Tuesday, 31 March 2020

Arianne Caoili 1986-2020

Very sad news has come out of Armenia, with Arianne Caoili passing away at the age of 33. She had been involved in a serious car accident two week ago, and despite the best efforts of hospital staff, she died of her injuries yesterday.
Born in the Philippines, she represented that country up until 2004, before changing Federations to Australia. She was married to GM Lev Aronian in 2015 2017, moving to Armenia a few years previously to manage her business interests in Yerevan.
Apart from being a WIM, she also studied International Relations at the Australian National University, where she was a member of the ANU Chess Club. Outside of the chess community she was probably best known as a contestant on the television show, Dancing with the Stars, where she finished runner up in 2006.
While her professional career took priority over her chess career over the last decade, she still  performed at a high level when she did play. One event she took part in was the Veterans v Snowdrops match, where she scored the following win over legendary GM Wolfgang Uhlmann.


Caoili,Arianne (2242) - Uhlmann,Wolfgang (2412) [C15]
Marianske Lazne Czech Coal m Marianske Lazne (6), 25.11.2010

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 dxe4 6. Qg4 Nf6 7. Qxg7 Rg8 8. Qh6 Rg6 9. Qe3 Nbd7 10. Ne2 Nb6 11. Ng3 Qd5 12. Be2 Qc6 13. Rb1 Nbd5 14. Bb5 Qxb5 15. Rxb5 Nxe3 16. Bxe3 b6 17. c4 Ba6 18. Rb4 Bb7 19. h3 O-O-O 20. c3 h5 21. h4 Ng4 22. Ke2 Rh8 23. Rb5 f5 24. Bg5 a5 25. f3 exf3+ 26. gxf3 Nf6 27. Rbb1 Nh7 28. Bf4 Rhg8 29. Rhg1 Ba6 30. Kf2 Nf6 31. Be5 Bxc4 32. Bxf6 Rxf6 33. Nxh5 Rxg1 34. Rxg1 Rh6 35. Rg5 Kd7 36. Kg3 Kc6 37. Nf4 Kb5 38. Rg7 c5 39. Rg6 Rh7 40. Nxe6 1-0

It isn't always easier playing online

The rush is now on to get as many online events up and running as possible. As with a lot of things in Australian chess, the ACT led the way ("with remarkable speed" according to GM Ian Rogers), but a number of other organisers are starting regular online events. Some are paid events, some have prize money on offer, while the rest are just being organised to keep the chess community connected.
I must confess I am not a great online player, and tonight proved this in spades. I decided to join in the Monday Blitz Arena, but it did not get off to great start. My first game started with a mouse slip, while my third game was a pre-move disaster where I left my queen en-pris in the opening. I even managed to forget some opening theory I should know, and went from winning to losing in the space of one move. I eventually scored a couple of very lucky wins and stumbled to +1 over 14 games. Once finished I once again had to face the question, "Do I suck because I don't play enough, or do I not play enough because I suck?"

Sunday, 29 March 2020

The Match of the Century

Fifty years ago today, the USSR team played a Rest of the World team in what became known as "The Match of the Century". The match was played over 10 boards, with 4 games on each board. The USSR team scored a narrow 20.5-19.5, in part aided by the result on the lower boards. Paul Keres on board 10 contributed with a 3-1 win over Ivkov, making up for some poor scoring on the top 4 boards. The USSR team was more solid on the lower boards, scoring 2.5-1.5 wins from boards 5-8, and 2-2 draw on board 9.
Bobby Fischer surprised everyone by playing on board 2 (below Larsen), but proved to be a good team player, crushing Petrosian 3-1, including the following hammering in the first game.


Fischer,Robert James - Petrosian,Tigran V [B13]
URS-World Belgrade (1.2), 29.03.1970

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Na5 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qc2 e6 10. Nf3 Qb6 11. a4 Rc8 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. Qb1 Nh5 14. Be3 h6 15. Ne5 Nf6 16. h3 Bd6 17. O-O Kf8 18. f4 Be8 19. Bf2 Qc7 20. Bh4 Ng8 21. f5 Nxe5 22. dxe5 Bxe5 23. fxe6 Bf6 24. exf7 Bxf7 25. Nf3 Bxh4 26. Nxh4 Nf6 27. Ng6+ Bxg6 28. Bxg6 Ke7 29. Qf5 Kd8 30. Rae1 Qc5+ 31. Kh1 Rf8 32. Qe5 Rc7 33. b4 Qc6 34. c4 dxc4 35. Bf5 Rff7 36. Rd1+ Rfd7 37. Bxd7 Rxd7 38. Qb8+ Ke7 39. Rde1+ 1-0

Street Chess Streaming

More through necessity than desire, I've decided to join the world of chess broadcasting. With all ACT Chess Association and Street Chess events being held online for know, I'm producing video summaries of the tournaments the day after they are held. So far I have made 3 such video's, all of which can be found at https://www.twitch.tv/shaunpress/videos
My intention is to produce a summary of each event that the ACT Chess Association holds, including analysing one game from each of the events. The analysis isn't particularly deep, but is pitched towards the 1400 rated player, which is the median strength of Canberra club and tournament players.
They are streamed live (usually in the morning around 10am), but can be replayed after broadcast. According to Twitch, recordings are kept for 2 weeks, before being removed.

