Beatrice Low of Greenwich Academy has won the 4th annual 2019 State Girls' Championships. This was the second time Beatrice won the title after claiming victory in the 1st annual Championships in 2016 and with her win Beatrice is the first qualifier to the 2019 National Nominations Candidates' Tournament to be held on March 30th.
Jithu Saveejan of Bristol Central High School won leg 1 of the National Nominations Grand Prix. Both events took place at the Raymond Library in East Hartford and were organized by Connecticut Chess Organization. Results/Rating report
Beatrice Low (center) playing Serena Evans
Girls & NNGP leg 1
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TOP WINNERS USCF TOURNAMENTS - COVENTRY CHESS CLUB
1-12 2019 Coventry Open Derek Meredith, Joe Bihlmeyer, Dan Smith
2018 :
12-15 Holiday Party Derek Meredith
11-17 Yankee Peddler Derek Meredith and Joe Bihlmeyer
10-27 Conn Harvest Joe Bihlmeyer
9-30 Charter Oak Abe Mondal
8-11 Nutmeg State Nathan Chang
7-14 Conn Yankee Nelson Castaneda
6-23 Coventry Summer Rick Bauer and Derek Meredith
5-19 Constitution State Dan Smith
4-21 Nathan Hale Suhas Kodali and Jithu Sajeevan
3-17 Greater Hartford Suhas Kodali, Joe Bihlmeyer, and Jon Smucker
2-24 Eastern Conn Derek Meredith and Joe Bihlmeyer
1-13 2018 Coventry Open Joe Bihlmeyer
Most Active Players at the
Coventry Chess Club:
13 Rob Roy
11 Art Nagel
11 Mark Bourque
Thank you for your support.
UPCOMING USCF CHESS TOURNAMENTS IN CONNECTICUT
by Rob Roy Online since May 2010
CHESS CLUBS IN CONNECTICUT
Please join our mailing list
Mar 16 2019 Greater Hartford Open Coventry CT
Mar 30 2019 CT State Schol. Speed Champs E Hartford
Apr 5-7 Eastern Class Championships Sturbridge MA
Apr 13 2019 Nathan Hale Open Coventry CT
Apr 17-21 Foxwoods Open Mashantucket CT
May 18 2019 Constitution State Open Coventry CT
June 22 2019 Coventry Summer Open Coventry CT
Aug 16-18 Continental Open Sturbridge MA
LATEST CONNECTICUT CHESS NEWS
2019 Constitution State Open
Saturday May 18
$160-1st, $80-2nd. Guaranteed.Site: Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St., Coventry, CT 06238
Across street from Bidwell Tavern is our stone building at rear of parking lot
Web Site: https://ConnecticutChess.blogspot.com/
E-mail: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com
Lunch: 12:30 - 1:30. Four restaurants in immediate area.
Please bring your own equipment, especially digital chess clocks.
------------------------------------------------------
The New Britain Chess Club of Connecticut Story
For over a century, the New Britain Chess Club of Connecticut (NBCC), our state’s largest and most historic chess organization, has had a strong reputation for its vital role in the development, promotion, and enrichment of this game to people of all ages and levels across the Northeastern United States. The NBCC has been built on many traditions and yet has become quite adaptable with the changing times. Our members and network of chess friends have also established numerous ties with other local chess institutions, which has been essential for our club’s growth. These solid foundations and key alliances have enabled our club to maintain its solid presence for chess in our community through the ages. Regardless of the challenges that our club has dealt with throughout Connecticut chess clubs.
The NBCC began to re-emerut its history, our unwavering determination has always led “The Heart of Connecticut Chess” to brighter days for our family and for chess in Connecticut. With that background, here is the NBCC story.
We begin our journey around the turn of the twentieth century. During that time, groups of chess men gathered at the YMCA and at other venues in the city to engage in casual play and spirited competition. As a new century dawned, a few leaders from that nascent chess community met to lay the grounds for the formation of our historic club. On January 26, 1901, thirty-three chess enthusiasts, led by John Kirkham, our club’s first president, met in a building in the downtown district to celebrate the official organization and birth of the NBCC.
Judge Kirkham, who was also a prominent chess master and Connecticut chess champion, worked closely with other newly formed chess organizations in our state, such as Waterbury, Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport, to hold inter-club matches. These events drew a respectable amount of interest and ultimately helped promote our organization and Connecticut chess. In addition to these matches, the NBCC held smaller and more informal tournaments during its regular meetings. Membership levels remained fairly constant during the 1900s and early 1910s, but most chess activity came to a crashing halt as the nation entered WWI. Based on a lack of records, it appears that WWI caused the disbandment of many ge sometime in the late 1920s. Two of our club’s presidents over the next two decades worked zealously to re- energize our organization: Boleslaw Gryboski in the 1930s and Edmund Roman in the 1940s. These leaders were instrumental in rebuilding a membership base and creating a more structured schedule of activities, including organizing annual club and city championship events to boost membership. Our club also continued to hold joint events with the Hartford Chess Club to attract interest throughout our chess community. However, our leaders’ efforts to keep our club active proved to be quite challenging during these times. First, tragedy struck our club in the mid-1930s when a fire occurred at our meeting place at the United Building on Main Street, destroying many club records and forcing us to relocate. We soon moved to Nathan Hale Junior High School and then to Falcon Crest Hall in New Britain. Then, in 1941, the NBCC lost some of its members because of the draft during WWII. If there was any silver lining for our club during this war, it was that meetings were still held in despite of a decline in membership. After 1945, membership slowly rose, and it was the task of President Roman and others to ensure that our club would sustain in the second half of the twentieth century.
In 1951, Arkadijs Strazdins, who would eventually become the NBCC’s greatest advocate and contributor and the most influential member in our club’s history, joined our organization. Our club saw many changes in leadership in the mid-to-late 1950s, and membership was still low. However, by the early 1960s, our club started exploring ways to get more involved on the state-wide scene in hopes of sparking more interest in our chess community. Mr. Strazdins, who began his life-long service to the NBCC, often worked with its officers throughout the 1950s and 1960s to arrange and host a variety of matches, simultaneous chess exhibitions, and tournaments, including the annual New Britain Summer Open Chess Championship, which started in 1966 and which would eventually become Connecticut’s grandest summer chess event.
As our club continued to fulfill its most important mission of providing a facility and a social environment for chess, the level of membership rebounded. When the Bobby Fischer boom occurred in the early 1970s, membership soared to unprecedented levels. By 1973, the NBCC had 119 members - a record that would not be challenged until 2010 and later in 2017, when membership reached 101 and 104, respectively. Mr. Strazdins, who took the helm as president in 1970, led our club during one of its most prosperous periods.
For nearly twenty years, between the mid-1950s and the mid-1970s, our club held its meetings at the General Holler Post in New Britain. Our club was grateful to Jan Cendrowski, a commander of the post and our club president in the 1960s, for securing that venue for so long. Unfortunately, due to extenuating circumstances, our club was forced to relocate from that site in 1975. The move came at a time when our club attained peak membership. Thankfully, Mr. Strazdins was able to find and secure a hall at the New Britain Quartette Club, where our club would stay for the next thirty-five years.
With the relocation behind us, our club focused on playing a more pivotal role in the development of Connecticut chess. By 1980, the NBCC was the third-largest chess club in Connecticut behind Hartford and New Haven. Mr. Strazdins, who had won over fifty major club tournaments by then, worked tirelessly to promote our organization in his many capacities as officer, tournament director, and team captain. He worked countless hours to ensure that our club would remain vibrant in the coming decades. Due to Mr. Strazdins’ steadfast efforts, our club emerged as Connecticut’s largest chess organization by the mid-to-late 1980s.
Mr. Strazdins continued pursuing his passion for and devotion to our club well into the 1990s by keeping its image alive and well. Around the turn of the century, Mr. Strazdins regrettably had to take a step back from club operations because of declining health. His son, Andris, who was our club’s treasurer since 1973, worked passionately with the other officers and tournament directors to ensure that his father’s vision for our club was fulfilled.
The early years of the twenty-first century saw significant changes in leadership in our club, with the stepping down of Mr. Strazdins as president after serving thirty-one years. The new officers then and today were and have been inspired by Mr. Strazdins’ work for our club, and they have kept alive the traditions that he established during his five decades of service to our organization. Moreover, our administrators from 2001 to the present have created their own interesting and unique ideas to benefit our club’s growth, many of which have resulted in the biggest expansion of our club’s social network and have attracted many scholastic chess players.
In 2010, our club left the New Britain Quartette Club and relocated to the New Britain Assyrian Community Center, where we stayed for four years. In 2014, our club moved to our current venue at the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection in New Britain. During both relocations, our organization lost some members but still remained a leading voice for chess in Connecticut.
The NBCC is extremely proud of its heritage and its positive impact on our chess community. In spite of the challenges that our club has faced (membership declines, relocations, and the stepping down of a leader of thirty-plus years), we endured every time. Because of this and because of our rich and diverse history, “The Heart of Connecticut Chess” will no doubt continue to thrive and flourish in the coming decades. The NBCC is very excited about its future, and we anticipate that future generations of chess players will continue to play an integral role in the advancement of our wonderful institution and Connecticut chess.
If your travels ever bring you to Connecticut, please pay a visit to the NBCC. Meetings are held every Tuesday at the Armenian Church of the Holy Resurrection. For directions to and more information about our club, please visit www.newbritainchessclub.com.
Yours in chess,
Bob Cyr
NBCC and CT Chess Historian
------------------------------------------------------
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Monday, January 21, 2019
REPORT - 2019 CT GRADE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Jan 19)
Jan 19
Landau Vincent Day (K), Nathan Mezheritskiy (1st), Anthony Low (2nd), Henry Buczkiewicz (3rd), Sahil Vora (4th), Max Ingargiola (5th), Carter Clayton (6th), Evan Dokko Stein (7th), Ethan Striff-Cave (8th), Daniel Zhou (9th), Dhanush Kalangi (10th), Jithu Saveejan (11th) and Benjamin Foxman (12th) are the 2019 Connecticut Grade Champions.
For more information see: Full results, US Chess rating report.
LATEST CONNECTICUT CHESS NEWS
Wednesday, January 16, 2019
TOP WINNERS AT COVENTRY CHESS CLUB
TOP WINNERS USCF TOURNAMENTS - COVENTRY CHESS CLUB
1-12 2019 Coventry Open Derek Meredith, Joe Bihlmeyer, Dan Smith
2018 :
12-15 Holiday Party Derek Meredith
11-17 Yankee Peddler Derek Meredith and Joe Bihlmeyer
10-27 Conn Harvest Joe Bihlmeyer
9-30 Charter Oak Abe Mondal
8-11 Nutmeg State Nathan Chang
7-14 Conn Yankee Nelson Castaneda
6-23 Coventry Summer Rick Bauer and Derek Meredith
5-19 Constitution State Dan Smith
4-21 Nathan Hale Suhas Kodali and Jithu Sajeevan
3-17 Greater Hartford Suhas Kodali, Joe Bihlmeyer, and Jon Smucker
2-24 Eastern Conn Derek Meredith and Joe Bihlmeyer
1-13 2018 Coventry Open Joe Bihlmeyer
Most Active Players at the
Coventry Chess Club:
13 Rob Roy
12 Mark Bourque
11 Art Nagel
Thank you for your support.
