Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter #538
It's actually a problem of modern chess, that computer programs are getting stronger and stronger and are neutralizing lots of opening that were considered rich and varied, and had been played for years. And that's quite sad, from the point of view of the game. I can't say I like it, but we're professionals and we have to deal with it. You have to learn to live with it somehow. It's a sport. You have to try and win. Before it was easier, it has to be said, particularly if you wanted, first and foremost, to play chess, and not to compete in analysis.
Vladimir Kramnik interviewed after game one of his Candidates Semi-finals match with Grischuk.
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter 2) Nakamura and Robson win in Saint Louis 3) Here and There 4) Upcoming Events
1) Mechanics' Institute Chess Club Newsletter 6-time US Champion Walter Browne, who turned 62 this past January, and 15-year-old Daniel Naroditsky shared top honors in the 5th Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz held May 14th at the Mechanics' Institute. The two winners, who scored 9 from 10, each received $250 for their efforts. Tying for third at 8 points in the 50-player event (an MI attendance record for a blitz tournament and possibly for the Bay Area as well) ahead of many GMs and IMs were NMs Sevan Buscara and Andy Lee and experts Carlos D'Avila and Arthur Ismakov. The latter, is a well-known blitz aficionado and he proved it again at the Schutt defeating both GM Jesse Kraai and IM Vladimir Mezentsev by scores of 2-0. Other top finishers: GM Jesse Kraai, NMs Michael Pearson and Dennis Fritzinger 7 GM Vinay Bhat, IM Jacek Stopa, NMs Arun Sharma and Yian Liou 6.5 Among those on 6 points were NMs Craig Mar, Samuel Sevian and FM Eric Schiller. Three GMs and four IMs were among the 19 players competing who were rated over 2200. This event was made possible by the generosity of the Schutt family and a good time was had by all. Six pages of photos taken by Mark Shelton at this event can be found at http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=vetfp5dab&et=1105772527152&s=3330&e=001To3qgpuWqO-X5vHFnpqASq81nEpp3CtsJRBGTFlXlzWRdSz54Kequ46_2_wC6VXuReok5VgEooKZfS0mhEfcMok_6Md_bdPyzISaf9KJZJ23Gx6SBgBHQ6OvJQm2Ncd92u4ONxY1WFihGFBSF9E-T28UZrbZeZGDhRSzxl4EdiEVIkgULOxS-Q== . The next big MI blitz tournament will be the Neil Falconer on Sunday July 31st. Here are three games from one of the tournaments. Thanks to Walter Browne for sending them in and supplying light notes. Rumph,Todd (2152) - Harris,John (1693) [A15] TMN Summer 2011 San Francisco (1), 2011 1.c4 Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.cxd5 Qxd5?! 3...Nxd5 can lead to a Reverse Dragon: 4.Bg2 e5 (or a Symmetric English or even a Grunfeld with 4...c5 5.Nc3) 5.Nc3 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6. 4.Nf3 e5 5.Nc3 Qd6 Also playable are 5...Qd8 and 5...Qa5. 6.Bg2 c6 Anticipating pressure on the long diagonal. Also possible was 6...Nc6 7.0-0 Bf5?! The bishop may be a target after exchanges on d4. Also, b7 is weakened. 7...Be7 was indicated. 8.d4 Nbd7! 8...e4? 9.Ng5 Qe7 10.Qc2 Na6 11.a3 loses a pawn.; 8...exd4? 9.Nxd4 Bg6 10.Bf4 gives White a clear advantage. 