Friday, 27 March 2020

Getting castling wrong

The last game of the now postponed 2020 Candidates tournament featured a nice win by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave over Ian Nepomniachtchi. Early on in the game Nepo played his rook to g8, and soon played his king to f8.  If I seen a position in one of my coaching classes I  might have been tempted to stop and explain the rules of castling to both players.
On further inspection it wasn't moving the king to f8 that was the problem. Black was doing OK until he chose another move that is often risky for French players, and that was c4. Removing the pressure on d4 often leads to an advantage for White and so it turned out in this game. Not having to worry about the centre allowed White to find good files and squares for his pieces, and then exploit his better pawn structure to win the ending.


Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime - Nepomniachtchi,Ian [C18]
Tournament (7.2), 25.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. h4 Qc7 8. h5 h6 9. Rb1 b6 10. Qg4 Rg8 11. Bb5+ Kf8 12. Bd3 Ba6 13. dxc5 Bxd3 14. cxd3 Nd7 15. d4 bxc5 16. Qd1 Qa5 17. Bd2 Rb8 18. Ne2 c4 19. O-O Rb6 20. Qc2 Rh8 21. a4 Ke8 22. Rb4 Nc6 23. f4 Ne7 24. Rfb1 f5 25. Rb5 Qa6 26. Bc1 Kf7 27. Ba3 Rhb8 28. Bxe7 Kxe7 29. g4 Rxb5 30. axb5 Rxb5 31. gxf5 Rxb1+ 32. Qxb1 exf5 33. Ng3 Qb6 34. Nxf5+ Kf8 35. Qa1 Qe6 36. Ng3 Qg4 37. Kg2 Qxf4 38. Qxa7 Ke7 39. Qa3+ Kd8 40. Qd6 g5 41. hxg6 h5 42. g7 1-0

Thursday, 26 March 2020

And the Candidates has been stopped

The 2020 Candidates tournament has been halted after 7 of the 14 rounds. The reason given is that the Russian Government is stopping all flights in and out of the country, and the players and officials would have no way of getting home. FIDE have said that the second half of the event will be held at a later date, although obviously they do not know when that will be.

Wednesday, 25 March 2020

2020 Olympiad postponed

The 2020 Chess Olympiad joins a long list of international sporting events that been cancelled or postponed. The Olympiad, which was to be held in Moscow in August, has now been deferred for a year. The FIDE announcement states that the Oympiad will now be held at the same time (and venue) in 20201.

Tuesday, 24 March 2020

Never ending knights

Of all the single piece chess endings, knight endings can often be the most torturous. They, along with Queen endings, are usually the longest endings to play, as the side with an advantage often needs to keep manoeuvring before creating a winning position.
The opportunity to keep 'pushing' in knight endings is also helpful, as defending when tired is often harder than converting when tired. And this was demonstrated at the 2020 Candidates last night when Giri squeezed a win out of a drawn knight ending against Alekseenko. A Queen and Knight ending was reached on move 27, but the game went for another 70 moves. The fatal mistake came on move 89, after it looks as though Alekseenko had found a clever way to draw.
The win by Giri is the first in this (or even the last) event, and brings him back to 50%. However Ian Nepomniachtchi has now jumped out to a full point lead, after a win over the fading Liren Ding.


Alekseenko,Kirill (2698) - Giri,Anish (2763) [C54]
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (6.2), 23.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O Nf6 5. d3 d6 6. c3 O-O 7. Re1 a5 8. Nbd2 Be6 9. Bb5 Ba7 10. Nf1 Ne7 11. Ng3 c6 12. Ba4 Ng6 13. h3 d5 14. exd5 Nxd5 15. Bc2 Qc7 16. d4 exd4 17. Nxd4 Rae8 18. Bg5 Ndf4 19. Qd2 Bd5 20. Rxe8 Rxe8 21. Re1 Re5 22. Bxf4 Rxe1+ 23. Qxe1 Qxf4 24. Qe8+ Nf8 25. Bb3 Bxd4 26. cxd4 Bxb3 27. axb3 Qf6 28. Qe4 g6 29. Ne2 Ne6 30. h4 h5 31. g3 Qd8 32. Qe5 Qb6 33. d5 cxd5 34. Qxd5 Kf8 35. Nc3 Qc7 36. Ne4 Qc1+ 37. Kg2 Qxb2 38. Qd7 b6 39. Nd6 Qf6 40. Qe8+ Kg7 41. Qd7 Kg8 42. Qe8+ Nf8 43. Qc6 Qd8 44. Nc4 Ne6 45. Nxb6 Nd4 46. Qc5 Nxb3 47. Qb5 Nd2 48. Qxa5 Qd3 49. Qa1 Qe4+ 50. Kg1 Nf3+ 51. Kf1 Nxh4 52. Qa8+ Qxa8 53. Nxa8 Nf3 54. Kg2 Ne5 55. f4 Ng4 56. Nb6 Kf8 57. Nd5 Ke8 58. Nc3 Ke7 59. Ne4 Ne3+ 60. Kf3 Nc4 61. Ng5 Kf6 62. Ne4+ Kf5 63. Nf2 Nd2+ 64. Ke3 Nf1+ 65. Kf3 Nh2+ 66. Kg2 Ng4 67. Nh3 f6 68. Kf3 Ke6 69. Ke4 Kd6 70. Ng1 Kc5 71. Kd3 Nh6 72. Ke3 Nf5+ 73. Kf3 Kc4 74. Nh3 Nd4+ 75. Ke3 Nf5+ 76. Kf3 Kd4 77. Nf2 Nd6 78. Nh3 Ne4 79. Ng1 Kd3 80. Kg2 Nd2 81. Kf2 Ke4 82. Ne2 Nb1 83. Ng1 h4 84. Nh3 Kf5 85. gxh4 Kg4 86. f5 gxf5 87. Ke3 Nc3 88. Nf2+ Kg3 89. Nd3 Nd5+ 90. Kd4 Nf4 91. Nc5 Kxh4 92. Ke3 Kg3 93. Nb3 Ne6 94. Nd2 f4+ 95. Ke2 Ng5 96. Kf1 f3 97. Kg1 f2+ 98. Kf1 f5 0-1

