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"Without technique, one cannot attain mastery of any form; it is no less impossible in chess."
David Bronstein
1) Charles Powell Memorial 2) MI Wednesday Night Blitz 3) Santa Monica International 4) Shamkovich and Lein to be inducted into USCF Hall of Fame 5) BRAIN VERSUS BEAUTY - CLASH OF THE TITANS 6) Winslow Annotates 7) Here and There 8) Henry Plotkin Annotates 9) MI Chess Camps 10) Upcoming Events 1) Charles Powell MemorialNM Batsaikhan Tserendorj won the 4th annual Charles Powell Memorial held May 15 at the Mechanics' Institute with a 5-0 score. Tying for second in the event at 4-1 were IM Ricardo DeGuzman, David Ray, Dmitry Vaintraub (who beat top-seed DeGuzman) and Nicolas Yap. Anthony Corrales directed the 31-player event. 2) MI Wednesday Night BlitzThe MI Wednesday Night Blitz continues to grow. The May 12 edition had 14 players with Mongolian NM Batsaikhan Tserendorj first with 11.5. Expert Anthony Rozenvasser was second with 10.5 followed by NM Igor Margulis at 10. The weekly blitz event will be held tonight at 7pm. 3) Santa Monica InternationalIsraeli GM Vitali Golod won the Category 9 (2459 FIDE average - 2523 USCF average) Santa Monica International with a score of 6.5 from 9. Former MI member Alan Stein made an IM norm. Standings, with a few games still to be played: 1. GM Golod 6.5; 2-3. GM Mikhalevski and IM Young 5/8; 4-5. FM Stein and IM Matikozian 4.5/8; 6.GM Yudasin 4/8; 7. IM Sevillano 4/9; 8. IM Donaldson 3.5/9; 9. IM Kraai 3/9; 10. FM Pruess 2/8. GM norm = 6.5; IM norm = 4.5. 4) Shamkovich and Lein to be inducted into USCF Hall of FameGMs Leonid Shamkovich and Anatoly Lein will be inducted into the USCF Hall of Fame this August. The two Soviet born GMs came to the United States in the mid-1970s and paved the way for many others who followed in their footsteps. Shamkovich and Lein both had a considerable impact on GMs-to-be John Fedorowicz, Joel Benjamin, Michael Rohde, Michael Wilder and others who learned a lot from playing them in their formative years. 5) BRAIN VERSUS BEAUTY - CLASH OF THE TITANS - BATTLE OF TWO WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONS(NEW YORK, NY; LINDSBORG, KS) The United States Chess Federation (USCF) is pleased to announce the upcoming six-game Brain versus Beauty - Clash of The Titans between the two great World Champions Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar. Legendary World Chess Champions Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar will compete in the most exciting triple chess challenge of Rapid, Blitz and Advanced Chess. This historic and unique match will mark the battle between two of the Greatest World Champions of all time. 7-time World Champion Anatoly Karpov and 4-time Women's World Champion Susan Polgar have been true ambassadors of chess. This time, their historic battle is designed to promote US Chess, the Karpov School of Chess and the Susan Polgar Foundation. On Saturday, September 18, 2004, the Brain versus Beauty - Clash of the Titans Opening Ceremony Chess Parade will be held downtown Lindsborg, KS from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM. The Parade King and Queen -- World Champions Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar - will lead a group of top grandmasters and scholastic teams participated at the Champion's Cup Scholastic Tournament. The media press conference will be held immediately after the Parade. The Battle of Two World Champions will be held at the Bethany College Theater on September 18-19, in 6 exciting matches with 2 Rapid games at the time control of 20 minutes with 5 seconds delay, 2 Blitz games at the time