Western Chess

Pacific Southwest Open final

2009-07-05T23:53:00.000-07:00

IM Enrico Sevillano took first place in the 49th Annual Pacific Southwest Open defeating Senior Master John Daniel Bryant in the last round to finish with 5.5-.5. Next at 5-1 were GM Melikset Khachiyan and Joel Banawa. In the Amateur (U1800) section, Brian Glover topped the field with 5.5-.5, a half point ahead of Carla Naylor and John Ballow. See below for a complete list of prize winners, or click here for complete standings.

Prize Winners

Open

1st: IM Enrico Sevillano, 5/.5-.5; 2nd-3rd: GM Melikset Khachiyan, Joel Banawa, 5-1; 4th-5th: IM Jack Peters, Tatev Abrahamyan, Julian Landaw, 4.5-1.5; U2200: 1st: Konstantin Kavutskiy, 4.5-1.5; 2nd-3rd: Takashi Kurosaki, Show Kitagami, Larry Stevens, Michael Brown, Randy Hough, Bobby Hall, 4-2; U2000: 1st-3rd: Darren Wu, Larry Young, Hubert Jung, 3.5-2.5.

Amateur

1st: Brian Glover, 5.5-.5; 2nd/1st U1600: Carla Naylor, John Ballow, 5-1; 3rd: Winston Zeng, Gerson Miro, 4.5-1.5; 2nd U1600: Alexander Xie, 4.5-1.5; 3rd U1600: Jonathan Homidan, 4-2; U1400: 1st: Agata Bykovtsev, 3.5-2.5; 2nd: Annie Wang, Ezekiel Liu, 3-3; U1200: Michael Rose, 2.5-3.5.

Pacific Southwest Open, day 3

2009-07-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

Going into the final round, IM Enrico Sevillano holds the lead with 4.5, but no fewer than eight players are only half a point behind. In the Amateur, top-rated Brian Glover and number 22 Alexandr Xie are tied with 4.5, and both are playing down. Complete standings are posted, and will be updated as the sections are completed.

(Photo: John Daniel Bryant and IM Enrico Sevillano face off in the last round.)

Pacific Southwest Open, day 2.5

2009-07-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

After four rounds, IM Enrico Sevillano is alone in first place with 4-0. In round 5, he will face GM Melikset Khachiyan, who trails by half a point. In the Amateur section, four players share the lead with 3.5 -- Brian Glover, David Minasyan, Gerson Miro, and Alexander Xie. Click here for standings.

Pacific Southwest Open, day 2

2009-07-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

After the merge, we have a total of 121 players, the best turnout since 2004. Tied for the lead with 3-0 are IMs Enrico Sevillano, Jack Peters, and John Donaldson, followed at 2.5 by a large group including GM Melikset Khachiyan.

The 1-day Scholastic saw a decent turnout of 38. In the Open, Sean Manross with 4-1 took first on tiebreak over Hovanes Salvaryan. The Reserve saw a clear winner, as Joaquin Perkins scored a perfect 5-0. Complete standings of all sections are posted at westernchess.com.

IM Jack Peters – Konatantin Kavutskiy [C05]

Pacific Southwest Open, Los Angeles 2009

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Ndf3 Nc6 7.c3 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Nc5 9.Ngf3 f5 10.exf6 Qxf6 11.g3 Bd6 12.Be3 a6 13.Bg2 0–0 14.0–0 Bd7 15.c4 Ne7 16.Ne5 Rfd8 17.b4 Ne4 18.Nxd7 Rxd7 19.Bh3 Nf5 20.Nxf5 exf5 21.Qxd5+ Kh8 22.Qxf5 Re7 23.Qxf6 Nxf6 24.c5 Bc7 25.Bd4 Rd8 26.Rad1 Nd5 27.Rfe1 Kg8 28.Be6+ Kf8 29.Bxd5 Rxe1+ 30.Rxe1 Rxd5 31.Bxg7+ 1–0

Bobby Hall – Robert Akopian [B07]

Pacific Southwest Open G/60, Los Angeles 2009

1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Be3 a6 5.Qd2 b5 6.f3 Nbd7 7.Nge2 Bg7 8.Bh6 0–0 9.Ng3 b4 10.Nce2 c5 11.h4 Bxh6 12.Qxh6 cxd4 13.Nxd4 Ne5 14.h5 Qb6 15.hxg6 fxg6 16.0–0–0 Rf7 17.Qd2 Kf8 18.Be2 a5 19.Nf1 a4 20.Kb1 b3 21.cxb3 axb3 22.a3 Ba6 23.Bxa6 Rxa6 24.Rc1 Ra8 25.Ne3 Kg8 26.Rc3 Rff8 27.Rhc1 Qb7 28.Rc7 Nxe4 29.fxe4 Qxe4+ 30.Ka1 Nd3 31.R1c3 Nc5 32.Nxb3 Na4 33.R3c4 Qe6 34.Nd4 Qf7 35.Nc6 Nc5 36.Rxc5 dxc5 37.Nxe7+ Kh8 38.N7d5 Qf2 39.Qc3+ 1–0

IM John Donaldson - Chapa,E [A34]

Pacific Southwest Open, Los Angeles 2009

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nc7 7.Qa4 Qd7 8.0–0 e5 9.a3 f6 10.e3 Be7 11.Rd1 Qd3 12.b4 cxb4 13.axb4 Bd7 14.b5 Nd8 15.Ba3 Nxb5 16.Bxe7 Kxe7 17.Nxb5 Qxb5 18.Qa3+ Ke8 19.d4 e4 20.Nd2 f5 21.Rdc1 Nf7 22.Bf1 Qd5 23.Bc4 1–0

Pacific Southwest Open, day 1

2009-07-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

The 49th Annual Pacific Southwest Open is off to a good start. With 110 entries already, plus a few more expected tomorrow for the 2-day schedule, this should be the most successful PSW in several years. Maybe chess really is contrarian ...