UPCOMING USCF CHESS TOURNAMENTS IN CONNECTICUT
by Rob Roy Online since May 2010
CHESS CLUBS IN CONNECTICUT
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LATEST CONNECTICUT CHESS NEWS
Monday, January 14, 2019
REPORT - 2019 COVENTRY OPEN (Jan12)
REPORT - 2019 Coventry Open, Jan. 12
Derek Meredith, Joe Bihlmeyer, and Dan Smith shared first place honors, each with 2 wins and a draw, at the 2019 Coventry Open chess tournament.
The tournament was held Jan. 12 at Mill Brook Place in Coventry CT, Rob Roy TD.
Meredith and Bihlmeyer are instructors at the New Britain Chess Club. Dan Smith runs the chess club in Westerly RI.
Gabriel Watson and Shawn Parker tied for fourth place, each with 2-1 scores. Gabe won his game with a national expert.
Gabe, Shawn, and Dave Brown came from the Hartford DIG Team. Thanks to Derek Meredith for providing them with transportation.
Jan Van de Mortel, new President of the Connecticut State Chess Assoc., and Mark Denihan of Hebron Chess Club, visited the tournament.
Twelve players competed in this USCF-Rated tournament. Thanks to each of you for making this such a fun day. Our next tournament is Feb. 23.
PHOTOS FROM THIS EVENT CLICK HERE
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pair | Player Name |Total|Round|Round|Round|
Num | USCF ID / Rtg (Pre->Post) | Pts | 1 | 2 | 3 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1 | MATTHEW DEREK MEREDITH |2.5 |W 6|W 8|D 2|
CT | 10031443 / R: 2097 ->2098 | | | | |
| Q: 2005 ->2008 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
2 | JOSEPH E BIHLMEYER |2.5 |W 7|W 9|D 1|
CT | 12686352 / R: 2053 ->2056 | | | | |
| Q: 2000 ->2003 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
3 | DANIEL SMITH |2.5 |D 11|W 6|W 5|
RI | 12704934 / R: 1470 ->1558 | | | | |
| Q: 1365 ->1478 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4 | SHAWN B PARKER |2.0 |L 8|W 12|W 9|
CT | 16757316 / R: 1247 ->1261 | | | | |
| Q: 1024P22->1048P25 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
5 | GABRIEL JORDEN WATSON |2.0 |W 12|W 11|L 3|
CT | 16449073 / R: 1138 ->1204 | | | | |
| Q: 1181 ->1236 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
6 | MICHAEL SMITH |1.0 |L 1|L 3|W 7|
CT | 16903342 / R: 1764P3 ->1683P6 | | | | |
| Q: 1730P3 ->1644P6 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
7 | THOMAS RIZZO |1.0 |L 2|W 10|L 6|
MA | 10017769 / R: 1572 ->1556 | | | | |
| Q: 1598P16->1575P19 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
8 | HAYES GOODMAN |1.0 |W 4|L 1|U |
RI | 15207355 / R: 1441 ->1452 | | | | |
| Q: 1327 ->1335 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
9 | CARL FETTEROLL |1.0 |W 10|L 2|L 4|
MA | 14903973 / R: 1301 ->1275 | | | | |
| Q: 1113 ->1084 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
10 | DAVID C BROWN |1.0 |L 9|L 7|W 12|
CT | 16757296 / R: 473 -> 480 | | | | |
| Q: 505P21-> 509P24 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
11 | MARK BOURQUE |0.5 |D 3|L 5|U |
CT | 12139250 / R: 2025 ->1988 | | | | |
| Q: 1874 ->1831 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
12 | OWEN LAVOIE RIGNEY |0.0 |L 5|L 4|L 10|
CT | 16922975 / R: Unrated-> 101P3 | | | | |
| Q: Unrated-> 123P3 | | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|
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UPCOMING USCF CHESS TOURNAMENTS
SUMMARY OF OUR LATEST CHESS NEWS
GAME OF THE WEEK by Alan Lasser
Down a pawn in an endgame where you’ve got the knight and your opponent has the bishop? The situation is under control for the Chess Life endgame columnist Daniel Naroditsky, who finds the plan for victory.
GM Daniel Naroditsky(2616)-Andrew Hong(2390)
1/4/19
Bay Area International
1.d4 d5
2.Nc3 Nf6
3.Bf4 e6
4.Nb5 Bb4+
5.c3 Ba5
6.e3 O-O
7.Bd3 c6
8.Nd6 Bc7
9.Nxc8 Qxc8
10.Bg5 Nbd7
11.Qf3 Re8
12.g4?! -0.72/23
12.Bh4 -0.15/21 12...c5 13.Ne2 Bd6 14.O-O Qc6 15.Ng3 Rac8 16.dxc5 Qxc5
12.Ne2 Rb8 13.Bh4 Bd8 14.g4 g6 15.Bxf6 Nxf6 16.g5 e5 17.gxf6 e4 18.Bxe4 Rxe4 19.h4 h5 20.Kd2 +0.13 Stockfisk
12…e5
13.Bxf6 Nxf6?! -0.45/24
13...e4 -0.72/24 14.Qd1 exd3 14...Nxf6 15. Be2 Qe6 16. g5 Nd7 17. h4 a5 18. a4 Reb8 19. Bg4 Qe7 -1.25 Stockfish 15.Bh4 Nb6 16.Bg3 Nc4 17.b3 d2+ 18.Ke2 Bxg3 19.hxg3
14.Bf5 Qd8
15.dxe5 Bxe5
16.Ne2 Ne4
17.Ng3 Nd6
17...Qa5 18.Qd1 Nxg3 19.hxg3 g6 20.Bd3 d4 21.O-O dxc3 22.bxc3 Rad8 23.Qc2 Bxc3 24.Rad1 Bf6 25.Kg2 Kg7 26.Be2 Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Re7 -1.15 Stockfish
18.Bd3 b5
18...Rb8 19.O-O Qh4 20.Qe2 Bf6 21.Rad1 -0.93 Stockfish
18...Qh4 19.Ne2 Ne4 20.Qg2 Rad8 21.Rd1 h6 22.h3 Bc7 23.Bxe4 dxe4 24.O-O Qe7 25.Rd4 c5 26.Rxd8 Qxd8 27.Ng3 Qd5 28.a3 Qd3 29.Re1 Qd2 30.Re2 Qd1+ 31.Qf1 Qd5 -1.00 Stockfish
19.Rd1 Nc4
20.Bxc4 bxc4
21.O-O Rb8
22.e4 Qf6?! -0.11/24
22...Rxb2 -0.46/20 23.exd5 cxd5 24.Rxd5 Qf6 25.Qxf6 25. Qe4 Qe6 26. Qxc4 Rd2 27. Rc5 Qxc4 28. Rxc4 Rxa2 29. Re1 f6 30. Rd1 Bxg3 31. hxg3 Re7 = Stockfish 25...Bxf6 26.Rc5 Bxc3 27.Rxc4 Ba5 28.a4 Bb6 29.Ne4 h6 30.Kg2 Re5
22...d4 23.cxd4 Bxd4 24.b3 cxb3 25.axb3 g6 26.Ne2 c5 27.Nxd4 cxd4 28.Rd3 Rb4 29.Qf4 Qe7 30.Re1 a5 -0.09 Stockfish
23.Qxf6 Bxf6
24.exd5 cxd5
25.Rd2 g6
26.Rfd1 Re6
27.f4 Be7
28.f5 Reb6
29.Rxd5 Rxb2
30.Ne4 Rxa2?! -0.01/27
30...Re2 -0.37/24 31.Re5 Kf8 32.Nf6 32. f6 Bd6 33. Kf1 Bxe5 34. Kxe2 Rb2+ 35. Kf3 Ke8 36. h4 Rxa2 37. Rd5 Bc7 = Stockfish 32...Rxe5 33.Nd7+ Kg7 34.Nxe5 gxf5 35.gxf5 Rb5 36.Nxc4 Rxf5 37.Kg2 Rg5+ 38.Kf1 Rc5 39.Rd7 Kf8 40.Ne3 Bg5 41.Nd5 Ra5 42.Nb4 Ra3 43.c4 a5 44.Nc6 Rxa2