Monday, 23 March 2020

Creating Weakness

The last 2 rounds of the 2020 Candidates Tournament has seen 7 of the 8 games drawn. The one exception was last nights game between Nepo and  Hao Wang. While Wang had been considered an outsider to win this event, he was my 'dark horse' tip, at least until now.
The choice of the Petroff may have indicated some peaceful intent on Wang's part, but Nepo chose 13.h4 to liven up the game ('A mouse slip' was one online comment). While this did not lead to any immediate advantage, it did payoff a number of moves later when the pawn reached h6. Wang did not wish to weaken his own pawn structure by taking the pawn, but a few moves later Nepo was able to move his queen along the 8th rank, leaving Wang facing threats of Qxh7 and Qg7. This turned out to be enough to win the game, as Wang was forced to give up a piece, and he resigned shortly after.


Nepomniachtchi,Ian (2774) - Wang,Hao (2762) [C42]
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (5.4), 22.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Bf5 7. O-O Be7 8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd6 10. Nf1 Bxd3 11. Qxd3 c6 12. Bf4 Na6 13. h4 Nc7 14. Ng5 Bxg5 15. Bxg5 f6 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. Ng3 Rae8 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. Nf5 Qd7 20. Qh3 Kh8 21. h5 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Re8 23. Rxe8+ Nxe8 24. g4 a6 25. b3 Qe6 26. Ne3 Nd6 27. h6 g6 28. c4 dxc4 29. bxc4 Kg8 30. Qh2 Kf7 31. c5 Nb5 32. Qb8 Qd7 33. Qh8 Ke6 34. f4 Nxd4 35. Qg8+ Qf7 36. Qc8+ Qd7 37. Qg8+ Qf7 38. Qd8 Qd7 39. f5+ gxf5 40. gxf5+ Nxf5 41. Qxd7+ Kxd7 42. Nxf5 Ke6 43. Ne3 1-0

Sunday, 22 March 2020

Out through the In door

The transition to running club events as online tournaments is going quite smoothly. Today I ran the first online Street Chess event, with 16 players taking part. To keep some connection with the 'real' Street Chess, I did run it from the usual venue, King O'Malley's. With a fully charged laptop I was able sit sit in the outdoor area, joined by one other tournament participant, and a couple of other spectators, who had turned up expecting a face to face event.
I ran it as a full 7 round event, with the standard time limit of G/15m. As well as a lot of the regular players, the tournament also attracted a couple of former Canberra players now resident in other Australian cities.
There was a tie for first between Wenlin Yin and Leron Kwong, with Lachlan Smart finishing third. Sulia Van Sebille took advantage of modern technology to finish Best of the Bottom Half, while playing her games from Melbourne.
The only technical issue was a couple of players disconnected, and were then booted from the event. It seems that there is a 60s timeout limit, after which you are removed from future pairings. This is a little harsh, but I think this a server rule, which cannot be overridden.

If you want to organise such events yourself, chess.com has a set of instructions at https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-run-chess-events-online


Friday, 20 March 2020

Ding bounces back

After starting the 2020 Candidates Tournament with 2 straight losses, Liren Ding has bounced back with a 3rd round win over Fabiano Caruana. The opening was quite complicated, and even with the help of an engine, I still have no real idea about what was going on. All that mattered was that Caruana sacrificed two pawns, didn't get enough compensation for it, and Ding then carefully converted the ending. With the other 3 games drawn, the field has now closed up, with the players all withing a point of each other.


