rcd1 Ke8 32. Bg3 Rh5 33. Nf3 Nxf3 34. Kxf3 Bd4 35. Rh1 Rxg5 36. Bh3 f5 37. Bf4 Rh5 1-0

2024 World Chess Championship - sometimes a draw is all you get

 The 2nd game of the 2024 World Chess Championship has ended in a draw by repetition. With the regulations forbidding draw offers before move 40, the players used the old standby of repeating the position instead. Ding maintains his 1 point lead after this game, although tomorrow might be the chance for Gukesh to even the score, as he has the white pieces.

Unlike yesterdays game, I was not able to watch the game from start to finish. I was involved in my own club game, which somewhat fittingly also finished in a draw. So all I can do is present the game here sans comments.

Ding,Liren (2728) - Gukesh D (2783) [C50]
FIDE World Championship Match 2024 Singapore SGP (2), 26.11.2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. a4 d6 7. O-O h6 8. Be3 Be6 9. a5 Bxc4 10. dxc4 O-O 11. Bxc5 dxc5 12. b3 Qxd1 13. Rfxd1 Rad8 14. Rdc1 Nd4 15. Ne1 Rd6 16. Kf1 g6 17. Rd1 Rfd8 18. f3 Kg7 19. Kf2 h5 20. Ne2 Nc6 21. Nc3 Nd4 22. Ne2 Nc6 23. Nc3 Nd4 1/2-1/2

2024 World Chess Championship - all endgames are winning

 Defending World Champion Ding Liren has started the defence of his title with a win in Game 1. Such a win came as a real surprise to most (including me), but Ding recovered from a cramped opening position to dominate the board in the middlegame. Part of his plan was to push the a pawn down to a3, which meant that Gukesh had to be very careful about any potential queenless endings. Despite have some tactical tricks, Gukesh wasn't able to find a way to attack Ding's king, which remained in the centre for a lot of the game. 

Not only does this give Ding a 1-0 lead in the match, it no doubt upsets predictions for the final result, as well as potentially changing how Gukesh approaches the next few game. Following the  Russian antidote for a loss (draw the next game) is probably advisable, especially as Gukesh would then have white in game 3. On the other hand, Ding can approach the next few games with confidence, recognising that he held off Gukesh in a position that did not start of well for him.

Gukesh D (2783) - Ding,Liren (2728) [C11]
FIDE World Championship 2024 Singapore, Singapore (1.1), 25.11.2024

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nce2 Nc6 7. c3 a5 8. Nf3 a4 9. Be3 Be7 10. g4 Qa5 11. Bg2 a3 12. b3 cxd4 13. b4 Qc7 14. Nexd4 Nb6 15. O-O Nc4 16. Bf2 Bd7 17. Qe2 Nxd4 18. Nxd4 Nb2 19. Qe3 Rc8 20. Rac1 Qc4 21. f5 Qd3 22. Qe1 Bg5 23. Rc2 Rc4 24. h4 Bf4 25. Qb1 Rxc3 26. Rxc3 Qxc3 27. fxe6 fxe6 28. Ne2 Qxe5 29. Nxf4 Qxf4 30. Qc2 Qc4 31. Qd2 O-O 32. Bd4 Nd3 33. Qe3 Rxf1+ 34. Bxf1 e5 35. Bxe5 Qxg4+ 36. Bg2 Bf5 37. Bg3 Be4 38. Kh2 h6 39. Bh3 Qd1 40. Bd6 Qc2+ 41. Kg3 Qxa2 42. Be6+ Kh8 0-1

Should I try Bluesky?

 I am in the process of re-tooling my social media choices. One reason is that when I mentioned that Street Chess has a Facebook page, I got a 'no one uses facebook' response from a few people. The other is that I stopped using Twitter long ago, in part due to having the account hacked. And as you can see, the panel to the right of this blog is evidence of that.

So, is Bluesky a better choice, or am I just moving from one swamp to another?

2024 World Championship Match

 The 2024 World Championship Match begins on the 23rd November in Singapore, although play doesn't start until the 25th. It is a 14 game match, with tie breaks at the end if required. I am heading over for the middle of the event (Games 7, 8, 9) , as a spectator/journalist. I also plan to cover the Singapore International Open event, which is running alongside the World Championship.

As for a predicted result, I am going to fall in with the majority and expect Gukesh to win. Ding is still well off his best form, while Gukesh looks to be highly motivated. The only way I can not see Gukesh winning is if Ding keeps the match even through the first 9 games, and then pressures Gukesh to find a win. Otherwise, if Gukesh gets out to an early lead, I'm not seeing how Ding can come back.