30...gxf5 31.gxf5 Kg7 32.Kh1 R8b6 33.Rg1+ Kf8 34.Rg2 Rb1+ 35.Rg1 R1b2 = Stockfish
31.Rd7?! -0.50/25
31.f6 -0.01/27 31...Bf8 32.Rd8 Rab2 33.R1d4 h5 33...h6 34. h4 a5 35. Rxb8 Rxb8 36. Rxc4 Ba3 37. Ra4 Bb2 38. Kg2 Rb5 39. Kf3 +0.45 Stockfish 34.h3 34. g5 a5 35. Rxb8 Rxb8 36. Rxc4 Ba3 37. Kf2 Bc1 38. Kf3 Rd8 39. h4 Rd3+ 40. Ke2 Rd8 41. Ra4 +0.74 Stockfish 34...hxg4 35.hxg4
31...Bf8?! -0.10/26
31...gxf5 -0.50/25 32.gxf5 Bh4 33.f6 h6 34.Kh1 Rbb2 35.Rg1+ Bg5 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Nxg5+ hxg5 38.Rxg5 Ra1+ 39.Rg1 Rxg1+ 40.Kxg1 a5 41.Ra8 Kg6 42.Rxa5 Rb3 43.Rc5 43. Ra7 Rxc3 44. Rc7 Kxf6 45. h4 Rc2 46. Kf1 c3 47. Ke1 Kg7 48. h5 Rc1+ 49. Ke2 c2 50. Kd3 Rh1 51. Rxc2 Rxh5 52.Ke3 -0.09 Stockfish 43...Rxc3
32.Rd8 Rab2
33.R1d4 Rxd8
34.Rxd8 Rb5
34...gxf5 35.Nf6+ Kh8 36.gxf5 Kg7 37.Nh5+ Kh6 38.Rxf8 Kxh5 39.Rxf7 a5 40.Rxh7+ Kg5 41.Ra7 Kxf5 42.Rxa5+ Ke4 = Stockfish
35.h4 Kg7?! +0.94/31
35...gxf5 0.00/28 36.Nf6+ Kg7 37.Nh5+ Kg8 38.Nf6+
36.f6+ Kg8
37.Kg2 a5?! +0.70/29
37...h6 +0.44/27 38.Kf3 38. Kg3 g5 39. h5 Re5 40. Kf3 Rb5 41. Ra8 Rb7 42. Ke3 Rd7 43. Kf2 Rd5 44. Ke2 a5 45. Ng3 Rd6 46. Rxa5 Rxf6 47. Ra8 Re6+ 48. Kf3 +1.56 Stockfish 38...g5 39.h5
38.Ra8 h6
39.Kf3 Rd5?! +0.71/31
39...g5 +0.45/30 40.h5 Rd5 41.Kg2 41. Ke3 Rd3+ 42. Ke2 Rd5 43. Ng3 Rd6 44. Rxa5 Re6+ 45. Kf3 Rxf6+ 46. Nf5 Bg7 47. Rc5 Ra6 48. Rxc4 Ra3 49. Ke4 Bxc3 50. Nxh6+ +1.56 Stockfish 41...Rb5 42.Ng3 Rb6 43.Rxa5 Rxf6 44.Nf5 Bg7 45.Ra4 Kh7 46.Rxc4 Re6 47.Rc7 Kg8 48.Kf3 Re1 49.Ne3 Be5 50.Rc6 Kh7 51.c4 f6 52.Rc5 Rc1 53.Rc6 Kh8 54.Rc8+ Kh7
40.Kf4 Rb5
41.Nd2 Rb6? +3.37/31
41...g5+ +0.62/28 42.hxg5 hxg5+ 43.Ke4 Rb6 44.Ke5 a4 45.Rxa4 Bd6+ 45...Kh7 46. Ne4 Rb8 47. Kd4 Rd8+ 48. Kxc4 Bd6 49. Nxg5+ Kg6 50. Ra5 +1.98 Stockfish 46.Kd5 Bf4 47.Ra8+ Kh7 48.Ne4 Re6 49.Ra7 Kg6 50.Re7 Ra6 51.Re8 Ra4 52.Kc5 Kh6 53.Kb5 Ra1 54.Kxc4 Rg1 55.Rh8+ Kg6 56.Rg8+ Kh6 57.Kd4 +2.95 Stockfish
42.g5 hxg5+
43.hxg5 Rc6? +16.51/32
43...Rb7 +3.40/33 44.Nxc4 a4 45.Ne3 a3 46.Nd5 a2 47.c4 47. Ke5 Rd7 48. c4 Rd8 49. Rxa2 Re8+ 50. Kd4 Re1 51. c5 Rd1+ 52. Kc4 Rc1+ 53. Kb3 Rb1+ 54. Kc2 Rb8 55. c6 Bd6 56. Kd3 +15.12 Stockfish 47...a1=Q 48.Rxa1
44.Nf3 a4
45.Ne5 Rd6
46.Ng4 a3
47.Nh6+ Kh7
48.Rxf8 a2
49.Nxf7 Rxf6+
50.gxf6 g5+
51.Kxg5 1-0
[Event "2019 Bay Area International"]
[Site "San Francisco"]
[Date "2019.01.04"]
[Round "five"]
[White "GM Daniel Naroditsky"]
[Black "Andrew Hong"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2390"]
[ECO "D00"]
[WhiteElo "2616"]
1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bf4 e6 4.Nb5 Bb4+ 5.c3 Ba5 6.e3 O-O 7.Bd3 c6 8.Nd6 Bc7
9.Nxc8 Qxc8 10.Bg5 Nbd7 11.Qf3 Re8 12.g4 $6 { -0.72/23 } ( 12.Bh4
{ -0.15/21 } 12...c5 13.Ne2 Bd6 14.O-O Qc6 15.Ng3 Rac8 16.dxc5 Qxc5 ) (
12.Ne2 Rb8 13.Bh4 Bd8 14.g4 g6 15.Bxf6 Nxf6 16.g5 e5 17.gxf6 e4 18.Bxe4 Rxe4
19.h4 h5 20.Kd2 { +0.13 Stockfisk } ) 12...e5 13.Bxf6 Nxf6 $6 { -0.45/24 } (
13...e4 { -0.72/24 } 14.Qd1 exd3
{ 14...Nxf6 15. Be2 Qe6 16. g5 Nd7 17. h4 a5 18. a4 Reb8 19. Bg4 Qe7 -1.25
Stockfish } 15.Bh4 Nb6 16.Bg3 Nc4 17.b3 d2+ 18.Ke2 Bxg3 19.hxg3 ) 14.Bf5 Qd8
15.dxe5 Bxe5 16.Ne2 Ne4 17.Ng3 Nd6 ( 17...Qa5 18.Qd1 Nxg3 19.hxg3 g6
20.Bd3 d4 21.O-O dxc3 22.bxc3 Rad8 23.Qc2 Bxc3 24.Rad1 Bf6 25.Kg2 Kg7 26.Be2
Rxd1 27.Rxd1 Re7 { -1.15 Stockfish } ) 18.Bd3 b5 ( 18...Rb8 19.O-O Qh4 20.Qe2
Bf6 21.Rad1 { -0.93 Stockfish } ) ( 18...Qh4 19.Ne2 Ne4 20.Qg2 Rad8 21.Rd1 h6
22.h3 Bc7 23.Bxe4 dxe4 24.O-O Qe7 25.Rd4 c5 26.Rxd8 Qxd8 27.Ng3 Qd5 28.a3 Qd3
29.Re1 Qd2 30.Re2 Qd1+ 31.Qf1 Qd5 { -1.00 Stockfish } ) 19.Rd1 Nc4 20.Bxc4
bxc4 21.O-O Rb8 22.e4 Qf6 $6 { -0.11/24 } ( 22...Rxb2 { -0.46/20 } 23.exd5
cxd5 24.Rxd5 Qf6 25.Qxf6
{ 25. Qe4 Qe6 26. Qxc4 Rd2 27. Rc5 Qxc4 28. Rxc4 Rxa2 29. Re1 f6 30. Rd1
Bxg3 31. hxg3 Re7 = Stockfish } 25...Bxf6 26.Rc5 Bxc3 27.Rxc4 Ba5 28.a4 Bb6
29.Ne4 h6 30.Kg2 Re5 ) ( 22...d4 23.cxd4 Bxd4 24.b3 cxb3 25.axb3 g6 26.Ne2 c5
27.Nxd4 cxd4 28.Rd3 Rb4 29.Qf4 Qe7 30.Re1 a5 { -0.09 Stockfish } ) 23.Qxf6
Bxf6 24.exd5 cxd5 25.Rd2 g6 26.Rfd1 Re6 27.f4 Be7 28.f5 Reb6 29.Rxd5 Rxb2
30.Ne4 Rxa2 $6 { -0.01/27 } ( 30...Re2 { -0.37/24 } 31.Re5 Kf8 32.Nf6
{ 32. f6 Bd6 33. Kf1 Bxe5 34. Kxe2 Rb2+ 35. Kf3 Ke8 36. h4 Rxa2 37. Rd5 Bc7
= Stockfish } 32...Rxe5 33.Nd7+ Kg7 34.Nxe5 gxf5 35.gxf5 Rb5 36.Nxc4 Rxf5
37.Kg2 Rg5+ 38.Kf1 Rc5 39.Rd7 Kf8 40.Ne3 Bg5 41.Nd5 Ra5 42.Nb4 Ra3 43.c4 a5
44.Nc6 Rxa2 ) ( 30...gxf5 31.gxf5 Kg7 32.Kh1 R8b6 33.Rg1+ Kf8 34.Rg2 Rb1+
35.Rg1 R1b2 { = Stockfish } ) 31.Rd7 $6 { -0.50/25 } ( 31.f6 { -0.01/27 }
31...Bf8 32.Rd8 Rab2 33.R1d4 h5
{ 33...h6 34. h4 a5 35. Rxb8 Rxb8 36. Rxc4 Ba3 37. Ra4 Bb2 38. Kg2 Rb5 39.
Kf3 +0.45 Stockfish } 34.h3
{ 34. g5 a5 35. Rxb8 Rxb8 36. Rxc4 Ba3 37. Kf2 Bc1 38. Kf3 Rd8 39. h4 Rd3+
40. Ke2 Rd8 41. Ra4 +0.74 Stockfish } 34...hxg4 35.hxg4 ) 31...Bf8 $6
{ -0.10/26 } ( 31...gxf5 { -0.50/25 } 32.gxf5 Bh4 33.f6 h6 34.Kh1 Rbb2
35.Rg1+ Bg5 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Nxg5+ hxg5 38.Rxg5 Ra1+ 39.Rg1 Rxg1+ 40.Kxg1 a5
41.Ra8 Kg6 42.Rxa5 Rb3 43.Rc5
{ 43. Ra7 Rxc3 44. Rc7 Kxf6 45. h4 Rc2 46. Kf1 c3 47. Ke1 Kg7 48. h5 Rc1+
49. Ke2 c2 50. Kd3 Rh1 51. Rxc2 Rxh5 52.Ke3 -0.09 Stockfish } 43...Rxc3 )
32.Rd8 Rab2 33.R1d4 Rxd8 34.Rxd8 Rb5 ( 34...gxf5 35.Nf6+ Kh8 36.gxf5 Kg7
37.Nh5+ Kh6 38.Rxf8 Kxh5 39.Rxf7 a5 40.Rxh7+ Kg5 41.Ra7 Kxf5 42.Rxa5+ Ke4
{ = Stockfish } ) 35.h4 Kg7 $6 { +0.94/31 } ( 35...gxf5 { 0.00/28 } 36.Nf6+
Kg7 37.Nh5+ Kg8 38.Nf6+ ) 36.f6+ Kg8 37.Kg2 a5 $6 { +0.70/29 } ( 37...h6
{ +0.44/27 } 38.Kf3
{ 38. Kg3 g5 39. h5 Re5 40. Kf3 Rb5 41. Ra8 Rb7 42. Ke3 Rd7 43. Kf2 Rd5 44.
