More Broken Rules

If chess could be reduced to a set of guidelines that would work 100% of the time, then it wouldn't be much of a game. Case in point, the position on the right. It arose after the moves 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qe3 b6 5.Nc3 Bc5 6.Qg3 Qf6
Broken 'rules' include bringing the queen out early, moving the same piece twice and falling behind in development. So it was understandable that the winning move in this position was to break the rules again, by moving the knight a second time with 7.Nd5! Faced with multiple threats Black tried 7. ... Bxf2+ but it left White a piece up and the win was fairly straightforward.

How far ahead can you calculate?

The diagrammed position come from the David Levy book "Play Chess Combinations and Sacrifices" and was set as an exercise for a group of young players I coach. The point of the exercise wasn't to make their heads explode, but to show them that it is possible to calculate 17 or more half moves ahead, as long as you find the correct path.
To help them (and yourselves) on their way I gave them a few clues. (a) White will checkmate (b) every White move is a check (c) It is a mate in 8 if Black doesn't prolong the game through spite sacrifices.
As a group they found the first few moves in about 2 minutes, but then took another 3 or 4 minutes to get the remaining moves in the right order. Can you do better?

2009 Tal Memorial

The strongest tournament of the year, the 2009 Tal Memorial, starts this evening (Australian Time). Actually it as already started as I write this, with the first round match between Carlsen and Kramnik already attracting a lot of interest.
There are plenty of places that are providing live coverage but I'll give a plug to two. Chessdom (who I recently mentioned) is providing coverage here. Chessvibes is also providing live coverage with expert commentary at their live games site. However they seem to be a similar system to what Ian Rogers used at the 2009 Oceania Zonal, with the same technical shortcoming of having to refresh your browser to show updates. A note on the site says they are looking into a solution for this.
With 8 of the current top 10 taking part, the eventual winner could be anyone. I break my usual habit of picking Peter Svidler, and go with the safe bet of Magnus Carlsen. I'll also be interested in seeing which Vasilly Ivanchuk turns up to the tournament.

2009 Vikings Weekender

Keep the 28th and 29th of November free for the 2009 Vikings Weekender. This is the third of the three weekend events in Canberra (Doeberl and ANU being the other 2) and is the most 'community focussed' of the three tournaments. While the Doeberl attracts a big international field, and the ANU usually has a good turn out of titled players, the Vikings Weekender is geared more towards the local Canberra scene. That is not to say interstate visitors are not welcome, but the majority of tournament winners over the years have been local players, often at the expense of out-of-towners.
The tournament will be held at the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club, Ricardo St, Wanniassa. It will be a single 6 round swiss with a time limit of 60m+10s per move from the start. First prize is a guaranteed $500, and the prize pool is usually above $1000 (depending upon entries). Full details can be found here.

(** Yes, I will be the Director of Play for this event, and yes it is a paid position **)

A man with ambition

I've been cutting back on my online CC lately, as I've decided that it is not helping my chess (too much analysis, not enough decision making). But I received a challenge from a player I felt I couldn't pass up. The aptly named Chessnut* is in the process of trying to play against players from as many countries as possible. He is currently up to country 157 with Papua New Guinea the latest addition to his list.
Unfortunately I wasn't the most hospitable opponent, wheeling out the Schliemann Defence to the Ruy Lopez and hacking him in 14 moves. However, I am impressed by his dedication and I hope he makes his target of 200+ countries.

Chessnut - Press,Shaun [C63]
Chessworld, 03.11.2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 f5 4.exf5 e4 5.Ng1 Nf6 6.d3 Bc5 7.Bg5 0-0 (D)
8.dxe4 Bxf2+ 9.Kxf2 Nxe4+ 10.Ke3 Qxg5+ 11.Kf3 Qxf5+ 12.Ke3 Qf2+ 13.Kxe4 Re8+ 14.Kd3 Qd4# 0-1

*NB This Chessnut is not the same Chessnut who is an Australian chess identity and occasionaly blogs at this link.

2010 O2C Doeberl Cup - Website Launched

The website for the 2010 O2C Doeberl Cup is up, with all the details for next years event. The Prize fund for the 3 big tournaments is almost $18,000. The Premier has a first prize of $4000, with a total prize pool of $12,350. The Major (Under 200) has a first prize of $1,500 while the Minor (Under 1600) has a first prize of $750, which is bigger than most Australian weekend events!
There have been a few changes this year, especially in the area of time controls (for the Premier) and round times. To bring the tournament in to line with FIDE's new time control for title tournaments, the time control for the Premier is now 40 moves in 90 minutes followed by an additional 30 minutes, with 30 seconds added for each move from move 1. This is the same as the time control for the Olympiad and either allows players extra time to play their endings, or simply provides time for a toilet break. The time controls for the Major and Minor will remain at 90m+30s per move.
Due to the slightly longer time controls for the Premier, the playing sessions now begin 6 hours apart (ie 1pm and 7pm on the first 2 days, and 9:30am and 3:30pm for the rest). The Lightning tournament also returns this year.
As in previous years each of these events has a maximum entry of 80 players, so if you wish to guarantee a spot in your preferred tournament you need to enter early. Just click on the 'Register' link on the web page.

(**Disclaimer: I am a paid official for this event **)

Apparently it's all Korchnoi's Fault

I was planning to say no more about the World Chess Federation, but Stan Vaughan is just the gift that keeps on giving. Following the adage that any publicity is good publicity, I keep getting press releases from the organisation, despite the mocking tone of my previous posts about them. Actually a large number of chess journalists and bloggers seem to be on their 'drop list', but I may one of the very few that use the information they send.
The latest missive from the World Chess Federation concerns their press conference to promote the upcoming $7.5 million world championship match. The absolute highlight (for me anyway) was the revelation that Kirsan Ilyumzhinov is an evil spirit who came through a portal that was created by Viktor Korchnoi when he played a match against the long deceased Geza Maroczy. Certainly an interesting theory, although conventional wisdom is that the moves of Maroczy (relayed by a spiritual medium) came not so much from the great beyond, but from a silicon brain.
There is even a video of the press conference. Click on this link if you wish to see the faces behind the madness.