2024 Vikings Weekender - Final day

 The final 2 rounds of the 2024 Vikings Weekender delivered on the action, with a couple of upsets delivering a surprise(d) set of winners. IM Junta Ikeda took a half point lead going into the final day, but loss to Harry Press on the top board through the tournament wide open. Press overtook Ikeda at the top of the table, and going in to the final round, Ikeda, FM Fred Litchfield, Willis Lo and Daniel Wang were all tied on 4/5.

Despite having an advantage against FM Fred Litchfield in the final round, Press offered a draw which was quickly accepted. This moved Press to 5/6, but gave the following pack a chance to tie for 1st. Despite his best efforts Lo could only draw with Yifei Hu, leaving him tied for third. The real drama was being played out on board 2, where Ikeda was playing Daniel Wang. Knocking back a draw offer from Wang, Ikeda soon found himself in real trouble, and in the last game of the tournament to finish, lost his 2nd game in a row. This allowed Wang to join Press in first place, with both players winning the event for the 1st time.

The Minor (under 1600) was much more straightforward, with Max Windsor scoring a perfect 6/6. Nichloas Lee finished outright 2nd on 5, recovering from the loss of a piece against Padma Gyalpo, by finding a back rank mate combination. There was a big tie for 3rd place, with the performance of James Madoc being a standout.

Full results can be found at https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996

Games from the top 4 boards from each round are at https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk

Press,Harry (2129) - Ikeda,Junta (2384) [C79]
2024 Vikings Weekender Canberra, Australia (5.1), 17.11.2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O d6 6. Re1 Bd7 7. c3 g6 8. h3 Bg7 9. d4 O-O 10. Bc2 Nh5 11. a4 Qe8 12. Na3 f5 13. Nc4 f4 14. b4 Nd8 15. Bb3 Nf7 16. dxe5 dxe5 17. Ba3 Be6 18. b5 axb5 19. axb5 Rd8 20. Qb1 Qxb5 21. Bxf8 Bxc4 22. Bxc4 Qxc4 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Qxb7 Nf6 25. Qb4 Qe6 26. Ra7 Rd7 27. Qc5 Ne8 28. Rb1 Rd3 29. Rbb7 Rxf3 30. gxf3 Ng5 31. Rxc7+ Nxc7 32. Qxc7+ Kh6 33. Qg7+ Kh5 34. Qd7 Nxf3+ 35. Kg2 Ne1+ 36. Kf1 Qc4+ 37. Kxe1 Qxc3+ 38. Qd2 Qc8 39. Rxh7+ Kg5 40. h4+ 1-0

2024 Vikings Weekender - Day 2

 The 2024 Vikings Weekender once again is following the regular script, with IM Junta Ikeda leading with 4 wins from 4 games. He defeated young NSW players Vu Nguyen and Yifei Hu in Rounds 3 and 4, and leads 3rd seed Harry Press by half a point. Press looked a little bit shaky in yesterdays early rounds (escaping with a draw against Oladoyin Fasakin), but finished the day with a crushing win over CM Hui Li. There is a large pack of players on 3 points, including 2nd seed FM Fred Litchfield and 17th seed Ryan Liu.

In the Under 1600 event, Max Windsor is on 4/4, leading unrated Axel Healy on 3.5. Windsor converted a slightly tricky QvN ending after Padma Gyalpo missed a saving check in a KvN v KvP ending. The following pack of players on 3/4 consists entirely of junior players, with the significant exception of CM Bill Egan, now well into his ninth decade on this earth.

The final 2 rounds are being played today, at 10:15am and 2:00 pm. Links to the event are

Pairings and Standings - https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996

Live Games - https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk 

2024 Vikings Weekender - Day 1

 The 2024 Vikings Weekender saw a large turnout for this years event. Both sections reached the initial capacity 2 weeks ago, but fortunately extra space was found to let more players in.

Th Open section saw a good field of 37 players, represented by the usual grouping of Canberra's top players. IM Junta Ikeda is the top seed, and he started the tournament with a win over Larry Cheng. FM Fred Litchfield beat David Esposito on board 2, with Harry Press winning against Chayne Planiden on board 3. The top half didn't all have it their own way, with wins by Jerry Cheng and Thomas Eleutherios against higher rated opponents standing out. 

The Minor (Under 1600) had a slightly smaller field of 32 players. A couple of no-shows at the top did cause a problem, but otherwise most games went according to rating. The notable exceptions were wins by James Madoc and James Nelson, the latter playing his first OTB tournament game.

The results for the event can be found at https://www.vegaresult.com/en/event.php?id=2996 with coverage of the top 4 games at https://lichess.org/broadcast/2024-vikings-weekender/ZAZeeJdk

The Day of the Jackal

 One of my favourite movies of all time is The Day of the Jackal  (1973). So I thought I would catch the new series of the same name, with Eddie Redmayne playing the title character. 