Most of the higher-rated players won in the first round, including IMs Jack Peters and John Donaldson, but top-ranked GM Melikset Khachiyan was nicked for a draw (by one of his students!). Standings will be posted throughout the weekend, and possibly pairings as well if time allows.

Carl Bolm – GM Melikset Khachiyan [B07]
Pacific Southwest Open, Los Angeles 2009
1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.dxe5 dxe5 5.Qxd8+ Kxd8 6.Nf3 Bd6 7.Bg5 Be6 8.0–0–0 Nbd7 9.Nb5 Ke7 10.Nxd6 cxd6 11.Bb5 Nc5 12.Rhe1 a6 13.Bd3 Rac8 14.Kb1 Rc6 15.Nd2 Rhc8 16.f3 b5 17.Nf1 h6 18.Bxf6+ Kxf6 19.Ne3 Nd7 20.Rd2 Nb6 21.Bf1 Ke7 22.g3 f6 23.f4 Rc5 24.Red1 Rd8 25.b3 a5 26.Kb2 b4 27.a3 bxa3+ 28.Kxa3 a4 29.c4 axb3 30.Kxb3 Rb8 31.Kc3 Ra5 32.Rc2 Na4+ 33.Kd2 Nc5 34.Bg2 Ra3 35.Nf5+ Bxf5 36.exf5 Nb3+ 37.Ke1 Nd4 38.Rxd4 exd4 39.Rd2 d3 40.Be4 d5 41.cxd5 Kd6 42.Bxd3 Kxd5 43.Kf2 Kd4 44.Be2+ Ke4 45.Bg4 Rab3 46.Bd1 Kxf5 47.Bxb3 Rxb3 48.Kg2 Ke4 49.Kh3 Kf3 50.Kh4 g6 51.Ra2 Rd3 52.Ra6 Rd2 53.Kh3 Rd5 54.Ra3+ Ke4 55.Ra4+ Rd4 56.Ra6 Kf5 57.g4+ Kxf4 58.Rxf6+ Kg5 59.Rb6 Rc4 60.Ra6 Re4 ½–½

Randy Higa – IM Jack Peters [E80]
Pacific Southwest Open, Los Angeles 2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 c6 6.Be3 a6 7.a4 a5 8.Qd2 0–0 9.Rd1 Na6 10.Bd3 e5 11.Nge2 Nd7 12.0–0 f5 13.exf5 gxf5 14.Kh1 Nf6 15.c5 exd4 16.Nxd4 f4 17.Bf2 Nxc5 18.Bc4+ d5 19.Nxc6 bxc6 20.Bxc5 Rf7 21.Rfe1 Rb8 22.Re2 Bf8 23.Bxf8 Qxf8 24.Qxf4 Nd7 25.Qg5+ Rg7 26.Bxd5+ cxd5 27.Qxd5+ Kh8 28.Ne4 Bb7 29.Qd6 Qg8 0-1

Burn - Blackburne, New York 1889

2009-06-03T02:31:00.000-07:00

Amos Burn was a strong player in his day, but he was most at home with slow maneuvering in closed positions. Blackburne was very much the opposite. Here Burn plays the first combination, but he is swiftly felled by a flurry of counterpunches.

Burn - Blackburne
New York, 1889
C66 RUY LOPEZ, Steinitz Defense

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0–0 d6 5. d4 exd4 6. Nxd4 Bd7 7. Nc3 Be7 8. Be3

Plausible, but the Bishop is not well-placed here. Better is 8. Nde2 (avoiding exchanges), or Tarrasch’s 8. b3.

8. ... 0-0 9. Be2 Re8 10. Bf3 Bf8 11. Bg5 h6 12. Bc1

White’s maneuvers might make sense if Black were committed to remaining passive. Instead, he correctly prepares to open the center.

12. ... g5 13. g3 Nxd4 14. Qxd4 Bg7 15. Qd1 Bc6 16. Re1 Qd7 17. Bg2 Re7 18. Qd3 Rae8 19. Bd2 Ng4 20. f3 Ne5 21. Qf1 d5 22. Rad1 dxe4

Perhaps White thought he had prevented this because of the discovered attack.

23. Bxg5

(Diagram)

23. ... exf3!

If so, he was wrong.

24. Bh1

If 24. Rxd7 fxg2 25. Rxe7 (25. Qf4 Nf3+ 26. Kf2 Nxg5 27. Rexe7 Nh3+ 28. Ke2 Rxe7+ 29. Rxe7 Nxf4+ is crushing) 25. ... gxf1Q+ 26. Rxf1 hxg5 leaves Black with two Bishops for a Rook.

