Another World Cup best of

Another good game from the 2019 World Cup involved Jeffrey Xiong and Jan Duda. It was all the more significant because this was a 'must win' game from Xiong, as he had lost the first game in round 4. After move 26 White has a clear advantage, but if you wonder why Duda didn't capture on d5 on move 28, then you're in the same boat as me. It turns out that Xiong simply moves the rook to d1, pushes the f pawn to f4, and at the right moment plays f5+, checks on e1, captures on d5, and wins with Re7!


Xiong,Jeffery (2707) - Duda,Jan-Krzysztof (2730) [C24]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (4.2), 21.09.2019

Another lesson in king safety

While the following game was played at my local chess club (and not in somewhere like Khanty-Mansiysk) it does have a passing resemblance to the game I presented from yesterday. White gets a nice position out of the opening, but it is only when Black neglects his king safety (in this case by capturing on f5), that the position falls apart. Despite attempts to find a way out, Black cannot cover every entry point of White's heavy pieces, and the combination of a passed pawn and threats against the Black king soon prove decisive.


Patterson,Miles - Grcic,Milan [A04]
Belconnen CC (3), 25.09.2019

Down to 3

The World Cup is now down to 3 players. Teimour Radjabov defeated Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the second game of their semi final, while Liren Ding and Yangyi Yu finished their semi final at 1-1. This means Ding and Yu will go to tie break games to see who plays Radjabov.


Radjabov,Teimour (2758) - Vachier-Lagrave,Maxime (2774) [A34]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (6.2), 27.09.2019

Best World Cup game of rounds 1 and 2

With so many games being played at the 2019 World Cup it is hard to decide which one is the best played game. The organisers are offering a special prize in this category, and have opened it up to the public to vote on. A panel of experts is making up a shortlist and then the most popular game wins.
For the first 2 rounds the game between Firouzja and Dubov got the nod. The voting for the best game in rounds 3&4 is still open at this time, and if you wish to vote, follow the links from here.


Firouzja,Alireza (2702) - Dubov,Daniil (2699) [B31]
FIDE World Cup 2019 Khanty-Mansiysk RUS (2.2), 14.09.2019

The Collywobbles

"Collywobbles" is a term that both means an upset stomach, and the semi-regular choke by the Collingwood AFL team. It turns out that the second definition was in play on Saturday night, as Collingwood lost their preliminary final, despite being the overwhelming favourite against Greater Western Sydney.
Chess players can always sympathise, as it is very easy to turn a winning position into something less than that. Tonight's Belconnen Club Championship round saw a number of endings where players went from simply winning, to either drawing or losing.
The most tragic example came from the position below. White has an easily winning bishop ending, which quickly became a winning pawn ending. However he forgot about Black's a pawn and went from winning on move 5 (6.b4! is simple enough)  to drawing on move 6 (after 6... a4!). 
In fact White was lucky not to go from hero to zero, as he was just able to get his king across to c2 in time to corner the black king.


White (Collingwood Fan!) - Black
Belconnen CC, 24.9.2019

Protect not punish

One of the concepts that new (or young) players have is that the laws of chess are as much about protecting them as it is about punishing their opponents. During a school coaching session yesterday there was a player who wanted to change their move on the grounds that their initial move was 'bad'. When I pointed out that they had taken their hand off the piece and that meant the move stood, they argued that it was a silly rule. My counter argument was that if she was allowed to ignore the rules, so was her opponent, and that her opponent could now checkmate her by simply playing two moves in a row. I'm not sure how convincing that argument was, as she then simply resigned and started a new game.
The concept of rules being a protection applies in other ways. One of the most common causes of disputes is 'touch move' where one player claims their opponent touches a piece, and the other denies it. In the absence of witnesses the normal practice is to accept the denial, unless the player concerned has 'form' in this area.  While some may argue that this is unfair to disbelieve a players claim, it does protect players from false or mistaken claims made by an opponent.
Of course this did not help in one case I read about recently. During an international junior event a player moved while the opponent was away from the board. Then before the opponent returned, they played a move for the opponent (with a rook), but returned the piece to the start square. When the opponent returned and played a different move, they claimed the opponent had touched the rook and had to move that instead, which lost in all cases. Normally this would be rejected by the arbiter, but as the games were being played on DGT boards, the 'fact' that the rook had been moved was registered, and the claim was upheld!

2019 ACT Teams Rapid

The 2019 ACT Teams Rapid was the first non junior teams event in Canberra for many a year. The idea for reviving teams in chess in Canberra came from WFM and IA Alana Chibnall, who put in a large amount of work to make it happen.
As this format is unfamiliar to local players, the turnout of 10 teams was actually quite pleasing. The 3 chess clubs in Canberra all fielded official teams while Street Chess, ANU and a couple of high schools also had entries.
The format was a 7 round swiss, 4 board matches, and game points counting for final standings. The other rule was that teams could not have a average rating above 18501650, and it was this rule that made the day both enjoyable and successful.
The winning team was the ANU Chess Society team, who finished on 18/28. Second was Belconnen Chess Club on 17, followed by the Canberra Chess Club team on 16.5. As the next 3 teams finished on 16.5, 16 and 16, it showed what a close event it was.
The prizes for the best scores on each board went to CM Lalit Prasad Bd 1 6.5/7, Mark Hummell Bd 2, 6.5/7, Yizhen Diao Bd 3 6.5/7, Donghoon Shin Bd 4 6/7. Belconnen Chess Club also won the Larko Cup for the best score by an ACTCA club.
Feedback from the players was overwhelmingly positive, and this tournament looks like being an annual event. With a solid start in terms of teams, it is likely that it will grow in future years to become a significant part of the Canberra chess scene.