Two episodes in, and there are already a couple of chess connections. In the first episode, it is revealed The Jackal is a chess set collector, in a scene where he confesses that if he got carried away, he would go bankrupt. The in the second episode, he arranges a meeting, which it turns out was filmed at Paris Court in Budapest (masquerading as Munich). This was also the filming location for a key scene in another of my favourite films, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy", and I made sure I visited while in Budapest for the Chess Olympiad. 

Favoured Country Status

 Sometimes we have a favourite opponent (or 'customer') who we invariably do well against. Or an opponent we just enjoy playing. 

Once I started playing in chess olympiads, I also found that against certain countries I did well against. On the other hand I suspect there were players who found Papua New Guinea an enjoyable pairing, and not just from recent history.

As mentioned previously I played a tournament in Appletreewick (on the Yorkshire Moors). I was beaten in the qualifying stage by Colm Barry, and again in the final.  He mentioned that he had represented Ireland at chess olympiads in the 1980's and a little research turned up the fact that I wasn't the only PNG player he enjoyed beating! Here is a game from the the 1982 Chess Olympiad, where PNG meat Ireland in the second round

Markov,Joseph - Barry,Colm (2220) [B07]
Luzern ol (Men) Luzern (2), 31.10.1982

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Bd3 Bg4 5. d5 g6 6. O-O Bg7 7. c4 O-O 8. Be3 Nh5 9. h3 Bc8 10. Qd2 f5 11. Bg5 Qe8 12. Bh6 f4 13. Bxg7 Kxg7 14. Be2 Nf6 15. Nc3 Na6 16. Rae1 Nc5 17. Bd1 a5 18. Bc2 g5 19. Nb5 g4 20. hxg4 Nxg4 21. Nxc7 Qh5 22. Rb1 Rf6 23. Rfe1 Rh6 24. Kf1 Qh1+ 25. Ng1 Rh2 26. f3 Ne3+ 27. Rxe3 fxe3 28. Qxe3 Qxg2+ 29. Ke1 Qxc2 30. Rd1 Qg2 31. Ne2 Rh1+ 32. Kd2 Rxd1+ 33. Kxd1 Rb8 34. Nb5 Qg6 35. a3 Bd7 36. b4 axb4 37. axb4 Bxb5 38. cxb5 Nd7 39. f4 Qg4 40. Kd2 b6 41. Qc3 Re8 42. Qc7 Kg8 43. Qxd6 exf4 44. Nxf4 Rxe4 0-1

I have books (for sale)

 I am always on the look out for new chess experience, and selling chess books is a new one I am looking into. I recently acquired some chess books (quite a lot actually) and am now selling them off. While I am still in the process of setting up the entire catalogue, you can get a sneak peek at https://street-chess-canberra.square.site/s/shop Everything is at a fixed price of $20 per book, although I do offer discounts if 3 or more books are purchased. 

One slight obstacle is getting the website set up, as books keep appearing and disappearing from the catalogue. Nonetheless I should have everything updated by the end of the week! 

Losing a pawn?

 The Ponziani can be a tricky opening for Black to face, as there are a number of lines where White wins a pawn in the opening. However, if Black treats it like a gambit, then maybe the loss of the pawn isn't as bad as it looks.

Sidney,Will (1879) - Arnott,Jonathan W (2082) [C44]
39th European Chess Club Cup Hotel Zepter, Vrnjacka Banja (6.5), 25.10.2024

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 d5 4. Qa4 Bd7 5. exd5 Nd4 6. Qd1 Nxf3+ 7. Qxf3 Nf6 8. Bc4 b5 9. Bb3 e4 10. Qe2 Bd6 11. d4 O-O 12. Bg5 Re8 13. O-O h6 14. Bh4 g5 15. Bg3 Bxg3 16. fxg3 e3 17. h3 Qe7 18. Na3 Kg7 19. Rae1 Qd6 20. Rf3 g4 21. Rxe3 gxh3 22. gxh3 Rxe3 23. Qxe3 Re8 24. Qf2 Ne4 25. Rxe4 Rxe4 26. Kh2 Qf6 27. Kg1 Qe7 28. Qf3 Re1+ 29. Kg2 Re2+ 30. Kg1 Re1+ 31. Kg2 Re2+ 32. Kg1 Bxh3 33. Nc2 Rg2+ 34. Kh1 Qg5 35. Qf4 Qxf4 36. gxf4 Rf2 37. a4 Bf5 38. Ne3 Be4+ 0-1

Chess in da hood

 Grassroots chess in Papua New Guinea is really taking off at the moment. The visit by GM Nigel Short last year was the impetus for the formation of a number of clubs in Port Moresby, and the involvement of new administrators and organisers has seen a real boom in the number of events and players.

Here is a short news story covering recent developments