24. ... Nd3 25. Rxe7 Bd4+ 26. Be3 Rxe7 27. Qxd3 Rxe3 28. Qxd4 Re1+ 29. Kf2 Qxd4+ 30. Rxd4 Rxh1

Black is only a pawn ahead, but the protected passer on f3 towers over the board.

31. h4 Rc1 32. Ne4 Rxc2+ 33. Kxf3

White could play on for a while three pawns down with 33. Nd2 Rxb2 34. a3 Ra2 35. Rd3 Bb5 36. Rd5 c5, but he chooses a quick death.

33. ... f5 0–1

Anderssen - Kieseritzky, London, 1851

2009-05-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

One of Anderssen’s masterpieces, known as the “Immortal Game.” Black neglects his development, and Anderssen offers both Rooks to show that two active pieces are worth more than a dozen sleeping at home.

Anderssen - Kieseritzky
London, 1851
C33 KING’S BISHOP’S GAMBIT

1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Bc4 Qh4+ 4. Kf1 b5 5. Bxb5 Nf6 6. Nf3 Qh6 7. d3 Nh5 8. Nh4 Qg5 9. Nf5 c6 10. g4 Nf6 11. Rg1 cxb5 12. h4 Qg6 13. h5 Qg5 14. Qf3

Now threatening to trap the Black Queen with 15. Bxf4.

14. ... Ng8 15. Bxf4 Qf6 16. Nc3 Bc5 17. Nd5 Qxb2 18. Bd6!?

Robert Huebner wrote a very long article anbout this game, in which he claimed that this move was inferior, preferring the rather prosaic 18. d4. The main point of Andersson’s move is to divert the Black Queen from the a1-h8 diagonal. Now Black cannot play 18. ... Bxd6? 19. Nxd6+ Kd8 20. Nxf7+ Ke8 21. Nd6+ Kd8 22. Qf8 mate.

(Diagram)

18. ... Qxa1+

According to Huebner, Black can put up a fight with 18. ... Qxa1+ 19. Ke2 Qb2! 20. Kd2 Bxg1, gaining a useful tempo.

19. Ke2 Bxg1

And not 19. .. Qxg1 20. Nxg7+ Kd8 21. Bc7 mate.

20. e5! Na6

More resistance could have been offered by 20. ... Ba6, but White should still win after 21. Nc7+ Kd8 22. Nxa6 Bb6 23. Qxa8.

21. Nxg7+ Kd8 22. Qf6+! Nxf6 23. Be7 mate

Four on top

2009-05-25T18:54:00.000-07:00

The four top-rated players have tied for first in the 2009 Memorial Day Classic. GM Melikset Khachiyan, IMs Enrico Sevillano and Andranik Matikozyan, and Senior Master John Bryant played a round-robin on the final day, and with all games drawn the four tied for first with 4.5-1.5. Khachiyan had the best tiebreaks, and will have his name engraved on the permanent rotating trophy. In other action, Bobby Hall and Chris McKay tied for first in the Premier, Bret Strunk, David Minasyan, Don Bolt and Christian Garcia topped the Amateur, and Virgil Sezonov, Alexander Xie and Jonathan Homidan took top honors in the Reserve. Craig Faber, William Pennucci and Henry Castro tied for first in the Action, while Robert Oesterlein and W. Gary Good split one of the Hex sections, while Willis Kim and Robert Hatfield tied in the other. Click here for standings of all sections, and a selection of games in Java viewer or PGN.

(Photos: Andranik Matikozyan faces off against Enrico Sevillano, while John Bryant (in the red shirt) battles Khachiyan.)

Memorial Day Classic, day 2

2009-05-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

After the merge, GM Melikset Khachiyan and IM Andranik Matikozyan led the field with 3-0, but their first-board draw allowed IM Enrico Sevillano and John Daniel Bryant to join them in the lead. Click here for standings, or click here for Round 5 pairings (subject to change).

In the one-day Scholastic, both sections saw perfect 5-0 scores, with Sean Manross taking the Open and Hovanes Salvaryan the Reserve.

Michael Brown – Michael Casella [E92]
Memorial Day Classic, Los Angeles 2009
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0–0 6.Nf3 e5 7.Be3 h6 8.0–0 Ng4 9.Bc1 Nc6 10.d5 Ne7 11.Nd2 f5 12.exf5 gxf5 13.Bxg4 fxg4 14.Nde4 Bd7 15.Be3 Nf5 16.Qd2 a6 17.b4 Qe8 18.Rae1 Qg6 19.Ng3 h5 20.c5 Nd4 21.Nge4 h4 22.Ng5 h3 23.gxh3 Nf3+ 24.Nxf3 gxf3+ 25.Bg5 Rf4 26.h4 Rxh4 27.Kh1 Rxh2+ 0–1

Memorial Day Classic update

2009-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

After two rounds, four players are tied for the lead with 2-0 -- GM Melikset Khachiyan, IMs Enrico Sevillano and Jack Peters, and Senior Master John Daniel Bryant. Standings and round-3 pairings are posted. Note that the pairings are subject to change until 10:20 a.m.