9...Nxe5 10.Nxe5 Qxe5 11.Bf4 11.Qa4 was worth considering. 11...Qe6 12.e4 Bh3 13.e5 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 14.Re1?! Nd5 15.Kxg2 Nxf4+ 16.gxf4 leads to unclear play. 14...Nd7 15.Ne4 f6 15...Be7 16.Nd6+ Bxd6 17.exd6 0-0 18.Re1 Qf5 19.Re7 Rad8 20.Qd4 offers some advantage for White. 16.Re1 Nxe5? 16...fxe5! 17.Ng5 Qf5 18.Qb3! (18.Bxe5 0-0-0 19.Bf4=) 18...0-0-0 19.Qf7 Qf6 (19...Qxf7 20.Nxf7 exf4 21.Nxh8 Bc5 22.Nf7 Rf8 23.Ng5 fxg3 24.fxg3 Rf2+ 25.Kh3 Rxb2 26.Re8+ Kc7 27.Ne6+ Kb6 28.Nxg7 9...Qd3? 20.Ne6 Qd5+ 21.Kg1 Bd6 22.Nxd8±) 20.Be3 is probably an edge for White, but better than the game! 17.Ng5! Qf5? 17...Qe7 18.Bxe5 fxe5 19.Qg4 with an attack. 18.Bxe5 fxe5 19.Qd4!+- Be7 20.Rxe5 Qd7 20...Qxg5 21.Rxg5 Bxg5 22.Qe5+ Be7 23.Re1 winning. 21.Qe4 21.Qxd7+ Kxd7 22.Rd1+ Bd6 (22...Ke8 23.Rde1) 23.Ne4 also wins. 21...Kf8 22.Ne6+ Kf7 22...Ke8 23.Re1+-; 22...Kg8 23.Qc4 b5 24.Qb3 Bd6 25.Ng5+ Kf8 26.Rd1+- 23.Qg4 Rag8 23...Rhg8 24.Qh5+ g6 25.Qxh7+ Kf6 26.Rae1 and 23...g6 24.Rd1 both lead to winning positions for White. 24.Rd1 Qc8 25.Qf5+ Bf6 Or 25...Ke8 26.Nxg7+ Rxg7 27.Qxc8+ Kf7 28.Qe6+ Kf8 29.Rd8+ Bxd8 30.Qe8# 26.Ng5+ 1-0 As. 26...Kf8 27.Qxc8+ Bd8 28.Rxd8 is mate. 2) Nakamura and Robson win in Saint Louis The following game decided the battle between two of the world's elite.
Notes based on the player's comments immediately after the game. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Be7 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bf4 c6 6.Qc2 6.e3 Bf5 was seen in game four. The text, aiming to stop Black's Bishop from coming to f5, is more ambitious. 6...Bd6 6...Nf6 7.e3 Nh5 was used by Aronian to defeat Grischuk in a rapid game in their recent match in Kazan. Ruslan mentioned after this game that he expected Hikaru had an improvement in store for White in this variation. 7.Bxd6 Qxd6 8.e3 Qg6 Jakovenko has experimented several times with 8...Ne7 9.Bd3 b6 10.Nf3 Ba6 Black can also play; 8...Nf6. Ruslan pinned his hopes on the text slowing down the play but he quickly finds himself in a passive position without prospects. 9.Qxg6 White has previously chosen 9.Qd2 and 9.Qb3 which were the moves that Ruslan and his second Ivan Salgado Lopez spent most of their time preparing for. Hikaru played the text instantly. 9...hxg6 10.b4 a6? The text, slowing down White's minority attack with b4-b5 looks very natural but in the post-mortem Hikaru criticized it as possibly the losing move. He said that he realized this might sound a little pretentious but in fact ...a7-a6 gravely weakens Black's queenside pawn structure making the squares c5 and b6 available to White's knights as well as permitting opportunities to play a4-a5 clamping down on Ruslan's potential play on that wing.
White has all the play here with possibilities of e3-e4 and b4-b5.
A third break for White, h2-h4, has also emerged.
19.e4 dxe4 20.fxe4 Nd5! was Black's idea with decent counterplay as 21.exd5 is met by 21...Re3+.
Black's pieces all look to be on decent squares but he has nothing to do but wait until White initiates action.
Hikaru forgoes b4-b5 in favor of clamping down on Black's queenside. The "fixed" pawns on b7 and a6 will remain targets until the end of the game.