Ding,Liren (2805) - Caruana,Fabiano (2842) [D17]
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (3.1), 19.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bf5 6. Ne5 e6 7. f3 Bb4 8. Nxc4 O-O 9. Kf2 e5 10. Nxe5 Bc2 11. Qd2 c5 12. d5 Bb3 13. e4 Re8 14. Qf4 c4 15. Nxc4 Nbd7 16. Be3 Nf8 17. Bd4 Ng6 18. Qf5 Bxc4 19. Bxc4 Qc7 20. Be2 Bc5 21. Bxc5 Qxc5+ 22. Kf1 h6 23. Rd1 Qb6 24. Rd2 Qe3 25. Rc2 a6 26. Qh3 b5 27. Qg3 b4 28. Nd1 Qb3 29. Rd2 Qxa4 30. Qf2 Qd7 31. g3 Qh3+ 32. Kg1 a5 33. Qd4 Nh5 34. Nf2 Qd7 35. f4 Nhxf4 36. gxf4 Nxf4 37. Kf1 Qd6 38. Rg1 f6 39. Bb5 Re7 40. b3 Rf8 41. Rc2 Ne6 42. Qe3 Ng5 43. h4 Nf7 44. Rc6 Qb8 45. Qc5 Qd8 46. Rxf6 Kh8 47. Rf5 Rc7 48. Bc6 a4 49. bxa4 b3 50. Rg3 b2 51. Rb3 Nd6 52. Rxf8+ Qxf8 53. Rxb2 Qf4 54. Rb8+ Kh7 55. Qc2 Re7 56. e5+ Nf5 57. Qe4 Qc1+ 58. Kg2 g6 59. Rb3 1-0

Thursday, 19 March 2020

More online events

The ACT Chess Association held another online event this evening, this time on chess.com. To make this happen, the ACTCA has set up an online club, the 'ACTCA Chess Club'. Players with a connection to ACT chess are welcome to join.
The tournament was a 5 round swiss, with a time limit of 10m+2s. 18 players took part, with Fred Litchfield winning on countback ahead of Jordan Brown, after they both finished on 4.5/5.
Going forward, the ACT Chess Association is looking to organise a few of these tournaments each week. While some players prefer slower events (G/15m) others are keen on the G/5m Arena format. Hopefully there will be the opportunity to organise events with different formats, so as to give everyone a tournament they prefer.

Wednesday, 18 March 2020

2020 Candidates - Round 1

The 2020 Candidates Tournament got off to a surprisingly aggressive start with 2 wins in the 4 games played. Liren Ding lost to Hao Wang, while Nepomniachtchi beat Giri in a long (but technically winning) Queen v Rook ending. The other 2 games were drawn, although Grischuk was better in his game before time trouble issues kicked in.
The Ding v Wang game contained an instructive point about the power of pawns against rooks in the ending. The key moment occurred at move  41, when Wang offered the exchange in return for a set of passed pawns. Although Ding declined the offer immediately he took it next move, and then resigned a few moves later.

Ding,Liren (2805) - Wang,Hao (2762) [A22]
FIDE Candidates Tournament chess24.com (1.2), 17.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. c4 e5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 Bc5 4. d3 O-O 5. Nc3 c6 6. Nf3 d6 7. O-O Re8 8. Na4 Bb4 9. a3 Ba5 10. b4 Bc7 11. e4 a5 12. Bb2 Na6 13. b5 cxb5 14. cxb5 Nc5 15. Nxc5 dxc5 16. a4 Bg4 17. Ra3 Nd7 18. h3 Bh5 19. Qb1 b6 20. Nd2 Nf8 21. Bf3 Qg5 22. h4 Qg6 23. Qd1 Bxf3 24. Qxf3 h5 25. Qf5 Rad8 26. Qxg6 Nxg6 27. Kg2 f6 28. Nc4 Kf7 29. Bc1 Rd7 30. f4 exf4 31. Bxf4 Nxf4+ 32. gxf4 f5 33. e5 Re6 34. Kf3 Rg6 35. Ne3 Ke6 36. Rd1 Bd8 37. Ra2 Rd4 38. Nc2 Rd5 39. Ne3 Rd7 40. Rdd2 Bxh4 41. Rg2 Rg4 42. Rh2 g6 43. Nxg4 fxg4+ 44. Ke3 Be7 45. Rac2 h4 0-1

Tuesday, 17 March 2020

Chess in the time of cholera

The ACTCA Chess Association, along with the ACT Chess Clubs, have decided to suspend all chess events for the foreseeable future. This also includes Street Chess, which will not be running this Saturday (and future Saturdays for the time being).
However, the ACTCA is looking for a replacement to keep everyone connected, in the shape of online events. 
The first test event was run this evening, in the form of an invitation event on lichess.org. While the tournament ran well enough, the 'Arena' format that lichess uses is probably not suitable for what we are looking for (set number of rounds, normal swiss pairings). The next test event will probably be on chess.com on Thursday, and if that works, then we are looking to hold evening events through the week.
Here is one of the games from the tournament, played between the top 2 finishers.