IM Enrico Sevillano – Craig Faber [B01]
Memorial Day Classic, Los Angeles 2009
1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 c6 5.Bd3 Nf6 6.Nge2 Bg4 7.f3 Bh5 8.0–0 e6 9.Qe1 Bg6 10.Be4 Nbd7 11.Bf4 Nxe4 12.fxe4 Bb4 13.a3 Bxc3 14.Nxc3 0–0 15.Kh1 Rfe8 16.e5 Bxc2 17.Qe2 Bg6 18.h4 h5 19.Ne4 Bxe4 20.Qxe4 Qd5 21.Qe2 g6 22.Qf2 f5 23.exf6 Kf7 24.Rae1 a5 25.Qe3 Rh8 26.Rf3 Nb6 27.Qb3 Ra6 28.Bc7 Qxb3 29.Rxb3 Nd5 30.Rxb7 1–0

Ernesto Soto – Renae Robles [B01]
Memorial Day Classic, Los Angeles 2009

1.e4 d5 2.d4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Bf5 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 Nf6 6.Bd3 Bg4 7.0–0 c6 8.Bc4 e6 9.h3 Bxf3 10.Rxf3 Be7 11.Rg3 g6 12.Bh6 Bf8 13.Bxf8 Kxf8 14.Qd2 h5 15.Rf1 Kg7 16.Rgf3 Nbd7 17.Ne4 Nxe4 18.Rxf7+ Kg8 19.Bxe6 Ndf6 20.R7xf6+ 1–0

Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic, day 1

2009-05-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic is off to a good start, with 71 players in the 3-day schedule (led by GM Melikset Khachiyan and IMs Enrico Sevillano and Jack Peters), and at least 40 more joining in tomorrow. Standings are posted here, and will be updated throughout the weekend.

GM Melikset Khachiyan – Carlos Garcia [C41]

Memorial Day Classic, Los Angeles 2009

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.g3 Nc6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.Bg2 Ba6 9.Ne2 Ne7 10.0–0 0–0 11.Re1 Qd7 12.Nf4 Rae8 13.c3 Nc8 14.Be3 Nb6 15.Bd4 Be5 16.Bxe5 dxe5 17.Ne2 Rd8 18.Qxd7 Rxd7 19.b3 Rfd8 20.c4 Rd2 21.Nc3 Rc2 22.Rec1 Rxc1+ 23.Rxc1 Rd2 24.Bh3 Kg7 25.Kg2 Kf6 26.Kf3 Ke7 27.Ke3 Rb2 28.Bf1 Nd7 29.Bd3 Nc5 30.Bb1 Bc8 31.Nd1 Rxb1 32.Rxb1 Ne6 33.Nb2 Nd4 34.Nd3 f6 35.f4 1–0

Carl Pilnick – IM Jack Peters [E63]

Memorial Day Classic, Los Angeles 2009

1.c4 g6 2.Nc3 Bg7 3.g3 d6 4.d4 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Bg2 0–0 7.0–0 a6 8.b3 Rb8 9.Bb2 b5 10.cxb5 axb5 11.d5 Na5 12.e3 b4 13.Ne2 e6 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Rc1 Qe7 16.Qc2 Ba6 17.Rfe1 c5 18.Bxf6 Qxf6 19.Nf4 Bb7 20.e4 Bh6 21.Nh3 Bxc1 0–1

USCF Election: Dark is the day

2009-05-06T17:27:00.000-07:00

It is the logic of our times
No subject for immortal verse
That we who lived by honest dreams
Defend the bad against the worse.

We’re two months closer to the USCF election. The candidates have had two chances to present their cases in Chess Life, but from where I’m sitting little has changed. I gave more detail in my earlier post, but here’s the Cliffs Notes version.

Reasonable
Michael Atkins – Active TD in the MD-VA area. He’s shown a certain lack of restraint with regard to the USCF’s legal problems, but he’s qualified for the job.
Jim Berry – Coming off a two-year term. I am generally unenthusiastic about people running for re-election, but he’s done well enough.
Ruth Haring – Experienced player (she competed in the U.S. Women’s Championship a few times), excellent real-world credentials. A shot in the dark, but worth a try.

Marginal
Mike Nietman – I don’t know him well. Personally pleasant. Mainly a scholastic person, which is not a plus in my book but not disqualifying either.
Bill Goichberg – I wish I could rank him higher. I have enormous respect for Bill’s accomplishments, but he’s a lightning rod for controversy and he’s been on the Board too long. He’s served with honor; now he should step aside with honor.
Mikhail Korenman – He did a good job a few years ago with the “Karpov Chess School” in Lindsborg, Kansas, but his performance since then has been unimpressive. Seems to lack follow-through.
Eric Hecht – He was one of Blas Lugo’s backers for the Miami Open (see below). Unless he dissociates himself from that fiasco (which he hasn’t even tried to do yet), I have to rate him as unacceptable.

Awful
Blas Lugo – IM and tournament organizer from Florida. Only one problem, but it’s a big one – at last year’s Miami Open, he reneged on a guaranteed prize fund, shorting the players by several thousand dollars. If you’ve ever played in a tournament and expected to receive your prize, don’t vote for him.
Brian Mottershead & Brian Lafferty – A pair of nasty, backbiting trolls with zero knowledge or experience in chess, who think they should be able to start at the top. In a better year, their candidacies would be a joke. Let’s make it so.
Sam Sloan – Perpetual candidate. Serial and vexatious litigant. Ratbag of note. If you want to cast a protest vote, write in Mickey Mouse. He’d do a better job.

