I am just looking over the games from the Gibraltar Masters, which was won by Hikaru Nakamura with 8.5/10. As in a big open swiss like this, there is plenty of variety in terms of the games, from long drawn out 2700 v 2700 clashes, to the 'oops I missed that' brevities.
It is often the latter that interest me most, so I present a small selection of very short games from the event.
In this first game Black made the familiar mistake of leaving the bishop hanging out on b4 while allowing Qa4+. But the big mistake was not calculating further, as 6. .. Nc6 7.d5 Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 exd5 9.cxd5 g5! 10.dxc6 b5!! at leaves Black in the game.
Holleland,Sigve (2116) - Mahoney,Ian (1838) [A00]
The 2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festi Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (7.106), 02.02.2015
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5 h6 5.Bh4 d6 6.Qa4+ 1-0
In the second game, White is seemingly unaware of a similar trick in the Albin Counter Gambit, and greedily grabs the bishop on b4. After 8. ... exf2+ the White queen drops.
Kuenitz,Klaus (1680) - Bauer,Dieter (1728) [A00]
The 2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festi Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (5.122), 31.01.2015
1.d4 c5 2.Nf3 cxd4 3.Nxd4 d5 4.c4 e5 5.Nb5 d4 6.e3 Bb4+ 7.Bd2 dxe3 8.Bxb4 exf2+ 0-1
And in the final game 12.Nh5 might be termed a 'positional' trap, as after 13.Nxf6 Black has to play gxf6, with a ruined pawn structure. Instead 13. ... Qxf6 14.Bxd5 just wins as any recapture allows a winning check by White.
Compton,Alistair (2071) - Klug,Christian (1884) [A00]
The 2015 Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festi Caleta Hotel, Gibraltar (6.103), 01.02.2015
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nf6 8.Ne5 Bh7 9.Bc4 e6 10.Qe2 Nd5 11.0-0 Be7 12.Nh5 Bf6 13.Nxf6+ Qxf6 14.Bxd5 1-0
Saturday, 7 February 2015
Friday, 6 February 2015
Is this just showing off?
According to Magnus Carlsen, he has managed to lose the 3rd round of the last 4 tournaments he has played in. I suspect it doesn't help if he decides that he needs to sacrifice a piece on move 10 in a reasonably familiar opening system. It does not even qualify as a 'coffee house sac', as 2 pawns and a check is the usual rate of exchange for such sacrifices.
Having said that he almost pulled off a win. By move 30 Carlsen had collected enough pawns to give him chances to save the game, as Naiditsch let the position slip away. Past the first time control, Carlsen was even, and a few moves later he began to develop serious winning chances. But on move 50 he made his last big mistake, and Naiditsch had enough to win the game.
While I am a little surprised with Carlsen losing towards the end of a long game it can possibly be explained in terms of what usually happens to Carlsen's opponents. Being forced to find the best move just to stay in the game is hard work and the longer you have to do it for, the tougher it becomes. Possibly the effort in playing 'catch up' chess was what did Carlsen in, and if so, the sacrifice was unsound on more than one level.
Naiditsch,Arkadij (2706) - Carlsen,Magnus (2865)
GRENKE Chess Classic 2015 chess24.com (3), 04.02.2015
Having said that he almost pulled off a win. By move 30 Carlsen had collected enough pawns to give him chances to save the game, as Naiditsch let the position slip away. Past the first time control, Carlsen was even, and a few moves later he began to develop serious winning chances. But on move 50 he made his last big mistake, and Naiditsch had enough to win the game.
While I am a little surprised with Carlsen losing towards the end of a long game it can possibly be explained in terms of what usually happens to Carlsen's opponents. Being forced to find the best move just to stay in the game is hard work and the longer you have to do it for, the tougher it becomes. Possibly the effort in playing 'catch up' chess was what did Carlsen in, and if so, the sacrifice was unsound on more than one level.
Naiditsch,Arkadij (2706) - Carlsen,Magnus (2865)
GRENKE Chess Classic 2015 chess24.com (3), 04.02.2015
Thursday, 5 February 2015
Another GP?
There is a news report that another (non-FIDE) International Grand Prix series is being organised, involving the worlds top players. It is based around 3 existing events, Stavanger in Norway, the Sinquefeld Cup in the US, and the London Chess Classic in the UK, along with a new event to be held in Jakarta. The report connects Garry Kasparov with the event, in the role of 'front-man' for the organisation.