Yin, Wenlin - Press, Harry [C77]
Hodges Arena, 2020.03.17

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 b5 6. Bb3 Bc5 7. d3 O-O 8. Bg5 d6 9. Nc3 Bb4 10. Bd5 Bd7 11. O-O Qe7 12. Nh4 Nd4 13. Qd1 c6 14. Bb3 Nxb3 15. axb3 h6 16. Bd2 Bxc3 17. bxc3 Nxe4 18. dxe4 Qxh4 19. f3 f5 20. exf5 Bxf5 21. Be3 Qf6 22. Qd2 d5 23. Ra5 Qg6 24. Rfa1 Bxc2 25. Rxa6 Rxa6 26. Rxa6 Bxb3 27. h3 Bc4 28. Kh2 b4 29. Rb6 b3 30. Bc5 Ra8 0-1

Monday, 16 March 2020

It's the last disco in town

Despite almost every chess event in the world being cancelled, the 2020 Candidates Tournament is still going ahead. As it only consists of 8 players, there is very little health risk attached to it, but FIDE are still taking plenty of precautions.
Today there is the opening ceremony (no doubt a somewhat subdued affair), while tomorrow sees the first round.  Each round is at 4pm Yekaterinburg time, which is 10pm Canberra time. There is live coverage from the official site, and I assume that most of the major chess sites will be carrying their own coverage or streaming commentary.

Sunday, 15 March 2020

2020 O2C Doeberl Cup and 2020 SIO Cancelled

Due to new travel and health restrictions put in place by the Australian Government, the ACT Chess Association has decided to cancel this years O2C Doeberl Cup. This decision was not taken lightly, as the ACTCA understands the inconvenience in cancelling any event at short notice. The 2020 Sydney International Open, which was due to take place after the Doeberl Cup has also been cancelled. 
The official statement is as follows

"It is with great regret that the ACT Chess Association is cancelling the O2C Doeberl Cup for 2020. With the Australian Government announcing restrictions on overseas travellers to Australia, and the request to avoid large non-essential gatherings, we have decided that the Doeberl Cup cannot proceed under these conditions. We sincerely apologise to anyone who has already committed to taking part in this tournament, and ask anyone who has suffered financial inconvenience as a result of our decision to contact us immediately (info@doeberlcup.com.au). For players who have entered online we are arranging refunds through Trybooking, and hope to process this as quickly as possible."


Saturday, 14 March 2020

Some vintage (online) chess magazines

While diving into the Internet Archive I came across a collection of old Chess Review magazines. The earliest issues are from the 1930's and provide an insight into the American chess scene of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Of particular interest are the first reports on Bobby Fischer in the 1955 issues.
You can find the magazines at https://archive.org/details/magazine_rack?and%5B%5D=chess&sin=
If you are interested in vintage software and early computer chess developments, the link will also bring up a number of computer magazines with computer chess software articles.

Thursday, 12 March 2020

Refuted or not refuted?

I've seen a small revival in the Greco and Moller Attacks recently. A couple of Canberra juniors are using them as their main systems as White, even if current theory regards them a not so good anymore.
To be fair, the refutation is quite deep into the opening, and even then, engine assessments give the position as equal or only slightly better for Black. At the level they are being used, I would regard these lines as basically sound, especially as Black needs to know all the moves, otherwise White's attack is quite strong.
Having said that, it is still possible for White to play for a win, even at the top level. The following game was played back in 2007, when there was a small revival in the main line. After 16 ... f6 the position was considered good for Black, but White did have an idea of trying to invade down the h file. However Black went wrong almost straight away with 17 ... g6, and after that, White was able to make enough threats to keep Black on the defensive for the rest of the game.


Kurenkov,Nikolai (2438) - Turov,Maxim (2562) [C54]
Moscow op 03rd Moscow (8), 03.02.2007

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb4+ 7. Nc3 Nxe4 8. O-O Bxc3 9. d5 Bf6 10. Re1 Ne7 11. Rxe4 d6 12. Bg5 Bxg5 13. Nxg5 h6 14. Qe2 hxg5 15. Re1 Be6 16. dxe6 f6 17. Re3 g6 18. Qf3 O-O 19. Qxb7 d5 20. Bd3 Qd6 21. Rc1 c6 22. Rh3 Rfb8 23. Rxc6 Qxh2+ 24. Kxh2 Rxb7 25. Rc2 Rb6 26. Re3 Rab8 27. b3 f5 28. Rc7 R8b7 29. Rd7 Kf8 30. Ba6 Rxd7 31. exd7 Rd6 32. Bb5 d4 33. Re6 Rd5 34. Rf6+ Kg7 35. Rf7+ Kxf7 36. Bc4 1-0

Lots of smaller tournaments

The 2020 World Seniors Teams Championship is currently being held in Prague, with over 100 teams (400+ players) taking part. However, halfway through the event the Czech Government suddenly introduced regulations forbidding gatherings of more than 100 people in any one place. Clearly this would effect the tournament, at least until the organisers came up with a solution.
The tournament is still going ahead, but the playing areas have been divided up into smaller sections, thereby avoiding the 100 person limit. I suspect the organisers might be fans of Futurama, where we learned that being technically correct is "The best kind of correct"

Wednesday, 11 March 2020

Ignorance is risk

Here is another example when closing your eyes and hoping for the best can often be a successful strategy.
Having started to lose the thread of the position around about move 14, I completely missed 16... Qe5 by Black. At first I thought that g3 was forced (giving up the h pawn), but then I thought "how dangerous can the check on h2 be?". The idea was 17.Ne2 Qh2+ 18.Kh1 Qh1+ 19.Ng1 with the threat of g4. My opponent must have thought along similar lines, as he played 17. ... Nd5 and after Ng3 I was fine. In time trouble my opponent then played a couple of dodgy moves and I eventually won the bishop ending.
The only problem was that after 17.Ne2 Qh2 18.Kh1 Be4!! gives Black an overwhelming attack. Fortunately for me, neither of us saw this, as otherwise I would have either surrendered the h pawn, or my opponent would have finished off my king!