Afterwards Ruslan suggested that maybe his rook should have returned to the h-file here with 20...Rh8 but this also takes the pressure off the e-file and allows White to play 21.e4 under favorable circumstances. 21.Rac1 Nfe8 Black would like to bring his rook on a8 into play but 21...Kc7?? is strong met by 22.h4! when Black is losing material due to the indirect threats against d5. 22.Ng3 g6 23.h4! gxh4 24.Rxh4 f5? GM Ponomariov gets tired of waiting and makes an understandible bid for some counterplay but the text only hastens the end. A more solid try was 24...Nc7 but after 25.Rh7 White slowly but surely increases the pressure. 25.gxf5 Nxf5 26.Nxf5 gxf5 27.Rh8 Rb8 28.Na4 Kc7 29.Nb6 Be6 30.Rf8 Rf7 As 30...Nd6 is met by 31.Na8+! winning. 31.Rxf7+ Bxf7 32.Bxf5 Nd6 33.Bd3 A pawn up and with a considerable positional advantage for White - look at Black's pawns on a6 and b7 - the final result is no longer in doubt. 33...Rh8 34.Rg1 Kd8 35.Na4 Nc4 36.Nc5 Rh2+ 37.Rg2 Rxg2+ 38.Kxg2 Kc7 39.Bxc4 dxc4 40.Na4 Be8 41.Nc3 b6 42.e4 Kb7 43.Kf2 c5 44.bxc5 1-0 These matches were made possible by the generosity of Rex and Jeanne Sinquefield.
3) Here and There Ankit Gupta writes about the following event in which Berkeley IM David Pruess finished third with 6 points. The 5th Metropolitan Chess FIDE Invitational dedicated to Sean Christian Reader concluded this weekend on May 15th. It was organized by Ankit Gupta and directed by Randy Hough and Michael Belcher.SM Roman Yankovsky and NM Kayden Troff both achieved IM norms with 7.0 and 6.5 out of 9.0, respectively. This is the final norm for Senior Master Roman Yankovsky, now International Master Elect, who achieved an earlier norm this year at the Berkeley International. This is NM Kayden Troff's first IM norm. Metropolitan Chess, Inc. hosted this International Master norm round robin tournament from May 11 to 15 of 2011. The tournament was sponsored by California Market Center, Fashion Business, Inc, Chess.com, MonRoi, LawyerFy, and Betty Bottom Showroom.Please take a moment to visit the Metropolitan Chess, Inc website at www.metrochessla.com to keep informed of other upcoming events run by the organization.GM Jesse Kraai and IM Enrico Sevillano tied for first in a 10-player IM norm round robin (FIDE average 2331) held May 19-23 in Calgary. The two winners scored 6.5 from 9 just ahead of IMs Edward Porper and Eric Hansen and Expert Dale Haessel who appears to have made an IM norm. The 2011 Western States Open in Reno will be held October 21-23 The SF Jewish Film Festival is screening "Bobby Fischer Against the World" in San Francisco at 2 PM on July 23rd followed by a Q and A session with IM Anthony Saidy who figures prominently in the documentary. The movie also plays at 6:30 PM on August 1st in Berkeley as well as airing on HBO. Darko Sertic was first and Richard Koepcke second in the May Fremont Chess Club blitz.
4) Upcoming Special Events at the Mechanics'
Robsons visit June 14th Ray and Gary Robson will lecture at the Mechanics' on Tuesday, June 14th, from 5:15 to 6:15 pm. This event is free to all. MI Advanced Chess Camp with GM Nick deFirmian - July 24-29 Go to www.chessclub.org for more information.