control of 5 minutes with 3 seconds delay and 2 Advanced Chess at the time control of 25 minutes with 5 seconds increments. The United States Chess Federation (USCF) has sanctioned the match as the First Official Brain versus Beauty - Clash of the Titans. The Karpov - Polgar match became available with support from the State of Kansas, City of Lindsborg, Anatoly Karpov Chess School, and Susan Polgar Foundation. CONTACT: Mikhail Korenman or Paul Truong 785-906-0402 or 212-748-9587 mkorenman@yahoo.com or USChessOlympiad@aol.com 6) Winslow Annotates- Part Three
Jeremy Silman,J - Vince McCambridge A70 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 Vince enjoys the Nimzo-Indian, but seems less inclined towards the Queen's Indian; preferring the more combative openings. This delayed Benoni also has the virtue of avoiding various White systems: the Four Pawns Attack, the Bd3/Nge2 line, and the recently quite successful f3/Bg5 method (championed for 20 years by Kortchnoi). Years ago Watson told me preferred this move-order to let his opponents know he wasn't playing the Benko Gambit, so they were more likely to play 4.d5! 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 In the next round Grefe played the highly preemptory 6...a6!? against Jeremy. After 7.a4 g6 he has "gained" as White can't play the system in the present game. But Jeremy has gained also, since after 8.Nd2! Nbd7 (forced0 9.e4 Bg7 10.Be2 (maybe 10.Nc4 is even better!) 10...0-0 11.0-0 Re8 This is a popular enough position, but not with Grefe! He prefers ...Bg4 lines, avoiding the congestion. Now Jeremy perhaps mixed methods: 12.h3 Qc7 13.Ra3 when John advanced with ... 13...c4! ; the pawn was taken and returned, leading to a balanced endgame. 7.Bf4!? A sophisticated system, where most famous encounter was probably Portisch-Fischer, Interzonal 1970. It really is quite logical, putting pressure on the weak d6 pawn (I believe that was Alekhine's reason for condemning the Benoni in his notes to Nimzovich-Marshall, New York 1927!). Benoni players often underestimate it. 7...a6 The alleged "solution" - after 8.a4 Bg7 there are no a4-e8 checks, so Black gets developed. As we shall see things are not so easy, so perhaps theory will return to 7...Bg7. My favorite example is Timman-Ljubojevic, Amsterdam (IBM) 1972; [7...Bg7 8.Qa4+ Bd7 9.Qb3 Qc7 10.e4 0-0 There, that wasn't so tough! 11.Be2 Nh5 12.Be3 Bg4 13.h3 Bxf3 14.Bxf3 Nd7 15.Bxh5 gxh5 16.0-0 Rae8 17.Qc2 (17.Qd1!?) 17...a6 18.a4 Qd8 19.a5 Kh8! 20.Ra4 Qc8!? Lubo is as obtuse as ever! 21.Nd1 b5 22.axb6 Nxb6 23.Ra2 f5 24.Qb3 Qb7 25.exf5 Rxf5 26.Nc3 Bd4 27.Rfa1 Q7 28.Qxb6 Rg8 29.Bxd4 cxd4 30.g3 Rxf2! (0-1, 37). This is why we play the Benoni! 8.e4!? The "solution to the solution". 8...b5 Consistent yes, but perhaps just too risky.As far as I know Jeremy first played this system against me (San Jose, November 1981) It went [8...Nh5 9.Bg5 Qc7 10.Be2 h6 11.Be3 Bg4 12.Qa4+ Bd7 13.Qc2 Bg4 14.Qa4+ Bd7 15.Qc2 Bg4 16.0-0 Nd7 17.a4 Bg7 18.h3 Bxf3 19.Bxf3 Nhf6 20.Be2 0-0 21.b3 Rfe8 22.a5 Re7 23.Ra4 Rae8 24.Rd1 This is a typical enough position, but with our strange move-order I couldn't believe it was actually unoriginal - yet a few days later move-order I saw in Informant 31 Larsen-Christiansen, Mar del Plata 1981!. Larry played 24...b5! (I played 24...c4!? 25.bxc4 Nxe4 26.Nxe4 Rxe4 27.c5!? Rxe3! with more than enough compensation although I went astray in the second time scramble and lost.) 25.axb6 Nxb6 26.Rxa6 Nxe4 27.Nb5 Qb8 28.Bf1 Rb7 29.Bf4 g5 obtaining the advantage (0-1, 68). 9.Qe2! 9.e5 has also been played, but the text is more impressive. 