Verlinski-Alekhine, St. Petersburg 1909

2009-04-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

An early example of Alekhine’s mastery of active piece play, as his two Bishops prove far more impressive than White’s pawn majority.

Verlinski - Alekhine
St. Petersburg 1909
C68 RUY LOPEZ, Exchange Variation

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. d4 exd4 6. Qxd4 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 c5 8. Ne2 Bd7 9. b3 c4 10. bxc4 Ba4 11. c3 0-0-0 12. Nd2 Bc2 13. f3 Bc5 14. a4 Nf6 15. Ba3 Be3 16. Nf1 Ba7 17. a5 Rd3 18. c5 Rhd8 19. Kf2 Nd7 20. Ne3 Nxc5 21. Nd4

Alekhine points out that 21. Nxc2 leads to mate after 21. ... Nxe4+, e.g. 22. Ke1 Rd1+ 23. Rxd1 Bf2+ 24. Kf1 Rxd1+ 25. Ne1 Rxe1 mate.

21. ... Bb3 22. Ke2

The c3-pawn cannot be defended, for both 22. Rhc1 and 22. Bb2 run into 22. ... R3xd4 and 23. ... Nd3+.

22. ... Rxc3 23. Bb2

(Diagram)

23. ... Rxe3+! 24. Kxe3 Ne6 25. Ra3

Defending the piece with 25. Rhd1 leads to a lost King and pawn ending: 25. ... Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Nxd4 27. Bxd4 Bxd4+ 28. Rxd4 Rxd4 29. Kxd4 Kd7 30. Kd5 b6.

25. ... Nxd4 26. Kf4 Bc5 27. Rha1 Ne2+ 28. Kg4 Be6+, White resigns

Westwood Spring Open

2009-04-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

The Westwood Spring Open, held at the Los Angeles Chess Club, had a fair turnout of 37, led by IM Enrico Sevillano. Sevillano, however, was upset in the first round by expert Robert Akopian. After three rounds, the leaders are masters John Daniel Bryant and Garush Manukuyan, with 3-0. Click here for standings, which will be updated throughout the day.

Prize Winners
Open
1st-3rd: IM Enrico Sevillano, John Daniel Bryant, Garush Manukyan, 4-1; U2200: Joshua Gutman, Robert Akopian, 3-2; U2000: Remigio Pampliega, 3-2.

Reserve
1st-2nd & U1600: Wendell Salveron, Minas Badikyan, Leo Castro, 4-1; U1400: Ezekiel Liu, 2.5-2.5; U1200: John Yu, 2-3.

Tarrasch - Lasker, 2nd match game 1908

2009-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

Emanuel Lasker’s style is not an easy one to grasp. Did he deliberately make inferior moves to “provoke” his opponents? Could his many victories form difficult positions be the result of luck? Perhaps – but the strong make their own luck, as this game demonstrates. With his position under pressure, Lasker invites a combination, from which White may obtain either an extra pawn or a strong attack. Tarrasch chooses the former, and is subsequently outplayed. Would a player like Marshall have done better with the White position at move 15? Probably, but Lasker would not have played this way against Marshall …

Tarrasch - Lasker
2nd Match Game, Dusseldorf 1908
C66 RUY LOPEZ, Steinitz Defense

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Re1 exd4

Black would like to maintain a pawn on e5, but 7. ... 0-0 was rudely handled in Tarrasch – Marco, Dresden, 1892: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 d6 5. d4 Bd7 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Re1 0-0 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. dxe5 dxe5 10. Qxd8 Raxd8 11. Nxe5 Bxe4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Nd3 f5 14. f3 Bc5+ 15. Nxc5 Nxc5 16. Bg5 Rd5 17. Be7, Black resigns. Any move by the Rook at f8 is met by 18. c5, winning material. This little trap has recurred in master play on at least two occasions, and among lesser folk many more. (I’ve won the same game at least twice.)

8. Nxd4 0-0 9. Nxc6 Bxc6 10. Bxc6 bxc6 11. Ne2

White plans to transfer his Knight to f5 via g3. The move is tactically justified by 11. … Nxe4? 12. Nd4, threatening Nxc6 as well as Rxe4.

11. … Qd7 12. Ng3 Rfe8?!

A more logical deployment of the Rooks would be at d8 and b8.
13. b3 Rad8 14. Bb2 Ng4 15. Bxg7 Nxf2 16. Kxf2 Kxg7 17. Nf5+ Kh8 18. Qd4+ f6 19. Qxa7 Bf8

Black's Kingside has been shattered, and now he loses a pawn. But cashing in on material now proves to be the wrong idea, as it takes the White Queen out of play just long enough for Black to seize the initiative. Note how he uses the dark squares in general and e5 in particular.

20. Qd4 Re5 21. Rad1 Rde8 22. Qc3 Qf7 23. Ng3 Bh6 24. Qf3 d5 25. exd5 Be3+ 26. Kf1 cxd5 27. Rd3 Qe6 28. Re2 f5 29. Rd1 f4

(Diagram)

30. Nh1 d4 31. Nf2 Qa6 32. Nd3 Rg5 33. Ra1 Qh6 34. Ke1 Qxh2 35. Kd1 Qg1+ 36. Ne1 Rge5 37. Qc6 R5e6 38. Qxc7 R8e7 39. Qd8+ Kg7 40. a4 f3 41. gxf3 Bg5, White resigns

Speaking sense

2009-04-05T18:47:00.000-07:00

Wick Deer has started a USCF politics blog, which so far has had a lot of sensible things to say. I especially liked this one.