Ke2 a5 45. Ng3 Rd6 46. Rxa5 Rxf6 47. Ra8 Re6+ 48. Kf3 +1.56 Stockfish }
38...g5 39.h5 ) 38.Ra8 h6 39.Kf3 Rd5 $6 { +0.71/31 } ( 39...g5 { +0.45/30 }
40.h5 Rd5 41.Kg2
{ 41. Ke3 Rd3+ 42. Ke2 Rd5 43. Ng3 Rd6 44. Rxa5 Re6+ 45. Kf3 Rxf6+ 46. Nf5
Bg7 47. Rc5 Ra6 48. Rxc4 Ra3 49. Ke4 Bxc3 50. Nxh6+ +1.56 Stockfish }
41...Rb5 42.Ng3 Rb6 43.Rxa5 Rxf6 44.Nf5 Bg7 45.Ra4 Kh7 46.Rxc4 Re6 47.Rc7 Kg8
48.Kf3 Re1 49.Ne3 Be5 50.Rc6 Kh7 51.c4 f6 52.Rc5 Rc1 53.Rc6 Kh8 54.Rc8+ Kh7 )
40.Kf4 Rb5 41.Nd2 Rb6 $2 { +3.37/31 } ( 41...g5+ { +0.62/28 } 42.hxg5 hxg5+
43.Ke4 Rb6 44.Ke5 a4 45.Rxa4 Bd6+
{ 45...Kh7 46. Ne4 Rb8 47. Kd4 Rd8+ 48. Kxc4 Bd6 49. Nxg5+ Kg6 50. Ra5
+1.98 Stockfish } 46.Kd5 Bf4 47.Ra8+ Kh7 48.Ne4 Re6 49.Ra7 Kg6 50.Re7 Ra6
51.Re8 Ra4 52.Kc5 Kh6 53.Kb5 Ra1 54.Kxc4 Rg1 55.Rh8+ Kg6 56.Rg8+ Kh6 57.Kd4
{ +2.95 Stockfish } ) 42.g5 hxg5+ 43.hxg5 Rc6 $2 { +16.51/32 } ( 43...Rb7
{ +3.40/33 } 44.Nxc4 a4 45.Ne3 a3 46.Nd5 a2 47.c4
{ 47. Ke5 Rd7 48. c4 Rd8 49. Rxa2 Re8+ 50. Kd4 Re1 51. c5 Rd1+ 52. Kc4 Rc1+
53. Kb3 Rb1+ 54. Kc2 Rb8 55. c6 Bd6 56. Kd3 +15.12 Stockfish } 47...a1=Q
48.Rxa1 ) 44.Nf3 a4 45.Ne5 Rd6 46.Ng4 a3 47.Nh6+ Kh7 48.Rxf8 a2 49.Nxf7 Rxf6+
50.gxf6 g5+ 51.Kxg5 1-0
Alan Lasser
blacklightmazes@icloud.com
website: blacklightmazes.com
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GAME OF THE WEEK, by Alan Lasser
This game is a classic tripled pawns win, they are on the board for almost forty moves. Black gives them to White with the idea that when the three isolated pawns are eliminated, Black will be a pawn up. However, they remain on the board, they control much of the center, and they give White the advantage.
GM Jonathan Hawkins(2583)-GM Stefan Djuric(2371)
1/1/19
Hastings Masters
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bc4 Nf6
4.d3 Be7
5.O-O O-O
6.Re1 d6
7.a4 a6
8.h3 Rb8
9.a5 Nd4
10.Nxd4 exd4
11.c3 d5
12.exd5 b5
13.axb6 cxb6
14.cxd4 b5
15.Bb3 Rb6
16.Nc3 Ne8
17.Bd2 Rg6
18.Qf3 Nd6
19.Ne2 Rf6?! +1.10/23
19...Nf5 +0.72/24 20.Qe4 20. Ba5 Qd7 21. Qe4 Bd6 22. Nf4 Rf6 23. Rac1 g6 24. Ne2 b4 25. Bb6 Re8 26. Qg4 h6 27. Bc5 +1.36 Stockfish 20...Bd6 21.Nf4 Rf6 22.Ba5 Qd7 23.Bd1 Qa7 24.Bd2 Ne7 25.Bf3 Bf5 26.Qe2 Bc8 27.Nh5 Rg6 28.Ng3 Qxd4 29.Bc3 Qb6 30.Be5 Nf5 31.Nxf5 Bxf5 32.Bh5 Rh6 33.d4
20.Nf4?! +0.71/23
20.Qe3 +1.10/23 20...Nf5 21.Qe4 Qd7 22.Bg5 Rd6 23.Bf4 Rg6 24.Ng3 Bb4 25.Nxf5 Qxf5 26.Rec1 Bd7 27.Bd1 Stockfish also plays 20.Nf4 +1.61
20…Nf5
21.Re4
21.Ba5 Qd6 22.Bd1 Bd8 23.Bxd8 Qxd8 24.Re5 a5 25.Rc1 Nh4 26.Qe4 Bf5 27.Qe3 Bd7 28.Bg4 Bxg4 29.hxg4 Ng6 30.Nxg6 Rxg6 31.f3 b4 +1.83 Stockfish
21…Bd6
22.Rc1 Nh4
23.Qe2 Nf5
24.g3 Bb7
25.Qg4?! +0.55/22
25.Ng2 +0.82/22 25...h6 26.g4 Ne7 27.g5 Rg6 28.gxh6 gxh6 29.Qh5 Kh7 30.Rg4 Ng8 31.Qh4 Qxh4 32.Nxh4
25.Qe1 Qd7 26.Bb4 g6 27.Bc5 Qd8 28.Re5 a5 29.Bd1 Bxe5 30.dxe5 Re8 31.Qe4 Nd6 32.Qe2 a4 33.Bb4 Nc8 34.Rc5 Rxf4 35.gxf4 Bxd5 36.Rxb5 Bc6 37.Rc5 +2.24 Stockfish
25…Nh6
26.Qg5 Qd7?! +1.57/26
26...Qb8 +0.89/21 27.Ng2 27. Rce1 Qa8 28. Qh5 a5 29. Ba2 a4 30. Qe2 Nf5 31. Re8 Nxd4 32. Rxf8+ Bxf8 33. Qe4 +2.47 Stockfish 27...Bc8 28.Qh5 Bf5 29.Rc6 Qa7
26...Qa8 27.Ra1 Kh8 28.Qh5 Ng8 29.Ng2 Bc7 30.Ne3 Bc8 31.Bb4 Bd6 32.Bxd6 Rxd6 33.Qe5 Qb8 34.Rc1 Bd7 +1.99 Stockfish
27.g4?! +0.79/22
27.Qxf6 +1.57/26 27...gxf6 28.Nh5 Qxh3 29.Rh4 Qxh4 30.gxh4 Nf5 31.Nxf6+ Kg7 32.Ne4 Rd8 33.Ba2
27.Qh5 Nf5 28.Qe2 Qd8 29.Qe1 Qd7 30.Bb4 g6 31.Bc5 Rc8 32.Bxd6 Rxc1 33.Qxc1 Nxd6 34.Re5 +2.14 Stockfish
27...Rxf4? +4.10/28
27...Kh8 +0.79/22 28.Qh4 Ng8 29.g5 29. Nh5 Rg6 30. Bf4 a5 31. Ba2 Bxf4 32. Nxf4 Rd6 33. Rce1 +1.66 Stockfish 29...Rf5 30.Qg4 g6 31.Re5 Ne7 32.Rxf5 Nxf5 33.Ng2 Qd8 34.Ne3 h5 35.gxh6 Nxh6 36.Qf3 Qg5+ 37.Kf1 Kh7 38.Nc4 Qxd5 39.Qxd5 Bxd5 40.Nxd6 Bxb3 41.Rc6 Ra8 42.Bxh6 Kxh6
28.Bxf4 f6
29.Qh5 Bxf4
30.Rxf4 Nf7
31.Qf5 Qd6?! +5.74/23
31...Qxf5 +4.21/26 32.Rxf5 Nd6 33.Ba2 33. Rf3 Rf7 34. Re3 Rd7 35. Re6 Kf8 36. Rc6 Nf7 37. Rc5 Nd6 38. Kh2 Nc8 39. d6 Nxd6 40. Bd5 a5 41. Rxd6 Rxd6 42. Bxb7 Rxd4 43. Rxb5 Rxd3 +6.40 Stockfish 33...Rc8 34.Rxc8+ Bxc8 35.Rf3 a5 36.Re3 Kf7 37.f4 a4 38.Re1 h5 39.f5 hxg4 40.hxg4
32.h4? +3.39/26
32.Re4 +5.74/23 32...Qd8 32...Kh8 33. Qe6 h5 34. Qe7 Bc8 35. Rxc8 Qxe7 36. Rxe7 Rxc8 37. Rxf7 Rd8 38. Ra7 a5 39. Rxa5 +9.22 Stockfish 33.Qe6 h5 34.gxh5 34.d6 Be4 35.de Kh7 36. d7 Ng5 37. Qd6 a5 38. Rc8 Qxc8 39. dxc8=Q Rxc8 40. Qd5 Rf8 41. h4 Nf7 42. Qxh5+ +16.61 Stockfish 34...f5 35.Qxf5 Ng5 36.Qg6 Nxh3+ 37.Kf1 Kh8 38.Rc2 Nf4 39.Rxf4 Rxf4 40.h6 Qf6 41.Qxf6 gxf6 42.Rc7
32…a5
33.Rc5 a4
34.Bd1 Qd8
35.Re4 Bc8?! +4.10/26
35...Nd6 +3.45/24 36.Qe6+ Rf7 37.Re1 Bc8 38.Qe3 Qa5 38...g5 39. hxg5 fxg5 40. Qe5 Qf6 41. Qxf6 Rxf6 42. Rc7 Kf8 43. Ree7 +6.35 Stockfish 39.Kf1 Qd8 40.Qf4 Bb7 41.Re6 Rd7 42.g5 42. Kg1 Qf8 43. Qe3 Rd8 44. Re7 Kh8 45. Bf3 b4 46. Rcc7 Bc8 47. Rxg7 Qxg7 48. Rxg7 Kxg7 49. Qe7+ Nf7 50. g5 +8.57 Stockfish 42...fxg5 43.hxg5
36.Qf4 f5
37.gxf5 Nd6
38.Qg5 Bxf5
39.Qxd8 Rxd8
40.Re3 Bd7
41.Rc7 Kf8
42.Re5 Be8?! +5.29/28
42...Ne8 +4.15/25 43.Ra7 43. Rb7 Nd6 44. Ra7 Ne8 45. Kh2 Nf6 46. d6 Be8 47. Ra6 Bg6 48. Be2 b4 49. Rea5 Ne8 50. Rxa4 Nxd6 51. Ra8 Rxa8 52. Rxa8+ +6.16 Stockfish 43...Nd6 44.Bf3 b4 45.Bd1 a3 46.bxa3 Nb5 47.Ra5 bxa3 48.Re4 Rb8 49.Ba4 a2 50.Bxb5 Rxb5 51.Rxa2 Rxd5 52.Ra7
42...g6 43.h5 b4 44.Ra7 a3 45.bxa3 Nb5 46.Ra5 bxa3 47.Kg2 a2 48.Bb3 gxh5 49.Rxh5 Kg7 50.Bxa2 Nd6 51.Bc4 +5.53 Stockfish
43.Bg4 b4
44.Re3 Kg8
45.Ra7 a3?! +5.85/27
45...Kh8 +5.11/25 46.h5 46. Ree7 a3 47. bxa3 b3 48. Ra6 Bb5 49. Rb6 h6 50. Kg2 b2 51. Re1 Bxd3 52. Rxb2 +7.c8 Stockfish 46...a3 47.bxa3 b3 48.Re2
46.bxa3 b3
47.Re2 h5
48.Be6+ Kh7
49.Rb2 Nb5
50.Ra4 Nc7
51.Ra5 Kg6?! +8.97/25
51...Nb5 +6.71/25 52.Rxb3 Nxd4 53.Rb4 Nf3+ 54.Kg2 54. Kf1 Ne5 55. Ke2 Bg6 56. Rd4 Nd7 57. Bxd7 Rxd7 58. d6 +9.19 Stockfish 54...Ne1+ 55.Kg3 Bg6 56.f4 Nxd3 57.f5 Nxb4 58.fxg6+ Kxg6 59.axb4
52.Rxb3 1-0
[Event "Hastings Masters"]
[Site "England"]
[Date "2019.01.01"]
[Round "5"]
[White "GM Jonathan Hawkins"]
[Black "GM Stefan Djuric"]
[Result "1-0"]
[BlackElo "2371"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "2583"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d3 Be7 5.O-O O-O 6.Re1 d6 7.a4 a6 8.h3 Rb8 9.a5