Press,Shaun - Beare,Nick [B01]
Rama Memorial (6), 10.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qd6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nf3 a6 6. h3 Bf5 7. Be2 Nc6 8. Be3 O-O-O 9. O-O e5 10. dxe5 Nxe5 11. Qc1 Nxf3+ 12. Bxf3 Be7 13. a3 Rhe8 14. Bf4 Qc5 15. Re1 Bd6 16. Be3 Qe5 17. Ne2 Nd5 18. Ng3 Bd7 19. Bg5 Qxe1+ 20. Qxe1 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 f6 22. Bxd5 fxg5 23. Ne4 Re8 24. Nxd6+ cxd6 25. Rxe8+ Bxe8 26. Kf1 Kc7 27. Ke2 b5 28. Ke3 Kb6 29. b4 h6 30. Kd4 Bg6 31. c4 a5 32. c5+ dxc5+ 33. bxc5+ Kc7 34. Ke5 b4 35. axb4 axb4 36. Kd4 Bc2 37. Kc4 b3 38. Kc3 h5 39. Bxb3 Be4 40. f3 Bc6 41. Kd4 g4 42. hxg4 hxg4 43. Bd5 Bd7 44. f4 Bf5 45. g3 Kd7 46. Ke5 g6 47. Be4 1-0

Monday, 9 March 2020

2020 ACT Chess Champion - IM Junta Ikeda

IM Junta Ikeda is the 2020 ACT Chess Champion, finishing the 4 day tournament with 6.5/7. Going into the final day Ikeda was on 5/5, and was paired against Harry Press who was a point behind. In a 100 move game, Press defended a R+B v R+N ending, before finding a clever mate threat that forced the exchange of rooks, leaving a drawn position. The game could have ended earlier if Press had spotted a repetition, but with both players having seconds on their clock, the miss was excusable.
Going into the final round, Ikeda led by half a point over FM Michael Kethro, with Press, CM Hui Li, and Wenlin Yin a further half point back. Ikeda made sure of first place with a hard fought win over Li, while Kethro beat Yin to finish outright second. Press scored a nice win over Dillon Hathiramani to finish 3rd on 5.5.
Tim Pearce beat Glenn Ingham in the last game of the tournament to finish, leaving Pearce as the winner of the Under 1900 section. Ruofan Xu won the Under 1600 section, picking up 100 rating points as well. Nathalie Tisserand was the best Fide Unrated player, while Eshaan Extross was rewarded for an outstanding tournament with the biggest rating improvement prize.
Full results as well as games from the top boards can be found at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/actchampionship2020/


Li, Hui - Ikeda, Junta
2020 ACT Chess Championship, 2020.03.09

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Nf3 a6 5. a4 b6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Ne7 8. Be3 h6 9. Qd2 Nd7 10. h3 Bb7 11. Rfe1 g5 12. Rad1 Nf6 13. d5 e5 14. Nh2 Bc8 15. Bd3 Bd7 16. b3 Ng6 17. Ne2 Nh5 18. Ng3 Nhf4 19. Bf1 Nh4 20. a5 b5 21. c4 bxc4 22. bxc4 h5 23. Nf5 Nxf5 24. exf5 Kf8 25. Bxf4 exf4 26. Bd3 Qf6 27. Qb4 Qb2 28. Qxb2 Bxb2 29. Re2 Bc3 30. Ra2 Kg7 31. Nf3 Kf6 32. Nd2 Bxf5 33. Ne4+ Bxe4 34. Bxe4 g4 35. Rd3 Bb4 36. Rb3 Bc5 37. Kf1 Rae8 38. Re2 Kg5 39. f3 f5 40. Bd3 Be3 41. Rb7 Re7 42. c5 Re5 43. Bc4 Rc8 44. c6 Kh4 45. Rbb2 Kg3 46. Ra2 Ra8 47. Reb2 Rae8 48. Re2 gxf3 49. gxf3 Kxf3 50. Bxa6 Rxd5 51. Re1 Rg8 52. Be2+ Ke4 53. Ra4+ Ke5 54. Bf3 Rg1+ 0-1

Sunday, 8 March 2020

2020 ACT Chess Championship - Day 3

IM Junta Ikeda holds a 1 point lead going into the final day of the 2020 ACT Chess Championship. Ikeda defeated Ruofan Xu in round 4, before beating FM Michael Kethro in the afternoon round. The loss by Kethro dropped him back into equal second on 4 points, alongside Harry Press and Dillon Hathiramani.
Today's games saw some odd pairings, and some odd positions. Round 4 saw a father and son pairing, as well as twin brothers being paired against each other. Both games ended up drawn. Round 5 saw 3 games (out of 18) with at least one player with 2 queens on the board, including 1 where both players had 2 queens!
Round 6 starts at 10am tomorrow, with Ikeda up against Harry Press on the top board. A win for Ikeda guarantees him at least a share of the title, while a win for Press would make a 3 way tie for first a distinct possibility.