Rotlewi - Rubinstein, Lodz 1907

2009-03-22T01:16:00.000-07:00

In contrast to his great rival, Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein was a player of calmness and simplicity; his victories seem as inevitable as the rising tide. Here he demonstrates the value of time in a symmetrical position. White’s first loss of tempo permits Black equality; the second invites a brilliant, devastating – and logical – mating attack.

Rotlewi – Rubinstein
Lodz, 1907
D40 QUEEN’S GAMBIT DECLINED

1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 c5 4. c4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. dxc5

Not exactly a mistake, but by making this capture before Black’s Bishop has moved from f8, White risks a loss of tempo if a later Bf1-d3 is answered by ... d5xc4.

6. ... Bxc5 7. a3 a6 8. b4 Bd6 9. Bb2 0-0 10. Qd2

Another inaccuracy; it is clear that Black will soon open the d-file and place a Rook on d8, forcing the White Queen to move again.

10. ... Qe7 11. Bd3 dxc4 12. Bxc4 b5 13. Bd3 Rd8 14. Qe2 Bb7 15. 0-0

Time to take stock. The pieces of both sides are posted symmetrically, but Black has the useful extra move ... Rf8-d8, and it is still his move. Rubinstein begins by exchanging off one of the Kingside defenders.

15. ... Ne5 16. Nxe5 Bxe5 17. f4 Bc7 18. e4

White’s undeveloped position can’t stand this; he had to try Rfd1, though Black still stands better with his active Bishops.

18. ... Rac8 19. e5 Bb6+ 20. Kh1 Ng4 21. Be4

Black is well on top after 21. Qxg4 Rxd3, and 21. Ne4 runs into 21. ... Rxd3 22. Qxd3 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Qh4 24. h3 Qg3 25. hxg4 Qh4 mate.

21. ... Qh4 22. g3

Also insufficient was 22. h3 Rxc3, e.g. 23. Qxg4 Rxh3+ 24. Qxh3 Qxh3+ 25. gxh3 Bxe4+ 26. Kh2 Rd2+ 27. Kg3 Rg2+ followed by mate, or 23. Bxc3 Bxe4 24. Qxg4 Qxg4 25. hxg4 Rd3, and White must lose the Bishop on c3 in view of the threat of 26. ... Rxh3 mate.

(Diagram)

22. ... Rxc3!

A wonderful combination, which includes the motifs of overloading and removing the guard.

23. gxh4

Other moves are no better: 23. Bxc3 Bxe4+ 24. Qxe4 Qxh2 mate, or 23. Bxb7 Rxg3 24. Rf3 (Black threatened ... Nxh2 and ... Rh3) 24. ... Rxf3 25. Bxf3 Nf2+ 26. Kg1 Ne4+ 27. Kf1 Nd2+ 28. Kg2 Nxf3 29. Qxf3 Rd2+ and wins.

23. ... Rd2!

The final point. Hopeless now are a) 24. Qxg4 Bxe4+ 25. Rf3 Rxf3, b) 24. Bxc3 Rxe2 threatening both ... Rxh2+ and ... Bxe4+, and c) 24 Bxb7 Rxe2 25. Bg2 Rh3!

24. Qxd2 Bxe4+ 25. Qg2 Rh3!, White resigns

For White must soon be mated.

Western Pacific Open final

2009-03-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

IM Enrico Sevillano took first place in the 7th Annual Western Pacific Open, held at the LAX Hilton March 13-15, with 4.5 out of 5. Next at 4-1 were IM Jack Peters (who drew with Sevillano in the final round), Garush Manukuyan, and Gregg Small. In the Amateur (U2000) section, 10th-ranked Ryan Polsky had a tremendous tournament, scoring 4.5 and gaining over 60 rating points. Complete standings are posted on the Western Chess web page.

Prize Winners

Open
1st: IM Enrico Sevillano, 4½-½; 2nd-4th: IM Jack Peters, Garush Manukyan, Gregg Small, 4-1; 5th: John Daniel Bryant, Ryan Porter, 3½-1½; U2200: Ryan Richardson, Varun Krishnan, 3-2.

Amateur
1st: Ryan Polsky, 4½-½; 2nd-3rd: Gautam Nipanikar, Kenneth Poole, Steven Morford, 4-1; 1st-2nd U1800: Jason Kammerdiner, Michael Bynum, 3½-1½; 3rd U1800: Ernesto Soto, Ronald Morriss, 3½-1½; 1st-2nd U1600: Michael Phalen, David Connors, 3-2; 3rd U1600: Babken Krbashian, Crescen Tolentino, 2½-2½; U1400: Joseph Reynolds, 2½-2½; U1200: Jospeh Calderon, 2-3; Unrated: Hovhanes Melkonyan, 1½-3½

Hexes
Section 1: Ray Wong, 2½-½
Section 2: Bryan Shapiro, Zaven Khachiyan, Antonio Malapira, Elijah Ullman, 2-1

SCCF State Scholastic Championships final

2009-03-15T19:10:00.001-07:00

All four sections of the 2009 SCCF State Scholastic Championships produced clear winners. First place in the High School section, and an invitation to the Denker Tournament of High School Champions, went to Vincent Huang with 4.5 out of 5. Tied for second and third a half point behind were Jared Tan and Michael Yee. Top team was University High of Irvine, with Vincent Huang, Aaron Ong, Aldrich Ong, Robert Khachatryan, David Shin, and Paul Raymond Duncan.