Nd4 10.Nxd4 exd4 11.c3 d5 12.exd5 b5 13.axb6 cxb6 14.cxd4 b5 15.Bb3 Rb6
16.Nc3 Ne8 17.Bd2 Rg6 18.Qf3 Nd6 19.Ne2 Rf6 $6 { +1.10/23 } ( 19...Nf5
{ +0.72/24 } 20.Qe4
{ 20. Ba5 Qd7 21. Qe4 Bd6 22. Nf4 Rf6 23. Rac1 g6 24. Ne2 b4 25. Bb6 Re8
26. Qg4 h6 27. Bc5 +1.36 Stockfish } 20...Bd6 21.Nf4 Rf6 22.Ba5 Qd7
23.Bd1 Qa7 24.Bd2 Ne7 25.Bf3 Bf5 26.Qe2 Bc8 27.Nh5 Rg6 28.Ng3 Qxd4 29.Bc3 Qb6
30.Be5 Nf5 31.Nxf5 Bxf5 32.Bh5 Rh6 33.d4 ) 20.Nf4 $6 { +0.71/23 } ( 20.Qe3
{ +1.10/23 } 20...Nf5 21.Qe4 Qd7 22.Bg5 Rd6 23.Bf4 Rg6 24.Ng3 Bb4 25.Nxf5
Qxf5 26.Rec1 Bd7 27.Bd1 { Stockfish also plays 20.Nf4 +1.61 } ) 20...Nf5
21.Re4 ( 21.Ba5 Qd6 22.Bd1 Bd8 23.Bxd8 Qxd8 24.Re5 a5 25.Rc1 Nh4 26.Qe4 Bf5
27.Qe3 Bd7 28.Bg4 Bxg4 29.hxg4 Ng6 30.Nxg6 Rxg6 31.f3 b4
{ +1.83 Stockfish } ) 21...Bd6 22.Rc1 Nh4 23.Qe2 Nf5 24.g3 Bb7 25.Qg4 $6
{ +0.55/22 } ( 25.Ng2 { +0.82/22 } 25...h6 26.g4 Ne7 27.g5 Rg6 28.gxh6 gxh6
29.Qh5 Kh7 30.Rg4 Ng8 31.Qh4 Qxh4 32.Nxh4 ) ( 25.Qe1 Qd7 26.Bb4 g6 27.Bc5 Qd8
28.Re5 a5 29.Bd1 Bxe5 30.dxe5 Re8 31.Qe4 Nd6 32.Qe2 a4 33.Bb4 Nc8 34.Rc5 Rxf4
35.gxf4 Bxd5 36.Rxb5 Bc6 37.Rc5 { +2.24 Stockfish } ) 25...Nh6 26.Qg5 Qd7
$6 { +1.57/26 } ( 26...Qb8 { +0.89/21 } 27.Ng2
{ 27. Rce1 Qa8 28. Qh5 a5 29. Ba2 a4 30. Qe2 Nf5 31. Re8 Nxd4 32. Rxf8+
Bxf8 33. Qe4 +2.47 Stockfish } 27...Bc8 28.Qh5 Bf5 29.Rc6 Qa7 ) (
26...Qa8 27.Ra1 Kh8 28.Qh5 Ng8 29.Ng2 Bc7 30.Ne3 Bc8 31.Bb4 Bd6 32.Bxd6 Rxd6
33.Qe5 Qb8 34.Rc1 Bd7 { +1.99 Stockfish } ) 27.g4 $6 { +0.79/22 } (
27.Qxf6 { +1.57/26 } 27...gxf6 28.Nh5 Qxh3 29.Rh4 Qxh4 30.gxh4 Nf5 31.Nxf6+
Kg7 32.Ne4 Rd8 33.Ba2 ) ( 27.Qh5 Nf5 28.Qe2 Qd8 29.Qe1 Qd7 30.Bb4 g6 31.Bc5
Rc8 32.Bxd6 Rxc1 33.Qxc1 Nxd6 34.Re5 { +2.14 Stockfish } ) 27...Rxf4 $2
{ +4.10/28 } ( 27...Kh8 { +0.79/22 } 28.Qh4 Ng8 29.g5
{ 29. Nh5 Rg6 30. Bf4 a5 31. Ba2 Bxf4 32. Nxf4 Rd6 33. Rce1 +1.66
Stockfish } 29...Rf5 30.Qg4 g6 31.Re5 Ne7 32.Rxf5 Nxf5 33.Ng2 Qd8 34.Ne3 h5
35.gxh6 Nxh6 36.Qf3 Qg5+ 37.Kf1 Kh7 38.Nc4 Qxd5 39.Qxd5 Bxd5 40.Nxd6 Bxb3
41.Rc6 Ra8 42.Bxh6 Kxh6 ) 28.Bxf4 f6 29.Qh5 Bxf4 30.Rxf4 Nf7 31.Qf5 Qd6 $6
{ +5.74/23 } ( 31...Qxf5 { +4.21/26 } 32.Rxf5 Nd6 33.Ba2
{ 33. Rf3 Rf7 34. Re3 Rd7 35. Re6 Kf8 36. Rc6 Nf7 37. Rc5 Nd6 38. Kh2 Nc8
39. d6 Nxd6 40. Bd5 a5 41. Rxd6 Rxd6 42. Bxb7 Rxd4 43. Rxb5 Rxd3 +6.40
Stockfish } 33...Rc8 34.Rxc8+ Bxc8 35.Rf3 a5 36.Re3 Kf7 37.f4 a4 38.Re1 h5
39.f5 hxg4 40.hxg4 ) 32.h4 $2 { +3.39/26 } ( 32.Re4 { +5.74/23 } 32...Qd8
{ 32...Kh8 33. Qe6 h5 34. Qe7 Bc8 35. Rxc8 Qxe7 36. Rxe7 Rxc8 37. Rxf7 Rd8
38. Ra7 a5 39. Rxa5 +9.22 Stockfish } 33.Qe6 h5 34.gxh5
{ 34.d6 Be4 35.de Kh7 36. d7 Ng5 37. Qd6 a5 38. Rc8 Qxc8 39. dxc8=Q Rxc8
40. Qd5 Rf8 41. h4 Nf7 42. Qxh5+ +16.61 Stockfish } 34...f5 35.Qxf5 Ng5
36.Qg6 Nxh3+ 37.Kf1 Kh8 38.Rc2 Nf4 39.Rxf4 Rxf4 40.h6 Qf6 41.Qxf6 gxf6 42.Rc7
) 32...a5 33.Rc5 a4 34.Bd1 Qd8 35.Re4 Bc8 $6 { +4.10/26 } ( 35...Nd6
{ +3.45/24 } 36.Qe6+ Rf7 37.Re1 Bc8 38.Qe3 Qa5
{ 38...g5 39. hxg5 fxg5 40. Qe5 Qf6 41. Qxf6 Rxf6 42. Rc7 Kf8 43. Ree7
+6.35 Stockfish } 39.Kf1 Qd8 40.Qf4 Bb7 41.Re6 Rd7 42.g5
{ 42. Kg1 Qf8 43. Qe3 Rd8 44. Re7 Kh8 45. Bf3 b4 46. Rcc7 Bc8 47. Rxg7 Qxg7
48. Rxg7 Kxg7 49. Qe7+ Nf7 50. g5 +8.57 Stockfish } 42...fxg5 43.hxg5 )
36.Qf4 f5 37.gxf5 Nd6 38.Qg5 Bxf5 39.Qxd8 Rxd8 40.Re3 Bd7 41.Rc7 Kf8 42.Re5
Be8 $6 { +5.29/28 } ( 42...Ne8 { +4.15/25 } 43.Ra7
{ 43. Rb7 Nd6 44. Ra7 Ne8 45. Kh2 Nf6 46. d6 Be8 47. Ra6 Bg6 48. Be2 b4 49.
Rea5 Ne8 50. Rxa4 Nxd6 51. Ra8 Rxa8 52. Rxa8+ +6.16 Stockfish } 43...Nd6
44.Bf3 b4 45.Bd1 a3 46.bxa3 Nb5 47.Ra5 bxa3 48.Re4 Rb8 49.Ba4 a2 50.Bxb5 Rxb5
51.Rxa2 Rxd5 52.Ra7 ) ( 42...g6 43.h5 b4 44.Ra7 a3 45.bxa3 Nb5 46.Ra5 bxa3
47.Kg2 a2 48.Bb3 gxh5 49.Rxh5 Kg7 50.Bxa2 Nd6 51.Bc4 { +5.53 Stockfish } )
43.Bg4 b4 44.Re3 Kg8 45.Ra7 a3 $6 { +5.85/27 } ( 45...Kh8 { +5.11/25 } 46.h5
{ 46. Ree7 a3 47. bxa3 b3 48. Ra6 Bb5 49. Rb6 h6 50. Kg2 b2 51. Re1 Bxd3
52. Rxb2 +7.c8 Stockfish } 46...a3 47.bxa3 b3 48.Re2 ) 46.bxa3 b3 47.Re2
h5 48.Be6+ Kh7 49.Rb2 Nb5 50.Ra4 Nc7 51.Ra5 Kg6 $6 { +8.97/25 } ( 51...Nb5
{ +6.71/25 } 52.Rxb3 Nxd4 53.Rb4 Nf3+ 54.Kg2
{ 54. Kf1 Ne5 55. Ke2 Bg6 56. Rd4 Nd7 57. Bxd7 Rxd7 58. d6 +9.19
Stockfish } 54...Ne1+ 55.Kg3 Bg6 56.f4 Nxd3 57.f5 Nxb4 58.fxg6+ Kxg6 59.axb4
) 52.Rxb3 1-0
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Dear Connecticut Chess Organizers:
LATEST CONNECTICUT CHESS NEWS
Wednesday, January 2, 2019
CHESS HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018 by Bob Cyr
JANUARY
The NBCC commenced its first meeting of 2018 in high gear by hosting another exciting “What are the Odds Blitz Chess Tournament.” This event, which has recently become a New Year’s club tradition, drew almost twenty players. The idea behind these unique tournaments is to attempt to equalize the playing field by requiring the higher-rated players to give time odds to their lower-rated opponents based on rating differences. The rules are quite simple. First, there is no time adjustment if the difference in the players’ rating falls within 100 points (5 minutes vs. 5 minutes). However, for every one-hundred point rating difference (up to a maximum of 400 points), the higher-rated player loses one minute and his or her opponent gains one minute. Because of the significant range of the ratings of our competitors that evening, many of our masters, experts, and even class players were forced to play at extreme time odds against their lower-ranked opponents (1 minute vs. 9 minutes), many of them with ratings below 1,000 points. In addition, all games were played with no time delay, thus providing our underdogs with greater fighting chances. After seven rounds of energetic play, members Danny Pascetta and Raghav Arun were tied for first place. Using conventional tie-breaks, Danny edged out eight-year-old Raghav for the title but, in an act of pure kindness, decided to give the trophy to Raghav, who becomes the youngest member to earn or tie for first place in any NBCC event. It should also be noted that all participants who had an overall positive performance received cash prizes.