Kethro, Michael - Ikeda, Junta
2020 ACT Chess Championship, 2020.03.08

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Bb4+ 4. Bd2 Be7 5. Bg2 d5 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 Ne4 9. Nc3 Nxd2 10. Nxd2 c6 11. e3 a6 12. Ne2 b6 13. Nf4 Bb7 14. Rab1 a5 15. cxd5 cxd5 16. Rfc1 Bd6 17. Nf3 Qe7 18. Nd3 Kh8 19. Nd2 Nb8 20. Qa4 Nd7 21. e4 Ba6 22. Ne1 Bb4 23. Qd1 dxe4 24. Nxe4 f5 25. Nc3 Rad8 26. Qb3 Qf6 27. a3 Bd6 28. Nf3 g5 29. Re1 Rfe8 30. Rbd1 Rc8 31. Nb5 Bb8 32. a4 Re7 33. Rc1 Rxc1 34. Rxc1 g4 35. Ne5 Nxe5 36. dxe5 Qxe5 37. Qd3 Bc7 38. Rxc7 Qxc7 39. Qd4+ e5 40. Qd5 Bxb5 41. axb5 Qd7 42. Qc4 Kg7 43. h3 h5 44. Qc1 Re6 45. Qg5+ Rg6 46. Qxh5 Qf7 47. Bc6 Qf6 48. hxg4 Rxg4 49. Qe8 Rd4 50. Qb8 f4 51. Qb7+ Qf7 52. Qb8 Rd1+ 53. Kg2 Qh5 54. Qc7+ Kf6 0-1

Saturday, 7 March 2020

2020 ACT Championship - Day 2

The 2020 ACT Championship sees three players tied on 3 points after 3 rounds. IM Junta Ikeda and FM Michael Kethro have been joined by tournament surprise packet Ruofan Xu at the top of the leader board.
Ikeda dispatched both  Sankeertan Badrinarayan and Dillon Hathiramani with some nice tactics, while Kethro was made to work harder in his round 3 win over Harry Press. Xu defeated 10th seed Victor Braguine in a strange Kings Indian, where Braguine (as White) launched a kingside attack, and then defeated 5th seed Wenlin Yin in the afternoon round.
Tomorrow mornings round has Ikeda up against Xu while Kethro is playing Glenn Ingham. CM Hui Li plays Claudio Mariani and with both players on 2.5/3, a result in this game should move the winner onto the top boards.


Braguine,Victor (1899) - Xu,Ruofan (1467) [E73]
2020 ACT Chess Championship, 07.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 O-O 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 a5 8. g4 Na6 9. h4 h6 10. g5 hxg5 11. Bxg5 Qe8 12. h5 Nh7 13. Be3 f5 14. hxg6 Qxg6 15. Bh5 Qf6 16. exf5 Bxf5 17. Qd2 Nb4 18. Bd1 Nd3+ 19. Kf1 Nf4 20. Bc2 Qg6 21. Bxf4 Bxc2 22. Be3 Nf6 23. Nge2 Ng4 24. Rc1 Be4 25. Nxe4 Qxe4 26. Rh3 Rf3 27. Rxf3 Nh2+ 28. Kg2 Nxf3 29. Qc3 Nh4+ 30. Kh3 Qg2+ 31. Kxh4 Bf6+ 32. Kh5 Qh3+ 33. Kg6 Qg4+ 0-1

Friday, 6 March 2020

2020 ACT Chess Championship - Day 1

The 2020 ACT Chess Championship has started, with a good field of 36 players. While there is a big gap between top seed IM Junta Ikeda and second seed FM Michael Kethro (a little over 300 points), the gap between the 2nd and 10th seeds is a lot closer.
The first round saw most of the top seeds get through unscathed, although Victor Braguine was forced to work very hard against Nomon Vos before finding the winning tactical trick. The only game that did not end in a win for the higher rated player was between Paul Dunn and Luka Choi which finished in a draw.
The ACT Championship runs for the next 3 days, with 2 rounds per day. There is live coverage of the top boards as well as pairings and results at http://tournaments.streetchess.net/actchampionship2020/ Rounds are at 10am and 2:30pm Canberra time.

Thursday, 5 March 2020

Police Blotter

I don't know much about Taunton, Massachusetts, but on the 27th February 2020 this happened

Neighbor dispute on Centre Street: At 8 p.m. police responded to a call about a man who attacked his neighbor after the pair played a game of chess. Police rendered assistance.

I am assuming the assistance was of a law enforcement nature, and not illegal interference in a game still in progress (pssst Bxh7+ works here)


Wednesday, 4 March 2020

When do you know you are winning?