The choice of the 3 events is somewhat revealing, as current World Champion Magnus Carlsen has a strong connection to all 3. With the involvement of both Kasparov and Rex Sinquefeld, it also helps dispel the claim that the loss in last years FIDE elections would push them away from chess. If anything it suggests a future campaign for the FIDE presidency, with the purpose of these events to show the chess world that FIDE isn't the only game in town. It certainly can't hurt any potential campaign to have the worlds top 10 onside.
The choice of the 3 events is somewhat revealing, as current World Champion Magnus Carlsen has a strong connection to all 3. With the involvement of both Kasparov and Rex Sinquefeld, it also helps dispel the claim that the loss in last years FIDE elections would push them away from chess. If anything it suggests a future campaign for the FIDE presidency, with the purpose of these events to show the chess world that FIDE isn't the only game in town. It certainly can't hurt any potential campaign to have the worlds top 10 onside.
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
There is no Australian Opening
Chess openings draw their names from a variety of sources. Some are named after people (Ruy Lopez, Petroffs Defence, Traxler Variation), some are named after cities (London System, Berlin Variation) and some are even named after things (Dragon, Hippo, Tumbleweed). One big source of opening names is of course countries (and regions). Often the opening named after a country is played by a player from that country, which allows chess writers to use the word "fittingly" when writing about the game.
It is of course easier for some players than others. The English Opening is one that is both easy to play, and has a number of potential champions. The Indian Defence's is a similar case, and I am sure the French Defence is popular in the cafe's of Paris.
For other player/country combinations it can be a little rarer. The Italian Game is not that common at the highest levels, so it was nice to see Fabiano Caruana play it against Anand last night. He even went as far as playing it as a real Giuoco Piano, with 5.d3 making it a real 'quiet game'.
Australian players seem to be completely out of luck where openings are concerned. There is no 'Australian' Opening/Variation/Gambit on the market. The closest I can think is the Kangaroo Variation (1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+) but even this is more commonly known as the Keres Defence. There is also the Kangaroo Variation (devised by the late Tony Miles) which involves some knight hops on the kingside, but after that I have run dry (except for the Woolloomooloo Gambit which just occurred to me moments before I hit publish.
Caruana,Fabiano (2820) - Anand,Viswanathan (2797)
GRENKE Chess Classic 2015 chess24.com (1), 02.02.2015
It is of course easier for some players than others. The English Opening is one that is both easy to play, and has a number of potential champions. The Indian Defence's is a similar case, and I am sure the French Defence is popular in the cafe's of Paris.
For other player/country combinations it can be a little rarer. The Italian Game is not that common at the highest levels, so it was nice to see Fabiano Caruana play it against Anand last night. He even went as far as playing it as a real Giuoco Piano, with 5.d3 making it a real 'quiet game'.
Australian players seem to be completely out of luck where openings are concerned. There is no 'Australian' Opening/Variation/Gambit on the market. The closest I can think is the Kangaroo Variation (1.d4 e6 2.c4 Bb4+) but even this is more commonly known as the Keres Defence. There is also the Kangaroo Variation (devised by the late Tony Miles) which involves some knight hops on the kingside, but after that I have run dry (except for the Woolloomooloo Gambit which just occurred to me moments before I hit publish.
Caruana,Fabiano (2820) - Anand,Viswanathan (2797)
GRENKE Chess Classic 2015 chess24.com (1), 02.02.2015
Monday, 2 February 2015
Grenke Chess Classic
The third Grenke Chess Classic begins in a few hours, with quite a strong line up. Carlsen, Anand, Aronian and Caruana make up half the field of this 8 player round robin, with Adams, Bacrot, Naiditsch and Baramidze taking the rest of the spots.
The clash between Anand and Carlsen will be their first since the World Championship match, while the Carlsen v Caruana game will be another data point for any future World Championship match between the two. Also of interest will be the performance of Lev Aronian, who seems to have fallen off the pace in recent tournaments.
According the Chess24 live broadcasts will begin at 1am (AEST), which I am guessing is 3pm Baden Baden time. The regulations forbid draw offers before move 40, so the games may still be in progress when my alarm goes off at 7am, although it will be move 60 by that stage (based on my reading of the time controls). So lots of Carlsen games to watch!