MECHANICS' TOURNAMENTS (go to www.chessclub.org for more information) 2011 Events 5th Annual Ray Schutt Memorial Blitz - May 15Arthur Stamer Memorial - June 4-5William Addison Open - June 11 Oct. 1 2011 U.S. Game/60 Championship - Santa Clara 4SS, G/60 - $4,000 b/117 fully paid entries - 75% guaranteed. Hotel rate $99 by 9/16: Hyatt Regency, 5101 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Free Parking. In 3 sections, Open Section: $500-201-105, u2300 $200-110, u2100 $150, u2000 $130, u1900 $100. 1400-1799 Section: $500-201-100, u1700 $200, u1600 $150, u1500 $100. Under 1400 Section: $500-201-100, u1300 $200, u1200 $150, u1100 $100. Unrated may play in any section but maximum prize is $100 except no limit in the Open Section. Trophies for top 3 places in each section. Entry Fee: Mailed by Mon 9/26 or online by Tue 9/27: $60. Online 9/28-29 or onsite: $75. Add $20 to play-up in a higher section. DISCOUNTS: $10 off each event if also registering for G/30 on Oct 2. $10 cash rebate onsite if staying at the hotel under chess rate. Byes: One 1/2 pt bye allowed must commit by start of Rd 2. Reenter with 1/2pt bye in Rd 1 for $39. September 2011 Supp, CCA min, TD discretion used to place players accurately. SIDE KIDS EVENT for K-12 students rated under 1000: 4SSxG/60 in 2 sections, 600-999 and under 600. Prizes: Trophies to Top 10 players and Top 5 teams in each section. Best 4 players count for team score. Also trophies to top u800, top u700 in 600-999 section and top u400, top u300, and top u200 in u600 section. EF by Mon 9/26 or online by Tue 9/27: $39. Online 9/28-29 or onsite: $54. Add $10 to play-up in a higher section. Schedule: Onsite Registration 8:30-9:30am; Round Times: 10:00am, 12:30, 3:00, and 5:30pm. Mail payments to: Bay Area Chess, 1590 Oakland Rd., Suite B213, San Jose 95131. $20 for refunds. T: 408-786-5515. E: ask@BayAreaChess.com, Info/Form/Entries: BayAreaChess.com/usg60g30. NS, NC, W.
Oct. 2 2011 U.S. Game/30 Championship - Santa Clara 4SS, G/30 - $3,006 b/88 fully paid entries - 75% guaranteed. Hotel rate $99 by 9/16: Hyatt Regency, 5101 Great America Pkwy, Santa Clara, CA 95054. Free Parking. In 3 sections, Open Section: $400-200-102, u2300 $101, u2100 $101, u2000 $100, u1900 $99. 1400-1799 Section: $400-200-102, u1700 $101, u1600 $100, u1500 $99. Under 1400 Section: $400-200-102, u1300 $101, u1200 $100, u1100 $99. Unrated may play in any section but maximum prize is $100 except no limit in the Open Section. Trophies for top 3 places in each section. Entry Fee mailed by Mon 9/26 or online by Tue 9/27: $60. Online 9/28-29 or onsite: $75. Add $20 to play-up in a higher section. DISCOUNTS: $10 off each if also registering for G/60 on Oct 1. $10 cash rebate onsite if staying at the hotel. Byes: One 1/2 pt bye allowed must commit by start of Rd 2. Reenter with 1/2pt bye in Rd 1 for $39. September 2011 Supp, CCA min, TD discretion used to place players accurately. SIDE KIDS EVENT for K-12 students rated under 1000: 5SSxG/30 in 2 sections, 600-999 and under 600. Trophies to Top 10 players and Top 5 teams in each section. Best 4 players count for team score. Also trophies to top u800, top u700 in 600-999 section and top u400, top u300, and top u200 in u600 section. EF by Mon 9/26 or online by Tue 9/27: $39. Online 9/28-29 or onsite: $54. Add $10 to play-up in a higher section. Schedule: Onsite Registration 8:30-9:30am; Round Times: 10:00am, 12:30, 3:00, and 5:30pm. Mail payments to: Bay Area Chess, 1590 Oakland Rd., Suite B213, San Jose 95131. $20 for refunds. T: 408-786-5515. E: ask@BayAreaChess.com, Info/Form/Entries: BayAreaChess.com/usg60g30. NS, NC, W.
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