The club also started 2018 in high momentum with its stimulating weekly training classes. Our family is so fortunate to have a core group of masters and experts who have been willing to offer these lessons for the benefit of our members. These classes have added tremendous value to our club, and we anticipate that these weekly sessions will become the NBCC’s newest tradition.
FEBRUARY
They say that history tends to repeat itself. That has surely been the case at the club. During the month of February 2018, there were two significant milestones that also occurred in the same month ten years ago. The first was a visit by a grandmaster, and the second was the club’s decision to reimburse our teams for their entry into the annual eastern team tournament in New Jersey. I proudly share some of the highlights from both of these events.
On February 2 and 3, 2018, the club welcomed prominent Grandmaster Alexandr Lenderman, one of the top chess players in America. On Friday, the GM began his two-day visit to the club with a master training class. The intense and engaging three-hour session focused on the topic of prophylaxis applied to the game, thinking about our opponents' moves and deciding whether we want to prevent our opponents' plans or not. The next day, GM Lenderman began with a nice lecture in which he used one of his recent games (with another GM) as a teaching tool to instruct his class on how he was able to capitalize on his opponent’s lack of development by creating quick counter-play and launching a sharp attack on his kingside. The lecture was followed by a simultaneous chess exhibition, where twenty-one players from our community, including a few players from the Hartford YMCA Chess Club, participated. Our competitors gave Mr. Lenderman a tough battle on the chess board, with many challenging games, according the GM. Despite our players’ attempts to slow him down, though, the GM emerged victorious on all boards (a perfect 21-0) in exactly three hours to the minute! Afterwards, a few of our members went to lunch at the Olive Garden with Mr. Lenderman, the same restaurant where some of our club officers treated the GM the evening before. This historic weekend in club history would not have been possible if it were not for member Mario Guevara-Rodriguez, who arranged the GM’s visit and furthermore provided him with transportation to and from Milford. I also want to thank Rob Roy for helping us promote the GM’s visit and for taking so many pictures. The NBCC sincerely appreciates Rob’s continual efforts for promoting our club and chess in Connecticut for over four decades. Lastly, we are grateful to our club officers, who work so tirelessly to provide a social and friendly environment at the club and who continue to expand programs for the betterment of all chess enthusiasts. NBCC Historian Bob Cyr was able get in contact with the New Britain Herald to publish this event. Their article is published on the club website. Perhaps we can start using this media resource again to promote more club activities.
On Presidents Day weekend, four club teams comprised of sixteen players competed in one of the largest team tournament in chess history - the 2018 World/U.S. Amateur Team East Chess Championship (more commonly known as USATE). The ultimate three-day chess vacation, where friends bond in the love of friendship and compete in the arena of sportsmanship, was held in Parsippany, New Jersey. It was clear from my observations that our NBCC teams (with our USATE veterans and first-timers) had a fantastic time playing on this world stage. Here are some of the memorable moments that our teams and members experienced at this historic tournament.
On our first team, Very Fine People on Both Sides, we had International Master Jan van de Mortel, USCF National Master Derek Meredith, Expert Doug Fiske, and Class A player Gert Hilhorst. Our top team did exceptionally well, going on an unprecedented 5-0 run to play on board one in the final match. Unfortunately, our superstars lost this critical match but still proudly ended up winning the Top Connecticut Team title and tying for third place (not including tie-breaks). On our second team, Bitcoin Ponziani Scheme, we had Suhas Kodali, Mike Pascetta, Bob Cyr, and Bill Montross. Joe Bihlmeyer was scheduled to play on this team but had to cancel due to illness. Nevertheless, Team B forged ahead with determination to play for perfection. Overall, these players faced well despite having to play up a number of rounds. In the end, the Bitcoin Team earned three match points. Thanks to Bill for being a substitute on this team on such short notice. The next two club teams, which formed quite late due to last-minute scrambles, featured all first-time USATE players. On our club’s third team, Lucky Random NBCC Players, we had Mario Guevara-Rodriguez, Jithu Sajeevan, Art Nagel, and Laurent Lafosse. These competitors played very solidly throughout the competition and ended up earning four match points. They were so close to winning a class prize. The fourth and final NBCC team consisted of the club’s first all-scholastic USATE team, with Nakul Ramaswamy, Michael Chen, Yogahari Jeadeeswaran, and Geoffrey Yu. Even though our young men took home two match points, I was told by one of their parents that they had a blast and really enjoyed the atmosphere at this awesome event. Their team name was the Fantastic 4 Back Rankers.
Besides support from New Britain in the central part of Connecticut, the growing University of Connecticut Chess Club family in Storrs fielded two USATE teams. A tremendous token of gratitude to Gert and Jan, who acted as coaches, supporters, travel providers, and much more, for recruiting eight bright and inspiring young men from this university to compete at this world-class tournament. Finally, there was another all-Connecticut team from Fairfield County who ended up clinching the prize for the top team name, Ruy Lopez Just Got Deported.
Former USCF President E. Steve Doyle has been the executive director of USATE for many decades. Mr. Doyle and his dedicated, professional staff do an exceptional job every year as they coordinate everything necessary to make USATE run as efficiently as possible. It is indeed a collaborative labor of love. Friends, this three-day retreat brings people of all backgrounds and skills from across the world together. In these challenging global times, USATE is a testament of how people who are passionate about a common interest like chess can unite in the spirit of comradery. This is the essence of USATE, “the holy grail of chess.”
Since 2010, the club has been hosting quick chess events to honor our members based on their longevity in our organization. On February 20, the club held a tournament for Gert Hilhorst, our first honoree of 2018. Gert, or Gary as he cheerfully refers to himself in America, is one of the club’s most veteran members, having joined our community over a decade ago. This gentleman, however, was not new to the chess world prior to his membership in the club. One of the most traveled people in the NBCC, Gert is proud to hold memberships in chess clubs in Germany and in his birth country, the Netherlands, where two of our members had the experience of a lifetime visiting with Gert and his wife Holly in 2008. They treated our visitors to an enlightening Dutch experience. Months prior to the visit, Gert tried coordinating an international chess match between the NBCC and the Fischer-Z Chess Club of Amsterdam, but that never happened unfortunately. Maybe it will one of these days! With chess deeply rooted in his blood, shortly after moving to the United States, Gert formed a scholastic chess program in the Simsbury Public School System. Since 2008, Gert has worked passionately to expand and enrich scholastic chess in his hometown. Because of his steadfast efforts, the Simsbury Public Library Chess Club, where he has coached his son Eric, has become one of the largest scholastic chess communities in Connecticut. Beyond Simsbury, Gert, who is rated near 2000 these days, has been actively involved in our club for years. As you all know, Gert is our club treasurer. He was elected to this position in 2015 after the tragic passing of his predecessor, Andris Strazdins, who had held the position for a club record forty-two years. Gert has done wonders for the club in this major role. Gert is a very altruistic person like Andris was, always giving of himself with his time and money. The NBCC is proud to recognize Mr. Hilhorst for his amazing contributions to the enrichment of chess and for the warmth and generosity that he has bestowed to everyone in our family for so many years. Instead of choosing to host a traditional quick chess tournament, Gert opted to organize a Fischer Random (or Chess960) event, the first one in NBCC history. In addition, Gert awarded non-cash prizes to the place winners of his special event. What a display of generosity! Winning first place (and the four pack of Grolsch Dutch beer!) was member David Herscovici. Two of our rising scholastic members, Jack Clayton and Nakul Ramaswamy, each received lovely chess books for finishing second overall and second among the scholastic players, respectively.
MARCH
Throughout most of January and February, the club held its annual championship, a heritage event, on its weekly Tuesday meetings. This tournament drew almost forty participants of all ages and levels.
After nearly two months of serious play, veteran member FIDE Master Nelson Castaneda took home the coveted title of 2018 NBCC Champion. Incidentally, Professor Castaneda has won this distinct honor ten times! And he continues to sitting atop the rankings in the club. The battles were just as intense in the candidates section of our annual championship. Jimi Wilkin, another club veteran, edged out his nearest rival by one-half point to claim the title in the candidates section. All winners were presented with beautiful medallions. We owe Laurent Lafosse a huge thanks for doing a supurb job as the sole tournament director of the club’s largest annual tournament.
We briefly depart from club to state chess news to cover the highlights of the annual Connecticut State Chess Championship. The NBCC hosted this state-sanctioned event, now for the fifth consecutive year, at Hall High School on March 10. Twenty-three players, including two from Massachusetts and one from New York, participated. Incidentally, Hall High School was the venue of last year’s state championship. After five rounds of extreme competition, USCF NM Arslan Otchiyev clinched the title of 2017 Connecticut State Chess Championship. Master Otchiyev is an instructor at the Fairfield County Chess Club, is a six-time national chess champion of Turkmenistan, and is ranked in the top one percent of competitive players nationally. Earning second and third place in the state-sanctioned championship were NBCC’s Suhas Kodali and FM Richard Bauer, respectively. We extend our appreciation to Doug Fiske, who did an efficient job as the tournament director.
Also held at the high school that day was the annual West Hartford Scholastic Chess Tournament. Over thirty enthusiast boys and girls from the area, some competing in their first chess event, enjoyed an exciting day of action on the sixty-four squares. NBCC’s Jack Clayton, one of our club’s rising talented youths, proudly won the tournament, clinching it with a perfect 5-0! Many thanks to Norman Burtness and Bob Cyr, who co-directed the event.
We conclude the highlights of the first quarter of 2018, one of the busiest and most historic first quarters in NBCC history, with the FM Nelson Castaneda’s simultaneous chess exhibition held on March 20 at the club. Recently, the club restarted the tradition established decades ago where the club champion gives a simul the week following his title win.
We had a high turnout for Professor Castaneda’s simul, with twenty-five eager competitors (about 50 percent of them scholastic participants) from the area. Even though our players attempted to make the professor sweat, Mr. Castaneda blazed the stage with his solid performance, going undefeated. Roger Bassette, one of club’s newest members, nicked a draw against Nelson. We sincerely thank Professor Castaneda for hosting this wonderful event for our chess community.
Prior to Professor Castanda’s big event on the evening of March 20, IM Jan van de Mortel, the second-highest Connecticut ranked chess player, gave a beautiful training class that featured a review of his final game at USATE. He was quite enthusiastic as he presented a thorough analysis of his lively and crucial game, which ended up being a draw. We hope that Jan can come back to the club later this year to offer more training classes.