The clash between Anand and Carlsen will be their first since the World Championship match, while the Carlsen v Caruana game will be another data point for any future World Championship match between the two. Also of interest will be the performance of Lev Aronian, who seems to have fallen off the pace in recent tournaments.
According the Chess24 live broadcasts will begin at 1am (AEST), which I am guessing is 3pm Baden Baden time. The regulations forbid draw offers before move 40, so the games may still be in progress when my alarm goes off at 7am, although it will be move 60 by that stage (based on my reading of the time controls). So lots of Carlsen games to watch!
Sunday, 1 February 2015
Tiny, tiny
A claim concerning the smallest chess program ever written has been in the news recently. Bootchess clocks in at under 512 bytes, which is smaller than the chess program written for the ZX81 back in 1982.
If you are keen you can even read the source code here, but the program does come with a couple of caveats. It apparently does not play all the legal moves in chess, with no castling and no underpromotion. I also could not find a mention of en-pas in the source, but it may be hidden in there somewhere.
As for the level of play I'm guessing it is pretty basic, given the program size. Based on the comments in the code it seems to value moves that get pieces closer to the opponents king at the top, after it looks for the best capture. It does not seem to have a look ahead, so its play might is at the beginner level ('that move looks nice. I will do that')
There is of course the quibble that it isn't a full chess program. But if my unreliable memory is correct, there may have been some missing features in the ZX81 program as well. If it is that big a problem though, a solution may not be far away as the author is allowing anyone else to modify the program (possibly to shrink it further), as long as attribution is given.
If you are keen you can even read the source code here, but the program does come with a couple of caveats. It apparently does not play all the legal moves in chess, with no castling and no underpromotion. I also could not find a mention of en-pas in the source, but it may be hidden in there somewhere.
As for the level of play I'm guessing it is pretty basic, given the program size. Based on the comments in the code it seems to value moves that get pieces closer to the opponents king at the top, after it looks for the best capture. It does not seem to have a look ahead, so its play might is at the beginner level ('that move looks nice. I will do that')
There is of course the quibble that it isn't a full chess program. But if my unreliable memory is correct, there may have been some missing features in the ZX81 program as well. If it is that big a problem though, a solution may not be far away as the author is allowing anyone else to modify the program (possibly to shrink it further), as long as attribution is given.
Competitive coding
One of the reasons I enjoy chess is that I like solving problems. Annoyingly the kind of problems you have to solve while playing chess are quite difficult, and the marking scheme is quite harsh (1,0.5 or 0 and nothing for spelling your name right on the scoresheet).
Problem solving competitions are a little more nuanced, and having participated in one recently, have an interest in trying it again.
But the interest in solving problems is also what drew me into computer programming quite a long time ago (I'm pretty sure the first computer I programmed was back in 1978 as an 11 year old). Since then I have programmed because I have to, but also because I want to. As part of the 'want to' side of programming I have come across a few websites that offer programming challengers. The Project Euler site is one I have used in the past (100 or so problems there), while I recently discovered www.checkio.org
As with a lot of these sites you earn points and achievements for solving problems. The topics covered are quite broad, but there are some chess related puzzles there. Part of the idea is that small solutions can be combined to make bigger solutions, but I am not sure a full chess engine task is hidden away at the end.
The other cool thing is that the solutions are in Python (the language of champions), so if you want to either learn or brush up, this is a place to visit.
Problem solving competitions are a little more nuanced, and having participated in one recently, have an interest in trying it again.
But the interest in solving problems is also what drew me into computer programming quite a long time ago (I'm pretty sure the first computer I programmed was back in 1978 as an 11 year old). Since then I have programmed because I have to, but also because I want to. As part of the 'want to' side of programming I have come across a few websites that offer programming challengers. The Project Euler site is one I have used in the past (100 or so problems there), while I recently discovered www.checkio.org
As with a lot of these sites you earn points and achievements for solving problems. The topics covered are quite broad, but there are some chess related puzzles there. Part of the idea is that small solutions can be combined to make bigger solutions, but I am not sure a full chess engine task is hidden away at the end.
The other cool thing is that the solutions are in Python (the language of champions), so if you want to either learn or brush up, this is a place to visit.
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