One of the difficulties I face when playing Correspondence Chess is knowing if I am really winning or not. I may think I have a better position, but I don't always know if it is a won position.
This also occurs when I am facing players rated a lot higher than may. Time and again I have chosen a line that wins me a pawn, or gives me a strong looking attack, only to find I have failed to assess the position correctly. Why this is sometimes an issue is that your decisions can be different depending on whether you are pushing for a win, or saving an inferior position.
In the following game from the 4NCL , Australian player Chris Skulte scored a big upset over Guillaume Lamard. Outrated by 300 points, Skulte chose an aggressive line against the Sicilian, and went into the middle game with a playable position. His sensible play paid off on move 29 when it looks as though his opponent miscalculated a tactic and dropped a pawn. (29 ... Nxf4 30.Qf3 avoids losing the exchange) After that White was clearly better, but in such situations (against a stronger opponent), it is often a choice between trying to win, and being happy with a draw. Fortunately for Chris, there were enough obvious good moves on the board to play (46.g4!) that his opponent went from losing to lost, allowing Chris to pick up the full point.


Skulte,Christopher (2177) - Lamard,Guillaume (2472) [B50]
4NCL Division 1a Daventry, ENG (1.16), 29.02.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 dxe5 5. Nxe5 a6 6. a4 e6 7. Nc4 Bd7 8. Be2 Bc6 9. Bf3 Bd6 10. Nxd6+ Qxd6 11. O-O O-O 12. b3 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 Nc6 14. d3 Nd4 15. Qd1 Qc6 16. Re1 b6 17. Bf4 Nd5 18. Nxd5 Qxd5 19. Re5 Qd7 20. Qd2 a5 21. Rae1 Rad8 22. Bg3 Qc6 23. f4 Qc8 24. Bf2 Nc6 25. Rg5 Ne7 26. Rge5 Ng6 27. R5e4 Rd5 28. Qe2 f5 29. Rxe6 Qc7 30. g3 Rdd8 31. Qf3 Rd6 32. h4 Rfd8 33. Re8+ Nf8 34. R1e7 R6d7 35. Re5 Rxe8 36. Rxe8 Rd8 37. Rxd8 Qxd8 38. Qc6 Kf7 39. Kg2 Ng6 40. Kh2 Ne7 41. Qb7 Qd6 42. Qf3 Kg6 43. Qe3 Nd5 44. Qe8+ Kh6 45. Qe5 Qd7 46. g4 Nb4 47. gxf5 Nd5 48. Qe6+ Qxe6 49. fxe6 Kg6 50. d4 Nxf4 51. dxc5 bxc5 52. Bxc5 Nxe6 53. Bb6 Kh5 54. b4 Nf4 55. Bxa5 Kxh4 56. Bd8+ Kg4 57. a5 1-0

Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Don't panic

Apparently the end of the world involves running out of toilet paper, if the empty shelves in supermarkets can be believed. I am of course referring to the steps people are taking to prepare for the potential Covid-19 outbreak in Australian (and elsewhere).
While there is still a great degree of uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, it is already having an effect on some chess activities. The Chinese players in the upcoming Candidates tournament in Russia have been allowed into the country, but are required to spend 14 days in quarantine. More significantly, the 2020 Dubai Open has been cancelled. This tournament was very popular, and last year attracted 31 GM's in the 160 player field.
There is also talk of health precautions at tournaments that are going ahead. The most obvious one is to relax the 'hand shake rule', and instead allow a nod or even a bow before the game begins. And while this seems sensible, the health outcomes may be undone by the first capture of the game, when you come in contact with one of your opponents pieces.
As for local Australian events (including the Doeberl Cup and SIO), there doesn't seem to be any issues with them going ahead. Travel by overseas players may be affected, but at this stage, there is no thought of cancelling any such events.

Straight up the chimney

The phenomenon of beginners moving their rook pawns in the opening is pretty well known. The Ian Rout theory of left handers moving the pawn on that side of the board has been observed on a number of occasions, by me, but h4 is often followed up with a4 as well.
The following game is both an example, and a warning. In all honesty it isn't the type of game I normally put on my blog, but it did have one other point of interest. After I had won a couople of pieces, I wasn't really surprised when my opponent played Ke2. Of course Bd2 is the right move, but when you are first taught chess, "you have to get out of check" is often heard as "you have to move your king out of check". And once the king went to e2, it had to go to e3, then e4 before getting mated on e5.


Junior - Press,Shaun [A00]
Casual, 02.03.2020

Start positionPrevious MoveNext MoveEnd positionPlay movesStop playing
1. Nc3 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. h4 d5 4. a4 e4 5. d3 exf3 6. exf3 Bb4 7. Bg5 Nge7 8. Bc1 d4 9. Rb1 dxc3 10. bxc3 Bxc3+ 11. Ke2 Nd4+ 12. Ke3 Nd5+ 13. Ke4 Bf5+ 14. Ke5 f6# 0-1

Sunday, 1 March 2020

March is bad blitz month

I fear March is going to be the month of bad blitz for me. It did not get off to an auspicious start, when I blundered a number of games at the monthly Beer and Blitz, held in Canberra. I suspect the cause was not finding the right balance between the beer and the blitz, although slowing reflexes may also be to blame.
The real wake up call came in my first game, where I was playing a much younger opponent. The usual strategy in these cases is to play a simple opening, get an advantage in the middlegame, and then swap into a better ending. However I ignored the cardinal rule of blitz endings, which is "Always have a knight". In trying to defend against various tricks, I walked into a knight fork and dropped a piece.
After that it was always a struggle, and eventually I finished mid field, scoring around 50%