9...Nh5 In the original game, Kuuskkmaa-Salceanu, Cor. 1978, went 9...Ra7 10.e5 Re7 11.Be3 Ng4 12.Ne4 dxe5 13.d6 Rd7 14.Bg5 f6 15.Nxf6+ Nxf6 16.Nxe5 Qa5+ 17.Bd2 Qa4 18.Nc4+ Re7 19.dxe7 1-0. 20.b3 is next. A pretty quick win against the Benoni! So look at Silman-Sanchez, San Jose , December 1981:; 9...Bg4 10.e5 Bxf3 11.gxf3 Nh5 12.exd6+ Kd7 13.Bh3+ f5 14.Qe6# ! Kuuskmaa recommends ; 9...Be7 10.Qc2 0-0 11.Be2 "equal". Needless to say, no Benoni player would be happy with that Bishop; but in our game here Black's pieces really head for some novel squares. 10.Bg5 f6 11.Be3 Bg4 12.h3 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nd7 14.g4 Ng7 15.Qg3 Qe7 16.Bg2 0-0-0! I can't think of another time Black has castled queenside in the Benoni! 17.0-0 h5 18.b4 18.a4? b4 gets closed up. 18...h4?! Even though nothing concrete can be immediately seen on the Kingside, locking it up can't be right. 18...cxb4 19.Qf3 19.Qh2 is concievable, but there is no need to imitate Black's passive piece placement. 19...cxb4 Else 20.a4 liquidates the queenside. 20.Nb1 This is only temporary. 20...Ne5 21.Qe2 Ne8 22.Bb6 Rd7 23.Nd2 f5 Not enough. 24.f4 Nf7 25.Nb3 Bg7 26.e5 c5 is a very good square. 26...dxe5 27.Rac1+ Nc7 28.Nc5 exf4 29.Qf2 29.Nxd7? Bd4+ 30.Kh1 Qxe2 31.Rxc7+ Kd8 32.Rc2+ Bxb6 33.Rxe2 Kxd Jeremy maintains the constriction through the final tactical phase. 29...Rxd5 30.Nxa6 Bc3 31.Nxc7 Rd2 32.Qxd2 Ending it. 32...Bxd2 33.Nd5+ Bxc1 34.Nxe7+ 1-0 7) Here and ThereThe Berkeley Chess School is once again offering summer camps for students in grades K-8. Camps begin June 21st in Berkeley, Danville, San Francisco, and Walnut Creek. International Master and former World Junior Champion David Goodman will be the lead instructor in Berkeleyand National Master Roger Poehlmann will be the lead teacher in Danvilleand Walnut Creek. Please call (510) 843-0150 or visit www.berkeleychessschool.org for more details. World Champion Anatoly Karpov International School of Chess 2004 U.S. Junior Open July 23-25, 2004 Lindsborg, Kansas Tournament Format: 6 Rounds, Swiss System. G/120 Three Sections: Under 21, Under 15, Under 11 (Ages as of 1/1/04) Schedule: Pre-tournament Welcome night - July 22 at 7:00 pm. Openning Ceremony - July 23 at 6:00 pm. Rounds: 07/23 - 7:00 pm; 07/24 - 9:00 am, 2:00 pm, 7:00 pm; 07/25 - 9:00 am, 2:00 pm. Closing ceremony - July 25 at 6:30 pm. Tour opportunity: July 22 and 26 the Organizers organizing tours to the second largest space museum Cosmosphere (Hutchinson), Eisenhower Presidential Center (Abeline), Zoo (Salina), Wichita Expocenter (Wichita). For tours information please contact Lindsborg Chamber of Commerce at 785-227-2706. Accomodations: See www.lindsborg.org for local hotels, motels, and B&Bs. Bethany College dorm rooms available for $20/night per person. Meals packages are available through the College cafeteria ($20/day per person) or at downtown restourants. Entry Fees: $50 by June 5th, $70 after or on site. USCF membership required for all participants. Players may take up to two ½ point byes if requested before round 2. Please make cheks payable to: Karpov School of Chess, 106 S. Main, Lindsborg, KS 67456 Awards: Under 21 - The winner is seeded into the 2005 U.S.Junior Invitational Championship. Trophies awarded to the top 10 for each of the category - Age 19, 18, 17, 16, 15, under 15. Under 15 - Trophies awarded to the top 10 for each of the category - Age 13, 12, 11, under 11. Under 11 - Trophies awarded to the top 10 for each of the category - Age 9, 8, 7, under 7. For more details about the US Junior Open contact the Event Organizer: Mikhail Korenman (785) 906-0402 or intecsus@yahoo.com 8) Henry Plotkins AnnotatesMI veteran Henry Plotkin annotates his upset over NM Margulis in the last Marathon.