Jeffrey Ding topped the Junior High with 6-1. David Minasyan scored 6.5 in the Elementary (Grade 6-below), with Coalinga taking Top Team. Coalinga also took the team prize in the Primary (Grade 3-below) while Leo Kamgar scored 6.5 to take individual honors. And "Beyond Chess" took home the non-school club trophy in every section!

Randy Hough directed, with assistance from Anthony Ong and Ivona Jezierska. Click here for complete standings of all sections.

Pictured above: High School Champion Vincent Huang; Junior High winner Jeffrey Ding with trophy; the winning team from University High of Irvine (Vincent Huang, Aaron Ong, Aldich Ong, Robert Khachatryan, David Shin, and Paul Raymond Duncan).

Western Pacific Open & SCCF Scholastic Championships

2009-03-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

These combined events at the LAX Hilton saw good turnouts in both. The WPO attracted 79, including three IMs, despite man "regulars playing for the state scholastic titles instead. The Scholastic Championships saw 151 compete in fur sections. Click here for standings of the WPO after three rounds, or here for standings of the Scholastics.

IM Jack Peters – Craig Faber

7th Western Pacific Open, Los Angeles 2009

B01 CENTER COUNTER DEFNSE

1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qa5 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.0–0 e6 8.Nh4 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.Bf4 Nbd7 11.a3 Nh5 12.b4 Qd8 13.Be3 a6 14.Re1 Be7 15.Ne4 Nb6 16.Bb3 Nf6 17.Nc5 Qc7 18.g3 Nfd5 19.Bd2 0–0–0 20.Qf3 Nf6 21.Bf4 Bd6 22.Be5 Rh5 23.Nd3 Rdh8 24.h4 g5 25.Bxd6 Qxd6 26.Ne5 g4 27.Nxf7 gxf3 28.Nxd6+ Kc7 29.Nf7 1–0

Jeremy Treadwell – Gautam Nipanikar

7th Western Pacific Open U2000, Los Angeles 2009

B23 SICILIAN DEFENSE, Rossolimo Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 d6 3.f4 e6 4.Nf3 Nf6 5.Bb5+ Nc6 6.0–0 Bd7 7.Bxc6 Bxc6 8.d3 Be7 9.Qe1 0–0 10.Bd2 b5 11.Nd1 a5 12.Nf2 Qc7 13.g4 Nd7 14.Nh3 Rae8 15.Nhg5 b4 16.h4 Qb7 17.c4 Bd8 18.Qg3 f6 19.Rf2 fxg5 20.hxg5 g6 21.Rh2 Rf7 22.Qh3 d5 23.f5 Bc7 24.Rh1 exf5 25.gxf5 gxf5 26.g6 Rg7 27.Ng5 Nf6 28.cxd5 Bd7 29.gxh7+ Kh8 30.Kf2 fxe4 31.Ne6 Bg3+ 0–1

Nathaniel Lagemann – IM Jack Peters

7th Western Pacific Open, Los Angeles 2009

B33 SICILIAN DEFENSE, Scheveningen Variation

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 Nf6 6.Bd3 e6 7.Nc3 a6 8.0–0 d6 9.Be3 Qc7 10.f4 Be7 11.Kh1 b5 12.Qe2 Bb7 13.Bg1 0–0 14.Rf3 Rfe8 15.Rh3 g6 16.Nb1 e5 17.Qf2 d5 18.exd5 Nxd5 19.fxe5 Nxe5 20.Be4 Ng4 21.Qg3 Bd6 22.Qxg4 Rxe4 23.Qg5 Nf4 24.Rf3 Re2 0–1

Lasker-Napier, Cambridge Springs 1904

2009-02-23T15:42:00.001-08:00

It is not often that a player will name one of his losses as the best game he ever played, but such was the case with William Napier’s celebrated game against Emanuel Lasker. In many ways this game is archetypical of Lasker’s play; it mattered little to him whether he stood better or worse, as long as he could maintain the tension.

Lasker - Napier
Cambridge Springs, 1904
B34 SICILIAN DEFENSE, Dragon Variation

1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 g6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 Bg7 6. Be3 d6 7. h3

The usual plans for White in thsi “Dragon” variation are Be2 followed by f2-f4, or f2-f3 along with 0-0-0 and a pawn attack on the Kingside. White chooses instead to advance his Kingside pawns before castling, and Black correctly responds by opening the center.

7. ... Nf6 8. g4 0-0 9. g5 Ne8 10. h4 Nc7 11. f4 e5 12. Nde2 d5

Logical, but safer was the preparatory 12. ... Bg4. The text leads to unfathomable complications, which at first glance—and even second or third—seem to favor Black.

13. exd5 Nd4 14. Nxd4 Nxd5

A strong intermediate move; after 15. Nxd5 exd4 Black recovers all of his material with advantage.

15. Nf5 Nxc3 16. Qxd8 Rxd8 17. Ne7+ Kh8

Note how long the Black Knight remains untouched at c3. Now neither 18. Nxc8 Nd5 nor 18. bxc3 exf4 19. Bd4 Bxd4 20. cxd4 Re8 are satisfactory for White.