APRIL
In April, Richard Bauer, one of the club’s resident FMs, joined the NBCC training staff. The topic of Mr. Bauer’s first lecture held on April 10 was how to analyze a chess position from a standpoint of understanding the features that drive the game and applying this knowledge to move selection. Mr. Bauer applied the two objectives to practical play by examining one of Suhas Kodali’s games from USATE 2018. The master spent many hours preparing for his class and did a marvelous job engaging and energizing his students. The NBCC is fortunate to have many trainers, like Mr. Bauer, to provide different perspectives on chess theory. Our chess community looks forward to more of his classes.
After FM Richard Bauer’s class, the club commenced its 2nd annual Class Championship. The quick chess event drew a diverse playing field, with the competitors vying for a chance to compete for the top prize within their own rating class. It was nice to see some of our newest members, like Elizabeth Smith, playing in their first rated NBCC event. The winners were:
- Master/Expert: David Herscovici
- Class A/B: Alexander Ruth
- Class C/D: Bill Campbell
- Class E: Elizabeth Smith
Based on the overwhelming support for this event, it appears that it will become an annual club tradition.
MAY
On May 1, the NBCC hosted its second honoree event of 2018 for veteran member USCF NM Dennis Prawira. Master Prawira, like many of the members who the club has recently honored, has belonged to our family for over a decade. Shortly after joining the club, Dennis competed in his first tournament - the 2007 Oktoberfest Open Chess Championship. After sweeping the competition, going an incredible 5-0, defeating experts and masters, Dennis attained a record-breaking 2700 USCF provisional rating, the highest of any member. The master set the bar extremely high with this astounding tournament performance, one that definitely was a shining and unforgettable moment in his very early chess career in our organization. Over the last ten years, the master has achieved many tournament victories and has risen quickly in the NBCC tournament standings, currently ranking fifth overall. Last year, nearly ten years from when he made his stunning performance in Oktoberfest 2007, Master Prawira won Oktoberfest 2017. This win, however, was even more momentous for the master. His solo win in Oktoberfest 2017, along with his wins in the Arkadijs Strazdins Cup and the NBCC Championship held earlier that year, placed Master Prawira into the NBCC Hall of Fame for being only the fifth person in our club’s history to have won or tied for first place in three or more classical time-controlled events in the same year. But there is no doubt that Dennis’ major achievement in the club was earning the title of Club Champion for three consecutive years (2015-2017) before taking this year off. In spite of Dennis' long commute, he is a regular participant in most club tournaments, especially those with long time controls. Dennis, who is playing more online than over-the-board chess these days, is one of the most friendly people in our community. Master Prawira really enjoys the club’s spirit. We are so delighted that Dennis has been a part of our club’s history, and we look forward to have him be a part of our club’s future. Before the tournament, FM Richard Bauer reviewed the critical game that Dennis played against FM Nelson Castaneda in the 2015 NBCC Championship, which propelled the master to his first of three consecutive club championship victories. David Herscovici won the open section of the Dennis Prawira Quick Chess Tournament, and Elizabeth Smith won the U1700 section. David and Lisa emulated Prawira that evening, with their outstanding play.
The annual Arkadijs Strazdins Cup/Stein was the club’s next major event of the year. This tournament has been held annually to honor Arkadijs and Andris Strazdins, arguably our club’s two greatest contributors.
Arkadijs was the club president for thirty-one years and a tournament director for fifty-six years. Many players owe their love of chess to his influence. Arkadijs’ son, Andris, who passed away three years ago, was our treasurer for forty-two years, selflessly committing his time and energy to the club. Prior to round one of their event, Norman Burtness delivered a touching tribute to these gentlemen, recognizing their decades of loyal service to the club and mentioning their major contributions to the enrichment of our organization. The five-week tournament, a Swiss style format, was held during most of May and during the first week of June. It was nice to see veteran members and new chess enthusiasts compete in this tributary event. FM Nelson Castaneda, who continues to climb in the overall standings in classical time-controlled events in the club, took home the top prize in the Arkadijs Cup section. Teddy Theodoropoulus, who recently joined our family, won his first major event in the NBCC with his win the Andris Stein section. Both players received their beautiful trophies on the night of the annual club business meeting held later in June.
JUNE
For the eighth consecutive year, the NBCC has had the illustrious distinction to host the annual Planet Earth Chess Championship. This year’s tournament was directed by Norman Burtness and was held at Hall High School. This galactic event has typically been held at different venues in Connecticut nearly every year. This year, we were fortunate to see a few players from the surrounding states participate in this incredible event, which took place on the first weekend of June. Our earthly chess warriors had some tough battles and close games. Some of the players opted to compete in the two-day event, with all of their four games at a time control of G/85. Others, rather, decided that it was to their advantage to play in the one-day event, with their first two games at a time control of G/45 and then their final two games at a time control of G/85. Shortly before 5:00 p.m. on June 2, the results of this historic event were in and broadcasted throughout the chess world. It is with highest honor to report that USCF NM Rajesh Shanmugasundaram of Massachusetts was crowned with the impressive title of 2018 Planet Earth Chess Champion. The master won on tie-breaks over FM Nelson Castaneda, a former chess champion of Planet Earth. Incidentally, both players were presented with stunning crystal trophies with the NBCC logo embroidered on them. In the Under 1800 section, the playing field was just as challenging. Finishing first in this section was Roger Bassette, who earned his first win in a G/30 or longer event in the club. Before we depart on our next club journey, we extend a huge debt of gratitude to Norman for planning, organizing, and directing this stellar event.
Historically in June, the club’s executive board of directors holds an annual business meeting. The main purpose of these meetings are for the committee to provide an overview of past club operations, present the club’s current financial health, hold officer elections for the upcoming club year, and allot time for members to present and discuss their ideas, and possibly vote, on club matters. Some of the highlights from the productive 2018 NBCC business meeting held on June 12, as noted by NBCC President Norman Burtness, are summarized below.
OPERATIONS
The club organizes a variety of activities for the members. The weekend events, however, tend to draw little participation from the membership. These events will be more geared toward scholastic players in the future. Inter-club activities, specifically a match between the UConn CC and the NBCC sometime in the future, was brought up and will be explored by IM Jan van de Mortel. New at the NBCC was the use of PayPal and the website for tournament registrations and payment of tournament fees and dues. The weekly training classes have attracted much interest, and a parent suggested that these sessions be recorded for publication on YouTube.
Several members were acknowledged for their contributions to the club this year: Suhas Kodali for opening the club each week; Gert Hilhorst for maintaining the club website; Joseph Bihlmeyer for coordinating the training classes; and Bob Cyr for putting the NBCC history on the website. Bob was presented with an engraved crystal plaque in recognition for his work.
FINANCES
The club’s financial health is good, with nine-four members, twenty-five of whom are scholastic players. Compared to last year, this was the same membership at this time but with six more scholastic players. Presently, however, membership dues do not cover annual rent. A proposal was made to increase annual membership dues from $60 to $65 (or two installments of $35), $50 for scholastic, and $35 for 65+/hardship/second family member. Out-of-state college students were also included in the $35 rate. The vote was almost unanimous (one dissention).
ELECTIONS
The following club officers were elected unanimously: Norman Burtness, president; Suhas Kodali, vice president; Laurent Lafosse, secretary; Gert Hilhorst, treasurer. Our incoming officers, Suhas and Laurent, were welcomed. Our outgoing officers, Mark Bourque and Luis Delgado, vice president and secretary, respectively, were thanked for their service to the club. Mark will continue to organize and direct tournaments. The club also extends its appreciation to Luis for always being very welcoming to new members.
Before we bid a fond farewell with the NBCC highlights from the first half of 2018, I am proud to recognize Rob Roy once again for his continual efforts to promote our club and chess throughout our state. As many of you know, Rob has worked on numerous chess projects for our state for over four decades, during which time he has been the editor of Connecticut Chess magazine. Since May 2016, Rob has been hosting monthly events at his house in Coventry. On June 23, ten players competed in Rob’s annual summer chess tournament there. After round 1, Rob transitioned his role from tournament director to chef, serving hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob, watermelon, and beverages. There was a good representation from the NBCC at Rob’s event. Two of our veteran members, FM Richard Bauer and USCF NM Derek Meredith, tied for first place, with their final match being a hard-fought draw. Kudos to Rob for hosting another fantastic event! Starting in July, Rob’s monthly tournaments will be hosted at Mill Brook Place in Coventry. This site is a brand-new meeting hall that can accommodate as many as seventy people. In order to make this transition possible, Rob will work with officials from the local library, schools, and the parks and recreation department. We thank Rob for his lifetime of service and devotion to Connecticut chess!
JULY
The club started its third quarter of 2018 with its 3rd annual July Knockout and Swiss event created by FM Nelson Castaneda. Players were initially grouped into one section (knockout bracket). After each round, the winner would advance in the knockout bracket. In the case of a draw, a two-game blitz match would have to be played to determine the winner of the match. If the draw persisted after the blitz match, then the person who played with black in the classical game would advance. Anyone eliminated or knocked-out would be placed into an open Swiss-style event. Many of the games from this tournament were analyzed by Nelson and are published with his extensive notes on the club website. The final round was won by Expert Suhas Kodali, who knocked-out Nelson to claim the title of the 2018 NBCC Knockout Champion, his first win in a major club event. Also winning classical time-controlled events for their first time were two strong class players, Andrew Cowell and Mario Guevara-Rodriguez, who tied for first place in the Swiss section. Many thanks for Nelson for directing and analyzing many of the interesting games, some of which I imagine will be nominations for the best game of the year contest.
Prior to the start of Nelson’s event, our community was stunned to hear about the passing of James Wilkin. During the event, we also received tragic news about the passing of John Baclawski, another veteran member. Details on both of their memorial events and their eulogies are published later in this newsletter.
AUGUST
To honor the memory of Jimi Wilkin, the club hosted the Jimi Wilkin Memorial Tournament on August 7. Before the event, Suhas Kodali did a wonderful job analyzing Jimi’s style of play by reviewing a number of his games. The NBCC was able to raise $700 to support Jimi’s family during their difficult time. Thirty-four players played in the event, with a pretty equal split in each section. In the rated section, FM Nelson Castaneda was the winner. In the more fun unrated gambit section, with the Albin Counter Gambit, the Wing Gambit, and early h4 moves, Ilya Goffman was the winner. Many thanks to Mark Bourque for directing and to Gert Hilhorst for collecting the entry fees.
In mid-August, the club continued its summer schedule by hosting a one-week event for Eric Hilhorst, the next member to be recognized for his longevity in our organization. Eric was introduced to the game at the young age of seven. Soon thereafter, he joined the club with his father, Gert, who has been a guiding force in his life. With his father as his coach and mentor, Eric quickly moved up the rating ladder. Today, Eric’s rating is around 1750. He has worked hard to attain this level and has aspirations to reach class A soon! Beyond our family, Eric has competed in many regional and state tournaments, especially at the library chess club in his hometown in Simsbury, where he has won several events and developed many friendships. Eric, like his father, is one of our few members who has had the opportunity to play chess internationally. When he was fourteen years old, Eric competed on team leagues in Amsterdam. Incidentally, Eric has traveled to this beautiful city over seventy times with his father! Talk about earning frequent flier miles! All levity aside, when looking back at Eric’s chess history, his proudest achievement was earning the prestigious high school title at the 2015 Connecticut State Scholastic Championship and representing our state at the Denker Tournament in Arizona. Eric recently completed his freshman year at the University of Connecticut, where he is an active member and vice president of their chess club. Even though Eric has not been able to play chess as often as he would like to, due to his intensive academic workload, he does make an effort to compete in events at the UConn CC and the NBCC during school breaks.