Plotkin,H (1865) - Margulis,I (2259) [E61] 1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.e3 Nf6 5.Nf3 0-0 Black bishop standed before his Majesty protecting all black squares. 6.Be2 d6 7.0-0 b6 8.d5 Na6 9.e4 Nc7 10.h3 a6 11.a4 Rb8 12.Nh2 e6 13.Bg5 White bishop made a pin, but Black doesn't want it. 13...h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 White bishop used "a ladder" to go back. 15...e5 16.h4 Nxe4! 17.Nxe4 f5 Black soldiers decided to capture white "officer". 18.hxg5 hxg5 19.f3 fxe4 20.fxe4 b5 21.axb5 axb5 22.Rxf8+ Bxf8 23.Bh5 Black-squared bishop started his "ladder" to see his opponent... 23...Bg7 Instead black-squared bishop invited him. 24.Bg6! An invitation accepted. 24...Ra8 25.Rc1 Ne8 26.Qh5 Queen footsteps her "officer". 26...Nf6 27.Qxg5 bxc4 28.Nf3 Qb6 29.Nh4 Qxb2 30.Rf1 Ra1 31.Be1 White "officer" is protecting his "colonel". 31...Qd4+ 32.Kh1 Qd3 33.Rxf6 Rxe1+ One of the white bishops sacrificed his life for the victory. 34.Kh2 Qd1 35.Bf7+ Light-squared bishop made last step on his "ladder", and black Monarh doesn't have escape.. 35...Kh7 If he goes 35...Kf8 then 36.Ng6#] 36.Rh6+ If last body-guard of king captures a rook, he opens a road for white queen to g8. Black light-squared bishop looks what's going on around him and the battle is over.If you will ask me where I saw bishop's "ladder", I'll answer: "I saw it in one of Mr. Margulis game in S.F. chess club. I know that he is one of the best chess players not only in our club. 1-0 9) MI Chess Camps5th Mechanics' Institute Chess Camp for Beginners and Novice Players (below 1200 USCF) This is a camp for players that want to learn how to play or who know the bare rudiments and would like to increase their understanding of the game. Instructor Anthony Corrales has a wealth of experience teaching youngsters. During this camp students will build up a solid core of knowledge. This will include learning all the basic checkmates, mastering the fundamentals of opening play, implementing middlegame plans and understanding simple endgames. Pupils will also learn how to take chess notation and to play using a chess clock.
Who: Open to youngsters 5-15 Advanced Players (1200-2200) This is not a camp for players that want to jump two rating classes in five days. You won't learn how to win against the Sicilian every time using the Grand Prix Attack. So why our camp and not others? At the MI camp you will get a look inside a GM's laboratory and get a feel for how they work on their game from the ground up. You will learn not only the importance of analyzing your own games, but also how to do it properly. You will learn to identify the critical points of the game and to understand when and why things went wrong. You will learn how to use ChessBase and Fritz efficiently as part of a daily training program as well as utilizing resources on the Internet such as TWIC and the Internet Chess Club. Today chess books are cranked out at an incredible rate. Some of them are very good, many are quite bad. We will help students learn to select that which is truly useful. On the fun side our instructors have unique experience in international competition. Expect to hear stories and anecdotes about what it's like to play against Kasparov and defend first board in a Chess Olympiad. Instructors: Grandmaster Alex Yermolinsky, International Master John Donaldson, and MI Scholastic Director Anthony Corrales.
Who: Open to all ages from 8 and up. 10) Upcoming EventsUpcoming Tournaments at the MI
Arthur Stamer Memorial - June 12-13 Mechanics' Institute Scholastic Quads 2004 Tournaments: April 17, May 8, June 19 and July 24 Open to players age 18 and under (Limited to first 80 players) Game/45 Rounds : 10:30am, 12:15pm, 2:00pm Late Registration: 9:30am - 10:15am Open: to the first eighty players Note: Quads based on rating. USCF Rated. Unrated players face each other. You must be a USCF member to play in the quads. Time Control: Game in 45 minutes Entry Fee: $20 / $30 day of tournament/ $15 for MI members Checks payable to Mechanics' Chess Club Prizes: Trophies for the winners of each quad
Lina Grumette Memorial Day Classic |