18. h5

With the sudden threat of 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. Nxg6+ Kg8 21. Bc4+ Nd5 22. Bxd5+ Rxd5 23. Ne7+.

18. ... Re8 19. Bc5 gxh5

Preventing the threat described above. White still does not wish to take the Nc3, for after 20. bxc3 Bf8 21. Bb5 Rxe7 22. Bxe7 Bxe7 Black would have more than enough for the Exchange.

20. Bc4 exf4 21. Bxf7 Ne4

A very fine conception, which might well have succeeded against a lesser opponent.

22. Bxe8 Bxb2 23. Rb1 Bc3+ 24. Kf1 Bg4

Despite his extra Rook, White’s position is none too happy – Black threatens ... Rxe8, ... Nxc5, ... Nd2+ and ... Ng3+. But now Lasker returns all the material to retake the initiative, and soon proves that the Black King is less safe than the White.

(Diagram)

25. Bxh5! Bxh5 26. Rxh5 Ng3+ 27. Kg2 Nxh5 28. Rxb7 a5 29. Rb3 Bg7 30. Rh3 Ng3 31. Kf3

The once exposed White King becomes a strong attacking pieces, and the Black pawn on f4 cannot be held, as 31. ... Be5 is met by 32. Ng6+.

31. ... Ra6 32. Kxf4 Ne2+ 33. Kf5 Nc3 34. a3 Na4 35. Be3 1-0

For there is no good defense to the threat of g5-g6.

Amateur Team West final

2009-02-17T02:16:00.000-08:00

Four teams tied with 5-1 in the 26th Annual U.S. Amateur Team West. First on tiebreak were the "ACA Beasts!," with John Daniel Bryant, Michael Yee, Vincent Huang and Santy Wong. Second went to "Yellow is Mellow" (Joel Banawa, Cau Duong Le, Takashi Kurosaki, Jonathan Soo Hoo and Stewart Yanez), and third to "OC Chess Club" (Alexandre Kretchetov, Takashi Iwamoto, Krishna Kaliannan and Michael Brown). "ACA Chess Club" (Enrico Sevillano, Andranik Matikozyan, Robert Feldstein and Michael Ambartsoumian) had to be content with the honor, though both Sevillano and Matikozyan (6-0!) took home board prizes. American Chess Academy deserves special mention, as in addition to first their teams won top Junior ("ACA -- The Dark Knights") and top U1800 ("ACA Youth"). Class prize winners are listed below, and you can click here for final standings.

U2100: Temple City High Rams (Tianye He, Roberet Xue, Terence Subn, Jim Chen Lee)
U2000: The Thompson Guide (Lawrence Stevens, Francisco Alonso, Tim Thompson, Ron Morris)
U1800: ACA Youth (Samuel Sevian, Paul Richter, David Minasyn, Daniel Mousseri)
U1600: Knights of Barook Opawma (Jay Stallings, Cheston Gunawan, Jackson Stallings, Thomas Emery Hart)
U1400: Voyage to the Bottom of the Pairings (Alan Karman, Daniel Giordani, Patrick Dailey, Debra Rothman)
College: Unrated Trojan Horse Surprise/USC (Riddhi Shah, Martin Diekhoff, Mohul Oswal, Junda Chen, Morgan Jones)
Junior: ACA -- The Dark Knights (Daniel Naroditsky, Christian Tanaka, Jared Tan, Eric Zhang)
Industrial: Northrop Grumman Advantage in Space (Phillip Jacobson, Robert Potts, Larry Miller, Sepehr Ebrahimi, David Anthopoulos)

Board Prizes
Board 1: IM Enrico Sevillano
Board 2: IM Andranik Matikozyan
Board 3: John Williams
Board 4: Jonathan Soo Hoo
Alternate: John Anderson

Team Name
1st: Voyage to the Bottom of the Pairings
2nd: Houston, We Have a Mate in Two Problem

Two and a half Beasts: Above, non-playing captain Jerry Yee receives the first-place trophy along with Michael Yee and Santy Wong, as John Daniel Bryant and Vincent Huang had already left for home.

Scholastic Team final

2009-02-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

First place in the 12th Annual Scholastic Amateur Team went to "BEYOND challenge" with 4-0. on tiebreak over "Troy High." Click here for complete standings. Photo: Harrison Chen, Justin Tay, Adrian Chang, "BEYOND chess" coach IM Ben Deng, and Albert Lu.

U.S. Amateur Team West, day 2

2009-02-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

Sunday at the Amateur Team means the Scholastic tournament. This year saw a good turnout of 33 teams and 133 players. First round results are now posted, along with the first two rounds of the main event. Above: The Scholastic at the start of round 2; the Warner Center Marriott; and two of the cuter hotel guests. (We're sharing the Ballroom with a dog show, and today seems to be cocker spaniel day).

26th Annual U.S. Amateur Team West

2009-02-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

The 2009 edition of Southern California's premier team event moved to a fine new site at the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills. The main event saw a good turnout of 46 teams and 202 players, with the one-day Scholastic still to come. Round-by-round standings will be available throughout the weekend. Here are a couple of photos, of the main playing room and the round two top-board encounter between IM Jack Peters and Joel Banawa.