Earlier this year, Eric had a blast participating on the grand stage at USATE for his first time with his fellow UConn teammates. Eric is truly an amazing young man and superstar, and he has so much passion and energy for life and a deep affection and compassion for people. My friends, our chess community is bright because of members like Eric. We are so thrilled to have Eric as part of our family, and we wish him the utmost best in his future chess and academic endeavors in his long life ahead. For his tournament, Eric proposed the Bilbao format, where each player played two games, one with the white pieces and one with the black pieces. Because of the format, the tournament could not be rated. Players were grouped into quads. The following players won their respective quad: Nelson Castaneda (Quad 1), Carter Clayton (Quad 2), Bill Campbell and Elizabeth Smith (Quad 3), and Norman Burtness and Joseph Hricko (Quad 4). Carter was presented with a trophy for the most unexpected result. Thanks to Gert for organizing and directing this exciting event.
Prior to Eric’s special event, FM Richard Bauer went over John Baclawski’s contribution to chess opening theory, examining his game from the 2008 NBCC Championship vs. Andres Castaneda. Mr. Bauer has plans to submit this game to Chess Life or to another popular chess magazine.
On August 21, Expert David Herscovici, our club’s newest lecturer, reviewed of some of his recent games, noting how high-rated players make decisions during critical parts of their games. We are most fortunate for David’s analysis and look forward to having him teach more lessons to our growing audience.
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On a glorious and pleasant late summer day (August 26) at Wickham Park in Manchester, sixty-four players from the area (the third highest turnout for any event in NBCC history) gathered for spirited play and social interaction at the 53rd Summer Open. This year, the club broke a record for the most youths ages eighteen or younger competing in one of our events - thirty-five! Many hours of work were performed on-site and behind the scenes to ensure the success of Connecticut's huge summer outing of the year. The following people did a fantastic job: Manager Gert Hilhorst, TD Jan van de Mortel, and Chef Mario Guevara-Rodriguez. The club also thanks Rob Roy, NBCC’s loyal advocate, for bringing in ice-cold beverages and for being available to assist whenever needed and for advertising our event. Incidentally, the event winner on tie-breaks was FM Richard Bauer, who is now only one win or tie for first place away in this event to tie Arkadijs Strazdins’ record of ten. Richard tied with FM Nelson Castaneda, Jack Wang, and Charles Hua. We hope to see you all next year! SEPTEMBER Every once in a while, a new event is held at the club. On the second week of the month, the club held its first Rated Rapid Showdown event. According to NBCC President Normal Burtness, “this new event is based on the chess.com Champions Showdown held last fall.” Players were paired to their nearest rival, and they had play ninety minutes of G/15; d/1, sixty minutes of G/5; d1, and fifteen minutes of G/1; d1. The winner was determined by a points system that awarded four points for each G/15 win, two points for every G/5 win, and one point for every G/1 win. The G/15 and G/5 games were rated but not the G/1 games. It was one wild evening of chess at the club that evening, and we thank Mr. Burtness for making this event possible. OCTOBER The club commenced its fourth and final quarter of this already successful year with a presentation by NM Harris Appelman on his victory against Fabiano Caruana at the Marshall Chess Club in 2003. What was particularly interesting about the lecture was the motifs that Harris used to obtain the victory. Harris had studied a game between Byrne vs. Fischer involving the “Russian sacrifice,” a rook for a bishop, but the bishop gets to control a long diagonal and eventually becomes a dominant piece in mate threats. The game was very interesting and dynamic, and we really thank Harris for sharing his incredible game against a to-be world chess champion contender. Every year since 2006, the club has held an annual Oktoberfest tournament and dinner shortly after the event. FM Nelson Castaneda tied for first place in the event, making this his fifth out of sixth major tournament win or tie for first place in 2018. Amazing! This year was different in that we returned to the East Side Restaurant (our first dinner there since 2008) in New Britain to celebrate the festive season of Oktoberfest. It was former NBCC President Joseph Mansigian’s idea to organize such an event to pay respect to the club’s German heritage. The NBCC wished to thank its biggest volunteers (those who direct tournaments, run the website, and keep the club running) by treating them to dinner. Without these volunteers, the club would not be as successful as it is. Overall, it was a grand evening of spirited fun and friendship. The week after the Oktoberfest event, the NBCC held its fourth and final tributary event of the year for one of its veteran members and friends, Joe Hricko. More popularly known as "HR," Joe has belonged to our family for nearly a decade. Joe is a very jovial and cordial man who enjoys playing with members of all ages and skill levels. Prior to joining the club, Joe was quite active with the Southbury Chess Club. Once this club disbanded, he found a new home at the NBCC. Joe has consistently maintained a class A rating for years, peaking at expert level at 2007 in 2013. It is truly evident that Joe has a solid command of the chess board when he faces his friends for a serious match. However, “HR” does relish the faster time-controlled events that the club offers and enjoys these rapid games just as much as the classical, slower tournaments. One of Joe’s most memorable tournament wins was taking home first place in the Robert Kozlowski Quick Chess Tournament, going undefeated in the four-round event. Joe has told me on many occasions that this victory was a true honor. He often thanks members like me and many others for being so warm and welcoming to him. Beyond the club, Joe does still play in a few Continental Chess events and is an infrequent visitor to the Friday casual games night at Barnes and Noble. “HR” also enjoyed the spirit of playing with fellow teammates at USATE years ago. Even though Joe is busy with life today, we eagerly anticipate that he will be more active in the NBCC in the years to come. We certainly miss his gentle personality, kind deposition, and sociable nature. In the five-round Joe Hricko Quick Chess Tournament, USCF NM Derek Meredith won the open section. Elizabeth Smith and new member Samuel Sirag tied for first place in the U1700 section. The John Baclawski Memorial event took place on the final meeting of October. There was a nice turnout of players of all ages and skills. The winners in each section (Joe Bihlmeyer and Elizabeth Smith) were presented with cash prizes and a book from the Baclawski collection in care of FM Richard Bauer. Both players moved up the ladder for overall quick chess ties or wins for first place. Suhas Kodali got his first directing experience, working under the direction of seasoned TD Laurent Lafosse. All of John’s chess books were donated to the club’s library. NOVEMBER For many years now, the club has hosted annual events to recognize prominent players in our chess community who have passed on. This year’s event paid tribute to one of the greatest chess professionals and luminaries in our region during the mid-20th century, Dr. Joseph Platz. Prior to residing in Connecticut, Dr. Platz had already built an impressive chess resume, earning the Cologne Chess Championship in 1926 and the Hannover Chess Championship in 1931. He received his training from his mentor, Dr. Emanuel Lasker, a world chess champion, and they became close friends. When he moved to the United States, Dr. Platz won the Western Massachusetts & Connecticut Valley Open Chess Championship fourteen times, won the Connecticut Chess Championship three times, and tied for the New England Chess Championship four times. He also won many tournaments in the New York City region. Dr. Platz ultimately earned USCF Master Emeritus status for his amazing tournament performances. He was also greatly involved as president of the Hartford Chess Club for many years during the 1950s and 1960s. Toward the end of his chess career, he wrote his memoirs. It was around that time when he gave a simultaneous chess exhibition at our club. On that May evening in 1979, twenty-two players took on the master, the result being 13.5 wins for the master and 8.5 for his opponents. There is an extensive amount of history on Dr. Platz on the internet, and I encourage you to check it out. Suffice it to say, Dr. Platz was a highly respected person in our chess community and one of the most accomplished chess players of all-time. On Saturday, November 24, the club held an open house where players from our chess community could watch and analyze the 11th round of the 2018 World Chess Championship match between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. It was a smaller than anticipated crowd, but everyone enjoyed themselves nonetheless. Incidentally, the three-hour game ended in a draw. Just three days later at the club, FM Nelson Castaneda reviewed the tenth game from the World Chess Championship match. The master, along with assistance from Suhas Kodali, gave a very thorough analysis, and the presentation drew quite a high turnout. This game ended in another draw. After going twelve games with draws, there were tie-breaks to determine the winner. Magnus Carlsen won on tie-breaks and retained his title. |
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DECEMBER The final month of the year had three major highlights. On the first Tuesday of the month, Bob Cyr, along with assistance from Suhas Kodali, directed the club’s twentieth rated blitz chess tournament. Directing this event was a momentous occasion for Bob, marking his twenty years as a director of NBCC events. That is amazing. Also outstanding was FM Nelson Castaneda’s win in this event. The master went undefeated in the eight round Swiss system tournament, which attracted twenty players. Are you ready for another NBCC news flash? Well, on the second club meeting in December, we hosted a rated quad event with the time control using increments instead of delays for the very first time. That is historic news! Thanks to Norman Burtness for creating this cool, new idea. Traditionally, the NBCC has hosted a Christmas party on the third Tuesday in December to celebrate the year’s accomplishments and to welcome friends and family to partake in these festivities and to reflect on many happy times of the last year. This was the final highlight of the club year, and it was a joy to see many of our members and chess friends around the state celebrate in the spirit of Christmas. Hall’s Market in West Hartford catered the party, and we thank Norman Burtness for arranging the food details again for the third consecutive year. Our family was served meat and vegetarian lasagna, salad, vegetables, macaroni and cheese, and refreshments. In addition, a few members made dessert contributions, which were nice additions to this grand menu. We also were treated to John Nitz’s famous cheese dip platter (actually, it is his wife’s!) After dinner, the club held its annual Bullet Chess Championship, another club tradition at the party. Throughout the evening, Bob Cyr put everyone in a festive mood by playing Christmas songs on the piano. All in all, it was certainly one of the most wonderful times of the year at “The Heart of Connecticut Chess.”
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2019 Nathan Hale Open
Saturday April 13
$160-1st, $80-2nd. Guaranteed.Site: Mill Brook Place, 1267 Main St., Coventry, CT 06238
Across street from Bidwell Tavern is our stone building at rear of parking lot
Web Site: https://ConnecticutChess.blogspot.com/
E-mail: ConnecticutChess@Gmail.com
Lunch: 12:30 - 1:30. Four restaurants in immediate area.
Please bring your own equipment, especially digital chess clocks.
Connecticut Chess Magazine has an all-volunteer staff.
We have about half a dozen chess writers and reporters.
We want to publish more chess-related writings especially
when it is of interest to Connecticut players and readers.
UNIQUE VISITORS TO OUR BLOG
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VISITORS FOR MONTH - HITS PER DAY
3927 DEC 2018 126.7
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